Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[cooksdelight]

Nick with his books, Kitchen-Aid mixing bowls needs to find a new hobby. Sculpture, maybe.

[mertensia]

So glad I decided not to tune in. 

[Brookside]

4 hours ago, Aerobicidal said:

This is indeed Stunning, and you've just got room for "Wow" on that W down at the bottom!

[cooksdelight]

Thank God no one uses “unctuous” as a food description on this show. I’m not sure there’s space for it in the puzzle.

[spiderpig]

Here's my takeaway from the awesomeness fabulous season of MC evah!!!!!

Why did we have to view Chipmunk Cheeks Shaun in the balcony?  There isn't enough eye bleach in the world.

Other than that I really didn't care a rat's patootie about who won.

[Brookside]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

I fell asleep. Either I am getting old or this show is getting more boring each season.

I beat you since I fell asleep before the show even began!  Thank you body for knowing what's best for me and my sanity.

[cooksdelight]

We had to see Shaun because he’s the biggest pimp-whore for this show that there is. He is constantly posting photos and videos of himself at food events or whatever. Always mentioning Gordon or Masterchef. It’s vomit-enducing.

[xcrayon2215x]

Glad Dorian won, continue to not be a huge fan of Shaun. I think if Nick hadn't undercooked his fish, he likely would have won.

[Ashforth]

8 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Times 1000 ❤️

Don't you mean Times 10? Because, Season 10! The Top 10 of all 10's, evahhhhhhhhhhh. 😉

[spiderpig]

OK, I'm back. Was Joe's ugly purple suit way too tight or is that the style nowadays?

Every time I saw Gordon's blond upsweep do I yelled "Dondi!"  (Ancient comic strip reference for you young uns)

Food plated on a book?  Nick, you got away with the mixer stunt but this was simply pointless and not the least clever.

The producers gave the game away with Sarah's talking head saying confidently she aced it.

Now on to American Horror Story, which doesn't look promising but has got to be better than this.

Edited September 19, 2019 by spiderpig

[preeya]

9 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

The producers gave the game away with Sarah's talking head saying confidently she aced it.

YEP, that's generally the kiss of death (aced it). Just like Noah last week when he "punched his ticket to the finale"

ETA: My two cents, or should it be TEN CENTS: very underwhelming finale X 10.

Edited September 19, 2019 by preeya

[galaxychaser]

7 hours ago, mertensia said:

So glad I decided not to tune in. 

Same. I rather sleep for 2 hours than watch the end. Congratulations to Dorian. May she buy herself a proper wig.

[DoctorK]

I fast-forwarded through most of the show, a mediocre finale for a mediocre season. Nick's idea for using books as plates was just stupid, without even considering the flavors (and possibly unhealthy elements) the food may pick up from the inks, bindery glue and paper. Also, imagine cutting into something like that, on a soggy page of a book, and chewing on shreds of paper. That was sheer performance art, and just as stupid as almost all of the performance art I have ever seen. Also, maybe it was just me but I thought the "hands" plates were just tacky. As always, YMMV.

[cameron]

My take on the final four.  Actually glad that Dorian won MC title.  Of the final four, she could probably use the money the most.  Nick (even though he should have been sent home last week for leaving a string on his meat) and Noah would probably have benefitted the most from apprenticing at the different restaurant.  Sara leaving her three children would have been hard.  Just my opinion.

[snarts]

Half watched most of the season. Thought for sure Nick would win.  Pleased that it was Dorian over Sarah, mainly because Sarah merely replicated high end restaurant courses.  Herb crusted lamb again?  A flourless chocolate cake?  Her fried octopus was interesting but she played it safe with the rest.  Dorian took some serious chances with the braised short ribs and that desert.  

You could tell that Joe wanted Nick, so not surprised that he offered to mentor him.  

[Koalagirl]

Couldn’t Noah have left that damn bandanna off or is it holding his massive ego inside his head?  

I’ve seen past runners up looking disappointed but I’ve never seen one look as pissed off as Sara did. Bad sportsmanship.  

I have to wonder about that Viking kitchen. Do both Sara and Dorian own houses?  If I were renting a house, or even an apartment, that wouldn’t work. Or can they opt for cash equivalent?

[zibnchy]

I'm finally watching, or rather I'm finally fast forwarding thru most of the final.

Dorian has a sob story! Nick has literally the opposite of a sob story. Sarah has a story. Did you know she was in  the military?

It's Season 10!!! (This "season" was soooo loooong I actually forgot about Fred. I was a teenager when this season started.)

