S11.E03: Trendy Dinner

[Bella]

I wish the women were stronger, but they're not. We need a redemption arc ASAP, or it's going to be all men in the last few episodes.

 

And I am predicting a redemption arc because TPTB would take into account the demographics and realize ... Oh, wait, this is Food Network. The same outfit that failed to vet Lenny last year. They don't know WTF they're doing. Never mind.

[Jesse]

Melissa was poised and cooked good food during her season, Michelle is not.  Michelle grates on my last nerve.  And why doesn't she pull back that mop of hair when she is cooking?

 

Speaking of hair, I was dying when the sandwich guy kept putting his hair behind his ears and then going right back to slicing crudo. It was nasty on both sides! Hair in the fish AND fish in the hair! Bleh. I'm not saying they need to wear hairnets and gloves on TV, but don't be less sanitary than the average home cook!

[GeorgiaRai]

Dom is good with people when he's comfortable - I like his sense of humor and his food.  I liked that they went with the guys v. girls because to do anything else is awkward and can cause (unneeded) drama.  I have seeing people not get chosen (or get chosen last).  And I preferred no presentation theme over the  Sexy Food theme which, in a perfect world, would've died with Penny. and her stilettos.

 

The order in which I would consider watching a show by any of the remaining contestants:

 

9. Jay

8. Emilia

7. Michelle

6. Alex

5. Eddie

4. Rosa

3. Arnold

2. Rue

1. Dom
 

[DollEyes]

  Since Sita referred to herself in the third person, how appropriate it was that she was the third person eliminated. Whatever, I'm glad she's gone.

 

 Dom's getting more confident every week. He still gets nervous, but his chicken looked great.

 

Rosa's burnt fennel looked bad and probably tasted worse, hence her being in the B3. Hopefully, she'll be the next to go.

 

I think Arnold's adorable and his dessert looked delicious, but his not knowing what "incendiary" is nor how to say it hurt him.

 

Re Jay, if that gumbo is any indication, he needs to spend way less time believing his own hype and more time backing it up.  

 

Hated seeing Eddie's bottom in the bottom. ITA that he should've put the burnt orange slices in the salad. Hopefully this will be just the wake-up call he needs.

Edited June 22, 2015 by DollEyes

[ari333]

This sounds bitchy so forgive me. I loathe Jah-da. I hate her name. [/shallow] I hate her teeth. And WTH? She says, "You have 30 minutes to cre-ATE (pull back lips and expose all teeth) and PLATE (pull back lips again and expose all teeth again.) " She just makes me sick.

Note to self: Get a life.

 

I cant stand Rosa either for that matter. Glad Sita or whatever her name is - is gone.

Flove me some Eddie and I like Dom and Rue.

[GeorgiaRai]

... Sita referred to herself in the third person

 

(Even after telling us her name isn't really Sita.)  Guess the third time really is a charm! 

[ari333]

Something that is a little slimy but super delicious is molokheya, an Egyptian/ Arabic spinach-like soup with jute and garlic and OMG delish!

Sammy sandwich dude really didnt' think to leave the top bun off the slider REALLY?

I was screaming for Sita to STFU the whole time. Stop screaming. Sheesh.

Incendiary seemed the easiest category to me though. Next would be stinky what with cheeses and what not. Although raw is not difficult either. imo. 

[ari333]

To me, incendiary is not "spicy." It means fire to me.... like flames.  Some posters mentioned dishes upthread that would have fit perfectly.

 

Agreed Rue should have been given credit for the octopus thing. And DEAR GOD! (Frasier voice) Michelle said "eggplant tentacles" WTF? Seriously? Was she high? She can go prontitio and take Rosa with her. Buh bye

 

Did Jay use canned okra? Surely not. IDK; I didn't see that part in detail.

Edited June 22, 2015 by ari333

[cooksdelight]

No, I think Jay used fresh okra, as I seem to remember seeing him chop it up. But I've never ever in my lifetime of living in the south seen gumbo look like brown doo-doo glue paste.

I think no one there knew what incendiary meant. They all thought it meant hot, spicy. Not flaming. My God, what a missed opportunity.

[AnnaBaptist]

I'm surprised that the production crew did not notice that Rue's bra was showing out of the front of her dress in the final scene. I wanted to reach through the screen and adjust her dress.

