Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[jcbrown]

I preferred Jamie and Subha’s presentations to the three who were up there. I, too, wonder what Gordon is using to blackmail Grant Achatz.

ETA I wish I could like your post more than once, @mlp. Could not agree more.

Edited August 15, 2019 by jcbrown

[mertensia]

How in hell do.you eat that dessert Grant and Gordon made?

Ah, season 10. You'll always know when you're watching a season 10 episode because someone will be demeaning towards Subha.

I laughed (after I squealed seeing Dino) when Dino presented his dish vs. Claudia's. His looked professional and intriguing. Hers was... a burrito.(Chimichanga? Enchilada? I've forgotten already.) 

Sara's dish looked terrible. Like a little kid was playing with paint.

[hhawks]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

So Dorian makes a simple cake and sticks it in some glass thing she found and it's brilliant.  Subha brings up an interesting display with test tubes and Gordon says, "Really?" with a note of derision after he's seen someone bring up a "pie" in a mixer and and a failed presentation in a paint tray.  Aaron knocked himself out being even more pretentious than usual.  This would have been a good episode if it weren't for the judges.  Jamie should have been top 3 if not the winner.

I'm really sick of the way Gordon treats Subha.  He's a nice, well-educated man with a management level job and Gordon acts like he just dropped in from Lower Slobbovia.  If I were Subha, I'd be mad by this time.

I was just imagining Subha saying "F U Gordo.  I'm trying my best" instead of "Thank you, chef, may I have another one?"

[Dance4Life]

“It is interesting.  It think it is a very powerful when you can take your childhood sensations and reinterpret them in a dish!”

Joe about Micah’s dish! 🥵

WTF?  Do you like it or not?!

Stop with the corny commentary!

Edited August 15, 2019 by Dance4Life

[displayname]

Why is everyone shocked about Grant Achatz? It's stunning season 10.

[cameron]

9 hours ago, DEL901 said:

I thought Micah’s was too similar to the demonstration.   

So, Subha is a Chemical Engineer.  So much for the edit he has been getting about not being that bright.   

Nick deserved the win.  

Just looked Subha up on LinkedIn and he's been in the IT field for 29 plus years .  Currently works at Cigna.  There goes the chemical engineer theory.

Edited August 15, 2019 by cameron

[adhoc]

This challenge confused me, not gonna lie. The Grant/Gordon collaboration was artfully interesting, though I would like to see how a party in a restaurant would eat it. But the cheftestants' creations, for me, just mostly looked like crude attempts to put "regular" food in a different setting from the usual plate. Jamie's dish, for me, was an example of this. I didn't feel like the food itself was creative.

• Not a Bri fan, but at least I get what she was trying to do. But Nick's blender mess? Minus the blender, is that really something one would serve in a restaurant? In a mixing bowl? 
• I liked Dorian's, and if the globe had been edible and embellished slightly, and the opening wider, it would have been amazing to have that served to me.  
• Sarah's was a mess, but you know what? If she had worked it so nothing ran together--say, by propping up the low end of the paint tray when she realized what was happening--I kind of think she was on to something. I would have wanted a much smaller paint tray (and a Swiss cake roll of some sort for a paint roller), but it could have worked in a whimsical way.
• Subha's presentation, to my untrained eye, wasn't worse than some of the others. No need for the insults. I'd really like to taste some of Subha's food now.

[cooksdelight]

22 minutes ago, adhoc said:

I liked Dorian's, and if the globe had been edible and embellished slightly, and the opening wider, it would have been amazing to have that served to me

If she had made a spun sugar globe that you could then smash with your fork and eat as part of the dessert, I’d have given her the coveted trophy right there.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

Just looked Subha up on LinkedIn and he's been in the IT field for 29 plus years .  Currently works at Cigna.  There goes the chemical engineer theory.

Not sure what you mean by "theory".  He said he studied Chemical Engineering.  Also, the describes him as an R&D Director.  Also a job that requires intelligence.

[cameron]

31 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Not sure what you mean by "theory".  He said he studied Chemical Engineering.  Also, the describes him as an R&D Director.  Also a job that requires intelligence.

Just rewatched last night's show and he said he was a chemical engineer.  That implies to me that is his job, except he works in IT sector.

[mertensia]

6 minutes ago, cameron said:

Just rewatched last night's show and he said he was a chemical engineer.  That implies to me that is his job, except he works in IT sector.

People can change careers. 

[Dbolt]

I must be living under a rock because I had no idea who the guest judge was. I wouldn’t pay two dollars for that dessert he and Gordon made either. I got the distinct impression Joe was not that impressed by him. He did not fawn all over him like the others did. I think last nights episode may have had more pretentious crap than ever before. Of course it is season ten so everything is more extra. 

