S06.E03: Spice Up Your Life

[Bella]

 

The Recruits try their hands at experimenting with flavor combinations with a Skill Drill where they serve their crepe creations in a blind tasting. Then the Recruits make their own international tacos: Some flavor combinations are good enough to take over the world while some are truly Worst Cooks worthy!

 

[backformore]

why does every man named Norman have to be referred to as "Stormin" every time his name is mentioned?  

 

I was too bored to comment any further. 

Edited January 19, 2015 by backformore

[Lillybee]

I was happy to see Kourtni get a win. I do believe that when she started, she didn't have a clue about cooking.

[Lamb18]

So both Mikes are gone. I won't miss either. Mike not 6 was bugging me more and more because he was trying to be funny in a cute way and failing. Mike 6 seemed bored. Maybe he thought he'd get to do more tricks. That Leo is such a ringer. He can cook and he's faking not being able to. He  flipped his crepe perfectly - side over side and landing perfectly in the pan. A worst cook could not do that. David (Jewish guy) is a more believable worst cook. I'm starting to like him a little because I think that's his real personality, not a made for TV one. I think Kourtni is a true bad cook, too. So is Sarah but she's hamming it up too much. But she sure can't make a caramel sauce.

[ShellSeeker]

So when David started making his Indian taco, was he cooking up a huge hunk of beef? How is that Indian?

[mlp]

 

That Leo is such a ringer. He can cook and he's faking not being able to.

 

I was going to say the same thing.  I was watching him more closely after he flipped the crepe and he seems comfortable with most of his moves. 

 

I think Kortni or however she spells it would be cute if she'd ditch the white lipstick.  Absolutely nobody looks good with that and it's even worse against dark skin.  The fake flowers in the hair need to go too.  She seems nice enough.

 

I was hoping at least one of the blondes would get the axe.  The older one is a ditz and the younger one is much too Sarah. 

 

I like poor David.  I think he's for real.

[Lizzing]

I had a huge problem with most of the crepes looking nearly perfect.  About 8 out of 10 were not burnt, perfectly folded, and in tact (filling aside, obviously).  How much production influence or off camera teaching is involved?  I'd rather be shown that the recruits are given an intensive learning session on how to make crepes than have my intellect insulted to suspend disbelief that people who couldn't make a freakin' salad can perfect a crepe toss, even assisted with a spatula, inside of of an hour of instruction.

 

The more I think about this show (and, let's be frank, with nothing new on AMC on Sundays, I've got time to think about it!), they should structure it more like the Kids' Cookoff, where no one is eliminated weekly, but the dishes are ranked.  (They can do without the pitching to the camera nonsense, naturally.)  If someone is REALLY bad, they need more time in the kitchen to practice, not less.  Perhaps someone who is truly bad, and not just picked from casting agencies, could pull through to actually be good and not scared of trying things.

[Lillybee]

I agree with those who think David really didn't know  how to cook at first. He is a true dork. I read that he has had a few weight loss surgeries so that he really needs to learn how to cook. I also think that Kristen may be a ringer.

[GaT]

These people were way too good at making the tacos for me to believe they don't know how to cook.

[Matryoshka]

I had to laugh in the middle of the episode when Sarah forgot to use her ditzy baby voice a couple of times and slipped into a normal register.

[NikSac]

Am I the only one who cringes when they're scraping the heck out of coated nonstick pans with metal utensils?

 

I'm still torn on this show, especially who's an actor and who's truly a cook/bad cook who wants to learn. As of last week I desperately wanted David gone but he's growing on me a little bit. Leo and Sarah can both go any time, though. Those are the only two I'm not even wondering about anymore - cheesy as hell actors for sure, IMO. If they must keep the cheesy ones, I do like the idea of ranking the dishes but keeping everyone around because if someone really is the worst cook, don't they need MORE practice, not less? 

 

GaT I'm no gourmet chef or anything (I'm one of those "home cooks" FN loves to insult), but I'm often complimented on my food, and even I have only a vague idea how to make a tortilla from scratch/almost scratch. I agree they seemed awfully comfortable with it for people who are supposedly clueless in the kitchen.

[Lillybee]

Am I the only one who cringes when they're scraping the heck out of coated nonstick pans with metal utensils?

