Comeback Kitchen

[Whimsy]

I think we've pretty much beat the differences of opinion of Danushka into the ground in this thread.  I think you all should "agree to disagree" and move on.

[Lamb18]

I watched the first two episodes of CK last night. I'm watching it more like it's a scripted TV show as opposed to a real contest and find it more entertaining that way. Anyhow:

Matthew - He has improved a lot! If I hadn't seen him previously, I would like him quite well. He seems a little more humble although I think he still needs to be stepped on a few times by more talented and experienced chefs before he becomes a genuinely nice person.

Danushka - I like her and think she'd be fun to hang with but I was wondering why she was trying to get back on the show. The impression I got was that she didn't care that much and was more determined to stick with the persona than improve her presentation skills. Her persona is one that would be hard for viewers to understand who haven't seen her before - she has to make them want to watch her show and she's not really selling it. I think she'd do better with a partner to be the "straight" guy while she brings the snark.

Emilia - I try to like her but she makes it difficult. I remember liking her on her season, but her epic collapse during the comedy challenge... Anyhow, she doesn't seem to get the concept of providing what the viewers want and instead used this experience as an opportunity to promote her blog.

Jamika - seems pretty good at this and definitely much better than Tregaye.

Rob - a mess

Mr. Dad - he looked unhealthy. I don't know anything about this guy and this is just my opinion, but to me it looked like he was on something.

Joy - not much opinion about her except that Damaris fills the niche and does it better.

[Snarklepuss]

2 hours ago, smiley13 said:

At least Matthew  seems to be trying to correct what was annoying about him the previous times.

I doubt that Matthew "flipping a switch" and suddenly being a "great guy" is evidence of his having an epiphany about needing to change the way he operates.  To me he seems like a paid actor if anything.  I think what we're seeing now is more the "real" Matthew, though.  I think the one in previous seasons was the impostor - I for one never bought his shtick.  Which means he's really not that bad, only a tad obnoxious but nowhere near what he was before.  But why this show makes people assume obnoxious personalities that really aren't them is beyond me.  I suppose it's all in the name of "entertainment".  But then they go and mess with us by trying to make Matthew act like his normal self.  Pick a direction with him, show, and stick with it!

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, smiley13 said:

At least Matthew  seems to be trying to correct what was annoying about him the previous times.

Until he got into the main competition. :) He critiqued and eye-rolled everyone else. Bless his heart.

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

Mr. Dad - he looked unhealthy. I don't know anything about this guy and this is just my opinion, but to me it looked like he was on something.

I agree, so did my fiance, who has counseled thousands of addicts. He guessed opioids. 

[chenoa333]

Everyone has a difference of opinion as to what chef has a personality we like or relate to. But, I don't give a crap what you look like, what your "pov" might be, what personality type you are.....just show me how to cook simple, tasty meals. This whole "Next Food Network Star" series has drifted so far from finding a superior cook/chef/teacher  to becoming a personality and visual hotness contest.

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

Everyone has a difference of opinion as to what chef has a personality we like or relate to. But, I don't give a crap what you look like, what your "pov" might be, what personality type you are.....just show me how to cook simple, tasty meals. This whole "Next Food Network Star" series has drifted so far from finding a superior cook/chef/teacher  to becoming a personality and visual hotness contest.

Amen a thousand times!! I miss Julia Child...

[backformore]

12 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Matthew - He has improved a lot! If I hadn't seen him previously, I would like him quite well. He seems a little more humble although I think he still needs to be stepped on a few times by more talented and experienced chefs before he becomes a genuinely nice person.

Yes.  Matt tried to appear confident, and pushed it too far to "cocky".   To get people to relate to him, he has to walk that fine line between confident and humble.  

He's really not that bad, he's almost likeable this season. 

[Skyfall]

1 hour ago, backformore said:

Yes.  Matt tried to appear confident, and pushed it too far to "cocky".   To get people to relate to him, he has to walk that fine line between confident and humble.  

He's really not that bad, he's almost likeable this season. 

I just think it didn't help that Bobby kinda forced him to do what he did during the intros of his season.

[Totale]

Now that FNS is out of the way Danushka should start pitching herself for the title role in a bio-pic of the insane 30s-40s songbird Virginia O'Brien.  I think she could kill it.

[chenoa333]

1 hour ago, Totale said:

Now that FNS is out of the way Danushka should start pitching herself for the title role in a bio-pic of the insane 30s-40s songbird Virginia O'Brien.  I think she could kill it.

Wow! That is spot on! Lol!

So is FNS over? Or is it just Danushka that's over? 

[cooksdelight]

11 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

So is FNS over? Or is it just Danushka that's over? 

Just the Comeback Kitchen part. We're in for the rest of the season with the finalists. I've still not picked a favorite as I was going to pull for Corey but he's acting batshit crazy from what he normally is like.

[Cowgirl]

Food Network, stop trying to make Matthew happen! I can't stand him and he cannot be off of my TV soon enough!!

