Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[Taeolas]

The Potsticker idea for Spaghetti and Meatballs might have had potential. You have the meat, the starch and the sauce, so the basic parts are all there. (I think he missed the cheese, it should probably had some fresh parm regardless, especially with the tomato sauce and original dish) 

The problem was the implementation. The sauce broke on him and the meat part was dry and just not good it seemed, and that was something the judges picked up right away. If his implementation had been on point, I'm sure they'd be cheering him on for having such a novel outside the box take on the dish.  

[Tango64]

Did Gabe really say he had never cooked a beef Wellington? That's like going on Survivor without ever trying to make fire.

If you're going on Ramsay's show -- especially a second time and after Ramsay personally sends you to culinary school -- you should be well practiced with all his signature dishes. You know you're going to encounter them if  you stay long enough.

[xaxat]

I might not have done the right search terms, but it looks like none of Gordon's restaurants in Las Vegas are available on GrubHub. (The concept that he mentioned sounds like a ghost kitchen.)

[bluepiano]

On 8/17/2022 at 11:14 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

Sadly, I think that this season is a long march to coronating Derrick as a new champion. He's obviously pretty talented but there's a little extra ass-kissing by the judges as if he's all that. It would give me great schadenfreude if Michael were to beat him out. 

I have a different take. I see all this build-up of Derrick as almost a guarantee he won't win, since they'll need a surprise twist at the end. So Derrick will go down in MC history as they guy who was the best chef but didn't win twice. 

20 hours ago, Dixiesoul said:

Is there a reason Amanda is always sitting down during judging while everyone else is standing?

I don't know, but she's clearly one of the chosen ones, if not TCO. She and Willie had two terrible dishes out of three, but they still weren't in the bottom two. Their Wellington was maybe the worst. The judges bend over backwards every week to shower her with kindness. 

[Madding crowd]

I don’t know anything about Amanda but it crossed my mind she might have a bad back and can only stand for a certain period of time which is what my situation is. She also is very short and maybe is sitting on a higher chair so she can see? I never really noticed but will pay attention next time. I think Derek’s dish was pretty far away from an empanada but I think Gordon wants to keep him around.

[HappyHanna]

Dara is an adult now, but she still seems to get treated with the kid gloves of a Junior contestant.  Sure she cooked a good butter chicken, but it was exactly the same dish as she got on the bag.  Ms chicken and waffles did pretty much the same as well,  but they didn't fawn all over hers, or even look at it at all really.  

[Passing Strange]

I blame the "toothsome" stupidity on Kevin Gillespie. In his Top Chef season the meat in one of his dishes came out tough. He thought he might convince the judges it was supposed to be that way by calling it "toothsome." It didn't work, of course, but ever since a few idiots have happily misused the word. I was irritated to hear Aaron use it just when it seems like most of them have finally learned what "unctuous" actually means.

On 8/15/2022 at 3:56 PM, mlp said:

I thought she came across as self-satisfied and critical bordering on abrasive.  Maybe I read too much into her tone but she didn't seem to have much empathy for people in the same position she had once been in.

I totally agree. Mr. Strange and I were shocked, too. I'd been thinking of her as a pleasant, considerate person. That's not the sense I was getting in this episode.

[bluepiano]

36 minutes ago, Passing Strange said:

I totally agree. Mr. Strange and I were shocked, too. I'd been thinking of her as a pleasant, considerate person. That's not the sense I was getting in this episode.

Success often changes people. But in her case, I tend to give her the benefit of the doubt. I can see where she might have had to grow a tough exterior in response to the perception that her Master Chef win, and some of her other accomplishments, were due to favoritism because of her disability.

[KeithJ]

I call BS on the second immunity pin today.  How much of her story about her mom got her that pin?

I’m not sure I agree with the Brandi’s elimination.  Her dish was terrible and so was Michael’s.  She at least plated what she set out to make.  Michael didn’t.

Edited August 25, 2022 by KeithJ

[mertensia]

1 hour ago, KeithJ said:

I call BS on the second immunity pin today.  How much of her story about her mom got her that pin?

