40 replies to this topic

[cooksdelight]

Two teams race across America; 8 members from the USA, 8 members from Great Britain.

They start out in Santa Monica, with no funds and no transportation. The race is on!

[AtlanticVamp]

Just saw wasted meat, and the hosts calling Team US out over it. I hope this isn't how the whole show's going to go.

[biakbiak]

I missed the first episode but Cody might be my least favorite contestant on any cooking completion show ever.

The most surprising thing about this ep is that Sugar Ray has been around for 24 years.

[cooksdelight]

I like the concept of this show as they really have to be resourceful and think quick. biakbiak, in the first episode they had no money, no car and no real assignment other than to cook their way to the first check-in point before reaching Las Vegas. The Brits found a radio station, hoping to broadcast that they needed a place to cook and wound up doing a BBQ for some people. Then they got this idea to serve afternoon tea at a restaurant, they spent wildly on ingredients for the sandwiches, and only a handful of people showed up. One crazy lady who did offered to drive them to the check-in point, out in the middle of the desert, and she conveniently had a huge van. I'm not totally buying that she just showed up on her own.

The US team found a rich guy who offered to let them cook for him and his friends and they made a lot of money right off the bat. They spent the night at his place and got up and cooked a brunch for the friends the next day. One of them got another friend to help drive them all to the check point. They also lined them up with a cousin in Vegas who they fixed sushi for in their hotel room. I have to admit, it was funny to see what they came up with, preparing food on the bathroom counter.

At the check-in they had to fix a traditional western hash using pig's feet. US won that contest and were given a big SUV to continue on to Vegas. Once again, someone shows up out of the blue, in the middle of nowhere, and offers the Brits a ride. He's a cabbie with a big van, and they offer him $200. They arrive at Vegas with barely enough money to say they had any kind of profit. Johnnie, the loudmouth ass who I can't stand, was in the final showdown with Robin, the young girl he bullied during the entire show, and another lady who told us on camera that she "had Robin's back" and purposely cooked a lousy dish so she'd get eliminated. If they keep thinking that way, they aren't going to have much in the way of wins.

It's easy to see who the guys you love to hate are on these two teams. Cody for the US and Johnnie for the UK. Johnnie has nothing nice to say to anyone about anything, and although I sort of enjoyed his heckling of Cody, it shows what kind of person he is. I am still sort of awestruck that the Brits were offended that the US team also came to the farmer's market in Santa Fe. Where else could they try to sell meat at that time of day? They had better get used to the competition, and while giving back all the money to the people who they cooked for at the block party was noble, it's also not the way to win if they do that every time someone gets sick. They got lucky this time by finding that lady who literally bought all their meat for a nice chunk of dough.

Cody thinks so highly of himself it's scary to watch when he looks at others sideways with that glare of his. Oh, and he has opened 5 restaurants, in case anyone EVER forgets. :)

I had hoped the chef who helped judge the final showdown of offal would have spoken up and said what she was thinking. The Brits used more body parts, but their dish didn't taste good. Then that male judge said "And the dish that tasted the best was... " I could see that lady chef seething.

I'm rooting for Drummer Boy. He's very aware of what Cody's up to, but he is smart enough to know that if he just keeps his head down and continues cooking well, he could stay in it.

[Stardancer2001]

It's easy to see who the guys you love to hate are on these two teams. Cody for the US and Johnnie for the UK. Johnnie has nothing nice to say to anyone about anything, and although I sort of enjoyed his heckling of Cody, it shows what kind of person he is. I am still sort of awestruck that the Brits were offended that the US team also came to the farmer's market in Santa Fe. Where else could they try to sell meat at that time of day? They had better get used to the competition, and while giving back all the money to the people who they cooked for at the block party was noble, it's also not the way to win if they do that every time someone gets sick. They got lucky this time by finding that lady who literally bought all their meat for a nice chunk of dough.

