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Post by AZChristian on Feb 21, 2023 13:54:57 GMT
Not sure how old the quote is, but Hunter himself said, "Throughout my high school career, I worked in a family owned restaurant, where I started as a dishwasher and worked my way up to a line chef position." In another interview, he talks about wanting to move out of his dad's shadow. Don't see much evidence of that. In all fairness it's a hosting gig. He didn't hire him for something he had no aptitude in; unfairness would be if he took one of the allotted slots away from a well seasoned chef. Guy built his FN empire from nothing, and if he wants to give his son a leg up by actually working for him (as opposed to frittering away a trust fund) I'm for it. I see your point . . . but does his son actually "work" for him? Standing in a dark corner asking people how they feel after they've competed on a TV show doesn't really seem like a "job." Would they have a host if Hunter didn't have the job? I guess in the long run I don't have to care . . .
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Post by Kao on Feb 21, 2023 15:08:56 GMT
He's done a type of hosting before, on Guy's Grocery Games. And yes, TOC has a dedicated host every season asking the contestants questions, I think Hunter took over in Season 2.
I appreciate Guy for saying "OK, you want some money? Well, you have to be doing something, because I'm not just going to give it to you!"
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Post by sunnydayz on Feb 22, 2023 2:06:47 GMT
Kids Baking Championship - Anyone been watching? This season has been much better than last year's Baby Baking season, where the cast was too young and there weren't enough standouts. This time, they cast a bunch of savvy kids who already run their own baking businesses, and the challenges are designed to focus not just on baking, but the business end as well. There's only a couple weeks left to the season, but it looks like it will be a really good finals. I’m watching it. I just finished the latest episode (#9 - Cookies.) The kids are quite savvy and pretty good bakers. All good bakers left in the competition, for sure. Although I was sad at who was eliminated this time, just prior to the finals. I found myself pulling for her a bit more and more as the season has progressed. Her teary “thanks for everything” on her way out the door was heartbreaking.
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Post by Kao on Feb 27, 2023 15:38:06 GMT
Tournament of Champions: Some really good matchups this week, and some really disappointing behavior on behalf of one of the contestants. AZChristian , they must had heard your comment about the Randomizer this week because the "Wild Card" selection actually repeated "Spin again" twice this week, lol. Here are this week's Matchups. As usual, the winners are bolded. Darnell Ferguson vs Ilan Hall: Seems like Alex G got a not so nice piece of Darnell's meat but raved about the meal anyway, while the other judges just raved. Ilan's meal was great too, it's just Darnells had that something extra. Viet Pham vs Tiffany Derry: Both made solid meals that made the judges sing, but Tiffany's greens (I think) were better prepared and seasoned than Viet's. Both contestants had nothing but mad respect for each other, which was very nice to see. Mei Lin vs Crista Luedtke: Honestly, Crista's comments after her loss was ugly and I've liked her over the years. How nasty to allude that "you know what's going on" when the judges are going in blind and don't know who cooked what. I know what she was hinting at, and unfortunately its typical of certain people to think "Oh, if certain people outdo me in something it's because they somehow cheated, had an unfair advantage, or used some type of trickery" when that person is just better than you, and the fact is Mei Lin outcooked her and won. Terrible sour grapes and unsportsmanship. Tiffani Faison vs Britt Rescigno: This was a palate cleanser after that last round because both chefs had enormous love and respect for each other and cooked their best meals. It's sad that the reigning champ is out this early in the game but it also means that the title is completely up for grabs now.
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Post by sunnydayz on Mar 3, 2023 4:08:04 GMT
Kids Baking Championship finale - I think they picked the right winner given the cakes the three finalists made. They all did a really good job and seemed fairly evenly matched. Spring Baking Championship - I’ve seen a couple of commercials. Thank goodness Jesse will be back as host! No Molly Yeh and her sprinkles - I don’t think I could have watched if it was gonna be her again.
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Post by waywyrd on Mar 3, 2023 13:00:02 GMT
Yes! Spring Baking Championship starts up this Monday (3/6) with Jesse as host. I couldn't take another season of Molly and her stupid sprinkles.
