MasterChef finale (sp)

[passthewine]

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Did anybody watch the finale of Master Chef last night?
I almost felt like it was a waste of my time. They've been pushing Christine all season and I didn't even think it was an option for her to lose.

I would to hear from eliminated contestants to see just how much help Christine had from her assistant, or what culinary experience the assistant had. I dunno, it just seems too much for me.

[mbcdefg]

As soon as they knocked Becky out, I knew Christine would win the whole thing. Her cookbook would sell much better than Josh's because she has a "story."

That being said, during the competition itself I thought that Josh might win. Aside from the undercooked lobster, it seemed like his food was better. Definitely more creative and risky. Christine pretty much hit all her marks but she played it very safe. And it'd be a major upset if Josh won the title. Although Christine seemed a bit more consistant during the season as a whole, I guess.

Reality shows seem to choose the winner based on who has the best story. We watched Chopped a lot, and as soon as the contestants all announce what they will use the money for we can almost always pick the winner based on that alone.

With a few exceptions (notably the cooking shows), this is why I can't watch reality TV, because most of it just seems like a load of bullshit. A lot of them are just trashy people screaming at each other, which is why I only really watch the reality cooking shows rather than the "lifestyle" ones.

[mbcdefg]

Oh, and I was amazed that none of the judges stepped in to offer Josh a restaurant job, like Becky and David got.


I mean, I'm sure Josh won't have a problem getting a job now if he decides to pursue a restaurant chef career, and maybe they didn't make him an on-air offer in order to keep the focus on Christine, but I just found it very odd that he seemed to get nothing at all out of all this. Especially considering that David (who sucked, IMO) immediately got an offer from Graham once he was eliminated.

[thatgirlang]

I liked Christine and thought she was amazing. But I do admit that I wonder what really went on and if the show was "rigged" for her because she is blind. But.... I hope not.

I liked Josh a lot too and would have been happy for him to win as well. I was going to feel sad for the runner up either way because I didn't find either of them unlikable. Actually I really liked Becky and it hurt to see her go too! Based on the last meal alone, I thought Josh could win but based on the whole season it made more sense for Christine OR Becky to win over Josh.

I hope he did get an offer from one of them and maybe they just didn't tell him then or show that because it was Christine's "moment."

[naeljun]

I was not happy. Actually I was very disappointed. I too would like to know how much actual help she had.

[basilosaurus]

Oh, so that's why it wasn't on tonight? Why do they have to go about changing finale nights on me?

David apparently didn't take Graham up on the offer. He crashed with Monti while house hunting in her area.

I like Christine and am happy for her. Apparently if her helper was getting something, she had to stand still and not touch any utensils. I don't think that equates to extra help. Certainly, no help would address her pallete.

[passthewine]

Sept 11, 2012 22:07:37 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Oh, so that's why it wasn't on tonight? Why do they have to go about changing finale nights on me?

David apparently didn't take Graham up on the offer. He crashed with Monti while house hunting in her area.

I like Christine and am happy for her. Apparently if her helper was getting something, she had to stand still and not touch any utensils. I don't think that equates to extra help. Certainly, no help would address her pallete.

Can I ask where you found this? I'm just curious what info is out there.
I don't necessarily think that the above qualifies as extra help but I remember seeing other things throughout the season that made me question how much assistance she got.

[basilosaurus]

I got that from the TWoP boards. Can't give you an exact cite, nor do I remember how whoever knew that. There are a few former contestants that have blogged their experiences, plus a few of the early kicked off people have made comments. I don't track that info down myself, but the dedicated forum members do

[eliseb0323]

One of the eliminated contestants is my neighbor. I haven't talked to him since the finale, but he did tell me awhile back that the crying and whining by almost all the women was ridiculous. He said Christine was very well liked and definitely under-estimated in the first part of the show. She is an amazing cook, but really slow compared to the others, so she stuck to easier dishes and food that she knew. He also said, the producers were looking for a story from the very beginning. Josh had the "redemption" story of being eliminated and coming back. (Which I don't think was a coincidence -- I think he was eliminated so he could come back) Monti was also being groomed for the "redemption" storyline, but she was considered unstable.

[passthewine]

Thanks sibil. I was just curious because I keep digging trying to see what info is out there but am having a very hard time finding anything.

[mbcdefg]

I was also reading somewhere that they all got cooking lessons and crash courses in the elimination round challenges (example, someone off-screen coached them on how to make a souffle before they were presented with the challenge).

I was wondering how they all magically seemed to know how to make certain things. I mean, some stuff you can just throw together and taste as you go, but for stuff like baked goods you need pretty accurate measurements of baking powder/etc. to get it to come out properly. I've made a lot of really yummy cakes, but always following a recipe ... I don't know offhand how much baking powder is required to make a cake rise.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

I've read that they get recipes/instructions for the baking challenges, but that's it. I wish they'd show more of the instructions they get than the manufactured drama; that would be infinitely more interesting than the contestants whining about who "deserves" to be there.

I knew Christine was going to win from the first episode. They projected it from the get-go, kind of like whatserface from the first season. (Whitney? Was that her name?) I told my husband that next year, we'll watch the first two, I'll predict the winner, and then we can just watch the last episode to see if I was right, heh.

[noodleoo]

Sept 11, 2012 20:52:02 GMT -5 naeljun said:

I was not happy. Actually I was very disappointed. I too would like to know how much actual help she had.

I was too. Which is sad, I actually was rooting for Christine because she definitely seemed talented. But watching the actual finale, it was pretty obvious to me that Josh's dishes were of a much higher caliber than Christine's. So then, it just seemed so obviously rigged. I feel so bad for Josh. I do not think his undercooked lobster was enough to make him lose compared to the very simple dishes Christine made. Especially her sorbet dessert. That was pretty lame and definitely not of the same difficulty as the beautiful appetizer and dessert that Josh made.

I'm bummed because I used to really like this show, but if it is this obviously rigged, that's a huge let down.

I'd *love* to hear more from the contestants about how this goes down off camera.

[niemand88f]

Sept 12, 2012 14:08:53 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Sept 11, 2012 20:52:02 GMT -5 naeljun said:

I was not happy. Actually I was very disappointed. I too would like to know how much actual help she had.

I was too. Which is sad, I actually was rooting for Christine because she definitely seemed talented. But watching the actual finale, it was pretty obvious to me that Josh's dishes were of a much higher caliber than Christine's. So then, it just seemed so obviously rigged. I feel so bad for Josh. I do not think his undercooked lobster was enough to make him lose compared to the very simple dishes Christine made. Especially her sorbet dessert. That was pretty lame and definitely not of the same difficulty as the beautiful appetizer and dessert that Josh made.

I'm bummed because I used to really like this show, but if it is this obviously rigged, that's a huge let down.

I'd *love* to hear more from the contestants about how this goes down off camera.

I agree. In past episodes she definitely seemed to have made high caliber dishes- also, much nicer presentation. Up until this episode I thought she legitimately should win, but Josh's dishes seemed a lot better this time. I'm sure she is a good cook, it would come out too easily if she was no good, but I'm not sure that she is better than Josh. But, that's TV. No way would she lose after being built up so much, and her cookbook will sell better.

[basilosaurus]

It's a reality show designed to sell a product; a cookbook and a home cook for speaking on morning shows. So, the story is an important part of that calculation.

Josh may be a good cook, but does he really excite people to buy his cookbook? I think Christine has the star power there.

As for lessons, I've read each episode is filmed over a couple days. There are lessons in between, and they have access to all sorts of cookbooks and educational resources.