[ari333]

Some people make soupy gumbo and flove it. Some folks make thick gumbo.... and flove it. I get that since I've had it both ways and - looks aside - both were delish.

 

I was so waiting for Arnold to say, "incinerator." heh

[bluepiano]

Sita was a disaster from the get-go. Wonder how she could've even been chosen to be on the show. (But then I've thought that about a lot of contestants over the years.)

 

The disparity between the cooking chops of the men and women is huge. Based on what we've seen, there probably isn't one woman who's as good a cook as any of the men. The men all seem to be pros in the kitchen. The women seem to be home cooks. My sense of Michelle is that while her kids are off at school she fills up her day by cooking and posting pictures of her food on the internet. Hence, she's a "food blogger."
 

I don't get what the judges see in her. A different contestant might've gotten raked over the coals for saying "eggplant tentacles," and lectured abut their lack of authority. But she wins the challenge.

 

Apparently the strategy on the women's team was that they'd win if they just said "sexy" enough times. What's "sexy" is the ultimate YMMV, but for me, in connection with "slimy," "stinky" etc. it was just yucky.

 

I'm tired of Jay. I want someone to talk to me. Not yell at me. He is not coaching sports anymore. He yells the way some ex-jocks who do TV sports commentary do, which I always find annoying. It's television.  Use your inside voice. Also tired of his ego. Whatever the subject, he's always the best at it. And as someone else posted, his cooking does not back up the big talk. Of all the men, he's probably the most uneven.

 

Arnold was really restrained on this show. Which I actually kind of liked. There's no doubt, based on what we've seen, that he's a great cook. If food authority was really the criteria for winning this show, he's been a lock for at least final two.

 

Edited June 22, 2015 by bluepiano

[Gregg247]

I've never really liked Giada, but the heavenly glow she received from her last-minute cut of Matthew last week was still with her this week.  She didn't bug me at all!

 

"50 Shades of Flay" was pretty funny, and you could tell the judges got a kick out of it, too.

 

Normally, the girls vs. boys thing is silly and juvenile, but this time, it made a lot of sense.  All of the guys have rated higher than all of the women so far this season, so Dom made a good call.

[Uncle Benzene]

Some people make soupy gumbo and flove it. Some folks make thick gumbo.... and flove it. I get that since I've had it both ways and - looks aside - both were delish.

 

But gumbo never, ever looks like pasty, gloppy chicken gravy. Jay screwed it up, he knew it and acknowledged it. I probably would have screwed it up too, because the second I heard the word "slimy" I was all "Yep, Jay's got this. Okra gumbo for the win." It was only later when I reconsidered, if only because it takes the better part of an hour just to make a proper brick roux for a gumbo. He just didn't have enough time to do it right. That beige chicken gravy looking mess he ended up with was because he rushed his roux. I think Jay did exactly what I did while watching, he went with the obvious choice and didn't think it through enough to realize he didn't have enough time to properly execute it until it was too late. (Either that, or it was the first sign that he's not nearly as good a cook as he's looked until now. But I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt for the time being.)

 

I laughed out loud when Opie put the buns on. "Who told you to put the buns on?!? I didn't tell you to put the buns on! Why did you put the buns on?!?"

 

Raw beef just isn't my thing, and neither is bone marrow, for that matter. But I've seen enough foodie/cheffy shows to know that the ONLY reason Rue's dish wasn't the best of the day was because it wasn't 100% raw, which is a valid objection given the parameters of the challenge. And Zakarian did offer the dreaded "underseasoned" criticism, which isn't surprising from him, but is also a valid complaint. But I still think that was 99% loss on a technicality.

 

I've got a hunch that Eddie's performance this week was almost completely a function of the producers needing to tell us "See??? He's TOTALLY not a lock to win this! Seriously, trust us! Eddie could totally lose any week now, so stay tuned!"

 

"Hey, let's put the drag queen on dessert, because of course!" Bad. 

Arnold totally killed the shit out of that dessert. Good.

 

The "burnt fennel" was RAAAAAAW! LOL

 

Sita was totally the right call. Apparently she can't cook for shit.

[joanne3482]

I just assumed when Emilia made that remark about her "fiery" personality, she was joking with the judges.  A nod to their previous comments about her stoic demeanor.

