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Chef Academy

Reality TVClubHouse Discussions: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2010 - 1: Chef Academy users admin

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Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 7:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
Is anyone else watching this? Its on Bravo and last night was the second episode. French chef Novelli has come to the US to open another academy. He's a very strict teacher and there's I think maybe 10 students that were picked in the first show. Last night he showed them how to make a caramel? string that you can make into baskets or bird's nests. Very pretty. I'm trying to find a recipe for it and I can't find anything. Maybe I'm not calling it the right thing.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 8:06 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Twinkie, we've been talking about it in the general thread here. Here's the chatter:

Reader234
Member

08-13-2000

Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 9:09 pm Anybody watching Chef Academy on Bravo? I saw the rerun of it - a French Chef starts an academy reality show - the final contestants meet with him for an interview and had to make an omelet - the interesting part is they have 3 chances before they are "chopped" or "pack their knives and are gone"

Hope we see some cooking and not so much competition - not sure how that will work for TV with this chef tho...

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Monday, November 23, 2009 - 6:53 am
I think, although I'm not sure, that he teaches them something. Then they have to apply it and are graded (pass/fail). Three fails and they are out.

Looked kinda interesting, so will continue to watch it since not much is on on Monday nights.

Lilfair
Member

07-09-2003

Monday, November 23, 2009 - 1:41 pm
I know I watched it last week but quickly forgot about it. It didn't seem like that had quality contestants.

Panda
Member

07-15-2005

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 10:23 am
I watched last night and wish I could eat a chocolate pot! LOL

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 12:42 pm
Actually, now that they are in to the competition, it seems kinda of interesting. While Chef Novelli doesn't go into detail (that WE see) of how to make something, he did demonstrate how to make three different desserts.

I found it interesting how most of them that went off on their own and tried to be creative failed. Five of the cheftestants received a fail.

And I'm loving that Emmanuel is/was a porn star. And no, I didn't go google him! (He is kinda hot, though!)

Lilfair
Member

07-09-2003

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 3:43 pm
Last nights show was much better than the opener. That chocolate looked good, all of em even the failed. And I too like that we get demos of the food mini demos but that is a bit different.

Reader234
Member

08-13-2000

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 6:28 pm
LOL Costa - I certainly didnt google either - but loved that they showed us their google!! ROFLOL -

I also would love to taste a chocolate pot - and it was interesting - that over the top Dolly Parton Housewife - quite entertaining - glad they had her voice over that first you make it by following the recipe then you futz with it - dh really looked at me with that comment!! LOL easier said than done sometimes by me!!

but how can some of those pots be so thick!!! was it water that seized up the chocolate? and why only a few pots when they were having a huge event? and what was that brown stuff on top of the chocolate, but under the whip cream? and come on, seriously someone failed at whipping cream?

but I did like how Emmanuel (if that is his name - roflol!) said that being late 15 min is just a French Quarter!!

and does anyone think that making that caramel 'candy' is easy -just because he makes it so? I know that getting sugar to that level is tricky - isnt it?

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 8:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Reader, I totally LOL'd at the googling they did. Especially at the end!

I don't think the chocolate pots seized up. I think they simply overworked them. I don't recall, but usually pots de creme (or chocolate pots) have eggs in them. You basically make a custard. It's entirely possible that some of them got the proportions wrong, since they were tweaking the recipe Chef Novelli gave them.

I don't know who's pots had the brown stuff, but if it was Emmanuel's, then it was his butterscotch sauce. That was the one that Novelli said was better than his own.

Whipping cream is right up there with cooking eggs or rice. It's easy to do once you know how to do it, but it's easy to mess up if you don't. I'm always the one who brings fresh heavy cream to go with the pie on Thanksgiving, and people just can't believe I can whip up the cream so quickly and yummy.

The caramel decorations are actually really easy to make. The secret is to just let the sugar do its thing while you're making the caramel (and it's easier if you use a little water to dissolve the sugar and THEN boil off the water). Let it set up a bit, and then you can drizzle or spin all you want. It's kinda fun, but if the caramel is hot you can really hurt yourself! :-)

(I made dipped pretzels last Xmas, and for the final touch drizzled hardened caramel (from the first dipping, before the chocolate) over the tops.)

