Masterchef (US) Season 5 Comes To An End

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

It is all over now as season five of MasterChef (US) has come to an end with Courtney declared the winner. This season possibly saw the two best matched contenders for the title. Both are exceptional in presentation and technique and rarely made mistakes. Elizabeth set a record for this season (and perhaps the entire series this far) as never being in a pressure test. Personally I think Elizabeth is the more talented of the two and in the long run it will be interesting to see who has a more successful culinary career. Both ought to do well but Elizabeth might very well surpass Courtney in the end. As for Courtney, no more dancing in a gentleman’s club for her. She can give those glamorous heels a rest for a while.

This season fared well for not having a real villain as in past seasons. Last year there was Krissi, an odious person who really ought never ought to have been there. Leslie might have been a villain considering how he grated on people early, especially Ahran. Instead of getting worse he managed to bring it under control. He and Ahran became friends later on. However he was not shy about those he really disliked: Cutter and Daniel. Daniel he saw as untrustworthy and a pretender. And Cutter was in his own zone often unable to do tasks asked of him. Leslie got rattled though when under pressure (like at Dinah’s) and goofed up as well. Leslie though was determined and never really gave up. And had he not screwed up substituting salt for sugar in the pressure test against Courtney, he likely would have been up against Elizabeth. Gordon is right: the culinary world is not just for the young but for the seasoned as well. Julia Child would concur on that sentiment

Missing this season were the preliminary rounds where we see them audition before the judges. We often saw what they cooked to impress the judges to give them the first apron. And we also saw a fair amount of those who brought dishes that fell well below the standards being sought. The reason was probably scheduling. So they did not show the preliminary rounds and went straight to the top thirty and the final cut for the MasterChef competition. It made the season move much quicker. The challenges were as usual though with the twists and turns we have come to accept. No big stars stopped by a lot of culinary stars did in the semifinal where fifty chefs showed up. Many of them had shows on Food Network like Cat Cora or Duff Goldman. Too bad Mario Batali did not make an appearance but then he likely still is on contract with Food Network. We also saw Gordon’s wife Tana in the Valentine’s Day episode. In both his UK and US Kitchen Nightmares show he often as to be away on that day or Mother’s Day.

The formula for the show has remained more or less the same. They start with a very large group then whittle it down to a manageable size (about twenty) for the final competition. Each episode has two challenges (mystery box and elimination challenge) or a field challenge in which the losing team faces the dreaded pressure test. Always someone goes home but on occasion it is two that go home. Judges are impressed with creativity, passion, flavor, and taste. They absolutely dislike dishes that are too simple, below MasterChef quality, completely disregard culinary rules, or are just absurd (like Tali’s crab dish that Graham called a horror show in season three). It infuriates them when someone they know is talented produces a bad dish.

They try to mix up the challenges but I humbly suggest they have used up the army and marines for food challenges! Head down to San Diego where the navy has ships and personnel. Believe me officers and crew on ships would love to be part of a Masterchef challenge. It is also likely that next year they will tie in (like the did with Glee) with another Fox show. I hope it is Sleepy Hollow! Make that a spooky themed episode with Headless delivering the winner. Okay that might be over the top but you get the point.

So we put this season into the done column with Courtney the winner for season five. Now we wait until next summer when we see a whole new crop of aspiring amateur chefs wanting to prove to Gordon, Graham, and Joe they are the best in the country. They just have to prove it with every dish they make. No pressure at all.

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I was highly critical of the pressure test required making truffles. I wrote that very few people make them at home and even doubted the Masterchef judges could cook them. Well I was wrong on that last part (somewhat). It appears Gordon Ramsay does know how to make them by hand. Here are two YouTube cooking lessons where he is showing his kids how to make chocolate mint truffles for Christmas Day.

Premier Exhibitions: NASDAQ Notifies Company They Are Not In Compliance With Requirements

Photo:Luis Villa del Campo
Photo:Luis Villa del Campo

NASDAQ recently sent a letter of non-compliance to Premier Exhibitions (NASDAQ:PRXI) regarding the recent director resignations. Specifically they are out of compliance with the audit committee requirements which require the audit committee be comprised of three independent directors. They have to resolve it either at the next annual shareholder’s meeting or by 27 Aug 2015. However if the annual shareholders meeting is held before 23 Feb 2015, then they must show compliance on that date. Four directors resigned on 25 Aug 2014 and were replaced by Jack H. Jacobs and Rick Kraniak on the same day.

Sources:
1. Worth Watching Stocks : Medtronic….(19 Sep 2014, Wall Street Scope)
2. Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or S (16 Sep 2014, Yahoo! Finance)


Monday Morning Reflective

Dennis DeYoung’s Desert Moon.


