Disappointing outcome, as I thought Shane had a lot of potential. Ultimately, he was dinged for lack of life experience – although they never explained how that specifically makes him an inferior option for a show host – and for not working well with his assigned Girl Scout, also a silly criterion. Shane did sink himself with his answer about why he is obsessed with French cuisine. Don’t say you love the French life if you’ve never set foot in France. At best, it comes across as young, and at worst, fake.
- Good to see Adam finally nail the food. He was a complete natural on the set, more than any other contestant. Aaron’s flour on the cheek move and then play to the camera was pretty brilliant too.
- Lisa … I can’t tell you how surprised I was that she advanced. The show’s producers wrecked her reputation by showing her in full-on B. Otch mode with Kelsey (refusing to answer a basic question from Kelsey about whether or not to remove the sausage casings), and then she froze up completely on air with RaeRay. Oh, and her dish wasn’t tailored in any way to a child’s palate. I’m not clear on what she did right this week that got her (effectively) third place. I also can’t imagine watching a half-hour of her smarm, but that’s another story.
- Back to the part where she froze up, I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: You can’t think on camera. You have to know what you’re going to say before you start talking, and then once you begin talking, you finish your original thought and wrap. Thinking about what you’re saying – or, worse, what you just said – is a potentially fatal error. Lisa compounded this by continuing to think about her performance while the clock was ticking. What we’ve seen of her the last few weeks wouldn’t work on television, even if it’s taped.
- Whether or not I could stand a half-hour of Kelsey’s perkiness is another question, but I thought the judges were unduly harsh on her. They told her to be more authoritative. She was bossy. They dinged her for it. Well, she did what you told her to do, guys. If that means she’s not right for the Food Network, then just tell her and move on, but stop killing her (or anyone else, for that matter) for listening to your criticisms.
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Unrelated note/question: America’s Test Kitchen’s most recent episode included a review of safety can openers, and their winner was this $35 can opener from Rösle
And if you did see that episode, did you notice how the onion that Bridget was dicing slid all over the cutting board while she was making horizontal cuts in it? Yeah. That’s why the three-cut method is stupid and dangerous. Stick with Alton’s method: radial cuts all around the onion half (from cut end to bulb top), rotate 90 degrees, then cut straight down for a pretty even and much safer dice.
I have the Oxo Good Grips can opener
that works on the same principle (removes the lid, no sharp edges, no gunk on the can opener). My only complaint is that it’s too large for any of my utensil storage (crocks on the counter, drawers under it), so it just sits out on the counter. And it’s just a bit more than half the price of the Rösle.
Did anyone else think Rachel Ray totally threw Kelsey under the bus during her segment? She did not seem interested in working with her at all, contradicted her a couple of times and could barely manage a smile. I think it’s because Rachel is afraid of someone at FN out-perking her.
Alice – I think that was ATK’s best buy. They liked three, the Rösle at $30 (it’s actually $35), another European brand at $25, and the Oxo at $20.
From the early episodes, it seemed like the uniqueness of Shane’s age is what attracted them to him. I thought it was a little hypocritical of them to use it against him. After all, they knew he was 19 when they put him on the show — exactly how much life experience did they expect him to have? I find the judges and their criticisms beyond annoying — it’s always vague and contradictory. I also think they get into the contestants’ heads and make them think too much.
I don’t think Lisa has many fans out there, but I’m kind of rooting for her because I think she’d make the most watchable show. That’s if she can stop breaking down on camera (that mental-patient rictus on her face during the challenge was really uncomfortable).
Adam seems to have an ease in front of the camera, but it’s starting to seem like his knowledge of food is limited.
From reading another board, I guess I’m in the minority — but I thought Lisa had the best approach to that challenge, which was to make something a child would like (simply based on its taste) and expand their palate at the same time. It’s a lot better than buying marinara sauce (a crime against humanity) and throwing cheese and broccoli on prepared dough.
This is a non sequitur, but is anybody else interested in the season premier of “No Reservations”?
Matt,
I agree that the success or failure of this challenge hinged on whether or not RR liked the contestant. She clearly had a problem with Kelsey.
And as Flay alluded to, if it was only about the food, any graduate of a prestigious culinary school would do a fine job on the network.
Maybe they kicked Shane off the show because he was too young for the Vegas episode…
Here’s what I don’t get about Sunday’s episode. This is a contest to see who could hold his or her own on a Food Network show, no? And Lisa totally clammed up. She even admitted that she felt stressed to the point of silence. This is a good disposition for TV how?
Also, if you’re going to ding Shane for not interacting well with the child (who looked to have zero personality), shouldn’t you also penalize Lisa for COMPLETELY IGNORING her child’s food tastes? She talked the girl into making steak and couscous.
Shane has personality and seems to be a terrific cook. It would seem the judges are torn between Aaron and Lisa … they kept giving Aaron second-chances (and he really shined this week), and now Lisa’s been given a few reprieves. Kelsey is annoying to watch but strikes me as no worse than RaeRay (agree with the comment about Kelsey and RaeRay).
