Season 3: Get Your Spoons!

[MarkHB]

I recall that last season's winner was actually a food stylist: her job is making food look pretty for photos, not preparing it for eating, and she was on a quest to prove that she could cook as well.  And Ludo helped her get there.

[Drogo]

As soon as Ripert told Nigella/Anthony that Jake being in the bottom didn't surprise him, I knew Jake was toast. 

 

As far as Anthony's biggest fan...  Even if that's her "angle" it's OTT and creepy. 

 

"I only cook for Anthony!"  "As long as Anthony likes my food!"  Remember when Glenn Close only cooked to impress Michael Douglas? 

 

[Wishing Well]

I had a thought, as much of an ass Ludo is, he's gotten a total of 5 people into the final episode, out of the eight spots. Yelling or not, the guy will get you to the end if you listen and take advil to calm the headaches.

I dunno, I would prefer that to some of the other fuckery going on in the orher kitchens.

[Padma]

It's not the home cook thing, if you ask me, it's Nigella. Ludo got a homecook (Sarah) into the finale for s1 and just look at Marina last year! Nigella's shown to pick 12 messes over the three seasons and even in the UK version, same thing.

I agree that home cooks can and have been very competitive here and it wouldn't surprise me if, with the benefit of blind tasting (unlike Top Chef) one of them one day takes the whole thing.

 

That said, I think since Nigella is (1)the only home cook and (2) the only woman mentor cook, that she is invariably making both home cooks and women-in-the-tv-kitchen look bad, just because she's so AWFUL. I'm sorry she's a producer because maybe if she wasn't someone would tell her, "Stop stifling creativity! That's what we need more of on this show, Nigella, not less!~"  

 

When the same problem shows up season after season, "it's not them, it's you."

 

I did like the second episode better though.Great to see Eric Ripert (the opposite of Ludo in -his- French kitchen) and one of the best parts still is watching the mentors demonstrate something to their teams. Not sure if I'll ever have any favorites--hope so. (Also hope they don't sacrifice any more cooks just to save Nigella's team from early elimination.)                       

[Wishing Well]

Maybe it's because I really enjoyed Jeff and Marina last year, and the other contestants (minus Cassandra and Jacquelyn) either were interesting people or seemed really nice but whereas I can remember all of them still, I can't remember anybody this season three minutes after watching.  They just seem like random reality show contestants instead of people we're actually supposed to be interested in.  A lot of the people last season were fairly humble, relatively polite and all showing some sort of talent.  This year's basically all fighting and backstabbing.

 

As I say that I of course, am not including Team Hot Mess from last year.  Good lord.

[Drogo]

 

Someone clever needs to come up with a snarky nickname for Nigella, just for this show. Typhoid Mary type of thing, only food-related.

 

Nigella Losin'. 

[cooksdelight]

Ptomainella?

[Drogo]

The Whack Widow. 

Edited December 16, 2014 by Drogo

[Snarkette]

Wasn't Sweeney Todd a home cook?

Edited December 16, 2014 by Snarkette

[Wishing Well]

:shallow: I'm hoping Gabe and his curly hair stays til the finale.

[grisgris]

3M (Micro Managing Mentor)

 

or to keep with the running FN theme, Triple M (although some might think that was a reference to her bustline.)

[theatremouse]

I just can't help but wonder what the balance of teams would be like on this show if there were another woman on the panel, home cook or fancy chef, either way. Not that I want to get rid of Marcus, but since it seems like Ludo's not going anywhere and Marcus' "chair" has been the swap-out, if say next time they had another woman...I just think it'd be interesting to see if the pattern of Nigella+anyone choose someone for their team=>no one chooses Nigella continued, and how that might ripple out.

[Kromm]

I just can't help but wonder what the balance of teams would be like on this show if there were another woman on the panel, home cook or fancy chef, either way. Not that I want to get rid of Marcus, but since it seems like Ludo's not going anywhere and Marcus' "chair" has been the swap-out, if say next time they had another woman...I just think it'd be interesting to see if the pattern of Nigella+anyone choose someone for their team=>no one chooses Nigella continued, and how that might ripple out.

Much as I hate to say it, Anthony might be the logical one to swap out for a new female chef judge. Yes, he's a producer, but he's got a pretty successful other show he might simply put more into if he was let off the hook here and just raked in the producer cash and gave up the on-air appearance fee.

His name probably helped the show initially, but the ratings aren't really reflecting a huge following anyway--and a lot of those folks who have stuck are more likely there because they like food competitions than that they like a watered down version of Bourdain.

