S12.E01: Cinematic Debut

[cooksdelight]

Quote

30-second screen test; an eliminated contestant from a previous season joins the competition. 

[Janimo]

Glad for Martita that she advanced from Comeback Kitchen. :)

[HyeChaps]

The judges may have known already that there would be another competitor from Staten Island. 

[cooksdelight]

Lunch Lady is like Lenny II, they keep wanting to have a big huggy guy on this show.

[Janimo]

I kinda hate to admit this, but so far, I'm really liking the four judges and their various comments about the contestants food. They might not agree, but look like they're having fun. Just my two cents.

[cooksdelight]

I like Miss NC if she can dial back the "OMG!!!" a bit. The cute black lady from Atlanta is funny. Love the Italian guy but apparently he's all talk. I cannot look at the guy with the big bushy beard, without thinking I'll have a big hair in my meal.

[KBS1607]

29 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I like Miss NC if she can dial back the "OMG!!!" a bit. The cute black lady from Atlanta is funny. Love the Italian guy but apparently he's all talk. I cannot look at the guy with the big bushy beard, without thinking I'll have a big hair in my meal.

I agree!  And what was up with Bobby and Giada acting surprised at all the southern chefs?  I know they don't hand pick the finalists but still.  I like Bob I don't see him as like Lenny at all.  I want Bob and Tregaye to narrate the whole season.  I'm surprised they kept Melissa, those healthy types never last long.  

[NYGirl]

Please go away Erin.  Pleeeeeeaaaassseee....I HATE YOU!

[cooksdelight]

The woman who was a model.... I'd already forgotten all about her within 10 minutes. 

[Snarklepuss]

Lunch Lady reminds me a little of Michael Proietti from Season 5 of FNS.  He was from City Island (in the Bronx), though, not Staten Island.  So far with this cast I'm "meh".  The TV star and the model, ugh.  I actually think Martita might take it.  They could use another Mexican cook these days, although with all those Southerners they might be stacking the deck for a Southern cook.  Do not like the beard on that guy.  He needs to wear a beard net if he's going to cook with that thing.

[ivygirl]

Not enjoying Food Allergy Lady, Well-Traveled "I Love Food!" Model*, and LunchLady. As well as the BroHam who loves meat. (And how dare you cook with meat! That's HIS thing!) Not so fond of Erin, who seems to be modeling her behavior off one of Aidy Bryant's SNL characters.

The rest I can take or leave, though I was looking forward to calling today's booted contestant "Harvard." 

* Monterey: it's not that unique to be a model/actress/musician/food industry person. Have you met the cast of Vanderpump Rules?

Edited May 23, 2016 by ivygirl

[Albino]

Five minutes in I wanted to punch Tregaye in the throat.  How many times have we seen the "sassy black woman" stereotype on these shows?  The constant hair flipping and hand gestures and eye rolls are so tired and so affected. At least think of something new.

Otherwise I like everyone pretty much but yeah...the "I turn nasty food into nutritious food!" woman is annoying.   Love the giant 6'9" guy and of course, the Lunch Lady.

[Snarklepuss]

I wonder if we'll see any of Medusa this season now that her sidekick Tushie is gone.  It's not going to be the same without the two of them.  I'm not sure yet how much I love the addition of Tyler and Valerie.  I'm kind of on the fence about that so far.  I'm wondering if they're going to be around all season or was it just as a segue between "Comeback Kitchen" and this?

3 minutes ago, Albino said:

Five minutes in I wanted to punch Tregaye in the throat.  How many times have we seen the "sassy black woman" stereotype on these shows?  The constant hair flipping and hand gestures and eye rolls are so tired and so affected. At least think of something new.

Yes, and did you notice how in her second TV spot she didn't even seem like the same person?  Which just goes to show that the comment that woman made about her first spot being a "shtick" was right.

[Lillybee]

The RHOM woman was terrible, I hope that she has some cooking chops because she is not going to get by by looking like a Heidi Klum wannabee.

