S13.E04: Glamping

[ivygirl]

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I think it depends on when they were told about the allergy.  Either way, I think it's the responsibility of the person with the allergy to double check.*

*But this felt very producer driven.  He guessed there were peanuts in there because he heard a crunch.  Panic.  He spits it out.  He won't be able to talk.  Oh, a little bit of water--all good.  Then later he says he doesn't think he bit into one so it's all good.  How does he hear a crunch if he didn't bite into it?

If the scenario was as you describe, I'd be really pissed. Production should know better than to put someone's life on the line... and then, to edit it as if it was really no big deal--that's very dangerous too because it then leads viewers who don't know any better to think that these allergies are NBD at best and exaggerations at worst. The the person with the allergy always needs to inquire about ingredients, but it was really playing with fire to give that team peanuts anyway (if they knew about the allergy).

Edited June 26, 2017 by ivygirl

[bluepiano]

13 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

WHY didn't they talk to the family much? They were the purpose of the challenge, I thought..

Who were those families? Where were they from? How did they get chosen? As the families seemed uncomfortable on camera, they may have been "real people" and not the usual SAG card-holding extras. But with no context or explanation, the whole thing felt awkward and a bit bizarre.

So far the order of elimination has been entirely predictable. As soon as his team lost, you knew Trace was gone. He's been one of the contestants who is just sort of "there," without making any mark with his cooking or personality. Did he really just pour canned soup concentrate into a halved pepper and not needs to add water???

It's really a weak crop of female contestants this year. Suzanne and Nancy were terrible. Cao is boring, and like many millennials, she seems incapable of summoning up the energy required to clearly enunciate her words.  Several times last night I had to rewind to try to figure out what she said. Amy is a good cook, but I don't see anything that interesting or unique in her. Yes, Matthew was a jerk, but her pouty, sulky response, during and afterwards, didn't make her seem like someone with a burning drive to succeed. (Which Melissa, though I didn't like her, had in spades. She pulled every trick in the book to win).

I think Addie will make final three, as the best of a weak crop of women, and probably go up against Cory and Jason. Cory is clearly the best chef, he's comfortable on camera, telegenic, and seems to be a reasonably nice person. That should all make him a clear favorite, but on the other hand, they could be setting us for a shock elimination. On this show it seems that the best chef never wins.

Edited June 26, 2017 by bluepiano

[spiderpig]

3 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

Who were those families? Where were they from? How did they get chosen? As the families seemed uncomfortable on camera, they may have been "real people" and not the usual SAG card-holding extras. But with no context or explanation, the whole thing felt awkward and a bit bizarre.

I think Addie will make final three, as the best of a weak crop of women, and probably go up against Cory and Jason. Cory seems to be clearly the best chef, and he's comfortable on camera, telegenic, and seems to be a reasonably nice person. That should all make him a clear favorite, but on the other hand, they could be setting us for a shock elimination. On this show it seems that the best chef never wins.

I couldn't figure out the families either.  They looked like they were Caught On Tape, and didn't appear to have any input into to judging except showing a couple of seconds of cute kids.

The producers have boxed themselves into a corner with their weird choices of Lenny and Fleek recently.  They can't make me watch them*, no matter how edgy they think they are.

*Well, me and the rest of the world.

[cooksdelight]

I love to camp. And fix things that are out of the norm. Had I been there, I'd have put a banana with the chocolate and marshmallows, wrapped in foil, with the skin of the banana as the fruitful flavor you get at the end. You don't eat the skin, but it imparts something magical.

Who remembers going camping and having meat, potatoes, veggies all wrapped up in a foil packet? I do!! I wish these people hadn't been trying so hard to create something that was "on the next level".... I really hate anyone who says "next level." I was yelling a lot last night.

Edited June 26, 2017 by cooksdelight

[spiderpig]

Just now, cooksdelight said:

Who remembers going camping and having meat, potatoes, veggies all wrapped up in a foil packet? I do!! I wish these people hadn't been trying so hard to create something that was "on the next level".... I really hate anyone who says "next level." I was yelling a lot last night.

Was that you?  I thought it was the neighbors.

OK, remember heating up the foil-wrapped packs on a car engine?  Back in the day it was eggs and fish.

