Comeback Kitchen

[Wings]

On 5/14/2017 at 0:07 PM, Skyfall said:

Are we using this for all seasons? If so premeire episode this season is poping up on demand. Since it's not aired officially yet I'll use spoiler tag.

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I'm with Joy, Danuska is cracking me up in the her attempt at trying to be warm and smile. If Matthew stays this calm and sticks to this southwestern POV I'll actually be rooting for him. Not only do we not have that cuisine on the air currently, but he's also younger and more knowledgeable in social media. So maybe air a (pretaped) weekly S&S through the FB live platform while doing The Kitchen as the social media guy connecting with the audience and reading tweets and such to the main cast for a segment each episode. For the prime time show they'll undoubtably would try to force on him, just steal Food Porn's (THANK GOD SEASON TWO IS STARTING!) concept under a different name and have him travel to the trendy places that people are raving about on social media. You know what just have me run Food/Cooking, I'll turn that sh*tshow around in no time ?

It airs on Sunday and repeated throughout the week.  I am going to go ahead and respond since there is nothing spoilery about this.  Just your take on the first episode where nothing much happens anyway.   I live in the Southwest and there is no particular cuisine here other than a more Americanized version of Mexican.  It has the same flavor profile.   I get what you are saying about Mathew though.  Usually the FN winners don't have a successful show and if they are good more is developed around them.  Guy and Morrow made the cut but I don't know any others.  They are trying to find another like them, one who can hold their own easily.  And they may, some day, but the comp is enough for them.  It is a show with good ratings and that is what they seek!  I think competition shows on FN is the money.  Oh Damaris (sp?) does judging on GGG and the kids BBQ show.  Arabian does judging but that is all I know.   

Anyone with Asian, Hawaiian or anything different? 

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, wings707 said:

Oh Damaris (sp?)

Yes - spelling correct - thank you. Not sure why incorrect name spellings without disclaimers bothers me, but it does.

[Christina]

Matthew has been on a few things since the first FNS appearance, including the competition to cook your way back in and maybe last Comeback, and had toned himself way down. I think he thought the over-the-top behavior would keep him on and didn't realize how obnoxious and hated he was until it aired. It seemed like people like his food, it was his personality that was so grating, so if he can rein that in, he may have a shot. I haven't watched the first episode yet and reserve the right to say I never said that after I do. ; )

[cooksdelight]

Jamika has had a personality transplant. She's great! With the exception of Danushka, I can't stand the other women who are just too damn cheery. Danushka is flying tonight and won't get to see the episode live, so I'm looking forward to hearing what she thinks about her performance.

[smiley13]

Yuck to Danushka getting to be on here.  Out of this group, there is only one guy I don't really remember,  I liked Joy and Emilia during their seasons as well as Jamika.  Matthew and the Lunch Lady still don't interest me.

Danushka's voice is like nails on a chalk board.

[backformore]

My pet peeve is about men using female terms to describe their jobs.  This show not only featured the return of the "lunch lady"  guy, it also had a dad being described as a "Mister Mom."   No.  If you serve lunch in the cafeteria, you are a cafeteria server, not a "lady".  and if you're a guy raising a kid - we call that a dad. 

[MerBearHou]

edited to move to other forum

Edited May 22, 2017 by MerBearHou

[Psychobunny]

The only one I can stand is Jamika and I also noticed that she is the only one that I didn't know (missed seasons 4 and 5). Does anyone know how this will go? I only see two episodes listed-are they not showing the rest? Frankly, I was hoping they just eliminated three people this week and three more next week.

[biakbiak]

I literally have no memory of the rock and roll sushi chef or Jamika. I had no memory of Emilia until they showed her obnoxious presentation from her season and during the episode kept confusing her with Joy. For some reason I can't figure out I adore Danushka. The other two I remember but I am neutral on them this go around.

[spiderpig]

Hmmmm......

