S13.W12 (55-58)

[Athena]

Starts July 4, 2021.

[katisha]

Even though I think Tommy got further into the competition than he perhaps should have, I surprised myself by feeling a bit sad to see him go.  Right from the beginning I've always found him to be a really nice guy and one of the better narrators.  The judges certainly seemed geniunely sad to see him go.

This challenge tomorrow night at the fancy restaurant looks like it'll be a doozy!

Recap is up a bit early.

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Justin is making chicken tacos. "Fast food is just fun," he says. "Probably not that healthy, but you only live once," he adds, controversially for a churchgoing man. 

Bahaha - I thought exactly the same thing!

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Up on the balcony, Linda looks on, occasionally calling out "Push it" or "Noodles, yum!" But you can tell her heart's not in it. She remembers being on the floor and the fury that rose in her every time an idiot shouted at her from above, and she just can't bring herself to fully commit to that sort of douchebaggery. 

 

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Pete tells Jock that he's making an incredibly fancy thing out of potato and milk, inspired by a Christian Puglisi dish. Jock has eaten the Christian Puglisi dish and finds the idea of Pete making it ludicrous. He gives Pete a long list of reasons why he'll never do it, but Pete is nothing if not incredibly arrogant. "I want the judges to think I'm crazy," he says in a studio several hours after everything is over. Perhaps he's hoping that if he seems crazy enough, the judges will let him progress just out of fear of what he might do to them.

 

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Pete has a saucepan of what looks like soapy dishwater in which potato skins are soaking. We must take his word for it that this is what he's supposed to have. He begins mixing his potato puree. "I've never been so terrified of a potato puree," he says, which is saying something given a potato puree killed his entire family on one disastrous beach holiday. 

 

[displayname]

3 hours ago, katisha said:

Pete tells Jock that he's making an incredibly fancy thing out of potato and milk, inspired by a Christian Puglisi dish. Jock has eaten the Christian Puglisi dish and finds the idea of Pete making it ludicrous. He gives Pete a long list of reasons why he'll never do it, but Pete is nothing if not incredibly arrogant. "I want the judges to think I'm crazy," he says in a studio several hours after everything is over. Perhaps he's hoping that if he seems crazy enough, the judges will let him progress just out of fear of what he might do to them.

Was the Puglisi dish potato ice cream with sweet potato granita?

[Aerobicidal]

"Pete, did you ever think--when you entered this competition 250 days ago--that you'd be cooking food like this?"

"Actually, yes. I've been cooking recipes from the same cookbook since the auditions. Otherwise, I would have made potato ice cream today."

(Speaking of which, I actually had potato ice cream back in the '00s when all the "fine dining" chefs were ripping off Heston, and I would have rated it a five out of ten.)

I'm curious (no pun intended) if there is anyone out (no pun intended) there writing Masterchef AU fan fiction about Justin and Pete. "It was a sick and bangin' night when the former youth pastor and the wan tattoo artist decided to up their rad bromance to a ten out of eleven."

Speaking of puns, good riddance to Tommy. I'm sure he's a great kindergarten teacher and parent, but there is almost no one else from this season--taking into account I don't remember 60 percent of the contestants--I would want to see on TV again less than him.

Since it's clear who the preordained (no pun intended) winner is going to be, I just hope Kishwar makes it to the finale. I love khao soy and I would consider ordering some for dinner except it's definitely not soup weather in my part of the U.S. today.

[Niuxita]

Well, finally! Obviously it's not Tommy's fault that he grew to annoy me so much, but it felt like 95% of the talking heads over the past few episodes were him, and his overly excited way of speaking had started getting on my last nerve. I also resent that they put Elise's "your pasta is too thick" criticism on the same level as his RARE AS FUCK beef. 

Continuing with my saga of spectacularly misunderstanding Australian accents, I thought Pete said his dish was based on a "Christian publicity," and that somehow made complete sense to me as something Pete would get inspiration from for a dish based on his track record. It definitely looked like the kind of minimalistic entrée that would cost you like $500 on an uber fancy restaurant, so I was glad to see him nail it.

I was starting to believe that Kishwar could actually make the final, but then I saw the preview. Is tomorrow's service challenge also an elimination (hence the black aprons)? Goddamit, won't they let me enjoy a Tommy-less show for even ONE episode?? (ETA: Per Melissa's insta, it IS an elimination challenge. WELP.)