[Whimsy]

35 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I wish these people hadn't been trying so hard to create something that was "on the next level".... I really hate anyone who says "next level." I was yelling a lot last night.

They were told to, repeatedly, though.  I was really annoyed when Melissa told Amy that she was just making potatoes out of potatoes.  Well, other people were just making chicken out of chicken, soup out of soup, etc.  She was adding things and tried to make SOMETHING out of those disgusting potato flakes.  That just threw her into a tailspin.  Not that I necessarily like her the most out of everyone, I just felt that was a bit unfair.

I remember saying back at the beginning of the season that Matthew hadn't annoyed me yet, but I was sure it would change.  Tonight it full-fledged changed.  While he had a point that this is an individual competition at the end of it, steamrolling over your other competitors is not the way to win. Although, I guess time will tell....

I have seen several comments above about how Amy was told she wasn't assertive enough when nothing was said to Matthew.  That's not entirely true.  They did say something to Matthew.  They just didn't say ENOUGH to Matthew.  

They did have a bit of a point that Amy just let it happen.  I've seen other contestants hold their own when similar situations have happened in the past.  It just came off really misogynistic that two women were telling a woman contestant that it was her fault that the male contestant talked over her and basically pushed her out of the way and Matthew just got a little tap on the wrist (not even a slap).

In all honesty, Amy was floundering all on her own.  Matthew should've just sat back and let her bomb all by herself instead of pretending to "help" her while really trying to "show" the judges how great he is.  Instead, I now have a really bad taste in my mouth about Matthew and it's not food related.

[rab01]

Matthew intruding on his teammate's presentation was so uncomfortable that I had to fast-forward through that part.  It's clear that he did not win this competition or they would have not shown that scene.

I absolutely agree that this show is sexist but I don't think the judging on it is quite as overt as not seeing that Matthew this week and Rusty last time were assholes to their female teammates.  I think the sexism comes out more in the types of people they cast and what they allow people to do on screen.  The role of the sloppy overweight cook who likes "big bold flavors" is always a guy and the stay-at-home cook is always a woman and they usually allow guys to cook outside their nationality/upbringing way more than they allow women.  That said, if you look back at the roster of winners, it's a pretty diverse group.

Corey is clearly being shown in a very positive light.  All of his interviews an other interstitial stuff show him encouraging and rooting for his teammates. They naturally want the winner to be likable so I wouldn't bet against him or Jason.   I would guess that the next three to go are Cao, Rusty and Addie (?) (the one who didn't work for Martha and suffered  through Matthew this week)  There are only two or three contenders each year so they can "waste" some of the early and midpoint bootees to create villains that we root against later in the show.  In other words, I expect to be rooting against Matthew up to the finals.

[spiderpig]

7 minutes ago, rab01 said:

 In other words, I expect to be rooting against Matthew up to the finals.

That's got to be the reason for keeping him around - so the rest of us can have our moment of schadenfreude on steroids.

[Maya]

Sounds like this might be an unpopular opinion, but I like Jason. I liked him on the Holiday Baking Championship, and I like him here. He is one of the few with a personality IMO, and he can cook. I even like his stupid sayings :) Sometimes he laughs after he says them, like he knows they're ridiculous. 

[cooksdelight]

I would love Jason if it would un-cliche himself. Believe me, I call people honey, bless their hearts, and have every saying known to man down pat. But I don't say them every time I open my mouth.

[Skyfall]

16 hours ago, Maverick said:

Ugh.  Melissa D.  I thought Food Network was done with her.  She's past her expiration date to fall down the FNS rabbit hole with Amy, Aaron and Lenny.

 'Sometimes you have to fight for time'?  The hell?  You're going to get on her for that shit and not say a word to the obnoxious brat talking over top of her?  He didn't pull that crap with Corey.   I'm more convinced than ever that little easel is blowing someone at FN.

 Jason was way toned down this week.  If I wore a tin foil hat, I'd say he's the winner and they realized his OTT schtick wasn't being received well and changed his edit.

Well to be fair her part wasn't going that smoothly while once Corey started talking the presentation got back on track. Should Matthew have let her continue to maybe find her footing? Maybe, be he's recently been in a group that got dinged for not having clear leadership and if she didn't find her footing they might've been in the bottom. I personally liked that he took charge as the leader/spokesman as it added a sense of unity in the presentation as opposed to just three people presenting back to back to back as a "team"

[pinguina]

Oh, my goodness!  What can I say about this episode?!