Matthew has a permanent seat on my Obnoxious Bus, but maybe I'll move him from First Class back to Business.  He has toned it down, but that perpetual goofy, smug grin makes me wince.

Jamika reminded me of a very non-on-fleek Tregaye.  That is a compliment.  She has a nice camera presence, which she said she'd been working on.  It must be have been effective, since I don't remember Jamika at all from her previous appearance.

Emilia bugged before and still does.  Lunch Lady guy still overdoes it.  Danushka is Danushka.  I like Joy, but she doesn't seem to quite find her voice as a TV personality.

I don't remember Josh either, but Mr. pig and I go crazy trying to figure out who anybody on our screen reminds us of.  Josh is 50% Michael Douglas, 40% Emilio Estevez, and 10% Jared Leto.  Your mileage may vary.  He seemed like a nice enough guy, but it seemed he was getting the loser edit from the get-go.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, Psychobunny said:

I only see two episodes listed-are they not showing the rest?

The regular season which the winner of this is in starts on June 4th so it's just two episodes but I believe they don't reveal who comes back until the 1st episode of the regular season.

[GaT]

I can't believe Danushka is back & she's become a parody of herself. Jamika is doing the "sassy black woman" routine, & I'm so over that, Emilia is boring, Joy is doing the "Southern gal" thing & that annoys me as "sassy black woman". I don't care about any of these people.

[cooksdelight]

5 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Jamika reminded me of a very non-on-fleek Tregaye

I thought the same thing. If she even hinted that she was on-fleek, I was going to throw something at her.

FN keeps trying to make Matthew happen, but I guess they don't read forums or social media. No one likes this guy.

[HyeChaps]

Never say "sassy"!

[backformore]

Quote

FN keeps trying to make Matthew happen, but I guess they don't read forums or social media. No one likes this guy.

Yes, it makes me wonder if they really want Matthew to have his own show, and this is just being set up as a "comeback" for him.  If this was the first time we had seen him,  he wouldn't have been so disliked.  He's been coached to dial down the arrogance and the frantic pace.

And he didn't say "hashtag" even once.  Someone at Food Network wants to give him a show, to pull in a young audience. But first he has to earn it.

[bluepiano]

5 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I thought the same thing. If she even hinted that she was on-fleek, I was going to throw something at her.

FN keeps trying to make Matthew happen, but I guess they don't read forums or social media. No one likes this guy.

Sure, she's not all fleekin' and poppin' like Tregaye, but to me it's still a stereotyped sassy black woman, referring to herself in the third person (which I hate) and doing all the cutesy hand gestures and hair tossing. I don't remember her from her season, but in the clip they showed, she had a very restrained personality and appearance. So she obviously decided to reinvent herself, and I'm sure that Tregaye served as a model. Nothing against her personally, for me she's exhausting to watch. Unfortunately, she has to be considered the favorite.

I didn't remember the "rock and roll sushi chef" either, but apparently he reinvented himself in the other direction, going from being a live wire to dull as dish water. I guess fatherhood toned him down to the point of having no personality.

I didn't like Joy, whose southern shtick feels canned, or Emilia, who has an air desperation, in their original seasons. I don't remember Emilia talking about her daughter before, so I guess she decided that was the way to soften herself. I cringed when she said she was a "mommy." Can we please talk like adults? So now everything has to be about her and her daughter. Boring.

I think people appreciate Danushka (at least I do) because she doesn't have a canned personality, and doesn't seem desperate to win this thing at all costs. Although I guess you can see her not having a shtick as her shtick. I just know that I would rather watch her than any of the other people on this show, who either bore or annoy me. Lunch Lady Rob? Hast Tag Matthew? Were these the best former contestants they could come up with?

Edited May 22, 2017 by bluepiano

[cooksdelight]

27 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

in the clip they showed, she had a very restrained personality and appearance.

I remembered her once they showed the clip. She was dull as dust. I also remembered Josh as very annoying and instead he decided to curl up and die this time around.

