Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[Such A Flirt]

I liked the guests (and watching Gordon cook), but I felt the episode was just stressful. Like, it's not supposed to be a race! I watch TV to relax!

I wish for Autumn to win, but it's not bloody likely with Courtney 2.0, i.e. Kelsey. At least I hope they won't have Autumn mistaking sugar for salt or vice-versa.

[Yeah No]

21 hours ago, Leeds said:

Can you explain what is superficial about being vegan?

Absolutely nothing if what you think I meant is that being a vegan is superficial in the sense of being shallow or lacking in depth.  I used "superficial" to indicate its external surface aspects, such as those pertaining to food choices.  I can understand the motivations behind being vegan, but the external behavioral changes I'd have to make if I restricted my diet that much are not for me.

Capiche?

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

On 9/9/2021 at 12:07 PM, Mrs. Hanson said:

I have a hunch, and it is only a hunch:  Autumn will win.  It is has been edited and portrayed that Kelsey is the shoo in but I don't know.......I just have a feeling.  Autumn pulled some out  some pretty impressive meals that wowed the judges.

I will be doing virtual somersaults like Jake Blues in the Blues Brothers if she or Suu wins. But I'm pretty sure that there's no chance.

Me too but I'm not so sure Autumn won't win.  I'm not that pessimistic.  Of the three of them I'm still rooting for Autumn despite the rumors about her asking someone on SM how to get a fake vaccine card.  I tend not to judge someone based on rumors anyway.

[Mrs. Hanson]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Me too but I'm not so sure Autumn won't win.  I'm not that pessimistic.  Of the three of them I'm still rooting for Autumn despite the rumors about her asking someone on SM how to get a fake vaccine card.  I tend not to judge someone based on rumors anyway.

It just seems like Kelsey is the Chosen One, that is all!

[seacliffsal]

I really enjoy watching the chefs demonstrate their skills and agree with others that is was quite a challenge for the contestants to keep up with them.  Overall, I thought the contestants did well and think the right three made it to the finale.  I am really impressed with Autumn's ability to keep up with the challenges despite her broken foot (six bones she said) and having to use crutches (truth be told, I find just having to use crutches to be enough of a challenge [am so glad I only fractured my foot one time as that was enough with crutches!]).  

I always, always, always love it when I get to see Gordon cook (and the way he can filet a fish-swoon), so was extremely glad he was one of the featured chefs in this episode.

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I really enjoy watching the chefs demonstrate their skills and agree with others that is was quite a challenge for the contestants to keep up with them.  Overall, I thought the contestants did well and think the right three made it to the finale.  I am really impressed with Autumn's ability to keep up with the challenges despite her broken foot (six bones she said) and having to use crutches (truth be told, I find just having to use crutches to be enough of a challenge [am so glad I only fractured my foot one time as that was enough with crutches!]).  

I always, always, always love it when I get to see Gordon cook (and the way he can filet a fish-swoon), so was extremely glad he was one of the featured chefs in this episode.

I agree.  I don't think he gets enough credit for being a great chef and not just a TV personality who is usually portrayed as a d*ck.

[Leeds]

16 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Absolutely nothing if what you think I meant is that being a vegan is superficial in the sense of being shallow or lacking in depth.  I used "superficial" to indicate its external surface aspects, such as those pertaining to food choices.  I can understand the motivations behind being vegan, but the external behavioral changes I'd have to make if I restricted my diet that much are not for me.

Capiche?

Nope.

[jcbrown]

I am on Team Suu.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

It just seems like Kelsey is the Chosen One, that is all!

I don't see her that way.  I see just as much reason to think that Amber or Suu will win.  Plus the one that looks like the chosen one doesn't always win.  Sometimes it's the perceived underdog or the one with the best back story.

[Totale]

On 9/9/2021 at 12:56 PM, Yeah No said:

I wonder if Suzette Gresham replaced Joe's mom Lidia Bastianich as the "legend" this episode.  If this was filmed post-Covid perhaps Lidia might have backed out.  No disrespect to Suzette but I would consider Lidia more of a culinary legend than she is.  Her name was only vaguely familiar to me going into this episode and I've been around a long time following the culinary world.  

We were thinking the same thing.  Didn't they call her "The Queen of Italian cuisine" or something close to that?  I don't know how retired Lidia might be, though.