Round 1: Nick's beer pong looked like beer vomit. Aaron tried to pronounce superfluous. Joe tried to pronounce yin and yang. Dorian's dish looked really delicious, but was it Masterchef Amazing Season 10 Extraordinary? I don't know because I hit the ff button. Octopus is always gross. Gordon called it visually inviting but who wants an invitation to a horror show on a plate? "Tonight I have made for you some tentacles . . ."

Round 2: Nick wants to recreate the flavor you might get from the smell of an old book. Those are not words I have ever heard together before and I am old. "Yum! This tastes like an old book smells." Did someone yell "You're a damn fool!" from the balcony?  No adult human should ever refer to their spouse/partner as "baby" in public. Dorian's daughter is really cute. And again her food looks absolutely delicious. Subha, King of Beautiful Plating, declares Nick's book disaster as "best plating ever!" What is old book flavor? Apparently it's the flavor of gray goo and raw fish. Yum. Gordon says Nick has "such maverickness." Bye Nick. Why didn't a single person tell Nick that was a terrible and stupid idea and it looked gross and no one would ever want to eat it. How many books died during Nick's quest for mediocrity? Don't worry everyone, Nick will be fine. Boys like him always fail upwards. Joe's going to mentor him. (I broke my eyeballs from rolling them so hard.) Sarah cooked something.

Round 3: Dorian's dessert is apparently her mom's hands, on a plate. Or something. I ff'd thru almost all of Round 3. I'm fine with Dorian. Her food looked delicious and this win probably will help her family a lot. Sarah was there.

Question - there are 9 previous winners (I assume) but I only saw 8 in the balcony. Was one missing? I've only watched 4 seasons and parts of others so I don't really know them all. Hi Dino!

Words and phrases I never want to hear again: me on a plate, my food journey, when I started cooking we were too poor to buy food so I practiced on shoes, umami, maverickness... This list is endless.

Who am I kidding? I'll be back for Season 11 if only for the snark.

[zibnchy]

33 minutes ago, Koalagirl said:

I’ve seen past runners up looking disappointed but I’ve never seen one look as pissed off as Sara did. Bad sportsmanship.  

I thought she was possibly just exhausted and overwhelmed so I went back and watched her reaction. Wow, she looked pissed. And she kinda muttered "good job" and looked away. Yeah, it was a tough loss but, damn, pull up your pants and act like an adult ffs.

The worst I've ever thought about Sarah was that she's boring. Now I'll remember her as boring with a side order of crybaby. Maybe that's why her husband calls her "baby."

[TVbitch]

Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. 2 hours of talking heads and judges' incoherent blather. Very little cooking. I don't want to scrape a puree off of a book. Or try to enjoy my dessert when I have to scoop each bite out of your dead mom's hands. I am bummed Nick didn't get to show his dessert, because I was dying to know what assclown College-themed fuckery he had come up with for that.   

Hope to see some of you guys in the MC UK forums. 

Right now Celebrity Masterchef UK is on. And since I don't recognize any of the D-List UK celebrities, it is kind of like amatuer MC. And it is still 10x better than this God awful dreck. (But not nearly as good as MC UK and MC UK Professionals, which I think is up next.)

[spiderpig]

3 hours ago, DoctorK said:

I fast-forwarded through most of the show, a mediocre finale for a mediocre season. Nick's idea for using books as plates was just stupid, without even considering the flavors (and possibly unhealthy elements) the food may pick up from the inks, bindery glue and paper. Also, imagine cutting into something like that, on a soggy page of a book, and chewing on shreds of paper. That was sheer performance art, and just as stupid as almost all of the performance art I have ever seen. Also, maybe it was just me but I thought the "hands" plates were just tacky. As always, YMMV.

This finale was one big fat eyeroll.  Could we possibly get more gimmicky?  Oh, wait...isn't the 154th season of Survivor due soon?

[Such A Flirt]

1 hour ago, zibnchy said:

Question - there are 9 previous winners (I assume) but I only saw 8 in the balcony. Was one missing?

Yeah: Luca. Said he was too busy.

[preeya]

Just an afterthought. Nick cooked his fish in a bamboo steamer and all were approximately the same size (see screen grab). How was one of those pieces of fish so under done that it actually looked raw. (see screen grab #2).  Something is fishy (pun intended).

Also, if you re-watch the sequence , Arrron starts to eat the first bite he takes from the plate, then the scene shifts back to GR, then Arrron announces his "raw fish" discovery. Then both GR and JB said their's was cooked perfectly.

