Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[mlp]

1 hour ago, PoshSprinkles said:

Leslie at the pool party.

Leslie is my all-time favorite MC contestant and I didn't see him despite straining my eyes trying to see faster than the camera panned around.  Darn!  That season is easily the one I remember the most for all the reasons you listed.  I think Joe just picked a number that was lower than 10 without actually giving it any thought.

I also liked Luca a lot.  I think the funniest thing I ever saw on MC was Luca trying to catch a turkey in the pantry.

Edited June 22, 2019 by mlp
add something

[Mellowyellow]

I spoke too soon! The a$$hole factor was in full force this week from the judges to the contestants.

[DoctorK]

18 hours ago, OoogleEyes said:

Shithead Noah cannot go home soon enough for me 

Agreed. He irritated me from the beginning with his over blown "character", and he was shitty to Subra, especially heckling him from the balcony. I did enjoy Subra's answer "thanks, you put me here" (probably not an exact quote).

Renee also bugs me. One part is that in her talking heads, it feels to me like she is putting on her "cute little girl" shtick with her voice and mannerisms. More substantial is I can't help noticing how while she has her hair pretend tied back, there is still a lot of it vigorously flopping loose in the front, directly over the food she is preparing. Yuk.

[displayname]

12 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

The highlight of this season for me so far was Leslie at the pool party. Red team should have hauled him over to their grill and put him to work. 

LOL, another pressure test for him when he think he might have it easy for once?

I actually do think season 5 was the best, and Leslie is probably my favorite too. Either him or Christine Ha.

[mlp]

One of the things that always bugs me about MC is that no attention seems to be paid to kitchen hygiene.  Maybe the judges really do wash their hands after handling raw chicken but we never see any sign that they do.  It always looks like Gordon does his demos and then returns to the stage without washing and the same is true when the other judges touch chicken.  Also, in this episode, Gordon was standing right over a raw chicken flamboyantly sharpening his knife.  If he really did that, any metal filings would fall right on the meat.  I don't suppose they would be large enough to actually cause a health issue and no one was going to eat that chicken anyway but it isn't a good example for a master chef to set.  Watching the judges walk around and pick up and put down raw pieces of chicken then move right on to the next cutting board looked pretty unsavory too.  I noticed several contestants just wiping their hands on their aprons.  Yuck.

[preeya]

43 minutes ago, mlp said:

One of the things that always bugs me about MC is that no attention seems to be paid to kitchen hygiene.  Maybe the judges really do wash their hands after handling raw chicken but we never see any sign that they do.  It always looks like Gordon does his demos and then returns to the stage without washing and the same is true when the other judges touch chicken.  Also, in this episode, Gordon was standing right over a raw chicken flamboyantly sharpening his knife.  If he really did that, any metal filings would fall right on the meat.  I don't suppose they would be large enough to actually cause a health issue and no one was going to eat that chicken anyway but it isn't a good example for a master chef to set.  Watching the judges walk around and pick up and put down raw pieces of chicken then move right on to the next cutting board looked pretty unsavory too.  I noticed several contestants just wiping their hands on their aprons.  Yuck.

GR SAID IT:   "SEASON 10 SEASON SALMONELLA"

[preeya]

6 hours ago, displayname said:

I actually do think season 5 was the best, and Leslie is probably my favorite too. Either him or Christine Ha.

I just re-watched two episodes of season 5. I hated Courtney then and I hated her even more today.  GR was totally in love with her and should have given her the trophy (not that she deserved it, IMO) in week #2.

Edited June 22, 2019 by preeya

[KLovestoShop]

Was Noah dragged off the last bus from Deliverance?   He’s nothing but a bad version of every comic book hick.  From the silly headband to his sucking on a toothpick, he belongs on a backwoods version of Mayberry RFD. 

[PhoneCop]

Have the previous winners ever been ranked in terms of popularity with viewers anywhere? It's always seemed to me like Shaun and Courtney are easily the least liked, with Christine, Dino, and...Luca?...the most liked. Claudia might be just above Shaun and Courtney, and then the rest somewhere in between.

Or am I completely off? This is pretty much the only forum where I follow the show in any way and I know we're not entirely representative of the fanbase.

