S13.E09: Game Day Special

[Hockeymom]

He's not stupid for not knowing it. He's playing stupid because he does.

He is the graduate of a prestigious culinary school who claims to be a food expert. Loco Moco is something he learned in school. 

[Hotel Diva]

15 minutes ago, smiley13 said:

I have heard Loco Moco mentioned on one of these FN shows, but couldn't tell you what exactly it it.  That doesn't make a person stupid.  In fact the first time I heard someone say it, it sounded like CoCo Loco.  That is a specialty drink served on a Royal Caribbean cruise when you go to CoCo Cay for the day.

 

1 minute ago, Hockeymom said:

He's not stupid for not knowing it. He's playing stupid because he does.

He is the graduate of a prestigious culinary school who claims to be a food expert. Loco Moco is something he learned in school. 

I claim right for his 'coq au van' mistake 2 weeks ago.

Yeah, I wish it would have been Emilia instead of him.

[J-Man]

Quote

Yes, he didn't know what Loco Moco was but he knew what a plate lunch is. 

Actually, I think he said "Hawaiian BOX lunch." Plate lunch is the correct term of course, and Bobby suggested that he actually did say that, but I don't recall hearing it.

Edited July 31, 2017 by J-Man

[cooksdelight]

He unfriended me. I'm crushed. *cough*

[Terrafamilia]

The manufactured excitement over the food trucks was a bit exhausting. I blame the internet and its killing off of everyone's attention spans. "YOU'VE GOT TO GRAB THE VIEWERS' ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY OR YOU FAIL!!!"

I did notice Matthew's "babe" to Amy over the mystery cloche. The proper response would be "You got it, babe" or "Here you go, babe."

For those who like to ponder, the philosophical question would be, is it in Matthew's best interest for him to win?

[xaxat]

51 minutes ago, Hockeymom said:

He is the graduate of a prestigious culinary school who claims to be a food expert. Loco Moco is something he learned in school. 

I know people who have graduated from and taught at the CIA and I'm pretty sure Hawaiian food is not on the curriculum.

Classical French, Chinese, Italian etc. yes. Regional US, not so much.

[Hotel Diva]

Just now, Terrafamilia said:

The manufactured excitement over the food trucks was a bit exhausting. I blame the internet and its killing off of everyone's attention spans. "YOU'VE GOT TO GRAB THE VIEWERS' ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY OR YOU FAIL!!!"

I did notice Matthew's "babe" to Amy over the mystery cloche. The proper response would be "You got it, babe" or "Here you go, babe."

For those who like to ponder, the philosophical question would be, is it in Matthew's best interest for him to win?

In Matthew language, I would say, that yes, I am excited for him to win. He and Tregaye will be the best partners ever.

[Chyromaniac]

Just now, xaxat said:

I know people who have graduated from and taught at the CIA and I'm pretty sure Hawaiian food is not on the curriculum.

Classical French, Chinese, Italian etc. yes. Regional US, not so much.

Yeah - I'd expect him to know how to make all the components of Loco Moco.  The fact that they comprise one specific dish from a particular regional cuisine?  Not so much.  The Coq au Vin thing is still a completely different story though...

[Hotel Diva]

Here are dishes that would send Matthew home:

- Making coq au vin in Alton Brown's Comeback Kitchen

- Loco Moco. Lol.

- Penny Davidi's French Hater Soup

[Skyfall]

10 hours ago, Totale said:

I'm kind of used to people like Jason, but there was no excuse for Asshole referring to Amy as "Ames, babe,..."

The "Kobe" hot dogs Rusty found (and why didn't he use those in the first place?) had to be product placement.  Next week, rib-eye scrapple.

My favorite moment was Rusty's grumbled, exhausted sounding "amazing..." when they are introduced to yet another previously unknown soul who is about to start appearing on Food Network without going through all this crap.  When they were introduced to the second line jumping future FNS later in the same hour I was surprised he didn't explode.

To be fair the second one runs/ran a food blog and used to be on ESPN. They filmed this before she was fired during ESPN's D-day and notice how you don't see LBH speaking during the intro. That was a rerecord that they sometimes do and usually is for redoing lines they didn't get right in the taping or adding something to the script post taping. The original script was likely these two Sportscenter hosts blah blah blah.

9 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

He and his cousin/brother were BIG winners on Shark Tank, with Barbara Cocoran being their savior. I have to wonder if she's worked out a deal with FN for them, hence the judge appearance.

