S11.E02: Savory Baking

[cattykit]

 

That's true, but Penny never came off as batshit crazy like Matthew did imo. 

And She Who Must Not Be Named was also careful not to show her nasty attitude in front of the judges.

 

Speaking of SWMNBN, Sita reminded me of her, completely, with "They call me Mamacita," just like "They call me the Middle Eastern mama."  They, of course, being the other voices in her head.

[shksabelle]

For some strange reason, I have a craving for plastic-wrapped cheese food slices. Anyone else??  ;-)

And, Michelle is a MOM, and she makes soup for her KIDS!

[Lamb18]

I forgot to say this before but I got a "red hots are for my Mommy" vibe from Matthew.

[SpottedCoachDog]

I'm thinking the judges did the usual thing where they give a one line critique of each of the bottom three before addressing the ousted contestant and we just didn't see it. It was a fast cut there. The whole last 15 minutes or so felt really rushed and poorly edited.

Very likely. I looked at the clock at three minutes to the hour and the elimination was just getting going.

[CMH1981]

I forgot to mention the "pork chop soup" moment b/t whatever contestant that was (i can't remember any contestants names) and Giada where she grinned her out till she confessed that she never made it before then yelled out that "HA" when she caught her in her lie.  Yes, she had never made "pork chop soup" before but so what, I mean she was thinking on her feet and made it work b/c everyone loved it.  I don't see why Giada needed to prove she was lying about making it before.  It wasn't that big a deal b/c she was confident about it going in and she sold it that it was one of her staples that she makes.  I forget, but isn't that what they want the contestants to achieve, stand behind their cooking and sell it to the audience?

Edited June 16, 2015 by CMH1981

[NikSac]

I'm still struggling with their names too, except for the ones who just won't let met forget. The one I remembered the most is gone (hooray!!!!!) and I'm just starting to get familiar with the ones that are left.

 

I thought that whole thing with Giada and the pork chop soup was weird. I mean if you liked it, who cares?  I do think it's a little off-putting for the chef to lie about it and say it's a staple she makes all the time, but other than that I thought it was fine.

[anonymiss]

Beast is a compliment but like most things it all depends on how you say it and who you say it to. If he was talking to the other contestants and said, "OMG Alex is here? She's a beast! She's amazing!" I think even the oldest ones there would understand what he meant. But just because he thinks of it as a compliment doesn't mean Alex would.

 

Sometimes a smug early 20s know-it-all at the start of their careers is just as asshole. No other explanation. He'll learn different or he'll have his attitude reinforced by time.

ITA. He's a typical entitled millennial who won CK and was flying high off of that. Giada didn't endear herself to me at all, though. I can't credit her for being a ginormous narcissist who threw her weight around at someone--especially a guy--who wasn't in awe of her.

 

I, for one, am disappointed Matthew's immaturity and arrogance will be depriving me of being entertained by him. As all the judges agreed, he is good to watch--either as a trainwreck or a coachable potential star.

[Lnmop]

Mr. Lnmop watched part of this with me (he was making dinner and just glancing at the TV from time to time) and when he saw Jah-dah bare her teeth, I mean smile he said "Whoa - I'd hate to be her dentist!

[jackjill89]

Is it just me, or does Jay give off a Lenny-vibe?  I thought so last week, and thought so even more this week.  Something about him, maybe just he's too rehearsed, or his facial expressions, I don't know.  He just gives me the creeps.

Completely. Someone last week mentioned Arnold having some Lenny mannerisms. I think it is Jay, and it is precisely the reason I don't like him. I don't want a large, bug-eyed, overly smiley guy talking to me about food. Much too reminiscent of Lenny. First thing I thought when I saw him and honestly, I was surprised so many people like him. Also surprised FN didn't see the Lennyisms right away.

[Snarklepuss]

I don't know, I'm not convinced that Matthew and his elimination were completely for real.  I picked him for a "fake" contestant from the beginning.  If FN knew him from CK they would know enough about him to never let him really compete for FN Star.  I think he was there for entertainment value and he was conscious of that, so he played it to the hilt.  He might still come back from the redemption competition but he's still only there for gags, IMO.  I think Lenny might have been their gag contestant last season, but he was so popular they let him have a chance, which they probably regretted in the end.  They won't make that mistake again.

