S12.E12: The Final Battle Of Bean Town

[cooksdelight]

Innovative bean dishes are created. Later, the culinary contestants serve up inventive fare that exemplifies the future of cooking, with the winner earning a guaranteed slot in the finals in Mexico. Appearing: Wylie Dufresne.

[Bastet]

How is Wylie Dufresne qualified to comment on what is and isn’t outside Melissa’s comfort zone?  If one of the people who have been eating her food all competition say that, I’ll believe it, but from him?  Please.  (Full disclosure: I think his food is among the most overrated I've ever eaten.)

 

I thought Mei was going to get the innovative edge over Melissa, but also thought they were pretty close, so the winner didn’t surprise me.  Melissa has certainly come on strong at the right time.

 

I’m not one to be easily repulsed by bodily fluids, but George’s sweat as he was plating and then as he served the judges made me cringe.  He couldn’t take two seconds to wipe a towel over his face?  Gross.

 

However, I’m not sure I’d have sent him packing based on this challenge.  (On the whole, given the fact he didn’t have to compete in most of it, sure, but that’s not how they set things up.)  Greg played the odds, figuring a dish that wasn’t remotely innovative (he’s not even kidding himself with that texture nonsense) but was perfectly executed would be the third place dish and thus earn him a ticket to Mexico.  George abided by the challenge parameters and tried to win rather than just place.  Greg had the better strategy, and is probably better qualified for the finale, but I'm a little sour on it. 

Edited January 22, 2015 by Bastet

[elzin]

If it was just any other challenge and someone played it safe, I'd think they made the right choice. I mean, if I go out to eat, I want something done well, not something different for different's sake. But since this was about explicitly NOT playing it safe, it seems like the wrong call based on the editing. Maybe it wasn't as dramatic IRL as it appeared on tv.

[Pickles]

I am so glad George is gone. Between his horribly sweaty face (so gross) and his greasy looking hair, I would not be the least bit tempted to eat his food. How much of that sweat is in his dishes? Gag. Gregory played it too safe, but I would rather see him in the final three than George.

[cooksdelight]

George's sweaty face made my gag reflex go into overdrive. I was waiting for someone to find a drop of sweat on their plate. The way he stands with his head back is odd, but he was still sweating during the final judges' table. I almost expected him to say something about Melissa and Mei helping each other.

Glad they included the segment about Mei's constant "resting bitch face" expression. It is really hard to read her, then she commented that Tom's face made her think her dish wasn't that good. Too funny!

[Wings]

I like George better than Gregory but I think the women have a greater chance of beating him.  His way is to play it safe.  It has worked though, got him in the finals. So I guess it might work again. 

 

I am rooting for Mei to win and I am kind of surprised she didn't win the 10K given the comments we heard at the table.  Edited to fool, of course.  Off to watch LCK, as if they will divulge the winner, eye roll.   We will see that on the show next week.  I love this season.  

[buttersister]

innovative but badly cooked vs. not-so-innovative and delicious? On Tom's show? Buh-bye Faucet George. (Please stay gone, go home, have a nice, damp life.)

[Pandora]

George abided by the challenge parameters and tried to win rather than just place.  Greg had the better strategy, and is probably better qualified for the finale, but I'm a little sour on it.

 

That overcharred octopus must have been really bad.

[avecsans]

Speaking of the resting bitch face - why is it only women who supposedly have it? I don't ever remember anyone accusing a man of having resting bitch face. Pet peeve of mine.

I knew George either won or lost based on his abundance of talking heads. He may be a lovely person, but his annoying voice combined with his sweaty, greasy head make me very glad he was eliminated.

I loved the happy dance of joy that the three finalists did in the stew room. I have wanted Gregory to win since the very first episode, but I need him to forget that coconut milk exists when he cooks in the final.

[cooksdelight]

At one point, I swear George's hair started to sparkle. I was waiting for the fairy dust music to start playing.

[Bastet]

Speaking of the resting bitch face - why is it only women who supposedly have it? I don't ever remember anyone accusing a man of having resting bitch face. Pet peeve of mine.