I love Danushka's deadpan delivery. I'd watch her cook. And from some of the dishes she's shown me, she is an excellent private chef.

Rob yells too much, he gives me a headache. Matthew annoys the hell out of me, with that cheesy grin and all the hand motions he had going on last night I am surprised they didn't laugh out loud at him.

Emilia lost me in her season when referring to Arnold Mynt as a drag queen. He does indeed do a drag show but maybe he didn't want the world to know that about him during a competition. Although I think if he'd done some presentations as Suzy Wong, he'd have won.

[Wings]

Emilia will show Washington DC culture's, food.  hmmmm  Apparently there is a large Philippine population there.  Who knew it was known for that?   Next out! 

Deep fried crab cake, no.  That must have been very heavy on the bread crumbs.  I have to flip mine  ever so carefully so they don't fall apart.  All of his food is heavy and not good for FN.  DDD's covers that territory. Never make it. 

I am going to do a pineapple short cake, for sure.  Strawberry short cake is a favorite of mine as is pineapple short cake.   Jamika has promise and I think she has a good shot since Tregue didn't work out.  

Danuska has a fabulous dry wit.  If she presented herself that way without trying to smile or be personable, there is a place for her on FN somewhere as the snide chef. 

Edited May 22, 2017 by wings707

[Wings]

13 hours ago, spiderpig said:

 Josh is 50% Michael Douglas, 40% Emilio Estevez, and 10% Jared Leto.

Yes! 

[J-Man]

I have to confess I didn't remember Jamika at all until I saw her flashback clip with Jeffrey Saad. She certainly has had a MAJOR makeover and really looks stunningly gorgeous now.

Watching Josh was just painful. There was no excuse for bringing him back.

So they said something like they had three weeks until the main show starts ... so how are they going to get down to one winner in that time without doing double eliminations? I thought for sure they were going to get rid of two this week.

Are they going to do that "Star Salvation" thing again this year too?

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, wings707 said:

I have to flip mine  ever so carefully so they don't fall apart.

I learned this trick from Jimmy Sneed, who owned The Frog & The Redneck restaurant in Richmond. Make your crabcakes with a light coating of breading and put them in the oven. Flip them over after 10 minutes. They are delicious that way. No oil needed!

10 minutes ago, J-Man said:

Are they going to do that "Star Salvation" thing again this year too?

Probably, but if there is any way possible someone could save me from that crap, I'd be forever in their debt.

We may not see all the final eliminations, but they'd be available online after the person is mixed in with the newbies.

[Wings]

1 minute ago, cooksdelight said:

I learned this trick from Jimmy Sneed, who owned The Frog & The Redneck restaurant in Richmond. Make your crabcakes with a light coating of breading and put them in the oven. Flip them over after 10 minutes. They are delicious that way. No oil needed!

I put bread crumbs on them but I love the crunchy exterior having sauteed them in half olive oil, half butter.  YUM 

[smiley13]

6 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I think people appreciate Danushka (at least I do) because she doesn't have a canned personality, and doesn't seem desperate to win this thing at all costs. Although I guess you can see her not having a shtick as her shtick. I just know that I would rather watch her than any of the other people on this show, who either bore or annoy me. Lunch Lady Rob? Hast Tag Matthew? Were these the best former contestants they could come up with?

Danushka comes across to me as totally staged, at least I hope she isn't really that rude and witchy.  

[seacliffsal]

I think all of these contestants tried to 'refine' their personalities and gimmicks in order to get another shot at being a 'star.'  They were all exhausting to watch.  And Emilia used her time in the one challenge to advertise her blog ignoring the instructions they were given.  They all had repeatedly been told how to improve and yet some of them didn't.  It's a bit unfair to put an experienced t.v. contestant against the newbie, but oh well...  

I agree with others that Jamika is the favored contestant.  Not only did she tell us that she had been judging on many Food Network shows, Tyler stated that she should already have been a star.  For that alone, I don't want her to win.

