S13.W4 (E15-20)

[Athena]

Begins Sunday May 9, 2021.

[katisha]

Gah, how many cucumber granitas did we end up with tonight - eight?  Originality is not the strong suit of this bunch of contestants, is it?

Conor, I don't care what the judges said - black olives are black olives and ice cream is ice cream and never the twain shall meet.  🤮

Someone needs to tell TPTB that the actual expression is "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", not "the proof is in the pudding".  Guess it doesn't matter since only one cheftestant went there with that expression.

I must admit, I'm a bit surprised that they booted Miss Insta over Jess (we've barely seen her on camera) and Eric (because so much was made of his carbonara drama). But I've never been a fan so I'm OK with Wynona going. 

On a shallow note, Depinder looked lovely tonight with her hair out.  

Edit - Good recap here.

Quote

Conor is making a black olive ice-cream, because if How To Succeed In MasterChef week has taught him anything, it's that when in doubt, put a really disgusting flavour into ice-cream. This is Conor's idea of "cool as a cucumber". "To me, cool is original," he says, without apparent irony regarding the fact that it would be impossible to think of anything less original than making ice-cream with an unusual ingredient on MasterChef.

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by katisha

[akr]

5 hours ago, katisha said:

To me, cool is original," he says, without apparent irony regarding the fact that it would be impossible to think of anything less original than making ice-cream with an unusual ingredient on MasterChef.

Not to mention, that it's essentially the same thing he did in the last episode, just different flavors. Cherry chiboust with coffee granita (with the granita getting all the praise); olive ice cream with cucumber granita. 

After hearing that 8 different people made cucumber granita, I'm probably not going to watch this one. The MCAU twitter feed has a 5 minute compilation on Pete's dish, and a bit shorter one on Tommy's, & I'm getting the impression nobody else did anything interesting, aside from Eric apparently making scrambled eggs instead of carbonara, and nearly lighting himself on fire; so - is there anything more I need to know? Probably not.

Honestly, in most years, wouldn't at least half of the contestants be cooking at Pete & Tommy's level?  At this point I usually have favorites and I just don't. Well, I like Depinder & Kishwar a lot, and I guess Tommy, and I can respect Pete & Therese, but after that they just kind of all blend together as people who sometimes cook good food but don't really have a ton of things in their head to draw on once they get past the dishes that got them on the show. So, after Conor (mulletbae? really?) has success with granita, everybody decides granita! is the way to go, I guess, because they don't have enough ideas of their own. 

Also there was a guy on twitter going on about how "desserts have spoiled Masterchef" and desserts aren't even really food, just elaborate playdough for children, that how often do you even order dessert when you go out to eat? - and I'm right there with him at this point. Carve off the desserts into a separate show (Reynold and someone who does pastry can host), or give them a season-long dessert budget (you can make up to ten desserts in a season, and then you're done), or something. Take away the ice cream machines, the blast chillers, and allow them only a very limited supply of sugar (I do want people to be able to pickle things & make nuoc cham, or fish sauce caramel for a hot pot, for example) for at least half of the challenges.

But, I know this show has a history with the elaborate desserts and a bunch of fans who grew up watching Masterchef & deciding they want to be the next Reynold, so that'll never happen. Still, I am beyond bored.

Here he is - Julian Brown, apparently a radio guy. twitter link to (embedded) Youtube video of him on the radio, on how "Desserts are Killing Masterchef." (text teaser: Desserts aren't food. It's edible Lego. Dayglo vanity projects for Instagram. Fancy children's food for overage sugar nazis."). https://twitter.com/JulianBrownNote/status/1391273438971523081?s=20

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by akr

[akr]

(On the other hand - I'm much more used to the phrase "the proof is in the pudding," than the longer version. Maybe it varies among the English-speaking countries.)

[Aerobicidal]

I can't say I'm sorry to see blushing instagram pork go, but Eric annoys me way more than her and seemed to do worse. I guess eliminating him wouldn't have heroed the "follow the brief" plot line, though.