 

Just about anything involving the word bitch is a peeve of mine, and this is definitely one of them.

 

That said, the "this is Mei's face when ..." interstitial was entertaining, because she was in on the joke.

 

On another note, it was obvious Mei had made the finale well before JT, because we saw commentary (about her parents) from a talking head that was clearly filmed later.  Lazy editing.

[DHDancer]

LCK is a cliffhanger!  Have to wait till 1/28.   I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Go Dougie Go!!!

 

I thought all the dishes tonight seriously failed "innovation".  Duck? Seriously? Duck and Cherries? You're kidding, right?  By way of comparison, I watched the finals (again) of the 2011 UK Masterchef Pro today and trust me, there was innovation in spades in every single dish served.  A serious comparison trust me.

 

PS I had a major issue with Mei declaring "curry" as being very heavy.  First off curry is not one dish, and secondly, she can't have much experience of the incredible diversity of dishes that could roughly be grouped under the term "curry"

Edited January 22, 2015 by DHDancer

[cooksdelight]

I wonder if the store had the pork belly, would it have made a difference for George?

[Wings]

LCK is a cliffhanger!  Have to wait till 1/28.   I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Go Dougie Go!!!

 

I thought all the dishes tonight seriously failed "innovation".  Duck? Seriously? Duck and Cherries? You're kidding, right?  By way of comparison, I watched the finals (again) of the 2011 UK Masterchef Pro today and trust me, there was innovation in spades in every single dish served.  A serious comparison trust me.

 

 

The proteins were common, there are just so many to choose from.  It came down to what they did with them.  I love duck, I have a hard time passing it up on a menu.  hmmmmmmm  I don't think I ever do, come to think of it.  

[Madding crowd]

I'm glad Gregory advanced and I'm not sure his dish was less innovative then the others. He just didn't know how to sell his dish like the others did. Having textural innovation is just as good as flavor innovation, adding miso etc. I notice Gregory clams up when he is nervous, but it seemed like he had a delicious dish. I also didn't like Melissa helping Mei, the dishes should stand on their own.

 

George made a bitter octopus that Tom said he has made a zillion times. I hope he is gone for good.

[DHDancer]

The proteins were common, there are just so many to choose from.  It came down to what they did with them.  I love duck, I have a hard time passing it up on a menu.  hmmmmmmm  I don't think I ever do, come to think of it.  

 

Huh?  They had an entire Whole Foods store to choose their protein from.

 

And George cry-babying over no pork belly?  Oh please give me a break. I was yelling "BACON" at him (or salt pork) interspersed with INNVOVATE GEORGE!!!

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I think it is unfortunate that George was knifed - Gregory seems like a nice enough guy but he is coasting.  The theme was innovation, and Gregory didn't meet it at all. His dish did look tasty, though.

 

I know better than to get my hopes up with two women in the finale.  I fully expect that regardless of Melissa and Mei's strong run right now, we'll somehow end up with either Greg or whichever guy ends up winning LCK as the ultimate winner.

[Lemuria]

 

But since this was about explicitly NOT playing it safe, it seems like the wrong call based on the editing.

 

I have to disagree.  Ultimately, the question should be, "Would anyone want to eat this dish or return to the restaurant that served it?"  A chef known for innovative dishes might draw people to the restaurant but only good food will bring them back.  You may get brownie points for swinging at the fences but in the end, a strike out is still a strike out.  And it could cost you the game.

[Wings]

Huh?  They had an entire Whole Foods store to choose their protein from.

 

And George cry-babying over no pork belly?  Oh please give me a break. I was yelling "BACON" at him (or salt pork) interspersed with INNVOVATE GEORGE!!!

 

 

Yes.  What I mean is it wasn't about the protein itself that would be innovative, it is what they did with it.  Whole foods doesn't have rattle snake, balut (shutter), blow fish etc.  

[cooksdelight]

I was hoping someone would make something that was so transformed it would be hard to figure out what the protein was.