I’m not sure I agree with the Brandi’s elimination.  Her dish was terrible and so was Michael’s.  She at least plated what she set out to make.  Michael didn’t.

I agree. Those arepas looked horrifying, though. I love arepas and would recoil from that color. 

Speaking of arepas, what was up with that "have you ever been to Venezuela" question? Do they ask someone making Thai food if they've been to Thailand?

[rhofmovalley]

They keep kicking off my favorites. My remaining favorite is not likely to win, but at least I won't be sad about the eliminations anymore.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I hope that one day on Masterchef or any cooking show, a chef goes "I am cooking this because it reminds me of my parent/spouse/child/favorite second cousin" and the judges are like "with this dish you have offended your family and you have offended the Shaolin temple" and boot them off.

I originally thought Brandi would be one of the top 5, but she has struggled a lot this season.

I hate how the judges are like "a dessert in 45 minutes? That's unpossible!" No, it seems very possible if you do such things like have your oven on. 

In this week in dickmeasuring, Derrick's comeback that he had three immunity pins because he had Christian's two because he's been living in Christian's head rent-free didn't even make sense. And for Shanika to be look "Ooh, he got you good!" SMDH.

How many people essentially copied Gordon's demonstration of using crushed snacks to encrust fish/chicken? Three or four? I forget. But when one of them told Gordon he was doing that, Gordon was like, "Smart." I'm like, pat yourself on the back, much?

Surprised that Christian envisions Big Willie as F3 material. Not only has he never won an immunity pin, it doesn't seem like he's done all that well this season. 

Fell asleep before the end of the second episode. Did Emily manage to stay out of the bottom or even get in the top despite her "I hate peppers" thing?

[cameron]

Thought it interesting that in last night's show Amanda was using the mandolin without its guard and just two or three episodes ago she was afraid to even use one even though it had a guard with it.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Fell asleep before the end of the second episode. Did Emily manage to stay out of the bottom or even get in the top despite her "I hate peppers" thing?

Emily won the challenge, and the camera immediately went to Shanika up in the gallery, trying to look gracious.

[Lukeysboat]

“… do something that’s ostentatious that’s gonna grab the attention of us.”

Aaron always says something that makes me shake my head. Grab the attention of us. 

Sigh. 

[AZChristian]

15 minutes ago, Lukeysboat said:

“… do something that’s ostentatious that’s gonna grab the attention of us.”

Aaron always says something that makes me shake my head. Grab the attention of us. 

Sigh. 

I feel the same.  But I was impressed last night when he actually perked up while identifying all the different types of peppers.  He actually DOES know about those pepper, and it was kind of nice (and different) to see a more real personality come through.

We've gotten in the habit or wondering whenever Aaron does his critiques whether the words "unctuous" or "toothsome" will be spoken.

[Msample]

7 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Emily won the challenge, and the camera immediately went to Shanika up in the gallery, trying to look gracious.

I think the only reason Shanika won was so they could keep panning up to the balcony for her resting bitch face react shots . 

[Madding crowd]

I know it isn’t anything new but for some reason it’s bothering me that the judges are so rude to the contestants. They are doing ridiculous challenges like making gourmet food out of gas station snacks and the judges are walking around sneering at every step they make. Not to mention Gordon took the easy way out with making a fish breading. 

[Msample]

If they really wanted to make it a true gas station challenge, they should have limited it to ONLY stuff found at a gas station. None of this crunching a bag of chips on top of prime cuts of meat/fish etc .TOP CHEF did this once. But that would have necessitated going to a real gas station/convenience store; god forbid they leave the MasterChef kitchen and all the sponsored products etc .

[eel21788]

11 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

How many people essentially copied Gordon's demonstration of using crushed snacks to encrust fish/chicken? Three or four? I forget. But when one of them told Gordon he was doing that, Gordon was like, "Smart." I'm like, pat yourself on the back, much?

Why did Gordon even have to do any kind of demo for them? I'm sure the contestants would have figured out breading with chips or pretzels on their own. He really didn't do much of anything that could be considered spectacular. 