Whoever is conceptualizing these themes deserves a huge raise. First, we get "chicken or the egg" and now not one but THREE food cliches in one episode. Hopefully the finale will be comprised solely of chicken cliches: why did the chicken cross the road (because there was a cucumber granita shaped like a mushroom waiting for it on the other side); count your chickens before they hatch (so you have enough eggs for your thigh meat granita); and the chickens come home to roost (inside of Blokey McBacon's beard).

And now we're transitioning from How to Succeed on Masterchef Week to Masters Week. The creativity is flowing faster than the melted cucumber water (or is that melted frozen liquid shortbread cucumber hero water?).

My main impression of this episode was that it felt really long. Conor (aka Therese 2.0 aka Reynold 6.66) may be impressing himself and the judges, but I give him a solid one out of ten.

In the context of her dish, I think Kishwar at least arguably deserves a pass for using granita. Arguably.

There's something about Pete's appearance and demeanor that convinces me he wouldn't succeed at pretty much anything, so his edit gives me cognitive dissonance. But if his food is as good as they say (which I always assume is not the case), good for him!

[displayname]

3 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

I can't say I'm sorry to see blushing instagram pork go, but Eric annoys me way more than her and seemed to do worse. I guess eliminating him wouldn't have heroed the "follow the brief" plot line, though.

Whoever is conceptualizing these themes deserves a huge raise. First, we get "chicken or the egg" and now not one but THREE food cliches in one episode. Hopefully the finale will be comprised solely of chicken cliches: why did the chicken cross the road (because there was a cucumber granita shaped like a mushroom waiting for it on the other side); count your chickens before they hatch (so you have enough eggs for your thigh meat granita); and the chickens come home to roost (inside of Blokey McBacon's beard).

And now we're transitioning from How to Succeed on Masterchef Week to Masters Week. The creativity is flowing faster than the melted cucumber water (or is that melted frozen liquid shortbread cucumber hero water?).

My main impression of this episode was that it felt really long. Conor (aka Therese 2.0 aka Reynold 6.66) may be impressing himself and the judges, but I give him a solid one out of ten.

In the context of her dish, I think Kishwar at least arguably deserves a pass for using granita. Arguably.

There's something about Pete's appearance and demeanor that convinces me he wouldn't succeed at pretty much anything, so his edit gives me cognitive dissonance. But if his food is as good as they say (which I always assume is not the case), good for him!

Getting back to your MC:US form I see. It's coming back soon! :D

[dippydee]

First up I’m amazed Melissa could walk in those shoes. My feet hurt just looking at them.
 

I rolled my eyes hard at them pretending that hitting the brief is important as 1) the brief is usually so vague anything could be adapted to fit it  and 2) the only time they use it is when they need an excuse to send someone home so they can save someone they like who had a crappy cook.

6 hours ago, katisha said:

Originality is not the strong suit of this bunch of contestants, is it?

For real! Elise wins the episode for me. I know she made an ice cream but at least it wasn’t the main focus of her dish and she was nowhere near a flipping cucumber granita, and sticky toffee/date pudding is one of favourite desserts. The judges need to take away their ice cream machines and blast chillers. Though I will admit a twisted part of me is now so numb I’m actually interested to see how far Therese can get exclusively making ice creams. 

6 hours ago, katisha said:

Conor, I don't care what the judges said - black olives are black olives and ice cream is ice cream and never the twain shall meet.  🤮

That was foul, it just looked so unappealing. I’m not happy the judges are encouraging this nonsense. It also strikes me as lazy. After olive oil cake and now olive ice cream. What’s next? He’s just going to serve them some green olives and call it a day? I feel like Conor is getting the judging I was expecting Brent to get, weird over praising over very basic things.

Edited May 9, 2021 by dippydee

[Rosenrot]

Well, I guess that at this point I just have respect for anyone who didn't make a cucumber granita! I watched with my parents who are visiting me and I literally said to them "wanna bet that someone will be making a cucumber granita?"; however I didn't expect to see, what, eight of them!?

The second Pete uttered out "cucumber dumplings" I thought he was a goner, because it sounded way too out there. Never been so happy to be wrong! 

Couldn't they have chosen "the proof is in the pudding" and just make any dessert? Or is it solely a British thing to refer to any and all desserts as "pudding"? 

I'm totally here for Dan and Jock's banter.

