Food Fighters - General Discussion

[mlp]

There's something very fishy about this show.  The home cooks have everything already prepped and measured and the pros start from scratch.  The timing is questionable.  For example, Kena had one finger bandaged when she was downstairs being introduced to Stefan.  They showed her hands seconds after she got upstairs and started working and she had two fingers bandaged.  At the very end, she had *three* fingers bandaged but there was never any time out shown for a medic.  The conversation among the "judges" is stilted.  I thought the young girl was Ahran from Master Chef when I first saw her.

[jhlipton]

A lot of people won't eat pork if there's any pink.  I think that's what doomed Cora -- otherwise her dish looked and sounded miles ahead of Kena's.

My wife works in Irvine where the Lime Truck often parks.  I told her to order a chocolate chip cookie next time she sees them.  LOL

[susannot]

Good call to combine the threads.  I'll watch tonight's show only because Tuesday evening is a vast swatch of television desert.

[gwlisa]

Why do all the amateurs have their left index fingers bandaged? Anyone else notice that? It's been three weeks in a row I've noticed it.

[leighdear]

So every contestant has to have some catastrophic, tragic or horribly unfortunate backstory to be able to compete?  I haven't liked a single one so far.  I know they're being picked for their "personalities", but they've all bugged me. 

 

Interesting that the raspberry soufflé got beat by bread pudding.  Aren't they supposed to be making the same dish?  I will say the pudding looked awesome, even though it's a boring & predictable dessert.  It's been over for years, yet they still make it in competitions because it requires very little precision or measuring. It's a lazy choice. Please move on to something else, chefs!

 

And she did not win the chicken pot pie challenge, cause she made a CHICKEN CASSEROLE!  If there's no crust, it's not a pot pie. That lasagna thing from the other chef looked disgusting.

 

Ooooh, Hakman was serious eyecandy.  He cooks "fresh-forward"?  Nice buzz phrase, meaning nothing.  *LOL* But his looked good.  Annie put Jalapenos in the dish for a "family favorite"?  Nothing like burning the taste buds off your toddler's tongue, mom. You could see her pasta was very badly cooked.

 

BTW, I SO greatly HATE the "smear" of whatever random crap people put on the plate.  Looks stupid and so overdone. 

 

I LOVE chef Antonia, way back to her Top Chef season.  She's also a great judge for competitions, in my opinion.  I cringed when they showed Annie scraping that non-stick rice pot with a metal spoon. *shudder*  Antonia's looked much better to me, but then I don't like Mangos.

 

That Tuna battle was crap. 
 

This was my last viewing of this show.  Just not entertaining for me, and I don't have any "feel good" from it.  Sorry for all the bitching, folks.  I usually love cooking competitions.

Edited August 6, 2014 by leighdear

[cooksdelight]

I think Kent made a bread pudding because he had no idea how to make a souffle, but he made it work. I just love him no matter what. :)

 

She had her daughter's disability as her cause until she got enough money to buy what she needed, then all of a sudden she wanted the money to go to college to be a psychologist. And she didn't win any round by a huge margin, did she?

 

I'll tune in for Kent's next challenge on the 15th, but other than that, I'm not that interested in seeing much more.

[leighdear]

Cooks, Now Kent is at least a REAL cowboy cook....*LOL*

[car54]

I called it in the beginning, I knew they'd get some company to donate the device for her little girl.    That part I'm happy about but I just don't get this competition--the judging seems all over the place.   I eat, I could be a judge.

[Surrealist]

How do the judges consistently slant their positive ratings toward the home cooks? Obviously one doesn't have to be a trained chef to be a good cook, but it seems rare that a home cook loses any of the battles.

 

I joked, after Adam gave her the machine, "So, is she going to return the money?" It's going to cost more than what she won to get a psych degree, especially at the Master's level.

 

I could use less drama and backstory in these competition shows.

[WickedTuna]

I changed the channel the minute I saw Vic Vega in the promo.

[mlp]

 

Why do all the amateurs have their left index fingers bandaged? Anyone else notice that? It's been three weeks in a row I've noticed it.

 

Last week, the home cook had three fingers bandaged by the end of the show but there was never any time out for medical attention.  I was watching closely this week so I noticed the bandage right away and wondered how and when she acquired it.  She didn't have it on when they first started.