[spiderpig]

I may be in the minority, but I'm completely uninterested in food as performance art.  I want delicious food.  Period.  Not something that looks like it needs to be scraped off a board with a palette knife.

At least Barbri didn't win.  I am over her nonstop tears.  She even turned on the faucet when they introduced Grant.  Knock it off or see a therapist.

[joanne3482]

I agree Jamie should have been in the top. I thought his was really inventive and apparently the food was good.  The whole episode reminded me of this website, We Want Plates, which cracks me up. 

[displayname]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

If she had made a spun sugar globe that you could then smash with your fork and eat as part of the dessert, I’d have given her the coveted trophy right there.

Masterchef AU has all kinds of whimsical stuff like this! I doubt Dorian could have pulled it off without extensive instruction, but it still needs to be considered they had only an hour to cook.

[preeya]

12 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

I may be in the minority, but I'm completely uninterested in food as performance art.  I want delicious food.  Period.  Not something that looks like it needs to be scraped off a board with a palette knife.

↑ ITA   This food as artwork stuff does nothing for me.

[preeya]

Interesting facts about Chef Achatz:  On July 23, 2007, Achatz announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, which may have spread to his lymph nodes. Initially, Achatz was told that only radical surgery was indicated, which would remove part of his mandibular anatomy and large swaths of neck tissue. Later, University of Chicago physicians prescribed a course of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. This led to full remission, albeit with some side effects including a transitory loss of his sense of taste, which eventually returned. On December 18, 2007, Achatz announced that he was cancer-free. He credited an aggressive protocol of chemotherapy and radiation administered at the University of Chicago Medical Center for driving his cancer into full remission. The treatment regimen, administered under the direction of Drs. Vokes, Blair and Haraf at U of C, did not require radical invasive surgery on Achatz' tongue.

Edited August 15, 2019 by preeya

[DoctorK]

1 hour ago, spiderpig said:

I may be in the minority, but I'm completely uninterested in food as performance art.  I want delicious food.  Period. 

Totally agree. What this episode was to me "stunt cooking" where oddness and strangeness were the goals, not anything related good cooking or fine dining. Sort of like "performance art".

[Dbolt]

59 minutes ago, preeya said:

Interesting facts about Chef Achatz:  On July 23, 2007, Achatz announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, which may have spread to his lymph nodes. Initially, Achatz was told that only radical surgery was indicated, which would remove part of his mandibular anatomy and large swaths of neck tissue. Later, University of Chicago physicians prescribed a course of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. This led to full remission, albeit with some side effects including a transitory loss of his sense of taste, which eventually returned. On December 18, 2007, Achatz announced that he was cancer-free. He credited an aggressive protocol of chemotherapy and radiation administered at the University of Chicago Medical Center for driving his cancer into full remission. The treatment regimen, administered under the direction of Drs. Vokes, Blair and Haraf at U of C, did not require radical invasive surgery on Achatz' tongue.

I thought there was something odd about his speech, but wasn’t sure if it was a speech impediment or an affectation 

[mamadrama]

1 hour ago, spiderpig said:

I may be in the minority, but I'm completely uninterested in food as performance art.  I want delicious food.  Period.  Not something that looks like it needs to be scraped off a board with a palette knife.

At least Barbri didn't win.  I am over her nonstop tears.  She even turned on the faucet when they introduced Grant.  Knock it off or see a therapist.

I don't want "smears" of food. My kids made those when they were toddlers and I wasn't impressed then, either.

Also, I want more than a taste. If I have to swing through a McDonalds after my $200 meal then that's a fail for me. 

I am not a food snob. I enjoy things that taste good. I have been just as happy with the 6-course meal at a well known Viennese restaurant as I was with the chocolate crepe from the sidewalk vendor hslf a block away.

[Darian]

I don't have the motor skills to order some of those dishes. Not even kidding and I can manage regular food just fine (though I use safety equipment to use more than a butter knife). There'd have to be a degree of difficulty rating and full description of the plating on the menu. 

I've seen food served in shells my entire life, from seaside dives to nicer restaurants. I've seen it in the homes of people who were just good but not great or terribly creative cooks. The wave and slate platter (or whatever it was) didn't elevate it much if at all. I like pretty plating, but I wouldn't seek out a place for meals that look like Jackson Pollock paintings or could end with me bleeding (that globe wouldn't survive my attempt to eat Dorian's olive oil cake). I enjoyed watching Grant work and appreciate the creativity, but I'm fine seeing it from afar. 

[Mellowyellow]

I have decided I am hoping for a Subha win!

