Star Salvation & Episode Previews Talk

[cooksdelight]

Yes, the last one is always a secret until the next episode of FNS.

[smiley13]

So was there a Star Salvation episode with Dom, Rue and Alex?

[Gbb]

Yes, they all did really well.

[cooksdelight]

So was there a Star Salvation episode with Dom, Rue and Alex?

Yes, each and every week after the main episode airs, you can go to FoodNetwork.com and watch Star Salvation. Use Google, it will lead you there if you can't find it via FN.

[smiley13]

I have been watching it through On Demand on Mondays.  SO they competed I guess, but did not show who gets to go back?

[Gbb]

It ended with, "and the winner of Star Salvation is..."

[cooksdelight]

I have been watching it through On Demand on Mondays.  SO they competed I guess, but did not show who gets to go back?

No, they never show who the final winner is that gets back until they are introduced on the show.

[biakbiak]

And weirdly enough it's one of the few times that they don't spoil the show.

[Snarklepuss]

I wouldn't be surprised if Rue is the one that comes back.  They usually like to have a woman in the finale plus Alex and Jeff seemed to like her so much.  Of course, I'd like to see Dom come back, although I don't have any hopes of him winning even if he did.

[KBS1607]

I'm worried about the Food Network budget. Alex G. and Jeff were wearing the same shade of lipstick. Was that a dinosaur on Alex's necklace? If so, I need one for my daughter who is 27.

Rue's food sounded great but looked not that great. I don't know who to expect.

[akr]

Was that a dinosaur on Alex's necklace?

 

I thought it was a kangaroo, but you could be right. I liked it. 

 

I thought they all did pretty well, but maybe we were just made to think that so that we would have no clue who would be going through. Rue's poached salmon with crispy Brussels sprouts certainly had nothing to do with Zimbabwe so far as I can tell, except I suppose to the extent that south Asian influences on African cooking showed up in her spice choices, but they show up in everybody's spice choices at this point. It looked lovely, but a little obvious, and I thought she was the stiffest on camera. Also, I find her too-bright lipstick and fake eyelashes distracting when she's cooking. I want to focus on what you're doing, not notice, as you're looking down at your food, that your eyelashes don't look real.  Alex's sauteed leek and onion grilled cheese sandwich looked and sounded great, and like something I could do a fair imitation of on the strength of watching what he did, and the segment looked ready for one of those shows of theirs about favorite this, favorite that (which I can't watch more than 10 minutes of because I get fatigued by all the over-the-top enthusiasm). Dom's lamb sounded great but I'd definitely skip the cauliflower puree, although I guess it was a useful tip tossed in there to add the grated raw potato to thicken it up . . . I'd be worried about what that would do to the taste, though. Again, though, it's just grilled lamb - it's nice, but I know how to do that already.

Edited August 3, 2015 by akr

[xaxat]

Another "When I was in. . . " story from Alex.

 

It's great that he's been able to travel and experience so many cuisines. But he jumps to so many points on the map that I'm not sure he knows that much about any single one of them. Making a dish from country A and a dish from country B and a dish from. . .  doesn't convey any type of culinary authority to me. Even noted traveler Anthony Bourdain enlists the skills of local chefs as he goes around the world.

[akr]

I lived abroad for a year between my junior and senior year in college, and it was hard getting back that nobody wanted to hear anything about that time (which kind of meant I was stuck without anything to say at all sometimes, it seemed). It was time that really shaped me, and I had things that I'd picked up that seemed pertinent although I wouldn't have called myself an expert, just someone who'd learned a little more than I knew before I went. I couldn't talk about local stuff because I hadn't been there. So I sympathize - it's what he's drawing his excitement and influence from, but it shoves in other people's faces that they haven't been there, and you're right, his understanding of it is just that of an appreciative visitor. Still, he seems to have good instincts about what to bring back with him; he just hasn't figured out how to talk about it in a way that draws us in.

 

Eddie quipped on the main show that Alex's show could be called, "Alex invades Asia." But not without stopping off in London on the way, I guess. 

[buttercupia]

Alex made a grilled cheese sandwich.  seriously.  grilled cheese.

 

I hope Rue comes back.

[Snarklepuss]

I hope Rue comes back.

 

Why, so she can shout at everyone, wear clown lipstick and not tell us what I don't really want to know anyway about Zimbabwean cooking?  I think I'll pass.

[buttercupia]

... or dom can trip over words while doing nothing really new and alex can recite lists of ingredients and/or places he's been.  not much for choice here.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Maybe the winner of "Star Salvation" will be ... no one. 

