Another episode in the books, and not too many surprises when it was pretty much guaranteed that someone from Team Giada was going to go home to even up the teams.
I will keep it short again this week with more random thoughts on each contestant:
Justin Warner - Continues to shine with his unique dishes, however, with the huge risks he takes with them, they could come back to haunt him if he misses badly.
Martie Duncan - Made a comeback this week with a strong performance. Could it be the editing at Food Network making her look bad, then good no matter what she does?
Emily Ellyn - Went with a dessert and closed out a good performance for Team Alton.
Yvan Lemoine - Strayed from his basic cooking and impressed the judges with his chicken liver tacos.
Philip Ippy Aiona - Made some chipotle chili, and may be winning over the judges.
Linkie Marais - Still making desserts and losing her train of thought during presentations and still has an accent.
Martita Jara - Makes some Mexican food, but doesn't tell the story that the judges want.
Nikki Martin - Didn't come off as 'warm' to the judges aka she seemed bitchy.
Michele Ragussis - Surprise! More clams!
Malcolm Mitchell - Made some good crabcakes this week, but didn't interact with the guests as much as the judges wanted.
Onto
the elimination... This week, we were back to picking a winning team and having the bottom person of the other 2 teams compete against each other for the elimination. Team Alton was picked the winner this week, so Linkie from Team Giada was put up against Nikki from Team Bobby. As it was predictable that a Team Giada member was going to go home, most of us could have turned the episode off then to know that Linkie was eliminated. Even if she outperformed Nikki in the minute presentation, I am sure Food Network would have edited the show to make it seem as if she didn't. So in the end, Linkie stumbled over her words again in her presentation and was eventually eliminated.
With the format revealed for the remaining episodes, who do you think ends up representing each team?
I will keep it short again this week with more random thoughts on each contestant:
Justin Warner - Continues to shine with his unique dishes, however, with the huge risks he takes with them, they could come back to haunt him if he misses badly.
Martie Duncan - Made a comeback this week with a strong performance. Could it be the editing at Food Network making her look bad, then good no matter what she does?
Emily Ellyn - Went with a dessert and closed out a good performance for Team Alton.
Yvan Lemoine - Strayed from his basic cooking and impressed the judges with his chicken liver tacos.
Philip Ippy Aiona - Made some chipotle chili, and may be winning over the judges.
Linkie Marais - Still making desserts and losing her train of thought during presentations and still has an accent.
Martita Jara - Makes some Mexican food, but doesn't tell the story that the judges want.
Nikki Martin - Didn't come off as 'warm' to the judges aka she seemed bitchy.
Michele Ragussis - Surprise! More clams!
Malcolm Mitchell - Made some good crabcakes this week, but didn't interact with the guests as much as the judges wanted.
Onto
the elimination... This week, we were back to picking a winning team and having the bottom person of the other 2 teams compete against each other for the elimination. Team Alton was picked the winner this week, so Linkie from Team Giada was put up against Nikki from Team Bobby. As it was predictable that a Team Giada member was going to go home, most of us could have turned the episode off then to know that Linkie was eliminated. Even if she outperformed Nikki in the minute presentation, I am sure Food Network would have edited the show to make it seem as if she didn't. So in the end, Linkie stumbled over her words again in her presentation and was eventually eliminated.With the format revealed for the remaining episodes, who do you think ends up representing each team?
Hey FNG, I like your style... The integrity of the show is quite open to question. You nailed it about the editing manipulating people. I am curious if you have a prediction for the winner?
ReplyDeleteThe final three will be Michele, Justin, and Martita. Michele is memorable (unlike Malcom) and likable (unlike Nikki). Martita is at the top of the fanvote, but there's a chance Ippy or Yvan could be in the final. I think Giada's team is the best all together, but no individual member stands out the way Justin or Michele or Emily do. Justin and Emily will come head to head (Martie will soon be out of the picture) and Justin will win because Emily is ever so slightly fake. So, based on those final three (Justin, Michele, and Martita), Justin's my personal favorite, but the other two are decent.
ReplyDeleteI think since the judges pick their final person, I will go with Giada picking Martita cause she loves her, Alton picking Justin or Emily, but probably Justin, and Bobby going with Michele. Then I think the fan vote will go to team alton.
ReplyDeleteI love Team Alton! Justin and Emily have a special place in my heart. Although this would never happen, I'd love nothing more than to see them compete against each other in the finale. The edge would go to Justin of course. He is far and away more fascinating to watch than any other contestant. He has an avant-garde style of cooking and I love the way his brain works. He always executes his ideas very well and approaches everything in an intellectual yet quirky way (I hear writes rap songs about wine).
ReplyDeleteHe also has the most interesting concept for a show: a Late Night-type gig starring a Rebel with a Culinary Cause. I would definitely watch it.
For the most part, I agree with the second poster (but I'm not sure if I'd consider Team Giada the best all together or if I'd agree that Emily comes across even as a teensy tiny bit fake, but I guess that really depends on perception).
I think we all agree that Justin is the one to beat and I would be surprised if he didn't win it all, but I wouldn't discount Martita's popularity. Then again, the network seems to favor Justin, so maybe the fan vote won't matter as much. Bob and Susie always make glowing remarks about him and, I believe this week, Geoffrey Zakarian singled him out as the star. There's absolutely no subtlety, but I'm not complaining. He is my favorite.
I like Michele, but not as much as Justin or Emily. I do love her POV, though! I think that a show based on New England-style dishes would be great to have on FN. I love love love seafood!
As for Martita, I'm not really a fan. It is OBVIOUS that Giada favors her above anyone else on her team, despite the fact that she easily gets flustered and forgets to tie in her POV. I'm puzzled as to why she's leading the fan vote. Maybe she has a network of family and friends who are hardcore fans that continuously vote for her?
Whatever the reason, I'm kind of pulling for Ippy to make it to the finale. I see him as a dark horse and I like him way better than Martita. I think he brings something that hasn't been seen on the Food Network. Has FN ever had a Pacific Cuisine-centered show? I don't think so.
I know the judges give him flack for being too laid back and projecting low energy, but he definitely has the charm and distinctive POV to get to the finale. Furthermore, he doesn't need to have a loud and manic personality to do a great show.
Here's how I would rank the finalists if it were up to me. I will admit this ranking is based off of what I think their shows would be about.
1. Justin
2. Emily
3. Michele
Dark horse: Ippy
Sigh...if only.
I believe FN deleted my post about speculation that each judge would have a chef in the finale, and how disappointing that would be. I mentioned your site too, so I hope you don't find yourself deleted from posting.!!!
ReplyDeleteMy comment that was deleted also stated that I thought a youtube video showed Martita blabbing that she was going to NY for final.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that is disappointing.
DeleteYour comments are safe here :)
ReplyDelete