1 hour ago, akr said:

(text teaser: Desserts aren't food. It's edible Lego. Dayglo vanity projects for Instagram. Fancy children's food for overage sugar nazis.").

I feel like I might be an overage sugar nazi, tbh. 🤔  

9 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

I can't say I'm sorry to see blushing instagram pork go

Almost choked on my shrimp salad. 😂

[Niuxita]

Oh wow, they're really not hiding the fact that they're gunning for a male winner this season, huh? I'm not even a Wynona fan (although I don't see what's so wrong about her Instagram-ing her food?), but that was bull. Shit. This might be a controversial opinion, but hear me out: it seems to me that on a cooking reality show, what sends you home should be not getting the cooking part right, and not failing to adhere to a set of incredibly abstract and wildly subjective instructions. I'm actually so angry that I'm debating whether I even want to continue watching, because now I know what they're on about. My darling Kishwar will probably be eliminated on a technicality in a few weeks to make way for Conor the Culinary Genius.

Speaking of, God, he's this season's Reece, isn't he? There's NO WAY that simple ass, terrible-looking dish was one of the top.

I did get a laugh out of Elise's "Guys, there's 13 cucumber granitas in the freezer!" and Melissa's "On a day where we've eaten 10,000 granitas...", but it wasn't enough to wash off the bitter taste this episode left. 

[ChicagoMe]

Can they possibly give any more camera time to Conor? His mullet looks like a dead forest animal draped over his head - but it is clearly the most creative thing about him. Take away Therese's ice cream maker, remove Olive oil from Conor's stash, disallow any more granitas, and for god's sake, stop extending a 30 minute show to more than an hour. I had to fast forward through this a bit after I hit the 30 minute mark and 7th granita. The remaining top 5 are already clearly defined...the rest of the season will be watching the judges make fools of themselves with these ridiculous "briefs" which couldn't be a more appropriate name - it's like someone took a dirty pair of briefs, shook them out and the result went into the next cook - and watching the faces of the shocked and disappointed middling eliminated cooks. Covid is the biggest reason we all keep watching.

[displayname]

58 minutes ago, Niuxita said:

Oh wow, they're really not hiding the fact that they're gunning for a male winner this season, huh?

But who would that even be? Apart from maaaaaaaybe Tom I don't think any man has been impressive this season. I'd like Kishwar or Depinder to win, but the cast is just uncreative and boring as a whole this season.

[retrograde]

Ugh, as soon as they said "cool as a cucumber" I knew there would be 10,000 cucumber granitas. And clearly the producers knew too, so why go there?

Conor is fast becoming the Ben Ungermann of this season (minus the alleged creepy stuff) -- not the strongest cook, defaults to making wacky ice creams, is inexplicably praised by the judges for it. 

I'm starting to really like Pete -- he is very much doing his own thing away from a lot of the MC AU cliches, seems to care a lot about mastering classic techniques and is obviously not playing it safe. But I feel like the latter element could be his downfall -- you don't need to wow the judges in eliminations, you just need to not be the worst.

For someone who fancies himself a "native food expert", why does Jock feel so emasculated by the thought of cooking with ancient grains?  

[ChicagoMe]

I loved MC AU last year - despite the overexposure of Khan and Poe's teeth - they all proved themselves to be highly creative. When it got down to the final 15 I wondered how they would manage to continue eliminating. This season it seems we won't get any real surprises til we're down to the last few. I'm braced for a mediocre season. Hopefully MC UK will start up soon sans the charades of MC AU judges. Jess or Eric out next...I called it. This forum is proving to be more entertaining than the program itself.

Edited May 10, 2021 by ChicagoMe

[katisha]

4 hours ago, ChicagoMe said:

This season it seems we won't get any real surprises til we're down to the last few. I'm braced for a mediocre season.

Yep, I'm afraid you're 100% right.  It does make me wonder how the judges were able to say with straight faces in the endless previews for this season that this bunch were "the best yet".  Right now I'm thinking the standard might be as bad as Emma Dean's season, in which case it's going to be a tough watch.

