Lake Diving, Squid Battling, And Avocado Peeling

Clip 00:00 It's Mexican Week Prue, it has to be tack-os. Dave 00:08 This is the Extra Hot Great Podcast, episode 613 for the week of May 3rd, 2026. I am Tasty Essence Born of the Sea, David T. Cole, and I'm here with Blitzed Avocado, Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah 00:29 Don't you know I'm loco? Dave 00:31 And dinner time boob flaunter, Tara Ariano Tara 00:34 Get aloud Welcome to Extra Hot Great for another week. It's time for a very special episode where we are considering three of your dear listener. Canon and Nonac submissions. Two of the former, one of the latter. We each picked one from our hopper. We're just gonna get into it. Let's start with Pride and Prejudice. Caroline 01:07 Hi, I am Mademoiselle Caroline and I'm here to tell you that BBC's pride and prejudice is turning 30 this year. That's right, 30. But let's not ruminate on that too long. And let's just celebrate the greatest adaptation of one of the world's most popular book by trying to induct it in the canon, shall we? For those who don't know, this is the best adaptation of the book ever, and I don't believe Netflix's version will change that, given what they have done to persuasion a few years ago It stars Colin Firth in a career-making role, and Jennifer Eale, who's perfect as Lizzie. The story is famous because of their stormy romance, but the real topic of the novel is the business of marriage in the gentry in the 19th century and how little agency women had and how it was mostly a meat market. My only concern in fact is that despite how beloved this adaptation is, I don't know if it's going to be the taste of the EHG panel This type of television is not typically discussed, I feel, on the podcast. I had to pick one episode, which was very difficult, but I settled on episode four. For obvious reasons, as it contains the iconic lake dive that we all know, but more on that later. Unfortunately, the beginning of the episode starts with ten minutes of exposition It is necessary exposition, but it is exposition nonetheless. Because it's the aftermath of Darcy's disastrous proposal to Lizzie. where he told her, You know, girl, you're so beneath me and everywhere, but in the end I guess I want you all the same. And Lizzie sent him and his pride packing So Darcy writes her a letter to defend himself against Lizzie's accusations because Lizzie is prejudiced against him. See? So, um to sum up the letter, it turns out that the secondary character called Mr. Wickham is both a shameless gold digger and a sexual predator for 15-year-old girls But I guess in 1813 no one was cancelled for that. The episode starts really with Lizzie leaving Mr. Collins, the great, pompous, ridiculous Mr. Collins. And her best friend Charlotte, who made the decision to marry this buffoon because it was her only option not to starve to death. Because it was so much fun to be a woman in the Regency period. We don't get enough Mr. Collins in this episode, but we do get his creepy little way at his wife So Lizzie is soon reunited with her two younger sisters, who are absolutely unbearable, and then with her favorite sister Jane, to whom she can finally share all that has happened to her lately Lydia, the most offensive of the Bennett girls, is off to Brighton, without familial supervision, and since she's the most annoying teenager ever, we are glad to see her off But spoiler, it's not going to end well. And as for Lizzie, well she's off again, destined to the glorious north, specifically Derbysha. with her surprisingly nice aunt and uncle, given how horrid our other relations are, except for Jane. And this region is where mister Darcy's unbelievable estate happens to be. Bemberley is played by the magnificent Chatworth Castle, and you better believe that it's one of my future dream holidays to visit all the locations Associated with the series and with Jane Austen, one of these days. And that leads us to the glorious collision between Darcy and Lizzie at Pamberley Much fallyhoo has been made about Darcy. Gasp in his white undershirt, diving headfirst in this lake. Dear Lord, where are my smelling salts? But it is efficient because in this scene Darcy's as naked as the Regency would allow, and most importantly, he's emotionally naked. Because without the pomp and circumstance that he wears as an armour, he becomes a a sort of an adorable stuttering and mumbling adorable guy. And that's why I own a mister Darcy mug. Thank you very much. All joke aside, this episode is when the veneer of proprieties is finally lifted off and the characters must reckon with what's real I believe that's the reason why this story endures, while so many others don't, is twofold. On the one hand, we have a man with many faults. who agrees to go on a journey of self-improvement to be worthy of the woman he loves. Which may justify putting the book on the sci-fi shelf at the library, but let's move on On the other hand, we have a female character who doesn't compromise on her standards, despite having little agency or control over her fate. And that's what makes it so aspirational. And the BBC series encapsulates that in all its glory. This TV series ushered a new wave of prestige dramas for the BBC. But to my mind, pride and prejudice remains to this day their most successful one. So in view of its lasting impact, great acting and amazing location, it is time to vote it in, don't you think? Tara 06:36 Thank you, Mademoiselle Caroline. I'll go first. This is shamefully an adaptation that I took a long time to come to. I was telling Dave last night when we watched it that I did a whole year Jane Austen one-on-one study when I was in college. So this is subject I know a lot about and I agree with Mademoiselle Caroline this is the best episode of the season even though it's hard to separate a piece from the whole But even with the exposition at the beginning, I think the production does what it can to make writing and also reading a letter dynamic. There's like go ahead. Dave 07:12 I was just gonna say, wouldn't it be solved if Jane Austen had her own version of the Star Wars crawl to start an episode? Just have like three paragraphs of exposition and then bam, right into it. Here comes the Death Star. Sarah 07:23 Would literally be a scroll, yeah. Tara 07:25 Yeah, that's another idea, Dave. You can say that for your adaptation. Dave 07:29 But the way they did it Tara 07:31 But the way d they did it gives it as much like urgency and excitement as such a thing can have. And it's definitely a bigger moment in the book. It's not that cinematic, but I think the way they adapt it does give the sense of how it feels reading this, like, oh my god, this guy that Elizabeth had had kind of a crush on. is a fortune hunter and potential rapist, as Caroline said. Like he's real bad news. And this is gonna come into play again later in this season, later in the novel as well. But the real moment of the lake dive, and that's not in the book, but I I appreciate as Caroline does, like what it does. cinematically for the show. It does change him. He's still like in a tiz about Lizzie turning him down and why he we also see him fencing to get all his emotions out, and that's not in the book either But then when he sees her, it he does he's so rattled the surprise of running into her just really changes him into the person that His housekeeper has told Lizzie and her aunt and uncle he is like he's the best guy, he's a wonderful landlord, he's the best person in the county, blah blah blah. And they're like, okay. And then he kind of is. And what we see in his transformation when he he like runs in after he he's been seen like basically as naked as he could be, like Caroline says. He comes back out dressed and like makes a good impression on Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle in a way that we have not seen him do the entire rest of the series to this point. And it plays into what is a running theme in all of Jane Austen's novels, which is part of being in society, not in the sense of like a landed gentry, but like being a person in society in the way that we use it now is like you have to exhibit something that is sort of a an antiquated word now, you don't see it that much, but complaisance, which is just like getting along with people, being friendly making dorky