33 replies to this topic

[TWoP Nikita]

From Zap2it:

The red and blue teams participate in another intense challenge in which the winners are treated to a lavish celebration; contestants face elimination.

[onlie]

Honestly Elise needs to eat some humble pie. Although I do agree that Gina was the one that neetded to go home tonight. Her communications skills or lack thereof is what hurt the red team. She would not talk to Elise. Krupa I think is suffering from Melissaitis. Strong early on and then over time falling apart on the seams. I think Carrie's problem is she gets too worked up over everything. She needs to calm down and prove herself with her cooking. The best way to defeat Elise is not pay attention to her and ignore her as much as possible. Pretend she does not exist unless you need to. Let her run her mouth. To Gordon Ramsay actions speak louder than words.

The men may not be the best cooks and communication is obviously the issue but at least they try to be professional. That is why they are the better of the two teams. Backstabbing is not their game. Cooking is their game. The red team has good cooks who throw temper tantrums at the drop of a hat. The blue team has average cooks who at least know the value of teamwork.

[kiki1234]

Ramsay shouldn't have been so hard on Krupa. The guest judges didn't realize it wasn't veal either. BTW, I missed the opening, who were the guest judges?

Hillbilly really needs to work on his presentation. That was hilarious. It was like he let his kids paint on it.

I hope Ramsay gives Elise a stroke by calling her name when she's really safe.

[TotalMagnum357]

Gina's elimination was no surprise. I definitely saw that one coming and she totally deserved it.

Hopefully, Elise will be next.

[Quorwyf]

Ramsay shouldn't have been so hard on Krupa. The guest judges didn't realize it wasn't veal either.

The guest judges weren't working w/ the raw product, Krupa was.

Its a shame that for 2 eps now someone has sucked just enough more than Elise to get sent home instead of her. Unfortunately there will probably be more of the same next time.

It was nice to see Carrie not be the team scapegoat for once.

[biakbiak]

BTW, I missed the opening, who were the guest judges?

They are the chefs from Moto.

[street urchin]

I was hoping that Elise would have been sent home tonight. Hasn't she ever watched the program. GR is looking for a chef that works well with others. She clearly fails that test. By the way, that Tommy has really got some serious tattoos.

[Mystery]

I'm not sure I can keep watching episodes while Elise is there. I already fast forward through the rewards (why should I watch advertising within the show?) and tonight I had to fast forward every time Elise opened her mouth. I'm probably watching about 15 minutes of show. It's not worth it.

[niklj]

As much as Elise and Carrie need to go home, there's something that really rubs me the wrong way about Krupa.

You know you've watched too much HK when: you notice that the guys win the spa challenge. And look, it's a repeat when it's all guys and one girl that go to the spa!

[dwmarch]

I'll miss Gina, she was my favorite. I don't think she deserved to go yet, if at all. She was making her dishes and doing well at it and Elise couldn't keep pace with her. Not her fault. And communicating? With Elise? No one needs to communicate with Elise because she already knows everything. And whenever anyone does talk to her she either ignores them or talks back.

I liked that Carrie finally got some redemption this episode.

Count me amongst those baffled that Krupa couldn't tell the difference between veal and beef. One of the guest chefs even said her dish had a great beef stew taste. Also, poop on Elise for trashing Krupa's dish. Elise made out like the judges hated it. They didn't hate it, it was just made with the wrong protein. But as a dish they had no criticism for it. If Elise wants to call Krupa out for it, call her out for the right reason which was using the wrong ingredient. Don't pretend they hated it when they clearly didn't.

I liked that the mostly male team got a mostly female reward. Previous rewards always seemed to be gender-biased. But in this case it seems like the guys had a great time and it helped them a bit during service. I agree with the poster who said the men work better together; much less infighting and much more focus than the ladies.

I do wish someone would come up with something different during the groveling. "I'm a fighter, chef! I never give up! I'm only getting stronger from here!" Just cut and paste those as needed. I don't think they really make much difference as Ramsay has usually made up his mind beforehand and as we saw tonight sometimes boots someone who wasn't even put up.

[kiki1234]

The guest judges weren't working w/ the raw product, Krupa was.

But neither was Ramsay and he knew. I didn't mean she should get a pass for it but he should have given her a little bit of a break.

They are the chefs from Moto.

Thanks biakbiak for the info. Anyone into molecular gastronomy should check it out. Even if you aren't there's a really amazing photo gallery.

I was disappointed Gina was eliminated. I thought it should be Monterray. Cool name but he seemed lost in the clouds. Actually Tommy did too. They were like the guy in an episode of the Twilight Zone who wakes up in a different world and has no idea where he's at.

In real restaurants do they pick at your food to see if it's done like Ramsay does?

[SpeciousLogic]

Elise is one of those insufferable, arrogant chefs who has terrible communication skills, has no interest in being a team player, and then deludes herself into believing that she keeps getting put up for elimination just because everyone else sees her as a threat to win. She has zero self-awareness. People like that annoy the crap out of me IRL, and they seem endemic to just about every televised cooking-based competition out there. And they always seem to hang around long past their expiration date because they bring the drama and the gnashing of the teeth.

