S18.E07: Last Chef Standing

[cooksdelight]

Quote

A challenge involving cooking five commonly served "staple" dishes; chef Ramsay makes changes to a dining service.

[preeya]

What a farce. The preview for this episode implied a fight between competitors. I certainly thought Scotlee's calling Trev "BabyGirl" would be the catalyst for the impending fisticuffs. But no, we, the audience, was bilked again.  Also, GR changing HK format into a version of MasterChef's elimination challenges, was kind of underwhelming.

Edited November 18, 2018 by preeya

[thebigboot]

Scotley is just a plain douchebag, I know it’s a competition but there’s really no reason to keep being an antagonizing dick.  

[mojoween]

2 hours ago, thebigboot said:

Scotley is just a plain douchebag, I know it’s a competition but there’s really no reason to keep being an antagonizing dick.  

Honestly. I would have been super ok with his rude ass getting bounced.

And I liked him at the beginning!

Gizzy I was never a fan of so whatever bye.

Do you think that you can ever get used to Bret?

[preeya]

35 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Do you think that you can ever get used to Bret?

Get used to him; NEVER!  Just wondering if he's just playing a role here because I can't see any employer putting up with his antics.

[mertensia]

If I ever work with Bret I will end up killing him. He would drive me homicidal. Plus, WHO CARES   that you're Italian?!

glad Gizzy is gone. 

[mlp]

None of the cooks left have the personality to be a good leader IMO so I can't think who's going to win.  I don't care much for Roe but she seems like the best bet at this point.  Or maybe Ariel.  Kanae is very cute but I get the impression that she's not too bright.  I can't picture any of the men in that role.  I was neutral on Scotley until this episode and now I can't stand him.  Bret is a mess.  Trev could probably be managed by the right person but I can't picture him being the chef in charge.  Jose and the other guy (Motto?) are pleasant enough but neither of them seems ready to take charge of a kitchen.  

I thought Gizzy was going to be the one to beat but I haven't cared for her since the first episode and her dissolving into tears several times hasn't improved my opinion.  I was glad to see her go.

Edited November 18, 2018 by mlp
Fix typo

[Eataton]

2 hours ago, mertensia said:

If I ever work with Bret I will end up killing him. He would drive me homicidal. Plus, WHO CARES   that you're Italian?!

glad Gizzy is gone. 

He's like an irritating stereotype of an Italian. Mamma! Poppa! No offence to his parents but gimme a break!

Edited November 18, 2018 by Eataton

[Eataton]

5 hours ago, thebigboot said:

Scotley is just a plain douchebag, I know it’s a competition but there’s really no reason to keep being an antagonizing dick.  

Bullying pisses me off. Especially when it's someone weaker that puts up with it. I doubt he'd try it with someone who fought back. He was probably picked on growing up.

[Ellee]

Did this particular episode scream show plants or is it my cynical side coming out again?

In particular .... Gizzy.  I admit I’m not watching close enough. What do you all think?

Brett and his over the top acting. 

Trev with his behavior. 

Additionally the ‘script’ may be encouraging the early exits by Kevin and T.  People that refuse to be turned into jokes. 

[cooksdelight]

I know they have plants. It’s too obvious, they aren’t that good at pretending. Remember the woman with the sock puppet?

[preeya]

10 hours ago, Eataton said:

He's like an irritating stereotype of an Italian. Mamma! Poppa! No offence to his parents but gimme a break!

His full name as listed in the roster is Bret Hauser. If that's truly his real name, he ain't no Italian. He doesn't even look Italian.

[xcrayon2215x]

Motto, Jose, Ariel and Roe should be the Final 4. I think Ramsay had enough of Gizzy doubting herself all the time which saved Scotley. Bret seems very stereotypical to me.

[preeya]

7 minutes ago, xcrayon2215x said:

Bret seems very stereotypical to me.

Stereotypical of what?

To me, he comes off as a total asshole.

