S19.E10: Dinner in Zero Gravity

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The competition reaches new heights as the chefs voyage to the Houston Space Center; they'll have to create a stellar new menu item that they would crave if they were on a multiyear mission to Mars.

Original air date: May 5, 2022

[Bastet]

Isn’t Claudette the one who, both times she was up for elimination, threw a teammate under the bus in some way at Judges’ Table?  I vaguely remember that.

I was a kid like Jae, wanting to be an astronaut.  I love how much they all enjoyed the experience at the Space Center, especially getting to talk to the astronauts on the space station and watch them eat.  I hope they got a lot more information from the food scientist than we saw about how the necessities and limitations of cooking food to be consumed in space, and I wanted more of that, too; it was interesting.

At the dining table, though, they really only talked about whether it met the “needs a lot of flavor” requirement (and didn’t even get into needing a lot of flavor without a lot of salt), and not much about whether liquids were the right consistency and things like that.

It seems like Damarr and Jae both really fell down in the EC; those weren’t minor errors.  Ashleigh was perfectly safe with those two dishes on the chopping block.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Whoever picked that hideous dress for Padma, with the gigantic shoulder puffs should be fired.   I thought the brown that was strapless and slipping in Restaurant Wars was bad, but this was even worse.    It takes real effort to make a beautiful, talented woman look that awful.  (As you can probably tell, I'm not very knowledgeable about fashion.   I think it detracted from her, and the dress was the star, not Padma.)  

I really loved seeing NASA, and seeing the Cheftestants, and Melissa video chatting to the space station was fantastic.  

I think what saved Ashleigh was the win for Restaurant Wars, and Jae's often finishing low in the rankings so often was the deciding factor. 

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[dgpolo]

9 minutes ago, Bastet said:

(and didn’t even get into needing a lot of flavor without a lot of salt)

I thought for a while that Nick was going to get dinged for that, he asked about the salt in the Space Station and the food scientist (and I always thing of the candy scientists from TAR when they say food scientist) said that too much salt hurts the bones or something, and then they showed him using the kosher salt and I thought he was going to be in trouble but then nothing came of it.

7 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Whoever picked that hideous dress for Padma, with the gigantic shoulder puffs should be fired.

I like the dress. It had a hint of 'spaceman' about it.

[rhofmovalley]

The ONE Thursday I have to go into the office and don't get home until 6 , they have only a one hour episode. Gonna have to read on here who got booted off.

[MerBearHou]

Wow, Buddha’s wife is a pastry chef for literally one of the most highly acclaimed restaurants in the world.  That is quite a husband-wife duo of chefs.

I loved Buddha telling corny puns and making aluminum halos to keep the aliens away.  Fun to see his cute humor come out.  And he is majorly talented.  That golf ball dessert was delicious and inspired.

Nick, the “Baker”, had a great night with winning the dough-dollars and his Mississippi gumbo was filled with character, flavor, and warmth of the state he loves.

I thought Ashleigh’s dish was way too gimmicky with the scissors and packet and light on flavor.  That seemed weak to me.

Now, when I see Damarr with his head held down and eyes looking up, all I can think of is Princess Diana like the other poster pointed out.  When Tom told the lowest three to hold their heads up, I literally said out loud (to no one) “well, Damarr doesn’t do that”.  I love Damarr so I’m glad he’s safe.  He’s so darn low-key that I fear his not selling his story of his dishes is going to eventually do him in.  So many others draw in the judges with their heartwarming reasons for their dishes — all sincere — but Damarr just keeps it SO low-key in his presentations.

The NASA experience was so cool in every way.  These chefs are having a great time this season and they seem to really be a close group.  The Farmer’s Market was fantastic to see too.  

Count on Marcus to bring the bright, fun fashion!

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by MerBearHou
Fixing Damarr spelling

[Thumper]

I loved learning about space food!  Very interesting about flavor and consistency.

Awww, I like Jae and am sad to see her go.

[Straycat80]

Fajitas are my favorite, I wish they would have given them more time. Evelyn’s and Nicks looked delicious. I was drooling. I know Jae didn’t finish but crepe’s? 
The NASA experience looked so cool. Sad to see Jai lose, she was doing so well up to this week. But there’s always LCK. 

