Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[El maestro]

On 7/25/2019 at 12:58 AM, Gramto6 said:

Yes, I noticed that too!  Ramsey said "Two Master Chefs breaking down crab", bringing Morimoto down to his level. Ramsey will never be an Iron Chef and I think it kills him someone is really better in the kitchen than he is.

I won’t hold against Gordon Ramsey not having a position as iron Chef in his resume. I stopped watching that program because the “iron chefs” where grossly favored by the judges. I wish they had tried the food in a blind testing. 

It was great to see Mark Dacascos again.

25 minutes ago, KLovestoShop said:

I really think Joe has the Big Pants for Barbri/Paris Hilton.  I think it’s the only reason why she’s still there.  

I’m amazed so many really sucked in tonight’s challenge.  Shari’s box looked the best of all of them.  

She said she baked them every week at home.

[mertensia]

I did like that Joe explained to Candace in a bewildered tone of voice that Subha's cooks were often a mess but somehow his flavors got him through. Like "dude, can't explain it, not gonna try. It's Subha". That said, apparently his blobs had a good texture and flavor.

I think 60 minutes was too stingy.

I knew they'd be booting the vegetarian soon. Bye, Wuta. I liked you.

[SweetSin]

What season are we in again? Cause the show thinks that we leave our brains on the table when watching this show so they can beat us over the head with it.

I'm rooting for Fred or Micah to win. Moreso Fred.

Bri girl all that crying when you get a bad critique. Boo hoo. Suck it the hell up. She may have baked the cake better if she had on her Wizard of Oz glittery boots. 

Noah wanting to be a showboat with that opera cake. Idiot. I think some of these contestants don't know what strategy means. Stick to your strengths and what you can possibly bake within that time frame. Especially if you're not a baker. 

Can they make it more obvious on who is going home. Reality shows do this all the time. Person who gets the most airtime. I would have liked it better if Renee just walked out before the judges eliminated her like she said in her confessional. 

*******************************

Is anyone here playing the drinking game on when either the judges or contestants say Season 10? Has anyone here suffered alcohol poisoning yet?

Boy was I relieved when they brought in Candice instead of Tosi but Candice don't try to bring in new words like macawrong. It won't fly anywhere. Don't try to make "fetch" happen.

Bri girl, get your glittery boots. That seems to be where your talent is. I think she should have been eliminated though but who am I say, I didn't taste the macaroons. 

[OoogleEyes]

12 hours ago, preeya said:

S10E15 Small Dessert, Big Problems  Special guest judge Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles cupcakes, sets the stage for the challenge and gives the home cooks 75 minutes to create one dozen delicious macarons. 

I'm surprised that they didn't trot out Tosi for this  challenge.  

Edited August 2, 2019 by OoogleEyes

[adhoc]

I was glad that the Shari moments in the show were not misdirection. You know how that goes: Someone says "I have this in the bag, I make this dish at home all the time...", and then they end up failing miserably.  But Shari put her money where her mouth is. Good job!

Funny: When Gordon et al. kept saying "macaroon" and Candace kept replying with "macaron". For example:

Gordon: Candace what do you think of this macaroon?

Candace: Well, Gordon, I think the macaron is both crispy and chewy.

But yeah, I get that both pronunciations are okay. To me, though, the pronunciation "macaroon" is reserved for those little coconut confections served during Passover. 

[OoogleEyes]

1 hour ago, SweetSin said:

Boy was I relieved when they brought in Candice instead of Tosi but Candice don't try to bring in new words like macawrong. It won't fly anywhere. Don't try to make "fetch" happen.

I can just imagine them all sitting around the table...."hey! Ya know what would be really fucking hilarious?? You say mac-a-wrong!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Who actually makes dozens and dozens of macarons a week for their families?

Daggum, it! Is "unappeasing" even a word?

[mertensia]

I'm going to point out some of those cakes could not have been done in time. I know one that was unpicked looked suspiciously like a Charlotte Russe. Nope. Most opera cake recipes I saw on Google were about 2 hours. Noah was doomed.

