S01.E04: Fowl Play

[Ms Blue Jay]

Quote

S1, Ep4

19 Jan. 2022

Fowl Play

Birds of a feather will cook together. It's poultry today. And somebody will wake up to find the dream is over. You're going home.

Okay, I love this show.  I cried like, 7 times this episode.

[yourdreamer]

I was worried Courtney would be gone. I appreciate the irony that both at risk team leaders chose the other team’s food as their favorite. I do love this show. 
 

Although I am curious why they don’t redistribute levels based on previous week’s performances - winning dish/team gets upper, saved team member/team gets middle, and the team who loses somebody goes to the basement. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by yourdreamer

[Such A Flirt]

So the levels are basically only a visual effect. They make no difference in the judging at all.

[KeithJ]

8 hours ago, yourdreamer said:

I was worried Courtney would be gone. I appreciate the irony that both at risk team leaders chose the other team’s food as their favorite. I do love this show. 
 

Although I am curious why they don’t redistribute levels based on previous week’s performances - winning dish/team gets upper, saved team member/team gets middle, and the team who loses somebody goes to the basement. 

I have a feeling the levels aren't all that random either.  By the end of the season, they will probably be split pretty evenly between the teams.  If it was actually random, the back of the card the teams pick would have the level printed on it.

[Ms Blue Jay]

It's clearly not random because the levels are distributed to each team evenly each week.  Aren't they?  If it was actually random, there'd be a chance that the same team would go to the basement every week, but I'm sure the show won't let that happen.

[DEL901]

Even before the two started cooking I guessed the person on the 5 person team would lose.   And they did.  

[Pj3422]

4 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Even before the two started cooking I guessed the person on the 5 person team would lose.   And they did.  

It’s a Gordon Ramsey show. Wins & losses are distributed pretty evenly. I knew before the cooking started that someone from Nyesha’s team would go. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

4 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It's clearly not random because the levels are distributed to each team evenly each week.  Aren't they?  If it was actually random, there'd be a chance that the same team would go to the basement every week, but I'm sure the show won't let that happen.

I don't have a stats background and I certainly haven't tried charting which teams ended up where which weeks. But I'm guessing that there's not enough of a basis to judge by results that the distribution we have gotten is unlikely to be the result of random chance.

ETA: Actually, after checking with the web, it looks like in the three weeks there have been teams, each team has had exactly one experience on each of the levels. Someone more mathematically inclined to run the numbers, but it seems like there would be a relatively small chance of that happening randomly. 

Nevertheless, I too expect that the producers have their thumb on the scale to determine who gets sent where. 

I also think that Sergio could have cooked the best dish possible and would still not have heard winner winner chicken dinner. There is an incentive to make sure that each of the teams is at least somewhat even for at least the first half of the season, so someone from Team Nyesha had to go. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Chicago Redshirt

[Mellowyellow]

Really like the show, really annoyed at Richard for sending Courtney to elimination!

[tinkerbell]

This is the first episode I've watched. When I saw Sergio bragging about not going to culinary school because he "doesn't believe in education " I knew he would be going home. 

[Stardancer Supreme]

I'm glad for Sergio to go.  It's kind of obnoxious when the teams are trying to help their teammates battling by loudly yelling instructions.  I would rather have them farther away from me as I cook.

[bluepiano]

On 1/26/2022 at 8:45 PM, Mellowyellow said:

Really like the show, really annoyed at Richard for sending Courtney to elimination!

Yes, it was unfair to her that Blais didn't send up the person on his team with the worst dish. Fortunately, she wasn't eliminated. 

Though I admit that everything about Richard Blais annoys me. Now he is calling his team The Trailblazers ("Blaisers," get it) because it's all about him. Isn't he just an invention of food television who has really minimal accomplishments in the culinary world? I hate that all the contestants fawn over him like he was some Michelin starred chef.

On 1/20/2022 at 2:26 AM, Such A Flirt said:

So the levels are basically only a visual effect. They make no difference in the judging at all.

No, because in a sense there only competing against the other chefs on their team, and on the same level. The big thing is to not have the worst dish on your team and be put up for elimination. I imagine that may change at some point, when there are fewer chefs.

But as of now, the kitchen tower just feels like a shiny gimmick to try and make this show seem different than every other cooking competition show.

Edited February 28, 2022 by bluepiano

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 1/20/2022 at 4:26 AM, Such A Flirt said:

So the levels are basically only a visual effect. They make no difference in the judging at all.

The levels make a big difference in what contestants are potentially able to cook. 

Since the contestants on the top level have the best equipment and first pick of the ingredients, they should be able to make better dishes than the contestants on the bottom two floors.

Who knows if the judges grade dishes on a curve factoring that in (i.e. So-and-so's and Such-and-such both had equally good dishes, but So-and-so was cooking in the basement so she gets the win.)

[blackwing]

9 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The levels make a big difference in what contestants are potentially able to cook. 

Since the contestants on the top level have the best equipment and first pick of the ingredients, they should be able to make better dishes than the contestants on the bottom two floors.

Who knows if the judges grade dishes on a curve factoring that in (i.e. So-and-so's and Such-and-such both had equally good dishes, but So-and-so was cooking in the basement so she gets the win.)

Yes, I think that’s the part that has been missing for me.  I think I have heard a few comments very rarely like “wow and to cook that in the basement, that’s amazing”.  But I agree that there doesn’t seem to be any “extra credit” for a dish that was cooked in the basement.   And if the point of this show is to make the contestants learn how to adapt and make the most of what they have, then there really should be some kind of bonus points if there is a great basement dish vs a great top level dish.