Rammchick April 30, 2015 Share April 30, 2015 Well, that was fun. I sort of thought they'd give the win to Madison Cowan whom I've never liked very much. He may be a great cook but I think he's smug and smarmy. mlp, I figured I was probably the only one here. I've seen him on a couple of other competition shows and he acted badly in both. I wasn't crazy about him before but that just cemented it. Ann Burrell, however, is someone that I used to love. I never missed her cooking show. But she's both a poor winner and a poor loser, and I've lost my respect for her from watching her on these competitions. 3 Link to comment
anonymiss April 30, 2015 Share April 30, 2015 Dale AND Hung? I'm in TV Heaven! Dis gon be good! I wasn't a fan of Eric Greenspan doing the wet dog shake when he was covered in sweat and sticking his sweaty head up to the camera. 2 Link to comment
Wordsworth April 30, 2015 Share April 30, 2015 My heart is broken, but I knew Madison's time would come eventually. I had a feeling his fish might end up overcooked when he stuck it in the oven. Ah, well. He's still a stand-up guy. Link to comment
CPP83 May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 I know all good things must eventually come to an end but I had hoped Mad would make it to the dessert round at least. Though he just didn't seem comfortable and on his game and I was glad at least that he knew it and owned up to it and his mistakes fully. He didn't make excuses or whine, he was the same class act that I remember first watching five years ago (holy crap where does the time go) going up against Lance, two of the best, if not the very best, chefs to ever grace the show imho. I will also admit I was holding out a bit of hope that if Mad somehow took it all and remained undefeated I might get another glimpse of his gorgeous little girl who I am sure is just growing up, probably too fast for him heh, into a lovely young lady. And while I was sad to see his streak cut short my comfort was that at least Art took it in the end. He was the only other one in the group I could have handled winning aside from Madison. Eric really just...was blowing it out of his ass big time during the dessert round. Whatever his reason for acting like such a stubborn block head (of cheese) it just didn't look good on him at all, imo. 2 Link to comment
cooksdelight May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 I might get another glimpse of his gorgeous little girl who I am sure is just growing up, probably too fast for him heh, into a lovely young lady. Madison gave this advice to his daugher, who is now in the fifth grade: Madison's Corner: My daughter's being harassed by a friend of the (5th grade!) boy she politely declined to go out w/. She just rang & asked if it's ok to kick someone in the bollocks in self defence? I replied if ignoring him no longer works & she couldn't immediately remove herself...absolutely. But he'll expect it so give him a quick, hard shot in the throat w/ an open hand & bash him in the eardrum w/ the other...simultaneously...& step into it...then walk away. And if school officials or his parent(s) kick up I'll sort it out. When children leave home in the morning the ultimate goal is for them to return. 2 Link to comment
CPP83 May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 Madison gave this advice to his daugher, who is now in the fifth grade: Wow, I love it, heh. She is her father's daughter from the sounds of it and good for her, and for him being so clear that she is free to always protect herself in any way necessary and if she needs backup he'll be right there for her. Now I regret even more that he won't continue to be in the competition. I still wish he and Lance had gotten their own show together. And yet Guy can manage to have 12... oy. Though as for the others moving forward, I admit that I was a little surprised to see Hung making an appearance but good grief Ann really needs to tone it down. I realize now I have only ever been able to tolerate her when she was with Mario on ICA. He seemed to have this magic power of making the most annoying persons tolerable, case in point when he was paired with RR and got her the win over Miss. Queen of Italia. 2 Link to comment
bubbls May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 (edited) Dunno if it was a rerun or not, but I enjoyed the Martone family last night. Since all four contestants were related I assumed it was a theme show. Anyway, I suddenly realized they plate four plates and something Ted said made me think he gets a plate too. That salad the daughter made in the first round had my mouth watering. I wish some of these chefs with restaurants had one near me as I'd love to visit. If Eric ever brings his grilled cheese road show my way I'm signing up. Love me some grilled cheese. He can call it dessert or a cheese course or whatever he wants! Edited May 1, 2015 by bubbls 2 Link to comment
cooksdelight May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 The fourth plate is the one Ted uses to reveal who's been chopped. They all have to give an extra plate for that reason alone. Glad you enjoyed that episode! 1 Link to comment
bubbls May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 The fourth plate is the one Ted uses to reveal who's been chopped. They all have to give an extra plate for that reason alone. Glad you enjoyed that episode! Ohhhh, ok. I'd forgotten about the sacrificial plate! 1 Link to comment
