Season 21: Last Chance Kitchen

[Irlandesa]

52 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I'm just trying to figure out the logistics. Usually they do this right before the final-- I did notice that her hair was a lot longer. But they flew her back in only for her to say she wasn't doing it?

That could lead credence to Kaleena having an anxiety attack or feeling one coming on. So maybe she intended to compete but changed her mind after she felt the anxiety  creeping in.

 

[caitmcg]

4 hours ago, ProudMary said:

When Kaleena walked into the kitchen and announced that she would not be competing, I wondered if contractually she was able to do so. When she raised her mental health as an issue, I assumed that must be one of the "outs" in the contract

 

I know it's not entirely clear what happened with David Murphy not competing on LCK, but Tom did tweet in response to an inquiry that he opted out, so perhaps it's not actually a contractual requirement, but something most of them want to do just to have the opportunity to get back in.

4 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I was somewhat surprised that Tom didn't give the win to Rasika

I wasn't surprised at all, and not because of any potential strategizing by the show. As soon as Rasika said the seafood would normally be cooked in the sauce but that she was doing it separately, I knew it was telegraphing an issue with the dish, and when she served it with the fish and shrimp just perched on top and not even in the sauce, it was clear to me her fate was sealed unless Kevin really screwed up. There was no way it would be a cohesive dish served that way.

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I'm just trying to figure out the logistics. Usually they do this right before the final-- I did notice that her hair was a lot longer. But they flew her back in only for her to say she wasn't doing it?

In general, I don't believe anyone departs right after being eliminated, they keep them in seclusion so it's not obvious outside how things are progressing. So in this second batch of contestants, they all are probably still stuck in a hotel in Wisconsin until close to the final anyway. It can't be more than a couple of weeks between her elimination and the determination of the final three or four (depending on how many they take into the finale destination), with eight now left and still presumably an episode where they axe two to make the numbers come out right.

[dleighg]

12 minutes ago, caitmcg said:

So in this second batch of contestants, they all are probably still stuck in a hotel in Wisconsin until close to the final anyway.

unless the have a gap between the end of the main season and the finale. 

[caitmcg]

7 minutes ago, dleighg said:

unless they have a gap between the end of the main season and the finale. 

I meant until the contestants who are going into the finale (before they do the inevitable last elimination at the finale destination). So between Kaleena being eliminated and the end of the show in situ in Milwaukee, she's undoubtedly there regardless.

[zscore]

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

But they flew her back in only for her to say she wasn't doing it?

She's based in Chicago.  No need to fly her back in.

[Ancaster]

The episode with Kaleena on Beat Bobby Flay was just on here, so I bit the bullet and cringed my way through Sunny Anderson, who was a judge (normally I skip anything she's on).  Kaleena spoke about her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, and how she hoped she could set a good example of facing your problems.  She smoked Bobby Flay with a seafood boil - yeah!

Edited May 14 by Ancaster

[Salacious Kitty]

20 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

The episode with Kaleena on Beat Bobby Flay was just on here, so I bit the bullet and cringed my way through Sunny Anderson, who was a judge (normally I skip anything she's on).  Kaleena spoke about her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, and how she hoped she could set a good example of facing your problems.  She smoked Bobby Flay with a seafood boil - yeah!

Is she the one who did the PNW inspired boil? I remember someone doing that.

[Ancaster]

4 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Is she the one who did the PNW inspired boil? I remember someone doing that.

That's the one.  And for once Bobby didn't rely on southwestern flavors. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Mise en Place race between Kevin, Amanda, and Laura.  Prep five items, that you have to use in your dish.    Amanda wins, and gets a time advantage, Kevin is second, Laura is third.  

Kevin overcooks the chicken, and he's gone.  Laura and Amanda advance to the next round of LCK. Tom said LCK finale next week, and then the winner of Amanda vs. Laura go back to the competition.   I'm rooting for Amanda.     

However, does whoever is eliminiated next week go to LCK?  And a three way cook off or what?   Apparently after next LCK one goes back to the competition.   

Edited May 16 by CrazyInAlabama

[Msample]

I think whoever wins next week gets back into the competition?

[tv echo]

It's a Mise En Place Relay Race | Last Chance Kitchen (S21 E8) | Bravo
Bravo   May 15, 2024

Can The Chefs Turn 5 Ingredients Into a Winning Dish? | Last Chance Kitchen (S21 E8) | Bravo
Bravo   May 15, 2024

[carrps]

That was fun! 

I could certainly never do what they did, but they all had good attitudes and seemed to be enjoying the process.