Cricket
Member

08-05-2002

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 8:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cricket a private message Print Post    
I've been watching also. I can't believe Dolly Parton can actually cook well enough to pass. I thought she would be out of there. Sounds like she has money, since she said she could afford to open her own restaurant.

Doesn't she live in the area? Maybe they should put her on HW Los Angeles. She'd fit right in and could have a cooking party, lol.

Reader, it seems Emmanuel is a very interesting character. I just about died when they found out he possibly was a porn star and Dolly Parton pipes up with, "I hope he's not late with that."

ROFL!~

Tntitanfan
Member

08-03-2001

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 8:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tntitanfan a private message Print Post    
Dolly has LOTS of money and homes in several places - one here in Nashville and one back home in east TN as well as other locales.

What many people do not know is that she has a program in place so that EVERY kid in EVERY grade in her home county gets a book every year! This is a fairly economically disadvantaged part of our state so that makes a huge difference to a LOT of kids!

Having grown up very poor, she looks back to her roots and helps others! An extremely} classy lady -

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 8:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
I think references to Dolly are to the big busted blonde "housewife" who's a contestant on this show. Not to the real Dolly Parton! :-)

Suzannne (the Dolly Parton lookalike) definitely has the money. She said she could afford to go to any culinary school anywhere. She is also from the OC (Mission Viejo). So maybe that's what she's hoping...

Here's the link to Bravo's website for Chef Academy: http://www.bravotv.com/chef-academy

Kellsma
Member

08-27-2002

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 9:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kellsma a private message Print Post    
I am liking this shows too. Costacat, that is what I heard too about Suzanne. I am actually quite glad she is doing so well because she comes off as a ditzy OC blonde(gee, where else have we seen that) yet she is doing amazing. She had the best dish last week and was one of the few that passed this week. I would like to see her make it through.

Kind of bummed OC is once again being reprsented that way but at least she is likeable. So hard for me to convince people from out of the area that not everyone here is like that haha

Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 9:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
So how would I find a recipe for the caramel string art? I watched what he did but he didn't give out any real instructions like amounts and times.

Oh, and I think Emmanuel is hot but so is Chef Novelli.

Kellsma
Member

08-27-2002

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - 10:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kellsma a private message Print Post    
Sorry Twinkie, wish I could help. I looked at Bravo's site and the only recipe I saw was the one for the Orange. Regarding the carmel, it seemd to me that he said he just melted down carmel but I am sure there is something more to it then that. Let us know if you figure it out. I thought it was so cool.

Prisonerno6
Member

08-31-2002

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 6:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Prisonerno6 a private message Print Post    
http://www.filtsai.com/cooking/caramel/

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 7:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Twinkie, the only really important thing to remember is once the sugar is dissolved, WALK AWAY!!! Do NOT stir, do not swish the pan, do NOTHING until the sugar has turned color.

That's actually a great recipe Prisoner. I think I'll save it, since it's a recipe for actually canning caramel sauce. Would make a nice inclusion in a holiday gift basket that already contains jars of homemade pomegranate jelly and spiced cranberry relish! :-)

Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 9:31 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
Kellsma, could you post a link for the orange? I'd like to try it too.

Prisoner, thanks so much for recipe! I'm assuming that since I only want enough to make the art with I can drastically cut the recipe amounts.

Costa, thanks for the tip!

Oh, and the souffle in the apple looked really good, too!. I just wasn't finding those recipes on their website.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 12:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Twinkie, go to the Bravo TV page I posted above. I think it was on the Chef Academy home page. Can't miss it.

And for the sugar art, just make sure you have the right proportions of sugar and water. You won't need anything else in the recipe except for that. You could even do it with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. (See http://www.fbworld.com/Recipes/robert%20sturm/caramel%20sugar%20decorations/carm_sug_decor.html).

Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 1:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
Thanks, Costa. The night of the show they didn't have any recipes up on the website. Now, they at least have the orange one.

Tntitanfan
Member

08-03-2001

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 4:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tntitanfan a private message Print Post    
Thanks for setting me straight, Costa! I thought maybe they were having some celebs to amp up the show!

However, I stand by my praise of the real DP as a very classy lady who remembers where she came from and gives generously to make the lives of kids there better than what she had -

I will try to catch this show - you all have me intrigued!