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ccl
FORT Regular
Posts: 432
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Post by ccl on Mar 3, 2023 13:37:51 GMT
I still think about the cookie salad…and not in a good way.
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Post by dagwood on Mar 3, 2023 20:32:51 GMT
I still think about the cookie salad…and not in a good way. I was just going to say and her dang cookie salad. That was ridiculous. So happy to see Jesse back.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 3, 2023 21:28:40 GMT
I still think about the cookie salad…and not in a good way. I was just going to say and her dang cookie salad. That was ridiculous. So happy to see Jesse back. And I remember the look on some of the contestant's faces when she showed what it was. I think many of us watching also had that look. I like to pretend that last season did not exist.
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Post by cablejockey on Mar 7, 2023 0:26:30 GMT
I just stumbled onto the fact that Spring Baking Championship is starting tonight. So excited, I love watching this.
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Post by Arielflies on Mar 7, 2023 2:32:11 GMT
watched it and companion piece today (Mon) on Hulu. Love the Welcome back Jesse shout outs. Oh, it was so light hearted this season. Jesse even had a Dad joke broadcast over the speaker and, of course, everyone groaned. Some good bakers and some with a bad day. Lots of accolades all around. Jesse took control of the table and got poked by Duff for judging. He was quiet after that. Anyway, good start to a fresh season (of Love - theme).
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Post by Kao on Mar 7, 2023 5:32:56 GMT
I watched it and the Easter show today. Some nice bakers this season, plus no cookie salad.
It's always sad on the Easter show where the bakers bite into the Easter eggs at the end and someone gets the red one.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 7, 2023 15:10:19 GMT
watched it and companion piece today (Mon) on Hulu. Love the Welcome back Jesse shout outs. Oh, it was so light hearted this season. Jesse even had a Dad joke broadcast over the speaker and, of course, everyone groaned. Some good bakers and some with a bad day. Lots of accolades all around. Jesse took control of the table and got poked by Duff for judging. He was quiet after that. Anyway, good start to a fresh season (of Love - theme). I enjoyed it but why oh why do some of these bakers not know how to make cakes? Shouldn't a good baker be able to? And you know they are going to have you make a cake or more than one on here. Practice!
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Post by waywyrd on Mar 8, 2023 12:23:43 GMT
I'll take Jesse and the dad jokes any day over sprinkle girl.
Agree about the mediocre cakes - it's basic baking to whip up a decent cake! There were several sad looking efforts in the final round, but the guy who dumped five pounds of plain raspberries on top of his messy cake...ugh. They could have sent any of the bottom three home and I'd be fine with it.
There are some really talented bakers, though. So far.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 8, 2023 15:25:09 GMT
I'll take Jesse and the dad jokes any day over sprinkle girl. Agree about the mediocre cakes - it's basic baking to whip up a decent cake! There were several sad looking efforts in the final round, but the guy who dumped five pounds of plain raspberries on top of his messy cake...ugh. They could have sent any of the bottom three home and I'd be fine with it. There are some really talented bakers, though. So far. I don't understand why he didn't do something to the raspberries! It would be one thing if they were more of a decoration but he used so many! I really like Jai. I thought her cake was beautiful and very springy. Christian is a very good baker but I thought his cake reminded me more of summer. He seemed a bit miffed when he didn't win.
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Post by Kao on Mar 9, 2023 14:05:55 GMT
Tournament of Champions: Here are the bracket winners for the week of March 5th. As usual, winners are bolded.
Maneet Chauhan vs Jonathon Sawyer. She won in season 2 so she was top seeded to begin with. Jonathon tried but couldn't defeat her in the end.
Tracey Shepos Chanami vs Shirley Chung. I've liked Shirley sionce Top Chef and even though Tracey is a beast in the kitchen it doesn't surprise me that Shirley won.
Adam Sobel vs Nate Appleman. Not familiar with these two and this was their first appearance on TOC. Both men did a great job but Adam had the edge.
Madison Cowan vs Stephanie Izard. I hated the fact that they had to go against each other so soon because I love them both. Watching them cook was like a masterclass in cooking, and I wish FN offered their recipes online because their food looked so good, lol. Both scored extremely high and Madison only lost by one point which wasn't surprising since both chefs brought their A game.
