Disappointed Chef - Let down by Cruise Dictator Ken Mills

[DisappointedChef]

This was NOT an opportunity for a chef. It was a cruise ship game show. No different than the Marriage Show, Quest, Belly Flop or Mixologist contest on other lines. I am so sorry that you misunderstood and were disappointed. I'll leave your other comments without comment.

 

My husband, who is not a professional, but a serious amatuer, has been picked twice. But he knows going in that it's a game and the winner is the one who entertains the crowd.

 

Dear Cyntil8ing,

Love the moniker!

If only I shared your husband's good luck of being selected.......Que sera sera! I would describe myself as a "VERY SERIOUS" amateur. And entertaining the crowd is something I would have done with aplomb as I have years of Stage experience in Musicals, a unique sense of humour, the gift of the gab and am articulate and confident!

[NLH Arizona]

Precisely!!!!!! And that explains why he suggested the contestants introduce themselves by announcing their names....and which State they were from......not "which Country!".

When he first picked them, how did he know they didn't come from Sweden, Norway, Spain or any other country that has blue eyed blondes? I personally think you are reading too much into this, as far as it being discrimination.

 

BTW, if you were the contestant and told the chef to stand aside, so you could do all the cooking, I certainly wouldn't find that to have any entertainment value for the audience. I would look at it as someone who wanted all the attention and didn't want to be part of the fun experience for the audience.

[DisappointedChef]

Now, I'm really confused. First you say that 2 of the contestants could hardly peel a potato and now you are saying they were professional chefs. I find it really hard to believe that a professional chef can't peel a potato.

 

The "PROFESSIONAL CHEFS" I referred to are the contestants of the REAL TV TOP CHEF SHOW ON TV.

NLH Arizona.......you need to read the entire paragraph before jumping to conclusions!!!!!

[DisappointedChef]

I can't believe I wasn't picked for the free cruise. I really wanted it and instead they picked a female. Sexist pigs!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

SetU2........A Certain political Party in the US is looking for members I am told..........your dry-wit sarcasm would do well in a political circus! LOL!!!!!

I've never heard of anyone picking a "single" for a free Cruise anyway......so gotcha!!!!

[DisappointedChef]

When he first picked them, how did he know they didn't come from Sweden, Norway, Spain or any other country that has blue eyed blondes? I personally think you are reading too much into this, as far as it being discrimination.

 

BTW, if you were the contestant and told the chef to stand aside, so you could do all the cooking, I certainly wouldn't find that to have any entertainment value for the audience. I would look at it as someone who wanted all the attention and didn't want to be part of the fun experience for the audience.

 

Cookery demonstrations is what Chefs do to entertain. If you are an avid watcher of cookery competitions on TV and a passionate Chef.........you would view the show differently. I don't cook for attention......I'm not insecure! I cook for pure pleasure and passion for the culinary art and...... sheer CREATIVE exercise! You'd have to share that passion to understand where I'm coming from........

The caustic venom you are spewing (without knowing anything about me) says otherwise!!!!!!!!

[cyntil8ing]

Dear Cyntil8ing,

Love the moniker!

If only I shared your husband's good luck of being selected.......Que sera sera! I would describe myself as a "VERY SERIOUS" amateur. And entertaining the crowd is something I would have done with aplomb as I have years of Stage experience in Musicals, a unique sense of humour, the gift of the gab and am articulate and confident!

 

Thanks. Once he threw his name in a hat and was picked. I don't remember the other one, but knowing him, he jumped up with a huge smile. I am sorry you didn't get picked. But, I think you would have been disappointed, especially if you got a "dud" partner in the qualifying round and didn't make it to the final.

 

[Lisah101]

Cookery demonstrations is what Chefs do to entertain. If you are an avid watcher of cookery competitions on TV and a passionate Chef.........you would view the show differently. I don't cook for attention......I'm not insecure! I cook for pure pleasure and passion for the culinary art and...... sheer CREATIVE exercise! You'd have to share that passion to understand where I'm coming from........

The caustic venom you are spewing (without knowing anything about me) says otherwise!!!!!!!!

 

I'm sorry you thought this was a serious cooking competition - again as others have said - this is for entertainment and not a serious cooking competition. They have an agreement with the Top Chef franchise that lets them use the name "Top Chef" to promote the show but the onboard activities aren't a serious competition, just for fun and entertainment.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Lisah101

[DisappointedChef]

Thanks. Once he threw his name in a hat and was picked. I don't remember the other one, but knowing him, he jumped up with a huge smile. I am sorry you didn't get picked. But, I think you would have been disappointed, especially if you got a "dud" partner in the qualifying round and didn't make it to the final.

