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Top Chef Junior - General Discussion


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Olivia was the right one to go last night.

My new favorite is Carson. He cooks food that is REALLY appetizing.

 

A couple of questions to ponder:

Who is your favorite chef so far?

Do you think the zombies were real people or just fake?

Were you bothered by Vanessa (with the gruesome dress) and the rest of the judges saying the word “gruesome” over and over again? I was. They said it like a million times during the show.

Who’s elimination challenge dish would you eat?

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11 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Ah man, I'm going to miss darling Olivia, but it was the right call. 

I almost had a little tear in my eye. Olivia was such a little joy to watch and she was so humorous in her little interviews. Quite the personality that one. I am going to miss her. The rest of them are just  meh in terms of personality to me

5 hours ago, Ellee said:

Am I the only one that is not a fan of this type of challenge?  

There are a lot of challenges they do on this show that I don't feel  best serve anything about food. That's this show and regular show. Over the years they have just gotten too gimmicky on a lot of things. 

Sometimes I feel like they put London in the bottom just to have her there. Has she ever won a challenge?

This is Nikki or Noah's to lose

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I wasn't a big fan of Olivia because she was always too "on" so I wasn't sorry to see her go.  However, just from listening to her talk, I suspect that she's a highly intelligent child who has a bright future if her parents don't try to push her into "show business."  

I think Noah and Carson are the ones who have the most serious interest in cooking.  Noah did overcook the outside of his steaks before putting them in the oven but he knew what he did wrong and didn't try to make excuses.  Carson met the brief in an original way so I give him credit for his dish although raw meat topped with raw egg yolk looks a bit disgusting to me and adding "blood" just made it worse - which got him the win.  I guess it must have tasted great to those who like tartare.

I like all the kids who are left so I'll be sorry to see each of them eliminated from now on.

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I know they are just children and part of me feels awful for it, but I am over some of these kids. 

 I can not stand Rogers.  He has bugged me for weeks with his smug attitude and the eye rolling.

 Londyn’s bows have worn out their welcome.  The tails of the ribbon hanging over her forehead every damn day makes me wish I could reach thru the screen and yank them off her head. They just look backwards....if the ribbon went down the back of head, it wouldn’t irk me as badly.

 Eric? Is a cute kid? But his up-speak?  For every sentence? Is like an ice pick? Being jabbed? In my ear?

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They're all cute and they're all exceptionally talented but it's okay that they get on your nerves because they get on mine too. I can't stand it when Nikki talks. I don't know if her teeth are too big for her mouth I don't know what it is but every time she speaks it's like nails on a chalkboard.  She also comes across as a know-it-all.

Noah is arrogant and Eric does that I am just so gosh darn cute!  Carson's downfall is exactly what I predicted trying to make things too complicated. I think the age range for this show is strange. There's a big difference between 9 and 13 in maturity.

Is there anyone else that was given a save previously?

 

The winner is between Nicki Noah and Eric in that order. Carson actually lasted longer than I thought he would, and it's clear they only keep London around so they can nit pick every part of her techniques. Rogers is somewhat being given the comes from behind edit, but I don't think that they like him enough to let him win.

Although it doesn't really annoy me London is too old and too big for that big bow in her head. She needs another signature.

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Ahhh .... Gail is pregnant there ... was that #2 or 3?

Fuller ... it was nice to see him ... at times the poor kid looked totally bored as the judges sat around talking ... lol, as young uns we’ve all been there. :D

Oh, Londyn ... there’s something about your attitude when being judged that I don’t care for. If, dear girl, you are protecting yourself from being hurt I get that but if it comes from a place of ‘how dare they criticize me’ I hope someone close to you helps you ‘tweak’ your thought process a little.  The bows I’m sure are a producer thing.  Same way with the precocious way the young boys act. 

Rodgers got more prizes. Good for him.  Is that a predictor that he’s next week’s elimination? Or was Noah tearing up the predictor?

Is the last save at 4 or 5 do you think?