[backformore]

I did not like Melissa -  avoiding food allergies is NOT the same as healthy.  People are often allergic to ingredients that are healthy - fruits, nuts, milk. 

Erin was in a baking competition show recently.  She is OK, but the cutesy stuff grates after a while.    Aaron looked familiar to me, I have no idea why. Anyone recognize him?

  I was sorry to see cute bearded guy leave. 

[Albino]

Just visited foodnetworkgossip.com and virtually all of these contestants are alums of other FN shows. Not just one...several.  I wish they would at least have a decent number of regular chefs/home cooks.  The only one with no TV experience is the guy that got cut tonight LOL.  Apologies if this has been posted before.

Rob Burmeister (Staten Island, NY) -Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen (won),Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, Restaurant Stakeout

Erin Campbell (Woodbury, MN) - Holiday Baking Championship (won - prize $50,000)

Damiano Carrara (Moorpark, CA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Spring Baking Championship. 

Aaron Crumbaugh (Spokane, WA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, The Amazing Race season 6

Tregaye Fraser (Atlanta, GA) - Guy's Grocery Games, Cutthroat Kitchen (won)

Yaku Moton-Spruill (San Francisco, CA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament

Melissa Pfeister (Los Angeles, CA) - Has not appeared on other reality shows, but has 171k Twitter followers due to her revealing pictures and love of sports - mainly Ohio State.

Ana Quincoces (Coral Gables, FL) - Appeared on The Real Housewives of Miami on Bravo.  Also has her own cookbooks, which are available on Amazon. She was arrested in 2015 for driving with a suspended license.

Monterey Salka (Nashville, TN) - Cutthroat Kitchen: Camp Cutthroat (won 1 episode), Esquire's The Next Great Burger

Joy Thompson (Thomasville, NC) - Restaurant owner who has done local news segments.  It was recently discovered that her restaurant owes around $240,000 in back taxes and penalties (Link).

Havird Usry (Augusta, GA) - No previous television. Executive chef at an Augusta, GA restaurant.

Jernard Wells (Atlanta, GA) - Paula's Party, Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament

[LittleIggy]

I recognized Erin immediately and cringed immediately! I couldn't stand her on that holiday baking show.

7 minutes ago, Albino said:

Just visited foodnetworkgossip.com and virtually all of these contestants are alums of other FN shows. Not just one...several.  I wish they would at least have a decent number of regular chefs/home cooks.  The only one with no TV experience is the guy that got cut tonight LOL.  Apologies if this has been posted before.

Rob Burmeister (Staten Island, NY) -Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen (won),Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, Restaurant Stakeout

Erin Campbell (Woodbury, MN) - Holiday Baking Championship (won - prize $50,000)

Damiano Carrara (Moorpark, CA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Spring Baking Championship. 

Aaron Crumbaugh (Spokane, WA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, The Amazing Race season 6

Tregaye Fraser (Atlanta, GA) - Guy's Grocery Games, Cutthroat Kitchen (won)

Yaku Moton-Spruill (San Francisco, CA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament

Melissa Pfeister (Los Angeles, CA) - Has not appeared on other reality shows, but has 171k Twitter followers due to her revealing pictures and love of sports - mainly Ohio State.

Ana Quincoces (Coral Gables, FL) - Appeared on The Real Housewives of Miami on Bravo.  Also has her own cookbooks, which are available on Amazon. She was arrested in 2015 for driving with a suspended license.

Monterey Salka (Nashville, TN) - Cutthroat Kitchen: Camp Cutthroat (won 1 episode), Esquire's The Next Great Burger

Joy Thompson (Thomasville, NC) - Restaurant owner who has done local news segments.  It was recently discovered that her restaurant owes around $240,000 in back taxes and penalties (Link).

Havird Usry (Augusta, GA) - No previous television. Executive chef at an Augusta, GA restaurant.