Julia May 1, 2015 Share May 1, 2015 (edited) I was just watching last year's Richard Blais / Gavin Kaysen showdown (Blais crowded Kaysen off the antigriddle with a ton of ingredients he wasn't going to use, Kaysen kicked his ass anyway and who saw _that_ coming). Blais' dessert had a huge wodge of foam on it. His sacrificial plate - I think the stylists call it a hero plate - was the one under the dome after the dessert round. It looked like a toilet training accident. Also, in choppedese, twinkies = sponge cakes. Edited May 1, 2015 by Julia 1 Link to comment
Bella May 2, 2015 Author Share May 2, 2015 The sacrificial plate is always the best, too. So if the chef is running behind and only completes one plate, that's the one on camera. The judges get the incomplete plates. More pressure to get it done on time! Link to comment
xaxat May 2, 2015 Share May 2, 2015 (edited) The sacrificial plate is always the best, too. And the plate Chris gets is always the worst. Edited May 2, 2015 by xaxat 8 Link to comment
cooksdelight May 2, 2015 Share May 2, 2015 Yes, if there's a fingernail, a hair, an eye, a fish scale.... it lands on Chris' plate. 4 Link to comment
Julia May 2, 2015 Share May 2, 2015 You know, that would make a terific plot for a mystery show - the killer only poisoned one plate, but dropped a baggie full of nail clippings and eggshell fragments on it to ensure it got to the right judge... 2 Link to comment
paramitch May 3, 2015 Share May 3, 2015 I thought this latest All-Stars episode was a lot of fun -- I liked all the chefs, although Eric was a bit frantic and camera-hoggy to me. I like Art, although he seems incredibly thin-skinned and perhaps a bit high maintenance when the cameras are off. But he also seems like a sweetheart, and I was happy to hear about his marriage and adoption (especially of four siblings -- huge kudos for that). I love Madison and always like seeing him return to "Chopped." I do think he can come off as being a bit pompous and over the top, but I think some of that is self-protective given his truly incredible past experiences with homelessness and poverty. His first appearance on "Chopped" with Lance remains my all-time favorite episode of the show, and while Madison came in kind of smug and "food is sexy sexy sexy!" -- that actually wore off very quickly and in the end, the two guys were just really humble sweethearts, and incredibly mutually appreciative and supportive. I also have a soft spot for Madison because he used to stop by the boards over at TWOP and say hello, and he was really kind and appreciative of the posts there, and he in fact posted over there at one point to get our support to get Lance back on "Chopped" -- I'm not sure the boards had much to do with it, but Lance did return to "Chopped" and did a fantastic job (in another of my all-time favorites). So I think Madison is actually a pretty kind person who is used to talking big, but who has a big heart, and who is genuinely supportive of other chefs. So it was interesting to see him back on "Chopped," as he seems quieter and calmer with age, and a little less prone to hyperbole. Round 1 looked beautiful, but in Round 2, you could just tell that despite his initial planning, everything was falling to pieces. But his exit was absolutely classy (you could tell he absolutely knew it would be him, and you can even see Ted grimace as he raises the lid for the reveal. I loved the kind words from the judges, especially from Scott, and they seemed to mean a lot to Madison. I wish him well, and you can tell that the judges and Ted have real affection for him (and kudos to the judges for managing to maintain objectivity and chop him anyway). Last but not least, I always knew Art was Southern (I know! Really?) but I had no idea he was from Jasper, which is a tiny town in Northern Florida, and is where my mother's mother was born, and where her family still lives. It's a good example of how Northern Florida can be so much more traditionally Southern than people expect (both a good and a bad thing). I'm glad Art has dedicated himself to doing something for them, although I'm not sure a bakery is a charity, exactly (but I'm a fan of jobs, so either way, I hope he does something for the town). 7 Link to comment
Maverick May 3, 2015 Share May 3, 2015 You know, that would make a terific plot for a mystery show - the killer only poisoned one plate, but dropped a baggie full of nail clippings and eggshell fragments on it to ensure it got to the right judge... Don't laugh. Hallmark Channel has been promoting a movie called Gourmet Detective, which is apparently about a chef that teams up with a cop after someone is served a poisonous fish in a restaurant. If you're more into the baking side, they also have A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery coming up. Seriously people, I'm not making this shit up. 2 Link to comment
Julia May 3, 2015 Share May 3, 2015 Don't laugh. Hallmark Channel has been promoting a movie called Gourmet Detective, which is apparently about a chef that teams up with a cop after someone is served a poisonous fish in a restaurant. If you're more into the baking side, they also have A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery coming up. Seriously people, I'm not making this shit up. I'm just surprised it hasn't happened before. There's an entire sub-genre of murder mysteries with recipe sections at the end. It's probably as big as romance novels with high-heeled shoes on the cover. 1 Link to comment