 

I'm not getting the Jay/Creepy/Lenny vibe at all.  Jay is a sincere guy being himself, not an actor with a schtick.  The only thing similar to Lenny about him, IMO, is he comes off as sloppy.

 

I liked Eddie on MasterChef but is it me or is he looking even more fine on FNS than on that show?  Wowza.

 

I like Dom but my bones tell me he'll never make it.  I hope I'm wrong.  He reminds me of one of my Sicilian great-uncles when he was young.

 

Speaking of Sicilians, what Sicilian (even half Sicilian) in their right minds would put mayonnaise in any hot pasta dish?  I don't like Sita to begin with but that was just all kinds of wrong.  Rachael Ray must have needed a barf bag when she watched that.

[JTMacc99]

I think this would be one of those seasons where there is a pretty clear front-runner for the victory, but that doesn't mean I still can't have fun as we go through the process.  (Given that it really doesn't matter who wins.)

 

Jay is already so good on camera, his food is good, and the Louisiana angle is something that definitely sells.  We're only in episode two and they're already inventing reasons to make it look like he's struggling.  Bobby's "I'm going to challenge you" speech was essentially an extra credit project for the gifted student.  And the edit job of him saying the same thing over and over again was something to make it look like 1) Jay might be in trouble, and 2) that when Jay wins, they can show his "growth".

 

ITA. He's a typical entitled millennial who won CK and was flying high off of that. Giada didn't endear herself to me at all, though. I can't credit her for being a ginormous narcissist who threw her weight around at someone--especially a guy--who wasn't in awe of her.

 

I, for one, am disappointed Matthew's immaturity and arrogance will be depriving me of being entertained by him. As all the judges agreed, he is good to watch--either as a trainwreck or a coachable potential star.

Yeah, but that moment of "Smirk. I changed my mind. See ya punk." was almost certainly more entertaining than anything Matthew's petulance could have provided me over another 2-4 episodes. 

 

 

ETA: You know... I'm still mad at Lenny for getting his stink on Luca and Nicole to the point where they are probably never going to get a chance to be on Food Network, even though they were both nice to look at, and pretty good on camera. Now his stink is carrying over and getting on Jay, who as I noted is totally better at this than most of the other chumps and really doesn't seem like a bad guy at all.  Fucking Lenny sucks.

Edited June 16, 2015 by JTMacc99

[rasalas]

Am I the only one who thinks that the "surprise" twist of Giada changing her mind because of Matthew's smirk was totally scripted? It hit me as phony for a number of reasons, beginning with the fact that nothing spontaneous like that has ever happened in the history of this show.

 

If it were scripted, it would have been produced and edited better. For example, they wouldn't have had to subtitle Giada's comments to Bobby (because of unclear audio) about changing her mind, and the editing wouldn't have been so choppy. Those indicate that things didn't actually go as expected and the editors had to work with what they had.

[cooksdelight]

I would LOVE to know what happened during the elimination that left us with so little to watch except for Giada's bit and Matthew's exit. There has to be more that they cut, for whatever reason. Something was said or done that they don't want us to see.

OK, I'll go back to watching Unsolved Mysteries....

[Janimo]

As much as I disliked him and I'm ecstatic he's gone, I'll never dislike Matthew as much as I loathe last season's "winner." I think with Matthew, what you see is what you get..an obnoxious young asshole who thinks he knows more than anyone else. If/when I see Matthew again on another cooking show, I'm gonna have to remind myself of that. Matthew is no Lenny....thank goodness....but that's just my rambling about.

Gawd, I can't believe I'm typing this, and I never thought it would happen.... but I like Giada now......

[HyeChaps]

If only they could have held Jay back for a few "seasons".  His proximity to Lenny dooms him.  Similar physiques, friendliness and POV of cooking for a crowd.  He seems likable and genuine.  NOLA food would be a great basis for a program.  Sorry, Jay.  It's not your time.

[DollEyes]

 

In other news today Eddie is a bigamist due to this thread.

 

  Just call us "Eddie's Harem." ;)

[rab01]

I'm so happy that they got fed up with #douchetag faster than I did. But, I have to admit that casting him was actually a good idea. My kids enjoy watching Cutthroat Kitchen so I mentioned to them that the guy they hated was even more of a jerk on FNS and they immediately (a) didn't believe it was possible, (b) wanted to see it, and © spent most of the time enjoyably yelling at the TV. My 11-year-old didn't know what "mundane" meant but after I explained it to him, he was immediately offended on that lady's behalf. Obviously, I will do my best to avoid spoiling the end of this one for them.

