Season 3: Get Your Spoons!

[Wings]

 

 

 

This to the word.  If the point is supposed to be these are the best cooks, let them cook.

 

 

The mentor has to choose the dish for the first round and cook it for them.  Then they do their spin on it.   The are given freedom in the second challenge.  

[NikSac]

I thought the girl from New Jersey had the worst bite as chosen by Stephanie Izard.  Nigella chose to send Renee home for her own reasons.  Unless I fell asleep and remembered it wrong.

 

Well, I think that's kind of a hard one. The team voted that the Jersey Girl (sorry, I can't remember her name) had the best bite of the team, so technically speaking I suppose that means the other 3 on the team were worse, right? So none of them could beat out the "best bite" on the other teams?  I'm not really a fan of how they do that judging anyway, I'd rather just see them taste each contestant's food, but in theory anyway maybe Renee's really was the worst.

 

I had the same thought about Sunday gravy.  My mother never cooked Italian food and certainly not a memory of mine. He should have asked each one what their favorite dish was and then choose one.  They all have to make the same dish decided by the mentor.   Since the mentors have to cook what they want their team to make, it limits Tony. 

 

My husband's Sicilian and loves it when I make spaghetti or especially a Sunday Gravy style dish, but yeah, I can see where many people probably wouldn't have that in mind as a childhood dish. Love the idea of having each of them choose their own personal childhood dish. I wish the show allowed for more creativity like that.

 

It was funny, my husband doesn't even watch this show usually but within a few minutes of the teams being chosen he said "she's going to lose one, right?" about Nigella and "she's done" about Renee. I was surprised it was so predictable even to him. I thought for sure he'd be saying that about Tony's team since Sunday Gravy in his family must be really good or it's not even worth eating in their minds, but apparently even to someone who rarely views the show it was obvious Nigella's team was done.

[biakbiak]

I love that the announcer kept insisting that Stephanie would have no idea what team made what but if she knew that what was made by the judges there is no way she couldn't have figured out what chef mentor choose which dish. I mean I don't think it had any bias but if I was just given the list of what each chef chose I could easily have identified who chose them.

[Wings]

I love that the announcer kept insisting that Stephanie would have no idea what team made what but if she knew that what was made by the judges there is no way she couldn't have figured out what chef mentor choose which dish. I mean I don't think it had any bias but if I was just given the list of what each chef chose I could easily have identified who chose them.

 

 

The camera shoots to the reaction of the team who just had their bite tasted.  NO one has a poker face.  Surely the judge can see their reactions no matter how subtle.   And the obvious of which chef would choose what. 

Edited December 8, 2014 by wings707

[cooksdelight]

I quit trying to analyze the camera angles and whens/ifs/whats of this show after the first season. I do think they are trying harder to keep it all "what you see is what you get."

[Kromm]

I think there  are women chefs out there that could stand up to the boys easily.

Yes,  but I was talking about Nigella. The point is they aren't getting rid of her, because her place in the cast isn't about actually being competitive with the others. To be honest, Tony Bourdain, former chef or not, isn't all that competitively realistic either, and the show hardly ducks that.  Tony and Nigella serve as the twin "you got me into food" figureheads, but the only contestants who pick them at this point are 1.) the ones who have no choice or 2.) the ones who have an unhealthy fixation or 3.) maybe a few who are arrogant and think they have little left to learn, so they don't need direct tutoring from a red hot chef like Ludo or Marcus.

 

Nigella and Tony are there for their names, not their cooking.  And lets be realistic, Nigella is still eye candy, even at her age, and that's part of it too with her.  They aren't replacing her any time soon (if ever).

I love that the announcer kept insisting that Stephanie would have no idea what team made what but if she knew that what was made by the judges there is no way she couldn't have figured out what chef mentor choose which dish. I mean I don't think it had any bias but if I was just given the list of what each chef chose I could easily have identified who chose them.

I seem to be missing your point somehow.  If you are talking about the overall categories each judge picked, Stephanie didn't know that.  They'd shuffled her off stage by that point.

That said, I suppose she could have made easy educated guesses based on knowing the backgrounds of each judge. Even there though, "eggs" could have been Nigella or Tony just as easily as Ludo, for example. "Curry" only telegraphed Marcus if you thought about it a bit.  "Sauce/Gravy" also could have been Nigella.