Edited September 12, 2021 by Totale

[GHScorpiosRule]

Finally got caught up on the last five? episodes. Really, last three weeks' worth of shows since they were all two hours long; my dvr is weird. It recorded the two hours in the same recording and then also recorded the second hour as a separate episode.

All I can say is I want the show to have Gordon show contestants how to cook one dish at least three times in a season.

Whaaaat?

[Yeah No]

On 9/11/2021 at 8:27 PM, Leeds said:

Nope.

Well what can I say, then?  I'm not a bullshit artist.  I have in the past envied people that can give up meat.  I, however am not one of them.  My body revolts if I don't eat meat, I've tried it.  It may work for some people but my particular body will not tolerate it.  I tend to be on the anemic side despite eating animal protein, and even after menopause have to take iron supplements.  I also struggle to maintain B12 and zinc which are harder to come by without meat.  And as I get older (I'm 63) it gets harder for me to maintain them even with supplements.  We're all different from a medical perspective.  I've had to make my peace with eating meat.  So while I admire the philosophy behind being vegetarian or vegan I know first hand that it may not work for everyone.

[Rai]

Suzette Gresham was BOSS. I admit, I haven't heard of her (and I've heard of most of the chefs on this season), and I now am obsessed. The way she put together that dish was amazing. Stunning even!

Right top three, IMO. I'm rooting for Autumn and Suu the most, but no shade to Kelsey if she wins. She does seem very accomplished and the most cool on the fake line. That said, this is probably not the show for me overall. Gave it a go because I really like the Canadian panel, and Ramsay has turned out to be less of a terror than I expected, but it's just not clicking with me the way I'd hoped.

I'm sure it won't mourn my absence, though.

[eel21788]

On 9/11/2021 at 12:30 PM, seacliffsal said:

I really enjoy watching the chefs demonstrate their skills and agree with others that is was quite a challenge for the contestants to keep up with them.  Overall, I thought the contestants did well

In my opinion since 3 of the 4 steaks were undercooked, the demonstrator probably didn't give them as much time as they needed for the dish. However, it was considered to be the contestants' error, not hers.

Did anyone cut into the demonstrator's steak to see if it had made it to medium-rare?

Edited September 14, 2021 by eel21788

[mamadrama]

5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Well what can I say, then?  I'm not a bullshit artist.  I have in the past envied people that can give up meat.  I, however am not one of them.  My body revolts if I don't eat meat, I've tried it.  It may work for some people but my particular body will not tolerate it.  I tend to be on the anemic side despite eating animal protein, and even after menopause have to take iron supplements.  I also struggle to maintain B12 and zinc which are harder to come by without meat.  And as I get older (I'm 63) it gets harder for me to maintain them even with supplements.  We're all different from a medical perspective.  I've had to make my peace with eating meat.  So while I admire the philosophy behind being vegetarian or vegan I know first hand that it may not work for everyone.

I understood what you meant. You were using the "surface level/outside"  definition of "superficial", not the "fake" one. 😊

[Mrs. Hanson]

Is tonight the final episode?  Is it two hours?

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

Is tonight the final episode?  Is it two hours?

Yes, and yes.

[preeya]

My picks for tonight: Kelsey (only because she seems like the chosen one since the beginning)  #2 - Autumn  #3 - Suu.

I'll be rooting for Suu for the upset, although I wouldn't be unhappy if Autumn pulled the upset of Kelsey.

[Suzysite]

Well, that seemed like a foregone conclusion.  

[SHERMDOG]

Ugh...9f CORSE KELSEY wins..blech...I was rooting for Autumn or Suu!! Of course not. I called it 3 weeks ago. She can do no wrong. Sucks..ok..I'm done ranting.

[mlp]

I'm glad that's over.  I was meh on all three of them but pulling for Suu because I liked Kelsey and Autumn less.  All three of them did seem to make impressive dishes in the time they had available.  I wonder how much time actually elapses because they obviously clean and reorganize between courses.

The finale seemed lackluster with no one around.  

I was wishing someone would tell Anne to cool it.  Her "enthusiasm" just grates.

That little Lucite trophy is sort of an embarrassment.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Aw, I was cheering for Suu.

Anne was more nervous than the people competing.  Her constant screaming, oh my god.  I thought she was going to die.  She wanted it for Kelsey way way way way too much.

Did they even let Abe speak once?  I felt bad for the kid.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 9/14/2021 at 11:06 AM, Rai said:

That said, this is probably not the show for me overall. Gave it a go because I really like the Canadian panel, and Ramsay has turned out to be less of a terror than I expected, but it's just not clicking with me the way I'd hoped.

