Masterchef (CA) - General Discussion

[spiderpig]

I couldn't decide what Alice was wearing on her shoulders - shower scrubbers or mini floor mops.

What was in the little bowl next to the Scotch eggs?  It looked like a dipping sauce.  I checked allrecipes and one option had a mustard accompaniment.  Nobody ate whatever it was on the show, though.

Did anyone check out the online competition?  I took a quick look but couldn't find it.

Lately I've been enjoying Cooking Channel a lot more than Food Network.

Edited November 15, 2017 by spiderpig
spelling

[susannot]

I thought all the Scotch eggs  looked about the same.  The judges were really nitpicking to choose the bottom four.  Happy to see that Barrie nailed it and made the best one.

[Snarklepuss]

Add another Barrie fan to the list here.  It's just so refreshing to watch a cooking competition with an over-50 contestant where there aren't constant references to their age or referring to them as an "old man" or whatever.  That's (IMO) because this isn't a Gordon Ramsey show, I'm sure. 
 

On 11/15/2017 at 2:49 AM, spiderpig said:

What was in the little bowl next to the Scotch eggs?  It looked like a dipping sauce.  I checked allrecipes and one option had a mustard accompaniment.  Nobody ate whatever it was on the show, though.

I wanted to know too!  Robert Irvine posted a recipe for Scotch Eggs with a simple dipping sauce made with mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/scotch-eggs-with-mustard-sauce-recipe-1918179
 

On 11/15/2017 at 0:33 PM, susannot said:

I thought all the Scotch eggs  looked about the same.  The judges were really nitpicking to choose the bottom four.  Happy to see that Barrie nailed it and made the best one.

I actually thought they were being quite forgiving of the slightly underdone eggs since when all other things are equal I would think that should be a bigger issue.

[Wings]

Damn. My DVR didnt record this.   Arg

[Snarklepuss]

11 hours ago, wings707 said:

Damn. My DVR didnt record this.   Arg

You can watch it on YouTube.

[Wings]

Thanks @Snarklepuss.  I am watching it now.  Do we find out what happened to Matt? 

 

ETA. Guess the ambulance was a none event.  No mention. 

Edited November 18, 2017 by wings707

[Wings]

^^^ googled it, OUCH!

[Snarklepuss]

16 hours ago, wings707 said:

Thanks @Snarklepuss.  I am watching it now.  Do we find out what happened to Matt? 

 

ETA. Guess the ambulance was a none event.  No mention. 

It must have been because I don't even remember it!

[Wings]

35 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

It must have been because I don't even remember it!

It happened during the brief peek we had at the Last Chance Kitchen thing.  He cut his wrist badly. 

[Lura]

I was heartsick when Matt was eliminated.  He was so good, and he had a fantastic attitude.  Then, when he had a chance to return, the judges picked the Asian (?) girl, which made me even sadder.  I think that Matt has the determination to get himself to a culinary academy and become an outstanding chef.  I hope he can do that.

More and more, I'm thinking that the judges have their sights set on the blonde girl (Is her name Thea?}  I think it starts with a Th.  In the beginning I liked Amanda, but I'm not excited about her attitude lately.

My husband isn't a great fan of cooking shows, although he's watched a few with me.  It's a testament to this show that he really enjoys it and can't wait for the next episode.  I'm not certain, but I think maybe the Canadians do this show a little better than the Americans do.

Who cut his wrist badly?  I must have missed that, and I also missed the ambulance.

Edited November 21, 2017 by Lura
typo

[Wings]

Matt cut his wrist and had to leave the Battle Back so the two women competed. 

[Wings]

French is my favorite style of cooking so I loved the first challenge.  I have never eaten a tagine and it doesn't call to me. 

[spiderpig]

Wow.  I thought Aaron was a poor sport.  When Trevor went over to pat his back after the team decision, Aaron just sulked.  He continued to sulk during the DPT.  But Michael must see something in him if he made a job offer and shook on it.

I'd thought Miranda was a bit of a pill until last week when she helped out (Amanda?) with her souffle, and she actually seemed friendly and gracious this week.

It was interesting watching Michael at the pass.  I could actually understand what he was saying - unlike Gordon, whose orders sound like aasdfklnkjluropnkcxmoafaoasd.