Remember he was/is (depending if it gets picked up) the host of Food Truck Rally.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

6 hours ago, Hotel Diva said:

His stupid sayings? His Forrest Gump/Gomer Pyle voice? His personality?

While Jason's sayings can seem put on my stepfather was from Kentucky and he said stuff like Jason does all the time.  

[SingleMaltBlonde]

10 hours ago, Lura said:

I expected Matthew to do well since he's so at home with the cameras, but I didn't  expect him to do THAT well.  He did literally everything the task required, and he did it easily and naturally.  And his food was good.  

But his food is rarely great.  while I hate the cloying family stories everyone is expected to come up with not to mention the expression "cooked with love" I find his food soulless.  He wants to be famous and thinks this is his ticket.  I find him off putting (Does Bobby ever introduce himself as Chef Bobby Flay? or does he leave that to the announcer) and I don't think a hyper white male millennial is going to set the tv world a flame with his southwestern flavors.  Especially when FN has Bobby and several actual Latin chefs.

[cooksdelight]

6 minutes ago, SingleMaltBlonde said:

He wants to be famous and thinks this is his ticket.

Bingo!!! As long as he "nails it" he's "got this"

[grisgris]

I thought that loaded baked potatoes meant potato skins.  That seems more like a game day snack to me instead of a full baked potato since you can eat potato skins with your hands. Rusty could have made some type of filling that included hotdogs to fill baked potato skins. That would have been easier but maybe there wasn't enough time or he would have been dinged for something too simplistic.  That mess he had going on looked so unappetizing. C'mon, Giada, you've stuffed larger things in your mouth before!!  We all know it.

It wasn't Jason's best night so far and if Amy and Rusty hadn't done so much worse, I was kind of worried for him for most of the show.  I should have had more faith in Rusty and Amy to screw up. Honestly, those two were equally bad and I was gunning for a surprise double elimination.

Unless Cory makes some huge improvements to his presentation skills, there is no way he is going to win this if he wins "Comeback Kitchen."  It's going to come down to between Matthew and Jason.

[Lura]

As Matthew draws nearer and nearer to that big prize, I lovvvvve the way he's becoming more and more polite.  Every compliment he gets, he quietly says "Thank you" or "I appreciate it" with the most insincere sincerity.  He's determined to show the judges just how polite and respectful he can be.  After all, those judges just might remember times when he wasn't.   Good impressions matter, even if they do come at the very last minute.

[LittleIggy]

I use this method for easy peel hard boiled eggs. It works like a charm:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/perfect-boiled-eggs-recipe.html

[Irlandesa]

When was this filmed? I ask because the whole point of the Iron Chef competition they had earlier this year was, in theory, to see if there was enough interest to revive the series.  But that series finished airing towards the end of May and this series started a few weeks later.  So did they really decide to revive Iron Chef that quickly?  Or was that always the plan and Gauntlet only served to drum up interest? Shenanigans!

[Refresh]

15 hours ago, TomCorps said:

Jason's chili/deviled eggs looked good to me!  I'm impressed that he got the flavor of full-on chili into the beans without meat.

You mean his "fart waiting to happen."?

Did you all catch him saying that? "It sounds like a fart waiting to happen but it will be delicious." Soooo funny. Because my inner 8 year old is still alive. 

 

Did look good though. Toot. 

[LittleIggy]

On 7/30/2017 at 11:06 PM, susannot said:

So Giada criticized Rusty for saying "cloak" when she said off-ten which is pronounced off-en.  

I pronounce the "t" in often. Either pronunciation is acceptable. Look it up.

[Lura]

I just returned from Twitter, and I think that every Corey lover on earth must be in there, both men and women.  I don't remember anything like this in past seasons.  I got the impression that many posters, if not all of them, expect Cory to be the returning hero and to win the contest in the finale.  Cory came on while I was in there, and I couldn't get over how much pressure he must be feeling.  The comments must have been encouraging, but all of that pressure to win it would be heavy, I'd think. 

[cooksdelight]

I hope Cory wins it all, and since it'a already been filmed, he knows if he did or didn't make it back and come out on top. I wish it would be him and Jason in the final, with Matthew looking from the shadows. Lurking....with a knife in his hand, no doubt.

[MajorWoody]

On 7/31/2017 at 8:53 AM, LennieBriscoe said:

What a garbage episode.  Stupid premise; stupid food.

Should have been two ejections.