A lot of this depends on if he still has the "want to stay closer to home" logic he developed a few years ago when he entered Daddy mode. I think he still just has the one kid, and she's got to be like 7 or 8 now. Not saying that's always a sign someone's ready to hit the road again, just saying that it can be, at least enough when a kid gets slightly older to relax that a bit.

[Canada]

Nigella = Pita (Pain in the ass)

[MarkHB]

Nagella: for the way she nags her team to do things exactly her way (could also be Nag-gella).

[cooksdelight]

I'll put up a poll later this morning and everyone can vote on their favorite.

[Drogo]

The Saucy Salisbury Shrew.

[cooksdelight]

I'm going to shorten that one to Saucy Shrew. Easier to say, as I sometimes talk when I type. :)

[cooksdelight]

"I hope Santa puts some Thorazine in Ludo's stocking" -- Anthony Bourdain

I second that suggestion!

Poor Joe, I hated to see him go. Jen needs to learn to stop talking. I thought Marcus was going to come over and throttle her.

Mia and her open mouth are gone. WHAT was Nigella thinking by suggesting a dessert? The other three teams do a nice fowl, which is what I think of when I think Christmas. Or ham. But not chocolate gingerbread.

[backgroundnoise]

I loved that someone finally told Ludo they can't understand what he's saying (even though I thought Jen should have been out).  I was right with Jen, thinking he said "doctor" for what-ever it was.  And I didn't understand "mustard" either.

 

I felt bad for Joe.  I think there should have been more of a penalty for not producing four spoons, such as four red stars. 

Edited December 19, 2014 by backgroundnoise

[cooksdelight]

"Moooose-taaaaaaaar"

I didn't get it either. Without subtitles, Ludo would be a clown.

[Florinaldo]

I tuned in late and missed Mia's elimination apparently. I can't say I will mis her almost permanently open mouth, which made her look so much like a catatonic carp.

 

I think Ludo may be playing up his agressiveness; he has been cast as the requisite French prick and he is playing it up to the hilt. Just as he may be exaggerating his accent, especially when confronted with someone like Jen, who appears to be one of those people who is incapable of reconstructing the intended word from a distorted pronunciation. I had no trouble understanding any of his sentences or instructions, and I am at a loss to see how she could get "doctor" out of "mussss-taaard".

[backgroundnoise]

Mustard she didn't understand at all.  I can't remember what the word was that sounded like doctor, but it wasn't mustard.

[biakbiak]

I always find it odd because I have never had a problem understanding Ludo.

[Padma]

Nigella's cluelessness continues. She has a noted savory chef judging--everyone else does a meat dish--and she insists on having her team make dessert.  There's "marching to your own drummer" and there's "being out of step with everyone else". I think she continues to be the latter and her team pays for it.

[burntheflaws]

I'm so sad that Joe is gone. He seemed like a sweetheart and I really felt for him. In my mind, Marcus started out with the strongest team this year (minus Jake), and I loved that the contestants were supportive of each other. No drama, no bitching about other people to the camera, no snobby behavior, no "It was my spoon that should've been there, not theirs." So to see his team dwindled down to two albeit very strong contenders, while Ludo (especially with freaking Jen still in the game) and Tony still have four, is a bummer. Don't really care about Nigella because I knew from day one that her team would be obliterated.

 

Mustard she didn't understand at all.  I can't remember what the word was that sounded like doctor, but it wasn't mustard.

 

Turtles. Apparently they save lives so they have to be careful.

Edited December 19, 2014 by burntheflaws

[CCee123]

Mustard she didn't understand at all.  I can't remember what the word was that sounded like doctor, but it wasn't mustard.

He was saying she was slow like a turtle. I'm not sure what it says about me but I really enjoy Ludo. Up until last week, when I tuned in to see crazy Chef Joe from Big Brother, I had never heard of Ludo. Now I've seen the first season of The Taste, and Ludo Bites America, and he's the reason I'm going to keep watching. Yes, I could not handle the yelling if I was on his team since I would shut down in that type of atmosphere, but I really don't think it comes from a mean place. He just has no filter and whatever frustration he feels just comes out at a high decibel. After watching Ludo bites I feel like he's a bit of a marshmallow with a hard crust. Noone that goofy can be all bad.

[GaT]

What a surprise, Nigella is down to 1 cook. I can't even imagine what possessed her to pick a dessert, when they have the auditions, desserts are hardly ever picked, why would she think it would win during the competition?