Cody thinks so highly of himself it's scary to watch when he looks at others sideways with that glare of his. Oh, and he has opened 5 restaurants, in case anyone EVER forgets. :)

While I don't have favorites, I certainly have the same villians. It's also nice that one are on each team! I didn't like the way that the Brits treated their youngest chef and how the US team let Cody screw them up. His explanation for the extra meat was really lame. He should have given all of it to the man! "It was our personal meat that we were eating"... Why didn't you finish eating it, fool? If it came form the bison, it should have been sold.

[cooksdelight]

Cody also acted like he didn't know where the meat came from. He made up that excuse about it being their personal meat on the fly when caught, I think. He also didn't take a bit of responsibility for leaving the truck running. The dark-haired girl who was eliminated had him pegged, he wants to be the leader but take none of the responsibility.

People like Johnnie and Cody never change their ways. Fake crocodile tears and all.

[AtlanticVamp]

Though I have no sympathy for Cody or Johnnie, I have a seething hatred for the voice of the female British chef in the commercials who said, "We have MORALS!" Granted, producers and editors like to latch onto catchphrases to promote the show (I instantly hated PhiPhi Ohara on Drag Race for "Go back to Party City where you belong!" after hearing it ad nauseum for two months before it aired, for example), but the implication was the Americans have no morals, but a later ad showed Johnnie letting air out of the American truck tire. So much for that.

Also, just $100k? When you have to forage and search for your own supplies, work places, food, and money in at least two or three of the challenges? I get that only one chef will win, but after several weeks of this, I'd think it wasn't worth it.

[Kromm]

FAR far better than that piece of crap show with Curtis Stone.

Not sure if I can respect that older women taking a dive for the dumb little 19 year old (or so she claimed), but people DO dumb stuff like that, and think about it. She got a free vacation to California. And I doubt they ACTUALLY sent them straight home to the UK--so it may have been even a little longer. While they don't really need to sequester people for such a small unknown show, I'm betting as per usual with shows like this they kept the ejected hamsters around in case they needed them for some future episode.

[rasalas]

We have watched just about every competitive/reality cooking show, including the similar Extreme Chef (in its most recent incarnation) and Around the World in 80 Plates. After watching the first episode of Chef Race, we've deleted it from its season pass on the DVR. It's simply too contrived.

A major premise of the first episode was that the chefs had to find their own way from LA to Vegas, but it's fairly obvious that the show provided angels to transport the team lagging behind -- twice. So what's the point? The most interesting thing was the final showdown among the three chefs to see who would go home, but then the loser throws the challenge to protect another contestant.

Next show.

[PurplePastry]

Well overall this was a huge improvement from Around the World in 80 Plates and it definitely feels much more like Top Chef meets Amazing Race. It's obvious that there is some production interference in things like transports and friendly street people, but they have to make a TV show, so I'm willing to cut them some slack.

I agree with the above mentioned villains, but it was nice that Johnnie seemed to calm down with his own team in the 2nd episode. It's really not enjoyable to watch all the infighting between teams and he did seem to be unnecessarily harsh to the young girl (even though her attitude wasn't great either). But I really like the one girl on their team, Caroline, I think...the only brunette on the UK team. She seemed very organized, competent and really good at dealing with all the people they encountered.

For now I'll stick with this show. I need some sort of cooking competition to tide me over until Top Chef after all.

[biakbiak]

Well overall this was a huge improvement from Around the World in 80 Plates

I thought this was so much worse than Around the World in 80 plates, which was awful but I was able to stick around for the entire season, this on the other hand I couldn't make through an episode and a half.

[AtlanticVamp]

After watching last night's episode, I think there is a huge difference in the way the British team perceives things vs. the American team. The argument between UK Rebecca and US Cody is a great example of this.

When the teams went fishing, and Cody went over to where the UK team was, Cody didn't say anything to anyone, and no one on the UK team said anything. Then Rebecca called him an asshole. Cody called her a four-letter bleeped word back (I'm guessing the dreaded C-word). The UK team began to yell at Cody for name-calling, and for once I was on Cody's side. But the UK team's reasoning was "She's only 19."

