Comeback Kitchen

[CMH1981]

So did Monterey have to pay for that sheet pan?  She beat the hell out of that thing. I was pissed.

[mlp]

Quote

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

I've been saying that for at least two years.  She's lovely.  In fact, I think she's gorgeous for someone closer to 60 than 50.  She seems to work well with everyone too.  I think they should have three judges - Valerie and Tyler perhaps along with Bobby.

[Psychobunny]

I hate everybody. I think that they want Amy to win. Adam seemed to have the best combination of knowledge and cooking skills but I knew I thought that they had already given him several shots at shows. While Debbie may have improved (I missed her season) and using beans in her brownie was a good tip, she earns my hate for confusing gluten-free with healthy and for clearly not knowing thing one about nutrition. (Little hint, honey, if you want a lower-sugar cereal then go for Cheerios or shredded wheat and not generic Rice Krispies.

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

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

second the motion and move to general election.

[Aerobicidal]

I can’t stand the Chef of Love, but seeing him makes me think he should get a show whose theme is “Love Chef,” “Love Shack” with alternate lyrics: “I got me a family as big as a whale,” “sexual innuendos galore,” etc.

Debbie is back! I can’t remember if she drew on a specific national or ethnic inspiration for her food. Maybe that was her fatal flaw.

Monterey would be a great choice if Food Network’s current target audience enjoys feeling anxious while watching a scattered woman dealing with body lice and pathological indecisiveness. I assume that’s not their target market but I guess we’ll see.

So Yaku was “reserved”—compared to Tregaye, apparently. That’s like saying someone is insufficiently Korean compared to Debbie. Or not toothy enough compared to Giada. Lord honey, if this turns into Fleekshow II I will be watching with a bottle of grappa.

I feel like an extra-strength Xanax would have as much effect on Monterey as a single beer does on Steve Bannon.

These judges have a fairly reasonable interpretation of what adequate personalization means compared to the real judges. Amy may have worked for them, but Bobby and Giada would have been like, “THAT is personalizing? I want a story with more blood and trauma than the entire book/movie Carrie! If a bowl of pasta appears on the vagina table and no one is forced to have an existential confrontation with trauma, that is NOT personal enough!”

Now TMI is all I can think of. When Sarah talked about her grandmother’s pie and Mexican chocolate, I just imagined Giada saying, “But you didn’t tell us your grandmother suffered a violent and shocking death—while in Mexico? Wow, you missed a real opportunity.”

When Trace said, “I grew up with my grandmother in the kitchen,” Giada: “You didn’t specify her mummified body was buried under the floorboards of your kitchen! You are robbing us of the chance to get the know the real you under that luscious, silky hair and luscious, silky facial hair” (which is making me think of the beard weave from ANTM cycle 21).

Debbie: “I wouldn’t even give it to my dog to eat.”

Giada: “Because your dog was splattered by a steamroller while trying to cross the street—IN KOREATOWN. Yet you failed to tell that to us. You suck!”

Monterey: “Safety first.”

Bobby: “You omitted the fact that you were once locked in a room for seventeen hours forced to listen to ‘The Safety Dance’ on repeat. And that was not your FIRST fatal flaw, either!”

I'm hoping the train wreck factor goes even higher before this is over.

[meowmommy]

16 hours ago, magdalene said:

The best part was Valerie.  I like her natural warmth and how she can be fair in her criticism without putting someone down.

I swear, at first I thought, hmmm, Rachael Ray looks strange.  Then I --doink-- realized it was Valerie Bertinelli.  And I should know better.

14 hours ago, Yeah No said:

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.

I don't remember Monterey being such a basket case, but she was just awful this time.  I think Amy let Matthew get into her head last season and throw off her game.  

Is there even any pretense this time that the eventual winner actually wins anything?  Who was the last winner who actually spent five subsequent minutes on FN?

Edited May 29, 2018 by meowmommy

[burner]

It also kills me on all these shows when they can't say the brand names of the cereal and have to awkwardly say things like "honey oat rings".

[cooksdelight]

They’d have to pay an advertising fee to the product’s company, is why they do that. It could get expensive.

[OoogleEyes]

15 hours ago, Wings said:

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

Wasn't he also a judge on something? He's annoying as hell

[Wings]

1 minute ago, OoogleEyes said:

Wasn't he also a judge on something? He's annoying as hell

He looks familiar but I can't place where I have seen him unless it is just from his season on this. 

[Destiny74]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

They’d have to pay an advertising fee to the product’s company, is why they do that. It could get expensive.

