S16.E14: The Tao of Macau

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The final four chefs must cook with the smelly durian fruit; the chefs get a tutorial on the traditional cuisine of Macau; for the elimination challenge, the chefs are tasked with blending their own heritage with Chinese flavors.

Air date: March 7, 2019

[susannot]

They did a good job with the horrifically smelly durian.  I understand that the flavor, if you can get past the smell, is creamy and delicious.  Michelle did a good job by combining it with coconut milk.

[Bastet]

Making a dish out of an ingredient they all hate was an interesting way to close out the QFs.  I got some good laughs out of their talking heads about durian.  Sara’s especially: “If you took stinky cheese and put it in a plastic bag with socks and grass that you just mowed.”  LOL!  She was funny at the dinner table, too.  (They all had entertaining reactions to being asked to join the judges, and I like that Eric took his apron off to do so.)                        

I’m not surprised she won the EC; she clearly did a great job of combining the local flavors with those of her heritage, and by how relaxed she was, I knew it had come out exactly like she wanted.  Once I heard the judges’ commentary, I knew someone else would have to hit it out of the park for this not to be hers.

Michelle seemed to hate the durian the least, so I’m not surprised she won the QF, but the description of her EC dish had me concerned she was not bringing in enough local flavors.  So when I heard that feedback from just about everyone around the table, I figured her time was up unless someone screwed up.  And then Eric and Kelsey both had small errors.  Kelsey did such a great job substituting local ingredients with similar flavor profiles, I figured she was safe in second place.  And Eric's issues were minor, while Michelle's was an overall conceptual flaw, so I never really wavered from thinking it was her on the chopping block.

It's hard to get so close, but she had a second chance via LCK and showed herself very well; it was just her time to go and she can be proud of what she did.  I like that the bottom three were all very much wanting to stay, of course, but felt good about what could be their final dish. 

The family lunch was really enjoyable to watch.  That must have been great for them.  I liked Kelsey’s mom dryly responding, “Your husband,” when Kelsey asked “Who has my child?”  And, during the shopping, I loved Kelsey saying if her mom didn’t find her cart, she wasn't going to kill her on national TV but she might throw a temper tantrum.  And I truly LOL at Eric saying when he first came up the stairs, he thought, "That woman looks exactly like my sister."

So close now; I don't want it to come to an end, because I miss this show when it's not on.  But it continues to be so nice not to be rooting against anyone!  There's no So-and-So should have been out long ago; he's only here because someone else got screwed or Yeah, good food, but I hate to see assholes succeed at play.  (And that happens more often than not on this show, which is one of the reasons it's one of the few competitive reality shows I watch, but it's still nice each time.)  As bummed as I'll be for it to be over, I can't wait to see what they all make and who wins.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Bastet

[Nidratime]

I knew they were going to find a way to eliminate Michelle. I thought it earlier. Not only because of her understated personality which is death to a reality show, but because she was a chef who came back from last chance kitchen. I know another chef came back (and I think won, right? Maybe not.) But they can't have too many of that, or it'll look like they don't know what they're doing.

[HunterHunted]

1 minute ago, Nidratime said:

I knew they were going to find a way to eliminate Michelle. I thought it earlier. Not only because of her understated personality which is death to a reality show, but because she was a chef who came back from last chance kitchen. I know another chef came back (and I think won, right? Maybe not.) But they can't have too many of that, or it'll look like they don't know what they're doing.

Kristen Kish and Brooke Williamson came back from Last Chance Kitchen to win.

"I've had matapa so I was really looking forward to egusi." Please kindly shut up guest chef. If someone said "I love New England clam chowder so I was really looking forward to California cuisine." or "I love beef bourguignon so I can't wait to try an Uzbek dish." people would rightly look at that person like a fool because Mozambique is 3,000 miles away from Ghana. They are on different sides of the continent.

Egusi is actually grainy. It's my favorite West African soup. It's too bad Eric never got to screw with Tom and serve him okra soup.