JessDVD May 3, 2015 Share May 3, 2015 I confess I have read the entire book series upon which the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery TV series is based. I like cooking/baking, I like murder mysteries, I like books with female protagonists... so there we go. I would totally watch a TV series called Gourmet Detective, although I'd prefer it not be a Hallmark line. Maybe CBS should pursue that for their next crime procedural. Link to comment
Rick Kitchen May 3, 2015 Share May 3, 2015 I'm just surprised it hasn't happened before. There's an entire sub-genre of murder mysteries with recipe sections at the end. It's probably as big as romance novels with high-heeled shoes on the cover. The recipes tend to appear interspersed through the book, not just at the end. Link to comment
zxy556575 May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Damn it! The one person I least wanted to see win. 1 Link to comment
Rammchick May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Agreed, although, despite the weird faces, she was somewhat toned down and palatable tonight. 3 Link to comment
GaT May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Agreed, although, despite the weird faces, she was somewhat toned down and palatable tonight. Agreed. I was thinking how quiet she seemed the entire episode, even her hair was toned down. Maybe because she was a contestant & not a host or mentor? Link to comment
NikSac May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Agreed, although, despite the weird faces, she was somewhat toned down and palatable tonight. I agree too, I really liked her. I've never really hated her as I know some do, but tonight/last night she reminded me more of the Anne I liked a lot in her earlier FN days. She still seemed quirky but not over the top obnoxious. 2 Link to comment
cooksdelight May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Art and now Anne. Two people who've been on soooooo many of these shows. Geez, give us some new people in the finale, please. I was mad they had both Dale and Hung on the same show, two of my favorite chefs. I was hoping to see at least one of them in the finale, but it's looking like the old guard will be the ones left standing. I was dozing during the show, which tells me I'm not that invested in this particular all-star competition. 3 Link to comment
joanne3482 May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 I loved how shocked the judges were that Hung had the sweetbreads in the boiling water and had broken down 4 artichokes in the first minute. Hung is a force. 7 Link to comment
Julia May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 I loved how shocked the judges were that Hung had the sweetbreads in the boiling water and had broken down 4 artichokes in the first minute. Hung is a force. Hung is like an olympic athlete. It's an absolute joy to watch him work. I think Ann got the Food Network personal redemption win. Her life has not been going well lately. 3 Link to comment
FormerMod-a1 May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 I loved seeing Hung again. I think they purposely put him the furthest from the pantry and equipment just to make the running "worse". Of course, that also put him closest to the judges and they were having a ball watching him. I can't blame them though because so was I. Watching him crush and sprinkle those meringue cookies brought back memories of "Smurf village". Also, Chopped, you are not so clever saying Hung and Dale were "well known/favorite competitive cooking show contestants" or however they phrased it. Just say "Top Chef". I know it's another network, but they have not been on other shows, and you selected them for their draw, which is Top Chef fans. 7 Link to comment
Lamb18 May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Don't laugh. Hallmark Channel has been promoting a movie called Gourmet Detective, which is apparently about a chef that teams up with a cop after someone is served a poisonous fish in a restaurant. If you're more into the baking side, they also have A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery coming up. Seriously people, I'm not making this shit up. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery sounds like it is based on Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson mysteries, which take place in a small town in central Minnesota. 1 Link to comment
Bastet May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 I'm aware Anne Burrell has been all over the network, but I've mostly only seen her on her short-lived cooking show, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, which I loved. So I'm not feeling the overexposure effect, and enjoyed her win. I didn't care for Hung on his season of Top Chef, I don't remember much about Dale (I vaguely recall some unsavory freakout in the Stew Room, but maybe I'm confusing him with someone else), and I like Border Grill and miss Ciudad (Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger's restaurants) -- so I was hoping it would be Anne and Mary Sue in the dessert round. 1 Link to comment
