S18.E05: Meet You At The Drive-In

[Calamity Jane]

This sort of challenge always makes me think that I would be frozen in place, staring ahead like a deer in the headlights, unable to think of how to relate those categories to food. My hat’s off to them for coming up with anything, much less with a convincing narrative. It was fun to watch them scramble, and really fun to watch the reactions. I thought Padma was great in her intros to each genre, too.

Jamie’s odd chirps and squeaks are a bit annoying, but I’m wondering if she has aphasia, which might mean she struggles to find the word she wants. I had a good friend who had aphasia and compensated by spelling in ASL or using her hands to give clues to her meaning. Just for that reason, Jamie didn’t bother me much. 

I’m still enjoying this season. I love the overall cooperation and mutual support the contestants show. Gabriel is not the most appealing of the bunch, but compared to some previous seasons’ jerks, he’s pretty mild in his obnoxiousness. And at least he does have cooking chops, so there’s that. 

[Irlandesa]

12 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

Wow at the popcorn beating the ribs.  I get that Dawn made good popcorn...but really?  Chris really must have screwed up the ribs, because I'm pretty sure people would pick good ribs over good popcorn any day. 

I'd probably be the popcorn picker so I might be biased but I believe she added duck skin to her popcorn.  If good and unusual popcorn went up against ribs done in a that didn't feel new or special to me, I could see why she won.  You can have ribs at any time but duck skin popcorn is harder to find.

For the record, it sounds like there was a lot of spice on the outside of the ribs that didn't make it inside of the ribs. 

[Leeds]

Sorry to vent, but two comments that bothered me:

Guest judge:  "I just had a little baby boy."  No you didn't, your wife did.

Maria: "Every mom tries to watch their weight."  Not true.

[meep.meep]

I was glad that everyone eating got to vote.  So much is determined by the judges, it's good to get the perspective from other people for once.  Especially when they went against the judges conclusions.

Looked like a good approach to the challenge was to make a dish you might eat at a movie already, and jazz it up.  The popcorn, milkshake, and hot dog would be examples.  I loved Tom taking Gail's extra popcorn and just pouring it into his mouth.  It must have been great.  Are any of the recipes going up on Bravo's website?

The quickfire was my idea of hell - I love roses but hate the taste of rosewater. It's like soap.

[carrps]

13 hours ago, akr said:

I rewound to catch the description: duck skin furikake popcorn, and spiced caramel popcorn

Why don't be have a drooling face "vote" button???

I thought Padma was wonderfully cheesy in her intros. She committed, and it worked. I loved the people talking to other cars and being surprised by the different opinions of the food. 

Gabriel, yeah, I wouldn't have mourned his getting eliminated.

[stewedsquash]

I want that popcorn something bad right now.

Ugh, my first dislike, Maria. My childhood was filled with having to deal with a mother's emotional baggage. She is making this so much more than the food and that is a nope for me. She has been in her feelings since the beginning but I was willing to give her a chance. I hope she is different next week. 

I felt like Jamie kind of gave up from the get go. I don't know if it was the theme, that it was a team challenge, or what but she was not really into it. Her White Castle/slider was a great idea for the theme and for a munchable item in a car. I hope she makes it back in.

I am a Mama and I hate the whole Mother's Day schtick. 

I needed a Jamie wah wah trombone sound after Gabriel did his I have a yucky mother TH. I love him just for being honest about it. I hope he makes it to at least top four. 

Did not make the connection of this episode being the restaurant wars episode. 

 

 

[Leeds]

On 4/20/2021 at 7:01 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

Who has ever coined their own nickname that stuck? 

I'm old and I still remember the day I stood with my friends in the grade school playground and we came up with nicknames for ourselves.  We live thousands of miles apart now, 50-ish years later, and still address each other the same way.  (And the nicknames are pretty embarrassing!)

[dleighg]

37 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

Did not make the connection of this episode being the restaurant wars episode

I don't think it is. The restaurant wars episode is going to be a chef's table type thing where the judges sit in the kitchen while they cook.