 

I could buy that except in a previous episode she called herself edgy which she doesn't strike me as being. I am also not positive she has a sense of humor.

[xaxat]

"50 Shades of Flay" was pretty funny, and you could tell the judges got a kick out of it, too.

 

 

Given the gossip leading up to Bobby's divorce, I was wondering how awkward that comment was in real life.

 

I laughed.

[KHenry14]

This one of the dumbest challenges I've seen on this series. Those categories aren't cute, they are just stoopid. And no one winning is just a cop out. With that said, the bottom line is that they got rid of the right person. Sita had no chance of winning, and her still being around was annoying. 

[cooksdelight]

Given the gossip leading up to Bobby's divorce, I was wondering how awkward that comment was in real life.

 

I laughed.

Filming began in mid-January, running until mid-March. I was on the waiting list to be at the final taping of the Los Angeles shows on March 8, before they moved the final stuff to NYC. Cannot remember when the news broke of either divorces, but throwing that out there so you can discuss it in Bobby's thread. :)

[leighdear]

The problem I had with Jay's gumbo is that gumbo is not slimy, but cooked okra can be.  The act of adding cut okra to a gumbo base usually removes most of the slimyness from the okra itself by incorporating the mucilage and helping to thicken the gumbo base nicely.    Now if he had cut up and sauteed or boiled the okra, it would have been appropriately slimy.  

 

And since okra originally came from Africa, how come Rue didn't jump right on it?  Something about her just doesn't sit right with me but I can't explain it. 

[xaxat]

When they started talking about slimy, smelly, sticky, raw was anyone else thinking. . . natto!

[kstar821]

No, Michelle, slimy is not sexy, not in the least. I agree Cooks, I don't like Michelle and Rosa. I can't put my finger on why.

 

 

I can't stand Michelle because all I see when I look at her is Kim Kardashian.  That's enough of a reason for me.

[Surrealist]

I just assumed when Emilia made that remark about her "fiery" personality, she was joking with the judges.  A nod to their previous comments about her stoic demeanor. 

 

I absolutely thought Eddie's scallop photo should have been the winner.  It was perfect.  But that would have messed up his "arc". 

 

And the stinky/burned/incendiary crap is just some pretentious, hipster "foodie" need to throw something new into the culinary scene.  Stinky is the new kale.

 

I, too, assumed that Emilia was poking fun at herself because the judges think/thought she is a bit too stiff. Emilia's growing on me, actually. I don't think she'll end up as one of the finalists, but I'd like to see her go far in this competition. And let down her guard a bit more.

 

I'm not much of a dessert fan, but Emilia's and Arnold's desserts sounded delicious.

 

I can't believe Eddie didn't win the challenge, but he messed up on his salad. I'd say he didn't deserve to be in the bottom, but he didn't follow through on the challenge instructions. His was hardly the worst dish out of that bunch.

 

Food trends . . . I can't with those.

[anniebird]

 

A different contestant might've gotten raked over the coals for saying "eggplant tentacles," and lectured abut their lack of authority. But she wins the challenge.

I thought it was an obvious slip of the tongue, not a reason to get raked over the coals.

[WickedTuna]

If that's what trending in food right now I'm glad we're usually the last to embrace the trends.

Robo Chef is known for her fiery personality? Where at…the coma ward at her local hospital? She says she's a blogger but I couldnt find one for her. But then I suck at googling.

Shallow note: Rue is beautiful with her hair down.

[Gregg247]

When Emilia said she had a fiery, edgy personality, I knew exactly what she meant.  

 

If you asked her friends/aquaintances/co-workers, they would substitute in the words "prickly" and "defensive" for "fiery" and "edgy", though.  "Short-tempered" might make the cut, as well.  I've worked with a lot of people over the years who remind me of Emelia; I would NOT watch a show that she hosted.

[JTMacc99]

Michelle is Melissa d'Arabian Jr.  I can't stand her.

I don't get Melissa d'Arabian at all.

 

I get Amy Duncan, the mom from Good Luck Charlie.

[Surrealist]

Jay's gumbo looked like something I scoop out of my cat's litter box when they've gotten into the greens.

 

Ha! As a cat owner/lover, this cracked me up because it's so true.