I'm sure it won't mourn my absence, though.

I know exactly what you mean.  This is the first year I gave this show a try, and I understand that this season has been different, thanks to you all, but............ I don't know how I feel about tuning in again.  I think it's too technical for me.  I like learning more about meals and food and the contestants.  Instead it's more like learning about tests and judge criteria.  It's kind of dry and boring for me that way.  The show is scared to have too much personality.  

[mertensia]

2 hours ago, SHERMDOG said:

Ugh...9f CORSE KELSEY wins..blech...I was rooting for Autumn or Suu!! Of course not. I called it 3 weeks ago. She can do no wrong. Sucks..ok..I'm done ranting.

Remember, **she** doesn't just draw from one cuisine.

Masterchef has a lot of winners I can't stand. It's like a gift of theirs. I hate them for that.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I tried to put away my dislike for Kelsey as much as I could, and I actually managed to fool myself that they were potentially going to choose Suu or Autumn at various points. It seemed like Joe was jocking hard for Suu. 

And it also seemed like they found more stuff wrong with Kelsey's dishes other than the appetizer than they generally did either for other winners or for her in previous episodes.

But maybe I was turning a blind eye to the emphasis on how much Kelsey sacrificed and how she's such a wonderful mother and to compete while pregnant means that she can turn water into wine. 

Oh well. There's always next season.

Incidentally, Kelsey gives this post-win interview and this one. She doesn't say much exciting IMO. She  quit her job as a physical therapist and is potentially looking to do more food TV stuff and is part of some sort of partnership with GrubHub. She does say she got Covid, so even I feel bad for her on that. 

Was I slow, by the way? I don't remember Autumn cooking a lot of Japanese stuff during the season. Her thing, it seemed to me, was always "I'm from Bahstan so I will make X" or "I'm Italian so I will make Italian food."

Also, I assume the Viking appliance people were not so psyched about what I assume to be one of their ovens failing during the finale, even if it was not the fault of their brand.

[Mrs. Hanson]

9 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Aw, I was cheering for Suu.

Anne was more nervous than the people competing.  Her constant screaming, oh my god.  I thought she was going to die.  She wanted it for Kelsey way way way way too much.

I kinda was, too.  I bet Anne will find a way to cling to Kelsey via social media or some other platform.  She realizes she is not up to snuff compared to Kelsey and will suck up to work alongside her someday.  I think she is a good cook, but as someone else said, she probably has three or four dishes that are REALLY good and that is what got her on the show.  In all fairness, Kelsey was consistently good.

[Totale]

When they were killing time / padding it out showing bits from earlier in the season, they included the results of the first week's competition, where the top three were Suu, Autumn and Kelsey.  Thanks for showing up to catch cannonballs, other seven.

Stunning legendary show can't afford to pay help to plug in the ovens. 

[hookedontv]

10 hours ago, mlp said:

I was wishing someone would tell Anne to cool it.  Her "enthusiasm" just grates.

I was so annoyed by Anne's wailing and cheering, etc. All I kept thinking was "ATTENTION SEEKER." 

By the finale, I frankly didn't care who won. I was very "meh" on the whole season.

$250k is a great prize I must say. Although they never say $250k on this or Hell's Kitchen, it's always "a quarter of a million dollars" lol. 

[fishcakes]

At the end, I thought Autumn would win, since the judges said the best dish in each round was Autumn's canape, Kelsey's appetizer, and Suu's entree, and then both Gordon and Aaron thought Autumn's dessert was perfect and that Kelsey's had a couple of issues. So I was a little surprised that it was Kelsey, but overall I don't care. I was pulling for Suu but didn't expect her to win. They probably don't choose the winner based on the finale night dishes alone, and Kelsey has been the most consistent, although personally I find her food the least interesting of the the three.

Pretty dull season. I hope next time they're able to go back to the more varied format. Even if they can't do the team competitions where they're cooking for large groups, they can at least bring back the mystery box/dreaded pressure test. This season, it's pretty much been just "you have an hour to cook something. Go."

Edited September 16, 2021 by fishcakes

[bluepiano]

2 hours ago, hookedontv said:

I was so annoyed by Anne's wailing and cheering, etc. All I kept thinking was "ATTENTION SEEKER." 