[Leeds]

Maybe it's my TV or my eyesight, but am I the only one who sees the yellow team as orange?

[carrps]

8 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Maybe it's my TV or my eyesight, but am I the only one who sees the yellow team as orange?

Looked yellow on my TV.

[seltzer3]

I wonder if Shota got his inspiration from Japan's trend of making a black whopper.

It looked like it should have been a 4-0 sweep for the Green team, especially with everyone raving about Avishar's smore ice cream.
Also the line up for the yellow team is pretty bad when you think about it.  
1. Soggy sticky Wings
2. Soggy sticky ribs.
3. Soggy cauliflower tater tots
4. Pupusas which can be greasy.
5. Corn dog that has this black ashy stuff

Like I hope all the poor drivers were given tons of hand sanitizers and wipes because that would be really annoying to have all that crap all over your hands.

Also, I didn't realize that the drivers were watching and listening to everything that goes on in the kitchen.  That meant they overheard Gabriel swearing at the judges result...awkward.

Edited April 30, 2021 by seltzer3

[Cotypubby]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

Sorry to vent, but two comments that bothered me:

Guest judge:  "I just had a little baby boy."  No you didn't, your wife did.

Semantics. He didn't say "I just gave birth to a baby boy," he said "I just had a little baby boy," which is true. He did. I think it's great when fathers acknowledge their kids.

[stewedsquash]

54 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I don't think it is. The restaurant wars episode is going to be a chef's table type thing where the judges sit in the kitchen while they cook.

Oh, okay good! I thought someone mentioned that this was the restaurant wars alternative. 

I love ribs but I hope there is not another rib dish during this season. 

When he said Just let us cook the food, I wondered if Shota was in the room last episode when Tom admonished the bottom three (and the winning ones) at judges table that they give these challenges to force them be better (bad paraphrase, but that's the gist) and the only time they get to cook unhindered is when they get to the last episode, top three. 

Re: the poster who noticed Blaise being fit in his t-shirt. I thought he looked good but I hated his shoes. I have pretty much hated every guest judge's fashion choices this season. 

Padma looked so gorgeous during the QF that I did a little gasp and stopped just to look at her lipstick color. 

 

 

[bosawks]

I enjoyed Richard this episode.

Words that I never thought I’d string together in a post but there ya go...

[albarino]

I am the first to admit I can be a little obtuse but what did chicken have to do with humor/comedy?  I think I would have done something with pop rocks if I could find it in Whole Foods.  Brother Luck (remember him?) had a dish with pop rocks in one of his restaurants that I liked and thought it was fun.  

But I do think there should have been more conversation about the eatability of some of the dishes at a Drive In.  I was thinking about the Romance course and I thought the milkshake was perfect.  My first thought was something with chocolate but what can you do at a Drive In?  Unrelated, but ribs?  At a Drive In?  No (for me).  I think that part of the critique was missing.

 

[Leeds]

19 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

Semantics. He didn't say "I just gave birth to a baby boy," he said "I just had a little baby boy," which is true. He did. I think it's great when fathers acknowledge their kids.

Oh of course fathers should acknowledge their children (why on worth wouldn't they?), but (as a mother), a guy saying "I just had a baby boy" is equivalent to saying "I just had an appendectomy" when it's your spouse who's recovering from one.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Leeds

[bosawks]

I think Sara’s, “Not really, causssseee, it’s a milkshake.”, was some seriously underrated snark to Gabriel aka Tater Tot.

