S16.W06 (E21-E24)

[katisha]

Well, seems like Stevo wasn't such a producer favourite after all, @Snazzy Daisy!  I so thought they were going to send Lochie packing instead, but there you go.  Maybe now Stevo's gone, Lochie will be the new target of the "mess with his head while he's cooking" judge behaviour.  Maybe it was a bad sign for Stevo that they weren't doing it in tonight's episode.  Also, I wonder if they changed editors at some stage because until the last couple of weeks it's been painfully obvious who was going to be sent home and it wasn't tonight. I even briefly thought it might be Sav because we hadn't seen a huge amount about her home life until now and sometimes that can be a sign of impending doom, but when they called her first I knew she'd be safe.

I guess, as a fellow ancient being, I'm going to have to barrack for Sue the eggplant beater, being the same age as her, but I still feel like I know nothing about her whatsoever apart from her age!  She does seem to cook a good variety of different stuff on the rare occasions you get to hear from her, though.

Here's tonight's recap!

Quote

When the amateurs arrive, they are confronted by a giant fake phone, inside which is a happy woman in a yellow beret. Everyone bursts into applause and cheers because they apparently know who the happy woman is. In fact she is Miki Terasaki, a social media sensation who has gained fame for doing unnatural things with food. Everyone watches as, still imprisoned within the dystopian giant phone, the woman makes a… thing. The thing looks like a small yellow pillow, but when she cuts it open, out oozes a bunch of yellow brains, the favourite food of zombies, which is what TikTok turns people into. It all makes sense! The dish is officially known as “omurice”, which is Japanese for “brain-omelette”.

On the balcony, David stalks back and forth, chuckling to himself in a very immune way. Sav, who is cooking in her mother’s memory and daring the judges to send her home after an emotional montage, is using a Japanese technique to create a perfectly even custard, not realising you can just buy custard at Coles. Meanwhile, Sumeet is cooking a Dr Seuss story, which is very problematic and could get her dish banned from school libraries. Also, Sue is here.

Australian Josh serves what, in theory, could possibly be a cheese souffle, but in practice looks like a kind of waterlogged pikelet. Jean-Christophe tells Josh that he admires him for having the courage to make such an abomination in public.

And then comes Steve, with his airboat-inspired tempura eggs. He doesn’t know if the yolk is runny. The tension is so high that Sofia explodes in a fireball and we have to watch some ads to calm down. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Sav on X.

She should just chill. Some people who are rooting for her just wanna see her be a bit more adventurous. Some other contestants step out of their comfort zone, branch out and push boundaries, why not her? 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E21 - Mikiko’s Egg Elimination

Dammit, I really hope they’d have asked the contestants to make a Japanese omelet and elevate it to Masterchef level. This is another “cook whatever you want” with eggs.

In this egg challenge, the egg element has to be creative and innovative. How on earth the egg net/thread is considered innovative? So much leeway for the judges’ favorite. 🙄

I think Pezza is the “eliminator” for season 16. He will make it thru every eliminations to the Top 5. Who knows.

Lochy gives me heart palpitations. I seriously think he’s going home. Geez. When the judges don’t understand your dish, it’s time to pivot. I appreciate that he’s willing to try something new (unlike others who are very reluctant to branch out). But man, please don’t do it in black apron. Be smart, pick your battle.

Thank you Steve for saving Lochy. I wish you good luck in your redemption cook. Just remember to taste all elements, OK! 👍🏻

@katisha The EPs think Steve isn’t marketable enough, I guess. Ageism.

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Sue isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself. She recently updated her IG bio to include “#who_is_sue” and edited a majority of her IG captions to include the hilarious hashtag. 😂 

[katisha]

8 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Sue isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself. She recently updated her IG bio to include “#who_is_sue” and edited a majority of her IG captions to include the hilarious hashtag. 😂 

She might as well laugh about it because I don't know what this woman has done to deserve no backstory whatsoever!  And now she's in the bottom four and will probably get eliminated without us ever finding out.  

Mixed feelings about tonight's episode.  Very sad to hear Lochie has Huntington's disease.  It's not a nice thing to have and he may only have a few years before he starts becoming symptomatic.  😢  And then his little daughter having it too really sucks.  It was lovely to see him do well tonight but David's niceness in telling Lochie what to do to fix the mayonnaise deserved better than a bottom four finish.  Pezza, well, lack of time management seems to be a recurring theme with him so the challenge tomorrow night might be very tough for him.  I have no idea how Sue will handle the pressure test - how COULD we know - and Sav, well, it could go either way with her.  Sumeet showed tonight it was possible, as a Sri Lankan cook, to push the boundaries and produce something really good but maybe Sav should have thought about stepping outside her comfort zone before the halfway point when there wasn't so much riding on the outcome.

This post was brought to you by Lee Kum Kee ™️.

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E22 - The Saucy Mystery Box

A blatant Lee Kum Kee episode!

“Thank goodness for David.”

Congrats Lochy! Your fried kingfish wing is the top dish today. 👏🏻 It’s a really good pick-me-up after being in bottom three yesterday. I have read the contestants’ bio before this season started. So am fully aware of Lochy’s medical condition. It’s sad but that doesn’t define him. Am just glad the show has weaved this story into his redemption arc quite seamlessly. 

Sue asking Gill about whether the spoon is hers. Ms. Eggplant Beater is obviously still traumatized by the piping bag incident. Notice the pattern? Sue is given more airtime only when she f*cks-up.