small talk to your crush's aunt and uncle about like you should come back and fish for trout in my lake, blah blah blah. Which is part of what has turned Lizzie against him prior to this point, because he didn't Darcy did not like turn it on like that ever, any of the other times they've been around each other. And it is partly the old saw of like, well, I'm shy, I'm not contemptuous of you, I'm just socially awkward. But he actually is And this is proof that he can do it. He can be a decent partner, you know, maybe to her or whatever, to someone, and that's important. Like you can't be too reserved like he is. You also can't be too effusive like her awful younger sister, Lydia, who's like a shame on the family and was about to be even more so. That's the har one of the harder things that that there is to communicate about Jane Austen novels and stories now is like how much of it is about just being around people in the proper way. Like that there is a romance to that as well. Because this is the person you're gonna see more of than anyone else. And so you need to be sure that they're not gonna humiliate you when they meet someone new and, you know, be weird and make a f bad first impression like he did. And so I love how this episode rolls out and Caroline made a great case for it, I thought. Sarah. Sarah 10:49 I thought the case was excellent also. Thank you, Caroline. I would argue that the best adaptation is actually Bridget Jones' diary, but. Okay. And I think we discussed plenty of 19th century televised materials around here, given what's available. Gilded Age, you know, Hatcho, Opera Wars, Bridgerton, Dickinson fans up in here. Tara 11:11 Death by lightning. Sarah 11:12 Yeah. Oh my gosh. One of the best shows of last year. I like I enjoyed this visually looking at all the Beautiful and I mean hella drafty, but whatever. Interiors, the costuming. Jennifer Eel is always a pleasure, obviously. Firthy. Ditto. A lot of the exposition is yeah, it's exposition, but because it's him and the way they have sort of cut it together as noted to make it a little more dynamic given that it's like the epistolary no novel will have its limits in terms of what you can do with that A V-wise. And Lydia, extremely annoying. I think that actor played Safi on AbFab, which is part of why I immediately was like, ugh But then the sort of bits from Mr. Bennett that it's like, and yet I am unmoved. Like he had some really good dialogue in here. And I think that this is like in the sort of in the canon of BBC adaptations and in the canon of thinking Colin Firth was hot correctly, and also in the tiny canon of knowing which side he dresses, not uh not a complaint. And lots of, you know, hey, it's that, woman who played the Clean Mother in the Crown for one of the seasons actors in there. I enjoyed it, but I'm just not sure it's like enough better than the rest of the series, which I have seen a couple times already. It's been a while. I'm not sure it fits our exact parameters of the canon. And there were a lot of things that were kinda like, you know, this it like I get it. I get what they're trying to do and mission accomplished, but I'm just not sure that it is like transporting relative to the rest of the series, and that's part of part of it in certain literary adaptations that like A lot of it is very interior and you're looking at teeny little moments like as the panels designated Edith Wharton experts. Like I I get it, sometimes you're talking about things that are two seconds on screen and five words on a page and it doesn't exactly translate. I really enjoyed revisiting this. I don't know what we do with an entire series that should be canonical in terms of making the rest of the world have pants feelings about British characters played by Colin Firth. I don't know what we do with that. I'm not sure this is the way. But it was an excellent presentation and delight to revisit this. Dave. Dave 13:44 Mlle Caroline fucking get ready for this turn of events where Dave fucking comes in and saves the goddamn day for pride and prejudice. Because he's like, I miss downtown Abbey and uh give it to me. So we start the night, Tara boots it up. And I'm like, what I miss? And she says, what do you mean what do you miss? I've never fucking read a word of Jane Austen. What I miss. First of all, she's like, fuck off. And then I'm like, no, really, I did. I haven't. I've never and she's like, have you ever read a bouquet? Sarah 14:13 Oh Dave 14:15 Book B, I'm like, no, no, no, no, not a thing. I live in Austin. That's the closest we come. Tara 14:23 I just thought you would have seen the the one with Matthew McFadden, speaking of death by lightning, and Kira Knightley, but I guess I saw that without you. Dave 14:30 I guess you did. Tara 14:31 I guess I did. Dave 14:32 So then she starts to explain everything that's happened up to this point in the story. God bless her, it started to make sense, and then everybody's name turned into Emily in my mind, and I couldn't tell who was who in this explanation, and then every time somebody popped up in this very character-rich episode. There's lots of different characters here, and obviously if you've been watching all along, you've already learned their name. So let me tell you, coming into this hot in this episode There's just a lot of British people that kind of look like they're coming from the same English Vat out in the countryside. Tara 15:06 Yeah Dave 15:07 So that was a bit confusing, but through all of that Sarah 15:07 Mm-hmm. Dave 15:11 I just enjoyed the Regency vibes and the stuffy Britishness, the conservative interiorization of themselves. That is, of course, a hallmark of, you know, being British. And that combined with just all the little moments that reminded me of what Downton Abbey is taking out of this and putting it into its own thing. Like the old lady, the dowager countess of this story, like, I'm quite put out. Tara 15:38 Yes, yes Dave 15:41 Like, oh yes, give me that. Put that in my veins. Tara 15:43 She hadn't been part of my recap, so I was like, this is like the county bitch. Dave's like, got it. Dave 15:48 Yeah. I'm not gonna lie, the confusing yet entertaining Tara sort of direct Director's cut, director's commentary while this was playing, help the case. Now, Tara, everybody who's watching this for the first time, you have to go to their house and do the same thing in order for them to get the full effect. Sarah 16:04 Mm-hmm Tara 16:04 Okay. Happy too. Dave 16:07 But there's a lot of moments like the old lady. It took me a while to figure out where I knew Cicero from. I don't know the character's name. Tara 16:15 Mr. Collins Dave 16:16 He plays Cicero in Rome. Who the fuck is that guy? And then the one moment we're like, you gotta stop this and I'm like, I don't know if it exists on the internet yet, but if it doesn't, Tara, please make me a gif of Cicero's creepy wave and smile. To his wife, betrothed? Tara 16:32 Yeah, wife, his wife. Dave 16:33 Yeah. Perfect. What a perfect moment. Tell you everything about that character in like two seconds. If that was the first time we've seen this guy, I'm like, okay, got it. the narration bit where they are reading each other or rather she's reading his letter in little dribs and drabs and commenting to them in the moment while she's reading it. was a really effective way of doing that. I thought it would have been really tough to take if it was just one big narration block. So I thought that was smart. People describing Lydia as the worst sister, she's the best sister I loved Lydia more Lydia. Lydia is sort of this, uh uh what's the word? What's the nice word to call her? Tara 17:15 Sh well, I think I said boy crazy. Dave 17:17 Boy crazy. Tara 17:18 Mm-hmm Dave 17:18 Perfect. Yes. She is the uh Tina Belcher of Pride and Prejudice. And the moment where she gets to go to whatever party or whatever visit she's gonna do the next town over in order to start her journey of getting a man. Tara 17:30 To Brighton. Mm-hmm. Dave 17:35 that moment where her younger sister was like, I don't get to go, way way Lydia's like, Yeah, fuck you gives her like the double fingers as she gets into the carriage. She's like waving like, uh bye. I'll miss you so much, especially you little sister. These are the moments I like in these sort of stories. And it had plenty of it. Tara 