 

[Rammchick]

On 5/13/2024 at 10:40 PM, Ancaster said:

The episode with Kaleena on Beat Bobby Flay was just on here, so I bit the bullet and cringed my way through Sunny Anderson, who was a judge (normally I skip anything she's on).  

I seem to encounter Kaleena every time I turn on the Food Network.  She also won on Chopped, and her episode was on right before the newest one this past Tuesday.

Edited May 16 by Rammchick

[Bastet]

Tom had such a "Dammit!" face when all three dishes were fantastic and he had to pick which one was the least fantastic.  At least Kevin made it easy for him; even if the thigh was perfect and the breast only slightly overdone, if the other two cook everything perfectly and one is a hair off, that's the one getting eliminated.

I love Amanda's laugh, so I'm glad she's still around.  (I have no problem with Laura, I just particularly like Amanda.)

[caitmcg]

I've always loved watching the mise en place race, so this was fun. I knew the winner's advantage would be a little more cook time (because it always is), and Amanda got lucky getting that extra 5 minutes to use when making a dessert. And Laura was doubly lucky, in a way, in that a white fish fillet was the quickest to cook and that the prep called for chiffonading the kale, so that she didn't have to spend more time getting it to a point where it would become tender or break down in a short time. I'm always impressed when they can multitask on three or more things and not let more delicate elements like sponge cake or fish fillets get overdone in their frenzy. And not managing it this time lost Kevin the challenge.

I was fully prepared for Tom to find that the cheddar frico didn't fit or add anything to Amanda's dessert (though it helped when she mentioned adding honey to it). Of the three dishes, Laura's was the one I really wanted to try, which is certainly the first time I've thought that this season.

[tvfanatic13]

Dear lord, I never realized how annoying Amanda’s voice is until this episode. 

[ProudMary]

16 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

However, does whoever is eliminiated next week go to LCK?  And a three way cook off or what?   Apparently after next LCK one goes back to the competition.   

Yes, next week's PYKAGd chef will go to LCK. If past seasons are indicators, it'll probably be a two-parter, eliminating one in the first round and then the final two in a cook off with the winner returning to the main competition. 

Am I alone in thinking that Amanda was high during her TH segments? (My search for a weed emoji was futile. 😉)

[dleighg]

4 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Am I alone in thinking that Amanda was high during her TH segments? (My search for a weed emoji was futile.

Certainly all three of them gave off a "what the hell, I'm just going to have fun and I'm really not going to die if I don't win this thing" attitude. I think there was probably a gap in time that reminded them that there is life outside of TC (much like the hostages released from The Bachelor/Bachelorette)

[Ancaster]

12 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

Dear lord, I never realized how annoying Amanda’s voice is until this episode. 

Her voice, her laugh, her enormous immobile forehead, all irritate and grate on me hugely.  Sorry to be so shallow, but she got so much airtime

Spoiler

in LCK

it was impossible for me to ignore her.

Edited May 17 by Ancaster

[Rai]

I like Amanda and hope she returns to the competition.

[seltzer3]

I was impressed with Amanda.  When she took all the citrus fruits, I was thinking was she just going to make a giant lemonade?

[Salacious Kitty]

Well that was... unexpected. 

I was surprised that they announced the winner. They've often used it as a cliffhanger in the past.

[buttersister]

I’m surprised.

[Kindred Spirit]

I just finished watching, so I reserve the right to change my mind, but I'm really disappointed for Amanda. I know the judges didn't hear the banter and exposition during most of the cook, but that Amanda made a dish up on the spot, while Laura based hers on something she cooks in her restaurant felt unfair to me. Of course a dish she's thought about enough to put on her menu is going to be more finished and assured than something Amanda conjured out of thin air. They both had the same time constraints, but Laura had familiarity on her side.

I'll admit that I was pulling for Amanda, so I'm sure I'm biased. She did seem to have a very good attitude about being eliminated. I hope she truly is proud of herself. I was impressed by her cooking! I guess I won't be sad if Laura doesn't make it to the finale. I did feel bad for Soo. 

[MadMiniaturist]

On 5/16/2024 at 5:50 PM, ProudMary said:

Am I alone in thinking that Amanda was high during her TH segments? (My search for a weed emoji was futile. 😉)

I was rather floored watching her talking heads. She seemed SO heavily medicated or something. Wow!