I wouldn't have complained if there were four ejections.

 

14 hours ago, smiley13 said:

I have heard Loco Moco mentioned on one of these FN shows, but couldn't tell you what exactly it it.  That doesn't make a person stupid.  In fact the first time I heard someone say it, it sounded like CoCo Loco.  That is a specialty drink served on a Royal Caribbean cruise when you go to CoCo Cay for the day.

 

It doesn't make a person stupid. What is stupid is when a chef who was trained at the CIA, and has been on multiple FN shows, and purports to be some sort of prodigy when it comes to food, lies about knowing what it is. Just like he lied about Coq Au Vin the previous week. 

 

On 7/30/2017 at 10:07 PM, Thalia said:

Maybe an on-line school?  A few episodes ago he had never heard of Coq au vin.  

 

The phony liar went to CIA, in NY. We found proof that he lied about not knowing what Coq Au Vin is,  based on an article in which it was noted that he not only assisted in preparing it for a competition at CIA, but he was specifically noted for his work on it. FN for some reason is allowing him to push his phony narrative as a broke college kid even though he is nothing of the sort. He is a total phony.

 

It also speaks volumes about his mindset with his offhand calling Amy "Babe". Condescending and indicative of what a jerk he really is. 

 

I do agree with the posters who called out Flay for criticizing the pizza wing rolls. Besides being the easiest challenge, pizza uses mozzarella, not blue cheese. If it was buffalo chicken and blue cheese in a roll it would have zero connection to pizza. I am surprised he did not have a marinara dipping sauce, though. 

 

Also, as awful (and loud) as Rusty was, he should have spoken out about why he kept the food truck guy from talking. It appears he realized the food truck guy would ramble on and use up his allotted time, and he made sure that didn't happen. 

 

And finally, even though multiple posters keep saying they would never watch these characters shows, remember, there is no show being offered. There is a single guest appearance at the NYc Food Fest and a write up in the FN magazine. There is also most likely the occasional guest judge spot on GGG, but that is not a given, and could be there for any of these clowns, not just the eventual winner. None of these people are stars in any way, shape, or form.

[Lamb18]

13 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

He unfriended me. I'm crushed. *cough*

I hope you get over it soon. It will be hard to find a friend to replace someone of Matthew's caliber.

I wish you were on one of these shows, Cooks!

I was thinking about what I would make for these mashups. The one I found most interesting was the hot dog/baked potato. I don't think it would have been that hard. I'll borrow from grisgris and build off of it.

Fry up the potato skins or whatever you do with them so you have a potato skin shell. Mash the potatoes and put them back in the skins. You can make them cheesy if you want, add a little garlic, whatever. Cook your hot dog - I think a little char would be OK and put it in the mashed potatoes. (In England you can get baked potatoes with tuna or prawns - it's very common, so hot dogs isn't that weird.) You could put onions and melted cheese over the hot dog and potatoes. Maybe make up a sour cream combo with mustard and a little relish (if it's not too gross), or else put a few cucumbers on the potato for the crunch.

I would have done exactly what Amy did. There were no tortilla chips in the pantry, she said she would have had to fry tortillas. I can't remember how much time they had, but I think she would have had enough time to deep fry a couple of tortillas before making the burger. She could have prepped other stuff while they were frying. Then she could crush the tortillas up finely and either put them in the burger or use them to coat the burger. Or just put them on the burger but then they would fall out unless you had a really flat burger. Then you would put the rest of the nacho stuff on top like she did.

Jason's - no change.

Matthew's was pretty good. I've had buffalo chicken pizza before so I probably would have just gone with that. I think the hard part would be to combine the seasoning for buffalo wings with the herbs you usually associate with pizza.

If Matthew had been always like the way he is right now, pleasant and competent, I'd be cheering for him. I liked him when he first showed up on Cutthroat Kitchen - the other cooks were teasing him a lot and he just smiled and took it. But his behavior in between these two times has been so arrogant and unpleasant, I just could not watch him.

[cooksdelight]

Why didn't Rusty microwave the potatoes to get them cooked faster? Oh wait.... no one uses a microwave on TV.

When I'm dying for some mashed potatoes, the microwave saves the day.

[lh25]

12 hours ago, SingleMaltBlonde said:

Does Bobby ever introduce himself as Chef Bobby Flay?

Exactly what I was going to say.  I think he is the only one who always introduces himself as "chef Matthew".

