Well that was about as bad as it gets for me. A one hour cooking show where a good 45 minutes of it was either talking heads, choosing ingredients or judging.
This decision to do one episdoe a week has just come back to bite them. That needed to be at least an hour and a half to give it any real meaning in terms of showing the cooking techniques of the various competitors and of the dishes that they created.
The pro kitchen should have been an episode on it's own, maybe 30 minutes long, because it had very little relevence to the competition as a whole. There was no assessment of the competitior abilities from the head chefs, and what you actually got to see was each competitor plating up one order each.
You then had that rediculous challenge of each competitor having to choose his or her own core ingredients blindfold, only to reappear after 30 seconds with the finished dish. What about the thought processes that went into the creation of the dishes?
It would have been far better, as a challenge, for all of the competitors to have faced the pressure test of having to recreate that dish and the bottom three face an invention test. Those two elements by themselves would have made a far better 60 minute show and told us a lot more about the true cooking abilities of the remaining competitors. We are now five (or is it six) episodes in, and I can honestly say I know hardly anything about any of them and what they like to cook or their style of cooking.
*de-lurks* ... again
I couldn't agree more
my daughter & I watched together & at the end we both complained about the lack of actual cooking coverage
I want to see at least some of how they arrive at the finished dish please
& don't get me started on the X-factor presentation, the awful over-dramatic music, the horrible barn-like sets, & the once a week scheduling etc etc etc
& that blindfold test? WTF!!! :rolleyes:
I can see this being the last Masterchef I bother to watch if it continues in this vein
my daughter & I watched together & at the end we both complained about the lack of actual cooking coverage
I want to see at least some of how they arrive at the finished dish please
& don't get me started on the X-factor presentation,
This was worse than X-Factor presentation to be honest. At least there you get to see the contestants perform. What you got last night was the equivalent of judges introductions, back story and talking to camera, a 10 second clip of contestants singing and then back to judges for their comments. If the X-Factor producers did that there would be ructions.
I was delighted to learn that the BBC had decided to adopt the Aussie format at the start of this series, but that only works because it is on six nights a week. The New Zealand format provided that when it's on only once a week it is very rushed and compressed with little opportunity to get to know the competitors and the eliminations random and often unjust. That's what we seem to have been given, albeit without the obnoxiousness of the judges.
my daughter & I watched together & at the end we both complained about the lack of actual cooking coverage
I want to see at least some of how they arrive at the finished dish please& don't get me started on the X-factor presentation, the awful over-dramatic music, the horrible barn-like sets, & the once a week scheduling etc etc etc
& that blindfold test? WTF!!! :rolleyes:
I can see this being the last Masterchef I bother to watch if it continues in this vein
Indeed. It really is a disappointment - so little actual cooking. In some cases we barely even got to see what the contestants had chosen or what dish they had produced in the blindfold test. Some time for them to explain why they chose the ingredients they did and how they planned to combine them would have been really helpful. I don't want that flippin' voice over telling me 'what Tom did' - I want to see Tom actually doing it and possibly talking us through some elements.
Because we didn't see them cooking or choosing the other ingredients from the extensive store cupboards, some contenstants came in with dishes with items that hadn't ever been mentioned. I'd like to know how Alice prepared her 'creamed potatoes' they looked nice but I wonder how she prepared them - were there any additional flavouring elements - were they a bit like gratin dauphinoise with cream and garlic? We'll never know.
This was worse than X-Factor presentation to be honest. At least there you get to see the contestants perform. What you got last night was the equivalent of judges introductions, back story and talking to camera, a 10 second clip of contestants singing and then back to judges for their comments. If the X-Factor producers did that there would be ructions.
I was delighted to learn that the BBC had decided to adopt the Aussie format at the start of this series, but that only works because it is on six nights a week. The New Zealand format provided that when it's on only once a week it is very rushed and compressed with little opportunity to get to know the competitors and the eliminations random and often unjust. That's what we seem to have been given, albeit without the obnoxiousness of the judges.
Totally agree sadly.
This is now a cooking competition that is not about cooking. I cannot believe how boring MC has become - this used to be one of my favourite shows.
