Posts from — February 2011

Tonight was the episode that morphs the show from Come Dine With Me into Masterchef Australia for the teams, and it appears this season they have amped up the challenges by taking it out of the studio kitchen for some of the episodes.

Like Masterchef, they are pinching ideas for challenges from Top Chef.

Tonight the teams had to cater for a street party and the twist was they had to cook in one of the residents house. I loved the way they tried to make it look random, but everyones kitchen was pristine, and with benches bare.

Also they only had two hours to cook. The good news for the two NSW teams they have been given immunity this week as scored the most points in their respective groups for their home restaurants. I wonder if the boys used it as an opportunity to chat up the attractive Polish girls. So wanting a MKR romance this year.

However, the team that has the worst dish tonight will have to go in a cook off against the worst team from tomorrow nights challenge.

Also the judges told the teams there were to be five savoury dishes and four desserts, and as usual no one really wanted to do dessert except the Tasmanian girls. They were instructed by Manu to think Australian, think Summer, think big.

Speaking of Tasmania, Mel and James did not seem as bad as they were previously now we have had a couple of weeks with Kelly and Ash. However she still speaks to James like he is a child.

Stefania is still getting flirty with Manu and Daniela is too laissez faire, and I think that attitude will see them not be in the competition towards the bitter end.

I thought Manu was being unreasonable when he told Mel that in two hours she could have made her own pastry, blind baked the cases and cooked the lemon tarts. There is no way an amateur chef could do that.

Also the Ali and Esther from Tassie got a swipe from Manu about how they should have done more than the brownies in the two hours. As they pointed out they were flat chat.

Artie and Johnnie from Qld had that butchers obsession with stuffing things. This time some lamb mince with sun dried tomatoes and boccaccini. Seriously sun dried tomatoes should be outlawed when they were in every dish and sandwich in the ’80′s.

Ann-Marie and Nick were having a bit of trouble in newly wed paradise, with Ann-Marie getting shirty about his lack of attention to detail. Manu was critical of their chicken schnitzel, however there were kids at the street party and they did need to be catered for.

Donna and Reade skewered and peeled a mountain of prawns, plus made risotto over two hours I thought that was impressive. However Pete Evans criticised them for the rissotto said it goes gluggy once it sits more then five minutes.

Mal and Bec made Bush Spiced Lamb with a Couscous Salad, and they admitted they had made their dish to appeal to the judges.

Kelly and Ash made a rhubarb and strawberry cheesecake which Manu gushed over, so maybe they can cook.

Also Kane and Lee hit some goals with their Turkey Sang Cho Bow, which looked great, but is that hitting the Australian part of the brief?

The twist was the winner would be voted on by the people at the street party, and Mal and Bec won which means they have immunity for the rest of the week.

The worst dish was the dried lamb swags or oversized meatballs by the Qld butchers. That was a no brainer they will be fighting it out in a sudden death play off.

Reality TV star Tabatha Coffey from Tabatha’s Takeover Salon hits the red carpet at the Oscars to host the red carpet special on TV Guide.

She looks fabulous in a dress made for her by Mon Atelier.

I always love it when Survivor or The Amazing Race bring back contestants that have been on the show previously, and this latest season has them bringing back the teams who came close to winning or had some terrible luck which meant they were eliminated.

It was gut wrenching when nice guys Zev Glassenberg and Justin Kanew, had to leave the race when Justin lost his passport in Cambodia. So it is great to see them get another shot at the $1 million. The list of who are the teams are in a previous post here.

Kynt, partner of Vyksin  has changed his name to Kent . My theory for the name change was after his awful behaviour in Italy he was being called C**t.

Anyway the episode started of in Palm Springs, with Phil Keoghan declaring the first clue was not on their back packs. But then there was a shot of the clues in Phil’s back  pocket. Most females would get very excited at the thought of grabbing Phil’s butt as they were getting the clue. But unfortunately that did not happen.

The clue was Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service – meaning they had to grab the sign that said Qantas, and this did stump a few teams.

However it was off to Sydney, Australia.

Eight of the teams were on the first flight, however this flight was delayed in Hawaii as some on had a heart attack  and the plane was diverted. The teams were trying to be nice about it but you could tell they were pissed. In Phil’s diary blog on the CBS.com site he was on the first flight, and had to head straight to the pitstop, arriving just 20 minutes prior to them.