[preeya]

51 minutes ago, mertensia said:

I'm going to point out some of those cakes could not have been done in time. I know one that was unpicked looked suspiciously like a Charlotte Russe. Nope. Most opera cake recipes I saw on Google were about 2 hours. Noah was doomed.

 

I did the same exercise. Epicurious' recipe said 3½ hours which includes chilling time. As you stated he was doomed.

Edited August 2, 2019 by preeya

[cameron]

Another week Subha barely squeaks by.  Sorry to see Wuta being eliminated.  He actually had a great goal in mine with helping his students after school.

Edited August 2, 2019 by cameron

[xcrayon2215x]

Wuta was a nice guy sad to see him go. Bri really has to been gone soon with 3 straight times in the bottom group. Surprised to see Micah struggle, Fred is starting to be a contender.

[preeya]

10 minutes ago, xcrayon2215x said:

Fred is starting to be a contender.

They tacked that "baker" label on him which could be his downfall. He'll need to excel in the upcoming regular challenges.

My final five perdiction: Fred, Micah, Sarah, Dorian, Shari

[displayname]

5 minutes ago, preeya said:

My final five perdiction: Fred, Micah, Sarah, Dorian, Shari

I wouldn't bet against this!

[cooksdelight]

12 hours ago, El maestro said:

I miss a real villain, the evil person 👺 who everybody loves to hate and who is conveniently eliminated before the final.

This edition seems to be Masterchef 10 the boys and girls scout edition.

She’s not evil, but Bri has no business still being there. They know she’ll cry on cue and talk in that little mousey squeaky voice. Begone!!!

[galaxychaser]

Every time Gordon calls 45 year old Dorian young lady I die laughing. 

[Brookside]

"I'm tasting the textures of the cakes."  Taste away Renee, taste away, because nothing tastes like texture.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Brookside

[galaxychaser]

I don’t think Renee is fat. She looks normal sized. Next to 90 pound anorexic Barbie anyone looks fat. Bri is obviously on the show to find a rich husband.

[preeya]

26 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

I don’t think Renee is fat. She looks normal sized. Next to 90 pound anorexic Barbie anyone looks fat. Bri is obviously on the show to find a rich husband.

Bri is on the show, SEASON TEN, only because of the way she looks. Based on the last three challenges, she obviously cannot cook. It's a good bet that next week will be her last. As a parting gift she should receive one of these:

Barbie's Beautiful Kitchen Set

Edited August 2, 2019 by preeya

[galaxychaser]

Where is Ken? She needs a Ken who can bake.

[preeya]

57 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Where is Ken? She needs a Ken who can bake.

It's a kitchen set, not a bedroom set.

[Andyourlittledog2]

My favorite Bri moment was when she said she was very confident because her macarons where 'perfect' and then we got to see the scraggly little mess she presented to the judges. Girl is delusional.  And the crying is killing me.  As Noah would say, nut up! 

[preeya]

12 minutes ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

My favorite Bri moment was when she said she was very confident because her macarons where 'perfect' and then we got to see the scraggly little mess she presented to the judges. Girl is delusional.  And the crying is killing me.  As Noah would say, nut up! 

She's definitely not SEASON TEN material.

[eel21788]

16 hours ago, El maestro said:

I am glad Renee is gone. She couldn’t cook some of the easiest dishes.

She was an expert at everything until it came to judging the finished dish.

[Charlesman]

On 8/1/2019 at 4:58 AM, Writing Wrongs said:

On 7/31/2019 at 10:38 PM, mlp said:

I wonder if all the contestants hadn't already chosen their cakes before the filming and had been given recipes and instructions then acted out choosing for the cameras.  I find it hard to believe that they all just figured out the ingredients and so on by tasting their selections.  They barely had time to get the cakes baked and cooled let alone spend time thinking and maybe experimenting to get flavors right.  

Exactly. I find it hard to believe that these "home cooks" know how to produce most of what's on the show.

Typically, in past seasons, after Gordon describes the challenge, they stop filming and are given instructions/recipes/guidelines/rules/etc. Then they restart the cameras and return to their stations and give it a go. They are allowed to consult the massive library of recipe books next to the pantry for a set amount of time as well.

