Next Level Chef Anticipation

[Chicago Redshirt]

Anybody watching this one?

I am a sucker for Ramsay's cooking competitions, but I'm not sure if I am feeling this one yet. None of the contestants has left a mark. I'm not sure if I like the concept so far. (Chefs work in levels from a fully equipped dream kitchen on the top, an average kitchen in the middle and a bare bones one in the basement, plus their level dictates their choice of ingredient. And they work in teams with mentorship of Ramsay or the two cohost, Top Chef alums Blais and Nyesha.

Between the fake rivalries between the mentors, the fanboying of the contestants, "next level" becoming the new "stunning," and Blais's tendency to get too full of himself, I don't know how long I'll stick this one out. 

P.S. I assume Blais will have to keep his more insufferable side in check because of Ramsay. 

[Cotypubby]

I want to know who watched “The Platform” and thought, “I know! This needs to be a cooking show!” 🥴

[ProfCrash]

I like Ramsay and I like cooking shows so I am watching it. Trying to figure out how long it takes Gordon to get the Scallops Woman on his team to cry, she doesn't look like the type who is going to hold up to his normal mentoring style. 

I am probably good until season 3, by then the formula is too well known and the show becomes less fun for me.

[iwantcookies]

Was potted meat Spam?

 

[Leeds]

55 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

Was potted meat Spam?

 

They're similar in that they're made of chopped up leftover bits of meat that most people wouldn't knowingly choose to eat (tripe, offal, etc).  Also, I believe potted meat is a spread rather than something to be sliced.  We used to occasionally have potted meat sandwiches when I was a child, many moons ago.  I assume my mother kept an emergency can for when money was tight or she just didn't have time to make dinner.  I'm not sure that I've ever had Spam, but I remember being fascinated the first time I saw it on sushi!

[Ms Blue Jay]

I enjoyed the first episode.  The budget for this show looks INSANE.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

13 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

Was potted meat Spam?

No. Spam is made of scraps of ham and pork that are ground together and form into a loaf. Potted meat is made of "partially defatted beef fatty tissue," which means they take a bunch of beef fat with little tiny scraps of meat on it and cook it for many hours until it's a little less fatty and more meaty than what the fat was before. As another poster said, it's more of a pate than Spam.

Basically, they're similar, but Spam is closer to the average person's concept of "meat." (And I do love me some Spam on occasion!)

[jabRI]

Gordon was a little dismissive of the guy who 'forgot' to grab a protein.  The percent of vegans in the population is still low, but it shouldn't be such a foreign concept that a chef couldn't put together a vegan entree.  Glad he came out ok in the end (love cauliflower!)

[ProfCrash]

24 minutes ago, jabRI said:

Gordon was a little dismissive of the guy who 'forgot' to grab a protein.  The percent of vegans in the population is still low, but it shouldn't be such a foreign concept that a chef couldn't put together a vegan entree.  Glad he came out ok in the end (love cauliflower!)

I think Gordon was more annoyed that the contestant forgot to get a protein and it was more an idea that they messed up getting their stuff. He seemed pretty happy with how the meal turned out but I suspect that it prevented the dude from being picked earlier. 

I did laugh pretty hard at the preview when a protein dropped down the tower and the people in the basement were excited. 

[mlp]

I don't really like Gordon Ramsay but I do admire his talent.  I end up watching all his competition shows.  So far he seems to be acting more Master Chef than Hell's Kitchen - thank goodness.  I do like Richard Blais (!) and Nyesha and I'm very glad Aaron isn't one of the judges.  

I thought the contestants were going to be chefs or at least professional cooks based upon the name of the show.  It seemed to me that most of them are home cooks or people who have web shows of some kind - which anyone can do regardless of talent.  It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[Yeah No]

I have to admit I watched this in spite of not being impressed by the promos.  As much as I want to like everything that Ramsay does, watching this did not improve my impression of it.  I don't get the point of randomly assigning chefs to levels that supposedly differ in terms of being easy or hard. So far the show has pretty much said that these people will be on the same teams all through the competition.  So based on the luck of the draw one third of them will be greatly challenged and never have the advantages of the other levels.  And one third of them will supposedly have all the advantages, lowering the perceived achievement of any of their work.  How fair is that?  Unless collectively as a team they can ascend upwards while others can descend.  But that seems like something that would have to be overly contrived to achieve.

I know this was a first episode, so I'll give it another chance, but there was more that bothered me about this.  I honestly didn't really see anyone actually cook  other than flashes of things in frying pans for about 5 seconds at a time.  We didn't get to see the team in the basement have to struggle with their shoddy tools and how they overcame their obstacles to put such wonderful looking food on the plate.  The show seemed to spend a lot of time on the chefs talking about what they were going to do rather than actually showing them doing it.  There was so much time spent on the situation itself that there wasn't much left to show us how any of that food actually got made.  And none of the food on the lowest level looked that much different from the food on higher levels.  

Maybe some of this will be ironed out once the actual competition gets started but until then I'm not so sure this is a show I'm going to want to watch.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Ramsay really turned me off this episode (2) wearing just a plain white tshirt while the other judges so clearly dressed up and put major effort into their appearances, with hairstyles, jewellry, nice clothes and everything.  He looked like such a prick, saying fuck you to everyone with that look.

