S14.E07: Booty

[marybennet]

For those who think Jim was slily poking at Emily when he said "this is the first time I've heard you say something nice," he was actually commenting on what Hugh Acheson said in complimenting him as a modern Southern chef, and he said it was the first time he had heard "Hugh" say something nice.  (The closed captioning said "you" but Acheson's name is what makes sense in context, and closed captioning gets a million things wrong all the time.)  So Jim's record for sweetness remains unblemished.  I will miss him!  He was a delight.

(This is my first post.  Doing a little kitchen happy dance.)

[CrinkleCutCat]

If I wanted to watch Amazing Race for treasure hunting and racing around with maps I would. I want to watch Top Chef and COOKING! I wish they would show us more of the processes and techniques the chefs use.... I want to learn some things! It's all too rushed for me to enjoy the cooking part.

[Canada]

Casey's damn lucky that Katsuji can cook or else she would have been gone and deservedly so.  Fishy raw scallops that were sitting outside for god knows how long???  Sounds really yummy.  And she actually argued about how good her food was.  She and Emily can both go next.  Their food and their attitudes stink.

Jaime is an idiot.  No one gives a shit about your 'sacrifice' dude.  You'll be forgotten in about five minutes.

[sourpickles]

4 minutes ago, marybennet said:

For those who think Jim was slily poking at Emily when he said "this is the first time I've heard you say something nice," he was actually commenting on what Hugh Acheson said in complimenting him as a modern Southern chef, and he said it was the first time he had heard "Hugh" say something nice.  (The closed captioning said "you" but Acheson's name is what makes sense in context, and closed captioning gets a million things wrong all the time.)  So Jim's record for sweetness remains unblemished.  I will miss him!  He was a delight.

(This is my first post.  Doing a little kitchen happy dance.)

Welcome!

[apollonia666]

John Tesar does seem like he's had some therapy and worked on his anger management, and for the most part I like him these days.  But UGH he was sweating so much into that gnocchi!  It made me downright queasy.  

[bitchin camaro]

18 minutes ago, Canada said:

Casey's damn lucky that Katsuji can cook or else she would have been gone and deservedly so.  Fishy raw scallops that were sitting outside for god knows how long???  Sounds really yummy.  And she actually argued about how good her food was.  She and Emily can both go next.  Their food and their attitudes stink.

Jaime is an idiot.  No one gives a shit about your 'sacrifice' dude.  You'll be forgotten in about five minutes.

They weren't sitting outside. If you watch them pick up the bags, there's nothing in them (well, maybe some paper or something as filler) but they didn't leave the actual ingredients around town. Thankfully. I'm relieved they didn't get the idea to have a race to see who could food-poison their guests the least. ;)

[Court]

If Casey had to smell the scallops ten times, that's a sign there was something wrong and she knew it.

[Sew Sumi]

But would the culinary staff purposely sabotage a cheftestant with food that could send people to the hospital? I wonder what kind of waiver "guests" have to sign. I can't stand Casey (never liked her even in her season), but I think the judges kind of gave her a raw deal (sorry for punning). I think her sin was more that the scallops were undercooked rather than on the verge of going bad. Send her home next week. 

My DVR cut off. There are 8 cheftestants left. Isn't it time for RW next week?

[Randomosity]

2 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

But would the culinary staff purposely sabotage a cheftestant with food that could send people to the hospital? I wonder what kind of waiver "guests" have to sign. I can't stand Casey (never liked her even in her season), but I think the judges kind of gave her a raw deal (sorry for punning). I think her sin was more that the scallops were undercooked rather than on the verge of going bad. Send her home next week. 

My DVR cut off. There are 8 cheftestants left. Isn't it time for RW next week?

They weren't cooked at all on purpose; you can't undercook something meant to be raw. It was the bad/off flavor that was her sin.

And yes, RW is next week.

[Nordly Beaumont]

When John, Emily, and Jamie were discussing their strategy - John said something like "If we get any bad ingredients..." and he gestured to Jamie who immediately said "I'll take it." He wasn't "railroaded." I'm sure Jamie just felt confident that he could do well with anything he was given. But no one forced Jamie to do anything he did. 

