All-Star Academy - General Discussion

[mlp]

 

Somebody from Curtis' team went home this week. I think they said her name was Lynn.

 

Yeah, I know.  I meant sent home before the other member of her team.  I could have worded that better.

[hkit]

I continue to find that it's pretty clear that Robert Irvine doesn't have the cooking chops as his competitors (I hesitate to call them "peers") do on these shows. He's lost on Worst Cooks ..., Chopped, Iron Chef, and more. I don't know why he still hangs around.

Robert hangs around because he likes the fame, attention, and money. The better question is why does the Food Network keep him around? Especially after the credential scandal. He doesn't seem able to cook at the same level. He isn't at all charming or charismatic. On a shallow note, he isn't even a pretty face that would attract viewers for that reason alone. His restaurant saving shows seem like such a watered down version of Hell's Kitchen that I don't have time for it. The entire appeal of this guy is a mystery.

The only thing I'd be interested in seeing from him was a show on fitness nutrition. He didn't get that physique without a very specific diet. As a gym rat myself, I'm always looking to find ways to gourmet up my meals without detailing my macros. I would listen to Irvine for this.

[LexieLily]

I'm not liking Robert's blatant favoritism for his girl team member and how he treats the male one.

 

Anna on Andrew's team can be eliminated any time. She wants to monopolize Andrew's mentor-ship and gets bent out of shape when he even talks to Zoey (?). Maybe Anna and Robert's girl can be combined onto one team! 

Edited February 29, 2016 by LexieLily

[Crucial]

I kind of had a feeling that Anna would be going home once she mentions wanting to get rid of her teammate and saying she didn't really need Andrews help (or I thought that is what she said).  Of course you have to hear Robert and his big mouth to Duff to judge fair.  Can't wait for next week when he disagrees with the judges.   I feel bad for Robert's male contestant.  Calling someone a granny because they aren't moving to your speed isn't tough love it's just being a blatant ass.

[NYGirl]

So a new villain arose tonight and was snuffed out immediately.  Anna annoyed the heck out of me when she was wishing for Zoey to go home so she could have Andrew's complete attention.  Goodbye dear.

 

Shockingly Natasha was quieter tonight but still unlikeable.  Jermaine was more worried about his cake bringing them to elimination because Natasha would be mad at him than he was about anything else.

 

I think Alex made the right choice by keeping the guy out of it.  I'm glad her girl won.

[mlp]

I'm not enjoying this as much as I did last season.  I think it's because Robert Irvine is like a miasma casting a pall over the whole thing.  If Michael Symon were there instead, the atmosphere would be quite different.

 

I like Alex but standing there saying "hurryuphurryuphurryup" over and over wasn't helping.  If I was already under the gun, someone doing that would make me more nervous and make it very hard to think straight.

 

I'd love to know if the judging is done strictly on merit or if keeping the teams even is a factor.

[GaT]

I like Alex but standing there saying "hurryuphurryuphurryup" over and over wasn't helping.  If I was already under the gun, someone doing that would make me more nervous and make it very hard to think straight.

I don't know why the mentors think screaming at people is going to make them cook better, it's hard to even think when you have someone continually screaming at you, never mind do something that requires concentration. 

[penbrat]

I am rooting for Alex or Andrew at this point - I like both of Alex's cooks and Andrew's one cook  (along with Alex and Andrew)   I am glad that the other girl went home from Andrew’s team and hope (Zoey?) can hang in there for a while.  She seems very sweet just not confident.   The one who went home (Miss #1) was a whiner and she just needed to suck it up and cook.  

I am still meh on Curtis but at least he acknowledged that his temper tantrum made him look like a bit of an ass last night.  

Robert gets worse with each episode and Natasha is the female version of him. 

No wonder she picked him.  Yuck.  I hope his team implodes soon (sorry for the guy who is on there, seems nice but Robert’s “tough love” is nothing but bullying IMO).

Really liked Duff on there last night.  He has grown on me.  I thought the main  challenge with the colors was interesting but did not like the elimination challenge
with chocolate and shapes.  Boring.

[hkit]

Anna, what happened? Last week, she was my favorite to win it all! I felt a little bad, because she wasn't getting any time with Andrew to correct her dish. But her attitude took away any sympathy I may have had.