[rlc]

Ashleigh should have gone home. Yes, Jae made mistakes, but Ashleigh should not be this close to the finals. Fingers crossed Jae makes it back from Last Chance Kitchen.

[dgpolo]

My impression is that Jae has been in the middle/bottom more than she's been in the top. One week I was sure she was going but squeaked by. I'm not surprised she's gone.

[The Solution]

This is by far the most talented season of Top Chef so far and I would consider myself lucky to eat any of their food. They are all decent human beings as well. I would be happy to see any of them win and sad to see any of them lose. And just think, every other night I have to watch the Sixers and the Heat play each other. I can't win.

[hendersonrocks]

I was ABD for that final three: Anyone But Damarr. He got lucky, and I am glad he's still going to be there. 

If Buddha and Evelyn don't make the final I will be distraught - adore them both and their completely different ways of cooking and conceptualizing.

[bravofan27]

This was such a cool episode. I mean, beyond creative, sooooo hard, and though a bit disjointed (how did the Houston Farmer's Market and space food make intutive sense, like why did they have to shop there?) Perhaps to make the challenge a little more cohesive was to prepare a Tex-Mex or Mexican "space meal" using the Houston Farmers Market. And not to be too skeptical or rude, but that stuff at the "Houston Farmer's Market" is all from a big distribution center and most likely from China. They have places like that in Saint Paul MN for the Hmong population. It's not at all local food- it all comes from a huge distribution center and outsourced and they call it a Farmer's Market. 

In any case, I dont' know if I'm explaining this correctly how I feel overall. I guess I just feel like they could have leveraged the Houston Farmer's market (the idea of a ton of ingredients for Mexican food), and all the talk about tex mex and fajitas better with a challenge that directly correlated. I mean, Jae made Korean food, Nick Mississipi food (but smartly added a torilla)... Buddha was also making a tortilla... (but not really sure why tortillas and space were connected....) Maybe it was just to pay for the extra costs (Chipotle was definitely sponsering!) with getting the space communications and props. 

Well, regardless, even though the thesis on the show was weak, seeing those astronaounts in space was SOOO COOOL, and just thinking about how to make a meal for people in space was incredibly interesting.

Although-- it isn't that groundbreaking that people in space want flavorful food. People everywhere want flavorful food). Maybe there was a bit a tip that they want stuff extra spicy, but the rationale for that wasn't made clear (is there something about the physics of space that impact the way food tastes?)

My mind went to that weirdo astronaount years ago who wore astronaunt diapers to kill her boyfriend's fiance. So they wear diapers-- I'd want some food that would not create a lot of... waste. But not sure how that could be pleasant dinner conversation, "I really  like Nick's edition of beans, but I feel like this could really create some discomfort in space when you have to sit in your elimination for days."

This is all so random. Sorry. 

All said, I think Jae was the right person to go. Her meal sounded disgusting. I'd rather each mushy rice (and I do a lot since I suck at making rice) that mushy short rib anyday. I'm also in love with Nick-- he doesn't pander, doesn't make weird faces, and seems to really be present. I also like his dimples. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by bravofan27

[Ms Blue Jay]

Padma looked amazing at the Quickfire in the red dress.  Mamma mia.

2 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Fajitas are my favorite, I wish they would have given them more time. Evelyn’s and Nicks looked delicious. I was drooling. I know Jae didn’t finish but crepe’s? 

Seriously.  They flashed by the dishes SO quickly.  Big annoyance of mine.  Fajitas is definitely something that comes to mind when I think of Tex Mex so why not spend more time here?

Edited May 6, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[mlp]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Isn’t Claudette the one who, both times she was up for elimination, threw a teammate under the bus in some way at Judges’ Table? 

Yes.  She was so unpleasant that I was surprised to see her back on the show.  She looked different too, hair color toned down, different glasses, thinner maybe. 

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I loved Buddha telling corny puns and making aluminum halos to keep the aliens away.  Fun to see his cute humor come out.  And he is majorly talented.  That golf ball dessert was delicious and inspired.

