Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[DoctorK]

12 hours ago, dmeets said:

Kendal tasted the churro then immediately said he used sugar not salt. So either he lied to the judges’ faces, or he can’t tell the difference in taste and texture between salt and sugar

That is really the only thing I can remember from this unmemorable episode. At least granular sugar and salt look pretty much the same but unless you are sprinkling, either one should be dissolved in the mixing step. I suspect that he didn't taste his stuff or did but just tried to bluff. However, this seems like such an obvious mistake to make, I don't know of any packaging short of sacks where salt and sugar are in similar containers. I also remember in previous seasons some contestants complained of sabotage (e.g., someone changing the oven temperature after the contestant set it); this may have happened here, and in previous episodes the show displayed no interest in reviewing the video footage for shenanigans, or at least showing the viewers. If they caught a contestant doing this, it would be such great drama that I would expect they would have used it. If it actually happened, that suggests that the show is screwing with contestants. I wouldn't put this past the show. After all, the way that they do the final five second count down, no matter what stage of finishing the contestants are at, they all miraculously finish up at exactly the same time on the final second. I remind myself that this is entertainment, not documentary and Reality TV is a misnomer.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, Chyromaniac said:

And regardless, Kendall got super lucky - I can understand mistaking salt for sugar when you’re in a rush- but if he actually tasted it and didn’t know?  That’s strange.

That got the cynic in me really wondering.  It reminded me of many seasons ago when the judges told Leslie the same thing at the end and he seemed seriously baffled and quite sure he hadn't done that.  I thought at the time that Gordon/producers/someone didn't want Leslie to win so they concocted a flaw he couldn't dispute.

Obviously, viewers can't see the difference and the cook can't argue too much.  Leslie didn't get to taste his dessert but Kendall did and he seemed confused by the accusation.  The judges had already cast aspersions on the churros during the cooking segment.  I wondered if they planned to oust Kendall next but couldn't get past his team being safe not to mention Richie lying to the judges.  

 

[Chyromaniac]

9 hours ago, mlp said:

That got the cynic in me really wondering.  It reminded me of many seasons ago when the judges told Leslie the same thing at the end and he seemed seriously baffled and quite sure he hadn't done that.  I thought at the time that Gordon/producers/someone didn't want Leslie to win so they concocted a flaw he couldn't dispute.

Obviously, viewers can't see the difference and the cook can't argue too much.  Leslie didn't get to taste his dessert but Kendall did and he seemed confused by the accusation.  The judges had already cast aspersions on the churros during the cooking segment.  I wondered if they planned to oust Kendall next but couldn't get past his team being safe not to mention Richie lying to the judges.  

 

I rewatched the churro tasting, and tbh the only thing Kendall seemed confused about was how he could make such a simple, basic mistake.  They ask if he used salt instead of sugar.  He says no- but he looks like he’s trying to remember what he actually did as he’s talking.  In the end he says he f-ed up - and to me he’s not disputing that the churros were salty.

Otherwise, is there a “plan” for who gets eliminated?  To me this episode demonstrates that’s not the case.  I mean, it seems pretty simple - there were basically two people who could have gone home this time, Kendall and Ritchie.  If they really wanted Kendall gone, they could’ve just said that Nina or Wayne had won.  That would’ve put him on the bottom and out for certain.  But Jennifer had the best dish, and that meant Kendall was safe.  The judges were bound by the results of the competition, and so Ritchie was booted instead.  That’s just how things go sometimes.

[DEL901]

Isn’t this two weeks in a row they got to announce that the worst dish didn’t go home because their team was safe….that’s a different kind of drama.  

[seacliffsal]

No matter what the judges were thinking, I think once Richie directly and intentionally lied to them, he was going to go.  I just don't see how Gordon Ramsey would keep someone who not only lied (and what a lie as he had stated multiple times that he was making cupcakes) but through his lie demonstrated that he thought he could outsmart Gordon Ramsey.  I mean, come on, Gordon Ramsey!  When Gordon makes something or filets a fish-it is just a think of beauty.  And, I'm always trying to figure out how I can get to one of his restaurants...

[AZChristian]

53 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

And, I'm always trying to figure out how I can get to one of his restaurants...

I've been to several.  There's only one I wouldn't go back to.  (The Gordon Ramsey Steakhouse in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.)