Edited May 22, 2017 by seacliffsal

[meowmommy]

Just pathetic that of all the former TNFNS participants, this is the best they could do.  Three tries for hashtag Matthew?  Seriously?  Danusha, OTOH, seems to improve with age.  I couldn't stand her on Chopped or on her first run at TNFNS, but now I find her funny and interesting.

Comeback Kitchen last season with Tyler and Valerie kicked the mothership's ass.  Not that this is so hard to do.

[Aquarius]

Danushka:  I can't possibly smile and talk at the same time.  It's an Eastern European thing.

Bitch, please.  You were raised in Canada.

My Polish grandparents (from Poland) had no problem smiling while they talked.

So Rock'N'Roll Sushi didn't work out in his season (who woulda guessed?).  Josh decides to take it in a different direction by invoking his 3-year-old son.  Like I care what he feeds his precious little crotchfruit.  Apparently Tyler and Valerie agree.  One point for them.

Emilia is a mommy?  Ooooh, stop the presses, that's so unusual!  Because I don't know any other mothers who cook . . . what a unique viewpoint!

During her season, Joy was a mother to five.  Now she's a mother and stepmother.  Working a new angle?  Either way, she's as annoying as she was the first time.  I'm surprised her IRS problems didn't prevent her from reappearing.  OK, I'm disappointed that her IRS problems didn't prevent her from reappearing.

I didn't watch Jamika's season.  But I think she looked beautiful.  I loved her hair and her jewelry.

[mlp]

It seems like FN could have brought back a better selection of past contestants.   Maybe they tried and others didn't want to be subjected to the stress again.  I am grateful that we don't have to deal with the Butcher Babe and some others.  

I don't recall ever seeing Jamika before.  She said she's been a judge a lot of times and I watch basically all the competitions but I don't remember her.  Maybe she's been on Chopped Junior and I paid no attention to her or something.  She comes across as a prettier, classier version of Tregaye but a Tregaye type nevertheless.  Too loud and impressed with herself for me.

The only one of this group that I actually like is Danushka.  The first time I ever saw her, she was on Chopped and I couldn't stand her.  Then I saw her a couple more times and I "got" her and now I think she's a hoot.  I'd watch her if she had a show.

[Snarklepuss]

I agree, this is a tired lot.  I suppose FN isn't really serious with this show so they just pick whoever they think will be good entertainment and one pre-selected ringer to go to the regular competition.

I also think TPTB coached everyone on this cast to tone it down somewhat.  It was almost like they all took a sleeping pill before they went on the show.  That people can be so unrecognizable makes me think TPTB is screwing around with things behind the scenes.

It took me a while to remember Jamika.  I don't find her so annoying but I'm "meh" on all of them, really.  This version of Matthew is probably the "real" one.  Maybe they told him this time they want him to "grow up" just because they know people got tired of him and his shtick.  But I think he was coached to be that annoying for entertainment value in the first place.  I like Danushka but see her here as just more entertainment.  I never thought FN was serious about her.  Lunch lady can just get off my screen any time now.  Emilia is another "meh", and Joy I liked originally but now I'm just "meh" on her too.

My guide is showing two more episodes of this with the final challenge on 6/4 being between the last 4 remaining contestants.

[TDT]

18 hours ago, backformore said:

Yes, it makes me wonder if they really want Matthew to have his own show, and this is just being set up as a "comeback" for him.  If this was the first time we had seen him,  he wouldn't have been so disliked.  He's been coached to dial down the arrogance and the frantic pace.

And he didn't say "hashtag" even once.  Someone at Food Network wants to give him a show, to pull in a young audience. But first he has to earn it.

I get the feeling that if Matthew somehow DOES win it all and gets back on the main FNS show(and inexplicably ends up being one of the final two or three)he'll gradually begin to revert back to his "hashtag" persona..

And if he wins(which i dread),hopefully theyll relegate him to online,like Tregaye..