[Sew Sumi]

LOL, I tend to zone out when Casey is on my screen, so I didn't know if they were meant to be raw or not (it doesn't help that I can't eat shellfish, so I kind of zone out when it's being discussed). 

Maybe Casey will be elected as FOH and totally lose control of service. A girl can dream...

[Thumper]

1 hour ago, Court said:

If Casey had to smell the scallops ten times, that's a sign there was something wrong and she knew it.

I don't understand this.  Why did production leave ingredients sitting outdoors, and then let the judges complain that the scallops were "bad?"  What was Casey supposed to do without one of the ingredients they were supposed to use?  Ack.  (Not a Casey fan, but I thought this was unfair.)

[Court]

7 minutes ago, Thumper said:

I don't understand this.  Why did production leave ingredients sitting outdoors, and then let the judges complain that the scallops were "bad?"  What was Casey supposed to do without one of the ingredients they were supposed to use?  Ack.  (Not a Casey fan, but I thought this was unfair.)

My thinking is she wasn't sure and that's why she had to keep smelling. If it's questionable, don't serve them raw.

Like others,I don't think the ingredients they used were actually in the box. Those were for show and the ingredients were properly refrigerated in the kitchen.

[ratgirlagogo]

They would have been fine if she had cooked them, which she didn't do.  They weren't "bad" so much as unsuitable for raw ceviche/sashimi - or salt brining.

OTOH there was a similar hoo-hah years ago in the Chicago season when Spike Mendelsohn got reamed out for searing frozen scallops he had found in the walk-in at Tramonto's - it turned out the production crew had put them in there, whereas Spike assumed that anything in the walk-in at this famous high-end joint must be high quality stuff.  

In both cases the cheftestants were scolded for not recognizing that the scallops needed some remedial cooking treatment - but in both cases yes it does seem unfair.  As far as that goes it also seemed to me that what I assume must have been frozen lobster tails were a little less-than, as opposed to fresh living lobsters.

[Court]

I wish the judges still wrote blogs. While searching, I found this article with an interview with Jamie.

He thought the judges would send Casey home.

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-14/blogs/heres-the-real-story-behind-that-shocking-top-chef-elimination

[Happytobehere]

GROWL!  How does Emily, that walking ode to mediocrity remain in the competition.  She continually circles the drain but remains because someone's dish was slightly worse.  I started off hating the show because Jim, who actually tried something inventive on a dish he got outvoted into, got the boot while her blah and basic take on a dish got a pass.  Next Jaime goes because he had enough integrity to offer up his immunity because he got stuck making a dish he didn't want and couldn't execute it because the grill wasn't hot, which didn't help the end result of his satay.  If the show is not careful, Emily will be the next Hosea, delightful personality and subpar cooking revisited. 

Brooke and Casey were lucky that Katsuji was there to save  them as neither of their dishes were any good either.  Really Brooke, you don't like raisins so you drown them in vinegar.  Really Casey, serving raw scallops when you knew had to be sketchy because according to you, you smelt them "ten times," and then offering that BS excuse.

Padma, who has never been my favorite, extreme beauty aside, is really showing herself to be quite the nasty piece of work this season.  It has always sort of been there bubbling to get to the surface, but boy of boy is the nasty, entitled, I am the Queen on full display now.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Happytobehere

[DarkRaichu]

1. Sheldon read my mind (ie. Captain Planet comment) :P

2. Jim was gone?  Wow I did not see that coming

3. Seeing Katsuji bitching as he walked in the rain was very entertaining

4. I hope Brooke and Casey know Katsuji saved their asses in that elimination :P

5. Hats off to Jamie.  The dude had some integrity.  Chicken satay is very simple to make.  I would have volunteered to go home had I screwed that up too. 

6. I like Graham Elliot better in TC

7. There were way too many shots of Padma making faces.  Not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing :P

ETA:
8. Downtown Charleston Chamber of Commerce must not be very pleased with how the town was shown via wet lenses.  

