Sep 03 2010
MasterChef: Week 6
Wednesday’s episode of MasterChef held some predictable eliminations and one that left me wondering if ol’ Gordo was all there or if maybe he had had a pint or two before filming the show. It started with Gordon officially announcing that this was a new game. It was no longer about home cooks. It was about people who had the passion, the drive, the talent, and the skill to become MasterChef, and that they all needed to step up their game. Some did, while others buried theirs.
Lee came out to be the shining light in the entire thing and to be honest, I don’t think anyone noticed Lee before. In the first challenge they had to prepare a wonderful dish using one live crab. Lee made something that blew the judges away although I can’t honestly remember what that was. I do remember however, all the judges telling the other cooks to come up and taste it because that’s exactly what they’re looking for. They all scurry over, eager to please the judges by acting civil but Sharome hangs back and refuses to eat Lee’s food. And the pissing contest has begun. Less was then allowed to pick, among a selection, the next ingredient that the cooks would have to prepare. The theme was romance and Lee chose passion fruit. Not something I would have chosen, but Lee was enjoying his time and so be it.
The best two quotes of the season, I think, came from this episode and specifically, this first hour of it. The first was when Sharome was preparing his gourmet vacuumed-then-boiled-meat dish when he was having trouble with the vacuum machine. Gordon came up and asked him what the problem was and Sharome replied, “I’m trying to make this dish but this damned machine is more complicated than any woman I’ve ever met.” HA! I’m growing to like Sharome more and more.
The second quote came from Jake. After presenting the judges with his dish that he said “oozed romance” and “was incredibly sexy”, the judges tore him apart and told him that he had missed the point. On side camera, Jake says, “I don’t know, I thought the dish was very good and very romantic. Maybe Gordon likes it rough.” Again, HA! Also loving Jake.
At the end of the challenge, it’s Slim who eventually gets tossed out for preparing what looked like something you’d serve at a 6-year-olds birthday party. Not only does she get slaughtered for how she prepared the dish, what she made, and how she presented the dish, Judge Baldy also threw her entire dish in the garbage and told her that he wasn’t “eating that crap.” It’s becoming clear that she’s about to go home and the judges give her one last lifeline by asking her if she would do anything different with the dish. She replies that she would add less ginger to the sauce but no, basically she’d keep it exactly the same. Crikey! If you weren’t going home before…..yep, Slim got the boot. On to the second hour.
The second hour actually seemed to have less challenges but more eliminations. The big challenge started with the group being divided into two teams, and Lee getting to choose his team – because he’s still on his mighty Lee reign. He doesn’t pick Sharome because the pissing contest is ongoing and that’s when things get political between the two. The teams are picked and they’re all told that they will be cooking for a wedding tonight. They’re each cooking for certain guests and whoever wins won’t face the pressure cooker. Lee automatically puts Tracy, who’s unfortunately on his team, on salad because Tracy is weak (let’s face it, we all know it), and salad seems like a pretty easy deal. Nope, she screwed that up too and had a complete breakdown. Moving on.
During the wedding challenge, each team did pretty well. They each had their mishaps and screw-ups but ultimately, the blue team lose simply because they had a harder time with appetizers than the red team did. This knocks Lee down a peg but he still seems to think that the judges are going to love whatever he puts on a plate – even if it’s garbage. The rest of Lee’s team – Tracy, Jake and Mike to face the Pressure Cooker along with Lee.
The Pressure Cooker this week is preparing one pasta dish: one fresh pasta of their choice; and one fresh sauce of their choice. They have to make it all from scratch, and they have an hour. Again, scurrying and panicking and in the end, the judges taste all of the dishes. They know that two people are going home, so everyone’s got a 50/50 chance of leaving. First to be knocked off, Tracy. Like I said, we all knew it and she’s shown weakness over the last few challenges. Not a shocker. Then Mike is sent to safety (thankfully, I really like him too) and two surprising contestants stand before the judges – Lee and Jake – probably two of the strongest, I would think. The judges think the same, and say that they are very disappointed to see both of them there.
In the end, Jake’s dish just wasn’t good enough and I don’t think the judges were impressed with the attitude that he showed during the Pressure Cooker. They did tell him though, to stay away from construction and to always keep cooking, and I agree. I love Jake, and I’m sorry to see him go. He does have amazing talent and I truly hope that he pursues it and who knows, maybe we’ll see him on the Food Network someday.
The judges are quite done yet though. With Lee standing before them, they tear him apart for being cocky enough to think that he can put raw garlic in something and still expect them to qualify it as being good. He gets the lashing that he needs and I think we’ll see a much humbler Lee next week. And now that Jake’s gone, I’m rooting for Sharome. I do like Lee’s food usually but since Lee and Sharome have decided to be archenemies, I suppose I must take sides. I really like Whitney but I think ultimately her age will get her, and Mike is showing tons of potential too, although he’s shown issues during the last few challenges as well. And, Dave. I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I’m actually really starting to like Dave. He does show crazy passion and if he keeps it real, he’s a very likable guy. Who knows? Maybe the guy who tried to make bouillabaisse in an hour really will take it all.
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