17:54 Yeah, Katie is actually older than Lydia, which is why it's even more of an insult that Lydia gets to go and Katie doesn't Dave 17:56 Oh, really? But why were they talking about in two y Oh, okay. So the dad was just saying in two years you might be mature enough? to go then, even though she's two years older than Lydia? Tara 18:09 I don't remember. Dave 18:10 Alright, well, that's a big burn. I wish I knew that. Tara 18:12 Mm-hmm. Dave 18:12 Where was the commentary there, Tara? Tara 18:14 Sorry. Dave 18:14 Alright. Last little bit of these moments that I really enjoyed was the eavesdropping manservant at the girls' lunch. Tara 18:21 Oh yeah. Dave 18:22 Where they all have a reunion and they're all getting together for a little bite and he's just like hanging back. Tara 18:24 Yeah Dave 18:28 He's like, I'm getting the tea. Tara 18:30 Until until Lizzie's like, we're all sad and he's like, No. Dave 18:30 This is good for me. Oh. Tara 18:33 Also, they he they've laid out a full ham for these four young girls to have for lunch. Dave 18:37 Yeah. Sarah 18:40 Above the like carriage station. Tara 18:41 Yeah. Dave 18:42 What I would have wanted was him come back about 17 seconds later to like, can I can I freshen up your drink? He does it very slowly, makes a lot of mistakes, so he gets to stick around. There's just a lot to enjoy here. Oh, just one thing. Caroline said 30 years. That's how old this submission's been. So it's thirty-one years now. So now we're even older. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The one thing that was really stupid that made me laugh out loud, and it was so poorly done that it turned around to being like kitschy great. is when they're doing the second big chunk of narration in the second half of the episode. I don't remember the moment that it was actually in. I think they were traveling somewhere for the first time, maybe. Tara 19:20 Ajá, yeah Dave 19:22 And he is talking to her through this letter to this giant Darcy head half ghosted against the English Tara 19:26 Oh yeah. Dave 19:31 countryside as you're traveling through the carriage. And it was just like it was like something from Zardo. So it was like, what the hell? Tara 19:36 Mm-hmm. Dave 19:37 Why is this guy so big? Why is he it was like so out of character for the rest of the production. Sarah 19:41 Sor Dos. Dave 19:42 That was like that is stupid and uh man it worked. Sarah 19:43 Oh Dave 19:45 It worked in the stupidest way. Tara 19:46 Yeah. Dave 19:47 I thoroughly enjoyed it. I I I liked it. So um let's put this to the official vote. Tara Ariano, Pride and Prejudice. Tara 19:55 I say yay Dave 19:56 Sara D. Bunty. Sarah 19:58 It delighted me, uh, but not quite enough. So it is a no from me Dave 20:04 Yeah, I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna say yes. So two to one, that means Pride and Prejudice, the fourth episode. You are hereby inducted into the extra hot GR cannon. It's cannon entry number two. This one comes from Mr. Dr. Professor Dan Cassino. Dan 20:39 Esteemed panel, I am presenting for the Extra High Great Canon today, Iron Chef Original Japanese, Season 3, Episode 23, Battle Squid. Now, before we get into this, I should note that I understand that Dave does not like cooking shows. So it seems weird that I am presenting a cooking show. After all, I am over foreign presentations. Am I just trying to make it over five? No Because Iron Chef, unlike all the cooking shows that followed it, is not about the cooking. It is about the presentation. It is about the over the top theatrics. And that makes it entertaining whether you actually like the cooking or not. And spoiler alert, no one's gonna like this cooking. Let's get it on a chasing! Alright, before we talk about why this particular episode of Iron Chef deserves to be in the extract gay canon, let's talk about Iron Chef in general and why it deserves a place in the extra hot grape canon. Now, Iron Chef is important not only because it revived Food Network. When Iron Chef started playing on Food Network, Food Network didn't actually have a kitchen They had some people talking about food, and occasionally we have Jacques Thérèse come in and show some chocolates he made, and Iron Chef is what made Food Network the channel it eventually became. More importantly, though, it transformed the way cooking shows in America work. This was the first cooking competition show. before Iron Chef, before the popularity of Iron Chef, cooking shows were basically what Julia Child had been doing. It was a host, almost always a woman. who went in and made something, there was no question about whether it was going to work or not, because after all, at the end, they just pulled something out of the oven and showed, hey, look what I did. Iron Chef recontextualized cooking shows, made them about exoticism in the use of ingredients, over-the-top ingredients, and over-the-top techniques. It also put all the chefs under time pressure, something we just hadn't seen in previous cooking programs. They're under time pressure, and as a result, they have to make split decisions. And they often make the bad decision. There's an element of risk in there that just doesn't happen if you're looking at Rachel Ray making something It also, and we might have mixed feelings about whether it's a good thing or not, masculinized the space around cooking shows, even though the top chefs shown on TV for the most part were women, with some exceptions like uh Jacques Papin or Martin Yann. The top chefs were women, and in reality cooking competition shows, it's almost all men, and this is really the beginning of that. It masculinized the space around cooking. in a way that reflects the masculinized spaces that are professional kitchens, which, if we're being honest, is a problem. Still, it created the basic format that we still see today in the popular cooking shows whether we're talking about Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen, this is where it all comes from. This is what popularizes the entire format. That makes Iron Chef an important show, and therefore worthy of induction into the Extra Hot Great canon The question, of course, is why this episode? I'm going to offer up five reasons why this episode is an exceptional example of what Iron Chef does at its best. First reason. This has some amazing over-the-top pageantry. Yes, Chairman Kaga does seem to have gone extra deep into Liberace's closet for his outfit. But there's more than just that. After all, listen to the way that they talk about a guy who knows how to make pizza. So now, Shimazu, make us see your magic pizza and let the words Bravo echo in my kitchen stadium. I'll give it my very best. It's over the top. It's ridiculous. And that's a lot of the fun of the show. Second, there's actually some really interesting good techniques that are shown off by the chefs here. I used to watch this show as a teenager with my parents, both of whom are chefs, and they would comment on the technique they were showing in episodes like this, where we see the incredibly thinly sliced eggplant, something you'd probably use a mandolin and cut your hand off doing today. But aside from that, we also get pizza flipping, something we haven't seen before on Iron Chef, and even some of the very cool Chinese cuisine flambets. These are chefs who know what they're doing, and even though they're cooking ingredients that we wouldn't always eat and putting together in ways which we definitely wouldn't expect, they are showing off their skills as a chef, and it is very impressive as a performative display. Third, this episode, almost more than any other, shows off dishes that are recognizable to American viewers But with a twist. So we get a pizza because of course we get a pizza. But we get a pizza that's then layered with incredibly thin sliced eggplants and then squid on top of that, and then pesto sauce on top of that, and then rocket on top of that, and this doesn't look like any pizza I've ever seen, but I have an entry point to it. I can understand what they're trying to do Even if it doesn't look like anything I would enjoy or anything like a pizza I've ever had in the US or in Italy. Some of the iron chest food looks like good Chinese takeout. I've never had a fried squid and anchovy dumpling, but I can look at those dumplings and look at the sauce