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

I know another chef came back (and I think won, right? Maybe not.) But they can't have too many of that, or it'll look like they don't know what they're doing.

Just now, HunterHunted said:

Kristen Kish and Brooke Williamson came back from Last Chance Kitchen to win.

As did Joe Flamm last season.

[Ashforth]

So Eric survives again after producing what seemed like a sub-par dish. Really, when a judge says there wasn't a single bite that didn't have inedible bits in it? I'm beginning to feel that the fix is in for him to win. It seemed to me that Michelle deserved to stay over Eric.

That being said, what a personally fabulous final four! Loved their family members! And all good chefs. I wished again while watching this episode that we could taste the food (someday, with Star Trek style replicators, but not today).

I'd be happy with Sarah or Kelsey taking home the prize.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Ashforth

[susannot]

So I am glad that they are not establishing a pattern of having LCK come back and win.

[Nidratime]

4 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Kristen Kish and Brooke Williamson came back from Last Chance Kitchen to win. 

That's what I mean. They can't have too much of that, or it'll look like they don't know what they're doing. (Wow! They keep eliminating the ultimate winner!)

[susannot]

Just now, Ashforth said:

So Eric survives again after producing what seemed like a sub-par dish. Really, when a judge says there wasn't a single bite that didn't have inedible bits in it? I'm beginning to feel that the fix is in for him to win. 

That being said, what a personally fabulous final four! Loved their family members! And all good chefs. I wished again while watching this episode that we could taste the food (someday, with Star Trek style replicators, but not today).

I'd be happy with Sarah or Kelsey taking home the prize.

I hope he does win.  His African flavors are new and delicious on this show.

[Ashforth]

1 minute ago, susannot said:

So I am glad that they are not establishing a pattern of having LCK come back and win.

I think part of the problem is that they (understandably in a way) want to treat each challenge as a stand-alone that doesn't take prior performance into consideration, but the truth is that for a competition like this one, it only makes sense to consider the totality (ingenuity, taste and consistency) of what the contestants have made throughout the competition.

Bottom line, though, there can only be one winner.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I thought the Durian quickfire and the chef's comments were hysterical.   I've really enjoyed seeing Macau, and the restaurants they've gone to.    I can't wait for next week. 

[Chit Chat]

That was a nice twist!  Letting them have a family member there helps to ease the nerves just a touch!  And the view from that restaurant was fantastic. I figured Michelle was doomed from the beginning when she said in her TH that she was going to take the others down one by one.  We've all watched enough of these kinds of shows to be able to pick up when someone is doomed after saying something like that!  

How did Kelsey's Mom misplace her grocery cart?  She must've set it aside while running around looking for stuff.  I'm sure they're getting a good laugh out of it now, but at the time, not so much!  😉

I really thought Michelle would make it to the finale.  She seems to be a great chef.  As I've said in previous posts, the judges have to be really nitpicky now, so just the smallest missed detail will trip them up.  I know it's got to be really frustrating for the chefs though.  

[HunterHunted]

54 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

So Eric survives again after producing what seemed like a sub-par dish. Really, when a judge says there wasn't a single bite that didn't have inedible bits in it? I'm beginning to feel that the fix is in for him to win. It seemed to me that Michelle deserved to stay over Eric.

50 minutes ago, susannot said:

I hope he does win.  His African flavors are new and delicious on this show.

Here's the thing, Tom, Padma, and the guest judge revealed the limitations of their expertise and their provincialism (Padma at least admitted to it). Egusi soup is grainy. It's no more a flaw than the sweet rotting funkiness of durian is a flaw. I don't know if a producer intervened or if they reconsidered their thoughts on the grainy texture after Eric explained it to them. The reality is that this show has a massive blindspot when it comes to the foods and flavors of West Africa, which is especially glaring when you realize the impact those foods and flavors have had on the Americas (North, Central, and South) and the Caribbean. Maybe the judges realized that Michelle's dish didn't taste remotely fusion or transformed. I don't think it's that easy to declare that the fix is in when Michelle didn't really meet the challenge requirements and the judges were completely cartoonishly clueless about a cuisine eaten by more than 300 million people.