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Post by Kao on Mar 14, 2023 1:36:30 GMT
Tournament of Champions: 3/12 episode. With this episode we are down to the final 16. As usual, winners are bolded.
Tobias Dorzon vs Leah Cohen. As a fellow sufferer of anxiety I hope Tobias doesn't let his own head do him in because he's an excellent chef.
Elizabeth Falkner vs Joe Sasto. Joe gotta Joe!
Karen Akunowicz vs Christian Petroni. Slow and steady wins the race. All the time Christian was bigging himself up Karen was cooking. Considering how she won by a high margin sometimes overconfidence isn't a good thing.
Antonia Lofaso vs Shota Nakajima. Antonia is a Queen but considering how Shota went very far on both Top Chef and the Iron Chef competition he is not to be trifled with, and he's so humble and sweet too. This was very close (2 point difference).
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Post by Kao on Mar 14, 2023 15:47:14 GMT
Spring Baking Championship:
The Bento cakes were adorable but a lot of folks on this season are having time management issues. I don't know what's involved with making little cakes as opposed to bigger ones but people were struggling and making rookie mistakes, like not having a crumb coat. I liked the passion fruit and chile challenge but few of the contestants met that sweet spot between sweet and spicy; either there was barely any chili in it, or too much. The person who went home deserved to do so because while I can understand time management issues to a certain point that person has made a lot of beginner mistakes last week as well as this week and the judges decided she was not at the level where she could keep up. If you've been baking for a while there's just certain things you should just know. I'm rooting for Christian and Jai at this point because they at least know what they're doing.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 14, 2023 16:20:38 GMT
Spring Baking Championship:The Bento cakes were adorable but a lot of folks on this season are having time management issues. I don't know what's involved with making little cakes as opposed to bigger ones but people were struggling and making rookie mistakes, like not having a crumb coat. I liked the passion fruit and chile challenge but few of the contestants met that sweet spot between sweet and spicy; either there was barely any chili in it, or too much. The person who went home deserved to do so because while I can understand time management issues to a certain point that person has made a lot of beginner mistakes last week as well as this week and the judges decided she was not at the level where she could keep up. If you've been baking for a while there's just certain things you should just know. I'm rooting for Christian and Jai at this point because they at least know what they're doing. Yes, they really are having time issues this season. They should give them some more time, but I doubt that will happen. I think some of the mistakes are nerves about getting everything done. And I agreed with Nancy. {Baker who left. } The person who went home made a yule log and not a good one at that.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 14, 2023 18:20:05 GMT
How did Duff not know what aquafaba is? I have known it for years and I'm not a baker.
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Post by Kao on Mar 14, 2023 19:05:29 GMT
LOL at your comment about the leaving baker!
In addition to their dessert looking whack the cake to filling ratio was waaaaaaay off; a ton of filling, not a lot of cake.
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Post by MFWalkoff on Mar 15, 2023 7:21:29 GMT
Tournament of Champions: 3/12 episode. With this episode we are down to the final 16. As usual, winners are bolded.
Tobias Dorzon vs Leah Cohen. As a fellow sufferer of anxiety I hope Tobias doesn't let his own head do him in because he's an excellent chef.
Elizabeth Falkner vs Joe Sasto. Joe gotta Joe!
Karen Akunowicz vs Christian Petroni. Slow and steady wins the race. All the time Christian was bigging himself up Karen was cooking. Considering how she won by a high margin sometimes overconfidence isn't a good thing.
Antonia Lofaso vs Shota Nakajima. Antonia is a Queen but considering how Shota went very far on both Top Chef and the Iron Chef competition he is not to be trifled with, and he's so humble and sweet too. This was very close (2 point difference).
NOOOOO Antonia and Elizabeth are out? (I haven't watched it yet but I don't mind the spoiler)
Antonia is my goddess, she needs to win this one of these seasons...
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Post by Kao on Mar 15, 2023 14:13:36 GMT
Well, the good sis did say that she'll be competing on TOC until she wins so hopefully that will happen! She was also a class act when she lost; you could tell she was genuinely happy for Shota.