These people would never make it on Chopped. :)

[FormerMod-a1]

Didn't George do that with the octopus head?  he made into a fritter or something.

[cooksdelight]

George lost me at the burned tentacle.

[Ketzel]

When I hear the word "innovation" I expect something new. Gregory did absolutely nothing new with his recipes; serving crispy salmon and chicken skin as accents to a dish is not new as an idea or a technique, nor is adding a "crispy" element to a dish something new. George's fritters made from octopus heads counted as a "new" use of a part of the octopus that was traditionally considered trash, but the rest of his plate seemed very disorganized, and I can't believe he burned the octopus. Melissa's mixing walnuts into harissa was actually a new idea, or at least an unusual use of the walnuts and I'm guessing it tasted very good, too. Mei's slowly evolving flavors actually seemed like the most innovative cuisine to me. The idea of an entrée that kept changing with each bite, to the point where people with palettes as sophisticated as the judges couldn't really explain what they were tasting, but kind of knew they liked it was quite impressive to me. Duck a la Morph! I thought she should have won.

[ljp]

Melissa actually put miso in the walnuts not Harissa. George did an apple Harissa.

Although I'm not clear on what apple Harissa is actually. Did it have the red peppers or was it just some sort of chopped apple preparation? In any event I'm glad both women made it and I'm sort of disappointed in Gregory. It seems like the pressure is getting to him and he's playing it safe instead of rising to the occasion. I think overall I'm rooting for Mei on a food level and Melissa based on personality with the appearing to rise to the occasion now with some confidence thing she has going on. I'd love for Gregory to pull it together, but suspect he doesn't really cope with pressure well

Frankly I wouldn't be upset if any of them won, including dougie and George.

[Ketzel]

Melissa actually put miso in the walnuts not Harissa. George did an apple Harissa.

Although I'm not clear on what apple Harissa is actually. Did it have the red peppers or was it just some sort of chopped apple preparation? In any event I'm glad both women made it and I'm sort of disappointed in Gregory. It seems like the pressure is getting to him and he's playing it safe instead of rising to the occasion. I think overall I'm rooting for Mei on a food level and Melissa based on personality with the appearing to rise to the occasion now with some confidence thing she has going on. I'd love for Gregory to pull it together, but suspect he doesn't really cope with pressure well

Frankly I wouldn't be upset if any of them won, including dougie and George.

Oops! Well, miso and walnuts also sounds edible, at least. Apples and harissa, not so much to me, at least not if it really was apples mixed into the peppers.

[HappyDancex2]

Thanks Gregory. I guess it is Top Thai after all.

If I had to choose between 2 dishes containing Tom kha I choose Mei's Walden tom kha snow topped dish. However since the elimination was George who was asterisked anyway, better off I say.

[GaT]

At the judges table, the only thing I could look at was George covered in sweat. I am so glad he is gone, he was making me nauseous. I'm going to watch LCK & hope that he's still gone.

[WickedTuna]

The section on Mei's chronic bitch face was hilarious. My favorite was after her pet got run over by a car. I think saying bitch face might just be easier than saying Mei's never-changing cranky pants looking face.

My gag reflex went into overdrive too when they showed George sweating. The sweatball on the end of his nose was so gross.

I thought that program to get kids into science through foods was super cool and really creative. I wish more schools could put more effort into learning.

[xtwheeler]

George is just so *moist* looking between the sweat and the hair combed with a pork chop.

I agree that George's dish met the challenge, but I think they've got a solid track record at choosing what they liked eating more. It doesn't seem fair to me, but if the casualty this time was George, Hmmm. I suddenly feel ok about it.

Mei's RBF is my favorite thing about her, and I sport one myself.

I still feel upset and dismayed about Melissa after she stole those class from Mei, but I guess if Mei is ok with her and not seething at her, I can't really complain that loudly.

[NowVoyager]

In any event I'm glad both women made it and I'm sort of disappointed in Gregory. It seems like the pressure is getting to him and he's playing it safe instead of rising to the occasion. I think overall I'm rooting for Mei on a food level and Melissa based on personality with the appearing to rise to the occasion now with some confidence thing she has going on. I'd love for Gregory to pull it together, but suspect he doesn't really cope with pressure well

Frankly I wouldn't be upset if any of them won, including dougie and George.