[malaluna]

Scotley is such an absolute jerk, and I cannot stand his mumbling. He needs to go! I'm not one for fish, so the soggy scaley fish Gizzy made was nauseating. 

[preeya]

3 hours ago, malaluna said:

Scotley is such an absolute jerk, and I cannot stand his mumbling. He needs to go! I'm not one for fish, so the soggy scaley fish Gizzy made was nauseating. 

 

That soggy scaley fish saved Scotley's ass. Actually, IMO they both could have been eliminated for their cooking choices as GR wasn't happy with either of them.

Edited November 18, 2018 by preeya

[jewel21]

Man, Brett is just exhausting to be around. Look, I'm all for men showing their emotions, but I feel like Brett needs to be on some meds to help stabilize his extreme ups and downs.

Scotley is a giant douche and I'm so mad he wasn't eliminated. His 'baby girl' taunts made me want to stab him in the eye. Grrr. I hate a bully. 

[mlp]

I apparently had too little to think about this morning and I was contemplating Friday night's episode when it occurred to me that bringing Roe back into the penalty cook off because she'd left the kitchen was totally wrong in terms of the "teamwork" theme.  Her dish was almost done and we saw her tell her teammates that.  She opted to leave because finishing her dish would be easy for them not because she was less determined than the others.  I can't believe I'm defending one of these people but she actually demonstrated teamwork and got penalized for it.

Edited November 18, 2018 by mlp
add something

[nitrofishblue]

I so wanted to pinch Scotley in the face as he went on and on bullying Trev. I don't think much of Trev but the bullying was getting to be too much. Brett, Trev, and Scotley can leave now and I sure wouldn't miss them. I have watched this show since the beginning and this is the worst and most boring group ever!!!!

[bluepiano]

11 hours ago, mlp said:

I apparently had too little to think about this morning and I was contemplating Friday night's episode when it occurred to me that bringing Roe back into the penalty cook off because she'd left the kitchen was totally wrong in terms of the "teamwork" theme. 

 

I had the same thought about several of the contestants. The way that challenge was set up, you could definitely argue that the people who opted to leave were being the good teammates, based on having the dishes that someone else could more easily finish. Also, with GR repeatedly shouting "someone has to go," the person who left probably also thought they were helping their team by avoiding some possible penalty. The whole thing was stupid.

13 hours ago, malaluna said:

Scotley is such an absolute jerk, and I cannot stand his mumbling. He needs to go!

How can you lead a kitchen when you mumble so badly the show has to subtitle your talking heads?

Ditto what others have said about Scotley's horrendous bullying, but Jose was a jerk too.  Maybe the only thing worse than a bully is the bully's weasely little sidekick. And Scotley's macho stomping and snorting display when he returned to the dorm was the last straw for me. Dude, you didn't just win this show. All you did was narrowly avoid getting eliminated.

Between Scotley and Brad there are poisonous levels of macho on that men's team. For that matter, using "baby girl" as an insult is pretty close to calling someone one of the derogtaotary terms for "gay" that were popular insults years ago. Very ugly.

I had hopes for this season when it started, but they've gotten rid of the most mature and emotionally stable contestants and now we have a bunch of losers. And can they please get rid of that "veterans vs. rookies" logo, since that stopped being the theme of this season a long time ago.

Edited November 19, 2018 by bluepiano

[BusyOctober]

Good job getting that ‘teamwork’ message through to all those line cooks  chefs.   GR tells them teamwork is vital, communication is key, and success happens when individuals work together for a common goal. As soon as the timer starts the challenge, pretty much everyone of these people announced “I am in this for ME!”....”I don’t care what the others are doing, I’m just focusing on MY dish!”

Bret is a walking cartoon. Magilla Gorilla crossed with a bad Vegas Sylvester Stallone impersonator.  He’s also one weak corpuscle away from his head exploding during one of his (Italian!) silverback gorilla, pacing in its cage, roid rage rants. I admit I’m only watching now to see him get eliminated.