Edited July 5, 2021 by Niuxita

[ChicagoMe]

I didn't get a chance to view last nite's episode but am so glad to hear Tommy's gone. After the contrived groans of ecstasy over zucchini some weeks back I couldn't stand to listen to him anymore. That Pete has survived reveals how rigged this show is - he should have been gone long ago. The judges should all be nominated for an AACTA for their loving-Pete's-revolting-food performances. After this season they should consider an overhaul of the show because it went from a wonderful and entertaining Season 12 to a very-nearly-unwatchable show.

Beenz or Kishwar for the win...but fat chance there, eh?

[displayname]

4 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

Speaking of puns, good riddance to Tommy. I'm sure he's a great kindergarten teacher and parent, but there is almost no one else from this season--taking into account I don't remember 60 percent of the contestants--I would want to see on TV again less than him.

I think he might get onto Viet TV, if they like that kind of personality (which they maybe don't, IDK). The puns were horrid, but apparently 30 year old men behaving like they're 5 is the new thing. Speaking of men behaving like they're 5, Aussie TV looks like it might get a ~Bromance~ show with Pete and Justin, though, and I'd maybe take Tommy over them. Maybe.

And speaking of ripping off fine dining chefs... Is this really what Pete made? Found it on a giant reddit thread on the episode discussion: https://andershusa.com/relae-rele-rela-christian-puglisi-jonathan-tam-kim-rossen-new-nordic-michelin-guide-star-sustainability-worlds50best/#jp-carousel-9016

I wouldn't pay 5 dollars for that, is it really supposed to be a main or even an entree?!

Still, fingers crossed for Kishwar's win. Only two men left now! We're close to having another female winner! Will be there to snark.

Edited July 5, 2021 by displayname

[katisha]

4 minutes ago, displayname said:

And speaking of ripping off fine dining chefs... Is this really what Pete made? Found it on a giant reddit thread on the episode discussion: https://andershusa.com/relae-rele-rela-christian-puglisi-jonathan-tam-kim-rossen-new-nordic-michelin-guide-star-sustainability-worlds50best/#jp-carousel-9016

 

The plating was different but otherwise that is exactly what Pete made.

[displayname]

2 minutes ago, katisha said:

The plating was different but otherwise that is exactly what Pete made.

... it's a dip...

[SnideAsides]

Seriously that... thing... looked like Cookie Monster's diarrhoea.

I've been trying to work out why this season hasn't worked, and... like, we've had seasons overloaded with boring players before. We've had seasons with uninspired cooking and questionable talent before. We've had seasons with bland challenge design before. But this is the first season that's had all three, and it feels even worse because of how strong last year generally was (despite the back third being understandably weaker). Even the bloody Emma season, for all its many many MANY failures, usually had quirky challenges. This season, the best I can say is... um, they finally learned that team challenges don't have to involve catering for dozens of people? The rest is a write-off (unless Kishwar wins, then it leapfrogs the Emma season to become the second-worst ever).

[misgabi13]

I was really sad to see Sabina go - I thought she might be the underdog!

However, now I am convinced all the girls will go home one after another just so they can have their 'sick bro-finale'

Nothing against Pete or Justin (one of which I really like) but sometimes the reviews of the food are a bit unbelievable!

I would also strongly recommend to Elise to look at her wardrobe choice - peter pan collar with berries on it was the least of the sartorial eye-bashing!

Kind of underwhelmed to be honest!

 

[katisha]

26 minutes ago, misgabi13 said:

I was really sad to see Sabina go - I thought she might be the underdog!

Me too.  :(  But I'm glad Jock gave her that excellent feedback about being born to run a kitchen if she could run a service challenge like she did at the age of 22.  Her future is bright even without winning this and I hope she goes far.  But unfortunately, once she and Linda ended up with the dessert courses, I was pretty sure one of them would be going since both are so much better with savoury.

29 minutes ago, misgabi13 said:

However, now I am convinced all the girls will go home one after another just so they can have their 'sick bro-finale'

That's exactly the way things seem to be heading.  

Ben's in good form tonight.

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Justin asks Pete what he's cooking. "I don't have time, sorry bro," says Pete, warming the hearts of every MasterChef viewer who's waited all year for this moment. Justin goes back to his bench to cry into his lobsters. Andy tells Pete he's very worried about him, as he is tying celeriac slices into little parcels and nobody can figure out why.

 

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But here comes Sabina to begin the first dessert. Her ingredient is macadamia nuts, which is easy: just pour chocolate over them and put them in a bowl. In fact they're already in a bowl, so just pour chocolate and serve. But no, Sabina has to over-complicate things as usual. "I have no idea what to do," she says, several hours after the service is finished. Back in the present she starts making sorbet, the coward's ice-cream.

