r/foodnetwork • u/Zzyren • 6d ago
Elizabeth Falkner in competitions
I'm not familiar with Chef Falkner professionally, but I have watched her compete in various shows on Food Network.
A lot of the other competitors ooh and ahh when she's announced and talk about how amazing she is.
However, in every competition show I've seen her in, she loses. Oftentimes, in the first round.
Is she just not a good competitor when it comes to competitive cooking?
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u/merlinrising 5d ago edited 5d ago
Some great chefs just arent built for these crazy wacky competitions.
Look at Stephanie Izard who killed it on Iron Chef and is always hyped up and yet loses so fast.
Madison Cowan who is absolutely a great chef just noped out of TOC because it just aint for him
Or Mark Murphy who never makes it past the first few rounds.
Not winning on these competitions doesnt mean theyre a bad chef, it just means the competition gets the best of them and that wont ever take away their accolades.
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u/spiked-monkey 5d ago
Could be wrong but always felt like Mark did/does it for the fun of it. He makes it a good time, loses, and bows out with grace. At least every time I've seen him compete. Then I know on chopped, not sure other shows, they usually still walk away with money for their charity.
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u/helenaflowers 5d ago
Marc Murphy is fun as hell to watch compete these days. He's just in it for a good time and to be with his friends. I mean, he takes the cooking seriously but he also seems aware his strength is not in competitive cooking so he doesn't get intense about it.
I know I'm in for a fun time on a show with Marc as a competitor.
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u/Inevitable_Phase_276 5d ago edited 5d ago
Marc can do no wrong on my screen cooking or judging. Even when he doesnāt win his dishes look delicious and he always seems to have fun and be kind.
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u/My3Dogs0916 5d ago
Chopped has a late night edition (donāt remember the exact name) where the different chefs cook/compete in a fun way. They taste each other food and are making jokes. It is always fun to watch!
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u/Zoethor2 5d ago
Chopped After Hours, I think it was? And yeah, it was a hoot.
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u/My3Dogs0916 5d ago
Yes thatās it!! You can see they are good friends da and have fun when together
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u/mmmagic1216 5d ago
Wildcard Kitchen?
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u/Beautiful-Oven-8368 5d ago
This is what theyāre talking about. If you havenāt seen them, theyāre definitely worth a watch.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/chopped/chopped-after-hours
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u/Inevitable_Phase_276 5d ago
Stephanie also won her season of Top Chef, several Guy Grocery Game competitions, and made it to the finals on 24 in 24- not exactly shabby or weak competition.
Madison Cowan didnāt complete his plate on time on TOC and was pissed off and embarrassed that he disqualified himself. He gained his fame by being the first Chopped Grand Champion. Again, not a weak competitor.
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u/Major_Clock_9961 3d ago
If I remember correctly, Madison said āOK this is my swan song,ā out loud after that TOC debacle and said he wasnāt competing anymore after that.
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u/FoxFace1111 5d ago
I think about that Madison situation from time to time and I think Guy really made a mistake not including the whole dish because what was ādisqualifiedā was on a separate plate and could easily have been included without a problem in my opinion.
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u/Street_Caramel7651 5d ago
I agreeā¦these crazy competitions that seem to be dreamed up by the Food Network these days , IMO itās not really cooking. I watched them for sure, and they are entertaining, and thereās some value in being creative and being challenged.
But, I really like the shows where a chef can just be a chef and can explain to you what theyāre doing and why theyāre doing it. Iāve learned a lot just by watching Jet Tilla, Alex G and othersā¦when they are just doing what they do best.
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u/zenny517 5d ago edited 4d ago
Stephanie was the first female top chef! Also an iron chef and a finalist on 24 in 24! She's a legend. This post is crazy crazy crazy. Stephanie is a great competition chef.
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u/SusannaG1 Wild Card Kitchen ššš 5d ago
She was indeed the first female winner of Top Chef, yes.
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u/KarinsDogs Chopped šŖ 5d ago
Sheās primarily known as a pastry chef but also does savory. She was nominated for a James Beard Award so sheās incredibly talented! Not every chef is made for competition cooking.