[Jersey Guy 87]

17 hours ago, mlp said:

I apparently had too little to think about this morning and I was contemplating Friday night's episode when it occurred to me that bringing Roe back into the penalty cook off because she'd left the kitchen was totally wrong in terms of the "teamwork" theme.  Her dish was almost done and we saw her tell her teammates that.  She opted to leave because finishing her dish would be easy for them not because she was less determined than the others.  I can't believe I'm defending one of these people but she actually demonstrated teamwork and got penalized for it.

Agreed.  Someone had to leave the kitchen.  If they all insisted on staying nothing would have been finished.  Just a bad excuse to set up the ridiculous dreaded pressure test.

[Charlesman]

6 hours ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

Agreed.  Someone had to leave the kitchen.  If they all insisted on staying nothing would have been finished.  Just a bad excuse to set up the ridiculous dreaded pressure test.

 

I really hate when these cooking competition shows do this. It's not just HK. Top Chef does this from time to time... they have a team competition, and then browbeat the losing team when they make a teamwork decision... like, one chef will insist on doing something dumb like serving canned peas and rotten fish for their dish. That chef refuses to back down when everyone else calls them an idiot. So the judges then penalize the team for allowing it to happen. But, flip the script, if the chef does back down for the sake of team unity, the judges then criticize the chef for "not sticking to your guns". 

It's asinine.

If the rules require the chef to do something, like, leave the frikkin kitchen, it's just stupid to penalize them for following the rules. Someone had to leave. Why criticize someone for playing along with your own stupid construct?

[Charlesman]

On 11/18/2018 at 10:31 AM, malaluna said:

Scotley is such an absolute jerk, and I cannot stand his mumbling. He needs to go! I'm not one for fish, so the soggy scaley fish Gizzy made was nauseating. 

 

Gizzy's dish just.... did not look appetizing. It was a whole fish, dropped on a plate. Was the head supposed to be edible? The eyes? Ugh. That skin. Just a bunch of lemon slices on the side. Ick.

 

Also, they totally gave away Gizzy was leaving about halfway through the program. There was a talking head interview where she thanked Roe for always being there to help her and give her advice... and there were still literal tears rolling down her face and clinging to her chin. She had been bawling, and it was obvious. Red puffy eyes, tears, her voice catching... it was doubtless it was filmed at the end of the day after she got the boot. Made the whole rest of the episode pretty obvious.

Edited November 19, 2018 by Charlesman

[mertensia]

I've been to several restaurants that have served the whole fish. I don't eat fish but my dad does and has ordered it. I know the restaurant at the Hotel Metropole in Bellagio, Italy does or at least did, for example.

[preeya]

39 minutes ago, mertensia said:

I've been to several restaurants that have served the whole fish. I don't eat fish but my dad does and has ordered it. I know the restaurant at the Hotel Metropole in Bellagio, Italy does or at least did, for example.

Many restaurants serve whole fish, however, it was a very poor choice for what she was trying to accomplish. Many of these novice chefs overthink the task.

[Colorado David]

13 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

Bret is a walking cartoon. Magilla Gorilla crossed with a bad Vegas Sylvester Stallone impersonator.  He’s also one weak corpuscle away from his head exploding during one of his (Italian!) silverback gorilla, pacing in its cage, roid rage rants. I admit I’m only watching now to see him get eliminated.

Nice, i was thinking a the Rock-wannabee, but SS works too (though honestly Scotlee has the SS mumble down, not Bret.) Scotlee - dude, you show enthusiasm at the weirdest times - like when you're yelling at people - but when you're cooking, you seem really low key, low energy. Jose, eh, i guess he can  cook, but he doesn't seem to assert himself at all. Trev tries but rubs everybody the wrong way (I wonder if it's his facial expressions, I run into that myself occasionally - I don't realize I'm making weird eyes at somebody.) 