 

I thought Giada's pork soup comment was actually being complimentary and being "present" as a judge - she could feel that this wasn't a dish that the contestant did a lot but the presentation was good and she said in essence that it was better that she could present a spur of the moment dish so comfortably.

 

I like Rue so far but she appears very young to me on camera. I think she would do well if she followed Kelsey's trajectory (i.e. not winning but staying with the network and eventually getting a Cooking Channel show). Anyone else get that kind of vibe from her?

 

I am 100% certain that Dom either (1) was cast by Food Network rather than applying, or (2) is way overplaying his stage fright so that he can show growth. There is no way that he can be terrible in front of crowds, in front of the camera, and in one-on-one (until he makes a connection with the other person) and have decided that television work was his goal in life.  I bet he's actually great at front-of-the-house type stuff and interacting with customers and strangers and friends.  To the extent he really has stage fright, it's got to be only the 30-second camera work. 

[Totale]

  Just call us "Eddie's Harem." ;)

 

Can someone open a window?  We've got several ladies coming down with the vapors all up in here ;)

[aradia22]

This is not a show that needs a villain and yet I'm kind of surprised Matthew is gone so quickly. There's no redemption/Last Chance Kitchen/whatever they call it nonsense this year, is there? As a recapper I'm a little sad I won't be able to make more jokes but as a viewer I am relieved. So far Eddie and Rue are emerging as my favorites. I don't know if anyone finds Michelle as annoying as I do but otherwise there's no one I dislike at this point now that Matthew's gone. I'm even kind of coming around on Emilia because I feel bad for her. Just smile. Why is that so hard for you?

[aradia22]

 

Arnold's table/food was the hit of the night....I know him from somewhere, wonder if he used to live or visit Philly.

He was on Top Chef.

 

Cita isn't her real name? Good God woman, calm down.

That freaked me out too. Are we never going to revisit this? Is she in witness protection? What is going on?

 

I will defend Matthew on one point. I thought Alex's reaction to being called a "beast" was odd. I think she would know what he meant and she also called Rosa a "regular old gal" like it was a compliment.

[cooksdelight]

There's no redemption/Last Chance Kitchen/whatever they call it nonsense this year, is there?

Yes, there is. We have a thread for it here in the forum, with a spoiler tag for those who want to be surprised.

[GaT]

This is not a show that needs a villain and yet I'm kind of surprised Matthew is gone so quickly. There's no redemption/Last Chance Kitchen/whatever they call it nonsense this year, is there? 

Yes, they're having Star Salvation again, I just don't know when it starts.

[dahling]

What was going on with the editing the last 10 minutes?  I've erased it off the DVR, but they came back from commercial break around 52:00 to get feedback from the pastry chefs, and there was this loud, distracting, very weirdly inappropriate background music playing over the segment - the kind of background music you usually hear on a cooking show when there's no dialogue and someone is just chopping/mixing/whatever. Then the segment abruptly ended after what seemed like 1 minute and then ANOTHER long commercial break and they didn't even start the elimination discussion til about 56:00. Then it was all choppy, as has been discussed upthread, and nothing followed the normal pattern and then suddenly #Matthew was gone. 

 

I'm not sure whether to call #shenaningans or #ineptitude. 

[JTMacc99]

I'm even kind of coming around on Emilia because I feel bad for her. Just smile. Why is that so hard for you?

Me too!

 

What kills me is that she smiles a little bit, speaks comfortably and interestingly, and is generally acceptable during the confessionals.  She's like a normal person in those segments, but she's not even close to any of those things when she's presenting.

[aradia22]

 

It was beyond ridiculous for the pastry chef to ask Michelle if she made the puff pastry herself. Yeah-- didn't they tell him they only had 90 minutes for the entire project?

Maybe it's just because I don't like her but I thought he was within his rights to ask. Her boreg had cheese in it and presumably some herbs but Alex said it needed vinegar or honey and Bobby said it lacked depth so if she didn't make the outer covering what was she doing for 90 minutes?

 

The editing seems to be very odd on this show -- when they told Eddie and Arnold they were safe, Bobby said "all of you can leave the studio" or something like that. Since when do two people constitute "all"?

I think that's just bad grammar. Padma does that on Top Chef sometimes and it makes me crazy.

