Ciao House - General Discussion

[cameron]

On 5/6/2024 at 8:12 AM, chessiegal said:

At least Alex is smiling in the promos. Her negative attitude in the first season was off-putting. Hopefully they've let her drop the 'tude.

Think that Alex has really been hitting the pasta restaurants big time,  maybe that's why she is smiling.

[Gramto6]

I don't remember the time frame, but maybe the first Ciao House was filmed around the time she broke up with her fiancée?  I don't know if any of the details around that breakup were ever made public but it could be that was messing with her head during filming. Just a wild guess, because I have always found Alex to be a happy person and supportive of contestants. She was so dour on CH1 it wasn't like her.

[Jaded]

33 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

I don't remember the time frame, but maybe the first Ciao House was filmed around the time she broke up with her fiancée?  I don't know if any of the details around that breakup were ever made public but it could be that was messing with her head during filming. Just a wild guess, because I have always found Alex to be a happy person and supportive of contestants. She was so dour on CH1 it wasn't like her.

I'd bet that part of it was the breakup. As much of a train wreck that went on in front of the cameras I imagine BTS could have been a chaotic mess too

[MerBearHou]

Anyone watching?  I decided to give it a go and it’s off to a more pleasant / less negative vibe than last year, right from the start.  We shall see.

[chessiegal]

I'm watching. Agree, a better start, and Alex seems to have ditched the broom.  

[Salacious Kitty]

Rule change! Teams will change with each challenge. No stagnation like last year. And the contestants already know to play down their resumes so they don't get booted. 

Edited May 20 by Salacious Kitty

[aghst]

They’re all taking mental notes on which rivals to vote to send home, filing them away for future rounds.

So from the HHI episode, we know that the villa is north of Lecce and not near the coast, even though we saw them arrive by boat.  I think they landed in Otranto, which has an old castle on the port.

They obviously added a herb garden, just some plant beds there.  They didn’t show the bedrooms nor the pool area other than a drone shot at the beginning.

In the interstitial shots between commercial breaks, they showed parts of different parts.  For instance, a couple of shots of Polignano A Mare, famous for homes on cliffs overlooking the water.  But it’s about a 60-90 minute drive from Lecce, which they also showed — had shots of the real tall Campanile by the Duomo there.

As for the cooking, I didn’t know fish dishes could be primi.  Maybe they’re more antipasti?  But they must want them to use two types of fish?

It appears they’re not only working as professional chefs, some of them own restaurants.  Shannon owns two restaurants along with her husband.  She said she may be underestimated by others because she’s attractive.🤨  Anyways her restaurants must feature a lot of rice dishes?

I wonder if the winner of the first season, whom I don’t even remember, thinks the prize of learning with Italian chefs was worthwhile.

[cameron]

Don't like Alex's new makeup look.  Those glaring red lips just really highlights all of her grimaces.

[Ms Lark]

Alex seems to like Gabe a lot:

https://www.tvinsider.com/1135650/ciao-house-season-2-puglia-food-network-alex-guarnaschelli-gabe-bertaccini/

Show seems to have its act together more than last year. I was surprised it was picked up for another season. Will hold off on judging the chefs' likeability for a week or two. Rice fail girl deserved to go. If other team lost, potato fail should have been booted.

Spoiler

 

 

[Backwards999]

They have some strong personalities this season.  It’s going to be interesting to see how things play out.

[lavenderblue]

OK, why did Zev seem so familiar to me? The only other credit I could find for him was an episode of Beat Bobby Flay that I haven't seen, but I'd swear I know him from something else...

[seacliffsal]

I think there are fewer weak chefs than last year (but we shall see as the season progresses).  Alex seemed more relaxed and encouraging so that's a really good thing.  However, I really don't like having the teams vote out the loser.  Maybe if Gabe and Alex identified the two weakest chefs/dishes from the losing team and then they voted among those two it would seem more fair than last year when it was 'vote out the best chef' and contributed to an overall lack of enjoyment of the show for me (along with Alex's negativity).  I enjoyed this first episode.

[MerBearHou]

I don’t like the “Survivor” aspect of this show where the teams choose who to vote off.  

[Gramto6]

15 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I don’t like the “Survivor” aspect of this show where the teams choose who to vote off.  

Totally agree!! I like @seacliffsal's idea that Alex and Gabe choose the bottom 2 of the losing team and then the team votes only on those two. That would eliminate the "vote off the best chef" aspect of the vote.