 

I like Andrew a lot, but his multiple talking heads complaining about the winning dishes are off putting. I thought he was above the trash talk. Guess I was wrong.

[Miracle Maxie]

Anna, what happened? Last week, she was my favorite to win it all! I felt a little bad, because she wasn't getting any time with Andrew to correct her dish. But her attitude took away any sympathy I may have had.

 

I like Andrew a lot, but his multiple talking heads complaining about the winning dishes are off putting. I thought he was above the trash talk. Guess I was wrong.

I wasn't giving the show my full attention last night because I was following its hashtag on Twitter and hitting the mute button on the tv everytime either Robert or Curtis showed up. After Andrew's little hissy-fit (something about the other team's dish looking like crap), I may be muting any judge which isn't Alex.

 

All of which is by way of explanation for why I got a very pro-Anna reading from last night's episode. I probably missed some of her whining because I was trying so hard to miss everyone else's!  And I was also shaking my head in disbelief at all the pro-Robert Irvine sentiment on Twitter. It's a different world over there!

 

But I think instead of wasting all that time hitting the mute button, I'm just going to watch only the last two minutes of all subesquent episodes. I can't quite give this show up completely yet, but I'm done with the drama, if that's possible.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Miracle Maxie

[Surrealist]

Anna didn't bother me any more than almost everyone else on the show did.

[Maverick]

I can't stand Irvine but Andrew has fallen to just a notch above him. It's really bad form to mouth off about someone else's work, especially when the competition is in a creative field and subject to personal taste. Andrew and Robert can go off to a corner together and have a co-tantrum about how awesome they are and how much the rest of the world sucks. Just as long as I don't have to see either of them on my TV.

I don't feel sorry for anyone on Robert's team. They all know what a blowhard he is and still freely chose him, even when all other options were available. So you get what you ask for.

[Uncle Benzene]

Andrew's little hissy-fit (something about the other team's dish looking like crap)

 

Hissy-fit or not, Andrew was right though (in my opinion, of course.) Both that fig thing and the thing with the marshmallow fluff were flat out abominations. Both looked like something a toddler would make by gluing macaroni and glitter to construction paper. I was every bit as flummoxed as Andrew was. And it's not like Duff didn't know any better, he knew damn well that both of those plates were dumpster fires. It was as if he made a deliberate decision to pick the two crappiest plates for the wins. I get that Andrew probably came off a little petulant, but personally I can't blame him. He was telling the truth. Duff's judging decisions were ridiculous.

[Eliza422]

I don't know why the mentors think screaming at people is going to make them cook better, it's hard to even think when you have someone continually screaming at you, never mind do something that requires concentration. 

I feel more stressed watching this show than most other competition shows I watch - the constant yelling! I would totally shut down at that. It reminds me of a Mike and Molly episode from a previous season where Mike tries to motivate Molly using some yelling and trash talk (like a drill sergeant) and she just breaks down and cries - that would be me!  (In fairness, Mike's next comment is something like ok, so that's not the way to motivate her).

 

I'm rooting for Alex to win as a mentor.

[Amarsir]

I think I'd want Andrew as my mentor. His coaching was much more constructive and Alex's "hurry up" repetition pushed her to 2nd place for me. But I completely agree that trashing other dishes goes against that character. Even in a talking head. (Although I always wonder in interview shots to what extent it's coached by production, Andrew's more than experienced enough to know better.)

 

Incidentally, Natasha becomes a lot more bearable if you imagine she's actually Nicole Sullivan from Mad TV playing a character:

 

 

[hkit]

Hissy-fit or not, Andrew was right though (in my opinion, of course.) Both that fig thing and the thing with the marshmallow fluff were flat out abominations. Both looked like something a toddler would make by gluing macaroni and glitter to construction paper. I was every bit as flummoxed as Andrew was. And it's not like Duff didn't know any better, he knew damn well that both of those plates were dumpster fires. It was as if he made a deliberate decision to pick the two crappiest plates for the wins. I get that Andrew probably came off a little petulant, but personally I can't blame him. He was telling the truth. Duff's judging decisions were ridiculous.