 

The chef judge with the black shirt (what was his name?) was obnoxious.

I think you mean Kriss because I thought Jonathan Eng was alright as a judge. Kriss' favorite of the bunch was Eddie whom he called "okay." Wow, high praise.

[JTMacc99]

I'm not sure whether to call #shenaningans or #ineptitude. 

Maybe they intentionally edited to look like what really happened that day.  The story was going along, I'm sure the producers all talked with the judges and director and were pretty clear on what was going to happen.  Then the child smirked, Giada changed her mind, and the ending changed abruptly.  For whatever reason, they decided to use the choppy editing to tell the story that way.

 

It was a little strange, but it worked for me.  I enjoyed it.

[aradia22]

I forgot about this until I read it here. Can someone explain the biscuit/beignet thing to me? I don't care if it was canned but wouldn't the ratio of ingredients/consistency be different? Like, you can't use pancake mix to make a cake can you? Or crepe batter to make a souffle? Would his biscuit sausage taste anything like a beignet?

[cooksdelight]

Canned biscuit dough is very dense. When I've used it to make doughnuts with the kids in our family, they are almost cake-like when they come out of the fryer. Like Dunkin Doughnuts cakey, not light and airy like Krispy Kreme.

[LiveenLetLive]

 Bobby looks like he is just going through the motions this season. No energy or engagement at all.

 

 

Considering how many FN shows he is on, I'm surprised that he can even stand up.

 

 

"I'm a mom", right out of the gate.  Thanks Michelle, we knew you were going there. CONSTANTLY!  But I kinda like her.

 I like her better than Ms Corporatocracy, that is Melissa d'Arabian, who tried the "I'm a Mom" meme until her "Dead by suicide Mom" story seemed to work better (just ugh, can. not. stand, her. Can't Disney take her back?)

[Rick Kitchen]

I think you mean Kriss because I thought Jonathan Eng was alright as a judge. Kriss' favorite of the bunch was Eddie whom he called "okay." Wow, high praise.

 

OK, I thought his name was Kriss when I was typing that, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't want to name him for sure.

[leighdear]

 

Would his biscuit sausage taste anything like a beignet?

No, it actually would be nothing like a beignet.   They are crispy on the outside and almost hollow on the inside with a pronounced yeasty flavor.  Biscuits taste completely different.  He shouldn't have really even used the term beignet.  

[Clanstarling]

Such terrible cooking throughout. I still have an image of Cita's huge glob of mayo in her recipe (terrible product placement).

I love mayo. I love alfredo. The thought of the two together makes me ill.

 

ITA. He's a typical entitled millennial who won CK and was flying high off of that.

I would have to respectfully disagree with that. I raised two millennials, had tons of them in my home over the years, and currently work with a number of them. Not a single one of them is anywhere near as disrespectful or entitled in thought and action as Matthew. There have been a few douches in the batch - but just run of the mill douches as there are with any generation.

[Surrealist]

Matthew's highly annoying and acts entitled. I get that. On every FN show he's been on so far, he's behaved that way. Since I had seen him on those other shows, his personality doesn't bother me as much because I'm not expecting him to act differently.

 

That said the kid can cook pretty well and his dishes tend to be creative. Matthew's attitude needs a major overhaul and perhaps, that will come with age. However, I feel as if every cooking show contestant is equally attention seeking and thinks (s)he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now that Matthew's gone, someone else will replace him as the prick of the show. (Right now, Jay's reminding me a little too much of Lenny.)

 

I'm not suggesting that the judges weren't correct in 86'ing Matthew from the competition, but first and foremost, this show is about whether the contestants can actually cook well enough to warrant getting their own show (theoretically). Sita's nice and funny, but so far, the judges have panned her cooking skills. For me, this competition is about (1) food, then (2) personality. If you don't have great cooking skills, then having a nice personality doesn't amount to a hill of beans within the grand scheme of getting your own cooking show.

 

Almost every contestant starts out with minimal public speaking and camera skills. They're good cooks, but I don't expect any of them to be completely at ease when it comes to presenting themselves and their food on camera. The contestants who are uncomfortable on camera (usually) aren't kicked off for lacking presence, since if they're lucky enough to move forward, they gain confidence along the way. So long as their cooking skills remain steady.