Paul, Will, and Natalie seem to be the top contenders from the Blue Team, while Jamie and Elizabeth seem to avoid the worst errors on the Red Team. I think a Paul-Natalie duel looks like a winning final at this point.

[jersey guy 87]

Was it any surprise when

A) Carrie was one of the people chosen to make the "duplicate" protein

B) Carrie's dish was selected as the one not to be put up before anyone even tasted it

C) the dish that was chosen was deemed not good enough

D) GR said they would have won had they put up Carrie's dish?

I mean, doesn't this exact scenario play out every season on HK?

[Grimes]

You forgot to mention that the challenge came down to the last point. 99% of the challenges seem to come down to the last point. So suspenseful for the 1000th time.

[mertensia]

Well, except that Elise was dissing Carrie's dish before even tasting it. And Gordon called her on it and Elise went into Elise mode.

Elise, I wouldn't hire you to make cookies for a Bake Sale. You're so mean-spirited and entitled.

[OoogleEyes]

Count me amongst those baffled that Krupa couldn't tell the difference between veal and beef.

I could tell just by seeing it on my crappy 15 year old TV! I thought that meat she was cutting looked awfully red for veal. But then I thought, "hey, that's just because you have a crappy 15 year old TV."

Edited by OoogleEyes, Aug 2, 2011 @ 8:43 AM.

[Resmudge]

At the very beginning of the episode when Elise was still pissed about almost everyone saying she should be eliminated, one of the Blue team guys said, "we still love you, Elise!" And she replied: "I still love me too." Which: NO SHIT. That was like the perfect encapsulation of who she is.

Did Gina get suddenly unlikable or was she always like that? I still have no sense of most of these people because the Carrie/Elise thing is using up all the oxygen.

[buzmeg]

I was hoping that Elise would have been sent home tonight. Hasn't she ever watched the program. GR is looking for a chef that works well with others. She clearly fails that test. By the way, that Tommy has really got some serious tattoos.

If I went into a restaurant and saw a chef with tattoos such as those displayed as Tommy's, it would be an immediate turnoff for me. IMO, I'd rather see a clean cut person handling food that I'm about to ingest.

[Finnaire]

But neither was Ramsay and he knew. I didn't mean she should get a pass for it but he should have given her a little bit of a break.

Well, he might have known anyway, but I’m sure the sous chef and production clued him in ahead of time. In fact, I assume that’s why they held Krupa off until last so that he could make the big, dramatic reveal. And, I am always annoyed when the last person to lose his point and thus lose the game is some how the only one responsible for the team losing. Krupa was one of three chefs who lost points for the team (including you, Elise) and so they are all just as responsible for the loss.

I was confused by the Gina elimination because just last week, it appeared that she was one of the top contenders and didn’t appear to be shy at expressing herself in the kitchen at all. Now, all of a sudden, she’s viewed as the team’s weakest player. I thought that after getting chastized for not picking Carrie’s dish for the taste test maybe they were afraid to put her up. It’s obvious that Grrr has noticed how she has been blackballed and is not happy about it.

And, I thought for sure that Tommy or Monterrey was a goner but then I decided he just wanted to even up the teams a little bit. I don’t for a minute think he choses the weakest/worst chef of the service to go home, I think he frequently has ulterior motives. And, it doesn’t matter what order they go in any way because I think he knows fairly early on who the real contenders are so as long as they are around the rest are just canon fodder to be used for the best dramatic effect.

[InDueTime84]

It's was Gina's time to leave. However, I thought it was going to be Krupa for both dinner service and the veal incident. I guess I can't judge her too harshly when the whole team went right past that big hunk of veal without saying or noticing anything.

[starfires]

If I went into a restaurant and saw a chef with tattoos such as those displayed as Tommy's, it would be an immediate turnoff for me. IMO, I'd rather see a clean cut person handling food that I'm about to ingest.

Most chefs have tattoos; I don't really see a correlation between having tattoos and being a dirty person. To me, if they cook well and make the food I'm about to eat taste amazing, they can be the next illustrated man.

I was really glad that Carrie's food tasted good and that GR liked it. I don't see it as Krupa's fault they lost. Yes, she screwed up, but so did the entire team (minus Carrie and anyone else who wanted her dish) for choosing the other chef's plate just because Carrie isn't as well liked. If they sent her plate up, they would have received the point and won (based on the comments of the judges liking her dish).

[LissaLee]

I think Krupa screwed up and grabbed the wrong protein because she was pissed off at Gina for using what she had planned to use.

Yes, Krupa had a bad night, but Gina absolutely refused to communicate. She had the problem with Elise, but also with Krupa. Krupa kept telling her to hold off, she needed one more minute, but Gina would ignore her and said, "Walking with the scallops!" She did this more than once - walked up with her dish before others were ready. She refused to coordinate with the others.

Tommy reminds me so much of Steve Buscemi - he sounds exactly like him to me, and they have the same mouth.