I've loved Mei's food all along. (Well, considering I can't taste it, you know.) And with her tough family issues & well-trained background, I can't help but root for her success.

I've been very impressed with Melissa lately & feel like she's more than earned her spot. But I'm still bitter about Clamgate; just holding out for an explanation during the reunion show. Also whyonearth did she tell the judges during the sniff & sneer that she was helping Mei cook her dish?!?! Considering she had immunity, it seemed a little nice-nasty; like, next door to sabotage. How very "Mean girls" of her. Something else to explain during the reunion.

Even Greg admitted that he fell apart towards the end. Hopefully, he can get some rest & get himself together during whatever time they have between Boston & Mexico. He was so solid for so long, it would be a shame if he didn't. Also, I worry about his overall health re: his substance abuse issues & managing stress. I've always admired him for putting such personal information out there.

Between George & Dougie, I'm team Dougie all day.

Edited January 22, 2015 by NowVoyager

[chiaros]

I'm a little disappointed that George didn't make it.  I would have preferred that Gregory left instead.  I also agreed with Wylie Dufresne's assessments of Gregory's and George's dishes and his giving more points to George for "swinging for the fences", even if he fell short, as more befitting of the challenge.

 

Melissa seems to be getting to her peak now, which works out well for her.

 

I barely notice George's sweating. His hair looks fine to me too.  (Doesn't bother me.  Many people including A-list actor hunks sport that hair style too, at least from time to time.)  I notice his food and his person, not so much his sweat, unless his sweat also smells strongly - but of course I don't know if it does or does not since I am not there in person. I find him an agreeable enough chap.  Funny, I also thought lots of people sweated naturally, some quite heavily, when they did physical labor - and cooking intensively is hard work.  I somehow also suspect there are more than a few sweaty line cooks and sous chefs in BOH in professional kitchens dripping into the plates of diners - it's just that the folks in FOH don't see it, heh.  There have been other "sweaters" (including Doug - and he certainly had rivers of sweat dripping off his nose into the food in the final LCK) on this season of TC as well as on previous seasons too.

[NowVoyager]

How is Wylie Dufresne qualified to comment on what is and isn’t outside Melissa’s comfort zone? If one of the people who have been eating her food all competition say that, I’ll believe it, but from him? Please. (Full disclosure: I think his food is among the most overrated I've ever eaten.)

*Taking a sip of my chamomile tea.* Hm! Tell us more, darling...! (Is this the right forum? Shall we go to a sidebar or something? Whatever, but honey don't hold out on the juice! Please & thank you.)

[Lizzing]

After all these years, I'm still befuddled by the judging, or at least the editing thereof.  Back in the Thanksgiving challenge, Gregory swung for the fences and whiffed at the protein, but was allowed to pass on due to Stacy's "earthy" flavor.  Now, George "swung for the fences", whiffed at the protein, and went packing.  Gregory's soup might have tasted better on the whole than Stacy's in the TG challenge, but it didn't meet the parameters of the challenge.  Ergo my confusion. 

 

I really don't have a favorite between Gregory and George; despite the latter's association with Isabella, he seems like a decent guy with a challenge in hair fashion.  (Seriously, the one show we got with him without all the hair gel made him look about 10 times more attractive.)  Though he does need to get a sweat band.  I sweat like a mad fool when the F is above 70, to the point of considering botox for sweat glands, but c'mon, man!  $3 at the sporting good store, and you're golden, even if you do look a bit dorky.

 

And one other thing...did anyone else see the previews where Blais was saying something along the lines of "Oh, this is disgusting, I can't eat it!"?  I didn't catch that in the episode at all, and none of the dishes presented gave anyone else that "give me a puke bucket" response in the preview, in fact quite to the contrary.

