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Food

Top Chef Masters: Who’s the Master

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So who is going home this week? Who is winning another $10 grand for their charity. Let us jump right in to find out!

So in the chefs walk to find a table full of burgers and fries. The quickfire is that the chefs have to make gourmet burgers with a side. The judges are 3 people known for burger stuff. The guy from Super Size Me, a guy who has won best burger and Spike from Top Chef who owns a DC burger place. Michael is making a 2 1/2 pound burger with truffle oil. Hubert has enormous pressure on him because not only does he have a burger place, he sells the $5000 burger. The judges seemed to like almost everyone’s burger but Anita’s cheese soup with mini burgers didn’t seem to fair as well. The judges seem to think Hubert’s rouquefort cheese was too much.
Hubert: 3 stars
Anita: 1 1/2 stars
Rick: 4 stars
Art: 3 1/2 stars
Michael: 4 stars
Then we come to our elimination challenge. The have to cater a party for Zoe Deshanel. The catch, Food restrictions: vegan, gluten intolerant and no soy. They must each be responsible for 1 dish. The get 2 hours to prep. It sounds like both Rick and Michael have some experience with gluten free cooking. Hubert was running behind so Michael helped him out. Prepping on site Michael almost lost his plates when the table started to collapse.
Hubert: White Gazpacho, Timbale of Avocado and Asparagus, Red Beet Salad
Anita: Spicy Grilled Eggplant, Lentil Salad, Cashew Sauce
Michael: Quinoa Pasta with Salsa Verde, Pine Nut Gremolata
Rick: Sweet Corn Tamales, Chili-Braised Clack Beans, Braised Greens
Art: Strawberry and Champagne Soup, Strawberry Rice Ice Cream, Almond Brittle
Service and Judging:
Hubert lost a couple of shooter glasses of his gazpacho but had extras. Hubert’s salad and soup went over well but the avocado felt done. Anita’s eggplant was a little to spicy and the lentils were to squishy. Michael’s pasta went over very well. Rick’s tamales was a real hit. The diners weren’t happy with the ice cream.
The judges thought Anita’s plate was sad, oily and disjointed. They thought Hubert’s was good. Michael’s dish was a big hit! They thought Rick’s tamale was good but the salad got lost. It’s seemed no one liked Art’s rice milk ice cream that he bought. Art’s brittle was a success.
At this point I think either Art or Anita is going home with either Hubert or Michael winning.
Art: 12 1/2 Stars
Anita: 13 Stars
Rick: 19 Stars
Hubert: 19 Stars
Michael: 22 Stars
Right now I think I am predicting Michael to win everything but I am not sure. See you next week!

Food

Next Food Network Star Finale!!!

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So who will win it all! Melissa or Jeffrey? The slightly high strung stay at home mom or the overly zen dad? Let’s find out!

We see got glimpses into Jeffrey and Melissa’s life. It doesn’t surprise me to see that Jeffrey does marshal arts but it did surprise me to see he works in real estate. Melissa has 4, 3, and twins 1 1/2 year old girls. That are some close kids;). Back to the competition.

Alton Brown walks into the room. He tells them that they are going to shoot the pilots. AB will the director. So AB meets with each of them to go over concept. I think this is the perfect final challenge. With some previous winners that was the problem. They won but their shows stunk.

Jeffrey is going to focus on a foreign ingredient and bring it back into the scope US cooking. So they come up with the name Ingredient Smuggler. AB then met with Melissa and she needs to center hers around survival, Your Kitchen Survival Guide.

Melissa is going to make a rustic lemon onion chicken dish using her 4 step chicken method. Melissa was busy harried but Alton reminds her that is isn’t about recipes and concepts but personality. It seemed to calm her down.

Then it was Jeffrey’s turn. He is making a Harissa Steak sandwich with a Sun Dried Tomato and Mint Mayo. Jeffrey was too focused at first and wasn’t relaxed at all. Of course, he finally relaxes and the last take went off well.

Then we launch into the actually finale. I am excited that winner’s show will air in 1 week! Sometimes I think they wait too long.

All boils down to who won? Well…….Melissa!!!

I think she was the best choice! I am excited to see her show next week!

