S20.E07: Hands Off

[SemiCharmedLife]

23 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I was looking for the finger bowls or handywipes! 

Victoire!  This was the time to break out Ethiopian cuisine!  A little injera, some smoking hot lentil dish, and a little lamb.

What did Buddha put into the hand mold?  Water?  It's just a cold hand-shaped plate.  Why did he think the judges were going to be blown away?

They did have little golden finger bowls that the judges were using.

Expecting Victoire to know Ethiopian cuisine would be like expecting Dale to make an awesome mole.  Same continent, but different countries/cultures.  She may be versed in it, or not...

[potatoradio]

Add me to the chorus of not seeing the appeal of licking a plate. Finger food, using your hands, great. But I'm not licking a plate even if I'm in a high-end restaurant and it's supposed to be part of the experience. I thought the guest chef's plate looked incredible, but I'd be swiping my fingers around on the plate like a kindergartener with finger paints. Look, ma! Edible art! 

I have been trying very hard to give Sara a chance because I can appreciate someone who seems to deliberately be trying to show how unpretentious she is, but she really doesn't come across as genuine and so I just find her grating and smug. 

The mousse pumpkin things looked slimey or slippery to me. 

And how many LCKs are there? I thought they used to put one LCK back in the competition - at least, that's what I remember from Kristin Kish's season. But now there's apparently a second one after the one that Dale won? So, PYKaG and then see if there is still a LCK because producers haven't decided who they want in the finale yet? Super annoying. 

 

[Salacious Kitty]

9 minutes ago, potatoradio said:

Add me to the chorus of not seeing the appeal of licking a plate. Finger food, using your hands, great. But I'm not licking a plate even if I'm in a high-end restaurant and it's supposed to be part of the experience. I thought the guest chef's plate looked incredible, but I'd be swiping my fingers around on the plate like a kindergartener with finger paints. Look, ma! Edible art! 

I have been trying very hard to give Sara a chance because I can appreciate someone who seems to deliberately be trying to show how unpretentious she is, but she really doesn't come across as genuine and so I just find her grating and smug. 

The mousse pumpkin things looked slimey or slippery to me. 

And how many LCKs are there? I thought they used to put one LCK back in the competition - at least, that's what I remember from Kristin Kish's season. But now there's apparently a second one after the one that Dale won? So, PYKaG and then see if there is still a LCK because producers haven't decided who they want in the finale yet? Super annoying. 

 

Yes, they started with just one LCK, but it started later in the competition. I guess they started the two-tier deal so early PYKAG cheftestants could get a chance to re-enter and win. I believe Kristin's season was the first with LCK, and she was eliminated at RW, IIRC. 

[Rai]

I also missed what Buddha's dish was, which is probably the biggest insult to him -- being overlooked. He's starting to seem more tense in this season, which I love. It's easy to be even-tempered when you are clearly dominating the competition. But he's not doing that as much as he expected, and it's GETTING to him. I'm here for the long, slow collapse. Tom will probably flame out before him, because he's getting more and more agitated. Gabri, on the other hand, seems to have accepted he's not the judges' favorite, and is committed to just doing his best as long as he can.

I don't love Dale, and I won't miss him, but I appreciated his honesty in his medium-size zucchini joke.

My crush on Ali abides.

This was a weirdo episode. Like Victoire, I also saw that episode of Chef's Table with Chef Gaggan, and the way he was presented there wouldn't have led me to believe he'd be doing an emoji challenge or wearing a terrible bucket hat. And the licking plate thing was on the wackier side. I'm sure it tasted amazing, and I don't mind eating with my hands, but I admit, I'm not much of a plate licker. I was hoping for the chefs to cook weirdo dishes like he had done though, so I was a little disappointed at the tacos and what not. Amar's deconstructed papaya salad was in the correct wheelhouse, and I wish I'd seen more of that. And Ali's dish was stunning, but I admit, I don't need my food to lecture me on climate change. I'd rather just go to a sustainable restaurant that's understood to be addressing those issues and not need it explained with the presentation, I guess. I know, it's the challenge, and he did it well. Just in general.