As far as saves go, one was given when they worked as teams to Eric and Rodgers. Another was given to a girl that I believe was eliminated the following week. Can’t remember her name.  And there was one more too I believe. 

Edited by Ellee
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1 hour ago, Ellee said:

 

Oh, Londyn ... there’s something about your attitude when being judged that I don’t care for. If, dear girl, you are protecting yourself from being hurt I get that but if it comes from a place of ‘how dare they criticize me’ I hope someone close to you helps you ‘tweak’ your thought process a little.  

She was *pissed*.  I noticed that the first time she was in the bottom 

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37 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

She was *pissed*.  I noticed that the first time she was in the bottom 

I guess the question is at herself or at the situation/critiques. Either way I would hope a slight tweaking of her thought process would benefit her in the future.  

She’s got places to go, people to see and things to do IMO. 

One more. Ok, lol, I never catch anything. Nothing at all.  Have they done the boxing ring challenge yet?   

Edited by Ellee
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I was very surprised to see Carson eliminated.  I had him figured for a finalist if not the winner.  The judges had nothing good to say about Londyn's dish so I'm not sure why they decided his was worse unless it was his poor judgment for including the bacon not-so-brittle.  I didn't think the size of his sandwich was worse than the flaws in her entries.

Eric is highly annoying.

I didn't see the first season.  What is wrong with Fuller?  He's clearly older and more mature than his size would indicate so I assume his condition/treatment has stunted his growth and he appears to be on large doses of prednisone.  He did look rather bored with the whole thing.

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31 minutes ago, mlp said:

What is wrong with Fuller?  He's clearly older and more mature than his size would indicat

He’s 14. He has had cancer (3 occurrences) and complications stemming from treatment that includes high dose steroids. He was in remission when he was on the show but because of his other health issues the competition was too taxing so he left. 

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2 hours ago, mlp said:

I was very surprised to see Carson eliminated.  I had him figured for a finalist if not the winner.  The judges had nothing good to say about Londyn's dish so I'm not sure why they decided his was worse unless it was his poor judgment for including the bacon not-so-brittle.  I didn't think the size of his sandwich was worse than the flaws in her entries.

Eric is highly annoying.

I didn't see the first season.  What is wrong with Fuller?  He's clearly older and more mature than his size would indicate so I assume his condition/treatment has stunted his growth and he appears to be on large doses of prednisone.  He did look rather bored with the whole thing.

This is what always annoys me about these team challenges. It is hard for me to believe that during that entire time they don't taste each other's dishes before they serve it to others so that they can critique it and correct anything that's wrong. Since Nikki's dish was going so well why wouldn't she have taken a bite of Carson's? The same thing with Rodgers, surely he would have tasted one of London's tacos. I feel this way about this show and the Regular Show. So contrived.

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You knew Carson was a goner when they said there was only one save yet...as predicted they had to keep that for Noah or Nikki, the obvious favorites. Why tell Lloydn that she'd won a "prize" when you just gave the same to everybody?  

Nikki is o.k. when she is getting praise, but that face when she receives criticism is telling.  Rodgers is trying to make a comeback. After seeing Nikki's mom I can see the problem with her mouth and speaking. Noah and Rodgers' dads were just too cute with the shopping.  

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I am ready to voice my opinions on this episode and the episode from last week. (Sorry, I got really tired in the middle of the food truck episode so I had to go to sleep last night.)

 

So, for the food truck challenge...

On 11/4/2018 at 2:07 PM, mlp said:

I was very surprised to see Carson eliminated.  I had him figured for a finalist if not the winner.  The judges had nothing good to say about Londyn's dish so I'm not sure why they decided his was worse unless it was his poor judgment for including the bacon not-so-brittle.  I didn't think the size of his sandwich was worse than the flaws in her entries.

Eric is highly annoying.

I didn't see the first season.  What is wrong with Fuller?  He's clearly older and more mature than his size would indicate so I assume his condition/treatment has stunted his growth and he appears to be on large doses of prednisone.  He did look rather bored with the whole thing.

I was surprised to see Carson go too. But his waffle looked awfully delicious even though it wasn’t airy and it was hard to eat.