Some of the food they brought.  We used to camping when I was younger (it's been years) and we took things that were easy to cook and did not take a lot of time to make.  I  don't remember taking yogurt (??), mushroom soup (which I hate, that might be why we didn't take any).  And I've watched a couple of shows that featured "glamping" and an almost complete kitchen was brought, as well as a variety of foods to choose from. I thought the "elevating" could have been helped with an appropriate "pantry".  

I thought that Jason's team would win.  the only one who had a problem with presentation was Cao - and all of the things they made seemed to be well-received.  

Matthew - What a jerk!!   He not only interrupted Amy with his HELPING but he actually got in her way physically and moved her things around.  What could she do really??  I've been in situations like that a time or two. I would just step back mentally and waited for a "natural" moment to jump in.   But Matthew was just so heavy handed, he really didn't leave an opening for her.  Then the judges dinged her for not talking about the sauce - she couldn't because of Matthew.  And what was that scolding of Mathew? It was just a don't do that again with the focus on Amy and how she just gave her time to Matthew - what???   So unfair.  (Especially when you line it up with how Rusty took Suzanne's time and she was taken to task about it.)  And it turned out that her dish was good and Matthew's not so much.  THEN when Giada said something like, "SHE is a mom with two kids.  Why didn't she talk about them?"  Well, maybe she would have if MATTHEW hadn't taken her presentation time!!   But again making a contestant one-dimensional.

Although what Trace prepared wasn't good, his presentation was.  Rusty's presentation was not good and neither was his food.  

That's it - I think my rant is over.

*All the southern accents are kind of growing on me  :)

[orangekit]

1 hour ago, Skyfall said:

Well to be fair her part wasn't going that smoothly while once Corey started talking the presentation got back on track. Should Matthew have let her continue to maybe find her footing? Maybe, be he's recently been in a group that got dinged for not having clear leadership and if she didn't find her footing they might've been in the bottom. I personally liked that he took charge as the leader/spokesman as it added a sense of unity in the presentation as opposed to just three people presenting back to back to back as a "team"

I didn't see her having a problem until Matthew physically started getting in her space, talking over her and taking over her presentation. I didn't see Matthew as a leader, he was obnoxious and rude.   Everyone is nervous to begin with, but having someone barge in and take over your time is just wrong.      

Matthew was not acting as a leader, a leader does not bully.   Then again, as someone else said, lately it seems like bullying is being seen as strength, when in fact it's a sign of an insecure twit

Matthew was not worried about  Amy he was worried about himself.  He said right before the presentation that it was not  about team, but about the individual.  So, he decided to be selfish.

Giada annoyed me a lot.   So,  Amy has to be the adult "mom", but the so called men can  act like children that Amy has to discipline?  WTF???      How about telling the men to grow up and have some manners?

Is FN trying to appeal to the alpha male this season?   I think I've see enough big mouth men, who bully everyone, but especially women in "leadership roles".  do we need to also see it on a cooking network?

[Amarsir]

2 hours ago, spiderpig said:

That's got to be the reason for keeping him around - so the rest of us can have our moment of schadenfreude on steroids.

Oh yeah he's clearly the villain. And he makes a really good one, because he's generally a decent cook and has learned how to make a competent presentation.  On skills alone he has the potential to win. Everyone hates him for his personality. And that's why they no doubt want to have him around, but not win.

1 hour ago, Skyfall said:

Well to be fair her part wasn't going that smoothly while once Corey started talking the presentation got back on track. Should Matthew have let her continue to maybe find her footing? Maybe, be he's recently been in a group that got dinged for not having clear leadership and if she didn't find her footing they might've been in the bottom. I personally liked that he took charge as the leader/spokesman as it added a sense of unity in the presentation as opposed to just three people presenting back to back to back as a "team"

I considered that. That problem is that Matthew should know by now how to aid someone in a presentation and that isn't it. You ask short questions that you know they want to answer so they're steered on topic and look smart in the process. That's not what he did. Reaching in front, having her change positions - these aren't helpful in any context. So even if she needed help (it wasn't *that* bad) and even if he genuinely wanted to (hard to believe), he still did it in a seize-the-spotlight way not a helpful way.