Edited September 20, 2019 by preeya

[OoogleEyes]

On 9/18/2019 at 10:14 PM, KLovestoShop said:

People don’t usually like avant-guard or unusual high concept.  They want food that looks and tastes good, and not because you serve it on a book, or on a hand 

Except people who will pay to have their dessert strewn across the table like what's his name demonstrated 

Edited September 20, 2019 by OoogleEyes
Letters matter

[Gramto6]

20 hours ago, Dance4Life said:

Anyhoo, was Subha there?  I didn’t see him.

!

I don't see him either. Given the way he was portrayed, if I were him I wouldn't have gone either!

[jewel21]

I'm pretty sure Subha was there. I thought I recall seeing him. 

[eel21788]

20 hours ago, Dance4Life said:

Something about Sara to me.....is just off.  All season

For me, it was the constant claim that being in the military somehow prepared her for a cooking show.

I wanted anyone but her to win, so I'm good with Dorian pulling it out. However, I do wish Nick had been allowed to do the dessert round. I wanted to see what he had come up with to follow his theme. A hang-over cure, maybe?

[eel21788]

19 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Yo Gordon Sarah made a fresh/Mexican chorizo so no it doesn’t need fucking months to age! I was sort of surprised that Aaron didn’t say anything.

Do they seriously not have beer pong in Mexico?

[eel21788]

7 hours ago, snarts said:

  Herb crusted lamb again? 

She should have been disqualified for doing that two challenges in a row.

5 hours ago, zibnchy said:

"Tonight I have made for you some tentacles . . ."

With the suckers still on. Is that really how octopus is served?

[biakbiak]

28 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

With the suckers still on. Is that really how octopus is served?

Yep and it’s delicious! 

[spiderpig]

5 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. 2 hours of talking heads and judges' incoherent blather. Very little cooking. I don't want to scrape a puree off of a book. Or try to enjoy my dessert when I have to scoop each bite out of your dead mom's hands. I am bummed Nick didn't get to show his dessert, because I was dying to know what assclown College-themed fuckery he had come up with for that.   

Hope to see some of you guys in the MC UK forums. 

Right now Celebrity Masterchef UK is on. And since I don't recognize any of the D-List UK celebrities, it is kind of like amatuer MC. And it is still 10x better than this God awful dreck. (But not nearly as good as MC UK and MC UK Professionals, which I think is up next.)

Where can we find UK MC on cable?

[cooksdelight]

9 hours ago, cameron said:

Noah would probably have benefitted the most from apprenticing at the different restaurant.

He’s already benefitting from his time on this shitshow. He is doing a lot of cooking demos, appearances... without Ramsay’s halo. I’m kind of proud of a guy who will work his 15 minutes into a possible new job.

5 hours ago, preeya said:

Just an afterthought. Nick cooked his fish in a bamboo steamer and all were approximately the same size (see screen grab). How was one of those pieces of fish so under done that it actually looked raw. (see screen grab #2).  Something is fishy (pun intended).

Also, if you re-watch the sequence , Arrron starts to eat the first bite he takes from the plate, then the scene shifts back to GR, then Arrron announces his "raw fish" discovery. Then both GR and JB said their's was cooked perfectly.

There is no way in hell I’d taste something that was plopped onto a book. With ink. Paper. Stupidest thing I’ve ever seen on a cooking show. 

[Totale]

9 hours ago, zibnchy said:

Gordon says Nick has "such maverickness."

Arrron complimented Dorian for entering unchartered territory.  Joe sagely remarked that something was "simple and complicated".

I was having fun watching how many former winners hung in there up on the balcony.  The high point was eight, I think.  Sometimes it was down to four.  The other guys must have gone off to take a safety meeting at 4:20.

[hhawks]

8 hours ago, spiderpig said:

This finale was one big fat eyeroll.  Could we possibly get more gimmicky?  Oh, wait...isn't the 154th season of Survivor due soon?

The finale was gimmicky and a little porrigey.

7 hours ago, preeya said:

Just an afterthought. Nick cooked his fish in a bamboo steamer and all were approximately the same size (see screen grab). How was one of those pieces of fish so under done that it actually looked raw. (see screen grab #2).  Something is fishy (pun intended).

Also, if you re-watch the sequence , Arrron starts to eat the first bite he takes from the plate, then the scene shifts back to GR, then Arrron announces his "raw fish" discovery. Then both GR and JB said their's was cooked perfectly.

I too question how one of Nick's fish was raw while the others were cooked perfectly when they were all the same size and cooked together.

[hhawks]

5 hours ago, eel21788 said:

For me, it was the constant claim that being in the military somehow prepared her for a cooking show.