[meowmommy]

I just think it's astonishing that they do the restaurant takeover challenge at all, with home cooks, and that it comes out as well as it does.  Restaurant Wars has broken many a Top Chef chef, although I know there are some differences between the two challenges.

[susannot]

Yes, it is amazing that they have done so well in replicating the chefs'  dishes.  In Top Chef, the difference is that they have to create their own restaurant and their own menu from the bottom up.  Much more difficult, IMO.

Edited November 23, 2017 by susannot

[cooksdelight]

I love this show, because people are judged on their cooking and not their dramatic personalities. I totally agree with all of the judges’ critiques each week, and can’t say that about Gordon & Co.  This show is so much more authentic.

[Rammchick]

To me, that seemed like an odd hodge podge of a dessert.  A cookie with a cake on it, with another cookie, with pineapple and mascarpone and kiwi and passion fruit and cotton candy.  Phew.  It's sort of disingenuous to be shown home cooks tasting something that complicated and then turning around and making it with no visible recipes.

As for Trevor and Barrie, I found myself saying "get a room already, you two," or words to that effect.  

[spiderpig]

I don't know if this happened in your broadcast area, but I sat down to watch the latest  DVR of the show and realized I'd been missing something.  Turns out they ran episodes 9 and 10 back-to-back, and watching #10 first gave away the ending of #9.

I was not a happy camper.

I agree with Rammchick - that dessert they had to replicate was just weird.

Watching Trevor and his precision with vegetables was interesting.  He may make it to the end.

[susannot]

When they showed Trevor making the fish eyeball for Chef Alvin, I said to my son, after we had both gagged at the grossness of it, that Trevor had to be the winner. No one else has ever made fish eyeballs for Chef Alvin.  I found it hilarious that he said he never gets to eat them because his mother always grabs them first.

[Rammchick]

7 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I don't know if this happened in your broadcast area, but I sat down to watch the latest  DVR of the show and realized I'd been missing something.  Turns out they ran episodes 9 and 10 back-to-back, and watching #10 first gave away the ending of #9.

I agree with Rammchick - that dessert they had to replicate was just weird.

 

Broadcast alert for next week -- they're apparently doing the same thing, running two eps back to back, with the semi-final and final.

The part about the dessert that I particularly didn't understand was the issue of sweetness.  Seems to me that the whole thing would've been too sweet, considering how the cotton candy melted down into the passion fruit sauce which was sweet to begin with (and not tart like passion fruit tends to be).  Didn't Chef Michael say something to one of them -- can't remember which now -- about the cake being too sweet?  How could you tell, considering that sauce backdrop?

[Snarklepuss]

If all else fails I'm sure the missed episode can be found on YouTube.  Fortunately my DVR recorded both of them.

I just wanted to reiterate how much better the cooking is in general on this show than on the U.S. version.  I feel like these contestants are a cut above in terms of talent.  I actually feel like the US version used to cast better cooks.  Now it's all about personality when it should be about the food.  I think it says something when I would be equally happy with any of these final 3 winning.  I would be extra happy if Barrie won, though!

[Wings]

I am happy with final 3, too.  I will be happy with any of them winning though I favor Trevor. 

I am pretty sure the passion fruit sauce was tart.  The cotton candy was the sugar for it. 

Scallops are easy to cook.  I didn't understand Thea's problem.  I always have a bag of frozen, dry packed scallops in my freezer.  They are a quick and easy dinner.  Whole Foods is the only place to get dry packed.  Hot and fast on one side for 2 minutes and 90 secs on other, about.  

Venison was an odd choice so I was surprised to see the boys choose that.  I like it ok but since it has no fat it is all about the sauce.  Bison, another odd choice.  Did I miss the rules?  Did they have a limited choice of protein? 

@SNARKLEPUSS. I agree, this is much better than our version.  The food is superior. 

We used to have skilled cooks but that has changed in recent seasons. 

Edited November 30, 2017 by wings707

[Wings]

On 11/29/2017 at 5:11 AM, susannot said:

When they showed Trevor making the fish eyeball for Chef Alvin, I said to my son, after we had both gagged at the grossness of it, that Trevor had to be the winner. No one else has ever made fish eyeballs for Chef Alvin.  I found it hilarious that he said he never gets to eat them because his mother always grabs them first.