[jcbrown]

Trace seemed nice enough but he was clearly cannon fodder. I remain convinced that Amy and Addie may be the same person. And maybe I'm mean but every time Cao is onscreen, I am completely distracted by her very stupid hair cut.

[TomCorps]

18 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Anyone else scream ADD WATER at the TV screen?  Just me?

No, I did too!  Quite literally screamed.  I'll admit, I'm no great cook (I try to be a good one) but for corn's sake, who doesn't know that Campbell's soup is concentrated?  

7 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

[E]very time Cao is onscreen, I am completely distracted by her very stupid hair cut.

Hilarious, mean or not.  She's so affected, I end up rolling my eyes every time she speaks.

[cooksdelight]

3 hours ago, Skyfall said:

Well to be fair her part wasn't going that smoothly while once Corey started talking the presentation got back on track. Should Matthew have let her continue to maybe find her footing? Maybe, be he's recently been in a group that got dinged for not having clear leadership and if she didn't find her footing they might've been in the bottom. I personally liked that he took charge as the leader/spokesman as it added a sense of unity in the presentation as opposed to just three people presenting back to back to back as a "team"

Standing in front of her so that she couldn't get a word in edgewise that one time was OK?

[xaxat]

They need to get better at casting this show. The women, as a group, are typically at a tier lower than the men. Leading to a final group that tends to be a boy's club. Sometimes with a woman (Tregaye) sometimes with none (Eddie's season).  Out of the top four this season, I think at least three will be men (David, Jason and Cory). 

One of the reasons this annoys me is that we have seen multiple scenes of men criticizing the women, which given the skill levels may be warranted. But the fact that it happens every episode makes it come off as condescending. 

In his talking head Matthew admitted that the team presentation was about making himself look good. He jumped in to cut off Amy, but not Cory. Who is probably the contestant on his team that the should worry more about. Hmmm.

Edited June 27, 2017 by xaxat

[smiley13]

The men are much stronger contestants than the women IMO.   Of the eight left, we are at 5 to 3.   And Caodan really should be already gone.

Matthew's behavior didn't bother me.  It was just Matthew being Matthew.  Amy had been a whiny mess the whole time.  And Martha Jr had her nose out of joint the whole time too.

[babs j.]

The difference between Food Network Star and the (few) other competition shows I watch is that I can only judge the contestants by what they say and do and not what they cook.  I can watch Project Runway and make my own judgement - and sometimes wonder what the judges were smoking when they (or the producers) made their choice.  I can't taste what the contestants made on Star or Top Chef.

[meowmommy]

8 hours ago, ivygirl said:

If the scenario was as you describe, I'd be really pissed. Production should know better than to put someone's life on the line... and then, to edit it as if it was really no big deal--that's very dangerous too because it then leads viewers who don't know any better to think that these allergies are NBD at best and exaggerations at worst. The the person with the allergy always needs to inquire about ingredients, but it was really playing with fire to give that team peanuts anyway (if they knew about the allergy).

This is the network that gave a Chopped cheftestant with allergies to shellfish and strawberries...you guessed it...shellfish and strawberries in the basket.  So they could be raked over the coals for not tasting their dish.  What's a little anaphylaxis when you can raise the fear factor?

49 minutes ago, babs j. said:

I can't taste what the contestants made on Star or Top Chef.

That's ok; neither can LBH and somehow she's a judge. 

[Lura]

My blood was boiling when Matthew interrupted.  Then, I thought I'd maybe suffer heart failure or a stroke when Amy failed to say one word to him.  It wasn't the first time Matthew has pushed his way into the spotlight, and the way things are going, it won't be the last.  I would have turned to Matthew, and in a half-teasing/half-hurt way said "You don't want to hear about my dessert?"  Or in a truly apologetic tone, "I'm so sorry.  I thought you were finished with your presentation."  To say nothing seemed to condone his outrageous behavior.  He needed to be stopped right then, not later!  To a certain extent, I think the judges have seen exactly how Matthew operates and would have understood a light chiding. 

I do still like Jason, but the twang and the goofy sayings are beginning to grate on me, and his Gomer Pyle persona shows no signs of disappearing.  I believe what I suspected in the beginning -- that Cory is the contestant with the best food knowledge and the best cooking ability.  I also like his personality and the fact that he isn't bragging every two minutes, and he's possibly the only contestant who has something to brag about.  He seems to like cooking with the others and making the experience an enjoyable one for himself and for them.