[Wings]

Melissa taking some of Mei's clams was not a big deal.  It was a quick fire she scooped up a bunch of them and had more than she needed.  I don't remember it clearly but could it be Melissa asked her and editing left that out?  Was Mei surprised to see some of her clams gone?  

[Texasmom1970]

So glad George is gone, hopefully he won't come popping back up like an STD. I could never eat anything he cooked. I don't not want the extra ingredient of hair gel mixed with sweat drippings in my food.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Melissa taking some of Mei's clams was not a big deal.  It was a quick fire she scooped up a bunch of them and had more than she needed.  I don't remember it clearly but could it be Melissa asked her and editing left that out?  Was Mei surprised to see some of her clams gone?  

 

My feeling is that Melissa and Mei have both talked about how friendly they are, and that some people in the audience care about the clam issue than Mei does, so I am not going to get too worried about it.

 

I will say, I was disappointed that none of them actually tried to make a Boston Baked Bean dish in the Quickfire.  I mean, they didn't have time to do it from scratch but still, it would have been nice to see someone try.

[Wings]

I am so glad none of them made a rendition of Boston Baked Beans!  LOL!  I hate them and I think the judges would have, too.  

 

And yes, I am not at all concerned about the clams.  The women are close friends. 

[AriAu]

If it was just any other challenge and someone played it safe, I'd think they made the right choice. I mean, if I go out to eat, I want something done well, not something different for different's sake. But since this was about explicitly NOT playing it safe, it seems like the wrong call based on the editing. Maybe it wasn't as dramatic IRL as it appeared on tv.

 

Kinda torn on this one. I would hate to see someone go home for making what even Tom said was a delicious dish. While it did not quite meet the challenge, it is not like Gregory completely disregarded the instructions and grilled a steak or roasted a chicken and said, "here you go". It was a complex dish, albeit in his comfort zone, and not far from the challenge. AND it was apparently delicious. 

George, on the other hand, went after it, but the dish was not great. If having to choose, I would hope delicious food would win out unless it was completely outside the rules.

And, by having Gregory win, it saves me reading about how George only got here through the back door.

Edited January 22, 2015 by AriAu

[escape]

Gregory peaked too early in the competition, whereas Melissa is peaking just at the right time.  Mei has been the most consistent throughout.  In fact, she has been gyp of a few wins.  George should have never made it this far.  He doesn't deserve this spot over Dougie, Katsuji, Adam or Katy.

[Corgi-ears]

The elimination challenge had so much promise, but as is sometimes the case, the show wasted that potential by being too vague about parameters, or by not helping the chefs understand the challenge better. They, and the show, should take the idea of innovation more seriously.

 

First, it seems like many of the chefs really just created dishes with twists. "Ah, this soup normally is just soup -- but behold, mine has fish skin! TWIST!!!" That's not innovation in my book. Shouldn't innovation involve some paradigm-shifting? "Wahey, after eating this dish, I realize that chicken should never ever be fried!" "Who knew that you could even braise gelatin?!" "Wait, you can cook meat by sweating into it, George? What a new and unusual technique!" (By this yardstick, it feels like Mei did break new ground, showing us that curry need not be heavy in consistency and texture.) Second, too many of the chefs defined -- or were allowed to define -- "innovation" in too personal a manner, by thinking of innovation as equivalent to "something I normally wouldn't do," as "me stepping out of my box." That's not especially interesting, and certainly impossible to judge. It would mean, for example, that someone who only cooked Asian food throughout the competition "innovates" by not using Asian flavors, while another chef who has in fact been diverse has less room to "innovate." And if "innovate means to step out of your own personal comfort zone" was the criterion, I would win the challenge the minute I do more than fry an egg. 

Edited January 22, 2015 by Corgi-ears

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I am so glad none of them made a rendition of Boston Baked Beans!  LOL!  I hate them and I think the judges would have, too.  

 

Not sure how it follows that because you hate them, the judges would, too.  I may be an old-school Yankee, but I like them very much - I have them at practically every nighttime meal. Following that logic, I am sure that the judges would have loved a rendition of Boston Baked Beans. 