Buddha is easily my favorite, He's incredibly creative and has probably learned dessert techniques from his wife who must be highly talented to have a job at 11 Madison Park.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Buddha talking about the aliens was so funny because I think in response Jae said in the most bored voice ever "Okay, Buddha, cool........." 😄

It's adorable how excited he got about this challenge and Restaurant Wars.  

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, rlc said:

Ashleigh should have gone home. Yes, Jae made mistakes, but Ashleigh should not be this close to the finals. Fingers crossed Jae makes it back from Last Chance Kitchen.

Why shouldn't Ashleigh be this close to the finals?

34 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

I was ABD for that final three: Anyone But Damarr. He got lucky, and I am glad he's still going to be there. 

If Buddha and Evelyn don't make the final I will be distraught - adore them both and their completely different ways of cooking and conceptualizing.

I think the top three for the season are most likely the top three of tonight's episode. Evelyn, Buddha and Nick have been killing it all season and I can't think of one dish by any of them that was a misfire. The emphasis on the MS Baker nickname seems like he's a lock too.

Damarr is local to me, and his restaurant is even in my neighborhood, though I've only had food from there a couple times. So I'm rooting for him but I don't think he has much of a shot to get in the finals, let alone win.

1 hour ago, The Solution said:

This is by far the most talented season of Top Chef so far

A bold claim! But I don't know if I can prove or disprove it. Richard Blais might say that any season without him could not possibly qualify. :)

[Mellowyellow]

I haven't even seen this episode! Just logging on to make sure that my fab four (Evelyn, Damarr, Buddha and Nick) are still safe! They are thank goodness!!!

[SemiCharmedLife]

That was a very interesting episode.  I thought the challenge was pretty tricky, although the chefs didn't overthink it, like I would have done, and made some very tasty dishes.  There seemed to be a clear cut divide between the top chefs and the bottoms this week.  The chefs receiving the harshest critiques all made several mistakes on their dishes.  I was hoping that Damarr would get to stay and I think he probably did by the slightest margin.  It's time to pull out those recipes you've been saving, Damarr- you are getting down to the wire.  I will miss Jae and hope she does well in LCK.

Edited May 7, 2022 by SemiCharmedLife
spelling

[emmawoodhouse]

For anyone familiar with Demarr....what ace does he have up his sleeve? Will the upcoming challenges allow for him to cook his food?

[caitmcg]

3 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

This was such a cool episode. I mean, beyond creative, sooooo hard, and though a bit disjointed (how did the Houston Farmer's Market and space food make intutive sense, like why did they have to shop there?)

The Houston Farmers Market only featured in the QF, which was unrelated to space food, but was simply their creative spins on Tex-Mex fajitas (hence tortillas). The space food only featured in the elimination challenge, which didn’t involve either HFM (they shopped at Whole Foods) or Chipotle.

[Sd601]

Damarr has won quickfires and elimination challenges. He’s often at the top. I pegged him as a finalist over Nick. I’m surprised many don’t consider him finalist worthy. He won last week. Sh*t happens to all. This Challenge was pretty confusing—I can’t imagine how hard it was to think of & create a dish for Space. At least with airplane food challenges, they’ve all been in an airplane. 

I read somewhere (here?) that judges described this season’s finale as worthy as season 6 (Voltagio brothers). I’ve loved this season. I think it will be Buddha vs Evelyn. Very different styles but either could win. Reminds me of last season: Shota vs Gabe. 

[Fukui San]

I was trying to think of what I'd make for the NASA challenge. I actually think there are a number of dim sum staples might do well, believe it or not.  Fried sticky rice, Sui Mei. Egg rolls, beef meatballs, bao. Not the more delicate dumplings but the more durable ones. 

I wonder what went wrong with Jae's bulgogi treatment. Slicing the meat really thin is what you're supposed to do, as far as I know, but I guess there's a too thin threshold.

And once again plain fucking rice gets messed up on this show. I swear it's easier to make fresh pasta in the Top Chef kitchen than a pot of plain rice and I don't know how that can be possible. Could a contestant bring their own home rice cooker to the show? It's tragic, especially since it's almost never the key component of the dish.