[tv echo]

Can Past Quickfire Challenges Inspire a Winning Dish? | Last Chance Kitchen (S21 E10) | Bravo
Bravo   May 22, 2024

The Last Chance Kitchen Winner is Crowned! | Last Chance Kitchen (S21 E10) | Bravo
Bravo   May 22, 2024

[Rammchick]

I am very sad this morning.  Not only was Manny's mediocre "dish anyone could make at home" slop awarded over Soo's (and yes, it was a mess, but much more creative), resulting in PYKAG, but then Soo lost LCK too 😞 And then so did Amanda 😞😞

 

Edited May 23 by Rammchick

[Lovecat]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:50 PM, ProudMary said:

Am I alone in thinking that Amanda was high during her TH segments? (My search for a weed emoji was futile. 😉)

Either that or she had just returned from a root canal!

I knew Soo wasn't returning to the main competition because the leg that entered the kitchen in the preview wasn't wearing red pants :)  I laughed when he rolled in with his stool to join the peanut gallery...and again when he and Kévin tried to hide their beers like teenagers caught drinking in the basement!  I loved that they enjoyed 2 different beers--one to watch the cook and one to watch the tasting.  How civilized!

As for the results? Meh.  Laura is fine, but I find Amanda and Soo more interesting to watch.

[dleighg]

15 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I was surprised that they announced the winner. They've often used it as a cliffhanger in the past

yeah I was fully prepared to not find out until next week in the regular show.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Lovecat said:

and again when he and Kévin tried to hide their beers like teenagers caught drinking in the basement!

That cracked me up.

The first challenge was hard - a lot to combine that you wouldn't normally combine.

I'm glad it came down to Amanda and Laura in the end, and that, while they each wanted to win, of course, they were glad if they lost it was going to be to the other, someone they'd been paired with repeatedly since the beginning.

Good for Laura.  I was rooting for Amanda, just because I want to keep hearing her laugh, but I knew the gnocchi was going to send her home.  I'm glad she enjoyed herself, and feels like LCK takes her out on a high note even though that's where she ends her TC experience, because she made some of her best food there.

[caitmcg]

10 hours ago, Kindred Spirit said:

know the judges didn't hear the banter and exposition during most of the cook, but that Amanda made a dish up on the spot, while Laura based hers on something she cooks in her restaurant felt unfair to me. Of course a dish she's thought about enough to put on her menu is going to be more finished and assured than something Amanda conjured out of thin air. They both had the same time constraints, but Laura had familiarity on her side.

I mean, Amanda had the opportunity to do something familiar she knew she could knock out with confidence, and she chose, as she stated at the start of the cook time, to go out on a limb and do something she'd never even tried before. She knew it was a risk (and in the end, she obviously knew she was serving less-than-ideal gnocchi). Laura cooked the vegetables as she does in her restaurant, but she also chose to do an ad-hoc crab salad with canned crab, so it wasn't all something she had down pat. They were both charged with putting their best culinary selves on a plate, and I don't really fault Laura for choosing something she knew expressed that.

[mlp]

I had Soo pegged as a finalist so I was shocked when he was eliminated.  I'm guessing it was the bread sauce that did him in.  Laura and Amanda were my least favorites of the rest of them so I didn't really care which one returned.  

[dleighg]

19 minutes ago, mlp said:

I'm guessing it was the bread sauce that did him in. 

is "bread sauce" a thing? I thought I've seen everything, but never heard of this. And yes, I know I could google it; just wondering if this has somehow missed me.

[caitmcg]

6 minutes ago, dleighg said:

is "bread sauce" a thing?

It's a British thing, served with roast poultry (as you might serve gravy). When Tom and Kristen did their walk-through, Kristen actually said, "I love bread sauce." And they wished he'd served it as a sauce and not a "mash," after all, due to its texture.

[Yeah No]

On 5/23/2024 at 6:45 AM, Kindred Spirit said:

I just finished watching, so I reserve the right to change my mind, but I'm really disappointed for Amanda. I know the judges didn't hear the banter and exposition during most of the cook, but that Amanda made a dish up on the spot, while Laura based hers on something she cooks in her restaurant felt unfair to me. Of course a dish she's thought about enough to put on her menu is going to be more finished and assured than something Amanda conjured out of thin air. They both had the same time constraints, but Laura had familiarity on her side.

I'll admit that I was pulling for Amanda, so I'm sure I'm biased. She did seem to have a very good attitude about being eliminated. I hope she truly is proud of herself. I was impressed by her cooking! I guess I won't be sad if Laura doesn't make it to the finale. I did feel bad for Soo. 

I know it's disappointing when a chef you're rooting for loses, but I think Laura's was a valid strategy.  There's no requirement that the chefs make something up on the fly for LCK.  Also, I didn't think Amanda's pairing of scallops with gnocchi sounded particularly appetizing.  She seemed to think it was a great combination but I didn't.  I love both ingredients but together?  Eh.

I did feel bad for Soo, though.  I thought he would have made it back to the competition.