First they send off the the 9 chefs to 3 different restaurants. Almost zero explanation of what each dish contains especially the infamous 'Nazi Goering' which is presumably some Teutonic - Asian fusion dish. Anyhow, at least Tim had the revelation that you can cook more than one dish at time in a professional kitchen - bet he's glad he entered now. Long -standing watchers of MC would later be reassured that, as in the old days, at least the new format ensures that the pro-kitchen test has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on who goes home / stays.
Then back to MC HQ to blind select from a range of ingredients, almost none of which compliment each other. After (again) zero explanation from the chefs as to why they chose the dish, they plonk their plates down in front of the judges before hearing a number of heavily edited / pre-scripted* comments.
Then the 'bottom' 3 (which you'll note included chefs who had done well in the pro kitchen but somehow doesn't include Tim despite cremating Dover Sole, Kale and drowning them in honey) have to 'sing-off' by reproducing an awful looking trout dish where, again, none of the ingredients compliment each other. Where S&T too afraid to tell him?
I don't know where MC goes from here. The BBC hates admitting its got things wrong, but can it really go back to its former and rightful BBC2 4/5 nights a week home?
I don't know where MC goes from here. The BBC hates admitting its got things wrong, but can it really go back to its former and rightful BBC2 4/5 nights a week home?
* delete where applicable.
Oh, that would be lovely, but like you can't see the BBC admitting that its got things wrong.
I want to like the re-vamped MC, I really do, but I don't. I think this is the first ever series of MC (and yes I'm including the Llyod Grossman era) where I really don't care less about any of the competitors, let alone get an idea of what they're actually capable of achieving. I still don't remember most of their names, the only ones which have stuck in my head are Tim and James, and I keep wanting to call him Jason!
I just hope that they aren't planning on mucking about with the format of the professional series.
Slightly mixed feelings about last night. Liked parts of it and not others. In general I thought it came across as rushed and we're not getting to see enough of the cooking side of the contestants. What was the actual point of the pro kitchen segments?
It's beginning to look pretty obvious to me who the winner is likely to be, barring any major disasters (not that I mind too much at this point as I don't really dislike any of them yet), so it's not as if it's keeping me in suspense either. Mind you, I thought Neil was a cert to win Celebrity Masterchef last year and look what happened, so what do I know???
Perhaps next week will be better, as they whittle down the contestants it may not feel so rushed as weeks go by. Looking at the highlights of next week though, Kennedy seems destined to be out next (:mad: no eye candy ), although the footage could be deliberately misleading of course!
Oh, that would be lovely, but like you can't see the BBC admitting that its got things wrong.
I want to like the re-vamped MC, I really do, but I don't. I think this is the first ever series of MC (and yes I'm including the Llyod Grossman era) where I really don't care less about any of the competitors, let alone get an idea of what they're actually capable of achieving. I still don't remember most of their names, the only ones which have stuck in my head are Tim and James, and I keep wanting to call him Jason!
I just hope that they aren't planning on mucking about with the format of the professional series.
It is still has some way to go before it reaches the giddy heights of my dislike for the Gary Rhodes edition
I loved Australian Masterchef and it worked so well - but over course of a week. It had structure and a routine and you got to know the contestants (still think fondly of Poh and Sam and Man-in-the-Hat).
All ours needs to do is split each episode into 3 so you have the group challenge, the individual challenge and the elimination challenge (if that's the way they want to structure it) and it would be miles better.
Well that was about as bad as it gets for me. A one hour cooking show where a good 45 minutes of it was either talking heads, choosing ingredients or judging.
This decision to do one episdoe a week has just come back to bite them. That needed to be at least an hour and a half to give it any real meaning in terms of showing the cooking techniques of the various competitors and of the dishes that they created.
The pro kitchen should have been an episode on it's own, maybe 30 minutes long, because it had very little relevence to the competition as a whole. There was no assessment of the competitior abilities from the head chefs, and what you actually got to see was each competitor plating up one order each.
You then had that rediculous challenge of each competitor having to choose his or her own core ingredients blindfold, only to reappear after 30 seconds with the finished dish. What about the thought processes that went into the creation of the dishes?