I wanted anyone but her to win, so I'm good with Dorian pulling it out. However, I do wish Nick had been allowed to do the dessert round. I wanted to see what he had come up with to follow his theme. A hang-over cure, maybe?

Sarah doesn't ever come across as either warm or friendly, especially compared to Dorian.

[Yeah No]

On 9/18/2019 at 9:36 PM, KLovestoShop said:

These judges can’t have it all ways. With some cooks, all they want is new, different and sophisticated.  Then with others, like Dorian, simple food is best. Sorry, but to me, Dorian’s food would work at Golden Corral or a small storefront diner and not an upscale restaurant.  It might taste good, but the foods are too simplistic. 

Yeah, I'm with you on this.  Some seasons I see why the winner is the winner but in this case I admit it's not obvious to me, and the way the judges were acting about Dorian all season makes me suspicious that she is yet another "chosen one" that was going to win no matter what.  And the finale didn't do anything to quell my suspicions.

What bothered me about Dorian is that she was constantly playing the "poor me" card like that entitled her to win.  So what if Sarah played up her military experience as if that makes her a worthy winner?  It was an admirable achievement worthy of her pride.  At least she didn't play the sob story all season about how she came from poor roots, etc.  I only learned about that for the first time in this finale.  Dorian acted like she's had to fight for everything she has, and maybe that's true but I'm sure Sarah could have spun her life that way too if she wanted to, but didn't. 

As soon as Dorian pulled out those plates I knew she would be chosen the winner.  Like how could they be so heartless as to deny her DEAD MAMA'S HANDS the win?  Oh please.....I wouldn't blame Sarah for being pissed off.  She wanted to lose on her food, not because someone else milked the sympathy card for the win.

Even if Dorian's food really was all that great and better than Sarah's in this finale I would still feel the same way about the above.  At first I liked Dorian and was rooting for her but as time went on and I saw how it looked fixed for her to win, plus her playing the sympathy card stuff (not to mention the way she treated Subha) really turned me off.

[Yeah No]

On 9/18/2019 at 11:43 PM, Such A Flirt said:

MC Canada (the season before last).

I'm still watching this season of MC Canada online.....Now I know who the winner is going to be, and I didn't want to know.  If you're going to post the winner's name in another show's thread shouldn't you put it under a spoiler alert?  I've deleted their name here.

[galaxychaser]

The horrible way Dorian treated Subha told me everything I needed to know. Dorian is a phony and a mean woman. I bet most of the contestants don't come from wealth either.  Boo hoo you were a single mom, poor etc. I just don't care for sob stories at all.  I guess I have a cold black heart HAHA.

But she won so that's that. Hope she spends that money wisely.

Sarah is a tough broad! And she needs to be since she was in the military.  

[Jlina]

Ha! Show totally faked me out with "who would you trust in your kitchen?" Because it would obviously be Sarah!  I'd be afraid Dorian would try and serve food on a Frisby, or directly from her cupped hands.  Sorry, not sorry, the plate should not have been allowed it was beyond creepy. And her meringue looked burnt at one point, darker than a roasted marshmallow.  

I think Sarah was just not effusive enough for them. Too aloof.  Sad for Sarah.  She'd be rightfully pissed imo!

Edited September 20, 2019 by Jlina
Frisby

[Ashforth]

13 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Or try to enjoy my dessert when I have to scoop each bite out of your dead mom's hands.

OMG LMFAO

[TDT]

17 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Right now Celebrity Masterchef UK is on. And since I don't recognize any of the D-List UK celebrities, it is kind of like amatuer MC. And it is still 10x better than this God awful dreck

Would love to see a US celebrity version(and not the "showdown" format like on the specials)

A US version of Hell's Kitchen with celeb(call it Hell's Kitchen Hollywood) would be interesting

[Ashforth]

17 hours ago, preeya said:

Just an afterthought. Nick cooked his fish in a bamboo steamer and all were approximately the same size (see screen grab). How was one of those pieces of fish so under done that it actually looked raw. (see screen grab #2).  Something is fishy (pun intended).

Also, if you re-watch the sequence , Arrron starts to eat the first bite he takes from the plate, then the scene shifts back to GR, then Arrron announces his "raw fish" discovery. Then both GR and JB said their's was cooked perfectly.

I thought it looked more like the bloodline than raw fish. Leaving the bloodline is a chef issue in terms of butchering, but is different from undercooking. That fish overall didn't start out pink.

This season was phenomenal! and astounding! in its misdirection and bullshit.