[NikSac]

The camera shoots to the reaction of the team who just had their bite tasted.  NO one has a poker face.  Surely the judge can see their reactions no matter how subtle.   And the obvious of which chef would choose what. 

 

I wonder how real this is, or if it's some kind of double-filmed thing like they supposedly do on Project Runway where one is (theoretically anyway) "blind" and the other is with the designers watching. It ends up looking like the judges must be seeing the contestants' reactions when they (again, theoretically) actually don't.

[biakbiak]

My point was the show didn't actually make it clear if Stephanie knew that the contestants had to base their dish on the mentors childhood dish or not and if she knew that it was the chef who chose what the dish they would be making it would be extremely easy to identify which dish was from each team.

[Kromm]

My point was the show didn't actually make it clear if Stephanie knew that the contestants had to base their dish on the mentors childhood dish or not and if she knew that it was the chef who chose what the dish they would be making it would be extremely easy to identify which dish was from each team.

How so?  She'd have to know what the assignment from that team was.  And she didn't--she wasn't present when the mentors revealed those.  The only knowledge she'd have to match dishes to the mentors would be guesswork.

 

As I said last post, she might be able to guess based on knowing the mentors, but even there the themes didn't really telegraph only a single potential mentor.  Eggs could be anyone. A sauce/gravy dish likely wasn't Ludo or Marcus, but could have been Nigella just as much as Tony.  Mac & Cheese again could have been Tony just as much as Nigella.  Curry likely wasn't Ludo, but you'd really have to think about it before you connected it to Marcus.  If Stephanie made a puzzle of it, she probably could have slotted the pieces with the right mentor, and thus figured out who's dish was who's, but I honestly don't think the answers would just be there for the picking unless she bothered to think about it fairly hard in the few minutes she had while tasting.

[Wings]

My point was the show didn't actually make it clear if Stephanie knew that the contestants had to base their dish on the mentors childhood dish or not and if she knew that it was the chef who chose what the dish they would be making it would be extremely easy to identify which dish was from each team.

 

 

They know the format of the show.  Stephanie knew each chef chose their childhood favorite.  The judges operate with integrity, I am confident they judge the actual bite and don't try and figure out which team did what. 

Edited December 8, 2014 by wings707

[biakbiak]

he judges operate with integrity, I am confident they judge the actual bite and don't try and figure out which team did what.

As I said originally, I didn't think it would create a bias, just that it was incredibly obvious which team made what, so the repeated emphasis that she had no idea made me roll my eyes.

Edited December 8, 2014 by biakbiak

[Wings]

As I said originally, I didn't think it would create a bias, just that it was incredibly obvious which team made what, so the repeated emphasis that she had no idea made me roll my eyes.

 

 

I understood what you meant and agree, it was easy to get Samuelson's right off the bat, for instance.  :>) 

[biakbiak]

And the Frenchman made a omelette, the home cook did mac and cheese, and even though he admitted he didn't grow up with it process of elimination would lead to Tony choosing the ragu, he would never choose something as "pedestrian" as mac and cheese.

Edited December 8, 2014 by biakbiak

[Kromm]

And the Frenchman made a omelette, the home cook did mac and cheese, and even though he admitted he didn't grow up with it process of elimination would lead to Tony choosing the ragu, he would never choose something as "pedestrian" as mac and cheese.

Actually when Bourdain talks about his childhood food it's usually about ordinary pedestrian stuff.  Yes, he talks about red sauce Italian, but also Jersey hot dogs, subs and hamburgers.  And Mac and Cheese is definitely part of his repertoire.

 

And again, I only think the egg points to Ludo especially if you do a process of elimination thing in your head. It could have applied to ANY of the others and only pointed to Ludo specifically if you realized that none of the other dishes fit him.  At the very least I think Nigella and Tony's dishes could have been interchangeable between them.

 

That said, I doubt Stephanie had a bias in any particular direction.  She certainly knows Bourdain and likely Marcus through Top Chef networking (Bourdain was a guest judge on her Season twice), but she's not particularly beholden to anyone.

[biakbiak]

I only think the egg points to Ludo especially if you do a process of elimination thing in your head. It could have applied to ANY of the others and only pointed to Ludo specifically if you realized that none of the other dishes fit him.  At the very least I think Nigella and Tony's dishes could have been interchangeable between them.

