I would have been happy with either one of the last two going home. Neither is any good. We’ll probably see the one who survived in the Producer’s Challenge next week as well.
The Hawaiian, the Asian, the Young Punk and Retro-girl are flying high right now, along with Captain Dreadlocks. It’s a good sign when Bob eats every bite and wants to take the plate home.
I paid attention to the intro to the show last night and noticed that the winner gets their own show “produced by their team’s mentor.”
Since Alton Brown is first a cinematographer and only secondarily a cook and he is no longer producing his own show, I think it makes perfect sense that he has the eventual “winner” (scare quotes because I figure these kinds of shows aren’t actually competitions; the winner is preordained and the rest of the contestants are strictly filler material) on his team.
Therefore, Giadia’s team is the first to be completely eliminated, Team Flay gets down to Blond Butch and Nice Asian Guy, and Lipstick Guy wins the final.
Lipstick guy was hilarious. I think he’ll self destruct along the way, but apparently his dessert was good, despite the theatrics. Glad “Rock Dude” is gone.
Right now, it looks like Captain Dreadlocks, Retro Girl, and Ippy are going to make it to the final 5 at least.
Nah. Martita and Ippy are too good. Just because Alton is available to “produce” doesn’t mean a thing. Although it will get down to those two very quickly, methinks. I’m rooting for Retro-Chick and Captain Dreadlocks.
I would have been happy with either “I’m old” Woman or the Rocker Dude going home. I think they chose Rocker Dude because he’s been in the bottom before.
Retro Girl annoys me. She’s just too cutesy sometimes. I like Lipstick Guy and Hawaiian Guy. I kind of like the Girl on Grill girl who went to the elimination round. Does anyone know what Bob Tuschman was referring too when he told her she had too many double entendres? I mean other than it sounding like “girl on girl” what other innuendos were there?
I was going to ask the same thing. The only thing I can think of is maybe there were double entendres or innuendos that got edited out of what we saw?
I’m glad they sent home rocker dude-- there was something fundamentally phony about him that I found really off-putting.
Alton’s prodigy… well, I guess it is important to be able to think fast and recover from mistakes, but it was pretty funny how he kept saying, “I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!” only to have two or three successive mini-disasters. Maybe he just needs to calm down? I can imagine him having a food science show.
This is the first I’ve seen Alton outside Iron Chef and Good Eats, and was pretty surprised by his gruffness, but not in a bad way. I just expected him to be a bit more … friendly?
You’re not the only one.
He also looks kind of bad. Like he’s lost too much weight in his face.
Speaking of preordained, Blonde Butch Gal (aka Michele) has appeared on both Chopped and 24 Hour Restaurant Battle:
Episode 2.1: Michele and Davina, April 21, 2011:
Two former flames reunite once again to compete in a battle of the exes. Philladelphia exes Laura and Eric of Magdalene with their small plates of international flavor face off against another former couple, Michele and Davina from Brooklyn who serves traditional New England cuisine from their hometown of Connecticut in their restaurant called Avery Point (named after Avery Point Lighthouse).
Her team won the Battle, but she didn’t win the Chopped episode (“Crunch Time”).
Anyhow, I get the feeling it’s already been decided that she IS the Next Food Network Star. I feel manipulated that they would pretend it is a competition, winner to be determined - why not just give her a show without all the hoopla? I suppose because this is a good way for the viewers to get to know her ‘point of view’ so we will want to watch her show, but I’ve never liked her so will not watch her show, regardless of how she gets it.
So glad Rock n Roll guy got sent home. I thought it was lame that all of a sudden he decides his point of view is Danish fusion - because rock n roll or whatever wasn’t working.
I agree with troutbend. I watched a part of the first episode and already knew Michele was going to be the winner. She’s already being shown as having more skill and I recognized her from Chopped. I don’t particularly care about her so I won’t be watching her show and I’ll be very surprised if she doesn’t win.
EDIT: Wasn’t she also in at least one cake episode of Food Network Challenge?
Count me among others who’ve noticed Alton’s attitude. He comes across as a humorless dick, which surprised me given how he appeared on Good Eats. Pretty disappointing, actually.
I think it’s time for him to take a vacation. Food Network Star seems to increase his snarkiness.
As well it should. Most of those people have no business being there in the first place. More snark, Alton!
That bums me out because she was one of my favorites. Even if she is not preordained to win, it still gives her a pretty unfair advantage over the other contestants to have already been on two food network shows, especially chopped, which was one of the challenges on FNS. I know that reality shows aren’t really reality, but that seems shady. I expected more from you Food Network!!! You are not VH1!!
I also like Rebel With a Red Lips and Captain Dreadlocks.
Teams suck! No way those two should have been up for elimination. Judson sucks and he knows it. Boot his tasteless ass now!
OTOH, Lipstick Boy and Retro-Girl rocked. As did Martita and Captain Dreadlocks.
After sleeping on it:
Time for the tribes to merge. No more survival of the “my team is good, so I continue” losers.
More Giada boobage
Alton seemed much more relaxed this week. Probably because he didn’t have to defend losers.
All of the food seemed good. But Old Person really should have masked those rings with a little escarole.
I was surprised to see him go so early. They’re all talking about how he’s the best cook in the group and is so well liked by everybody and HawaiianDude is too much a laid-back low-key one trick pony … so they get of rid of the best cook.
They don’t seem to be doing anything with the team aspect on this show. Usually it seems in “competition” shows in which there will be a single winner the reason they have teams is to create some tension / drama, often by switching an unlikeable competitor between teams. None of these people are presenting as unlikeable so far, so the only reason I see for having teams is to give a couple of star team leaders an extra paycheck.
I’m still picking LipstickGuy for the win, to star in a show produced by Alton Brown. I’ll watch that.
Expect to see the attrition across the board. No single team will take hit after hit; it will eventually end in a three-way finale, between Bobby’s, Giada’s, and Alton’s solo survivor on each team.
~VOW