and go, yeah, I kind of see where they're going. When we get dishes that are just so far out there, we don't know what they're supposed to taste like. We don't have the context to judge them from home. With dishes like this, we kind of know what they're going for, even if it still is a little bit foreign. Fourth, it wouldn't be Iron Chef if we also didn't get some dishes that are just complete weird nonsense that no one knows what the heck is going on. For here, I present to you Shark Fin Meringue Soup. Sure, sprinkle on some Chinese ham on the end, uh just liven that up a little bit. Why not? What in the world is that? I don't know. I've made meringues. I don't know why I would ever put meringue in shark fin soup. I would never eat shark fin soup either. That's the weirdness we come to Iron Chef for. So we're getting both the approachable stuff The stuff that looks good, and honestly, stuff that's just real, real weird. And if you don't know what to make of it, uh, that's alright. Honestly, oftentimes the judges don't either. The sweetness and the thickness of all the flavors. My teeth and uh taste buds. I don't know how I should say this, my teeth and my taste buds don't have to work that hard to enjoy them It might shock you to find out that it is actually not a professional food critic, but rather one of their most frequent judges, a politician who at the time was out of the lower house of parliament, but would go back in the diet later on in the show's run. The final element that we get here that I think makes this a great Iron Chef episode is the fact that we do get some dishes that even the judges think are bad. When I'm watching Top Chef, I love Top Chef, but a lot of it is sycophantic. Oh, this is great. I love it. And people talk about what they like, even in dishes that are bad. And Iron Chef, they don't pull their punches. Again, you have one hour to make four or five dishes, and they oftentimes aren't able to do a good job. And it's kind of fun when you look at a dish and go, that doesn't look great And then here the judges say, Boy, actually this kind of sucks. The sauce is good, and the squid is good, but the oil that you use for frying it is still there, and the smell of it well it bothers me a bit I don't know, it might just be me. So there you have it. An important, weird show. One that changed a network. And change the face of cooking shows in America as well as the way that Americans overall understand cooking as a masculinized area of risk and reward and exoticism. Iron Chef walked so every cooking show after it could run. And I've given to you an episode that is very typical of Iron Chef and does most of the best things a good episode of Iron Chef can do So now it is up to the judges. We have just one question left. Who takes it? Whose cuisine reigns supreme? Dave 28:48 Thank you, Mr. Dan, Professor Doctor Casino. Yes, it's true. I don't like cooking shows except Mr. Dan Casino. I watched the shit out of Iron Chef when it was first on in America. Like I didn't miss an episode for years. Told Tara this and she was very surprised. Mostly because I hate cooking shows now. But as Dan said, this is not about cooking things. This is about the flair and the presentation. And turning making things in a time crunch into a sport, basically. And then all the trappings of Kitchen Stadium and Chairman Coggy, his liberaci outfits, his stylish eating of a yellow bell pepper at the start of every episode. I was really there for it. And now that As Dan was saying, there are so many imitators, so many shows that were born out of cooking as a competition. We forget how novel and unique and different this was when it first started hitting are eyeballs. The total package of it, the English commentators that are dubbing over what their Japanese counterparts are saying. is like perfect. It's it's not making light of it, but it's also airy in its own way. And they're doing well with those little moments. It's just not reading the words on a script. They're inserting all those moments that really make it feel present, even though obviously they're a world away. I really enjoyed how just incredibly involved the introduction, the life story of the pizza guy was at the start of this episode. They kept on referring to him as the man who s sold his soul to pizza. Tara 30:33 Sold his soul. Uh-huh. Sarah 30:36 Yeah. Dave 30:37 How poetically weird Sarah 30:39 I know Dave 30:39 And they do it four times. It's just not one time, not two, not three. Tara 30:42 Yeah. Dave 30:44 We're just going for it. So a lot of moments like that. The trappings of it are really great. And then when it comes to the actual cook oh wait, one more thing. The Italian chef, who doesn't really play a part in this, but they show him during the pre-roll, his uniform is fantastic. He looks like he's in Italian flag pajamas and he's ready to cook. I thought that was extremely cute. Sarah 31:03 Mm-hmm. Dave 31:05 When they get to the actual competition, that's when it is pretty fun. All the color commentary is great. You can tell that these people haven't been pre-interview. They don't really know what's coming. They don't even know what some of the things are. They're placing the bets on where that tomato sauce is eventually going to end up. Is it going to be on a pizza? Is it going to be part of a soup? Who knows? Oops, I was wrong. Wait, I was kind of right. Everybody owes me a Coke. Those sort of moments are really great too. Speaking about what they actually made, I would say there is something on Iron Chef that I was like, I would eat that one out of fifty times. Not because I'm not adventurous, well A, because I'm a vegetarian. Sarah 31:41 Yeah. Dave 31:44 B, even when I wasn't, I hated seafood. So that precludes pretty much almost everything in this show. But this guy's specialty is pizza and he makes a big show of spinning the pizza dough and that was fun and they were all amazed because that's not something you see a lot in Japan. And then he starts constructing the pizza. First he puts the sauce on, then he starts putting eggplant thin slices on. So far you're like, yeah, okay. Tara 32:08 Sure. Dave 32:08 And then comes the squid. He knew the squid was coming. And no thank you. But there it is. It looks like a a squid perm ring around this pizza. Sarah 32:17 Mm-hmm. Tara 32:17 Yeah Dave 32:17 And then they put pesto a all around it. Nobody used what pest the word pesto is never used in the interview. They don't know what it is. Sarah 32:23 No, they don't. Dave 32:24 Some kind of green sauce. Sarah 32:24 They can't get there. Yep. Dave 32:26 And again, that's great. The fact that they didn't know what pesto was. Tara 32:28 Yeah Dave 32:29 And then they put what Dan says is rocket. Well, fucking excuse us. arugula all over it. And then he has and I was thinking, did they bring a pizza oven it to this? You know, because that is this whole thing. Noah he had to use like a small convection oven. Which was not what he's used to and you know it's not gonna cook the same. Tara 32:49 No. Dave 32:50 I'm sure they got a stone what do they call 'em, wood wood fire Tara 32:52 Wood fired on oven. Dave 32:54 oven in the uh restaurant that he works at in Tokyo. Not here, and you could tell it probably didn't cook the way he wanted it, 'cause when he's cutting those slices, they put some on the plate. You can see the end of it limpily curl into itself and flop on the plate. Sarah 33:08 No Dave 33:08 I'm gonna say a little soggily. Nobody says it directly that the end of this pizza is soggy, but you knew it was. Tara 33:14 Is it's flaccid. Dave 33:15 Then crust pizza is tough. Tara 33:17 Yeah. Dave 33:17 to actually get the crust to be good from crust to center. It's is really hard and I don't think he did it here. Tara 33:21 Mm-hmm Dave 33:24 And then he makes a soup, a Mediterranean soup, which just seems to be every seafood thing he could find, with some tomato base in it. Everybody loved it. They said it was rich and seafoody and tasty and novel for a Japanese dish. Great. Looked disgusting to me. Tara 33:41 Really did. Dave 33:41 There's nothing worse to me than soup that comes out of a pot where there's giant pieces of the soup that you cannot touch. There's like fucking lobster heads in that, giant pieces of bone. Just like it there's something uh primordial about it that really