 

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Back with Pete, who has taken the strings off his croissants – and by croissants he means "odd little piles of celeriac" – and has made a big mess of revolting green gunk to put in them. He is ready for service, and the diners have no idea what is about to hit them. The judges eat the "croissants" and are blown away by how he has combined an unpleasant vegetable and horrible sea-garbage to create something genuinely weird. It's perfect for a place as  extra as Society.

 

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And so to Kishwar, who must serve the quails that have given her so much angst over the years. The judges eat. "My tastebuds are dancing," drools Martin. "The flavours are insane," Andy dribbles. Kishwar's idea to add LSD to the quail has paid off in spades.

 

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We will miss Sabina: her energy, her vibrancy, her constant yelling of useless advice from the balcony. Hopefully she will soon pop up on her own cooking show, From Pantry to Gantry, where she selects ingredients and then shouts at people to do things with them. Till then, farewell Beans!

 

[displayname]

1 hour ago, katisha said:

Back with Pete, who has taken the strings off his croissants – and by croissants he means "odd little piles of celeriac" – and has made a big mess of revolting green gunk to put in them. He is ready for service, and the diners have no idea what is about to hit them. The judges eat the "croissants" and are blown away by how he has combined an unpleasant vegetable and horrible sea-garbage to create something genuinely weird. It's perfect for a place as  extra as Society.

...So is Pete's dish his own creation, or another riff from a chef? I think there's a difference between learning a technique (which this might well be) and copying a dish from a chef. I find it hard to believe he came up with such a dish all on his own?

[babs1226]

Sad to see Sabina go, but happy for her that she already has a job lined up with Alla Wolf Tasker in September.  She has a very bright future ahead of her.  I was hoping for a Pete/Sabina final, but oh well.  I still would like to see a male/female final, but I think it will depend on one of the women being able to go outside their comfort zone.  I think Kishwar has the best chance, as long as she can use spices.  Linda has a chance if she can use spices she knows, but she does have a good palette.  Elise has a chance as long as she can cook an Italian dish using whatever cuisine ingredients she is presented with.  I think Pete and Justin are the most versatile contestants left.  Of course, tomorrow's pressure test could be a game changer.  

[akr]

You pretty much knew as soon as they said 4 savory & 2 sweet that it would be one of the desserts that would go home. On Masterchef UK (the professionals, maybe?) they do something very like this challenge but without anybody going home just from the restaurant challenge; after that, they get to go back to the studio & cook something where everyone is cooking under the same constraints. I prefer the level playing field. 

Oh, well. I didn't really expect Sabina to go all the way, and she did well to go so far.

I'm not at all interested in going to this restaurant - seems a pretty stuffy environment, no matter how good the food is ("contemporary" if contemporary is corporate expense account lunch c. 1990?) - and I found it a little implausible that they all met the standard with only 2 1/2 hours & no prior thinking on what they might do. That's not what the actual 3-hatted chef is going to do for his first service.

It seemed Justin got dish of the day mostly just by using the most expensive ingredients - which suggested to me that the praise for the other dishes was overblown. Yes, butter, lobster, & tarragon is bound to taste good - you'd be hard pressed to mess that up. Tarragon was probably one of the easiest assignments (along with the yuzu, perhaps). I thought the dessert assignments were much more challenging, and am not sure any of them would have been able to do much better. If Sabina drew the tarragon & savory, you can bet she'd still be there. If Linda had the peppercorns or the yuzu, same.  

My favorites of who's left are Kishwar & Linda; I find Justin & Pete a little exhausting. However, even though I'm not drawn to the same recipes that Pete is, I disagree with people who assume that because his stuff looks weird it can't possibly be good. Maybe you wouldn't order it off the menu, but many of these things are on the menu, and loved, at highly regarded restaurants, and I'm going to assume that all those critics and diners are actually enjoying the sort of dishes he's inspired by. I'm completely sold on the notion that his food is very tasty as well as highly conceptual (except for on a few occasions where he got caught up in an idea & let taste be secondary). No, he's not inventing the concepts, or quite replicating them (because his inspirations are often recipes that would take days to recreate), but none of them are. Still, I prefer something like Elise taking familiar techniques and adapting them to highlight the ingredients at hand, or Kishwar using her deft hand with spices, etc.