[seacliffsal]

I think that Amanda doesn't have the creativity necessary to be a "masterchef."  She does well when cooking foods she normally cooks (top 2 in the second hour for a dish she stated that she often makes [and her falafel win earlier in the season]).  This hit home for me when in the gas station challenge she pretty much copied Gordon's dish exactly; others did crusted fish like he did, but she was the only one to include pickles just like Gordon.  For whatever reason I think they are promoting her and want her in the finals if not for the win.

I liked Bowen's willingness to try everything and anything. But, several people tried to direct him away from cooking the cavier (I never knew what would happy with that until Joe explained it).  

[Leeds]

On 8/25/2022 at 7:16 AM, Lukeysboat said:

“… do something that’s ostentatious that’s gonna grab the attention of us.”

Aaron always says something that makes me shake my head. Grab the attention of us. 

Sigh. 

I've commented on the Aaronisms before.  Maybe we need a thread dedicated to them?  ("Profoundly cooked" is a recent winner.)

On 8/25/2022 at 1:05 PM, Msample said:

I think the only reason Shanika won was so they could keep panning up to the balcony for her resting bitch face react shots . 

It's not just that she's comes across as so self-satisfied and smug, but it's not her first TV appearance.  She obviously has no problem with the way she comes across.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Leeds
Change "presents" tp "comes across"

[rhofmovalley]

I'm going to give Christine Ha a pass. I don't know how blind people learn "appropriate" facial expressions and she certainly can't see how she looks on TV. Blind people have struggles that I can't experience and therefore can't relate to.

Plus, she may have been told to be abrupt and even overly critical by the judges. You know, to play up the DRAMA.

She seems humble and gracious to me when I've seen her in other appearances.

[bluepiano]

On 8/24/2022 at 8:02 PM, mertensia said:

Speaking of arepas, what was up with that "have you ever been to Venezuela" question? Do they ask someone making Thai food if they've been to Thailand?

Yeah, that was weird. I almost feel like he was making fun of her, like "how dare you small town white girl try to make a Latino dish." He damn well knew she'd never been to Venezuela. 

22 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Why did Gordon even have to do any kind of demo for them? I'm sure the contestants would have figured out breading with chips or pretzels on their own. He really didn't do much of anything that could be considered spectacular. 

Using crumbled chips or pretzels as a breading coating is something that cooks, especially home cooks, have done forever. And yet we were supposed to believe this is something creative and brilliant that the great Gordon Ramsey came up with?

[Leeds]

8 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

I'm going to give Christine Ha a pass. I don't know how blind people learn "appropriate" facial expressions and she certainly can't see how she looks on TV. Blind people have struggles that I can't experience and therefore can't relate to.

Plus, she may have been told to be abrupt and even overly critical by the judges. You know, to play up the DRAMA.

She seems humble and gracious to me when I've seen her in other appearances.

Can you elaborate please?  Give her a pass on what?

[rhofmovalley]

4 hours ago, Leeds said:

Can you elaborate please?  Give her a pass on what?

I don't want to elaborate or debate. I merely expressed my opinion.

[KeithJ]

Felt a little bad for Amanda but very happy to see Derrick gone.  He was getting more insufferable every week.

[mertensia]

Why exactly were they mansplaining couscous to Amanda?

[Chicago Redshirt]

I would have lost a lot of money betting on whether the team of Shanika/Dara would have been eliminated over Derick/Amanda, since those last two seemingly had Chosen One vibes and Shanika/Dara do not. 

I actually did not take as much schadenfreude as I anticipated I would have with Derick's boot. 

[KeithJ]

9 hours ago, mertensia said:

Why exactly were they mansplaining couscous to Amanda?

More like "chefsplaining" but didn't they say couscous shouldn't be boiled in water and that's what they both used?  Seems like it's a personal preference though and she has always used water.

[AZChristian]

The closed captioning added an unintended level of humor throughout the show tonight.  At one point, they were talking about "letting the duck sit so the Jews can rest."