 

Please help me out with the history here ... was last year the first time they did it? I know Luca won SS and ended up in the Final 2, but IIRC he got cut pretty early on in the competition and just had to learn to loosen up for the camera, which he did (it was not stage fright a la Dom but getting comfortable with the language, basically, right?)

 

If there were earlier SS that I'm forgetting, can anyone share how early the eventual winner had been cut from the initial competition and then how far they went once they returned?

 

Because honestly, unless one of the three finalists sets themselves on fire or serves the judges Poo A La Mode, I can't see how ANY of these three would edge out Eddie, Jay or Arnold in one competition ... Rue is the only one who would have a chance because in just one week MAXIMUM (is there really a whole week between episodes or is it done every few days?) no one can convince me that what torpedoed Dom is any different now than it was when he was there, a big whole one week earlier, or that Alex, who walked that slippery slope for a few weeks and only escaped elimination because others combusted, would suddenly come back and beat any of the finalists the next day.

 

Way too short a time for redemption. 

 

At least with Rue, they could make the case that she improved over those several weeks that she was gone. But she'd have to be absolutely flawless AND one of the F3 would have to screw up big time for them to be able to argue putting her into the finals. 

 

But yes, I think it will be Rue for the above reason (you could argue she improved) and because they want a woman in there. 

 

 

[GaT]

According to my DVR, there a one hour Star Salvation show this week right before the regular show. Does anyone know what that's about? I haven't watched SS this season at all, & I haven't missed it, so watching it for an hour doesn't really appeal to me.

[cooksdelight]

It will probably be a replay of each session, with the final one stopping just before they announce who is going back in.

[GaT]

It will probably be a replay of each session, with the final one stopping just before they announce who is going back in.

That's something I can definitely pass on.

[KBS1607]

Good lord an hour of SS! Holy Filler, Batman! I think I'll pass too.

Also, I'm still retroactively pissed that Luca was robbed last year. I gave up because I hated Lenny and the blonde but I need to watch it just to see his comeback.

[Skyfall]

Didn't Lovely win SS in the first year of it?

[cooksdelight]

Yes, she was the first.

[Snarklepuss]

Anyone see this poll over at the FNS blog?  Looks pretty clear who most people want to see come back from "Star Salvation":

 

http://blog.foodnetwork.com/star-talk/2015/08/05/watch-the-star-salvation-finale/

[cooksdelight]

Are they watching the same show we are?

[aradia22]

 

 

Anyone see this poll over at the FNS blog?  Looks pretty clear who most people want to see come back from "Star Salvation":

http://blog.foodnetw...lvation-finale/

Jesus. What are people seeing that I'm not seeing? Or better yet, why aren't they seeing what I'm seeing? 

 

 

Another "When I was in. . . " story from Alex.

It's great that he's been able to travel and experience so many cuisines. But he jumps to so many points on the map that I'm not sure he knows that much about any single one of them. Making a dish from country A and a dish from country B and a dish from. . .  doesn't convey any type of culinary authority to me. Even noted traveler Anthony Bourdain enlists the skills of local chefs as he goes around the world.

I'm never going to forget that he couldn't name the spices in five-spice.

 

I'm pretty confident that Dom will be coming back because I hate him the most. 

[cooksdelight]

If Dom does come back, they have to do pilots. He'll start sweating, clam up and just disappear. They won't have to call the four of them back to the judges' table because they won't be able to find Dom.

[Pallida]

I just got back from visiting my parents, and my dad likes Dom. I don't understand it unless it's some weird New Yorker sentimentality.

[rab01]

Anyone see this poll over at the FNS blog?  Looks pretty clear who most people want to see come back from "Star Salvation":

 

http://blog.foodnetwork.com/star-talk/2015/08/05/watch-the-star-salvation-finale/

Is it saying Dom? If so, I'm not surprised. My older son is rooting for Dom. I don't why but he must have some appeal.

[Bella]

I sort of get the Dom appeal as a person - he seems like he'd be an engaging person to sit next to on an airplane and chat with before takeoff - but no, no, a thousand times no! for a TV show. Do the people voting for him think he's going to be their prom date? Their niece's new boyfriend coming to a backyard barbecue? Guy #4 sharing the football season tickets? He's not any of those.

[Snarklepuss]

I just got back from visiting my parents, and my dad likes Dom. I don't understand it unless it's some weird New Yorker sentimentality.

 

I think it must be, because both my husband and I like Dom and we're native New Yorkers displaced in CT.  He reminds us of people we knew "back in the day".  Different strokes for different folks.  I tend not to love the country/Southern cooks for my own reasons.

