Cooking Under Fire on PBS

I saw the first 2 episodes. It is a bit too close to Network "reality" shows for comfort IMO but, as you say, it was entertaining and I will probably watch it again.

Jock

cooking under fire

===== i saw an episode (or maybe two?) and i just couldn't believe
what i saw!! who ARE these bimbos?? supposedly like "the apprentice",
these "chefs" were supposd to have had SOME kind of experience and the winner was supposed to "win" a place in todd english's restaurant??

first challenge --- do something with an egg in 10 minutes.
what boring dishes!! was supposed to make something interesting to see how "out of the box" the chefs could produce. as i was watching, i was thinking about dicing some mushrooms, tomatoes, chopping some onions, and sauteeing it together with some garlic. in the meantime, scramble the egg, thin with a little milk, and fry thin like a crepe. take "crepe" out and slice it thin to look like noodles and then add to other ingredients ... sort of like a egg "noodle" pomadoro. sprinkle top with italian herb salt and grated pecorino. easily done in 10 minutes and more interesting than these "aspiring" chefs!!

the second challenge was to prepare a general "mise en place" (sp?) in an hour's time. holy cow!! how slow can one get? as i was watching i was thinking so what were they gonna do with the other 40 minutes?? how long does it take to slice and/or chop some onions, slice scallions two different ways, mince some garlic, chop some parsley, pick a few oils, separate three different salts and peepers?? i don't work in a kitchen professionally and i'm faster than that ... and they are looking for a spot in todd english's kitchen?

i haven't seen it since, but if this is the kind of talent we are looking at, ooooooooh, baby .... we in trouble!!

But you used to at some point, right? Either way, it's always easy to be an armchair quarterback.

Things that make you go hmmm.....

maybe it is because i was working in a chinese kitchen where there is a lot more bladework that i feel that these assignments should be easier to accomplish, esp. the preparation of the "mise". for us, there was more than enough time in one hour to prepare "mise" for a whole day of cooking instead of just for the three judges. and anyone who has eaten in a chinese restaurant knows how many ingredients have to be cut, chopped, and sliced to make a few dishes!