 

Regardless, it would have been nice to see someone at least attempt to do it, though I suppose they would have used packaged beans for it since it requires at least 6 hours to make them from scratch.

[cee]

I feel like Gregory got a worse edit this time to make it look like George was close. When Tom said, "We deliberated for some time" made me think the judges made a quick decision. 

 

George's choice of serving octopus head was a risk. But it seemed to have failed. His preparation looked awful to me--putting octopus in a meat grinder. And then he dropped that into a flour and fried it? I guess anything tastes good if it's fried. 

[Wings]

Not sure how it follows that because you hate them, the judges would, too.  I may be an old-school Yankee, but I like them very much - I have them at practically every nighttime meal. Following that logic, I am sure that the judges would have loved a rendition of Boston Baked Beans. 

 

Regardless, it would have been nice to see someone at least attempt to do it, though I suppose they would have used packaged beans for it since it requires at least 6 hours to make them from scratch.

 

 

My logic.  It would not be creative enough to win a quick fire.  My disliking them has nothing to do with the judges.  Just tossing out my take on them! 

[stillshimpy]

I really don't have a favorite between Gregory and George; despite the latter's association with Isabella, he seems like a decent guy with a challenge in hair fashion.  (Seriously, the one show we got with him without all the hair gel made him look about 10 times more attractive.)

 

I cannot stand Mike Isabella.  He's a blatant sexist, for starters and I just don't find that endearing in anyone, but George seems like a perfectly nice guy who should probably rethink his hair product, in my opinion.  I actually think he's a really attractive person other than that.  He's tall, he has a nice face, he doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body and aside from getting upset about Whole Foods not having any pork belly, he seems good-tempered too.  

 

Yes, he was sweating.  It's not an appealing thing to go along with food, that's for sure, but I don't think it renders the guy vile or anything. 

 

I really can't believe I'm in anyway sticking up for anyone associated with Mike Isabella, because I dislike the guy so much that an association with Isabella is something George had to overcome in my eyes, but I am actually getting a laugh out of all the negative comments about his appearance.  I really have the feeling that his experience in the real world with women does not mirror that.   He's tall, he's nice, he can cook and he he's far from stout at this stage in his life.   I agree, he would look better on TV with a different hair product, but I personally think he's good-looking otherwise and far more importantly to me, he seems like a thoroughly pleasant man.  

 

To each their own and beauty always be in the eye of the beholder, but aside from sweating into food (which yes, EW!) I don't find anything other than his employer gross about the guy.  

 

I think he was likely the right person to eliminate.  Hopefully Gregory can shore up a little of his earlier glory in time for the finale, because he has faded quite a bit over the course of the season.   Wyle's food has always struck me as being a very clever gimmick, but it's been around so long at this stage, it doesn't really have the same "pow" in terms of "Whoa, creative!" so the challenge fell a little flat for me.  

 

I like everyone who is left and I like the people from LCK so for once, pretty much no matter who wins the season I'll be able to be thoroughly pleased for them.  If it ends up being George it would be sort of a shame, just because he really did get sort of fast-tracked to this point, but that would be my sole complaint. 

[Wings]

I feel like Gregory got a worse edit this time to make it look like George was close. When Tom said, "We deliberated for some time" made me think the judges made a quick decision. 

 

George's choice of serving octopus head was a risk. But it seemed to have failed. His preparation looked awful to me--putting octopus in a meat grinder. And then he dropped that into a flour and fried it? I guess anything tastes good if it's fried. 

 

Coming to a decision takes hours.  There is a funny pic of Gail sleeping at the judges table.  So long that a group in the stew room (another season) made mattresses out of all the Ziploc bags.  The time it takes is legendary.  I think this one took less time but they take it very seriously. 

 

The hint I got was one guest judge said, I would like to eat that again, referring to Greg's dish.  It often comes to that after MUCH debate.  His was safe but delicious. 

[Primetimer]

Did you really think the Top Chef chefs would get out of Boston without facing a bean challenge?