 

And I thought all of them were obvious, it wasn't even process of elimination about Tony is that he does in fact wax poetically about the NJ Italian food of his youth on many occasions. I am not Stephanie so don't know much she knows about the chefs or even if she tried to work it out in her head, but to me all not just Ludo were extremely obvious, clearly YMV.

[Wings]

Actually when Bourdain talks about his childhood food it's usually about ordinary pedestrian stuff.  Yes, he talks about red sauce Italian, but also Jersey hot dogs, subs and hamburgers.  And Mac and Cheese is definitely part of his repertoire.

 

And again, I only think the egg points to Ludo especially if you do a process of elimination thing in your head. It could have applied to ANY of the others and only pointed to Ludo specifically if you realized that none of the other dishes fit him.  At the very least I think Nigella and Tony's dishes could have been interchangeable between them.

 

That said, I doubt Stephanie had a bias in any particular direction.  She certainly knows Bourdain and likely Marcus through Top Chef networking (Bourdain was a guest judge on her Season twice), but she's not particularly beholden to anyone.

 

 

That is the same recipe I have used for years.  I came across that when searching for a drier mac and cheese, I don;t like it soupy.  Nigella makes her this way, too.  The recipes are identical and a typical way to make it.  Mine is from someone else and there are probably many more the same.  Love it.  

[Snarklepuss]

Well, I think that's kind of a hard one. The team voted that the Jersey Girl (sorry, I can't remember her name) had the best bite of the team, so technically speaking I suppose that means the other 3 on the team were worse, right? So none of them could beat out the "best bite" on the other teams?  I'm not really a fan of how they do that judging anyway, I'd rather just see them taste each contestant's food, but in theory anyway maybe Renee's really was the worst.

 

Interesting that Stephanie thought Jersey girl's was the worst while the team thought it was the best.  I suppose Nigella was basing her decision to send Renee home on her opinion of the food, not Stephanie's.  Which is actually her right to do so, but then why bother having Stephanie do a blind taste testing in the first place if it only chooses which team should send someone home but not which bite on that team?  I think it's just weak and there was nothing clear about the way it was done.

 

 

My husband's Sicilian and loves it when I make spaghetti or especially a Sunday Gravy style dish, but yeah, I can see where many people probably wouldn't have that in mind as a childhood dish. Love the idea of having each of them choose their own personal childhood dish. I wish the show allowed for more creativity like that.

 

I'm of Sicilian descent and my husband never had Sunday gravy or anything close to it until he met me.  He says the closest thing he had growing up was Ronzoni number 9 and Ragu from the jar.  Interestingly, neither of us grew up eating macaroni and cheese, at least not at home.  The only place I ever ate it as a kid was at Horn and Hardart cafeteria (yep, I'm old).  I didn't start eating it anywhere else until I was in college and my roommates made the Kraft version.

 

I don't think everyone on a team needs to be making the same dish in the first challenge but that's just my opinion.

[biakbiak]

Interesting that Stephanie thought Jersey girl's was the worst while the team thought it was the best.

 

It was apples and oranges, Stephanie thought her dish was the worst compared to the other three teams, Nigella's team thought Jersey girl's was the best on their team, they didn't taste the other teams dishes.

Edited December 9, 2014 by biakbiak

[NikSac]

Interesting that Stephanie thought Jersey girl's was the worst while the team thought it was the best.  I suppose Nigella was basing her decision to send Renee home on her opinion of the food, not Stephanie's.  Which is actually her right to do so, but then why bother having Stephanie do a blind taste testing in the first place if it only chooses which team should send someone home but not which bite on that team?  I think it's just weak and there was nothing clear about the way it was done.

 

Exactly... Jersey Girl's was apparently the worst of the best or something like that. It makes no sense to me (and never has) how they do that weird format where the teams are choosing one dish to put up.  Sometimes it seems like a team choice, sometimes a mentor only choice, but I find it odd either way. Nigella apparently didn't like Renee's take on the mac and cheese, but maybe Stephanie would've liked it better than the fried thing.

 

I'm of Sicilian descent and my husband never had Sunday gravy or anything close to it until he met me.  He says the closest thing he had growing up was Ronzoni number 9 and Ragu from the jar.  Interestingly, neither of us grew up eating macaroni and cheese, at least not at home.  The only place I ever ate it as a kid was at Horn and Hardart cafeteria (yep, I'm old).  I didn't start eating it anywhere else until I was in college and my roommates made the Kraft version.