[cooksdelight]

16 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

looked more like the bloodline than raw fish

I think that’s exactly what it was. But those three doofuses called it raw, following Gordon’s lead, which tells me and everyone else who caught on that they don’t care... they had to find a reason for that pink flesh.

[preeya]

11 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I think that’s exactly what it was. But those three doofuses called it raw, following Gordon’s lead, which tells me and everyone else who caught on that they don’t care... they had to find a reason for that pink flesh.

It wasn't Gordon, Arron's fish was the one deemed to be under-cooked/raw. Both Gordon and Joe said theirs was cooked perfectly. Thus, the reason for my question as to how four pieces all approximately the same size, all cooked together in a steam basket yield one as being raw or very under cooked.  As I said "something is fishy."

[Ashforth]

21 minutes ago, preeya said:

It wasn't Gordon, Arron's fish was the one deemed to be under-cooked/raw. Both Gordon and Joe said theirs was cooked perfectly. Thus, the reason for my question as to how four pieces all approximately the same size, all cooked together in a steam basket yield one as being raw or very under cooked.  As I said "something is fishy."

I agree with you about the consistent portion size and cook time. My theory is that the piece of fish that Aaron got had the bloodline running through it. It was cooked properly, but that part was a different color than the other flesh. The show used that color difference to claim that the fish was raw, even though Aaron, Gordon and even Joe had to know better. Ironic for  show that used to pretend to be about elevating the knowledge of home cooks (i.e. their viewers).

This article has some bloodline info: https://www.finecooking.com/article/how-to-remove-a-blood-line

You are right, the whole thing was fishy. 

ETA: Padma and/or Tom and other Top Chef judges have pointed out bloodline problems in fish dishes. Any professional chef or restaurateur would be knowledgeable about this. 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Ashforth

[WendyM]

6 hours ago, Ashforth said:

OMG LMFAO

I was relieved Dorian didn't put her mother's heart and soul on the plate. (Shh, Wendy! Don't give them ideas!) I wouldn't have been surprised if she said they'd made the plates themselves and included some of the dust from her ashes. It was creepy and not sweet, IMO.

I love to read and I'm a library user but it grosses me out when I see people have eaten while reading. Which is what Nick's entree looked like to me.

This isn't the first time I've noticed that the second-place winner on any of these shows gets the shit end of the stick. Third-placer Nick gets a mentorship, and sure--Sarah got Viking stuff, but so did Dorian. It was fun to see how pissed off Sarah was, too. Finally, a true emotion! Maybe she didn't realize she was on Season 10 and that honor should have been enough of a reward.

[Lukeysboat]

17 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Do they seriously not have beer pong in Mexico?

And Aaron is American. He’s lived in TX, NY, and LA at least. 

[bluepiano]

12 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

The horrible way Dorian treated Subha told me everything I needed to know. Dorian is a phony and a mean woman. I bet most of the contestants don't come from wealth either.  Boo hoo you were a single mom, poor etc. I just don't care for sob stories at all.  I guess I have a cold black heart HAHA.  

Every year there is a Chosen One. This year it was Dorian. What any of the contestants actually cook is irrelevant. The winner has been decided before the cooking even starts.

[WescottF1]

16 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

There is no way in hell I’d taste something that was plopped onto a book. With ink. Paper. Stupidest thing I’ve ever seen on a cooking show. 

From what I've seen on Reddit, Nick said the prop department made the books so they weren't real and were "food safe".

[preeya]

45 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

Every year there is a Chosen One. This year it was Dorian. What any of the contestants actually cook is irrelevant. The winner has been decided before the cooking even starts.

I do believe that and it is probably true, but prior to the finale, the majority seemed to be favoring Nick as this year's chosen one.  My opinion is that his fish dish was the product of some made up producer driven bullshit about the fish being under-cooked/raw. (See above for previous discussions).

[PBnJay]

1 hour ago, WescottF1 said:

From what I've seen on Reddit, Nick said the prop department made the books so they weren't real and were "food safe".

They still looked gross though. And no way would I want to eat off of any book, real or fake. And those hands ... YUCK!

After Nick got eliminated (well, sort of, since he's now got that mentor), I was sure Sarah was going to win. So, hat's off to Dorian. I hope it works out for her.

LOL about the undercooked fish that was cooked in the same thing as the other pieces of fish. Whomever wrote the script for this episode overlooked that not-so-small detail. Maybe they should have edited in a scene of one piece being taken out while the others were left in to cook all proper.

Reading all the posts here has been fun. Hope to see you all in other cooking threads.