[Colorado David]

26 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

The closed captioning added an unintended level of humor throughout the show tonight.  At one point, they were talking about "letting the duck sit so the Jews can rest."

wow thats SO not right

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, KeithJ said:

More like "chefsplaining" but didn't they say couscous shouldn't be boiled in water and that's what they both used?  Seems like it's a personal preference though and she has always used water.

The chefs were saying that you should boil in broth/stock. She used water. Googling makes it sound like you can use either, but I can understand why a foodie might prefer the more flavorful option.

It sounded like she salted her water and Derick didn't, which made his bland. A mistake that would be hard to make if one starts with broth/stock.

[leocadia]

I was shocked (SHOCKED, I tell you) when Derrick and Amanda were cut.   It sure seemed like he believed this entire season was a do-over to win the crown he'd missed out on the first time around.  I'm glad to see him go, but I just wish it had been on an individual challenge.  You know when he comes back for a third time his story will be that he would have won if only he hadn't allowed Amanda to take the lead.

[AZChristian]

17 minutes ago, leocadia said:

You know when he comes back for a third time his story will be that he would have won if only he hadn't allowed Amanda to take the lead.

He already said something like that during his comments after being eliminated.  No one who has ever seen him on this show would be surprised to hear him say that.

[Colorado David]

an ego larger than his skills warrant,  IMO

[whinewithwine]

I was rooting for Derrick, mostly because he discovered shirts with sleeves.

I'm REALLY glad Willie and his dozens of eyeglasses are gone.

[vibeology]

The way Willie's beard dye was rubbing off on his chef whites was very gross. 

[Ciarrai]

I desperately need Shanika to be sent home. I cannot stand to see her on my screen anymore with her stank face.

[Colorado David]

Wolfgang seems to have such a pleasant demeanor. I wonder if it is that nice behind the scenes - I'm betting he is a perfectionist.

1 minute ago, Ciarrai said:

I desperately need Shanika to be sent home. I cannot stand to see her on my screen anymore with her stank face.

seriously, resting 'i smell farts' face honestly. i dont think she is aware of it.

[seacliffsal]

I read Derrick and Amanda a bit differently.  Based on all of the accolades that she consistently received from the judges (winning for a falafel which she had made many times before and for something else that seemed more "basic" than what other contestants had prepared) I can see Derrick thinking that he should just do what she wanted as she seemed to be a favorite of the judges.  She immediately wanted to do a Mediterranean couscous so he went with it as she had previously been rewarded for cooking within her wheelhouse.  I think he was really surprised that they landed in the bottom.  

As there are fewer contestants less we are hearing more from Emily, and she has a bit of an entitled attitude (IMO).  

[jabRI]

I can't stand the restaurant episodes.  They chef says the scallops need 4 minutes, they demand them in 2, then yell when they are raw.  You can't have it both ways. Stupid.

[BradandJanet]

4 hours ago, jabRI said:

I can't stand the restaurant episodes.  They chef says the scallops need 4 minutes, they demand them in 2, then yell when they are raw.  You can't have it both ways. Stupid.

Gordon loves the drama of yelling at and belittling people in the kitchen. If I worked for someone like that, I'd quit. 

Most restaurants ask for drink orders and try to get the main course orders in as early as possible. Bread and salad or soup as the first course also gives time for the main course to be prepared. A reasonable wait isn't usually a problem at dinner. In fact, I would be suspicious if my $40 scallop dinner or whatever arrived five minutes after I ordered it. 

The diners on these restaurant takeover episodes know why they're there. The meal is free, and they get to be on TV. 

[mlp]

10 hours ago, jabRI said:

I can't stand the restaurant episodes.  They chef says the scallops need 4 minutes, they demand them in 2, then yell when they are raw.  You can't have it both ways. Stupid.

Yep.  Gordon frequently demonstrates that he knows exactly how something is cooked inside by poking it with his fingers.  On the restaurant episodes, there is always a diner who gets an underdone steak which Joe takes back and Gordon then screams about it being raaaaaaaaaaaaw. He's expediting and allowed it to go out that way.  Sooooooooooooooo....  Exactly the same thing happens on every season of HK.   He must think nobody notices these things.