[buttersister]

Happy to see Eric go through. I agree, HunterHunted, Tom & Co. seem to have little first hand knowledge about the continent, the cultures and the wide range of cuisines. More the shame, but as Eric continues, they and everyone else are learning. Such a refreshing departure from foams and whatnot of previous seasons. 

Since they announced they were going to Macau, I was hoping to see Abe Conlon. Fat Rice, his restaurant, serves delicious flavors and is fun 

[avecsans]

I never had much of an opinion one way or another about Michele until they showed her flossing her teeth at the table. At that point I really needed her to lose, because that was straight up disgusting.

Padma can be almost comically imperious, as when she summoned the cheftestants with the double hand-beckoning.

 I really want Eric to win, but I think they’re setting us up for Kelsey.

[WatchrTina]

I'm signing in for the first time this season to say that I've really been enjoying this season.  I can't vote in that poll they keep promoting because I like all the contestants so I don't want to vote for a favorite.  What a change this season is vs. the two infamous "mean" seasons.  I'm thinking of the one where a bunch of contestants ganged up on the unpopular guy, threatening to shave his head (and then one of the meanies shaved her own head instead.)  The other "mean" season was the one with the Voltaggio brothers.  The asshole Voltaggio brother actually won and that nearly did it for me.  I didn't want to watch a show that rewarded a guy for being a douche-bag.  I'm betting the ratings dropped after that season and they learned their lesson.  I've noticed that the show is almost unfailingly positive now.  The contestants seem to get along and are occasionally shown helping one another.  Maybe they are just acting-- maybe the editors carefully select those positive moments to cultivate warm on-screen personas for the contestants -- but even if that is the case, I'm fine with it.  I don't want to tune in and watch people be dicks to one another.

Edited March 9, 2019 by WatchrTina

[milner]

I could live with any winner but Sara. She just rubs me the wrong way for some reason.

[mlp]

I don't know a thing about African food but I heard Eric say, while preparing his dish, that egusi (?) is gritty because of the ground up seeds.  I didn't understand why he didn't speak up at judges' table and explain that.  Maybe he did and we just didn't see it.  

I liked Michelle but she failed at game play even though her food was good.  Eliminating her seemed to be the right decision.

Sarah came across well this episode but I haven't liked her all along so I still hope one of the others wins.  I'm sort of leaning toward Kelsey but I'll be happy for Eric if he out-cooks her.  Either of them will be a deserving winner AFAIC but I suspect that the judges are a bit partial to Sarah for some reason.  

[biakbiak]

11 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

they learned their lesson.  I've noticed that the show is almost unfailingly positive now

That was one of the highest rated season and Michael got so many more high profile tv appearances. Not that I found him an asshole just an intense and super talented chef. 

34 minutes ago, avecsans said:

Padma can be almost comically imperious, as when she summoned the cheftestants with the double hand-beckoning.

It has never once occurred to me to view that gesture that way when it’s been used to ask me to come. Not to mention her gorgeous smile while doing it.

Edited March 8, 2019 by biakbiak

[hendersonrocks]

Sara's soup looked and sounded absolutely delicious. It seemed pretty obvious that Michelle was in trouble during Tom and Abe's kitchen walk-through when she couldn't really articulate how she was infusing Chinese flavors into her dish. It was clearly between her and Eric going home at the end, and if I had to pick who I'd save it would have been him.

I'm actually pretty excited for the final three, though I have no idea what the finale is going to entail given the little teaser there at the end. I hope there aren't too many gimmicks - just let them cook their best food and see who comes out on top.

Edited March 8, 2019 by hendersonrocks

[HappyDancex2]

Michelle didn’t get the message that it’s Top Broth.  Fatal flaw calling something cioppino without the broth that everyone loves in a cioppino.  Sara did a Jewish broth.  Kelsey did a Chinese inspired broth with 37 ingredients.  And Eric did a gritty broth that no one could dispute LOL.