Same on other shows, I remember one 'controversial' challenge on Top Chef where a team had to either cook 'all-vegetarian' or 'all-carnivore' food, and the team that picked 'all-carnivore' acted stunned when they weren't allowed to use some pantry staples. Tom blogged after the show "we went over the entire challenge with the Rules Lawyers in between describing it and doing it, so, any misunderstanding is on the contestants."

[bluepiano]

16 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

Apparently in Septic Land “macaron” is pronounced the same way as the French president’s surname. 

Much better for me is when he said that his macaroons were "visually unappeasing." He must be attending the Joe Bastiani School of Malapropism. 

9 hours ago, adhoc said:

But yeah, I get that both pronunciations are okay. To me, though, the pronunciation "macaroon" is reserved for those little coconut confections served during Passover.  

I was thinking that those cookies, however you pronounce the name, are nothing like the Passover macaroons I grew up eating. Or the giant sized versions that you see in bakeries. It's like they're two completely different animals, sharing the same name. The macaroons they made on this episode look to me like sandwich cookies.

When I'm wrong I fess up. I had said that Wuta was one of the chosen ones and would be Top 5. If nothing else, I thought that how much Joe likes saying "Wuuuta" would keep him there. He seems like a  genuinely good person, and good luck to him with his very worthy goals.

Bri seems pretty harmless to me, so not sure why sees seems to be arousing such dislike. She's hardly another Courtney. And isn't calling someone a "Barbie" demeaning? It plays on a stereotype that women who look a certain way are all dumb and superficial. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by bluepiano

[cameron]

19 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

Much better for me is when he said that his macaroons were "visually unappeasing." He must be attending the Joe Bastiani School of Malapropism. 

I was thinking that those cookies, however you pronounce the name, are nothing like the Passover macaroons I grew up eating. Or the giant sized versions that you see in bakeries. It's like they're two completely different animals, sharing the same name. The macaroons they made on this episode look to me like sandwich cookies.

When I'm wrong I fess up. I had said that Wuta was one of the chosen ones and would be Top 5. If nothing else, I thought that how much Joe likes saying "Wuuuta" would keep him there. He seems like a  genuinely good person, and good luck to him with his very worthy goals.

Bri seems pretty harmless to me, so not sure why sees seems to be arousing such dislike. She's hardly another Courtney. And isn't calling someone a "Barbie" demeaning? It plays on a stereotype that women who look a certain way are all dumb and superficial. 

Actually, Noah's pronunciation of Macaron is correct.  It is a french creation and entirely different from a Macaroon.  Just looked that up.  Learn something new everyday.

[cooksdelight]

if Bri keeps crying, her huge false eyelashes are going to wind up in her next dish. 

LOL ... think about the judges’ faces if that happened!

[eyelash]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 7:10 PM, Gramto6 said:

There was a very obnoxious chef on I think FNS that  wore spiky heels all the time, she was so awful. Can't remember her name, dark haired, maybe Mediterranean. Eesh she was so bad, she showed up a few times after her failure but blessedly has disappeared into oblivion...

She drove me nuts too!  On FNS they hit them over the head with having a "concept" and "POV" for their proposed show if they win.  Although she changed it several times, she started out with calling hers "Cooking in Stilettos." 

[PhoneCop]

10 hours ago, OoogleEyes said:

Who actually makes dozens and dozens of macarons a week for their families?

If they're willing to adopt me, I have no further questions.

7 hours ago, preeya said:

My final five perdiction: Fred, Micah, Sarah, Dorian, Shari

Same. I think the others could go in pretty much any order now, but Noah may still have something left in the tank and Jamie might be poised to outlast a couple more people. Nick's been circling the drain and, well, then there's the other two.

I kind of liked Wuta but knew he was doomed from the outset because I don't see GR letting a vegetarian win one of his shows just yet. At least with him gone, I won't have this stuck in my head every time somebody says his name.

[DoctorK]

3 hours ago, preeya said:

It's a kitchen set, not a bedroom set.

You can have a lot of fun in either room. However it might be awkward if Ken turns out to be a better cook.

2 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Bri seems pretty harmless to me, so not sure why sees seems to be arousing such dislike.