[Salacious Kitty]

To be fair, they did vote off the worst cook last night. And the votes that the better cook got could also be justified, especially in her role as capo. 

[MerBearHou]

10 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

To be fair, they did vote off the worst cook last night. And the votes that the better cook got could also be justified, especially in her role as capo. 

True, in the beginning, the weakest links are usually easy votes with no strategic ramifications.  Then it becomes political and wily as time goes on.  Oh yes, I felt Stykx deserved those votes that she got.  

Edited May 21 by MerBearHou

[seacliffsal]

It's similar to The Weakest Link in which the contestants initially vote off the weakest players to build up the cash prize but then turn on the better players so that potentially they will go against a really weak player in the final.  In a cooking competition there's usually the idea that the 'winning' chef would be the strongest/best, but in this show the 'winning' chef may be one of the weakest in the competition.  For me, as a viewer, it's not a fulfilling 'win.'  In a cooking competition I want to see amazing chefs and amazing food.  The best thing about this show is the fabulous Italian scenery (oh, and the cats that apparently live at the house).

[eel2178]

7 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

The best thing about this show is the fabulous Italian scenery (oh, and the cats that apparently live at the house).

Did anyone else get an advertisement for cat food at the first commercial break?

Without the cameos from the cats during the program, it would seem a little odd to be pushing cat food on a supposedly high-end cooking show.

[chessiegal]

9 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

Did anyone else get an advertisement for cat food at the first commercial break?

Without the cameos from the cats during the program, it would seem a little odd to be pushing cat food on a supposedly high-end cooking show.

I wasn't paying attention to the commercials, but I keep the tv on all day on various channels and see cat food commercials all the time. I'm not sure I'd characterize Ciao House as a high-end cooking show. I'm not sure what a high-end cooking show is.

[eel2178]

59 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

 I'm not sure what a high-end cooking show is.

It's any show where most of the contestants have "elevated" skills (beyond standard home cooking skills).  I feel that was adequately demonstrate in this episode.

Worst Cooks in America definitely doesn't qualify.

[chessiegal]

I seriously doubt a cat wandering through the house had anything to do with a cat food commercial. As I said, I see cat food commercials on all kinds of shows. They're aimed at people with cats.

[eel2178]

19 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I seriously doubt a cat wandering through the house had anything to do with a cat food commercial. As I said, I see cat food commercials on all kinds of shows. They're aimed at people with cats.

It was just the timing of it that I found strange. First, we saw cameos of 2 cats, then an immediate advertisement for gourmet cat food when food shows usually advertise for expensive kitchen equipment or ingredients or vacations with good food and the like, especially early in the show when TPTB think viewers are still paying attention to the commercials.

[chessiegal]

33 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

It was just the timing of it that I found strange. First, we saw cameos of 2 cats, then an immediate advertisement for gourmet cat food when food shows usually advertise for expensive kitchen equipment or ingredients or vacations with good food and the like, especially early in the show when TPTB think viewers are still paying attention to the commercials.

Okay, as long as you have data to back it up.

Edited May 21 by chessiegal

[aghst]

1 hour ago, eel2178 said:

It's any show where most of the contestants have "elevated" skills (beyond standard home cooking skills).  I feel that was adequately demonstrate in this episode.

Worst Cooks in America definitely doesn't qualify.

I would assume that these contestants are auditioned somehow before they're cast for the show.

So at a minimum, they could make dishes and plate them in a photogenic way at least.

And they could talk about their thoughts on why they're making specific dishes, so they're steeped in the lingo of fine cuisine, if nothing else.

Some of them have formal training and even the self-taught ones seem to live and breathe cuisine.

So they have passion for cuisine like that Sidney character in The Bear.

 

[tessabq]

I love the scenery. I love the cooking and the food. I strongly dislike the teams voting members off. I've decided to stop watching when the voting starts and find in the next who is gone. This will make the show more palatable to me. I get enough team stress at work. 

[candall]

I was critical of Season 1, but I loved the two-hour Season 2 opener.  I think they did a good job showing the personalities of several cheftestants, eg. the beach bum sushi chef who has secret high-end Italian experience, the nice guy who just puts his head down and cooks great food without any drama, the woman who had to watch her capo mess up the fish she herself felt more experienced to handle.

 

The villain is clearly the hipster in the beanie.  He tried to be clever with his first dish (Fail) and he was lightning quick to throw potato-scale girl under the bus, even though no one had sought his opinion.