[Quilt Fairy]

15 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

I wonder what went wrong with Jae's bulgogi treatment. Slicing the meat really thin is what you're supposed to do, as far as I know, but I guess there's a too thin threshold.

She was substituting a different cut of meat for the traditional one.  All I could think of while she was slicing it was how fatty it was.

[Rai]

Oh nooooooooo, I loved Jae. I'm bummed she had to go. I honestly thought Demarr was done for though, since Tom seemed to hate his entire dish. I agree with Melissa's assessment that Asheligh may have focused too much on her presentation and not enough on the actual cookery.

It was wild seeing Claudette again. She definitely seems to have gotten a glow-up since competing on Top Chef. I remember her as being super obnoxious on her season, and more than that, not particularly kind about the Top Chef franchise itself. I'm surprised that they would ask her to come back and that she would agree to come back. Maybe she was different on Top Chef Mexico, I dunno.

I've been rooting for Nick right from the start, but honestly, I thought Demarr had been outperforming him. Then it turns out he's got the rep and nickname for slaying the quickfires? That was something I hadn't been paying enough attention to, but I love that they call him the baker. That's hilarious. I also think his gumbo would've been good for the win. Easier to make for a trip, I'd think.

That said, Buddha's dessert looked like space food. It was a really fun plate, and if you ever saw it in a sci-fi movie, you'd be like 'Space food!" He and Evelyn seem like the destined top two. I hope I'm not jinxing anyone.

Evelyn's stew looked and sounded fantastic. I will take a big bowl of that, most definitely.

Demarr has been one of the top performers this whole time, so it was a surprise to see him in the bottom. He's my number three pick for the finale, depending on how the LCK winner does. But messing up rice -- twice! -- has got to be super disappointing for him.

I'm bummed Jae left because bulgogi beef is totally one of my favorite ways to enjoy red meat. I do think of it as thinly cut and tender and easily broken down. But it must have been way over a normal tender texture to get booted out. I could see the argument for any one of them going home. I liked the astronaut's point about how barley does cross multiple cultures though. That was a lovely thing to note.

It's been a great season, and I'm not sure who's gonna win, but it'll clearly be someone talented as all get out.

[rlc]

6 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

8 hours ago, rlc said:

Ashleigh should have gone home. Yes, Jae made mistakes, but Ashleigh should not be this close to the finals. Fingers crossed Jae makes it back from Last Chance Kitchen.

Why shouldn't Ashleigh be this close to the finals?

Because she's not as good a chef as the remaining chefs. She routinely underseasons, her food is often described as uninspired/simple compared to the other dishes, and she has been bottom to middle throughout the competition. She was eliminated once before, and should have been eliminated a couple of other times. Jae may have been on the bottom before, but when she's on the top, she's been great. 

Ashleigh- bottom 5x, eliminated once, win 1x

Jae- bottom 2x, win 2x

[LBS]

Wow - this was a hard elimination challenge.  I like all three but was sad to see Jae go.  I thought she was heads and tails talent wise over Ashleigh. Buddha and Nick were even to me but I’m predisposed to want Nick so I was a bit disappointed.  I’m all in on Damarr and hated that he knew he knew exactly what he did wrong but I thought it helped him at elimination when he didn’t excuse it.  I’m so excited for this end!

no spoiler but can’t remove the box.

Spoiler

 

[dleighg]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

Isn’t Claudette the one who, both times she was up for elimination, threw a teammate under the bus in some way at Judges’ Table?  I vaguely remember that.

I don't remember her one little bit. And that was some weird outfit she was wearing. Your basic weekend jeans covered by a floor length lace dress?

 

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

At the dining table, though, they really only talked about whether it met the “needs a lot of flavor” requirement (and didn’t even get into needing a lot of flavor without a lot of salt), and not much about whether liquids were the right consistency and things like that.

I was surprised that Budha's pavlova didn't get dinged. Isn't pavlova REALLY crumbly?

 

10 hours ago, rlc said:

Ashleigh should have gone home. Yes, Jae made mistakes, but Ashleigh should not be this close to the finals.

I totally agree. I was surprised it wasn't her going home.

 

7 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

For anyone familiar with Demarr....what ace does he have up his sleeve?