[Blonde Gator]

12 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Just the Comeback Kitchen part. We're in for the rest of the season with the finalists. I've still not picked a favorite as I was going to pull for Corey but he's acting batshit crazy from what he normally is like.

Maybe he's just totally freaked out by the cameras.  That happens to some people (remember Dom)?  I hope Corey calms down, he's a fantastic chef, and I would enjoy watching him cook and teaching me some of his "tricks", as well as just watching him cook some great dishes. 

Sorry, didn't mean to put the kiss of death on him.   I've never, NOT ONCE, had my favorite chef win this competition, and only once on Top Chef.  My record is NOT good.

[Whimsy]

Reminder, this thread is only about Comeback Kitchen.  Any talk about the contestants on Food Network Star needs to go in the appropriate thread.

[smiley13]

So we have had three people eliminated.  When does Comeback Kitchen start again?

[cooksdelight]

It doesn't. But they usually have Star Salvation where one eliminated person wins a chance to come back. Haven't heard any mention of it yet.

[smiley13]

40 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

It doesn't. But they usually have Star Salvation where one eliminated person wins a chance to come back. Haven't heard any mention of it yet.

That's what I meant.  They do have a similar theme, just got the names confused.

[Gbb]

15 minutes ago, smiley13 said:

That's what I meant.  They do have a similar theme, just got the names confused.

I think Star Salvation usually starts after they have at least 3 kicked off, maybe 4. I'm trying to remember from last year, but I'm pretty sure it's mroe than 2.

[smiley13]

3 minutes ago, Gbb said:

I think Star Salvation usually starts after they have at least 3 kicked off, maybe 4. I'm trying to remember from last year, but I'm pretty sure it's mroe than 2.

Since we are at three eliminated already, that's why I was curious.

[Gbb]

A Facebook Live post from Food Network just popped up on my FB feed (Scotch eggs for the curious) and reminded me of this question I've had for awhile now. Not sure this is the best place for it but since they did several live-streaming type challenges on Comeback Kitchen, it seems as good a place as any. When contestants do streaming events on social media, does it go out live to everyone or is there a sooper sekrit group that gets special access? I wonder, because I never see anyone post on here "Hey, Joy Thompson and Rob Bermeister are streaming live on FB right now demonstrating carnival desserts!"  I'm sure there will be live streaming challenges coming up on this season's FNS and those will have already taken place. Has anyone seen any of them?

[Westiepeach]

3 minutes ago, Gbb said:

A Facebook Live post from Food Network just popped up on my FB feed (Scotch eggs for the curious) and reminded me of this question I've had for awhile now. Not sure this is the best place for it but since they did several live-streaming type challenges on Comeback Kitchen, it seems as good a place as any. When contestants do streaming events on social media, does it go out live to everyone or is there a sooper sekrit group that gets special access? I wonder, because I never see anyone post on here "Hey, Joy Thompson and Rob Bermeister are streaming live on FB right now demonstrating carnival desserts!"  I'm sure there will be live streaming challenges coming up on this season's FNS and those will have already taken place. Has anyone seen any of them?

That's a very good question. My opinion, and this is only my thoughts, is I don't see how they can really Facebook Live any stream because this whole thing has been filmed months ago. Probably before it was announced who would even appear on Comeback Kitchen. Is it possible to Facebook Live something and not stream it anywhere?

[cooksdelight]

I bumped up the thread for Star Salvation.

[biakbiak]

Tyler is currently doing Instastories from the set of Comeback Kitchen which he is currently filming with Valerie.

[mlp]

FNS needs three judges.  I keep wishing they'd ditch Giada and replace her with Tyler and Valerie.  They and Bobby Flay seem to have good chemistry and they all have a sense of humor.  

What are Instastories?

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, mlp said:

 

What are Instastories?

Instagrams version of Snapchats they are videos/pictures that disapper from the persons feed after 24 hours. 

[ivygirl]

On 2/1/2018 at 1:32 PM, mlp said:

FNS needs three judges.  I keep wishing they'd ditch Giada and replace her with Tyler and Valerie.  They and Bobby Flay seem to have good chemistry and they all have a sense of humor.  

I agree. I enjoy Valerie on her show, as well as on her judging stints, far more than I thought I would. She’d be so much more interesting than Giada. Except if they put G on with her Aunt Raffy. Now that would be fun!

[GaT]

I watched. I'm so glad Monterey is gone, she was just bad.

Trace Barnett sounds exactly like Jason Smith to me. It's confusing.

[biakbiak]

Monterey should keep her hair short, she is much more striking with it short. 

[burner]

Man I really hate Jernard.

And having Adam on this seems super unfair given he's had a couple shows already. But he's really handsome and pretty great at this so let's just go ahead and give him another show tbh.

Edited May 28, 2018 by burner

[stormy]

I'm glad Monterey was eliminated and I hope that's the last I see of her. Ditto for Jenard.

I love Valerie as a judge. She does such a better job of it then some of the other judges on similar Food Network shows.

Edited May 28, 2018 by stormy

[Fostersmom]

Jenard still creeps me out. He's like the sleazy guy who just won't take no for an answer, and when you run away screaming, he tells all his friends you're just a frigid bitch who doesn't know what she's missing. Yeah, like date rape. 

