S22.E10: The Pastabilities Are Endless

[jewel21]

Quote

Olympic champion Jordan Chiles shows the chefs how to find balance in a gymnastics-themed challenge while they are tasked to impress guest judge, Chef Evan Funke with four signature pasta dishes. While serving Beach Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist Alix Klineman and actor and comedian Kel Mitchell, some chefs are praised for rising as leaders while others crash and burn. See which chefs stand tall and which ones fall off the beam.

Airdate: 12/07/2023

[chicagofan]

I love it when Jason brags about being an expert at something and having it "in the bag" and then has an epic fail. Schadenfreude.

[KeithJ]

10 hours ago, chicagofan said:

I love it when Jason brags about being an expert at something and having it "in the bag" and then has an epic fail. Schadenfreude.

Yeah.  But then when Funke told him his pasta was under he questioned it almost like he thought Funke was wrong.

[cameron]

Thought it was interesting that Gordon R.'s highly touted non stick hex clad pans stuck to the scallops.  So much for truth  in advertising.

[Chicago Redshirt]

It seems more and more like Dahmere's season to lose. I really appreciated the way he bucked Atoye up during service. I probably have watched each season of HK minus a few episodes here and there. But I can't remember someone going out of their way to support a teammate like he did. Nor do I remember other teammates praising someone else as a good leader, as Johnathan did.

Sorry editors, you aren't going to fake me out into believing that Dahmere is going to put Ryan up for elimination when Atoye messed up and Ryan didn't in any meaningful way that we were shown, and when Atoye's mess-ups required both him and Ramsay to talk to her.

They did fake me out into thinking that Carmen might quit though. She didn't seem into it any more. 

I had thought Donya would make it to the black jackets, but now I think it will be Leigh joining Sammi, Ryan, Dahmere and Jonathan.  Donya seems to have had too much difficulty during services. Maybe she will bounce back(tm) and do well from hereon in.

Jason continues to write checks with his mouth that his actual cooking can't cash. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

So who got booted? Please tell me it wasn't Ryan!

[Chicago Redshirt]

7 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

So who got booted? Please tell me it wasn't Ryan!

Atoye. She had a mini-breakdown during service and got pep talks from both Dahmere and GR.

GR said the best people on each team (Dahmere and Leigh) had to nominate two teammates.

They showed Dahmere interviewing each of his team, and in the interview with Atoye, they showed him saying he loved her and hugging her and what not, but didn't show the "obviously I'm putting you up part" of the talk. And they showed Ryan saying basically "obviously, I don't think I deserve to go up." and Dahmere saying, essentially, "It's my decision and I'll make up my  own mind who I send up, boyo." (He didn't have the boyo part).

[milkyaqua]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Jason continues to write checks with his mouth that his actual cooking can't cash. 

Hah!  This so much.  I loved his reaction when the chef called out his pasta.  It's like he was stunned someone could find fault with it.

I figured Atoye was going.  I never expected her to get to the end.  I was little surprised by Carmen though.  She's full of herself as well but I didn't expect her to express her self doubt like that.  Donya's looking shaky so who knows.

[seacliffsal]

I wonder if there is something going on behind the scenes between Dahmere and Ryan as it seemed like Dahmere really resented that Ryan told him not to nominate him (Ryan) for elimination.  Hope they are good behind the scenes as I like them both so much.

I haven't thought that Carmen was that good of a chef, but was surprised that she seemed ready to quit.  Lots of mistakes in the kitchen by multiple people this late in the season.  But, I think Jason may be the next eliminated.  Although I don't like his arrogance, I do feel a bit sorry for him as he seems out of touch a bit (especially his comment about the goats at goat yoga [and, is goat yoga really a reward?]).

[Tango64]

5 hours ago, cameron said:

Thought it was interesting that Gordon R.'s highly touted non stick hex clad pans stuck to the scallops.  So much for truth  in advertising.

Also noticed that right away! Sticking even with a half gallon of oil in the pan!

Edited December 8, 2023 by Tango64

[Tango64]

Goat yoga is usually portrayed as a real upscale thing for suburban housewives wearing designer leotards in a fancy yoga studio. This was just some dirty goats jumping on their backs in a field. Didn't look like anyone was enjoying it, not even the goats. The "reward" challenges have really gone downhill.

[KeithJ]

39 minutes ago, Tango64 said:

 The "reward" challenges have really gone downhill.

I agree.  The only "reward" part of the rewards this season seems to be getting out of punishment.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I'd forgotten that Johnathan had the punishment pass. It absolutely was not a punishment worth getting out of or a reward worth seeking, even with the free kitchen stuff.

[DoctorK]

1 hour ago, Tango64 said:

Goat yoga is usually portrayed as a real upscale thing for suburban housewives wearing designer leotards

I'm just an old fart but as I saw it, "Goat Yoga" was a super hot item for about 15 minutes years ago. It was certainly a weak and lousy "reward" on this show, much like most if not all of the rewards. I record the show so I can skip commercials and rewards segments and other fluff and dreck. As a result I can watch all of the worthwhile content of an entire episode in about 25 minutes.

