S01.E11: The Final Level

[Ms Blue Jay]

Quote

The final three contestants compete for the grand prize and a year-long mentorship on the all-new season finale.

What was with Pyet's saucy wink to Reuel after Ramsay complimented her dish?  Ugh.

I'm sorry, but Pyet's attitude throughout this competition was too much for me to bear.

I knew that Mariah had no chance.  Did anyone else notice that they barely gave her any talking heads?  And the judges' compliments towards her were so lacklustre.  "You've been consistent".  Although I would like to know how she made that chicken lollipop sauce.

Nyesha really does the prayer hands thing a lot.  And then I noticed Pyet kept doing it.  Also Nyesha is always talking about food dancing on her palate.  LOL.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Chicago Redshirt]

Well, I wouldn't have believed that Gordon's handpicked chef wouldn't win until I saw it. 

Congrats to Pyet and Nyesha. I would have wanted her to go in the faces of Gordon and Blais. I think Pyet's victory was well earned. In the abstract, she had the dishes I would have wanted to try the most (the empanada and the lamb). took the biggest risks and had no announced flaws in any of her dishes. 

Maybe I'm just ignorant of what constitutes Native American cuisine, but it didn't seem like anything in Pyet's menu would constitute that. Empanadas are Latin food.

I didn't see Pyet as having attitude this competition. 

[cameron]

Thought that Mariah was channeling the Angela from Our Kind of People attitude tonight.  Happy for the winner.

[KeithJ]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm sorry, but Pyet's attitude throughout this competition was too much for me to bear.

I think I have to disagree on this.  Other than constantly talking about her Native American heritage, her attitude was, by far, the best of the final three.

I was surprised she won but Reuel really killed himself with that appetizer.  Judging by the judges comments, I think they finished in this order:

Pyet: 1st place appetizer, 3rd place fish, 1st place entree

Mariah: 2nd place appetizer, 2nd place fish, 2nd place entree

Ruel: 3rd place appetizer, 1st place fish, 3rd place entree

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by KeithJ

[Darian]

Hooray for Pyet and Chef Nyesha. Nothing against Ruell or Mariah but I don't think I could have stood to watch their mentors celebrate. Blais more than Ramsay, because I figured his chef would win. But it was overall a show I enjoyed. Just happy I could watch and enjoy the outcome!

[Ms Blue Jay]

It was the way Pyet would constantly boss around all the contestants who were cooking for elimination that really annoyed me.  And I don't even think it was just the chefs on her team - it was everyone.  Personal opinion.  And the way that she would address Reuel, thinking she would undermine him.  I guess it worked.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[12catcrazy]

Looks like I guessed the winner.   And I read that FOX has given the go-ahead for Season 2, which I won't be watching as I've come to the conclusion that "Competitive Reality" shows are not my thing.   That being said, I would have very happily eaten any of the meat dishes as well as Pyet's appy.  

[vibeology]

I do think Reuel made a mistake rushing through his appetizer round but it lead to the best moment of the season for me. I laughed as Reuel took his time picking off of that final platform. The editing of his talking head with the actual action was so good. 

[milkyaqua]

Not surprised about the winner.  It was between her and Reuel (standard Reule to think because he had extra time he'd blow the other two away).  I figured it was hers when the were talking about the uneven cook on Reuel's rib cap and they were gushing about Pyet being able to cook the rack of lamb in such short time.  I knew Mariah wasn't going to win it based on those potatoes that I don't remember her parboiling before she put them in the skillet.  At that point I was like, raw potato and Reuel's pommes souffles, okay I've never seen them done that darkly and all that to use one?

[cameron]

3 hours ago, milkyaqua said:

Not surprised about the winner.  It was between her and Reuel (standard Reule to think because he had extra time he'd blow the other two away).  I figured it was hers when the were talking about the uneven cook on Reuel's rib cap and they were gushing about Pyet being able to cook the rack of lamb in such short time.  I knew Mariah wasn't going to win it based on those potatoes that I don't remember her parboiling before she put them in the skillet.  At that point I was like, raw potato and Reuel's pommes souffles, okay I've never seen them done that darkly and all that to use one?

Actually the cook time on a rack of lamb is relatively short; it's the frenching of the bones that takes time.  In this case, think the lamb was already trimmed out.

[milkyaqua]

20 minutes ago, cameron said:

Actually the cook time on a rack of lamb is relatively short; it's the frenching of the bones that takes time.  In this case, think the lamb was already trimmed out.

That's true but between the sear and her putting it in the oven which I usually do see folks do, it did seem to be a little trickier than getting a good sear on a boneless steak.

[whinewithwine]

6 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

I won't be watching as I've come to the conclusion that "Competitive Reality" shows are not my thing.   

If you like cooking shows with competition, try Top Chef.   Very accomplished chefs with acclaimed judges.....assuming Blais has worn out his welcome there.   The new season starts 3-3.

[kirklandia]

 "Unpresidented!"

[blackwing]

I wanted Mariah to win.  I liked her demeanor throughout the competition, she was always calm and her food looked great.  I didn't care for the way Pyet and Reuel were always being "helpful" and bossing the elimination chefs around. 

It's been telegraphed for a while that Mariah, Reuel and Pyet were going to be in the final three.  And I think it was obvious all along that Pyet was going to win.  She's got that whole Native American indigenous food thing going on.  And Native Americans are greatly underrepresented in reality show competitions, so I am ok with her winning.

On 3/3/2022 at 12:21 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

Maybe I'm just ignorant of what constitutes Native American cuisine, but it didn't seem like anything in Pyet's menu would constitute that. Empanadas are Latin food.

I agree with this completely.  While her mom looks like full-blooded Native American, I would have never thought that Pyet was Native American if I randomly came across her.  I always thought she looked more Hispanic.  Then when she was talking about her empanadas and said the word with such a perfect Spanish accent, I looked her up.  Her last name is "DeSpain", and it appears that her father is Mexican and her mom is Native American.  Why was there never any emphasis on her Mexican heritage?  Because it's not unique enough?

Apart from that one sauce she made that Nyesha said everyone watching at home was going to look up on the internet, I didn't get a good sense of what is in Native American cuisine.  Is it a lot of corn and vegetables?  Is it flours and grains?  What kinds of spices are typically used?

[DanaK]

On 3/7/2022 at 11:44 AM, blackwing said:

Apart from that one sauce she made that Nyesha said everyone watching at home was going to look up on the internet, I didn't get a good sense of what is in Native American cuisine.  Is it a lot of corn and vegetables?  Is it flours and grains?  What kinds of spices are typically used?

Native American cuisine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_cuisine_of_the_Americas

[Madding crowd]

I missed this because I was on vacation but I told my husband before this even started that Pyet would win because the judges liked her story. I didn’t like it that the judges seemed dismissive of Reuel trying to spend as little time as possible on the appetizer round as that is exactly what they should do. If they wanted them to spend the most time on the first two rounds they should have constructed it differently. Then I didn’t like Nyesha telling the chefs what specific herbs to add to their dish.

I’m sure Pyet’s dishes were fine but I didn’t care for the giving points for using up more of your time or the idea that her win was decided before they ever cooked , which I’m sure it was.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Madding crowd

[Such A Flirt]

Pretty obvious from the start that Pyet was the winner. Reuel had some unpleasant traits, and Mariah only seemed to care about the money.