S14.E14: 5 Chefs Compete

[cooksdelight]

 

The Top 5 chefs must prepare small plates for diners attending a private symphony performance, with the winner receiving a helicopter tour of Los Angeles.

 

[joeyjoey]

Andi looks really, really really good dressed up.

[cooksdelight]

I'm glad Ramsay called out Milly, because I think he needed a reality check. I'm not sure why they are picking on Michelle, when Ramsay clearly thinks she's doing a good job.

Nick did improve and he did go a long way from when he started.

[Donny Ketchum]

Milly did a great job with the challenge.  A runaway fifty-five-percent vote?  Crazy!  And good that he shared the reward with T.  I knew he'd choose either her or Nick.

 

Michelle can be annoying, but I'm glad Ramsay rejected her nomination, because that was a bunch of ganging up bullshit.  Michelle knew it, and it was clear that Ramsay knew it, too.  But . . . is it the first time he's ever outright rejected a nomination?

 

Meghan, T, and Michelle all did fine jobs at the pass.  Milly was okay at the pass, but terrible at his station, and Nick floundered at both, so it was clear what was going to happen come elimination time.

 

I liked all of the F5, but Nick was the only one I merely liked, while I actually love Meghan, Michelle, Milly, and T.  So by that measure, I'm glad he was the one eliminated.  And rightfully so.  That effort at the pass and in the kitchen was simply dire on his part.  Milly faltered, too, and deserved his first nomination.  I thought he'd get the chop, too, along with the nomination until I saw Nick fuck up left and right all night.

 

I love this entire F4!  A UO, I know.  But that's how I feel!  I can't wait to see how next week shakes out!  I'd thought that any two of Meghan, Milly, and T would be the F2.  But with Ramsay's praise and defense of Michelle lately, it will not surprise me in the slightest if she takes one of the spots.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[cooksdelight]

I agree, Donny, I'm happy with this final four. They are all deserving. I had a soft spot for Nick after the way he'd been treated, but it was his time to go. I hope he does well wherever he works.

[Donny Ketchum]

Andi looks really, really really good dressed up.

She does, and I loved watching her and James snark on the chefs from their table.  I was amused that James had already expected Nick to struggle with the meat, and I actually was glad to see Andi expect Meghan to do well.  It's clear she respects her a lot.

[Lillybee]

Am I wrong for enjoying Milly and T as a couple.

[cooksdelight]

I think they've become good friends through this experience.

[Kromm]

Michelle may be annoying, but yeah... she's been a convenient target for them.

 

Her problems aren't ones that won't be shaken out by the time she has some actual age on her.  She'd make a lousy head chef now, but she'll still be several years younger than MOST of these idiots when she actually IS ready for that kind of job.

I love this entire F4!  A UO, I know.  But that's how I feel!  I can't wait to see how next week shakes out!  I'd thought that any two of Meghan, Milly, and T would be the F2.  But with Ramsay's praise and defense of Michelle lately, it will not surprise me in the slightest if she takes one of the spots.

Nah, she's got third place written all over her.  Or maybe fourth.  The surprise might be her beating either Milly or T-- but she won't beat BOTH of them and get second.  No way.

 

That said, she may be the rare loser Ramsey quietly gets a lower position for (not that the winner of the show isn't also in reality a lower position than advertised as well).

Meghan is a lock for the finale, since being a grump and bad with customers isn't something this show measures/weighs very much.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Kromm

[backformore]

This show drives me nuts with the repetitiveness. After each commercial break, the narrator has to summarize what just happened before the ads. It was nothing earth-shattering the first time, there is no reason to repeat it.

[niklj]

My favorite part was when Gordon asked them why they chose Michelle and all they could come up with was "Uh...she's not very good at communicating with us." I love how he said that vote made them all look terrible.

 

I wonder why they chose not to focus on how Meghan did as sous chef, even when they swapped stations it was just, "Get on apps and switch with T, Meghan." Should we just assume that she did so well that it was unremarkable, like if Chef Andi or Scott were there?

 

Man, did Nick crash and burn. That was just sad.

[Mama No Life]

Milly did a great job as sous chef, which saved him.  I like him a lot.  I really, really liked that the rest of them made this pretentious food for the challenge and he banged out some hush puppies and won in a runaway.  Though I enjoy his friendship with T I thought it was shitty that she had the worst dish and still got to go on the adventure. 

 

Michelle is annoying. She has that personality that is always going to make it hard for her to have control of a kitchen. She's also a total space cadet.  Better than Nick, yes, but not by much.  I loved it when Ramsey called her out on the huffing and puffing....she does that all the time.