I have been trying to think who Addie reminds me of, and it finally hit me while watching this episode.  She looks to me like a young Hillary Clinton.

Will Giada nibble or pass on the food next week?  Stay tuned.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Lura

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

In his talking head Matthew admitted that the team presentation was about making himself look good. He jumped in to cut off Amy, but not Cory. Who is probably the contestant on his team that the should worry more about. Hmmm.

That's because Matthew's a pussy.

He isn't afraid to run over a woman. But Cory? Cory would put him in his place...hard. And no one would say a word to Cory if he did.

[Wings]

7 hours ago, GenL said:

They were told to, repeatedly, though.  I was really annoyed when Melissa told Amy that she was just making potatoes out of potatoes.  Well, other people were just making chicken out of chicken, soup out of soup, etc.  She was adding things and tried to make SOMETHING out of those disgusting potato flakes.  That just threw her into a tailspin.  Not that I necessarily like her the most out of everyone, I just felt that was a bit unfair.

I agree with your entire post.  I love this observation!  Good point.  

[MajorWoody]

16 hours ago, TDT said:

Then the inevitable judging spots on Chopped,Guy's Grocery Games,etc..

"Time for DIZZ-ert!!"-at least that was how my closed-captioning read that from Giada

..i missed the beginning what happened to Bobby?

Bobby took a week off to search for his dignity. Apparently he lost it with this seasons first few episodes.

[HappyDancex2]

4 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

That's because Matthew's a pussy.

He isn't afraid to run over a woman. But Cory? Cory would put him in his place...hard. And no one would say a word to Cory if he did.

Totally agree.  At the same time it just takes a certain confidence to be a food authority on TV.  Cory's confidence comes from his actual food skill.   Mini Martha's comes from her experience in being a practiced perfect spokesperson.  Which is why neither would take being run over by Matthew regardless of their gender.   My guess is that Amy rides that passive "im just a mom with a blog" just as Hairpiece was "confused dude with a blog" and both would be run over by big mouth Matthew, again not specific to gender.

I'd love to see a female version of Cory appear on this show but my guess it's just a numbers thing.  There are fewer females who achieve this in the industry.  Then you have to get them to leave their post to come on to a show like this which is the Next Food Network Poo Blizzard.  Then they have to actually be personable, reasonably telegenic or somehow memorable.   Yikes.  That's why I think it's just easier for them to pick female "spokesperson" types....statuesque blondes, moms with blogs, "fiery" (ugh) latinas, grammaaaaasssssssas..."sassy"(ugh) women of color.   So we're stuck watching the same old stereotypes.  I guess they took a break from the suave guy with the thick italian accent or the portly guffawing guy with a cowboy hat......oh wait

[spiderpig]

Thinking about my favorite food personalities, they've almost always been older chefs who make me feel comfortable around food:  Julia (goddess), Lidia (wish she were my gramma), Jacques Pepin (still gorgeous at 80 when I met him) and my eternally beloved secret boyfriend Hubert Keller (hands off - he's mine!).

One might think they're too old for FN producers, but I prefer to think serious mature chefs don't want to participate in FNS shenanigans.

I still watch, though.  Team Cory.  He looks good for 40.

[HappyDancex2]

2 hours ago, MajorWoody said:

Bobby took a week off to search for his dignity. Apparently he lost it with this seasons first few episodes.

Has he reported in?  Did he find it?  Did he get lost in the giant vagina table?

 

16 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Thinking about my favorite food personalities, they've almost always been older chefs who make me feel comfortable around food:  Julia (goddess), Lidia (wish she were my gramma), Jacques Pepin (still gorgeous at 80 when I met him) and my eternally beloved secret boyfriend Hubert Keller (hands off - he's mine!).

One might think they're too old for FN producers, but I prefer to think serious mature chefs don't want to participate in FNS shenanigans.

I still watch, though.  Team Cory.  He looks good for 40.

OH word, word, word ( I met him too!!!!) and word.  And I'd cry if any of them went on this game show LOL. 

[TDT]

10 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I would love Jason if it would un-cliche himself. Believe me, I call people honey, bless their hearts, and have every saying known to man down pat. But I don't say them every time I open my mouth.