[Rammchick]

Some faux pas:

Aaron: "gluten starches".  Glutens are proteins.

Joe to Wuta: "You're finally showing us you on a plate." Wuta cooked chicken but he's a vegetarian.  How is that him on a plate?

One word about the skinless fried chicken.  I've had that.  There was a take-out fried chicken joint where I used to live in Brooklyn that would make it that way if you requested it.  It's less cholesterol if you don't eat the skin, but kind of a moot point once it's fried.

Edited June 23, 2019 by Rammchick

[galaxychaser]

What chef tries to make skinless fried chicken? Right no chef. 

I can cook better than most of the contestants. 

Wuta stop saying you are a vegetarian 3 times per episode. This. Is . Not. Vegetarian. Master.Chef. 

Learn to cook meat Wuta. 

Noah the giant is annoying and loud. Which means he is not going home any time soon.

[preeya]

12 hours ago, PhoneCop said:

Have the previous winners ever been ranked in terms of popularity with viewers anywhere? It's always seemed to me like Shaun and Courtney are easily the least liked, with Christine, Dino, and...Luca?...the most liked. Claudia might be just above Shaun and Courtney, and then the rest somewhere in between.

Or am I completely off? This is pretty much the only forum where I follow the show in any way and I know we're not entirely representative of the fanbase.

 

Found this site which is truly representative of nothing, but it shows a minimal voting trend for what you're asking.

https://tinyurl.com/y347gp3v

Edited June 23, 2019 by preeya

[PhoneCop]

Thanks! And wow, neither Shaun nor Courtney's at the bottom. Although I wonder if people had simply forgotten Jennifer, because I certainly had. Season 2's almost a complete blank for me.

[MajorWoody]

That pool party episode was a new low. 60 minutes of Hell’s Kitchen Lite, with GR hurling verbal abuse non stop to a group of amateur chefs, who have never worked together or prepared a large scale catered event. Absolutely nothing to do with the stated premise of this show. 

Also, as others have stated, Noah has sunk his ark as far as I am concerned. I thought he might be a humble dude in the first episode, but he comes across after these two as an absolute jerk. 

And I’m not too sure, but is there a former army member in the mix somewhere? 

No matter how many times they say it, this season is neither stunning, amazing, or incredible. 

[preeya]

5 hours ago, MajorWoody said:

That pool party episode was a new low. 60 minutes of Hell’s Kitchen Lite, with GR hurling verbal abuse non stop to a group of amateur chefs, who have never worked together or prepared a large scale catered event. Absolutely nothing to do with the stated premise of this show. 

Also, as others have stated, Noah has sunk his ark as far as I am concerned. I thought he might be a humble dude in the first episode, but he comes across after these two as an absolute jerk. 

And I’m not too sure, but is there a former army member in the mix somewhere? 

No matter how many times they say it, this season is neither stunning, amazing, or incredible. 

But, It's SEASON 10. The biggest and most coveted cooking competition on the planet.  🤣

Edited June 23, 2019 by preeya

[galaxychaser]

Why is Aaron there? He adds nothing. Yes his tattooed green hands are gross.

[preeya]

36 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Why is Aaron there? He adds nothing. Yes his tattooed green hands are gross.

They need three to form a triumvirate.

[PhoneCop]

They could always get Christina back...

What is the least objectionable configuration? The original trio of GR/Graham/Joe?

[preeya]

1 hour ago, PhoneCop said:

They could always get Christina back...

What is the least objectionable configuration? The original trio of GR/Graham/Joe?

I don't think it matters which three are judging, if they would just stick to judging, without failed attempts at being comedians, philosophers, or historians. And without the snide remarks that are sometimes embarrassing and uncalled for.

Edited June 24, 2019 by preeya

[galaxychaser]

Scott from Chopped 

Amanda from Chopped 

Alec from Chopped 

would have made better choices!

[sharifa70]

2 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

Scott from Chopped 

Amanda from Chopped 

Alec from Chopped 

would have made better choices!

I would love to see Scott as a judge. Gordon can yell at them for raw chicken and Scott can have a cow over raw onion. 