Happy Sunday

Image:Petr Kratochvil(publicdomainpictures.net)
Image:Petr Kratochvil(publicdomainpictures.net)

We are in the last days of summer. The autumnal equinox is on September 22 at 22:49 EDT and the first full day of autumn is September 23. Wow! Only 9 days till autumn. Above the northern hemisphere we start the transition towards shorter days, longer nights and of course winter. In Australia, it is their spring. Already the signs are on television of Halloween. Spooky themed commercials,stores stocking up on Halloween costumes and decor, and haunted houses are being made ready. A Halloween themed store has already opened up in the city where I live. And my favorite pumpkin spice cookies are back in the shelves.

Have a nice Sunday everyone.


White Star Wanted More Wealthy Passengers Not Third Class

Photo courtesy George Behe
Photo courtesy George Behe

Titanic was built to make money but not on the backs of immigrants as some claim. Instead they were designed to make money from wealthy passengers who would travel both ways. Second class was designed for tourists and professionals who traveled less often but wanted the comforts such a ship offered. And finally you had third class (steerage back then) who paid the smallest fare but proportionally were the largest in numbers. However despite their numbers, they were a smaller revenue generator compared to first class passengers.

Joseph Mortati in Collision Course:How Good Business Decisions Sank the Titanic and Why refutes the standard thinking by going through the concept of the new White Star ships and how they were designed to make money. Cunard, which had the faster ships of the day that broke records, sacrificed speed for comfort. The line was also subsidized by the British government to prevent it from being bought out by a foreign entity. That gave them a 2-1 advantage over White Star. They had speed and government backing. Ismay had to come up with a way to compete that would make money. Competing on speed would be difficult and expensive. They could still market to immigrants seeking to cross over to United States but they knew it was a diminishing trade over time.

Focusing on repeat travelers then became important. And not just any repeat travelers but ones who were very wealthy and willing to pay extra for comfort. They could charge higher tickets for them and provide amenities a hotel on land would provide. It was a daring and bold plan that hinged on getting the wealthy to buy tickets. It required a marketing campaign to convince them that ships like Olympic or Titanic were the ships to be on and be seen on. What Mortati found was that Olympic compared to Lusitania would make 40% more per round trip because of those higher ticket prices. And while immigrants still comprised 50% of passengers aboard, revenue from them was 20%. Which means 80% came from first and second class passengers and mostly from first class.

Now that debunks the myth. Had Olympic, Titanic, or Brittanic been built to make lots of money from immigrants, the proportions would have been very different. Instead you would have third class being the significant revenue generator and first and second class bringing around 20% combined of the total revenue.

Source:
Mortati, Joseph Collision Course – How Good Business Decisions Sank the Titanic and Why (2013, Amazon Kindle Edition)

MasterChef:Final Four and then Final Three (Part 2)

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

Recap: Christian was sent home leaving Courtney, Cutter, Elizabeth and Leslie as the top four.

I will be honest here, I did not expect the top four not have Christian in it. I am further surprised both Cutter and Leslie made it. Neither were on my list for the top four but Courtney and Elizabeth were.

Now I expected when the two teams were formed that Team Red (Courtney and Elizabeth) would easily best Team Blue(Cutter and Leslie). They both had to cook with foods that were not that difficult to work with. That is not what happened at all. Instead both teams had problems. Individually both Courtney and Elizabeth are perhaps the best home cooks ever on the show. Yet they canceled each other out producing a weird appetizer but their entrée was at least better though not up to their usual high standards. Their lack of communication meant they each made sauces and did not tell the other.  Not unsurprisingly Cutter and Leslie did not do well either. Leslie decided to let Cutter do his thing and not interfere much. Cutter tried to work with Leslie and found him not wanting to talk much. So both of them made mistakes–critical ones–like screwing up a sauce that ought to have been easy to do.

Photo: Canterel(Wikipedia)
Photo: Canterel(Wikipedia)

So in the end both teams produced fair to awful dishes. It was unbelievable that both teams would end up this way. And just by a millimeter, Courtney and Elizabeth got saved. Personally I would have either sent them all back to cook one dish that would sort it out better. But since I am not in charge, it is but a dream in my head. So Cutter and Leslie now go into a culinary thunderdome and they have to cook from the box they did not choose: California. And they had to cook three separate dishes for each of the chefs. It came all down to a Salad Niçoise with seared tuna in the end. Cutter had the better looking one but his tuna was sliced too thick and not well cooked. Leslie’s dish was a real mess! He forgot the quail egg but got the tuna right along with the vinaigrette for the salad. And getting the tuna right was what saved Leslie. The long saga that was called The Cutter Zone has finally ended. He had his moments but there was just no way he would be in the top two.

