S12.E04: Game Day!

[Drogo]

It's game day. The recruits must make varsity-worthy nachos inspired by different flavor profiles; and compete in a game of cornhole to determine what flavor profile they will use.

[LexieLily]

Anne didn't seem too upset that her recruit was quitting. Just an observation ;)

I like Chef Anne a lot but I wouldn’t be able to deal with her as a coach. Her recruit that quit just seemed done with her and I don't actually blame her that much. She clearly got frazzled easily and Anne either berating her, telling her to calm down and breathe, or telling her to work faster didn't help.

[backformore]

The Nacho challenge - they had to make "nachos" but with different foods.  It seemed like the competitors weren't given enough instruction.   They didn't understand that the untraditional nachos still had to have the ingredients layers over chips.  well, they did explain it, but not until some of them had already made their food.   And, yeah, a lot of people make nachos as a dip, served with chips on the side.  It's less messy that way. 

I would like the show better if they did more coaching,  instead of giving them tasks and then mocking their inexperience.  Sylvia, who left, seemed frustrated at having to cook a burger, and given corn and shrimp to incorporate into the dish.  And then when she was cooking the shrimp, Anne was yelling at her as if she should have known to cook the corn first.  Sorry, when people go on a show because they don't know how to cook, maybe they don't know how long various ingredients take to be done.  Anne just seems kind of mean at times. Or maybe condescending is a better word for it. 

[LexieLily]

41 minutes ago, backformore said:

I would like the show better if they did more coaching,  instead of giving them tasks and then mocking their inexperience.  Sylvia, who left, seemed frustrated at having to cook a burger, and given corn and shrimp to incorporate into the dish.  And then when she was cooking the shrimp, Anne was yelling at her as if she should have known to cook the corn first.  Sorry, when people go on a show because they don't know how to cook, maybe they don't know how long various ingredients take to be done.  Anne just seems kind of mean at times. Or maybe condescending is a better word for it. 

That is what I was trying to get at, backformore, but you said it better than I did. Sylvia seemed the type of person that one change or "twist" in a dish or challenge threw her off and at that point she had a plan to cook the shrimp and then cook the corn because she wanted to incorporate the shrimp into the corn-whatever. Anne's attitude was a bit bitchy at her from the start of that conversation so Sylvia shut down. I saw that with that Mandy girl last season, too. 

[novemberjenny]

4 hours ago, backformore said:

would like the show better if they did more coaching,  instead of giving them tasks and then mocking their inexperience. 

Yes! I wish it wasn’t so gimmicky sometimes, too. I know they need to keep things relevant after what, 11 seasons? But I just wish it wasn’t so damn goofy sometimes. Like for starters, how about teaching them the basics instead of making a complicated dish with 40 ingredients and 80 steps? A burger is fine but a stuffed burger with a gazillion ingredients that the contestants can’t pronounce and have never heard of? It’s just another gimmick to make them look stupid. 

 

Speaking of stupid, I mean, COME ON. The producers have got to be feeding these people lines. You cannot convince me that the balloon girl with Betty Page bangs (can’t remmeber her name for the life of me - no matter, she’s mid-season emlination fodder if I ever saw it) has never in her life been to the produce section of a grocery store? Lacey (I think?) has never heard of dill? All 9 of them had trouble assembling nachos? Sports announcer guy has never in his life eaten Asian food? Just, come on. You can’t really be that dumb. I refuse to believe these people are that lacking in their cooking knowledge. 

 

Asaf’s dumb face needs to get off my screen. I cannot STAND him. 

 

I’m really not surprised Sylvia quit, but the real mystery is how she is a 47 year old stay at home mom and has managed to keep her family alive and well for her entire life. It’s also probably best she doesn’t have a real manager or supervisor to answer to; she seems to get frazzled at the slightest inconvenience and was practically weeping when Anne was asking her basic no-pressure questions. And to be honest, it’s not like she made an all-star dish that Anne poo-pooed. Her burger was poorly cooked and mediocre. Her side dish was pan-seared shrimp with no seasoning and corn she grilled on one side. ??‍♀️

 

Also, as a native Hoosier I am offended that the Indiana basket was pickles, eggs and saurkraut. WTF?  

[mme ginger]

9 hours ago, backformore said:

 I would like the show better if they did more coaching,  instead of giving them tasks and then mocking their inexperience.  Sylvia, who left, seemed frustrated at having to cook a burger, and given corn and shrimp to incorporate into the dish.  And then when she was cooking the shrimp, Anne was yelling at her as if she should have known to cook the corn first.