Finally, I didn't love the plate-licking shot from Sara, but otherwise, I'm loving her on the season. She's calmed down from her first outing and has this confident vibe going on along with strong cooking. She's got the body that she has, the personality that she has, and the background that she has, and she clearly sees no reason to be ashamed by any of it. Because she shouldn't. And that's pretty great for a woman on a reality show to be and to not be demonized by production for it.

Bonus finally -- I normally don't like to dunk on what women on the show wear, particularly Padma and Gail, but Padma's quickfire pants were from the devil. Especially when she was shot from behind. If a gorgeous supermodel can't make those hideous things work, no one can. Burn them, Padma. Send them back from whence they came.

[jcbrown]

3 hours ago, Rai said:

Finally, I didn't love the plate-licking shot from Sara, but otherwise, I'm loving her on the season. She's calmed down from her first outing and has this confident vibe going on along with strong cooking. She's got the body that she has, the personality that she has, and the background that she has, and she clearly sees no reason to be ashamed by any of it. Because she shouldn't. And that's pretty great for a woman on a reality show to be and to not be demonized by production for it.

Bonus finally -- I normally don't like to dunk on what women on the show wear, particularly Padma and Gail, but Padma's quickfire pants were from the devil. Especially when she was shot from behind. If a gorgeous supermodel can't make those hideous things work, no one can. Burn them, Padma. Send them back from whence they came.

Co-sign every single you said about Sara. I am greatly enjoying her this season.

And yeesh, yes, those pants were evil. Reminds me of when I saw Sharon Stone in a cold-shoulder shirt back when they were everywhere and I thought, "welp, it's official--these look dumb on everyone."

Edited April 23, 2023 by jcbrown

[Norma Desmond]

Add me to team Sara. I hated her in the beginning of her original season but grew to like her a lot and I think she deserved to win. But then, I always like the weirdos everybody else hates - Carrie Baird, Sara, Marjorie, Buddha...

[Yeah No]

Padma would look stunning in a burlap sack.  I didn't notice the pants.  And yet Sara who has grossed me out in just about every way, including in her hideous pants shot from the rear gets celebrated.  Ho-kay.....

Amar could also stand to take more care with his appearance, but he seems to be aware of it at any rate, judging from his comment last week about wishing he knew he was going to Fortnum and Mason so he could have dressed a little better.

[bravofan27]

Yeah, the US chefs are definitely rough looking. German Tom is attractive and has cute hair (though he's a punk). Victorie is absolutely adorable. Ari is very handsome. Charbel has gorgeous dreamy eyes. Love his dark dark long lashes.

SWOON.

Amar has a great personality. He's just not healthy, overweight, and not sure what is up with the hair. I think he dresses for comfort and it makes him look extra sloppy. He and Sarah are twinsies there. Buddha is also unhealthy looking and overweight, but he keeps his hair looking good, and he seems to shower/look clean. 

Amar and Sarah look like they shower very unregularly. Ick.

[Rai]

1 hour ago, Norma Desmond said:

Add me to team Sara. I hated her in the beginning of her original season but grew to like her a lot and I think she deserved to win. But then, I always like the weirdos everybody else hates - Carrie Baird, Sara, Marjorie, Buddha...

Wait, who didn't like Carrie and Marjorie? They're gold!

I don't hate Buddha, but I do find it hard to root for him, and I don't know why. I don't wish him ill in the real world though!

In terms of why dunk on Padma's pants specifically vs. not dunking on Sara's body, it's partly due to different expectations for different roles (a TV hostess is generally expected to be polished; a chef should worry most about their cookery), and partly because I'm not body-shaming Padma herself, I'm shaming those pants. Sara works with what god gave her, and if the production team shoots her from an unflattering angle, that's on them. Like, she still has to exist. Padma is known for wearing her personal wardrobe on set, and she chose those pants. That's a wrong that can be undone!