She irritates me because I think she has crafted a whole persona based on her looks, enhanced by her little girl voice (practiced I suspect) and doing the poor little girl crying every time she is criticized. As usual, YMMV.

[SweetSin]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

She’s not evil, but Bri has no business still being there. They know she’ll cry on cue and talk in that little mousey squeaky voice. Begone!!!

In regards to villains, they had one but he was eliminated early. That guy with the gray hair who the judges thought they couldn't teach or give advice to which was shocking for me. They usually keep the possible villain around for a long time for the drama. It's refreshing to see a season where a majority of the contestants aren't jackasses and are more like themselves and don't seem like they're playing a character. Rather watch them than Christian, Krissi, The Flavor Elevator, Shelley, Shanika, Tali, Courtney, Cutter, & Suzy (S2)

2 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Bri seems pretty harmless to me, so not sure why sees seems to be arousing such dislike. She's hardly another Courtney. And isn't calling someone a "Barbie" demeaning? It plays on a stereotype that women who look a certain way are all dumb and superficial. 

I don't dislike Bri but she needs to get it together and stop all that crying. She always seems to get behind when cooking and when judges critique her she turns on the water works. Like one judge said on a competition show "Don't know why people think crying gets them anywhere." She's like Howard from S4 who always got misty eyed when getting critiqued and Joe put a stop to that. What works against her for me is that valley girl tone she speaks. That's nails on a chalkboard for me.

Edited August 2, 2019 by SweetSin

[preeya]

3 minutes ago, SweetSin said:

What works against her for me is that valley girl tone she speaks. That's nails on a chalkboard for me.

[cooksdelight]

51 minutes ago, eyelash said:

There was a very obnoxious chef on I think FNS that  wore spiky heels all the time, she was so awful. Can't remember her name, dark haired, maybe Mediterranean. Eesh she was so bad, she showed up a few times after her failure but blessedly has disappeared into oblivion...

Penny. UGH...

https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/07/food-network-star-recap-who-was-worse-penny-or-wolfgang-puck.html

[adhoc]

7 hours ago, bluepiano said:

 BLUEPIANO SAID:

Much better for me is when he said that his macaroons were "visually unappeasing." He must be attending the Joe Bastiani School of Malapropism. 

Ah, thank you, bluepiano!! I laughed so hard at that and was going to mention it in this forum, but by the time the show was over and I came to post, I could not remember what it was he had said. So hilarious. 

Quote

She irritates me because I think she has crafted a whole persona based on her looks, enhanced by her little girl voice (practiced I suspect) and doing the poor little girl crying every time she is criticized.  

I agree. My sense is that, sure, she may be a perfectly okay person IRL, but she also has this Barbie persona that she can put on whenever the situation calls for it.  

Edited August 3, 2019 by adhoc
corrected source - sorry, bluepiano!

[El maestro]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

Penny. UGH...

https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/07/food-network-star-recap-who-was-worse-penny-or-wolfgang-puck.html

Penny was mean,  but her food was better than most of the contestants in any edition of the next food network star.

4 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Bri seems pretty harmless to me, so not sure why sees seems to be arousing such dislike. She's hardly another Courtney. And isn't calling someone a "Barbie" demeaning? It plays on a stereotype that women who look a certain way are all dumb and superficial. 

I have observed in different forums that women who are considered good looking usually receive the harshest criticism by some viewers, even when they have a correct behavior with other contestants during the show. I remember Ana Quincoces in the next food network star for example.

[adhoc]

Quote

I have observed in different forums that women who are considered good looking usually receive the harshest criticism by some viewers, even when they have a correct behavior with other contestants during the show. 

I find some of Bri's behavior manipulative, and I have known a few women IRL like that (cute/attractive and able to whip out a "damsel in distress/helpless female" persona and manipulate guys with it). I also found her attitude toward Renee, when Bri was team leader, to be dismissive, and that offended me. 

Clearly you didn't see things the same way.  Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

OT: If you want to see some viciousness, head over to the Bachelorette forums. 

[cooksdelight]

23 minutes ago, El maestro said:

I have observed in different forums that women who are considered good looking usually receive the harshest criticism by some viewers, even when they have a correct behavior with other contestants during the show.