 

I was happy to see Kent win because I like him but bread pudding isn't remotely a souffle.  I don't understand how someone can win if they disregard the parameters of the challenge. 

 

Were we to believe that the producers decided to give that woman an expensive piece of equipment when the judging panel gave her the win and some gofer just ran down to Walgreen's during the commercial and grabbed one off the shelf?  Or did they decide to invest about $20K in the thing just in case she won?  Phooey.

 

I'll most likely keep watching because I enjoy seeing the celebrity chefs (most of them anyway) but I don't believe this show is on the level.

Edited August 7, 2014 by mlp

[nottopbravo]

This may seem like a strange question, but, does anyone else think the prizes on this show are too high?  The contestants only have to cook for one night, whereas on Top Chef, for practically the same amount of money, they have to endure weeks and weeks of cooking challenges and the professional chefs on ths show don't seem that concerned about losing.

 

 

Were we to believe that the producers decided to give that woman an expensive piece of equipment when the judging panel gave her the win and some gofer just ran down to Walgreen's during the commercial and grabbed one off the shelf?  Or did they decide to invest about $20K in the thing just in case she won?

 

I think that was really unfair to the other contestants.  You might say she actually won 110K.  (Like the Walgreen comment, but I've actually seen those things at the Dollar Store)

 

I, too, am rapidly losing interest in this show.

Edited August 7, 2014 by nottopbravo

[cooksdelight]

@nottopbravo, I think NBC has a bigger budget and higher advertising revenue than Bravo or Food Network. But I agree, it is wild the amount of money these people can win for one day's filming, versus weeks and weeks on the other shows.

[nottopbravo]

 

I think NBC has a bigger budget and higher advertising revenue than Bravo or Food Network. But I agree, it is wild the amount of money these people can win for one day's filming, versus weeks and weeks on the other shows.

 

Oh, I agree, but it seems the "standard" prize for reality shows that run weeks and weeks with the same contestants is usually 100k.  There are exceptions, but those seem to be for some shows that have some sort of physical challenges.   Even cheap Steve Austin's new show with one set of contestants per episode only offers a 10k prize.

[cooksdelight]

Here is Kent Rollins' behind-the-scenes scoop on this recent episode. I can just hear his voice when he writes, LOL.

http://fromthechuckwagon.com/2014/08/07/food-fighters-behind-the-scenes/

[Johnny Dollar]

For a show about cooking, there's not a lot of cooking on this show.

[JTMacc99]

That is a very nice write up by Kent Rollins. The one thing it did, and I wish it didn't, was make me less cynical. Rett Syndrome is a truly horrible thing for a little girl and for a family. Any amount of money she won was money going to a good place.

[car54]

I assumed that NBC reached out to the company that makes the device and it was donated--they got a lot of on-air promotion that is worth the cost of one of their devices.

I'm glad she got it, and I'm fine with her getting the money too---her daughter is going to need life-long care and if she can get a degree and some kind of career, it will help their family to offset the expense of her daughter's illness.    

I think the show would be more suspenseful and interesting  if they built in some kind of decision on risking the money each time, altho it has consequences if they chose to win a smaller amount and stop--but I think that would have added something to the game aspect--that they could risk the money and lose some if they didn't win.

Maybe if they had more of the home chefs on-site so if one decides not to risk and to stop, another one is up.  

As it is, even if they lose some challenges they would only have to win 1 to make a fair amount of money for one day's filming--there is really not much chance to lose to the game.

[Bella]

I've concluded that this is a feel-good show for the demographic that wants to watch that kind of thing. There's a bit of suspense, but not as much as in what I consider a real cooking competition. Instead, I think the show is meant to make families feel good about their primary home cook and how amazing s/he is. If they can toss in a sob story and some corresponding good luck or even a well-timed donation, it's even more feel-good. It's the kind of thing I would have watched with my parents when I was a kid, and we would have talked about it. Dad would have said that Mom could win, and she'd blush, and we'd feel all warm and fuzzy as a family unit.

 

Now I prefer cooking competitions with more real suspense, but I can find that, so I'm not going to worry about this show. And I'm going to keep it on my DVR in case I read here that there was a really great episode. But overall, this isn't what I'm looking for.

[zxy556575]

I'm probably the show's target viewer as Bella outlined above, and have to say I'd be kind of pissed if the home cook didn't win any of the challenges. It's tremendously stacked in their favor but still nice to see the pros get a bit  of comeuppance. I similarly liked it when someone beat Bobby Flay on Throwdown.