 

I don't think everyone on a team needs to be making the same dish in the first challenge but that's just my opinion.

 

Funny but not surprising how diverse "childhood food" is depending on culture, regions, etc.  I agree, I think it's kind of crazy to have them all making the same dish.

 

I don't love the mentor thing at all but I can kind of get past that.  If I could make any changes though, I wish they would have the chefs make up their OWN dish, not something "assigned" by the mentor, and that the judge would taste all of the bites instead of just one from each team.

[mlp]

 

I suppose Nigella was basing her decision to send Renee home on her opinion of the food, not Stephanie's.  Which is actually her right to do so, but then why bother having Stephanie do a blind taste testing in the first place if it only chooses which team should send someone home but not which bite on that team?  I think it's just weak and there was nothing clear about the way it was done.

 

I agree that the whole thing is not clear but it does make sense in the context the show has created.  The judge picks the worst of the four dishes selected by the teams/mentors.  That losing dish, however, is supposedly the best of the dishes created by the members of that losing team so it wouldn't really be fair to send that cook home.  That's the way I see it anyway.

[backgroundnoise]

Yes.  Jersey Girl's dish was the worst of the best, or best of the worst, depending how you looked at it.  Renee's was the worst of the worst.  Simple. :-)

Edited December 9, 2014 by backgroundnoise

[Zahdii]

Unless Nigella had a grudge against Renee.  She seems like the type who might judge on criteria other than cooking ability (IMO).

[Snarklepuss]

Best of the worst in whose opinion, though?  On the one hand we have Stephanie deciding what's the best amongst all that was presented her, and on the other we have Nigella deciding amongst her team, and neither would necessarily agree with the other if they had all tasted the same food (blindly of course).  I find it ironic how on "Hell's Kitchen" inevitably when a team has to pick a dish to represent them, the guest taster would usually have liked another choice better.  So I would ideally prefer it if there was only one judge involved in this type of "quickfire" challenge or whatever it is.  I think they should taste all the food blindly.  I really don't like this business with pushing the angle of a blind taste testing but in the end the elimination is anything but blind.  So what purpose does it serve, then?  Someone else's dish on another team might have been much worse than Renee's but because her teammate's bite was the worst of what was chosen to represent the teams it's her bad luck to be the one to go home?  Not loving that.  The irony of it is that in cases like this it's really ironic how the judge that picked the worst bite would not also necessarily think that the person going home should be the one going home if they had tasted all the food.  Why have a guest judge in the first place if they don't make the final elimination decision?  I don't know, it's just my gripe about this show, I guess.

[backgroundnoise]

This is a game show, not a serious cooking competition, IMO.  I think they set up the judging to try to generate the most drama, not necessarily to always have the best funnel up to the top.  I actually don't mind it, because it does put some burden on the mentors in trying to pick which dish would beat the other teams' and they have to share in the loss if they didn't pick well.

 

As a viewer, I don't mind this.  As a competitor, I think I'd HATE it.

[GaT]

I just happened to run across this article & this part caught my eye:

 

Watching Renee Maynard get voted off first broke my heart because I loved seeing her every day. Renee and I also became really close, really fast, and I can honestly say she is one of the kindest human beings I know. I knew, however, given the fact that she was three months pregnant at the time that the competition would have been too much for her.

This might be why Nigella decided to eliminate her. She probably wouldn't know she was pregnant until after she chose her for her team.

[biakbiak]

I knew, however, given the fact that she was three months pregnant at the time that the competition would have been too much for her.

 

Oh good lord, pregnant women have done a lot more difficult/stressful things than this stupid show.

[Zahdii]

I think I have it.  After the guest judge decides which team lost (and they shouldn't know which team was which until after the initial judging was done.)  Then the guest judge and the other judges who didn't lose should taste all the dishes from the losing team.  Those judging shouldn't see the 'mentor' or any of the other contestants until judging is completed in full.  Each dish from the losing team is given a score from 1-5 from each judge, then everyone leaves so Nigella can decide who to send home.

[biakbiak]

Then the guest judge and the other judges who didn't lose should taste all the dishes from the losing team.  Those judging shouldn't see the 'mentor' or any of the other contestants until judging is completed in full.  Each dish from the losing team is given a score from 1-5 from each judge, then everyone leaves so Nigella can decide who to send home.