 

 

Thanks Cindy,

I would have given my eyeteeth for a picture like that....and enjoyed bragging rights for the rest of my life that I was on TOP CHEF @ Sea! That was just not meant to be.

I did consider the "dud" partner as being a stumbling block......but the picture and bragging rights would've made up for it. I'll just never know now.....will I!

[NLH Arizona]

Cookery demonstrations is what Chefs do to entertain. If you are an avid watcher of cookery competitions on TV and a passionate Chef.........you would view the show differently. I don't cook for attention......I'm not insecure! I cook for pure pleasure and passion for the culinary art and...... sheer CREATIVE exercise! You'd have to share that passion to understand where I'm coming from........

The caustic venom you are spewing (without knowing anything about me) says otherwise!!!!!!!!

I watch just about every cooking show there is. From Top Chef to Master Chef, to Chopped to Cupcake Wars to Cutthroat Kitchen, etc. On those shows, it is a competition between the chefs, they are not their to entertain, they to produce a winning dish. On the cruise line, the show is for entertainment purposes and is totally different from the Top Chef TV show.

 

I believe what you are looking for is to be on one of the Master Chef shows, where home cooks compete for a prize. If you go on line, you can audition for it.

[phoenix_dream]

This posting has to be a tongue-in-cheek joke. Nothing else could explain someone so furious of not being picked as one of a handful of contestants. Given the small sample size (was it 3 or 4? can't recall) there is no way to logically conclude that the contestants were picked due to nationality. And to pick a cruise specifically with the expectation that you would definitely be chosen as one of the contestants?!? OMG. If this post is serious, I am beyond stunned. It has to be one of the all-time greats on these threads. :eek:

[cyntil8ing]

I did consider the "dud" partner as being a stumbling block......but the picture and bragging rights would've made up for it. I'll just never know now.....will I!

 

For the record, he has NOT been picked more often than he has been picked. Perseverance is key.

[DisappointedChef]

I'm sorry you thought this was a serious cooking competition - again as others have said - this is for entertainment and not a serious cooking competition. They have an agreement with the Top Chef franchise that lets them use the name "Top Chef" to promote the show but the onboard activities aren't a serious competition, just for fun and entertainment.

 

Dear Lisah101,

I am an avid watcher of Top Chef on TV......and they are among the most staid and professional in the very mindset of the show. I presumed they would carry over that decorous air to the Top Chef @ Sea too. This was confirmed by Ken Mills himself because he told a Cruiser who asked a question that "BravoTV was very strict about adhering to a set of rules!"

I'm pretty certain The Producers of the show wouldn't want it reduced to slapstick-horseplay!

You wouldn't have had the Executive Chef and his 2 Sous Chefs on stage if mere tomfoolery was intended.

That's not the fabric of BravoTV's Top Chef as I know it.

Is it normal for Celebrity not to acknowledge receipt of painstakingly expressed feedback?

Thanks for taking the trouble to try and make me feel better.

[NLH Arizona]

Dear Lisah101,

I am an avid watcher of Top Chef on TV......and they are among the most staid and professional in the very mindset of the show. I presumed they would carry over that decorous air to the Top Chef @ Sea too. This was confirmed by Ken Mills himself because he told a Cruiser who asked a question that "BravoTV was very strict about adhering to a set of rules!"

I'm pretty certain The Producers of the show wouldn't want it reduced to slapstick-horseplay!

You wouldn't have had the Executive Chef and his 2 Sous Chefs on stage if mere tomfoolery was intended.

That's not the fabric of BravoTV's Top Chef as I know it.

Is it normal for Celebrity not to acknowledge receipt of painstakingly expressed feedback?

Thanks for taking the trouble to try and make me feel better.

Have you thought about writing to the TV show, since you feel it is being represented in a way you feel they might not agree with?

 

Top Chef

Bravo TV

3000 W. Alameda Ave., Suite 250

Burbank, CA 91523

[DisappointedChef]

This posting has to be a tongue-in-cheek joke. Nothing else could explain someone so furious of not being picked as one of a handful of contestants. Given the small sample size (was it 3 or 4? can't recall) there is no way to logically conclude that the contestants were picked due to nationality. And to pick a cruise specifically with the expectation that you would definitely be chosen as one of the contestants?!? OMG. If this post is serious, I am beyond stunned. It has to be one of the all-time greats on these threads. :eek:

 

I suggested to Celebrity Cruises that they need to be fair by introducing a "Sign up' form for the selection. I had no idea that their selection process was so listless and undetermined. That's the opposite of the Top Chef mantra on their TV show.......hence the expectations and the subsequent disappointment! Glad I evoked the "beyond stunned" state in you..........

