S16.W12 (E45-E47)

[katisha]

Well, I'm just going to stop looking at the spoilers this year because they're so off the mark.  Sav was supposed to be the next boot and not only did that not pan out, but she went and cooked the best dish into the bargain.  Again, I hate to say positive stuff about Sav but it was quite ballsy of her to try making a consomme today after she stuffed it up so badly in the pressure test last week.  And the edit monkeys did try and make us think that she'd be going purely because she added a tiny bit more California Reaper to the consomme (although a tiny bit more could have meant a huge amount more heat).

Mimi, as I've felt lately with every contestant Pezza outlasts, you were ROBBED.  Is it just that even though his dish was incredibly basic, on some level it actually worked in terms of how he handled that difficult ingredient, and that because of the failure of Mimi's brioche the bitter gourd was just TOO bitter?  It's hard to imagine because Pezza only pivoted because Andy tried so hard to telegraph to his favourite that a steak sanga wasn't going to cut it in this challenge.  But I'm now resigned to Pezza being top three at the very least.  Sigh.  I can't help wondering if Mimi shot herself in the foot just one too many times, trying to do too much.  

I don't have a single favourite left now so I'm going to have to join you on the Harry bandwagon, @Snazzy Daisy, even though I don't think he has a hope in hell of winning because he's not Nat or Pezza. 🙄

[Snazzy Daisy]

THE BEASTS

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E45 - Tame The Beasts Elimination

I love it when Poh tells Andy that his feedback to Pezza has sent him into a tailspin. I also love it when Poh calls Pezza’s dish “very basic” right into Andy’s face. You go girl! 💥👍🏻

Harry’s story is something of a snoozefest. He has a dog named Gnocchi. Gnocchi (the food) gets him a wife and a spot in Top 4. He serves the judges 1.25 gnocchi each - stingy Harry. 😂

Sav cooking with chilli again. Shocking! Satan in the jar has helped her win the dish of the day.

I think this is the first time we see Mimi struggling in the kitchen. Too much pivoting. The pressure gets into her head. Like Pezza, Mimi’s dish is also not too technical for Top 5 - a don (bowl) of rice + furikake, green apple + bitter gourd kimchi, yuzu mayo and battered soft shell crab. The brief is to balance the flavor. She needs a sweet element (the missing brioche) to balance the bitterness. Bye Mimi…

A steak sandwich for Top 4. Deconstructed steak? Stop being a wiseass, Pezza! It’s just steak with a few sides. 🙄 Despite serving a basic dish at this point of the competition, Pezza meets the brief. He tames the pungent cheese. 

When will the judges realize that they can only carry Pezza so far? Tick tock. ⏳

So, S16 Top 4 consists of 1x Meat Guy, 1x Fish Guy, 1x Untouchable Tattooed Ribbon Girl and 1x Girl who cannot stop saying “Sri Lankan”. Great… 🙄

@katisha - If Harry gets eliminated next, are we supposed to root for Sav??! 😆😂

 

[Aerobicidal]

I've been sitting out most of this season but started watching it in the background a couple of weeks ago and I'm ready to pay (more) attention for the last few episodes--which predictably means my eyes will be permanently rolled so far back in my head I'll be blind until this point next year.

That being said, I've grown to like Andy as a judge and I've always liked Poh, and I couldn't even guess what the other two judges' names are (although the French guy is a huge improvement from Amaury to me, maybe not in terms of reputation but in terms of not making me want to throw things at the TV). Everything about Pezza has already been said here; it doesn't require much space as he's basically what you would get if a template of 100 former contestants got created by ChatGPT and a 3D printer complete with big blokey hands and buttons set to "me don't know what to serve with me meat" and "the missus and me family . . . [cue sob story]" but it's too predictable to bother me after all these years.

I do think it was a minor miracle to hear "Epoisses" pronounced correctly so many times, and--yeah, it smells strong--but it's a classic go-to item for high end French/European trained chefs and delicious on its own so adding it to gnocchi seems like a very safe choice--I guess that's why Harry got the missus of his own, after all.

(Also, that storyline . . . and Andy trying to sound literate about beast taming--just no!)

I do feel like at this point, the level of food reflected pretty poorly on the contestants given that (in my never so humble opinion) these ingredients are not in actuality all that challenging. However, I've seen so little of the season that even a Pezza win would barely register as annoying especially considering Justin and Emma (sorry to anyone who has forgotten them--if so, I'm jealous). 

I think that with a stronger group of cooks, this show still has everything it needs to be more enjoyable than the vast majority of cooking shows I have access to, but I would say the same about the most recent season of Top Chef, and that show has far fewer excuses. 

Edited July 7 by Aerobicidal
Edited to fix typos, which is what happens when I don't post anything online for a year (or when I type).

[Snazzy Daisy]

A RECAP before we welcome the Finals Week!

 

[katisha]

12 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

A RECAP before we welcome the Finals Week!

Well, as it turns out, Ben did a recap of last night too but it was posted late.

