S21.E05: Supper Club

[ProudMary]

Airdate: Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Synopsis:

While in Madison, the chefs receive a message alerting them that they'll be shopping for their Quickfire Challenge, but they do not know what the challenge is. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs create a relish tray for a supper club.

[Bastet]

How did Danny wind up having to sacrifice the majority of his portion of the budget instead of everyone having to take some of their stuff off the bill – was it really just because he was the last at the register?  On the other team, Rasika disproportionately sacrificing had a stated reason – she has immunity – but if there was one for him, I didn’t hear/see it (I was distracted at the time, but everyone else in the Live Chat thread was pissed too, so I don’t think there was one).

Of course, budget didn’t make him over-season his tahini, but thankfully a couple of others on his team screwed up far more than that; they were clearly the losing team, but he wasn't in danger of going home.  I cringed when Charly started cooking his fish so ridiculously early, so no surprise it was hella overcooked.  I’m sad to see him go, but he seemed a clear choice since it wasn’t just that he destroyed the fish, he didn’t get enough spice in the pikliz, either, when he knew the heat's what makes the dish.

Nice for Dan to get a win on a challenge that is a local favorite of his.  I wasn’t all that excited just looking at it, but I appreciated hearing from the diner who said she normally doesn’t even bother with the relish tray because it’s boring, but his was special.

I liked the QF challenge.  At least Charly won that, with a dish inspired by his mom, sweet after him saying he thinks a lot about wishing he could tell her all he’s grown up to do since her death.  Also, I love W. Kamau Bell, and laughed at him knowing those were fight muscles, not gym muscles, on Manny.

[HappyDancex2]

Bummer the quick fire winner didn’t get immunity.  Laura getting the selfish edit…from throwing back her first recipe card for tartar sauce and then hogging the budget for her 1.5 dishes for the “experience.”  I’m sure it wasn’t as cutthroat as it seemed but that was an unlikeable edit.

Every week I become less impressed with this group though.  There aren’t any drama whores (dang did I say that?), villains, look at meeeeees, stellar savants, modern masters….I’m not intrigued by the dishes.  Katsu…..big deal.  They make more innovative food on Guys Grocery Games.  And certainly a lot of katsu.

[buttersister]

The editor don’t like Laura. And I don’t like that she wasn’t asked to put back the $$$ ingredient for her second dessert—you’re screwing a teammate, yo. Not a winner’s edit (no matter how many times Tom insists the cheffies make sure they’re the last one standing.

Congrats, Dan and thanks to your teammates for their support.

Kevin from France has a female fiancé (girlfriend.), so last week, when he and Manny said they were the bottom brothers, guess they meant in the standings. 

Kristin’s wardrobe tonight needed help. She doesn’t need to emulate Padma, but let’s speak to the stylist.

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Laura getting the selfish edit…from throwing back her first recipe card for tartar sauce

I have no problem with that one (if she didn't lie during their later discussion when she was significantly under on her estimate of how much her ingredients cost - which I'll grant given how it was presented - she still didn't properly consider the budget and her part in it while selecting ingredients or at the cash register, and not getting it until Tom made it explicit that she didn't think about the budget limitations when deciding to make a two-part dessert and, regardless, do one thing great instead of two things okay, on the other hand ...) -- Kristen didn't say they had to take whatever recipe card they first picked up, she just said something along the lines of you don't have to shuffle through, just take one, at which W. Kamau Bell laughed and said well, shuffle a little, or similar.  And I laughed too, because of course; if it's such a loosey goosey thing like that, with no clear rule that we're going in this order and Chef 1 is assigned Card 1 and so on, yeah, take a look at the next card if the first is a recipe you'd rather not make.

[Ancaster]

So Charly leaves saying he was proud of sticking to his heritage and flavours, right after being told he hadn't been true to his heritage and flavours (or words to that effect).  Okay then.

[CatWarmer]

I was wondering if the supper club is in lieu of Restaurant Wars; very similar premise in terms of two teams and number of courses.  I hope so,  because if these cheftestants can't handle supper club, no way will they manage Restaurant Wars.  Aside from dealing with a budget, they don't seem inclined to do well with following leadership like front of house and expediter.  Or for some, cooking well.

