S08.E07: WCIA: Final Food Fight 8

[Drogo]

Chef Anne Burrell and Chef Tyler Florence each work with their final remaining recruit to plan a refined three-course menu that will be served to a panel of culinary experts. Anne and Tyler battle for bragging rights as the recruits' cooking skills are put to the ultimate test in a professional kitchen, but in the end, only the dishes can prove which recruit has gone from worst to best and will win the $25,000 prize.

[ivygirl]

Oh, surprise. Another Anne win.

I liked Lawrence and I'm bummed he didn't win.

He made a main course that the judges couldn't stop eating. Manbun ruined his main. Yet, Manbun won. Bummed.

But yes, I was glad that this season was populated by more normal people, as opposed to a random assortment of folks from Central Casting.

[sofaslug]

Lawrence was robbed. The judges thought Man Bun's first course was oily and, his main course too salty to eat. They raved about Lawrence's main course. Liked his first course just wished it had a bit more of the terragon.

MB's only really successful dish was dessert. And he wins. {insert head shaking here}.

[BW Manilowe]

Is it just me, or does it seem like Anne & Tyler were doing an awful lot of coaching in this ep, once they got to the actual cooking of the final meal for the culinary experts? And I mean more than I thought they were supposed to have been allowed during the finals all the way back to S1.

I thought the mentors were just supposed to be there to explain to the experts what they did over the previous weeks with the "recruits" & that was about it. They could be in the kitchen, but they weren't supposed to help in any way or taste the food as it was being prepared &, I thought, they were supposed to hardly even talk to their "recruits" except to let them know how much time was left in cooking whatever course.

Edited February 15, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[biakbiak]

They have always coached aggressively. Bobby Flay nearly pulled a pan out of the oven. They just can't actually touch the food.

I get that the judges liked it but Tyler's friend chicken recipe was way too needlessly ussy and I have made Thomas Keller's so that is saying something.

I don't think Lawrence was robbed they always pick and choose the comments that there air but when the judges repeatedly called that soupy mess of Lawrence's dessert an ice cream i realized he would loose because that whole course was an epic fail.

Edited February 15, 2016 by biakbiak

[mlp]

I think the rules are that the mentors can't enter the actual cooking space or touch anything or help in any physical way.  It seems to me that they've always done a lot of talking.  Or yelling.

 

I liked both of the guys but I thought Lawrence had won based on his dishes so I was very surprised by the judges' decision.  I wish they'd had to explain their reasoning.

[Bastet]

I only ever watch the finale of this series, because I learned in the first season or two that the lead-up to that final showdown was too fake for me, so I know nothing about the contestants going in and just like looking at the food.  If I take the packaging of comments at face value, I see no issue with the judges' decision -- they liked Tyler's chef's entree far more than Anne's chef's, but they liked her chef's appetizer and dessert more, and called the dessert the best thing served all night.  So, probably a decision that involved some real deliberation, but not surprising it was unanimous. 

[GaT]

So, Manbun won. I find I don't care who won, this show just isn't interesting anymore.

[Surrealist]

Lawrence was robbed. The judges thought Man Bun's first course was oily and, his main course too salty to eat. They raved about Lawrence's main course. Liked his first course just wished it had a bit more of the terragon.

MB's only really successful dish was dessert. And he wins. {insert head shaking here}.

 

When I eat out, about 99% of the time, I only order a main course. The protein and sides are enough to get me sated. Not to mention I don't have a large appetite as it is, but I digress.

 

I couldn't care less about the appetizers and the desserts, since I don't eat out for those reasons. I have nothing against Nick, but if he served me an ultra salty main course, I would probably throw it at him.

 

As sofaslug mentioned, his appetizer was pegged as too oily by the judges. Lawrence dropped the ball on his dessert because the original one he wanted to serve didn't come out properly. If he had given that to them, they would have bitched about why he served them that peach upside down cake.

 

In the end, I guess it didn't matter which dessert he served them, but Nick winning was ridiculous.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Surrealist

[eyechart]

I agree this season didn't have quite as many fame-whorish types, though I can't help but think Nick will eventually appear on something like "Vanderpump Rules" or some other Bravo reality show.  He's nice enough, and the final two were unobjectionable.

 

But that female judge?  As soon as I heard her complain about the lack of "tarragon spice" in Lawrence's dish, I couldn't take her seriously.  I'm not a great foodie, but I know the difference between an herb and a spice.  Ditz.

 

I feel good enough about my skills that I'd never be on this show (especially my barbecued ribs), but if I'd been on when they had that egg challenge you would've heard me retching the whole time.  The smell, taste, texture...everything about cooked eggs in all its variations makes me ill, and to try and make four different preparations?!  I would've been out the doors so fast.

[Wings]

Ann knows that she can produce the winner if she gives them a more upscale menu.  Why doesn't Tyler know this?  Happens every time.  The judges give more weight to creative choices.  Certainly the judges must see this ploy.  Rabbit vs fried chicken?  I knew the outcome immediately.  