More on that later but my mind's kind of blown after tonight's episode.  I'm wondering if the outcomes I was so sure were going to take place aren't going to actually happen this week after all.  I'm wondering now if there's a real possibility that either Pezza or Nat might not make it to the final three after all?  Or are the powers that be mean enough to have this season's fish guy, Harry, go home in a challenge set by the ultimate fish guy, Josh Niland?

First surprise of the night - Sav ending up in the final three.  I didn't see that coming but if the final three consisted of her, Pezza and Nat, I probably WOULD be forced to be Team Sav, @Snazzy Daisy, if only because I couldn't possibly be Team Pezza or Team Nat! 😆 Second surprise of the night - Nat's oh-so-arrogant plan to cook not one, but two dishes coming badly unstuck (and I'm not gonna lie - I found it rather schadenfreudelicious!), and for once she actually got real criticism from the judges.  Unfortunately, I can't say that Pezza getting good feedback from the judges for yet another hunk of meat with a puree, a croquette (really? in top 4?) and a jus was a surprise at all.  Again, he's a bloody butcher!  If he can't cook meat properly, then who can?
 

15 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

Everything about Pezza has already been said here; it doesn't require much space as he's basically what you would get if a template of 100 former contestants got created by ChatGPT and a 3D printer complete with big blokey hands and buttons set to "me don't know what to serve with me meat" and "the missus and me family . . . [cue sob story]" but it's too predictable to bother me after all these years.

He came up with such a charming comment tonight, too: "This croquette would put a horn on a jellyfish."  🤮

Harking back to last night's recap...

Quote

Things are getting real now. The pointy end looms. For the four amateurs cooking in tonight’s elimination, it is a chance to get one step closer to their dream of losing to Nat in the final. (hate to admit it but he's still probably right about this)

Harry is pairing the smelly cheese with gnocchi, Mimi is combining the bitter gourd with crabs, and Sav is sticking the super-hot chilli in a prawn consommé, revelling in one more chance to achieve her dream of bursting Andy’s head.

Josh is in a reflective mood. He is depressed that he didn’t win the last cook — he genuinely thought he would, but his failure to be Nat cost him. Like Harry, Josh is cooking with the époisses cheese, putting it into a steak sandwich. Andy feels a chill run through him: he senses that Josh might be on the verge of feeling good about himself, and moves immediately to prevent such a disaster. He tells Josh that steak sandwiches are the last refuge of a scoundrel, and Josh agrees that he is a bad person and promises to try to be better.

Despite Andy’s warnings, Mimi is sure she can pull the gourd back from its extreme bitterness. She begins by explaining to the gourd that happiness comes not from railing against fate, but from practising acceptance.

Back to Harry. “Gnocchi’s done a lot for me in my life,” he says – it was gnocchi that helped him connect with his nonna, made his wife fall in love with him, went guarantor for his home loan, etc. We flash back to scenes from Harry’s home life and see he and his wife kneeling before a gnocchi shrine to worship. 🤣

“On a day like today it’s all about maximum flavour!” shouts Andy, even though it’s actually about reducing the maximum flavour. He then moves over to Sav’s bench to remind her that the last time she made consommé she really sucked at it. With another psyche crushed, Andy whisks himself off, satisfied with a job well done. “Balance is key,” says Sav. “I have to make sure it’s not going to blow someone’s brains out,” she continues, in a tone that kind of suggests she really would love to blow someone’s brains out right now.

With Josh and Mimi suffering agonies of doubt, Harry feeling pretty damn cocky, and Sav chuckling darkly over the sinister fulfilment of her master plan, time runs out. The judges prepare to taste with the trepidation natural to people who have deliberately asked a bunch of amateur cooks to serve them dishes made from the worst ingredients in the world.

Harry is first, with his “gnocchi époisses”. “That cheese, as soon as I smelt it, it gave me flashbacks to home,” he says, remembering with a smile how dreadful his home smells. All are agreed that Harry has done a great job making a dish that barely makes anyone want to vomit.

Fourth is Sav and her prawn consommé with deadly chilli. It makes Jean-Christophe cough and beg for mercy. Everyone laughs at the wacky Frenchman. He declares himself blessed to have had the opportunity to be assaulted by Sav’s cooking. Everyone loves Sav’s violent attack.

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Cocky Nat truly needs a reality check! 

Nat's fandom isn't too happy with Andy for belittling their favorite girl on national TV. To comfort themselves, they take this as part of a "Winner Edit". They believe after so MANY immunities, Nat is due for a bad cook.

UGH... 🙄🙄🙄

Quote

"Would you rather be a risk taker or win $250K and be crowned as Masterchef Australia? You being a risk taker is what makes you great. But if you take the wrong risk at this time of the competition, like today, there ain't no more competition for you."

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E46 - Golden Ticket Mystery Box

“That would give a horn to a jellyfish!”

Shut up, Pezza!!!

They have been given 90 minutes, open pantry, open garden, but NONE of them makes a blow-your-mind, next level dish. That’s just sad.

Pezza’s meat & vege dish being named as Top 2 dishes is BULLSH!T. Where’s the growth part??!