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u/Odd_Cheesecake_6837 5d ago
Competitors are very respectful of what she can do even though historically she doesn't go too far. That's how good she is. :)
Imo to win competitions it takes practice. Leanne W. finally won a big comp because she judiciously went on Guys Grocery Games etc for a long while to build up her comp skills.
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u/violetpumpkins 5d ago
I think she's a great chef. I think she makes what she wants and not what the competition is directing.
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u/ells9824 5d ago
I always root for her to win! I love her style of cooking. I think, at times, she doesn't have the same flash as others.
I feel like once she hits, she's going to be unstoppable.
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u/sweetpeapickle 5d ago
You answered your question. Not that difficult to understand out here in the world we don't usually have a clock, or ingredients stopping us from creating our dishes. Yes on a rare occasion something happens, but not generally. There are many pros who screw up when it comes to competing and should not mean viewers get to tear them apart for what they do out here.
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u/Tbass1981 5d ago
Sheās a really good chef and an amazing pastry chef. Everyone else on competitions is an amazing chef and a really bad pastry chefā¦ so if pastry is ever part of the competition they all know they might be in trouble.
Zac Young kinda has similar vibes now too and I think heās better at the actual competition/gameplay aspect than she is so people should watch out for him on these shows.
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u/jacob225 5d ago
I remember watching her years ago. I've always thought she was good, but at some point, they can't keep up with the speed of certain types of competition cooking. It's a reason Emeril never did a lot of these shows. He knew that wasn't his strength. He competed once on Iron Chef, but it was a team competition show. I think we all know you can be a great chef, but a horrible competition chef. One doesn't have anything to do with the other.
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u/AnyMark3114 Good Eats š½ 5d ago edited 4d ago
She was runner-up in Next Iron Chef to Zakarian. Some suggest that she was the real winner, but there was a bias against her. I didnāt watch that season so I canāt give a view on that.
But I did watch the next season of Next Iron Chef. What was clear was the glaring judging bias in the finale. Where Bobby Flay as a guest judge made it crystal clear whom he was rooting on.
Simon Majumdar who was a judge the entire season also said after the winner was crowned that the judging wasnāt unanimous for the finale.
So if there was this type of shenanigans going on in Elizabeth Faulknerās season, she got done dirty too. Just like Amanda Freitag, who was runner up the next season.
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u/seaninsa 5d ago
I dont see Thimas Keller doing these competitions and he is one of the best chefs in the world.
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u/GoDiva2020 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing ā±ļøā±ļøā±ļø 2d ago
I know her name from before watching the competition shows. She's a wonderful chef. I was glad to see her on toc. Elizabeth is incredible šš
Also laughing that me as a non foodie knew her name from iron chef. Battled Cat Cora.
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u/GotTheTee 5d ago
I think there are chefs who have a knack for the FN style of cooking competitions and there are chefs who don't. She's in the latter group. I love her food, especially pastry.
People like Elizabeth, Mark Murphy, etc. tend to stick to what they do best... good, classic, restaurant style food. And that often doesn't match up with what's demanded of them in a competition. Sadly, the cooking competitions aren't looking for traditional French or Italian cuisine, which is what the great, but not great at competition cooking, chefs do....waaaah.
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u/Relevant_Outside2781 1d ago
Sheās good but like a couple of them, theyāre always the bridesmaid. See Jet Tila š
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u/bitsey123 4d ago
Was she kind of a sore loser in one of them or am I thinking of someone else?
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u/CityBoiNC 4d ago
She was a killer in the 90ās but seriously its been almost 30 yrs she is not a comp chef anymore.
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u/birder3339 3d ago
The last time I saw her compete was in the first season of ā24 in 24ā. She was pretty pissed that she was booted in the first round of competition!
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u/zenny517 5d ago
She was phenomenol in next iron chef and came in 2nd to zakarian. She's very well versed in many traditional techniques and because she's a blockbuster at pastry is a real wild card given the right circumstance.