Originally Posted by united7772 (Post 20036980)

I do, however like looking at Brooke. Something about her. MMMHM!

Originally Posted by PSUhorty (Post 20063848)

I cannot believe Josie skated by again. The two I detest, Josie and Stefan, both skated by for the second week in a row. Grrrrrr....

---

I know what you’re thinking, and I know how you’re feeling, and all I can say is that having now watched the episode and seen everything that went on behind the scenes, I share your frustration. I really do.

<snip>

This week, Kristen refused to fill us in on Josie’s insubordination… as, of course, did Josie herself. It’s frustrating to know that Kristen fell on her sword, but she did… which leads to my second point. Kristen’s assumption of responsibility and refusal to set the record straight when she could have shows a lot of character. It shows, further, that she truly understands what it means to run a restaurant kitchen and be responsible for every plate that leaves it. I commend her for that.

---

---

Also she’s a perfectionist -- she had such a clear vision and wanted to control all of it. Of course that’s the intention: you want it to be yours. But part of being a chef, too, is learning that you cannot necessarily touch every plate. It might be impossible. So what can you do as a chef to make sure the food still looks the way it should, and is tailored to your vision, but you are still empowering the chefs underneath you, to have the confidence to execute it without you guiding them every step of the way? You need to give them clear direction, but you also need to give them responsibility. And I think she failed to do this in the end.

<snip>

Remember that we had no idea what was going on in the back of the house, but regardless, we could tell that there was a gaping hole in the dish; not to mention that the seafood was not all cooked consistently.

<snip>

We just didn’t know what. Was the issue that Kristen didn’t think the dish through when she explained it to Josie? Was it that they had an idea that didn’t work out? Was it that Josie wasn’t pulling her weight? In the end, we realized that it was all three of these things, which made it a very complicated elimination. Certainly to date, it was the most complicated and controversial elimination this season. It drove us all crazy. We were at Judges' Table arguing for hours. But we could only use the information we had in front of us. We know that everyone is going to watch this episode and be mad at us, because when you watch it, you see Josie not pulling her weight, Josie not following orders, not getting the stock done the day before.

<snip>

Let’s just say that judging does not need to be unanimous in a case like this; it needs to be majority. I was not in the majority.

But I understand why we sent her home. Kristen’s young and she’s stubborn. This a role she’s never taken on before. She got very frustrated, and she’s also incredibly hard on herself. An extreme perfectionist. And she was very angry with herself that she wasn’t able to do everything perfectly. But you have to learn that walking away because it wasn’t exactly the way you envisioned it is not the way to deal with issues. You need to face it, adapt, and be flexible, think on your feet. I’m sure this was a great learning experience for her. I don’t mean to sound condescending. She took on too much and could not control the outcome.

---

Originally Posted by jcwoman (Post 20075197)

Very frustrating. I like Coliccio's response, but not Gail's. I think Gail is judging Kristen by an impossible standard: She criticizes her for being too much of a control freak, while at the same time somehow letting Josie be insubordinate and sabotage her. Just imagine what Josie could have done if Kristen was more hands off.

---

---

Originally Posted by jcwoman (Post 20075197)

What really, really blew my mind was how Stefan didn't get eliminated after being so breath-takingly rude to the judges in the dining room. Who says they can't still eliminate HIM and give his team the win? Dumb rule, if indeed it is a rule.

Originally Posted by MonicaL (Post 20072363)

One of the judges even said it - it's the same story every week with Josie, yet they keep her on. :rolleyes:

---

---