Edited May 1, 2021 by bosawks

[blixie]

Quote

Never listen to Gabriel’s meddling. He’s afraid of flavor, which works for his refined style but not for others. Dawn had to fight him to use pepper on hearty ribs. We saw that wimpy ribs can get panned in this episode. And Jamie got railroaded into making a dish she couldn’t stand behind. White castle style sliders would’ve been perfect as it referenced a specific comedy  

Yeah I would have gotten rid of Gabriel (those were some fuckin sad tots), and I think it shows how different this show is from where it started because I would have thrown him under the bus, but Jamie wrote her own ticket by just going along with his/teams every suggestion. I also have to wonder why more people didn't have thoughts like Jamies about Harold and Kumar Go to White Castles, aka a specific movie, which leads me to believe they were warned they couldn't name check a specific movie as inspiration? But as a huge movie fan/foodie I was surprise more of them didn't use a specific genre movie as a jumping off point.

I thought it was super hilarious after Jamie got knifed, she told everyone she didn't even make any noise (barely) and someone was like '....uh you kinda DID' LOL. I think it's so funny, but yes kind of annoying so hopefully in LCK she re-finds her footing. So far I'd like her or Kiki to come out of there with a second chance. So happy that Byron got a win, and I guess I'm the lone Maria fan, I thought it made a ton of sense for her to feel like her food wasn't making an impression good or bad (we know they have mostly really liked her food and she's been close to the final three at least once before). I used to have a soccer coach who "would" coach everybody but me and one other girl and she constantly was bummed out by it, whereas I just said I assume I am perfect, there is literally nothing I could do better. So yeah I was glad she finally got some feedback and can stop sweating that her food is good and that it's not a question of how Mexican it is. 

I was totally with Tom on the Avishar smores v. Nelson dish. Nelson's looked good, but  not better than smores ice cream which for sure one the most thematically on point dish that also tasted good.

Edited May 1, 2021 by blixie

[albarino]

This is only me but I have lots of time to think (husband will be home tomorrow after three weeks away) so I am thinking about foods that may have been good for the movie challenge.  I'm not a chef, I don't particularly like to cook but I don't miss a meal.

For Drama, I've been thinking about the Greek (?) Comedy/Tragedy masks and think a sweet/sour sauce would be perfect.  Perhaps with a spring roll to dip into it?

Action?  I keep going back to movement.  Perhaps a lobster claw? Pinch. Pinch?  Wings had already been done but could have worked.  Humor and chicken had zero connection to me.  Oooh, for humor, how about the Duff/Valerie challenge that is a play on food look-alikes?  Something looking sweet which is a savory dish?  That would be cute.  You aren't doing fine dining with this challenge. Only takes me 24 hours to come up with something!  Ha.

Oooh, how about for horror, having a small chicken pot pie or mini muffin tin pie with chicken feet coming out of it?  Or something served with a knife?

Yes, I really have too much time on my hands!  Just sorta fun to ponder.

[bosawks]

I think I would have gone with some sort of pork satay for Sci Fi.

”May The Pork Be With You” but after that I got nothing.

[HighQueenEB]

13 hours ago, Lassus said:

I was kind of disappointed that this theater/movie challenge didn't include some bit of a shoutout to McMenamins. I assume they are still a thing out there?  Seemed an odd missed opportunity to show some Portland bona fides.

Yes, McMenamins is still a Portland classic but, like most of the restaurant and entertainment industry here, they've been shut down most of the pandemic.  I'm pretty sure that last fall when they were filming most of the movie theaters in the PDX Metro were still closed - most only just started re-opening in March when the governor eased the restrictions about serving food in movie theaters.

5 hours ago, Leeds said:

Maybe it's my TV or my eyesight, but am I the only one who sees the yellow team as orange?

Looked orange to me too.  It wasn't until they were showing the scores on the screen in the classic Ducks green and yellow that I realized the "yellow" team was not wearing orange aprons.  And then I decided there better be a challenge that has an orange team and a black team.  Because, you know, Beavers gotta represent too.

[Domenicholas]

If I had to do this challenge, I would be so tongue-in-cheek about it.

Comedy: Nachos and cheese, because it's na-cho cheese! (Rimshot)

Romance: Pretzels, because lovers are always tied together.

Horror: Fried crickets, because bugs scare me.

Action: Kebabs, because they're like little swords!

Sci-Fi: Cheesesticks, because cheese makes up the moon!