That said, we all root for who we want to root for. Our opinions being a rich tapestry and what not.

[HurricaneVal]

I once had a dish so good, I literally licked the plate.  Mr. HV and I were at one of Roy Yamiguchi's restaurants in Hawaii and ordered the special ten course sake tasting dinner. 

Everything was fantastic, but there was one course with butterfish that was........ unbelievable.  Yes.  I licked my plate.  Discreetly.  Mr. HV and I took turns being lookouts for each other.  The waitstaff knew, though.  They giggled when clearing that course, "Enjoyed that, did you?"  And we sheepishly said yes.

I'd have done a separate order for more of that, but I know that butterfish has...unintended consequences.  There is a very, very, good reason why it is restricted to small portions.

[Norma Desmond]

34 minutes ago, Rai said:

Wait, who didn't like Carrie and Marjorie?

A lot of people disliked Carrie. I don't know why. I think she's a doll.

[bravofan27]

40 minutes ago, Norma Desmond said:

A lot of people disliked Carrie. I don't know why. I think she's a doll.

On her season, she was extra happy, toothy, smiley, and completely ignored that her co-chef, an older African American woman was experiencing extreme imposter syndrome and racism. She was totally clueless, and just looked stupid when it was brought to her attention. She is annoying because she is ultra privileged white girl who just grins big and is cheerful and ignores everything around her. She was terrible, selfish, fake, and just ultimately dumb as fuck. 

[HappyDancex2]

Pretty sure Buddha missed the most obvious usage of the hand mold by not serving something made from buddhas hand.

[dleighg]

6 hours ago, Rai said:

In terms of why dunk on Padma's pants specifically vs. not dunking on Sara's body, it's partly due to different expectations for different roles (a TV hostess is generally expected to be polished; a chef should worry most about their cookery), and partly because I'm not body-shaming Padma herself, I'm shaming those pants. Sara works with what god gave her, and if the production team shoots her from an unflattering angle, that's on them

Exactly. EXACTLY. 

Now I have to go check Padma's pants, as I didn't notice first time around :) 

[dleighg]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

Now I have to go check Padma's pants, as I didn't notice first time around :)

I rewatched; they didn't look *terrible* to me, but on close inspection they did remind me of those polyester pants (with the sewn in crease) that were popular in the 70s. 

[catrice2]

On 4/21/2023 at 11:50 AM, HurricaneVal said:

I thought the elimination challenge last night produced some interesting food, but I think the parameters of the challenge were a little unclear.  Was it just supposed to be something you could eat with your hands?  Was it supposed to have a good story?  Was it supposed to be multicultural?  Or just cultural?  Was it supposed to be something you smeared across the plate with a sopper-upper tool?

I love the fact that this is an international competition, because we're getting some really interesting food from the non-US-centric chefs, and the US-centric chefs are likewise elevating their games as well.  However, I fear that the language and cultural barriers are hurting the competition somewhat with regards to how obscure and conceptual some of the challenge parameters are. 

We certainly saw this in the emoji quickfire, where some emojis mean different things in different cultures, like the one chef thinking the four leaf clover meant "greenery" and not "luck," or Victoire just picking a sushi emoji at random from the selections left on the board because.....it was a recognizable food she could try to recreate.  That's the problem, subtle nuances get lost when there's a language barrier and the chef's default setting at that point is to take it literally, because that's all they can think of.

We saw that with Victoire making "sushi" for her sushi emoji.  We also saw that with the elimination challenge too, where a lot of the chefs made a variation on what they were given as their example: something tasty attractively smeared on a plate to be scraped or scooped up by hand with something else and eaten.  Which resulted in some great looking and apparently great tasting stuff, no question about that! 

And....not gonna lie....that rainbow "taste of the world" example dish looked incredible, and I'd love to try it for myself.  I'd probably end up with smears of blue on my forehead, red on my cheeks, and green on my chin and finish up looking like a demented toddler, but I'd be happy!