[galaxychaser]

Someone had a kid with Bret? That’s sad poor kid is no looker...

scotley is a nasty bully. 

Mia for the win?

[preeya]

18 hours ago, Charlesman said:

If the rules require the chef to do something, like, leave the frikkin kitchen, it's just stupid to penalize them for following the rules. Someone had to leave. Why criticize someone for playing along with your own stupid construct?

Yes. To use a sports metaphor, it's like a sacrifice bunt in baseball.

[Rammchick]

I saw Scotley on another show yesterday -- Late Nite Eats, on the Cooking Channel.  His restaurant, 5 Church, was featured, in particular, his lamb burger and fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese.  Of course, these shows are rigged, in the sense that the diners and host act like they've never eaten anything so transcendent when they taste something, but everyone raved about the food.  Pity he's such a creep.

[spiderpig]

I'm actually liking this season because it's holding my interest waiting for people I dislike to get busted.

[Eataton]

On 11/20/2018 at 3:14 PM, Rammchick said:

I saw Scotley on another show yesterday -- Late Nite Eats, on the Cooking Channel.  His restaurant, 5 Church, was featured, in particular, his lamb burger and fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese.  Of course, these shows are rigged, in the sense that the diners and host act like they've never eaten anything so transcendent when they taste something, but everyone raved about the food.  Pity he's such a creep.

If I saw Scotley  cooking at a restaurant, I would leave. I don't like the taste of a vinegary Douche, Brett too.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Eataton

[Eataton]

On 11/20/2018 at 7:01 AM, galaxychaser said:

Someone had a kid with Bret? That’s sad poor kid is no looker...

scotley is a nasty bully. 

Mia for the win?

You are too beautifully brief. I agree 100%. Mia may be a little goofy at times, but I'm rooting for her as of now.

[aussieinsydney]

So the people that showed teamwork, were penalised??? What a load of absolute bullshit!

Plus, Brett took 45 minutes to cook seafood in a tomato sauce with spaghetti, a dish by the way that I could have cooked in 20 minutes and I'm not even a chef!! Roe cooks a swordfish dish with a complex sauce that GR praised and doesn't win over Brett?? Fuck off with that staged shit!

BTW, Brett is a whack job and Scottley is a giant turd.

[MajorWoody]

Two observations from this episode:

1 - Scotley celebrating his not being eliminated as if he just won the Super Bowl. Dude, you barely eked out a pass over the worst dish in the competition. You did not crush the competition. He reminds me of a football player who does a “All About Me Celebration” after scoring a touchdown, when his team is down 34 points with a minute to go. 

 

2 - Trev, and his disgusting rash/hives. The dude breaks out, supposedly has some gel applied based on what the medic said, and then goes right back to handling corn bare handed. WTF? If he has scabies, or whatever, coupled with some medicinal gel, why is he touching the food, and risking contamination?

Edited November 26, 2018 by MajorWoody

[Booklady1017]

Are they finally having an episode this week? I'm tired of the football.

On 11/26/2018 at 9:47 AM, MajorWoody said:

Two observations from this episode:

1 - Scotley celebrating his not being eliminated as if he just won the Super Bowl. Dude, you barely eked out a pass over the worst dish in the competition. You did not crush the competition. He reminds me of a football player who does a “All About Me Celebration” after scoring a touchdown, when his team is down 34 points with a minute to go. 

 

2 - Trev, and his disgusting rash/hives. The dude breaks out, supposedly has some gel applied based on what the medic said, and then goes right back to handling corn bare handed. WTF? If he has scabies, or whatever, coupled with some medicinal gel, why is he touching the food, and risking contamination?

Scotley is so annoying and I agree about Trev.

I find at least Brett is fun even though he is a bit wacky but Scotley is just plain annoying.

I like Mia. She's one of my favorites to win.

I thought that whole teamwork drill thing they had them do was stupid when they penalized them for doing the teamwork. Good point!