[whinewithwine]

I've watched each season of HK multiple times and this season is just boring. There's no real villain, just a couple of smart asses.  Last season was the same and most of the chefs are decent cooks, unlike past competitions when you had to wonder if they could even boil water.  It's just become boring.

I'm off to watch somemore of season 9.  Maybe Elise gets booted tonight...-)

[xcrayon2215x]

Jason is back to being obnoxious again. I had a feeling that Dahmere would not nominate Ryan since he was pretty decent that night. Atoye was the right choice to go.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 12/8/2023 at 8:12 AM, cameron said:

Thought it was interesting that Gordon R.'s highly touted non stick hex clad pans stuck to the scallops.  So much for truth  in advertising.

On 12/8/2023 at 1:57 PM, Tango64 said:

Also noticed that right away! Sticking even with a half gallon of oil in the pan!

I'm really surprised that the editors left that sequence in the show. I did a bit of digging on the topic last year. All my expensive Teflon cookware loses its non-stick capabilities after a couple of years, even with delicate handling, and I was hoping Hexclad would be the answer. It isn't. It's just more tolerant of abuse and you can use metal utensils on it, which is a big plus.

I doubt many commercial kitchens are using that stuff versus the cheap Restaurant Depot pans. An 8" Hexclad pan is $105. An 8" aluminum pan at Restaurant Depot is $8, and a non-stick version is $10, or $60 for a case of them, and until GR became a Hexclad spokesman a few years ago, those RD-style pans were what they were using on the show in earlier seasons. For that matter, a friend of mine who worked the line a few years back said that all the knives they used were cheap RD knives worth about $15. There were dozens of them per station, and they were sent out for sharpening every week and thrown in the dishwasher several times a day. Hexclad pans and Henckels knives are the domain of wealthy high-end home chefs, but that $500 Michelin Star meal you enjoy on your 25th anniversary was almost certainly cooked in the cheapest pans and cut with the cheapest knives used in food service.

As for Atoye being eliminated, yeah, she was the weakest link and it was her time to go. I hope she's able to succeed in the industry, but I have to wonder if she has the temperament for the job long-term. And that holds true for a few other cheftestants on the show. Unlike many previous seasons, once they get down to black jackets I think it will be extremely difficult to select the really weak links. It will come down to who made a mistake in service for the sake of the game show aspect of this rather than who is a weaker chef.

[SevenCostanza]

On 12/8/2023 at 1:59 PM, DoctorK said:

I'm just an old fart but as I saw it, "Goat Yoga" was a super hot item for about 15 minutes years ago. It was certainly a weak and lousy "reward" on this show, much like most if not all of the rewards. I record the show so I can skip commercials and rewards segments and other fluff and dreck. As a result I can watch all of the worthwhile content of an entire episode in about 25 minutes.

I do the same thing.  Is it me or are there more commercials this season?  I feel like I'm watching the show 5 minutes at a time because there's so many ad breaks.

[Red Bridey]

On 12/8/2023 at 12:24 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

They showed Dahmere interviewing each of his team, and in the interview with Atoye, they showed him saying he loved her and hugging her and what not, but didn't show the "obviously I'm putting you up part" of the talk. And they showed Ryan saying basically "obviously, I don't think I deserve to go up." and Dahmere saying, essentially, "It's my decision and I'll make up my  own mind who I send up, boyo." (He didn't have the boyo part).

I agree; I thought Ryan came in to his "review" cocky and Dah'mere was putting him in his place. By now, after all these years, the contestants should know that Gordon is going to eliminate whoever he wants to, regardless of who the team puts up. 

[ljenkins782]

On 12/8/2023 at 3:06 PM, KeithJ said:

Quote

The "reward" challenges have really gone downhill.

I agree.  The only "reward" part of the rewards this season seems to be getting out of punishment.

The rewards have been shockingly cheap, it's reminding me of the Covid season of the Bachelorette where they filmed the entire season at a La Quinta Inn and the dates were things like homemade carnival games or pretending to be somewhere scenic with a background made out of cardboard. 

I wonder why it's so bargain basement this season. And honestly, all they really have to do is give them a day at a pool with a nice meal, that plus not having to do the punishment should be reward enough. It's so much more obviously tacky when they try to do a super cheap version of an activity, like putting some lawn chairs under popup tents with massage guns and calling it a spa day. 

[mojoween]

All this talk of GR’s pans is making me smile tho - “that’s why it’s called non-STIIIIICK!”

When he was giving Atoye the pep talk he said something “I know what happened before you got here” and google-fu isn’t helping, anyone know what that was about?

She seems sweet, but not ready for this.

[CoyoteBlue]

On 12/8/2023 at 2:59 PM, DoctorK said:

As a result I can watch all of the worthwhile content of an entire episode in about 25 minutes.

Ugh, the constant replay after a commercial of the last two minutes shown BEFORE the commercial. Yeah, we all remember what happened just minutes ago (or seconds ago for DVR people FFw'ding) - we don't need a refresher.