[Yeah No]

On 7/15/2023 at 3:35 PM, mlp said:

That got the cynic in me really wondering.  It reminded me of many seasons ago when the judges told Leslie the same thing at the end and he seemed seriously baffled and quite sure he hadn't done that.  I thought at the time that Gordon/producers/someone didn't want Leslie to win so they concocted a flaw he couldn't dispute.

I thought the exact same thing.  I feel like this season is going back to some of the gimmicks and stupidity of earlier seasons that I thought was a thing of the past.

On 7/16/2023 at 1:17 AM, Chyromaniac said:

I rewatched the churro tasting, and tbh the only thing Kendall seemed confused about was how he could make such a simple, basic mistake.  They ask if he used salt instead of sugar.  He says no- but he looks like he’s trying to remember what he actually did as he’s talking.  In the end he says he f-ed up - and to me he’s not disputing that the churros were salty.

If he had tasted the churros wouldn't he have said something about the salt before the judging in a talking head?  I may not be remembering correctly but I don't remember him doing that.  He only said he was worried that it was too simple a dish compared to his competition.  He may have been confused and second guessing himself about what he did because TPTB had salt put in a container marked "sugar".  After the fact he couldn't argue that he put salt in them by mistake but he couldn't account for making the mistake and of course would try to remember how it could have happened.  As far as he knew, he thought for sure he chose sugar not salt.  If he was sabotaged that's just how he would have acted.

[Yeah No]

15 hours ago, AZChristian said:

16 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

And, I'm always trying to figure out how I can get to one of his restaurants...

I've been to several.  There's only one I wouldn't go back to.  (The Gordon Ramsey Steakhouse in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.)

Hah, just yesterday I made a reservation at the new "Hell's Kitchen" restaurant at Foxwoods Casino which is just about an hour away from me here in CT.  Of course I dragged my feet after I learned it had opened so I had to book it way out in the middle of September, but that's OK.  We plan to get the Prix Fixe menu with the scallops, Beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding.  My husband and I are like kids about this - we can't wait, we've been watching that show since season 1 in 2005!

[AZChristian]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Hah, just yesterday I made a reservation at the new "Hell's Kitchen" restaurant at Foxwoods Casino which is just about an hour away from me here in CT.  Of course I dragged my feet after I learned it had opened so I had to book it way out in the middle of September, but that's OK.  We plan to get the Prix Fixe menu with the scallops, Beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding.  My husband and I are like kids about this - we can't wait, we've been watching that show since season 1 in 2005!

If the food is as good as the Hell's Kitchen in Las Vegas, you will not be disappointed.  Just watching them cook Beef Wellington now on the show makes my mouth water from the memories of how good that really tastes.

[Chyromaniac]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

If he had tasted the churros wouldn't he have said something about the salt before the judging in a talking head?  I may not be remembering correctly but I don't remember him doing that.  He only said he was worried that it was too simple a dish compared to his competition.  He may have been confused and second guessing himself about what he did because TPTB had salt put in a container marked "sugar".  After the fact he couldn't argue that he put salt in them by mistake but he couldn't account for making the mistake and of course would try to remember how it could have happened.  As far as he knew, he thought for sure he chose sugar not salt.  If he was sabotaged that's just how he would have acted.

The moment I’m talking about is after cooking is done- when the judges go around to all the tables, talk to the contestants, and take little samples.  Kendall is shown last, and it’s the first time that I remember seeing anyone try his final product.  I don’t recall him tasting anything, or saying anything about it, during the cooking process- he mostly seemed rushed and thrown off by the challenge.  And again- afterwards he says that he screwed up, and put out one of the worst dishes.

As for salt vs. sugar- I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed how they are stored on this show (I imagine both are in fairly nondescript containers), but I find it extraordinary hard to believe that production would mislabel them in that way.  It doesn’t make sense to me that they would single anyone out to sabotage, or him specifically.  I think the risk of something like that being discovered far outweighs any dramatic impact.  Most of the general audience will forget about this incident in a few weeks- but if production got caught tampering, it could potentially kill the show.  And are Gordon, Joe, and Aaron really going to risk their professional reputations just to make some dude from Mississippi look like a goof for a week?