 

26 minutes ago, MajorWoody said:

FN for some reason is allowing him to push his phony narrative as a broke college kid even though he is nothing of the sort.

Yep, see above!  He pushes that he is a chef.  I think for this show, they've made him the "bro-dude" and he's trying to be that.  Trying way too hard.  He might be OK if he relaxed a bit.

[Totale]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

Why didn't Rusty microwave the potatoes to get them cooked faster? Oh wait.... no one uses a microwave on TV.

Remember some show from years ago where cooks would try to make a dish and get it on the menu at a chain restaurant?  Emeril was the mentor, and when somebody cooked their baked potatoes in a microwave Emeril seemed astonished at this use of the contestant's magic box from the Future.

[estellasmum]

17 hours ago, dcubed said:

Yes, he didn't know what Loco Moco was but he knew what a plate lunch is.  Why is he faking stupid?  It is not endearing. 

My family has been on a massive Hawaiian food kick lately, so it really stood out to me when Matthew called it Hawaiian box lunch in his segment. Bobby was the one that used the words plate lunch. 

I do not like this show at all, but my kids have 5 shows on FN that they absolutely love, and this is one of them, so I let them DVR it. Last night, they were in a silly mood and helping me make dinner. All of a sudden my daughter starts yelling as loud as she can to a fake camera about all the steps she is doing to make dinner. I was confused at first, but then I realized she was yelling in Rusty's exact cadence. When she had nothing in her hands, my son hip-checked her out of the way and started smirking to the fake camera about how he was a chef, and he knew what he was doing and was going to tell a story and then proceeded to smirk and smarm about how awesome of a chef he was and how he knew everything about food and he was better than everyone else. My daughter butted back in and started naming all the different color layers of food in the bowl and after each one, she said it had flavor. She then yelled "Game Day!!!' and then said if her kids didn't eat her food, she was going to starve them. They didn't do Jason. They loved Jason in Holiday Baking Championship, and they still love him now. I think FN will lose 2 viewers if he doesn't win.

My husband had never seen the show until he walked in on them watching it last week. He walked in when the camera was on Giada in her cut out dress. He wanted to know exactly what we were watching. He watched all of this weeks episode, and wanted to know why "the skeleton with all the teeth doesn't want to wear clothes on TV." He's pretty sure that is the reason my son likes this show.

[bluepiano]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 4:50 AM, TomCorps said:

So Amy gets sent home for blubbering in front of the camera exactly like she did five weeks ago....and four weeks ago, and three weeks ago, and...   What did they expect?  She has a couple of halfway decent camera presentations and she's going to turn into Ina Garten?  She was way past her shelf life.  I'm sorry they led her on for so long.

Yes, we all hate to say it, but Matthew was excellent this week.  He didn't try to usurp the group presentation (I was sure he would) and in fact, he came off as a team player--which, as we all know, he's not.  In fairness, if I'd never seen Matthew before and had tuned into FNS for the first time tonight, I'd have said he was a charming, personable young chef and would win this competition by a mile.

Agreed, If I had not seen Matthew in past episodes I would've thought, wow, this show finally did find an actual potential star. The truth is, he's been far and away the most consistent contestant, in terms of both presentation and food. He's aced some camera challenges that nearly everyone else crashed and burned on. Now that there are three left, it's going to take some really major screw-up for him not to win. Of course, considering how scripted this show is, that could be what they're setting up. Matthew thinks he has it in the bag and then gets crushed by stumbling at the finish line. (Karmic payback).

In addition to Amy being a scatter-brain with no presentation skills, this week I had a really hard time understanding her. Where did that Valley Girl accent suddenly come from? Like you said, way past her shelf life. And so is Rusty. He was equally awful this week. In fact, this week's show screamed for a double elimination. This last in the season and he doesn't know better than to say "I got stuck with hot dogs and potatoes." And with his pronouncing cloche as "cloak," I now believe that he really did think "buongiorno" was French.

Slightly off topic, but which "Ben's" deli were you referencing? There's a deli in Queens called "Ben's Best" that I grew up going to, and I even played on a Little League team they sponsored. It's still there, and was cited in a New York Times article last year as one of the last remaining neighborhood delis in New York, a dying breed. (Katz's is different, because it's become a tourist attraction. The last time I was in NY there was a line out the door and down the block).

Edited August 1, 2017 by bluepiano

[Surrealist]

Matthew has been the most consistently good contestant. It would be crazy at this point if he didn't win. The remaining competitors aren't consistent. Consistently mediocre, maybe. 

