Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[preeya]

Wow, JB certainly has a one-track mind when it comes to risotto. Someone should let him know that it is not only an Italian dish. I direct him to this site (https://tinyurl.com/2cugvfgz) where there are 47 different ways to make risotto and none are made his traditional Italian way. Basically, risotto is rice cooked in broth.

Also, I don't like that they change the rules as they go along. Why was it necessary to send two cooks packing when normally only one goes home? As per Gordan's explanation, all three could have been eliminated.

And why the constant digs at the woman (Jennifer?) that won the advantage regarding the 10-minute bogey? She won an advantage and played it as she thought was most beneficial to her team, as she should have. I guess it's just another way to drum up some more drama.

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by preeya

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

Wow, JB certainly has a one-track mind when it comes to risotto. Someone should let him know that it is not only an Italian dish. I direct him to this site (https://tinyurl.com/2cugvfgz) where there are 47 different ways to make risotto and none are made his traditional Italian way. Basically, risotto is rice cooked in broth.

An Italian American here.  I have to support Joe on this.  For some reason non-Italian Americans and perhaps a lot of the world thinks it "owns" Italian food and can take that ownership away from the people it originated from.  I would like to know how people of other cultures would feel, let's say people of Japanese, African, Middle Eastern or East Indian descent, or (insert other foreign culture here) if people not of their ethnic background claimed that their food was not "only" a Japanese, African, East Indian (or whatever) dish just because there are umpteen recipe variations online by Americans not of that descent?  I don't think those people would like that, but somehow when it comes to Italian and Italian American food, people think they have license to take it away from the Italians and call it "American" food.  My late immigrant Italian relatives and I would beg to disagree.  That's not to say I'm a food snob and don't appreciate some of the non-Italian American takes on the food of my heritage, it's just that I don't confuse and conflate the two ever.  As a Mexican-American friend of mine once said, "Oh, I love Taco Bell as long as I don't call it Mexican Food", LOL.  My grandmother loved some of the American takes on Italian American food and found them fascinating, but once again it was not to be confused with the original thing.

To give an example, suppose people wanted to say that Fish and Chips is not an English dish because people make fried fish and fries all over the world.  Well, that's not how it works.

Also, if you're going to call something a risotto, it has to be made a certain way, otherwise it's a similar type of rice dish but not technically risotto.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

One thing from this episode irked me.  I'm having a hard time seeing the justifications made by the judges to call many of the dishes made by these people as perfect examples of their region's cooking.  The whole area of the country thing is being stretched a little too far.

Also, even during the selection process I thought they picked the worst cooks to represent the Northeast.  Most of them did not (to me, anyway) appear to represent my region's culture or cuisine in any meaningful way.  They could have been chosen for any other region of the country and it would not have been any different if you ask me.  So it isn't surprising me that the Northeast only has two people left.  When I see the Midwestern and Southern teams they feel more realistic to me in many ways as representative of their regions, both personally and in terms of their cooking.

[Daff]

On 7/21/2023 at 10:14 AM, gaPeach said:

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. 

On the initial test presentation, he had a huge pot of underdone, lumpy mashed potatoes..there’s no salvaging that.

[fishcakes]

I'm getting pretty tired of the constant focus on Jennifer, who I otherwise like, Kennedy, who I can't stand, and Kendal, who is likeable enough but seems like he only started cooking a couple weeks before he got on the show. We've never heard a single word from the Asian woman on the West team, and I would swear that I've never seen Kolby before last night.

And I'm sorry but a big-ass plate of food, half of which is red cabbage, is not elevated anything.

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

An Italian American here.  I have to support Joe on this.  For some reason non-Italian Americans and perhaps a lot of the world thinks it "owns" Italian food and can take that ownership away from the people it originated from.  I would like to know how people of other cultures would feel, let's say people of Japanese, African, Middle Eastern or East Indian descent, or (insert other foreign culture here) if people not of their ethnic background claimed that their food was not "only" a Japanese, African, East Indian (or whatever) dish just because there are umpteen recipe variations online by Americans not of that descent?  I don't think those people would like that, but somehow when it comes to Italian and Italian American food, people think they have license to take it away from the Italians and call it "American" food.  My late immigrant Italian relatives and I would beg to disagree.  That's not to say I'm a food snob and don't appreciate some of the non-Italian American takes on the food of my heritage, it's just that I don't confuse and conflate the two ever.  As a Mexican-American friend of mine once said, "Oh, I love Taco Bell as long as I don't call it Mexican Food", LOL.  My grandmother loved some of the American takes on Italian American food and found them fascinating, but once again it was not to be confused with the original thing.