Yeah that seemed to be a very silly way to "play the game."

In the fajita quickfire, I thought Evelyn's meat was WAY too rare. That kind of meat needs to be cooked to medium or else it is super chewy.

I'm so glad they have streamlined the "who's on top who's on bottom" stuff. Remember when they would send Padma to the stew room to call three people -- and sometimes it was the top and sometimes the bottom, and the folks left in the stew room would speculate on which group they were in? I much prefer the way they are doing it now. Just get to the point (and it seems to be always that those who get to stay put are the best dishes).

[bosawks]

I was pulling for Jae to make the final because she is so up and down her final meal could've absolutely been amazing.

Or a huge WTF?!?!

Either way it would've been entertaining.

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, Rai said:

I'm bummed Jae left because bulgogi beef is totally one of my favorite ways to enjoy red meat. I do think of it as thinly cut and tender and easily broken down. But it must have been way over a normal tender texture to get booted out. I could see the argument for any one of them going home. I liked the astronaut's point about how barley does cross multiple cultures though. That was a lovely thing to note.

Same, Bulgogi is so good.  Maybe Jae overthought it.  I guess barley is an interesting idea but I would definitely miss the rice.

[Rammchick]

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Same, Bulgogi is so good.  Maybe Jae overthought it.  I guess barley is an interesting idea but I would definitely miss the rice.

I think Jae selected the wrong cut of meat.  But considering how thin it was, it could've been seared for a few seconds or even left raw, and cooked slightly by the other ingredients on the plate.  ETA -- I stand corrected -- I thought she'd used short rib but it was, in fact, rib eye.  Carry on ;) 

What kept throwing me was the Quickfire.  Fajitas are meant to be eaten in a tortilla, taco-style.  Yet Padma and Claudette tried only the fillings with a fork (except for Nick's, and they ate his the right way because he'd made the tortilla).  Really good fajitas can be ruined with soggy, untoasted tortillas, so it's not only just about the filling.  

Edited May 6, 2022 by Rammchick

[dgpolo]

4 hours ago, rlc said:

Ashleigh- bottom 5x, eliminated once, win 1x

Jae- bottom 2x, win 2x

From Wikipedia (beware if you go to the site, there be spoilers)

(high is in the top w/o winning)

Jae        - elim 1; low 2x; middle 5x; high 0x; win 2x: QF  0

Ashleigh- elim 1; low 4x; middle 3x; high 1x; win 1x: QF  1

Damarr-    elim 0; low 1x; middle 6x; high 2x; win 1x: QF 2

Buddha-   elim 0; low 2x; middle 3x; high 3x; win 2x: QF  2      

Evelyn-     elim 0; low 2x; middle 3x; high 2x; win 3x: QF  0

Nick-        elim 0; low 0x; middle 7x; high 2x; win 1x: QF  3

 

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

What kept throwing me was the Quickfire.  Fajitas are meant to be eaten in a tortilla, taco-style.  Yet Padma and Claudette tried only the fillings with a fork (except for Nick's, and they ate his the right way because he'd made the tortilla).  Really good fajitas can be ruined with soggy, untoasted tortillas, so it's not only just about the filling. 

I think Padma said to create a fajita inspired dish, so I don't think they were asking for or expecting a literal interpretation. But the Mississippi Baker won anyways, which tickled me. I love Nick and he has been stealthy good all season. His earnings haul hadn't even registered with me until they called it out.

[IdEatThat]

I’ve mentioned before that I am loving this season.  The chefs are very talented, minimal to no drama and straightforward challenges.   As I was thinking of prior seasons it got me wondering, have we even seen a scallop this season.  Remember “Top Scallop”? (tm Fabio.)

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, Rammchick said:

I think Jae selected the wrong cut of meat.  But considering how thin it was, it could've been seared for a few seconds or even left raw, and cooked slightly by the other ingredients on the plate. 

At the WF meat counter, she asked for rib eye, which is a standard cut for bulgogi. I think she actually sliced it too thin, then overcooked it. It almost seemed as if she was braiding it, rather than searing it. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Rammchick said:

What kept throwing me was the Quickfire.  Fajitas are meant to be eaten in a tortilla, taco-style.  Yet Padma and Claudette tried only the fillings with a fork (except for Nick's, and they ate his the right way because he'd made the tortilla).  Really good fajitas can be ruined with soggy, untoasted tortillas, so it's not only just about the filling.  