A Subha win would be an exceptionally stunning surprise and the only incredible outcome that is worthy of concluding this most amazing Season 10.

[displayname]

12 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

A Subha win would be an exceptionally stunning surprise

Befitting stunning season 10!

[Totale]

7 hours ago, Dance4Life said:

It think it is a very powerful when you can take your childhood sensations and reinterpret them in a dish!”

I immediately tried to conceptualize anger on a plate.

[Tatortot]

Ok, what is up with Bri's holey sweater?   I have seen it a few times now during her head shot.  Is that a thing now?  to go along with holey jeans?

[Dance4Life]

The whole episode was shit!  To make cool things you need time.  

They only had 1 hour to cook...??  Ok!

How come something as cool as creative plating......has to have a stupid childhood story?  It made no sense to me.

Why does everything need a story?  What if you had a horrible abusive childhood???  What do you cook?  A raw bleeding steak dripping in red wine sauce with a butcher knife stuck in it??

Yea!  Each night as a little kid I wanted to kill my parents.  🤣

Grant looked unimpressed and lied.  He just said something nice to everyone.

Yall mean Dorian putting a piece of olive cake in a $1 vase .......he will serve it in his restaurant?  🤔

[ML89]

Personally I loved Jamie's food with smoke and thought that should be there instead of bringing up a KitchenAid mixer with a deconstructed pie (wow, what I wouldn't have given to see Paul and Mary giving that the side eye). 

What was wrong with test tubes, btw? It's as inventive as a big old slab of rock with stuff broken on it and squares of chocolate sauce, Gordon. 

15 minutes ago, Dance4Life said:

Why does everything need a story?  What if you had a horrible abusive childhood???  What do you cook?  A raw bleeding steak dripping in red wine sauce with a butcher knife stuck in it??

Thank you. I'm sick to death of everyone's stories. I'd rather someone said "I thought it would be just pretentious enough to bamboozle you all."

[displayname]

42 minutes ago, ML89 said:

What was wrong with test tubes, btw? It's as inventive as a big old slab of rock with stuff broken on it and squares of chocolate sauce, Gordon. 

LOL, or serving a cake in a food processor.

[preeya]

When I was a kid I dreamed of being a major league baseball player, as I'm sure millions of others have. Just thinking about how I would arrange a plate full of peanuts, cracker jacks, and hot dogs to impress them with a "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" theme.

Edited August 15, 2019 by preeya

[Aerobicidal]

5 minutes ago, preeya said:

When I was a kid I dreamed of being a major league baseball player, as I'm sure millions of others have. Just thinking about how I would arrange a plate full of peanuts, cracker jacks, and hot dogs to impress them.

Deconstruct the hot dog by pureeing it in an amazing blender, and then sculpt the puree into the shape of a hot dog. Unconventionally plate it on a stunning slab of flesh-colored rubber with two peanut spheres and a cracker jack smear that erupts out of the tip along with liquid nitrogen steam and an intangible hint of regret.

[preeya]

11 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

Deconstruct the hot dog by pureeing it in an amazing blender, and then sculpt the puree into the shape of a hot dog. Unconventionally plate it on a stunning slab of flesh-colored rubber with two peanut spheres and a cracker jack smear that erupts out of the tip along with liquid nitrogen steam and an intangible hint of regret.

Will that be X-rated or R-rated and which judge will have the balls to taste it?

[alegtostandon]

7 hours ago, cameron said:

Just looked Subha up on LinkedIn and he's been in the IT field for 29 plus years .  Currently works at Cigna.  There goes the chemical engineer theory.

I personally do not care if Subha is a chemical engineer,  in the IT field, or Cigna employee.  Regardless,  he is not the idiot being portrayed on this show.   Every dish he has broight up has been amazing.  Even the team challenge where he was so heavily insulted turned out great.  

Was not impressed with the little piece of cake in a glass light fixture, the mixer pie (I honestly thought he was going to say he ran out of time & could not plate) or the scallops in a shell...I see those in the frozen food aisle at Trader Joe's.  You could tell Barbie Bri thought for sure she was the winner. 

These have to be "group desserts".  I certainly hope they scrub the table down before they begin smearing food all over it. 

[hhawks]

5 hours ago, Dbolt said:

I must be living under a rock because I had no idea who the guest judge was. I wouldn’t pay two dollars for that dessert he and Gordon made either. I got the distinct impression Joe was not that impressed by him. He did not fawn all over him like the others did. I think last nights episode may have had more pretentious crap than ever before. Of course it is season ten so everything is more extra. 