I think it’s far more likely that he legitimately got mixed up, and used the wrong ingredient.  Again, he was flustered by the challenge and didn’t give himself enough time to think about what he was doing- possibly even missing a “salt” label on a container.  If you’re just looking at them, salt and sugar are pretty similar in color and texture.  And, he’s the bbq guy.  I’m sure he’s used to using huge scoops of salt for rubs and brines - maybe subconsciously that’s what happened here. Regardless, I think the most likely explanation is what Kendall says in the episode- “I f-ed up.”

Otherwise, I agree with the poster above about HK Restaurant, at least the one in Las Vegas.  I’d just advise eating light that day - it’s all really good, but I found it to be a very big meal.

[chicagofan]

One way to make sure you're using the right ingredient (especially when it comes to salt vs. sugar) is to taste before you use an ingredient that's not in its original packaging. Of course in the heat of competition that's probably not first on your list.

And as to what happened to Kendal - was the salt (instead of sugar) in the churros batter, or on the outside coating, i.e. sugar and cinnamon vs. salt and cinnamon?

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Chyromaniac said:

The moment I’m talking about is after cooking is done- when the judges go around to all the tables, talk to the contestants, and take little samples.  Kendall is shown last, and it’s the first time that I remember seeing anyone try his final product.  I don’t recall him tasting anything, or saying anything about it, during the cooking process- he mostly seemed rushed and thrown off by the challenge.  And again- afterwards he says that he screwed up, and put out one of the worst dishes.

As for salt vs. sugar- I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed how they are stored on this show (I imagine both are in fairly nondescript containers), but I find it extraordinary hard to believe that production would mislabel them in that way.  It doesn’t make sense to me that they would single anyone out to sabotage, or him specifically.  I think the risk of something like that being discovered far outweighs any dramatic impact.  Most of the general audience will forget about this incident in a few weeks- but if production got caught tampering, it could potentially kill the show.  And are Gordon, Joe, and Aaron really going to risk their professional reputations just to make some dude from Mississippi look like a goof for a week?

I think it’s far more likely that he legitimately got mixed up, and used the wrong ingredient.  Again, he was flustered by the challenge and didn’t give himself enough time to think about what he was doing- possibly even missing a “salt” label on a container.  If you’re just looking at them, salt and sugar are pretty similar in color and texture.  And, he’s the bbq guy.  I’m sure he’s used to using huge scoops of salt for rubs and brines - maybe subconsciously that’s what happened here. Regardless, I think the most likely explanation is what Kendall says in the episode- “I f-ed up.”

Otherwise, I agree with the poster above about HK Restaurant, at least the one in Las Vegas.  I’d just advise eating light that day - it’s all really good, but I found it to be a very big meal.

It's been suspected for years that some contestants are sabotaged on this show and on "Hell's Kitchen" too so I personally don't find it so hard to believe.  It just sent some of our antennas up because we've seen this exact salt/sugar scenario before.  I think it has probably happened on "Hell's Kitchen" too although I don't remember any specific occurrence. 

We all know that some contestants are favored over others and it is well known that the producers have the final word on everything on this show including who stays and who goes, whether or not it's fair.  So I wouldn't put it past them.  Of course they would pick something easily mistaken for something else to do it knowing he would probably not taste his food and let it go by.  It's kind of like the one episode of HK where they tell the contestants to be on alert for sabotage except they don't tell them.  It's like a little test that they can either pass or fail and if they fail it's technically their own fault.  They probably knew this guy didn't have the tendency to taste his food and didn't like that so they wanted to give him that test to have an excuse to let him go. 

Of course he's going to say he "f-ed up" because he is confused and is taking responsibility for the outcome whether or not he remembers how it happened.  He has to defer to the facts whether or not it's what he remembered and he knows it's not in his best interests to challenge it because they have the upper hand and it wouldn't work out well for him if he did.  In the middle of all the rush and stress of the competition they are banking on the fact that he wouldn't taste his food and might not be so sure about what he did in retrospect.

As far as HK restaurant goes, I don't plan on eating anything for that entire
WEEK because I'm perpetually on a diet and know how these meals usually go.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Yeah No

[chicagofan]

5 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

It's been suspected for years that some contestants are sabotaged on this show and on "Hell's Kitchen" too so I personally don't find it so hard to believe.  It just sent some of our antennas up because we've seen this exact salt/sugar scenario before.  I think it has probably happened on "Hell's Kitchen" too although I don't remember any specific occurrence. 

Bonnie on Hell's Kitchen season 3 was one. They used her in season 6 as an example of what not to do. And I'm pretty sure that there were at least one or two others that I'm not remembering - don't know if it was sabotage or just a garden variety screw up.

