S14.E07: Finally the Finale

[Jaded]

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The remaining recruits face off in one last skill drill to determine who will compete in the finale. To see how far they've come, the recruits recreate their baseline dishes using all the techniques they've learned in boot camp. Then chefs Robert Irvine and Anne Burrell teach their final two recruits how to make a three-course, restaurant-quality meal, and the two finalists put all their culinary skills to the test in order to impress a panel of culinary experts. Judges David Burtka, Daphne Oz and Melba Wilson taste the recruits' dishes in a blind taste test and determine the winner of the $25,000 prize.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Going on the judge's responses, it looks like they got it right. I'll be glad to take a break from this show for a while. 

[LexieLily]

I miss when the two finalists got any sort of say in what they cooked in the finale.

[rainbowrockgal]

7 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I miss when the two finalists got any sort of say in what they cooked in the finale.

And when the mentors didn't hover over them the entire time telling them what to do and how to do it...

Edited September 24, 2018 by rainbowrockgal

[Mr. Sparkle]

For real, Sarah had to cook with an ingredient she didn't like, but Irvine was practically pulling Bradley's puppet strings. 

[LexieLily]

41 minutes ago, rainbowrockgal said:

And when the mentors didn't hover over them the entire time telling them what to do and how to do it...

Anne and Robert/Bobby/Tyler weren't like that in the early years, were they? I'm not including Rachel because Rachel hovered.

[mlp]

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Anne and Robert/Bobby/Tyler weren't like that in the early years, were they? 

Yeah, they were.  Anne and Robert anyway.  They had a very similar "fight" in season 2 or 3 because one of them stepped into the kitchen.  I can't remember exactly what the circumstances were.

I was surprised by the finals.  I thought the last two would be Sarah and Timmy and Sarah would win.  I'm very glad I was wrong.  Bradley is never going to be a Rhodes Scholar but he seems nice and I like him.  His dinner appealed to me more than Sarah's so I was very happy that he won.

[LexieLily]

4 minutes ago, mlp said:

Yeah, they were.  Anne and Robert anyway.  They had a very similar "fight" in season 2 or 3 because one of them stepped into the kitchen.  I can't remember exactly what the circumstances were.

Oh, I know Anne and Robert have had that shtick for years where she beat him at everything - Worst Cooks, Iron Chef, Chopped, etc. She relished throwing it in his face every chance she got and I was surprised he didn't do the same, lol.

[LucidDreamer]

I think the finale would work a lot better if the mentors allowed the final two contestants to choose their own menus.  Sure, they could help them perfect the processes ahead of time, but why have the contestants basically act like puppets, instead of showing what they've really learned about good taste combos, etc. along the way?

Sarah was basically screwed by that dessert (esp. the "plating" of it) -- which was not her idea. Sure, she may have lost anyway (and I really didn't care which one won) but it just seems unfair.

[WhitneyWhit]

I was pleasantly surprise with how it ended last night. I thought for sure Timmy would be in the finale, and maybe even win. And I think the producers really tried to make it happen, but realized they couldn't pull off a fast one two weeks in a row. Congrats to Bradley.

[jcbrown]

I have come to loathe Anne only slightly less than I loathe Robert. That said, I thought she was much less obnoxious during the cooking last night. She was telling "Cactus Flower" (did she name herself that or did Anne do it? are there cacti in Oklahoma?) step-by-step instructions but at least she was mostly leaning back against the wall to do it. Robert was hovering and saying everything no less than twice, even instructing which hand to use for certain tasks. I would have told him where he could shove the pan he was telling me to pick up with my right hand.

[Surrealist]

I thought, for sure, that either Timmy or Sarah would win because I didn't expect Brad to wind up in the finale. I'm happy he won. He seemed nice enough. Kind of a ditz, but nice. 

Edited September 25, 2018 by Surrealist

[Yeah No]

I knew Timmy wouldn't be chosen for the finale and I posted that last week.  I knew it would be Bradley and Sarah, but I didn't know which one would win.  I was happy it was Bradley, though.

While there was hovering by different mentors all along it did seem to me that it was taken to a new height this season.  I didn't think either one of the finalists was up to the standard of previous seasons and needed extra hand holding.

[Hellga]

I like that Bradley won, he seems like a nice guy, and someone who actually wanted to learn how to cook more than to get his 5 mins of TV fame, unlike so many others on this show lately.  Sarah wasn't bad either but seemed less genuine.

I agree with everyone who said that it would have been better if contestants created their own menus or at least could collaborate to create options based on some key ingredients vs. just being told what to make. 

[spiderpig]

This show is such compulsive viewing that I only caught up on the finale today.  At least Olive Oyl didn't win.  She made me stabby whenever she was on cam with that fake dumb-Okie act.  I'm OK with Bradley even though I can't remember what he looks like.

ETA in case I am misunderstood.  I hate racial/ethnic stereotypes and I felt Sarah whatever was coached to be depicted as a moronic representative of her purported home state.  Hell. Oklahoma gave us the eternally wonderful and adored James Garner!!!

Edited October 2, 2018 by spiderpig

[biakbiak]

Oops.

Edited October 3, 2018 by biakbiak