Food

Top Chef Masters: The Race to the Goal!

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So now we are down to the final 6 chefs who are going for the big payoff! 1 chef will be eliminated this week but who? The winning chef for this week will get another 10 grand for their chairty. Let’s jump in!

So this week’s classic quickfire. They had to draw knives for teams. They have to the the “mise en place relay race”. I love this challenge! The guys probably haven’t had to do their own prep for a long time. Tom Collichio will be judging this challenge. They need to open 15 oysters, dice 5 onions, butcher 4 chickens then seperate 5 eggs and beat the white so they stay in the bowl when it is upside down. The winning team will get an advantage, so I assume that the big challenge will be in teams. Art totally kicked Hubert’s butt in the onion chopping challenge. Rick skunked Art on the egg whipping so the Salt team won. The winning team all got 5 stars for their performance and the losing 4 each.
Pepper: Suzanne, Michael, Art
Salt: Hubert, Anita, Rick
Then they each have to make their signature dish to show the other chefs about them. My guess is that they will each have to recreate someone’s signature dish.
Hubert: Lobster and Truffle Cappuccino with Corn Madeline
Art: Seared Grouper with Hearts of Palm, Trumpet Mushrooms and Meyer Lemon Zest
Anita: Seared Sea Scallop with Potato Puree, Sea Urchin and Mustard Greens
Michael: Fennel Balsalmic Quail with Mosto Cotto Mostardo and Sauteed Greens and Roasted Apples
Suzanne: Chopped Sirloin with Green Peppercorn Sauce and Fried Egg
Rick: Rack of Lamb & Black Pasilla Chile with Mission Figs
For the elimination challenge they have to take a competitor’s dish and put their spin on it. Hubert got to choose (since he went twice in the relay). So he choose to do Anita’s so she had to do his. Then the knife pull. Art was doing Suzanne’s, Suzanne was doing Art’s and Michael had to do Rick’s (though he didn’t want to) with Rick doing his. It looks like they can ask questions of the chefs. They shopped together and were talking. Watching Anita was funny because her lobster tried to walk away;).
Art: Ground Lamb Scotch Eggs, Sweet Potato Fries and Tomato Tart
Rick: Quail with Parsnip and Prosciutto stuffing over Wild Greens
Suzanne: Roasted Grouper with Gnocchi, Peas, Bacon and Parsnips
Hubert: Seared Scallop with Cream of Sea Urchin over Fingerling Mashed Potatoes
Michael: Rack of Lamb stuffed with Fig Mostarda, Chickpeas and Fried Chickpeas
Anita: Corn Chawanmushi, Champagne Gelee and Lobster Biscuit Sandwich
Service and Judging:
Some thought Art’s egg was over cooked but everyone thought it really represented Art. Rick really stepped outside his style but good. Suzanne’s gnocchi was cold and her fish was overdone. Hubert’s sauce didn’t have enough of a sea urchin flavor. Some thought that Michael’s food was bland and too rare. Anita’s dish seemed to be a hit! Based on just what the diners said (former Top Chef Masters contestants) Michael or Suzanne will be going home and Anita is winning. The judges liked both Hubert and Anita’s dishes but Hubert did get told that it was not enough sea urchin. Art got hit about the lamb being to rare and the egg being to done. Suzanne got hit about cold gnocchi and over cooked fish. Rick was just praised. Michael got tagged for his lamb being to rare and too much of his own. Michael wanted to respect Rick. A judge asked if he care more about what Rick thought than the judges and Michael said yes.
Hubert: 21 1/2 stars
Anita: 24 stars
Art: 15 stars
Suzanne: 14 1/2 stars
Rick: 23 stars
Michael: 18 1/2 stars
Anita won! But Suzanne lost. I don’t find that surprising but I didn’t think it was going to be so close with Art.
See you next week! Next week they will be catering for Zoe Deshanel (I probably spelled that very wrong;).

Food

Hell’s Kitchen Keeps Burning

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So here we meet for another episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Where we left everyone last week was Joseph calling out Gordon Ramsay. So will they fight? I think not but what I wonder is if Joseph is going to get tossed off the show. Well, lets get into it!