Anyway, I'm still really enjoying the show.  I teared up when that mustache'd chef did really well.  He kept gasping "What?  What?" when the judges gave his dish positive feedback and it was so sweet.

I'm sad that the bearded guy left though; he seemed better than the woman who stayed.  I'm sorry but I can't STAND when the contestants do badly in a challenge and all they can say is a bunch of bullshit about how great they normally are, and this is not like them, and everyone at home would be ashamed blah blah blah.  Less talking and just prove it with your cooking.  I know that they're prompted by the producers but I would rather someone just admit they messed up, like the bearded fellow did.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 1/4/2022 at 3:04 PM, ProfCrash said:

I like Ramsay and I like cooking shows so I am watching it. Trying to figure out how long it takes Gordon to get the Scallops Woman on his team to cry, she doesn't look like the type who is going to hold up to his normal mentoring style. 

Was that the social media star?  Because if so, she seems like she has a lot of followers and you have to endure a lot of abuse on a platform like that so I kind of think it's an act and that she'll be fine.

[ProfCrash]

7 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Ramsay really turned me off this episode (2) wearing just a plain white tshirt while the other judges so clearly dressed up and put major effort into their appearances, with hairstyles, jewellry, nice clothes and everything.  He looked like such a prick, saying fuck you to everyone with that look.

Anyway, I'm still really enjoying the show.  I teared up when that mustache'd chef did really well.  He kept gasping "What?  What?" when the judges gave his dish positive feedback and it was so sweet.

I'm sad that the bearded guy left though; he seemed better than the woman who stayed.  I'm sorry but I can't STAND when the contestants do badly in a challenge and all they can say is a bunch of bullshit about how great they normally are, and this is not like them, and everyone at home would be ashamed blah blah blah.  Less talking and just prove it with your cooking.  I know that they're prompted by the producers but I would rather someone just admit they messed up, like the bearded fellow did.

That is how he is. He wears that or something like that on every show I have seen him on, the only exception is when he is wearing a Chef's Jacket. 

7 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Was that the social media star?  Because if so, she seems like she has a lot of followers and you have to endure a lot of abuse on a platform like that so I kind of think it's an act and that she'll be fine.

I can't track who is the home chef, social media, or pro yet. I know Gary was social media and Amber is a home chef because they were in the solo challenge and their status was posted a bunch last night. Dude who won is a professional chef, I paid closer attention to his box when the announced the winner. 

Last night was a good episode. I really doubt that the elevator keys are random. I think the teams get on the elevator and Production sends them to the pre determined floor. They are going to work to make sure that every team ends up on every level pretty fairly. 

I would love to know what staples are available to all the Chefs.

I think it would be better if the Judges had to taste each dish at the level it was cooked and rate it on some scale. Add a weight to dishes that are created in the lower level kitchens so that some of the imbalance based on the available foods and kitchen tools. The people on the top level should win more frequently because they have better products and tools. They should be able to make killer dishes. The fact that the second rated dish was made in the basement should have elevated that to the winner. Or the best dish for each floor has immunity from the challenge. 

I am glad that the elimination challenge is in the top kitchen and there is no platform ridiculousness. I do think that the judges should write down their winning dish and hand them to Gordon.  

I am wondering what the real twist to this series is going to be. Right now it is just cooking with limited ingredients in different kitchens. I am not seeing much mentoring, none of the mentors provided any real info to their Chefs to help them with the cook. They asked questions and that was about it. 

[jabRI]

I had to laugh at my own associations.  If asked 'what goes with steak' I would say 'potato' over 'heat' or 'wine'.  

[12catcrazy]

Gonna admit that I'm not a big fan (or watcher) of competitive reality shows.  I really like Gordon Ramsey (in his "do gooder" mode, not where he is yelling and cursing at people) so my SO and I started watching this.    

The concept is different and the only thing that makes me cringe is that the lowest level kitchen has dull knives as thats a good way for somebody to hurt themselves.   Plenty of people have made decent meals with less than what is shown in the crappy kitchen.  

I hate the contestants talking about themselves but I guess that is part of the genre.  Also didn't like that two middle of the road contestants had the cook-off rather than two of the worst ones (like the full of himself guy and the lady with the grey hair).  Another way these shows seem to work - get rid of the people in the middle of the pack and leave the top and bottom to duke it out until almost the end and than it becomes the top people against each other.  

Anyway, so-far, anybody looking for cooking tips isn't going to find them here.   The mentoring thing makes me scratch my head unless it's all happening off-screen.   And the Cube Steak brought back awful childhood memories of my mother going out on a Friday or Saturday night and my father was left home to cook for my sister and me.   And one of the dreaded meals was Cube Steak!  I still make a face when I think about it.  

Edited January 6, 2022 by 12catcrazy

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

That is how he is. He wears that or something like that on every show I have seen him on, the only exception is when he is wearing a Chef's Jacket. 

Not sure how that precludes me from having an opinion on it.