 

I wouldn't say it was the truth, just a sore loser. Not only did it come of as sour grapes, it really showed how unstrategic Andrew is. After the first round, Andrew should have known that Duff seems to like deconstructed, avant-garde plates (I'm being polite, both did look sloppy). People who are successful in cooking based reality shows are good at tailoring to the judge's preferences. He should have mentored his people away from composed plates.

 

But since Andrew opened the door to bashing other plates, he should really take a look at what his team put out: a plate of gigantic, burnt madeleines shaped like donuts with 3 large puddles of sauce and churros that were roughly shaped liked the design parameters (they also looked overcooked to me). The other plates that Andrew bashed seemed to look sloppy as some type of artistic expression. These two plates looked sloppy because of the skill level of the people putting the food on them. If I received either of those plates in a restaurant, I'd be sending them back. 

[grisgris]

I was surprised, but ended up not being disappointed, in seeing Anna go so early. Usually, the ones who hit the ground running stick around much further into the competition. Once I heard Anna whining and sniping about eliminating Zoey and having Andrew all to herself, I was glad to see her go. Why did she attempt to bake madeleines in a donut mold? (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought during the first episode, in Anna's intro she said something about being French-inspired and with her winnings, wanted to go to culinary school in France ... Anyway, I thought she'd know better if that was the case.) She could have just gone for a baked chocolate donut. That's not any less rustic than a churro. I guess if it's burned, it's burned, regardless of what name you slap on it.

 

Natasha wasn't that obnoxious this week. I do think that Robert has a pretty good strategy in concentrating on her. She obviously has much stronger cooking chops than Jermaine and he was smart to put her to work on a more complicated dessert. That kept her busy and focused and less apt to worry about what her teammate was up to.  Yeah, he was kind of dismissive to Jermaine, but frankly, I've seen much worst on "Restaurant Impossible." I think Jermaine will be headed home soon enough.

 

For this week, I'm going to give Curtis, and to a lesser extent, Andrew, a pass on their little hissy fits and throwing shade at the competition. I think A's & C's behavior was producer-driven and/or the result of some clever edits. Since Robert is already well-established as the resident blowhard-bully, he needs a foil. Alex already has his number from working with him on "Chopped" and other shows, and even though she can hold her own against literally anybody, it never looks good (even in this day and age) to see a man -- especially that man -- verbally beating up on a woman (although she can and has cooked rings around him.)

 

Curtis's bellowing at Dain was about as menacing as a kitten hissing and he was quick to make things right and own up to his boorish behavior in his TH. There seemed to be at least a grain of malice and frustration in Andrew's remarks, but I'll withhold judgment until I've seen him in a few more episodes. My guess is that as the heat gets turned up, Andrew's going to put his focus on winning and not verbally sparring with Robert. Curtis seems like he's in his own little world anyway (candied cabbage?*) and isn't going to engage.

 

I think that the competition would be much more interesting this year if instead of Curtis and Andrew, it was the bromance of Bobby Flay and Michael Symon again. I wonder if they pull a "mean boys" against Irvine? That would be fun to watch.

 

*Hey, but Duff liked it!

[BW Manilowe]

Alex is blogging about the show for People magazine this season.

Although the show's already eliminated 3 cheftestants & we're, like, 3 eps in this appears to only be Alex's first blog post on the show this season.

She blogged about the mentors being picked by the cheftestants this season & her impressions of the cheftestants she finally did end up being chosen by in this week's post.

http://greatideas.people.com/2016/03/01/alex-guarnaschelli-blog-all-star-academy/?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag

[Rosieroo]

 

I kind of had a feeling that Anna would be going home once she mentions wanting to get rid of her teammate and saying she didn't really need Andrews help

I was done with Anna when she said she didn't need Andrew's help then in the next breath started complaining about him not helping her.....go home.

[Wings]

I read this thread before I watched it so I was braced for more action than it offered!  I didn't mind Curtis yelling at all.  He said don't touch it and his cook touched the damn thing!   I would have been irritated, too.  I was also fine with Andrew speaking out; it wasn't that bad.  

 

What was bad was how terrible those desserts looked!  No need to color them bright orange.  I love orange cake; it is not neon but fills the orange color requirement.  And how did the girl who made empanadas miss the salt and fat in the dough?  Her mentor dropped the ball (Andrew).  It seems they screwed up on some basic recipes that their mentors should have known. 