I knew the instant that the judges started talking about Dale's chicken being unseasoned, flavorless, and oddly textured that he was the goner.  It was his time.  I think he looked at Gabri and saw how much he'd been praised by that mole he made in an earlier episode and thought "I know!  The judges really like mole.  I'll make mole!  How hard can it be?  It's just a brown Mexican sauce, right?"  The judges talked more about his chicken than his mole, but I thought I heard something like "even if the chicken was perfect, that mole wasn't all that great."

This along wuth the shopping, something they did not do on their shows and other difference has to be a lot.  Not sure how much thought went into it. If it was also supposed to have an emotional story why were emoji like sushi included anyway?  I would have had no problem with people having the same emoji and interpteting it a different way

[catrice2]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Padma would look stunning in a burlap sack.  I didn't notice the pants.  And yet Sara who has grossed me out in just about every way, including in her hideous pants shot from the rear gets celebrated.  Ho-kay.....

Amar could also stand to take more care with his appearance, but he seems to be aware of it at any rate, judging from his comment last week about wishing he knew he was going to Fortnum and Mason so he could have dressed a little better.

Cooking shows in general stress me out. A lot of the early ones would show people in their chefs whites or at least a nice chef attire, neat.

My mother was extremely neat and clean in the kitchen.We had to wear hair  nets and  sometimes gloves especially if we were cooking for other people.  Excessive hand washing and keeping surfaces clean. There was no dipping the spoon into the sauce and tasting it and putting it back wo cleaning  or anything like that. Diners di and Dives is the worst.  And yes I rarely eat out🤣

It really annoys me to watch these cooking shows and people look so unkempt in the kitchen when they are cooking for others when I take more care even cooking for myself. Look how neat Ali, Charbel and a few others always present themselves.

While I don't connect to Sarah's personality and she has never made anything that I would want to eat, I  don't mind other people being bothered by her.😃  

 I do try to keep in mind that editing is always trying to tell a story for ratings and Top Chef reasons.  It's just these days everybody wants to demonize or excessively praise people for the bare minimum...that is what bothers me and I recognize it is my issue to deal with.

Editing is so aware of that and tries to play into people's emotions, hence the Tom and Dale edits. They are also aware of the criticism they have received about sexism and racism. So we get the edits of  Sarah as superwoman for pumping, which people do every day ,so that people will know how female friendly Top Chef is ,along with Padma saying how she looks forward to knowing more of Victoires food and her talking about racism.  Their" we have ignored ethnic food and ethnic  judges Portland season"annoyed me but I have to put it aside if more people get exposure even of it is only to make Top Chef  look better.

Sarah chose to take a financial opportunity to gain exposure for herself and that is great.  Her pumping whilst doing this however IMO is nothing to be elevated when I think of the number of women who do it in less supportive environments and  under much more difficult circumstances. I mean she pumps anyway and they are paying to Ship it back so what extraordinary is she actually doing? I have stories of people really suffering to try to pump In the work place and who perform much more physical work. 

As this is a cooking show I don't care to see anybody's rear,whether it's a nice shot or not,  anything else that is not about food or the competition. The emotional stories dont bother me that much as they dont necessarily humanize anyone to me.  No matter what the story all people are capable of being not nice on any given day or could be top notch and make horrible food. I actually tune out most of them and learn from the comments.

Some are interesting and others are not but as someone said we all have our opinions. Makes you wonder why production is choosing to include certain shots and comments that is the real question instead of why they bother people.  People are reacting as the intended.

[theatremouse]

On 4/21/2023 at 12:27 PM, rhofmovalley said:

I don't get why the episode was titled "Hands Off" when the food was supposed to be designed to be eaten with one's hands. Shouldn't it have been "Hands ON"?

They could've gone that direction, but I think they were trying for a pun on "face off", but stuff you had to eat with your hands, so hands off. 