I never base criticism on looks. It’s actions, and what comes out of their mouth. This year’s Top Chef is a very attractive blonde woman who didn’t piss anyone off with her actions, that I noticed. Christine Ha, a blind woman, was a very attractive winner of this show. A few may nitpick the beautiful women but my observations lean toward people being disliked due to either their own manners, or lack thereof, and judges giving someone a pass because of looks and not their cooking ability.

[El maestro]

My bet for the next programs:

Next eliminated: Bri, Nick, Micah and Suhba.

Group of main players, but they will be eliminated  almost at the end, when the contest doesn’t need any more drama: Dorian, Noah and Sarah.

Underdogs who may go to the final: Jamie, Fred, Shari.

i feel that MC US likes underdogs like Claudia in MC 2016.

3 hours ago, adhoc said:

I find some of Bri's behavior manipulative, and I have known a few women IRL like that (cute/attractive and able to whip out a "damsel in distress/helpless female" persona and manipulate guys with it). I also found her attitude toward Renee, when Bri was team leader, to be dismissive, and that offended me. 

Clearly you didn't see things the same way.  Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

OT: If you want to see some viciousness, head over to the Bachelorette forums. 

Renee and Bri shared something in common, the difference between what they say they could cook and the disappointing results at the end.

I agree that she may be using the crying thing to hide her mistakes, but I also found manipulative that several contestants try to use the pity card, trying to convince  the judges and audience that being in MC is their only/last opportunity. I was reading about former contestants and a good number of them don’t work in the food business anymore.

Never seen the Bachelorette show, but one of the reasons I stopped watching Top chef was the viciousness of both judges and contestants.

Edited August 3, 2019 by El maestro

[OoogleEyes]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Penny. UGH...

https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/07/food-network-star-recap-who-was-worse-penny-or-wolfgang-puck.html

Where's the vomit emoji?

Oh wait. 

😝😝

My issues with the next Food Network Star do not belong here. 

Where's the emoji for 

Zip lips, lock,  throw away the key?

Edited August 3, 2019 by OoogleEyes

[zillabreeze]

On 7/26/2019 at 5:17 PM, bluepiano said:

My wife and I always joke about the trendy restaurants in our hipster city where you could drop a hundred bucks per person for dinner and feel like you want to stop at Burger King on the way home. 

Hee hee.  Many years ago my first experience with French cuisine...of course, it took forever to prepare so we were getting tipsy waiting.  Snooty waiter dude whips off the cloche with a flourish and my partner dies laughing and says " hell dude, there's more calories in my cocktail than on this entire plate". It was Whataburger on the way home.

On 7/27/2019 at 1:06 PM, potatoradio said:

Too much crab? 

I don't think those words could leave my face.  I think I would choke to death.

[El maestro]

7 minutes ago, zillabreeze said:

Hee hee.  Many years ago my first experience with French cuisine...of course, it took forever to prepare so we were getting tipsy waiting.  Snooty waiter dude whips off the cloche with a flourish and my partner dies laughing and says " hell dude, there's more calories in my cocktail than on this entire plate". It was Whataburger on the way home.

I don't think those words could leave my face.  I think I would choke to death.

Whataburger beats most restaurants in any southern town.

[zillabreeze]

5 minutes ago, El maestro said:

Whataburger beats most restaurants in any southern town.

It's a Texas religion. The only fast food hamburger worth eating.  A few weeks ago, they announced the sale to a Chicago company.  People panicked like it was first sign of the apocalypse.

[SweetSin]

1 hour ago, El maestro said:

I have observed in different forums that women who are considered good looking usually receive the harshest criticism by some viewers, even when they have a correct behavior with other contestants during the show. I remember Ana Quincoces in the next food network star for example.

I have to disagree with that because I don't base my dislike for someone based off their looks. I don't care what you look like. The judges of MC and American Idol I may add are the worst offenders when judging off looks. If you have a heinous personality like the past contestants I listed in previous post or keep crying after getting negative critiques then I'm not going to like that contestant.

Jessie pretty blonde from S4, Ramsay said to her that some of the contestants think she's there because of her looks which was false because no contestant ever said that to Jessie or in their confessionals and she was a competent cook who made it to final four or five believe. She wasn't obnoxious or did the crying thing.