9. I did not know I learned so much from Black Sails (ie. the pirate stuffs) :P

Edited January 14, 2017 by DarkRaichu

[sportsgirl]

Wow, this show is sure easier once you've played the game before, huh? I wonder if Top Chef will ever mix newbies with veterans again, after the veterans have had such a clear advantage. It's too bad; I liked the idea, so I wish the outcomes were a little more even. I hated seeing Jim go home in the QuickFire, and Jamie go home at the end: they, along with Silvia and Sylva, appeared the four best among the new chefs.

During the New Orleans season, I thought Stephanie's elimination was unfair due to the circumstances beyond the cheftestants' control. Namely, there were only six contestants left; Nick had immunity; chefs were put into teams of 3 (they didn't choose); and the eliminated chef had to be from the losing team. Stephanie and Shirley had, if I remember correctly, the judges' favorite dishes, but because Nick's dish was so awful, their team lost. It's one thing to go home on a good dish (like Sam did); but it's completely different to go home for the second-best-of-six dishes.

I was therefore angry to see to the return of the immunity/small randomly-selected team challenge, though at least there were three teams and not only two remaining, making it slightly less teeth-gritting. I felt bad for Jamie: he'd come along way from the guy who couldn't cook a vegetable, and I think he got played into giving up his immunity (though maybe not intentionally) by both John and Padma. John pretty much talked Jamie into making a bad dish: not maliciously, but I don't think there's any way Jamie would have let himself be led into that situation if he even considered that he could be knifed. And unlike with Shirley & Stephanie, it wasn't like a good dish would go home if Jamie kept his immunity: Emily's dish sounded pretty terrible.

[dleighg]

20 hours ago, Empress1 said:

For what it's worth, Nick's restaurant, Laurel, is bomb. There was a months-long waiting list when I last ate there (the space is small), but it was worth it. Every mouthful was delicious. I went with a vegan friend and they accommodated her beautifully. The service was excellent.

yeah, we gave a gift certificate to my SIL for a gift and she had tons of trouble getting a reservation! Laurel shows up on many "Best of" lists of Philly.

16 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

2. Jim was gone?  Wow I did not see that coming

 

I got spoiled last week because someone on the spoiler thread (yes, why was I reading it?) noticed that Jim wasn't in the "running in the rain shots" and that there seemed to have been a SDQ and he was gone. So all the relief about him getting the pack your knives treatment (without getting eliminated) with the discussion of his wedding kind of cracked me up. The production crew just gave us the PYK thing one week early! And I guess they had to because he left in the first minutes of the show!

[cooksdelight]

7 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

When John, Emily, and Jamie were discussing their strategy - John said something like "If we get any bad ingredients..." and he gestured to Jamie who immediately said "I'll take it." He wasn't "railroaded." I'm sure Jamie just felt confident that he could do well with anything he was given. But no one forced Jamie to do anything he did. 

That's exactly how I remember it as well. But Emily, fearing her own ass was on the way out, tried to blame it all on John. Who cooked a good dish. Emily can't cook. I really want to know where she works (if she's still employed after her mess on this show) so I can avoid it when I am in Charleston.

[Spaceman Spiff]

11 hours ago, sourpickles said:

Agreed also that the Treasure Hunt thing was stupid, even for TV.  Especially in that weather, though Katsuji was priceless.  All I can think of during these dumb hunts is chefs riding flipping bicycles to make Pee Wee Herman happy.  God, that image will never go away. 

Or the chopping ingredients from ice blocks, or shooting at targets of ingredients, cooking in a target, plus wasn't there an all nighter at a museum once? I don't like the Amazing Race aspect of some of these challenges. I don't mind the cook from a vending machine, grocery aisle, only canned goods one because they have to be innovative, but physically stressing them out makes no sense.

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

That's exactly how I remember it as well. But Emily, fearing her own ass was on the way out, tried to blame it all on John. Who cooked a good dish. Emily can't cook. I really want to know where she works (if she's still employed after her mess on this show) so I can avoid it when I am in Charleston.

I remember that too, but I also remember John expecting Emily to do all the lobster even though they were both using it, as well as the snippet of him all "can you get this from the pantry for me?" Those moments reminded me of old John, not new zen John. Not really defending Emily, but I was glad she spoke up. I also wish the judges would be consistent with the whole immunity deal. I really dislike Jamie now since his fall on the sword has kept Emily in this competition.