puts me on edge. And then it comes time for the judges, and the judges are great because there's always one person in the nose of their shit and two people that are fucking clueless. Tara 33:59 Mm-hmm. Dave 34:06 And that's the case here. They got a food critic, they got a member of parliament and an actress. And they're all just sort of like either stumbling their way through describing it as we heard, or just using these like incredibly involved metaphors for everything, you know. uh the food critic just is wont to do. So the disparity, the contrast there is always fun. Loved Iron Chef then. I haven't watched it in years. I was really tickled watching it again. And the moments where Chairman Kagi is sort of sitting back and watching everything happening like he is fucking king of the land and he's on his throne. And that's part of the bit. It just never fucking gets old. I love it. So good pick. I'm happy to see Iron Chef up for the can and I don't think I could have made this presentation. I think any better than Dan Did he hit all the reasons why Iron Chef works and he did a great job explaining its uh its important part in TV history. Tara 35:01 It's been so long since you watched. It's Chairman Kaga, not Kagi. Dave 35:03 Oh my god, sorry. Koggy is a program that I used to use and got in my brain. Tara 35:07 Put some respect on his name and pompadour. Okay, Sarah, as our resident seafood eater and tomato expert, I feel you should go next. Sarah 35:15 Yeah, this is a very typical Iron Chef episode, and I agree with Professor Casino's contention that a an Iron Chef should go in the canon, because it really was such a foundational show in its segment. Incl and like everything flows from it, not just competition shows, but like Bourdain, Destination Food, all of those. It had, as noted, all of these aspects that make it charming and watchable. It does have a like PBS Bob Rossi vibe to it. The commentary is a little bit shaggy and awkward, like Dave was saying, that it's like, I that's gotta be pizza sa oop Oh, I'm wrong. Ooh, no, I'm right. Give me my dollars back. I liked that the food, I mean they shoot it really close up, but it's not This is not an overproduced show the way that a lot of these shows can be now in terms of like let's put like let's get the close-up best version of this dish. With this extremely loving close-up and the plate is wiped off and all of that stuff, like m 90% of the dishes here, and I love seafood, and that squid looked G was good looking squid, like they said on the commentary. Uh but ninety percent of the dishes look revolting. And this was no exception. Like that eggplant just sort of like flaccidating off the edge of the slice was like No, no thank you. Dave 36:38 I think if they made this today, to your earlier point, it might look like American gladiators. Tara 36:44 Yeah. I mean they do Food Network did make an American version of it with Bobby Flay in the chairman role and it probably does. Dave 36:47 Yeah. Tara 36:51 I've never watched that either. Anyway, go ahead, Sarah. Sarah 36:53 And I think that aired for years and years and years, but I do app Appreciate the sort of added difficulty of trying to match the dubbing of the commentary to what is happening on the screen and the pacing of the sentences as they're being uttered. That they have to put in a lot of like filler, like, um, I don't know how to say this, but my teeth and taste buds had an easy time of and it's like, uh wow, these are the words that you had to match you had to map this onto. Like there's that extra sort of meta degree of difficulty. And then also this like MST3K vibe at times. Especially with the actors when they're judges that they're just using small words, but then occasionally there's this like beautiful moment where There's like a very tiny like one eighth of a bow and thank you for making this about the Buya Bays. And it was just like, oh, I mean It just felt very genuine and authentic in a way that it's good to remember that this is how this kind of show started was like it was a completely like Rube Goldbergian remis, like extremely sort of like almost tortured in its barqueness. But there w that allowed l little real moments to happen in a way that I think we maybe have gotten away from. And it was interesting to see Top Chef during lockdown. Those seasons sort of come back to like we really have to We really have to go some distance to even get this show made, but that allowed some uh real genuine feeling and fire to to come out. So I think this was an excellent choice of episode. And I hadn't seen a episode of Iron Chef probably since Clinton was president, I feel like. And it was really a delight to get back to it as a often frustrated current top chef watcher was like, oh right, this is how we should get back to this basic. The s some of those squid though. No no thanks to Dan for the presentation. Dave 38:58 I think one thing Dan didn't mention that is worth bringing up is that the camera work here blends a lot to making this so different than everything in the game before and kind of everything after. Like You see the camera guys running to and fro throughout this thing. There's no like artifice that it is anything but a TV show, really. Sarah 39:11 Yeah. Dave 39:16 in the production of it, obviously the trappings of it are something quite different. They'll have a moment where they're like, oh, he's doing something, he's making something over here. And then you see the camera guy like putting the camera in next to the food and sometimes they don't get the shot right away That sort of making it up as you go, Ness, splitting the difference between a really slick production and just living in the moment lends itself very well to uh the watchability of the show and as character. Tara 39:42 Yeah. I don't have a ton to add. This was the first episode of this show that I had watched. My main exposure to the Iron Chef franchise is the spoof. on Fichurama where Bender goes on Iron Chef with helmet sparkles, essence of pure flavor. Soy and green is the secret the key ingredient in that battle. Anyway, I agree there was a lot of unpolishedness that added charm to this, including the many times we see the chefs touching things with their hand, putting fingers in their dishes, using a spoon to taste something and then putting it back in the bowl. Dave 40:15 Yeah Tara 40:18 Like there's not a lot of uh real rigidity about keeping maintaining hygiene. Sarah 40:20 Yeah. Nope Dave 40:25 Not a glove in the stadium. Tara 40:26 Not a no. Mm-mm. And you know, I'm not like really a a Puritan about that. Like I, you know, this Dave 40:33 I stick my finger in your food all the time. Tara 40:36 I'm sure you do. Dave 40:37 As soon as your back's turning all like Tara 40:37 I I I believe it. Dave 40:42 Sometimes not my finger. Tara 40:44 I'm sure that's true too. Uh but I did love the Dave 40:47 Thumb. Thumb Sarah. I was talking about my thumb Tara 40:51 The novelty of having the chef be from pizza is very funny, even if the pizza he produces looks to me Sarah 40:52 Shut Dave Dave 40:57 Mm-hmm. Tara 41:00 Terrible. That's like the worst kind of pizza. Sarah 41:01 Yeah, yeah. Tara 41:03 The last thing I would choose. I'm already not a thin crust person. I'm like the thicker the better. Put it on a loaf of bread. Whatever it takes. Dave 41:10 It was like an archery target from hell that you have to eat Tara 41:12 It was it was. And I also don't care for seafood. I grew up in the prairies. I never had good seafood. And seeing how much of it when it's getting thrown in pots is like alive and still moving, that was rough to me. Like some of those prawns were I mean, I'm not gonna say they're not fresh, 'cause they're still kicking their little tails. Like, good luck, guys. Sarah 41:34 Tiny little prawn screams. Dave 41:36 Ugh. Tara 41:36 Yes. Sarah 41:36 Yeah. Dave 41:36 I didn't realize prawns were that big. Tara 41:39 Yeah, they're rid Mm-hmm. Dave 41:39 That was terrifying. Tara 41:41 They were jumbo for sure Dave 41:41 Cockroaches of the sea. Tara 41:43 They are the fritters look good. They were like the hush puppy a hush puppy sort of a thing with the squid, like Yeah. Dave 41:46 Yeah. He took breadsticks and put them in a food processor after the 10 seconds of trying to close the lid on the food processor. Tara 41:55 Yeah. Dave 41:56 