I noticed that the eyeball is not eaten.  The flesh around it is the delicacy.  As a mother I would give the good part to my son and not scarf it for myself! 

[Rammchick]

3 hours ago, wings707 said:

I am happy with final 3, too.  I will be happy with any of them winning though I favor Trevor. 

I am pretty sure the passion fruit sauce was tart.  The cotton candy was the sugar for it. 

Scallops are easy to cook.  I didn't understand Thea's problem.  I always have a bag of frozen, dry packed scallops in my freezer.  They are a quick and easy dinner.  Whole Foods is the only place to get dry packed.  Hot and fast on one side for 2 minutes and 90 secs on other, about.  

Re: the sauce.  I would've also thought it was tart, and then the cotton candy makes sense.  But Michael specifically mentioned the "sweet sauce", which confused me, and lead to my comment above.

I think Thea was having so many problems with the scallops because they weren't dry enough when they went into the pan.  She said the pan should've been the right temperature but the scallops looked boiled.

[Wings]

50 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Re: the sauce.  I would've also thought it was tart, and then the cotton candy makes sense.  But Michael specifically mentioned the "sweet sauce", which confused me, and lead to my comment above.

I think Thea was having so many problems with the scallops because they weren't dry enough when they went into the pan.  She said the pan should've been the right temperature but the scallops looked boiled.

I cook scallops in cast iron because the pan has to be pretty hot.   So it makes sense if she was using a non stick pan and a lousy burner which it very well could have been. 

[Snarklepuss]

12 hours ago, wings707 said:

I cook scallops in cast iron because the pan has to be pretty hot.   So it makes sense if she was using a non stick pan and a lousy burner which it very well could have been. 

It looked to me like they were using induction burners which can be tricky to use if you're used to gas or regular electric stoves.  They heat up very fast and it's hard to figure out which setting will produce the amount of heat you want, plus they act differently with different kinds of pans depending on what they're made out of, so I'm figuring maybe the pan had an ingredient in it that doesn't work well on induction burners, plus perhaps the scallops weren't dry enough.  I'm not sure why she didn't use cast iron as you can use it on induction burners.  That's how I cook them too.

[Lura]

Thea has surprised me.  In the beginning, I didn't note anything outstanding about her cooking and thought of her, more or less, as one of the crowd.  She has really done quite well.  Her  lack of self-confidence gave her a "poor little lost girl" image, and combined with her looks, I thought the chefs might be favoring her.  Whether they have or not, she's still standing!  I like Trevor, too.  Barry strikes me as a little bit too proud of himself.

[Wings]

Watching  people on TV eat can be cringe worthy.  Oprah and Wendy Williams are the worst.  Alvin should be on that list for me but oddly, his chewing fascinates me.  The camera switches off of him quickly so it must bug the producer!

Edited December 4, 2017 by wings707

[spiderpig]

I think their hosts are just about perfect.  They make me cringe when I think about La Tosi.

[cooksdelight]

On 12/4/2017 at 0:48 PM, spiderpig said:

I think their hosts are just about perfect.  They make me cringe when I think about La Tosi.

Amen to that! I love all three, the blue hair... old guy who still looks snappy... and heartthrob.....

[Wings]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Amen to that! I love all three, the blue hair... old guy who still looks snappy... and heartthrob.....

Alvin, Michael and Claudio in your order above.  :^)

[Skyfall]

I’m fine with the result.

[spiderpig]

6 hours ago, Skyfall said:

I’m fine with the result.

Me too.  What pretty plates!

 

On 11/29/2017 at 9:55 PM, Snarklepuss said:

I think it says something when I would be equally happy with any of these final 3 winning.  I would be extra happy if Barrie won, though!

How many times have competitors (all food shows) with an advantage picked a star item and screwed it up? Wagyu?  All I could see was $$$$$$$$$$$$$ down the drain.  (CAD, of course).

[Rammchick]

I don't understand why chefs think that splatter effect looks good on the plate.  Personally, I think it looked like a seagull crapped on it.  And why did Trevor have Thea's name tattooed on his arm?