Tonight's challenge was pretty meh because it was obvious from very early on who was doing a good job and who wasn't.  Out of those who have ended up in the bottom four, surely "Fusion Dan" must be the one to go.  Blokey McTradie ain't going anywhere - I think we're all resigned to this.  Therese has a pin to use.  And I doubt it'll be Justin based on his extreme lack of screen time compared to Dan's recently.  Usually a contestant suddenly being featured is a bad sign, but we'll see.

Here is the latest recap.  This bit made me chortle.

Quote

The red team is conflicted, because on the one hand they have Elise who is really up herself about pasta, but on the other hand they have Brent, who will be in the elimination whether he cooks well or not, and so has no reason not to sabotage his team. They also risk running out of time because Elise might spend the entire cook telling the camera that she's Italian.

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by katisha

[misgabi13]

On 5/9/2021 at 10:17 PM, katisha said:

Gah, how many cucumber granitas did we end up with tonight - eight?  Originality is not the strong suit of this bunch of contestants, is it?

Conor, I don't care what the judges said - black olives are black olives and ice cream is ice cream and never the twain shall meet.  🤮

At the point Wynona decided to make a granita I'm pretty sure they said 13 people were making granita so that would make 14.  Plus, cucumber granita is the worst!

I also agree about just how disgusting black olive ice cream would be.  However, maybe if he made it savoury (at gunpoint) and added some fetta and some sort of oniony/tomato element it could have been a mad take on a greek salad and he could have said it was a starter!

 

[katisha]

7 minutes ago, misgabi13 said:

I also agree about just how disgusting black olive ice cream would be.  However, maybe if he made it savoury (at gunpoint) and added some fetta and some sort of oniony/tomato element it could have been a mad take on a greek salad and he could have said it was a starter

I think you're being too kind, @misgabi13! Conor wore out his welcome with me about a fortnight ago. 😏

[dippydee]

Does anybody else want some pasta? I love them stuff and some of them looked pretty darn delicious. of course it needs to be followed by ice cream because that is the only light dessert in the world.

9 hours ago, displayname said:

but the cast is just uncreative and boring as a whole this season.

I agree. I had high hopes because I was starting to like quite a few of the contestants Depinder, Kishwar, Tommy and Elise (who is Italian in case you missed it) but the seasons cooks are so lacking in originality. Everything is an ice cream or the ice creams lazy cousin the granita or sometimes if it’s Conor, both.

The show needs to add some structure to the challenges to force the contestant to actually think on their feet and maybe hide the ice cream maker for a week or two at least.

So far I think I’m rooting for Depinder who seems consistent in everything she does and Pete who seems chill and at least willing to try some outside the box stuff even if he can’t cook chicken ;)

[displayname]

1 hour ago, dippydee said:

of course it needs to be followed by ice cream because that is the only light dessert in the world.

I mean seriously. Not even a crumble? Why not rhubarb crumble? Cheescake? Cheesecake sounds great! Just even a chocolate cake lol.

[Rosenrot]

I AM CRAVING FOR SOME PASTA.

All things considered, Dan should probably go home next... but I don't want him to. :(

5 hours ago, displayname said:

I mean seriously. Not even a crumble? Why not rhubarb crumble? Cheescake? Cheesecake sounds great! Just even a chocolate cake lol.

Chocolate cake isn't very light, though. And if I was told to make a light dessert, cheesecake probably wouldn't be my first choice, either. I'd go down the sorbet route. 

8 hours ago, katisha said:

Right now I'm thinking the standard might be as bad as Emma Dean's season

Whoa! Let's not say things we can't take back! 😄

Edited May 10, 2021 by Rosenrot

[displayname]

9 minutes ago, Rosenrot said:

Chocolate cake isn't very light, though. And if I was told to make a light dessert, cheesecake probably wouldn't be my first choice, either. I'd go down the sorbet route. 

Well, if the point is to be creative without doing ice creams and sorbets and granitas, then yes I'd do take flavours that eat well with Italian food, and try to lighten them if they're too heavy.

[akr]

I think the desserts chosen were appropriate to the challenge - they asked for light desserts, and the focus was the pasta, so it was best to put the bulk of the effort into the entree & main anyway, & a sorbet or ice cream with fruit or tuile is exactly the sort of dessert you'd probably want at the end of that meal.  Although Tom's dessert saved his group, he also got dragged in to help with the pasta, so the potential need for this was something all groups probably took into account, or should have.