Rusty already exists on Food Network, and he's called Guy Fieri. 

I didn't mind Amy last week, but like Cory, she can't seem to handle being on camera. 

Jason is probably the nicest (or one of the genuinely nicest) contestants this season, but his cliches annoy me. If he dialed those back, A LOT, I'd be happy. 

Also, I noticed people mentioning Rusty's gray teeth. They are awful. But the thing that most throws me off about Jason is that his teeth look overly yellow. I don't know if it's the studio lighting or something with the camera, but they look gross. 

Since none of these contestants is winning an actual show, I couldn't care less who wins at this point.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Surrealist

[schnauzergirl]

With all the emphasis on the telling of family stories and getting to know the contestants, has Matthew ever offered any thing other than he's a chef from Arizona?  I don't remember any personal references, yet he's never been called on it the way the others have been.  

This show has become a vehicle for FN to build a pool of people to call on as needed for other established shows.  

[Mabinogia]

36 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

With all the emphasis on the telling of family stories and getting to know the contestants

Here's what I know about the contestants. Rusty cooks for some band, Jason's from the south, Amy's got kids, Cory's a chef, Matthew's fucking obnoxious. So who does that make me want to learn a recipe from? um...yeah, I'll just get recipes off facebook thank you.

[GaT]

18 hours ago, Hotel Diva said:

In Matthew language, I would say, that yes, I am excited for him to win. He and Tregaye will be the best partners ever.

That would be perfect if they were on a show together because then everyone would only have to avoid 1 show instead of 2.

18 hours ago, Hotel Diva said:

- Penny Davidi's French Hater Soup

DO NOT type her name again, everybody knows that if you type it 3 times & look in the mirror she will appear **shudder**

[TomCorps]

2 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Slightly off topic, but which "Ben's" deli were you referencing? There's a deli in Queens called "Ben's Best" that I grew up going to, and I even played on a Little League team they sponsored. It's still there, and was cited in a New York Times article last year as one of the last remaining neighborhood delis in New York, a dying breed. (Katz's is different, because it's become a tourist attraction. The last time I was in NY there was a line out the door and down the block).

Hey Blue, I was thinking specifically of the Ben's in East Hills (near Roslyn/Glen Cove, if you're not familiar) but there's also a franchise of the same Ben's in Carle Place on Old Country Road, and there are probably others too on Long Island.  There used to be one in Bayside--may still be there, but I suspect like everything else that's good in NYC, it's been replaced by a Sephora or a CVS.  

FYI, I remember Ben's Best on Queens Boulevard!  I was a Rego Park/Forest Hills brat, and I went there often.  There used to be so many great deli-restaurants in Queens and Brooklyn (my favorite was Grabstein's on Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie) and for the most part, they're all gone now.  It's a shame, there's a whole generation of kids growing up in this city now who think a deli is just a place to buy cold cuts.  They wouldn't know a kugel or a plate of kasha varnishkes if it hit them over the head.  

My apologies for the off-topic chatter and all the loco moco local references to boot.

Edited August 1, 2017 by TomCorps

[spiderpig]

19 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

He unfriended me. I'm crushed. *cough*

That's OK, cooks.  I'm sure there are enough inmates to keep his online ego inflated.

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, Surrealist said:

But the thing that most throws me off about Jason is that his teeth look overly yellow. I don't know if it's the studio lighting or something with the camera, but they look gross. 

A smoker, is my guess.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Probably an unpopular opinion but the more we saw of Cory, especially down the stretch, the more Mr. Snap and I realized that he's just ... not ... that ... good ... a ... cook intuitively/instinctively, plus he's really not someone who should be an "air personality." He tends to look like a deer in the headlights half the time. (Ditto Amy ... two people that I can't figure out why on earth they thought THIS would be the reality food TV show for them ... I could see them on Master Chef much more easily.)

I couldn't stomach watching Rusty and I've already made my opinion clear on Matthew, but at least in their cases I can see why this would be their chosen dream goal ... 

For me (for you), Jason is the only one who I think brings a unique personality, a real comfort with the camera, and food I'd want to eat all in one package. 

I didn't know it was all done and I will trust those who think, by reading Twitter etc., that Cory is the lock for the win but I just don't get it. He's really forgettable. Even his handsomeness is forgettable. And he's only the second or third best southern cook on this season.