Kris and Jamie had had a lucky day considering they had been the last to find the Qantas clue and this meant when they hit the detour they would have to do both challenges.

Once they landed they had to go to Ocean World at Manly to swim with the sharks to find a dish with a code breaker on it.

The african american girls had difficulty due to their lack of swimming ability, however Mallory continued to lead the way.

After that there was a puzzle which half the teams did not get, but other teams gave them the clues. I hate that when that happens. However the cowboys struggled and it is still unclear whether they moved forward.

At the pitstop at Shelley Beach the teams were told the leg had not ended, and rumour has it that they are on the way to Broken Hill.

Vyksin who clearly knows her boyfriend Kent well paid him out when she said they were on the way to Manly, even she was being ironic when she said that adjective described him so well. Also as eagle eyed Injera pointed out, Kent also gave the dishy surfer guy on the pitstop mat a grab on the butt.

If Kent gets lost on Oxford St it would be interesting to see what occurs.

At this stage Gary and Mallory are in the lead, but the cowboys are struggling. Hopefully a bit of luck will swing  their way soon.

Well in Altiyan Child’s mind he thinks he is a rock star, and you don’t get more rock star then trashing a hotel room.

Earlier this week it was reported The X Factor winner Altiyan Childs was bashed by four men in Hobart.

Well apparently there is more to the story then that.

The Sunday Telegraph reports he may have been the one to start the fight, and then he and his mates trashed a hotel room and caused $15,000 damage.

The article which is filled with Altiyanspeak says:

X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs says he has hit rock bottom after racking up a $15,000 bill for trashing a hotel room during an all-night party.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Childs tried to cover up the incident this week, claiming he was the victim of “haters” who attacked him at a Hobart pub, while on tour.

However, onlookers claim Childs, 35, was the instigator of the pub fight, which started over a woman.

David Kaine, night supervisor at Hobart’s Welcome Stranger Hotel, said Childs arrived at his pub after midnight last Saturday and tried to hit on another man’s girlfriend.

But Childs claims he was simply trying to be friendly, saying: “My love for people will always get me into trouble.

“It’s got me into trouble this weekend, when I reach out and touch someone, it is me breaking down the boundaries.”

After the fight, Childs took friends he calls his “Altourage” to his presidential suite at Hobart’s Sullivan Cove Apartments.

A source claimed the group “absolutely destroyed antique dining tables, spilt red wine all over the place, smoked inside, shattered glass and left some pretty sick presents in the bedrooms”.

Yesterday, Childs said he had apologised to the hotel and would pay the clean up bill of between $12,000 to $15,000.

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he tearily admitted he has struggled with life in the spotlight, post X-Factor.

“Last week was rock bottom for sure. I am going to stay down in this hole in an emotional sense and just analyse things,” he said.

“Crucifixion doesn’t come long after praise. I certainly didn’t expect it to come this quick but of course it has been an awakening week.”

“All I can say is, it (the room) still looked pretty good to me when I went downstairs. It wasn’t particularly dirty, it wasn’t infested with anything remotely awful. Anyway, i t is what it is. I have passed on my apologies. If you tell me there is a $12,000 to a $15,000 bill, then obviously there is a $12,000 to $15,000 bill.”

Formerly a forklift operator, Childs’ self-titled debut album sold more than 140,000 copies.

His current national tour has seen many of his shows sold out, including last weekend’s at Hobart’s Derwent Entertainment Centre.

Childs travels with an entourage, including personal “bodyguard” Steve Chenko, and close friend Stephen Gold, neither of whom is paid for their duties. Both were in Hobart with Childs.

Well Altiyan just made himself a contender for douche of the year.

“I have a personal bodyguard because this guy is a big fan, he doesn’t cost me anything, and he does it out of his good will,” Childs explained.

“I’ve found that I need him every now and then, just to pacify things that were going in a bad direction.”

As I have written previously Masterchef UK has morphed into the Australian version and the viewers in the Old Blighty are not happy.

Well it appears the TV critics are not either.

The Sunday Telegraph writes:

The original no-frills UK show has undergone a makeover to mirror the Aussie ratings blockbuster, with greater emphasis placed on contestants’ emotion, the use of dramatic music, over-the-top judging showdowns and cliffhanger editing.