[mlp]

I agree that all of the above would be better judges but I doubt that any of them would be willing to sacrifice their integrity to play Gordon's kind of games.

[displayname]

Are the past recaps still available somewhere?

Edited June 24, 2019 by displayname

[TDT]

On 6/22/2019 at 10:14 PM, Rammchick said:

Joe to Wuta: "You're finally showing us you on a plate." Wuta cooked chicken but he's a vegetarian.  How is that him on a plate?

Has Food Network or Cooking Channel trademarked that phrase yet..? Can already see this as the title for some new Chefography-type show:

"I'm (chef name here) and this,is Me*pause..* On A Plate."

[sharifa70]

4 hours ago, TDT said:

Has Food Network or Cooking Channel trademarked that phrase yet..? Can already see this as the title for some new Chefography-type show:

"I'm (chef name here) and this,is Me*pause..* On A Plate."

I keep waiting for someone to say “This is Me On A Plate,” then lift the cloche with a dramatic flourish to reveal....a finger or something.

[Globegrl]

Masterchef US is such a joke compared with Masterchef Australia or Masterchef UK.  Those are all about the food and the cooking with very little, if any, drama.

[preeya]

2 minutes ago, Globegrl said:

Masterchef US is such a joke compared with Masterchef Australia or Masterchef UK.  Those are all about the food and the cooking with very little, if any, drama.

I follow Masterchef Canada and it also falls into the very little drama category.

[luvapickle]

On 6/22/2019 at 3:01 PM, mlp said:

One of the things that always bugs me about MC is that no attention seems to be paid to kitchen hygiene.  Maybe the judges really do wash their hands after handling raw chicken but we never see any sign that they do.  It always looks like Gordon does his demos and then returns to the stage without washing and the same is true when the other judges touch chicken.  Also, in this episode, Gordon was standing right over a raw chicken flamboyantly sharpening his knife.  If he really did that, any metal filings would fall right on the meat.  I don't suppose they would be large enough to actually cause a health issue and no one was going to eat that chicken anyway but it isn't a good example for a master chef to set.  Watching the judges walk around and pick up and put down raw pieces of chicken then move right on to the next cutting board looked pretty unsavory too.  I noticed several contestants just wiping their hands on their aprons.  Yuck.

Hygiene rarely gets noticed on most of these shows. Once in awhile on Chopped, someone will cut themselves, * of course that food goes in the garbage. Or someone will taste with the same mixing spoon. Funny thing is, for the first time they showed health inspection on a show(not including the Impossible series that always deals with it). The Next Food Truck had inspectors from the city they were in, Daytona, & one got nicked & had to pay a fine.

[luvapickle]

On 6/23/2019 at 12:14 AM, Rammchick said:

Some faux pas:

Aaron: "gluten starches".  Glutens are proteins.

Joe to Wuta: "You're finally showing us you on a plate." Wuta cooked chicken but he's a vegetarian.  How is that him on a plate?

One word about the skinless fried chicken.  I've had that.  There was a take-out fried chicken joint where I used to live in Brooklyn that would make it that way if you requested it.  It's less cholesterol if you don't eat the skin, but kind of a moot point once it's fried.

Yes, I've seen the skinless chicken also. But it is fried differently, so that's why it was wrong to do it that way anyways. As for the judges making comments on it being wrong....they do that with many things. And that's because if THEY don't do it, then it's wrong.

On 6/24/2019 at 7:35 AM, TDT said:

Has Food Network or Cooking Channel trademarked that phrase yet..? Can already see this as the title for some new Chefography-type show:

"I'm (chef name here) and this,is Me*pause..* On A Plate."

It's said on Top Chef all the time.

[ML89]

On 6/22/2019 at 4:01 PM, mlp said:

One of the things that always bugs me about MC is that no attention seems to be paid to kitchen hygiene.  Maybe the judges really do wash their hands after handling raw chicken but we never see any sign that they do. 

They discussed this on The Chew when they were in the last month before they went off the air and getting kind of punchy - they said that they did wash their hands, etc, we just didn't see it.

But bringing out the blindfolds and all that nonsense? I would have refused right there and spoiled their little "oh, we weren't serious" moment. 