[MsJamieDornan]

I've heard of Raisin Sauce. My gran made it every Easter with ham. Yup, I'm from Wisconsin. 😛

[dubstepford wife]

9 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Every week I become less impressed with this group though.  There aren’t any drama whores (dang did I say that?), villains, look at meeeeees, stellar savants, modern masters….I’m not intrigued by the dishes.  Katsu…..big deal.  They make more innovative food on Guys Grocery Games.  And certainly a lot of katsu.

I'm not impressed either.  The dishes aren't very imaginative and they keep making very basic mistakes.  Like, Charly seems cool and I love spicy caribbean food so if he had leaned into Haitian it would have been great, Tom even said that.  But cooking fish 30 minutes before it is to be served?  I received my culinary training from Betty Crocker and even I know not to do that.  And as I was watching I actually exclaimed, "How do you screw up beef tenderloin?!"  That's like butter meat.  I'm sorry but if you can't cook that well then you are just not a very good cook.

Edit: I had some stuff about Laura in here but I'm taking it out, because the more I think about it, the more I think Manny deserved the villain edit, not her.  See my post below.

Edited April 18 by dubstepford wife

[Msample]

5 hours ago, CatWarmer said:

I was wondering if the supper club is in lieu of Restaurant Wars; very similar premise in terms of two teams and number of courses.  I hope so,  because if these cheftestants can't handle supper club, no way will they manage Restaurant Wars.  Aside from dealing with a budget, they don't seem inclined to do well with following leadership like front of house and expediter.  Or for some, cooking well.

Restaurant Wars is always done when they get down to 8 chefs, so we’ll find out in a few weeks. I’d be surprised if RW doesn’t happen, it’s so iconic. Based on this episode, it would indicate RW could be a more of a shit show than usual.

[rlc]

40 minutes ago, dubstepford wife said:

I wish they took cost into consideration -- tres leches cake is a fairly cheap dessert to make, and the fact that hers was soggy and overly sweet and the cocktail didn't go with it meant she wasted that budget. 

Tres leches cake may well be a fairly cheap dessert to make, but apparently adding that fourth leche puts it in a different stratosphere.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was angry when they showed the team with Laura taking so much of the budget for a cake that wasn't even good, and how it made her teammates dishes fail.    That was so selfish.      It wasn't that everyone agreed on the team either, Laura went through checkout, and the ones following her had to change everything to make up for her selfishness.    I really thought she should have gone home for putting the "I" in Team. 

It was like the Season 20 Picnic where Tom (I think Tom) took almost the whole team budget for a dish that failed.    The producers have to find a way to make it fair on purchasing for the team challenges.   

[CrazyInAlabama]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

How did Danny wind up having to sacrifice the majority of his portion of the budget instead of everyone having to take some of their stuff off the bill – was it really just because he was the last at the register?  On the other team, Rasika disproportionately sacrificing had a stated reason – she has immunity – but if there was one for him, I didn’t hear/see it (I was distracted at the time, but everyone else in the Live Chat thread was pissed too, so I don’t think there was one).

Of course, budget didn’t make him over-season his tahini, but thankfully a couple of others on his team screwed up far more than that; they were clearly the losing team, but he wasn't in danger of going home.  I cringed when Charly started cooking his fish so ridiculously early, so no surprise it was hella overcooked.  I’m sad to see him go, but he seemed a clear choice since it wasn’t just that he destroyed the fish, he didn’t get enough spice in the pikliz, either, when he knew the heat's what makes the dish.

Nice for Dan to get a win on a challenge that is a local favorite of his.  I wasn’t all that excited just looking at it, but I appreciated hearing from the diner who said she normally doesn’t even bother with the relish tray because it’s boring, but his was special.

I liked the QF challenge.  At least Charly won that, with a dish inspired by his mom, sweet after him saying he thinks a lot about wishing he could tell her all he’s grown up to do since her death.  Also, I love W. Kamau Bell, and laughed at him knowing those were fight muscles, not gym muscles, on Manny.