[rhofmovalley]

I've read that Gordon is playing a role and he's actually a super nice guy in real life.  I do have to wonder what kind of "nice guy" would agree to not only pretend to be an a-hole for money and ratings (same thing?) but would also agree to humiliate grown adults and children just because some viewers find it entertaining.

However, I am watching so...but I watch to see what the contestants come up with and to drool when the food looks like it tastes great.  I don't watch so I can see Gordon and Joe reduce someone to tears.

Another however...the contestants know what they're signing up for, so I guess they're a willing party to their own humiliation.

Sigh...

[Taeolas]

I suspect that a lot of the time, when these unreasonable times are given, it's a test of the Chef, to see if they have the backbone to step up and say "NO! I need FOUR Minutes, you will get them in FOUR minutes."

Most chefs don't seem to have that sort of backbone and it leads to the drama we see. 

And now I wish we would get some scottish chef on the show to respond to that sort of request with "Ah cannae change the laws of physics, Chef." </Scottie> 

[Tango64]

On 9/5/2022 at 9:02 PM, rhofmovalley said:

I've read that Gordon is playing a role and he's actually a super nice guy in real life.  I do have to wonder what kind of "nice guy" would agree to not only pretend to be an a-hole for money and ratings (same thing?) but would also agree to humiliate grown adults and children just because some viewers find it entertaining.

I used to enjoy Ramsay on his Hotel Hell series, where he visited troubled hotels and helped them fix their restaurant and other problems. He was sometimes harsh and of course critical, but his overall demeanor was much more relaxed and kind. Each episode usually involved him counseling people and helping patch up family issues. 

I suspect that's more who he really is. He plays up the drama for MasterChef, and then takes it waaaayyyyy over the top to outright meanness with Hell's Kitchen. I can't even watch Hell's Kitchen anymore because it is so obvious they bring in a bunch of overconfident dolts and he just plays the role of super mean chef who expects them to cook like real professionals. It's so exaggerated and formulaic that I can't bear it anymore. But I still like MasterChef.

And I don't think he humiliates children on MC Junior. The judges seem to go out of their way to be gentle with the kids' egos. Now the adults who signed up these shows, they know what they're going to get.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Tango64
Another thought

[Such A Flirt]

Really surprised by the Derrick elimination; it seriously looked like he was set up to win. You know he's going to be angry at Amanda for the rest of his life.

Now it looks like it will be between Christian and Emily.

[Madding crowd]

Why didn’t they have just the semi finals on tonight and The finale next week? Stopping in the middle just seems strange. Im rooting for Christian but like everyone in the finale. Laughing at Aaron telling someone their plate needs to be whimsical. No, it doesn’t Aaron.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 9/1/2022 at 9:47 PM, Colorado David said:

Wolfgang seems to have such a pleasant demeanor. I wonder if it is that nice behind the scenes - I'm betting he is a perfectionist.

seriously, resting 'i smell farts' face honestly. i dont think she is aware of it.

Hey, Shanika also has her "I know THAT'S right"/Mmm-hhh/smug face that she sometimes goes with. In any case I'm glad we're done with her until the next back to win season. And I'm a tiny bit glad that she outlasted Emily, although the show didn't play on their "rivalry" from their original season as much as I would have expected.

15 hours ago, Such A Flirt said:

Really surprised by the Derrick elimination; it seriously looked like he was set up to win. You know he's going to be angry at Amanda for the rest of his life.

Now it looks like it will be between Christian and Emily.

I will give it to the producers. Some seasons of this and other cooking shows make it seem like it is a long march to coronate a given winner. I could see any of the three finalists winning at this point. I would put most of my quatloos on Christian as it seems Gordon particularly likes him. But there's a good story to tell about Michael having improved so much over his previous season and becoming an award-winning cookbook author and one to tell about Dara having gone from a Masterchef Jr. finalist to a true Masterchef.

9 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Why didn’t they have just the semi finals on tonight and The finale next week? Stopping in the middle just seems strange.

It's going to have to be an awful lot of padding, because there's just the last 5 minutes of cooking of the entrees, the Christina Tosi reveal and the prep and presentation of the desserts and the final choice. That shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.