All-Stars 12/22 Show Discussion **Spoilers**

[KeepItReal]

Tiffany just doesn't seem like she totally wants to be there, but I will give her credit for sharing her fish with Angelo. She didn't strongly dismiss the notion that Angelo likes to meddle in others dishes, however, she did back him by saying that each chef is in charge of what happens with their dish. You either stand up and make it clear not to touch it, or you believe that it needs something and your desperation allows you to let others try to find a fix for you. If you think it's good, or you think you know how to fix it, nobody throws anything in your food without you taking charge.

Still, it was a pretty lousy way for Spike to go. Like him or not, he put a dish out there.

ETA- Whether Angelo tries to screw people over or not he does need to learn how to back down a bit. There is a difference between helping and allowing another chef to follow their own concept all the way through. Sometimes if someone doesn't ask directly for you to help fix it you just need to tell them what you think is off and let them figure out what they need to add. He trusts his palate. That's fine, but maybe that's what led to Tiffany's "look" last week. Even if he's trying to remain modest he can sometimes come off as a culinary know it all.

[Tilden]

I don't know if Angelo deliberately tries to sabotage people or is just over-eager and tries to push his opinion on people, but I don't think Spike can really blame him for this loss. Both Angelo and Tiffany offered him the same advice, and however reluctantly, he agreed to it. Plus, the soup, which is where the gelee went, was deemed tasty by the judges. What they objected to was the way the shrimp tasted, and he cooked those all by himself--plus, he admitted earlier that, because he screwed up the first batch of shrimp, he had to rush the cooking of the second batch and didn't have the time to spend on it that he wanted.

If Angelo was trying to sabotage Tre, well, that was a big waste of time, because Tre wasn't going anywhere anyway, and Angelo knew it. So why bother? And again, Tre said he could go ahead and cook his salmon for him. Why would you do that with the major component of your dish, even if you had immunity? It's just dumb.

I didn't like that Jamie didn't have to serve her dish for two reasons: first, it wasn't fair, because she might well have had the worst dish. Second, whoever she went against on the winning team probably would have beaten her and thus lost his/her (can't remember who would have been up against her--was it Mike I?) shot at being the overall winner, who, in this case, got a very nice prize.

I was happy with Carla's win. She stuck to her guns and made what she wanted, and frankly, I was surprised at how some of the guys on her team tried to squash that choice. I'd think that is, in fact, exactly the sort of thing someone who was all upscale and rich would want to try, simply because it was more unusual. I liked her attitude in the quickfire too. I liked Carla well enough in her first season, but this season, I'm really liking her a lot.

I also liked the quickfire a lot, and I had to laugh at Fabio's improvised cheese grater. Of all the stuffings--and I really love stuffing--the two I would have wanted to try were Fabio's and Tre's. I can't stand raisins in stuffing, so I'd never have gone for Marcel's. On the other hand, I love cheese so Tre's and Fabio's sounded very appealing.

[texasgal26]

I was happy to see Fabio do better in this challenge. Even though he made gnocchi again, both the gnocchi themselves and the other components of the dish were very different. (I am also just a sucker for gnocchi.) It's kind of funny that he's been in the top twice and the bottom twice. I'd like to see him do well with something a little further beyond his comfort zone.

I was sad to see Spike go. Initially I was shocked to see him in the lineup for All Stars, but he has been doing well and I just find him amusing. Bummer to see him leave. It did bother me that he not only complained about Angelo, but also Jamie, because I remembered how he was always the one to blame other people when he was in the bottom his season. Still, I'll miss him and his crazy hair.

I was happy for Carla tonight, and irritated with Jamie (though she was smart - she knew she was avoiding judges' table). I didn't see anything untoward in what Angelo was doing. If Spike had more confidence in his dish and told Angelo to buzz off, he would have. No way would Richard have let Angelo touch his dish.

It was interesting how even the chefs themselves seem to understand who's the strongest among them. There seemed to be a pretty general consensus among them that Richard was the best of his team. Mike I. and Dale were HILARIOUS during the challenge - I felt like I was watching a couple of high school jocks.

[MFWalkoff]

The trouble with Angelo is that when he tries to "help" other people, it's from the belief that he always knows better than they do. He is convinced that he knows more than anyone there (possible anyone on Earth), and is confused when other people don't also assume this to be true. He's certainly talented, but he's also a little whacked, IMO.