[DHDancer]

Jaime was totally responsible for screwing up what should have been a simple dish: prepared well, chicken satay is delicious.  He could have fixed the grill problem if he tried but I also remember the judges commenting on the flavor (marinade/satay sauce) being strange and I think that was really the issue.   And frankly he didn't have to make chicken satay.  Heaven forbid chicken is a blank canvas, ripe for innovation (they had plenty of truffles, remember).  Yes the peanut butter was potentially a challenge, but it wasn't an impossibility to produce a decent sauce or coating.

I am truly sorry to see Jim gone: he was such a highlight being a good cook and a nice guy.  He reminded me of Gary who won the Masterchef UK professionals this season (sorry, spoiler if you intend to watch it).

[sourpickles]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

Or the chopping ingredients from ice blocks, or shooting at targets of ingredients, cooking in a target, plus wasn't there an all nighter at a museum once? I don't like the Amazing Race aspect of some of these challenges. I don't mind the cook from a vending machine, grocery aisle, only canned goods one because they have to be innovative, but physically stressing them out makes no sense.

I remember that too, but I also remember John expecting Emily to do all the lobster even though they were both using it, as well as the snippet of him all "can you get this from the pantry for me?" Those moments reminded me of old John, not new zen John. Not really defending Emily, but I was glad she spoke up. I also wish the judges would be consistent with the whole immunity deal. I really dislike Jamie now since his fall on the sword has kept Emily in this competition.

Yes, in the All Stars season.  Jen Carroll got canned for that, and she FLIPPED OUT.  You really should watch it again, totally worth seeing.  On a side note, Jamie should have gone home that time, and thought she was.  At least I think it was that episode.  Jamie almost went home a bunch of times, Little Miss Top Scallop there.  And in the Chicago (?) season they had to run around neighborhoods to get ingredients from people's houses.  I agree one thousand times that those kinds of challenges are silly as hell.

[wallflower75]

23 hours ago, dgpolo said:

Poor Jim. I just can't see how anyone can be called Top Chef if each challenge is it's own competition. What you're really doing is having mini-top chefs along the way, and if you're lucky, two competent chefs left at the end. To me a Top Chef is someone who can cook great food and if they have one bad challenge, their past work should count for something.

This has always been the one thing I really don't like about Top Chef.  We've seen how the Top Chef in some seasons has been the person who had the best night, but perhaps not the best season--Hosea in S5, anyone?  We've seen great chefs get eliminated for one bad dish--too many to name.  I truly feel some consideration should be taken at the end as to how someone did overall.  Then you might not have a Hosea winning.

I had to turn off the DVR for ten minutes after Jim was eliminated, I was so pissed off.  I debated whether or not I wanted to continue watching.  Then I remembered that there's still Sheldon and Shirley, and I turned it back on.  (Still...Jim...*sniffle*)  And speaking of Sheldon, what has he done to piss off the producers of this show?  A scavenger hunt after a "fitness" challenge, with his back?  WTF??

 

21 hours ago, snarktini said:

I am sure it wasn't actual product. First, for food safety reasons it wouldn't make any sense to serve potentially mis-handled food to party guests. Second, food for an entire party wouldn't fit, the lobsters illustrating that perfectly. It's also unlikely IMO that production split up the ingredients (raisins go in the chest, chicken goes in the kitchen). The bags were just placeholders. 

When Tom said tasted like they'd been in the chest for four hours, he was being snarky.

My first thought when Tom said that was, "Didn't they keep them refrigerated?"  But I guess the issue was more how Casey cooked them (or didn't) than in the quality of the product.

21 hours ago, RealReality said:

I think there is a feeling that its ignoble to have immunity and then fuck up.  Like you're using immunity to coast by.

And Padma was kind enough to keep twisting the damn knife at every turn ("well I hope you can at least use your immunity well and serve me some food this time!")  Like come on Padma, you didn't get food last time, he messed up, its been at least a day, get over it.  He didn't forget a plate of food just to spite you.

And I feel like Jaime didn't want to be that guy.  However, he was that guy because he had immunity because he had to use crappy ingredients.