It would have been far better, as a challenge, for all of the competitors to have faced the pressure test of having to recreate that dish and the bottom three face an invention test. Those two elements by themselves would have made a far better 60 minute show and told us a lot more about the true cooking abilities of the remaining competitors. We are now five (or is it six) episodes in, and I can honestly say I know hardly anything about any of them and what they like to cook or their style of cooking.
A great post which perfectly sums up my feelings. I'm someone who greatly enjoyed Aussie MC and was looking forward to the new format and was very willing to give it a chance. But - where was the damn cooking!?
the infamous 'Nazi Goering' which is presumably some Teutonic - Asian fusion dish.
Agree completely about the format this week, it has gone from showing people cooking to mainly showing people talking.
This week we had Apprentice style car journeys, except when they show them in the cars in The Apprentice they are either talking strategy or interacting in some other significant way (eg showing the way Kate and Pantsman were more interested in flirting than in the task, which was then brought up in the boardroom.)
It's like they're having a competition to see how many references to other programmes they can work in!
I found the section in 'Mick Hucknell's' restaurant last week completely pointless, it went on and on. Presumably this was the MC version of the reward in The Apprentice, but in The Apprentice you see the reward very briefly.
Despite the fact that she is attractive, young, well off and a good cook, so I hate her, have to say there is no way Alice should have been brought back when her dish was well cooked and well thought out - can only assume they knew she wouldn't be going so put her in to add a bit of drama - it was obvious Polly's time was up.
I didn't mind it at all last night, it was a nice distraction from my ongoing nervous breakdown over the Spurs match. Highlight was the very nervous look on Tim's face being stuck in a car with smug Polly and Dippy Hippy, I'd have been scared too.
Alice or Annie will win I think (although I don't mind who as long as it's not Dippy Hippy - who's been to Thialand apparently - or woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown Sara)
If Sara looks as anxious as that at work, relatives of her patients must be in a constant state of stress wondering what bad news she's about to break to them!
I really don't understand how the hippy vegetarian can deal with meat, I know it's possible to cook meat for others when you are a veggie but aren't you meant to taste your cooking to adjust the flavours all the time in MC?
(BTW did anyone hear a rumour she'd visited Thailand?)
Despite the fact that she is attractive, young, well off and a good cook, so I hate her, have to say there is no way Alice should have been brought back when her dish was well cooked and well thought out - can only assume they knew she wouldn't be going so put her in to add a bit of drama - it was obvious Polly's time was up.
But they said the sauce was weird and that the dish didn't work at all? So glad Polly is gone, though like many others I'm struggling to watch/care with this new format.
I amd hoping against hope that it improves and that next week with 2 episodes I will get into it.
One thing I find is that there are SO many unlikable characters, which definitely affects your enjoyment, Getting rid of Sara & Jackie would be a huge help. Also the standard seems weak, though given how little cooking we've seen I guess it's hard to judge, HOPE it picks up next week!
What bugged me about Polly was that, she just wanted to be there for the experience, even though she's a very safe average cook, it seemed like a waste of a space, as she didn't seem to improve and/or learn anything.
Until this series I really loved masterchef and looked forward to it every year. However, I am so disappointed with the new format this year. I absolutely hate the new kitchen, it is so big it takes away the intimacy of the programme. Also I used to love seeing the professional kitchen and the chefs comments, but we did'nt see that last night. I just don't really care about any of the contestents at the moment. Also only having it on once a week is a really bad idea.
I shall continue to watch the rest of the series, but if they keep the same format next year I doubt very that I will watch it. The BBC have ruined a lovely programme.
Something else that is totally lost in this rushed format, is watching them cooking, making a mistake pulling it back for the tasting, you felt like you were with them on a journey, now you know nothing about them.
Pick three ingredients from a magic bag, hey presto produce and taste the dish, but we saw NOTHING of the process. Sorry for nitpicking, I'm disappointed, next week will be better right?? I keep telling myself that.
Have I missed something? I watched it ALL last night and never saw a vegetarian round. There was the 3 / 3 contestants / pro kitchens, then the touchy/smelly/feely task, then that thing with the slow baked trout... where were the veggies?
Have I missed something? I watched it ALL last night and never saw a vegetarian round. There was the 3 / 3 contestants / pro kitchens, then the touchy/smelly/feely task, then that thing with the slow baked trout... where were the veggies?