 

I'm still torn on this show, especially who's an actor and who's truly a cook/bad cook who wants to learn. As of last week I desperately wanted David gone but he's growing on me a little bit. Leo and Sarah can both go any time, though. Those are the only two I'm not even wondering about anymore - cheesy as hell actors for sure, IMO. If they must keep the cheesy ones, I do like the idea of ranking the dishes but keeping everyone around because if someone really is the worst cook, don't they need MORE practice, not less? 

 

GaT I'm no gourmet chef or anything (I'm one of those "home cooks" FN loves to insult), but I'm often complimented on my food, and even I have only a vague idea how to make a tortilla from scratch/almost scratch. I agree they seemed awfully comfortable with it for people who are supposedly clueless in the kitchen.

 

 

I think that they are given extensive directions off camera.

[phoenix780]

The more I think about this show (and, let's be frank, with nothing new on AMC on Sundays, I've got time to think about it!), they should structure it more like the Kids' Cookoff, where no one is eliminated weekly, but the dishes are ranked.  (They can do without the pitching to the camera nonsense, naturally.)  If someone is REALLY bad, they need more time in the kitchen to practice, not less.  Perhaps someone who is truly bad, and not just picked from casting agencies, could pull through to actually be good and not scared of trying things.

 

I said something similar last week.  Assuming that these are real people and not actors, and that the goal is to teach them, they should get to stick around and learn.  Eliminations are cliche at this point anyway, someone has to eventually switch up the format of these competitions, imho. 

 

I hesitate to say it because I usually jinx people, but I'm rooting for Kourtni.  I think she's for real, and I feel like she'd give up if she was cut too soon or got no positive reinforcement.  I was glad to see her get a win.

[howmanywords]

I think that they are given extensive directions off camera.

I remember one of the winners, I wanna say maybe it was Josh? who said once theres A LOT of instruction that you dont see on camera that goes way beyond the  "watch how I do this and take notes" stuff.  I guess like with all reality TV they cant obviously show everything crammed into a 1 hour show but yeah as fake as a I believe a lot of this is I do think they are being taught a lot more detailed stuff off camera.

[Bella]

So when David started making his Indian taco, was he cooking up a huge hunk of beef? How is that Indian?

You noticed that, too.

Kortni didn't annoy me this week, and she does seem to be an authentic bad cook. The rest seemed to have toned down the over-acting. So it was a good episode, by this show's low standards.

[chessiegal]

Yep, it was Joshie. He came on TWoP and said who he was, and said they got hours and hours of instruction off camera. There is no way to distill that into a 1 hour show, plus it would be boring as hell.

[Totale]

So when David started making his Indian taco, was he cooking up a huge hunk of beef? How is that Indian?

Hindus don't eat beef, but some Muslims do.  Muslims don't eat pork, but some Hindus and Sikhs do.  My favorite Indian cookbook explains that there are a couple of states on the west coast of India where religious tolerance is more widespread and both beef and pork are raised and served as food.

 

I think all the participants are cast for type, mostly if not all from casting agencies.  I am not surprised or offended by this, they have a show to produce and it goes more smoothly if people are used to working from an outline if not actual scripts.  What is offensive is their horrible miscalculation as to what types they should cast, at least if a semi-educated audience comprised of grownups is their target.  I mean, who among that target audience isn't going to find the open-mouthed prancing guy repulsive? But maybe it's not.  The show does well enough in the ratings, apparently.

 

I thought even the most accomplished chefs threw out the first crepe because it's not going to work?  They didn't show that, or the contestants making their freshly pressed tortillas into crispy taco shells by holding one side at a time in hot oil with tongs.  I watched Bridget on ATK do the second and said screw that, Ortega is good enough for me. 

[cattykit]

 

I was hoping at least one of the blondes would get the axe.  The older one is a ditz and the younger one is much too Sarah. 

I'm thinking you mean Sarah from the last TNFNS, and that's exactly who she reminds me of.  Of course, not in a good way.

 

ITA about the ringers, but how do you prove someone is more capable than they're showing?  I have no idea.  I thought last season's winner was a ringer, too.  He was way too comfortable around the kitchen.

[ShellSeeker]

Hindus don't eat beef, but some Muslims do.  Muslims don't eat pork, but some Hindus and Sikhs do.  My favorite Indian cookbook explains that there are a couple of states on the west coast of India where religious tolerance is more widespread and both beef and pork are raised and served as food.