Edited July 5, 2021 by akr
consequential typo

[akr]

3 hours ago, displayname said:

...So is Pete's dish his own creation, or another riff from a chef? I think there's a difference between learning a technique (which this might well be) and copying a dish from a chef. I find it hard to believe he came up with such a dish all on his own?

It appears to be a takeoff of another dish from Relae (Christian Puglisi's restaurant), although the nori filling was his idea. The original is reviewed here: https://www.somemeals.com/p/copenhagen-is-killing-it ("The best thing we ate [as part of a 4-course tasting menu] was hands down the celeriac 'croissant'—layers and layers of crispy, caramelized root vegetable infused with savory herbs and, if I remember correctly, a briny olive paste").

(I found this by googling "celeriac croissant"; there was an image that looked almost exactly like Pete's except for the plate (Relae used a less pretentious plate than Pete did, although that may be more to do with the options available at Society than with Pete)): 

(you can even see where the string held the celeriac bundle together during cooking in the Relae version.)

Edited July 5, 2021 by akr

[babs1226]

@akr I know Pete gets a lot of flack for copying Christian Puglisi's dishes, but I'm impressed that he is able to carry the recipes in his head and do such a good job of recreating them, while very often adding his own special little touches.  Clever of him to use the celeriac croissant to highlight the nori.  I also googled the same thing, but all I got was Pete's recipe on MC.   Odd, because I can get posts about Puglisi, but not for that dish.   I also can't watch the complete exit interviews because I'm not in AU.  Maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[displayname]

13 hours ago, akr said:

It appears to be a takeoff of another dish from Relae (Christian Puglisi's restaurant), although the nori filling was his idea. The original is reviewed here: https://www.somemeals.com/p/copenhagen-is-killing-it ("The best thing we ate [as part of a 4-course tasting menu] was hands down the celeriac 'croissant'—layers and layers of crispy, caramelized root vegetable infused with savory herbs and, if I remember correctly, a briny olive paste").

(I found this by googling "celeriac croissant"; there was an image that looked almost exactly like Pete's except for the plate (Relae used a less pretentious plate than Pete did, although that may be more to do with the options available at Society than with Pete)): 

(you can even see where the string held the celeriac bundle together during cooking in the Relae version.)

IDK how I feel about this. It's entirely possible that the others are looking at recipes from other chefs, too, but until they say so, I can only think they're putting that extra bit of thought and effort to come up with their dish. (And I went to Instagram to look at the dishes... and surprisingly Justin's looked best to me?! Or Elise's, maybe, but that's impressive from Justin... So Pete didn't even cook something that's too appetizing to me, despite copying a chef's dish).

Also, it's just a competition, and it's nothing important in the grand scheme of things, but imagine if this Society restaurant were called out for copying a dish. The people they employ in their restaurant just wouldn't copy it without permission, and probably would still try to come up with their ideas even if someone let them copy it.

Edited July 6, 2021 by displayname

[katisha]

1 hour ago, displayname said:

Also, it's just a competition, and it's nothing important in the grand scheme of things, but imagine if this Society restaurant were called out for copying a dish. The people they employ in their restaurant just wouldn't copy it without permission, and probably would still try to come up with their ideas even if someone let them copy it.

You actually raise a very interesting point, @displayname.  I wonder how the issue of copyright/intellectual property etc works in the food world?  Because it seems that pretty much everything Pete cooks is a direct rip-off and not just in a "this dish was inspired by..." kind of way.  And I don't think Christian Puglisi would care too much about an amateur cook on a reality TV show doing that, but it would definitely have implications for a professional restaurant, you'd think.

Edited July 6, 2021 by katisha

[Aerobicidal]

Fun Finale Week Facts!

Justin used to DJ at Christian youth dances using the moniker DJ Toasted Nuts.

After Sabina was disappointed by the macadamias and wanted something "zingy," the producers considered giving her horseradish, brined green olives, or mackerel to use in an ice cream, but decided it would make the show slightly too redundant.

For once, Pete finally stole his recipe from a different cookbook. This one came from How Stoners Can Recreate French Pastries Using Produce Dumpster Dived from Behind the Organic Market. 

Justin won't ever have a Michelin starred restaurant, but his recipe for Insane Sick Bangin' BroNuts will go viral on TikTok.

"The most elite cooking arena in the world" is, in fact, not something that has ever been featured on Masterchef AU.

I am still team Kishwar.

