About time management and the race to the finisih

[Chris Allingham]

One thing I notice about all these cooking shows, whether Chopped Grill Masters or BBQ Pitmasters or Top Chef, is the frenetic race right down to the last second to get the food on the plate, and in the case of Pitmasters, to get the boxes to the turn-in table. My sense is that this is sometimes exaggerated in the editing process. How did it feel to both of you? Like you almost didn't make it in time or you managed your time and finished in control at the last second?

 

[Donna Fong]

Sometimes you do get a sense in the editing that it tried to make it look tighter than it really was. Because people are rushing and Ted is saying, 10secs and they haven't showed the chefs plating. And then, no one is missing an ingredient.

I can't say. I didn't run out of time and managed my time well. Though truth be told, that was to the decrement in the overall creativity and quality of my dish. So I had to make that choice. I chose to include all ingredients, fully cooked, and plated but not necessarily the most creative. Oh well.

 

[Harry Soo]

We had seafood twice so it does not take long to cook prawns and lobster so it was hectic but I did not get pushed to the last second. I was, however, pushed for time in the dessert round as my pop corn caught fire as there was a hole in my Jiffy Pop foil container. Made for good TV though as any good grill show needs stuff on fire!

 

[Chris Allingham]

Harry, had you ever cooked Jiffy Pop before? It would have cooked better on a side burner if that Weber gas grill had one. Can't remember if it did or not.