Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[fishcakes]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I guess I'm the only one that was sorry to see Stephen go.  It looked like he completely forgot the gelatin..

What I didn't understand was that he put the panna cotta in the blast freezer, so if he had forgotten the gelatin, the rest of the mixture should have frozen fairly solid. It shouldn't have still been as liquid as it was when he first took it out. So I thought maybe he did put gelatin in and something was wrong with the freezer, but Amanda was also standing next to it when Stephen took his dishes out, so I think she had used it as well. I suppose if there's a long lag time between calling time and the judges' tasting, then it could have melted, but it didn't look at all frozen to me when he took it out.

[iwantcookies]

Most of the contestants are in the food industry. Plating 3 identical plates should not be a big deal. 

Edited June 19, 2022 by iwantcookies

[Colorado David]

Aaron taking a shot at 'it tastes like that restaurant that gives you free bread' (for the italian dish).  What's the prob with free bread??? I'll take whatever freebies a restaurant wants to give me, as long as its not old food.

Agree with cookies, 3 plates identical shouldn't be an issue, that's just a single table typically. 3 diverse plates would be a lot more challenging.

Tommy dear sir, what was the meltdown? It doesn't look like a hard dish to fix at all.  I did like the idea of putting the chorizo in for flavor, but yeah it's probably gonna dry the burger out getting it cooked thoroughly.

How long does that immunity pin remain in effect? The other 2 chefs went up to the balcony too and so were immune this round, so I'm cornfused on what the extra bonus is. Do they hold onto it and get to play it whenever?

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Colorado David said:

Aaron taking a shot at 'it tastes like that restaurant that gives you free bread' (for the italian dish).  What's the prob with free bread??? I'll take whatever freebies a restaurant wants to give me, as long as its not old food.

Agree with cookies, 3 plates identical shouldn't be an issue, that's just a single table typically. 3 diverse plates would be a lot more challenging.

Tommy dear sir, what was the meltdown? It doesn't look like a hard dish to fix at all.  I did like the idea of putting the chorizo in for flavor, but yeah it's probably gonna dry the burger out getting it cooked thoroughly.

How long does that immunity pin remain in effect? The other 2 chefs went up to the balcony too and so were immune this round, so I'm cornfused on what the extra bonus is. Do they hold onto it and get to play it whenever?

The problem isn't free bread, per se. It's a thinly veiled dis of Olive Garden, famous for unlimited soup and breadsticks. And we all know that fine dining pasta should be better than Olive Garden-variety pasta. 

I googled chorizo burger, and there seemingly were a number of recipes so the judges' reaction seems like it was over the top.

The top three were deemed safe this week, but the immunity pinholder, I think,  gets to sit out the next challenge as well. 

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The top three were deemed safe this week, but the immunity pinholder, I think,  gets to sit out the next challenge as well. 

I don't think they sit out the next challenge; they're just safe from elimination.  If they compete, they might win the pin again!!!

[Colorado David]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The problem isn't free bread, per se. It's a thinly veiled dis of Olive Garden, famous for unlimited soup and breadsticks. And we all know that fine dining pasta should be better than Olive Garden-variety pasta. 

sniff...but i like unlimited soup and breadsticks....😔...to go with my bad pasta and crayon tabletops....

[DEL901]

Happy for Fred.    Thought for sure Tommy was going home after being in the bottom two weeks in a row, but I guess the blonde not actually baking her dish and then trying to sell it as deconstructed didn’t fool,anyone.   

[mertensia]

Oh what a surprise a minor has issues cooking with booze.

Won't miss Cate.

Tommy is gone next week if he doesn't step it up.

[cameron]

Have never seen  phyllo dough look anything at all like what Fred presented on his plate.  Normally it's so thin that you can see through it.  Fred's looked like little crackers or biscuits instead.

Just looked up the recipe for phyllo dough.  No way could he have turned it out in the one hour that they had.  Producer driven drama.