[Tyrone Biggums]

I've seen Jamika on a lot of the Cooking Channel shows (Sugar Showdown, etc.), and she seems to have a lot of credibility there.  Now she's on here as slightly-less-fleeky Tregaye, and she can get gone.

There's not a person here who has a shot in hell of having me watch them, except for Danushka.  It's not that Danushka's any great personality, but she seems to be hate-participating in this as much as I'm hate-watching it.  

I'd actually be happy to see them bring back someone, eliminate them the first week, send them to Star Salvation, have them win that, then come back to the main show and eliminate them in their first week back.

[cooksdelight]

10 hours ago, Aquarius said:

During her season, Joy was a mother to five.  Now she's a mother and stepmother.  Working a new angle?  Either way, she's as annoying as she was the first time.  I'm surprised her IRS problems didn't prevent her from reappearing.  OK, I'm disappointed that her IRS problems didn't prevent her from reappearing.

I had forgotten about her IRS problems, thanks for that. And yeah, why would they invite her back? Oh wait....this is the production team that cast He Who Shall Not Be Named.

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

I had forgotten about her IRS problems, thanks for that. And yeah, why would they invite her back? Oh wait....this is the production team that cast He Who Shall Not Be Named.

I forgot about the IRS stuff too.  OK.  So this show will be like an Agatha Christie novel - all of them are guilty.

[Snarklepuss]

6 hours ago, Tyrone Biggums said:

There's not a person here who has a shot in hell of having me watch them, except for Danushka.  It's not that Danushka's any great personality, but she seems to be hate-participating in this as much as I'm hate-watching it. 

There's not a person here with a shot in hell of winning regular FNS either.  As usual, this is all for entertainment value, otherwise they'd have chosen a better lineup.

[Destiny74]

I'm just sick to death that they all have to have a story behind everything they cook. Yes, I want to see a personality but not everything you cook has to be because your mom made something similar or your kids won't eat veggies unless they are hidden.  Sometimes, as shocking as this may seem, I like to try new things that sound tasty, not because I am longing for the pate my great grandma made.

The stories become disingenuous and you know they are fake.  FN needs to stop pushing these next stars to pull stories out of this butts.

[meowmommy]

7 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I had forgotten about her IRS problems, thanks for that. And yeah, why would they invite her back? Oh wait....this is the production team that cast He Who Shall Not Be Named.

I can't believe it took me a minute to figure out who you meant.  Somehow I instantly remembered She who shall not be named, but not he.  Then I had my lightbulb moment.  And FN cast both of them, as well as other gems like JAG, the fake military hero.

3 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

I'm just sick to death that they all have to have a story behind everything they cook. Yes, I want to see a personality but not everything you cook has to be because your mom made something similar or your kids won't eat veggies unless they are hidden.  Sometimes, as shocking as this may seem, I like to try new things that sound tasty, not because I am longing for the pate my great grandma made.

The worst case was poor Suzie (I think that was her name), who was trained in French cuisine, but was forced to adopt a spicy Latina mode by LBH.

[BW Manilowe]

On 5/16/2017 at 7:54 PM, wings707 said:

It airs on Sunday and repeated throughout the week.  I am going to go ahead and respond since there is nothing spoilery about this.  Just your take on the first episode where nothing much happens anyway.   I live in the Southwest and there is no particular cuisine here other than a more Americanized version of Mexican.  It has the same flavor profile.   I get what you are saying about Mathew though.  Usually the FN winners don't have a successful show and if they are good more is developed around them.  Guy and Morrow made the cut but I don't know any others.  They are trying to find another like them, one who can hold their own easily.  And they may, some day, but the comp is enough for them.  It is a show with good ratings and that is what they seek!  I think competition shows on FN is the money.  Oh Damaris (sp?) does judging on GGG and the kids BBQ show.  Arabian does judging but that is all I know.   

Anyone with Asian, Hawaiian or anything different? 