Still way too many ice creams and granitas for a single season, but not because of this challenge. For once, it actually was the correct choice.

[Aerobicidal]

It's Monday, Conor is really proud of himself, the judges love every dessert, and there are buckets of ice cream and granita!

Although this episode was shorter and faster-paced than yesterday's, it wasn't particularly interesting for me and I think the main reasons are 1) the food these people are making is almost uniformly unimpressive (and I know that's a matter of opinion; I'm a terrible food snob at times) and 2) the amount of frozen desserts is beyond a parody of itself.

There was more evidence today that Pete is capable of profound incompetence, which--again--suits his facial expressions perfectly. I can't be the only one who thinks that! (I'm fine if I'm the only one who thinks that.)

I'm not too excited by the prospect of a dessert challenge with (presumably) Therese-focused editing, but there's only one person competing tomorrow whose elimination would annoy me. So I'm expecting he will be eliminated! And I'm checking to see if I can find a place online to bet on how many times Reynold is mentioned tomorrow. I'm thinking around four to six.

[TVbitch]

Watched the elimination episode. So much green granita. So very much. It's all an icy blur. Oh, and I guess Wynona got eliminated for not making green granita or something. : D 

18 hours ago, ChicagoMe said:

Hopefully MC UK will start up soon sans the charades of MC AU judges.

MC UK just ended their regular season. If you'd like help finding the episodes online just PM me. MC UK Professionals is usually not until fall. 

 

[SnideAsides]

Losing Miss Insta on a challenge all about substance AND losing Therese (with a pin!) on a dessert challenge? This week is the best week we've had on this show in a LONG time.

[katisha]

Therese, Therese, Therese, you bloody idiot.  If your goal was to emulate Reynold, I think you absolutely succeeded tonight but only in terms of your arrogance.  And actually, I don't even think he would have been as arrogant as you were - he'd have had the brains to play that pin.  

Aside from the fact that that was one of the crueller dessert challenges I can remember, credit where credit is due to Blokey McTradie and Justin for actually following the recipe and taking the trouble to watch when Kristin was showing them how to do some of the elements. (I can only imagine Therese must have nodded off at some stage).  I certainly didn't expect them to do so well.  Even Dan, whose efforts seemed to be such a trainwreck, still managed to do better than Therese. 

Just...wow.

[displayname]

9 minutes ago, katisha said:

I can only imagine Therese must have nodded off at some stage

Fair. Dessert queen hasn't shown any technique beyond ice creams, even though you'd expect her to be better than that at... desserts. Guess she really didn't listen.

[dippydee]

Lol! I knew Therese was in trouble when the desserts not only had no ice cream but that she’d actually have to bake something for them. The judges made things so much easier by letting them use the pin right til the end and she still messed it up. Bye bye.

1 hour ago, katisha said:

credit where credit is due to Blokey McTradie and Justin for actually following the recipe and taking the trouble to watch when Kristin was showing them how to do some of the elements.

They both did really well considering how fiddly and technical the challenge was. I was especially happy for Justin who just looked like he was having the worst time of it for the entire cook.

[Rosenrot]

I got spoiled before I watched the episode and the cynic in me was going all "oh, I see what you're doing, show - sending her home with the pin - and on a dessert challenge, no less - because SHOCK!! and DRAMA!!", and though I'm by no means Therese's biggest fan, I was already super annoyed as I started watching. 

Is that still my opinion now that I finished the episode? Eh, I'm kinda on the fence. Still - doesn't change the fact that she could've played her pin until the very last second and she didn't. I think it was a false hope of "someone else's dish will be crappier than mine". Obviously she had no way of knowing what the other dishes were like, but when there was 5 minutes to go and Jock - who did have an idea what the other dishes were like - strongly suggested that she should play her pin and still nothing happened... I understand the decision might be hard if you've made, say, one mistake, but she had three bloody items there and there was something wrong in each one of them! And she knew it too when there was 10 seconds to go! I mean bloody hell, woman! 

I feel like I'm needlessly upset about this. 😄 But yay, Dan! 