Yes, pretentious crap is right.  Why would a challenge be to "tell a story" on a plate?  How useful and common is that skill?  And three who did provide the context for their creations, Mikah, Jamie and Subha got diddly squat for their thoughtful dishes.  I'm still trying to figure out the story Nick was telling with his winner.

[preeya]

4 minutes ago, hhawks said:

Yes, pretentious crap is right.  Why would a challenge be to "tell a story" on a plate?  How useful and common is that skill?  And three who did provide the context for their creations, Mikah, Jamie and Subha got diddly squat for their thoughtful dishes.  I'm still trying to figure out the story Nick was telling with his winner.

I guess it's akin to going to an art museum knowing nothing about art and watching the art aficionados ogling over a piece of artwork that you view as something totally horrendous.

[mlp]

24 minutes ago, hhawks said:

Yes, pretentious crap is right.  Why would a challenge be to "tell a story" on a plate?

The biggest problem with that IMO is that it's all about the chef expressing something personal as opposed to creating something that will appeal to the customer.  If I were to go to a fancy restaurant and shell out what it costs for the "experience," I would not know the chef nor would I care about his childhood memories or anything else about his personal life.  I would want something good to eat and more than two bites of it too.

[Andyourlittledog2]

4 hours ago, Totale said:

12 hours ago, Dance4Life said:

It think it is a very powerful when you can take your childhood sensations and reinterpret them in a dish!”

I immediately tried to conceptualize anger on a plate.

This reminded me of The Existentialist Cookbook:

"October 3: Spoke with Camus today about my cookbook. Though he has never actually eaten, he gave me much encouragement. I rushed home immediately to begin work. How excited I am! I have begun my formula for a Denver omelet.

"October 4: Still working on the omelet. There have been stumbling blocks. I keep creating omelets one after another, like soldiers marching into the sea, but each one seems empty, hollow, like stone. I want to create an omelet that expresses the meaninglessness of existence, and instead they taste like cheese. I look at them on the plate, but they do not look back. Tried eating them with the lights off.  It did not help. Malraux suggested paprika.

"October 10: I find myself trying ever more radical interpretations of traditional dishes, in an effort to somehow express the void I feel so acutely. Today I tried this recipe:

Tuna Casserole: Ingredients - 1 large casserole dish. Place the casserole dish in a cold oven.  Place a chair facing the oven and sit in it forever. Think about how hungry you are. When night falls, do not turn on the light.

While a void is expressed in this recipe, I am struck by its inapplicability to the bourgeois lifestyle. How can the eater recognize that the food denied him is a tuna casserole and not some other dish? I am becoming more and more frustrated."

I too would love it if Subha would win. I am so tired of their relentless mocking him.  He seems like a genuinely nice man who can really really cook but is just different than the other contestants and the judges are used to. The other contestants do seem to like him and root for him also.

[cooksdelight]

I was down the road in Noah’s stomping grounds today, halfway expected to see him pop up in the place where I had lunch.

My story on a plate, as a graphic artist, I’d do a painter’s palette with a tasting menu of different things, representing the different colors of paint. Like this, made of gingerbread, with not just dips but juicy bits of fruits chopped up in the holes. It could be both sweet and savory.

[xcrayon2215x]

Seeing Grant was awesome, I prefer these challenges to the team challenges. I think Gordon dislikes the speed that Subha is going at. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by xcrayon2215x

[Cyranetta]

This episode finally made me realize what I find offputting about Bri - she comes off as animatronic. Even the tears seem to have been programmed.

[TzuShih]

9 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

I agree Jamie should have been in the top. I thought his was really inventive and apparently the food was good.  The whole episode reminded me of this website, We Want Plates, which cracks me up. 

The website "We Want Plates" is priceless!!! (Too bad 'performance art' puts the dining experience OUT of most diners' price range!)  PS.  I, too, give a thumbs up to Jamie.

[hhawks]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

The biggest problem with that IMO is that it's all about the chef expressing something personal as opposed to creating something that will appeal to the customer.  If I were to go to a fancy restaurant and shell out what it costs for the "experience," I would not know the chef nor would I care about his childhood memories or anything else about his personal life.  I would want something good to eat and more than two bites of it too.

I never ponder the back story of any of the food I eat.  It's always only about the taste, with attractive plating as a non-essential bonus.  The more I think about last night's episode, the more I'm convinced it was the worst episode I've ever seen of Master Chef (I started watching about the fifth season).

[TzuShih]

I can only say that either Nick's 'food art' did not get a 'good camera angle,' OR perhaps its 'delicious decadence' was not properly displayed/properly discussed by the judges.  I just didn't 'get it.'  Were the actual ingredients truly spectacular and spectacularly presented?!? 