Excuse me? They also went for the "She's a girl" reasoning, which didn't set well with me. She began an argument during a competition, when she should have just stuck to what she was *sucessfully* doing, catching fish. It began a conflict where there didn't need to be one. Fortunately, she out-cooked Sophie and Ed during the double elimination.

I noticed that any time Cody or other team members on the US team do something stupid, they either let them fend for themselves, or they take it up directly with them. The UK team is a little more likely to scream injustice, over something that normally should be ignored or handled internally.

Edited by AtlanticVamp, Oct 10, 2012 @ 5:32 PM.

[cooksdelight]

I think part of the reason the UK team freaks out if anyone from the US comes near them, it's because they have such limited personal space back home. Either that or they are just rude and don't understand that in a fishing competition you have to go where the fish are. The lake didn't have a chalk line.

I guess they edited out the part where they surprise all the chefs with butternut squash, rice, pasta, beans, tomato sauce, etc. when they got to the lodge. I was really looking forward to what they would make with just the items they'd gotten in the wild. And Johnnie, I didn't think the guides looked like drunks. I can't remember which blonde told guests that the soup which had squash in it was "all foraged." I rewound it twice to be sure she wasn't just referring to one ingredient, and she wasn't.

I was sad to see Ed and Sophie eliminated, being two of the people who can properly pronounce words with the letters "th" in them. Chef Richard, the host, drives me nuts with "tanks" and "tink" for thanks and think. And Caroline needs to spray her throat so she can talk without sounding like a frog.

Cody was on better behavior until the teenager pushed his buttons. Definitely some anger control issues.

[AtlanticVamp]

And Caroline needs to spray her throat so she can talk without sounding like a frog.

Claire Robinson really sounds like a walking advertisement for cold and cough medicine. The sad part is, on all of her Food Network appearances (which are plentiful, between Food Network Challenges, Best Thing I Ever Ate/Cooked, Holiday specials, etc.), she ALWAYS sounds like that. It hurts me to hear, and it's been going on for years.

[cooksdelight]

Oops, got her name wrong, thanks. Reminds me of reporter Rita Braver with that voice.

I wonder how our bunch would do if the tables were reversed and they had to go to the UK? It took me a week to figure out the train and underground system.

[Thumper82003]

I was sad to see Ed and Sophie eliminated, being two of the people who can properly pronounce words with the letters "th" in them. Chef Richard, the host, drives me nuts with "tanks" and "tink" for thanks and think. And Caroline needs to spray her throat so she can talk without sounding like a frog.

My paternal grandmother was from Ireland. My father, born in the US, still didn't pronounce "th". I always thought that it was a speech impediment, until I listened to a book on tape read by the Irish author. Then I realized that my father spoke like his mother did. I can tolerate Chef Richard's speech, but I dislike him for his obvious bias toward the British in this contest. (look at his pained looks when the US team wins, or the offal contest, where the British team was given the win despite the opinion of the guest judge.) He is not an "unbiased" judge.

[54321Blastoff]

The editing for this show as far as the audience knowing not only which team loses but who is going to go into the elimination challenge is downright awful. In the first episode, there was a focus on the UK team and the discourse between Johnnie/Rebecca and sure enough that team lost and they both went into the challenge at the end. In the second episode there was a heavy focus on the US team and Cody/Stan with a lot of commentary from both, especially from Stan about not being a trained chef and from Cody about having a lot of knowledge and sure enough, both went into the end challenge. Now.. we have the third episode and at the beginning the show starts off by doing intros for Rebecca, Sophie and Ed about their backgrounds complete with pictures of their accomplishments, etc.. followed by nothing.. no intros for anyone else on the UK team and certainly no intros for anyone on the US team, a team that still has members like the blonde girl who announced all the food at the lodge who we know nothing about. Of course I knew within 10 minutes of the show that UK would lose and those three people, Sophie/Ed/Rebecca would most likely be the 3 on the chopping block and once again, it happened that way.

