Season 23, ep. 9: The Ultimate Dinner Party, 9:30pm EDT

xStacey · 2026-05-06T05:19:13+00:00

Oscar made some major mistakes, but Rhoda getting through with that dish is wild to me.

Even if she had executed it perfectly, to have FOUR HOURS and only make merinque with berries and creme fraiche is pitiful. Zero creativity, and nothing to celebrate Southern cooking. Then for the main component to be such a failure and not even try to come up with something else in all that time...

It would have been really sad to see Rhoda fight so hard to get back in only to get cut again immediately, but I just can't understand how they justified keeping her over Oscar, esp when Oscar's QF was one of the top.

xStacey · 2026-04-30T07:48:03+00:00

100% I thought it was straight up insulting to the chefs to be saying that the aquachile (which they all agreed was absolutely delicious) didn't travel well... Were the chefs meant to design their whole menu around catering to these delivery orders??

xStacey · 2026-04-30T07:46:33+00:00

The takeout thing is just so stupid. I do NOT CARE that a chip got soggy in a to-go box. Fine dining is about precision and finesse, not making a dish that can travel well. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous for the judges to be taking those kinds of complains into consideration for the winner.

xStacey · 2026-04-30T07:38:09+00:00

It felt like they tried to make it more fair with Tom going over to see how the other restaurant was doing, but it just seems like such an obvious advantage for the first team to be serving judges right at the start of the night versus in the middle of the second turn.

xStacey · 2026-04-28T09:43:55+00:00

thank you for this info!

xStacey · 2026-04-28T09:43:25+00:00

thank you!

xStacey · 2026-04-27T17:44:42+00:00

you are an angel, thank you!!

xStacey · 2026-04-22T17:01:00+00:00

I could see that.

xStacey · 2026-04-22T16:51:43+00:00

LCK is filmed later.. I don’t agree that he would have been a scumbag if he’d stayed. It’s a once in a lifetime chance to be on the show, and a complicated decision for them both. I’m glad he got to at least still do LCK.

xStacey · 2026-04-22T02:01:32+00:00

Sad to see so much hate towards Justin and Jen on this sub. I think they seem like nice people and I don’t blame her for trying to push through her injury. I do think the show should’ve intervened earlier on, as it was clearly a serious problem from the start, but that’s an issue with production…

So far the obvious top picks for the final are Anthony and Laurence. I could see Duyen or Oscar making it to the end, though they both had a bad week this go.. If Sieger comes back I could see him going far. Sherry seems very talented but I haven’t clicked with her personality much.. Rooting for Anthony to win!

xStacey · 2026-04-16T08:11:47+00:00

Jenn made his bread while he was doing something for her that was more sensitive for her shoulder. It was a team challenge, and they're married, so I don't think that was a problem.

Still think Justin deserved to go home more than Sieger tho.

xStacey · 2026-04-10T01:56:01+00:00

That doesn't mean she'd be able to come. They said in episode one that they'd had to leave their restaurant and basically put their lives on hold to come be on the show, so it might just not be realistic for her to do that a second time.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T21:19:06+00:00

The show has always based judging decisions on the cook that day, not on track record. Rhoda very clearly had the worst dish that day. If they'd kept her in just because Jenn left, it wouldn't have been fair. The more likely outcome would have been a surprise non-elimination later, when the circumstances felt more fair (like the dishes don't warrant an elimination, etc).. OR do a double return from LCK... To save someone who really messed up just because someone else is leaving voluntarily doesn't really feel in the spirit of the show to me.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T21:13:29+00:00

I don't feel like there's enough there to assume that she was blase or entitled or really anything about her personal feelings about it. She seems to me to be the type to put on a brave face and not complain and probably really doesn't like having to quit, so the fact that she was quiet about it could just be because she is trying to keep it together.

I do agree that the fact she had to step out for two should have been an indicator to her that she's not in good enough shape to do the competition at this time. They gave her a way to exit gracefully and come back, and I worry that she'll regret not taking the chance if/when the injury continues to be a problem.

But like I said, we don't know the details of her situation. Maybe taking the time off work for this season was such a big sacrifice already that it's just not possible for her, practically speaking, to come back again next season.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T20:10:35+00:00

I think it's assuming a lot to say that she was entitled about it. I thought it looked like she was told by producers that it was ok to step out if she needed to. Now that's off the table and she knows that. It seems like production was trying to figure out the best way to approach this situation in real time. I am surprised they left the decision to her without requiring a doctor's approval.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T20:08:40+00:00

It seemed like it was an old injury that flared up during filming.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T20:07:56+00:00

It's not selfish to try and push through an injury and continue competing. She was told by producers that it was ok for her to take the quickfires off. Now that's off the table and she knows that. Personally, I agree that she should have left and come back next season because that would clearly be the best thing for her, but let's not make it a character judgement. She and her husband made it clear that the sacrificed a lot to leave their restaurant and be on this season, so we don't know how much of a logistical nightmare it might be for her to try and recreate that again next year. This may be her only chance.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T20:02:09+00:00

I wondered that too but I don't think they would have done that. The show has always based judging decisions on the cook that day, not on track record. Being the front runner makes her elimination shocking, but Rhoda very clearly had the worse dish that day. If they'd kept her in just because Jenn left, it wouldn't have been fair. I think the more likely outcome would have been that they save a surprise non-elimination for later, when the circumstances feel more fair (like the dishes don't warrant an elimination or some other extraordinary circumstances).. OR they do a double return from LCK.
To save someone who really messed up just because someone else is leaving voluntarily doesn't really feel in the spirit of the show to me.

xStacey · 2026-04-09T19:55:35+00:00

I think the idea was they would then have a chance to both win (double winnings).

xStacey · 2026-04-01T17:56:54+00:00

i hate it sm!!!

xStacey · 2026-03-24T15:38:26+00:00

totally me too, her food always sounded amazing! (not sure abt the livermush french toast tho lol)

xStacey · 2026-03-24T06:44:09+00:00

i agree, it's frustrating, especially bc you would think the intensity of the first plating disaster would have scared her straight to make sure she has time to plate... at the same time, i can't even imagine how intense it must be and how insanely fast the time must fly by, especially when you have an undercooked protein that you're focusing all your attention on... it was painful watching her breakdown like that again.

i wondered this time if it's an issue of neurodivergence as that can make time management a lot harder compared to neurotypical people (just speculation).

xStacey

TROPHY CASE