 

Did you see that look on Robert's face in the preview for next week?  Wow, when he is mad he looks scary.  Rubs hands in glee.  I want to see him lose!  He is such an objectionable man.  Where does that ego come from; he is not known for stellar accomplishments. 

[LexieLily]

Shut up, Robert, you aren't in the military anymore and Jermaine isn't one of your subordinate soldiers. It was telling that after the teams were done with the main challenge Andrew, Curtis and Alex were congratulating and hugging their cooks and Robert was in a corner yelling at Jermaine for not listening to him. Robert was so unenthused about Jermaine's jerk chicken getting better reviews than Natasha's dish.

 

And did he seriously tell Jermaine "oh, you won. So what? Didn't help us"??

Edited March 7, 2016 by LexieLily

[NYGirl]

I knew Jermaine would be gone before Natasha.  I can't stand Robert anymore.  What a freaking bully.  I hope he bullies Natasha now.   Hers didn't look so beautiful on the plate. 

[The Hound Lives]

Natasha is just the worst. Not an ounce of humility. I used to really like Robert. I never thought him much of a Chef but kind of liked his "ball-buster" attitude but tonight he was just a total dick. He had no interest in fighting for Jermaine or trying to be helpful. I get it, the Chef's will have their favorites but he just made it obvious from day 1. 

That said, the less I have to see of Katie Lee and Jeff Mauro, the better. Her voice grates but her overall demeanor is so off-putting. Whenever I see him, I think he is an actor reading a script. Apart, they grate. Together, unbearable. 

[mlp]

Robert Irvine is ruining this show for me.  His ego is off-putting beyond words and with little justification IMO.  He talked about being in the military and giving orders like he was a commanding officer and subordinates leapt to obey him.  AFAIK He was a lowly seaman who worked in kitchens (and then lied about it on his FN resumé).  Natasha is almost as bad.  I can't stand either of them.

 

I like everyone else but my favorites are the girl on Andrew's team and the dad on Alex's team.  

[Crucial]

I really hope this is the only season that obnoxious ass is on this show.  Robert adds nothing but frustration when watching.  To complain about the judging that his favorite was judged wrong and embarrassing too.  And then to continue with his pouty little looks all through Jermaine's judging was too much. The sooner Natasha and him are eliminated on the show the better.  It was nice to see Curtis and Alex's team work well together.

[Wings]

I have nothing more to add on Robert, I agree with all that has been said.

The preview says we will not believe which mentor is eliminated. Well we only have 4 choices so it is not going to shock. My guess is Robert because he has 2 left and production probably sees him as the favored (gag) front runner.

[NYGirl]

But Robert only has 1 left.  Alex is the only one with 2 people.

[Bumblebee84047]

Oh Robert, it doesn't matter if you win.  If you don't you'll just lie about it on your resume and say that you did win.

[Wings]

But Robert only has 1 left.  Alex is the only one with 2 people.

 

 

Ah yes.

 

I suppose it would be shocking if Alex was the eliminated one.  I sure hope not but with 2 left and the better chef it looks like it. 

[GaT]

I can't understand why any of the contestants would pick Robert as their mentor to begin with.

[Amarsir]

I can't understand why any of the contestants would pick Robert as their mentor to begin with.

If you didn't know that well, you might think he has a reputation for turning around people in trouble and therefore must be a good teacher. I almost found myself falling for that.

[Christina]

I purposely skipped this episode based on the preview, and my extreme dislike of Robert. Reading here, I think I continue to skip it. He isn't much liked or respected. His appearance on Chopped was met with ridicule and, I think, lower rating. I don't know why they keep trying to make him happen. 

[backformore]

Robert Irvine, in his so-serious voice, informs us that "when you're cooking with an ingredient you've never worked with before, you're fearful, you're afraid, you're scared....."

Ticking them off as if those are three different emotions.

This would be a fun show if I didn't hate him so much.

[Wings]

I purposely skipped this episode based on the preview, and my extreme dislike of Robert. Reading here, I think I continue to skip it. He isn't much liked or respected. His appearance on Chopped was met with ridicule and, I think, lower rating. I don't know why they keep trying to make him happen. 