 

Jay's starting to grow on me, but his gumbo looked like (as Gordon would say) a dog's dinner.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Surrealist

[JTMacc99]

I think Jay did exactly what I did while watching, he went with the obvious choice [okra] and didn't think it through enough to realize he didn't have enough time to properly execute it until it was too late. (Either that, or it was the first sign that he's not nearly as good a cook as he's looked until now. But I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt for the time being.)

I think you are dead on with that assessment. I think he assumed that he probably could pull it off in 45 minutes followed by, "Nope" was exactly what happened.  And when I assess what he did when that happened, I come to the conclusion that he's three steps ahead of the "I don't know what incendiary means" group and at least a step ahead of the rest of them. 

 

Realizing that he was about to serve substandard food, Jay consciously put all his eggs in the presentation basket. He sold the hell out of that dish, even though he knew it was crap, and that got him tons of points. Because that is precisely what a good TV chef needs to do. Something may not come out exactly right when they are filming or doing a demonstration, but the show needs to go on.  Nobody wants to watch a person pout or say "wow, this food I just showed you how to make kind of sucks because I had to hurry it up for the camera, but if you take your time, it'll be better. I promise."

 

And I'm going to give him benefit of the doubt as well because I still think he's a mortal lock for the final three, and I don't want to get too down on a guy who isn't going anywhere.

 

This one of the dumbest challenges I've seen on this series. Those categories aren't cute, they are just stoopid. And no one winning is just a cop out. With that said, the bottom line is that they got rid of the right person. Sita had no chance of winning, and her still being around was annoying. 

I disagree about this being one of the dumbest challenges in this series. The categories were definitely stupid, but the actual challenge wasn't so bad. The contestants simply had to pick one and come up with something that they could cook well that somewhat fit the description.  They didn't even force a specific one each contestant by drawing cards or something like that. They had some say in the matter and could argue with the others to hopefully get something they could use.  The judges backed me up on that when they tossed around ideas like "Stinky is just blue cheese pasta." or "Octopus for slimy was a great idea."  It seems like it shouldn't have been that hard.

 

And this is just me, but I'd hesitate to use the word dumbest to describe anything in the history Food Network Star due to the implications of what that means. That's like casually tossing around a statement like, "It was the funniest skit in the history of Saturday Night Live" or "It was the worst death I ever saw on Game of Thrones."

[lavenderblue]

This is Emilia's primary blog (linked off her Twitter page), which gives a little more clarity on her "edgy" or "saucy" self-references but also isn't what I'd consider a traditional food blog so she may have some account I haven't located: Tinder Dinners

 

As far as the episode itself goes, Michelle only made things worse for me when she turned it into "eggplant testicles" in her talking head. It was certainly an error in the presentation, but I think if it were a contestant for whom they had less affection they'd absolutely have used it as a strike against her. 

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Agreed Rue should have been given credit for the octopus thing. And DEAR GOD! (Frasier voice) Michelle said "eggplant tentacles" WTF? Seriously? Was she high? She can go prontitio and take Rosa with her. Buh bye

 

 

And then in her talking head, she called them eggplant testicles.  Or octopus testicles, I can't remember,

 

I wonder if Michelle will ever cook Armenian food.

[cooksdelight]

I wonder if Michelle will ever cook Armenian food.

Only if there is an offal challenge and she gets the business end of a bull. I'd love to see her whip up Armenian testicles.

[Skyfall]

Yes. THIS. And the next challenge will include horseback riding. :)

Have you seen Southern At Heart and The Pioneer Woman? Horseback riding is quickly becoming a thing on Food Network. xD

Edited June 22, 2015 by Skyfall

[Vixenstud]

Predicting it now….Dom, Eddie and Jay will be final three.  Then it will be Dom against Jay and Dom will win.  Anywho, I’m glad Dom’s finally getting some personality ‘cause the nervousness every…single…presentation is annoying. 

 

Vixenstud is glad for Sita’s elimination, because Vixenstud could no longer take Sita talking about herself in the third frickin’ person! 

 

Eddie – I was glad he was in the bottom three, a bit of humility goes a long way.  When Rosa was complimenting him in the car he was kinda cocky about it. 

 

Jay – I am now getting the ‘rehearsed’ comments, I feel like he’s hiding something…this after my instant like of him from the beginning.  His THs are also becoming snarky of the other contestants, don’t make me dislike you dude.