ETA: Okay, I'm officially not on the fence anymore - she deserved to go, full stop. No shock and/or drama about it. 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Rosenrot

[zibnchy]

We are going to be stuck with Blokey McFatFingers til, like, final 6 aren't we? Worse? Final 3!?

Sometimes I wish I could still drink booze because he would be a great drinking game.

Edited May 11, 2021 by zibnchy
I spelled blokey wrong.

[Rosenrot]

8 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

We are going to be stuck with Blokey McFatFingers til, like, final 6 aren't we? Worse? Final 3!?

Probably. Final 4 at the very least - that's my official guess. 

DID YOU KNOW HE MAKES BOILERS??

[babs1226]

I don't think it was arrogance on Therese's part.  I think it was pride and some groundless hope.  I feel for her, even though she annoyed me.  

That was a very exciting pressure test, and I liked the way the gantry engaged with the cooks.  I think maybe the rules have been relaxed in that regard and, for me, that's a good thing.  The show has a different energy now, and it feels so much more competitive, but the contestants all support each other still, so it's all good in my book.

[Aerobicidal]

Is the show not aware that we can actually see Brent's hands? Production may as well have made some prosthetic Elephantiasis hands or got a pair of XXL gorilla oven mitts or something. "I is blokey boilermaker. Hands too big for pretty. Me touch pretty one day. That day today. Me have son. Here three desserts."

I don't know if I can blame Theresa for believing the judges were sincerely praising her "creativity" and "originality." If I made a granita for my friends and they tried to tell me I was the dessert messiah, I would correct them, but on a huge reality TV show . . . hard to say. 

I'm happy the immunity pins are gone, but simultaneously terrified at how the show will try to manufacture drama to make up for what's now been lost. Maybe one of Conor's earrings will fall into a tub of ice cream, or Brent will try to use a piping bag and the set will spontaneously combust, or somebody will cry because they miss home.

As a foot note, I looked up the cast a few days ago to confirm Wynona was blushing instagram pork (I didn't pay that much attention during the auditions) and noticed Justin was a youth pastor. I didn't know who Justin was at the time, but today I was like, That dude HAS to be the youth pastor. And I was right. And I will not say any more about that.

Farewell, Therese. May your little mushroom carry you beyond big data to a lucrative future in savory granitas that overshadows the extremely poor judgment you demonstrated today.

 

[katisha]

3 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

Is the show not aware that we can actually see Brent's hands? Production may as well have made some prosthetic Elephantiasis hands or got a pair of XXL gorilla oven mitts or something. "I is blokey boilermaker. Hands too big for pretty. Me touch pretty one day. That day today. Me have son. Here three desserts."

You're on fire today - that nearly made me spit coffee! 😄

[Niuxita]

3 hours ago, babs1226 said:

I don't think it was arrogance on Therese's part.  I think it was pride and some groundless hope.  I feel for her, even though she annoyed me.  

Yes, exactly. When she gave the detailed explanation to the judges as to why she didn't play the pin, it made complete sense to me and went a long way towards humanizing her a lot more (even though I already liked her fine). Too bad it was on the episode she left. 

I think I might keep watching until all my faves are gone (which, at this rate, will be in a couple of weeks) and then I'm out (watch Kishwar make it to the final 3 just so the Universe can have a laugh at my expense). Mel looks so pretty with her new highlights, though. Why you gotta make life so hard??

5 hours ago, zibnchy said:

We are going to be stuck with Blokey McFatFingers til, like, final 6 aren't we? Worse? Final 3!?

Oh, yes. It's gonna be him, Conor, and Pete in the final 3, I'm calling it now.

[seltzer3]

Yikes at the woman slaughter right now.  

Especially when I thought Eric should have went home with the carbanora.  I'm kind of not sad to see Therese go.  She seems nice, but she just seemed more of one trick pony.  In the cucumber/bacon challenge she made another ice cream (okay it was a gelato).

Its really frustrating because it seems like this group is really talented.  But they really don't seem very creative.  And what's worse is that they are all just copying off of  each other.  Like two weeks ago it was all ice cream, this week it was all granitas.  Like no one even thought of doing a cucumber salad, or even a gazpacho?  The only one that was impressive was the guy who made the cucumber dumplings.