Florin
Member

08-27-2006

Monday, December 14, 2009 - 12:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Florin a private message Print Post    
Is anyone else watching this show. I got a good laugh when they walked into the person from OC and saw all the hunting mounts. I have to admit and I from a hunting family the stuffed elephant and giraffe was a bit much.

Akwarlord47
Member

06-26-2007

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 5:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Akwarlord47 a private message Print Post    
I loved last nights episode with the naked waiter...

Vacanick
Member

07-12-2004

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 6:45 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vacanick a private message Print Post    
lol at her patting his naked ass ... so funny!!

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 10:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
She was doing way more than just patting. She had a definite grip on his butt cheek and wasn't letting go! Sorta like squeezing a peach!

Mgmriver
Member

04-27-2009

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 11:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mgmriver a private message Print Post    
It seems like this group of cheftestants are enjoying themselves more than any other. My lord sweet cheeks and munchies.

Chitchat58
Member

07-25-2008

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 1:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chitchat58 a private message Print Post    
I really like this show, I hope it gets picked up for another season. I am enjoying Chef Novelli, he has a great sense of humor.

Tntitanfan
Member

08-03-2001

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 3:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tntitanfan a private message Print Post    
Does this rerun or can I find it on hulu? And I AM interested in the cooking - it is NOT all about the naked waiter!

Florin
Member

08-27-2006

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 4:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Florin a private message Print Post    
I don't understand how the one contestant didn't notice that everyone was cooking their bread except her on prior episode.

Cricket
Member

08-05-2002

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 4:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cricket a private message Print Post    
Florin, it seemed she totally misunderstood his directions. They were pretty clear, but for some reason, she thought he only wanted her to prepare the bread for baking in the alloted time. I can't understand what she was thinking as well.

I love Suzanne. Her reactions and the things she says are so darn funny.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 8:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
I don't know if she really misunderstood. All the others were baking their bread, and you couldn't miss the smell of bread baking, could you? I think she blew it somewhere along the line and then tried to cover up her error by claiming misunderstanding. I'm not a fan of hers anyways (is her name Sara?). Leo is right... she's a drama queen always having to be the center of attention.

Tntitanfan
Member

08-03-2001

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 6:36 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Tntitanfan a private message Print Post    
I will check TV Guide and Hulu today to see if I can find reruns!

Trueheart
Member

09-12-2006

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 10:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Trueheart a private message Print Post    
I tried not to look too closely at this thread because I didn't want to see any spoilers if it has started already.

Is this show good? I thought about watching it but I wasn't sure....

Angelicfairies2
Member

07-19-2004

Friday, January 29, 2010 - 3:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Angelicfairies2 a private message Print Post    
who won? did the show just end without a winner?
<confused>

Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Friday, January 29, 2010 - 3:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
The show ended about a month ago. One of the guys won. I don't remember his name.

Weinermr
Member

08-18-2001

Friday, January 29, 2010 - 5:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Weinermr a private message Print Post    
I missed the ending too. I hate watching all the way through a show and then missing the very end.

Kellsma
Member

08-27-2002

Friday, January 29, 2010 - 6:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kellsma a private message Print Post    
There really was not a winner. Everyone graduated but the blonde lady, Suzanne but they let her come back to host the final party. He did say one of the guys was tops but it was never a competition. As long as they did not get three fails, they would graduate. I really enjoyed this show as well.

Grooch
Member

06-16-2006

Friday, January 29, 2010 - 7:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Grooch a private message Print Post    
That's the thing about Bravo that annoys me.

During a series they will constantly show repeats. Even all night long on the night the original show is aired.

But when it comes to the finale, it seems like they only show it once and then "poof" it just disappears without a trace.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Friday, January 29, 2010 - 7:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Actually this show really irritated me. It would look like there wasn't a new show on for one week, so I didn't record it. And then the next week, the "previouslys" were all about a show I missed. Happened twice, actually, cuz I also missed the ep where Suzanne got kicked out.

I did see the "finale" episode and have to say, it was a bit of a letdown. Everyone graduated (except Susanne) and of course Chef had to play the game and pretend to not graduate the last guy standing (can't remember who it was, but it was either the submarine guy or the dude from here).