[seacliffsal]

All I know is that years (actually decades) ago, some friends and I were staying at someone's home and decided to make chocolate chip cookies.  They looked great but when we bit into them it was obvious that we (well, most likely me) mixed up the salt and sugar. It happens (and it was awful).  Kendal may have just been in too much of a rush-maybe he looked, saw the "s" and just thought it was the sugar.  It may also have been manipulation, but I do know from personal experience that it can happen.

[Chyromaniac]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:12 AM, Yeah No said:

It's been suspected for years that some contestants are sabotaged on this show and on "Hell's Kitchen" too so I personally don't find it so hard to believe.  It just sent some of our antennas up because we've seen this exact salt/sugar scenario before.  I think it has probably happened on "Hell's Kitchen" too although I don't remember any specific occurrence. 

We all know that some contestants are favored over others and it is well known that the producers have the final word on everything on this show including who stays and who goes, whether or not it's fair.  So I wouldn't put it past them.  Of course they would pick something easily mistaken for something else to do it knowing he would probably not taste his food and let it go by.  It's kind of like the one episode of HK where they tell the contestants to be on alert for sabotage except they don't tell them.  It's like a little test that they can either pass or fail and if they fail it's technically their own fault.  They probably knew this guy didn't have the tendency to taste his food and didn't like that so they wanted to give him that test to have an excuse to let him go. 

Of course he's going to say he "f-ed up" because he is confused and is taking responsibility for the outcome whether or not he remembers how it happened.  He has to defer to the facts whether or not it's what he remembered and he knows it's not in his best interests to challenge it because they have the upper hand and it wouldn't work out well for him if he did.  In the middle of all the rush and stress of the competition they are banking on the fact that he wouldn't taste his food and might not be so sure about what he did in retrospect.

As far as HK restaurant goes, I don't plan on eating anything for that entire
WEEK because I'm perpetually on a diet and know how these meals usually go.

Respectfully, viewers can suspect a lot of things- but suspicion is not proof.  There is nothing I have ever seen or heard about this show from anyone who’s actually been involved in it that suggests that producers would ever manipulate results or intentionally sabotaging specific contestants.  If anyone can provide reports that say differently, please- feel free to share.

Otherwise, again-we’re talking about a show that generates significant ad revenue for Fox and its affiliates.  It’s a part of a larger stable of shows that make up a decent chunk of Fox programming every year.  And, it’s one of the signature shows for Gordon Ramsey, the figurehead of a multi-million dollar culinary business.  Does anyone honestly think that the producers of this show are going to risk ruining all that - not to mention the reputations of the other hosts, guest judges, sponsors, etc - on a stunt that is, at most, going to make some random guy from Mississippi look stupid for a week?  Or did that one guy just get flustered by the situation, and make a simple, but significant, mistake?  I suppose at this point all I can say is ymmv, and leave it at that.

[mertensia]

Team challenges are terrible. They need to get rid of them.

I don't remember Ryan wel! enough to say if I'll miss him or not.

[Leeds]

How many time have we seen "chefs" on these shows try to bring a massive pot full of huge chunks of potato to the boil in a gale force wind with way too much water and no lid on?  It's like these people have no common sense, never mind cooking experience/talent.

[PhoneCop]

Blue Team: We're doing pork chops!

Me: Game over.

[mlp]

Gordon's "mentoring" style is reprehensible - yelling and screaming, belittling people, throwing food.  I know that's his shtick on these shows but I'll never understand why he wants to represent himself that way.  

The blue team made a big mistake when they chose to do pork chops 3 or 4 inches thick.  They didn't have the expertise or the time to do that right.  

4 minutes ago, PhoneCop said:

Blue Team: We're doing pork chops!

Me: Game over.

You posted while I was typing the same thought.  LOL  Totally agree.

[jcbrown]

35 minutes ago, mlp said:

Gordon's "mentoring" style is reprehensible - yelling and screaming, belittling people, throwing food.  I know that's his shtick on these shows but I'll never understand why he wants to represent himself that way. 

I could not agree more. This is not mentoring, it’s abusing your brigade, a very old-school style of kitchen management whose time should have passed. Throwing food is so disrespectful to your cooks, to the ingredients, to people who actually need food. Do better, Gordon.