I noticed that too!

[AriAu]

Over-cooked rice and still on the show...DaMarr is very, very lucky that either the rest of his dish was great or Jae's was really, really bad.

Quote

This is by far the most talented season of Top Chef so far and I would consider myself lucky to eat any of their food.

Gotta respectfully disagree with the first part-check out Season 4 (Chicago), Season 6 (Las Vegas-both Voltaggios, Jen Carroll and Kevin Gillespie), Seattle or either All-Star season (and I guess Charleston, which was a combo). But, I absolutely agree with the 2nd part of the sentence-would be very lucky indeed.

Quote

I’ve mentioned before that I am loving this season.  The chefs are very talented, minimal to no drama and straightforward challenges. 

I love the minimal drama and that the challenges are straightforward enough to let them cook great food, but something is just a little off. Not quiet enough personality shining through-everyone is very even keel and low key so I am finding it hard to have a rooting interest in any cheftestant. This is the only reality show I watch so I love that there is little, if any, needless drama, but not quite enough to get me to care. Maybe it is driven by the fact that they are not in one house due to Covid so we miss out on them interacting- I don't need or want a "bad guy/villain", but we aren't even really seeing who are the "good guys" that everyone likes or admires

Plus, I think they are all talented, but no one is at the "next level" like a Voltaggio, Izard, Blais, Kish, Paul Qui, Shota, Brooke, Sheldon Simeon, Gregory, Mei, Nina Compton etc... Buddha seems like the only one  doing super creative stuff, but he isn't always executing, unlike someone like Shota from last season. Everyone  seems to be good chefs making tasty food....that I would love to taste.

Edited May 6, 2022 by AriAu

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, caitmcg said:

At the WF meat counter, she asked for rib eye, which is a standard cut for bulgogi. I think she actually sliced it too thin, then overcooked it. It almost seemed as if she was braiding it, rather than searing it. 

Thanks.  For some reason, I remembered it as short rib.

[caitmcg]

11 minutes ago, AriAu said:

Maybe it is driven by the fact that they are not in one house due to Covid so we miss out on them interacting- I don't need or want a "bad guy/villain", but we aren't even really seeing who are the "good guys" that everyone likes or admires

They are in one house together. At the beginning of this episode the six of them are together at the house and someone (Ashleigh?) recalls when there were a bunch more of them and they had to fight for space on the couches or at the dining table, and they all came out of their rooms the next morning to find the card from Parma. The show just isn’t spending a lot of time showing their downtime outside the stew room. 

[HurricaneVal]

Oh man, Jae really had a bad couple of days.  But that's how this goes, everybody can have a bad day, or a bad dish.  Jae just happened to string two challenges in a row with bad performances.  And "bad" is a relative term, she just wasn't as good as the best in last night's episode!

 

[dgpolo]

30 minutes ago, AriAu said:

but we aren't even really seeing who are the "good guys" that everyone likes or admires

When the 'ad' came up to vote for the fan favorite I told my daughter that it didn't seem like anyone was standing out in that regard. I told her Damarr seems to be well liked here in the forums but no one was really standing out like Fabio or Shota.

[Pj3422]

Best. Elimination. Challenge. Ever. I was a space geek as a kid and I remember my parents waking me up so I could watch Armstrong’s walk on the moon. I was tearing up as the cheftestants quizzed the astronauts on the Space Station. Only off note was Marcus Samuelsson’s comment about the gumbo. “Mississippi Goddamn” was not an appropriate reference. 

On the Quickfire, I was happy to see the reference to Ninfa. I remember her smiling face from the commercials for Ninfa’s restaurants here in San Antonio. 

[Quilt Fairy]

Whatever cut of meat Jae got at the store, I distinctly remember her saying as she sliced it that it wasn't the traditional cut for the dish, but she was going to slice it super-thin and hope for the best.  She didn't use that as an excuse at JT, but I do remember that one line. 