 

There is no way I could ever work with Ludo, he would start screaming at me & I would stab him. I was laughing my ass of with the whole mustard & turtle thing, I couldn't understand him either. 

 

I'm not sure I understand the point of the final cook off (besides picking who is going home). The contestants are doing the cooking, but it looks like it's all what the mentors want them to do? 

[mjc570]

I understand television is a visual medium, and Jen is a somewhat attractive woman who is providing drama, which I have to assume is why she is still on the show. It certainly isn't because she's any kind of decent cook - I don't think she's cooked even one dish without assistance. She doesn't know what a saucepan is? Come on! Not sending the required number of spoon ups should have been an automatic disqualifer. What bugged me even more was her arrogance. Ignorance + arrogance makes for good tv, I guesss.

Much as I would love to have some chocolate gingerbread (and that does evoke holiday eating for me), I agree that it's pretty obvious that picking a dessert was bad strategy. Was Nigella's decision the reason why PK had to stick with a dessert in the solo round? Making a poached pear (no matter how well done) just didn't seem to be on the same level of complexity as the whole dinner on a spoon that everyone else was doing. Although, I guess staying in the middle of the pack and avoiding elimination is probably a good strategy for her at this point. Nigella may have a good palate, but she is the world's worst mentor.

[cooksdelight]

Anyone who thinks Ludo is off the charts, just remember back to season one when he was trying to out-holler Brian Malarky.

[Florinaldo]

Ah yes, it was "tuuurrr-teurl". Which still did not sound at all like "doctor". What was really funny is her trying to make rational sense of having heard the latter; I have a feeling that in her universe, it is logical to think of doctors while cooking.

[cooksdelight]

Maybe she's had several trips to the ER when cooking?

[drmka9]

I'm not sure I understand the point of the final cook off (besides picking who is going home). The contestants are doing the cooking, but it looks like it's all what the mentors want them to do? 

I think it depends on each mentor and contestant. Both this week and last, Ludo said he was going with what Jen wanted to do and it wound up looking like while she had the initial idea, he made sure she was using proper technique and that the proportion of ingredients was correct. Marcus, on the other hand, seems to have had more input into the actual flavor profile each time.

 

While I love how generally non-snarky the contestants are on this show, I cracked up at Tom's immediate reaction to being told he had a red star: "What, worse than nothing?"

[backgroundnoise]

I also thought he was saying doctor.  I figured I was mistaken, as "doctor" made no sense in the context, but it did sound like that word to me.

[Writing Wrongs]

Nigella's dress was really form-fitting. 

 

Guys with chest hair should not wear V necks.

[cooksdelight]

I didn't like Nigella's dress at all.

[cooksdelight]

One of the things I saw them do that I'd like to try is burning hay and melting butter to get the flavor of the hay. That really fascinated me, and not something I'd ever think about doing. I bet the flavors would differ depending on the type of hay you used, too.

[Padma]

I understand television is a visual medium, and Jen is a somewhat attractive woman who is providing drama, which I have to assume is why she is still on the show. It certainly isn't because she's any kind of decent cook - I don't think she's cooked even one dish without assistance. She doesn't know what a saucepan is? Come on! Not sending the required number of spoon ups should have been an automatic disqualifer. What bugged me even more was her arrogance. Ignorance + arrogance makes for good tv, I guesss.

 

The best part of it for me was Marcus' disgust with her attitude and his gentle advice to "show some humility".

I thought Nigella's dress was a size too small.  Also I couldn't help imagining Naomi Pomeroy as the mentor replacing her, a pleasant thought. (And really Nigella...dessert. I still can't get over it. Maybe us out here in "audience land" love desserts, but chefs seem to generally prefer savory dishes, and esp would here, because the guest was a savory dish specialist. Nigella's instincts are always so bad, and her team has no choice but to conform.) I did appreciate her saying she was embarrassed to have lost so many competitions already, but she wouldn't have anyone left at all if they hadn't thrown Jake under the bus to save her last week. She doesn't seem to learn anything from this either, even though it has happened 3 seasons in a row. A simple change would be to empower her team more (how could the results be any worse?), but you can see that has never occurred to her at all.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Padma

[thewhiteowl]