As mad as I am at Jamie's decision to give up immunity (because it means Emily's around for another week--grrr...), I do respect that he didn't back out of it when facing the judges for the final decision.  Anyone can say they'll give it up in the stew room and not follow through because they're not going to be asked to do that (at least not since New Orleans), but he did it.  If he did it because he thought it would be Casey going home because of her scallops, then he took a risk and lost, but he didn't back down when put to the fire.

Edited January 14, 2017 by wallflower75

[Jobiska]

21 hours ago, snarktini said:

Also thought it was amusing Brooke and Casey packed their own rain gear, where everyone else had to get one from the show.

Of course, some of them could have brought rain gear with large logos on it, not expecting to have to wear it on camera; I did see Sylva's baseball cap logo was taped over.  Wonder how they found dark taupe gaffer tape.

19 hours ago, rho said:

My point is Nick is more memorable for this controversial stunt than for winning the season. And I'm inclined to believe the negative feedback has hindered his career. Unlike previous winner (and non-winners) he hasn't shown up to judge later seasons nor is he popping up on other foodie shows. It's like they scrubbed that season from the lexicon of this show. I mean, this year so many of us remembered Shirley but couldn't quite recall which season she first appeared on. 

I think it's more Nick's personality and how he himself feels about his time on the show than anything else.  I ate at his restaurant and told him we enjoyed seeing him on the show and he was quite gracious but sort of made a small face (not a nasty one) and whatever his words were sort of implied that it was kind of a stressful, mixed-bag experience for him--again, not in a way that was rude to TC or to us as diners/fans but just sort of in a...human way.  I also think he is plenty busy with Laurel and the new bar next door and is probably happier doing that than seeking further TV time.  Not that TC would be raring to go get him at all costs either, but I don't think it's an erasure, just that there are more personable chefs to do it.  

I suspect that if they ever film in Philly, he might show up.  

And I agree with Empress1, Laurel accommodated me as a mostly vegetarian fish-eater very graciously.  And I'm a huge salt fiend but didn't need salt there!

[dgpolo]

4 hours ago, DHDancer said:

Jaime was totally responsible for screwing up what should have been a simple dish: prepared well, chicken satay is delicious.  

Exactly! the thing is, if you come in first, you don't need to use your immunity, if you come in somewhere in the middle, you don't need to use your immunity. The ONLY time you can actually use your immunity, is if you screw up and make a lousy dish. Immunity is no good to anyone, unless they screw up. And he did. And he was entitled to use his immunity and he was made to feel he couldn't or shouldn't.

[Charlesman]

Hearing Katsuji calling someone else rude in the opening was funny 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

On 1/13/2017 at 4:28 AM, rho said:

Sheldon stole my heart when he invoked Captain Planet. I love him!

"Cancers like long walks on the beach, rom-coms and 'two dryer sheets." Shove over on the Sheldon Love Train.  

If I heard one more chef say, "a little bit of..." I was going to scream.

Casey and her fishy scallops can go at any time.  I've never liked her and she was ridiculously defensive about her shitty dish.  But the award for most unlikable goes to Emily, hands down.

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

And he was entitled to use his immunity and he was made to feel he couldn't or shouldn't.

Who made him feel he should give up immunity?

[ratgirlagogo]

14 hours ago, Court said:

 

I wish the judges still wrote blogs.

 

Plus one. And how.

[Wings]

13 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Who made him feel he should give up immunity?

No one.   His dish was terrible and he knew that even before his team lost.  John and Katsuji said that they would not have done that.  I wouldn't have either.  In the end, it is a game and aim to win no matter what.  

[Jobiska]

17 hours ago, CrinkleCutCat said:

If I wanted to watch Amazing Race for treasure hunting and racing around with maps I would.

I do watch Amazing Race for these things, but I watch Top Chef for other things!  I even commented to Mr. Jobiska when the red team was haplessly running around and around a building (or two? three?), "on TAR the Amazing Cameraperson would have discreetly zoomed over to where the clue actually was, without them knowing about it."  It was of limited entertainment value to watch them stumbling around over muddy grass near rain-streaked gray buildings not finding something if you don't know if they are 10 yards or 10 blocks from it!  