[Daisychain]

12 hours ago, Norma Desmond said:

Add me to team Sara. I hated her in the beginning of her original season but grew to like her a lot and I think she deserved to win. But then, I always like the weirdos everybody else hates - Carrie Baird, Sara, Marjorie, Buddha...

Yes, me too.  I'm a little frustrated by this continuing theme.  Sara has put out very solid dishes - I think she's been close to the top and I don't think close to the bottom.  So she's riding the high middle, tell me if you disagree.  I think there's room in cooking and restaurants for very different people.  Sara's restaurant is still in Paducah KY and my kids are trying to organize a road trip (we are in IL and WI). She has several successful Top Chef dishes on her menu now.  As I mentioned in the previous episode, she just visited the Pack Your Knives podcast and was insightful and very kind, never unkind, about her fellow chefs. 

In her Kentucky season, I would say 3 things happened: 1.   She started out strong.  2.  For a Kentuckian, she was upsettingly bullied in the University of Kentucky basketball stadium for using boxed waffle mix (a definite misfire).  3. She fought back hard to the top and did great work in the final in Macau, like in the Muhammed Ali challenge and her matzo ball soup.

 

Why is she the person criticized for licking the plate when all the chefs were asked to lick the plate?

Anyhoo, I had a different problem with this episode.  I have an extraordinarily strong sense of smell, so I don't like to eat with my hands at all.  It gets food stench on your hands before you can give them a good wash.  Such as, I would love a tuna salad sandwich, but would prefer to cut it up with a knife and fork.  That's my dysfunction!

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Rai said:

Wait, who didn't like Carrie and Marjorie? They're gold!

I don't hate Buddha, but I do find it hard to root for him, and I don't know why. I don't wish him ill in the real world though!

In terms of why dunk on Padma's pants specifically vs. not dunking on Sara's body, it's partly due to different expectations for different roles (a TV hostess is generally expected to be polished; a chef should worry most about their cookery), and partly because I'm not body-shaming Padma herself, I'm shaming those pants. Sara works with what god gave her, and if the production team shoots her from an unflattering angle, that's on them. Like, she still has to exist. Padma is known for wearing her personal wardrobe on set, and she chose those pants. That's a wrong that can be undone!

That said, we all root for who we want to root for. Our opinions being a rich tapestry and what not.

I wasn't dunking on Sara's body, just her choice of pants.  But obviously I was in the minority on even noticing that much less commenting on it.  Sure, the chefs are dressing more for comfort, but other female chefs have no problem looking better, or I should say better for them.  Just as criticizing Padma's choice of pants isn't a criticism of her natural appearance, Sara's choice of pants isn't either.  And it was also her personal choice to wear them just as it was Padma's choice to wear hers.

But my theory is that very attractive people on TV or anywhere get more harshly judged for their appearance just because people expect them to look impeccable and figure that if they're looking this good it's on them if they don't look better.  It's splitting hairs and unfair in my opinion.  Average and below average looking people get more forgiveness because it's assumed they're doing their best.  But I don't think Sara is anywhere near doing her best.  My humble opinion as someone that knows how to work with what God gave me is that Sara does NOT know how to work with what she was given, or if she does just doesn't care to.  I personally think she could look at least 50% better with not that much additional effort.  I just don't think she puts in the effort. In fact I wonder if she is deliberately trying to look that way for her own personal reasons.  That's her right, but if so then it's also Padma's right to sometimes not wear the most flattering pants and not get criticized for it.

I say that as someone with at least 40 lbs. to lose before I am considered a healthy weight, and who has maybe not as much "junk in the trunk" as Sara but not a small amount either.  Sara could look like a completely different person and like she lost 20 lbs. if she put just a hair more effort into it.

[carrps]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I rewatched; they didn't look *terrible* to me, but on close inspection they did remind me of those polyester pants (with the sewn in crease) that were popular in the 70s. 

