S12.E09: Flair Flair Everywhere

[Drogo]

The final four recruits learn the art of showing off as they compete to represent Anne and Tyler in the finale. First, they learn high-flying bartending tricks and make happy hour cocktails with bar snacks for Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence. For the main dish challenge, the recruits must cook a dish and perform a flashy tableside demonstration for some very special guests. After dinner is served, Anne and Tyler decide which recruits will represent them in the finale for a chance to win $25,000.

[HahYallDoin]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Anne choose Hazell. I thought for sure she'd go with Asaf, right up until the final main dish challenge where Hazell did the best job. 

I was pulling for Steven, even though I liked Sharon, so it'll be a good finale for me. 

[Lizzing]

I want to know where they got the bartender who purported to make a French 75. I have never seen one made with strawberry, and even if that were a good substitution for the lemon, where was the champagne? And why vermouth? He had to have gotten the name wrong or something was lost in editing.

I'm glad Hazel is in the finale and hope she wins because Stephen annoys the crap out of me. Had Sharon made it to the end, there'd be no favorite for me.

[cameron]

Lizzing above was correct.  Just looked up the recipe for a French 75 and it wasn't anything like they presented last night.

[HappyDancex2]

Add me to the group as well....as a gin drinker and French 75 drinker that was very odd.  I don’t mind riffs on drinks just don’t confuse the general viewing audience that an iconic drink is something complicated when it isn’t.  

I too thought that Anne would stick with muscles, just because that’s the show this has become LOL.  Tyler didn’t seem too impressed when the guy was trying to ignite the demiglace.

now when I see Steve and his bow tie all I can see is him saying “you can do it put your back in to it.”  And I hate myself for it. 

[Rammchick]

Does anyone seriously care who wins next week?  I sure don't.

[spiderpig]

Based on the declining commentary for each episode, I'm presuming most have defected to The Walking Dead or The Oscars this past weekend.  I'm watching to get it off my DVR.

Seriously - would you want any of these idiots to direct you to a lifeboat or an emergency exit in an evacuation?

[Yeah No]

I fell asleep during this episode.  I don't even know who was eliminated.

[Amarsir]

They each bother me less than other finalists in prior seasons have, to say nothing of those eliminated earlier. That's some faint praise, but it is what it is.

Actually I didn't really mind the episode at all. They're past the "world's wackiest kitchen blunders" phase of the early episodes, and I feel like they've toned down the After Effects gimmicks compared to the last few seasons.

[Westiepeach]

I just wish they would go back to actually teaching them how to cook. COOK! Not filet fish, not make pasta, just freakin’ COOK. None of them are going to go home and filet a fish!

I consider myself a decent cook. Above average. That said, I have never, nor will I ever filet a fish. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

23 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Does anyone seriously care who wins next week?  I sure don't.

I'm rooting for Steven, but if he doesn't win I won't be upset, and I'll have forgotten about it by 10:10. 

I would have preferred Sharon in the finale. 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Superclam

[mlp]

I was just sure that the final two would be Sharon and Asaf so I was almost shocked by the chosen two.  I like Steven but he seems a bit scattered.  I was hoping not to have to look at or listen to Hazell any more.  I couldn't believe her sister came in, to be on TV, wearing pants with both knees torn out.  Geeesh.

Sharon's mother looked like she's had a stroke.  Or maybe Bell's Palsy.

[Yeah No]

I finally watched the ending.  I wasn't surprised at the final two.  Asaf is a little quirky and it seemed like Steven had the edge over Sharon in general, although not by much.  I can see why they called them "frick and frack".  They don't really look or act alike but somehow they do.  I know that makes no sense but neither do they, lol.

[grisgris]

Did anybody else think that Asaf's "friend," was also hired from Central Casting and the two didn't know each other from Adam? I was Sooooo .... happy that Anne didn't choose Asaf for the finale. His schtick was getting old and I noticed that in one of the THs that he spoke in perfect un-accented English.