 

I like Rosa and hope she goes far.

[OtterMommy]

They have to photograph food? What do their photography skills have to do with anything?

 

I actually got the part about food being pretty enough to photograph.  What I didn't understand was why the contestants had to take the pictures.  I mean, give one of the camera guys an iPhone and let them do it.  I really don't care about the photography skills of the contestants.

 

Jay should not have tried to make gumbo in 45 minutes.

 

If I remember correctly, someone said something like, "You do soup...you can make Gumbo."  Jay should have had the presence to say that he would make the soup, but not the gumbo because you can't make a decent gumbo in 45 minutes.  In this, I fault Jay's decision more than his cooking.

 

Everytime Alex talks about how sandwiches are his thing and then he goes and does something stupid like putting the bun on top for a presentation challenge..well all I can say is dude you are no Jeff Mauro. 

 

I really think Alex should drop the sandwich angle.  Food Network not only already has a sandwich guy, but the sandwich guy came from Food Network Star.  Alex is falling into the "been there, done that" rut.  Plus...sandwiches.  I like a sandwich as much as the next person but, well, there is only so far you can go with a sandwich and, frankly, it usually doesn't take any great skill to make one.

 

The women deciding to go "sexy" was disturbing.

 

Not to mention a cliche.  And, frankly, it was sexist.

 

I like Dom and expect to see him in the finals.  He is engaging; they will get him comfortable with the camera.    

 

I expect so, too.  Damaris was a complete train wreck at the beginning of her season, but she was a shoo-in by the end (and I quite like her show!).  I suspect that Dom might not be quite as bad in front of the camera as he appears and that there might be some editing involved there....

 

Speaking of hair, I was dying when the sandwich guy kept putting his hair behind his ears and then going right back to slicing crudo. It was nasty on both sides! Hair in the fish AND fish in the hair! Bleh. I'm not saying they need to wear hairnets and gloves on TV, but don't be less sanitary than the average home cook!

 

Word!  I mean, no one working in a restaurant who had hair like that would be allowed to leave it down.  Tie it back, cut it, whatever....just do something with it.

 

"50 Shades of Flay" was pretty funny, and you could tell the judges got a kick out of it, too.

 

Normally, the girls vs. boys thing is silly and juvenile, but this time, it made a lot of sense.  All of the guys have rated higher than all of the women so far this season, so Dom made a good call.

 

Well, it didn't look to me that Bobby Flay was exactly amused by "50 Shades of Flay."  Ha!

 

As for the teams....I mostly agree except I think that Dom would have been smart to pull Rue over.  No, her dish didn't work this time, but she probably has more experience with more exotic tastes and textures than any other contestant.

[Pallida]

Forgive me if I missed something, but was there a good opportunity for Michelle to clarify that Rue came up with the octopus suggestion?  I think doing it during her presentation would have been a terrible idea (akin to saying "I made this dish but it was all someone else's idea...I'm not smart).  I believe the comments about it being smart happened while the contestants were away from the judges?

 

Don't get me wrong - I don't enjoy Michelle's on-camera presence, but I don't know that she should be blamed for that.

[cooksdelight]

I think once the judges said that using octopus was such a clever idea, she might have wanted to acknowledge that it was a suggestion from someone else, which she greatly appreciated. She "did a Penny Davidi" in that case, for me.

Alex needs to switch up to a "Food On The Go" type of scenario. Not just sandwiches, but breakfast wraps or biscuits. Unless he doesn't know how to bake, which may be why he's falling back on bread.

[Pallida]

I'll have to rewatch.  I thought the judges said that after the team went to the back to prep the next course.  If they were out there, absolutely, she said have acknowledged that Rue suggested octopus, and then she prepped it.

 

I was about to say "with how all of the men balked at making dessert, they probably can't bake" but I realized many of them did decently at the savory baking challenge.

[smiley13]

Can we please be rid of Michelle and Rosa in the next two shows?  I do not recall  a season ever being this heavily weighted towards the men.  Arnold is the weakest of the men IMO.  Eddie, Jay, Dom and Alex all have potential.  Of the women, Rue and Emilia are the strongest.  I like Emilia's appearance and poise.  