It's horrible. You can not only tell which team will lose but who will be voted into the elimination challenge almost immediately from the very beginning of the episode. It would be nice if they focused equally on both teams or did intros for chefs that weren't going to be thrown into the round at the end to at least keep the audience guessing.

When the teams went fishing, and Cody went over to where the UK team was, Cody didn't say anything to anyone, and no one on the UK team said anything. Then Rebecca called him an asshole. Cody called her a four-letter bleeped word back (I'm guessing the dreaded C-word). The UK team began to yell at Cody for name-calling, and for once I was on Cody's side. But the UK team's reasoning was "She's only 19."

Rebecca wants to have it both ways, she wants to act like a teenager and essentially be untouchable because of her age as far as taking responsibility for her actions when it comes to interacting with others and yet on the other hand she doesn't want to be treated like a teenager or as an inexperienced girl when it comes to the competition aspect and cooking. It's annoying.

[cooksdelight]

If this becomes a ping-pong game of alternating eliminations, I will be highly ticked off.

[cooksdelight]

I have to believe someone steps in and gives the Brits advice because they were hopeless during this segment. Glad the kid is gone, she was starting to get on my nerves.

Chef judge's tees=these, true=through, tink=think, dis=this is getting old. I may not care who wins this after having to listen to him much longer. LOL

[GrrlPower]

I don't think I understand this competition. So there is only one judge whose opinion matters and that judge is a Brit who only seems to root for the UK team during the challenges? This is weird. As bad as 80 Plates was, at least they had a table of respectable judges to determine the winner. All reality shows are fixed, but this show doesn't even put on any pretense that it's not fixed.

I noticed that any time Cody or other team members on the US team do something stupid, they either let them fend for themselves, or they take it up directly with them. The UK team is a little more likely to scream injustice, over something that normally should be ignored or handled internally.

This is exactly what I love about the UK team (and I assume UK culture if this is a true representation of some UK culture). Of coarse, I would word it differently, but I like that the UK team didn't just let once person be an ass to their teammate and actually called people out for their disrespectful behavior. The UK jerk picked on the 19yo simply because she was young and female. Bigotry and general douchebaggery often perpetuate because good people fall silent and, to the perpetrator, silence is often taken as consent. Thus the UK teammates stepping up to call out that behavior was necessary and refreshing to me considering how disappointed I usually am with Americans not stepping up to denounce assholes like that.

What I did dislike with the UK team was the misuse of the term bullying. The 19yo chick was not being bullied - being bullied requires a degree of harassment that she in no way endured. Sure, he was a sexist asshole, but he wasn't a bully.

Edited by GrrlPower, Oct 22, 2012 @ 12:33 AM.

[cooksdelight]

Cody is a despicable self-entitled human being.

I knew the two US guys were doomed when their bio speeches were featured in the beginning. I had really hoped Renaldo would have made it. The boy's got heart.

Why do they bother with having a guest chef judge the dishes when A) they usually disagree in some points with the British guy and B) the British guy is the only one with any say-so. ??

[54321Blastoff]

I knew the two US guys were doomed when their bio speeches were featured in the beginning. I had really hoped Renaldo would have made it. The boy's got heart.

Actually, there were exactly 3 bio/intro videos featured at the beginning: Don/Cody/Renaldo which meant that within 5 minutes, I once again not only knew which team would lose but exactly which 3 contestants would be voted into the elimination round at the end which is something I've already complained about. I don't know who is editing this show but this person should not be working in television. When 5 minutes into every episode the ONLY surprise is who will be going home and not which team will lose or who will have to fight to stay alive, there is something very wrong.

As far as the boot goes, I agree with you about Renaldo. Don seemed harmless but I preferred Renaldo in this episode and it's a real shame to see Cody advance to the next stage of the game over him and by her reaction, Claire agrees with us.
I had to roll my eyes at Cody's 'I'm going to be a team player and not be such an arrogant, bully asshole' revelation at the end given the fact that he already had one a couple episodes ago and then was back to his usual self after one episode.