[preeya]

Since when have the cooks had access to unlimited temperature probes? If memory serves me, I recall some time in a past season when probes were a no-no. That said, I may be confusing this with Hell's Kitchen. 

Anyone???

[fishcakes]

3 minutes ago, preeya said:

Since when have the cooks had access to unlimited temperature probes? If memory serves me, I recall some time in a past season when probes were a no-no. That said, I may be confusing this with Hell's Kitchen. 

Anyone???

On Hell's Kitchen, Gordon will scream at any contestant who uses a meat thermometer, but I can't remember it ever coming up on Masterchef, where in general he seems less shouty overall. Even so, I too thought it was strange that they had so many of them last night and were stabbing them in every single pork chop.

I don't get why James was even up for elimination. He saved the team by taking over the grill station. Ryan seemed as if he was in over his head, but I thought Brynn should have gone. She tried to talk over the judges when they were tasting the test dish, and when she said they were cooking the pork chops to 150° Gordon specifically told her to pull them at 140° and let them rest. Then when Ryan said 140°, she changed it to 130° for some reason, which is why so many came up raw in the center.

[Trey]

23 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Then when Ryan said 140°, she changed it to 130° for some reason, which is why so many came up raw in the center.

Hadn't one of the judges suggested 130 after Gordon said 140? And the resting time was supposed to finish the cooking.

Doesn't anyone know how to cook potatoes anymore? Last episode of Chopped that I saw, all three chefs undercooked their potatoes, a basket ingredient, and last night red team undercooked theirs.  Although I understand how the wind upset the cooking process.

As soon as I saw the thickness of those pork chops I knew they were in trouble.  Why didn't they cut them in half and serve two properly cooked pork chops?

[preeya]

10 hours ago, mlp said:

Gordon's "mentoring" style is reprehensible - yelling and screaming, belittling people, throwing food.  I know that's his shtick on these shows but I'll never understand why he wants to represent himself that way.  

His (Gordon's) M.O. is not mentoring, as it borders on bullying. Temper tantrums are reserved for "bratty children." And JB is no better with his pompous attitude, questioning them like he's a Gestapo interrogator.

[gaPeach]

On 7/14/2023 at 11:14 AM, snarts said:

This show is so goofy and fake.  Gorden and Joe dramatically sighing and shaking their heads at how Balcony Guy had screwed the South and Northeast teams with the "sweet" designation over "savory."  THEY'RE APPLES.

Maybe we should have a drinking game for every time one of them does the dramatic sigh?

This show as became like a lot of the other "competitive" shows where the contestants are not picked because they are talented, but because they will make good drama and have a sad backstory.  I don't know how some of them even made it on the show.  Richie would be a classic example of who not to pick.  He sucked both weeks he was on show.  And tried to LIE to Gordan Ramsey.

[Leeds]

On 7/16/2023 at 6:41 AM, AZChristian said:

I've been to several.  There's only one I wouldn't go back to.  (The Gordon Ramsey Steakhouse in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.)

I'm curious as to whether Gordon Ramsey was actually present and cooking at any of the restaurants you visited?

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

I'm curious as to whether Gordon Ramsey was actually present and cooking at any of the restaurants you visited?

Not that I'm aware of.  We did see Christina (the chef who is assigned to one of the two teams on Hell's Kitchen) at the Steakhouse in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.  And when we went to the Pub & Grill at Caesar's Palace, Scott (winner of Season 12) was Head Chef.  I mentioned to our server that I was a big fan of his from the show.  About 5 minutes later, I got a tap on my shoulder, and Scott had come out from the kitchen to say hello.  He sat down next to me and was just wonderful to chat with.

Edited July 20, 2023 by AZChristian

[milkyaqua]

I don't recall Ramsey being this nasty on his UK shows.  It's just got to be some schtick that got pulled out for his US shows.  Why, I have no idea.  I watched enough of the show to see Brynn of team pork chop try and talk over Ramsey and friends and then go back and tell them to cook the chops to 130 and then I was out.  And JB is still his usual obnoxious self.

Edited July 21, 2023 by milkyaqua

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, milkyaqua said:

I don't recall Ramsey being this nasty on his UK shows.

He’s not. He’s the total opposite. Which is why I prefer his UK shows. I wish I could get them.