Read the story

[Julia]

Speaking of the resting bitch face - why is it only women who supposedly have it? I don't ever remember anyone accusing a man of having resting bitch face. Pet peeve of mine.

 

Because if a woman isn't actively affirming the people around her she's leaving the people around her to wonder if she approves of them, which is seen as unwomanly. Men aren't worried about being seen as unwomanly. Which is bullshit, obviously, but I'm going to guess that you don't advance in the lesser Volt's kitchen by insisting on progressive gender roles.

 

It's probably just as well my job involves staring at a computer all day, because I have the resting face of an easter island statue.

 

I've been very impressed with Melissa lately & feel like she's more than earned her spot. But I'm still bitter about Clamgate; just holding out for an explanation during the reunion show. Also whyonearth did she tell the judges during the sniff & sneer that she was helping Mei cook her dish?!?! Considering she had immunity, it seemed a little nice-nasty; like, next door to sabotage. How very "Mean girls" of her. Something else to explain during the reunion.

 

I'm side-eyeing Melissa pretty hard at this point. I'll take Mei's form of aggression in the form of aggression all day and twice on Sunday over Melissa's sweet cheery way of sticking the knife in.

[Wings]

I cannot stand Mike Isabella.  He's a blatant sexist, for starters and I just don't find that endearing in anyone, but George seems like a perfectly nice guy who should probably rethink his hair product, in my opinion.  I actually think he's a really attractive person other than that.  He's tall, he has a nice face, he doesn't seem to have a mean bone in his body and aside from getting upset about Whole Foods not having any pork belly, he seems good-tempered too.  

 

Yes, he was sweating.  It's not an appealing thing to go along with food, that's for sure, but I don't think it renders the guy vile or anything. 

 

I really can't believe I'm in anyway sticking up for anyone associated with Mike Isabella, because I dislike the guy so much that an association with Isabella is something George had to overcome in my eyes, but I am actually getting a laugh out of all the negative comments about his appearance.  I really have the feeling that his experience in the real world with women does not mirror that.   He's tall, he's nice, he can cook and he he's far from stout at this stage in his life.   I agree, he would look better on TV with a different hair product, but I personally think he's good-looking otherwise and far more importantly to me, he seems like a thoroughly pleasant man.  

 

To each their own and beauty always be in the eye of the beholder, but aside from sweating into food (which yes, EW!) I don't find anything other than his employer gross about the guy.  

 

I think he was likely the right person to eliminate.  Hopefully Gregory can shore up a little of his earlier glory in time for the finale, because he has faded quite a bit over the course of the season.   Wyle's food has always struck me as being a very clever gimmick, but it's been around so long at this stage, it doesn't really have the same "pow" in terms of "Whoa, creative!" so the challenge fell a little flat for me.  

 

I like everyone who is left and I like the people from LCK so for once, pretty much no matter who wins the season I'll be able to be thoroughly pleased for them.  If it ends up being George it would be sort of a shame, just because he really did get sort of fast-tracked to this point, but that would be my sole complaint. 

 

 

I agree with everything here except Isabella.  He has changed over the years and I don't mind him so much anymore.  

[JTMacc99]

I thought that program to get kids into science through foods was super cool and really creative. I wish more schools could put more effort into learning.

I don't remember... The guy was from Harvard, but did they say if the classes were for Harvard students or if they were for younger kids outside of the University?

 

If it is for the Harvard kids, I would imagine that the school will publish something about it, and other colleges will pick it up relatively quickly.  If it is for high school or younger kids, the idea might find its way into places here or there.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I don't remember... The guy was from Harvard, but did they say if the classes were for Harvard students or if they were for younger kids outside of the University?

 

If it is for the Harvard kids, I would imagine that the school will publish something about it, and other colleges will pick it up relatively quickly.  If it is for high school or younger kids, the idea might find its way into places here or there.

 

It was a lecture series in the School of Engineering - I remember reading about it in the Globe.

 

Re: George and Mike Isabella - I don't like and have never liked Mike Isabella, but I don't judge George because of Mike.  They are two different people.