[ChicagoMe]

I imagine there's some deep-seated psychological reason Therese did not play the pin. She was virtually the only one in the room who thought she had a chance. Whatever the reason, the food she put up was justified in sending her home. But this pressure test was ridiculous in its scope - considering the lack of potential in this group it should have been simplified a bit. It's also boring watching what adds up to nothing more than a group of people simply following (or not) directions. MC is at its best when it permits the chefs to infuse their dishes with their own creativity - when I hear "cook what you wish" then be still my heart. I had pegged Therese to make it to the Final 5. Oh well, at this point all I can hope for is anyone but Conor (someone should do a deep dive on the web - his inclusion in this season has to be owed to nepotism).

Edited May 12, 2021 by ChicagoMe

[katisha]

1 hour ago, Niuxita said:

Mel looks so pretty with her new highlights, though. Why you gotta make life so hard??

Yes, I noticed them too.  Looked really good!

[katisha]

You know, I was almost sorry Therese wasn't still in the competition for the bento box challenge tonight because I think we all know hers would have been full of various sized frozen domes, quenelles of fish-flavoured sorbet and a seaweed granita. But instead, tonight's episode was historic. NOBODY MADE ICE-CREAM!!!!!

While we let that sink in, I was glad to see that for once poor Jess got a bit of screen time and the chance to cook for immunity. I don't mind that Bagsie guy either. Pete and Depinder seem to be in the top few so it's no surprise to see them excel.

Oh, and we barely saw Blokey!

[dippydee]

36 minutes ago, katisha said:

NOBODY MADE ICE-CREAM!!!!!

I was shocked! there were no granitas either. I don’t know what to do with myself. Tomorrow looks promising too. No ice creams, just burning stuff.

The judges trying to put Depinder off her stride midcook and then being super impressed when she ignores them and does her own thing anyway seems to be becoming a trend. It’s cool to see one of my favs a kadhai paneer on the show, it’s almost always a meat curry of some sort.

I like Tommy, he is very easy on the eye but his bento was essentially a copy of the chefs. I understand keeping it traditional but there are so many more options in Japanese cuisine.

[akr]

Now that's more like it! Even the bentos that got mixed reviews looked appealing.  I think it helped to let them play to their strengths (and ask for a well-balanced meal so "play to your strengths" can't mean make yet another ice cream, or fussy dessert). Great Master Class, too, which I'm sure helped them elevate their own presentations.

(I'm not sure what they thought was so strange about Tom's - seemed mostly sort of California/Mediterranean to me. I guess the squid needed more explanation - I don't remember what flavors he added to it and it looked bland, but maybe the sauce was supposed to go with that (I was assuming it was for the asparagus, but could work with both). Pete's was the weird one, although I'll take their word for it that it worked. The arugula strawberry thing looked interesting, but I thought the cauliflower rice & crudite compartment looked weak, and the bouquet of herbs & lettuce also seemed very insubstantial, and the duck & noodles didn't obviously go together with any of them.)  

Whose weren't shown? I don't remember seeing Kishwar, Conor, Aaron, or Dan, even in prep.

Of the bentos we did see that weren't top 4, the dishes that stuck with me as things I'd love to try were Tommy's age dashi tofu, his squid & his omelet (maybe he should have gone for something green instead of replacing the botched sashimi with beef); Sabina's scallops even though it's the sandwich they praised (but yes, the pickles were clunky); everything in Amir's box; and whatever it was in Linda's that they said was super spicy (with chaser of watermelon). (Oh, I forgot Elise - overall it looked tasty, but the tomato salad seemed a little obvious. The broccolini and quail looked great, and I'd love to try the donuts as planned rather than as executed.)

Edited May 12, 2021 by akr
left out Elise.

[Rosenrot]

I never thought I would hear the word combination "it's anchovy-less" uttered in disappointment. 

BAGSY!

(I've got nothing more. 😄)

[akr]

8 minutes ago, Rosenrot said:

BAGSY!

Oh, yeah, Bagsy! His looked good too, except for the potato salad. 

[seltzer3]

Does anyone find the editing of this season (and the past couple of seasons) too obvious?  Like its always so obvious who is going to be on top and bottom.