 

This is not a dig at you but that sounds extremely tedious for the viewer to watch and the last thing this show needs is more filler crap. The point of the show is the mentor shepherds a contestant to the end and also gets the victory, I don't see the problem with them deciding who they want to have the opportunity to move forward. Especially because typically there are two eliminations a week, one after the guest judge decide which team is the worst and than one where all the judges blind taste all the dishes and award stars and eliminate a person. 

[cooksdelight]

To show how much of an impact this show has had, I cannot tell you who won last year. I remember Khristianne because she was so unique, and she was stuck with loudmouth Malarkey.

[Kromm]

Unless Nigella had a grudge against Renee.  She seems like the type who might judge on criteria other than cooking ability (IMO).

Based upon a day or two of knowing her?  

 

Of course it might have been phrased as "the one who I communicate least effectively with" or "the one who will benefit least from my mentoring", both which could cover a lot of sins/territory.

[Wings]

This is a game show, not a serious cooking competition, IMO.  I think they set up the judging to try to generate the most drama, not necessarily to always have the best funnel up to the top.  I actually don't mind it, because it does put some burden on the mentors in trying to pick which dish would beat the other teams' and they have to share in the loss if they didn't pick well.

 

As a viewer, I don't mind this.  As a competitor, I think I'd HATE it.

 

 

This!  I love this show.  They have 2 different challenges in each hour show and they have to be different, we would be bored quickly otherwise.  Next week we will see them both and in the second they cook what they want and everyone's food will be blind tasted.   

 

The chef's stand behind them during the tasting but the judges cannot see them.  When Tony conceived this show he was adamant that he wanted to create a show where only the food is judged and the only way to make it happen was a blind tasting.  He hates the competitions where personality enters the picture, he has been very vocal about this.  

[NikSac]

I think I have it.  After the guest judge decides which team lost (and they shouldn't know which team was which until after the initial judging was done.)  Then the guest judge and the other judges who didn't lose should taste all the dishes from the losing team.  Those judging shouldn't see the 'mentor' or any of the other contestants until judging is completed in full.  Each dish from the losing team is given a score from 1-5 from each judge, then everyone leaves so Nigella can decide who to send home.

 

I like this idea!  Makes it even more complicated, but it makes more sense to me than the way they do it now.  Just for example, Renee's dish actually looked/sounded pretty good to me and sounded way better than the one they put up, even if it wasn't "complex" enough. Of course until they invent "taste-o-vision" we'll never know for sure on the flavors. At least this way as a viewer it'd be easier to tell which was the winning dish on the losing team... or something like that. I think I confused myself.

[NikSac]

When Tony conceived this show he was adamant that he wanted to create a show where only the food is judged and the only way to make it happen was a blind tasting.  He hates the competitions where personality enters the picture, he has been very vocal about this.  

 

Interesting, I didn't know this. I love the concept, I just think it gets a little weird in practice sometimes. I've always liked Tony anyway but this makes me like him a little more.

[Totale]

I think I have it.  After the guest judge decides which team lost (and they shouldn't know which team was which until after the initial judging was done.)  Then the guest judge and the other judges who didn't lose should taste all the dishes from the losing team.  Those judging shouldn't see the 'mentor' or any of the other contestants until judging is completed in full.  Each dish from the losing team is given a score from 1-5 from each judge, then everyone leaves so Nigella can decide who to send home.

 

I'm missing your point.  Right now the losing mentor (Nigella this week) just decides who from her team is going home, based on her own criteria (which includes having tasted all the dishes on her team) since the decision is hers alone to make.  You propose introducing another round of kerfluffle after which she does the same thing.

[Zahdii]

I'm saying that I see a lot of people on cooking shows (and such) going home because a judge doesn't seem to like them, or they happen to be standing there when someone in power needs an excuse to keep the person who provides 'good TV'.

[Snarklepuss]

When Tony conceived this show he was adamant that he wanted to create a show where only the food is judged and the only way to make it happen was a blind tasting.  He hates the competitions where personality enters the picture, he has been very vocal about this.  