 

 

I just watched that 3 part Chopped challenge.  What an ass.  He lost to the contestant winner and it was delightful to watch him try to turn it around and claim she should have won because the show was about you, not me.  The contestants should win basically!  What a dickhead. You could plainly see the other judges didn't like or respect him.  Why did they do this?  Get this man off TV! 

Edited March 8, 2016 by wings707

[cattykit]

I think FN keeps trying to make him into their own Gordon Ramsey, even to the point of giving him his own blatant rip off of Kitchen Nightmares.  Yeah, they must be exactly the same because they come from the British Isles and they raise their voices.  Except that GR has talent, personality, looks, and oh, a few Michelin stars, and RI, well, doesn't.

 

I was in the military, too, but if I tried to run my team at work as if they were recruits in boot camp, I'd be drummed out of my organization in a nanosecond.  Shouting out orders and using intimidation is the preferred style of management for lazy managers who don't know or care how to do it right.

 

I'm only sorry it wasn't obnoxious Natasha from RI's team and not poor Jermaine (who got belittling rather than mentoring during his tenure) who was tossed. 

[chessiegal]

I think FN keeps trying to make him into their own Gordon Ramsey, even to the point of giving him his own blatant rip off of Kitchen Nightmares.  Yeah, they must be exactly the same because they come from the British Isles and they raise their voices.  Except that GR has talent, personality, looks, and oh, a few Michelin stars, and RI, well, doesn't.

 

I was in the military, too, but if I tried to run my team at work as if they were recruits in boot camp, I'd be drummed out of my organization in a nanosecond.  Shouting out orders and using intimidation is the preferred style of management for lazy managers who don't know or care how to do it right.

 

I'm only sorry it wasn't obnoxious Natasha from RI's team and not poor Jermaine (who got belittling rather than mentoring during his tenure) who was tossed. 

cattykit,  I think you are so right, they want to make him FN's Gordon Ramsey. I don't watch Hell's Kitchen, but that's got to be the reason. All these networks copy whatever is successful somewhere else, even on their own network.

[grisgris]

I can't stand Gordon Ramsay, so I've never watched much of him. I admit that I've watched "Restaurant Impossible" because I get a trainwreck thrill out of seeing just how horrendously gross some of the restaurants are. (And, I happen to think that Tom is awfully darned cute!) However, sadly, the focus of the show has migrated to "Dr. Robert," so it's pretty unbearable. The new ambush format is a disaster because there is way too much time spent on building-up the drama about whether or not the hapless restaurant owner is surprised and will cooperate. There's not adequate time left to address the problems with the restaurant or even kitchen demos. (Not that I think Robert is any type of stellar cook, but the show is about restaurants ...)

 

That said, I just figured that it was the week for a member from either Robert's or Alex's team was to go -- in order to level the playing field. I think that Robert and Natasha are a couple made in obnoxious heaven (Hades) and I am eager for them to cross swords, now that the "distraction" of Jermaine is gone. They can turn on each other. I think that the man on Alex's team will be eliminated on Sunday's episode, but I hope I'm wrong.

 

Katie and Jeff annoy the eternal hell out of me. I got sick of Jeff's condescending delivery, "Well, you are home cooks," in his nasal Chicago accent, at every possible opportunity. (Hey, that's where everybody starts out!) Katie is not much better herself. I don't believe that she doesn't have any formal culinary training. Whenever she's on a live show with other FN hosts, her lack of skills and palate are glaringly obvious. I honestly don't think she'd be anywhere if it weren't for her brief marriage to Billy Joel.

[Wings]

[snip]

 

Katie and Jeff annoy the eternal hell out of me. I got sick of Jeff's condescending delivery, "Well, you are home cooks," in his nasal Chicago accent, at every possible opportunity. (Hey, that's where everybody starts out!) Katie is not much better herself. I don't believe that she doesn't have any formal culinary training. Whenever she's on a live show with other FN hosts, her lack of skills and palate are glaringly obvious. I honestly don't think she'd be anywhere if it weren't for her brief marriage to Billy Joel.

 

I agree!  And I will add Katie's voice is beyond bad. 

 

I think a mentor goes next week. They have a competition to do themselves.  I deleted it so I cannot go back and look at the preview and it is not online.  They mentioned diving the contestants into 2 teams, IIRC. 

[OoogleEyes]

The better question is why does The Food Network keep him around? .

I have the same question about the majority of TFN's "celebrities".