Totally. That was a bad idea to have the eliminated contestants be a peanut gallery. Their comments were obtrusive and added nothing. You could see who had the biggest egos by how much they talked. Anne, Alejandro, Tay. (actually, he talked constantly at the beginning and then calmed down.) At one point, one of the judges asked Alejandro for a commentary, as if he were also a judge. Stoked his ego but did nothing for the show. Abe, who had been my favorite, said nothing the whole night. Much to his credit.

I don't begrudge Kelsey the win. Apparently she has some advanced technical skills that impressed GR and several of the "legends." Makes me wonder if she actually attended culinary school and they didn't tell us, in order to promote the "midwestern Mom home cook" story line.

I think one of the reasons Kelsey won is that Autumn and Suu did menus that were specifically focused on one cuisine, which the producers might've thought the public couldn't relate to. (If anyone cares, there hasn't been a "Burma" since 1989, when the country's name was changed to Myanmar. Can't fault Suu though for using the traditional name, which most people from there probably still relate to.)

When did they stop giving the winner a cookbook? That changed the show, because we stopped hearing all the time about culinary POV. Though I guess in the final we did get three distinct POVs. A cookbook on Burmese cuisine might've been pretty cool.

Edited September 16, 2021 by bluepiano

[GaT]

11 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Was I slow, by the way? I don't remember Autumn cooking a lot of Japanese stuff during the season. Her thing, it seemed to me, was always "I'm from Bahstan so I will make X" or "I'm Italian so I will make Italian food."

I was confused by that too, it seemed like a massive change to me.

As usual, the finale was just loaded with filler, they could probably cut out half an hour if they just stopped repeating the last scene before commercial breaks when they come back from the commercial.

[bluepiano]

11 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Was I slow, by the way? I don't remember Autumn cooking a lot of Japanese stuff during the season. Her thing, it seemed to me, was always "I'm from Bahstan so I will make X" or "I'm Italian so I will make Italian food."

She had mentioned her travels to Japan and love of Japanese food, but you're right, it was not a huge emphasis in her cooking. A couple of times she did something Japanese or Japanese influenced, but she did way more Italian or "New England" cooking. I can only think it was something the producers encouraged her to do in the finale. Well, at least we didn't have to listen to Joe lecture her on proper Italian cooking and over-pronounce everything.

5 hours ago, Totale said:

When they were killing time / padding it out showing bits from earlier in the season, they included the results of the first week's competition, where the top three were Suu, Autumn and Kelsey.   

OMG, a lot padding. But the 2 hour finale of Hells Kitchen was worse, as they spent about 20 minutes interviewing the finalist's families and gave us stunning, amazing shots of Gordon in his office silently contemplating his choice for winner.

I'm far from a vegetarian, but I thought Suu's appetizer with baby octopus was kind of gross, as you could see the entire bodies of the animals. And they were BABIES!

Edited September 16, 2021 by bluepiano

[h2ogirl]

Most of any enjoyment I had watching the finale was negated by Ann, who I wanted to stuff into an oven. What an absolute nightmare attention whore of a person. 

[eel21788]

On 9/15/2021 at 9:24 PM, SHERMDOG said:

Ugh...9f CORSE KELSEY wins..blech...I was rooting for Autumn or Suu!! Of course not. I called it 3 weeks ago. She can do no wrong. Sucks..ok..I'm done ranting.

She got the most criticism on all her dishes except the appetizer. How did she win???

Edited September 17, 2021 by eel21788

[eel21788]

6 hours ago, fishcakes said:

They probably don't choose the winner based on the finale night dishes alone, and Kelsey has been the most consistent, although personally I find her food the least interesting of the the three.

She had a few wins, but she also was in the bottom a couple of times. Autumn had one win but was never in the bottom. I think Autumn was the more consistent of the two.

[eel21788]

5 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I don't begrudge Kelsey the win. Apparently she has some advanced technical skills that impressed GR and several of the "legends." Makes me wonder if she actually attended culinary school and they didn't tell us, in order to promote the "midwestern Mom home cook" story line.

I didn't think people who had been to culinary school were allowed to compete. The criteria for applying disappeared from their website, so I don't know that for sure.

[DoctorK]

3 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I thought Suu's appetizer with baby octopus was kind of gross, as you could see the entire bodies of the animals.

Me too, especially since one of the judges dinged her for not removing the beaks which could be a really unpleasant surprise to anyone biting down. By the way was she the chef who didn't de-vein the shrimp? That was beyond creepy, well into the icky range.