Darian May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 I love Hung. I could watch him all day, exhausting as it would be. But Anne's charity is so close to my heart, so I was happy with her win. Link to comment
rab01 May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 I'm not a conspiracy theorist kind of guy but Anne Burrell's win didn't fit with the comments they were both getting throughout the meal. When they revealed Hung's plate, I just thought "well, I guess the FN person has to move on." Obviously, we don't taste the food and they edit the show to maintain suspense but they edited out too much of their praise of Burrell for me to get behind that result. 3 Link to comment
Totale May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 A side effect of them dropping judging for the early rounds is that we get very little discussion to refer back to when they make their choices. I don't know anything about Burrell's private life as mentioned above but it sure felt like she had some (presumably FN) thumb on the scale, since she walked in there obviously the least accomplished of the four contestants and walked out the same, but with a place in the finals. Link to comment
Julia May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 The only thing I know about Anne Burrell's private life in this decade is that she got engaged after Ted outed her. I meant the complete disaster her show turned out to be. Link to comment
Totale May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Did she have a recent disastrous one other than "Worst Chefs"? That's a disaster from the mentally grown viewer's perspective but seems to do well for the network, they keep bringing it back. Link to comment
Julia May 6, 2015 Share May 6, 2015 Yeah, there was that shouty show that was cancelled last year where she acted like a psycho drill sergeant and supposedly the winner got a chef job, only not so much, and it got a lot of attention from more people than watch TFN when Todd English freaked out all over the guy who supposedly got the job. They're burning off episodes at 4AM. 1 Link to comment
chessiegal May 7, 2015 Share May 7, 2015 Those "Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell" shows are all repeats - the show had 3 seasons and is no longer in production. They're just showing repeats at wee hours of the morning. Link to comment
rab01 May 7, 2015 Share May 7, 2015 The "Chef Wanted" shows were pretty bad; I have a vague recollection that multiple contestants complained afterwards that the producers sabotaged their shifts (mainly by withholding tickets) without showing the sabotage on-air, which made them look bad for no reason. Totale, she always does really well on these cooking competitions so I don't think it's fair to call her less accomplished than the other chefs. Well, Mary Sue is probably the most accomplished of the bunch but she isn't as competitive as the other three ... Link to comment
Julia May 7, 2015 Share May 7, 2015 (edited) Totale, she always does really well on these cooking competitions so I don't think it's fair to call her less accomplished than the other chefs. Well, Mary Sue is probably the most accomplished of the bunch but she isn't as competitive as the other three ... I don't think a woman gets to be Mario Batali's protege without having serious skills. I always thought she was really impressive on Iron Chef when she was doing all the fussy technical work for his dishes perfectly calmly, like it was just another day at the office. The problem is that she's Mario Batali when she's cooking but she turns into the unholy love child of Guy Fieri and Joe Bastianich when she opens her mouth. I don't know if that's a persona they picked for her - it is the Food Network, after all - but it's like nails on a blackboard. Edited May 7, 2015 by Julia 9 Link to comment
anonymiss May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 Hung is so hilariously cocky and entitled to it. He even makes a sport out of prep work. I wish he had his own show of just watching him cook. Anne and Art so far. Yawn. 6 Link to comment
NikSac May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 Hung is so hilariously cocky and entitled to it. He even makes a sport out of prep work. I wish he had his own show of just watching him cook. That would be fun! I hadn't seen him before, but it was really fun watching him cook! I was paranoid the whole time that he was going to cut himself or someone else, but he didn't and seemed speedy but controlled. Link to comment
cattykit May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 (edited) The problem is that she's Mario Batali when she's cooking but she turns into the unholy love child of Guy Fieri and Joe Bastianich when she opens her mouth. I don't know if that's a persona they picked for her - it is the Food Network, after all - but it's like nails on a blackboard. I'd almost think it was, because when she started on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, she was fun and quirky--heavy on the quirky, but still essentially a delight to watch. Over the course of time and her many competition shows (and that awful Chef Wanted), she morphed into a screeching harpy. I used to root for her in every competition and now I actively root for her to lose. If I didn't know it was Angry!Dale, I wouldn't have known. He was so not angry. And he was robbed. And I do think the judging's inbred. Just like (I believe) three out of four Chopped All Star finales have been won by Chopped judges, with Nate Appelman the only exception. Because there's no home field advantage. Edited May 8, 2015 by cattykit Link to comment