You know, I think it’s hard to make a dessert savory these days because you end up losing the challenge almost every single time.

What is it specifically about Eric that makes him annoying?

Fuller has some type of cancer (I don’t know specifically; it’s probably breast cancer). Remember last season when he was really sick and had to go to the hospital, but then he came back on TCJR and eliminated himself because he said he felt really sick? That’s why he looked bored. Some people with cancer get tired a lot...

 

For the all-around-the-world challenge...

The preheat was meh. I don’t think it was necessary to have these kids’ parents shop for them when they have shopped themselves this whole competition. Especially Londyn’s mom...she looked pissed with Londyn.

I think these kids are old enough to know that they have responsibilities and I think the idea of their parents shopping for them is just weird and stupid. I refuse to shop for my 12 yr old daughter when she can shop herself.

I thought Noah was absurd when he substituted the real name for the continent (Australia) with Oceania. Having not studied geography since 1982, I don’t remember my teacher ever saying Oceania.

One more thing: Vanessa’s clothing kind of irked me. Her tits were showing a little bit (Giada and Food Network Star, I’m talking to you.

 

Questions about this episode:

Who do you think would be the final three or two? (I would be really surprised if the final two were Eric and Rodgers)

Who is your favorite, and who annoys you?

What did you think of the “parents shopping for your kids” preheat challenge? Did you think it was nice, or was it just an absurd idea?

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I’m always wrong but I think it’s going to be Londyn and Rodgers as final two.  Eric the next to go with Noah following him and then Nikki.  Or Nikki and then Noah. Don’t know why.   

Is it just me or does there seem to be a connection between Tiffany and Londyn?

This season I really don’t have a favorite.  For some reason I had more of a connection with last season’s kids.  And that may simply be because it was the first season.  

As far as ‘annoying’, I still think precocious is a better word and I also still believe most of that is producer-driven.  These kids are young and intelligent and sometimes it takes time for their personality and age to meet. 

 

Couple of other things ... I avoid Bobby and Giada shows.  One day Giada will be embarrassed for wearing what she wears.  Or at least I’d hope there would be  

Oceana was what was used by the show. 

Edited by Ellee
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1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

Yeah it's just you. Just like there's a connection between Richard and Nikki or Curtis and Noah

I’m not talking collusion here.  I don’t take these competitions that seriously.

A connection as in a chef that happens to be a woman with a chef that happens to be a young girl or possibly a professional chef that happens to see herself at a young age in a girl with aspirations to be the best she can be or ....  

Just remembering seeing the faces of the kids last year when they saw Emeril or other famous chefs walk in.

Personally I would love these type of competitions to end with the kids having a special mentor/friend to assist them achieve their goals.  

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 which is precisely what I was alluding to. I'm sure a lot of the chefs see themselves in some of the kids  and vice-versa, or they admire the talents that those kids have that they didn't have at that age. Personally just a quick Google of London I wouldn't think that Tiffany Derry would be one of her  top 10. I think they all seem to be pretty excited about any of the judges.  I think they are just happy to see professionals that are in the profession that they want to excel in.  I definitely think the show is edited however in such a manner that it it seems that certain judges have certain favorites in the kids but to be fair to them I think it would be hard not to.

 I was just thinking the same thing yesterday. That would be great to find out that some of these kids  have an internship with some of the other Top Chef alumni who have restaurants in their cities

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Quote

I thought Noah was absurd when he substituted the real name for the continent (Australia) with Oceania. Having not studied geography since 1982, I don’t remember my teacher ever saying Oceania.

Oceania isn't just Australia.  It's a huge area that also includes New Zealand and numerous small island nations in the ocean.  

Quote

What did you think of the “parents shopping for your kids” preheat challenge?

I didn't have any problem with it.  I imagine the idea was to see how well the kids could put a dish together with whatever they were given - sort of like Chopped.  

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Just catching up on this season, wanted to give some thoughts.