[BogoGog24]

A bit OT but does anyone else think Milly draws parallels to Julia from S3? Both made it very far in the competition while not having as much culinary education as the others and relied on simple, comfort food for challenges rather than fine dining. But like Julia, I don't see Milly making it any higher than third place.

[ari333]

Peeve nitpik, but isn't it the Dr. who is named Frankenstein? Not the monster?

Hated Milly referring to himself in third person. "Whatever Milly cooks is good" ... as in Bob Dole's "Vote for Bob Dole" or Seinfeld's George, "George likes spicy chicken!" .."George is gettin' upset!" 

 

Nick and Meghan bug me and IDK why.... or maybe I do know, in part, why. For starters: Nick: "This is a lot of effing peppercorns. This is horrible. Smell that. It gives me a headache. My fingers are too big. This is hard. I'm hungry" in that WHINE voice that drives me cray. It seems to me that there have been way worse "punishments" than separating and grinding peppercorns. Meghan: " I took 2nd place; Millie should have picked me." No, Millie won and should have chosen whoever he wanted with him during his reward. Sheesh.

 

In that voting challenge they should have just let the people vote for the food without divulging which chef prepared it. Blind vote. imo.

I thought T had perhaps nailed it by choosing lobster, but she put it with cheese?, so... no.

Ramsay's pronunciation of UCLA - "YOU-see-LAY" [/nit]

 

IDK how much beard hair actually falls out, but it grosses me out standing over/preparing food. Might as well put on a tank top and forego the head hairnet while you're at it.

 

I kind of love T and I like little bullied underdog-esque Michelle. However, her, "hurry up. guys! Pick it up!" I wanted to punch her and I'm not even there and I don't punch people.

 

T didnt' mention that she is "mad afraid of heights" until she was in the chopper. I wouldn't have mentioned it either.

 

I giggle snorted at Charro's, "Theece is a weener" (this is a winner)

 

Nick cracked me up. "How long on the lamb, real talk." 

I must mention Nick and T and the unheard call about the 13 minute lamb. What did T mean with the " I JUST called the 'all day' for you. " WHAT IS ALL DAY?? [/tm Alison?] Wow, Nick was not in the weeds. He was in the pants-on-fire, maximum screaming nightmare weeds from hell.

 

OK I'm an ass.

Edited May 27, 2015 by ari333

[mlp]

When they get down to the last 5 or 6 people, Gordon should scrap the charade of telling them to choose two to nominate for expulsion, especially when he's already decided who he's going to axe.  All that does is cause more friction - which may be the point I guess. 

 

I hope Michelle goes next.  She's juvenile and her high-pitched screeching and her smirking at others' misfortunes make me want to slap her.  Meghan isn't much better but she does seem to know what she's doing.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Michelle can be annoying, but I'm glad Ramsay rejected her nomination, because that was a bunch of ganging up bullshit.  Michelle knew it, and it was clear that Ramsay knew it, too.  But . . . is it the first time he's ever outright rejected a nomination?

 

Fairly sure there have been various examples where teams have sent a bad choice up because bitterness against the one sent or because they didn't want to expose someone well-liked to elimination or similar BS reasons, and Ramsay has either added someone he felt should be nominated along with the two picks or sent the bad choice back in line and replaced the person with someone he felt should have been named in the first place.

 

Am I wrong for enjoying Milly and T as a couple.

 

I think T mentioned having a girlfriend, but I could be wrong. 

[cooksdelight]

I think T mentioned having a girlfriend, but I could be wrong

She did mention her girlfriend.

[Rammchick]

I must mention Nick and T and the unheard call about the 13 minute lamb. What did T mean with the " I JUST called the 'all day' for you. " WHAT IS ALL DAY?? [/tm Alison?] Wow, Nick was not in the weeds. He was in the pants-on-fire, maximum screaming nightmare weeds from hell.

 

 

ari333, "all day" means the number of any one item.  So if it's 4 beef wellington all day, that means that there are 4 ordered in total, from several tables all together. 

[Eolivet]

Well, at least Nick outlasted Josh.

 

I actually thought Michelle was a legitimate nomination, and was really annoyed at Ramsay's disappointed daddy routine just because this week, he decided to change the meaning of the criteria. It's always "Come up with two individuals that you want off your team." But he decides what he wants that to mean at seemingly every elimination, usually in a way that makes the contestants look bad.