I also watch a lot of his shows and have never noticed what you are talking about, so I went to check.

Hell's Kitchen, he always wears a Chef's Jacket.

MasterChef, he does NOT wear a white t-shirt.  Every result of him on Google Images shows him in different outfits, none if which are simply a plain white t-shirt.  

Edited January 6, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[preeya]

This show appears [at least to me] as an offshoot of MasterChef mystery box challenge ON STEROIDS.

Edited January 6, 2022 by preeya

[MajorWoody]

Gary reminds me of this classic role by Curly

[mlp]

I can't say I was sorry to see Gary leave.  He may be the nicest guy in the world but that beard just grossed me out.  

I read somewhere that Gordon said it cost $4 million to build that set.  Ye gods.  I guess his production company can afford it but I kind of hate to see a frivolous use of money when so many chefs and restaurants are struggling and closing.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I read somewhere that Gordon said it cost $4 million to build that set.  Ye gods.  I guess his production company can afford it but I kind of hate to see a frivolous use of money when so many chefs and restaurants are struggling and closing.

Thank you.  Fun to have my instincts confirmed!

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/gordon-ramsay-reveals-inspiration-behind-next-level-chef

Edited January 7, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Leeds]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:45 PM, mlp said:

I don't really like Gordon Ramsay but I do admire his talent.  I end up watching all his competition shows.  So far he seems to be acting more Master Chef than Hell's Kitchen - thank goodness.  I do like Richard Blais (!) and Nyesha and I'm very glad Aaron isn't one of the judges.  

 

Have you seen "Gordon, Gino & Fred's Road Trip" Desperately Seeking Santa?  (I see from Mr. Google that there are other series too.  Gordon and two of his friends go on culinary trips together.  It's pretty funny.  I've also seen clips of Ramsay at home with his kids, when you see a completely different side of him than the Hell's Kitchen idiocy.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Leeds
"than" not "that"

[ProfCrash]

5 hours ago, Leeds said:

Have you seen "Gordon, Gino & Fred's Road Trip" Desperately Seeking Santa?  (I see from Mr. Google that there are other series too.  Gordon and two of his friends go on culinary trips together.  It's pretty funny.  I've also seen clips of Ramsay at home with his kids, when you see a completely different side of him that the Hell's Kitchen idiocy.

I'll have to look that one up. I have been watching his show on National Geographic channel. I loved the F Word. I tend to burn out on shows like this one after a few seasons, they become too formulaic and I am not a huge fan of how he treats the contestants. He was better in Master Chef, the two seasons I watched, and so far here. 

[iwantcookies]

Ya that guys long beard is not my cup of tea. Wonder how often his hair ends up in the food…

[threebluestars]

Amber has already worn out her welcome with me. I wish it was a double elimination.

[SHERMDOG]

I agree amber appears to be an idiot...but...I am sure she's a good home chef. Having said that...I cannot STAND Blaise...I feel like he picked bearded dude cause he thot he would beat her instead if the Grey haired gal. Geez...I apologize...I cant recall names at this point..

 

[johnmiller]

On 1/4/2022 at 12:22 AM, Cotypubby said:

I want to know who watched “The Platform” and thought, “I know! This needs to be a cooking show!” 🥴

Ramsay did. Apparently.

[oldCJ]

On 1/4/2022 at 8:22 AM, Cotypubby said:

I want to know who watched “The Platform” and thought, “I know! This needs to be a cooking show!” 🥴

Yes! Imagining the semi-finals where chefs in the basement kitchen get an empty platform and it becomes a Yellowjackets crossover. 

On 1/7/2022 at 2:47 PM, iwantcookies said:

Ya that guys long beard is not my cup of tea. Wonder how often his hair ends up in the food…

Right? And he was going to serve the judges floor meat without even washing it off first..

[Chicago Redshirt]

Is it wrong for me to be like "it's too gross to use steak that fell on the floor"? It reminded me of the years-ago Hell's Kitchen contestant who tried to salvage spaghetti that had already been thrown in the garbage.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Chicago Redshirt

[Such A Flirt]

That was pretty stress-inducing, seriously. Just frantic. They barely focus on the actual food. 

It really is like MasterChef on 3 floors - minus Joe and Aaron, but with two even more unpleasant judges instead.

[Chicago Redshirt]

II don't like that hypothetically, a chef who cooks a shitty dish can skate if one of their teammates cooks the best dish, and a chef who cooks a decent dish can find themselves booted if they get volunteered for the head-to-head.

Also. at some point there are not going to be enough chefs for there to be a team for one of the mentor chefs. What happens then?

[ProfCrash]

I am not excited by this show. It feels like every other cooking show except with teams. The winning dish is probably always coming from the top floor because they have better ingredients, a full choice of ingredients, and better equipment that lets them do more. The other two teams will have a head to head battle.  I fully expect that each team will rotate who ends up on what floor equally so that no one team has an advantage. 

I am not seeing any mentoring. I don't see much of anything happening that makes the show stand out. Gordon isn't even yelling at people or calling people stupid names. The food doesn't strike me as exciting.

So it is another cooking show with a twist that really doesn't do much. Kind of bland.