[displayname]

7 hours ago, katisha said:

You actually raise a very interesting point, @displayname.  I wonder how the issue of copyright/intellectual property etc works in the food world?  Because it seems that pretty much everything Pete cooks is a direct rip-off and not just in a "this dish was inspired by..." kind of way.  And I don't think Christian Puglisi would care too much about an amateur cook on a reality TV show doing that, but it would definitely have implications for a professional restaurant, you'd think.

Food isn't copyrighted (usually, lol), but I do think it's bad form, at least.

Edited July 6, 2021 by displayname

[katisha]

Such a shame that the final two women standing in the competition aren't "Beens" and Kishwar, but I guess I can settle for one out of two.  I didn't really mind who went out of Linda and Elise because they're very much in the same category for me - really good in their comfort zones, kind of hit and miss out of them.  But certainly on the basis of tonight's cook, Linda was the right choice to go (especially with her high vis green log thingy!)  And I have to give Justin some credit tonight (though it goes against the grain) for never panicking and staying calm despite having to remake four elements.  

In other news, it's twu wuv between Justin and Pete.  Awwww. Pass me a bucket! 🤢

Recap's up.

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The hardest part of the recipe will no doubt be tempering chocolate for the bottle brush quills. Tempering chocolate, as any MasterChef viewer knows, is a delicate and difficult technique that was invented solely to frustrate MasterChef contestants. Pete has never tempered chocolate before, having wisely decided to spend his life on more enjoyable pursuits, and is a little bit worried that his bottlebrush might end up looking like a hideous slug rather than a hideous sea urchin as it is supposed to.

 

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Suddenly the mood turns sombre as Justin relates a poignant tale of his family's struggles. The other four shudder in the face of Justin's scintillating backstory game. He ups the ante by turning to Pete and assuring him that no matter what happens today, he's still his best friend. Pete gapes in awe: this dude means business. If pushed, Justin is perfectly willing to burst into tears, or if necessary, into labour.

 

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Linda is too far behind. She is doing her chocolate over again and there's only twenty minutes left and the editor has put her into slow motion, which is hardly going to help. Meanwhile Justin's chocolate won't come away from his acetate and he's run out of family photos to cut to. He has not tempered his chocolate properly and life has lost all meaning. Back to Linda, who has used the wrong colour food colouring for her glaze and will now have a bottlebrush the wrong shade of green if you can imagine such humiliation.

 

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Next, Justin, who will have nightmares about tempered chocolate for the rest of his days. Despite his doubts, his chocolate sticks this time come away from the acetate and he assembles his bottlebrush and declares himself happy, unconvincingly. The judges love it, finding his technique of infusing the dessert with sad stories about his family especially skilful.

 

[displayname]

So what I learned from this season of Masterchef Australia is that I shouldn't go to Denmark if I want to eat regular old food. (I looooove their pastries, but holy frick, what are these weird contemporary things their restaurants are making and are teaching their pupils to make?!)

Something is rotten in the restaurants of Denmark...

[SG429]

Jussy's been a bit of a PITA to Pete this week, coupla times interrupting him needingly to profess his everlasting bro-hood.

[TVbitch]

Really? Justin is cooking for the premiere service, in a super elegant new restaurant, for a world class chef ...and he can't take off his backward baseball cap? Dude. I would have loved to see what Marcus Wearing would have made of that. Or God forbid, Gordon Ramsay: "What is on your head, you fucking donkey?!  You're a disgrace! Get out of my kitchen and don't come back until your mum has taught you how to dress like big boy!!"  

PS. I felt sorry for those diners who got ice cream, followed by ice cream for dessert.

Edited July 6, 2021 by TVbitch

[babs1226]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

PS. I felt sorry for those diners who got ice cream, followed by ice cream for dessert.

I don't feel sorry for them.  They were not paying customers.  They were people lucky enough to be chosen for a free meal.  So what if the meal included two ice creams?  At least everything was edible.

[Aerobicidal]

I eagerly await the day when the term "a Jock and a hard place" can be reused as the title about a memoir featuring the lurid details of Pete and Justin's rad bromance.

I'd be interested in trying the food at Society or Vue de Monde if I ever went to Australia. Today's dessert was a nice change of pace from the mix of monotonous and disgusting-sounding desserts the contestants have been making all season. However, the combination of Justin becoming the heroic narrator savior and the continuous focus on the rad bromance is making it hard for me to be anything but underwhelmed. 

[akr]

I wouldn't mind eating this dessert, but watching 5 people try to recreate it wasn't particularly interesting to me. It's the sort of episode that reminds me why I don't watch (most) dessert competitions (GBBO is an exception), even though I am a sucker for competitive reality shows where the contestants actually have to be good at something. I don't enjoy watching fiddly things.