Sav cooking another Sri Lankan dish, a packet of lumped rice at Top 4. It takes her straight to the Semi Final because it gives the judges orgasm that they’ve never felt before, especially Sofia. She cries! It’s not inventive at all. Sav doesn’t even bother to elevate her mom’s recipe to a MC level because this dish is a jewel of Sri Lankan cuisine. 🙄

Harry’s Crayfish Choo Chee is the only restaurant-worthy dish for the day but it doesn’t even make it to Top 2.

ANDY: “Harry, you absolutely nailed it. I felt every bit of growth in you in that plate.”

POH: “It’s just a really clever pairing of few things from the sea.”

JC: Dance like a maniac! 😂

SOFIA: “Your sauce is a little bit overpowering.”

ME: B!tch… 🙄

 

4 hours ago, katisha said:

Sav ending up in the final three.  If the final three consisted of her, Pezza and Nat, I probably WOULD be forced to be Team Sav, @Snazzy Daisy, if only because I couldn't possibly be Team Pezza or Team Nat! 😆 

If Harry doesn’t make it to Top 3, I guess I will be forced to join TEAM PEZZA.

🤪😬🥴

 

[WearyTraveler]

I liked Mimi, so, now I have no one to root for. Of the 4 remaining, I think I like Harry best.

Nat seems to be a good cook, and she has done pretty good dishes, but she's a bit off putting to me. Maybe it's her edit. I tend not to trust what reality TV presents too much because I know they cherry pick what to air.

I think Pezza's cooking (autocorrect just changed that to Pizza... LOL!!!) is way too basic for the title. Sav has tried to be diverse *just once*, so I also think that's not fitting for the title.

Harry does Italian and all kinds of seafood dishes. I guess that's diverse enough, but going by past history, this show likes to crown people who are into spices, more than into traditional chef cooking.

If I was a betting person, I think the writing has been on the wall for Nat winning for a while, but, maybe they will surprise me.

 

OT: Since a lot of people here also watch other Australian shows, have any of you been seen Dream Home? It's a new show where pairs of contestants remodel each others' houses. I am dying to discuss it with someone, but there's no thread for it in the forum, and I don't know if it will be worth it to create one, 'cause I don't know if there would even be one other person from this forum watching. The finale is tomorrow, if any of you want to discuss it, what should we do? Where do we go?

[Snazzy Daisy]

This is a challenge for you to win, Harry. Please don’t lemme down. Do not push me to Team Pezza!!! 🤞🏻

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

From Sav's IG story: 

[Snazzy Daisy]

JC's energetic reaction over Harry's dish, love it! 😆💙

[katisha]

😭 😭 😭 😭

Oh, Harry, my heart just broke for you tonight.  Not only did you bow out of the competition, but you did it on a challenge set by your food hero.  How absolutely sucky.  I didn't actually realise how much I liked Harry until tonight but I'm so bummed now that there are three contestants left and he's not one of them.  And watching everyone genuinely tearing up to see him go made me realise how much he's liked and appreciated.  But in a way, we probably could have foreseen this happening back in the early days of team challenges when Harry was acting so laid back that he didn't seem conscious of how quickly the time was going to go before service time.  That's partly what brought him undone today.

Now I have to try and find a favourite amongst Sav, who I used to like, and then didn't like so much (but like a bit more after reading her very on point post above); Pezza, who's turned me off with his ocker sexism and who the judges have turned me off through constantly pumping up his tyres when he cooks basic, average food; and Nat, who is sooooo obviously the favourite that I think she knows it herself and it makes her come across as cocky and arrogant, two characteristics I can't stand in a person.  But I'm going to say it right now, and this isn't based on spoilers - they want a female contestant to win, and it's going to be Nat.  I can feel it in my bones!  You could almost see the judges, after seeing the mess she made of that fish belly, PRAYING that Harry had stuffed up worse so they didn't have to get rid of their chosen one.

And by the way, I thought it was incredibly nice how Josh Niland tried to encourage Harry by mentioning that he himself has been so intimidated by having mentors around watching him cook that it's led him to make bad decisions and not cook his best.  I'm sure that would have helped Harry more than most feedback he got. 

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S16•E47 - Flounder Kandinsky Pressure Test

Harry, Harry, Harry… that’s what happened when you spend too much time prepping romancing the fish than reading the recipe carefully. So many minor flaws - underwhelming sauces, plating up the wrong rack etc. The fish guy goes home on a fish challenge. The irony. Dammit Harry. 😣

 

So, for S16 Semi Final, we have:

🔹 A one-trick-pony Curry Girl.

🔹 An obnoxious Tattoed Girl.

🔹 A mediocre Tassie Butcher Guy.

How exciting… 🙄

Cannot wait to see them struggling in the service challenge and in the complicated dessert pressure test! 😈

As much as it pains me to say, I want Pezza to win! 😔

 

Edited July 9 by Snazzy Daisy

[Snazzy Daisy]

Pezza's wife posted this...

Image Credit

 

Edited July 10 by Snazzy Daisy

[Snazzy Daisy]

Nat's MC journey!

[Snazzy Daisy]

The Curry Queen!

[Snazzy Daisy]

Pezza exceeding expectations!