Food/skills wise, I think the top 2 are Noah and Nikki. Noah is quite arrogant at face value, and it can definitely be a turn off, but I actually think it is quite cute, it's like he can't control his enthusiasm and competitiveness. Nikki on the other hand is extremely nice on the surface, but she is not my favorite for some reason...she comes across as extremely scripted and a little un-genuine. She seems the most mature though, almost too much so, until she is on the bottom...most adults on Top Chef are not as mature as her. She doesn't seem to have much personality. Eric is really cute, Rogers is really a mixed bag, Londyn I like as well.

I think this season had a higher level of cooking on average than season 1, but I think the final four from last season were stronger than any final four from this season by a wide margin. Last season you could pretty much tell who would be in the final four after one or two episodes. 

I think Nikki will win, because she definitely seems to be the chosen one. Though last season the chosen one (Milo) did not win so you never know. 

Edited by bobbobbob199
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Happy Noah got the final "Save", but I'm even happier the dumb "Saves" are gone.  BTW- didn't we all know already that whichever kid was in the bottom would get saved??  They kept saying there was only 1 left, and they are down to 5 contestants, so it seemed like an obvious "save", no?

I'm rooting for Nikki & Noah as final 2.  They are all very talented and poised and mature beyond their years...the dolts on "Hell's Kitchen" should take a cue from these kids to see what real talent and maturity look like.  Rodgers is just too smug. Eric's sing-song-y, up-speak makes it impossible for me to listen to him.  I mute his TH's.  Londyn is the real deal as far as her knowledge of food & flavors, but those damn bows just tip the scale to the "NO" side for me.  Did I see matching bows on her shoulders too???  Good God, they are spreading like a bad poison ivy rash.

I wonder if the next round will be a double elimination to get to Final 3?  I'm sure there's a scavenger hunt type race through some part of Universal Studios coming, like they did last season.  I thought that looked like so much fun!

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I actually really hate the way that they came up with the concept of Last Chance kitchen or  star salvation and now these saves on this show. When you're gone you're gone and that's just the way it should be. I wish they would put London out of her misery but if she leaves they wouldn't have anybody to nitpick to death. There's nothing wrong with her getting criticism but sometimes it just seems from the edit that they criticize her just to be criticizing, and then they're not even consistent. One minute they're saying they love something and the next minute it's just not that great.

At the very beginning I had picked Rodgers to win it or at least be in the top two because he presented himself well and seem to be very knowledgeable about cooking Styles and food , but then that changed to make him look like he was sort of sloppy and not that serious about the competition, and they even put in the bogus of having him doubt himself when coming up with a French dish when he had spoken before about how that was one of his favorites.

Now that he's still there I think he will be in the top three with the chosen 2 Nikki and Noah but this has always been Nikki's to win since the 2nd or 3rd episode. Kudos to her because she seems very knowledgeable 

I don't know if I would want to be the winner on one of these shows because with few exceptions  the losers always seems to go on to be more successful than the winners in  just about every reality show that I know of from the news. I don't watch that many but it just seems like most of these Food Network shows or food shows the losers seem to do better than the winners. It was the same back win that show Top Model was on

Top Chef in particular always forecasts who's going to be leaving by the little talking points they have throughout the episode. They also spoiled it in the commercial when you saw four of them marching into the boxing ring.

I thought Eric was cute and so talented for his age. 

I just hope they all come back for the finale because I would love to see little Olivia again

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Universal Kids totally spoiled who got pykag'd.  Toward the end of the episode, they showed a promo of the season with highlights and one of the clips was of a challenge that hasn't aired yet -- the one in the boxing ring, which is on next week.  You could clearly see only four contestants and their names on the back of their robes, and Eric was missing.  Not that you really needed that though, after his disaster with the gravy.  But Food Network level goof there.

Has anyone else noticed how much up talking these kids do?  For some reason, I wasn't paying as much attention before, but it really annoyed me in this episode.

Edited by Rammchick
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I hadn't noticed the uptalking until people here mentioned it so I was paying attention last night.  Eric ends almost every sentence he utters that way.  I'm pretty sure that uptalking is a lot more common in females than males so I'm guessing he learned from his mother.