 

The thing is, this show does not base eliminations solely on the food.  If it did, the person with the worst bite would get sent home, period, no questions asked.  As it is, they often have to decide amongst themselves who goes home and it's not always the person with the most bad votes.  I have seen people with two bad votes stay while the person with one bad vote is sent home.  Plus as I mentioned in an earlier post, Renee's food didn't get tasted or judged blindly.  Nigella knew it was her who made her dish, and she ended up going home.  So I don't know how much personality or factors other than the food alone are actually kept out of the decision.

[Kromm]

The show concept was polluted by a reality of TV--that you have a limited number of episodes but they want to start with as many contestants as possible. So the show is committed to 16 players and 8 episodes, but that also includes audition episodes.

 

Go back to Season 1.  There were only 6 non-audition episodes. The first "team" round was simply about giving immunity to someone rather than eliminating someone.  But what they had to do instead was eliminate two to three people in each second "individual" round in trade (instead of the one they now do).  That means the eliminations were likely more pure "based on the food" eliminations, I'd say, but it also gave the cooks a very low margin for error--one mistake and you went.

 

Season 2 changed to one audition episode, leaving 7 episodes to work with, and had four people in the finale, then two eliminated, leaving two at the last judgement.  The real change was that the so-called "Individual" round was now only 1 elimination per episode rather than 2-3 people each time, because of the change in the Team round (eliminating one person there too).  

 

More episodes would probably be the best fix for this, but I doubt they'd get more unless the ratings suddenly get a lot better. If they could go back to round 1 simply being about immunity but not have to resort to 2-3 eliminations in each round 2 (if they had 13 episodes, 12 of them non-audition, that would allow some leeway--especially if the very end featured three finalists instead of two) that would about do it.

[MarkHB]

Here's the episode description for tonight's show (S03E02 : "Under the Sea"):

Contestants prepare dishes from the sea, including steamed fish, seafood stew and shellfish in miso broth. Eric Ripert is the guest judge.

 

Kromm, In some ways I like the idea of making the first round into a team immunity challenge, but the problems that arise for me are that there's no good way to assure that people from the immune team don't get all the red stars in the second round (assuming the red/gold thing continues), and it cuts into the significance of winning the cooking session with the guest judge (and an hour with Jacques Pepin was probably worth more to some of these folks than the $10000 would have been).

 

I'm still waiting for the last of the original TV chefs to show up here: Graham Kerr.

[backgroundnoise]

If the entire team has immunity, but only team members got red stars, they'd just have to eliminate no one and double up another week. 

[cooksdelight]

I'm still waiting for the last of the original TV chefs to show up here: Graham Kerr.

I think he's 80 now and is still a recovering alcoholic. I think he stays away from the limelight nowadays. But I loved his show when it was on.

Looking forward to this episode. I would walk across broken glass for Eric Ripert. Sigh.....

[Totale]

I think he's 80 now and is still a recovering alcoholic. I think he stays away from the limelight nowadays. But I loved his show when it was on.

 

 

I would totally have lost a "Dead or Alive" on Kerr.  Reading of his life on Wiki he's had a pretty tough time of it, If he was up for it it would be cool for some latter-day show to have him on out of respect.

[Padma]

Love the blind tasting, big fan of Bourdain and I like Marcus, too. Can't stand Nigella after the past two seasons and I think she's a terrible mentor whose team last season didn't even seem to respect her or want her ideas. (Can't say I blame them, but it was uncomfortable to watch.) Ludo -should- be good television but he's just -too- much of an ass for me to stand him, especially as he is also obnoxiously competitive AND likely to win.

 

But when I tried to watch last week's opener (didn't realize it was back until today), I had to face facts: I find this show boring. "Tell us about you." "Tell us about your dish."  I could barely last through 15 minutes.  Maybe this week I'll try again and they'll show more cooking right away. But the concept just seems so flat to me, and as long as Nigella is the "female mentor" she's going to keep dragging it down, imo.

[cooksdelight]

Ludo as my mentor would give me a heart attack.

Jen and Mia are my least favorites, especially tonight. Jen and her cookbook. "I've done this dish a hundred times!"

I expect they will continue to bring the catfight drama one minute, holding hands and hugging the next.

Will Mia hold her mouth open during the entire competition?

[backgroundnoise]

Ludo called one of the dishes ca ca and told Jen he didn't care if she burned herself.  Nice.  Not.

 

Yeesh, he's as hyper as my neighbour's blue heeler.

 

The cookoff was weird.   The mentors were literally screaming at them step by step and telling them exactly what to do. 