I didn't mind it at all last night, it was a nice distraction from my ongoing nervous breakdown over the Spurs match. Highlight was the very nervous look on Tim's face being stuck in a car with smug Polly and Dippy Hippy, I'd have been scared too.
Alice or Annie will win I think (although I don't mind who as long as it's not Dippy Hippy - who's been to Thialand apparently - or woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown Sara)
thailand you say? why haven't they mentioned this before?
I am so diassapointed this year. It's ruined. My family used to love this show now it's only on once a week and evrything is condensed. We didn't even get to see some people cook.
Comments
And scratch their heads and cry.
I couldn't agree more
my daughter & I watched together & at the end we both complained about the lack of actual cooking coverage
I want to see at least some of how they arrive at the finished dish please
& don't get me started on the X-factor presentation, the awful over-dramatic music, the horrible barn-like sets, & the once a week scheduling etc etc etc
& that blindfold test? WTF!!! :rolleyes:
I can see this being the last Masterchef I bother to watch if it continues in this vein
This was worse than X-Factor presentation to be honest. At least there you get to see the contestants perform. What you got last night was the equivalent of judges introductions, back story and talking to camera, a 10 second clip of contestants singing and then back to judges for their comments. If the X-Factor producers did that there would be ructions.
I was delighted to learn that the BBC had decided to adopt the Aussie format at the start of this series, but that only works because it is on six nights a week. The New Zealand format provided that when it's on only once a week it is very rushed and compressed with little opportunity to get to know the competitors and the eliminations random and often unjust. That's what we seem to have been given, albeit without the obnoxiousness of the judges.
Indeed. It really is a disappointment - so little actual cooking. In some cases we barely even got to see what the contestants had chosen or what dish they had produced in the blindfold test. Some time for them to explain why they chose the ingredients they did and how they planned to combine them would have been really helpful. I don't want that flippin' voice over telling me 'what Tom did' - I want to see Tom actually doing it and possibly talking us through some elements.
Because we didn't see them cooking or choosing the other ingredients from the extensive store cupboards, some contenstants came in with dishes with items that hadn't ever been mentioned. I'd like to know how Alice prepared her 'creamed potatoes' they looked nice but I wonder how she prepared them - were there any additional flavouring elements - were they a bit like gratin dauphinoise with cream and garlic? We'll never know.
Totally agree sadly.
This is now a cooking competition that is not about cooking. I cannot believe how boring MC has become - this used to be one of my favourite shows.
First they send off the the 9 chefs to 3 different restaurants. Almost zero explanation of what each dish contains especially the infamous 'Nazi Goering' which is presumably some Teutonic - Asian fusion dish. Anyhow, at least Tim had the revelation that you can cook more than one dish at time in a professional kitchen - bet he's glad he entered now. Long -standing watchers of MC would later be reassured that, as in the old days, at least the new format ensures that the pro-kitchen test has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on who goes home / stays.
Then back to MC HQ to blind select from a range of ingredients, almost none of which compliment each other. After (again) zero explanation from the chefs as to why they chose the dish, they plonk their plates down in front of the judges before hearing a number of heavily edited / pre-scripted* comments.
Then the 'bottom' 3 (which you'll note included chefs who had done well in the pro kitchen but somehow doesn't include Tim despite cremating Dover Sole, Kale and drowning them in honey) have to 'sing-off' by reproducing an awful looking trout dish where, again, none of the ingredients compliment each other. Where S&T too afraid to tell him?
I don't know where MC goes from here. The BBC hates admitting its got things wrong, but can it really go back to its former and rightful BBC2 4/5 nights a week home?
* delete where applicable.
Oh, that would be lovely, but like you can't see the BBC admitting that its got things wrong.
I want to like the re-vamped MC, I really do, but I don't. I think this is the first ever series of MC (and yes I'm including the Llyod Grossman era) where I really don't care less about any of the competitors, let alone get an idea of what they're actually capable of achieving. I still don't remember most of their names, the only ones which have stuck in my head are Tim and James, and I keep wanting to call him Jason!
I just hope that they aren't planning on mucking about with the format of the professional series.