I have watched several team challenges, notably on Project Runway as well as on previous seasons of Top Chef, where someone with good ideas and/or objections to bad ideas is totally ignored, talked over, etc., either due to meanness or just cluelessness on the part of the other teammates.

Here, every single time they found a chest and Emily made the slightest little squawk of protest, both Jamie and John froze in place and looked at her and said something like "no?" or waited for her to elucidate or make a strong statement in favor of the other option or whatever.  Every single time, she always martyrishly said they should go ahead with the other choice.  She was not being talked over or ignored by any means.  Like I said, I've seen that reality TV trope plenty and this wasn't it.

This, combined with John hinting but Jamie jumping in in total agreement that he would "take one for the team" over their coffee or whatever, weighs much more heavily with me in total than "wah wah John made me break down all the lobsters, even his."  Sure, maybe he did.  But I'm guessing you didn't speak up then just as you didn't speak up after an initial squawk on all the other choices.  

And yeah, I suppose she does come in with the baggage of having been fired for being too outspoken.  But John comes in with baggage, and Jamie does, and so forth.  

[dgpolo]

46 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Who made him feel he should give up immunity?

 

On 1/13/2017 at 3:22 AM, RealReality said:

I partially blame Padma.  I think her constant nettling of him (well, I hope you do something better than slack off and not give me any food!) probably played some part in his decision.

Plus the whole mindset that he'd 'take one for the team' with the crappiest ingredients.

[Canada]

What rubbish.  Jaime gave up immunity because he wanted to, to make some kind of statement about his character.  He said it himself in the episode.  Padma's not to blame for it, nor is anyone else.  Jaime is to blame.  In fact, Padma clearly gave Jaime the chance to change his mind by asking him numerous times if he stood by his statement; it was obvious at that point he was going home and she gave him the chance to save himself.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Canada

[Randomosity]

55 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

It was of limited entertainment value to watch them stumbling around over muddy grass near rain-streaked gray buildings not finding something if you don't know if they are 10 yards or 10 blocks from it! 

But we did know - it had just showed another team finding the chest at the top of the big stairs. Then it showed the red team not seeing it from the base of the stairs. Then it showed them running circles around that building because they knew they were close to the point on the map.

[sourpickles]

Not to get off the subject here, but did anyone else find Casey's rendition/recap of the whole Blackbeard's Party story hilarious?  I think I've figured out what bugs me a bit about both Casey and Brooke, is they are kind of flat emotionally in their interviews.  Again, this is to me.

I take that back, maybe not emotionally, but inflection wise.  They just stare at the camera and talk.  Like that.

[cooksdelight]

40 minutes ago, sourpickles said:

Not to get off the subject here, but did anyone else find Casey's rendition/recap of the whole Blackbeard's Party story hilarious?  I think I've figured out what bugs me a bit about both Casey and Brooke, is they are kind of flat emotionally in their interviews.  Again, this is to me.

I take that back, maybe not emotionally, but inflection wise.  They just stare at the camera and talk.  Like that.

It's not just you. And Brooke does it with her nose in the air.

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, Canada said:

What rubbish.  Jaime gave up immunity because he wanted to, to make some kind of statement about his character.  He said it himself in the episode.  Padma's not to blame for it, nor is anyone else.  Jaime is to blame.  In fact, Padma clearly gave Jaime the chance to change his mind by asking him numerous times if he stood by his statement; it was obvious at that point he was going home and she gave him the chance to save himself.

This is true, but previous contestants have gotten a bad rap, on nearly every reality show, for using immunity as an excuse to slack off.

No one wants to be that chef. And it woukd be easy to take Padma's constant shade throwing as her thinking that that's what Jaime did the first time he had immunity.

And then for his dish to have failed a second time would have, for him, added the this idea that there was an impression he was just using immunity as an excuse to not work as hard.

And that's nowhere near the truth.  So I wish padma would stop acting like it's some personal affront when she doesn't get a plate of food.  It's a mistake, they all make them, and he didn't do it just because he had immunity.

[kittykat]

This season is reminding just how much more  talented the Seattle group was vs other recent seasons.  Josie notwithstanding, that whole top 8 that season was spot on.  And it's showing considering John, Sheldon and Brooke have gone strong with few hiccups.  I'm down for a John/Sheldon/Brooke/Shirley F4.