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Post by sunnydayz on Mar 16, 2023 16:48:47 GMT
I love Antonia and was so sad to see her eliminated, but dang Shota did an amazing job! And he was so overwhelmed with the win. It was very sweet.
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Post by Kao on Mar 21, 2023 14:11:12 GMT
Spring Baking Championship:
I liked the idea of the Spring Fling Napoleons (which the bakers made with varying degrees of accuracy). In fact, I like the overall theme of love that's been going on this season, it's such a new concept that hasn't been explored before in baking themes. For the Main Heat the bakers had to team up to create "breakup cakes" that had to be two cakes that fit together, yet be different on the inside. Some teams were more successful than others with this; either the breakup cakes didn't fit together conceptually, or someone on the team messed up their half of the cake. The person who went home was expected because they've been circling the drain for a while and had a particularly horrible week. There was also a redemption of sorts from another baker who also has had some troubles in the kitchen that was really lovely to see; it's great to see someone pull out of their rut and improve, and that person had a pretty spectacular week.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 21, 2023 15:38:43 GMT
Spring Baking Championship:I liked the idea of the Spring Fling Napoleons (which the bakers made with varying degrees of accuracy). In fact, I like the overall theme of love that's been going on this season, it's such a new concept that hasn't been explored before in baking themes. For the Main Heat the bakers had to team up to create "breakup cakes" that had to be two cakes that fit together, yet be different on the inside. Some teams were more successful than others with this; either the breakup cakes didn't fit together conceptually, or someone on the team messed up their half of the cake. The person who went home was expected because they've been circling the drain for a while and had a particularly horrible week. There was also a redemption of sorts from another baker who also has had some troubles in the kitchen that was really lovely to see; it's great to see someone pull out of their rut and improve, and that person had a pretty spectacular week. I like the love theme too. It goes with the season. I like it better than "farm" from last year, but I like a whole lot more than that as opposed to last year.
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Post by waywyrd on Mar 23, 2023 18:06:52 GMT
SBC - some of those chocolate cakes had my mouth watering!
But yeah, I wasn't surprised at who went home. She'd been on the strugglebus a while, and messed up both bakes this episode. Just wasn't her day.
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Post by libgirl2 on Mar 23, 2023 20:56:03 GMT
From what I read, she does have baking chops, specializing in tortes and pastries. She also owned her own cafe. I think nerves and time got the best of her.
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Post by Kao on Mar 24, 2023 1:19:33 GMT
Tournament of Champions:
We're at the point in the competition where your favs are competing against other faves and it sucks woever loses. A lot of good people went home this week.
Britt Rescigno vs Darnell Ferguson: Darnell gave it a good go but Britt is a beast. I loved how he hugged her and told her that she better win after beating him. He was disappointed but happy for her. Britt is quickly becoming a fave and I want to see how far she goes.
Eric Adjepong vs Jose Garces: It's okay Eric, I still love you and will pick up your instant African meals for lunch!
Adam Sobel vs Shirley Chung: The only person I'm actively rooting against. The arrogance and comments after he won have completely turned me off, and I look forward to Jet Tila snatching a knot in his nether regions.
Lee Anne Wong vs Jet Tila: No surprises here; Jet is on beast mode and with Brooke Williamson not competing this year he has a shot.
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Post by Kao on Apr 3, 2023 16:21:37 GMT
Tournament of Champions:
Forgot to do last week's winners but trust me, it's been wild as balls out here, including some surprising upsets (Maneet defeating Stephanie Izard was something NO ONE saw coming). We are approaching the home stretch now. Here is how it went down for the week of 4/2:
Britt Rescigno vs Jose Garces: Did ANYONE see this coming? She is like the lil engine who could, and I am completely rooting for her now. Go Britt!
Karen Akunowicz vs Maneet Chauhan: No surprises here; Maneet is going after a second crown with a vengeance.
Mei Lin vs Shota Nakajima: Well, damn. Mei is silent and deadly indeed and I never expected this. I will laugh so hard if she takes it all.
Adam Sobel vs Jet Tila: Thank goodness. Adam is a great chef with a horrible personality, and Jet is a King.
We now have our Final Four and the finale is next week!
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