 

You're right. It was just funny that it was on the show last night. I'm on the road this week for work, and last night I went out for Indian food with some colleagues who are from India. I told them that I'd read somewhere that there are places in India where people do eat beef, and I asked them if that was true, because it surprised me. They confirmed what you say -- that there are a couple states where the Christian and Muslim populations are larger, so people do eat beef there. And there is one region in the very northeastern part of India where people eat beef, because the local cuisine has Chinese influences.

 

I did laugh when David sort of gagged after tasting his Indian taco, because as a rule, Americans either really, really like Indian food, or they really, really don't. Just about everyone I know either loves it or hates it -- there's no in between. I'm betting David would fall into the "doesn't love it" category.

 

 

I remember one of the winners, I wanna say maybe it was Josh? who said once theres A LOT of instruction that you dont see on camera that goes way beyond the  "watch how I do this and take notes" stuff.

 

Yeah, I think in the first episode, Tyler said something in passing to everyone about how they'd completed their "first week" of boot camp. So I don't know if that's said just to keep the show appearing as if one person is eliminated each week when there's actually just a day or 2 between challenges (like Project Runway), or if there really is an actual week between challenges. If you spend all day every day for an entire week doing nothing but kitchen boot camp, then even the most hopeless person should have some visible improvement in their skills.

 

But it would be nice if they showed even a minute or 2 of that, to demonstrate that there's more to it than standing around taking notes.

[joanne3482]

For the first part challenge I was confused by the whole "new flavor combination" instruction. It seems if this is a flavor combination you've had  or heard of before (bananas and peanut butter, cream cheese and lox) it isn't really a "new" flavor combination is it? 

[GaT]

For the first part challenge I was confused by the whole "new flavor combination" instruction. It seems if this is a flavor combination you've had  or heard of before (bananas and peanut butter, cream cheese and lox) it isn't really a "new" flavor combination is it? 

I think the "new" part just meant not one of the combinations that they just saw demonstrated, not new as in "never made before"

[jcbrown]

 

I think the "new" part just meant not one of the combinations that they just saw demonstrated, not new as in "never made before"

Agreed. I also think that requesting nothing ever combined before would be more than dangerous with this crew and the judges have a bit more self-preservation than that.

[grisgris]

I admit that I wasn't paying 100% attention, so I was confused about the ethnic flavor profile challenge. How were these people supposed to know what type of flavors were indigenous to the regions they were assigned to? They took some pretty educated guesses.

 

Of course, the first contestant to have a mini meltdown and get special attention from Anne, mysteriously wins. Ditto on Tyler's team. The hottest mess rises to lead the pack.

 

This show has almost become unwatchable.

[Wings]

You noticed that, too.

Kortni didn't annoy me this week, and she does seem to be an authentic bad cook. The rest seemed to have toned down the over-acting. So it was a good episode, by this show's low standards.

 

 

Kortni gave the best line of the night.  "I chose lamb sausage because I don't eat beef.  I like hamburger helper."   

[Fostersmom]

She did say she make makes her hamburger helper with chicken, so at least she was aware of what she was saying. Most of them aren't. 

[Wings]

She did say she make makes her hamburger helper with chicken, so at least she was aware of what she was saying. Most of them aren't. 

 

 

I didn't hear her include this.  Damn, now it isn't funny!

[NikSac]

Kortni gave the best line of the night.  "I chose lamb sausage because I don't eat beef.  I like hamburger helper."   

 

This completely cracked me up too until she added "with chicken."  It was pretty nice of the editors to keep the "with chicken" part because they could've made her look really, really clueless there if they wanted to.

[joanne3482]

I admit that I wasn't paying 100% attention, so I was confused about the ethnic flavor profile challenge. How were these people supposed to know what type of flavors were indigenous to the regions they were assigned to? They took some pretty educated guesses.

They were provided with ingredients from the region to enhance their tacos. The Jerry Lewis guy who won was shown tasting several pastes and seasonings to see what they were like. 

[Puffaroo]

 

What is offensive is their horrible miscalculation as to what types they should cast, at least if a semi-educated audience comprised of grownups is their target.  I mean, who among that target audience isn't going to find the open-mouthed prancing guy repulsive?

 

I like the open-mouthed prancing guy -- Leo, right? -- and he wears some pretty cool glasses.  I don't even care if he is an actor.  He can be over the top sometimes, but so can we all.

[wallysmommy]

To me the quote of the night was Kortni - I don't know about Greek.  Isn't that where the Romans are.  I cringed when they put she was from New Orleans on the screen, since that's my home town.