I'm curious to see John in RW since he missed it first go around.  Here's hoping Emily or Casey finally get knifed.  And if they end up on the same team?  Well, poor other two teammates who get stuck with them.

[jackjill89]

19 hours ago, apollonia666 said:

John Tesar does seem like he's had some therapy and worked on his anger management, and for the most part I like him these days.  But UGH he was sweating so much into that gnocchi!  It made me downright queasy.  

But he hasn't worked on his douchiness. He dumped the whole "bad ingredient" idea on Jamie and Emily and then wouldn't cop to it. That ticked me off. It also ticks me off that it made me like Emily a little bit because she spoke up about it at JT. He was very selfish when they were getting ingredients. He didn't think about the team, only himself. 

Jamie didn't have to give up his immunity, he rightfully earned it, but he knew what he could live with, and if he couldn't live with getting through because his sucky dish had immunity, then he did the right thing for himself. 

[Norma Desmond]

Honestly, Casey's dish seemed the worst to me. I don't get why  her team got a pass.

Jamie was incredibly stupid to give up immunity. I could understand him doing so if both Emily and John had amazing dishes, but John had a good dish and Emily's was just a bad as his chicken.

 

It seems fairly obvious that Brooke is going to win in the end. It's being telegraphed and the judges seem to give her a pass every single time.

[spiderpig]

Just for shitzengrins, I'd like to see Emily working Front of House in RW.

[cooksdelight]

2 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Just for shitzengrins, I'd like to see Emily working Front of House in RW.

She'd have to dress up, not cry and not implode at the guests. LOL

[Court]

8 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Just for shitzengrins, I'd like to see Emily working Front of House in RW.

Me too! I can see her crying at the podium because there are guests waiting for a table.

[spiderpig]

5 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

She'd have to dress up, not cry and not implode at the guests. LOL

Imagine being escorted to your table by the world's gloomiest undertaker.

[CrinkleCutCat]

Have we ever seen Emily smile? I'd take a not so good dish from a charming pleasant chef over a great dish from a gloomy chef... (maybe not any day but sometimes!)

I believe food tastes much better when made with love and the joy of cooking. Her food probably tastes bad because it's coated in grumpy juice.

[snarktini]

55 minutes ago, Norma Desmond said:

Honestly, Casey's dish seemed the worst to me. I don't get why  her team got a pass.

 

I think the judges would agree with you. The problem is, the loser had to come from the worst team and they decided that was Jamie's team -- they said Katsuji's dish was so good it made up for Brooke and Casey. He brought their average up. Sadly, Jamie's was the worst dish on the worst team.

Edited January 15, 2017 by snarktini

[cooksdelight]

I'm making chicken satay next week. All this talk about his dish has made me want to try to make a good one. I'm grilling it on skewers.... on a hot grill....

[PamelaMaeSnap]

5 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I'm making chicken satay next week. All this talk about his dish has made me want to try to make a good one. I'm grilling it on skewers.... on a hot grill....

I hope you brought enough for the whole class!!! 

[awaken]

44 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Just for shitzengrins, I'd like to see Emily working Front of House in RW.

Oh, please!  May this happen!  I would love to watch that implode, and the looks on Tom's and Padma's faces while it happened. I don't think we will get that lucky, unfortunately, my guess is she'll freak out and get overwhelmed in the kitchen, and either her team will lose, or they'll be saved by someone else's good dish or hosting skillz.

Geez, Casey is really bombing this season!  Just terrible decisions.

So sad to see Jim go.  I also had him pegged for final four.  Hope he does well in LCK!  

Once Emily and Casey go, I pretty much like everyone and could see any of them winning!  Sylva, Shirley, Sheldon, are all awesome and I love them.  Brooke I like, Katsuji may make it just on the oddball/drama factor.  John I don't like so much but he's certainly competent.

33 minutes ago, CrinkleCutCat said:

Have we ever seen Emily smile? I'd take a not so good dish from a charming pleasant chef over a great dish from a gloomy chef... (maybe not any day but sometimes!)

Only once or twice, and then in a rat-like, twitchy way.