I think Nigella started off at a disadvantage being female in a male chef world and a self-proclaimed home cook.  I am a home cook and I make things that taste wonderful but I think education matters and working in a professional environment is education as well as cooking school. The male mentors are always presented as professional chefs and home cooks are seen on this show as something less. Even this week with Ludo saying about Jen "Well, she's a home cook, so disorganized".  That's not to say Nigella hasn't made some bone headed decisions and she seems to be doubling down on them but I can appreciate her taking a risk with baking a dessert against the tide of fowl being served. JMO

[Padma]

I think Nigella started off at a disadvantage being female in a male chef world and a self-proclaimed home cook.  I am a home cook and I make things that taste wonderful but I think education matters and working in a professional environment is education as well as cooking school. The male mentors are always presented as professional chefs and home cooks are seen on this show as something less. Even this week with Ludo saying about Jen "Well, she's a home cook, so disorganized".  That's not to say Nigella hasn't made some bone headed decisions and she seems to be doubling down on them but I can appreciate her taking a risk with baking a dessert against the tide of fowl being served. JMO

I would have appreciated an intelligent risk but there was no reason that I could see to think that dessert would give her team an advantage.

 

I agree she is at a disadvantage as a woman and a home cook. But I think they should have tried to counteract the sexism rampant among chefs and in professional kitchens. That's another reason I dislike it that they have Nigella representing  (1) women and (2) home cooks. It's really not surprising that her teams are always so weak, but it underscores the impression that women aren't as talented as male chefs.

 

Maybe, as a producer, she didn't want another woman on the panel, but it would have made more sense to have a female chef. The outcome here is pretty much what could have been expected, but because Nigella's the only woman, I think it just reinforces the sexism that already is out there for women who want to be professional cooks.

 

Also, Nigella's culinary repertoire and her palate seem much more limited than what I expected. Even little things go against her, like Tom getting her gold star and Anthony's red star! I know they gave him a talking head saying she must have gotten the only good piece of meat--but I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentionally added by producers to help her save face.  It might be true, of course, but she just losing credibility in terms of this show for her cooking, her mentoring and her palate. I understand that her name and Bourdain's helped to sell this show to ABC, but it's unfortunate.

 

Does she do any better on the British version?

Edited December 19, 2014 by Padma

[GaT]

My understanding is that Nigella has made a career of promoting herself as a home cook, and stressing that she is not a professional chef.  

At least one of her shows (and I think more, but I'm not sure) was filmed in her house, in her kitchen with appearances by her kids, so she absolutely was presenting herself as a home cook. They would even end the show with her going to the refrigerator in the middle of the night to snack on whatever it was she made during the show.

 

She's also been considered a non-traditional sex symbol all this time (during the midnight snack segments, there would be a lot of finger licking, opening mouth wide stuff) & so she has always dressed in very form fitting clothes. That's why her dress was so tight, they may have overdone it this time.

[drmka9]

The male mentors are always presented as professional chefs and home cooks are seen on this show as something less. Even this week with Ludo saying about Jen "Well, she's a home cook, so disorganized". 

 

To be fair, even Jen's mom called her a "disaster in the kitchen" back in the auditions, IIRC. I do think there's a big discrepancy between how the mentors/producers view the show and how the audience views it, though. In an interview one of the mentors - either Marcus or Ludo, I can't remember - said that he generally prefers working with home cooks as professional chefs come in feeling that they already know everything. Home cooks are more open to learning and receiving advice. I'm not sure that's ever really come across on the show. 

[thewhiteowl]

To be fair, even Jen's mom called her a "disaster in the kitchen" back in the auditions, IIRC. I do think there's a big discrepancy between how the mentors/producers view the show and how the audience views it, though. In an interview one of the mentors - either Marcus or Ludo, I can't remember - said that he generally prefers working with home cooks as professional chefs come in feeling that they already know everything. Home cooks are more open to learning and receiving advice. I'm not sure that's ever really come across on the show. 

 

 Jen is a disaster in the kitchen, no doubt about that and I would imagine that she is disorganized in many areas of her life that have nothing to do with the kitchen because that seems to be who she is. Ludo was saying it like being a home cook meant being disorganized and everyone they showed, nodded in agreement. As a home cook I am ruthlessly organized in my kitchen because I have limited space and clean up after myself unlike many professionals. I haven't seen any evidence of the male mentors gravitating toward home cooks but I don't doubt your recollection.