[NYGirl]

Oh no!!!!! Freaking Anna is back.  Now we have 2 cooks that we hate.  Just wonderful.  I'm thinking of taking this show out of my rotation.

 

Oh Natasha...bring up hurricanes?  Really?  It was only 11 years ago.  We were so close to getting rid of her... Ugh ugh ugh.

 

I hate that Curtis's guy left.. He seemed like a nice guy. Why does Alex still have 2 not so great chefs?

Edited March 14, 2016 by NYGirl

[LexieLily]

For a second I wanted whoever won the challenge to bring back Jermaine, just to see how he would perhaps with a mentor that didn't hate him. I noticed Robert didn't ever pretend to entertain the idea of bringing him back.

[NYGirl]

I betcha Robert would have brought back Anna for himself if he won.

[Psychobunny]

I like Alex the best so I hope they are changing teams permanently because she is stuck with two middle of the road chefs although they both seem very nice. I can't see them only changing teams for one challenge since why not just sabotage your new team? Curtis was the worst mentor because he basically only wanted to do what he wanted without much regard to his cook or the challenge.

Finally, I am not happy that Anna is back. She is clearly a better cook than Zoe but what I like about Zoe is that she seems so eager to learn new things while Anna only wants to make French dishes. My new drinking game is to take a drink every time she mentions French food or France or compares her food to a French dish. It's almost as if she doesn't realize that there are other types of food. If she wants to go to culinary school, it is my understanding that they now teach a lot more than classic French technique and more importantly, if you want to work in food service nowadays you need to have a more international background. She just seems determined to make something French and she acts like an expert on French food when she doesn't seem to know a lot of the basics (like with the choux-I've never made it and even I know that you have to heat it until it dries out before adding the eggs and that her texture was all wrong).

[hkit]

I betcha Robert would have brought back Anna for himself if he won.

He said flat out that he would. Not just once, but twice. Pretty gross.

Anna sure was an asshole upon return. Her attempts to monopolize Andrew's time were immature. I like how he shut her down during the mentoring time when she tried to cock block Zoe. But overall, Andrew needs to do a better job at spending equal time on his team. That's why he lost Anna in the first place.

After Andrew's comment that everyone really secretly wanted Anna, I'm over him. He can go. Team Alex for the win.

[NYGirl]

You know on hindsight I wish Robert would have won and picked Anna.  Just think of Anna and Natasha on the same team.  They would fight and cancel each other out!  The Bitch Team.

[Surrealist]

I'd be happy if Andrew's team was eliminated. I felt like both women were equally annoying. Neither bothered me as much the first time around, but I'm over them now.

 

"I want attention! I want attention! She's got all of his attention! I want him for myself!"

 

Shut up.

[Amarsir]

On a positive note, I was happy for Andrew. He felt guilty for Anna leaving, wanted his full team again, made a tough choice for the challenge (trail mix) and killed it. 

 

Although Anna may be the worst, I don't want to hear anyone talk about the angle of getting more mentor time. I get that it's an individual competition and coaching is an asset, but every one of them comes off as a spoiled kid when they talk about "getting more time with X for myself."  It's not doing the show any favors.

[Surrealist]

I'd love to see Natasha bounced already. I think she's the most obnoxious person. I hope that's not how she really is offscreen.

[cattykit]

Clearly for asshole Robert, it's all about him, not about his team, because all he cared about was himself winning, not about elevating the competitors.  Jermaine, you were fortunate to leave when you did.

 

Natasha is a fucking bitch.  Hate her.  I almost wish Anna had been brought back by Robert because then the two bitches would be on the same team.  Maybe Anna could have bought about five minutes worth of humility after her auf, instead of coming back the same arrogant fuck she was when she left.

 

So many props to Curtis for refusing to play the game--let his competitors pick their own ingredients instead of scheming.  And I'll miss the lovely Aussie accent.

 

Alex gets by every week--those two are never just the worst.

[mlp]

Robert and Natasha remain at the top of my hate list but Anna is closing in on them very rapidly.  She may be a great cook but she's self-centered and obnoxious.  And Zoe's reaction to Anna's return made her look pretty bad too.  The only ones left to like are on Alex's team.  I'm rooting for the dad whose name just escaped me.  Lee?