After I ate my popping rice cereal for breakfast, I cut my finger while chopping berries.  I had to use an adhesive bandage.  Time for my breakfast toaster pastry snack!?

[meowmommy]

5 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

They’d have to pay an advertising fee to the product’s company, is why they do that. It could get expensive.

See, now I've always heard that, but it doesn't make sense to me.  Since when does a network pay the manufacturer to advertise its product, instead of the other way around?

I read something once about The Price is Right, where if you watch, sometimes they will describe a product in detail, and other times they will give a very brief, generic description.  Supposedly it's because in the first case, the manufacturer supplied the item and paid TPIR for advertising rights, and in the second, the show's producers had to go out and buy it themselves without any sponsorship.  

[cooksdelight]

That’s what I was told... it’s like if they used your likeness without your permission, that type of thing.

[Fostersmom]

3 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

After I ate my popping rice cereal for breakfast, I cut my finger while chopping berries.  I had to use an adhesive bandage.  Time for my breakfast toaster pastry snack!?

Did you use a facial tissue to wipe your tears? 

My favorite was Monterey and her fruity bits. That name just cracked me up for some reason. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I'm just wondering why Yaku was B3 over Jernard. He killed it on his first dish and while he wasn't T3 on the second one, he seemed to have embraced the "advice" or whatever ... and he didn't commit the ultimate sin of not finishing his video on time. 

But yeah, I don't remember being a Monterey fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I also don't remember feeling physically uncomfortable every time she was on screen like I did this time. She needs to make a Xanax smoothie stat. No brainer of a first elimination. 

I think that Amy will be the comebacker and the rest is all window dressing.

[CMH1981]

At least they didn’t bring Matthew back....again.

[Westiepeach]

28 minutes ago, CMH1981 said:

At least they didn’t bring Matthew back....again.

Thank the food gods. I could not have handled him yet again. 

[Destiny74]

6 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Did you use a facial tissue to wipe your tears? 

My favorite was Monterey and her fruity bits. That name just cracked me up for some reason. 

I sure did.  And then had a spoonful of chocolate hazelnut spread to ease my nerves.  

Edited May 30, 2018 by Destiny74

[Westiepeach]

1 hour ago, Destiny74 said:

I sure did.  And then had a spoonful of chocolate hazelnut spread to ease my nerves.  

And a filled golden sponge cake to round out the dessert round?

[Amarsir]

21 hours ago, burner said:

It also kills me on all these shows when they can't say the brand names of the cereal and have to awkwardly say things like "honey oat rings".

Fair use says you can talk about, use, or display products if you want. However, this being America there is always the chance of a nuisance lawsuit, especially if the brand name shows up in an ad. "Your show used our trademark without obtaining licensing rights." Worse still if the chef makes them seem bad. "Your tuna and grape Rice Krispie treats didn't taste very good." Neither would likely have merit, but it isn't worth taking the risk.

(And there's also the chance the network can sell a product placement later, which means they don't want to give it away for free.)

I agree it's silly. But lawyers. (BTW did you hear there's a new lawsuit against McDonald's because they don't take money off the price if you want your QPC without cheese?)

5 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

I'm just wondering why Yaku was B3 over Jernard. He killed it on his first dish and while he wasn't T3 on the second one, he seemed to have embraced the "advice" or whatever ... and he didn't commit the ultimate sin of not finishing his video on time. 

Because they expect him to be a frontrunner and this makes it more dramatic. All that matters is who goes home, not who had to stand up longer.

[biakbiak]

Why was Valerie acting like Yaku using cereal milk in baking was some new invention? It’s basically the reason Christina Totsi has a career.

[stormy]

Yeah. There was even a guy that was on Shark Tank selling bottles of it.

[hookedontv]

Monterey has no business being on again. She really is just a train wreck, I would have been unhappy if she didn’t get the boot first. It’s physically and mentally uncomfortable to watch her onscreen! 

[Simon47]

3 hours ago, hookedontv said:

Monterey has no business being on again. She really is just a train wreck, I would have been unhappy if she didn’t get the boot first. It’s physically and mentally uncomfortable to watch her onscreen! 

I would describe Monterey as “Mess Lady.” She:

a. Was very frustrated and emotional

b. Didn’t think about her food

c. Thought about using liquid nitrogen when there was other ways to do her work

 

As I was watching her, I thought about the lady that comes to our house every once in a while to clean it. I could just show her this lady and she would be happy to clean up her emotions.