The show used to coach and teach more - I don’t know why they got away from that! There’s still an element of people discovering that they actually do have an aptitude for this cooking thing that I like to watch, and is why I keep watching.  Poor Sylvia did seem flummoxed by having two things that could have constituted a separate entry to use as either a side or in a burger. That’s a big step for a novice at anything, being able to conceptualize something. 

My question is: would those with shrimp or crab have had the option of making a shrimp or crab “burger”? Or did it have to be a beef burger as a base?

Surprised Lily went! 

Edited January 29, 2018 by mme ginger

[Rammchick]

4 hours ago, mme ginger said:

The show used to coach and teach more - I don’t know why they got away from that! There’s still an element of people discovering that they actually do have an aptitude for this cooking thing that I like to watch, and is why I keep watching.  Poor Sylvia did seem flummoxed by having two things that could have constituted a separate entry to use as either a side or in a burger. That’s a big step for a novice at anything, being able to conceptualize something. 

My question is: would those with shrimp or crab have had the option of making a shrimp or crab “burger”? Or did it have to be a beef burger as a base?

Surprised Lily went! 

 

Considering the level of confusion and WTF that continually goes on, it doesn't seem like there are any "after-hours" cooking lessons like they do on MasterChef.  I suppose that keeps the right degree of "duh" that the producers are looking for, which they think makes this more entertaining.  In the case of someone like Sylvia, I just ended up feeling sorry for her.  I lived a lot of my life in or near big cities and was exposed to many different types of food.  Not everyone is, so Anne and Tyler's expectations are somewhat unfair.  BUT...what is true confusion and what is an act?  It's hard to tell sometimes.

I also wondered if a crab or shrimp burger could've been prepared, but based on the results they got, it did have to be a beef burger base.  

I'm glad Lily went.  I was getting tired of her shtick for sure.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Rammchick

[backformore]

This show would be SO much better if they focused on teaching people who can't cook, to prepare basic stuff.  Not greek-style nachos and Indiana-inspired burgers, but just basic lessons on roasting a chicken, making a burger, an omelet, lasagna, fish, etc.  And focus on making ONE element first, THEN move to a lesson on side dishes, timing so everything gets done together, etc.  

It just seems so weird, to take people who say they can't cook, and have them compete to prove they can cook better than the others.  Teach basic cooking skills, then you can have a competition at the end to see who learned it best.  The games are juvenile, and the condescending attitudes seems like they're laughing at people who can't cook.   Some people never learned how to cook, and need patience and coaching.  

The attitude should be "cooking is not hard, let me show you",  not "Oh my god I can't believe you can't do this!" 

[mlp]

1 hour ago, backformore said:

It just seems so weird, to take people who say they can't cook, and have them compete to prove they can cook better than the others.  Teach basic cooking skills, then you can have a competition at the end to see who learned it best. 

Amen.  My guess is that the current producers think the show won't be popular without the nonsense.  They're forgetting that the first couple seasons made the show popular and they had real people and actual teaching starting with things like knife skill drills.  There was plenty of amusement that occurred naturally; it wasn't contrived.  

I like Brandon so I was glad he was saved.  Asaf is good-looking but obnoxious.  He can leave any time.  

[Dennie]

We were not surprised that Sylvia quit. Anne has picked on her since the beginning, having no patience with her and showing no real desire to teach her. Meanwhile Asaf flirts and acts dumb and Anne plays along. Barf.  How can Anne justify keeping Asaf, who made an extremely undercooked burger,  over Sylvia, who yes may have made a boring dish but at least it wouldn't have given her food poisoning. Getting tired of Anne and Asaf's juvenile flirtation and him getting away with bad cooking because of it. 

[needschocolate]

Did they have 50 baskets of food waiting backstage?

Asian nachos is a much harder category than the others.  My best idea would be to go southern Asia and have naan with chicken curry, paneer (cheese), and riata (for the sour cream).

[WhitneyWhit]

I hate that I'm losing respect for Anne because I love her so much but the silliness with Asaf is ridiculous. There's no reason he shouldn't have went home, or been the one who was going to be sent home seeing as he served her a raw hamburger.

 

And silly as it may be, I can buy that someone has never seen dill before, or been in the produce section. I have a co worker who wanted to know why there was grass on a dip that I brought for a work party when it was actually dill. She had never seen a fresh herb in her life and shopped mostly in the frozen aisle.

[backformore]

Even if people shop in the produce section, the fresh herbs are a very tiny section if that, and difficult to find.  I rarely buy fresh herbs because they are packed in a larger quantity than I need, and half of it gets wasted. 