AND, also, I missed out on the explanation of the little 'hanging pail.'  Can anyone explain what was its intention?   (Nick's creation could very well have been stunning - but the viewers deserved to at least share in what made the judges go gaga.) 

P.S.  On the bright side, it reminded me of the 'olden days' when kids went to Jahn's Ice Cream Parlour and devoured its number one crowd pleaser:  The Kitchen Sink  (A little bit of everything delicious! Out of 30 locations, there's only one left....in Queens, NY.) ☹️

[Charlesman]

On 8/10/2019 at 6:57 AM, preeya said:

That whole "Tosi thing" was contrived. I'm sure GR didn't just walk out on stage and make an ad hoc speech to pacify Fred.  It was a quid pro quo attempt for wrongly eliminating Fred.

Good luck, Fred.

I dunno, this happens every season. The nice, soft, fan-favorite type who just isn't really all-around skilled enough to win but you still like them gets a golden parachute upon elimination.

It's pretty much guaranteed that Micah will be offered a job at one of the judge's restaurants once he's finally kicked off. No doubt.

[zibnchy]

The mocking of Subha has just gotten completely out of hand. It's what bothered me most about last night's episode. Gordon going on and on about the test tubes and all three judges acting like they had no idea what to do and how to eat his dish. Then they made him demonstrate **pouring** for them because apparently none of them had ever poured anything before. It is borderline bullying. AND they always seem a bit disappointed when his food is actually good.

I don't eat pork BUT Jamie's dish was, to me, the most appealing and probably the only dish of the night that I would actually be tempted to pay good money for. Well, and Subha's but only if he demonstrates pouring for me.

I feel like I should dislike Micah but the kid has a certain charm. And some cooking skill I think. As opposed to Nick who may have gone to Harvard but has shown no actual personality yet.

So happy to see Dino!

[Charlesman]

1 hour ago, TzuShih said:

AND, also, I missed out on the explanation of the little 'hanging pail.'  Can anyone explain what was its intention?   (Nick's creation could very well have been stunning - but the viewers deserved to at least share in what made the judges go gaga.) 

I believe there was dry ice and some lemon zest in there, and the flavor was supposed to float down into the bowl

[zibnchy]

Is anyone else mildly horrified?

[preeya]

1 hour ago, TzuShih said:

P.S.  On the bright side, it reminded me of the 'olden days' when kids went to Jahn's Ice Cream Parlour and devoured its number one crowd pleaser:  The Kitchen Sink  (A little bit of everything delicious! Out of 30 locations, there's only one left....in Queens, NY.) ☹️

I've been to Jahn's (Brooklyn) many ties. Never had the guts to order the kitchen sink.

[Darian]

4 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I was down the road in Noah’s stomping grounds today, halfway expected to see him pop up in the place where I had lunch.

My story on a plate, as a graphic artist, I’d do a painter’s palette with a tasting menu of different things, representing the different colors of paint. Like this, made of gingerbread, with not just dips but juicy bits of fruits chopped up in the holes. It could be both sweet and savory.

Cool! That's the kind of thing I was expecting. When Sarah's roller pan idea failed, I started mentally riffing about ways to do something similar but better. Much, much better. 

Hearing Subha's a chemical engineer (that he works for Cigna doesn't mean he can't be a chemical engineer, based on the variety of jobs I saw on their employment site) makes complete sense to me. In undergrad I did an internship at NASA and worked for actual rocket scientists. They were brilliant. And I wonder how some of them used to function in everyday situations. I used to be surprised when my astronaut boss tied his shoes. Some of the smartest people I worked with there said some of the stupidest things (like when Subha offered to help a fellow competitor turn the oven knobs.) He has annoyed me at times, but now he reminds me so much of some of the scientists I worked with there. 

[preeya]

The STUNNINGLY and AMAZINGLY all-important elimination challenge is looking like someone will get porked.

S10E19 Pigging Out

Summary:  The judges introduce special guest Marley the Pig. Judge Aaron then gives a demonstration on how to make his family recipe for chorizo sausage. The cooks must produce a dish with their own version of homemade sausage in just under 60 minutes.

[Writing Wrongs]

1 hour ago, zibnchy said:

The mocking of Subha has just gotten completely out of hand. It's what bothered me most about last night's episode. Gordon going on and on about the test tubes and all three judges acting like they had no idea what to do and how to eat his dish. Then they made him demonstrate **pouring** for them because apparently none of them had ever poured anything before. It is borderline bullying. AND they always seem a bit disappointed when his food is actually good.

I can see how he can be annoying, but the way he is edited on this show is shameful. I can only imagine how his family feels watching it.