TV vs. Live
The camera lens sees things differently than a live audience does. While Katie’s kids demo charmed Bobby, Rachael and the kids in the room, it made Susie and me seriously uncomfortable to watch on tape. Exaggerated facial expressions, glacial speech, wild-eyed enthusiasm. In person, it seemed to work. But on camera – not at all.
Mid Terms
Katie: She was middle of the pack till the bottom dropped out. She could never translate her fun, spunky energy to the camera, or her food expertise to the plate. Though she showed her best work on The Rachael Ray Show, her erratic performances and questionable dishes sealed it for me. Shame, because I truly like her and we could have used a healthy expert.
Jamika: I felt like a parent watching their child drop the fly ball that loses the game. I’m heartbroken. What is going on? She’s giving up. Two weeks in a row. This will either be the wake up call she needed, or the end. I’m hoping for the former.
Melissa: She gave a solid performance in the kid’s challenge. But I was disappointed that Rushed Melissa re-emerged on Rachael’s show. She wasn’t having fun, so we weren’t either. Where is the calm, radiant Melissa of last week? Aargh.
Debbie: I was seriously impressed with her warm, casual, chatty delivery on Rachael. She could have been a long-time star plugging her latest cookbook. She worked it like a pro. But if she doesn’t deepen beyond her “I’m Korean” chant, we’re going to get worn out.
Jeffrey: Prince Charming was back in the kids challenge. Impressive. But not on Rachael’s show. In reaction to Jamika’s checking out, he could’ve acted like a star and used his energies to engage her: ask her questions, suggest she help him cook. Instead, he launched into a four minute non-stop monologue, ignored Jamika, and wouldn’t let go of the camera. Not the Jeffrey who has impressed us thus far.
Michael: The camera brings out the worst in him: rushed, nervous and repetitive. And there’s been little improvement. Frustrating because he’s proved he’s got wild cooking talent and personality to burn when performing live. But the ability to charm a crowd in person has little to do with our needs for a television star.
They all have their challenges, and precious little time to overcome them.
See ya next week in Miami! Oh, and hey, be sure to vote in Star’s Fan Vote Sweepstakes for the finalist you would have sent home!
Thank You..Tarte Tatin..I”am one of those who really watch what is happening in the background….also am I correct that a few weeks ago one of the contestants made a dish that was a “bit” to hot according to Bobby and he said that it should have been toned down a bit?And yet last night Jeffery got called on the carpet because his did not have enough kick for Miami?..what is the deal???Not everyone in Miami likes fire shooting from their mouth!!…I’am full of questions this hot summer night…does anyone know whether or not contestants from previous shows are allowed to write on this blogg? or maybe they had to sign some legal form saying they would not???…and did anyone notice that when Jeffery asked DTK for help she replied without looking up or moving away from her dish “In a Minute” which she never did?..just some thoughts going thru my head..
Why did the judges keep giving Debbie so much credit for her food - any one of the others could have made excellent food if given the same amount of time and no other responsibilities. They really shouldn’t have validated her behaviour by praising her food - it was obvious to everyone what really happened. How did she not get booted?
Another poster commented on one of the contestants bio. So I went back and read the bios of Katie, Michael and the remaining four. Their bios taken together with what we’ve seen make it very clear which horses the FN should put its money on. In no order, Jeffery and Melissa have the maturity and background to give the network something new and interesting. The others need to go home and grow. If Debbie doesn’t clean up her integrity she won’t. Too bad the other judges don’t have the taste for integrity that their Senior Vice President showed. don c
I was really upset to see Debbie still on the show. She has no character or ethics. I would hate to see her win.
While i agree that Debbie could have helped expedite things instead of working only on her dishes, I can tell you I would never have watched Michael’s show because I found him annoying. It seemed like he tried to be flamboyant to fit a stereotype which I didn’t find genuine. Melissa seems to cater to moms which I am not. I also feel that Debbie has been singled out by many posters for being Korean which is something not currently on the FN roster. I know little about Asian cooking whereas I already know how to bake a chicken. Another thing missing is real mexican cooking because though they mention latin cooking on cooking programs it always becomes TEX MEX which any person who has tasted chicken mole or albondigas will tell you is not even close to a chimichanga. I think the final four deserve to be there and that many people are just parroting the same comments about Debbie because of a lack of original comments to offer.