Edited June 23, 2022 by cameron

[rhofmovalley]

Aww, Fred! I have a soft spot for Fred. His awkward stance, his surprised reaction when they like his food, the way he wants to hug everyone. He reminds me a bit of my son in law, so maybe that's a part of it.

His website and Insta show his mastery of plating, although his desserts aren't the kind you dive into and will get "full" from. Just pretty plates.

I felt bad for Dara. Poor kid, although I admonished her in my mind when she cursed lol.

[iwantcookies]

Tommy is going home next! 

[Chyromaniac]

I didn’t catch a ton of the cooking because I was too busy playing “mystery liquor,” trying to ID the greeked brands by the various descriptions and bottle shapes.  I’m pretty sure the Raspberry was Chambord, Disaronno for the Amaretto/Almond, the Cognac looked like Courvoisier, and the Gin bottle was blue so Bombay Sapphire.  Based on the bottles, I’d guess the Tequila was Cazadores, and the Scotch was Glenlivet.

Then things get tricky- I don’t think there’s a super well known brand for Mezcal, Apple Brandy or Limoncello (which tbh, I think many people who drink it make their own) - and there are too many options for the Bourbon and Rum.  They must’ve either used a generic Hazelnut Liqueur, or swapped out the Frangelico bottle.  Anise can be a bunch of things, from Absinthe to Ouzo.  The same goes for Herbal Liqueur - iirc, that can refer to a lot of different spirits from a bunch of places.  Maybe Jäger?

[KLovestoShop]

This episode was really gross.  It’s like any of these people have ever cooked before.  And then when they dropped the tray of meat on the floor, and Alejandro put them back on the grill, I nearly lost it.  And then to have the balls to tell Gordon that the heat would kill the bacteria, that was really 🤮barf inducing.  I’m not sure I would ever hire Alejandro in my restaurant.  

[eel21788]

On 6/16/2022 at 6:55 PM, iwantcookies said:

Gabe I have high hopes for! 

Is he even still on the show? I haven't noticed him in the last two episodes.

[mertensia]

They should have booted Alejandro from the show on the spot.

[Leeds]

Christian:  "If you want to do tri-color peppers, don't use yellow, just use red and green."

Some of the ridiculousness and stupidity of the show may be producer driven, but some of it you just can't make up.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Leeds

[Chicago Redshirt]

I will give it to the editors. I thought that it was likely that Team Christian was going to lose because of the focus on how people didn't like Christian's team leadership. Then there was the floor steak thing, and I wondered if somehow Alejandro survived it.

I am sorry but I can't believe that there wasn't producer manipulation to result in a 71-30 vote against steak. Unless the steak was seriously poorly cooked, I'm pretty sure that the average group of middle-class American types is going to have a default far in favor of steak. 

Boy, I will never get tired of the obligatory military/police/firefighter salute episode./sarcasm

[rhofmovalley]

I think Christian was trying to act like "Hell's Kitchen" Gordon Ramsay.

And he was rewarded for it, so...

[mlp]

This show is just full of manipulation.  Does anyone really believe that Gordon actually pilots/drives all the vehicles he shows up in every year?  I swear a few of the diners' comments were dubbed in.  There was one who sent a steak back who had a very female voice but Joe called him "Sir" and he had a man's haircut.  There was another after that, also male in appearance, who had the same female voice.  

Also, the contestant who has half her head shaved and the other half bleached was running around for most of the show with her hair hanging over the food.  Then, near the end, she suddenly had it up in a topknot.  By the end, it was down again.  The sequences and/or time intervals are not what we're supposed to believe.  

I suspected that Christian's team would win when he was carrying on all out of character.  IMO He was put up to that. 

[seacliffsal]

I think one of the problems with these team challenges is that very few people step up to be team leader.  Alejandro was the only one who was willing to do it, so shouldn't the team share in the responsibility of the loss as they willingly put him in the position as they didn't want it?  I think Alejandro was willing to step up to help his team even though he should have never done so.  