[preeya]

S10E06 Hot & Spicy

Summary: The Top 17 remaining home cooks compete in a high-pressure mystery box challenge, inspired by special guest Alessandra Ambrosio, for a shot at immunity. When the judges throw the contestants a curve-ball half-way through the challenge, the home cooks need to use all their skills to win. See who is granted immunity, going straight to the Top 15.

And remember this is SEASON TEN!

[preeya]

OMG: A Season TEN twist. "Stop the clock"

[jewel21]

Evan needs to seriously go away. Far, far, away. 

[preeya]

15 minutes ago, jewel21 said:

Evan needs to seriously go away. Far, far, away. 

ITA.

And I don't like this two-day format.

[DoctorK]

33 minutes ago, preeya said:

And I don't like this two-day format.

Agree, this is just padding, more air time means more commercials money.

[Aerobicidal]

Aaron and Gordon are gesturing more vigorously than the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. Stunning.

Alessandra’s amazing curated basket is the most amazing basket in the history of Masterchef. Did I mention she curated it? I haven’t seen such a stunning basket since the heyday of John Holmes.

I’m kind of disappointed Noah and his curated overalls have faded into the background after he was like, “An angel literally came down from heaven. The last time I thought I saw an angel in a septic tank it just turned out to be a wad up Q-Tips with this cross necklace floating above it like a halo.”

“This is season ten—season of surprises.” Season of curation, season of the best of the best, season of the English language being literally ruined, season of salmonella, season of overalls that may or may not be Oshkosh B’Gosh, season of septic angels, season of batter coming out like a crepe.”

Mr. Harvard is getting the best advice Dr. Ruth ever gave. “Spread it out. Spread it out. It may not be hard enough yet.”

I am literally stunned by how disgusting and horrible almost every single dish from the Ambrosio ceviche fantasy challenge looks. At this point, I’m hoping they replace someone with Tonya Harding before this season reaches its halfway point in November because, even if her food was horrible, at least it would bring enraged posters into this ghost town of a thread.

Aaron’s attempt at pronouncing “tempestuous” was stunning. Or maybe he was trying to say Temperpedic or term limits or telekineses. Stunning, regardless.

Bri’s obnoxiousness and braggadocio are so amazing, she should be hired as one of the hosts of this show. In the meantime, I imagine she’ll make the finale but not win, although I may not be alive when that episode airs in March 2025.

Three spots on the balcony and the three judges each had different favorites?!?!? Wow, I am literally stunned. How refreshingly honest and non-contrived.

Tomorrow's elimination challenge will be the "toughest one yet." Yes, Gordon, I trust you on that about as far as I could throw a concert grand piano with Noah perched atop it belting out "Proud to Be an American."

[displayname]

4 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

This is season ten—season of surprises

But not stunning surprises, though? 😕

[NowVoyager]

Why bother to invite Alessandra Ambrosio on the show & not let her taste the food? GRrr was basically like: 'Bye, bitch!' Dang, if I have to watch & smell cooking for an hour or whatever somebody better offer me a bite or else there's gonna be furniture moving!

[GaT]

What was the point of Alessandra Ambrosio? Gordon: "What would you cook, Alessandro?" Alessandro: "I would put salt on the skirt steak & grille it!" Wow, girl, did you think that recipe up all by yourself? Salt AND grilling????? Truly inspired. And then she couldn't even hang around long enough to taste anything.

Evan, you're a moron. You keep talking about impressing the judges, why do you keep arguing with them? 

Noah gets on my nerves, he's such a brownnose. 

[Mellowyellow]

5 hours ago, preeya said:

ITA.

And I don't like this two-day format.

The Aussie version would kill you. 4 days!

Australia has never found a reality show it couldn't stretch out to at least 4 days a week😂

[cameron]

5 hours ago, GaT said:

What was the point of Alessandra Ambrosio? Gordon: "What would you cook, Alessandro?" Alessandro: "I would put salt on the skirt steak & grille it!" Wow, girl, did you think that recipe up all by yourself? Salt AND grilling????? Truly inspired. And then she couldn't even hang around long enough to taste anything.