One thing an All-Star season does is to expose chefs who are one-trick ponies. Fabio and Jamie are definitely in this category. Fabio is totally lost if he can't make pasta, and Jamie (who was all soups & scallops in S5) folds like the laundry even more now than in her season.

[Tilden]

The trouble with Angelo is that when he tries to "help" other people, it's from the belief that he always knows better than they do. He is convinced that he knows more than anyone there (possible anyone on Earth), and is confused when other people don't also assume this to be true. He's certainly talented, but he's also a little whacked, IMO.

One thing an All-Star season does is to expose chefs who are one-trick ponies. Fabio and Jamie are definitely in this category. Fabio is totally lost if he can't make pasta, and Jamie (who was all soups & scallops in S5) folds like the laundry even more now than in her season.

I don't disagree that Angelo is far too pushy in trying to "help" people, but I think when he gets like that, people should just tell him to get away from their food. If he doesn't, and he deliberately changes their food after specifically being told not to, then there's no defense for that. But Spike and Tre caved, and I have no idea why. Well, in Tre's case, perhaps he felt it just didn't matter that much, since he wasn't going to be eliminated no matter what happened. But in Spike's case, he just let Tiffany and Angelo push him into doing something differently. Not that it ended up mattering much in his case either, though, since they switched up his broth, which the judges still liked, and didn't do anything to his shrimp, which they didn't like at all.

I wonder if Spike hadn't admitted to coming up with the stupid team strategy and hadn't tried to push off the blame on Angelo and Tiffany F for changing his dish if Tiffany C might have gone home instead. They didn't seem to like anything about her dish, while they at least liked Spike's broth.

I'm really looking forward to next week's quickfire, but I'm not that keen on a challenge that's one cuisine. I just think it's more interesting when the chefs have more options with which to play. I like Chinese food just fine, but I'm not sure I want to watch an entire challenge about it, especially since they just had a cuisine where a quarter of the chefs had to cook Asian-inspired food. I like it better when the challenge is something broader, as in tonight's challenge when it simply had to be suitable for a health-conscious athlete and past that, they could do whatever they liked.

Although, tonight, when everyone kept coming up with fish, I did wonder why no one thought about other options that are healthy but aren't as well known. Karla was more inventive--that's another reason I was glad she won.

[Tilden]

As I was watching tonight's episode, it occurred to me that while I seldom watch cooking shows that don't involve competition of some sort, I think I would watch a cooking show hosted by Carla. I'd give it a try anyway. She's funny without being in your face obnoxious, she's not afraid to admit when she makes a mistake, and her cuisine/style of cooking is broadly based enough that she could make a lot of different things without moving beyond her comfort zone.

I like a lot of different ethnic/regional foods, but after a while, all the episodes of the one cuisine cooking shows start sounding alike to me. I think Carla could keep changing things up enough to keep me interested, and I think her style of delivery is pleasant and inviting without being overly peppy and aggravatingly enthusiastic.

[pretlitdev]

I don't know if Angelo deliberately tries to sabotage people or is just over-eager and tries to push his opinion on people, but I don't think Spike can really blame him for this loss. Both Angelo and Tiffany offered him the same advice, and however reluctantly, he agreed to it. Plus, the soup, which is where the gelee went, was deemed tasty by the judges. What they objected to was the way the shrimp tasted, and he cooked those all by himself--plus, he admitted earlier that, because he screwed up the first batch of shrimp, he had to rush the cooking of the second batch and didn't have the time to spend on it that he wanted.

Def agree. I still don't buy into any of the contestants' complaints that he's sabotaging them. Or if he is, I don't believe he's doing it consciously. I think it's a combination of him being so confident and so used to running his own kitchen combined with the other contestants being intimidated by his talent that they meekly agree to any of his suggestions. Casey hit the nail on the head-everyone has to be responsible for every part of their own dish. Spike could very well have stopped Angelo and replated his dish. For whatever reason, he (and past contestants) didn't just say to Angelo "Thanks, but I don't want any help." In a regular season, Spike probably wouldn't have been sent home but with so many talented chefs, the judges seem to be splitting hairs very early on.