I agree about Asaf. Anne keeps him around because somehow this show is convinced that the audience watches for the sex appeal of the male contestants. It's sick, really. Imagine if there was a pretty but dumb female contestant, and Tyler (or Anne, actually) acted the same way.   

[Mondrianyone]

Maybe they're hoping that if Anne just meets the right dumb, horrible male cook, she'll see the light and turn her life around and heterosexual angels will sing.

I don't understand why Anne plays along with this flirtation meme one season after another.  Plus, why do they never have her flirt with a female contestant?  Insecure girlfriend who might object?  It's actually pretty offensive on any number of levels.

[backformore]

4 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Maybe they're hoping that if Anne just meets the right dumb, horrible male cook, she'll see the light and turn her life around and heterosexual angels will sing.

I don't understand why Anne plays along with this flirtation meme one season after another.  Plus, why do they never have her flirt with a female contestant?  Insecure girlfriend who might object?  It's actually pretty offensive on any number of levels.

It's a weird thing.  competition TV shows have been learning not to treat female contestants as sex objects (well, SOME tv shows have been learning).  So now, it's considered offensive to comment on a female contestant's sex appeal or hotness, or her figure, because that's not what she's competing on.  So instead of applying that lesson to ALL contestants, they now have to treat the guys as "eye candy".  Guys show off their muscles, their abs, and it's like their appearance is part of the competition.  It's ridiculous.  People would be outraged if Tyler was openly flirtatious with a cute young female contestant (as opposed to the pretend-flirty thing with Lily).  It's a weird double standard that's just been reversed over the past few years.   We can't treat women as sex objects?  OK - we'll treat MEN as sex objects! 

[grisgris]

I was surprised that Lily was sent home so soon as she seemed to have been doing pretty well. I think her fatal mistake has been finishing early, even though she moved slowly. (I know, doesn't make sense, right?) I've the judges on "Chopped" get really perturbed if a contestant finishes up before the time runs out. (And they usually get chopped.) Maybe Tyler feels the same way. The argument is that if they have time left then there is more that they can prepare. Then out of the other side of the mouth comes criticism about "time management." Can't win. In the long run, Tyler probably decided to cut his losses early on. Even if Lily became the most skilled cook on his team, he was probably concerned that she'd really slow down  under the pressure of the finale.

Asaf can go ASAP.  He reminds me of the Greek fishmonger character on "Bitchin' Kitchen." Only that guy was an actual comedian playing a role. I guess who is to say that the same isn't true about Asaf? I also don't understand why Anne pretends to flirt with him. When her "flirting" first started several seasons back, her tone was sarcastic. Now she comes across like it's just rehearsed and expected.

In a perfect and PC world, there would be NO flirting or innuendos between the contestants and chefs. The crush on the male mentor started with the ridiculous fawning over Bobby Flay. The show has become contrived enough with that added element.

Right now, I am for Sharon, Daniel or Hazel. Balloon girl (Cheryl?) is OK, but she seems too goofy and nerdy.

I wonder if the judging technique the used for the last celebrity version will be implemented for this group? The judges actually watched the contestants cook so they knew from the start that the chef/mentor teams were.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, grisgris said:

The crush on the male mentor started with the ridiculous fawning over Bobby Flay.

There was someone who fawned over Robert Irvine who hosted the season before Bobby.

[Amarsir]

On 1/28/2018 at 10:11 PM, LexieLily said:

Anne didn't seem too upset that her recruit was quitting. Just an observation ;)

I like Chef Anne a lot but I wouldn’t be able to deal with her as a coach. Her recruit that quit just seemed done with her and I don't actually blame her that much. She clearly got frazzled easily and Anne either berating her, telling her to calm down and breathe, or telling her to work faster didn't help.

I definitely got the sense there was a lot of real drama we didn't see. And there is 0% that they didn't know she was quitting before that elimination. Which to me is why Asaf wasn't on the chopping block and Brandon was. 

I rewound to hear: Brandon was planning to make his own mayonnaise. What "worst chef in America" makes their own mayo? It wasn't in Anne's original recipe either. And then his error was putting a whole garlic clove on, which is something  "worst chef" would do but is a pretty easy sabotage of a meal that's going well. I feel like they wanted him to look more at risk than he actually was. Now whether that's because he goes all the way or they just like his goofy talking heads, I don't know.

[mlp]

I also thought Anne was not surprised.  Whether Brandon was in on it or not I cannot guess but he's my favorite so I was glad he didn't get eliminated.  I also like Sharon and Steven and, to my own surprise, the Princess.  She's cute and seems quite nice when she dials it down from 10.  Asaf is highly annoying.  

I wish cooking shows would ban all sleeveless shirts in the kitchen.  Yuck.