Jason is an absolute DOLL on twitter, by the way. Very responsive and adorable. Maybe I can friend HIM on Facebook ;)

[Surrealist]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

A smoker, is my guess.

I grew up with parents who smoked, but eventually quit. I was thinking that smoking might be Jason's excuse. I suppose all he'd need to do is get Crest White Strips. 

Edited August 1, 2017 by Surrealist

[shksabelle]

OK, y'all made me go check Baby Boy's FB page.  He certainly is quite in love with himself. I can just imagine his childhood with  Mommy telling him every single day that he is the bestest, most wonderful, most special snowflake EVER. 

[theatremouse]

I really want Matthew to go away, because here's the thing: he's not actually "good". He can read a cue card? He can mostly talk without stumbling while a camera is on him, even with an earpiece in? This does not make him "good" at being on television. This makes him roughly equivalent to 90% of high school students who worked on their high school news show. He's adequate. But he's not good at this. His fakey fake soundbiteriffic play dumb while simultaneously boasting about himself persona is not endearing or engaging. He has not convinced me he is an authority on anything nor that I should have any reason to listen to him talk about food, or trust the recipes he does will be at all interesting. I want to throw a drink in his face. I want him to shut up. I want him to say a single fucking original or genuine sounding sentence. But he never does that. He's good at talking about food like Clippy is helpful for using Office.

Bobby said he should've used blue cheese instead of mozzarella on the pizza pocket thingy, but there were only two things that made that dish pizza-ey: the dough and the mozzarella. Thank you very much Mr.BoyGeniusChef I never thought of a fucking pizza pocket on gameday before. If Matthew were up against anyone else who had decent presentation skills, he would not look good. The only reason he seems "good on camera" is compared to his competitors, he can talk smoothly. Jason has his moments and I think is coachable, but he got totally thrown off in the food truck thing with the timing, and couldn't roll with it. And he stuck his foot in his mouth in the group challenge. Rusty is a trainwreck and Amy crumbled and got stuck on her own tape (repeating the "layers" thing she'd preplanned to say). Being better than bad isn't good. Matthew's primary skill here seems to be that he's a good liar. The task demanded that they make up a reason why they had the brilliant idea to smash these two things together after the show forced them to. A) if they had a show, which they may never even if they win, they'll have writers and test kitchens. They will not be making this shit up on the spot. B) the nature of the challenges here has never really been about skills you need to be a TV food famous person. Yes the challenges involve cooking and talking, and those are skills they need, but the construct of the specific challenges is always "can you make up a reason that sounds credible for why you did a thing we forced you to do". It's the same as tell me a story, what's your POV, blah blah blah. They're saying make something up. You wanna be a food network star? Take improv classes. 

[Mabinogia]

37 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I really want Matthew to go away, because here's the thing: he's not actually "good". He can read a cue card? He can mostly talk without stumbling while a camera is on him, even with an earpiece in? This does not make him "good" at being on television. This makes him roughly equivalent to 90% of high school students who worked on their high school news show. He's adequate. But he's not good at this. His fakey fake soundbiteriffic play dumb while simultaneously boasting about himself persona is not endearing or engaging. He has not convinced me he is an authority on anything nor that I should have any reason to listen to him talk about food, or trust the recipes he does will be at all interesting.

So much this. He is like a child star. He can hit his mark, he can read his lines, but he can't convince me that he is really the character he's playing. I can see the fake.

Jason, despite playing up the honey child southerner thing, is good at this. He is very natural on camera. He's a bit much, but I think they are, to an extent, making him play it up. But hell, even in playing up all the "southern charm", he still feels 100% more real than Matthew the TV robot. I feel like, when they go home, Jason goes home to a warm house full of family and friends, he whips them up some delicious food and tells funny stories about what's happening on the show. Matthew goes to his antiseptic apartment styled like something he saw on Pinterest, stands in front of the mirror and goes over everything that happened, and rehearses how he can do it better. He probably chants "You are the best, Matthew, You are the next food network star!" over and over while guzzling coffee to keep himself awake so he can rehearse pretending not to know what a soufflé is because wouldn't that be tweetable. He probably practices faces he can make to get himself meme'd. He just seems like one of those millennials who feels like things he says or does don't count unless they go viral.

I'd rather spend a half our (pretending they get a show out of this) with Jason rolling around in the mud like a happy pig than get hashtagged to death by Matthew. OMG when did I become so old? LMAO (are the kids still laughing their asses off or is that just another sign that I am aging out of being relevant?)