 

The time constraints in these competitions don't allow the contestants to learn how to cook, which is (usually) why the lackluster contestants get dumped early on. As much as it pains me to say, I'd rather have the prick around for a few more episodes because he can actually cook, than the nice, funny woman who can't cook.

 

Then again, maybe a double elimination would have been the better idea.  ;-)

Edited June 17, 2015 by Surrealist

[aradia22]

 

The time constraints in these competitions don't allow the contestants to learn how to cook, which is (usually) why the lackluster contestants get dumped early on. As much as it pains me to say, I'd rather have the prick around for a few more episodes because he can actually cook, than the nice, funny woman who can't cook.

The cynical/experienced part of me thinks they might keep around the non-cooks hoping they'll still build fan bases in the audience. They might not win but if the Food Network lineup needs some new shows/hosts they can always step in for travel shows or those shows about people's favorite things to eat or competitions, etc. You don't need to cook well or win to eventually get a show.

[cooksdelight]

Everything you said, Surrealist, is why I think Arnold should be killing this. He's used to being on camera, and he's a really good chef. Maybe if he brings out Suzy Wong to present a dish, he might start to heat up the camera.

[Surrealist]

The cynical/experienced part of me thinks they might keep around the non-cooks hoping they'll still build fan bases in the audience. They might not win but if the Food Network lineup needs some new shows/hosts they can always step in for travel shows or those shows about people's favorite things to eat or competitions, etc. You don't need to cook well or win to eventually get a show.

 

I get what you're saying, but perhaps, those non-cooks belong in another competition on a different network competing to be "America's Nicest Person Who Also Has His/Her Own TV Show"?  ;-)

 

Besides, Matthew's already made the rounds on a few FN shows. I'm guessing he's well-known around the network that they continue to let him compete, instead of keeping him away because he behaves like an entitled ass. Matthew brings attention to the FN and from what I've seen on social media, he does have a sizable fanbase.

 

Scary, but true.

 

I don't know. Most of those professional chefs come across as arrogant snobs who act as if what they do is equal to saving lives or improving the world. It's just cooking. Matthew's one of many jerks on the network. Adding all these things together tells me that the FN couldn't care less if someone's a prick, so long as (s)he can cook his/her ass off.

 

The unfortunate reality is that few people remember the "nice guys/gals" on these competition reality shows. Since Matthew's gone, I wonder who will step into his role as the show's asshole.

 

cooksdelight- I like Arnold too. A few of them have good screen presence. Eddie (Jackson) is comfortable in front of the camera. Then again, he was also a contestant on MasterChef. If he can handle a competition with Gordon Ramsay as the head judge, I think he'll probably go pretty far in this competition.

 

I think Dominick is adorable and I'm pulling for him to get over his stage fright. He's a good cook. For a bit there, I would cringe when Dom would get in front of the camera, but if he lasts longer, I think his confidence level will rise. Someone with a similar problem projecting well on camera is Emilia. I know she comes across as stiff and her food seems OK, but I feel kind of sorry for her because I think "stiff" is just who she is. She's not particularly warm. I don't think she's a snob or unhappy. I think she might be more reserved than she should be for TV.

 

I want Rue to make African food for me everyday. In every episode, so far, I look forward to what she'll be making. Also, I was worried that Alex was going to bore me with the whole "Sandwich Guy" schtick. However, in this episode, I wanted to devour everything he made: fried rice and banhs. I enjoy various Asian cuisines.

 

Rose is self-deprecating and she can cook really well. I'm sure she'll make it to the very end.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Surrealist

[NikSac]

The cynical/experienced part of me thinks they might keep around the non-cooks hoping they'll still build fan bases in the audience. They might not win but if the Food Network lineup needs some new shows/hosts they can always step in for travel shows or those shows about people's favorite things to eat or competitions, etc. You don't need to cook well or win to eventually get a show.

 

I think about this too. I mean really, how often do you actually make anything that the TV cooks make?  The few times I have, I've modified it so much I'm not sure how close it was to the original recipe anyway.

 

I think The Kitchen is the only show I've watched where they were making super obvious mistakes frequently. but I don't follow any of the recipes that closely. The other shows seem kinda plausible, even if the recipes themselves don't seem great. Of course I'd rather have good chefs, but if I were hiring at FN I'd probably lean towards someone who was a good presenter.  Matthew's food did not seem good enough to me to have to put up with his horrible personality.