 

Amy and Trace have really improved from last season. Those are my picks. If either of them do not make it into next season, I will not be happy.

[J-Man]

"This isn't the last you'll see of Debbie Lee."

Why is she threatening me? What did I ever to do her?

[Commando Cody]

WTH... Adam, you had the worst food. Trace, you're peppers were delicious, but you were looking the wrong way. You're out of here Trace. 

That elimination was lame. I think they went out their way to save Adam. 

[spiderpig]

Interesting premise on the first elimination round.  Didn't those "classic" dishes from the past look plain awful?

I couldn't believe Debbie was so clueless she thought molded trout had been fermented.  Hasn't she ever seen a fresh fish before?

[burner]

3 hours ago, Commando Cody said:

That elimination was lame. I think they went out their way to save Adam. 

 

I mean Adam was obviously the worst in that particular challenge but like was Trace ever a real contender for being a Food Network Star? Definitely not.

Amy seems like the most ready to go (other than Adam) with regards to immediate ability to be a Food Network host or guest of some kind. I'm guessing she'll be the one moving forward. Who do you guys think is getting the returning spot?

[stormy]

Trace being eliminated? I did not see that coming and in fact I think Adam was pretty surprised too.

I think Amy has the best shot of winning this but I like Sarah,

And oh by the way.  Every time I see Giada in that red cocktail dress, I cringe.

Edited June 4, 2018 by stormy

[Koalagirl]

On 5/29/2018 at 2:55 PM, Fostersmom said:

Did you use a facial tissue to wipe your tears? 

My favorite was Monterey and her fruity bits. That name just cracked me up for some reason. 

Fruity bits reminds me of the euphemistic term lady bits!

[LizBug]

The advertising spots for the upcoming season are stranger than strange ... especially the final shot of Giada and Bobby.  Looks like he doesn't know what to do with his hands.

[lh25]

9 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I couldn't believe Debbie was so clueless she thought molded trout had been fermented.  Hasn't she ever seen a fresh fish before?

Not just seen, but smelled!  She sniffed that fish close up, I don't get how she still thought it was fermented.

[dewelar]

1 hour ago, lh25 said:

Not just seen, but smelled!  She sniffed that fish close up, I don't get how she still thought it was fermented.

I was confused by that, too. The only thing that might make sense is that she got it so deeply into her head that the dish was supposed to have fermented fish that she built her presentation around it and tried to connect it to the dish she actually made. That would also explain why the presentation was so odd.

I agree that Adam should have gone, and also that Trace wasn't going to win so it didn't particularly matter. Given what they've shown us so far, I think they're pushing Yaku to move forward, which is fine by me. I don't think any of them are particularly great shakes, but I'd watch him over any of the others remaining.

Edited June 4, 2018 by dewelar
Clarify

[stormy]

Debby was puzzling. If she really thought she was supposed to use fermented fish, why did she never say, how do I ferment this thing?

[Commando Cody]

I wasn't saying that Trace would win this, the judging looked manipulated so Adam wouldn't get eliminated. Suddenly the members of the losing team weren't the only ones on the chopping block. If they were, Adam would have been gone. He had the worst food of the challenge. The presentation of that team, as a whole, wasn't that good. Not looking at the monitor and into a camera is an easy fix. If Trace had looked into the camera, they probably would have found an excuse to eliminate Gerard instead. 

[rab01]

On 5/29/2018 at 9:24 PM, Amarsir said:

Fair use says you can talk about, use, or display products if you want. However, this being America there is always the chance of a nuisance lawsuit, especially if the brand name shows up in an ad. "Your show used our trademark without obtaining licensing rights." Worse still if the chef makes them seem bad. "Your tuna and grape Rice Krispie treats didn't taste very good." Neither would likely have merit, but it isn't worth taking the risk.

(And there's also the chance the network can sell a product placement later, which means they don't want to give it away for free.)

I agree it's silly. But lawyers. 

It wouldn't cost them much (if anything) to clear the rights to say "Cheerios" on air but they would have to go through a clearance process with lawyers from General Mills, which is a huge hassle and a cost in itself.  Most likely though the bigger issue is that their current advertisers have rules about not advertising competitors' products on-air and that review is also tedious and would result in a weird dichotomy between which products get brand names and which don't.

(I'm a lawyer but not a trademark lawyer so it's just an opinion, not a hugely informed one.  That said, I'm not sure that "Fair Use" would apply to a pure entertainment program like Food Network Star.) 