Now we have our top three: Courtney, Elizabeth and Leslie. My money is still on Elizabeth to win this over Courtney. I cannot see Leslie in the top two unless either he really steps up the plate and one of the other two really goofs something up bad. We are now in the final round and soon a new Masterchef will be crowned.


Masterchef:Final Five Become Four and Then Three(Part 1)

(Note:This was a two hour episode. So I will break the commentary into two parts.)

Photo: Fox
Photo: Fox

Last week we saw Jaimee depart leaving Courtney, Christian, Christian, Cutter, and Leslie. Now that we are down to the final five, the pressure is really on. To add more to that pressure, select friends or family members drop by. Aside from the previews, the big clue is the very big mystery box that usually signifies either a special guest or a very unusual food challenge ahead. In this case it was Courtney’s six year old brother who she does not see often. Cutter’s adoptive father and Christian’s girlfriend are also there. Elizabeth gets to see her husband and we finally get to see the woman that is married to Leslie. Gordon asks jokingly if she ever found his off switch. She quips not in 20 years or words to that effect. Then the family members tell them food they miss, which becomes the challenge for the evening.

Of course being Masterchef it has to be upscale. Christian’s girlfriend likes his gumbo and he has to do that in an hour! Gumbo, depending on the recipe, can take from just under three hours to several hours. He manages to pull it off to the delight of the judges. Graham calls it a taste of the ocean. Courtney did a macaroni and cheese with truffles and lobster and topped with a quail egg. Now that was daring and she pulls it off as well. Finally Elizabeth brings up her meatballs and grits. The meatballs are made with different meats, herbs, and tomato sauce. And the grits were good as well. Elizabeth is the winner while Leslie and Cutter stand in the back disappointed they were not called up.

Select Cuts

Photo:Vincent Diamante(Wikipedia)
Photo:Vincent Diamante(Wikipedia)

Just a bit of culinary history. In the old days people had to make sure every part of an animal that was slaughtered did not go to waste. One it maximized its use and second did not waste anything. The highest quality cuts went to those who could afford them leaving the less popular ones for those on more tight budgets. So Elizabeth gets to select some parts that her fellow contestants will be cooking up–ox heart, lamb’s heart, veal brains, and buffalo testicles. Yummy! Elizabeth’s facial ticks while they show these parts shows how she tried to keep from showing her disgust (or desire to upchuck). She was glad not to have to cook any of them and of course is immediately in the top four. Back out in the main area, they are not that thrilled either at having to cook these parts. Of course Elizabeth choose which ones they would cook.

Courtney got the bull testicles. Elizabeth figured it would throw her for a loop. Perhaps for a moment or two but she took the challenge head on. A miss by Elizabeth on this one. Instead of flailing, she cooked them to perfection by what the judges said. Bravo!

Cutter got the ox heart. It is a large mass that looks suitable for long braising. For perhaps the first time, Cutter produces a stellar dish that wows the judges. The Cutter Zone has finally arrived. At first it looked bad for him but the final presentation was awesome.

Leslie got the lamb’s tongue. At least it was not veal brains. But Leslie did not clean the tongue properly leaving an unpleasant aftertaste in Gordon’s mouth. It also did not look stellar either but it was not all bad. Still at this stage of the game, the smallest thing out of place will send you home.

Christian got the brains. They try to make it sound less awful by saying “veal brains” but of course veal comes from cattle (young cattle to be precises). Head cheese used to be made from either pig or cow brains (it still is in some places)mostly though it is just spices and meat not from brains anymore. I thought Christian would nail this one but instead he got flustered, twisted, and turned around. It alarmed the judges to see him flailing about. For Elizabeth, it was a direct hit. He produced an awful dish overall though the brains were good. But everything else about the dish was all bad.

Courtney won the round proving she can take just about anything thrown her way. Cutter also got the save as well and now there are three in the final four. That leaves the judges to decide between Christian or Leslie. Unfortunately Christian is sent home. A very talented young man who found this challenge a bridge too far. He leaves with his head high and Gordon offering to invest in his food truck. That is one food truck I would visit and likely will do very well. Now we have the final four: Courtney, Cutter, Elizabeth and Leslie. And in the next round it will be two teams (boys vs girls) duking it out to win a coveted spot in the top three. The losing team compete against each other in a culinary thunderdome. Just without Mel Gibson.

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