Master Chef 8/28 SPOILER

[madeliner]

I am disappointed Frank didn' t get to move on

He has never been in line for elimination that I can remember but Josh has been in the last few over and over-he even got an advantage last week and was brought back after losing and still isn't doing well

It didnt seem right, is it fair to put all the emphasis on the final challenge? I guess they don't take past performance into account-which is ridiculous. but hey life isnt fair...

Frank has been consistently good all the way through but that is life as they say.

[dave_c]

The souffle challenge was actually exciting.

I've made a few souffles in my past, but to make three different flavors with the pressure and time constraints would be a challenge. I'm sure a pro could knock those out easily, but for a home cook to remember those recipes and put them together would be tough. I think it is highly likely that they're given recipes with the ingredients for the challenge. There's no way a homecook can easily recall the proportions for the different souffles.

When Joe B dug into the raspberry souffle, Josh's version actually had some body to it. Also the souffle looked light and airy while Frank's seemed to be sink a little. Result was 1-1.

Graham was the tiebreaker. Visually both looked the same so the end results I couldn't predict.

[pine time]

Both chocolate souffles looked a little loose, so I wonder if the flavors were that different--Josh's certainly was a lighter color, IIRC. Was surprised overall, 'cause I was sure Frank would be in the top 3.

[mcf]

I think both chocolate souffles looked under cooked, and Frank's raspberry one was gooey, not fully risen and cooked.

[DGresh]

I thought Josh's chocolate looked *too* light but I guess it must have tasted good. I also thought Frank is probably a better cook than Josh overall, but I like Josh too. Someone had to go.

[shesallthat]

Not only was I disappointed in seeing Frank leave..I was also hoping that judges would do something for Montie Carlo and Frank as well..why was David Hernandez the only one given a job (at one of Graham's restaurants)..if anyone could use a job it was Montie who was down to her last dollar when the show first started..why give David Hernandez anything when he wasn't even a good cook to begin with?

[C. Hamster]

Montie is an actress/comedienne/VoiceOver artist who I think also has a radio gig going on.

[madeliner]

I am sure Frank will get a show out of this-he has a nice personality and people love the accent thing, and he can cook too - I hear Rachael is swooping in for the kill

:)

[Cheese Boy]

Oprah helped RR, now RR helps Frank. Sweet (and lucrative) for Frankie.

[madeliner]

Nah I was kidding about RR - would be nice tho!

[LindaWhit]

I was bummed out that Frank didn't make it through as well. When you look at the total wins on the Wikipedia page, he had as many overall as Becky did (until her and Christine's final team win).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MasterCh...

I really thought it would be Frank and Becky in the final 2, even though I wanted Christine there - I just didn't think she'd make it this far!

I was, however, rather bothered by the editing, making it seem that Becky did *everything* in the initial competition as judged by Boulud, Savoy, and Ducasse. Christine was shown just spinning around as Becky did everything. Was Becky being bossy? Quite possibly. Or maybe it was just those editing monkeys trying to throw people off the track. We *know* Christine can plate well - she copied Graham's dish to a T by *just feeling the ingredients on the plate* and won that challenge! So yes, I think Becky bullied her way into "I have to do EVERYTHING!" in that challenge and the editing monkeys chose to run with it.

Also disliked that Becky did most of the talking when Ramsay came up to ask what they were making. The Asian theme was Christine's idea, was it not? At least Christine got to note what the dessert was going to be.

That vegetable gelatin thing made by Josh and Frank looked pretty unappetizing. Their proscuitto-wrapped saddle of lamb looked heavenly. I knew when Frank willy-nillied the dots of basil and balsamic on the dessert plates that they were the losing team.

[mcf]

" I knew when Frank willy-nillied the dots of basil and balsamic on the dessert plates that they were the losing team."

And that he'd be the losing chef, too. It's not as if his appetizer was appetizing, either. He was the only one it was fair to send home based upon last night. The dessert plates were a mess in so many ways.

[LindaWhit]

I did note that the vegetable gelatin was unappetizing. But those dishes had nothing to do with being the one who was sent home. It was based on the flavors and appeal of the 3 souffles. And he won the raspberry one, I believe.

[mcf]

I thought it was pretty clear that Josh's was more appealing overall. I was just making the point that from my non voting perspective, he was the one who made things worse.

[C. Hamster]

I'd eat those vegetable gelatin terrine thingies. Even made them a few times. But I'm a weirdo.

[mcf]

I'd eat them if the gelatin part hadn't been so much mass, and if it appeared to have had any significant flavor. I loved a Japanese restaurant dessert of fresh fruit in agar, it had lots of flavor, for example.

[FoodPopulist]

It would have been idiotic for Christine to do the plating. The guys' dessert showed that you need a single person to do the job to create consistency and, in the interest of time management, Becky should be doing the plating rather than Christine. Their team was more focused and had a clearer idea of how they were going to divide tasks, which is part of why they won.

When they were doing the soup, Christine was telling Becky what to do, asking to make sure she didn't forget certain elements. (And, then she forgot some of the rice cakes.) It makes sense that their other courses had some of the same dynamic. I came away with the impression that Christine was doing more of the conceptualizing of the meal and Becky was doing more of the busy-work. That may be because I am multi-tasking while watching the show, so, ironically, my sense of sight is less dominant in shaping my perceptions of TV shows.

[LindaWhit]

A good point on the division of duties between Christine and Becky. But it just seemed like Becky took over everything, pushing Christine out of the way.

[SusieQQ]

I was not happy to see Josh win over Frank. I don't like Josh, never have, and have grown to like Frank. I predict that Becky will be the winner, but would really like Christine to be the one.

[piccola]

I agree with all the above. I will be very disappointed if Josh wins.

[smartie]

I agree it should be about past performances as well.

I'm guessing the final will be Becky and Christine.

[mcf]

I don't think it should be about past performances, only what's on the plate at each challenge. Competition isn't supposed to be about picking favorites. So far, the best, most proficient chefs have been the ones to rise to the top.

[C. Hamster]

I was genuinely sad to see Frank go.

That was some tough challenge!

[Worldwide Diner]

Frank was in line for elimination just last week, but he escaped by using immunity on himself after saying he would save Josh. Generally I believe Frank is a stronger cook than Josh but it all came down to three souffles.

[acgold7]

I really did think the final two were going to be Frank and Becky.... Guess not.

[madeliner]

So did I - oh well

[mcf]

I'd been thinking Josh and Christine would be final two, but any of these 4 could win on any given challenge.

[AntarcticWidow]

After watching last week's episode, I wanted to check the standings just to recall who was eliminated during what week, review the recaps and past episodes (all that information is available on Wikipedia). Unfortunately, the standings for last night's and the final episode had also been posted, so I knew last week that Frank would be eliminated. I also read who the winner will be.

Sometime between last week and this morning, the results of the final episode had been taken down from the page. I will still watch next just to see what the remaining contestants do, but it seems a little anti-climatic now.

[LindaWhit]

It wasn't there yesterday when I looked. And keep in mind what you saw might not be an "official" result as anyone can change Wikipedia pages.