I think he's secretly trying to send in an audition reel for the"Southern chef"-type character in a sitcom that's in development..

[cooksdelight]

Has Jason used "makes me want to smack my grandma" yet? If not, give him time...

[MajorWoody]

So another week has come and gone, and I still don't see any star material in this group of characters. That includes this weeks judges, with the exception of Zimmern. 

 

Trace, and his cheap wig, unshaven stumblebum look, and bland personality was a good choice to leave. His soup in a raw pepper was awful looking, and showed an amazing lack of culinary skills and knowledge. What exactly was the diner supposed to do with that pepper if they actually managed to ingest that sludge of a soup? Just pick up and chew on that raw pepper? His wig reminds me of the kids pastic wigs they used to sell at Woolworths years ago. 

 

Randy was another who not only had a lousy presentation, but his food looked bad. His loudmouth dude act is way past the expiration date.

 

Jason seemed OK initially, but his southern rube act is also getting to be too much. I am sick of his cliched sayings and  over the top act. He might be a good cook, but it is hard to get past his shtick. He doesn't come across as an authority, but rather a 3rd string character on a shitty sitcom. 

 

David seemed to scale it back this week, he only mentioned adding "Jamaica" a couple of times. 

 

The two ladies , Amy and Addie, both seem competent but interchangeable and bland. Definitely not star material.

 

Matt. Where to begin. He is reverting to his real persona, that of an arrogant, obnoxious, immature jerk. How the execs at FN thought this self centered asshole is what people want to see is mind boggling. I reset the fact that the judges were not more forceful in putting him in his place for the way he acted in the presentation. He is extremely unlikeable, and as I have said in previous weeks recaps, he comes across as entitled and the type of kid who had a wall full of Participant Awards. Some of the others need to forcefully tell him to STFU next time he takes over the stage. Shame on FN for ever putting that jerk on the screen. His perpetual smirk needs to be slapped off his face. 

 

Once again, the judging was a joke. Darabian had a sour look on her mug every time the camera panned to her, like she just stepped in a pile of dog poo, before putting on her fake smile and providing her useless critiques. Giada managed to comment on food that she never even tasted. On the smores plate, they actually showed her taking a microscopic piece if the bark and put it in her mouth, the piece could not have been more than a quarter inch in size. At one point they showed the two pho ies with the fake toothy grins side by side, and it just came across as 100% fake, just lime the two of them. I felt bad for Zimmern, he seemed to make an effort but was wasted in this episode. I don't blame Flay for taking a week off, he probably needed a break from this cast of clowns and characters.

 

Finally, this show needs to be renamed. There is no star being discovered, and hasn't been for several seasons. This is nothing more than finding another fill in judge for Guys Grocery Games.

[susannot]

I hope the FN execs are reading this thread.  After all, we are all cooking show fans.  Dear FN execs:  I would never, ever watch a show with that obnoxious, sexist asshole Matthew.

[TomCorps]

Am I the only one who saw the entire beef jerky conversation between D'Arabian and Cory as a double entendre?  Maybe it was her eyelash-batting, overly toothsome manner to him, so different from her manner towards the other contestants, that immediately got me thinking this way, but once we got to Cory's, "You want beef jerky, I'll give you beef jerky," I was definitely in the smut-house.  

 

I'm a sick, sick man.

[cooksdelight]

@MajorWoody, here ya go

 

[spiderpig]

59 minutes ago, TomCorps said:

Am I the only one who saw the entire beef jerky conversation between D'Arabian and Cory as a double entendre?  Maybe it was her eyelash-batting, overly toothsome manner to him, so different from her manner towards the other contestants, that immediately got me thinking this way, but once we got to Cory's, "You want beef jerky, I'll give you beef jerky," I was definitely in the smut-house.  

 

You are not alone, @TomCorps.  MD'A fits in perfectly with the fakey-fake style judge: "I'm just a home-lovin' mom on a budget" FN seems to love, when we know she's a self-absorbed egotist and attention-hog.  I shouldn't make fun of her appearance, but I know you all secretly want me to.  She reminds me of a rabid chipmunk.