I rewatched the early masterchef seasons, and when they presented dishes to the judges, it was pretty hard to figure out the top 3 and bottom 3.  Like there will be times that you could have 6 people that could be in the bottom, because they all presented them and the judges hated it and they were had a lot of airtime.  In the early seasons, there were also a lot less people ignored in their tasting. Like I don't understand what prompted the production to move editing in that direction.  Season 3 still had 24 contestants.

[Aerobicidal]

"You thought outside the box even though it was a bento box challenge" needs to be embroidered on a throw pillow. I would buy several.

The bento challenge really heroed the mediocrity this season is stuffed with, particularly mediocre (and mostly uncreative) dishes, but also the judges' thoroughly mediocre effort to describe or sell the food to a TV audience. The anchovy donut that actually had anchovy in it was salty and deep fried? Wow, thanks Jess, and she's the most articulate on the panel by far.

Pete continues to stumble along in his disheveled manner, but his food sounded interesting.

I like agedashi tofu and Indian pickles, but I'd like to see a little more creativity and innovation at some point during the season. (And emphasis on "at some point," because I still don't even know half the names. I will try to be patient with them, with several exceptions.)

That being said, Depinder's looked great and I'm hoping she makes it far, along with Kishwar and Tom. I found it endearing that the only thing the judges said about Tom's bento box was that it was weird. 

[displayname]

Is this the weakest cast ever?

[dippydee]

1 hour ago, Aerobicidal said:

I found it endearing that the only thing the judges said about Tom's bento box was that it was weird. 

It was kind of an odd combination but I think Toms on the right track. This season could use a little weird (as long as it’s not in an ice cream). I think the contestants this year are pretty good technically for the most part, there is just a huge lack of imagination in them. We had the granita challenge and that time with Clare Smyth where everyone made seafood pasta. These guys just need some cooks where the brief the show is so fond of is a little more constrictive to force them to think on the spot.

1 hour ago, displayname said:

Is this the weakest cast ever?

Im still giving that title to Emma’s and Andy’s seasons for now.

[displayname]

5 minutes ago, dippydee said:

Im still giving that title to Emma’s and Andy’s seasons for now.

I thought Andy's competitors were quite strong! Julia, Audra, Mindy, Kylie, Amina. LOL, reminds me, that was an unexpected slaughter of women towards the end... Hope this one turns around, since I'd really only like Depinder to win currently.

Edited May 12, 2021 by displayname

[dippydee]

24 minutes ago, displayname said:

 Julia, Audra, Mindy, Kylie, Amina....reminds me, that was an unexpected slaughter of women towards the end...

Julia and Kylie were actually pretty damn good. I think my judgement is clouded because Andy was such a weak winner thanks to the old system of alternating Male/female winners. 

27 minutes ago, displayname said:

since I'd really only like Depinder to win currently.

I just can’t see anyone else winning this year. At the moment she is just so far ahead of everyone else except maybe Pete (who shows occasional flashes of real inspiration). Of course that means I’m  expecting the shock elimination for her because they do want their dude winner this year.

[SnideAsides]

Definitely Emma's season, where they were so bad the judges were basically forced to give 7/10 scores to raw chicken in the finale to save face at how they'd allowed someone that awful to get so far in the competition. It's not a coincidence that only one person from it got invited back last year and he wound up getting eliminated first.

Andy's season wasn't particularly great either, but I'm willing to give them some slack because a few of the biggest names to come out of the show are there. Andy himself obviously got a promotion, Audra judged one of the Asian versions of Masterchef, Ben had a TV show, Julia and Kylie are both very successful chefs now, Alice is somehow the current generation's Margaret Fulton... like, there's serious skill there. It's just Andy's win taints it a bit.

Edited May 13, 2021 by SnideAsides

[katisha]

What, not even one deep-fried ice-cream in the barbecue challenge?  Come on, you four!  Try harder!

Seriously, though, if someone doesn't give Depinder some competition soon, it's going to be an incredibly dull season and there's only so much amusement one can derive from Conor's "quirky" earrings and glasses. The thing is, Depinder is bloody good and it upsets me to know she's very likely not going to be allowed to win because apparently a male contestant has to be first this year.

Edited May 13, 2021 by katisha