[TomCorps]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

DO NOT type her name again, everybody knows that if you type it 3 times & look in the mirror she will appear **shudder**

You: brilliant.  

Me: in need of an ambulance.

34 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

like one of those millennials who feels like things he says or does don't count unless they go viral.

There are millennials who don't feel this way?

[Gbb]

On July 30, 2017 at 11:54 PM, TDT said:

IC is coming back? Interesting..wonder if Alton will still be the new Chairman or they will do a fake-out in the first episode and bring Mark Dacascos back LOL

No fake-out. Dacascos is back, baby!

I hope the finale comes down to Jason and Cory, and I hope they both end up with jobs on FN. 

I was a little surprised they didn't have him on for the Game Day ep, but I guess it's because they had him up their sleeve for next week!

Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back!

Edited August 2, 2017 by Gbb

[Surrealist]

2 hours ago, Gbb said:

No fake-out. Dacascos is back, baby!

I hope the finale comes down to Jason and Cory, and I hope they both end up with jobs on FN. 

I was a little surprised they didn't have him on for the Game Day ep, but I guess it's because they had him up their sleeve for next week!

Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back!

 

I normally don't get into the kids' shows, but I have been watching Eddie's Kids' BBQ Championship shows.

[cooksdelight]

9 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Matthew's primary skill here seems to be that he's a good liar

Bingo!!! I've not seen him make one thing yet that I'd want to try to make. Nothing. His food doesn't interest me. I bet he cheated his way through CIA.

[Hockeymom]

9 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

10 hours ago, theatremouse said:

 

So much this. He is like a child star. He can hit his mark, he can read his lines, but he can't convince me that he is really the character he's playing. I can see the fake.

Jason, despite playing up the honey child southerner thing, is good at this. He is very natural on camera. He's a bit much, but I think they are, to an extent, making him play it up. But hell, even in playing up all the "southern charm", he still feels 100% more real than Matthew the TV robot. I feel like, when they go home, Jason goes home to a warm house full of family and friends, he whips them up some delicious food and tells funny stories about what's happening on the show. Matthew goes to his antiseptic apartment styled like something he saw on Pinterest, stands in front of the mirror and goes over everything that happened, and rehearses how he can do it better. He probably chants "You are the best, Matthew, You are the next food network star!" over and over while guzzling coffee to keep himself awake so he can rehearse pretending not to know what a soufflé is because wouldn't that be tweetable. He probably practices faces he can make to get himself meme'd. He just seems like one of those millennials who feels like things he says or does don't count unless they go viral.

I'd rather spend a half our (pretending they get a show out of this) with Jason rolling around in the mud like a happy pig than get hashtagged to death by Matthew. OMG when did I become so old? LMAO (are the kids still laughing their asses off or is that just another sign that I am aging out of being relevant?)

Oh my gosh! If I could like this twice I would!!! I agree with all of it!

And I get the idea that FN thinks we( the tried and true viewers who've been watching for years) are all aging out of being relevant. Clearly, they're going for a new demographic. Which normally I would encourage. You need new blood to keep things interesting. I love to learn new things! My husband is always trying new recipes, and my son will cheerfully eat anything you put in front of him. There's not a picky eater in the bunch! My complaint for years has been that they use the same stable of chefs to death. How many shows can Bobby even have?

But there is a difference between adding new viewers and alienating the old ones. I can't even watch half of the FN shows anymore! And I'm not fussy. They're just bad. They feed the old viewers watered down crap, and try to capture new ones with Matthew. Bah.

Why don't they just make good shows, cut the gimmicks, worry less about "star power",  revenue, and just focus on entertaining us with delicious recipes. That will appeal to everyone, and we will reward you. We'll buy what you're selling, just do your part first. They're so worried about finding the next revenue stream. The next celebrity chef they can monetize. You just know Jason is going to have a FN Holiday Baking Cookbook on sale just in time for Thanksgiving!

I watched Chopped last night. It was an hour long commercial for Walmart. I completely understand FN has to pay the bills. I get it. But enough already. There were Walmart commercials between each segment. Wallmart branding on the set. Walmart product placement everywhere.

It was kind of offensive. 

[cooksdelight]

18 minutes ago, Hockeymom said:

I watched Chopped last night. It was an hour long commercial for Walmart. I completely understand FN has to pay the bills. I get it. But enough already. There were Walmart commercials between each segment. Wallmart branding on the set. Walmart product placement everywhere.