To give an example, suppose people wanted to say that Fish and Chips is not an English dish because people make fried fish and fries all over the world.  Well, that's not how it works.

Also, if you're going to call something a risotto, it has to be made a certain way, otherwise it's a similar type of rice dish but not technically risotto.

 

Actually, if we're going to get picky about the origins and names of a dish, fish and chips are traditionally British, not English.

 

 

[potatoradio]

So green peppers in risotto is sacrilege. Is that because of how they taste or texture or because (Tevye voice) Tradition! Chalk up one more reason why risotto on cooking competitions is just a very bad idea. You never know who will lose their sh*t over something like....a green pepper. 

Can they please just rename the teams colors instead of "regions?" It would make more sense than the Midwest contestant saying he's making a Jamaican dish because it's one of his favorites or the contestant from Colorado saying there's just so much German influence in Colorado she HAD to make a German dish. I'd like to invite her to the Oktoberfests in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, this "regional" schtick is beyond dumb and contributing zero to the show, so let's just go red, yellow, green and blue and call it good, OK? 

 

BTW, that's "Minnesota nice," not "Midwest nice." And it's not always really nice. ;)

Edited August 3, 2023 by potatoradio
There's no Midwest nice

[gaPeach]

Ok the blonde southern chick is right that this is a competition.  But does that negate the fact that even in war you have allies.  I understand why she said she picked them, because they had 5 teammates.  And the Midwest team did not take to kindly to it and I don't really blame them.  That 10 minutes had to have been agonizing.  

The chick from Midwest team was very lucky that other chick made a terrible dish.  A dish she grew up with and is from her cultural.  

CONTESTANTS do not do a regional/culture dish unless you do it PERFECTLY.  That is what saved the Midwest chick.

Sorry I do not remember names.  I will try better next week....or until they get rid of enough of them that I can remember the remaining few.

[Lurk]

On 8/3/2023 at 8:18 AM, preeya said:

Wow, JB certainly has a one-track mind when it comes to risotto. Someone should let him know that it is not only an Italian dish. I direct him to this site (https://tinyurl.com/2cugvfgz) where there are 47 different ways to make risotto and none are made his traditional Italian way. Basically, risotto is rice cooked in broth.

Also, I don't like that they change the rules as they go along. Why was it necessary to send two cooks packing when normally only one goes home? As per Gordan's explanation, all three could have been eliminated.

And why the constant digs at the woman (Jennifer?) that won the advantage regarding the 10-minute bogey? She won an advantage and played it as she thought was most beneficial to her team, as she should have. I guess it's just another way to drum up some more drama.

 

Sure the team she punished was the team that helped her win, but I think she did the smart thing for all teams. That team had more members than anyone else so I feel it was fair to all the others for them to be cut 10 minutes.

[seacliffsal]

And, just because a dish represents one's culture doesn't mean one is an expert in making it.  Gordon has extensive knowledge of world cuisine, so he won't fall for the 'this is my culture' explanation unless it really does represent.  Joe and Aaron may be a bit easier to fool (unless it's Italian or Mexican) but Gordon really does know world cuisine and has high expectations for how dishes should taste.

Having said that though, I think the German dish that Kennedy made looked really unappetizing (and I like German food).  I was hoping that Kendal would win-if Gordon is taking your sauce home that means it is exceptional.  But, I think they didn't want the South to win again, and wanted an excuse to put Jennifer in the bottom.

[Lurk]

6 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

And, just because a dish represents one's culture doesn't mean one is an expert in making it.  Gordon has extensive knowledge of world cuisine, so he won't fall for the 'this is my culture' explanation unless it really does represent.  Joe and Aaron may be a bit easier to fool (unless it's Italian or Mexican) but Gordon really does know world cuisine and has high expectations for how dishes should taste.