 

If the contestants nominate a contestant based on this evening's service, and they've had good performances in the past, Ramsay disbelievingly asks "So you think (X) is the weakest person on your team?"

 

If the contestants nominate a contestant based on past performance, and they had a good service this evening, Ramsay disbelievingly asks "So you think (X) had a worse service than (Y)?"

 

I'd wager money that Ramsay just wanted to act shocked and disgusted, no matter what, and if they'd nominated Milly, he'd have switched out his "So you think Michelle had a bad service?" shocked and disgusted lament with "So you think Milly is the weakest chef on your team?"

 

Sorry, Ramsay -- the contestants playing in the rigged game aren't the ones for whom I feel shock and disgust.

[Surrealist]

I'm glad Ramsay called out Milly, because I think he needed a reality check. I'm not sure why they are picking on Michelle, when Ramsay clearly thinks she's doing a good job.

Nick did improve and he did go a long way from when he started.

 

I haven't kept up on this show's thread. Ugh.

 

However, I wondered the same thing. I've seen every episode and I can't figure out why Michelle generates so much hate from the others. Out of all the seasons I've watched, she doesn't even rank among the Top Ten Most Annoying Hell's Kitchen contestants.

 

I think I'm on Team Milly right now.

[Jersey Guy 87]

When they get down to the last 5 or 6 people, Gordon should scrap the charade of telling them to choose two to nominate for expulsion, especially when he's already decided who he's going to axe.  All that does is cause more friction - which may be the point I guess. 

 

 

Part of having them nominate two people is to increase friction, part of it is to see what kind of judgements they are making.  And by nominating Michelle they failed in the judgement department.  Yeah, she's annoying but she hasn't screwed up a service in a major way and she's cooked reasonably competently.  Nick and Milly completely flailed at this service and were the ones who deserved to go up.

 

However, I wondered the same thing. I've seen every episode and I can't figure out why Michelle generates so much hate from the others. Out of all the seasons I've watched, she doesn't even rank among the Top Ten Most Annoying Hell's Kitchen contestants.

 

Michelle is younger than the other contestants and she's got a somewhat annoying, high-pitched voice.  I don't think it justifies a high level of hate, but I don't think the dislike for Michelle by the others is as bad as the dislike for some previous contestants has been.

 

Overall, I think this is one of the more competent final fours we've had in a while.  I think Meghan is a lock for final two but I could see any of the other three making it next to her.

 

I was surprised to see Charo as one of the diners - I had completely forgotten about her existence some time around 1980.

[cooksdelight]

Michelle is younger than the other contestants and she's got a somewhat annoying, high-pitched voice. I don't think it justifies a high level of hate, but I don't think the dislike for Michelle by the others is as bad as the dislike for some previous contestants has been.

Remember Mary? Same annoying voice, young and not very experienced (I think she was a butcher) but she kept improving and Ramsay saw something in her. She made final two. And in hindsight might have been a better winner, since the girl who won failed the drug test -- badly -- and never worked a day for Ramsay.

[ari333]

Remember Mary? Same annoying voice, young and not very experienced (I think she was a butcher) but she kept improving and Ramsay saw something in her. She made final two. And in hindsight might have been a better winner, since the girl who won failed the drug test -- badly -- and never worked a day for Ramsay.

 

Replying in Former Contestants.

Edited May 28, 2015 by ari333

[cooksdelight]

Replying in Former Contestants.

[Surrealist]

Michelle is younger than the other contestants and she's got a somewhat annoying, high-pitched voice.  I don't think it justifies a high level of hate, but I don't think the dislike for Michelle by the others is as bad as the dislike for some previous contestants has been.

 

Overall, I think this is one of the more competent final fours we've had in a while.  I think Meghan is a lock for final two but I could see any of the other three making it next to her.

 

I concur that the pitch of Michelle's voice would grate on my nerves after a while. I just felt as if their hatred toward her was especially ramped up in this episode. I knew Gordon would call them out for putting her up on the chopping block.

 

I agree that Meghan will be one of the finalists. I think the other finalist will be Milly or T. I don't see Michelle making it to the Final Two, unless she really blows away her competition in the next episode.

[Kromm]

The disappointing thing is that we heard (which means likely there were far more instances we didn't hear) several of the contestants diss Michelle based on her size. Calling her stuff like "a yippy little dog" and the like (there were variations over several episodes that all boiled down to the same thing).

