# "Masterchef" (America)



## gobblygook (Aug 26, 2010)

I'm going to try to avoid huge spoilers (such as the winner), but I'm sure I'll end up revealing who was in the final 2, so if you haven't watched that far, you might want to skip this.

I absolutely LOVE Whitney.  She is extremely attractive, humble, intelligent, and just looks "perfect".  I expect to see much more of her in the future, not necessarily in cooking.  She has a stage presence, a "girl next door" appeal, and that southern drawl.

However, what constantly gets me about her, is how she seems so "down to earth country", and then does such interesting things with food.  I look at her dishes and often think "I could have done that", but 1) I wouldn't have thought to and 2) the judges make it quite evident that I may have been able to make the dish, but in no way could I have "done that". 

I was disappointed in the final, as the "rules" seemed to change.  One contestant made a souffle', but the judges went into the "restaurant" and were served the three courses individually, with some amount of time between each.  During a previous elimination, the judges said that a souffle' had something like 90 seconds before it started deflating.  I think that had the contestant known the format change for judging, a souffle' would have not been considered (though in the end, it seems like that contestant managed to skirt the issue of it being a deflated souffle'. 

Finally, making a big deal out of the 7 minute chicken breast I thought was a bit over the top.  I also felt like maybe the format had been changed to allow more "resting" time for that chicken breast, which would seem unfair to the other competitor. 

In the end, I'm very happy for the winner.  My daughter was cheering so much, I felt like I was at a bar where some "fan" is cheering/yelling at the TV.  Good, quality time with my daughter though.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The episodes I watched, the judging seemed practically random. No clear standard was expressed and it just seemed to be the whim of the moment.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Bread pudding is not a souffle.  It is bread and custard.  So I don't know what they were going on about.

That chicken breast was so thin I had no doubt it would be cooked.  Heck if I cooked that chicken breast in 7 minutes it would be overcooked.  They were just making drama.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

it was a lighter take on bread pudding....Commander's Palace has a white chocolate bread pudding that is a signiture dish for them.   I think that Whitney new it would fall but decided to go with that concept....

for lack of a better name calling it a souffle.

Dave was obnoxious....to the inth degree....

I'd love to know what info (recipes, proportions, insight) these guys had going into each challenge.  You could end up with alot of failed shtuff if you don't have some resource to check out proportions, temp/times....shtuff.


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## gobblygook (Aug 26, 2010)

AMEN! I would love to know all of the behind the scenes stuff, like training they received during the show, etc. The veal milanese (or whatever it was) was something they both knew what it was. I'd never heard of it. I'm also fairly certain that "here's a bunch of stuff, make a souffle" would be a huge failure for someone who'd never made one (like me). 


shroomgirl said:


> I'd love to know what info (recipes, proportions, insight) these guys had going into each challenge. You could end up with alot of failed shtuff if you don't have some resource to check out proportions, temp/times....shtuff.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Milanese styles, as far as I know is a plain breaded pounded cutlet or medallion of veal ,,saute till golden brown


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Ed Buchanan said:


> Milanese styles, as far as I know is a plain breaded pounded cutlet or medallion of veal ,,saute till golden brown


Perhaps the point is that while almost any working cook, and especially a majority of competent chefs, would understand what "Milanese" means, the average "home cook" probably wouldn't.

The same with knowing the procedure for a souffle or a multitude of other dishes/terminology/styles that would be common knowledge to those "in the trade".


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## greg (Dec 8, 1999)

phatch said:


> The episodes I watched, the judging seemed practically random. No clear standard was expressed and it just seemed to be the whim of the moment.


I got the same impression from the one episode I was able to bear watching. I now have an even greater respect for Mario Batali for having to deal with Joe Bastianich.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Greg said:


> I got the same impression from the one episode I was able to bear watching. I now have an even greater respect for Mario Batali for having to deal with Joe Bastianich.


Funny that any Jackazz can surround them self with competent, talented people and be called a success. I still can't understand his relevance to the cooking aspect but for the show I guess it was to make Gordon Ramsay look like a peach.

Personally I've never met any of them so I have nothing to base things on but believing how they edit and maybe even script these shows they all may be the greatest of people. Although......the one thing I don't respect about these shows is how they circumvent the system that was created to weed out the flashes in the pan. Raw talent is great but it takes years to develop an instinct that still may only be correct half of the time.

I wish they would do a where are they now on all the schmucks that have been given these opportunities and won. Don't want to take away from those that did actually earn their way in but exactly how many is that?

Wouldn't it be funny if the winners and even many of the contestants were taken from the ranks of actual restaurants and most of everything was scripted as well as the back stories being fabricated for entertainment and discussion or debate? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Whitney's victory was an embarassment. 

Her repertoires of techniques and dishes are severely limited.  Throughout the entire series, her execution was uneven.  Her food knowledge is near nil.  Even her presentation skills are weak.  She showed some slight competence with cupcakes, and coincidentally every one of her food cook-offs was a dessert.   Her final menu wasn't just simple, it was infantile and unambitious. 

My daughter cooked a more sophisiticated (and better) Father's Day lunch when she was twelve.

The idea that Whitney is the best amateur cook in America or even one of them is an insult to decent cooks everywhere.  I can think of many CTers whose food I'd rather eat -- and I'm not blowing smoke, either. 

Masterchef America is a far cry from the UK original and completely lacking in credibility. 

Ramsay should be ashamed.

One man's opinion,

BDL


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## chefbazookas (Oct 11, 2010)

A total disappointment.  Allowing someone so obviously mediocre to win presumably on their aesthetic appeal alone is insulting.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Originally Posted by *ChefBazookas* 


> A total disappointment. Allowing someone so obviously mediocre to win presumably on their aesthetic appeal alone is insulting.


Completely agree except for one word. "Mediocre" not preceded by "sub," is a stretch.

BDL


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## chefbazookas (Oct 11, 2010)

Touche'.


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