I think the ones who sacrificed their dishes for Laura's budget busting purchases, were the ones who went through the register after her.   I wish she had to go last, and stick to the budget.   I think on team challenges they shoule have an even share of the budget, and after everyone makes their purchases, if anyone is under budget they can give that amount to the others.  

[Seelouis]

This was clearly a set up to see how they worked as a team with the budget. Kristin specifically asked the question so they knew it would be an issue. Everyone knows Whole Foods is outrageously expensive. 

[sugarbaker design]

8 hours ago, buttersister said:

Kevin from France has a female fiancé (girlfriend.), so last week, when he and Manny said they were the bottom brothers, guess they meant in the standings. 

Not bottom bros, but Power Bottoms!

Edited April 18 by sugarbaker design

[sugarbaker design]

8 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

There aren’t any drama whores (dang did I say that?), villains

And for that I am eternally grateful.  I don't like asshole TV.

[AriAu]

Quote

Every week I become less impressed with this group though.  There aren’t any drama whores (dang did I say that?), villains, look at meeeeees, stellar savants, modern masters….I’m not intrigued by the dishes.

Agreed-I don't miss the drama whores and villains, but I do miss the genius creations and so far we have seen very little. I hope that it is just a case of playing it a little safe until the field gets narrowed/saving your best for the end, but so far it is a case of basic dishes solidly prepared, but nothing special or inventive.

Quote

And I don’t like that she wasn’t asked to put back the $$$ ingredient for her second dessert—you’re screwing a teammate, yo. 

There is usually some arm-wrestling at checkout to see what needs to be put back and the least creative/most insecure chef usually insists on keeping their "stuff" and looks like that was the case here.

By the way, funniest part of this is that dessert is not traditionally a big deal at the classic Wisconsin/North Woods Supper Club-maybe a little ice cream with chocolate sauce or a Pink Squirrel or other ice cream drink......and then another brandy old fashioned! The relish tray (what, no 3 Bean Salad or Merkt's cheese?????) is the deal, with the 1st brandy old fashioned.

Edited April 18 by AriAu

[bosawks]

6 minutes ago, AriAu said:

Agreed-I don't miss the drama whores and villains, but I do miss the genius creations and so far we have seen very little. I hope that it is just a case of playing it a little safe until the field gets narrowed/saving your best for the end, but so far it is a case of basic dishes solidly prepared, but nothing special or inventive.

There is usually some arm-wrestling at checkout to see what needs to be put back and the least creative/most insecure chef usually insists on keeping their "stuff" and looks like that was the case here.

By the way, funnies part of this is that dessert is not traditionally a big deal at the classic Wisconsin/North Woods Supper Club maybe a little ice cream with chocolate sauce or a Pink Squirrel or other ice cream drink......and then another brandy old fashioned! The relish tray (what, no 3 Bean Salad or Merkt's cheese?????) is the deal, with the 1st brandy old fashioned.

I 'effin love a Pink Squirrel!

[cameron]

Why was that comedian on the show?  Don't think he had any cooking expertise.

[rhofmovalley]

Are the producers trying to make Laura the "villain"? Because after annoying Hat Guy left there didn't seem to be anyone whose personality grated or who expressed that tired competition show trope "I'm not here to make friends". They kept showing Laura when she had no expression on her face which I guess was supposed to be "villain" face? If so, she's a pretty weak villain. 

[dubstepford wife]

There's a difference between making someone the villain and showing that they are culpable for a bad situation.  Good people can make bad decisions and bring others down with them.  I hardly think Laura is a villain, but she was responsible for using up a good chunk of the budget.

That said I'm actually a bit surprised that Manny didn't get at least a bit of blame.  Laura did get the villain edit in that Manny didn't get any flack for spending so much of the budget.  Beef tenderloin is crazy expensive.  As soon as I saw his pieces of meat I'm like, that has to be at least $200 right there.  Beef will always be more expensive than chicken but there are cuts of beef that aren't that over the top.  And he didn't even cook it properly anyway so he wasted the budget just as much as Laura did.