[InnerCanuck]

So completely sick of Elise and her attitude. Elise, honey? You fucked up the lobster in the first round. You refused to taste Carrie's dish and GR called you out on it. Get over yourself!

Finally noticed last night in the "wine room" talking heads that Stag's Leap is now the sponsor & Rosemount got the hell away from this mess of a show. I'm usually more observant of stupid details like that...shows my interest level this time around.

[biakbiak]

So completely sick of Elise and her attitude. Elise, honey? You fucked up the lobster in the first round. You refused to taste Carrie's dish and GR called you out on it. Get over yourself!

I agree and she also doesn't get that her teammates aren't stupid. I think the reason they all wanted her to go over Carrie is because of that fight she had with Krupa before the voting last week. They realized that if Carrie left and Elise staid she would just start cursing someone else out and the cycle would continue until Elise was eliminated. She can never be wrong and she always needs a scapegoat.

Krupa knew she messed up but so did Elise and at least what Krupa made was good!

[Mystery]

I guess I can't judge her too harshly when the whole team went right past that big hunk of veal without saying or noticing anything.

I'm still confused about that. There must have been two of every kind of protein, right? Because the red team had its choice about which protein it was going to double up on. There were obviously two filet mignons because Krupa took the extra one. There were two prawns because Carrie made the extra one. So people might have looked at that veal and thought it was the extra one. Unless the extras were all taken away? (there sure weren't any other extras, the veal was all alone there). It's a puzzlement.

[MagniFicent]

I'm still confused about that. There must have been two of every kind of protein, right? Because the red team had its choice about which protein it was going to double up on. There were obviously two filet mignons because Krupa took the extra one. There were two prawns because Carrie made the extra one. So people might have looked at that veal and thought it was the extra one. Unless the extras were all taken away? (there sure weren't any other extras, the veal was all alone there). It's a puzzlement.

Well, it was a big rack of veal. I assume it could have been separated to make two portions if need be.

[ReesieKitty]

Well, at least the challenge reward wasn't a trip to McDonald's Playplace, which would be on par with most of the rewards so far. But really no surprises tonight. The more obnoxious Elise is, the better the producers like her. It is sort of funny to see Chef Grr subtly slam her when she acts up in front of him, so I hope we see more of that. Gina and Tommy both just were deer in the headlights tonight as far as communication went- I think Krupa had a bad night but is generally a pretty decent cook.

Why don't these people (Johnathan is the worst, but not the only one) know how to plate? Seriously, I know these people are sort of run of the mill 'chefs' but don't they own any cookbooks? Have they not even ever watched a Food Network show? Seriously, my son could plate things more attractively than these guys.

Frankly, I don't see those 'flashes of brilliance Chef Grr said he saw. I just see a bunch of second string line cook level cooks who are really struggling. Hope they improve.

[niklj]

Well, at least the challenge reward wasn't a trip to McDonald's Playplace, which would be on par with most of the rewards so far.

LOL! When they said that they were going to get wet, I thought they were going to go to Raging Waters or something.

[Intuition]

This is the first season I've watched HK, although I've watched just about every other cooking competition out there, including Master Chef. I had heard about HK from friends and Mr. Intuition, who is hooked on it, so eventually I've caved in and started watching it myself.

One of the reasons I never watched it until now is because of all the yelling and meanness going back and forth between Ramsey and the chefs and the chefs and each other. Well, this season is obviously no different from any other in that regard. I almost don't really have any need for it. The only reason I got hooked in this time is because Elise is a case study in bullying behavior. OMG does she remind me of bullies I knew back in Jr. HS in the Bronx eons ago. She is a particularly toxic example, though. This kind of person is very insecure but they think that putting on that front is going to make everyone think they're so tough and above them all. They try to scare everyone away and toot their own horns because they themselves are so afraid that if they don't someone might expose them for being inferior. Having had bad experiences with women like her in my distant past, it's almost too difficult for me to watch. Almost, that is. In other ways I find it fascinating to watch in the light of several decades worth of wisdom, although I often find myself saying the things I would say to her if she were acting that way around me!

I noticed how last week the other women kept their silence when she went off on Carrie but when Ramsey asked them who should go, they all said she should. She was only marginally more tolerable in this episode but of course would not acknowledge any of her own faults. Of course we all know that GR is only keeping her around for the drama, but I hate to think that it sends the message to people like that that their behavior is valuable in some way and can be used as a hostage taking device.

[JazzieCazzie]

Tommy reminds me so much of Steve Buscemi - he sounds exactly like him to me, and they have the same mouth.

Mr. Cazzie also noted the similarity to Buscemi's voice, but added that Tommy looks like a Muppet.

Torn between whether Elise or Sabrina from last cycle is the most hateable and heinous contestant ever on HK. I think I hated Sabrina even more, except I am also convinced she was a plant/actress whereas I think Elise is legitimately this horrible. Which means we're stuck with her for awhile for the drama (though I thought that about Brendan too so was pleasantly surprised when he got jacketed).

Haven't watched the next ep yet, but I am calling Paul for the Win.

Edited by TWoP Nikita, Aug 7, 2011 @ 9:22 PM.
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