Jernard Wells (Atlanta, GA) - Paula's Party, Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament

Food Network is nothing if not incestuous!

[backformore]

Quote

Aaron Crumbaugh (Spokane, WA) -........................, The Amazing Race season 6

THANK YOU!   I knew I had seen him before! 

[Rick Kitchen]

I don't dislike Martita, but I don't like the way Show always wants to shove her into a "spicy Latina" box.

Tregaye is really, really, really annoying.

Yeah, Monterey, you be sure to keep reminding us that you're a model.

I like Lunch Lady.

[Irlandesa]

With so many people having food allergies or thinking they have food allergies (celiacs disease is totally a thing but also a thing? Self-diagnosing anti-gluten freaks) Melissa has a potential concept there. I could see a show where substitutions or alternatives are suggested to the recipes to make it safe for people with various food allergies.  But equating that with healthy cooking is just wrong.  Nuts are healthy to everyone but people with a nut allergy. 

Why does Lunch lady say he's a lunch lady?  I went on his LinkedIn page when I was trying to find out where on FN I had seen him before and lunch lady isn't listed there.Just restaurants and catering.

I think Tregaye could have potential if she could find an equalibrium and stop that hair flipping whenever she says "cute" thing.  What is up with that?  Even if I thought someone was cute, that would make me stop thinking that way.

I will say that there was a lot of food that I actually wanted to eat> That's kind of rare.

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, Albino said:

Five minutes in I wanted to punch Tregaye in the throat.  How many times have we seen the "sassy black woman" stereotype on these shows?  The constant hair flipping and hand gestures and eye rolls are so tired and so affected. At least think of something new.

I didn't make it that far. I wanted to do it after the first words out of her mouth. "Lord have mercy, honey child!" Really?

Lunch Lady, is he a lost member of the NFL coaching Ryan family?

Edited May 23, 2016 by xaxat

[spiderpig]

FN - we're on to you.

I just read an old novel, Replay, where the main character dies at the very beginning, immediately comes back as his 25-years-younger self, and lives/dies the ensuing 25 years over and over.

Seems every FN show I'm spending an inordinate amount of time wondering where I've seen that cheftestant before. Thanks for the summary, LittleIggy.

Ms. Food Allergy should have her thyroid checked. And I see Marrrrrrrrteetah is still shopping at Penny Davidi's House of Fashion.

I'm really cranky tonight.

[spiderpig]

(dupe)

Edited May 23, 2016 by spiderpig
Deleted as dupe

[Sew Sumi]

24 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

I don't dislike Martita, but I don't like the way Show always wants to shove her into a "spicy Latina" box.

Tregaye is really, really, really annoying.

Yeah, Monterey, you be sure to keep reminding us that you're a model.

I like Lunch Lady.

Well, Martita will have competition from "spicy Cubana" Ana, who I unfortunately remember from the Real Housewives. She was recently divorced and all Bitter, Party of One. She's also an attorney. I'm curious how many episodes it will take for that tidbit to come out (or how closely she read her FN contract LOL). 

Edited May 23, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[ivygirl]

I have serious food allergies and I don't think I want to watch Food Allergy Lady tell me how awful my diet is. Especially now that I know she's gained "fame" by posting "hot" pictures of herself with booze. And her handle is "hot for food." Barf.

[spiderpig]

Erin reminded me of Elyn What'sHerFace who dressed up in retro 50s costumes and made the rounds of the food competitions.

[txvoodoo]

47 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

I recognized Erin immediately and cringed immediately! I couldn't stand her on that holiday baking show.

Food Network is nothing if not incestuous!

If she keeps saying "smidgens" I'm going to punch the tv.

Tregayne's trademark wave thing is so annoying. 

So Cutthroat Kitchen is like the audition for FNS? 

Melissa is really unappealing, and her diction is crap. And anyone telling me how to cook "healthy" needs to not look ill.

RHOM must go and soon. 