Edit: the more I think about this, the more it isn't sitting right.  Laura gets the villain edit because of her spending too much money, but Manny doesn't even though he was even more responsible for them being over budget.  The rules just said beef course -- there are cuts of beef that are way, way cheaper than tenderloin.  Yet he gets a pass, and this is pure conjecture, but I think it's because he's hot and the producers don't want to alienate the 18 - 40 women demographic that is a large chunk of the audience.  That sucks for Laura.  

Edited April 18 by dubstepford wife

[sugarbaker design]

Nevermind.

Edited April 18 by sugarbaker design

[dleighg]

I was also flummoxed that Danny loses out on the budget because he's last in line? That makes no sense. At least he was donated some ingredients later, but that's not the way it should work. And all the other chefs saying "sorry" "sorry" "sorry" like "it sucks to be you." Not cool.

I noticed when they had their (real) supper club meal, Dan was greeted by the server with "welcome back." Clearly he's a regular (and I gather he's something of a celebrity chef in the area).

I was intrigued by the pikliz, and since I happen to have some cabbage in the fridge I decided to make some, potentially for tonight's dinner. All the recipes say to refrigerate it for 3-6 days! I roll my eyes at chefs doing things that they clearly shouldn't be doing based on the time available. So I rearranged my menu planning and we'll have it on Saturday (only two days, but hey...)

[rhofmovalley]

39 minutes ago, dubstepford wife said:

  I hardly think Laura is a villain,

I agree, but what I was wondering is if the producers are trying to create a "villain". Because, you know, all competition shows MUST have a villain 🙄

[dleighg]

I forgot to add above, I thought that Rasika should have deferred to Michelle to make what she wanted, given that Rasika had immunity. I know that since Rasika is on a roll, it makes sense to have her do something strong for the team's sake, but Michelle hasn't been a slouch so far either.

Edited April 18 by dleighg

[Ancaster]

5 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

I'm not impressed either.  The dishes aren't very imaginative and they keep making very basic mistakes.  Like, Charly seems cool and I love spicy caribbean food so if he had leaned into Haitian it would have been great, Tom even said that.  But cooking fish 30 minutes before it is to be served?  I received my culinary training from Betty Crocker and even I know not to do that.  And as I was watching I actually exclaimed, "How do you screw up beef tenderloin?!"  That's like butter meat.  I'm sorry but if you can't cook that well then you are just not a very good cook.

 

I serve room temperature salmon fairly frequently, also tuna niçoise salad with fresh tuna, so I know cooking and serving fish later is quite feasible.  You just have to allow for residual cooking once it's out of the oven, which if I remember correctly, Tom mentioned.

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I forgot to add above, I thought that Rasika should have deferred to Michelle to make what she wanted, given that Rasika had immunity. I know that since Rasika is on a roll, it makes sense to have her do something strong for the team's sake, but Michelle hasn't been a slouch so far either.

I like Michelle, but she could have spoken up better for herself.  It's a competition.

Edited April 18 by Ancaster

[carrps]

9 hours ago, MsJamieDornan said:

I've heard of Raisin Sauce. My gran made it every Easter with ham. Yup, I'm from Wisconsin. 😛

I've eaten ham with raisin sauce, too, and I'm from California.

[marybennet]

I've eaten ham with raisin sauce, too--New York.  (Maybe not so excited to eat it again, I must admit.)

I have the vague idea that the chefs can't pull things once they have been rung up, but I'm not sure where I got that idea.  Does anyone else think this is the case?  It makes things harder on the chefs, but it respects the cashiers, who would have to be redoing the bills all the time.  (If I haven't made this up entirely....)

[Spicysweet]

Would someone please refresh my memory--aren't most of these chefs James Beard award winners or finalists? Don't they work in Michelin-starred restaurants? And they can't cook popular cuts of beef or fish? I've seen better cooking on Guy's Grocery Games. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

30 minutes ago, marybennet said:

I've eaten ham with raisin sauce, too--New York.  (Maybe not so excited to eat it again, I must admit.)

I have the vague idea that the chefs can't pull things once they have been rung up, but I'm not sure where I got that idea.  Does anyone else think this is the case?  It makes things harder on the chefs, but it respects the cashiers, who would have to be redoing the bills all the time.  (If I haven't made this up entirely....)