[theatremouse]

To give Jen just a tiny bit of credit (because that's all I think is applicable in the situation), I thought her hesitation on things like "saucepan" and "mustard" were not just Ludo's accent, or her being stupid or inefficient, but the combination of his accent, him screaming at her, her being stressed about his screaming, and stressed about his accent, and so the whole thing snowballed. As in, part of the reason she had such a hard time understanding his accent is because she was worried about being able to understand his accent, and because he was screaming like a lunatic. Couple that with her not being super efficient and it only got worse. I mean, I get why Ludo was trying to get her to hurry the hell up, but it looked to me like several of the delayed moments were really more of her panicking because of him.

[grisgris]

I for one absolutely agree that him screaming was not helpful.  She was stressed anyway and being yelled out does not help.  I'll give her points for not screaming back.  I might have.

 

I know I would have screamed back at him. OMG! I don't know how many more episodes I can take of Ludo and his screaming and nasty attitude.(He says some pretty mean shit to and about his team, IMO.) Even if he is playing up the schtick of the French chef with the short fuse, it is super-irritating. I think the last laugh was when the tasting panel said Jen's sauce had too much "moutard" after Ludo screamed and screamed at her to keep adding more.

 

Now I have a better understanding of why Nigella is failing so badly as a mentor. If I had been Mia, I wouldn't have been able to cook with Nigella hovering over me and scrutinizing EVERY move I made ... down to measuring the ingredients. News flash! If a person didn't understand the science of baking, then how did they make the final cut to be on "The Taste?" That said, Nigella should learn how to relax more and trust that her team members have sufficient skills and palates to do their job.

 

That guy with the curly black hair (Gabe?) can go any time. Same with Jen. How many weeks do we have to see her in the final cook-off?

 

I think Marcus was more of a fashion failure than Nigella was. Dude must dress himself in the dark. Nigella has slimmed down a lot in the not-so-distance past, but it's really NEVER a good idea to wear a tight dress with angled pockets/details that fall squarely at the widest part of the hips (no matter how heavy or thin you are.)

[drmka9]

News flash! If a person didn't understand the science of baking, then how did they make the final cut to be on "The Taste?" 

 

You'd be surprised. Very few chefs are comfortable working as both a savory chef and a pastry chef. That's one of the reasons why I enjoy MasterChef UK's Michel Roux so much - he's a savory chef that handles (and enjoys) desserts. Of the four mentors on The Taste, Nigella's the only one who seems to enjoy dessert stuff. I know Anthony's said that he has almost no sweet tooth, and I think Marcus and Ludo are pretty similar. The guest chefs all seem to be savory chefs as well.

[Wishing Well]

No, last year Ludo said he loved desserts and then got on a sugat high and yelled more than usual. After that his team snatched all the gold stars.

I always wondered about that, that week I actually enjoyed his positivity and energy and his team did fantastic, and he actually demonstrated a good pastry. Meanwhile Team Anthony was all gloom and doom and Anthony had no advice for them, leading to two going home. I dunno if everyone on his team just couldn't make dessert or if the mentor energy REALLY aided or failed.

[MarkHB]

Ah yes, it was "tuuurrr-teurl". Which still did not sound at all like "doctor". What was really funny is her trying to make rational sense of having heard the latter; I have a feeling that in her universe, it is logical to think of doctors while cooking.

 

!MrsHB and I both thought he was saying "Doctor."  Maybe it's our New England-tuned ears.

[Drogo]

 

The turtle-doctor confusion was pretty funny.

 

Jen:  "They have to save lives everyday!"

Ludo:  "Ze turtles?"

 

Fantastic.

 

Regarding Nigella's dress, I can say with no hesitation that I don't know a single man who would have found the pocket placement unflattering.  She's very attractive and she makes 54 look swell.

[gigi1701]

There is no way I could ever work with Ludo, he would start screaming at me & I would stab him.

My husband communicates in the same way (he is Croatian/American) I tell him to stop yelling at me and he talks even louder! It is an intensity or passion that the yelling is about, I agree it is so hard to work or cook with that going on, but that said, if I was in Ludo's kitchen I would pay attention to what he says, (accent is hard, my husband's English is iffy at times too) 

 

Although, if I was the competitor I would trust my taste of the mustard, not Ludo's, my husband hates mustard, it is in so many dishes, I have to balance the flavor so I have to taste for the overall flavor so the mustard doesn't put him off (because he isn't into it doesn't mean other people aren't, I am surprised and happy when he doesn't even suspect this most hated taste isn't in the food, yet it is)

 

Ludo's trip is so familiar to me and he means well, he has much success and he does a good job. His approach, however, is not for the faint of heart.