[Bella]

I'm probably the show's target viewer as Bella outlined above, and have to say I'd be kind of pissed if the home cook didn't win any of the challenges. It's tremendously stacked in their favor but still nice to see the pros get a bit  of comeuppance. I similarly liked it when someone beat Bobby Flay on Throwdown.

 

The first episode, I was afraid that the home cook wouldn't win anything. That would be horrible.

[cooksdelight]

This guy came close.

It was like an all-stars of TV cooking shows "almost won" people. Chef Kent, 2 times on Chopped (I still love him), Elise from Hell's Kitchen, Vic Vegas from Food Network Star, Casey from Top Chef and then Duff who bombed on Chopped All Stars, or whatever it was called. What an odd assortment of people.

[mlp]

Cowboy Kent 2: Home Cooks 0  I'll bet Amanda is watching somewhere and is just tickled to death.

 

I liked Nick tonight and I was happy he won a decent amount.  They should have given him a special award for being the first home cook to get all the way through without cutting himself.

[BusyOctober]

Watched for the first time last night and it was interesting enough that I'd watch again.  I didn't know who the "Diva Chef" was but she annoyed me instantaneously.  Glad she only got to make one item, or I would have turned it off.  I did recognize the rest - Kent, Casey, Duff = nice to see you again!  Vic = please stay in Vegas.  I thought I was done with you after Next Food Network "Star"

 

My biggest question of the night has nothing to do with cooking or food.  How the Hell did Duff keep that stupid hat on his bald head?  Did he have a velcro implant?  It seriously bugged and distracted me so much I didn't follow any of the preparation of one of my favorite dishes - Eggs Benny mmmmmmm.

[cooksdelight]

Diva Chef Elise was one of the most despised contestants ever on Hell's Kitchen. So much so, I actually did a really goofy looking sketch of her to post online. But she was smiling last night, at least, which is more than I ever saw her do before.

Maybe Duff put a dollop of cake icing on his head to get the hat to stick?

[backformore]

This may seem like a strange question, but, does anyone else think the prizes on this show are too high?  The contestants only have to cook for one night, whereas on Top Chef, for practically the same amount of money, they have to endure weeks and weeks of cooking challenges and the professional chefs on ths show don't seem that concerned about losing.

 

I agree.  It does seem like an insane amount of money.  AND -  what's in it for the professional chefs if they win?   If the home chef has a good enough sob story, we're supposed to be rooting for the home chef.  So the pros are the "bad guys"?   

I was interested in the show, but how many times did we have to hear the mom talk about her daughter's disability and the device she wanted to purchase?  it seemed like she had to mention it at the beginning, and then at least once during each segment. ENOUGH already!   

 

(and, yeah, i'm skeptical of a device that can read a kid's thoughts through their retinas, but that's just me.) 

[mlp]

 

How the Hell did Duff keep that stupid hat on his bald head?  Did he have a velcro implant?

 

I kept wondering the same thing.  It was very distracting.  And not a bit attractive.

[jhlipton]

I'm skeptical of a device that can read a kid's thoughts through their retinas, but that's just me.) 

 

Roger Ebert had and Stephan Hawkings has one, I believe.  It's fairly easy to see where the retina is tracking, and to pick letters and words based on that.  You don't get true "speech" but it's as close as you can come.

[Violet Penner]

I would like the host to stop saying "Do you realize you just made a $15,000 burger?" after each winning round. Does not need to be said every time.

I feel a little embarrassed that I'm recognizing all of these food show castoff chefs.

Also, why does the audience groan after Adam says the verdict is 3-2 or whatever it is each time. Shut up, audience.

[cooksdelight]

I envision a flashing sign that says "MOAN LOUDLY" or "YELL IN OUTRAGE" much like the "APPLAUSE" sign. Which is still in use today.

[QuelleC]

I feel like I'm missing something not knowing all these cast off chefs.  But I'm probably not. 

 

At least the guy last week didn't repeat his sob story as much as Plastic Annie did.  I cannot get her obnoxiousness off my brain.

 

So woo hoo, get ready everybody for the pre-prepped tupperware containers of chicken cubes, pastry, mixed eggs, etc.  And WTF the other week when everybody was tearing open little packets for whatever seasoning they were using?  This isn't a cooking show.