I don't care for Lunch Lady because he's all shouty. He's this season's  Guy Fieri doppleganger.

Anyone who uses "on fleek" should be automatically eliminated.

Stop calling food sexy, people. 

[Albino]

1 minute ago, txvoodoo said:

Anyone who uses "on fleek" should be automatically eliminated.

 

IKR?  Even Matt never said it in Comeback Kitchen. #imsomadilost #theyjustdidntgetme

Reason #27 to punch Tregayne in the throat.  

[txvoodoo]

Just now, Albino said:

IKR?  Even Matt never said it in Comeback Kitchen. #imsomadilost #theyjustdidntgetme

Reason #27 to punch Tregayne in the throat.  

But it wasn't Tregayne who said it during the cooking - it was someone else & she looked all "don't step on my territory." 

 

Oh, reality show contestants - don't use 2 year old memes. 

[Albino]

1 minute ago, txvoodoo said:

But it wasn't Tregayne who said it during the cooking - it was someone else & she looked all "don't step on my territory." 

 

I thought Tregayne said Giada was "lookin' on fleek" when they were walking in to meet Bobby and Giada.  

*tosses hair*

[txvoodoo]

1 minute ago, Albino said:

I thought Tregayne said Giada was "lookin' on fleek" when they were walking in to meet Bobby and Giada.  

*tosses hair*

Ahh I forgot that - you're right. That's twice in 1 ep. Twice too many. ;D

(I'm watching the ep now actually)

Erin - I'm so sick of yet another person rockabilly person.

And "moms who do everything." All moms do everything. All women do. End of story. :) 

[txvoodoo]

ok, Damiano's food has no flavor? Come on, FN, learn: get yourself a Sicilian, ok? 

Not like I'm Sicilian or anything. ;) 

[Lillybee]

Food allergy woman reminds me of an anorexic Demaris.

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, ivygirl said:

I have serious food allergies and I don't think I want to watch Food Allergy Lady tell me how awful my diet is. Especially now that I know she's gained "fame" by posting "hot" pictures of herself with booze. And her handle is "hot for food." Barf.

OK Ivygirl - spill the deets.

eta - I Googled her. Fakety-fake-fake-fake attention grabber.

Edited May 23, 2016 by spiderpig

[J-Man]

Quote

Rob Burmeister (Staten Island, NY) -Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen (won),Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, Restaurant Stakeout

They did a Restaurant Stakeout in a school lunchroom? That must have been interesting. 

[txvoodoo]

Just now, spiderpig said:

OK Ivygirl - spill the deets.

Her twitter: https://twitter.com/Hot_For_Food

And you can google image search her name for all her pics. 

[GaT]

I thought Melissa should have gone home, she did the same thing for both introductions even though they told her not to. Also, "bad for you food made healthy" is a really stupid POV.

[Christina]

I remember seeing Paula Deen on a talk show where they tried to make her food more healthy. The fried chicken had no breading and was dried out, and the macaroni and cheese was like a brick. I can't remember what they did to it, but I think it was just the low-fat cheese and probably fat-free milk. She tried to pick it up on her fork and it stuck together and whoever the host was tried to cover and move on, but it was clear that their experiment was a failure, and the food was largely inedible in it's current state. It may have been okay right out of the oven, but by the time it was on stage, no one would want it.

Some things aren't meant to be healthy. That's why you don't eat a whole pan of it and you don't eat it every day. Unless it's hot, because a calorie is the scientific measurement of the unit of heat energy used to raise the temperature of water one kilogram so if the food is already hot, it has no calories, your body doesn't need to expend as much energy to digest it and therefore, that large pan of hot brownies is safe to eat. Ignore all the obvious fallacies in this theory, because it is my newest diet trend that I will use as my point of view when I'm selected for FNS. I'll come up with a pseudo-scientific theory to go with it before then. 

I was pretty meh on everyone, so I think I'll watch it again and see if my opinion changes. It will probably take until it narrows down a bit to find someone I want to root for, unless they have a great personality right out of the gate, which I missed on first viewing. 