[cooksdelight]

If I were one of the already chosen contestants, and Adam walked in as the chosen one from this... I’d be pissed. He’s already had a show, been on shows.... none of these people have had a show. It wouldn’t be right, in my eyes.

[burner]

48 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

If I were one of the already chosen contestants, and Adam walked in as the chosen one from this... I’d be pissed. He’s already had a show, been on shows.... none of these people have had a show. It wouldn’t be right, in my eyes.

 

We're all people who care enough about Food Network to post on a forum and actually remember a guy who had a show on 5+ years ago. I'm assuming most of the general viewing audience doesn't really know who Adam is? It still irks me because he's had way more practice than the rest of the contestants but like the Trace elimination I imagine they're just doing whatever they need to do to get the right person a show.

[smiley13]

I am finally getting caught up on the first two episodes.  I did have to laugh on the first episode when they joked about Debbie and her repeated mentioning in the past of being Korean.  If they hadn't brought it up, so many past viewers would have been disappointed,

[Aerobicidal]

Debbie Does Fermentation would be a big hit . . . in Korea! We’ll see her again on TV, but not today . . . in Korea!

House of Southern Elegance (HOSE) is where I started my drag career. At that time, I went by the stage name Barbie Q. I was a cross between Stacey Q and Paula Deen.

I felt neutral about Fresca. I think they would have been better as Shasta. Or Squirt. Or A Trace of Bearding.

HOSE’s final video was just three people trying to out-scream each other. I know that’s a perennial crowd-pleaser on this show but, lord honey, the Chef of Love is making Pie Style seem about as loud as Marcel Marceau.

“I knew if I could just get warmed up, I could bring it.” A quote as useful by burritos as it is by sex workers.

Well, now that Trace is gone, we'll have to look to Ryan Seacrest for problematic bearding. . . .

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, stormy said:

Debby was puzzling. If she really thought she was supposed to use fermented fish, why did she never say, how do I ferment this thing?

I think she thought the fish was already fermented when she got it.  How she thought that is beyond me because it would not have looked or smelled like a fresh fish if it was one.  I'd say it's no wonder she went home, but it sure did look like they were going out of their way to save Adam.  I don't think they wanted to get rid of Adam yet, but they also thought Debby was so ridiculous that they should change up the rules to allow for someone on the winning team to go home.  How someone could jump from "molded" to "moldy" makes no sense and even the picture of the cooked fish her dish was supposed to be based on didn't appear moldy at all, so her assumption was just way out there.  Even a basic knowledge of English grammar could have prevented her from doing that, but I guess we can't expect that of anyone these days.

5 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

If I were one of the already chosen contestants, and Adam walked in as the chosen one from this... I’d be pissed. He’s already had a show, been on shows.... none of these people have had a show. It wouldn’t be right, in my eyes.

I agree, but I think Adam is the Matthew of this season, not in terms of personality, but he's a device they're using for entertainment, like a place holder until the one they really want gets appointed.  I doubt very much that FN has any real interest in him.  Matthew hosted a food show on Canadian TV and that didn't stop them from putting him on this show again and again, and eliminating him again and again.  Even if Adam were to make it through, there's no way they would let him win FNS.

[Surrealist]

Debbie was the right contestant to go. 

Am I the only one who has never cared for Amy? I think she's a bit of a snob. 

[rustyspigot]

At this point it's all "who will make a good judge" on another competition show. So Amy being a snob would work. Hell, Martha is showing up on Chopped soon.

Bye Trace and your newer wig. 

Edited June 5, 2018 by rustyspigot

[Amarsir]

On 6/3/2018 at 2:14 PM, hookedontv said:

Monterey has no business being on again. She really is just a train wreck, I would have been unhappy if she didn’t get the boot first. It’s physically and mentally uncomfortable to watch her onscreen! 

I was sad to see her go. But I'm also a fan of The Room, Birdemic, and Troll 2. Sometimes when everything is wrong and you think you've seen it all, it's a joy to watch the new ways someone can invent to screw things up.

On 6/4/2018 at 4:04 AM, burner said:

I Amy seems like the most ready to go (other than Adam) with regards to immediate ability to be a Food Network host or guest of some kind. I'm guessing she'll be the one moving forward. Who do you guys think is getting the returning spot?

I'm getting a Yaku vibe personally.

[Simon47]

I was a bit surprised over the eliminations of Trace and Debbie because they were my picks (along with Amy) to get back onto Food Network ⭐️. Debbie just suddenly went downhill after a good week last week. Trace just did not do well for some reason. He just kept repeating himself.