I didn't think they looked terrible at all. And I loved the combination of thesoft  pink and apricot colors. More of a play on a 60s vibe than 70s to me. Also, only tall people like Padma can wear flared pants like that. My 5'3" self would look like one of Snow White's dwarves.

 

[carrps]

1 hour ago, Daisychain said:

For a Kentuckian, she was upsettingly bullied in the University of Kentucky basketball stadium for using boxed waffle mix (a definite misfire). 

This was where Sara really lost me. In that episode, the crowd was being encouraged to cheer and boo (like they were a a basketball game, duh), and Sara made a rookie mistake. Instead of admitting it and carrying on, she had a crybaby meltdown about everybody being mean to her. It was more like reverse-bullying to me and really unattractive. She has a better attitude this time, and she's grown on me, but I still give her the side-eye for her behavior in the KY season.

[bravofan27]

4 hours ago, catrice2 said:

This along wuth the shopping, something they did not do on their shows and other difference has to be a lot.  Not sure how much thought went into it. If it was also supposed to have an emotional story why were emoji like sushi included anyway?  I would have had no problem with people having the same emoji and interpteting it a different way

Yeah, I'm pretty creative and can really reach, but I'm having a hard time thinking of how sushi could be emotional, or stir up emotions. Amar had a banana I think, and he just made something featuring banana. I guess Victorie failed because she didn't have an emotion story and then didn't make sushi-- her icon was the rice and raw fish on top. 

At least now sushi will have emotions for her!

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

he just made something featuring banana.

actually plantain I believe. The whole exercise just seemed so random. Make the food on the emoji (or something that looks like it) or riff on the emotion (if there is one), or.....

[catrice2]

50 minutes ago, carrps said:

I didn't think they looked terrible at all. And I loved the combination of thesoft  pink and apricot colors. More of a play on a 60s vibe than 70s to me. Also, only tall people like Padma can wear flared pants like that. My 5'3" self would look like one of Snow White's dwarves.

 

At 5' 1 " including hair...I  agree

[carrps]

9 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

At 5' 1 " including hair...I  agree

Heh, with old age, I'm fast approaching 5'2", so I feels ya.

 

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, bravofan27 said:

Yeah, I'm pretty creative and can really reach, but I'm having a hard time thinking of how sushi could be emotional, or stir up emotions. Amar had a banana I think, and he just made something featuring banana. I guess Victorie failed because she didn't have an emotion story and then didn't make sushi-- her icon was the rice and raw fish on top. 

At least now sushi will have emotions for her!

Weren’t there a bunch of other emoticons left.  She didn’t need to choose sushi.  

[RoseAllDay]

Dale. Gets a commercial congratulating him on his LCK win, then gets to pack his knives and go — again. Womp-womp.

Tom. Why is he still there? His putting everyone else at a disadvantage last week by squandering the money should have been it for him.

Victoire. If your potatoes are fried, why boil them? Gail was right. 

[HurricaneVal]

58 minutes ago, RoseAllDay said:

Victoire. If your potatoes are fried, why boil them? Gail was right. 

See, this is another case where I think Victoire took the challenge parameters too literally, or she made a misinterpretation and assumed some requirement that wasn't actually there.  I think she had it in mind that you had to serve something pasty that the judges had to smear through and pick up with something in your hand.  That's why I think she boiled what is usually fried, so she could have a puree to dip her canoli into.  

[catrice2]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Weren’t there a bunch of other emoticons left.  She didn’t need to choose sushi.  

I can only speak for myself, but my issue was why were things like Sushi included in the first place?  My guess is a lot of those that were left also did not make sense.   I think she is understanding the challenges o.k. just not producing her best food.  I don't think she is long for the competition, but everybody has to go sometime. 