Having said that though, I think the German dish that Kennedy made looked really unappetizing (and I like German food).  I was hoping that Kendal would win-if Gordon is taking your sauce home that means it is exceptional.  But, I think they didn't want the South to win again, and wanted an excuse to put Jennifer in the bottom.

I was just fininshing watching the episode and was running here to say pretty much what you just said. When I think of the West, German food and Octoberfest isn't what I think of. Nor do I think of butter chicken. There were so many dishes that I don't feel were representative of the region. I know we have a melting pot of people and cultures, but there are predominant foods you think of for the regions of the US. People of all ethnicities live in all areas of the US, so those types of foods aren't really tied to a US spot.

 

I was sure that Kendal would win because of the fuss over the sauce. His dish looked appetizing and like something you'd find in a restaurant, not just a fancier home cooked meal.

[Daff]

13 hours ago, Lurk said:

I was sure that Kendal would win because of the fuss over the sauce

I thought that too. Laughed when Ramsay said, “I want that bottle of sauce!” I’m thinking he wants to sell it with his label-but the description of it so very much resembles a dozen others out there. It would be a nice consolation for Kendal, though, if he’s sent home. (As described, it sounds like my fave: Dinosaur Roasted Garlic and Honey)

[Daff]

Maybe he’s got a kickin’ dry rub to go with it!

[Kevin M.]

I came here, looking for someone else who sees what I see because it is driving me insane with rage.

I started watching M.C. just a month ago. In that time I have binged 5 seasons.  1-4 and 9. In all 5, it seems the judges (Gordon mostly) gets a hard on for a certain female around top 11 and does WHATEVER  it takes to get those ladies to the end. It seems they come up with reasons for the chefs around those specific people to fail so they're able to keep the one they have predetermined to win a long while back. It seems so unethical and smarmy.  I have been able to tell the winner, 100%,  when it comes to the final 10, in all 5 seasons. I think they lie and do whatever Gordon says. It takes the fun out of it, knowing the winner that far in advance. Becky in season 3 was the most obviously b.s.judging I have ever seen on a reality competition show. No honor at all.

[preeya]

250 EPISODES:

https://tinyurl.com/2xvttgv2

 

S13E09 United Cakes of America

The remaining home chefs face the hardest challenge yet in this celebration of "MasterChef's" 250th episode; the kitchen heats up when the chef with immunity is tasked to assign each contestant with an iconic cake to re-create.

 

ETA: I hate baking episodes. The show is MasterCHEF, not MasterBaker.

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by preeya

[SG429]

It's still annoying we don't get an on-camera proper tasting of each dish.

[Tango64]

Key lime pie is not a cake. 

Everyone else has to make pasta, but you can grill a steak. 

[mlp]

That was a ridiculous challenge - 90 minutes to make a fancy cake and get it perfect.  There were several shots where I saw people, with their bare hands, taking cake layers out of metal pans which had supposedly just come out of the oven a few minutes before.  No way.  I suspect there was down time between baking and decorating that we didn't see and which wasn't counted in the 90 minutes.

I liked Kyle and was sorry to see him go but, yeah, his cake was a mess and adding cream cheese was the kiss of death.  

[chicagofan]

Sorry to lose someone from the Midwest, but it was obvious that Kyle would be leaving - that cake was a hot mess in so many ways.

Congrats to Wayne for not only getting the 9 layer cake done, but being chosen as the best in the Midwest. I knew that when Gordon tried the fake out of 8 layers before the commercial break that it was a bunch of crap - unless you're a total idiot you're not going to bake 3 pans of cake and cut 2 of them into 3 pieces and then cut the third into 2 and only have 8 altogether.

So based on the numbers it looks like the Northeast (2) and the South (5) will team up against the West (4) and the Midwest (3) in next week's team challenge.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Key lime pie is not a cake. 

Everyone else has to make pasta, but you can grill a steak. 

I know, that irked me, especially when I think Joe or Aaron said she should have done better because she bakes cookies.  Like there's any similarity at all between making cookies and making what is basically a custard pie.

This was one of those episodes where you could tell who was going home pretty early on.

It was also one of those times where they factored in the difficulty of the dish when choosing the winners and losers.  That seems fair but what about all the times they don't do that?  