I also liked how Amy called him Tracy. And boy, that beard is growing!

So Amy is the only one left in this competition that I am rooting for (the only good candidate IMO), but I doubt she will make it back onto the real competition. I think it will be Adam, since Valerie and Tyler are just trying to save people from elimination. But it could be Urban Cowgirl, or even Bernard, if he takes a chance.

[cooksdelight]

11 hours ago, burner said:

It still irks me because he's had way more practice than the rest of the contestants but like the Trace elimination I imagine they're just doing whatever they need to do to get the right person a show.

I don’t want Adam to become another Matthew. Go home, already!!

[Destiny74]

This show feeds my cynical soul.  I used to be a naive waif who used to believe these people on these cooking shows really did have these experiences and were real people, like me.  I remember loving Paula Deen when her show began, and Rachael Ray.  I loved them.  They were so warm and fun and funny.  That was BEFORE FNS.

Now I know that was all a lie.  Those stories are about as real as the Tooth Fairy.  It may have happened, in a general sense (like literally someone removes the teeth from under the pillow) but the rest is pure fiction.  These personalities are made, cultivated, prepped.  None of it is real, it's all a lie.

Seriously, it's a bit disturbing that the personalities I loved when I was younger (all the way back to when PBS was the only network to show cooking shows) were quite possibly masks that were prepped and prodded by a production company/ network.  

Innocence lost.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Destiny74 said:

This show feeds my cynical soul.  I used to be a naive waif who used to believe these people on these cooking shows really did have these experiences and were real people, like me.  I remember loving Paula Deen when her show began, and Rachael Ray.  I loved them.  They were so warm and fun and funny.  That was BEFORE FNS.

Now I know that was all a lie.  Those stories are about as real as the Tooth Fairy.  It may have happened, in a general sense (like literally someone removes the teeth from under the pillow) but the rest is pure fiction.  These personalities are made, cultivated, prepped.  None of it is real, it's all a lie.

Seriously, it's a bit disturbing that the personalities I loved when I was younger (all the way back to when PBS was the only network to show cooking shows) were quite possibly masks that were prepped and prodded by a production company/ network.  

Innocence lost.

I hear you.  Speaking of Food Network personalities lying, I dabble in my own genealogy and from stumbling upon various websites I found out that Rachael Ray is making much more of her Sicilian ancestry than is present in her ethnic percentages.  She has always gone on incessantly all through the years about being from a "big Sicilian family", and being a "Sicilian girl", but looking at her family tree, which I found posted by other relatives, her mother is only 1/2 Sicilian.  Her grandmother was pretty much of English and French Canadian descent, born here in the US with roots going way back.  So that explains why Rachael only talks about her Sicilian grandpa, conveniently never ONCE mentioning any grandmother - her grandmother was not even Italian much less Sicilian!  And there's no evidence that her grandfather had any huge family here in this country, either.  She also lies about learning a lot about cooking at her grandfather's knee - the fact is he died when she was only 5 years old!  She still goes on ad nauseum on her talk show about this stuff too!  She has always acknowledged that her father was from a "Cajun" background, but so much for her being half Sicilian - She's only one quarter. 

So Rachael Ray was one of the original FN stars to spew family lore that was misleading and partly or mostly a fiction, designed to be more "interesting" to the audience in the Food Network's eyes than the truth.

Edited June 5, 2018 by Yeah No

[chessiegal]

Rachael Ray is a major opportunist. Back in TWoP days, I read someone who was flying home from one of the food and wine festivals, and said they saw Rachael and her husband just muscle past people to get to the head of the security line. Of course, that could be a total fabrication. My thought when I read that is that she can well afford a private jet. I've also read posts from people who attended her show. They say as soon as the cameras are off, all her warmth disappears and she wants nothing to do with the audience. Very different than Carla Hall and Michael Symon on The Chew - I hear they love interacting with the audience during down times.

[Simon47]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Rachael Ray is a major opportunist. Back in TWoP days, I read someone who was flying home from one of the food and wine festivals, and said they saw Rachael and her husband just muscle past people to get to the head of the security line. Of course, that could be a total fabrication. My thought when I read that is that she can well afford a private jet. I've also read posts from people who attended her show. They say as soon as the cameras are off, all her warmth disappears and she wants nothing to do with the audience. Very different than Carla Hall and Michael Symon on The Chew - I hear they love interacting with the audience during down times.

Does this mean you don’t trust Rachael? Or does she just joke about stuff when she wants to?