Loved all the cheftestants reactions when they were asked to dine on their own meals.  Clever and cute twist.  Thought all the loved ones were utilized in a way that made sense.

[biakbiak]

Navigating that grocery store in 30 minutes was probably the toughest part of the challenge! There also seemed to be more people, perhaps because it was a tighter space, than usually are at WF during their shopping trips.

I have been surprised by people coming and visiting me when I was traveling/living abroad and totally thought the same thing as Eric! That person looks exactly like my boyfriend or my bff, my mind couldn’t process them initially in the new environment. Eric’s sister was adorable. 

I am shocked that Sara didn’t know to use soda water to make matzo balls, it makes them so light and tender. Her dish looked sensational. I usually cook for my friends Passover do I might go with an Asian take on my matzo ball soup.

I used to work at an organization that was predominantly Chinese and located in Chinatown so we had a rule that you couldn’t open a durian at work. The smell does dissipate so people were allowed to bring it if it was in a dish. The smell doesn’t actually bother me to me it’s more like a gas leak/sulfur. I am going to dim sum this weekend so I will be sure to remember to order some durian puffs! 

Edited March 8, 2019 by biakbiak

[Fukui San]

I've only had durian once. At a Vietnamese restaurant we tried a durian shake, because we'll try most anything once. So that's probably a milder form of durian than straight up, and the smell wasn't much of an issue in this form. It was slightly sweet, but then there was a coating on the back of your tongue like a meaty, fermented(?) umami flavor which did not go away very quickly. As you can see, it's hard to explain. Anyway, I tried it once and see no need to try it again.

[Dance4Life]

HaHahHa!  That reminds me.  If we got some kiddos on here working in an office and want to raise hell just go ahead and bring some chitterlings for lunch. Heat them up in your office microwave. 

I didn’t want to see anyone go. It is a good  final group, with the fam and then of course they are in Hong Kong and Macau.  China for food and hospitality....is unbeatable. 

Eric has been my fave.  My West African culture always makes me emotional. It was so sweet when his sister told him not to carry Africa on his back.

I wholeheartedly believe this is why they kept him.  Eric cooks with his heart!  His sister reminded the judges.

Stop bitching about the grit.  That is Ghana in a bowl.

It was difficult watching Michelle give up.  She is extremely talented and seems like an easy going down to earth girl. 

Sara and Kelsey amazing comfort food bowls.  Would love to try!

May the best Chef win!

[Chit Chat]

5 hours ago, Dance4Life said:

Sara and Kelsey amazing comfort food bowls.  Would love to try!

I would too!  I liked that Tom stood up for Kelsey's dish.  Didn't he say it was nearly perfect?  Padma found it "spice forward."  (Can't they just say too much spice?)  That's the tough thing about this kind of competition.  You're at the mercy of 3 or 4 judges, all with very unique tastes and interpretations.   Maybe she should've dialed it back a notch, but then Padma would've made a stink face and said it had no taste.  😉 

[VintageJ]

For once, and maybe because it is so few chefs left, I correctly guessed the exact outcome.  I knew Sara had won based on the comments at the table, knew Kelsey would be fine and guessed correctly that Michelle would go home based on their comments. Once they said they did not taste China in her dish, she was a goner.

LOVED that they had the chefs sit down and eat with them at the table with their loved ones.  That should be a staple of the finals.  Also really loved that they got to spend time with their loved ones.  You could see how much energy it gave the contestants.  Sara was practically beaming and skipping when they were leaving the house.  It is the boost they all needed.

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

That should be a staple of the finals

I don't think it would be possible in the finale, since there's usually much more diners than in this case, and the chefs have to be in the kitchen to prepare and plate all the food in the courses.

[WendyM]

When Michelle won the QF and the extra time, I actually thought to myself, "More time to screw up..." I think that's happened before, when a contestant starts to overthink and attempt too much. I'm sad because I liked her--almost because she was unlike other reality show contestants in demeanor--and her backstory got to me. In her last talking head, when she talked about her dark time...it just got to me. I wish her well.