It was kind of offensive. 

Are you sure you weren't watching Masterchef? ;)

[PamelaMaeSnap]

13 hours ago, theatremouse said:

He's good at talking about food like Clippy is helpful for using Office.

 

Theatremouse, will you accept this hunk of burrata? 

Also, alihgkdjhgfkjsjvbdagcdva about my secret boyfriend Eddie coming back. One of my all-time favorite reality show stars and one of the only ones on ANY reality show that I ever picked/rooted for to win from the get-go (Chip and Kim on Amazing Race being the others) ... way back to being brokenhearted when he fell at No. 8 on Master Chef (best thing to happen to him, though, really! Do winners of that show ever do anything afterwards?) 

Plus, hopefully, seeing what a real FNS winner looks like and sounds like may remind B and G that it's not enough to not be the worst (I'm looking at Matthew, who probably looks better and better when they see the motley crew they chose for this season, Jason not included IMHO) ... 

Edited August 2, 2017 by PamelaMaeSnap

[Jodithgrace]

I've been to Hawaii, but have never had, nor heard of Loco Moco. But there is no excuse for Matthew not to have heard of coq au vin. All of the posts indicating that he was lying about that, make sense, but I can't understand the motivation. 

I guess I am old and this is a "dirty" expression from decades ago, but every time I heard them say "Up your Game Day," I had to chuckle. I guess I am so not the audience for that show on many levels. 

From what I recall of Matthew from previous incarnations, he seems to be going out of his way to be the perfect contestant this time around. Good for him, I guess? Either he's learned from past mistakes, or..hmmm..maybe he hit his head and got amnesia, since the last time he was on this show. That would explain the total personality makeover, and even the coq au vin! 

I have no dogs in this race. I literally only watch this because there is so little else on tv right now. I recorded it Sunday night (it's on opposite GOT!)  watched half of it on Monday and didn't get around to the rest of it until today..that's how eager I was.

Edited August 2, 2017 by Jodithgrace

[xaxat]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Bingo!!! I've not seen him make one thing yet that I'd want to try to make. Nothing. His food doesn't interest me. I bet he cheated his way through CIA.

That's actually kind of hard because a lot of the evaluation is through practical exams. If you can't bake, you can't really pass baking and pastries

[Lura]

You could knock me over with a feather over the news that Iron Chef is coming  back.  That's always been my favorite show.  There's variety  in that show (Please define the word for the FN.  They don't understand the meaning of it.)

Matthew always seems to look like he's wearing the best clothes, ironed to perfection, not a hair out of place.  I think he has a rich grandmother who dotes on him and won't even entertain the thought of her little Matthew being ordinary.  No, siree.  He travels with trunks filled with only the best in wardrobe and shoes.  Granny has taught Matthew to dress for success!!!  Jason's motto (bless his little heart) is:  If you dress like a hillbilly and talk like a hillbilly, you project sincerity.  And he's right!  But Matthew is all about appearances.  Dress well, stand up straight, and SMILE!  What it all boils down to is that Matthew grabs my attention.  No sense in not admitting it.  But Jason lets me relax!!!  And when I watch TV, I want to kick my shoes off, put my feet up on the ottoman, and relax.  Isn't that what everybody wants?  An' you kin call me "honey" anytime! 

And then, there's Cory.  I lost my heart to him the minute I learned (from him) that his parents aren't in the picture, that he was raised by his poor grandparents, that he loves life anyway, and that he's handsome with a beard and mustache.  I'm being truthful.  It's the mother in me.  If his own mom didn't want him,  I do.  He made something of himself anyway, and I think that's admirable.  So, there went my heart!  No, being admirable doesn't mean he should win.  Neither does not having parents.  I'd just like to see him win. 

Then, what about Rusty?  Rusty is a sweetheart, and he's worried sick that he might not make it all the way down that path to glory.  You can see it in everything he does and says.  Rusty is trying so hard!  Rusty is loud, but his skin isn't thick.  He takes every criticism with a brave "OK", but you can tell that his heart is broken every time he does something wrong.  Cory said in an interview that if he couldn't win, he'd want Rusty to win, not because Rusty is also from Louisiana, but because he's such a great guy.  Rusty keeps trying, and then he tries and tries some more.  I like Rusty.

I like them all.  Hmmm.  No, I don't.  I love Cory; I like Jason and Rusty.

Edited August 2, 2017 by Lura