[cooksdelight]

4 hours ago, J-Man said:

They did a Restaurant Stakeout in a school lunchroom? That must have been interesting. 

Someone mentioned above that on his Linkedin page, there's nothing about him being a school cafeteria supervisor (which was his title at the start of the show) but that he had a restaurant(s) and did catering. I think he's decided that Lunch Lady is his hook.

[jzygayle]

5 hours ago, txvoodoo said:

If she keeps saying "smidgens" I'm going to punch the tv.

Tregayne's trademark wave thing is so annoying. 

So Cutthroat Kitchen is like the audition for FNS? 

Melissa is really unappealing, and her diction is crap. And anyone telling me how to cook "healthy" needs to not look ill.

RHOM must go and soon. 

I don't care for Lunch Lady because he's all shouty. He's this season's  Guy Fieri doppleganger.

Anyone who uses "on fleek" should be automatically eliminated.

Stop calling food sexy, people. 

This.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Lunch Lady was just a reboot of Guy Fieri.

[Snarklepuss]

6 hours ago, Albino said:

Just visited foodnetworkgossip.com and virtually all of these contestants are alums of other FN shows. Not just one...several.  I wish they would at least have a decent number of regular chefs/home cooks.  The only one with no TV experience is the guy that got cut tonight LOL.  Apologies if this has been posted before.

ITA, and why so many from "Cutthroat Kitchen"?  I love Alton (or I used to before he went over to the "dark side") but I can't stand that show.  No wonder most of these people act like shameless fame whores.  All of them have a shtick.  I was sorry to see "Havird" (sp?) go.  At least he seemed for real.  Martita has a shtick too but at least she seems somewhat for real.  I'm getting fakety-fake vibes from a lot of these people and now I know why.

[Wings]

Funny when Bobby and Tyler were waxing poetic over Martita's performance and Valerie cut them short.  She said, now wait a minute, she did not mention the food straight away.  It was cute because she knew they were picturing her naked and paying NO attention to content.   

Valerie and Giada are developing a sweet connection.  I enjoyed the judging. 

I didn't bother watching Comeback Kitchen because I watched this first.  

It will take more time for me to see who I favor but it sure seems Martita will take this.  She has had more experience with the camera, huge advantage.  And the boys love her.  ***eye roll***

Erin is genuine says Bobby.  Oh good god, no she is not!  She is about as fake as I have seen anyone on one of these shows.  

9 hours ago, Albino said:

Five minutes in I wanted to punch Tregaye in the throat.  How many times have we seen the "sassy black woman" stereotype on these shows?  The constant hair flipping and hand gestures and eye rolls are so tired and so affected. At least think of something new.

Otherwise I like everyone pretty much but yeah...the "I turn nasty food into nutritious food!" woman is annoying.   Love the giant 6'9" guy and of course, the Lunch Lady.

YES!  She changed her tune quickly and I think more was said to her by the judges that didn't make the cut.  She changed gears immediately.  Bobby said, if this is really who you are then go for it..  I think there was more.  Ana spoke the truth and good for her.  It was a shtick. 

Edited May 23, 2016 by wings707

[JoJoPowerRanger]

Aw man, I'm totally swimming against the tide here but I really like most of the contestants this season, mostly because they vied on my favorite episodes of cutthroat kitchen.  I thought Yaku and Tregaye were hilarious on the episode Mooin' On Up (season 8 ep 5). I agree that a lot of the contestants have some fake act going on but I lost faith in Food Network Star anyway when they revived Dom and his poor performance sixty-leven times. Now I see NFNS as a scripted TV show with characters of equally scripted personalities and I'm watching purely for entertainment reasons.

OTOH, I'm the targeted demographic of the real housewives franchise so it could also be that I'm a poor judge of these shows. I'd also like to follow up that I dislike former real housewife ana quincoces and hope she gets eliminated early.