[Wings]

9 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Thinking about my favorite food personalities, they've almost always been older chefs who make me feel comfortable around food:  Julia (goddess), Lidia (wish she were my gramma), Jacques Pepin (still gorgeous at 80 when I met him) and my eternally beloved secret boyfriend Hubert Keller (hands off - he's mine!).

One might think they're too old for FN producers, but I prefer to think serious mature chefs don't want to participate in FNS shenanigans.

I still watch, though.  Team Cory.  He looks good for 40.

I agree.  My boyfriend, Hugh, is under utilized.  What is this looks good for 40 business.  40 is young!  

[spiderpig]

3 minutes ago, wings707 said:

I agree.  My boyfriend, Hugh, is under utilized.  What is this looks good for 40 business.  40 is young!  

Point taken.  I've got socks older than Cory.  If they can just buff out that bit of crispy reserve, he can take this thing.

[Wings]

2 hours ago, susannot said:

I hope the FN execs are reading this thread.  After all, we are all cooking show fans.  Dear FN execs:  I would never, ever watch a show with that obnoxious, sexist asshole Matthew.

Not to worry, a show of their own is not the prize this year.  They get to be in the FN magazine!  This is just a show for ratings with no hope of really finding anything more than a judge for GGG, if even that, as we have said. 

Edited June 27, 2017 by wings707

[grisgris]

/snerk to TomCorps. I kinda thought the same thing.  Hee!  It would have been more obvious (and funnier) if the exchange had been between Giada and David.

SHAME ON MELISSA!!  I was certain that at the table of triple vaginal judgment that she would have been all over Mathew for daring to pick on the home cook SAHM.  I really can't add anything more to what others have said about the awful double-standard Amy was caught in. It's really too bad that it wasn't Anne Burrell's week to be a guest judge. She would have shut that shit down right there during the presentation. I think even macho man himself, Robert Irvine, would have called Matthews out on his assholeness.

Andrew Zimmerman. Hee! Wasn't that Rusty's faux pas?  Part of being a food authority is being knowledgeable about your *cough* peers and mentors. At least be able to pronounce their names correctly.

I don't have much to add about the food. I've never been camping or glamping so the appeal was lost on me. Trace's disaster of a dish stood out like sore thumb so he was ripe to go home. Cao is another one who can go next. She is out of her element with the Vietnamese twist and she seems so nonchalant like she really doesn't want to even be there. Addie is too cold. I was kind of rooting for Jason but am beginning to think that a little could go a long way with him. Cory seems like a good solid contender. However, if the ultimate prize is to be a guest judge on various competition shows, I'd give the edge to Jason. He can certainly replace humorless arrogant Damiano on the baking shows.

Giada said early on that Bobby wouldn't be present for that episode. There was no further explanation. I just figured that he'd had a prior engagement that conflicted with the time.  I can tolerate Giada a little more without Bobby being around. The sexual tension is absent and she's not quite as hyper and critical for the sake of being critical. Honey, even the Middleton sisters couldn't pull off that dress Giada was wearing. A clingy knit dress with medium-wide horizontal stripes in vivid colors isn't going to flatter anybody over the age of about 6.

[Wings]

Just now, spiderpig said:

Point taken.  I've got socks older than Cory.  If they can just buff out that bit of crispy reserve, he can take this thing.

I think their eye is on Jason.  They will be the final 2 for sure.  

[cooksdelight]

Someone should have made this.

 

[bluepiano]

5 hours ago, TomCorps said:

Am I the only one who saw the entire beef jerky conversation between D'Arabian and Cory as a double entendre?  Maybe it was her eyelash-batting, overly toothsome manner to him, so different from her manner towards the other contestants, that immediately got me thinking this way, but once we got to Cory's, "You want beef jerky, I'll give you beef jerky," I was definitely in the smut-house.  

Back in Queens, where I'm from, we would add, "I got your beef jerky right here."

[spiderpig]

19 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

Back in Queens, where I'm from, we would add, "I got your beef jerky right here."

Said with a wink on a street corner.  (Am I going to get banned?)

[Totale]

I don't know which is more confusing, that (apparently) only one of the three teams got rib eye steaks or that the team that got them didn't use them.

[Surrealist]

9 hours ago, TomCorps said:

Am I the only one who saw the entire beef jerky conversation between D'Arabian and Cory as a double entendre?  Maybe it was her eyelash-batting, overly toothsome manner to him, so different from her manner towards the other contestants, that immediately got me thinking this way, but once we got to Cory's, "You want beef jerky, I'll give you beef jerky," I was definitely in the smut-house.

Nope. You're not alone. It actually creeped me out a bit.

[Lura]

We'd better wrap this topic up fast -- I think a few of us are getting horny!  I wish Cory had mentioned beef jerky to me!  I'd have been all over him!

Did I just write that?  NAW!

Scenario:  Emeril Lagasse anointed Bobby Flay as next head of FN (like Emeril said he'd been) right on his show.  Sure enough, Flay is all over the place and is definitely the reigning prince. BUT, who knows how much longer 'til Flay gets bored and moves on to his next wife (I mean, endeavor).  Then, the FN is going to be looking for another leader.  I choose Cory.  He has all the markings of leadership, and with a little more development, could take the challenge and do the job.  Far fetched?  Stranger things have happened at the FN.  Cory has said a million times that he just wants to "keep learning, keep learning."  One of his heroes is David Kinch of Manresa, who beat Flay on Iron Chef.   Cory takes his career seriously.  I think he's too modest, though, to ever have a show like Beat Bobby Flay!  (I hope so, anyway!)

[Brookside]

If David is so allergic so allergic to peanuts he should ALWAYS carry an epi pen.

 

I can't stand Rusty, he reminds me of Lenny without the sleaze.

[Snarklepuss]

8 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Back in Queens, where I'm from, we would add, "I got your beef jerky right here."

LOL, the Bronx here and I thought the exact same thing in the exact same accent!  "I gotcha beef jerky right heeeeahhh"

8 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Said with a wink on a street corner.  (Am I going to get banned?)

Actually, said with one hand clutching one's crotch.  Presumably a male crotch.  (Now I'm definitely going to get banned!)

[spiderpig]

7 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

LOL, the Bronx here and I thought the exact same thing in the exact same accent!  "I gotcha beef jerky right heeeeahhh"

Actually, said with one hand clutching one's crotch.  Presumably a male crotch.  (Now I'm definitely going to get banned!)

Don't worry.  We'll post bail.

[Snarklepuss]

Very late to this party and some of the posts have been magnificent, so there's not much more than needs to be said.  I think we all know by now that this show is no longer a search for a real star or a TV show, but just exists to provide entertainment.  They don't even make any pretense about giving the winner a six episode show anymore.  So therefore I call BS on some of these contestants, especially Matthew.  For one minute I actually thought FN was trying to make him a "real" contestant instead of only using him to instigate drama, but this episode brought me right back down to reality.  Nope, he's still a shill.  They put him up to some obnoxious hi jinx and he willingly (and very ably) takes on the role.  The only reason they toned him down a little for a while was to make him look "real".  Which in my opinion he is not.

So now some of the drama they have him involved in is as a misogynist that bulldozes women.  And it worked.  It certainly got all of us riled up in here.  Or else for sure either Giada or Melissa would have done more than just weakly tell him to let his teammates have their time, and telling the SAHM that she needs to be pushier or whatever Melissa told her.  That theme seems to be taking hold this season since it was also used with Suzanne, who couldn't get herself heard over all the men on her team and thus didn't cook what she wanted to cook.  Yeah, alright, whatever, but I am with everyone that thinks it stinks to put the onus on the women to "fight" for their voice.  Why should a woman have to be comfortable fighting for anything?  The men certainly don't have to "fight" with each other for a voice.  They seem to allow each other their voices.  I am sure a lot of them would look just as bad if not worse if put in that exact same situation.

I personally think the "chosen" one this season might be Cory, although I think Jason might be a contender too.  They already seem to be giving Cory a winner's edit.  I would not be unhappy if that's the case as he seems solid and I know I remember seeing him in Food and Wine magazine a couple of years ago, when he won their "people's best new chef" award.  He is certainly one of the most qualified contestants there (if not THE most), having won Chopped and appearing in the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival.  He's just the kind of serious contestant we've been hoping for.  He makes a lot of these other people look like clowns by comparison.  And that's just what most of them are.  And Lenny aside, the clowns usually don't win.  But don't forget, FN may not have thought Lenny would win - That year the audience voted for the winner and I wonder if they didn't bank on him winning.