 

[AZChristian]

9 hours ago, chicagofan said:

Congrats to Wayne for not only getting the 9 layer cake done, but being chosen as the best in the Midwest. I knew that when Gordon tried the fake out of 8 layers before the commercial break that it was a bunch of crap - unless you're a total idiot you're not going to bake 3 pans of cake and cut 2 of them into 3 pieces and then cut the third into 2 and only have 8 altogether.

Wayne baked 9 separate layers.

[KeithJ]

I know that baking is part of cooking but it bothered me how many contestants said they were going to "cook at cake" or "I've never cooked this kind of cake" or something to that effect.

Edited August 10, 2023 by KeithJ

[chicagofan]

43 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Wayne baked 9 separate layers.

Oops. Doesn't change my calling Ramsay's attempted fake out before the commercial break. 😜

And I'm impressed that he was able to get 9 pans baked and cooled - do they each only have one oven? I haven't been paying attention to the station set up.

Edited August 10, 2023 by chicagofan

[AZChristian]

6 minutes ago, chicagofan said:

Oops. Doesn't change my calling the attempted fake out before the commercial break. 😜

Agree.  Anyone who has EVER watched a Gordon Ramsay show knew he was faking.

[fishcakes]

I don't get how Kyle's frosting was initially so runny. He said it was buttercream, but that's mostly butter and powdered sugar. Unless he dumped a ton of lemon juice in there, I don't see how it could be that liquid. Also don't get why he wouldn't just start over, which would have been just as fast as dumping in a brick of cream cheese.

Joe telling Wayne how brave he was to make a 9-layer cake, as if he had a choice 🙄

I stopped watching this for a few seasons, but didn't they used to do two challenges in every episode? The main challenge (mystery box, team challenge, or specific thing like last night) and then the bottom three would compete in a second challenge and the worst one would go home.

[Daff]

35 minutes ago, chicagofan said:

Oops. Doesn't change my calling Ramsay's attempted fake out before the commercial break. 😜

And I'm impressed that he was able to get 9 pans baked and cooled - do they each only have one oven? I haven't been paying attention to the station set up.

Congrats to Wayne, but dude, two checks for doneness would be poke the center or use a toothpick! How much time did he waste lamenting and staring at them-with the oven door open?!?

[preeya]

18 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Key lime pie is not a cake. 

 

What about Boston Cream Pie? Is it cake or pie?

[jackjill]

35 minutes ago, preeya said:

What about Boston Cream Pie? Is it cake or pie?

Boston Cream Pie is a cake. In the 1800s the terms were used more interchangeably because they used pie tins to bake most things -- or something like that.

Another fun fact -- German Chocolate Cake is not German. It was the winner of a baking competition and the person who made it had the last name of German, so it was originally called German's Chocolate Cake. 

I cannot stand it when people say cook when they are baking. It grates. 

 

[mertensia]

18 hours ago, mlp said:

That was a ridiculous challenge - 90 minutes to make a fancy cake and get it perfect.  There were several shots where I saw people, with their bare hands, taking cake layers out of metal pans which had supposedly just come out of the oven a few minutes before.  No way.  I suspect there was down time between baking and decorating that we didn't see and which wasn't counted in the 90 minutes.

I liked Kyle and was sorry to see him go but, yeah, his cake was a mess and adding cream cheese was the kiss of death.  

You can tell there is edited out down time because several times thought the show's history they have tried to act like they frosted hot cake. Like no. Frosting cake when it's hot does not look good as the frosting melts.

[jcbrown]

Key lime pie is dead simple to make, too, so there is no excuse for whatever-manic-pixie-dreamgirl's-name-is to have screwed it up so much. (she is a bit twee for me, perhaps you can tell.)

Edited August 11, 2023 by jcbrown

[chicagofan]

29 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

Key lime pie is dead simple to make, too, so there is no excuse for whatever-manic-pixie-dreamgirl's-name-is to have screwed it up so much. (she is a bit twee for me, perhaps you can tell.)

She is Madame Donut shortened to M.D. I know...really?

[jcbrown]

13 minutes ago, chicagofan said:

She is Madame Donut shortened to M.D. I know...really?

Strangely, that does not change my opinion that she is too twee...