I hope Rodgers is the next one out.  He's certainly talented for a little kid but I feel that he's lasted this long more because someone else did worse on a task rather than because he excelled.  

I really like the way Curtis Stone deals with the kids.  He manages to show a paternal side without patronizing them or talking down to them.  He has young sons of his own which has to influence the way he relates to the kids.

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Eric was a cute kid, but the squeaky up speak had me actively hating seeing him on my screen. I liked him as a kid and as a chef better than Rodgers, but that pale unappetizing fowl and solidified gravy was definitely the fail to send Eric home.  I am not any where near as good in the kitchen as these kids, but as soon as I saw Eric sprinkle flour straight into the pan, I knew that would end up a lumpy sludge.  Roux or slurry is the way to go for smooth gravy!

Noah is still my favorite to win, and I think Nikki will be in the final with him.  Overall, all of these kids are so impressive. Not just their skills, but their poise and maturity and confidence.  All of them have great futures ahead.

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On 10/14/2018 at 10:00 AM, Ellee said:

I’m not enjoying this season as much as last for some reason.  And, It doesn’t have anything to do with the chefs.  I can’t put my finger on it though.  I don’t know. 

All the kids are personable and get along, IMO, but I sense less camaraderie this season.   Having the sick child on the show last year may have helped them band together a bit more than what we are seeing this year.

The first season cast of Project Runway Junior (I don't think that's the right name, but something like that) was GOLD.  The kids were amazing people AND amazing designers.  The second season was definitely a notch below on both counts.  Just guessing that the pool of available contestants with both skill and charisma is small.  I wonder if this is the reasons it hasn't been back for a 3rd season yet (that I know of, anyway).

For Top Chef Junior, I'm guessing there are more kids to choose from only because I'd wager more cook than sew.  I hope that is the case and they can keep the show going.

I've enjoyed both seasons but lean towards liking the current season more.    The cooking seems to be at a higher level.  I also think the hosts are doing a better job.  Curtis and Vanessa make a good team and the guest judges have been super.

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Well slight  surprises for me.. I had a thought at the very beginning about who I thought was going to make it to the end however they threw a few wrenches in the way that really made me doubt myself with the editing.

I was pleased that one of my original picks  for top 3 is actually there,  one was a given and the other one I'm pleasantly surprised that they let stay around.

One thing is for sure is that these kids are insanely talented and hopefully have Bright Futures ahead of them. I was pleased to see that they all have outside interests other than cooking and seem to be very well-rounded kids.

I sometimes think the parents are a lot more anxious than the kids.

I must say I laughed out loud when Londyn used the phrase nitpicking because that is exactly what I feel like they do to her sometimes and she must feel it too. Criticism is fine and it's expected and if she deserves it give it but when you really look at the way that they talk to her and the others they are so contradictory that it does start to feel like nitpicking.

Rogers has also gotten a little bit of that over the competition 

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I liked how Londyn nitpicked the judges, too!  When she was cooking against Noah, as she cooked the judges said something along the lines of  "Oh, she is going to overuse..." "That chili is too powerful to use in ceviche..." And as Noah cooked, they complimented him.  So i was glad she won.  

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My TiVo did pick up the "preview" special, fortunately, so I got this episode, after all (thanks, Universal Kids, for labelling it season 1 episode 5). Color me surprised that they eliminated Noah. Rogers is just cannon fodder now, I think. And I had no idea Rogers was 13 to Nicki's 10!

Edited by jcbrown
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I guess we find out today with another new episode airing who the final two will be. 

So Eric won a TC JR trophy and went out 5th.  Noah won Restaurant Wars and goes out 4th.  Does that mean since Nikki won the ‘iconic’ boxing ring challenge that she goes out 3rd?  

Question.  Can something be considered iconic if it has only happened once before?

I tried to read the small print about winners and eliminations at the end and couldn’t.  Just curious  

My best to all the chefs and may their futures be bright. 