 

She did seem truly annoying in that clip a few episodes ago where she kept pestering everyone to help her find something in the dining room (was it a power outlet? I forget...), but usually they'd simply resented any time she's tried to do the usual thing they ALL eventually try to do--try to steer a service with an overt attempt at directing/coordinating the others.  It all came down to them fuming over someone who's admittedly barely not a child seemingly telling them what to do.

[Donny Ketchum]

She did seem truly annoying in that clip a few episodes ago where she kept pestering everyone to help her find something in the dining room (was it a power outlet? I forget...)

That wasn't Michelle in that episode.  That was Sarah.  And I think it was in her boot episode.

[Donny Ketchum]

I actually thought Michelle was a legitimate nomination, and was really annoyed at Ramsay's disappointed daddy routine just because this week, he decided to change the meaning of the criteria.

She really wasn't, though.  Aside from one tiny slip-up at the beginning of the service, she didn't really do anything wrong.  Plus, the reason Meghan gave for her nomination was so weak, there was no way Ramsay was going to go for it, and I think Meghan had a feeling he wouldn't, either.  She knew Milly was the one who had to go up, but she was too into protecting him to realize that.

[Eolivet]

I agree, Michelle didn't deserve to go based on that night's service -- my point was Ramsay often accepts nominations based on consensus about "the weakest players on the team." I think Meghan and T could've legitimately argued Milly is a stronger chef than Michelle -- not that night, of course, but overall throughout the competition. I thought Michelle was being nominated for ostensibly the same reasons they kept nominating Josh (save Josh's sexist tool...ism): collectively, the remaining chefs feel they cannot work with him/her.

 

Ramsay accepted their reasoning in one case, and got up on his high horse in another. Hence, my irritation at the ever-changing criteria. Is it the weakest chefs overall or the weakest chefs that day? I don't think Ramsay can (or should be able to) have it both ways.

[BogoGog24]

I think that it depends on what stage of the competition they're at. In the early rounds it makes more sense to base it on individual services. By black jackets, it should be an overall track record. At least that's what I think.

[Donny Ketchum]

I agree, Michelle didn't deserve to go based on that night's service -- my point was Ramsay often accepts nominations based on consensus about "the weakest players on the team." I think Meghan and T could've legitimately argued Milly is a stronger chef than Michelle -- not that night, of course, but overall throughout the competition. I thought Michelle was being nominated for ostensibly the same reasons they kept nominating Josh (save Josh's sexist tool...ism): collectively, the remaining chefs feel they cannot work with him/her.

 

Ramsay accepted their reasoning in one case, and got up on his high horse in another. Hence, my irritation at the ever-changing criteria. Is it the weakest chefs overall or the weakest chefs that day? I don't think Ramsay can (or should be able to) have it both ways.

 

I think that it depends on what stage of the competition they're at. In the early rounds it makes more sense to base it on individual services. By black jackets, it should be an overall track record. At least that's what I think.

Except in this case, Ramsay specifically said that he was judging based on that night of service.  I imagine that, yes, he might've liked to have judged based on cumulative performance at this stage, but I think Nick and Milly fucked up enough times that he couldn't overlook it and instead wanted to go by the current night (and also see if the other chefs did indeed use logic and not emotion in making the nominations).

[Totale]

Finally caught up last night.  Did not Michelle leave her fish station in disarray, so Milly couldn't find anything when he took over which put him in trouble?  Not quite as dire as Nick wasting all the meat, but up there.  I assumed between that and her annoying voice she'd be the other nominee.

[Kromm]

Finally caught up last night.  Did not Michelle leave her fish station in disarray, so Milly couldn't find anything when he took over which put him in trouble?  Not quite as dire as Nick wasting all the meat, but up there.  I assumed between that and her annoying voice she'd be the other nominee.

What we actually heard was Milly complain he couldn't find something. That doesn't necessary mean it was Michelle doing something wrong. It could have simply been Milly being dense and not looking somewhere that made sense, or him being too proud (because he's got a big ego) to call over to her and say "Michelle, where did you put the..." Edited June 2, 2015 by Kromm

[OhioSongbird]

Not surprised Nick went....called it halfway thru.  He's good but had several lousy services.

T&Milly for the final two.  Megan is good but too abrasive (tho that describes GR to a T *no pun intended*.  Hubby can't stand him--I love him).    Michelle is good but she needs to take it down a notch.  She can't help it...even tho vocal training is available.  Just drop it an octave or two.  I couldn't listen to her all service.  Use your inside voice.

 

Did a happy dance when Josh left....good riddance.....

 

Really looking forward to tonight.