[Aquarius]

In other shocking news Eddie is on the bottom. Perhaps it's because of his multiple marriages in this very forum?

 

Ahem.  One marriage (to me), lots of girlfriends.  But he's given up cheat day . . . so I think we know where that leaves the rest of you. 

;-)

Before the first episode, I emphatically stated that I did not want to see ANYONE tape candy to his chest this season.  I have changed my mind.  Just as emphatically, I want to see Eddie tape candy to his chest this season.

 

Yes. THIS. And the next challenge will include horseback riding. :)

If Eddie can do it shirtless, I'm all for it. Better still if Dom loses his shirt too.

 

I need my TV chefs to be smart enough to know what incendiary means.

Yeah. My Arnold love slipped one or twelve notches.

Although . . .

 

If only Suzy Wong had come out with this dessert drink, flame torch in hand for the marshmallows... Arnold would have won hands down. I sometimes think that his alter ego is where all of his dynamic personality is stored up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=61rwVeAjS0c

. . . there's still hope.

Also, any episode where I hear both "eggplant tentacles" and "octopus testicles" is okay by me! If Armenimom keeps that up, she can stay. I'm twelve and I laughed my ass off!

 

I'd love to see her whip up Armenian testicles.

Oh, she's whipped up some GREEK testicles, dontchaknow! They have three kids. You have to listen carefully, but it's been mentioned.

 

Vixenstud is glad for Sita’s elimination, because Vixenstud could no longer take Sita talking about herself in the third frickin’ person!

Aquarius agrees. Aquarius found it beyond tiresome. Aquarius also didn't see what was so charming about her, and it seemed to Aquarius that her food sucked.

Did I mention? Aquarius isn't even my real name.

 

Jay – I am now getting the ‘rehearsed’ comments, I feel like he’s hiding something…this after my instant like of him from the beginning. His THs are also becoming snarky of the other contestants, don’t make me dislike you dude.

I like Rosa and hope she goes far.

I think what Jay is hiding (not well, IMO) is that he's a tool.

Rosa is growing on me. I'm beginning to hope she goes far.

[cooksdelight]

Every photo I see of Jay online, he has this crazy (dare I say it... Lenny-look) in his eyes. Creeps me out!!

[Surrealist]

I really think Alex should drop the sandwich angle.  Food Network not only already has a sandwich guy, but the sandwich guy came from Food Network Star.  Alex is falling into the "been there, done that" rut.  Plus...sandwiches.  I like a sandwich as much as the next person but, well, there is only so far you can go with a sandwich and, frankly, it usually doesn't take any great skill to make one.

 

I like sandwiches too. I feel as if it's the same kind of furor that people have over gourmet hamburgers and tacos. Even pizza. I don't think any of those items requires any culinary genius. Don't get me wrong. I love those food items, but c'mon.

 

I don't mind Alex, but he needs to do something with his hair. I get early an early 80's vibe with it. Very dated.

 

Also, if Dom used to work in a bakery, why wouldn't he volunteer to make the dessert? I assume he had the most pastry experience out of all the men.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Surrealist

[leighdear]

I agree that almost anything can be put between 2 slices of bread or into a wrap.  It's not rocket surgery, and it's played out.  I adore Jeff Mauro and loved his show.  I've got loads of his recipes, but even HE has moved on.  Time for Alex to be Frozen Elsa and.....well, you know.....

 

During the taping of this, Bobby was probably completely embroiled in his own personal, incendiary situation, so no wonder he didn't laugh at the 50 shades reference.  But Sunny's timing with that remark was impeccable. 

[NikSac]

So glad Sita's gone. This might be one of the first food competition shows in awhile where I've been fairly happy with the order in which they're being kicked off. Also, this is just a petty thing but it somehow annoyed me less to hear her referring to herself as "Sita" when I knew that wasn't even her name anyway.

 

I totally agree they should've had something on fire for the incendiary dish!  That would have been cool.

 

I thought it was hilarious that Matthew missed "his" week with the social media thing. Good, because him trying to throw around his expertise on the matter would have probably driven me nuts.

 

I'll be the first to admit I'm not on the leading edge of food trends but really?  Stinky, slimy, burnt... umm no thank you!  Raw maybe, but in limited instances and is that really new and trendy?  I mean if something happens to be stinky and still tastes good then great, but I'm not going to go seek out stinky food.  I just thought it was weird.