I really don't care who wins. Apparently, despite his scattered inconsistent performance, it was obvious that Stephen is able to retain instructions and can pull it off in the clutch. (Either that or he is a skilled actor and had just memorized lines from Tyler.)

What will probably happen -- as it always does -- is that Anne will choose some very complicated menu to show off her skills that she attempted to pass on to her protege'.  (Which can and has backfired.) Tyler (who also is a blatant egotist) will choose dishes that are sophisticated in flavor but simple in execution.

[HappyDancex2]

17 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

I just wish they would go back to actually teaching them how to cook. COOK! Not filet fish, not make pasta, just freakin’ COOK. None of them are going to go home and filet a fish!

I consider myself a decent cook. Above average. That said, I have never, nor will I ever filet a fish. 

Why bother when Whole Foods will do it for free?   LOL   I have them do the entire whole fish and then take the bones and head home to make fume.

[RaidsWindmills]

On 3/6/2018 at 4:20 PM, Westiepeach said:

I just wish they would go back to actually teaching them how to cook. COOK! Not filet fish, not make pasta, just freakin’ COOK. None of them are going to go home and filet a fish!

 

YES! In past seasons, the final four would each cook a special dish that had been created for them specifically and tailored to things they'd said they wanted to cook/eat, and then the tasting would be blind. That meant they each learned how to cook a dish that special to them or would be something to impress their loved one with. Plus, it showed how far they'd come and how well they'd learned to use their new cooking skills. The whole "mimic my dish" thing this far in the game doesn't demonstrate what, if anything, these people have really learned. 

 

On 3/6/2018 at 6:49 PM, mlp said:

Sharon's mother looked like she's had a stroke.  Or maybe Bell's Palsy.

 

I had Bell's Palsy when I was a kid and that was my first thought. 

I'm relieved Anne picked Hazel over Asaf. I don't really care who wins, though. 

[Yeah No]

22 hours ago, grisgris said:

Did anybody else think that Asaf's "friend," was also hired from Central Casting and the two didn't know each other from Adam? I was Sooooo .... happy that Anne didn't choose Asaf for the finale. His schtick was getting old and I noticed that in one of the THs that he spoke in perfect un-accented English.

I wonder if this show didn't send a casting scout down in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn's little "Odessa by the Sea", which even today is a huge magnet for Eastern European immigrant Jews.  There was Asaf, then Sharon's mother had an accent, so I wonder if he's from that neighborhood too.  There was also winner Joshie Berger in Season 2, from Brooklyn, and a former Hasidic Jew.  There aren't too many places where you'd find immigrant Jews in any concentration anymore except there, so it made me wonder.

[justjen]

As someone who absolutely cannot cook (occasionally I can be trusted to boil water without incident; last night there was a loud "discussion" over whether making a microwave meal is cooking) I was SO EXCITED to see them with fire. Next time I accidentally set the stove on fire I can just say "ta-da"!!! It's flambé! With all of the bananas Asaf claims to eat, I worry about his potassium levels - they must be incredibly high!

It was interesting watching Sharon (drag queen) vs Steven (real estate agent) and their performances. Sharon completely choked and it broke my drag queen loving heart. Steven's mom asking for ketchup more than once made it seem like she really wanted ketchup and wasn't happy with the fancy-pants taste. :)

[Brookside]

I'm not sure why Asaf would be in Brighton Beach.  I can't find any evidence that he has Russian heritage - frankly, he looks Sephardic rather then Ashkenazi.  For sure I don't understand why he's on the regular worst cooks, not the celebrity edition, but I doubt he was recruited from Brighton Beach.  Joshi Berger grew up in Williamsburg (Brooklyn); I doubt if he lives in Brighton Beach.  Sharon lives (lived?) on Staten Island.

Edited March 8, 2018 by Brookside
Typing too quickly.