If you'd told me at the beginning of the season I'd be rooting for Kelsey in any way...she's a hoot and a half. She's hilarious in her talking heads now. (Producer prompts? Editing? Her ease as the season went on? Who knows?) I loved how they illustrated just howmuchalike she and her mom are--those ahhhhhhhs in unison were hysterical. I liked her honesty about the durian and how not liking an ingredient will mean the dish just won't be good. True.

I will also root for Eric because of what you all have said above: his food sounds delicious and it's so unlike past seasons' flavors. 

As for Sara? No. I'm sorry. I just can't root for her. I knew at the beginning of the episode, when she talked about being nervous, was a misdirect. Maybe if they'd hadn't shown the "I know how to do everything" aspect of her personality in the early episodes...I don't know. 

I posted about this last week, but following Padma on Instagram has given me a new appreciation for her and what she brings to the show. I know the show should be doing that all by itself...

I miss Gail! STFU, NotGail!

I'm looking forward to the finale of a season I've truly enjoyed, aside from the NoGail situation.

[Rammchick]

I like all 3 finalists and will be happy with whoever wins.  My heritage is the same as Sara's, although I'm almost 100% Jewish.  I kept wishing she'd made schmaltz (chicken fat) for the matzo balls (we call them Knaedels or Knaedlech).  I render my schmaltz with a lot of onions, and for me, that gives the correct texture (I don't use club soda).

Ultimately, it had to be Eric over Michelle, because he fulfilled the brief better than she did, even if the judges found the texture challenging.  Somewhat understandable since in the west, grit in food typically indicates something wasn't washed or prepared properly.

[theatremouse]

11 hours ago, mlp said:

I don't know a thing about African food but I heard Eric say, while preparing his dish, that egusi (?) is gritty because of the ground up seeds.  I didn't understand why he didn't speak up at judges' table and explain that.  Maybe he did and we just didn't see it.  

He did. When he sat down to eat with them and they asked him what he thought of how it turned out he said he was happy with the texture. I don't know if that discussion went on and was edited to just that statement, but it would be weird for there to not be follow up questions about that. Plus it seemed like not-Gayle had the biggest problem. Tom kept saying his issue was not the seeds, but the shrimp thing. So I'm not completely sure if no one in the room but Eric knew that the texture was how it always is in that dish. It's also possible that some of them knew it was standard to have that grit, but "I don't like this texture" was a more important factor to her over "this dish always has this texture". Kinda like, ok, it's authentic, but I still don't like it.

3 hours ago, ChitChat said:

 Padma found it "spice forward."  (Can't they just say too much spice?) 

To me "spice forward" and "too much spice" are different things? It could've been both. When they showed Kelsey having someone else taste it she was told "do not put any more spice in this". Still to me "spice forward" means the spice is front and center and the primary thing you taste, in an "overshadowing everything else" way. Whereas too much spice just means...too much spice. It's a small difference but the former is "I wish I could taste the other stuff more" and the latter is "ack my palate!"

[JTMacc99]

12 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

 I don't want to tune in and watch people be dicks to one another.

I completely agree. I want to see them be very competitive, but with a ton of respect.

And I do think this group not only like each other, but also respect each other. Especially with the addition of the family members, this was an easy episode to watch and to find myself rooting for all of them to succeed.

[Yeah No]

I wasn't unhappy that Michelle went home.  I think she deserved to go more than Eric.  I'm tossed up over who I'm rooting for now as I like all three of the finalists just as much.  I still don't get the Sara dislike.  Her mother seems lovely and her relationship with her was touching.  I am part Jewish and Sara reminds me of a lot of Jewish girls I grew up with and am friends with to this day.  In fact she is almost a ringer for one woman I know well.  So it kind of bugs me that people don't like her for admittedly nebulous reasons that I'm not seeing at all.  I get the impression they wouldn't like my friends either, or perhaps even ME!