At least I had people to root for. Well, just Kishwar at this point. If it's Pete & Justin in the finale, I'm not sure I'd watch - I'm tired of both of them. If one of them deserves to win, congratulations - they're both nice guys, although to continue the discussion from above, although I don't mind that Pete is turning to specific recipes for guidance, I do think he needs to credit his sources more (I checked and he is not doing so at all in his recent instagram posts, where people go on in the comments about how incredible it is that he would think to make a croissant out of celeriac & he just says thank you. Well, it's great that someone did, and it turns out nori can also make a good filling for one - which I think would actually be pretty hard to pull off, so kudos there - but credit where credit is due, Pete. You can say, I got this great idea from one of my favorite cookbooks/one of the chefs I'm most inspired by, to make a "croissant" out of celeriac, with a savory filling. It's pretty technical, but I thought I'd give it a try and see if these flavors would work with that. Is that so hard? (or, he could skip the "croissant" part of the presentation & just do a layered thing with the same technique, and I think then he wouldn't need to credit anyone at all. He could call it a millefeuille or something.) I give him credit for trying things that are hard and doing them pretty well, but not credit for coming up with them. He doesn't have to say it's Puglisi every time (at least once it was Heston Blumenthal), but it seems very poor form to be essentially taking credit for someone else's creativity. Just acknowledge that the idea came from somewhere. 

Edited July 6, 2021 by akr

[katisha]

7 hours ago, babs1226 said:

I don't feel sorry for them.  They were not paying customers.  They were people lucky enough to be chosen for a free meal.  So what if the meal included two ice creams?  At least everything was edible.

And after some of the hideous ice-creams that have been created by contestants this season, they should probably be thankful they didn't get the black olive or horseradish or sriracha versions!

[Aerobicidal]

9 minutes ago, katisha said:

And after some of the hideous ice-creams that have been created by contestants this season, they should probably be thankful they didn't get the black olive or horseradish or sriracha versions!

The funny thing is I would be fine trying the first two of those ice creams, but I feel like the sriracha one would be way too garlicky. I tried a shot of sriracha vodka several years ago and I wouldn't have minded it except for the garlic. (That being said, I have tried roasted garlic ice cream with dark chocolate chips and that was fine.)

I'm sure many of us have seen this, but in case anyone hasn't, here's a photo of what may be the "fine dining" savory ice cream dish that launched a thousand questionable quenelles, Heston's pommery grain mustard ice cream served with beet gazpacho. There was also a well-known bacon and egg ice cream made with liquid nitrogen on the Fat Duck tasting menu for years.

This is at least tangentially relevant to Masterchef, because for a long time I was impressed by the show's ability to score such a high caliber of famous and, often, experimental chefs. However, I feel like the contestants are stuck in trends that have now become outdated, although I guess the dude Pete is ripping off might be an exception to that. (Also, outdated restaurant trends and fads is not a huge deal, IMO, in the context of enjoying a cooking show.)

As long as I'm rambling, I'll add that I ate at a fairly well-regarded Nordic restaurant the last time I was in Europe, and it was one of the best meals I've ever had in my life, although there was definitely a "weird" factor that could come across as obnoxious and off-putting.

Finally, I'll say it again--I hope Kishwar winds up as the real winner of this season with, if she wants it, a long and successful media career.

[displayname]

43 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

Finally, I'll say it again--I hope Kishwar winds up as the real winner of this season with, if she wants it, a long and successful media career.

I mostly want it for her because I am SO done with the people saying she "only cooks Bangladeshi" after she literally did the fine dining challenge with Frenched quails and Japanese flavours. It's so obnoxious.

44 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

As long as I'm rambling, I'll add that I ate at a fairly well-regarded Nordic restaurant the last time I was in Europe, and it was one of the best meals I've ever had in my life, although there was definitely a "weird" factor that could come across as obnoxious and off-putting.

I'm sure if I actually ate at those restaurants, they'd taste great. Pete hasn't made them look good for me, though, and I wasn't a fan of this porcupine dessert. But then there was that dip... It's okay, I can survive on desserts if I ever go to Denmark.