[jabRI]

This season is really not cutting it, not sure how they can change the format.  Maybe make it more like Great British with fewer contestants, so we can both get to know them and watch them think through how they are going to approach the challenge?

I swear I saw a woman on the show last night I'd never seen before.  Not sure what region she is.

[chicagofan]

Just a sad note - for all the amusement at her name, Madame Donut is from and has her donut shop on Maui in Hawaii. An article I found says it's in Wailuku which is 10 minutes west of Kahului Airport. Supposedly it's a locals, not touristy area - I don't know if she and her business have been impacted by the devastating fires there.

[bluepiano]

9 hours ago, jabRI said:

I swear I saw a woman on the show last night I'd never seen before.  Not sure what region she is.

Was it Sav (short for Savannah, the farmer?  I remember liking her during the auditions, and when I saw her this week I thought, wait, she's still around? It feels like she hasn't even been mentioned or shown all season. There are a few others who are flying under the radar, because they're never chosen as best or worst.

11 hours ago, jcbrown said:

Key lime pie is dead simple to make, too, so there is no excuse for whatever-manic-pixie-dreamgirl's-name-is to have screwed it up so much. (she is a bit twee for me, perhaps you can tell.)

"Madame Donut" was in that middle group until this week. (Though always noticeable because of her hair). So, if she owns a donut shop, doesn't that make her a professional chef, and therefore not a "home cook" and eligible for Master Chef. I know that donuts are not haute cuisine, but she's at least a professional baker, and since they have baking challenges on Master Chef, they consider baking to be cooking.

IMO, if you call yourself Madame Donut and you screw up the simplest of the deserts you deserve to go home, no matter how much of a mess Kyle made.

I think Kyle was one of the three or four best cooks on the show. I hate that he went home in a baking challenge. I'm in that group that feels that baking should not be part of a show called "Master Chef."

 

 

 

[jabRI]

5 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

9 hours ago, jabRI said:

I swear I saw a woman on the show last night I'd never seen before.  Not sure what region she is.

Was it Sav (short for Savannah, the farmer?  I remember liking her during the auditions, and when I saw her this week I thought, wait, she's still around? It feels like she hasn't even been mentioned or shown all season. There are a few others who are flying under the radar, because they're never chosen as best or worst.

Yes I think it was her! Like I said, too many contestants

5 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

. I'm in that group that feels that baking should not be part of a show called "Master Chef."

Agreed, most cooks come on the show with like one desert under their belt if they need it, but to throw this at them is unfair.

[Colorado David]

28 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

IMO, if you call yourself Madame Donut and you screw up the simplest of the deserts you deserve to go home, no matter how much of a mess Kyle made.

 

 

 

 

I'm 99% sure I've heard Gordon call someone a "donut" before as an insult on Hell's Kitchen.

[jackjill]

Baking is such a science and there are very specific ratios and ingredients you have to use to get the final product you want. To ask them to duplicate a cake without a recipe is ridiculous. It's not about a pinch of this or a pinch of that. 

I agree that it would be different if this were a baking show, but it's not. How any of the cakes were passable is a major achievement. 

[gaPeach]

1 hour ago, Colorado David said:

MO, if you call yourself Madame Donut and you screw up the simplest of the deserts you deserve to go home, no matter how much of a mess Kyle made.

ITA.  I really thought rainbow hair lady was toast as she messed up a key lime pie which was probably one of the simplest receipts in the contest.  She should have gone instead of Kyle.  But Kyle shot himself in the foot putting cream cheese in the icing.  Judges saw that and made their decision on who was going home.  Regardless of him doing that he made a cake he never made before, without a recipe (really?) and it didn't totally suck.  She on the other hand messed up a simple pie dish.  Should. have. gone. home.

 

23 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I don't get how Kyle's frosting was initially so runny. He said it was buttercream, but that's mostly butter and powdered sugar. Unless he dumped a ton of lemon juice in there, I don't see how it could be that liquid. Also don't get why he wouldn't just start over, which would have been just as fast as dumping in a brick of cream cheese.

