S01.E10: Show Stopping Semi-Finals

[DanaK]

Quote

Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais challenge their teams to create a show-stopping dish with flavor, presentation and beauty! The semifinals will have each contestant assigned to a kitchen where they will need to prove that they can create magic in any environment, even when the odds are stacked against them. The best dishes will keep contestants safe from elimination, while three contestants will be sent home with their dreams up in flames in the all-new "Show Stopping Semi-Finals" episode of NEXT LEVEL CHEF airing Wednesday, Feb. 23 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. 

 

Edited February 23, 2022 by DanaK

[Such A Flirt]

Surprise, surprise, the exact 3 we had predicted are in the finale - one from each team.

I thought the salmon plate looked gross. And I don't understand the deal with the gold.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thank you for starting the topic.

Pyet telling people she's so proud of them is so condescending and annoying. She's been acting like the class teacher since episode 1.

There was no way they were going to embarrass Ramsay by having nobody from his team make the semi final.

Is there one chef from each coach because uhhhhh the fix is in!

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Thank you for starting the topic.

Pyet telling people she's so proud of them is so condescending and annoying. She's been acting like the class teacher since episode 1.

There was no way they were going to embarrass Ramsay by having nobody from his team make the semi final.

Is there one chef from each coach because uhhhhh the fix is in!

Yep, Reuel started off as Team Ramsay, Pyet started off Team Arrington and Mariah started off as Team Blais.

To give them the benefit of the doubt: I would say that Reuel, Mariah and Pyet have had the most success in the competition as well so even if this weren't done in teams, they probably would be the "right" choice. Now the real question is if anybody but Reuel can win the title. I'm thinking not. 

I wonder why the show decided to just be "Let's just get this over with" and cut half the people in one episode. Did they have a cap of episodes?

Also, the concept of top/middle/basement kitchen seems to me that it could really make it an unfair fight. Unless they do something like everyone does one dish in each kitchen or they ignore the levels for the finale...

[cameron]

Did anyone else noticed Neyesha cooking and running around that kitchen during the final elimination segment?

[12catcrazy]

11 hours ago, Such A Flirt said:

Surprise, surprise, the exact 3 we had predicted are in the finale - one from each team.

I thought the salmon plate looked gross. And I don't understand the deal with the gold.

Yup, I agree 100%.  And yeah the gold leaf - I think that is "something" in Indian cooking, used for very special events.  I guess with everything having to be OTT nowadays on these TV shows, it's like add something to the dish that is totally unnecessary, super-expensive, to give it some kind of idiot "wow" factor, because maybe it impresses somebody willing to pay $$$ for a dinner out in Vegas.  

So now that we're almost at the end of this show, my bet is going to be on Pyet for the winner.   Lets check some marketing boxes here: she is young (30), she is very attractive, she is already on social media so she knows how to play that angle, she is Native American and cooking foods that are part of that tradition (which right now seems much cooler than somebody cooking their great grandma's sauerbraten) and she seems to have a pleasant personality without a lot of drama.   She isn't a "pro" chef and she doesn't come across as being arrogant or a kitchen know-it-all, which would maybe make it easier to "mentor" her in the chef world.  

As far as Mariah and Reuel - they'll probably be offered jobs in somebody's restaurant and they can still be known as the semi-finalists on Next Level Chef.   And to be petty here - is anybody else bugged by Mariah's makeup (the false eyelashes more than anything)?   I can understand wanting to look glamourous on TV but it kind of makes me think of the 1950s ads showing the housewife decked out in pearls and high heels vacuuming the floor or stirring the pot on the stove.   You're standing over steaming pots and hot stoves and chopping onions and you're wearing makeup more suitable to going to a nightclub.  No.  Just no.  

[Darian]

I could only watch this show because my liking of Nyesha Arrington is stronger than my loathing for Blais. So, I guess I'll root for her chef, though not my favorite, and I'm less invested  in who wins because this was better than I thought it was going to be but I might have dropped if not for Nyehsa.  

[cameron]

11 minutes ago, Darian said:

I could only watch this show because my liking of Nyesha Arrington is stronger than my loathing for Blais. So, I guess I'll root for her chef, though not my favorite, and I'm less invested  in who wins because this was better than I thought it was going to be but I might have dropped if not for Nyehsa.  

I would like to know why she was cooking in the background of that final elimination challenge.

[milkyaqua]

Yes, it's obvious that all three chefs had to have a team member in the final not that I'm all that upset at the other three that were let go.  I'd prefer to not be subjected to the attitude that is Reuel but I suppose any of them is okay.  And yes, the gold leaf was not needed and just seemed like a waste for a competition like this.  I could have seen it being used for a specific dish in which all the chef's had to execute and not just randomly thrown on the plate.  Kenny seemed to utilize it best in his dish.  Also, the way Nyesha was fussing in the first challenge about Reuel missing the plate made me think he was going to have to use a pot or pan instead of a plain old white plate...