jcbrown May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 Hung is so hilariously cocky and entitled to it. He even makes a sport out of prep work. I wish he had his own show of just watching him cook. I loved the editing when they juxtaposed Hung's amazingly precise knife cuts on the lime leaves with Anne's hacking them to bits. She was blending them so they did not need to be as precise as his but I still enjoyed the contrast. And, like others, I went into this round thinking "anyone but Anne" because of her ass-tastic persona on the network. Hung, Dale, and Mary Sue were robbed. 2 Link to comment
bubbls May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 I found Hung to be very annoying for some reason. He seemed kind of like an attention hog and those types usually annoy me, although for some reason Anne doesn't. And I didn't like his comments on his loss. He overcooked his protein twice didn't he? I know he made some type of basic mistake with the protein twice. That dessert he made sure looked good though. 1 Link to comment
Julia May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 (edited) I found Hung to be very annoying for some reason. He seemed kind of like an attention hog and those types usually annoy me, although for some reason Anne doesn't. And I didn't like his comments on his loss. He overcooked his protein twice didn't he? I know he made some type of basic mistake with the protein twice. That dessert he made sure looked good though. I started out being really annoyed at Hung on his season of Top Chef, because he was really kind of an asshole about the whole thing. The thing is, though, he came up in a restaurant family, but the kind of restaurants where the chefs have to have serious skills but they aren't taken seriously or paid serious money because the food they make isn't considered fine dining, and he worked from a really early age to help his family make a living. So his approach, based on the interviews I've seen, seems to be that he started from behind, and he doesn't see any reason to cut the people he's catching up to any slack (particularly if they're not as good as he is). So I kind of get him, even if I wouldn't want to spend any time with him. And his skills are seriously dazzling. Edited May 8, 2015 by Julia 2 Link to comment
Pepper Mostly May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 I have both of Anne's cookbooks and flove them, and her. I make focaccia from her recipe all the time and her braised short ribs recipe is beyond. She is amazing and her food is to die. She is a tad over the top on teevee, but I still love her. That said, I love Hung too and I was SHOCKED that he lost. Link to comment
bubbls May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 I started out being really annoyed at Hung on his season of Top Chef, because he was really kind of an asshole about the whole thing. The thing is, though, he came up in a restaurant family, but the kind of restaurants where the chefs have to have serious skills but they aren't taken seriously or paid serious money because the food they make isn't considered fine dining, and he worked from a really early age to help his family make a living. So his approach, based on the interviews I've seen, seems to be that he started from behind, and he doesn't see any reason to cut the people he's catching up to any slack (particularly if they're not as good as he is). So I kind of get him, even if I wouldn't want to spend any time with him. And his skills are seriously dazzling. I see that in him. I got the feeling he slides by on his "cute" and "amazing" factor usually, expected to wow the judges with that, and the judges knocked him down a peg. Maybe what I was picking up was attitude based on his history instead. 1 Link to comment
Totale May 8, 2015 Share May 8, 2015 Totale, she always does really well on these cooking competitions so I don't think it's fair to call her less accomplished than the other chefs. Well, Mary Sue is probably the most accomplished of the bunch but she isn't as competitive as the other three ... I'm sure she's got mad skillz, but her competition all does too, and they've been running restaurants and developing menus while she's been concentrating on TV shows. 1 Link to comment
JessDVD May 9, 2015 Share May 9, 2015 The Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery sounds like it is based on Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson mysteries, which take place in a small town in central Minnesota. It is. 1 Link to comment
grisgris May 9, 2015 Share May 9, 2015 Hung made me dizzy with his racing around the kitchen. Maybe FN (or somebody else) talked to Anne about toning things down. Besides her slightly less arrogant manner, her hair and makeup were really subdued. I actually thought she looked a lot better (and younger.) I have never seen Mary Sue in action. I really liked her and wished she'd advanced, but yeah, like others have mentioned, she isn't as competitive. 1 Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.