The Great American Recipe - General Discussion

[Salacious Kitty]

My PBS station (San Francisco) has it airing at its usual time. I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

[VanillaBear85]

It aired as a 90 minute episode here with the last half hour as basically an interview with the 3 finalists and some guy as the interviewer. I missed the first hour and only caught the interview portion, which I didn't really pay attention to so I am unsure what was discussed.

Seems Salmah won. 

[chicagofan]

I'm in Chicago and it aired at the usual time of 8 p.m. CDT. I wasn't watching it live since I was watching Crime Scene Kitchen on FOX, but I checked it out during commercial breaks. The winner was 

Spoiler

Brad.

I don't know what the situation is elsewhere, but the episode is already available to view on my local PBS station's website (WTTW) and I plan to watch it sometime tomorrow.

Edited August 8, 2023 by chicagofan

[DanaK]

Renewed for Season 3. Put the link in spoilers since the link and the article mention the winner

Spoiler

https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/home-cook-brad-mahlof-wins-season-2-of-the-great-american-recipe-pbs-announces-season-3/

 

[Yeah No]

22 hours ago, dleighg said:

But these are NOT chefs. They ARE home cooks. Now I am very skeptical that anyone is actually going to get hired for a permanent job, rather than a few episodes a year or something like that, given that for almost all of them a relocation would be involved. I was kind of surprised to see Peter Cardoz, son of the late great Floyd Cardoz, there. Interestingly, at least in the first episode, his excellent genes (and presumably nurture as well) didn't help him one bit.

I started a topic for it: 

 

Thank you!

I haven't watched the whole season yet so I don't want to be spoiled on who the winner is or I'd do more research as to what their role is.  My impression of most of the members of the Test Kitchen that the job is sort-of like an internship where they are given routine testing jobs to do, and they're not necessarily part of the creative content of the show or in front of the cameras.  So they can play loosey-goosey with what the winner's actual responsibilities will be.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Yeah No

[milkyaqua]

I'm fine with the winner but again, this show needs more in line with other competitive cooking shows.  It doesn't matter that these are amateur/home cooks.  I want more of a competitive edge to this instead of everyone cooking their own food based on some random subject the judges throw out at them.

[nanmar33]

So I went through the videos on PBS online to see who had the most top twos.  

Salma 7

Brad  5 (with one overall best)

Khela 4

Abby 2 (with one overall best)

Relle 2 (with two overall best)

Leanna 2 (with one overall best)

Ted 2

Maria 1

Mike 1

Least Successful

Abby 3

Leanna 2

Ted 2

Relle 1

Salma 1

Maria 1

So really Khela should have been in the final.

 

[Salacious Kitty]

She was my pick rather than Leanna. 

[buttersister]

Well, since it aired, let me congratulate Brad! I guess one overall best overcame a two-top deficient. Thanks for the scorecard, nanmar33! I will certainly watch for the rerun now.

Agree with the improvements needed for season 2. This season's variety sometimes read like chaos in the kitchen--and judging by best taste without other factors seems too simplified and not necessarily reflective of the dish. Unless, of course, you're gathering all best-tasting recipes (regardless of the competition) for a fundraising cookbook. LOL!

[illdoc]

Cookbook out Aug 15 (according to B&N): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-great-american-recipe-cookbook-season-2-edition-the-great-american-recipe/1142959957?ean=9781637743645

[libgirl2]

I enjoyed it and was very happy with the winner.  I dont want drama like on so many of these other shows. I love seeing people's heritage and cultures on a plate. 

[blueray]

I'll put this in spoilers just in case.

Spoiler

I'm glad that Brad won! I think he was the most talented and I wanted to eat that final right off the screen. Mainly the main dish. Even Leah struggled to say what she didn't like. She just said that she felt the sides were needed. That's why he gave them to you, Leah.

Also seeing above, so it should have been Kelah. That would have been nice as it seems like that would be a come from behind story. I'm not sure why Leanna was in the final then.

[Salacious Kitty]

Maybe Khela's culinary POV wasn't as clearly articulated as compared to Leanna's? That's all I can come up with. 

[Rammchick]

I personally think Khela was too "white bread".  The show seemed to go out of its way to cast home cooks from various ethnic backgrounds to show the diversity of American food and culture. Khela was the one person who made things like chicken and dumplings, which although delicious, didn't fit the brief.  I was more surprised they didn't choose Relle instead of Leanna.

[Salacious Kitty]

14 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

I personally think Khela was too "white bread".  The show seemed to go out of its way to cast home cooks from various ethnic backgrounds to show the diversity of American food and culture. Khela was the one person who made things like chicken and dumplings, which although delicious, didn't fit the brief.  I was more surprised they didn't choose Relle instead of Leanna.

That's what I meant by Khela not having an articulated culinary POV. She didn't lean on any special ethnic roots. I wonder at her casting. 

[nanmar33]

8 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

That's what I meant by Khela not having an articulated culinary POV. She didn't lean on any special ethnic roots. I wonder at her casting. 

Why shouldn't she have been cast?  There are a lot of people in America who cook like her and who have a similar background to her.  If we are having the Great American Recipe, then everyone should be included, not just those who are first/second generation Americans.  

[Rammchick]

4 hours ago, nanmar33 said:

Why shouldn't she have been cast?  There are a lot of people in America who cook like her and who have a similar background to her.  If we are having the Great American Recipe, then everyone should be included, not just those who are first/second generation Americans.  

Definitely agree that she should have participated, but I understand why she didn't make the finale.  Don't necessarily agree with it, however.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Rammchick

[Salacious Kitty]

7 hours ago, nanmar33 said:

Why shouldn't she have been cast?  There are a lot of people in America who cook like her and who have a similar background to her.  If we are having the Great American Recipe, then everyone should be included, not just those who are first/second generation Americans.  

I agree. But everyone else had such a strong cultural identity that she really stood out as basically the average American cook. Nothing wrong with that. 

[libgirl2]

On 8/11/2023 at 2:09 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

I agree. But everyone else had such a strong cultural identity that she really stood out as basically the average American cook. Nothing wrong with that. 

She was really good and was able to make some ethnic dishes as well, but I understood her not making the finale. 

I knew Salmah would make it but is it just me or did she make a lot of desserts? They looked wonderful but I wanted to see some more savory dishes. 

 

[zoey1996]

I finished watching this today. I was pleased with the outcome. It was fun to see their “sous chefs.” 
I’m sure they all want make an ambitious option, but it seems that preparing in three hours a dish that usually cooks for five hours is a bit much, even with the aid of a pressure cooker. The beverage looked quite refreshing, though.

[2soon2tell]

It’s ba-ack. This week was the usual make anything that represents you or where you’re from. Next week seems to be everyone use a grain. Maybe they’ll be more structured this year. One can only hope.

[Salacious Kitty]

1 hour ago, 2soon2tell said:

It’s ba-ack. This week was the usual make anything that represents you or where you’re from. Next week seems to be everyone use a grain. Maybe they’ll be more structured this year. One can only hope.

There's a dedicated thread for the new season. 😀

[chessiegal]

I asked this question in the wrong forum. I've only watched one episode. In it, a judge stepped in and fixed one contestant's pasta dough that was too dry. Is it normal for a judge to step in and fix things?

[Salacious Kitty]

On this show, they definitely make "recommendations," but that was the first time I saw a judge step in and fix a problem.