Sofia: “Now she’s gardening.” 😂

The judges are worried seeing Sumeet steps out of her comfort zone. Who would’ve thought that the sauce boss is doing dessert on a saucy challenge. Well done, Sumeet!

Sav fails tremendously when she tries “to push the boat out” or whatever Andy wants to call it. Maybe she isn’t that good with flavors as she thinks she is. I guess she’ll be back in cooking Sri Lankan comfort dishes.

The preview in the egg-limination episode has spoiled the next elimination. We know who will be going home. Great job, editors! 😡

 

[katisha]

13 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

The preview in the egg-limination episode has spoiled the next elimination. We know who will be going home. Great job, editors! 😡

I wasn't as observant as you, @Snazzy Daisy, and I'd deleted the episode from my PVR so I couldn't re-watch, but as soon as I saw Sav's first piece to camera it was very obvious she was going home because she looked very downbeat compared to her usual demeanour.  I guess it's a pretty quick booting since the eliminated hamsters get to come back tomorrow night anyway but I get the feeling she won't be winning her way back because she's going to play to her strengths and the judges already know she's great at Sri Lankan dishes.  So is Sumeet, though, and she's still in the competition because she has shown more versatility than Sav.  But who knows?  The only thing I'm really sure about this year is how much of a favourite Nat is.

Even though she won't win the comp because, like Stevo, she's too old and therefore not marketable, I was glad to see "who is Sue" do well tonight despite her shortcomings in not being a dessert cook or even a fan of desserts in general.  She can at least focus and follow instructions.  Pezza also did better than I expected him to because that sort of stuff is absolutely not his strength.  David was always going to fly through and ace another complicated dessert pressure test because, as the man himself said, there is a lot of science involved in aspects of baking such as tempering chocolate!

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E23 - Darren Purchese’s Pressure Test

That lemon cheesecake with cherry blossom filling, yummm! 😋 

David’s mantra - work smart, work clean and be methodical. He makes today’s pressure test looks so easy.

Pezza is a bit cocky today. And he talks too much. Dude, shhh!

Am glad Sue manages to complete and plate up every elements of this intricate dessert. She works quite well under pressure. She’ll be back into the background after this, I guess.

Today’s elimination is purposely done for dramatization. They need to build up the anticipation and suspense for tomorrow’s redemption cook. Personally, I would have wanted to see Snez or Juan back in the competition but they aren’t judges’ favorite. So, hmm.

Am not worried about Sav at all. Tomorrow will be another “cook whatever you want” challenge and she will worm her way back into the competition. And I will have to continue watching that sour face on my screen whether I like it or not. UGH. 😣

Does Sofia really say “the elephant on the plate”? 😳

 

9 hours ago, katisha said:

I get the feeling she won't be winning her way back because she's going to play to her strengths and the judges already know she's great at Sri Lankan dishes.

Ohh she will. 😭

She’s getting eliminated today for a reason. 
 

9 hours ago, katisha said:

The only thing I'm really sure about this year is how much of a favourite Nat is.

Unfortunately. 😣

That girl can do no wrong and has been given so much leeway. UGH.
 

[katisha]

13 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Ohh she will. 😭

She’s getting eliminated today for a reason. 

I can hear you gnashing your teeth from here, @Snazzy Daisy!  But you were right.  I don't actually mind Sav so much but at this stage of the competition she should have been able to branch out like Sumeet has, and the fact she has not should not be rewarded in my view.  She'd better hope she doesn't end up in any more pressure tests anytime soon because it really showed her limitations as a cook IMHO.  I reckon Snez should've got picked.

It was good seeing the contestants again but one or two of them I barely remembered!  

[Snazzy Daisy]

The reason why Steve wasn’t in the redemption cook today… 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E24 - Second Chance Cook

The blatant favoritism is truly repulsive. 👎🏻

In what world the use of chives in a side dish is considered CREATIVE? It’s more like the herb being shoehorned into the coconut sambal just to meet the brief. 🙄

Snez has been robbed! She has made a delicious Serbian feast and highlighted the parsley in her main element. She deserves to come back.

Even Juan has taken some risks with unusual flavor combination - blue cheese panna cotta with butternut pumpkin crown and coriander oil.

Sav's dead mom has more airtime in this episode than Sue does for the entire season. I fast forward her scenes every time she mentions her mom.

Instead of trying something new, Sav tries to find a way to add chives into a Sri Lankan dish. She has made 6 different dishes without chives (rice + 2 sides + 3 curries) and only added chives in the coconut sambal. That’s all it takes to be called "creative" with the judges going gaga over her feast. They don’t even talk about cohesiveness and doing too much. Anything to bring their favorite back, huh. Ohh, the judges’ desperation for prawn curry is really embarrassing - “Are we getting the prawn? Are we getting the prawn?” 🤦🏻‍♀️

The ridiculousness is escalated to the next level when the person who gets the second chance is also being given an immunity from Sunday’s elimination.

 

Edited May 29 by Snazzy Daisy

[Mellowyellow]

This show does weird things to me. I started the show being annoyed at Nat and Mimi but now I don’t mind them at all. In fact I can appreciate their cooking prowess and willingness to take risks. Mimi in particular is super creative.

I liked Sav in the first few weeks. Now she’s as much of a one trick pony as Brent or the ice cream guy or the girl who made frozen desserts with moulds every week.