Drama: Chocolate balls filled with different ingredients, because you don't know what to expect!

[ilovebeaarthur]

7 hours ago, Leeds said:

Sorry to vent, but two comments that bothered me:

Guest judge:  "I just had a little baby boy."  No you didn't, your wife did.

Maria: "Every mom tries to watch their weight."  Not true.

Thank you for the reminder! When Maria said that, I turned to my husband and rolled my eyes. 

[Calamity Jane]

7 hours ago, Leeds said:

Maybe it's my TV or my eyesight, but am I the only one who sees the yellow team as orange?

Definitely orange, and a pretty deep orange at that on my set. 

57 minutes ago, Domenicholas said:

If I had to do this challenge, I would be so tongue-in-cheek about it.

Comedy: Nachos and cheese, because it's na-cho cheese! (Rimshot)

Romance: Pretzels, because lovers are always tied together.

Horror: Fried crickets, because bugs scare me.

Action: Kebabs, because they're like little swords!

Sci-Fi: Cheesesticks, because cheese makes up the moon!

Drama: Chocolate balls filled with different ingredients, because you don't know what to expect!

I wish my mind worked like that!

[TzuShih]

21 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

Padma's intros were hilariously cringey.  Along with all the chef's intros.  Majority of them should not try to do stand up comedy.  I did love Tom sinking down in his seat getting second hand embarrassment watching Padma's intros. 

No no no no no no!   Padma cracked me up -- she was totally aware of her "Don't call us....we'll call you" performing skills.  She was so totally laughing along WITH US!  😆

P.S.  Gotta say tho....what a conglomerated chaotic fiasco "Movie Night" turned out to be.  'Tween the 'drive-in puddles'; the judges crammed into no-elbow room front seats; the complicated mish-mash of categories, etc, etc, etc., the fun of it was lost a bit in translation.  (But, fer shure, I can visualize Top Chef's creative crew huddled around a table and howling hysterically at the potential hilarity of this concept.  And, yup, it ALMOST worked.  Just a bit too confusing for the chefs and the viewers.)  Good try, though.

[Vermicious Knid]

I tried riced cauliflower and it was disgusting.

Jamie has been doing interviews with Eater Vegas on each episode. They're more recaps but she does say a couple of things more. Warning for spoilers on LCK.

Had my checkup this week. I've been trying to cut down on my salt, I'm older and have some health issues and they keep telling us how much excess salt is in prepared foods. So ironically, turns out...my sodium level is too low. I heard Tom in my head "It needs more salt!"

[Yeah No]

22 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

Yeah the movie themes, never really liked them, because of the ridiculously loose interpretation.  Like I kind of understood Shota, for going so literal, and almost getting screwed up for it.  Like how is Korean Fried Chicken comedy? 

From the looks of her food one might think she was evoking the proverbial rubber chicken used in old comedies!

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, Leeds said:

Sorry to vent, but two comments that bothered me:

Guest judge:  "I just had a little baby boy."  No you didn't, your wife did.

Technically it's his child as much as hers but usually it's more appropriate to use "we" in this case over "I".

34 minutes ago, TzuShih said:

No no no no no no!   Padma cracked me up -- she was totally aware of her "Don't call us....we'll call you" performing skills.  She was so totally laughing along WITH US!  😆

 

Yeah, Padma's act was completely tongue in cheek.  She is well aware of her limitations.  Better to parody herself than to make a serious attempt that failed.

[Rai]

I mean, I hear Korean Fried Chicken, and I think of Kentucky Fried Movie, but I'm old now. Also I just make weird connections.

[Panda Bear]

39 minutes ago, Rai said:

I mean, I hear Korean Fried Chicken, and I think of Kentucky Fried Movie, but I'm old now. Also I just make weird connections.

I thought of the same thing, so I guess we're both old! 

[JBurg58]

12 hours ago, Fukui San said:

Tom also did not call anyone a "#%(*^! Donkey!".