I would split the money evenly, have everyone buy what they can with their own money, and if other team members want to donate left over money they can.  It's totally unfair for Laura or Season 20 Tom, to take a lot more than their share. 

[Bastet]

I don't think in a team challenge the money should automatically be divided up into equal amounts for each chef, especially when they have a list of required courses, because some courses require costlier ingredients than others.  But when they decide, as a team, who's going to make which course and what each of those dishes is going to be, the budget needs to be part of that discussion.  Not wait until the check-out line of a notoriously expensive store and, golly gee, we've gone over.

51 minutes ago, marybennet said:

I have the vague idea that the chefs can't pull things once they have been rung up, but I'm not sure where I got that idea.  Does anyone else think this is the case? 

I'm pretty sure we've seen them take things off the bill, not just put them aside before even being rung up.

[NotChristine]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I noticed when they had their (real) supper club meal, Dan was greeted by the server with "welcome back." Clearly he's a regular (and I gather he's something of a celebrity chef in the area).

I was intrigued by the pikliz, and since I happen to have some cabbage in the fridge I decided to make some, potentially for tonight's dinner. All the recipes say to refrigerate it for 3-6 days! I roll my eyes at chefs doing things that they clearly shouldn't be doing based on the time available. So I rearranged my menu planning and we'll have it on Saturday (only two days, but hey...)

I'm Haitian so I've made pikliz countless times. In my experience, 3-6 days is not necessary, 1-2 days should be enough(I don't usually use it the same day since the vinegar/acid is still forward) The longer it sits, the more the flavors (especially the hot pepper) have time to meld.

[Rammchick]

41 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I don't think in a team challenge the money should automatically be divided up into equal amounts for each chef, especially when they have a list of required courses, because some courses require costlier ingredients than others.  But when they decide, as a team, who's going to make which course and what each of those dishes is going to be, the budget needs to be part of that discussion.  Not wait until the check-out line of a notoriously expensive store and, golly gee, we've gone over.

Really good points here, but besides, if they gave everyone their own money, where would the drama come from? 😏

[amarante]

11 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

There's a difference between making someone the villain and showing that they are culpable for a bad situation.  Good people can make bad decisions and bring others down with them.  I hardly think Laura is a villain, but she was responsible for using up a good chunk of the budget.

That said I'm actually a bit surprised that Manny didn't get at least a bit of blame.  Laura did get the villain edit in that Manny didn't get any flack for spending so much of the budget.  Beef tenderloin is crazy expensive.  As soon as I saw his pieces of meat I'm like, that has to be at least $200 right there.  Beef will always be more expensive than chicken but there are cuts of beef that aren't that over the top.  And he didn't even cook it properly anyway so he wasted the budget just as much as Laura did.

Edit: the more I think about this, the more it isn't sitting right.  Laura gets the villain edit because of her spending too much money, but Manny doesn't even though he was even more responsible for them being over budget.  The rules just said beef course -- there are cuts of beef that are way, way cheaper than tenderloin.  Yet he gets a pass, and this is pure conjecture, but I think it's because he's hot and the producers don't want to alienate the 18 - 40 women demographic that is a large chunk of the audience.  That sucks for Laura.  

I think the difference is that it is a given that beef is going to be expensive whereas there are certain courses which can be delicious and winners without using expensive ingredients. 

Of course you can make a delicious entree with an inexpensive beef cut but neither of the teams begrudged the expense for the beef. 

None of the other chefs seemed to gratuitously overspend for no purpose as Tom was trying to point out. 

 

 

Edited April 19 by amarante

[KenyaJ]

5 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

That said I'm actually a bit surprised that Manny didn't get at least a bit of blame.  Laura did get the villain edit in that Manny didn't get any flack for spending so much of the budget.  Beef tenderloin is crazy expensive.  As soon as I saw his pieces of meat I'm like, that has to be at least $200 right there. 