I saw Lisa called “The Romulan” today which I thought funny. My first reaction was that she looked like the girl from Oh God, Book II all growed up.
Why isn’t Shane’s “hook” that he cooked himself thin and you can do the same? That would seem to be a killer demo for FN.
Let’s face it, they’re already casting for Season Five of this show, so it’s obvious they don’t have high hopes for anyone actually making it from any of them. I think Guy Fieri was the exception, not the rule.
They need to go back to the show that I first saw Tyler Florence on. It was a 30-minute daily show and every day was a different cook (presumably from NYC) just making a dish or two. You get them to do five dishes in one taping and you got a week’s worth of stuff. If they’re good, you bring them back again and if they’re still good, THEN you give them the show.
Keith (or anyone else)… check out Lisa’s full appearance on the “RR” show. To say the editors overdramatized her “breakdown” is an understatement. I take back my “mental-patient rictus” comment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyUf3VVgPNc
I’m a little surprised that Shane got eliminated this week as well. The build up said that Lisa would be the one to go, but at the same time I can see where they are coming from. Shane made a huge error when saying how much he loves the French. Ugh.
I must say I really enjoy the show, though, and have been pulling for Aaron from day 1. He just seems to “get it” when it comes to food without forcing things. If he continues on the path he set today, I think he’ll be the winner.
Also, I would agree that so far Guy has been the exception, and not the rule. Has anyone even seen Amy Finley, or the two guys from the first season lately? I haven’t.
Lastly, Keith you have GOT to watch Top Chef. It is my favorite show on television, bar none. They’re repeating last season on Bravo constantly right now, start recording. The cooks on that show put these Food Network people to shame.
Keith, I am very surprised that your opinion about last Sunday’s show is very simlar to mine; it seems most people leave comments have similar ones…
Oh, on more thing: I had a cooking class about basic knife skill few months ago, what they recommended was same as Alton’s method. Coincidentally, I am living in Atlanta.
Baileywalk – Honestly I’m kinda stunned by that clip. I had to watch the video twice to pick up on the “breakdown”, and, honestly, I’m still not sure where she screwed up.
I was not totally surprised Shane left this week. His statement that he loves the French lifestyle – yet has never been to France – really soured me.
I get that he’s only 19. When I was his age I had zero thoughts of going abroad. But I still knew enough that comments like that are laughed at by most educated people.
My least favorite from the beginning is Lisa. She seems lost and totally out of touch with what the Network – or her potential viewers – wants out of her. Her dishes are far more complicated than any child I know would care to eat.
Adam redeemed himself for many weeks of horrendous performances, but it’s probably too little too late. I still think this is Kelsey’s show to lose.
Did anyone else pick up Lisa saying that the girl she was working with mentioned she loved a horseradish sauce with her steak? Either they edited that part out or she completely made that up.
There were a few parts this weak such as Lisa freezing up and Shane completely forgetting his partner’s name that were pretty uncomfortable to watch.
Patrick:
I haven’t caught the season premier of No Reservations yet, but I will watch it. I love that show.
Tom: I did. I’m pretty sure they showed her girl saying she didn’t know what horseradish was.
Am I the only one that thinks this Guy Fieri guy is a joke and is basically the worst on FN?
Guy may not be in the Mario/Flay mold, but he’s got a fun enough personality and he clearly enjoys eating. His cooking show may not bowl you over, but it’s certainly not the worst. He fits well for Diner’s, Drive Ins and Dives, although I’m starting to question his intelligence as I watch him continuously shovel scalding hot food into his mouth (minimum burns a show has to be 3)
I agree JPM. I really don’t like Guy Fieri much at all. I thought the guys who won the first season, I believe their show was called the Hearty Boys, were really good. I made a couple of dishes from their show and really enjoyed them especially a pork tenderloin chili. they disappeared after about 2 seasons and the winner from last year, who wasn’t bad, vanished as well.
I’m definitely anti-Fieri as well. He came to a local smoked fish institution here in St. Pete (Ted Peters) about 6 months ago, and he said “that’s actually pretty good” about a few things, which struck me as pretty condescending. I asked the servers about his visit soon after, and they all said that he was a complete prima donna. I also can’t stand the sunglasses-on-the-back-of-the-head thing.
It’s too bad to hear that about Guy. He seems like a genuinely nice person. I catch his cooking show every now and again and it’s okay. But “Triple D,” as he calls, is just a really fun show. I think it turns some people off because of the type of food they serve up (it’s the sort of greasy, gross, huge-portion thing that makes Europeans politely vomit into their shirt pockets), but Guy keeps it going almost entirely with his personality. Seeing the look on his face while some Puerto Rican cook made mofungo — by crushing plantains in an oak barrel with a baseball bat — was priceless.