Edited December 12, 2014 by backgroundnoise

[biakbiak]

I have a serious problem, I have found this show boring as shit and filled with way too much filler from the first episode of season 1 and yet for some reason I cannot stop watching. 

 

I swear the only reason Mia got saved was because they couldn't let Nigella be down to 1 chef after two episodes, she will most like be there or even 0 after next week! And the thing is I don't ever see that changing, it's not that she has a shitty team because she didn't like any of the better dishes it is because she lost out to another mentor every time she went head to head with the other mentors.

Edited December 12, 2014 by biakbiak

[Canada]

Holy crap, Nigella, how much does your team suck???  And you sent home the best chef on your team?  Are you high?  Insane.

[Padma]

When did the "mentors" begin giving step-by-step instructions during the cook off? From the exact type of pan, to the temperature of the water to the EXACT amount of salt to add to the water to... more and more.... If I wrote down what they said it would be all I'd need.

 

Ludo and Nigella both need to go (Eric would be such a great replacement. He is very cool under pressure, and very nice, too.).  Nigella's weakness is the only reason Mia's still around. Ludo's screaming is just too obnoxious. And even when he's not screaming, as in his interaction at JT with Borudain, Marcus and Nigella, he was just bizarrely rude and OTT. If he loses will he have a mental breakdown? It wouldn't surprise me.

[bluepiano]

 

Nigella and Tony are there for their names, not their cooking.  And lets be realistic, Nigella is still eye candy, even at her age, and that's part of it too with her.  They aren't replacing her any time soon (if ever).

 

Tony will every once in a while get on his high horse about being an actual, honest-to-God chef, as it stings his huge ego when people imply he's just a TV food celebrity. Remember, he's made quite a few snide and disparaging comments over the years about various Food Network "stars," who he obviously feels  superior to. In my mind, I see him as about somewhere in the middle between Ludo and Marcus on one hand and Nigella on the other as to actual kitchen chops. What Tony does bring is an interesting perspective from having travelled and eaten all over the world, to an extent that few if any professional chefs have done. (Probably because they're too busy. While Tony smartly figured out a way to get paid for it).

 

As to the mentors picking what childhood favorite everyone cooks, on "The Taste" the mentors are clearly the stars. (Not coincidentally, two of the mentors are the show's producers.) Even though we get some back story on the contestants (lots of family deaths this year), we're not meant to care enough about them to want to hear their childhood food memories.

 

Has any contestant on this show ever made a splash, either in a good or bad way, based on their personality? Whereas on, say, Master Chef, the personalities of the contestants (and their constant feuding) is a big component of the show. That's why, despite the wonky format, I like The Taste, because it does seem more about the food. (Speaking of Master Chef, there was much ado this year about the woman who was a stripper. I like how on The Taste that woman on Tony's team briefly mentioned it was something she'd done in the past, and then it was dropped. Because it really isn't, or shouldn't be, a big deal).

Edited December 12, 2014 by bluepiano

[Zahdii]

Lindsay had absolutely no respect for Nigella.  Her smug certainty that she's better than everyone else made me hope I'd be watching on the day she got her ass handed to her.  Every time she opened her mouth I wanted to slap her a little harder.  I don't blame Nigella in the least for dumping that witch.

 

Jen is annoying.  She's in over her head and her jealousy of Natasha was obvious.  She should have been more concerned with her 'bestie' Mia.

 

Speaking of Mia, she is fake.  She tries to act wide eyed and eager to learn, but her mask keeps slipping and I see a very cold woman with a big ol' mean streak running through her.

 

Shut up, Ludo.  If we must have individual cookoffs, I want the contestants alone in the kitchen with maybe a sous chef for help.  Sure, let them have 10 minutes to confer with their mentor, but then let them cook.

 

Sorry Jake.  I'll miss you.  I won't miss your fashion sense, but I'll miss you.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Zahdii

[GaT]

Of course Nigella picks shellfish in a miso soup. The other mentors just said seafood in broth & let the contestants decide what to make, but Nigella had to micro manage them down to the type of seafood & the seasoning in the broth. What a surprise that they lost the team challenge.</sarcasm>

 

Did you know there are two black guys named Tarik & Tristen competing? I don’t even remember seeing either one of them before, & they gave them all of 5 seconds tonight. It seems like they only show a few people, & we never hear from the others.