[JTMacc99]

I don't know. Most of those professional chefs come across as arrogant snobs who act as if what they do is equal to saving lives or improving the world. It's just cooking. Matthew's one of many jerks on the network. Adding all these things together tells me that the FN couldn't care less if someone's a prick, so long as (s)he can cook his/her ass off.

If we're guessing about what Food Network cares about, it's best not to stray too far away from what they actually sell: Advertising and Cable TV subscriptions.  Scripps makes about 2/3 of its revenue from the fees the cable and satellite companies collect from us for them every month and the other 1/3 comes from advertising. 

 

The rates they can charge for those two things are directly related to ratings.  Food Network Star has been their best performing prime time show for a long time now.  Food Network doesn't care if someone's a prick if that happens to be the reason people are watching this show.  As a matter of fact, it might actually be more valuable in terms of viewers for Food Network Star than is a person who can actually cook.

[cooksdelight]

*I moved some off-topic food show talk to Small Talk. Carry on!*

[Clanstarling]

I may be an exception, but Ina Garten really rubs me the wrong way. I'm not sure what it is, but I can't stand watching her. I feel the same about Ree, though for different reasons. Different tastes, I guess.

 

I prefer cooking chops over personality, myself. I'm not watching to be entertained, I watch to learn techniques, and I'm a visual person, so I need to see it done, not described. Which doesn't mean I don't like a nice personality. It is nice to have both. An irritating personality (no matter his/her kitchen skills) will keep me from watching a cooking show, but a bland personality -  won't. And as with everything else, mileage varies as to what is irritating and what is interesting.

 

* move mine to Small talk if you will. I was in the middle of writing this post when cooksdelight posted. I don't know how to do that (or even if I'm able to do that).

Edited June 17, 2015 by clanstarling

[OtterMommy]

I'm not suggesting that the judges weren't correct in 86'ing Matthew from the competition, but first and foremost, this show is about whether the contestants can actually cook well enough to warrant getting their own show (theoretically). Sita's nice and funny, but so far, the judges have panned her cooking skills. For me, this competition is about (1) food, then (2) personality. If you don't have great cooking skills, then having a nice personality doesn't amount to a hill of beans within the grand scheme of getting your own cooking show.

 

While I agree that cooking ability generally trumps personality on this show (as it should), I do think that an over-powering personality can veto fabulous cooking ability.  Let's face it, this show is about generating another show that people will want at food network.  Matthew (or even Penny before him) could have been the best chef on the planet, but if people hated his personality, they would never have watched the show and it would have been a bust for Food Network.  

 

The other issue is that, while Penny played the "villain" on her season, Matthew was really nothing but an immature and entitled kid...and who wants to watch that?  Not only does Food Network want to have a new show that will be successful, but they also want to make sure that people continue to watch this show and, even this early in the season, it was clear that Matthew could jeopardize that.

 

My DVR cut out in the middle of th elimination so I have no opinion on whether or not it was scripted (is there a video of just the elimination somewhere?).  If it was spontaneous, then yay on Giada.  If it was scripted, frankly I don't blame Food Network one bit.

[cooksdelight]

I moved past show contestant posts to the Past Show Alums thread. In case you can't find one. :)

[Gregg247]

Wait, Cita's real name isn't "Cita"?  Then why do people call her Mommacita?  She's not a mom, and she's not named Cita.  This makes no sense to me.  I guess she figures Mommacita sounds cooler than Miss Myra, or whatever her real name is.  So far, her food's not good, and her on-camera work is scattered.  I can see why she was targeted for elimination.

 

Matthew may be a good cook, but his rotten personality trumps his skills.  I've always found Bobby Flay to be a real jerk, but his cooking makes up for it.  He sure wins a lot of competitions; plus, he seems to lose gracefully.  Maybe when Matthew gets a few years older and he calms down, he'll be at the point where fans of good food can stomach his attitude.  Obviously, we're some years away from that.

 

I don't think Jay is doomed because he's "similar" to last year's winner, Lenny.  Lenny doesn't exist, according to TFN.  In fact, season 10 never even took place at all.  Oh, there were plans for a season 10, but it just never happened.  (Much like Windows version 9.0.)  Lenny who?

[anonymiss]

I've always found Bobby Flay to be a real jerk, but his cooking makes up for it.  He sure wins a lot of competitions; plus, he seems to lose gracefully.  Maybe when Matthew gets a few years older and he calms down, he'll be at the point where fans of good food can stomach his attitude.  Obviously, we're some years away from that.