[bluepiano]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

She got the most criticism on all her dishes except the appetizer. How did she wins???

The judges' comments on all these shows need to be taken with a grain of salt. They can be edited after the fact to fake out the audience. Happens all the time on Chopped, where the chef who  seemed to get the most praise in a round gets sent home.

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

I didn't think people who had been to culinary school were allowed to compete. The criteria for applying disappeared from their website, so I don't know that for sure.

I don't remember hearing that. I think they just can't have been a professional chef. Lots of people go to culinary school and then don't pursue cooking professionally.

58 minutes ago, DoctorK said:

Me too, especially since one of the judges dinged her for not removing the beaks which could be a really unpleasant surprise to anyone biting down. 

Ugh. Forgot that. Who knew an octopus even had a beak? Well, I've never eaten one and have no plans to.

Edited September 16, 2021 by bluepiano

[preeya]

Well that's a wrap. See ya again next season.

[Leeds]

Guest chef "He's British.  They don't eat a lot of spicy food over there."  You mean apart from the fact that the number one take-out food is probably curry?  And Americans equate spicy food with Sriracha?

And who was that "legendary" chef and his ridiculous beard that I wouldn't want to be picking hairs from out of my food?

Edited September 17, 2021 by Leeds

[DoctorK]

3 minutes ago, Leeds said:

You mean apart from the fact that the number one take-out food is probably curry?

My first Trip to Germany I would have thought the national dish was the doner kabob. National dishes change over time. 😊

[Leeds]

Aaron:  "She's going with this jiggly cheesecake."  What the . . . . ?

[Ms Blue Jay]

9 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Makes me wonder if she actually attended culinary school and they didn't tell us, in order to promote the "midwestern Mom home cook" story line.

I am wondering similar

9 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I think one of the reasons Kelsey won is that Autumn and Suu did menus that were specifically focused on one cuisine, which the producers might've thought the public couldn't relate to. (If anyone cares, there hasn't been a "Burma" since 1989, when the country's name was changed to Myanmar. Can't fault Suu though for using the traditional name, which most people from there probably still relate to.)

Just the opposite I would think it would be incredibly easy to relate to.  You have to market yourself somehow and I think it's more than fair that every chef has a "hook".  Bobby Flay is known for doing Southwestern food just as an example.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, bluepiano said:

The judges' comments on all these shows need to be taken with a grain of salt. They can be edited after the fact to fake out the audience. Happens all the time on Chopped, where the chef who  seemed to get the most praise in a round gets sent home.

Interesting that you say it's to fake out the audience!  I assumed it was to justify bad/obviously biased/corrupt decisions to the audience.

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

Aaron:  "She's going with this jiggly cheesecake."  What the . . . . ?

Sorry, I think I'm missing the issue.  That's what the dish is called.

[theatremouse]

Autumn: I'm doing a sort of fusion of Japanese and Italian.

ten seconds later

Kelsey: Unlike the other two, I'm not just doing one cuisine.

Me: Um....

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Pretty dull season. I hope next time they're able to go back to the more varied format. Even if they can't do the team competitions where they're cooking for large groups, they can at least bring back the mystery box/dreaded pressure test. This season, it's pretty much been just "you have an hour to cook something. Go."

I agree.  Top Chef found ways to continue doing team competitions post-Covid so maybe they will too.  I am always complaining about them getting rid of the pressure test.  I don't understand why they did.  This was probably the first season I really didn't care who won although I did have a ranking order which was Autumn, then Suu then Kelsey.  

I think this season was also lackluster because it looks like they're trying to cut back on the drama a bit, probably in response to public reaction on social media.  Nobody liked angry mean Joe and contestants having friction.  Everybody said they liked other countries' MasterChef better because there was less drama and more focus on the food.  So I think that they were trying to copy that a bit.  Unfortunately it coincided with the loss of some of the other interesting aspects of the show like the team challenges outdoors, etc.  Plus whenever we Americans try to cut down on the drama we end up with boring instead because we just don't know how to be a normal yet interesting happy medium.

[bluepiano]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Just the opposite I would think it would be incredibly easy to relate to.  You have to market yourself somehow and I think it's more than fair that every chef has a "hook".  Bobby Flay is known for doing Southwestern food just as an example.  

But most Americans can relate to southwestern food, which is heavy on meat. I think a lot fewer Americans can relate to Asian cuisine. (I mean real Asian food, not Americanized Chinese.) And many people are adverse to spice. Even GR made a comment during judging about how much heat there was in all of Suu's dishes.