[gaPeach]

I knew the moment the bule team picked porkchops I knew they would be the losing team.  The thickness of the chop was definitely going to be an issue.  How are they supposed to serve 101 plates all at once?  That is basically what they are asking these teams to do, serve 101 people all at same time.  I think even Gordan's well-oiled kitchen team under his command, would have issues serving that many people at once.  I hate these challenges and was sorry to see that one guy go.  What a sucky way of losing the competition.

With that being said, how in the world did they keep sending out raw porkchops?  I thought they had a system but apparently it did not work.  And the red team running out of potatoes.  Ok who is responsible for that?  Production?  Don't they stock the kitchens?  Did the red team blow through all the potatoes, or did they have mishaps and have to throw a bunch out? We did not hear anything about that, so I am guessing not.  So, I call production interference and Shenanigans. 

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, gaPeach said:

And the red team running out of potatoes.  Ok who is responsible for that?  Production?  Don't they stock the kitchens?  Did the red team blow through all the potatoes, or did they have mishaps and have to throw a bunch out? We did not hear anything about that, so I am guessing not.  So, I call production interference and Shenanigans. 

Correct me if I'm wrong; I watch a lot of cooking shows and may be confused.

When they showed Gordon their sample plate, didn't he say that a little smear of potatoes wouldn't be adequate?  They needed to serve a real serving of potatoes.  But it does make you wonder who decided how many raw potatoes to have available to make a "real serving" for 101 people.

[KeithJ]

I really don’t like these huge team challenges.  These are all home cooks, what does having to cook for 101 people even prove?

[gaPeach]

4 hours ago, AZChristian said:

When they showed Gordon their sample plate, didn't he say that a little smear of potatoes wouldn't be adequate?  They needed to serve a real serving of potatoes.  But it does make you wonder who decided how many raw potatoes to have available to make a "real serving" for 101 people.

My point exactly.  How to serve that many people at once.   I do believe that red team running out of potatoes was strictly driven by the producers.

 

3 hours ago, KeithJ said:

I really don’t like these huge team challenges.  These are all home cooks, what does having to cook for 101 people even prove?

Exactly nothing.  It is just one more way to bring drama I suppose, but it has nothing to do with a bunch of home cooks.  It gives Joe a chance to be even more of a dick then he usually is.

[bluepiano]

1 hour ago, gaPeach said:

My point exactly.  How to serve that many people at once.   I do believe that red team running out of potatoes was strictly driven by the producers.

 

Exactly nothing.  It is just one more way to bring drama I suppose, but it has nothing to do with a bunch of home cooks.  It gives Joe a chance to be even more of a dick then he usually is.

Gordon as well. I think the main reason they do these challenges where they cook for first responders or the military is so that GR can scream, "these people protect/defend/keep you safe and you dare serve them raw food."

I dislike the team challenges because time and again, the person eliminated is someone who stepped up to do the heavy lifting for their team, like running the grill. Even if they make mistakes, they're at least being a team player by taking on greater responsibility.

Clearly, the best survival strategy is to lurk in the background and do some minor task that won't get you sent up for elimination. When the camera panned across the members of the losing team, I had no idea what some of them had even done.

Joe: "Jennifer is being a great figurehead." Definitely not the word he meant to use.

Joe: "Now we'll see who can walk the walk and talk the talk."
Gordon: "It's not about staying in your lane. It's about owning your lane."

What the heck does any of that mean?

[GHScorpiosRule]

When did this show turn into Hell’s Kitchen?!

[fishcakes]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:50 PM, milkyaqua said:

I don't recall Ramsey being this nasty on his UK shows.  It's just got to be some schtick that got pulled out for his US shows.  Why, I have no idea. 

Not sure if I'm remembering this correctly, but I think Hell's Kitchen was his first US show, and it started a couple of years after American Idol began. When I saw the first promos for HK, I assumed that FOX was trying to capitalize on the popularity of Idol and Simon Cowell in particular, whose whole thing was being (a) British and (b) a dick. I didn't even know who Gordon was back then; I figured he was some random English guy they brought in to be a second Simon. I agree he's much nicer on his UK shows.

[Yeah No]

On 7/19/2023 at 1:41 AM, Chyromaniac said:

Respectfully, viewers can suspect a lot of things- but suspicion is not proof.  There is nothing I have ever seen or heard about this show from anyone who’s actually been involved in it that suggests that producers would ever manipulate results or intentionally sabotaging specific contestants.  If anyone can provide reports that say differently, please- feel free to share.