But it has delivered an almighty backlash in Blighty, with host broadcaster the BBC last week forced to defend the changes to the seventh series.

Irate viewers and the British media have blown up over the new audition process, drawn-out drama and cavernous new kitchen sets.

Under the lengthy headline, “Why the BBC have ruined the recipe by turning MasterChef into some kind of X Factor for foodies”, The Daily Mail’s Marina O’Loghlin lamented: “Season seven is not so much overcooked as burned to a cinder.

Also the critics are having a swipe at Masterchef Australia’s judge Matt Preston, which is bizarre considering he does not have anything to do with the new version of the show.

They write:

In slamming the local version of the British series, The Guardian’s entertainment reporter, Stuart Heritage, singled out Preston, labelling the bon vivant a “boob of a man.”

“He’s … bloated on self-importance and seemingly on the constant verge of a full-blown gout attack,” Heritage wrote last week.

“He’s plainly awful – give him food that he doesn’t like and he’ll just hurl it on the floor like a cross between a dreadful toddler and a gargoyle of a Kenneth Grahame character. No matter what you make of the new changes, at least we don’t have to put up with any of that flatulent posturing.”

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Preston’s response was restrained. “The mark of a good journalist is that they have researched what they have written.

Anyone that watched the show knows I only drop food on the floor that I love – not the food that I hate,” Preston said.

slamming the local version of the British series, The Guardian’s entertainment reporter, Stuart Heritage, singled out Preston, labelling the bon vivant a “boob of a man.”

“He’s … bloated on self-importance and seemingly on the constant verge of a full-blown gout attack,” Heritage wrote last week.

“He’s plainly awful – give him food that he doesn’t like and he’ll just hurl it on the floor like a cross between a dreadful toddler and a gargoyle of a Kenneth Grahame character. No matter what you make of the new changes, at least we don’t have to put up with any of that flatulent posturing.”

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph, Preston’s response was restrained. “The mark of a good journalist is that they have researched what they have written.

Anyone that watched the show knows I only drop food on the floor that I love – not the food that I hate,” Preston said.

I think Matt won that round.

Masterchef UK will be shown on Lifestyle Food later on in the year. Also Masterchef Australia which is currently filming will launch in April on Channel Ten.

When Ajay Rochester was sacked from The Biggest Loser, she decided to try her luck overseas in Los Angeles. Her aim was to appear on the Oprah show, and has been auditioning for other roles.

However Ajay this week told Woman’s Day she was broke, and the move has been a bit of a disaster.

Here are some snippets from the article:
Ajay is unable to put food on the table or find work.

“…In terms of finances I have pretty much hit rock bottom.”

“Within hours of landing in LA, not only had the TV deal I had hoped to secure fell through, but we were homeless too.”

“I had decided to sub-let an apartment and handed the last of our savings, $8000, to the guy we were renting it from.

“…the guy pocketed it and ran off to Mexico.”

Since then Ajay has struggled to find any employment, despite applying for 50 jobs. But she refuses to give up on her Hollywood dream  - a dream she believes will ultimately provide the best future for her son, who has aspergers and attends a special school.

“This is not the time to be proud, and so I have applied for jobs ranging from checking nits in kids hair, to doing the nightshift in the laundry in a sports club. I even did a couple of days as a brickie for a friend who is a labourer.”

“…I can’t even land the most menial jobs because as soon as they find out who I am they just say to me ‘Why would you want this job? We cannot even consider you as you are far too qualified.’ It has been soul destroying.”

Ajay says she goes hungry on a daily basis.
“I try and hide how poor we are from Kai, but he is 11 and not stupid. Every night when he says to me ‘Mum why are you not having any dinner?’ I just tell him I have eaten before he got home from school.”

“…for the last eight months I have survived on barely more then rice and potatoes. She has also put on 10 kgs in the last 10 months.

“No more am I the glamorous, sucessful TV host, but instead I am back to being the washed up, overweight nobody.”

I am not sure I believe the bit about not being able to get a job because she is recognised in the US. Who would know who she was?

For those people who have had to rely on getting their Phil Keoghan kicks from the visit New Zealand ads (yes that spa scene is amazing) , the good news is the new series of The Amazing Race will be starting on Sunday.

But please note the new station (Seven Mate) and timeslot (6.30pm).