So out comes the security standing to Joseph’s sides. Ramsay says he has no repect and tosses him out. Then Ramsay gets back to the elimination. He asks for the nominees and why. The nominees were Lovely, Tenille, Andy and Tony. Ramsay tossed Tony out.
Then Ramsay sent Robert to the men’s team. The night is over and they are sent to bed. Only to be awakened by Scott and a fire drill complete with fire trucks. This is the lead into the next challenge. They have to work as teams to serve all the fire fighters a fresh pasta meal (chicken or meatball) with garlic bread appitizer. The first team done, wins. Before they can get their meals they have to have their appetizer first. So the women were waiting on Lovely and the men were waiting on Andy. Andy was only working in 2 ovens. 20 minutes into the challenge and no one had gotten bread yet. Ariel had to come over and take over Lovely. The guys were having the same problem of Andy not getting bread out (and I mean any) but none of the guys were taking over. The women got a lead by serving entrees first but then started skimping on the meat so they had to redo. At the end it was 6 tables left for the blue and 4 for the red. The girls were on their last table and then they got a plate back for a raw meatball. But the red team ended up winning! The girls get a spa day as their reward. The guys get to clean the fire fighter’s gear and trucks. Then they get to clean the dining room.
So Dave hurt his wrist while washing the trucks but chose not to tell anyone. Then Kevin rolls his ankles. So the medic comes to check out Kevin’s ankles and then Dave gets his wrist looked at. Both guys had to go to the hospital for x-rays and such. Dave got a slight fracture and a torn ligament. Kevin stretched 1 ligament so he got a boot. The other one is severly sprained. They are both sticking it out.
For service each team is sending out 1 member each to do table service. Dave volunteers for the blue and Ramsay picks Lovely for the red. Van is doing the apps for the guys and started them off well (except the yelling). Tenille is doing the scallops for the women and she starts off cooking the scallops in way to much oil. Robert asked Andy to help him with the scallops and then Andy was crowding a pan. Ariel and Sabrina are doing the apps but they couldn’t get scallops from Tenille. Suzanne tried to help Tenille but she wouldn’t listen to her. After a bit of a fight, scallops finally started flying out of the women’s kitchen.
On the floor, Lovely was way behind. Amanda was putting out some bad looking lamb. But Kevin was doing really well and was leading the blue team. Ariel seems to be emerging as a real leader for the red team. The guys were on their last table and Robert had forgot the salmon, which meant another 12 minutes. That gave the women the edge to finish first. But based on comment cards the girls lost by 2% on the satisfaction rating.
Ariel was dubbed best of the worst and gets to pick 2 for elimination. She nominated Lovely and Tenille (same as last week). Tenille says she is one of the strongest. Lovely says that she maintained her composure. Ramsay said he didn’t think either of them could win. But he kept them both because Joseph had to leave.
So will Lovely and Tenille be on the chopping block again next week? We shall see!

Food

Next Food Network Star (7/26)

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So we are almost at the end! Who is going to win? I am pulling for Melissa but we will see! NerdPie is also pulling for Melissa. Will Jeffrey perk it up? Will Debby quit making excuses? Will Melissa contain her energy? Let’s take a look!