I bet he wanted to 😁

[JBurg58]

12 hours ago, dleighg said:

Do you think they fudged that? It sure seemed "suspiciously dramatic."

I think all the reality cooking shows steal from each other. 

[dleighg]

8 hours ago, blixie said:

So far I'd like her or Kiki to come out of there with a second chance.

so supposedly it's a double elimination next week, and THEN the next winner of LCK after that is coming back to the main event.

[Fostersmom]

23 hours ago, staphdude said:

Maria is annoying. Doesn’t seem like a standout in the group and too much self pity

Strange someone would tell Tom they want “ to beat that Italian boy...”

Imagine the shit fit she would have thrown if he had referred to her as the Mexican girl. And where did that comment even come from? Has Gabriel been constantly saying he's Italian? Until she said Italian boy, I had never heard him, or anyone else for that matter, mention him being Italian. I caught Maria's stank face again this week when someone else was getting praise during the quick fire. Self pity is the perfect way to explain her attitude. 

15 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Ugh, my first dislike, Maria. My childhood was filled with having to deal with a mother's emotional baggage. She is making this so much more than the food and that is a nope for me. She has been in her feelings since the beginning but I was willing to give her a chance. I hope she is different next week. 

I needed a Jamie wah wah trombone sound after Gabriel did his I have a yucky mother TH. I love him just for being honest about it. I hope he makes it to at least top four. 

Yeah, Maria is really the only one I don't care for too. She's not bringing it and I've been over her since the get go. I don't mind Gabriel either. Yeah, he might be a bit more outspoken than some of the others, but he's not a jackass about it. With Jamie's chicken wings this week, his aim was to avoid dried out chicken, not to encourage gummy skin. And we've seen enough cooking shows to know dried out chicken is barely better than raw. 

[Yeah No]

7 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

Imagine the shit fit she would have thrown if he had referred to her as the Mexican girl. And where did that comment even come from? Has Gabriel been constantly saying he's Italian? Until she said Italian boy, I had never heard him, or anyone else for that matter, mention him being Italian. I caught Maria's stank face again this week when someone else was getting praise during the quick fire. Self pity is the perfect way to explain her attitude.

Thanks for bringing that up, it got under my skin too that it's somehow OK for a non-white person to refer to someone white by their ethnicity in such a manner, but if the shoe were on the other foot and Gabriel called someone an "Asian boy" or even worse "Black Boy" there would be a hue and cry about it being a prejudicial and condescending comment and everyone would be calling Gabriel a dick for it.  I am Italian American so that got under my skin because despite our PC culture these days it still seems to be OK to make such comments about Italian Americans in public without anyone objecting.

[Chyromaniac]

14 hours ago, albarino said:

 

I am the first to admit I can be a little obtuse but what did chicken have to do with humor/comedy?  I think I would have done something with pop rocks if I could find it in Whole Foods.

 

They talked about how rubber chickens are an old-timey comedy prop, as well as the wings being “funny bones.”  I think if they were better executed, they would have been fine for the theme- Jamie’s problem (besides Gabriel’s meddling) was that she already did a good wing, so she had to do something different this time.

 I also thought pop rocks would be great for this challenge- but I would have used them for “action” or “sci-fi” to simulate an explosion, especially if they make them in that Hot Tamales “cinnamon“ flavor.  Come to think of it, using them for “romantic fireworks” on the milkshake would’ve been aces as well.  Otherwise, I know you can make them at home, but I don’t know how long or involved the process is.

[theatremouse]

On 4/30/2021 at 5:54 AM, dleighg said:

Did anyone else think they were awfully hard on the losing team critiques? I mean 3 of them won the side-by-side! 

I think a bunch of the h2h were "both are bad but someone's gotta win" - and probably just Avishar's h2h was "both were good". So I didn't find it overly harsh.

Clearly none of the chefs watch Bob's Burgers because if they did, they could've taken this challenge, thought of a dish they could kick ass with, that's easy to eat in a car, then come up with a pun-tastic name for it that fits whatever genre they're assigned, and call it a day. No convoluted stories necessary.