[Niuxita]

Once upon a time, I said that I worried a Pressure Test would end up being Kishwar's downfall, and there was one time where it almost was, but she completely proved me wrong tonight. I had a feeling when she was barely featured all through the episode that it was probably because she was just quietly chugging along and nailing things, like Sabina in that one Pressure Test she nailed a while back, and I was so happy that was the case. And now she's in the final 4! Amazing. I can't believe how far she's come from crying because she felt inadequate cooking on Masterchef since she was "only" a stay-at-home mom who just cooked for her family. As much as I will miss seeing Elise's pretty pretty face every day, I want her to be the next to go (if it can't be one of the dudes), because Kishwar absolutely deserves to be the last woman standing. 

Sad to see Linda go, but she said it herself that she's not good at following instructions/recipes, so this felt like a challenge tailor-made to send her home. It's all good, though. I said I wished this was the season of the stay-at-home moms absolutely killing it in the competition, and both of them made it to finals week, so I'm quite satisfied with that.

Justin seems like the kind of person who would be exhausting to be friends with. "Whatever happens, you're still my best friend" every 5 minutes like, bro... Chill. Credit to Pete for not even looking like he's eyerolling internally. I'm not sure I would be nice enough for that.

On 7/5/2021 at 7:18 AM, misgabi13 said:

However, now I am convinced all the girls will go home one after another just so they can have their 'sick bro-finale'

Yeah, I think Justin and Pete would have to bomb spectacularly and irredeemably to go before either of the women left, and I don't see that happening. At least that will mean a chill finale for me since I will not care at all about who wins (in a completely uninterested way, not like last finale where I was gonna be ecstatic with either a Laura or an Emelia win).

Lastly, this is random, but I had a dream last night that Tommy and Sabina took me out to lunch for my birthday (it is not actually my birthday any time soon). Only got it half-right in terms of which MC contestants I would have liked to go out to lunch with so congratulations, brain, youtried.jpg.

[katisha]

I doubt anyone's even slightly shocked that Pete aka What Would Christian Puglisi Do got through to the grand final first.  It's been on the cards nearly from day one.

I must say I agreed with Ben Pobjie about tonight's challenge - really? A jewel duel?

Quote

 

From the balcony, Justin calls out to Pete some oyster-related aphrodisiac banter, which is very inappropriate for this timeslot. It's MasterChef, not Love Island. Pete has never shucked an oyster before, and pleads with the oysters to be gentle with him. On the other hand, Kishwar is fully in control: she's clearly shucked a tapioca before.

 

Quote

Andy comes round to tell Pete that he doesn't have to slug his guts out shucking the oysters: just put them on the hibachi and they'll steam open. Pete is over the moon. "This must be why they call them an aphrodisiac!" he exclaims, which I assume means he…wants to  hook up with Andy? This episode is utterly filthy and I for one am boycotting the rest of the series.

 

Quote

Time's up and Pete is happy even though his dish looks basically like a handful of lasagna sheets draped over a puddle of diseased mucus. "I like the leeks, because they remind me of kelp," says Andy, which…I mean, fine, I guess? Melissa enjoyed it. Jock enjoyed it, despite desiring more oyster, the .dirtbag.

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by katisha

[misgabi13]

38 minutes ago, katisha said:

I doubt anyone's even slightly shocked that Pete aka What Would Christian Puglisi Do got through to the grand final first.  It's been on the cards nearly from day one.

I'm just pleased it wasn't Justin!

Kind of sad Kishwa didn't win - her dessert sounded amazing.

Elise can just go home any time now 'Traditional Italian with a Twist' stops being that when every single time you stuff your pasta with 'Native Australian Ingredients'.

Did the ad say no episode until Sunday?  What shall I do tomorrow?

[displayname]

55 minutes ago, katisha said:

I doubt anyone's even slightly shocked that Pete aka What Would Christian Puglisi Do got through to the grand final first.

LOL, he really did copy another dish (Leeks in Many Variations with Raw Oyster).  https://andershusa.com/relae-rele-rela-christian-puglisi-jonathan-tam-kim-rossen-new-nordic-michelin-guide-star-sustainability-worlds50best/

I absolutely don't want him to win at this point, I don't see the effort and imagination that Kishwar put into her dessert. She was criticised for creating "nothing but curries", but this is fine?

Edited July 7, 2021 by displayname

[akr]

I found that exact same article featuring the oyster dish almost instantly! Oh, Pete. 