I couldn't resist blurting out "Chef's salty balls" after Tom made his comment on Eric's dish.  OK, I know I'm bad and going straight to hell.....😉

I have to admit I don't know anything about African food but I don't hold it against the judges for not being clued in as it's still relatively rare in the U.S. as of yet, but I do think they should have called in more guest judges with some knowledge on the subject to help them navigate his food.  It's too bad that he had to defend it so much.  I thought I heard Eric say he was making Fufu again so of course all I could see in my mind's eye was Fabio saying,  "This is Top Chef, not Top Fufu", LOL.  OK, I guess my sense of humor is on the far side today.  Carry on.

[snarktini]

54 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Ultimately, it had to be Eric over Michelle, because he fulfilled the brief better than she did, even if the judges found the texture challenging.  Somewhat understandable since in the west, grit in food typically indicates something wasn't washed or prepared properly.

That's how it shook out to me. 

Michelle was my fav of the 4 because she is so low-key, but she did fail the brief. It appears her mistake was in the very beginning, trying to merge Mexican AND Italian with Chinese. The dish seemed like a mess IMO. From her convo with Mom, I expected a more literal cioppino (with liquid! what you call it matters!) with beans and mexican herbs in it. Instead...a smear of tomato stuff? A smear of bean stuff? And some naked seafood? That just didn't look interesting. She didn't even succeed in merging the heritage side, it's no wonder she didn't also manage to make it local. There was a brief moment I wondered if Eric would actually go home when one judge said she had to spit something out on every bite and two noted his quenelles were weird. But not making it taste local was the death knell.

Eric is my 2nd pick, I like his energy and different viewpoint. Then Kelsey or Sarah, not sure if I care there. I don't dislike either one (Sarah has grown on me), but also don't feel attached to either. That's probably true of nearly all the contestants this season. They're all pleasant, and I prefer that to bitchiness, but I'm not on Team Anyone, really.

Edited March 8, 2019 by snarktini

[dleighg]

24 minutes ago, snarktini said:

She didn't even succeed in merging the heritage side, it's no wonder she didn't also manage to make it local.

I guess I must be the only person here who was totally surprised when Michelle said she was half Mexican and half Italian. With her looks, and the last name Minori, I just assumed her father was Japanese. 

[meep.meep]

I'd been wondering about her heritage - guess we know now!

Why did they all make soup?

[snarktini]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I guess I must be the only person here who was totally surprised when Michelle said she was half Mexican and half Italian. With her looks, and the last name Minori, I just assumed her father was Japanese. 

Oh, I didn't know until she stated her heritage. Based on something she said in the very beginning about her grandmother, I might have inferred Mexican or Native American in part. 

But I've lived in the Bay Area long enough to know I am a terrible guesser. And I actively try NOT to spend time guessing "what" people are. If it's rude to ask, which it is, it's probably not much better to be wondering. When I find myself doing that, I stop myself and focus on something more important about them.

ETA: Hope this doesn't sound preachy or shaming, that wasn't my intent. It's just something I'm personally working on 🙂

Edited March 8, 2019 by snarktini
Don't want to sound like a judgmental jerk

[Yeah No]

44 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I guess I must be the only person here who was totally surprised when Michelle said she was half Mexican and half Italian. With her looks, and the last name Minori, I just assumed her father was Japanese. 

No, I was surprised too.  I thought she was like Katsuji that way.  Maybe there's more to the story.  She could be 1/4 Japanese on her father's side.

[dleighg]

8 minutes ago, snarktini said:

If it's rude to ask, which it is, it's probably not much better to be wondering.

well to be fair, I wouldn't have gone to "Japanese" if it wasn't for her last name. That's still usually a pretty good clue.

[snarktini]

34 minutes ago, dleighg said:

well to be fair, I wouldn't have gone to "Japanese" if it wasn't for her last name. That's still usually a pretty good clue.

Agreed!

[AriAu]

Quote

I will also root for Eric because of what you all have said above: his food sounds delicious and it's so unlike past seasons' flavors.

Quote

Here's the thing, Tom, Padma, and the guest judge revealed the limitations of their expertise and their provincialism (Padma at least admitted to it). Egusi soup is grainy.