Edited September 17, 2021 by bluepiano

[Rai]

Chef with beard is Michael Cimarusti, who's been on Top Chef a number of times. I gather seafood is his thang, and he worked under Jonathan Waxman in his youth. A two-Michelin star restaurant is nothing to sneeze at, and I tend to find his comments on Top Chef thoughtful.

I watched season 10 on Hulu to get a sense of what a "regular" season of MasterChef US is like, and I didn't enjoy it (plus, Subha. TF). I don't like yelling Ramsay, I don't like mean Joe, and I don't like the lack of focus on the cooking techniques themselves. Also, a regular season is SO LONG. And the deliberation acting is terrible. One more scrubbing of the eyes from the judges, I'm gonna scream.

I really enjoyed the more technical aspects of this season, and it was fun seeing some former Top Cheftestants come in as masters. I do think in both seasons Kelsey's and Dorian's talents were highly telegraphed throughout, so it wasn't a surprise at either season that they won. What I will say about Kelsey's menu is that she may have called it technique-driven, and euro-influenced, and so on, but what she was doing was clearly neoclassical cooking. Which is what Ramsay has built his empire on. She definitely was the favorite with that direction alone.

My favorite challenge is cooking to keep up with Ramsay and other chefs. That really examines the techniques needed to create a dish, and is also key to someone's training if they're aspiring to go pro. The line is fast and requires focus. It's a very fascinating insight into the difference between a good home dish and a restaurant-quality dish.

I don't know why I like the Canadian version and not this version. Maybe it's more sincere? Less overly produced? I mean, I'm a fan of Chopped and Top Chef, so I'm not against production manipulation. I guess it'll remain a mystery, but again, I'm sure Ramsay will gallivant on without me.

If NOTHING ELSE, the word "stunning" has become hilarious, and that's definitely a gain in my book!
 

[BrainyBlonde]

I felt like it was anybody's game going into the finale and I was rooting for all three ladies. Unfortunately, I knew Suu was out of the game when she screwed up the cook on the baby octopus (AND left the beaks on - shudder!) and Autumn messed up by undercooking her risotto (after Joe warned her she was waiting too long to start it!). Overall, Kelsey seemed to have the best meal and didn't do anything horribly wrong, so it was her night.

I know Kelsey had a bit of a Tracy Flick thing going on all season, which turned off some viewers and I totally get it. I, for one, was impressed by how she powered through some serious obstacles with her health in the latter half of the season. She cut her finger so badly in the team challenge that she later needed surgery, but she kept on cooking and it was Autumn who had a complete meltdown about the blood. Kelsey was also pregnant and according to that interview linked above was really sick with her pregnancy and had Covid during the hiatus, which is a difficult illness to bounce back from. So, I really just admire her fortitude. And she did put out some really pretty dishes that I'd want to eat.

It is odd that they dropped having a cookbook published from the Grand Prize package. I wonder if previous ones didn't sell well. Interesting that Kelsey's plan for her culinary career moving forward is not to open a restaurant, but to establish a brand via a YouTube channel, etc. I think that's smart as so many restaurants are struggling these days and she has three small kids at home, so she doesn't have the time and energy needed to run and/or cook at a restaurant.

[Leeds]

2 hours ago, BrainyBlonde said:

I know Kelsey had a bit of a Tracy Flick thing going on all season, which turned off some viewers and I totally get it. I, for one, was impressed by how she powered through some serious obstacles with her health in the latter half of the season. She cut her finger so badly in the team challenge that she later needed surgery, but she kept on cooking and it was Autumn who had a complete meltdown about the blood. Kelsey was also pregnant and according to that interview linked above was really sick with her pregnancy and had Covid during the hiatus, which is a difficult illness to bounce back from. So, I really just admire her fortitude. And she did put out some really pretty dishes that I'd want to eat.

It is odd that they dropped having a cookbook published from the Grand Prize package. I wonder if previous ones didn't sell well. Interesting that Kelsey's plan for her culinary career moving forward is not to open a restaurant, but to establish a brand via a YouTube channel, etc. I think that's smart as so many restaurants are struggling these days and she has three small kids at home, so she doesn't have the time and energy needed to run and/or cook at a restaurant.

Tracy Flick?  Who's that?  Should I care?

Book sales have dropped tremendously not only because of the ease of access of recipes over the Internet but also now because of Coronavirus.