[Rai]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

But my theory is that very attractive people on TV or anywhere get more harshly judged for their appearance just because people expect them to look impeccable and figure that if they're looking this good it's on them if they don't look better.  It's splitting hairs and unfair in my opinion.  Average and below average looking people get more forgiveness because it's assumed they're doing their best.  But I don't think Sara is anywhere near doing her best.  My humble opinion as someone that knows how to work with what God gave me is that Sara does NOT know how to work with what she was given, or if she does just doesn't care to.  I personally think she could look at least 50% better with not that much additional effort.  I just don't think she puts in the effort. In fact I wonder if she is deliberately trying to look that way for her own personal reasons.  That's her right, but if so then it's also Padma's right to sometimes not wear the most flattering pants and not get criticized for it.

For what it's worth, I largely agree with you in that attractive people get nitpicked to death on reality TV, which is why I generally stay away from commentary on Padma's and Gail's clothing. I don't think average people get away with anything though. And I don't think Sara can do anything about what angle she's shot at. But also I don't think she does care all that much, and I admire that. She's there to cook, not pose, and it's already enough stress having cameras on you every moment when you're supposed to pretend they're not there at all.

And Padma can definitely wear what she want, but I can't fathom why she'd want to wear those pants. Satan's hosiery!

[Norma Desmond]

18 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

On her season, she was extra happy, toothy, smiley,

 

18 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

ultra privileged white girl who just grins big and is cheerful

 Such mortal sins.

[bravofan27]

 

2 hours ago, Norma Desmond said:

 

 Such mortal sins.

White privilege is a real thing. For white people to ignore or hyperfocus on their own agendas when people right next to them are suffering from racism, historical trauma, injustice, and struggle to have their voices heard to protect their families is, IMO, not a way to conduct oneself in a moral fashion. A mortal sin is a religious term. But given people don't like Carrie (myself included) isn't because she did something to go to "hell" but more because she isn't authentic, caring, or advocating for those less resourced and stigmatized. 

Does that make sense to you?

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

 

White privilege is a real thing. For white people to ignore or hyperfocus on their own agendas when people right next to them are suffering from racism, historical trauma, injustice, and struggle to have their voices heard to protect their families is, IMO, not a way to conduct oneself in a moral fashion. A mortal sin is a religious term. But given people don't like Carrie (myself included) isn't because she did something to go to "hell" but more because she isn't authentic, caring, or advocating for those less resourced and stigmatized. 

Does that make sense to you?

I don't remember much about Carrie so if she did something offensive I don't remember it, but I usually don't expect chefs to make any big public campaign to show how much they care about those less privileged than they are, no matter what ethnic background they come from, and if they don't I don't assume they don't care.  That said, I remember having the feeling that Carrie might not be 100% white.  I know her mother is white because she appeared on an episode but I don't remember finding out whether or not my suspicion was correct.

[theatremouse]

Carrie is off topic as she was not involved in this episode. Please move on. Also if you'd like to discuss food memes, please do so in Small Talk. This topic is for episode 7.

[TVbitch]

Just catching up with this season and loving the international contestants. I've only ever seen TC USA and Canada. 

Don't ever need to see Padma sucking on her fingers again, though.😦 🤮🤣

[catrice2]

On 4/23/2023 at 9:27 AM, Yeah No said:

I wasn't dunking on Sara's body, just her choice of pants.  But obviously I was in the minority on even noticing that much less commenting on it.  Sure, the chefs are dressing more for comfort, but other female chefs have no problem looking better, or I should say better for them.  Just as criticizing Padma's choice of pants isn't a criticism of her natural appearance, Sara's choice of pants isn't either.  And it was also her personal choice to wear them just as it was Padma's choice to wear hers.

But my theory is that very attractive people on TV or anywhere get more harshly judged for their appearance just because people expect them to look impeccable and figure that if they're looking this good it's on them if they don't look better.  It's splitting hairs and unfair in my opinion.  Average and below average looking people get more forgiveness because it's assumed they're doing their best.  But I don't think Sara is anywhere near doing her best.  My humble opinion as someone that knows how to work with what God gave me is that Sara does NOT know how to work with what she was given, or if she does just doesn't care to.  I personally think she could look at least 50% better with not that much additional effort.  I just don't think she puts in the effort. In fact I wonder if she is deliberately trying to look that way for her own personal reasons.  That's her right, but if so then it's also Padma's right to sometimes not wear the most flattering pants and not get criticized for it.