[seltzer3]

So I'm curious what would happen Avishar beat Nelson.  Would they continue serving the drivers food (since the Green team automatically won)?  Or would they stop (kind of like All-Stars where Jamie essentially weaseled her way out from serving food).

Like if its the latter I can see how it incentivizes the comeback of the yellow team. I mean if I'm the driver, I would be like "Hey Avishar, I really like your ice cream, but I really want more food.  So Nelson it is"

Edited May 1, 2021 by seltzer3

[Chyromaniac]

26 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

So I'm curious what would happen Avishar beat Nelson.  Would they continue serving the drivers food (since the Green team automatically won)?  Or would they stop (kind of like All-Stars where Jamie essentially weaseled her way out from serving food).

Like if its the latter I can see how it incentivizes the comeback of the yellow team. I mean if I'm the driver, I would be like "Hey Avishar, I really like your ice cream, but I really want more food.  So Nelson it is"

They would have kept going regardless - they still had to determine an overall winner and loser.  While the team challenge basically decided which group would have the best or worst, they would still have to try all the dishes to make those calls.

[Josiemae]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Thanks for bringing that up, it got under my skin too that it's somehow OK for a non-white person to refer to someone white by their ethnicity in such a manner, but if the shoe were on the other foot and Gabriel called someone an "Asian boy" or even worse "Black Boy" there would be a hue and cry about it being a prejudicial and condescending comment and everyone would be calling Gabriel a dick for it.  I am Italian American so that got under my skin because despite our PC culture these days it still seems to be OK to make such comments about Italian Americans in public without anyone objecting.

Thank you for saying this! Especially in light of the "too white" comment a couple of weeks ago. 

[The Solution]

11 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Imagine the shit fit she would have thrown if he had referred to her as the Mexican girl. And where did that comment even come from? Has Gabriel been constantly saying he's Italian? Until she said Italian boy, I had never heard him, or anyone else for that matter, mention him being Italian.

I am both Italian American and Latino and I didn't see anything wrong with it, especially in the context in which Maria said it. She was clearly joking, and many of us with these backgrounds realize that we are all underdogs in America. Gabriel didn't seem horribly upset about it either.

(Yes, it would have been different if a WASP had made the comment due to their still-privileged status in America.)

I tend to see the complaining about Maria as a means of denigrating her.

Sorry. I tried not to comment on this, but I think I have a viewpoint and am not liking what people are saying about Maria.

Edited May 1, 2021 by The Solution
Clarifying one comment

[Calamity Jane]

38 minutes ago, The Solution said:

I am both Italian American and Latino and I didn't see anything wrong with it, especially in the context in which Maria said it. She was clearly joking, and many of us with these backgrounds realize that we are all underdogs in America. Gabriel didn't seem horribly upset about it either.

(Yes, it would have been different if a WASP had made the comment due to their still-privileged status in America.)

I tend to see the complaining about Maria as a means of denigrating her.

Sorry. I tried not to comment on this, but I think I have a viewpoint and am not liking what people are saying about Maria.

I have a tendency to root for tough women, so Maria isn’t bothering me. Her food always sounds like what I’d like to try.  I hope she goes far. And if the recipient of the comment was ok with it, i guess the rest of us can be, too?

[Phebemarie]

Feature story from The Oregonian about Thursday's episode.  

https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2021/05/what-was-it-like-at-the-top-chef-portland-drive-in-rain-a-scary-corndog-a-fogged-up-windshield-and-more.html

[Cheyanne11]

I thought Padma's movie intros were fun and she really leaned into it!

I was, however, rolling my eyes at Tom trying to sway votes at the drive-in. He's so incredulous when someone disagrees with him.

Also, I desperately want a big bucket of Dawn's popcorn.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Cheyanne11

[staphdude]

12 hours ago, Rai said:

Yeah, the power dynamics of a woman of color saying it about a white Italian American guy are vastly different from the opposite scenario. I'm surprised there's still confusion around that point and am similarly uncomfortable with harshing on Maria for it. I mean, I can't stop anyone from being offended at whatever. But my response will be best summarized as "yikes."