I enjoy the fact that Eric is bringing in different cuisines, tastes and smells to the competition, but here are the 2 things I dont get:

1. How do they know if it is a good or well made fufu or egusi and

2. Isn't the only thing that matters is whether it tastes good/was pleasant to eat.

Plenty of people have gone home for a tasty risotto or other dish that was good but wasn't made to the perceived specs of the judges. How many times have we heard Tom or another judge say, "well it wasn't really a ______" which lead to elimination. In fact Michelle was dinged for making a chioppino that they expected to have broth but didn't, meaning that she got sent home for not making a good chioppino (or one the way the judges expected) as well as not embracing the challenge, whereas the judges had no idea whether it was a well made egusi. To me, and I did not taste it, the texture sounded offputting at best and gross at worse-ground up pumpkin shells (not the seeds but the shells themselves) did not sound appetizing, especially when all the judges acknowledged that there was grit still in there. In other words, if he had called it a spinach stew, would he have been PPYNAGoing or did he get a break by calling it egusi? I'm not accusing Eric of BSing the judges, and apparently the dish tasted great, but did he catch a break by calling it something on which the judges did not have a proper frame of reference.   

By the way, the other way to look at it was did Sara catch a break by calling her soup dumplings "matzah balls" (even tho there was no matzah in there) since the judges all had a point of reference or was she at risk since some people like matzah balls fluffy and some like them hard.  And, yes, I know she won since her broth was asian inspired and apparently delicious, as well as the creativity of making great matzah balls without matzah!

I loved that they had the family members show up at this stage and even help out since it gave us some insights into the chefs (really humanized Sara for me), but I did not like the concept of rotating the parent/sib as the chefs came through. I'd rather that they had been able to let the judges discuss and critique the dishes rather than make nice with the chefs and families. I really felt like we did not get as much analysis/critique as we usually do at this stage of the competition where we can really hear the judges dig into the dishes. YMMV.

By the way, if you really want to learn about the cheftestants, the 2 most recent podcasts on "Pack your knives" had interviews with Sara and then Kelsie and I really felt better about both after hearing their stories...particularly Sara who is either getting a bad edit by the Dancing Elves or was bullshitting the podcast hosts!

I am interested to see what they meant that all 3 of the remaining cheftestants would not get to serve their whole "meal of a lifetime"...that will be a twist.

Lastly,Sara's win may not be a great omen for her since only 4 times in the 15 seasons (Flamm, Nick Elmi, Blais (in All Stars) and Paul Qui) did the winner of the penultimate challenge win the finale.

Edited March 8, 2019 by AriAu

[RealityCreator]

A couple of things bugged me about the critiques for Eric's food: One was Not!Gail's asking if he was concerned about making fufu a second time.  My impression of fufu is that it is akin to rice or potatoes.  No one, including Not!Gail, would question another contestant for using, say, rice in a dish a second time, so that really bugged.   

Also, they all agreed with Tom that Eric's dish was the best *tasting* dish of the night.  That goes a long way and should have and did override the texture issue, which should not have been an issue for sophisticated and adventurous foodies once it had been explained to them that it was supposed to be that way.  As far as I could tell, only Not!Gail had a problem with the texture.  (I should learn her name).

ETA:  This was not in response to your post AriAu!  I hadn't seen your post before I posted mine. 🙂

Edited March 8, 2019 by RealityCreator

[HurricaneVal]

I like Michelle, and I've liked what she's cooked on the show, but last night was her time to go.  She just didn't measure up to the full challenge requirements.

I'm not fond of Sarah, or at least the Sarah they're editing her to be, but I could tell that her dish was the winner just from the reactions at the table.  And I'm OK with that, it looked to be quite tasty.  At least she didn't try to make Chinese shrimp-n-grits again...

[Chit Chat]

3 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Still to me "spice forward" means the spice is front and center and the primary thing you taste, in an "overshadowing everything else" way.