Jeff's last name is spelled Mauro, not Morrow. I assume that's who you were talking about anyway. And Melissa's last name is D'Arabian, or maybe d'Arabian; I'm not sure if the D is capitalized or lower case.

Edited May 23, 2017 by BW Manilowe
To add a comment.

[cooksdelight]

47 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

The worst case was poor Suzie (I think that was her name), who was trained in French cuisine, but was forced to adopt a spicy Latina mode by LBH

Susie Jimenez, she's a self-employed caterer/chef now, and she's doing great. Cooking food HER way. :)

[BW Manilowe]

21 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I think all of these contestants tried to 'refine' their personalities and gimmicks in order to get another shot at being a 'star.'  They were all exhausting to watch.  And Emilia used her time in the one challenge to advertise her blog ignoring the instructions they were given.  They all had repeatedly been told how to improve and yet some of them didn't.  It's a bit unfair to put an experienced t.v. contestant against the newbie, but oh well...  

I agree with others that Jamika is the favored contestant.  Not only did she tell us that she had been judging on many Food Network shows, Tyler stated that she should already have been a star.  For that alone, I don't want her to win.

Jamika has also been working with The Chew on ABC. I've seen her on it multiple times since her original FNS appearance. I'm rooting for her; I don't get why FN is still trying to make Danushka happen--like the poster upthread with Joshua or whichever former contestant.

[Aquarius]

5 hours ago, meowmommy said:

The worst case was poor Suzie (I think that was her name), who was trained in French cuisine, but was forced to adopt a spicy Latina mode by LBH.

Martita was the one shoved into the Fiery Latina box by LBH.

Susie Jimenez was accused repeatedly by Medusa of "running from her heritage" until she finally caved and started telling stories about her abuela while making carne asada.  I don't even think LBH was a regular yet.

I felt so sorry for Susie.  She was so enthusiastic about what she had learned about French cuisine, but that never mattered because she was born Mexican, and Mexican she must cook.

[Skyfall]

On 5/22/2017 at 1:20 AM, biakbiak said:

The regular season which the winner of this is in starts on June 4th so it's just two episodes but I believe they don't reveal who comes back until the 1st episode of the regular season.

Shouldn't it be 3 episodes with the third right before the first episode of the new season?

[Skyfall]

On 5/22/2017 at 6:40 PM, seacliffsal said:

I think all of these contestants tried to 'refine' their personalities and gimmicks in order to get another shot at being a 'star.'  They were all exhausting to watch.  And Emilia used her time in the one challenge to advertise her blog ignoring the instructions they were given.  They all had repeatedly been told how to improve and yet some of them didn't.  It's a bit unfair to put an experienced t.v. contestant against the newbie, but oh well...  

I agree with others that Jamika is the favored contestant.  Not only did she tell us that she had been judging on many Food Network shows, Tyler stated that she should already have been a star.  For that alone, I don't want her to win.

Didn't help the comeback winner last year... (still think Dom should've won, he would've won last season over Ms Fleek)

On 5/22/2017 at 7:02 PM, meowmommy said:

Just pathetic that of all the former TNFNS participants, this is the best they could do.  Three tries for hashtag Matthew?  Seriously?  Danusha, OTOH, seems to improve with age.  I couldn't stand her on Chopped or on her first run at TNFNS, but now I find her funny and interesting.

Comeback Kitchen last season with Tyler and Valerie kicked the mothership's ass.  Not that this is so hard to do.

I get the feeling they are saving the best for an all "star" season

[rasalas]

16 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Jamika has also been working with The Chew on ABC. I've seen her on it multiple times since her original FNS appearance. I'm rooting for her.

But that gig, plus judging on shows like Chopped Jr. and Sugar Showdown on the Cooking Channel, show that Jamika's already doing the things that a Food Network Star winner (or competitor, like the horrible Domiano) would already be doing. So why is she on this show again?