So Emeril Lagasse pops up when they finalists enter their restaurant. They are doing a challenge based on Julie and Julia. They each will be creating a 3 course meal for a dinner party with the “culinary elite” of 20. They get $1000 and a sous chef. They will have to demo some portion of the meal live. Before they do anything, they went and watched the movie.
Melissa- 1st: Potato Torte with Ratatouille, 2nd: Brick Herb Chicken with a Mushroom Port Sauce with Orzo, 3rd: Cheese Trio with a Pochette
Debby- 1st: Chili Rubbed BBQ Shrimp with a Savory Corn Salad, 2nd: Braised Korean Short Rib on a Garlic Grit Cake, 3rd: Asian Pear Egg Roll
Jeffrey- 1st: Seared Scallops with Green Chili Chutney and Chipotle Cream, 2nd: Seafood Risotto, 3rd: Chocolate Mousse with Biscotti
Jeffrey only spent $317 but he didn’t go back to get anything else. They go to a home on Miami Beach to cook. They got to see all the names on the name cards and they are really cooking for many of the best. Of course the sous chef are past contestants. Michael is cooking with Debby, Katie with Jeffrey and Jamika with Melissa. While watching Melissa making a potato tort and puts bacon on top, I (and NerdDad) are convinced that I need to try that! Michael (and I ) both think that Debby’s ribs may not be done all the way by service. Melissa was having problems with her food. Jamika over salted the orzo and the potato tarts weren’t cooking.
In the presentation Melissa started to talk about her childhood and talked about her mom killing herself. Over all it was a sweet presentation but I don’t know about talking about suicide. Bobby said he was seeing a different Melissa and she said the other was her nerves. The ratatoullie went over well. Melissa demos her brick chicken with the main course. Some of the chickens were over cooked but the tort was a success. Her dessert was a big hint. John Besch loved the ratatoulle, the tort, and the dessert pastry.
Debby comes out for her presentation. Her appeitizer with pretty. Tyler Florence felt this the appeitizer wasn’t original. Gina Neely felt the ribs were missing something. The dessert is the course that Debby does the demo. Her demo was good. Her dessert was dinged by at least Samuelson’s being a little raw.
Then onto Jeffrey. Jeffrey is planning on under cooking the risotto so it doesn’t congeal before the guests get it. Jeffrey does his demo right off with his scallop appeitizer. His demo was smooth and the course seemed to go well. Then out comes the risotto. No one seemed happy as they were eating it while he was presenting. Payard said it was the worse risotto in his life. He got some great comments regarding his dessert. Bobby did ask how much he spent.
Morimoto and John Besch liked Debby. Anne Burell liked Jeffrey’s demo the best. Samuelson, Emeril, and Bayless seemed to like Melissa. Before we head into judging and elimination, my predictions are Debby and Melissa as the final 2!
Bob said that Melissa pouchette was the best dish of the night. Payard said is was a great pastry. Bobby wanted more in the demo but Melissa got nervous. Bob thought there was diamonds in to much verbage. Then onto Jeffrey. Bob thought his demo was flawless. He got hit pretty hard about not spending enough money. They said he is a good cook and charismatic but not sure if he is a star. Then it is Debby’s turn. Bobby had issues with her food. He wanted more flavor and the egg rolls weren’t all cooked through. Bob said the food was hit and miss. Bobby feels he hasn’t tasted Seoul to Soul. Then they got a shot to say what was on their minds before a decision is made. I personally think that Melissa made the best plea. But I have to say, this is the first season that I can see watching all 3 but my favorites are Melissa and Jeffrey. But I think they are going to choose Melissa and Debby.
The final 2 are Melissa and Jeffrey!!! I would watch both of these shows! Next time we will get some AB!! (Alton Brown) The finalists are going to final shoot some pilots! See you next week!

Food

Meal Plan Monday

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It is really hot in Fresno! But I really want to cook and bake more this week so let us give it a go! We have a night with out dad this week and we are celebrating Nerdling’s 4th birthday so that will dictate a couple of days in there.

Monday: Homemade Pizza (on Boboli)
Tuesday: Egg/Sausage/Stuffing casserole, Bacon, Fruit (as per requested)
Wednesday: Crockpot Beef Ribs, Couscous Blend, Broccoli
Thursday: Pasta Bake
Friday: Cube Steak, Beer Bread, Broccoli

Food

Top Chef Masters (7/23)

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We are close to finding out who all 6 finalists will be. I noticed that Art Smith was featured in the commercials. I wonder if that is foreshadowing or if he is just the only chef anyone has heard of on this week’s show. Well, let us jump in and see!