Watching this batch just made me remember how bad they all really were and how much they all deserved to get the boot the first time around. Was anyone really missing them? And they all suck just as they did originally. 

[Wings]

The point of bringing some back is solely to extend the season.  This isn’t about who wins, it is about viewers loving food competitions, as has been said. 

They got those who wanted to come do it again, not necessarily who were good.  

Emily will most likely win her way back in. 

[CMH1981]

I swear Trace wasn’t as folksy last season as he is now on this battle back.  It’s like he decided that being folksy with the southernn drawl and the sayings worked for Jason so let me give it a shot.  

He should know that TPTB would never let there be a winner who is an exact copy of the orecious year’s winner.

 

I was also puzzled as to why Adam is back when he has had multiple chances and shows that have went nowhere.

[mlp]

I don't understand how they're going to narrow the field down to one returnee in three weeks if they eliminate them one at a time.  I was hoping they'd get rid of both Monterey and Sarah last night.  I had high hopes for Yaku but he didn't do very well.  Trace seemed to be the frontrunner and he had the lion's share of the THs which may or may not mean something.

[biakbiak]

14 minutes ago, mlp said:

don't understand how they're going to narrow the field down to one returnee in three weeks if they eliminate them one at a time.

Last year there were five people in the 3rd episode. They eliminated one person after the mentor challenge and another two people on the Star Challenge to get it to two people and then revealed the winner on the first ep of FNS.

[srpturtle80]

5 hours ago, Wings said:

The point of bringing some back is solely to extend the season.  This isn’t about who wins, it is about viewers loving food competitions, as has been said. 

They got those who wanted to come do it again, not necessarily who were good.  

Emily will most likely win her way back in. 

Emily? 

[Wings]

39 minutes ago, srpturtle80 said:

Emily? 

Lol!  Abby. 

[spiderpig]

Just now, Wings said:

Lol!  Abby. 

Who's Abby?  I'm old, but not that old.

[Wings]

1 minute ago, spiderpig said:

Who's Abby?  I'm old, but not that old.

Oh shit Amy!  

[Wings]

Hepsebah?

[srpturtle80]

@Wings ?? thank you for the laugh!! And I agree that it will be Amy!

Edited May 28, 2018 by srpturtle80

[cooksdelight]

Adam has no business being there. He’s had shows. He flopped.

Maybe FN is having to scrape to find former players who are willing to try again. It seems like a slap in the face to all of the folks who didn’t win, didn’t get a show, etc.

[Wings]

11 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Adam has no business being there. He’s had shows. He flopped.

Maybe FN is having to scrape to find former players who are willing to try again. It seems like a slap in the face to all of the folks who didn’t win, didn’t get a show, etc.

What shows has he had?  They could have gone with fewer cooks I would think.  Amy is way ahead of the game, too.  When you go in front of the camera for the first time and compete with someone who has done the show AND had a few weeks warm up in this part, it must be intimidating.  Why not have newbies and just make the show longer? 

This part is only 3 weeks.   Did I hear that correctly? 

Edited May 28, 2018 by Wings

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, Wings said:

What shows has he had?

Kid in a Candy Store and Will Work For Food, Man vs. Child, a bunch of Best things I Ever Ate.

[suebee12]

Just as an aside.....Trace has improved his hairpiece this year, don't ya' think?

[Wings]

2 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

Just as an aside.....Trace has improved his hairpiece this year, don't ya' think?

Ohhh that is Trace!  I didn’t recognize him with his new wig.  Much improved!  I believe it is a full wig.  The season he was on had the biggest tell.  It is how the back hairline looks.  It is very difficult to fit that area.  You can spot that in movies too, where no expepense is spared.  Christopher Reeves had alopecia and wore wigs.  

[Wings]

37 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Kid in a Candy Store and Will Work For Food, Man vs. Child, a bunch of Best things I Ever Ate.

The only show I know is Best Thing I Ever Ate.  Never even heard of the others.

[magdalene]

Most of these people were so awful. And the worst of them was indeed eliminated right away. The whole episode was  awkward.  The best part was Valerie.  I like her natural warmth and how she can be fair in her criticism without putting someone down.

I realize I have been so spoiled by the so much more enjoyable Great British Baking Show.  I would love to see Valerie on one of their celebrity charity editions.  One American actress was on one and she aquitted herself very well.

[Yeah No]

Monterey was even more nervous and wacko than on her original season.  It was disturbing to watch.  It's pretty bad if Amy can look calm, cool and collected next to her.   Right now I think she might have a chance.

Jernaud is also disturbing.  His act is not appealing.  I'm so over anyone saying "those bad boys".

I agree with the posts above that Adam Gertler has had every chance of making it on FN and shouldn't be in this group.  I actually remember the shows he had but only from promos.  I am sure that TPTB only put him and most of them on the cast purely for entertainment purposes because I'm sure they would never be serious about most of them.

[cooksdelight]

I vote we campaign to replace Giada and her teeth with Valerie.