Otherwise, again-we’re talking about a show that generates significant ad revenue for Fox and its affiliates.  It’s a part of a larger stable of shows that make up a decent chunk of Fox programming every year.  And, it’s one of the signature shows for Gordon Ramsey, the figurehead of a multi-million dollar culinary business.  Does anyone honestly think that the producers of this show are going to risk ruining all that - not to mention the reputations of the other hosts, guest judges, sponsors, etc - on a stunt that is, at most, going to make some random guy from Mississippi look stupid for a week?  Or did that one guy just get flustered by the situation, and make a simple, but significant, mistake?  I suppose at this point all I can say is ymmv, and leave it at that.

It's still "reality TV" and as I've known for a very long time, the term "reality" is often taken very loosely.  On this show they have hyped contestants into "personalities" that they may or may not really have and put them forward as stereotypes designed to appeal to the audience's baser emotions, which I don't think is deniable based on hundreds of comments I've seen to agree with that.  And the show is under absolutely no obligation to eliminate people fairly or to represent them fairly and accurately.  And my nose for BS has smelled a rat many a time.  That's not the case with many other shows but this one often sets off my BS meter.  I think this show is more on the end of reality entertainment than an honest competition.  I watch a lot of cooking competitions where that is not the case, but I still think it is the case with this one.

Season 2 contestant Ben Starr is famously on record as having claimed that MasterChef is not 100% real and that producers cook up hype and drama to keep the audience hooked that bears little resemblance to reality, especially when it comes to who stays and who goes next.  I wonder how he had to pay for those remarks as they all sign NDAs to keep mum on such subjects.  So I don't think it's any wonder that no one else ever came forward to say anything similar (unless I missed that).  But despite any accusations that could be hurled at him of being motivated by "sour grapes", I have no doubt that he was telling the truth about that.

[Lurk]

Referencing "Saltgate": I remember seeing contestants on different cooking shows and this one grabbing a pinch of salt to season and they're grabbing it from a plastic container. A lot of ingredients are in those opaque/clear containers like you'd get a dip or hummus in at the store. There's no label other than just what it is like "salt". Usually "sugar" is in a similar container that is bigger because you would typically use cups of sugar where you usually use teaspoons of salt.  He could have misread the label in a hurry (starts with S, white granular salt looking item) or the containers were packed with the wrong ingredient.

Other staple dry spices are usually in plain glass bottles. A lot of other ingredients are in labeled plastic containers. There's not a lot of items in their original containers, probably due to product placement/advertising fees. I have noticed on Grocery Store Stakeout? that the items will be in their regular container/label but will have black tape or marks over name brands.

[jabRI]

If you have to grill for even 50 people at once, why not make a pork & veggie kabob? At least that's manageable.  I think it was Ryan that said he needed 30 minutes for the chops.. no way they could feed 100.  Personally I'd never even try to grill a 4 inch pork chop at home, it seems unreasonably complicated.

[potatoradio]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:02 PM, KeithJ said:

I really don’t like these huge team challenges.  These are all home cooks, what does having to cook for 101 people even prove?

Well, it does show that you want to take your cooking to the "next level" and you're ready to really be a contender and you really, really want that most amazing, coveted MasterChef trophy. Because apparently you're going to need to be an arse to your cookbook team and threaten to bash them over their heads with that trophy if they don't respect you as a leader. 

Gordon: "Show me you care!" Also Gordon: *flinging expensive cuts of meat across the set like a monkey flinging poo because viewers will be so excited about the drahmah that they'll completely forget about the food waste*. Stop it, Gordon.

Erm, if you don't have a steady heat to boil potatoes properly because of wind....did I not see an oven? Pro tip: potatoes can also be baked.  Maybe change your preparation if it's clear your sample mashed potatoes aren't going to cut it? And even if they were good....if I got one of those yin/yang smears of mashed potatoes instead of a nice scoop, I'd hit you with the firehose. I'm rather....insistent...on getting my share of potatoes. 

LMAO at the hundreds of probes sticking out of the chops. THAT looked reassuring. Aaron was right - who the eff runs a grill and doesn't know to temp one piece and then figure out how the others compare with touch? 

Still not rooting for or against anybody in particular. 

Does Ramsay reserve his puking antics for Restaurant Hell only? He only seems to "puke" on that show, so I'm wondering if he gets paid a bonus or has a rider or something. 