I am surprised to see the number of negative comments on Debbie this week. Why do we pick on her? True, she made a poor judgement this time, making a good dish and ran out of time to support her team. Let’s not forget how Jeffrey dominated the presentation when teamed up with Jamica. The judges are all Euro-Americans. Please be educated on the ‘power-distance’. It’s been proven and true that White male typically tend to dominate as Jeffrey did. Please also remember how great Debbie was with her partner in previous episodes. Bobby Felay also seems to judge Debbie on her ‘Korean’ flavor. It should be to her credit that she is so expertise on Fusion food which has become very popular these days. It’s interesting that one is easily forgiven when mentioning his/her Euro-American root. Living in today’s multicultural society in this beautiful American land, we wish to remind foodnetwork to be conscious of INCLUSION.Minorities have so few shows on this channel. Particularly the Asians. Debbie is certainly a qualified candidate. I hope she will be given a fair chance and becomes the finalist.
Katie SHOULD NOT have gone home, she did her best this week and got punished for it. That is such a SHAME!
After Bobby’s comments regarding DTK and her slogan, “I’m Korean but raised in the south”, I could tell at that time he was less than pleased with her. The impression I got from Bob’s Blog, was that he wanted to eliminate her after the Miami fiasco. The only problem was according to him (at least the way I understand it) he was out voted. Michael painted himself into a bit of an ugly corner when he repeatedly told everyone how he hates being in front of a camara. I think Bob really wanted Michael to stay for another week and get rid of DTK this week. Plus, after watching this show, I had feeling that Jeffrey was trying either make her sink or swim. Jeffrey placed her in that position in order to see weather she was a team player or not. I think in the back of his mind he was actually setting her up to fail. She did fail on several accounts. Then during the elimination process, she was blaming everyone on the team and yet trying to boost herself up in front of the judges. Kudos, goes out to Melissa in my book for calling her out on her silly attitude. I would never watch DTK even if I was paid top dollar to. I would watch Jeffrey, perhaps Jamika and Melissa any day. Right now Jeffrey is my chosen winner. I left him a comment on facebook and even though he doesn’t know me he responded with a simple line. “Thank you for your support. Have a nice week” That really made me feel good. However, Debbie is on facebook as well if I were to leave her a message, I’d probably get response from her along the line of “I’m Korean but raised in the south, the only items you need in your pantry are soy sauce and garlic”
Helen, You are soooo delusional. What are you talking about white mail dominating…… Debbie is a liar and Jeffrey is a true gentleman and let’s leave it at that.
HELEN on July 14, 2009 at 7:39 am
“I am surprised to see the number of negative comments on Debbie this week. Why do we pick on her?”
Because she is a liar and has no integrity.
“True, she made a poor judgement this time, making a good dish and ran out of time to support her team.”
AGAIN she is only looking out for herself even though it was a TEAM challenge. There is no I in Team!
“Let’s not forget how Jeffrey dominated the presentation when teamed up with Jamica.”
If you’ll watch the clip on the Rachael Ray show website, you’ll see that Jeffrey did NOT dominate Jamica. Jamica shut down. Jeffrey was trying to make the best of the situation. TFN grossly edited that clip to make it appear that Jeffrey dominated Jamica.
“The judges are all Euro-Americans. Please be educated on the ‘power-distance’. It’s been proven and true that White male typically tend to dominate as Jeffrey did.”
Drivel!
“Please also remember how great Debbie was with her partner in previous episodes.”
Are you kidding me?! First episode she was in charge of buying the ingredients for her TEAM. She left out 3 of Jeffreys items as well as many other team mates items. She made sure SHE had everything SHE needed though! She made the decision to buiy angel food cake for dessert then took no ownership of her choice and passed the buck to her team. At Ina’s SHE bought the pudding and forced Teddy to use it. Granted he should have stood up to her, but she took no credit for it. Last episode she did not help her team and again only focused on herself.
“Bobby Felay also seems to judge Debbie on her ‘Korean’ flavor. It should be to her credit that she is so expertise on Fusion food which has become very popular these days.”
All we’ve seen her do is add garlic or soy sauce to an ingredient! Is that Korean cooking? Also, where is the southern part she boasts about?