[DisappointedChef]

Have you thought about writing to the TV show, since you feel it is being represented in a way you feel they might not agree with?

 

Top Chef

Bravo TV

3000 W. Alameda Ave., Suite 250

Burbank, CA 91523

 

I've done that!!!!! Fingers crossed they deign to reply!

[Gonzo70]

Ridiculous. I guess it was "rigged." Seems to be a theme nowadays

 

 

 

It was rigged like never before... believe me!

 

Hopefully the OP signs up for the October 35th Top Chef amateur contest. :p:D:cool:;)

[Orator]

It was rigged like never before... believe me!

 

Hopefully the OP signs up for the October 35th Top Chef amateur contest. :p:D:cool:;)

 

Hi Gonzo70

Think you should be a judge.

[DisappointedChef]

For the record, he has NOT been picked more often than he has been picked. Perseverance is key.

 

I liked your mention of the fact that he "threw his name into a hat" to get selected........that fairness would certainly appease the wannabes!

[G.M.T.]

Disappointed Chef, forget all the stick youare getting here.

 

Come to Germany and cook with my dear MIL, as everything she cooks turns out to be a joke.

 

So that she knows you are from Sweden, please wear your Viking helmet.

[Jane2357]

Surely a little research - even coming on CC and asking questions about the Top Chef onboard -- would have let you know that this isn't a real "Top Chef" activity. As are most things onboard this is meant for laughs - and they would NOT have appreciated you trying to take over for the chef because that isn't what you get picked for.

 

They want the laughable train wreck not the guy with desperation in his eyes. So you did not do your research and set all your dreams in the wrong basket. I'm very sorry for that but you need to accept responsibility.

 

Second, part of being a grown up is learning to handle disappointment ... or I'd still be crying about not making the Pom Pom Team in high school, or the Homecoming Court, or ...

 

 

[DisappointedChef]

Dear DisappointedChef,

sorry you were disappointed, but the cruise director had no reason to know you were not from the US or Canada if you look Asian. Our population in the US and Canada has a large percentage that have those features.

 

Meanwhile, they wouldn't have let you really cook, anyway.

 

Also, your post sounds awfully entitled. We complain about the young people being entitled. You sound like one of them. Is that how you want to sound?

 

Hi Algebraluvr,

From which comment exactly did you deduce "young people being entitled"?

I had a long chat with Ken Mills the night before the show when I met him at the Theatre. I did tell him how far we had travelled and how important the Top Chef feature was in selecting Celebrity over their competitors......so he knew my background and reason for selecting Celebrity.

I do have a hifalutin writing style.....but dont let that lead you to wrongly believe that I am of the "entitled" ilk!!!!! I am the most down-to-earth, outgoing person you could ever find!

This disappointment was genuine......not a cry for help!!!!!!!!

Edited October 18, 2016 by DisappointedChef
spelling

[chemmo]

I am another who thinks you are enjoying a bit of fun...

 

You are being the Swedish Chef from the Muppets aren't you?

 

Once sat through the first 10 minutes of one of these shows...not for me...back to Michael's Club for another champagne....

 

My sincere apologies if I am mistaken....I would never knowingly offend anyone...now wondering if I should press the submit button....

[donaldsc]

You have posted 22 replies on this topic. You are a one thread wonder.

 

There is a TV show that you might consider applying to - http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/worst-cooks-in-america.html

 

DON

[warmwinds]

Why don't you plan a vacation to Paris or Tuscany or New York or any number of places where you can sign on to actually have a real hands-on culinary experience?

[mom says]

Dear Cyntil8ing,

Love the moniker!

If only I shared your husband's good luck of being selected.......Que sera sera! I would describe myself as a "VERY SERIOUS" amateur. And entertaining the crowd is something I would have done with aplomb as I have years of Stage experience in Musicals, a unique sense of humour, the gift of the gab and am articulate and confident!

 

And have an obvious flair for the dramatic. You remind me of my 5 year old grandson who had a temper tantrum because he didn't get to fight Darth Vader when he visited Walt Disney World.

 

Next time, do your homework so that your expectations are somewhere close to the reality.

Either you didn't bother to research this properly, or you allowed your imagination to run amok.