[cooksdelight]

I don't want country/southern Jay yelling at me on TV either. And I'm used to people hollering down here. :)

[smiley13]

I hope that we are not saddled with the return of Dom.  He is such a New York stereotype.  But if he did come back, i would love to see him get assigned Michelle as his sous chef.  :)  Now that would be interesting TV.

[smiley13]

I don't want country/southern Jay yelling at me on TV either. And I'm used to people hollering down here. :)

Jay is from Baton Rouge which is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana and its second-largest city, so I am not sure why people think he is "country."    Just because a state is a part of what is considered  to be in the South does not make it country.

[Uncle Benzene]

Jay is from Baton Rouge which is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana and its second-largest city, so I am not sure why people think he is "country."    Just because a state is a part of what is considered  to be in the South does not make it country.

 

Mileage varies, as always, but I lived in Baton Rouge for six years. Baton Rouge is country.

 

Jackson, MS is country. Montgomery, AL is country. Little Rock, AR is country. Nashville, TN is country. Columbia, SC is country. Oklahoma City, OK is country. Tallahassee, FL is country. Raleigh, NC is country.

 

People think Jay is country because Jay is pretty doggone country. Relatively speaking. He'd probably be the first to tell you that.

 

"Country" doesn't necessarily = "bad" (though, again, as always, mileage varies.) I don't think cooksdelight was intending to insult "The South" though I've never subscribed to the opinion that Jay is overly loud either. Sunny Anderson is loud. Jay, not so much. Not to me, anyway. But yeah, he's country.

[smiley13]

I define country as rural and none of the cities you listed are rural.  They are cities.

 

And I do not think Jay is loud either.  

[cooksdelight]

"Country" to me, is a state of mind and a way of life. It can be in a city or in the woods.

Back to topic, please.

[smiley13]

I am finally watching the last Star Salvation.  Of the three dishes prepared, Rue's salmon looked the best to me.  Dom's lamb with the bone sticking out did not look appealing at all and he used the tired out cauliflower to go with it.  Alex made a sandwich with store bought bread so he should be dinged for that.  If store bought dough is a no-no then store bought bread ought to be.

[GaT]

I'm never going to forget that he couldn't name the spices 

 

And really, what's so hard about it? Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger, & Posh, the 5 spices.

[akr]

Ha! Honestly, though, the only one I could have named off the top of my head is anise - and I would have hesitated, and would have been right to do so, because the anise flavor is from star anise and fennel (the others are cloves, cinnamon, and szechuan pepper - although what's been in the US versions during the long period of not being able to get szechuan pepper for agricultural quarantine reasons, I don't know). And that's without even getting into the other variants (some of which do use anise seed, if my googling is to be trusted). 

 

Edit: however, of course, I'm not the one who said on a food network show that it was my favorite spice, thus prompting the question - but I'll bet he never makes that mistake again, and not just about the five spice powder, but about not being prepared for a question like that.

Edited August 10, 2015 by akr

[aradia22]

 

I just got back from visiting my parents, and my dad likes Dom. I don't understand it unless it's some weird New Yorker sentimentality.

Born and raised New Yorker here. I hate Dom. I am interested to hear that it's not just people who are attracted to Dom who like him because that's the vibe I've been getting from my recap comments. I found that shocking in and of itself because I don't see it. I mean, he's fine but not so attractive that it blinds me to how awful he is on camera and how he can be kind of smug and douchey. 

[JenMcSnark]

I am an older women who is not attracted to Dom nor do I hope he will marry my daughter (she's too old for prom).  But I really like Dom and totally do not get why he is so hated on this board.  My sister who is a year older and also lives in Northern California does not like him, although she did say she thinks he's probably the best cook. She likes Jay.  But she just got back from New Orleans and thought she might be biased. 

[Sew Sumi]

I'm Italian, but Dom grates on my last nerve. 

[smiley13]

I am an older women who is not attracted to Dom nor do I hope he will marry my daughter (she's too old for prom).  But I really like Dom and totally do not get why he is so hated on this board.  My sister who is a year older and also lives in Northern California does not like him, although she did say she thinks he's probably the best cook. She likes Jay.  But she just got back from New Orleans and thought she might be biased. 

Dom may be suffering some backlash due to Gee-Ahda and the way she has behaved about him.  

[JenMcSnark]

Dom may be suffering some backlash due to Gee-Ahda and the way she has behaved about him.  

 

True.  In fact, when she was holding her heart with a super sweet look on her face at one point, even I didn't like him.  And I actually don't dislike Giada although she gets on my nerves sometimes.

[ElleryAnne]

I just got back from visiting my parents, and my dad likes Dom. I don't understand it unless it's some weird New Yorker sentimentality.