Me too. I was 9 when he started on the network and even then he turned me off with his slickness. I do think Bobby might agree with your assessment and perhaps sees something of himself in him, which is why he brushed the smirking off, whereas G, and her unmatched ego, took it personally.

[mlp]

Lenny doesn't exist, according to TFN.  In fact, season 10 never even took place at all.

 

 

I was looking through a slide show today called something like "Behind the Scenes" of this season.  The last slide said "You might also enjoy:" followed by suggestions and the first one was...........................Lenny McNab.    :0 !!!

 

 

Edited to add - on the FN site.

Edited June 17, 2015 by mlp

[SpottedCoachDog]

Me too. I was 9 when he started on the network and even then he turned me off with his slickness. I do think Bobby might agree with your assessment and perhaps sees something of himself in him, which is why he brushed the smirking off, whereas G, and her unmatched ego, took it personally.

Bobby says "He's very immature" after Matthew starts smirking towards Sita. That's when Giada stops, looks at Bobby and asks if she can change her vote. Bobby also cited his immaturity in deliberations with Alex.

[TiffanyNichelle]

Me too. I was 9 when he started on the network and even then he turned me off with his slickness. I do think Bobby might agree with your assessment and perhaps sees something of himself in him, which is why he brushed the smirking off, whereas G, and her unmatched ego, took it personally.

Giada initially did not vote for Matthew to go home. She was with Alex for Sita to go home. Bobby was the one who was anti-Mathew and wanted him out. Then Matthew stormed in, smirked and basically showed his ass when he realized he was safe and Giada changed her vote and kicked him out.

 

I don't understand this insistence that the only reason Giada voted him off is because of her so-called ego or supposedly uncontrollable sexual lust for all men that come into her view.

[candall]

Rue is my favorite at this point.  I appreciate her unique food.  Anything that is not Italian I am all for!  Lets just cover everything in tomato sauce with a large portion of starch also covered in it.  To hell with health and good food, it's Italian! 

 

When can we go to dinner, Wings?  I used to live in DC, and with all the interesting restaurant choices, my best friend was vegetarian, lactose-intolerant and didn't want anything spicy.  Always with the Italian!

 

Rue made a kale and _____ dish that sounded DELICIOUS.  Suddenly kale seemed so exotic and yummy.

 

I watch this because I like competition shows, even though I'm not really very interested in cooking shows, but I would sit in front of Rue's show with a notepad and a Sharpie.

[anonymiss]

Giada initially did not vote for Matthew to go home. She was with Alex for Sita to go home. Bobby was the one who was anti-Mathew and wanted him out. Then Matthew stormed in, smirked and basically showed his ass when he realized he was safe and Giada changed her vote and kicked him out.

 

I don't understand this insistence that the only reason Giada voted him off is because of her so-called ego or supposedly uncontrollable sexual lust for all men that come into her view.

I know Bobby voted against Matthew. My point is G stopped mid-sentence aghast at Matthew's crime and needed to punish him for it, while Bobby simply chalked it up to, "He's just immature." 

Edited June 18, 2015 by anonymiss

[Pallida]

I am glad that Matthew is gone, but I completely understand reacting to the "as a mother let me tell you..." comment.  This might be because I am an intentionally childless woman, but I bristle when people assume that their motherhood gives them expertise in things that are not exclusive to raising a child.   It absolutely puts people into a hierarchy, and while I strongly believe it's important to learn from one's peers, Matthew was right that she was not one of the mentors.   

 

I would like to see Eddie shift toward a "healthy, tasty food" angle rather than anything to do with "cheating."  We have this cultural norm that healthy food is a restrictive, almost punitive, diet, and it really doesn't need to be.  His food has often seemed healthy and it sounded like it was quite tasty.  I wouldn't mind an occasional decadent splurge included, but I trust him to be able to put it in such a way that it's about being aware of what you put in your body and how to compensate if it's not "the best."  I also really like that he's not a "look at me I lost 200 pounds!" pseudo-inspirational story for healthy living.

 

I was quite nervous for Rue as she struggled making two dishes.  (I probably should have realized editing monkeys were all over that.)  I want to learn from her and be exposed to southern African food! I'm not sure that Food Network is the right venue for her, but if this show gets her onto the Cooking Channel or somewhere else where I can learn from her, I'll be extremely happy.