TV Tonight has a good article on why it has been shifted – basically so it could be fast tracked from the US.

The bad news is if you don’t have a digital box or are on Foxtel you won’t be able to see it. Foxtel are yet to stream the channel. UPDATE: TV Tonight contacted me and said it is on Foxtel cable but not Foxtel satellite.

The teams for the 18th season are:

From Season 12:

Ronald and Christina Hsu, father and daughter, 2nd place

Kent Kaliber and Vyxsin Fiala, dating pink-clad goths, 5th place

From Season 14:

Margie and Luke Adams, mother and son, 3rd place; Luke is deaf

Amanda Blackledge and Kris Klicka, engaged (dating in Season 14), 8th place

Jaime Edmondson and Cara Rosenthal, former cheerleaders for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, 2nd place

LaKisha and Jennifer Hoffman, sisters and sports coaches, 4th place

Mel and Mike White, father and son writers, 6th place

From Season 15:

Zev Glassenberg and Justin Kanew, best friends, 9th place; Zev has Asperger’s

Herb “Flight Time” Lang and Nate “Big Easy” Lofton, teammates on the Harlem Globetrotters, 4th place

From Season 16:

Jet and Cord McCoy, brothers and rodeo cowboys, 2nd place

From Season 17

Gary and Mallory Ervin, father and daughter, 6th place; Mallory won Miss Kentucky 2009 and was 4th runner-up at Miss America 2010

(Source: Wiki)

The Amazing Race premieres Sunday 27 February at 6.30pm on 7Mate.

Park St the semi-scripted reality show set in the magazine offices of ACP has had a disasterous start. It had barely over 6000 viewers for its first episode screened last Wednesday on Arena TV.

I hope this won’t mean local production houses will give up on semi-scripted reality shows, as I think there is a lot of potential in this genre. However I think the show needs to show more of the dynamics that are going on in the offices.

In the first episode one of the girls shut the door on the cameras as she was kicking someones butt. Now THAT is the scene viewers really want to see.

However, I presume to get permission to film in the offices there must have been an agreement on what could be shown.

Also I think if they had set the show in the more fast pace weekly gossip mag environment they may would have had the opportunity to develop a lot more tension.

Let us hope Channel 7 who are making Jackie Frank’s reality show set in Marie Claire’s offices are taking notes on how to make their show more watchable.

The Daily Telegraph reports that ACP are embarrassed by the rating figures.

They write:

“There was a lot of expectation here, but it was a disaster,” said one ACP insider. “The joke is, the only people who were watching it were those of us who work here.

“It was about as exciting as waiting for the printer to get fixed – and we’re betting that will be the plot of next week’s episode.

“It was just terrible and embarrassing.”

An Arena spokesman played down the disastrous debut while pointing out that Park Street will move to Monday night at 8pm.

“There are several encores of last night’s episode between now and [next week], as is the strategy with all our local programs, giving our subscribers multiple chances to sample the programs,” the spokesman said.

Altiyan Childs the X Factor winner is being quite zen about the fact that over the last weekend he was bashed by four guys.

The Daily Telegraph reports:

THE eccentric X Factor winner Altiyan Childs was kicked to the ground and bashed by a group of drunken “haters” following a sold-out concert at the weekend. tasmainia

The cave-dwelling rocker was left injured and “shaken” by the unprovoked attack in the Hobart suburb of Glenorchy in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The assault occurred after a show at the Derwent Entertainment Centre, where the singer stayed signing autographs and posing for photos with fans until about midnight.

“We were at a quietish pub where a group of guys inside were calling me a ‘dirty faggot’ and a ‘wanker’ and stuff like that,” Childs said yesterday.

“After a little while it got the better of me and we decided to leave. We were followed out by four big Tassie blokes and, yeah, I was attacked.

However he said he is not going to hold it against the Apple Isle.

He is clearly happy that his album has gone double platinum and his concert tour has sold out.

Channel 7 are yet to announce is they will be going ahead with a second series of The X Factor.

Sorry guys I have been in the air for the last 24 hours due to going on holiday, so I missed Wednesday, Thursday and also tonight’s show.

This is just an open post for people to vent or say what happened in the episodes.

My Kitchen Rules episodes will still be recapped as I have the upcoming episodes. Also The Amazing Race as I will watch it on catch up TV. Also I believe the latest Survivor has also started in the US.