So this week we have Art Smith, Jonathan Waxman, Michael Cimarust, Roy Yamaguchi. We all have heard of Art Smith since he is “Oprah’s chef” but I have seen him on a variety of things including Top Chef. All the rest seem a little familiar but I can’t place them. Then they said Jonathan Waxman trained Bobby Flay and it all came flooding back.
So their Quick Fire is the aisle challenge. They had to draw knives with numbers to find what aisle they are on. The get $20 to buy their ingredients from 1 aisle at Whole Foods. The judges this week are 3 people who work at Whole Foods. Art and Jonathan couldn’t figure out how to put the lids on pressure cookers and Michael came in to save the day. It was an entertaining moment;). I am already annoyed with Art Smith’s name dropping. Roy was having problems with the time frame but also with the lack of Asian ingredients. But they all seemed to do well. The stars were close.
Art: 4 1/2 stars
Jonathan: 3 1/2 stars
Michael: 5 stars
Roy: 4 stars
Then on to the Elimination Challenge. They have to creat a mystery box for the chef whose name they have drawn. Then that chef has to use 7 of the ingredients to create a dish. They seem to all be behaving themselves. The next day they get their boxes that have 11 ingredients. Roy bought everything that Art wanted. Likewise Art bought good things for Roy. Michael bought well for Jonathan but Jonathan purposely denied Michael fish. Otherwise Michael liked the box he received from Jonathan. Michael ran out of time and didn’t get to sauce all the plates.
Art served Fried Chicken 2 Ways and a Mango Pie. It was Southern and well received. Then Roy served Short Rib Kalbi and Mahi Mahi. Many liked it but some thought the lemon grass was to much. Then Michael served a Loin of Lamb with Sunchoke Puree, Broccoli Rabe and Roasted Purple Cauliflower. The sauce that few got was a hit, the meat was a hit, the rest was just ok. Then Jonathat served Pork Sausage and Chop with Cauliflower Celery Root Puree with Black Truffle. His puree was a hit and it seemed to be a good homie dish.
Gail Greene thought Michael’s dish was better without the sauce. It seemed that all Michael’s food didn’t work well on the plate together. Art’s chicken was a hit. Some of Roy’s Mahi Mahi seemed a little over cooked. Roy’s beef was good but they weren’t sure the fish and beef went together. Jonathan’s puree was well praised. The whole thing was a love fest between the chefs. It was cute. The judges said that Roy’s plate was over sauced.
Roy: 15 stars
Michael: 17 1/2 stars
Art: 22 stars
Jonathan: 20 stars
So Art is moving on! He is the last chef. So next week we move on to the top 6!

Food

And We are Back!

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I can’t believe Hell’s Kitchen is back already but I am happy! I read in my local paper that this season isn’t that good but I am willing to give it a try. So let’s get started!