Dan from S7, Ramsay said to him that he may be able to woo ladies with his smile, again judging the man off his looks and he made it to final 4 and wasn't a douche from what I remember.

Now that I type that it's not the judges it's Ramsay who does that. I don't hear Joe, Aaron, or Tosi talking about the way contestants look.

[bluepiano]

2 hours ago, adhoc said:

Ah, thank you, Aerobicidal!! I laughed so hard at that and was going to mention it in this forum, but by the time the show was over and I came to post, I could not remember what it was he had said. So hilarious. 

Actually that was my comment. Sorry to be so petty. 

2 hours ago, El maestro said:

I have observed in different forums that women who are considered good looking usually receive the harshest criticism by some viewers, even when they have a correct behavior with other contestants during the show. 

I'm not on a lot of forums, but from what I've read I tend to agree with you. Hey, we're all human, and part of our DNA is to be influenced in our perceptions of people by how they look, combined with certain cultural stereotypes or preconceptions. And I think these shows know that, because they seem to cast for certain "types." It may be more obvious regarding how women are treated, but I think it's true to some extent with men as well. Would people be making the same comments about Noah if he looked like Fred, or vice versa? It's not a criticism, just an acknowledgement of how things are.

Edited August 3, 2019 by bluepiano

[cooksdelight]

Let’s not forget CryPie from a few seasons ago. Talk about using tears for sympathy!

[Jlina]

7 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Much better for me is when he said that his macaroons were "visually unappeasing." He must be attending the Joe Bastiani School of Malapropism. 

Bri seems pretty harmless to me, so not sure why sees seems to be arousing such dislike. She's hardly another Courtney. And isn't calling someone a "Barbie" demeaning? It plays on a stereotype that women who look a certain way are all dumb and superficial. 

Why yes, it is!  I've been read only on this forum since the Courtney hating debacle due to my actually admiring the woman; but find it highly amusing that the people calling her "Barbie," dislike her for reasons entirely not based on whatever reason they're calling her Barbie. It's quite obviously demeaning and marginalizing.  Just like speculating she's looking for a rich husband.  

Blech.

[JMarie99]

Bri is starting to grow on me. I think the turning point was when the judges were criticizing her half-frosted carrot cake and Gordon asked her what was the one thing a carrot cake needs and she answered, in her little voice, “Carrots?” The answer they were looking for was frosting, but her answer wasn’t wrong! 

I honestly think the Barbie look is the look she is going for. Her skin is almost too perfect and has a sort of plastic sheen to it - it has to be the type of makeup she uses. And then there’s the obviously fake black lashes and her hair which is the exact color blonde that Barbie dolls have. (Believe me, I have a 5-year-old granddaughter so I know Barbie-doll hair!) I’m not saying this as a criticism. It’s just who she is, and in her job as a cocktail server it could be an asset. There are a lot of pretty girls out there but her look definitely stands out. 

I think the reason Renee was sent home for her cake instead of Bri was degree of difficulty. Bri’s carrot cake was too dense and she ran out of frosting, but I think it took a lot more effort to make than Renee’s cheesecake. Heck, even I can make a graham cracker crust that doesn’t fall apart! Renee had to make her crust twice and it still wasn’t right. Bri probably won’t last much longer, but on the cake challenge I agree that she should have been saved instead of Renee. 

[El maestro]

It is easy to screw up in a difficult/very technical plate, but Renee was able to fail when she cooked a cheesecake and a meatloaf.

Anytime the producers focus on somebody telling at the beginning of the challenge how good they are in that particular dish is usually a recipe for disaster. Except for Shari and the macarons, of course.

Edited August 3, 2019 by El maestro

[GaT]

I can not stand watching Noah suck up anymore. "won't happen again chef!" "you're absolutely right chef" 'sorry I still live chef!" Please eliminate him already.

[lisab]

I want to kick Bri in the high heels...and her look? Betty Crocker Barbie? WTF?! That simpering fool has got to go...

[galaxychaser]

Noah the sewage engineer is stomping on my last nerve.