“It’s interesting that one is easily forgiven when mentioning his/her Euro-American root. Living in today’s multicultural society in this beautiful American land, we wish to remind foodnetwork to be conscious of INCLUSION.Minorities have so few shows on this channel. Particularly the Asians.”
Well, we did have East meets West, but that is gone. Wonder why? And putting on a minority strictly because they are a minority is a bad decision.
“”Debbie is certainly a qualified candidate. I hope she will be given a fair chance and becomes the finalist.”
Yeah, I want to invite a liar, cheater, backstabber, one trick pony into my home. NOT.
As a past restaurant owner, and employer of chefs and short order cooks, I can tell you that I would prefer a good short order cook any day of week. My husband and I owned and worked side by side with our own staff for almost 35 years. Our best cooks were not the trained chefs. I hate to injure the feelings of some of your contestants that automatically thought they are better cooks than Michele because they are chefs. After years of experience she would win my vote hands down. We had discovered that the chefs, for the most part, came with a attitude. Let’s face it, cooking is not brain surgery. Our best chefs and or cooks were the ones who just loved cooking, and loved to please others through their cooking talents. Michele fits the bill. It is my contention that the majority of individuals who watch the food network are looking for ideas that they can easily put together. We used to call it, “everyday food kicked up a notch”. My husband and myself feel that we would watch Michele before the other so called chefs in the contest, because she comes across as “real”and sincere, not foo-foo.
When I was growing up, my mother worked outside the home and we were watched by an older lady but we didn’t call her a nanny. It wasn’t a term used much in rural Virginia. Perhaps that’s what Melissa is referring to, but phrasing it in a more modern way. I think nanny and babysitter or watcher could be interchangeable or perhaps relates to the time and region you were raised in.
love the show a avid watcher but last week i would have sent home debbie. Every one in the kitchen was helping with each others plates but debbie was selfcenterd on her own plating and came out like i am here with the food. she did not help any of her fellow contestants out . for tha i would have sent her home. she put more presure on the every one else and there for did not have have time to do the best they could so no wonder why she had the best dishes
Well once again the committee of Bob, Susie and Bobby find a reason to keep this dishonest self-serving Debbie in the competition. I know its a competition but there is also time for team work which Debbie knows NOTHING about. Get rid of her !!!!!
Debbie said she was selfless–not so– she was selfish, “once again” she put herself first above her co-workers. It is in her personality, it is who she is. Jamika is very warm and inviting on TV, also she does not judge, whine,or critize anyone else it is a nice quality–There are a lot of Perky Perky people on the cooking network already. I have had it with Perky-Perky People.
Helen, I don’t think you are watching the same TNFNS programs the rest of us are seeing. For what it’s worth, I have Korean friends and students who find her “I’m Korean” line laughable. If in fact she really does have experience with it, she has yet to show any knowlege of Korean cuisine or fusion cooking with a Korean edge. There is so much more to it than soy sauce, garlic and ginger, which are, by the way, ingredients found in several classic cuisines other than Korean. It’s the WAY they are used and combined with other ingredients that makes the dishes Korean or Korean-American fusion. Where are the spices, the chiles, the pickled vegetables, the rice or the bean paste? I’m not Korean or even Asian, but even I know more about Korean flavors and ingredients than she has shown.
In addition, she has failed miesrably at every turn, to fulfill her part in anyting that was supposed to be a team challenge. And when it was time to pay the piper, she had excuses and blame to go around to every one but her poor pitiful put-upon self. Give me a break, lady. Wake up are really look at this woman. My Korean friends do not trust her, don’t think she has any real ‘chops’ to claim she is making Korean or fusion cuisine. They don’t want her to be the face of their homeland’s cooking.
If real Koreans don’t want her, what does that tell you?
Linda
If real Koreans don’t want her, what does that tell you?
Linda S on July 18, 2009 at 12:18 am
Good point Linda! Down here in south Texas we always say to look for the Mexican restaurant where the Mexicans go to eat. That usually tells you the food is authentic.
It is still unclear whether Debbie worships the devil, but it is clear that the devil worships her. My wife and I will not watch her show should she win and will definately not watch The Next Food Network Star again. This woman has no appeal whatsoever.
That’s great Melissa showed her backbone but I can honestly confirm that I would not watch her show if she becomes the winner. Her personality has been seen over and over on cooking shows. She wouldn’t be able to hold interest over a couple of shows. It’s sad that Michael was eliminated. However, I would love to see Jeffrey and Jamika be the finalist. Debbie is too cutthroat and the whole “I’m Korean thing” is stale.