That makes sense!  Either way, Padma couldn't eat the whole bowl of it, but Tom found it quite palatable!  It sure would be difficult to please the judges.  Sara was the one who told her to not add any more spice.  I was worried at that point that Kelsey over seasoned her food, but overall the judges really liked it.  She seems to have good skills when it comes to layering the flavors in her food.  The judges have commented on that with several different challenges.  

[Eulipian 5k]

15 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

I didn't want to watch a show that rewarded a guy for being a douche-bag.

Ha-Ha, funny how many past winners and judges now fit that category, thx to the Me-Too revelations. The editors of the last few seasons got a good work-out cropping out douche-bags.

Sara, bless-her-heart, has really wowed the judges lately; and it's all about how the food tastes! And Padma has really learned a lot about curry this season, ha-ha. (My secret opinion is that all Indians/Pakistanis need to go to Guyana and Trinidad, the Caribbean, to learn how to really cook a curry and roti, LOL.)

[mlp]

42 minutes ago, RealityCreator said:

Also, they all agreed with Tom that Eric's dish was the best *tasting* dish of the night.  That goes a long way and should have and did override the texture issue, which should not have been an issue for sophisticated and adventurous foodies once it had been explained to them that it was supposed to be that way

That's the thing.  No one on the judging panel had enough experience with African food (if any at all) to be able to judge whether or not Eric's dish was made correctly.  All they had to go on was taste, texture and plating.  I'm glad they accepted that the grittiness was a normal part of his dish rather than deciding that his explanation was an excuse.

OTOH Eric is an American and should have known that the grittiness might be a problem for his "customers'" palates.   He was trying to win a competition not educate people about African cuisine.  I'm very glad he wasn't eliminated but I do think he would have been smarter to choose a different dish.  

[sheetmoss]

Have to say, I laughed until cried at the look/reaction on Padma's  when she first tasted the durian in Michelle's QF dish .

   I must have re-played that  scene at least 20 times.

[AriAu]

Quote

Also, they all agreed with Tom that Eric's dish was the best *tasting* dish of the night.  That goes a long way and should have and did override the texture issue, which should not have been an issue for sophisticated and adventurous foodies once it had been explained to them that it was supposed to be that way.

There is no doubt that he survived because it tasted great! I will go back and listen, but I thought they indicated that Sara's was the best tasting but I may have mis-heard, especially since they moved past hers so quickly since they were so pleased with it....and I asked it in a rhetorical way since I just am not sure how to evaluate it in the context of this show (as well as the fact that I have never heard of the dish, let alone tasted it.

On the other hand.....

Quote

OTOH Eric is an American and should have known that the grittiness might be a problem for his "customers'" palates.   He was trying to win a competition not educate people about African cuisine.  I'm very glad he wasn't eliminated but I do think he would have been smarter to choose a different dish. 

Should he have had to tell them how it was supposed to be to survive?  If someone served risotto that was too creamy or too al dente (or not al dente enough) and claim it was the way he ate it in Italy (or how his Italian grandma had made it) he would have been eliminated if it wasnt what Tom etal expect from risotto no matter how much he explained it. He is serving to these judges and has to meet the challenge and to some extent their palates and expectations and I'm unsure whether he survived because they really didn't have enough experience with the dish.

And, for what it is worth, it doesnt matter whether he was American or not...Stefan won loooottttts of challenges and he is from Finland and he certainly figured out how to please the judges. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by AriAu

[Eulipian 5k]

1 hour ago, RealityCreator said:

My impression of fufu is that it is akin to rice or potatoes.  No one, including Not!Gail, would question another contestant for using, say, rice in a dish a second time, so that really bugged.   

It's more like polenta, and you know Padma would be all, "Arghh, polenta again?!"

1 hour ago, RealityCreator said:

Also, they all agreed with Tom that Eric's dish was the best *tasting* dish of the night.  That goes a long way and should have

It's probably why he made it over Michelle, because Not!Gail was brutal with her critique.

[milner]

Given the judges had a whole season with Eric perhaps they could have googled his genre of cooking to note some main dish types etc in order to assess him fairly.  After all they often encourage the chefs to “cook your food”