As he said at the check out, his steak was $150. And by the time he, Charley, and Amanda had their groceries rung up, they were at $600, with $400 left for Laura and Danny, so I don't think Manny deserves any blame for blowing through the Green Team's budget. That really did come down to Laura (they were up to $925 before they even started ringing Danny's items) and it was ridiculous for her to spend that much on her course.

Edited April 18 by KenyaJ

[Rai]

In the second (?) episode maybe, there was some yelling at Laura for making a mess and not cleaning it up, and in this episode, she talked about being independent at a young age and really needing to take care of herself first. I'm vaguely curious if this means this is destined to become a larger issue later on. Restaurant Wars would certainly be a place where something like that could blow up.

I think Rasika and Michelle should've arm wrestled or drawn knives or something to get what they wanted, but I don't have a huge issue with it. I don't have a problem with Rasika playing to win.

I love W. Kamau Bell, so my big critique is there wasn't enough of him. Two of my favorite shows in one! (And his guest appearance for the Parts Unknown: Kenya episode was really good. That whole episode is so great, albeit very sad in context of Bourdain's passing.) The Quickfire history behind chef Carson Gulley was really cool, and I wish we could've seen an actual clip of his and his wife's cooking show.

I don't know why both chicken chefs went with katsu, but okay. I don't know how the power bottoms could both mangle beef, but okay. The dinner overall sounded nice and comforting. But I admit nothing's standing out in my memory.

I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone gets salty with the outcome of Last Chance Kitchen though. Season 21: Needs More Salt?

[dleighg]

24 minutes ago, Rai said:

I don't know why both chicken chefs went with katsu

I think it's because katsu is kind of trendy, plus didn't the "real" supper club restaurant do a similar type breaded/fried chicken thing? I'm partial to chicken milanese, myself. I recently made a sortof katsu with chili crisp, and all I could think was "I'm going back to milanese."

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Rai said:

she talked about being independent at a young age

I kind of wanted more on that whole When we were 15 and 16, our parents told my sister and me we were old enough to have our own apartment story.

44 minutes ago, dleighg said:

plus didn't the "real" supper club restaurant do a similar type breaded/fried chicken thing?

I wasn't paying anywhere near as good attention as I should, being totally unfamiliar with the supper club concept, but I believe I heard someone say there was schnitzel.

[albarino]

I wish they would have touched a little more on the Harvey Girls and that particular history--not sure where they would have gone with it--other than to tie it into a particular dish or something.  

I'd have to go back and rewatch but I somehow missed how you can mess up a nice cut of beef.  Wasn't the criticism that it was too tough and chewy?

Edited April 18 by albarino
I'm assuming the Harvey Restaurant at a railyard has some historical association with the Harvey Girls

[dleighg]

13 minutes ago, albarino said:

I'd have to go back and rewatch but I somehow missed how you can mess up a nice cut of beef.  

I think it was too rare (and to my eyes had too much un-rendered fat)

[Rai]

It sounded like Manny's definitely wasn't rendered enough. Kevin's looked pretty and the description was great, so a bummer he messed that up.

I think yes, the real supper club had schnitzel, but it is funny that immediately became katsu. Well, whatever works. Amanda's did sound fantastic.

And agreed, @Bastet, I'd really like to know more about Laura's story there. Sounds potentially wild!

[CatWarmer]

42 minutes ago, albarino said:

I wish they would have touched a little more on the Harvey Girls and that particular history--not sure where they would have gone with it--other than to tie it into a particular dish or something.  

I'd have to go back and rewatch but I somehow missed how you can mess up a nice cut of beef.  Wasn't the criticism that it was too tough and chewy?

Apparently the name was inspired by one owner's father and the era of the Harvey Girls, but no direct connection.

Quote

Its name is a nod to both Shaina’s grandfather and the endlessly entrepreneurial Fred Harvey; ...... At its heart, The Harvey House is inspired by the Golden Era of Train Travel and the Post Prohibition boom of Supper Clubs in the Midwest.

 

[seacliffsal]

9 hours ago, dubstepford wife said:

There's a difference between making someone the villain and showing that they are culpable for a bad situation.  Good people can make bad decisions and bring others down with them.  I hardly think Laura is a villain, but she was responsible for using up a good chunk of the budget.