[cooksdelight]

This week's episode once again gave us Cody pulling all the strings with his team. Petulant child. I am so glad Stan lived to see another day. But was it really necessary to tell him to "thank his lucky stars" that he beat a more experienced chef? Maybe telling him "good job, you cooked a great meal" would have been more appropriate. He didn't serve raw chicken or a bunch of side dishes.

The Brits hooking up with the biker shop was nothing short of brilliant, given they are in the middle of America, BBQ country, and not used to the surroundings.

I will agree with Cody on one thing, I am glad Pippa is gone. She doesn't know how to play a game, in my opinion, and let Cody get under her skin one too many times.

I guess the crappy editing tells us that it will come down to Cody vs. Johnny for the title, eh?

[GrrlPower]

I LOVE that it is Bianca (is that her name) who saves team UK with sales skills, proper menu making skills, positivity, and general awesomeness! In most other competition shows like these, the competent, level-headed woman gets picked off first, so we rarely get to see a woman like Bianca take control of a team and pull a team from the brink of disaster by being a good leader. It's even more rare that a woman in a male dominated field uses, what I think is very feminine leadership skills instead of trying to succeed by adopting the aggressive masculine leadership type. She is so rare that I can't find a comparison on another show, let alone a typecast box. The best I can think of is Liz from Around the World in 80 Plates - the attitude is the same, but Liz never demonstrated leadership skills AFAIK and Liz kinda let people walk over her so she didn't demonstrate strength to me, but that's the best I got.

I'm American through and through, but Bianca has me rooting for team UK right now, especially with the despicably arrogant Cody on team USA. I liked Pippa, but I agree that she let Cody play her and that wasn't smart. I don't blame her given Cody was making personal attacks against her sexual orientation last episode, which is true bigotry, but she should have ignored him. He is clearly the Nookie of this competition and the Nookie's of the world only succeed when you give them attention.

[cooksdelight]

You do realize Bianca is gone, right? They put her back on the US team and she failed to make any real BBQ dish in the elimination competition. She said she didn't feel comfortable doing that because smoking/BBQ-ing wasn't something she was familiar with. She made three side dishes and her meat dish was so lackluster I don't remember what it was.

Yes, she did a great job with the UK bunch but let Cody deflate her once she moved back over.

[GrrlPower]

You do realize Bianca is gone, right?

Yeah...I realized 20 minutes ago that I have a week backlog in my dvr. Bianca's gone? Now I'm depressed and I have no one to root for. It doesn't surprise me that Cody is still an ass. My statement still stands though, it's just a week late - Bianca kicked some serious ass last week and she provided a model for woman leadership that is rarely, if ever, shown on tv. I'm jonesing for a new "positive woman with femininely strong leadership" typecast for these reality competition shows to mimic.

[nottopbravo]

Last night's episode was the best one of the series. (S1/Ep07)

Windstorms, pizza, and smart marketing.

Good thing I DVR'd it on election night.

Edited by nottopbravo, Nov 7, 2012 @ 4:14 PM.

[beeblebrox]

Two things about the Chicago episode: Why weren't the Brits penalized for skipping the checkpoint challenge? The US team could have made more money if they stayed too, but played by the rules. Second, Piece isn't just a "bar." It's a Wicker Park institution. Though, it's awesome that they highlighted Longman & Eagle in Logan Square. Such a great restaurant.

[GrrlPower]

Second, Piece isn't just a "bar." It's a Wicker Park institution.

I think viewers assume that locations featured on reality shows are significant to the community if the production team took the time to profile it. These reality show producers are lazy as hell, thus only really seek to film at the most popular or most touristy locations. Most of the locations on this show are institutions to their respective communities.

[Xingu]

Does this show ever end? It seems to have been running longer than the presidential race?

Go team Brits!!! Or USA!!! Just end already.

Those pizzas looked absolutely vile. $25? The "toppings" looked like they were thrown on from across the street. I wouldn't pay more than five bucks. Back-alley, garage pizzas. Mmm.

Edited by Xingu, Nov 10, 2012 @ 9:35 PM.