 

I gave a hard eyeroll at potato-scale girl when she claimed to know the farmers who grow the wheat for her pasta.  Lobster fisherman, sure, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any artisanal wheat patches on Long Island.  Did you see Alex stick her fork into the lobster spaghetti dish?  The whole thing came up out of the bowl in one clump.

     Also, I feel angry at people who can't take two seconds and deliver a swift knife slice to the lobster's head before they drop him in to boil alive.

 

Anyway, I enjoyed the premiere and I'm disappointed it's going to be one hour from now on.  I'd watch a double!  : )

[Salacious Kitty]

Sunday is two hours. Could be two episodes, not sure. 

[eel2178]

1 hour ago, candall said:

I feel angry at people who can't take two seconds and deliver a swift knife slice to the lobster's head before they drop him in to boil alive.

I noticed that the part where the lobsters are screaming after they are dropped into the pot was edited out.

[Jaded]

Shannon's giant rice disaster which she made even worse in the 2nd hour reminded me of Uncle Rodger on YouTube. He got attention from being horrified while watching a chef on a BBC cooking show was making egg fried rice. I timestamped where the good part starts...🤣

 

----
P.S: He did the same kind of reaction video to Jamie Oliver making egg fried rice too.


 

Edited May 23 by Jaded

[tv echo]

Alex Guarnaschelli dishes on the intense competition of ‘Ciao House’ | New York Live TV
New York Live   May 21, 2024

[Grizzly]

The claws really started coming out tonight. Love the Nonnas, that's an experience that makes doing the competition worth it. To make fresh pasta looks so simple but we all know it isn't. Austin really killed it. If Drew is such a pasta expert, why didn't he volunteer his services? 

The bread looked delicious and I would agree that Hanna's team utilized it better. I can see both sides. The chefs are supposed to be fulfilling the capo's vision but the capo should trust the chefs. Poor Maria. Being on a team with all men, no way she wasn't going home.

The villa's cats are elevating this season.

[surfgirl]

Zev is a misogynistic prick. Top Chef this ain't. That's all I got.

ETA: I'm out after watching this one episode. I hate the way they have the team gang up on one person and tonight's misogyny team shitting on the only woman? Fuck.That.Shit.  And by that I mean YOU Zev, you whiney, PoS.

Edited May 29 by surfgirl

[Salacious Kitty]

Zev isn't long for the competition. He can't resist butting in to everyone else's business. And man, Devan can't stand Hannah, and from the preview, it looks like she picks him again. That might spell her doom. 

[ECM1231]

Those figs on top of that delicious looking bread pudding!!!! O M G!!! Drool! Great job, Styx.

Hannah annoys me, which pains me to say as a fellow Long Islander, but her team deserved that win, imo.

Devan really is an inventive chef! I love how he incorporates his Southern roots into whatever the challenge is. 

Dev can leave any minute now. 

[aghst]

I think Drew avoided the pasta to try to eliminate one of the pasta makers on their own team even though he’s one of the best pasta makers on the show.  But the other team had two guys who also were great with pasta, so he didn’t want to be compared to them.

I think the capos are choosing the best chefs they think they could get on their team but maybe a strategy would be to pick someone whom they think could win it all on your team to potentially vote out of the house.

I love pasta but typically in Italy they don’t load them up with ton of ingredients except the seafood pasta dishes.  It’s the secondi or second dishes which feature meat or fish.

But I guess the point of these cooking competitions is to show “creativity” by making these unique dishes that most people won’t find in restaurants.

Then they gamify it by putting them under time pressure, with people running around like chickens with their heads cut off.  It’s TV, it’s more dramatic to see people rushing around.  If a team made dishes and finished with like 30 minutes to spare, it might not come across as suspenseful

[eel2178]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

 If Drew is such a pasta expert, why didn't he volunteer his services? 

He explained that. He doesn't want to be seen as strong competition yet, so he doesn't get voted out just because people are afraid to have to go up against him in later.

[eel2178]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

The villa's cats are elevating this season.

This week's cat food commercials came later in the episode plus commercials for kitty aromatherapy.

[eel2178]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

The bread looked delicious and I would agree that Hanna's team utilized it better.

I was surprised that no one made panzanella. Is that consider too amateur? 

[eel2178]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Poor Maria. Being on a team with all men, no way she wasn't going home.

However, she should have gone home on the previous task instead of Jan.

[seacliffsal]

I wasn't surprised that Maria left as the biggest criticisms centered on the break under the mushrooms and the garlic bread (which they said needed more flavors).  She seemed a bit out of her league on this show.