That said I'm actually a bit surprised that Manny didn't get at least a bit of blame.  Laura did get the villain edit in that Manny didn't get any flack for spending so much of the budget.  Beef tenderloin is crazy expensive.  As soon as I saw his pieces of meat I'm like, that has to be at least $200 right there.  Beef will always be more expensive than chicken but there are cuts of beef that aren't that over the top.  And he didn't even cook it properly anyway so he wasted the budget just as much as Laura did.

Edit: the more I think about this, the more it isn't sitting right.  Laura gets the villain edit because of her spending too much money, but Manny doesn't even though he was even more responsible for them being over budget.  The rules just said beef course -- there are cuts of beef that are way, way cheaper than tenderloin.  Yet he gets a pass, and this is pure conjecture, but I think it's because he's hot and the producers don't want to alienate the 18 - 40 women demographic that is a large chunk of the audience.  That sucks for Laura.  

I think he said that his meat was $160 and someone else on the team said that they were surprised it was so reasonable.  Apologies if I got the two teams and the two beef courses confused, but I think it was him.

[caitmcg]

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

I forgot to add above, I thought that Rasika should have deferred to Michelle to make what she wanted, given that Rasika had immunity. I know that since Rasika is on a roll, it makes sense to have her do something strong for the team's sake, but Michelle hasn't been a slouch so far either.

And yet, they disliked Rasika's dish, because every component — the fish and both sauces — was very salty. I noticed that at Judges' Table, every time they showed Rasika, she had a kind of sour look. We didn't see them address her, but we know they edit way down for time, so I assume they told her her dish was kind of a fail for its saltiness. As it happens, Michelle's dessert, even with not enough pineapple (second thing she gave up for the team) was more successful with the judges.

4 hours ago, Rai said:

I don't know why both chicken chefs went with katsu, but okay.

I think it was because, as Amanda said in a talking head, they both cook Japanese (or Japanese-inspired) food, so I assume they were both heeding Kristen's advice to "cook your food." Anyway, nice to see Amanda distinguish herself with a widely praised dish. She hasn't been very successful so far.

[buttersister]

Michelle, here’s a quick shot of self-esteem or whatever you need to not feel the need to compromise yourself. Unless, of course, you knew you had a great dessert up your sleeve. Then instruct the servers to give certain judges the plates you think best. And keep your pineapple for your dish!

Laura bogarted the budget, but I didn’t think she was a villain for that. Selfish, you bet. But this backstory—yikes—sounds like a contributing factor. 

Manny has gone downhill since his mole. How do you screw up a tenderloin?

 

[MamaGee]

8 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I would split the money evenly, have everyone buy what they can with their own money, and if other team members want to donate left over money they can. 

I disagree. Someone making a relish plate or a veggie dish or, yep, a dessert, shouldn't need as much money as a protein dish. I do agree there has to be a better way to split the money than the way they did it last night. But also, I wonder if that's why Danny loaded his stuff up last: because they thought he might not need as much?

[caitmcg]

48 minutes ago, buttersister said:

Manny has gone downhill since his mole. How do you screw up a tenderloin?

Manny had the tough beef, it was Kévin who vastly undercooked the tenderloin. When it was served to the judges, he said "medium rare," even as they only had to look at it to remark, "still mooing" (and it was apparently pretty much raw, at that).

[buttersister]

Thanks, caitmcg. Sorry, I had the wrong cut of beef, but he still couldn’t cook it properly.

[Quilt Fairy]

They can absolutely pull things back after the cashier has scanned them.  We've seen this numerous times when a team has gone over budget, they start removing things until they're under.  The cashier just scans it again with a reversal, it's not hard.

I'm really disappointed that Manny and Kevin did such simple presentations of beef and then messed them up as well. 

[seltzer3]

As someone who just made tres leches cake,  I'm so confused how Laura had $150 for her dish.  Tres leches is a pretty cheap cake to make.  I'm guessing its just the added booze?  Or she decided to go with really expensive cream and milk?

Like there is just no way a tres leches cake should be that expensive.