And so I think that made it a little more uh Western. Tara 42:00 Mm-hmm. Dave 42:00 Yeah. Tara 42:00 But I agree with Dan, like the point isn't to see dishes that you want to try Dave 42:04 Mm-hmm. Tara 42:05 It's to see what kind of insanity people come up with. And that part was really fun. Sarah 42:09 Mm-hmm. Tara 42:11 Like the the meringue thing. Dave 42:13 Oh my god, the meringue. Tara 42:15 Like Dan said, this is not this is not an idea any of us would ever come up with. Dave 42:16 Christ Tara 42:20 But on the other hand, like meringue is basically it's just egg whites. Dave 42:23 Yeah. Tara 42:23 Like it does it is not inherently sweet. Dave 42:25 Right. I was I I assume it was the thickening agent for whatever he was trying to do. Tara 42:30 Yes. Yeah. Dave 42:31 Like at the at the end of it looked like kanji. Tara 42:34 Mm-hmm. Dave 42:34 Except it was meringue, yeah. Tara 42:34 Yes, it did. Sarah 42:36 And was that also the one where he there was like this extremely tortured metaphor about the wave, the foam on the waves of the sea? Tara 42:43 I think so, yes. Sarah 42:43 And it's like, oh, is that what we're calling that? Tara 42:46 Mm-hmm Sarah 42:46 Gross. Like. Tara 42:47 Ye yeah. Yeah, it this was really fun and really crazy, and you know, I wouldn't expect anything less of Squid Battle. Dave 42:57 Yeah. Tara 42:57 Like you're, you know, if your c ingredient is squid, you're gonna see some wild shit. And we did. And I was, you know, sad in the end that the man who sold his soul to pizza Did not triumph, but that's the way the crappy crush crumbles, I guess. Sarah 43:10 Mm-hmm Dave 43:13 Yeah. One production note that I thought was smart is they didn't give him the Italian Iron Chef as an option. Tara 43:22 Mm-hmm Dave 43:22 Because you don't want two people making the same thing. You want contrast between what they're doing with the ingredients. So good play on them for that. Tara 43:29 Wait, what one of the iron chefs is Italian? Sarah 43:30 Yeah Dave 43:31 Yeah, remember the guy who came up? Tara 43:31 I thought they were Oh Dave 43:33 Yeah, the Iron Chef was the guy with the satin pajamas that look like an Italian flag. Tara 43:37 Oh, okay. I thought it was Chinese, Japanese, and French. Dave 43:41 Yeah, but they have others. Tara 43:42 Oh, okay. Dave 43:42 I I Yeah. Sarah 43:42 Yeah, it depends which three you get to pick from is different. Tara 43:43 I missed that part Gotcha. Dave 43:46 Yeah. Yep. Sarah 43:47 Depending. Dave 43:47 Yep. All right. Time for the vote. Tara 43:49 Yeah. Dave 43:50 All right, Sarah D. Bunting, what's at you? Sarah 43:51 One more note, I appreciate their loving of mess on the commentary. Like every time there's a burst of flame, they're like, oh shit, that's gonna fuck you up. Tara 43:59 Yeah. Dave 43:59 Yeah. Sarah 44:01 I mean, same. Tara 44:01 Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Sarah 44:02 Anyway, yes, from me. Thank you, Dan. Dave 44:04 Sorry, Ariana. Tara 44:05 Yes Dave 44:06 Me too, so Iron Chef Season 3, Episode 23, Battle Squid. You are hereby inducted into the extra hot Grickin. Uh oh, no knack time, Sarah. Wendy 44:33 This is a Nonac submission for the Great British Bake Off slash baking show Mexican Week. Friends, it's so cringe The very white knoll and mat come out in colorful ponchos and sombreros. They give a nod to not making Mexican jokes, even as they make one. Cringe. The announcer says they will be facing off for a mucho challenging showstopper. Cringe. The first challenge isn't terrible. Pondulcey is a totally fair Mexican baking challenge The only one in this whole episode. But there are the pronunciations. I feel like it's not really the baker's fault. But the producers Seem to want to laugh at them instead of stepping in and helping them. They pronounce the short A all through Pandulce But they're British. Sometimes the announcer says Dulce rather than Dulce. That probably comes from Italian. The contestants mostly don't really seem to know what Pon Dulce is. Most are making conchas and call them conscious. Carol tries to discuss her pandice and calls it pandanise, and they let her and laugh at her. Maxie tries Baya Naranja But pronounces her L's so it's Bella Notanha. It's not terrible, but couldn't they have helped her? During the non baking Taco Challenge, they're pronouncing so badly. Tortillas, Pico de Gallo, Massa Harina. They highlight different contestants trying to say Pico de Gallo. Pico de Gallio, Pico de Gallo, it's so patronizing. And then Paul, the thing is getting the taco right. He means the tortilla. Later, Pru also refers to the tortilla as the taco. There's too much salt. It's in the taco itself, referring to the tortilla. No Asks Matt if Mexico is a real place. So is Mexico a real place? I think so. Well I think it's like Xanadu, like Oz. Yeah, like Cleethorpe. Yeah. Okay. It's like Xanadu? How exotic is Mexico to these people? Later in the same challenge, Matt Is shaking maracas for no discernible reason, and in the next challenge he makes a joke about his terrible Mexican accent. Ariba! The technical alone is enough to put this into the nonak. It's not a bake. It's straight out cooking. Making corn tortillas does not make this a bake. And then the show's over. They have to make a Tres Leche cake. First it's Tres Leches, which Prue actually says, but Paul just keeps saying Tres Leche and I shudder every time But also they don't really get it. They just say it needs to be soaked in milk. But they want it to be layered and flavored. Tress leches is the flavor And it's the moisture. But it's not a layered cake with other flavors. Kevin says, I think Tres Leches sponge is not for stacking. He's right They also used this as a chance to dismiss two bakers. The challengers were not good, and they doubled the consequences. They could have fixed it, skip the costumes and the idea of exotic fantastic Mexico, teach basic pronunciations to the hosts, judges, and contestants. Keep the Pondulce for the signature, do a simple Tresleches cake for the technical, have a decorated Rosca de Reyes for the showstopper. These are three legitimate traditional Mexican bakes. Use them. I was horrified when I watched this episode when it first aired. and nothing has changed that horror. The contestants are put in a terrible position, the challenges are awed, and Mexico is badly invoked. Please induct this into the no neck, and may they never say taco again. Sarah 48:23 Oh boy, thank you, Wendy. I think this got The show gigged hard enough when it aired that I don't think they will be attempting this kind of thing again. Tara 48:34 They they announced that they would not be doing geographically based theme weeks again after this, because they everyone was so mad. Sarah 48:40 Yeah. It's just it is on the border of cring and offensive From jump, except for Matt, the co-host, they don't really make people whiter than me. And I still was like, oh Like there's that line from one of the eliminated chefs and he's like, this was more of a Mexicant, like I'll say, please uh please don't. The baker like peeling an avocado with a knife like it's an apple. Like you could just hear people screaming. It's like Obi-Wan can Obi hearing all these voices being extinguished via the force. And it's like, no, you could just hear the entire audience cringing. You have two problems here. One is that they're sort of not appropriating but commandeering, let's say. A given countries culture f as a theme, and then a bunch of quote humor about how Spanish is hard to pronounce, like Wendy said either help the bakers or revise the plan. Like once it becomes clear that there will be no correct pronunciation of Pico de Gaio, just I don't know, maybe scrap this challenge and try something else. Or encourage them to call it salsa and uh avoid the problem that way. But the second extremely significant problem is that this, as Wendy noted, these are not good challenges that reflect the culture via baking. The tacos was like just the thinnest fig leaf over like what's basically a cooking challenge. Everybody was completely flummoxed by the presence of beef, as was I, and they didn't really do a good job explaining in the sections of the episode that were baking focused what the challenge is in this kind of cake. Why was this selected to be the showstopper instead of the signature where it would