 

As far as the judging we get one positive comment and one negative comment and lucky you if you notice the 2 seconds they show the actual dish. 

 

ETA:  Ugh, over the top Courtney.  Are all of these people friends of NBC producers?  She's not broke, that's for sure.  And it's not a good sign when I look away from the teevee more often than not to avoid the exaggerated expressions.  Mommy and daddy think you're cute, me not so much. Aww, you can't afford to go on your fucking vacation?  Life is tough.

Edited August 20, 2014 by QuelleC

[cooksdelight]

Is this the first time someone's won every round? Call me cynical, but the diamonds in her wedding band set were huge and I kept thinking "she needs money?" OK, rant over....

The one lady on the tasting panel had nothing nice to say, at all. I wonder if they tell one of them "YOU! You get to be the bad guy, so be negative."

I didn't learn anything from this show except that my biscuits and gravy rock, my chocolate torte is the bomb, and I'd never want to eat lobster with stuffing.

[smashling]

The previews before every ad break showed Courtney lining up with the next chef, so you always knew that she won - it was annoying

[cooksdelight]

Each home cook plays every round. Regardless of whether they win or not. They are there for all five rounds.

[Wings]

Is this the first time someone's won every round? Call me cynical, but the diamonds in her wedding band set were huge and I kept thinking "she needs money?" OK, rant over....

The one lady on the tasting panel had nothing nice to say, at all. I wonder if they tell one of them "YOU! You get to be the bad guy, so be negative."

I didn't learn anything from this show except that my biscuits and gravy rock, my chocolate torte is the bomb, and I'd never want to eat lobster with stuffing.

 

 Ha ha ha!  I agree with your last sentence! 

 

The prerequisite is not needing the money.  The sob stories are silly; no one votes for you so why put it out there.  Perhaps there is a thought that someone will contact the show and help you financially.  That happens sometimes. 

 

The formula is easy.  Bring recipes that you know fancy chefs just do not prepare often, if at all.  A dessert is a slam dunk.  A grilled cheese sandwich from last week was a shocker though.

 

They choose which taster comments to air, I think they all have something to say and if you want your clip to show up on the show make smart/relevant comments.

 

Not the most interesting of cooking competitions but I will continue to watch.  Cooking is my creative hobby so I will sit though the worst of them! 

[TimetoShine]

Not me. I'm done. I'm tired listening to the sob stories. I could just tell she was about to bring it up each time.

[parrotlover]

Does this show seriously go looking for the most annoying home chefs? That's the only explanation I can find because I haven't liked any of them and find myself rooting for the professional chef to win. I have to say Chef Lorena Garcia seems like a very gracious and humble person and sincerely happy the home chef beat her. It's one of the lamest cooking shows I've ever seen but I love cooking shows so I'll keep watching!

[Bella]

It truly is lame. I record it, then come here to see if any of the five segments stood out as interesting. I think for the last episode, I FF'd so much of the show that I only watched about 10 minutes, total.

[cooksdelight]

The home cook turning her oven off and wondering why her stuffing wasn't baking was pretty amusing.

[mlp]

 

Does this show seriously go looking for the most annoying home chefs? That's the only explanation I can find because I haven't liked any of them and find myself rooting for the professional chef to win.

 

Me too although I did like the fellow who was on last week.  I didn't like this week's woman at all.  I wonder if all her attention at home really goes to the kid who's autistic or if she just made it seem that way.  I was feeling sorry for the other boy and her husband.  It seemed odd that her immediate family wasn't there but maybe the one kid is disruptive and the husband had to stay home with him.  I always feel sorry for normal kids who are being overshadowed by siblings with problems. 

 

My first exposure to Lorena Garcia was when she was on Top Chef Masters.  I didn't like her then but I have liked her every time I've seen her since so I'm now thinking it was never really her causing my dislike; it was Patricia Yeo.

[nottopbravo]

 

Call me cynical, but the diamonds in her wedding band set were huge

 

At one point I had to put my sunglasses on.

 

I must say Chef Hop Phan was a dick.  " I feed thousands of people and what, you feed a family?"  A dick indeed.

[BMGepinniw]

I liked Sarge on the show tonight.  No real sob story, but I couldn't get over how humble and matter of fact he was about all his military service.  Nine months of physiotherapy after being injured in combat, and then he went back to Afghanistan for a third tour of duty?  I believe he said he had 23 years of active service.  I salute you, sir. 