 

[DougJones]

The team challenges are the worst!  And too predictable at this point. You can make a bingo sheet with things that routinely happen

 

GR throws food

”get it together!!”

JB interrogates cooks

brown nosing of the guests’ demographic (fire/police/veterans/etc)

Someone steps up but fails horribly

 

[preeya]

“MasterChef: United Tastes of America” will not air on Wednesday, July 26 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT). The FOX cooking competition judged by Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, and Joe Bastianich is being preempted for the FIFA Women’s World Cup."

Edited July 26, 2023 by preeya

[kirklandia]

5 hours ago, preeya said:

“MasterChef: United Tastes of America” will not air on Wednesday, July 26 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT). The FOX cooking competition judged by Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, and Joe Bastianich is being preempted for the FIFA Women’s World Cup."

Nice to see women's sports get some parity! And I will be watching the World Cup.

I would have been DVR-ing MasterChef anyway. With gratitude for the FF button.

I wonder how many people watch these shows in Real Time.

[Chyromaniac]

On 7/21/2023 at 12:02 PM, KeithJ said:

I really don’t like these huge team challenges.  These are all home cooks, what does having to cook for 101 people even prove?

If it helps, challenges like this one are basically catering gigs- serving a hundred or so firefighters (or teachers, or pilots, or circus performers…) isn’t much different than any other event a “culinary professional” might be hired to provide food for. Granted, cooking conditions on the show are much different than they’d be at, say, the Johnson Family Reunion or Wendy’s Retirement Luncheon- but, I suppose that’s why they call it a challenge.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, preeya said:

“MasterChef: United Tastes of America” will not air on Wednesday, July 26 (8:00 p.m. ET/PT). The FOX cooking competition judged by Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, and Joe Bastianich is being preempted for the FIFA Women’s World Cup."

Women's World Cup is great but yet another preemption?  Wow.

[seacliffsal]

I really thought Brynn should have been the one to go.  She said she had both front of the house and back of the house experience in restaurants (but aren't they supposed to be home cooks?  not cooks with experience?).  She also talked over Gordon and after Gordon specifically said to cook the pork to 140, told Ryan to cook at 130.  Did she also choose the pork chop as their protein?  I would never want to even order/eat a 4" pork chop so really don't understand why they chose that.  Ryan was in over his head, and probably wasn't long for the show, but he tried to be a team player and did what his 'captain' said which was purposefully undercook the pork.

[susannot]

I thought Wayne should have received more credit for perfect butchering of that chicken, very fast.

[KeithJ]

I don’t really care for Kennedy but thank you for saving Lizzie this week.

I don’t like these punishment rewards either and Wayne was irritating with that smirk on his face when Jennifer was on the bottom of her team.

[hula-la]

On 7/21/2023 at 7:36 PM, Yeah No said:

It's still "reality TV" and as I've known for a very long time, the term "reality" is often taken very loosely.  On this show they have hyped contestants into "personalities" that they may or may not really have and put them forward as stereotypes designed to appeal to the audience's baser emotions, which I don't think is deniable based on hundreds of comments I've seen to agree with that.  And the show is under absolutely no obligation to eliminate people fairly or to represent them fairly and accurately.  And my nose for BS has smelled a rat many a time.  That's not the case with many other shows but this one often sets off my BS meter.  I think this show is more on the end of reality entertainment than an honest competition.  I watch a lot of cooking competitions where that is not the case, but I still think it is the case with this one.

Season 2 contestant Ben Starr is famously on record as having claimed that MasterChef is not 100% real and that producers cook up hype and drama to keep the audience hooked that bears little resemblance to reality, especially when it comes to who stays and who goes next.  I wonder how he had to pay for those remarks as they all sign NDAs to keep mum on such subjects.  So I don't think it's any wonder that no one else ever came forward to say anything similar (unless I missed that).  But despite any accusations that could be hurled at him of being motivated by "sour grapes", I have no doubt that he was telling the truth about that.

This is a bunch of years old, but gives some interesting info from people who have been involved in competition cooking shows. If you scroll down far enough, there’s an interesting comment about Masterchef.

 

 

[Leeds]

At this point about the only pleasure I get from this show is watching for the latest bizarre and meaningless comment from Aaron in his vain attempt to actually play a useful role.  Tonight's gem, "You made three different expressions of chicken," (cluck, squawk, and beady eyed stare down maybe?), while holding up two fingers.