We start with JP meeting all the contestants out front. JP decides to give them all some tips. It is just a series of tv screens with ex-contestants highlighting their mistakes and most notorious moments. Then they have to go make their signature dishes. I really need to get a signature dish but anyway. Kevin says he is a legit chef and has won almost every award. The first thing I think is, well I haven’t heard of you and I do a fair amount of reading. This year’s prize is to be the chef in Whistler, Canada where the 2010 Olympics will be.
We are having the red team (girls) signature dishes against the blue team’s (guys). Suzanne presents a risotto and Ramsay says that it looks raw. She thinks he is wrong but when Ramsay tasted it, the risotto was raw. Dave made ostrich and Ramsay liked the seasoning but the brussel sprouts were under cooked. Tek made a honey grilled shrimp and Ramsay liked it (first point). Louie made sausage gravy over biscuits and Ramsay haed it. Joseph made roasted veal chop and veggies. The brussel sprouts were hard. Tenille made a lamb chop with balsamic glaze (point). Amanda made margarita french toast with a tequila shot. Ramsay was shocked that she would served him a piece of toast. Tony has never been to culinary school and manages a culinary shop. He made mussels with chorizo that Ramsay liked (point). Melinda made a poached lobster and portabella muchrooms. There was just a little lobster meat so the dish looked very odd and Ramsay said so. Jim did a seared ahi tuna and Ramsay liked it (point). Then Kevin’s and Ariel both got totally shut down. As did Lovely and Andy. Then a chipotle rubbed tenderloin by Sabrina got spit out because it was to spicy. Van made seared foigras did well (point) so the guys won. The girls got to clean the kitchens as their punishments. The guys got dinner ordered out from London Hollywood.
Heather, the winner from season 2, is Ramsay’s sous chef for the red team. The girls got bologna sandwiches for dinner while the guys were outside eating. Hell’s Kitchen will be open the next night so the girls spent the night memorizing the recipes. The guys on the other hand didn’t study. The chefs got knife kits. The guys don’t know the recipes and some are hung over. Lovely on the girl’s team precooked all the fondants before service (which is wrong).
Then Hell’s Kitchen opens. Tek had the scallops raw in the first order. Jim didn’t put up the right amount of scallops for their first order. Robert from last season came to Hell’s Kitchen for dinner with his wife! The blue team send out the first order. The red team keeps screwing up the same set of appetizers while the men are starting entrees. 2 different women couldn’t figure out if the pasta was cooked. It was under cooked and Melinda threw it out instead of cooking it some more. Lovely disappeared to go sit down and drink water. So they moved on to try to get out the Salmon and Amanda had stuck it in the freezer instead of the frig. Louie couldn’t get out the lamb at all. Ramsay tossed Louie out of the kitchen and told him to get his bags and get out! Then Ramsay shut the kitchens down.
Ramsay then invited Robert back to try again since he had to leave due to health. Which means I think Ramsay is still going to toss someone tonight (probably the red team). Since the red team served 0 entrees they lost. They had to come to a decision to put up 2 for elimination. They narrowed it down to Amanda, Melinda and Lovely when they were discussing it. When they were in front of Ramsay they put up Melinda and Amanda. Ramsay asked if Amanda agree and she said no, that lovely should be put up. Ramsay called both Amanda and Melinda down. Ramsay sent Melinda home. Robert got put on the red team.
Then we launched in the second hour….
So the mini challenge is dealing with shrimp to work on paying attention to detail. They have to clean them. Lovely sat out in order to make the teams even. Tenille only got 1 shrimp in the 10 minutes but all together the red team got 44. The blue team did well, Jim only got 2 but it was enough to win with 45. The punishment was to prep shrimp for shrimp cocktail for the dining rooom and prepping the lemons to. The blue team was going out for a seafood lunch and eating dessert on a yacht. Joseph is a little intense at lunch. Back in the kitchen Tenille tried to take control to prove her worth.
During prep Robert steps up to lead the women. In the blue kitchen Kevin takes a grapefruit from Tony to “show” him how to do it. Then Ramsay jumps on Tony 2 seperate times for not segmenting them over a bowl to grab the juice. For service they are going to do a table side scampi. Van and Tenille are going to do the tableside service. The scampi should coordinate with the other apps.
Tony was making scallops without anyone else being ready. Lovely was trying to cook on a stove without a flame. Then Tony’s scallops were cold so Kevin took over. Over on the red team, Robert was making a mess of the risotto. JP trys to help Van and Van won’t listen so he goes to the wrong table. JP says there is a language barrior because Van is from Texas. Tenille is under cooking shrimp. Van was dropping stuff. Then JP and Van got into it. I mean JP was pushing and the whole bit! Ramsay had to step in. JP called him a girl. Tenille got way behind so the blue team was making entrees while the red team had to wait. Andy made chicken, cut into it and it was raw so he cut it up and put it in a skillet. Then Sabrina also put up raw chicken. Kevin took over Tony’s fish station again. Then Kevin made raw fish. Then all the guys got on the fish station. Then Lovely started making raw fish and black fish but not cooked right. So nothing was going out of either kitchen.
So Ramsay had them make shrimp cocktail for everyone. So then food went out without any cooking needed. Once everyone got shrimp cocktail Ramsay shut down both kitchens. Each team needed to come up with 2 names for elimination.
So Tenille says she did a good job and represented everyone well. She says she doesn’t know that the lady was pregnant. Lovely said she shouldn’t have to go up. Sabrina was still fighting/denying the raw chicken thing. Tony stepped up and said that he should be put up. It was suggested that Van be put up for the fighting with JP. It was also suggested the Andy go up for meat.
The women nominated Tenille and Lovely. Ramsay asked Joseph who the nominees were and why. First Joseph said they knew who they were. Ramsay asked again and he named Tony and Andy. Joseph just kept mouthing off and wouldn’t say why. Joseph was cussing at Ramsay and fighting with both Ramsay and everyone else. Ramsay kept pushing him to answer so Joseph took off his jacket and stepped up to Ramsay and asked him to take it outside.
And it ended there…… See you next week!