 

Sarge wanted to take the family - his mother, his wife and their seven kids to Jamaica.  But I don't know how he expected to do that AND buy a house so everyone had "elbow room".  Even if he had won each cook off, it still wouldn't have been enough.  A downpayment  perhaps.  Although their current house seemed quite nice, so maybe if it's free and clear, with his winnings plus what he'd get for selling the place, I guess it could work. 

 

When he beat Cat Cora in a unanimous decision, I was blown away.  I think she was too.  Her voice over was commenting about people going for the familiar taste and style, rather than her "kicked up" version. 

 

Who else is tired of the term "fusion"?  I realize that's the new style, but that seems to be what all the pros do, until they hear the home cook's challenge.  "Oh yeah, I'm southern.  I know my way around some okra."

Edited August 27, 2014 by BMGepinniw

[mlp]

I liked Sarge too.  In fact, he's the first contestant I have liked.  Glad he won a nice amount.  His daughter seemed to be in tears a lot.  It made me wonder what kind of injury he had to win a Purple Heart and then fight his way back from.  She was clearly proud of him.

 

I was glad to see that Eric Greenspan has cleaned up.  The last time I saw him, he had dark stubble all over his huge face and neck and he looked vaguely sinister and unclean.  I like him so I was happy to see him look better although I wish he'd lose some of that weight before he drops dead.

[cooksdelight]

I wish Sarge had won more money, he's got a lot of mouths to feed. And I liked him the best of all the previous contestants too. He seemed to be enjoying himself a lot, maybe he'll now try out for Chopped or something and add to his winnings. That's one home cook I wouldn't mind seeing make the rounds of cooking contests.

[ari333]

I'm still new to this show. I tried to watch it a couple of weeks ago, but I guess I had a meh eppy as my first shot at it. This one, however, I actually enjoyed. Loved the dad chef soldier. I guess I'm in. :)

[ari333]

Quotable quote from this eppy for me was from a "dinner party" judge in the third challenge. "In terms of chicken, the overall texture was really put on a pedi-stool of perfection." I almost swallowed my Fresca wrong.

[QuelleC]

I think it's hilarious that no one cares enough about this show to comment about tonight.

[mlp]

I thought I'd like this show but so much of it seems scripted and phony that I'm watching because of the celebrity chefs, not because I really like the show.  The woman tonight, a teacher, annoyed me right off the bat when she said something about "bringing" her family to Italy if she won the money instead of "taking" them.  A teacher!  I was waiting for her to begin a sentence with "Me and my husband..."  Happily, she didn't. 

 

Anyhow, the cooking times are often way too short for what they're making, the ovens have mysterious problems, the banter between cooks sounds scripted and forced and the dinner party is suspect.  I wonder how they get all the legitimate chefs to participate.  Must pay well.

[cooksdelight]

I think the dinner party people must be actors. And one is ALWAYS picked to play the part of the diner who finds fault with everything. And it always seems to be the one sitting in the middle. There's Happy Diner, Gourmet Diner, Fault-Finding Diner, I'll Eat Anything Diner and I Don't Care I'm Just Here For The Food Diner.

The teacher irked me. I don't know if it was her facial expressions or what, but I was secretly glad she lost a few rounds. And one more "poor me" wife on the show with a huge fricken' diamond wedding set on her finger. I was blinded a few times.

As to the ovens, I think it's a case of them not knowing how to operate them. This is twice now that someone couldn't figure out how to turn it on. The pros don't seem to have a problem, maybe because they've used all different types of equipment. Just the two well-off diamond-studded women who can't figure out how to operate a digital oven.

[parrotlover]

Oh Lord this show. And yes I have no one to blame because I've watched it without coersion every week! They seriously must look for the most annoying home cooks on Planet Earth and last night was no exception. I was almost giddy when she lost two rounds in a row and was hoping she had lost a couple of more.

 

It's more contrived than MasterChef or Hell's Kitchen and that's saying a lot. It does seem like there's several scripts: one for the home chef - sob story or I want to take my family on a trip, along with their lines to use when bantering with the celebrity chef, one for the celebrity chef-playful or arrogant banter with the home cook, and one for the "dinner party" guests who love it, hate it, or wished the dish had more_______,

 

That darn oven. I sure hope they get it fixed before the next episode. Insert sarcasm icon.

Edited September 3, 2014 by parrotlover