Jamie is...I really don't know what to think of her this season. Carla certainly proved that you could have an injury and still win. I know back when i was bartending I'd and worse injuries than Jamie's and still kept working, Something I think is important to point out, especially to people in 'normal' 9-5 jobs who've never worked in restaurants/bars/non-traditional jobs is that in real life in that kind of position, I'm pretty sure Jamie would have stayed in the kitchen. If you don't stay, you don't get paid-it's not like a normal job where you get a certain number of sickdays a year and paid vacations. It's disturbing to hear, but most people handling your food/drinks will work through injuries and illnesses, just like Carla did and like Angelo did last season. And what Jamie did tonight, to literally hide in order to not present a dish, was really shady. I think everyone's dishes should have been judged, even after the orange team won, and if I was in the bottom, I definitely would have made sure the judges knew that Jamie refused to serve her food even though the team wanted her to.

One rule change that I wish they would make is to take away immunity if the quickfire winner is in the bottom. Because I really believe Tre (much as I like him) phoned it in and that he would have gone home if he hadn't had immunity. That kind of rule change would prevent a chef from skating on a win.

It's interesting to see some of the chefs back. Some of them-Jamie, Tiffany from last season, Elia and Stephen- seem to have gotten to the kitchen, remembered how difficult the whole process was, and wished they hadn't agreed to come back. It almost makes me wonder if they're trying to lose so they don't have to finish another season.

[ChelsieFan]

Now 2 weeks where 2 Stitch Jamie hasn't even presented a dish. Not sure why she even bothered to be on the show. She looks completely lame and scared to death. I didn't think Spike was going to go very far so his leaving isn't a shock but I do feel bad as Jamie never even presented hers and as such got another free ride.

I wouldn't let another chef touch my dish. I would want to succeed or go down on my own merit. If you let them do it it is then on you not them.

I was happy for Carla and thrilled she stuck to her guns. She didn't allow al the men to intimidate her and she had faith in her dish and skills. Good for her for the win. I was also hapy for Tre and his 20k win.

It will all catch up with Jamie before long. And while I adore Fabio I don't see him getting to the end either. I'm tired of the gnocci now.

[ChelsieFan]

I didn't like that Jamie didn't have to serve her dish for two reasons: first, it wasn't fair, because she might well have had the worst dish. Second, whoever she went against on the winning team probably would have beaten her and thus lost his/her (can't remember who would have been up against her--was it Mike I?) shot at being the overall winner, who, in this case, got a very nice prize.

Exactly. I'm surprised whoever was supposed to go against her didn't speak up to try and go for the win. It's not exactly a secret that Jamie is one of the weaker chefs. Having chefs not present is absurd. I'd be livid if I went home without every dish being tasted and judged.

[rfromp]

What's with the editing of the show? I knew Tre was going to win the quickfire before they even started cooking. As soon as they showed him talking about how expensive having two girls is, it was obvious. Same with Carla's win. It was clear she was the winner when they showed her saying she would love to go to Italy and eat her way around. It wasn't obvious that Spike would be eliminated but came as a pleasant surprise.

Losing on purpose in order to win has to be the most bewildering strategy I've ever heard of. To instantly and purposely put themselves behind is beyond imbecilic. They're essentially conceding that their best isn't as good or better than the other team's best. Tiffany D. was right when she said Spike's strategy was "Stooooooopid!"

Antonia is now my most favorite solely based on her pot comment. heh. I would be happy if her, Carla, Richard, or Marcel wins this season.

Gnocchi? Again?? Oh, wheat gnocchi, that's different.

The only person who got screwed this episode was Marcel. His team decided he was going second then halfway through him plating they let Dale go who subsequently lost.

There's no question Marcel is getting picked on and for no reason that is being shown. Angelo called him "Marcy" during the elimination. It seemed mean spirited and not at all playful.

Angelo is a pompous and arrogant ass. Far beyond any way Stephen ever was. And I quote, "My dish is going to win. I know that a hundred percent." He decides Spike's dish would taste better with yuzu gelee. He overcooked Tre's salmon. He meddled with Marcel's dish in an earlier episode. He screwed Carla's dish in their season. Either he is not as good as everyone thinks he is or he is deliberately sabotaging the other contestants. I think the look on Tom's face when he brought it up at Judges Table said it all.

I'm excited to see them go up against Big Tom at the next quickfire. Should be a good one.