[chabelisaywow]

15 hours ago, mlp said:

Isn’t Claudette the one who, both times she was up for elimination, threw a teammate under the bus in some way at Judges’ Table? 

The only one available? I would love to Maria again. Her elimination and Jamie sticking up for her - made me cry

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, Pj3422 said:

Only off note was Marcus Samuelsson’s comment about the gumbo. “Mississippi Goddamn” was not an appropriate reference. 

Yeah, we all understood that he was paying a high compliment, but in the context of the song it was a bit jarring.

[sATL]

18 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I was ABD for that final three: Anyone But Damarr. He got lucky, and I am glad he's still going to be there. 

If Buddha and Evelyn don't make the final I will be distraught - adore them both and their completely different ways of cooking and conceptualizing.

Yeah -   I saw the top 3 as the final 3.

Don't they sell minute rice in whole foods? Or rice with directions on the back?  Do they have rice cookers in the kitchen ? I understand he was stressed, but.. Rice??? Plain rice??? twice ? It looked odd on a cookie sheet pan ( leave it in the pot under plating). I would admit Damarr looked like " I.m over it" during the QF.

Edited May 6, 2022 by sATL

[dleighg]

I forget what kind of rice he was doing but the bag looked familiar (like something I use); some sort of Jasmine or Basmati I think? I cook it  all the time. A quick rinse in a strainer; sometime later (15 or 20 minutes usually, but sometimes more) I put it with 1.5x water, some salt and butter, cook 15 minutes covered. Turn off the heat for 5-10 minutes. It's always perfect! This is not hard.

[Tango64]

I keep getting the impression that the theme of a challenge, no matter how much they talk about it being the real focus, is not considered much when it comes to judging the dishes. It seems that if you make a really good tasty dish, the judges will totally overlook that you didn't match the parameters or the creative theme you were supposed to include. 

Someone here pointed out that the favorite dishes didn't necessarily comport with the astronaut needs for no crumbles, no floating liquids, low salt, etc. But they were good dishes, so the judges said, "eh, whatever. We like it." There were similar issues with the dinosaur theme and the Texas women leaders, where the contestants seemed to just make a good dish and then think of a way to force it into the theme.

If I were a contestant, I'd just nod my head when they're blathering about the theme and make whatever I want. If they like it, they're not going to call you out for missing the theme.

But if you're the only one who goes hard for the theme -- a baggie with scissors to cut it open and a tin of bland fish -- you lose because the dish was not good.

[grandmabegum]

Nobody brought it up so I assume it's not an issue, but all I could think of when Ashleigh chose fish as her protein was, "What kind of sick person would eat fish in an enclosed space." It's bad enough to eat it in my office where the windows don't open, but we can crack a door and take the trash immediately out which are not, you know, options in space.

[bravofan27]

1 hour ago, Tango64 said:

I keep getting the impression that the theme of a challenge, no matter how much they talk about it being the real focus, is not considered much when it comes to judging the dishes. It seems that if you make a really good tasty dish, the judges will totally overlook that you didn't match the parameters or the creative theme you were supposed to include. 

Someone here pointed out that the favorite dishes didn't necessarily comport with the astronaut needs for no crumbles, no floating liquids, low salt, etc. But they were good dishes, so the judges said, "eh, whatever. We like it." There were similar issues with the dinosaur theme and the Texas women leaders, where the contestants seemed to just make a good dish and then think of a way to force it into the theme.

If I were a contestant, I'd just nod my head when they're blathering about the theme and make whatever I want. If they like it, they're not going to call you out for missing the theme.

But if you're the only one who goes hard for the theme -- a baggie with scissors to cut it open and a tin of bland fish -- you lose because the dish was not good.

I'm not sure if I am getting you 100%, but if you are saying that Ashleigh really was practical about the challenge, then I COMPLETELY AGREE. Okay, her fish was chunky and not well seasoned. Whatever, She made food that made sense for people on space. It's easy to tweak seasoning.

For whatever reason, I am thinking that Luke would have suffered immensely in this challenge. Dmarr was clearly intimidated, as was Jae. Buddha and Nick really seemed to be really into the challenge.

Edited May 6, 2022 by bravofan27