 

The food has nothing to do with the skill of the contestants.  Tyler and Ann walked them through every tiny detail from the sidelines.  This happens every season.  I skipped many episodes which is always a harbinger that it will leave my DVR list.   And it did!  I am not interested in future seasons.  

[penbrat]

Man Bun was okay but I am not a fan of Anne's.  She is like a female Robert Irvine - arrogant, entitled and a very poor sport when her food is criticized or she loses a competition.    

[Gardencrown]

Meh, that was okay, I guess. Like many here, I thought Lawrence was going to win, but I suspect that editing made it appear that way. For what it's worth, I thought Lawrence's looked tons better, but then I love deviled eggs and chicken and find rabbit yucky. So...and the whole rabbit meat in the blender thing made me want to gack.

 

Maybe the show really has run its course because I found myself less interested in who won. I remember previous seasons where the contestants seemed to have more say in what they cooked? I wonder what they could do to retool what has basically been a good idea? Maybe someone other than Anne for a change?

[Totale]

You know what you usually get when you buy a mandoline?  A friggin' handle.  So's you don't chop your fingers off.  Why did Anne feel it was necessary to macho it through?

[grisgris]

Better yet, why didn't they just use one of those spiral cutting devices? You can now buy attachments for Kitchen Aid mixers for that purpose. I assume if they are good enough for that, why not in this instance? I really don't see how that would be any different than using a blender to mix an ice cream base, or using other logical shortcuts. Not to mention, it would have been a helluva lot safer.

 

I sort of had Nick Manbuns pegged as at least a finalist from the first episode. He was good-looking, but not overly so and just trendy enough with his little chignon. He was masculine in a unique style (married construction worker with his martial arts skills) but not in a macho aggressive way to be threatening to Anne (if that makes sense.) He was food-ignorant and lacking in skills, but not totally hopelessly inept. In other words, he was a near-perfect blank canvas for Anne to work with.

 

I also didn't feel like Nick had an ulterior motive for landing a gig or at least a spot in the guest competitor circuit on FN. I had Ginny marked for that (if that was even remotely possible.)

 

So, overall, I think that Nick's menu required more technical skills than Lawrence's. However, over-salting the main course was a huge faux pas. I think that if Lawrence had been able to pull off his cake, he would have had a decent chance of winning.

 

Chalk up another one for Anne. Everybody's happy. (Except Lawrence and Tyler.) Happy Anne: Happy Food Network and a return for next season.

 

Now I have to ask ... who would go to the time and trouble to roast a chicken for two hours, then fry it? That makes about as much sense to me as Ina Garten actually frying a chicken then putting it in the oven to "oven-fry."

[EyewatchTV211]

Maybe I am remembering wrong, but I thought Anne had often won in the past by giving her recruits simpler final dishes that were easier to execute well while her competitors used more complex dishes. So when I saw the reverse happen this time, I actually thought it might be smart of Tyler. Too bad. They definitely do have a tendency to show judge's comments that sound like it will go one way and the winner ends up being the opposite.

 

Regarding the penultimate episode, it is just a small thing with me, but I kind of wish they would have all of the recruit's loved ones trying all of the meals, not just splitting it by teams. I feel like it would be more interesting if they have to try a few extra dishes and a little less obvious who made which dish. They could still pick one best dish from each team. Maybe that wouldn't be a good idea if it is clear that both dishes on one team are better....but I still think I'd like it better that way. I think either this show or another one might have done that in the past, where a larger group had to present anonymous dishes.

[NYGirl]

I knew man bun was the winner from day 1.  Anne flirted with him throughout the episodes and he could do no wrong.  I'm not a fan of Anne at all.  I liked Lawrence and I was rooting for him all along.

[Amarsir]

But that female judge?  As soon as I heard her complain about the lack of "tarragon spice" in Lawrence's dish, I couldn't take her seriously.  I'm not a great foodie, but I know the difference between an herb and a spice.  Ditz.

I forget who the judge was, but during the last (non-celebrity) season one of the judges called something a "decomposed cheesecake". That might say something about how this show recruits its panel.

[Totale]

Great overtitle for next season's forum - "The Search for the Next Decomposed Cheesecake"

[statslady]

Now that no one is reading this anymore... I just made the fried chicken from the finale.  It was good fried chicken but pretty much all there was to it.  I think I understand why manbun won even though the judges seemed to prefer Lawrence's food.  Chef Ann had him make a real 5-star restaurant meal.  Chef Tyler's meal, while good, was more like something a good home cook would make.  So while those are the recipes I'm actually trying out, the winning meal looked much more complex and difficult for a 'worst cook' to produce.  

 

All in all, great season and a nice reboot to the series after that godawful 'celebrity' season. 

[jcbrown]

I actually think Chef Tyler's meal was much like the yumminess on the menu at his San Francisco restaurant Wayfare Tavern (which I love!). Best devilled eggs ever (and I am a tough critic) and known for having terrific fried chicken (which I have never tried but which a good friend swears by).  I think Anne was going for fine dining and Tyler was going for food that is wildly successful at his restaurant (albeit with nicer presentations in several cases). I still think Anne is a terrible sport and a general PITA.