[Darian]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

I would like to know why she was cooking in the background of that final elimination challenge.

I can't help you there. I didn't see it, don't see anyone else talking about it, so I guess writing to the show or asking Chef Nyesha (I assume she's on social media or has a website) would be of more help. 

[cameron]

8 minutes ago, Darian said:

I can't help you there. I didn't see it, don't see anyone else talking about it, so I guess writing to the show or asking Chef Nyesha (I assume she's on social media or has a website) would be of more help. 

She was working at the fryer and just general scurrying around the kitchen.  Don't think that they probably wanted anyone to notice.  I had recorded the show and replayed it on slow motion. 

[Darian]

10 minutes ago, cameron said:

She was working at the fryer and just general scurrying around the kitchen.  Don't think that they probably wanted anyone to notice.  I had recorded the show and replayed it on slow motion. 

I've given my suggestions. I can't offer you anything else. I'm not going to rewatch just to see something I might have missed others doing in other episodes or that I still might not see the way you do. So, it's not an issue for me, but if it were, and I cared enough, I'd reach out to someone who could address it. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 2/24/2022 at 10:23 AM, cameron said:

I would like to know why she was cooking in the background of that final elimination challenge.

Is what you're talking about what happens around the 25 minute mark and the 26 minute mark? There's a quick clip of Nyesha seemingly taking something out of a fryer and another clip of her seemingly arranging something. 

At a guess, in this competition they allow the mentors to do some more hands-on stuff than, say, on a Top Chef. In this episode, there was also Richard who showed one of the contestants how to deal with finger limes.

It doesn't seem like they were trying to hide what she was doing. I'm pretty sure if they wanted to, they could have put the audio against any number of innocuous shots. 

[iwantcookies]

I already forgot who is left. I remember the female chef who lusted after Gordon got eliminated. She was pretty good. My guess she got eliminated because she is too overweight/old… usually a perky young person wins.

[chenoa333]

Just started watching this latest GR cooking competition and I have a question. I've seen this on other cooking shows too but I still don't understand why the bearded chefs are not required to wear hair nets. And then there are the chefs with long hair or bangs who aren't wearing hair nets either. Are the restaurant health codes that lax?

And last of all, I'm not liking this show. For me, GR is just overloading me with his presence. Much like Guy Fieri.

 

[blackwing]

15 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

I already forgot who is left. I remember the female chef who lusted after Gordon got eliminated. She was pretty good. My guess she got eliminated because she is too overweight/old… usually a perky young person wins.

Mariah, Reuel and Pyet made it to the finals.  I think they were the correct choice.  I really liked Courtney (older black female).  She was the last pick, and she really had a great growth path, she made it to the top 6 and she should be proud of herself.  I did not like Angie, the older blonde that you referred to.  She became increasingly annoying to me with her constant repeated mantra that she is going to win.  I noted that she was the only one that was bawling and in tears when she was eliminated.  The others were proud of themselves, but she feels like she failed herself because she was supposed to win in her mind.

None of the finalists are what I would call perky.  Perky would have been Ae.  

25 minutes ago, chenoa333 said:

Just started watching this latest GR cooking competition and I have a question. I've seen this on other cooking shows too but I still don't understand why the bearded chefs are not required to wear hair nets. And then there are the chefs with long hair or bangs who aren't wearing hair nets either. Are the restaurant health codes that lax?

And last of all, I'm not liking this show. For me, GR is just overloading me with his presence. Much like Guy Fieri.

 

I would assume that they don't have to wear hair nets because this isn't a real restaurant, it's just a reality show.  I would assume the ones that work in restaurants for their day jobs probably wear hair nets?

I find Gordon to be a bit much at times but I think he's balanced out on this show especially by Nyesha Arrington.  I really like her and her comments, and I would definitely watch a solo reality show that she hosts.

[ProfCrash]

40 minutes ago, chenoa333 said:

Just started watching this latest GR cooking competition and I have a question. I've seen this on other cooking shows too but I still don't understand why the bearded chefs are not required to wear hair nets. And then there are the chefs with long hair or bangs who aren't wearing hair nets either. Are the restaurant health codes that lax?

And last of all, I'm not liking this show. For me, GR is just overloading me with his presence. Much like Guy Fieri.

 

I stopped watching about 5 episodes ago for a variety of reasons, mainly it is another cooking competition with nothing new or different that makes it interesting to watch. 

I like Gordon's non competition shows. I would love for the F Word to return because that was freaking brilliant. I like his Unchartered show, where he visits a country and does a quick culinary tour that is interesting and a bit goofy, and then cooks against a native chef. I guess I prefer his shows that are more about learning different food cultures and experiences and less competitions. 

His YouTube videos are fun for a similar reason. I love his passion for cooking and food and his sense of humor. I am not a huge fan of his over the top competition personality. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

( WRONG TOPIC SORRY )

Edited March 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay