S13.E05: Sunny's Kitchen Hacks

[Lura]

I looked up Matthew's website, and he doesn't have one.  I did find him on Twitter, though.  When I saw a list of comments written by people who purport to love him (and it was a short list), I knew he'd been cleaning it up, tossing out anything negative.  Now we know what Matthew does in his off-time.  He's busy deleting all of those negatives!  At least, he's getting the messages, which is the important part (not that he's done anything about taking them to heart).  Kudos to you, cooksdelight, for sending Matthew a little something bitter to swallow.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Lura
typo

[cooksdelight]

I'm keeping an eye on his Facbook page. I'll be sure to leave constructive and true comments, none of the "you're wonderful, you got this" bullshit.

[Amarsir]

5 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I also don't think Rusty is funny like the judges keep telling me...

It was unintentionally funny when he said "buongiorno" as a French greeting a few weeks ago. Unless he did it on purpose, in which case it was horribly undersold.

[eurekagirl mOo]

Pet Peeve- Worked in the restaurant business for 45 years. Just because you COOK, at home, on You Tube, etc. does NOT make you a CHEF!!!! Chefs go to culinary school. Chefs start as line cooks, get promoted to sous chef and a few , who own their own places or work for big corporations are CHEFS. You guys? You're not chefs. Your posers who call yourself Chefs. I can stand in the garage-Doesn't make me a car. You can cook. Doesn't make you a Chef.

Matthew is obnoxious but I still find him funny sometimes, in a train wreck kind of way. Just wish he's quit trying to take over and would get called out for it but.........

[xaxat]

15 minutes ago, eurekagirl mOo said:

Pet Peeve- Worked in the restaurant business for 45 years. Just because you COOK, at home, on You Tube, etc. does NOT make you a CHEF!!!! Chefs go to culinary school. Chefs start as line cooks, get promoted to sous chef and a few , who own their own places or work for big corporations are CHEFS.

I think about half the field meets those qualifications. Is there anyone who has misrepresented their credentials?

The comment reminds me of another Matthew moment this episode. When introducing his team he pointed referred to himself as "Chef" Matthew but didn't use the title when introducing Cory, who is more accomplished than he is.

[cooksdelight]

10 minutes ago, xaxat said:

The comment reminds me of another Matthew moment this episode. When introducing his team he pointed referred to himself as "Chef" Matthew but didn't use the title when introducing Cory, who is more accomplished than he is.

Both can call themselves "chef" but Matthew doesn't have the same resume as Cory. Not even close. More asshattery from the child.

[Drogo]

45 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Matthew doesn't have the same resume as Cory. Not even close. More asshattery from the child.

Matthew is 24 and Cory is 40, so for me this is apples/oranges. 

Matthew began working in professional kitchens at 16 and was a food writer by 17, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, he was working under three award-winning chefs at the same time ...  I've no doubt that by 40 his resume will be as impressive/more impressive than Cory's.   Kid's got moxie.

Quote

The comment reminds me of another Matthew moment this episode. When introducing his team he pointed referred to himself as "Chef" Matthew but didn't use the title when introducing Cory, who is more accomplished than he is.

@xaxat were Matt and Cory on a team together this episode?  I only remember them working together on the glamping episode.

[eurekagirl mOo]

57 minutes ago, xaxat said:

I think about half the field meets those qualifications. Is there anyone who has misrepresented their credentials?

The comment reminds me of another Matthew moment this episode. When introducing his team he pointed referred to himself as "Chef" Matthew but didn't use the title when introducing Cory, who is more accomplished than he is.

They all call themselves Chefs. I could be mistaken but that's what I caught.

[Blonde Gator]

32 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Matthew is 24 and Cory is 40, so for me this is apples/oranges. 

Matthew began working in professional kitchens at 16 and was a food writer by 17, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, he was working under three award-winning chefs at the same time ...  I've no doubt that by 40 his resume will be as impressive/more impressive than Cory's.   Kid's got moxie.

@xaxat were Matt and Cory on a team together this episode?  I only remember them working together on the glamping episode.

Oh he's got Moxy, all right.  But he won't be successful until he's had a couple of huge swallows of humility.   Not too many people really succeed treating other people the way Matthew treats his competitors.  And trust me, he's not that smart (to get away with being an unmitigated a-hole).

[xaxat]

43 minutes ago, Drogo said:

@xaxat were Matt and Cory on a team together this episode?  I only remember them working together on the glamping episode.

You're right. I was thinking of last week.

[Drogo]

I think I may have tougher standards for what constitutes 'treating people badly.'  Addie said she called her dish Hammies, and Matt said "Hammies?"- a good prompt for her to explain why she calls them that or give some backstory.  She was going silent while she was preparing her dish, so Matthew  jumped in with a "Guys, she is like The Queen of entertaining" to fill the void.  Then he was trying to help her with getting her stuff so she wouldn't fall back into that Can't Cook & Talk Simultaneously slump again.  Cory did the same when Rusty had a lull.  Even if he wasn't trying to help improve the presentation and not let it become a silent film (and I do think his presence helped that presentation)-  they were competing with each other.  Addie could have taken everything he did and turned it to her benefit, but she didn't.  She just became audibly annoyed with him and tried to kill him with hot oil. 

The person who really annoyed me was Cao who was noticeably celebrating her competitor crashing/burning, and even OMGHowDareYou'd her when she made the joke about starving her kids. Had Amy been teamed with Matthew, his jumping in could have been very helpful while she tried to figure out that food processor (the one the crewmember had just demo'd for her and warned her that it was tricky.)

[mlp]

The title "chef" implies authority and management responsibilities not just the ability to cook.  I think FN has contributed heavily to the title being degraded.  Heck, real chefs on the Chopped judging panels even refer to kids on Chopped Junior as chefs.  It annoys me no end.  Bobby Flay is a chef.  Even Giada can properly be called a chef.  Matthew has the training and kitchen experience but AFAIK he's never been in charge of anything.

[Hotel Diva]

I think Addie might have solved the problem with Matthew by just ignoring him and continuing his presentation. Not just coaxing him and trying to combat him.

18 minutes ago, mlp said:

The title "chef" implies authority and management responsibilities not just the ability to cook.  I think FN has contributed heavily to the title being degraded.  Heck, real chefs on the Chopped judging panels even refer to kids on Chopped Junior as chefs.  It annoys me no end.  Bobby Flay is a chef.  Even Giada can properly be called a chef.  Matthew has the training and kitchen experience but AFAIK he's never been in charge of anything.

AFAIK, everybody on FN has been either a "chef" or being close to a "chef". It doesn't annoy me, but I would like to see people use their best knowledge and skills to become a chef, not seeing already-chef people suffer. Like Bobby Flay. He and Leslie both had experience with Food Network, and Leslie isn't even a chef. She's just there to help Bobby run the show. And her dressing choices have been a bit weird during the last few weeks. Here are some appropriate dressing rules for her: https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/work-attire-whats-appropriate-and-whats-not-hot-jobs

I am very excited to see Hannah Hart host her own show next month. Hope she is an amateur just so she can become a chef.

My mom votes for David. She does not like Matthew but I'm black so my heritage is the same as David's. And Toya's.

3 hours ago, Drogo said:

I think I may have tougher standards for what constitutes 'treating people badly.'  Addie said she called her dish Hammies, and Matt said "Hammies?"- a good prompt for her to explain why she calls them that or give some backstory.  She was going silent while she was preparing her dish, so Matthew  jumped in with a "Guys, she is like The Queen of entertaining" to fill the void.  Then he was trying to help her with getting her stuff so she wouldn't fall back into that Can't Cook & Talk Simultaneously slump again.  Cory did the same when Rusty had a lull.  Even if he wasn't trying to help improve the presentation and not let it become a silent film (and I do think his presence helped that presentation)-  they were competing with each other.  Addie could have taken everything he did and turned it to her benefit, but she didn't.  She just became audibly annoyed with him and tried to kill him with hot oil. 

The person who really annoyed me was Cao who was noticeably celebrating her competitor crashing/burning, and even OMGHowDareYou'd her when she made the joke about starving her kids. Had Amy been teamed with Matthew, his jumping in could have been very helpful while she tried to figure out that food processor (the one the crewmember had just demo'd for her and warned her that it was tricky.)

Matthew was wondering what hammies were, and he started interrupting because of that reason. He took Addie's food and ate it, then realized that saving her was a good idea. Because of that, Matthew can go anytime.

[Lura]

I think the answer for Cory is to be himself, the way he was in the beginning.  I think he feels Jason breathing down his neck, so he tried to imitate him, and it  failed.

Something I don't understand about Matthew.  Somewhere, he listed the chefs who have mentored him, and Beau McMillen was one of them.  Since they're both from AZ, I wondered whether he'd worked for Beau.  Beau wouldn't put up with Matthew's behavior for more than two seconds.  His big Irish temper would lay Matthew flat.  If he's so crazy about Beau, then why is he acting like a fool?  I think Matthew may have lied about Beau and listed him only to impress people.  SEND THAT WORM HOME!!  He is nothing more than a hot air balloon with no brains.  Put him in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and he could float above the crowd on his own power.  Webster's dictionary should place his name under its definition of "loser."  SO disgusting!

[Hotel Diva]

30 minutes ago, Lura said:

I think the answer for Cory is to be himself, the way he was in the beginning.  I think he feels Jason breathing down his neck, so he tried to imitate him, and it  failed.

Something I don't understand about Matthew.  Somewhere, he listed the chefs who have mentored him, and Beau McMillen was one of them.  Since they're both from AZ, I wondered whether he'd worked for Beau.  Beau wouldn't put up with Matthew's behavior for more than two seconds.  His big Irish temper would lay Matthew flat.  If he's so crazy about Beau, then why is he acting like a fool?  I think Matthew may have lied about Beau and listed him only to impress people.  SEND THAT WORM HOME!!  He is nothing more than a hot air balloon with no brains.  Put him in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and he could float above the crowd on his own power.  Webster's dictionary should place his name under its definition of "loser."  SO disgusting!

 

30 minutes ago, Lura said:

 

I agree with you. Matthew is such a silhouette jerk. He lies about saving people, then he pretends to think that he is superior and he's not. Ugh.

[Terrafamilia]

According to Matthew's Linked In profile he worked at Elements restaurant which is MacMillan's at Sanctuary at Camelback Resort and Spa.

[cooksdelight]

He's worked for Beau, but I've never heard Beau come out and praise him. For anything.

[smiley13]

I am finally getting to watch after being away.  I have no clue about this Hannah Hart person, but she contributed nothing to the show IMO.  She was useless and not needed at all.

Matthew was good during the first challenge since he is all about his social media.

[MerBearHou]

Quote

1 hour ago, smiley13 said:

I am finally getting to watch after being away.  I have no clue about this Hannah Hart person, but she contributed nothing to the show IMO.  She was useless and not needed at all.

Matthew was good during the first challenge since he is all about his social media.

 

I looked up Hannah Hart's Drunk Cooking on YouTube.  Couldn't tolerate more than a few minutes of it.  Just not funny IMO and definitely not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.  UGH.

[Lura]

Does Hannah have any cooking credentials, or doesn't she need them?  The way the FN has become, they'll hire anybody who can read the prompter.  I wondered what happened to Bobby Dean, then read the other day that he was canned.  That surprised me.  I wasn't overly impressed by Hannah when she was on "FN Star," but that wasn't really a good chance for her to show what she can do. 

[Johnny Dollar]

Quick question - what is up with Bobby's eyebrows?  Was his ex in charge of cutting those things back?

[xaxat]

8 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I looked up Hannah Hart's Drunk Cooking on YouTube.  Couldn't tolerate more than a few minutes of it.  Just not funny IMO and definitely not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.  UGH.

Yeah. It's definitely not for me. The episode I watched she was actually making a recipe that she was reading off the internet. 

I don't need someone to show me how to do that.

[Destiny74]

10 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Yeah. It's definitely not for me. The episode I watched she was actually making a recipe that she was reading off the internet. 

I don't need someone to show me how to do that.

I wonder if she's going to be plastered on TV (probably not.). If that is her shtick, she should be.  FN needs to realize that a large portion of their audience is already familiar with food.  I, for one, watch the cooking shows with pros (chefs, caterers, bakers) at the helm, not home cooks, because pros might actually teach me something instead of other home cooks who cook like I do already.  Not that I can't learn from other amateurs, it's just that I haven't when I have watched shows anchored by FN home cooks.  They seem to regurgitate info and recipes I already have.

[cooksdelight]

51 minutes ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Quick question - what is up with Bobby's eyebrows?  Was his ex in charge of cutting those things back?

I think he's dying them. He's definitely doing something to his hair.

[Snarklepuss]

1 hour ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Quick question - what is up with Bobby's eyebrows?  Was his ex in charge of cutting those things back?

19 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I think he's dying them. He's definitely doing something to his hair.

 

Yep, they used to be a strawberry color, now a darker shade of medium brown.  Plus a lot of men's eyebrows go wild and bushier as they age.  It looks like some grooming has gone on to tame them.

[Snarklepuss]

10 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I looked up Hannah Hart's Drunk Cooking on YouTube.  Couldn't tolerate more than a few minutes of it.  Just not funny IMO and definitely not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.  UGH.

I read that her show is going to be a "six episode culinary travelogue with a range of digital and social content".  Just what I need, another cutesie millennial with a "shtick" like "Nadia's Bitchin' Kitchen".  When will FN learn that what is popular on social media doesn't often translate well to TV?  They keep trying to make that happen.

[Hotel Diva]

11 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I looked up Hannah Hart's Drunk Cooking on YouTube.  Couldn't tolerate more than a few minutes of it.  Just not funny IMO and definitely not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.  UGH.

She will be the host of I Hart Food, which will be premiering on August 14th at 9:00 pm. She just got interested in FN, so be welcoming to her, come on.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Hotel Diva

[rab01]

3 hours ago, xaxat said:

Yeah. It's definitely not for me. The episode I watched she was actually making a recipe that she was reading off the internet. 

I don't need someone to show me how to do that.

While I think she's funny at times (though sometimes too aware of the camera), I can certainly see her not being for everyone. Her youtube show is not about how to cook; it's more a parody of that kind of show.  I've watched a few episodes of it and I can't remember her ever making anything edible.  She's certainly not a "food authority."  How that translates into a FN show is anybody's guess.

[Hotel Diva]

Anybody know why I can't stand Addie, the Martha protege? Every time I see her with her pure hair, I see Hillary Clinton with thicker and longer hair. She is definitely not a "hair" contender. Come on, this is Food Network Star, not Food Network Hair. She seems nice and a good cook, but her personality stunk when she was being underdogged by that bully Matthew. All answers would help me. Please and thank you.

[Surrealist]

I love how this show's prize has devolved into something that sounds more like "You win a new set of cookware, along with being allowed to shoot one Story for the Food Network's IG."

Also, I wish they'd get rid of Star Salvation. If you've lost, try out again next season. I don't need to see you return right now.

Edited July 7, 2017 by Surrealist

[cooksdelight]

I keep thinking of The Price Is Right...

"And you've won..... A NEW CAR!!!!" *music and canned applause.*

[Lura]

Sorry, Hotel Diva, that I can't help you.  I only know what's in her bio at the FN site.

In a matter of a few hours, we'll be able to watch another installment of "Chef Matthew Takes the World by Storm."  I can see him now, telling everyone in Arizona to tune in to see how he guides the others, who would be poor lost souls without him.  We'll have 60 minutes to watch him brag, far too long for this viewer.

Is Jason Smith a little less funny now than he was in the beginning, or am I just getting used to his shtick?  I laughed so hard at him at the start, but now his expressions are getting old.  I hope Cory can have a successful time of it tonight.  I think all of them must be getting tired at this point.  This has to be a long stretch to deal with the tension of performing under pressure.

[mlp]

Quote

Anybody know why I can't stand Addie, the Martha protege? Every time I see her with her pure hair, I see Hillary Clinton.........................

That's exactly why I haven't liked her from the minute I saw her.  Also, she has learned a rather superior attitude from Martha so I imagine she thinks everyone else is deplorable.  Can't stand her either.

[Brookside]

"Hammie" and "Sammie" both need to disappear from contestants' vocabularies. They're not three years old.

[HappyDancex2]

i wanted to plop sunny's wig on Amy's head.

So "hammies" are just sliders made with king's Hawaiian rolls warmed in an oven?

Matthew reminds me of Bobby when he first started.  Bobby was not camera ready, had that constant furrowed scowl on his face and his flat affect came across as dismissive and arrogant.  He's just learned to control his face better and he can fake up energy now but he didn't have to take the lead for years.  He almost didn't make it out of early FN though...Mario was also blunt and abrasive but he had a better cooking show.  In the days when Emeril and that woman whose name escapes me who did the live cooking show ruled Food Network, instruction was still The Point.  People were so focused on Bam that there was time to groom the Bobby Flays.  Anne Burrell was another one whose debut was frenetic, weird, awkward on her stand and stir show that was highly edited.  I didn't think they could make her stick but they did.  

This show is exactly where FN has gone in the past five years.  It used to be The Next FN star....then Star...then Food Network Star.   At first they were looking for the next Guy Fieri, then they didn't know why everyone was so boring and bad....then they decided they weren't looking for talent, they were looking for stereotypes to exploit and contestants to  humiliate in an eight week boot camp.  It's really a longer version of Cutthroat Kitchen but without whimsy.  

[Lura]

Have you been watching Beat Bobby Flay lately?  On one show this past week, his blender wouldn't start.  He yanked it and hit it, and it still wouldn't start.  I couldn't contain myself.  I shouted at the TV, "Always test your equipment beforehand, Bobby!"  Isn't that the grouchy and unsympathetic response he growled at Amy/Addie when she had trouble?

[Maverick]

I'll defend him on this one.  There's a difference between a demo, where you know what you're making, what equipment you'll be using and live vs. a competition show. 

[MajorWoody]

One thing I took away from this episode : After hearing Bobby and fake plastic smile Giada ramble on about some contestant not telling his or her life story as it relates to a bowl of chow, or telling about their entire family history , I realized that other than gossip rags and TMZ stories, I don't know the first thing about either Bobby or Giadas family history or how it relates to their grub. Nor have I ever cared. The whole thing is just another phony distraction in a series of phony distractions. 

[MajorWoody]

This weeks episode highlighted the inherent bias of our judges. Cory got to interrupt loudmouth Rusty, with no repercussions from the judges. Matthew, the obnoxious immature spoiled brat, does the same to a female, and for the second week in a row, it is laughed at by the fawning judges and the female that was interrupted is held to be at fault. 

 

Jason is getting on my nerves, his hayseed schtick was worn out by Week 2, and just gets more and more annoying, and his cooking seems to be about what I would expect from a Kentucky hick. I never saw the baking show he was on, but from what I have seen here, his savory skills are poor. The only person who should be using the phrase "Honey" over and over is a black woman from the deep south, or a waitress in a geasy spoon diner.

 

David managed to flex his biceps, and introduce Jamaican jerk into his dish. What a surprise.

 

Addie/Amy, twin daughters of different but incredibly bland mothers. 

 

Rusty, the younger brother of Cowboy Lenny, without the baggage. At least that has been discovered so far.

 

Caodan, one of the dullest, ill prepared, painful to watch train wrecks ever to appear on this show. 

 

Cory, accomplished chef, elitist snob. 

 

Matt, asshole extrordinaire, selfish jerk, punchable face, disliked by almost everyone on the multiple boards I follow, and no doubt the perfect example of the kids we have heard who grew up being told everything they do or did was special and deserved an award. He would suck as a FN Star, he would suck as a guest host or Stand and Stir host, he would suck as a judge on GGG or any FN competition show, and he needs to be told off the next time he interrupts a fellow contestant. Hopefully by having a pot of food dumped on his swelled head. 

 

Giada actually was shown taking a nibble of food this week. Amazing. Although that nibble most likely immediately went into the spitoon as the camera panned away quickly. 

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, MajorWoody said:

David managed to flex his biceps, and introduce Jamaican jerk into his dish. What a surprise.

Can't say I have a problem with either of those things honestly. lol I mean, if you're gonna go with the same old thing over and over a nice bicep and some spice are good choices.

 

1 hour ago, MajorWoody said:

Rusty, the younger brother of Cowboy Lenny, without the baggage.

OMG he totally is, isn't it? Poor Rusty. I'm sure he's a likable guy but I just can't shake the Cowboy Lenny similarities.

[smiley13]

Rusty is from Louisiana.  He is not in any way like Lenny, other than being male.

[Lukeysboat]

55 minutes ago, smiley13 said:

 

Rusty is from Louisiana.  He is not in any way like Lenny, other than being male.

 

I haven't made the comparison here, but I understand it. Rusty is also a big guy and he's loud. 

[spiderpig]

4 hours ago, MajorWoody said:

One thing I took away from this episode : After hearing Bobby and fake plastic smile Giada ramble on about some contestant not telling his or her life story as it relates to a bowl of chow, or telling about their entire family history , I realized that other than gossip rags and TMZ stories, I don't know the first thing about either Bobby or Giadas family history or how it relates to their grub. Nor have I ever cared. The whole thing is just another phony distraction in a series of phony distractions. 

I should copy/paste the following for all future episodes:

This show needs Alton back - stat!  Minimal BS and constructive advice as a mentor.  Plus, this show desperately needs more acid.

Yours truly,

spiderpig

[Hotel Diva]

Thank you, mlp, for the answers. Amy is starting to sound like my Auntie Kecia. We could call her Kecia Jr.