have made more sense. Aren't there any other flavor combinations besides chocolate and chili that anyone seemed to be able to think of? There were opportunities to do this well, like leaving aside the offensive and cringe parts. There were opportunities to do this well from a construction and like not educational standpoint, but when this show is at its worst, it's when it's like focusing on bits that don't work at the expense of explaining what the specific challenges are confronting the bakers in a technical, in a showstopper. Like what is the requirement for this bake? to qualify as this bake and what's the struggle within the time limit? And this did not do a good job of that, and it wasn't really Fair, I felt, to eliminate two bakers based on something that's so off model for the show. I mistakenly thought this was from the same season when they had people make like their celebrity aspirational idols in cake form. Tara 51:45 Yeah, uh huh Sarah 51:48 And the the David Bowie cake legitimately still haunts my nightmares. Like occasionally I sit up and I'm like, oh, that existed Dave 51:53 Oh yeah Sarah 51:55 Brutal. I was mistaken. But this also, like, generally is from a season where I was like, I d I didn't remember more than two of the bakers. I couldn't really tell which season it was from. I thought it was from a Sandy co-hosted season. I didn't remember who won, and I still can't keep. that information in my head. So this is one of the worst seasons, I think, less memorable and less successful. And this is absolutely the worst, probably the worst episode they ever aired. If not, it's in the bottom three A lot of mistakes were made that could have been avoided and they just kept blundering ahead and nobody said anything in time for this not to have gone ahead and aired. So uh I think this is an excellent selection for the no-nack, and I'm glad that uh after this we never have to think about that avocado peeling horror. again. Dave 52:51 I forgot what an upgrade Allison was from Matt until I watched Matt again. Tara 52:54 Oh God. Sarah 52:54 Oh God. Dave 52:55 Ugh, terrible. Tara 52:55 Yeah. Dave 52:57 Not funny, kind of annoying. Sarah 52:57 Oh, yeah. No. Dave 52:58 Doesn't seem like he wants to be there really. Tara 53:00 But that's a good idea. Dave 53:01 Doesn't have a good rapport with the Bakers when he's just like doing the room roam either. Sarah 53:01 Mm-mm. Dave 53:06 He seems like Noel is weird as well, but he seems like he's having a good time and he's enjoying spending his time with these people. Sarah 53:09 Mm-hmm. Dave 53:13 I didn't get that vibe from him. Tara 53:14 Mm-hmm. Sarah 53:15 When you can't have two of them that are like that was the other problem with Matt. Dave 53:18 Yeah, near right. Tara 53:18 Right. Sarah 53:20 Like it's like a knoll on a knoll. Dave 53:22 Yeah, sour and sour. Sarah 53:23 Doesn't work. Dave 53:24 Doesn't work. Sarah 53:24 Mm-hmm. Dave 53:24 Yeah. You should not be able to make a cake, especially on a competition show that has plastic in it. If you have plastic supporting your cake in the middle of the cake, then you haven't made a cake, you've made a sculpture. Tara 53:36 Yes. Sarah 53:37 Mm-hmm. Dave 53:38 And if you have to use those materials to make a cake sculpture, just make a sculpture. Sarah 53:38 Yeah. Dave 53:44 And then make us a cake that we can eat. And then we'll admire the sculpture as we eat your real cake. Tara 53:49 Yes, this is the whole thing we were saying about Halloween wars too when we talked about that last year, where it's like if this if none of this is gonna be eaten, it's only gonna be judged on how it looks. Sarah 53:54 Mm-hmm. Tara 53:59 Like it could be made out of plasticine. Sarah 54:00 Just use cardboard. Yeah, totally. Tara 54:03 Yeah. Dave 54:03 Yeah. I actually forgive this episode everything to do with pronunciation. Like this is a culture that doesn't have a lot of interaction with Mexico. Guess where we are? We're right on top of Mexico right now as we record this. We have a lot more exposure to it. So people saying Pico de to gallo or whatever like that. Like, yes, could the production have given them a primer on this stuff? Sure, but also like in the moment there's some bakers that are like I've never heard of this before. I've never made it, so I don't think they gave 'em a lot of advanced notice on what they are making in particular. Tara 54:34 Mm-hmm. I had a professor, an English professor who was like also from England, and whenever it came up, she would pronounce it Don Quixote. Dave 54:42 Oh yeah. Tara 54:42 And she was educated. Like she she knew it was Don Quixote. Like I'm sure she had heard people say it that before, but there is something about Some, I won't generalize about all, but the uh certain British people who are just like, I'm gonna pronounce it the way it looks and I don't really care. And some of them were on this season, it looks like Dave 55:01 If I were on a competition show and I had to make Chinese food or Japanese food or Polynesian food, I wouldn't get one fucking thing, right? It's annoying to watch, I get that part of it, but I don't blame the people that are making the mispronunciations. Tara 55:15 Yeah. Dave 55:15 Now, in the lore of the episode, Paul is recently back from Mexico and he's still fucking calling them tacos. Like that's inexcusable and he is, I'm assuming, an executive producer or something by this point on the show, so he has a vested interest in some pride of ownership. Sarah 55:28 Mm-hmm. Dave 55:32 And maybe that's just a weird British affectation that they refuse to say taco and there's something about their mouth muscles that just have to say taco. But generally speaking, I don't really give them a lot of guff for that. What I do give 'em guff for is the taco challenge itself. Tara 55:50 Yes Dave 55:50 Because as everybody be saying, what part of this is baking? Sarah 55:51 Yes. Dave 55:54 Zero. Not even the tortilla is baking. It is just cornmeal, lime, and heat. And Sarah 56:01 Mm-hmm. Dave 56:01 Uh, there we go. Like that that's not baking. And then they have to like cook meat, do all these acutamas, make uh guacamolo or whatever that one called it. Like And and you know, like these people have never had genuine tacos. I never have a genuine taco when I used to live in in Toronto. You had to like travel five hundred miles south to get one. So Like that part of it also made sense where they're all making these different sized tortillas, some thin, some thick, all that stuff kinda makes sense culturally, I think, for British people. Tara 56:30 Yeah, Dave 56:30 But that should have never been a challenge to start with. And then when Paul and Prue are in their little kitchen nook explaining what goes into a good taco Sarah 56:34 Hundred percent Dave 56:39 These fucking tacos are like ziggur rats of stuff on this like tiny little tortilla. Sarah 56:43 Yeah Dave 56:45 Like they fucked it up in that part of it Tara 56:46 Yes Dave 56:47 So when the bakers come and they're putting like a pound of guacamole on top of it, they think that the refried beans are actually a topping that you're supposed to put on on last. That kind of stuff. That's all like weirdly entertaining in its own way, but should never have been in this episode. Sarah 57:03 The quizo looked like um it looked like goat cheese. Dave 57:04 Like Yes, we want to see people fail sometimes, but not like this. Tara 57:13 Yeah. Dave 57:13 Not like this. Because it's just like wrong from the start. Sarah 57:16 No Tara 57:17 Yeah Dave 57:18 Yeah. I kind of have a theory that Paul and Prue basically got a Mexican baking primer from production because they were actually not that familiar with most of it. Tara 57:28 Mm-hmm. Dave 57:29 And it just wasn't that complete or they just didn't bother committing it to memory because calling a tortilla a taco is kind of inexcusable for a food show. Tara 57:38 Yes. Dave 57:38 Yeah. Tara 57:39 I agree with you about the pronunciation, except that Carol calling it Glocky Molo is really inexcusable. Dave 57:47 Yeah Tara 57:47 Like that's not even how it's spelled. Like if you call it Pico de Gallo just because you're not familiar, that is how it looks. I get it. Dave 57:54 How many fantasy soccer leagues were there in Britain that year called Guacimolos? Tara 58:00 No, it's Glock. Sarah 58:00 How are things