So far I am enjoying Alex more on this season than the previous season.  She seems not as harsh and to be enjoying herself a bit more.

The scenery is amazing.  And the food looks delicious.  The bread pasta was something I would like to try-well, really, I would like to try everything.  But, Italian fresh baked bread?  Yes, please!

Zev needs to go-Alex even had to tell him to be quiet when the other team was voting someone out.  He is seeking all of the attention.

[Grizzly]

Preston, from last season, was on the 5/14 episode of Chopped. He did well but didn't win. And didn't come across as an ass. The weirdest part was both Alex and Gabe were judges and they pretended not to know Preston.

[Jodithgrace]

Quote

I was surprised that no one made panzanella. Is that consider too amateur?

That was my thought as well, but it certainly isn’t as amateur as crostini and garlic bread. When I heard garlic bread I thought, wait..what? My mother made garlic bread and she couldn’t even cook. 
 

Hannah is really making friends right and left. If somebody added something (stock) to my dish, I would not be happy. Everybody on her team was just gritting their teeth and trying to get through it. Good thing her team won, or they might just have voted her off for being annoying. 
 

Zev is already getting on my last nerve. One of the things I dislike about this show is the teams critiquing the other team’s meals. And Zev was the worst. He didn’t have one positive thing to say. 

[eel2178]

10 minutes ago, Jodithgrace said:

Hannah is really making friends right and left. If somebody added something (stock) to my dish, I would not be happy. Everybody on her team was just gritting their teeth and trying to get through it. Good thing her team won, or they might just have voted her off for being annoying. 
 

I wonder if the rationale for making her capo again for the next round is to increase the chances of her being voted off.

[aghst]

1 minute ago, eel2178 said:

I wonder if the rationale for making her capo again for the next round is to increase the chances of her being voted off.

Yeah I don't think it's just Gabe and Alex having a brief convo about which team won and who will be the capos.

Probably the producers get involved in these decisions and we just don't see it.

 

[bioprof]

Maria definitely needed to go. She sliced bread ( wow )……and very slowly, at that. At first I assumed she’d be responsible for the entire dish…slice and grill the bread and make the toppings. But no….just slicing  and grilling. 
I can’t believe she messed up garlic bread. How do you make garlic bread with almost no taste! Both of these jobs were elementary and she should have been helping out her teammates.  Phouc had no problem doing that in the luncheon competition.

I agree with others who don’t like Hannah, but her team definitely deserved the win. Got to give her team credit for restraint with their knives….not sure if I could be that disciplined if she tried to mess with my soup.

[Salacious Kitty]

Devan looked like he'd cut a bitch when Hannah started fiddling with his soup. I wonder if he was aware when she grabbed the torch and went to town behind his back? 

I bet her micro management gets her the boot next episode.

[seacliffsal]

11 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Devan looked like he'd cut a bitch when Hannah started fiddling with his soup. I wonder if he was aware when she grabbed the torch and went to town behind his back? 

I bet her micro management gets her the boot next episode.

And the criticism the judges had about the soup was that there weren't enough onions-which was totally on Hannah as she added more stock which changed the ingredient ratio.  I also noticed the team's irritation when she kept saying that "I made" each dish instead of saying "we made" or "specific name chef made."  She took total credit (I think she may have given recognition to one of her team members, but she definitely took as much credit as possible [but failed to mention that she added more stock to the soup which changed the stock/onion ratio...]).

[surfgirl]

On 5/26/2024 at 11:39 PM, aghst said:

I think Drew avoided the pasta to try to eliminate one of the pasta makers on their own team even though he’s one of the best pasta makers on the show.  But the other team had two guys who also were great with pasta, so he didn’t want to be compared to them.

If in fact Drew was one of, if not the best pasta maker there, then he would have shown off his craft for everyone to behold. INstead, he acted like the little bitch he is by refusing to make pasta or help another make it. I doubt he has the talent he claims to have, and he knows that, so he didn't want to been seen for the sham he really is. By contrast, I have never seen anyone on Top Chef who was known for something, not show off their skills when the challenge was in their favor to highlight a skill they had mastered. This show is for hacks, IMO.

Edited May 29 by surfgirl

[Salacious Kitty]

The difference is, on Top Chef, you are not being eliminated by your peers, often because you're a strong competitor. It's a totally different ballgame. 

And I thought Drew did step in and make some pasta after the extruder fail. It wasn't very good, IIRC.

[Ancaster]

I wish this show could just be about making great food in an incredible location with the most amazing fresh, local ingredients.

Instead they make it ugly.