 

 

I'm a New Yorker and I don't like Dom.  I don't hate him, but I don't get what people see in him.  

 

The one that surprised me the most on SS is Matthew.  I couldn't stand him in his two episodes of FNS.  And his arrogance in general is grating (I didn't like him on CK, either). But there were moments in which I could almost like him.  I think maybe he just needs few years of growing up, and a few good smackdowns to bring his ego back into the troposphere.  (Of course, his ego won't come down while the network keeps giving him five TH's to everyone else's one if he continues to make the rounds on their shows.  They don't even try to appear impartial, do they?)

Edited August 13, 2015 by ElleryAnne

[Automne]

I'm not a fan of Dom, either. If one of the main criteria for being the next FNS is TV presence and being comfortable on-camera, then the guy who has such serious stage fright and can't fulfill that criteria should have been eliminated far sooner than he was. And certainly not given an opportunity to come back for the finale. Especially when Jay and Eddie are so charismatic and can play up to the camera as well as any cohosts. 

 

Rue should have come back because out of everybody, she has a more original premise with African cooking. The last time they had that was over a decade ago with Melting Pot.

[HyeChaps]

According to Food Network Gossip, Aaron and Melissa will come back for Star Salvation. 

[Snarklepuss]

Even if there weren't other things I didn't like about Rue, African cooking just doesn't have the appeal in this country to justify a FNS with that POV.  Most of the African influences in American Southern cooking have been altered to American tastes and that's great, but the real thing can be quite different.  I've had what I was told was good African food a few times and I can speak from experience that the flavor/texture profiles are often not that complementary to American tastes.  Plus I've watched enough Tony Bourdain in Africa to see that with my eyes.  I don't have to taste some of it to know it wouldn't be to most Americans' liking.

I liked Dom at first but his stage fright wore thin with me after a while.  Plus it's like he grew up in the 1950s or something with his attitude, most recently saying "Ladies first" to Martita - What guy his age even knows that expression much less uses it?  That can be either good or bad depending on how you look at it.  He did have a sort of retro-sentimental vibe about him, which I initially found refreshing, but he lives in this decade not in some idealized working class borough NYC bubble or whatever.  I suppose it's isolated out there in Staten Island, so he's a product of cultural isolation, I guess.  Or he's copying his grandfather and that's his act.  I am a Bronx native who left NYC so I can say those things about him, LOL.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Snarklepuss

[RCharter]

2 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

Even if there weren't other things I didn't like about Rue, African cooking just doesn't have the appeal in this country to justify a FNS with that POV.  Most of the African influences in American Southern cooking have been altered to American tastes and that's great, but the real thing can be quite different.  I've had what I was told was good African food a few times and I can speak from experience that the flavor/texture profiles are often not that complementary to American tastes.  Plus I've watched enough Tony Bourdain in Africa to see that with my eyes.  I don't have to taste some of it to know it wouldn't be to most Americans' liking.

 

But, I don't know that any cuisine, except maybe Mexican food came over to the US with automatic widespread appeal.  I think there has been a period of acclimation of every popular cuisine in the US.  And of course, a certain amount of "Americanization."  When sushi was first talked about in the 80's it was generally discussed as a derisive joke, and you can't tell me there weren't people who just said "raw fish and rice, that'll never work!"  But, today it is one of the more popular ethnic cuisines.

So, I don't think that African food is something that should be ignored by FNS or by anyone else just because right now it doesn't have widespread appeal.  I've had African food and I thought it was pretty good, and I think I'm generally a pretty middle of the road person (I don't insist on just eating cheeseburgers and I might shy away from eating haggis).  

I also think that in every type of food that has been adapted for a more american audience there are certain dishes that are going to work for an american audience and some that just won't.  In our culture there is something called "black dinner,"  which I think is absolutely divine.....but its often not on any menu anywhere and you have to find someone who will make it for you because its not really something that americans would like (if for no other reason than it appears to be black sludge).  Because in every culture, and I'm sure in African cooking as well, there are some dishes that are more adaptable to an American taste, and some that are not.  And I'm not entirely sure what the "American taste" is.....Americans seem to like a wide variety of cuisines from what I've seen.  Although I think most of the dishes that are "Americanized" generally take down some of the spices to appeal to a wider base, or consist of more familiar ingredients.

I think it would be great to have a show where someone can give instruction and inspiration on how to turn a more exotic cuisine into something that can be adaptable to American tastes and sensibilities.  

As a country I hope I can give us more credit than to look at an Anthony Bourdain show and decide "ew, gross, I can never eat that!" because that just sounds....not as open-minded as I think Americans are.