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11 hours ago, jcbrown said:

My TiVo did pick up the "preview" special, fortunately, so I got this episode, after all (thanks, Universal Kids, for labelling it season 1 episode 5). Color me surprised that they eliminated Noah. Rogers is just cannon fodder now, I think. And I had no idea Rogers was 13 to Nicki's 10!

 

I had no idea Rodgers was the oldest. I meant to say yesterday that those are big 11 year olds.  I thought Nikki and Londyn were also 12 or 13.  Very mature kids all of them.

I'm conflicted about Noah's loss. I actually hoped Simon would make it further than Noah for some reason, but I also feel like Noah should have left when he was eliminated. At that stage of the game I don't even think they should still have saves when you get down to the last five or six.

In the beginning when I read their bios and they did their little interviews towards the start of the season I really thought Rodgers was going to be one of the finalists however as episodes went on they seemed to be giving him the edit of not being very concerned about the competition and just kind of being there so I thought not. But then they started to give him the redemption edit and I thought they might let him make it to the finals but not win.  

I thought Carson was talented but I never thought he was going to win and I was actually surprised that he made it as long as he did. From the beginning it was clear that he over complicated things in an effort to impress with his knowledge.

I was actually surprised that both Nikki and Londyn have four wins but I was even more surprised that Londyn wasn't the one that was eliminated.  Has Nikki ever been in the bottom two?

When Noah was saved I was sure they were saving him for the finals.

Edited by catrice2
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catrice2 - I could have written your entire post.  I agree with every word.  Simon was my favorite from the whole bunch.

For some reason, I hadn't noticed before this episode that Rodgers was older than the rest of the final four - probably because he's so small and has a high-pitched voice.  Both girls seem much older than 11, especially Nikki because she has a low-pitched voice and a mature way of speaking.  

I liked Noah but he was the right person to eliminate.  I don't really care which one of the girls wins.

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I 'm glad Noah's gone - again.  He gloated way too much, cooked steak way too much, was a messy cook, and never took losing a round well - he was this season's Jasmine for me. .
I really liked Olivia and Rogers has a pretty developed palate.  Nikki grew on me too - but none of them really had the appeal that Henry, Rahanna, and Owen had.

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I thought the finals were 3 people. Is it that way on the regular show? I have not watched the regular show all the way through for awhile bit I thought the top 3 cook?

I am sure helping with w special needs siblings is part of the maturity as is being an only child.  Probably why the two girls seem so much older.

So..did Londyn forget to season everyone 's plate or just what she served to the judges? Rodgers plate looked amazing to me.  I picked him at the start. Glad he felt good about his dish.

I feel as if  they have edited it as as Londyn and Nikki for awhile now although I thought it was a red herring for a Noah and Nikki final. Not sure how I feel about Curtis advising against something at this stage especially a preparation.

Yeah...I get to see Olivia! I hope Londyn does not win.  Losers on these type shows seem to do better than the winners!

Edited by catrice2
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1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

Not sure how I feel about Curtis advising against something at this stage especially a preparation.

I'm not happy about that.  Had she cooked it her way, the outcome may have been very different.  No matter what the real chefs said, cooking "en papillote" is not that difficult. 

Londyn not seasoning her fish?  Go directly to the bottom....but I like highly seasoned food.  On the other hand, Rogers overly sweet sauce didn't sound appetizing at all.  Too bad.

Anybody besides me take a drink every time one of them called themselves "AMAZING CHEFS"?    

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31 minutes ago, whinewithwine said:

I'm not happy about that.  Had she cooked it her way, the outcome may have been very different.  No matter what the real chefs said, cooking "en papillote" is not that difficult. 

Londyn not seasoning her fish?  Go directly to the bottom....but I like highly seasoned food.  On the other hand, Rogers overly sweet sauce didn't sound appetizing at all.  Too bad.

Anybody besides me take a drink every time one of them called themselves "AMAZING CHEFS"?    

I thought it was about cooking it to order or something but either way I did not hear him advising Rodgers against that sauce ha ha.  Maybe if she had not cooked it to order it  would still be good but now I do not like that I do not know if it made a difference.

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