How did the judges expect the cooks to bake cakes they never made before without a recipe?  I looked for instructions on their work areas but saw none.  So, if the chef's that had hard cakes with no recipe, in my opinion if they had a "cake" at the end, they automatically get through.  Why Kyle did not use powder sugar to fix frosting is beyond me.  I liked him and sorry to see him go.

 

[fishcakes]

 

10 hours ago, chicagofan said:

Just a sad note - for all the amusement at her name, Madame Donut is from and has her donut shop on Maui in Hawaii. An article I found says it's in Wailuku which is 10 minutes west of Kahului Airport. Supposedly it's a locals, not touristy area - I don't know if she and her business have been impacted by the devastating fires there.

Except for air quality, her shop and home are probably okay if in Wailuku. That's on the other side of the island, and from what I've read, tourists are able to shelter in and fly out of Kahului Airport.

 

26 minutes ago, jackjill said:

Baking is such a science and there are very specific ratios and ingredients you have to use to get the final product you want. To ask them to duplicate a cake without a recipe is ridiculous. It's not about a pinch of this or a pinch of that. 

 

Previous season's contestants have said that they do get recipes. They're given recipes to study the day before the competition, so they have a general idea what the competition will be. In this case, I would guess they were given the recipes for all of the cakes, which would still be pretty difficult since that's a lot of different, yet similar, things to memorize, and I don't think they can refer to them during the competition, but they're not going in completely blind. That's why their "surprised" reactions when the competition is announced is always so over-the-top.

[bluepiano]

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Previous season's contestants have said that they do get recipes. They're given recipes to study the day before the competition, so they have a general idea what the competition will be.

I suspect that in other challenges the contestants are given advance notice and time to prepare as well. But with baking challenges it's more obvious, and as others have pointed out, we were not shown the actual time sequence. Well, at least Christina Tosi is no longer a judge, which thankfully reduce the number of deserts the contestants have to make. 

On 8/10/2023 at 7:50 AM, fishcakes said:

I stopped watching this for a few seasons, but didn't they used to do two challenges in every episode? The main challenge (mystery box, team challenge, or specific thing like last night) and then the bottom three would compete in a second challenge and the worst one would go home.

The format of the show has been altered to fit this season's concept of the four competing regions, which I think has been a complete failure. I don't like that every week an entire region gets to be safe if one member cooks the winning dish. And it's really silly that with only 2 people in the northeast, every week one has to be in the bottom and one in the top.

More importantly, we've seen virtually no true regional cooking. Not even in the south, which I believe is the one region that actually does have a distinctive cuisine. I lived in the midwest for 12 yers, and I'll be darned if I can tell you what midwest cuisine is. Meat and potatoes? They do that everywhere. 

[KeithJ]

16 hours ago, jabRI said:

I swear I saw a woman on the show last night I'd never seen before.  Not sure what region she is.

For me it was the guy who fist-bumped Kyle on his way out.

I have no idea who that guy is.

Edited August 11, 2023 by KeithJ

[jabRI]

1 hour ago, bluepiano said:

I lived in the midwest for 12 yers, and I'll be darned if I can tell you what midwest cuisine is. Meat and potatoes? They do that everywhere. 

And I think regional is too big.  Detroit: Buddy's pizza, Chicago: deep dish.  Detroit: Coney dogs, Cincinnati:  chili dogs.  Maine cuisine is vastly different from NYC cuisine, don't even get me started.  The whole concept is ridiculous.

 

[preeya]

3 hours ago, KeithJ said:

For me it was the guy who fist-bumped Kyle on his way out.

I have no idea who that guy is.

He's the guy that screwed up the mashed potatoes in the outdoor competition. Then he redeemed himself last week with a chicken marsala dish.

Edited August 11, 2023 by preeya

[jcbrown]

20 hours ago, chicagofan said:

Just a sad note - for all the amusement at her name, Madame Donut is from and has her donut shop on Maui in Hawaii. An article I found says it's in Wailuku which is 10 minutes west of Kahului Airport. Supposedly it's a locals, not touristy area - I don't know if she and her business have been impacted by the devastating fires there.

AS @fishcakes said, Wailuku is on the other side of the island from Lahaina. It gets more rain than the west side lately and the current fires have been far away.