Did we agree on not posting spoilers? Anyhoo, I mourn the loss of my favourite contestant but I understand why she’s gone.
Debbie continues to turn me off. If she wins, you lose a viewer. Her attitude is terrible. She never accepts responsibility for her actions. She sherked her duties in the Miami party challenge but tried to take credit for doing more. She is not Food Network Star material.
I totally agree with Bob on Debbie and her ethics and how last week she had the audacity to indicate her acts in the kitchen were “selfless”. You could see Bobby Flay cringe but yet he votes her on. Then, tonight, she out-and-out lied and said the capers were in the dressing and then admits she forgot them. She has done all she can to play herself up and bury anyone else. Recall early in the show when she did the shopping and “forgot” everything from Jeffrey’s list. I love the Food Network but WOULD NEVER watch her!!!!!
I just watched the NFNS. I was out with friends all day and missed the show at 9:00. So I had to wait till midnight. I wanted to catch the whole show. So I waited till midnight to catch the whole show. OMG I can’t believe that that b@#$% made it to another week after lying again!!!!!! What the f!@# is going on? Bob I will not watch Debbie’s show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not in this or any lifetime!!!!!!!! Debbie should have been gone. Jamika should have been given another chance!! What is wrong with you people??????
Bob, I really don”t care about Debbie”s camera apearance. She could be the best of the best but if I see her face and hear her voice I will go to the weather channel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s it…I’m done watching FN!!! A network that continues to look past dishonesty, lying, selfishness, etc. is not a network I will watch. Debbie may be eliminated next week, but for me it’s too late! I’M DONE W/ FN!!!!!!!!!!
I really like Melissa. She is someone I would enjoy watching. I watch the Food Network all the time, so much my husband get s angry. But, I love it. I think debbie should go. She has had some issues of honesty in every episode. She is very energetic but I just don’t think she has what it takes. I also enjoy J
the only one that i would watch on fn is jeffrey. nuff said about debbie and melissa’s personality is wearing.
Debbie is a liar. I don’t care how well she comes across ‘on camera’ or the quality of the food she cooks. We need to trust and believe our favorite food network stars. There is absolutely nothing that Debbie could contribute to a new show to counter act the fact that she is a total liar. Judges, do NOT choose Debbie.
Thank you for acknowledging that FN considers integrity more important than camera readiness. I look forward to watching the next episode of TNFNS.
P.S. FN dominates my television time so much that my 3 year old will yell to me, “mom your cooking show is on.” She is the first one in the kitchen with her wisk in hand to make pancakes and eggs. She can name most kitchen utensils, she already knows her colors, ABC’s, and shapes so why not? She may be you next cooking star! LOL
I am SOOOOOO HAPPY that Debbie FINALLY got dumped!!! It was long overdue! She is scary, has no integrity, and had she won, I would have turned Food Network off for good!!! I say that because her win would have spoken volumes about the lack of integrity the network showed, thankfully they did the right thing!
As for multi-cultural America……………..I am sooooooooooo flippin’ tired of seeing my country slip away because the ACLU, judges, lawyers, and scum-bag politicians think that we should be more like other countries than the America so many people in other countries come here for! So stick your “multi-cultural” crap where the sun don’t shine!!!
Melissa is an even more nerve-wracking Rachel Ray. I don't enjoy looking at or listening to her. Everything she's done so far, any person making meals in their own kitchen could figure out on their own.. Her 4 step chicken can only teach something to a total novice. I figured out how to do that on my own the first week I spent in a kitchen.
Jeffrey, on the other hand, presents a calm, intelligent point of view and some style - an opportunity to actually learn something new. My favorite food network personality is Ina Garten, who tackles dishes I want to learn to prepare - to increase my knowledge of cooking and presentation. She keeps it simple, yet challenging. I don't want to cook like Rachel Ray - I can do that already. I was so disappointed in your choice that I personally will not be watching Melissa's show. We have enough Rachel, Paula, The Neely's, Melissa, etc. etc. Enough already. Give us more Giada, Bobby, Tyler, Ina - and I'm from Norman, OK - where we grew up knowing how to do Paula's thing — we want to expand. I think you should make room for Jeffrey, who really has something to offer.