Christian came out of the gate too strong and there was a bit of push back against him.  I thought the potatoes would be a bigger deal.  I, too, thought steak would win and thought it was risky to choose fish.

Again, they tried to create drama between Emily and Shanika.  Yes, Shanika gave the obligatory interview saying Emily was bossy, but they worked well together.  I hope the producers figure out that the animosity ship has sailed and they are not going to get that drama this season.

I liked Alejandro and am sorry to see him go, but he was in way over his head and there was no coming back from that.

[eel21788]

12 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I am sorry but I can't believe that there wasn't producer manipulation to result in a 71-30 vote against steak.

Especially since when Gordon was going table to table, the vote was split more 70/30 or 60/40 in the other direction.

[rhofmovalley]

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Especially since when Gordon was going table to table, the vote was split more 70/30 or 60/40 in the other direction.

And Joe told the guardsmen who said they liked the steak better that they could change their minds.

They wanted someone on the red team out, is my guess

[eel21788]

16 minutes ago, rhofmovalley said:

And Joe told the guardsmen who said they liked the steak better that they could change their minds.

They wanted someone on the red team out, is my guess

More likely, after Alejandro's major faux pas, the judges wanted to make sure he didn't survive on a technicality.

[Trey]

4 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

 Alejandro's major faux pas

Yeah, that was pretty bad.  You can do that at home but not on a cooking show.

I was also really ticked at Christian about the potatoes - putting the potatoes in cold water, negating the work the team had done already and then his lame ass apology at the end of the show.

I was surprised so many voted for the cod over the steak but it was supposed to be about which was prepared better, not which you would normally choose for a dinner.

[Colorado David]

I love a good steak anytime, but fish might sway me if it's done really well with some nice sides. And very dependent on the last time I had a steak.

NO EARTHLY IDEA where Alejandro thought this was something that you could get away with. It has NEVER been acceptable, much less on a tv cooking competition. 5 second rule at home sure, at a professional establishment, never. and he didn't stand out as a team leader either.

sending out raw cod, why? so dang easy to check doneness. 

[rhofmovalley]

21 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

More likely, after Alejandro's major faux pas, the judges wanted to make sure he didn't survive on a technicality.

I'm surprised he didn't quote the infamous "three second rule". I've had people try that one on me.  No thank you!

[eel21788]

On 6/29/2022 at 9:29 PM, Leeds said:

Christian:  "If you want to do tri-color peppers, don't use yellow, just use red and green."

That reminds me of a guy I used to work with. He had a recipe that included Swiss chard (he pronounced it shard) and said he had been through the enter dairy department in his grocery story and couldn't find it. When we told him that was because it was a vegetable, he refused to believe us, insisting that it was a type of cheese. When sent him to the grocery store on the next block and told him if he looked in the produce section, he would definitely find it. He came back telling us, "They only had red chard and yellow chard. They didn't have any Swiss chard." At that point, we just gave up.

[GaT]

Alejandro really thought the fire would kill the germs? REALLY??????

[DoctorK]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

thought the fire would kill the germs?

Well, technically he is correct. Solid cuts of meat (as opposed to ground or cubed) are likely to have some level of surface bacterial contamination from the butchering, handling and packaging processes which is why a rare steak can be very rare in the middle without a problem because the surfaces are heated to a killing temperature. Pork used to be an exception because the big risk for pork back then (and bear and other game animals still today) was trichinosis, a parasite egg that is embedded in the meat so the meat needed to be cooked all the way through. However that risk with inspected pork is now negligible so you can safely enjoy a nicely browned pork chop that is pink and juicy in the middle (something that apparently nobody has told Ramsey in the last twenty years). None of this gets Alejandro off the hook, what he did was absolutely unacceptable. The meat was not on the floor or ground but it was on an uncovered tray that was set on the floor under the work table. If it had been set on the lower shelf of the work table (and covered) that is OK, the work surfaces are (in principle) regularly wiped down and maintained during cooking while the floor is not (the kitchen floor in a busy kitchen is not a sight for the squeamish), and is not a safe place to put exposed food. I am astonished that a cook/chef with his experience would make such an obvious mistake and he deserved to go.

