Come on, that oyster had way more going on and was much more complicated than Shirley's crudo.

I totally disagree with that. Looking over the season, Brook won more challenges this season than any other chef. You think all of that was Tom's doing…no way.

I disagree.
From the judges comments while eating the food, they loved Brook's oyster, and thought Shirley's crudo was fine. Round 1 Brook.
They did not care for Shirley's ramen. Loved Brook's octopus. Round 2 Brook.
They loved both pork dishes. Tie
They loved Shirley's dessert. Didn't like Brook's flan. …

The Trump administration is setting an impossible bar for Veep to satirize and have it still be considered satire rather than a documentary. Spicer's twitter gaffes surely were ideas the writers of that show had spit balled and rejected last season.

Okay, I looked it up and it was in Singapore. I've been there, and it is VERY easy to get anything you need there speaking only English…so no issue on navigating a market.

Agreed, and cooking fish on a wood fired grill…that is something that any professional chef should be able to do. It's not as if they asked him to use the engine block of an overheated Chevy to cook his food.

Yeah, that is crappy. If they did a finale in an Asian country, I'm pretty sure they would have access to an interpreter. What did they do that one year when the finale was somewhere in Asia? I seem to remember them shopping in an open air market, but don't recall if they had assistance.

I guess I was referring more to her thought process about getting challenges done from a purely technical level…these are the things I need and steps I need to take to have a successful dish. You're correct that Shirley seems to be better at embracing and interpreting the creative aspects of the challenges.

In a way, the fact that Sheldon lives in Hawaii puts him at a disadvantage with the finale in Mexico, based on his inability to speak any Spanish at all. There really are VERY few Mexicans living and working there, whereas pretty much the majority of professional kitchens in the lower 48 are heavily staffed with…

To me Brooke seems much more organized and thoughtful about what she needs to do in each challenge she's presented with than Shirley, which makes be believe she makes a better executive chef. I think if I were in the industry, I'd prefer to work for her over Shirley. Having said that, I'd much rather eat Shirley's…

The moment I saw the landfill monster zombie, I thought, did Guillermo del Toro guest direct this episode? Looked like a creature straight out of Pan's Labyrinth or Hellboy.

Superdick - also the name of one of the least popular heroes in the DC Universe.

"Serving a cold soup in the finale is playing it a little safe, no?"
Uh, no and fuck you douche.
I'm glad Tom gave her props for standing up to him.

John went home for two reasons. He basically ignored half the challenge, by serving a standard Margarita, rather than creating a new one as requested. Secondly, the drink he served was apparently very good (not difficult when working with Patron, which is fantastic), but did NOT pair well with his soup at all.

You heard right, but I am hoping that's for a quick fire. If they were to put a twist like that in the final competition, it would be total bullshit.

I agree. When they announced it, I thought, oh no, this is going to be a train wreck, but she brought it with total legit enthusiasm. If they didn't have technical difficulties, it might have been totally amazing.

The pie wasn't a total loss. Only one corner got hit. I dabbed up the liquid with paper towels, and the affected slices were what was left over after everyone had some…but yeah, the garlic was noticeable on those.

I can attest, the last thanksgiving I cooked potatoes in ziplock bags, I nearly lost the entire batch, as the bag quickly came apart at the seams as I started to pull it from the water bath. Luckily I had a big bowl nearby and was able to save it. It squirted garlicky milk all over a beautiful pumpkin pie that was…

Hmm….gotta try that.

I have an Anova. I don't use it much, but when I do, it's fantastic. So far my favorite thing to do in it is big honking bone in cowboy ribeye steaks…the ones that are about 2 1/2 - 3 inches thick. I season them with some thick soy, as well as salt, pepper, and ancho chili power, vacuum seal them, then let them…