Evan, you're a moron. You keep talking about impressing the judges, why do you keep arguing with them? 

Noah gets on my nerves, he's such a brownnose. 

Not sure if Evan's arrogance isn't  producer driven.

[luvapickle]

8 hours ago, GaT said:

What was the point of Alessandra Ambrosio? Gordon: "What would you cook, Alessandro?" Alessandro: "I would put salt on the skirt steak & grille it!" Wow, girl, did you think that recipe up all by yourself? Salt AND grilling????? Truly inspired. And then she couldn't even hang around long enough to taste anything.

Evan, you're a moron. You keep talking about impressing the judges, why do you keep arguing with them? 

Noah gets on my nerves, he's such a brownnose. 

I disagree with Evan arguing. If this was a segment where they had to duplicate some crap Gordon just made, then yea. But this was supposed to be about what they would cook & how they cook it. Once he said this is how I do it, & Aaron  gave him a tip. That should have been it. But no, Joe had to keep going at him. If they did the actual teaching portion that the other MC series do, yea-I wouldn't be saying anything to the judges. But it's not. Unfortunately it's the producers telling them, we need drama.

[jcbrown]

"Tepentuous," Aaron? Really? Why do they leave his word salads in the show? Do the editors hate him? (Even if he had been able to pronounce "tempestuous," it would have been a stupid word to use in that context.)

[mlp]

6 hours ago, cameron said:

Not sure if Evan's arrogance isn't  producer driven.

I've actually wondered if he's a plant.  He seems like a smart corporate type so I question that he has so little self-awareness while knowing he's on TV.  An arrogant cook on these competition shows is nothing new but he's so verbal about it that it makes me wonder.

I don't think Aaron is the brightest guy in the world and I also don't think that he knows much above and beyond Mexican cooking.  All his comments sound pretentious and like he's trying WAY too hard.

The model was pretty and seemed nice but she didn't contribute anything besides being decorative.  Watching all the men stare at her was amusing.

Usually there's at least one woman on this show who is a detestable harpy.  So far, I like all of them except the blond with the frizzy hair who just seems out of place, not bitchy, and the other blond who seems impressed with herself but vapid.

[spiderpig]

My two cents on Wednesday's debacle:

WTF bringing a Victoria's Secret model as a food expert on The World's Greatest Culinary Competition?  And having one of the 17 best home cooks in the US opening the box and saying she'd never worked wirh skirt steak/shrimp/red snapper...(major face palm).

Then there was that dingbat Bri who was excited about Brazilian ingredients because she majored in Spanish.  Kill me now.

I have no horses in this race, but I do have several that I wish (figuratively - I am an animal lover) to be humanely destroyed.  Like Ms. Hash-Browns-on-top-of-her-head and Ms. I-only-cook-curry-at-home-because-my-husband's-Indian.  And the ever-popular Evean that we all know is a producer plant.

This is the worst season ever, but I keep watching to see whether they achieve Marianas Trench depths.

[preeya]

25 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

My two cents on Wednesday's debacle:

WTF bringing a Victoria's Secret model as a food expert on The World's Greatest Culinary Competition?  And having one of the 17 best home cooks in the US opening the box and saying she'd never worked wirh skirt steak/shrimp/red snapper...(major face palm).

Then there was that dingbat Bri who was excited about Brazilian ingredients because she majored in Spanish.  Kill me now.  🤣

I have no horses in this race, but I do have several that I wish (figuratively - I am an animal lover) to be humanely destroyed.  Like Ms. Hash-Browns-on-top-of-her-head and Ms. I-only-cook-curry-at-home-because-my-husband's-Indian.  And the ever-popular Evean that we all know is a producer plant.

This is the worst season ever, but I keep watching to see whether they achieve Marianas Trench depths.

4

And then there was this:

Edited June 27, 2019 by preeya

[spiderpig]

41 minutes ago, preeya said:

And then there was this:

My eyes!  My eyes!

[OoogleEyes]

Is it my TV or did Gordon look positively orange this episode?

[jcbrown]

19 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

Is it my TV or did Gordon look positively orange this episode?

Oompa loompa doompety doo...

[Samwise979]

She probably didn't want to eat any of their dishes.