The zucchini one was harder to find, but probably also from Relae. I found this picture in a diner's review of their meal there:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g189541-d2045377-i337415457-Relae-Copenhagen_Zealand.html

As for whether this approach is already a bit dated, it appears Puglisi, at least, is moving on. Here's this on his decision to close Relae & another of his restaurants:

"Puglisi’s restaurants are less exalted than Noma on the international stage, but his approach to hyper-seasonal, organic cuisine influenced a generation of Copenhagen restaurants, and the closing of his first two restaurants signifies an end to a certain era of avant-garde defiance in the local food scene, even as it embraces other Puglisi influenced. (Puglisi’s three other restaurants — the bakery and restaurant Mirabelle; vermouth and snacks bar Rudo; and Bæst, an Italian restaurant with award-winning pizza — will remain open.)"

https://www.eater.com/2020/9/17/21439564/christian-puglisi-interview-closing-relae-manfreds-copenhagen-restaurants

It's reasonable that other people should want to play with these ideas for a while, but ultimately it's rather intellectual and after a while the conceit gets old. I'd rather have Elise's & Kishwar's recipes from this set of duels than either of Pete's (cough, cough, Christian's); at least Kishwar's curry is up (and appears more doable than many of hers, although I doubt I could do half as good a job at it.)

Another diner was unimpressed (for the price tag), and snapped this picture:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g189541-d2045377-i301199542-Relae-Copenhagen_Zealand.html

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by akr

[akr]

Since I've been critical: It seems Pete at least tweaked the oyster dish a bit; the original uses a leek emulsion rather than an oyster emulsion. It's still awfully close (and the original sounds better), but credit for not doing things exactly the same way. I imagine he got the oyster emulsion from him somewhere, though. Puglisi's book encourages people to mix and match components.

(Side note: if I went to a seriously fancy restaurant, I think I'd be a little annoyed at other diners taking pictures of all their food. It's fine if you're reviewing a local takeaway or more casual spot, but somehow in that expensive setting it feels like it gets in the way of the mood for other people.)

Edited July 7, 2021 by akr

[displayname]

God, there's more.

David Chang's Ramen Gnocchi:

And someone mentioned the Heston Blumenthal Bacon and Egg ice cream up the thread...

(The latest episode on reddit brought these to my attention + the leek dish to my attention)

Edited July 7, 2021 by displayname

[babs1226]

I am happy for Pete that he made it into the finale.  I think the other two are going to be Justin and Kishwar.   I feel that. in the three course challenge coming up, Elise will be done in by her timing issues.  As far as who will take the title, it's really hard to tell at this point.  It will be an interesting last two days.  

[TVbitch]

When all is said and done... Pete is gonna need a restraining order against Justin. 

[SG429]

I think they've been setting up the Bro-Down ShowDown Finale for a couple of weeks now, since Jussy's redemption run.

[akr]

Pete has updated his instagram to give credit to Relae for various recipes, in response to the criticism. It turns out with some of them (including the recent zucchini one) he did not have recipes, only the photos (from the restaurant's website), and he worked it out from there. Hard to do! I still think he should have given more credit from the get-go, but the judges may have led him to believe he'd done enough. In any event, he's made the adjustment, so good for him. 

(Honestly, based on the diner reviews of the zucchini dish, it sounds like Pete's version may have been an improvement. His filling sounded more appetizing.)

Edited July 9, 2021 by akr

[babs1226]

 I'm amazed at the amount of grief Pete is getting for using recipes from established chefs.  I don't remember another season of this show where anyone questioned where the contestants got their recipes.  It's ok for contestants to use Mom's recipes, or Grandma's recipes over and over, but not recipes out of a cookbook?  They give the contestants an extensive library of cookbooks to use and learn from.  Some of them take advantage of it.  Good on them.  How many times have we seen contestants start out cooking delicious food without a clue about how to plate it and end up plating restaurant worthy dishes?  Did they just wake up one morning knowing the proper way to plate?  I don't think so.   They all get their recipes and ideas from someone else.  I think it's damned impressive that Pete could look at a photo of a dish and create a dish that's delicious.  That takes talent, imo.  If he didn't cook delicious food, he wouldn't still be there, no matter whose recipes he uses.  Some people on other forums consider him to be a fraud because he doesn't use his own recipes.  How many of them do?  They are amateur cooks!  I don't believe the judges would claim that Pete's food is delicious if it isn't.   I'm not saying that hasn't happened with the previous judges (thinking of Ben being pushed into the finale against Sashi when he shouldn't even have made top 10 imo) but I don't believe that is the case this time.

I don't know who is going to win this time, as anything can happen, and I will be fine with Pete, Justin or Kishwar winning (because I believe Elise will be eliminated tomorrow), but I find the recipe controversy to be ridiculous.