Edited July 3, 2022 by DoctorK
clarity

[bluepiano]

On 6/29/2022 at 9:09 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I am sorry but I can't believe that there wasn't producer manipulation to result in a 71-30 vote against steak. Unless the steak was seriously poorly cooked, I'm pretty sure that the average group of middle-class American types is going to have a default far in favor of steak.

Yes, I immediately called BS when the vote was announced. I would've been surprised if the vote went to blue by only a slight margin, but by more than two to one, no way! As you said, unless the steaks were raw or burnt, I would expect steak to win over fish every time. As someone else speculated, they must've wanted to get rid of Alejandro really badly. 

I remember not being a fan of Alejandro in his season, because of his constant sucking up to the judges, but in this case I thought he got a raw deal. For all his mistakes, he worked his tail off. Maybe it was editing, but there appeared to be several people on both teams that did very little. It's been proven that the way to survive these team challenges is to keep a low profile. There wasn't even an "immunity pin" given out, so there was really no reason to try to be a hero. Putting youself in the spotlight always increases your chances for elimination. 

On 6/29/2022 at 9:09 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

Boy, I will never get tired of the obligatory military/police/firefighter salute episode./sarcasm

With the obligatory moment when Gordon screams "these people are risking their lives for you, how dare you serve them.......... (fill in the blank: raw chicken, lumpy mashed potatoes, food with a hair in it etc.)

[xcrayon2215x]

Alejandro's decision was not good but him not thinking it was wrong got him eliminated. Gordon Ramsay seemed quite mean during this episode compared to the recent usual Masterchef episodes. Christian and Derrick were a bit over the top but were able to get it together. I don't think Tommy will last much longer.

[eel21788]

On 6/29/2022 at 10:31 PM, mlp said:

This show is just full of manipulation. 

Why did Gabriel get the Drew Drecshel treatment?

[Leeds]

It's about time that Aaron realizes that he needs a shirt in the next size up.

[mertensia]

Vegan food and no Dino. Really?

Samantha's food was just sad.

Derrick looked genuinely happy for Amanda.

[cameron]

Thought that beet wellington looked terrible.  Wouldn't eat it on a bet.

[AZChristian]

3 minutes ago, cameron said:

Thought that beet wellington looked terrible.  Wouldn't eat it on a bet.

I've had Ramsay's BEEF Wellington at two of his restaurants.  Honestly, it's good enough to make a vegan convert.  LOL.

I can't imagine that a BEET Wellington would make me go the other way.

[rhofmovalley]

Aw, my favorite Fred didn't do well. Hopefully he'll bounce back.

Samantha looked resigned. Maybe she'd had enough.

[Taeolas]

I do wonder if the next round of Hell's Kitchen will have a Vegan nite featuring them messing up the Beet Wellington now. :) 

As for last night, some great looking stuff, and the bottom three were just sad. I think it was a real tossup as to who was going home; either deserved to go. 

[Trey]

I hope the judges take into consideration the previous food made by the bottom three.  It doesn't seem quite fair to judge them solely on one bad night.  But those bottom three plates really did look bad, especially Samantha's. 

[seacliffsal]

I love a good falafel, but I thought there was a lot more creativity in both Derek and Bowen's dishes.  Oh well.

The bottom three were just sad.  But, overall, I think most of the dishes looked good.  Oh, and Gordon, anyone can like vegan food as just liking doesn't mean someone is exclusively vegan-and his demonstration on his newfound love of vegan food was not him becoming a vegan and dedicated solely to vegan cuisine.

[eel21788]

57 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I love a good falafel, but I thought there was a lot more creativity in both Derek and Bowen's dishes.  Oh well.