It's beginning to look pretty obvious to me who the winner is likely to be, barring any major disasters (not that I mind too much at this point as I don't really dislike any of them yet), so it's not as if it's keeping me in suspense either. Mind you, I thought Neil was a cert to win Celebrity Masterchef last year and look what happened, so what do I know???
Perhaps next week will be better, as they whittle down the contestants it may not feel so rushed as weeks go by. Looking at the highlights of next week though, Kennedy seems destined to be out next (:mad: no eye candy
It is still has some way to go before it reaches the giddy heights of my dislike for the Gary Rhodes edition
I loved Australian Masterchef and it worked so well - but over course of a week. It had structure and a routine and you got to know the contestants (still think fondly of Poh and Sam and Man-in-the-Hat).
All ours needs to do is split each episode into 3 so you have the group challenge, the individual challenge and the elimination challenge (if that's the way they want to structure it) and it would be miles better.
I had successfully managed to blank the Gary Rhodes era from my mind, oh the trauma of remembering it again;):p
A great post which perfectly sums up my feelings. I'm someone who greatly enjoyed Aussie MC and was looking forward to the new format and was very willing to give it a chance. But - where was the damn cooking!?
Agree completely about the format this week, it has gone from showing people cooking to mainly showing people talking.
This week we had Apprentice style car journeys, except when they show them in the cars in The Apprentice they are either talking strategy or interacting in some other significant way (eg showing the way Kate and Pantsman were more interested in flirting than in the task, which was then brought up in the boardroom.)
It's like they're having a competition to see how many references to other programmes they can work in!
I found the section in 'Mick Hucknell's' restaurant last week completely pointless, it went on and on. Presumably this was the MC version of the reward in The Apprentice, but in The Apprentice you see the reward very briefly.
Despite the fact that she is attractive, young, well off and a good cook, so I hate her,
Alice or Annie will win I think (although I don't mind who as long as it's not Dippy Hippy - who's been to Thialand apparently - or woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown Sara)
I really don't understand how the hippy vegetarian can deal with meat, I know it's possible to cook meat for others when you are a veggie but aren't you meant to taste your cooking to adjust the flavours all the time in MC?
(BTW did anyone hear a rumour she'd visited Thailand?)
But they said the sauce was weird and that the dish didn't work at all? So glad Polly is gone, though like many others I'm struggling to watch/care with this new format.
I amd hoping against hope that it improves and that next week with 2 episodes I will get into it.
One thing I find is that there are SO many unlikable characters, which definitely affects your enjoyment, Getting rid of Sara & Jackie would be a huge help. Also the standard seems weak, though given how little cooking we've seen I guess it's hard to judge, HOPE it picks up next week!
What bugged me about Polly was that, she just wanted to be there for the experience, even though she's a very safe average cook, it seemed like a waste of a space, as she didn't seem to improve and/or learn anything.
I shall continue to watch the rest of the series, but if they keep the same format next year I doubt very that I will watch it. The BBC have ruined a lovely programme.
Pick three ingredients from a magic bag, hey presto produce and taste the dish, but we saw NOTHING of the process. Sorry for nitpicking, I'm disappointed, next week will be better right?? I keep telling myself that.
Sorry
I actually thought at the time it would be the worst thing he had ever done.
Then along came Strictly Come Dancing :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR2DgfR0PN8&feature=player_embedded
Did like the "blindfold" segment, after all it's a good idea to have an clue about what things are, before you put them together and cook them.
Still cannot believe that after all these years, they still make the same mistake of not tasting the food as they cook it.
(Putting on tin hat) Getting a bit fed up with Torode though. I like Greg the Veg, because he does convey his delight when something is good.
In an ideal world I would prefer Greg with Chef Michel on all the shows, not just the Professional series.
Torode is no doubt good at running a restaurant, but I just cannot take to the guy.
Apologies to Torode fans.
Almost forgot: Yay - Polly is out!!
Have I missed something? I watched it ALL last night and never saw a vegetarian round. There was the 3 / 3 contestants / pro kitchens, then the touchy/smelly/feely task, then that thing with the slow baked trout... where were the veggies?
It's next week.
thailand you say? why haven't they mentioned this before?