 

9 hours ago, fishcakes said:

 

Except for air quality, her shop and home are probably okay if in Wailuku. That's on the other side of the island, and from what I've read, tourists are able to shelter in and fly out of Kahului Airport.

 

Previous season's contestants have said that they do get recipes. They're given recipes to study the day before the competition, so they have a general idea what the competition will be. In this case, I would guess they were given the recipes for all of the cakes, which would still be pretty difficult since that's a lot of different, yet similar, things to memorize, and I don't think they can refer to them during the competition, but they're not going in completely blind. That's why their "surprised" reactions when the competition is announced is always so over-the-top.

I wondered about that---if they got instruction at all before a challenge. I did not know they got recipesto look at the day before. That makes it more plausible that they could produce all these specific cakes on the fly, albeit still challenging.

[Mellowyellow]

I can't believe I'm going to say this but this season, I enjoy the challenges on this version of MC more than the Aussie version. Making them bake cakes was a bit harsh but at least they were all forced to bake something and move out of their comfort zone. MC Au this season had people cooking the same stuff every week over and over and over again right up to the finale. 

I like that, in general, the US version of MC forces the contestants to cook a variety of things.

[seacliffsal]

I really had a hard time not being angry every time the judges said everyone had to bake a cake and then immediately talk about the Key Lime Pie.  Either have them all bake cakes or all bake pies.  During the judging either Joe or Aaron mentioned carrot cake and cheesecake.  The fact that there was one pie in the mix really irked me-especially such an easy pie (relatively).  Even her graham cracker crust looked too dry (it looked like she didn't add enough (or any) butter to the crushed graham crackers.  And, her custard would be easier to cool than some of the cakes (oh and the guy that did Boston Cream Pie had to make custard as well as cake-so equivilent cooling time for the custard plus the cake cool).  Total set-up to keep someone safe.

I was amazed how many cakes looked really good.  There were several contestants who could have been in the top based on the little that we were shown.  

Oh, and there were several times when Aaron's comments sounded like memorized comments/lines.

I liked the young man who won, but don't remember seeing him much before and I can't remember his name, but kudos to him for what seemed to be a difficult cake.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 8/11/2023 at 8:19 AM, Colorado David said:

I'm 99% sure I've heard Gordon call someone a "donut" before as an insult on Hell's Kitchen.

Donut was a fairly common insult for Gordon. I think that's inn part why they opted to call the contestant MD instead of Madame Donut, which she said she changed to be her legal name 

On 8/10/2023 at 9:50 AM, fishcakes said:

I stopped watching this for a few seasons, but didn't they used to do two challenges in every episode? The main challenge (mystery box, team challenge, or specific thing like last night) and then the bottom three would compete in a second challenge and the worst one would go home.

Yes, they used to have two challenges an episode. First would be an initial cook that would screen people out and then the unlucky few would have to compete in the Dreaded Pressure Test. But somewhere along the line, it shifted so there is only one round of cooking and people are shown to be on the top (with the overall winner getting an advantage) or on the bottom (with usually one but sometimes two people getting the boot). 

On 8/11/2023 at 9:41 AM, gaPeach said:

How did the judges expect the cooks to bake cakes they never made before without a recipe?  I looked for instructions on their work areas but saw none.  So, if the chef's that had hard cakes with no recipe, in my opinion if they had a "cake" at the end, they automatically get through.  Why Kyle did not use powder sugar to fix frosting is beyond me.  I liked him and sorry to see him go.

A staple on Hell;s Kitchen is the "Taste it, now make it" challenge where people sample a dish and are supposed to do their best to replicate it. It's possible that they get help for that too to be in the ballpark. But I think "Bake a cake like this one" is easier because there's at least some basic commonality in cake baking, and there's not really much in the way of secret ingredients. Much of what's in a cake is going to be pretty apparent in its name and in looking at it. 

[preeya]

S13:E10 - Dodgers Stadium Field Challenge

The chefs split into two teams to prepare a lunch for over 100 kids at Dodger Stadium.

The chef with immunity gets to choose one member from each team who must swap sides and work with the other regions. (??)

[Tango64]

Another large group catering event. They should just call it MasterCaterer. 
Who will serve raw meat? How much meat will Gordon throw against a wall? I’m predicting “How dare you serve this to these precious underprivileged children!”