For me it was just amusing because it was said to Tom-another “Italian Boy”. 

[stewedsquash]

I thought Maria was clearly joking towards Gabriel with Tom and Blaise, it came across to me as some trash talk, in a competitive way or even what would happen in the real kitchen world. Yet I also think that she was sending a message to Tom and substituted Italian boy because can you really say "I just want to beat your boy, Tom" to Tom? She was getting a point across to him without being exact. There was a whole lot of animosity in the jab, towards Tom and towards Gabriel, which is unwarranted in my opinion, if it is based on thinking there is an edge for Gabriel on the show. And while I don't think she was being racist or derogatory towards Gabriel in this instance, I do think she judges people based on their race and ethnicity. 

I thought her EC dish was perfection, food wise and adhering to the challenge wise. I hope that since she got her validation that she is there because she can cook (Tom) and that she is a fearless cook (Blaise),  she will get out of her feelings and continue to do well and make good food. 

Because I really don't want her to become my Kevin Gillespie All Stars season of this season,  who had a lot of "feelings" and flamed out, lol. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by stewedsquash
Tom, not Tim

[AriAu]

Quote

I’m still enjoying this season. I love the overall cooperation and mutual support the contestants show. Gabriel is not the most appealing of the bunch, but compared to some previous seasons’ jerks, he’s pretty mild in his obnoxiousness. And at least he does have cooking chops, so there’s that. 

I agree with all of the above....but I am finding it boring. Everyone is being pretty careful...its almost like they have watched all the past seasons and figured out what NOT to do and how NOT to act. On the other hand, the food has seemed good, but not spectacular and other than Gabe's dish last week and a couple of Shota's the judges haven't gotten too excited either. The eliminations have been pretty non-controversial.....Jamie was a pretty easy call this week since no judge seemed to enjoy her dish or even think that she challenged herself very much, and only Gabriel's tots were in the running.

Quote

I didn’t mind the movie genre tie in. It gave them something to be “inspired” by and talk about besides their personal feelings/life stories.

Except that none of the cheftestants seemed to be all that inspired by any movie or any movie genre. They followed the tried and true formula of cooking what they wanted and then coming up with some story to match it...other than Shota's dog (horror) story. I'm surprised someone didn't pick out a famous movie based on the category and go with that, like my favorite comedy is When Harry Met Sally so I did a play on a pastrami sandwich or something "on the side".

By the way, Tom getting outvoted on Avishar's dish should quiet down the conspiracy theorists on this site that seem to think that Tom always carries the day!

Edited May 2, 2021 by AriAu

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, AriAu said:

I'm surprised someone didn't pick out a famous movie based on the category and go with that, like my favorite comedy is When Harry Met Sally

someone upstream speculated that perhaps they were told not to mention particular movies for some sort of copyright reasons. I Am Not A Lawyer so don't ask me.

[meep.meep]

What was Avishar referring to when he introduced himself and said they could "call him Danny?"

 

[snarktini]

On 4/30/2021 at 8:33 PM, TzuShih said:

No no no no no no!   Padma cracked me up -- she was totally aware of her "Don't call us....we'll call you" performing skills.  She was so totally laughing along WITH US!  😆

 

She had a blast and was def laughing at herself! During this episode my BF announced she's now his celebrity crush. Which isn't great news for me since I look approximately 0% like Padma!

On 4/30/2021 at 8:54 PM, Yeah No said:

From the looks of her food one might think she was evoking the proverbial rubber chicken used in old comedies!

She was!

On 5/1/2021 at 6:58 AM, Chyromaniac said:

They talked about how rubber chickens are an old-timey comedy prop, as well as the wings being “funny bones.”

See, Chyromaniac has it covered :D

Though she certainly didn't intend for her chicken to literally taste rubber-y.