Once Thea's entree had flaws, it was obvious who was going to win.  I would've been happy with either, but Congratulations, Trevor!

[Wings]

I am fine with results, too. 

The judges don't hide their opinions like they do here.  I often don't know who will win. They are good at creating suspense by finding flaws in eacharge plate or praise both. .

I think we all knew in the entrée round Trevor had it.  

Barry's exit was no surprise either.

I want to eat Thea's 1st course and dessert plus Trevor's entrée. 

[Snarklepuss]

Oh well, I was a Barrie fan but not upset about Trevor and Thea.  I'm rooting for Thea now although I'd be fine if Trevor won.

I agree about the judges being perfect.  They're a class act next to the Americans and Gordon.

And I am impressed with the contestants too.  The quality of the cooking is so much better than on the US version.  And they actually support each other.  What a breath of fresh air.

[cooksdelight]

For some reason, this show is not showing up on Cooking Channel for me now, via Dish. I see a show about an all-stars show, but nothing about the finale.

[Snarklepuss]

32 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

For some reason, this show is not showing up on Cooking Channel for me now, via Dish. I see a show about an all-stars show, but nothing about the finale.

I just noticed that both episodes were recorded on my DVR back to back - Did not watch the second one yet where the winner is chosen so I don't know who wins yet.

[susannot]

Love Trevor.  The right chef won.

[Snarklepuss]

Just saw the finale, congrats to Trevor, he certainly deserved it!

[Wings]

On 12/6/2017 at 5:39 PM, Snarklepuss said:

Oh well, I was a Barrie fan but not upset about Trevor and Thea.  I'm rooting for Thea now although I'd be fine if Trevor won.

I agree about the judges being perfect.  They're a class act next to the Americans and Gordon.

And I am impressed with the contestants too.  The quality of the cooking is so much better than on the US version.  And they actually support each other.  What a breath of fresh air.

I love these judges too. They are all on the same page and professional.   Gordon, Joe and Graham started out that way.  Graham didn't offer that much but he was well rounded and knew fine dining. It is a mess now.  

[Skyfall]

Remember there is a 2 hour family edition special bring shown tonight.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Skyfall

[cooksdelight]

Yes, looking forward to it!

[cooksdelight]

Is it just me, or do all the previous winners have Chiclet teeth?

[Token]

I didn't even realise that this started last week!  Just watching the episode now on demand.

[Ciarrai]

Without even waiting for the chyron I knew the girl with purple hair was the one from Dawson Creek. Teeny tiny little town with nothing better to do than experiment with your looks. Or drugs, but I assume it's just her looks she's experimenting with.

[Token]

On ‎2018‎-‎04‎-‎16 at 5:38 PM, Ciarrai said:

Without even waiting for the chyron I knew the girl with purple hair was the one from Dawson Creek. Teeny tiny little town with nothing better to do than experiment with your looks. Or drugs, but I assume it's just her looks she's experimenting with.

It's funny how you can just tell some people are from a small town.  I took one look at Beccy and I knew she was from small town Alberta.

[Sylkken]

So far, I'm loving Beccy who not only seems talented but also super cool under pressure and poised, especially considering her young age. I also like Reem, who seems a bit unsure of herself but super talented and humble. I'll take humble over cocky any day and speaking of that, I'm so glad to see the back of Kaegan who came across as not only cocky but a pot-stirrer and I would rather see a talented all-around cook win over a mediocre cook who is a great game player. Also, you can be strategic and not be such an overt jerk about it. I did like that the other contestants were really supportive and encouraging to him when he struggled in the pressure cooker.

[Christina]

Since I'm in the US, I didn't know this was airing until I saw it here, so thank you @Token!

No one is really bothering me this season. The trying to start a feud between Beccy and Kaegen(?) was annoying, but Beccy handled it maturely and didn't let herself be dragged in. It's almost like they have new casting people and decided to throw away the old formula of placing people based on a demographic and actually making sure they have the skills to be there. 

[Wings]

What night is this on?  My DVR did not record it.  I am in US so maybe not on here yet?  It didn't show up in my search guide either.  Help!

Edited April 28, 2018 by Wings