Yeah, I'm a little perplexed as to how she won immunity (and as I've said before, I think it makes no sense at all for the person who does the best cooking to not have to cook as a reward; give her some sort of advantage in the next round but let her still cook). She made something that is traditionally made as vegan with no "elevation" as they love to call it, whereas the other two converted non-vegan foods to vegan foods which I thought was the whole point of the exercise.

[eel21788]

3 hours ago, Trey said:

those bottom three plates really did look bad, especially Samantha's. 

She had no protein and no whole grain. It was made entirely of potatoes and mushrooms lacking any real nutrition for someone who was strictly vegan.

At least the other two had tried to make something that would have been acceptable as "vegan gourmet." They just didn't execute it well. 

[bluepiano]

1 minute ago, eel21788 said:

Yeah, I'm a little perplexed as to how she won immunity (and as I've said before, I think it makes no sense at all for the person who does the best cooking to not have to cook as a reward; give her some sort of advantage in the next round but let her still cook). She made something that is traditionally made as vegan with no "elevation" as they love to call it, whereas the other two converted non-vegan foods to vegan foods which I thought was the whole point of the exercise.

Totally agree. Even if it was really delicious falafel, I didn't think she deserved to even be in the top three for making a very standard vegan dish she's made countless times before. Bowen and Derek both created a new and original dish, which involved a high degree of technical difficulty as well as creativity. It was like someone winning a meat cooking challenge by making a hamburger.

3 hours ago, Trey said:

I hope the judges take into consideration the previous food made by the bottom three.  It doesn't seem quite fair to judge them solely on one bad night.  But those bottom three plates really did look bad, especially Samantha's. 

Samantha's dish may have been bland and boring, but it least it was completed. Shelley's looked like a collection of ingredients thrown on the plate. But Shelley has always been one of Gordon's favorites, and it wouldn't be the first time a decision has been made that brings the judges' impartiality into question.

[cinsbythesea]

I've been a fan of Derrick  and since the judges decided Claudia was a better cook than him (NOT) I had hoped he could somehow come back and win the title that was supposed to be his (IMHO).  But I have to say Amanda is growing on me - I just hope it doesn't come down to the two of them in the end.   I'm also hoping Fred finds his right footing again next week and produces a Fred quality dish - I've always had a soft spot for him.   

I would be a nervous wreck presenting anything I made to Joe.  He certainly doesn't pull any punches!

[mlp]

4 hours ago, cinsbythesea said:

I've been a fan of Derrick  and since the judges decided Claudia was a better cook than him (NOT)

I have never understood how Claudia got as far as she did much less won.  I also liked Derrick except for the sleeveless shirts he wore on his season.  I've noticed that he's been wearing shirts with sleeves this time around and I've wondered if he (or the producers) became aware of all the negative comments about seeing armpits in a kitchen.

Samantha was the right choice for elimination but I was sort of hoping it would be Shelley.  Her bizarro hair style annoys me no end.

[susannot]

Poor little Shayne.  It was only a matter of time though.  Ethiopian food was way too hard for anyone, let alone an 18 year old kid.

Did anyone get French food?  I didn't notice if so.

[xcrayon2215x]

Christian is looking like a contender now. Giving Shane Ethopia was difficult for him. I don't get why GR called Bri's dish phallic and then the judges decided to eat it. I think there will be more drama between Derrick and Christian in the future. Tommy has stepped up a bit since he hasn't been on the Bottom 3 two weeks in a row.

[susannot]

Christian's dish killed me. Oh Yeah!!

[mertensia]

They need to stop with the uneven range. Either everyone gets tough countries like Ethiopia or no one does. I would be okay if this was a professional chef competition.

Poor Shayne. He got screwed.

I'm tired of Bowen. This means he'll be here til the end.

[vibeology]

25 minutes ago, xcrayon2215x said:

 I don't get why GR called Bri's dish phallic and then the judges decided to eat it.

I don't think anyone was worried it tasted like a penis. It just looked like penis on a plate. I have no idea how she could have plated that and not noticed until it was too late.