[spiderpig]

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Someone mentioned above that on his Linkedin page, there's nothing about him being a school cafeteria supervisor (which was his title at the start of the show) but that he had a restaurant(s) and did catering. I think he's decided that Lunch Lady is his hook.

Another ChefActor?

[LennieBriscoe]

Can't take any more of Martita or of "Southern cooking."

[spiderpig]

24 minutes ago, JoJoPowerRanger said:

Aw man, I'm totally swimming against the tide here but I really like most of the contestants this season, mostly because they vied on my favorite episodes of cutthroat kitchen.  I thought Yaku and Tregaye were hilarious on the episode Mooin' On Up (season 8 ep 5). I agree that a lot of the contestants have some fake act going on but I lost faith in Food Network Star anyway when they revived Dom and his poor performance sixty-leven times. Now I see NFNS as a scripted TV show with characters of equally scripted personalities and I'm watching purely for entertainment reasons.

OTOH, I'm the targeted demographic of the real housewives franchise so it could also be that I'm a poor judge of these shows. I'd also like to follow up that I dislike former real housewife ana quincoces and hope she gets eliminated early.

I like Cutthroat too. At least it's open about ridiculous showmanship, and - best of all - no sob stories.

I'll continue to watch FNS while I'm waterboarding myself.

[Skyfall]

Giada seemed extra catty, she must be getting burnt out as Judge. Also this show deserve a live thread in my opinion, the snark would be real.

11 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Lunch Lady is like Lenny II, they keep wanting to have a big huggy guy on this show.

Lenny III, Lenny II was the Cajun guy last season.

[cooksdelight]

Quote

Erin is genuine says Bobby.  Oh good god, no she is not!  She is about as fake as I have seen anyone on one of these shows.

Consider the source. :)

9 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Another ChefActor?

That would be my guess. 

[Skyfall]

9 hours ago, Albino said:

Just visited foodnetworkgossip.com and virtually all of these contestants are alums of other FN shows. Not just one...several.  I wish they would at least have a decent number of regular chefs/home cooks.  The only one with no TV experience is the guy that got cut tonight LOL.  Apologies if this has been posted before.

Rob Burmeister (Staten Island, NY) -Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen (won),Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, Restaurant Stakeout

Erin Campbell (Woodbury, MN) - Holiday Baking Championship (won - prize $50,000)

Damiano Carrara (Moorpark, CA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Spring Baking Championship. 

Aaron Crumbaugh (Spokane, WA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament, The Amazing Race season 6

Tregaye Fraser (Atlanta, GA) - Guy's Grocery Games, Cutthroat Kitchen (won)

Yaku Moton-Spruill (San Francisco, CA) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament

Melissa Pfeister (Los Angeles, CA) - Has not appeared on other reality shows, but has 171k Twitter followers due to her revealing pictures and love of sports - mainly Ohio State.

Ana Quincoces (Coral Gables, FL) - Appeared on The Real Housewives of Miami on Bravo.  Also has her own cookbooks, which are available on Amazon. She was arrested in 2015 for driving with a suspended license.

Monterey Salka (Nashville, TN) - Cutthroat Kitchen: Camp Cutthroat (won 1 episode), Esquire's The Next Great Burger

Joy Thompson (Thomasville, NC) - Restaurant owner who has done local news segments.  It was recently discovered that her restaurant owes around $240,000 in back taxes and penalties (Link).

Havird Usry (Augusta, GA) - No previous television. Executive chef at an Augusta, GA restaurant.

Jernard Wells (Atlanta, GA) - Paula's Party, Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen: Evilicious Tournament

Pretty sure Mellisa mentioned that she was a youtuber thus why she has a huge follower count.

[Skyfall]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

I thought Melissa should have gone home, she did the same thing for both introductions even though they told her not to. Also, "bad for you food made healthy" is a really stupid POV.

Nikki Dinki's Meat On The Side did it better and Nikki is more attractive IMO.