 

I've gotten more into this season than I thought I would, that's for sure, so I'm glad for that. If Matthew was still on I would've been done by now for sure.

[Gbb]

Ahem.  One marriage (to me), lots of girlfriends.  But he's given up cheat day . . . so I think we know where that leaves the rest of you. ;-)

Dayum. Well played.

He's still my boyfriend though.

[Percysowner]

 

I need my TV chefs to be smart enough to know what incendiary means.

 

That would be nice. I will give Arnold points for knowing that he had a big old block about incendiary and then avoiding making a fool of himself using the wrong word during presentation. Screwing up the title of what he was cooking would be worse than eggplant testicles by a long shot.

[Percysowner]

So glad Sita's gone. This might be one of the first food competition shows in awhile where I've been fairly happy with the order in which they're being kicked off. Also, this is just a petty thing but it somehow annoyed me less to hear her referring to herself as "Sita" when I knew that wasn't even her name anyway.

 

I totally agree they should've had something on fire for the incendiary dish!  That would have been cool.

 

I thought it was hilarious that Matthew missed "his" week with the social media thing. Good, because him trying to throw around his expertise on the matter would have probably driven me nuts.

 

I'll be the first to admit I'm not on the leading edge of food trends but really?  Stinky, slimy, burnt... umm no thank you!  Raw maybe, but in limited instances and is that really new and trendy?  I mean if something happens to be stinky and still tastes good then great, but I'm not going to go seek out stinky food.  I just thought it was weird.

 

I've gotten more into this season than I thought I would, that's for sure, so I'm glad for that. If Matthew was still on I would've been done by now for sure.

I have to admit I don't think of blue cheese as being especially stinky, even though the judges did. Durian appears now and then on Chopped and apparently tastes better than it smells. I know a few restaurants that serve charred foods that are really good, so I can see burnt. Eddie just didn't char his stuff enough. Frankly, I love burnt marshmallows. It's the only way I can stand them so a deep char on something really sweet could work. Raw is easy, Raw veggies, sushi, steak tartar maybe even cerviche where you use acid to "cook" the fish. Slimey is no way for me. That one I would avoid.

[NikSac]

I have to admit I don't think of blue cheese as being especially stinky, even though the judges did. Durian appears now and then on Chopped and apparently tastes better than it smells. I know a few restaurants that serve charred foods that are really good, so I can see burnt. Eddie just didn't char his stuff enough. Frankly, I love burnt marshmallows. It's the only way I can stand them so a deep char on something really sweet could work. Raw is easy, Raw veggies, sushi, steak tartar maybe even cerviche where you use acid to "cook" the fish. Slimey is no way for me. That one I would avoid.

 

I see what you're saying. I guess I just don't think of it as specifically a TREND. I might like some sort of food that happens to be smelly, or charred, or whatever, but I"m not going to specifically seek that out.  As in if the question is "what are you in the mood for tonight?" my response might be "sushi" but it's never going to be "hmmm I'm really in the mood for something that smells terrible" or "something slimy just sounds great!" 

[Clanstarling]

I really feel like the moment you start telling me what your personality is rather than being personable and open during presentations and letting me decide what sort of person you are is the moment you fail. The more Emilia tells me about how I should perceive her, the more I look for things that go against what she's saying. That she got praised this week for her presentation shows just how weak so many presentations were. 

This! On this episode, it may well have been a wink and a nod to the challenge, but she's done the same thing on at least one other episode.

 

It was nice to see Dom loosened up in the first challenge.

 

Mama Sita didn't really bother me before, but by the end of this episode was beyond ready to see  her go, and not just because of her personality. When she described her "stinky" dish as she was making it, the first thing that came to mind was "blechh." Wasn't she the mayo/alfredo offender from the last episode?

[Clanstarling]

Also, if Dom used to work in a bakery, why wouldn't he volunteer to make the dessert? I assume he had the most pastry experience out of all the men.

Because he didn't know what incendiary meant? So he grabbed a course he knew he could nail?

[Surrealist]

Because he didn't know what incendiary meant? So he grabbed a course he knew he could nail?

 

He could have asked what it meant. Shoot, Arnold couldn't even pronounce it correctly and he still made a great dessert.