I say that as someone with at least 40 lbs. to lose before I am considered a healthy weight, and who has maybe not as much "junk in the trunk" as Sara but not a small amount either.  Sara could look like a completely different person and like she lost 20 lbs. if she put just a hair more effort into it.

What I really think is that a lot of times in male dominated professions some women  dress down because they think it will make people take them more seriously, which is unfortunate and unfair.  I don't think you need to be in designer clothes with a killer hair style and makeup. I do think you should be neat and clean no matter what, but especially in medicine and food related professions.   I don't return to medical places where I see them perform unsanitary practices and I  would never eat at a restaurant where the proprietor and staff did not take care with their appearance in terms of being neat and clean, because that says to me that you may not care about things being clean in other areas.  But I have also  worked in professions where I know there could be a variety of reasons that people are not taking care of their appearance, depresssion, PTSD, or  survivors of abuse where they are trying to take the focus from their bodies.   

I just want neat....and your hair to look like it is clean and preferably not falling into my food! 

 

[showme]

What was Dale thinking? Making a mole for this challenge, seriously? It is not his strength. Obviously he got skills, otherwise he wouldn't have come back from LCK, but he was not thinking strategically in this competition.

[dleighg]

I'm watching a Netflix show called "Five Star Chefs" and I saw in the previews that someone is going to serve a dish on a golden, hand-shaped, vessel. So I guess Buddha is very on trend :) I personally don't find it particularly interesting.

[carrps]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I'm watching a Netflix show called "Five Star Chefs" and I saw in the previews that someone is going to serve a dish on a golden, hand-shaped, vessel. So I guess Buddha is very on trend :) I personally don't find it particularly interesting.

And I saw an ad for a dessert with Buddha's butterfly on it. It doesn't impress me much. It's just a cookie cutter that you buy.

[snarktini]

On 4/21/2023 at 11:08 PM, Bastet said:

We don't know what additional details we weren't privy to, of course, but based on how the challenge was presented on the show, no one didn't meet it, it was just who didn't do it as well.

I'd argue that if Dale met the challenge, it was barely -- "don't be ignorant" isn't much of a message! It was barely coherent.

On 4/21/2023 at 4:24 PM, mlp said:

I like Victoire but I think that, despite speaking several languages, she's having the most trouble with thinking in English.  Her dish didn't really meet the challenge.  She just made something from Africa - and not well.  I thought she should have been the one to go.  She and Dale each had food that wasn't great but he met the challenge.  

I think she got through on a better message. Both had execution problems. Tom was safe IMO because he had the presentation AND flavors, he at least hit strong on two criteria.

"Trouble with thinking in English" sounds like a possibility. Perhaps she's just a very literal person or struggling with being so far out of her context (which is beyond understandable), but we haven't seen her be creative or conceptual.

She is so impressive, but she doesn't seem set up to thrive here. During judging sometimes it's clear she can't quite parse what guest judges are saying -- I wonder if they do anything to fill that gap for contestants?

On 4/23/2023 at 10:28 AM, DEL901 said:

Weren’t there a bunch of other emoticons left.  She didn’t need to choose sushi.  

The sushi was too literal and too limiting -- there was nowhere to go with that. Considering "emotion" was part of it I'd have gone with something more abstract (of what remained) like the rainbow and told a story of vibrance or rain or something!

On 4/23/2023 at 7:27 AM, Yeah No said:

I wasn't dunking on Sara's body, just her choice of pants.  But obviously I was in the minority on even noticing that much less commenting on it. 

I noticed, but honestly I think the world would be a better place if we avoiding commenting on bodies. Positive or negative. And I don't give a fig if our chefs look unkempt! I do notice, but set it aside because it truly doesn't matter. It's not a moral failing to have messy hair.