[Mabinogia]

14 hours ago, Aquarius said:

I felt so sorry for Susie.  She was so enthusiastic about what she had learned about French cuisine, but that never mattered because she was born Mexican, and Mexican she must cook.

I hate that the show does that. If you have kids, you have to be cooking for kids/families, if you're any distinct nationality, that is the only food you can cook, if you are a black woman you better be sassy! If you're overweight you need to have a big, crazy personality. They pigeonhole everyone. I would have no problem learning French cuisine from someone who happened to be born in Mexico, so long as they can cook and aren't obnoxious. I swear the Food Network thinks their audience are a bunch of morons.

[buttercupia]

I really wish they'd stop trying to make Matthew happen.  He's obnoxious and  brings nothing new.

[NYGirl]

Ugh what a boring hour!!  I think I'm over the Next Food Network Star and I've watched since the very beginning.

[xaxat]

On 5/24/2017 at 0:02 PM, Mabinogia said:

They pigeonhole everyone. I would have no problem learning French cuisine from someone who happened to be born in Mexico, so long as they can cook and aren't obnoxious.

Just imagine how they would treat an up and coming Bobby Flay. 

"Why do you keep making Southwestern inspired dishes? You're a nice Irish boy! You should tell us stories about how your family survived the Great Famine and cook black pudding!"

[cooksdelight]

If I were ever on this show, it would happen to me. I love to cook all kinds of retro stuff with an updated flavor, but I'm southern. They'd be expecting me to make fried chicken, biscuits & gravy, etc.

[Totale]

I wasn't gonna, but this was on this afternoon and I had nothing to do.  It was very kind of them not to make Matthew's Achilles Heel that he's a gold plated five star flaming asshole.  Sorry, I mean a #goldplated5starflamingasshole.  I thought they would have learned their lesson after tragic Tregaye, but it really looks like they're pushing either #gs5sfa or toned down tragic Jamika.  Lunch lady Rob could have tried to make something out of Lunch Lady turned Food Truck operator, but he barely mentioned it.  And now that they know Mauro was a one-off in the big loud sloppy guy department they've probably figured out they don't really need another one.

It does look like on both this and FNS they're going to try to continue the traditional fairy tale that a FNS is required to know how to cook, plus have a "culinary point of view" and "food authority".  They need straight teeth and an ability to read the scripts off a teleprompter while judging cooking competitions probably involving fattening foods or children.  Since LBH will veto any woman she suspects might be seen by someone as more fuckable than herself, we're basically down to a malleable male who will flutter the hearts of the mid-afternoon stay at home Mom.  Which makes the other three in this competition, none of whom has a chance in hell of "advancing", all solid winners - Danushka gets a couple of weeks strong paychecks for just showing up and being Danushka, which she has shown again and again she can do without breaking a sweat.  Joy will hopefully get enough dough to cover a couple of months of her IRS nut, and Emilia made a (potentially) nationally seen TV commercial for her blog, which she would never be able to afford.  Take the money and run, kids.

Nice to see Kermit and Medusa again for a flash in the reruns, hope they got union scale at least.

[Lura]

I haven't been able to get very excited about any of these contestants with the exception of Danushka.  Matthew is a complete turn-off for me, partly because of his mannerisms and partly because I think if he had a show of his own, he would revert back to being the smug know-it-all he was the last time.  Janika is a complete phony, I think, putting on a cheerleader act and flirting with the cameras.  Joy is a southern belle, which she won't let us forget.  I don't know how Josh was even invited back.  Emilia isn't as bad as Joy, but she is still nervous and tries too hard.

I like Danushka because I think she's herself, and she's hysterically funny and sarcastic at times.  Her monotone and her straight face just add to my fun.  She's a smart cookie and a pretty good cook, so she leads the pack for me.  If I had to, I'd watch her read the dictionary.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Lura

[Mabinogia]

I hated Danushka on her season, but suddenly I adore her.

I have no interest in seeing any of the others. I remember a few, not fondly.