in Glacomolo? Tara 58:02 Yes. Sarah 58:03 I just assumed, since she was consistently transposing letters that way, that she might have a dyslexia challenge. Tara 58:09 Per perhaps. Sarah 58:11 Generally, and this was not helping. Dave 58:12 She might have damage from the dye in her hair. Tara 58:15 She might. She had a lot of problems Dave 58:18 Crack her open, it's like a unicorn exploded inside of her head. Tara 58:21 Sh she had chocolate in her hair at one point later. Dave 58:23 She did. Tara 58:24 Like it no everyone was suffering. Sarah 58:26 Mm-hmm. Tara 58:26 But I agree with everything you guys said. On top of the like, you know, the Taco Challenge is not legitimate for a baking show and and the reason that's at issue is that, you know, when you're preparing to go on this show as a contestant, uh y obviously you have some they tell you in advance what something's gonna be because pe when people come with their show stoppers you know, they're asked, Did you practice this? Like there's some stuff they know, but the technical is not something they are ever find out about ahead of time. And it's not something it would ever occur to any of them to prepare for or practice Sarah 58:58 Right. Tara 58:59 Because it's not baking And on top of that, when they get to the part in the instructions for the technical where it's like and then use a casserole Sarah 59:01 Right. Tara 59:10 lid to press your tortilla like okay that's a fine workaround if you're you know me or you in your kitchen and you don't happen to have a tortilla. tortilla press, but if you're making these people on a cooking competition make tortillas, get them tortilla presses. They're like $25 on Amazon. co. uk. I know because I looked it up Dave 59:29 Yeah, Tara 59:30 Dave makes Mexican food all the time and it was like, I wouldn't know how to make refried beans from scratch. Like no one does, and especially not English people because it's not part of their culture. Dave 59:39 Yeah, a unicorn here made hash basically out of that I think that's what refried beans are supposed to look like. Tara 59:43 She did. Dave 59:46 I don't I don't think I don't think so. Tara 59:46 No. On top of that, there's also the offensive stuff, and that doesn't help. Dave 59:50 Yeah. Tara 59:51 Is Mexico a real place? The fucking ponchos. Dave 59:54 Maracas Tara 59:54 S the Maracas, Sandro, God bless him, just making a cake and being like, Well, what makes it Mexican is there's a big mustache on it. Sarah 59:55 Yeah Dave 01:00:02 I was thinking about putting bandoliers of bullets crossed across his chest, but couldn't couldn't figure it out Sarah 01:00:04 What? Oh my God. Tara 01:00:08 Your cake is a tribute to like the Frito Bandito? What are we doing here? Sarah 01:00:13 I yeah. Or there's like drugs inside it. Like it's a you know, it's a narcos homage, like all of you get out. Tara 01:00:20 Yes Dave 01:00:20 Oh, you know what they should have done every time somebody was making something they should have put the Soderberg yellow filter on it. Sarah 01:00:21 Ugh. Tara 01:00:26 Yes, traffic. Dave 01:00:26 Yeah, we're in Mexico now, alright. Tara 01:00:28 Yeah, totally. And then just pe it like it made people follow their worst or least informed instincts, like the guy who made the Day of the Dead cake, but then it like they were just like skulls. Sarah 01:00:40 Mm-hmm. Tara 01:00:42 Like they weren't sugar skulls, you know, like o okay, yes but no. Dave 01:00:46 Not painted Tara 01:00:47 And then the poor Shabira, like being, I'm gonna make a corn cake. Sarah 01:00:47 Mm-hmm. Tara 01:00:52 Okay, I mean like corn sweet corn is sweet. Like cornbread is basically a dessert. Dave 01:00:58 Mm-hmm. Tara 01:00:58 Like it's very sweet, but what cornbread doesn't have is kernels of corn in it. Sarah 01:00:59 Mm-hmm. Tara 01:01:03 Like full kernels that's not dessert. Sarah 01:01:03 Oh, yeah, that was just really Dave 01:01:06 No. Sarah 01:01:07 Like a little too rustico for my taste. Tara 01:01:10 Yeah. Sarah 01:01:10 Ugh. Tara 01:01:10 And then like, you know, the chocolate and chili that everyone was doing, unless they were also doing tequila, it's just and all of them were too strong. Like no one had any idea what they were doing because They were set up to fail. And I don't did I would love to know if this was, you know, intentionally like trolling on the part of the producers who conceived of the episode. Sarah 01:01:24 Yeah, exactly. Dave 01:01:33 I get the impression maybe. Tara 01:01:35 Uh-huh. Dave 01:01:35 I don't know anything. Paul Hollywood did go to Mexico, got Mexico fever, came back and said, let's do a Mexico episode, and they're like, uh Tara 01:01:40 Yes. Mm-hmm. Sarah 01:01:43 Yeah, and then the producers were like, careful what you wish for, silver. Tara 01:01:46 Well, could be. Dave 01:01:47 Yeah. Sarah 01:01:48 Yeah Tara 01:01:48 So I hope he had a great time. He's certainly tan, but then he's always tan, so you know, he got some sun or he didn't. He got some spray tan. I don't know. It's not my business. This was a misbegotten episode and there was kind of no way for anyone to get out of it alive. And yes, I agree with with Wendy that it sucks that two people got booted on this one, but it was because Reb's had to leave the last episode. So there were no eliminations in the previous one. So in order to get to the right number of c contestants per episode, two had to go this week and it was just very bad luck. Dave 01:02:21 Yeah. Mm-hmm. I think they eliminated her for her eyebrows. Tara 01:02:28 Yeah. Dave 01:02:28 I don't think it had anything to do with the food. Tara 01:02:30 Could be Yeah. Dave 01:02:30 They're like, I don't want to look at those eyebrows anymore. We gotta get rid of her. Tara 01:02:34 Bless her. Dave 01:02:35 Alright, time for the vote. Tara 01:02:36 Yes Dave 01:02:37 Sara Dunting, what say you? We're talking about the no-nack. No-nak worthy or not? Sarah 01:02:41 Uh C. Creo que C, yes. Didn't even need to rewatch it to remember what a black mark. This was on the on the show and excellent presentation. Tara 01:02:50 Mm-hmm. Sarah 01:02:51 Thank you, Wendy. Dave 01:02:52 Are you in them? Tara 01:02:53 I'm gonna say conservatively, I think about Carol peeling an avocado like it's a potato once a week. Sarah 01:03:00 Yeah. Tara 01:03:00 So Dave 01:03:00 Really is something. Tara 01:03:01 It's a no f I mean it's a yes no knack for me as well. Sarah 01:03:05 A lasting, a lasting shame. Dave 01:03:08 I said this somewhere else, I might have been listening to Sassy, or it might have been just in her house, but if I had to create an affectation for me, it would be never to call avocados avocados, to always call them alligator pears. Tara 01:03:20 Mm-hmm, yeah. Dave 01:03:20 Yeah. All right. I am also gonna say this is definitely no knack worthy. So and maybe you're gonna hear these 2001 song here. Guys, should I put La Kukaracha here instead? I don't know. Seems like I might be in keeping with it, but probably not. Tara 01:03:36 No no no Dave 01:03:37 So What if it's both? What if I layer La Kukurasha on top of this? Here we go. Clip 01:04:13 La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar, porque no tiene, porque le falta. Dave 01:04:19 All right, that means the Great British Bacoff Collection Ten Clip 01:04:21 Vale, guara que fumar, la cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar, porque no puede falta, parihuana que fumar, Dave 01:04:25 Episode four, Mexican Week. You are hereby inducted into the extra hot grain no neck. Clip 01:04:38 Vámonos para Chihuahua, vámonos colorada, una cuenta pinta, dedición acolorada, vámonos para Chihuahua. Sarah 01:04:48 The scream of the squid, ladies and gentlemen. Clip 01:04:54 Porque no tiene, porque le falta, va a igual acá fumar Tara 01:04:54 How Dave 01:05:01 Alright, guys, that is it for this special episode of Extra Hot Great. We asked what news of London with pride and prejudice before getting entangled in Iron Chef's Squid Battle. And then we wrapped that up with an episode that was the Taco of the Town. Remember Clip 01:05:20 We're listening. Dave 01:05:23 I am David T. Cole, and on behalf of Tara Ariano, Tara 01:05:26 Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some public place. This is her opportunity to do so. Dave 01:05:33 And Sarah D. Bunting. Sarah 01:05:35 Mm, delicious cumin. Dave 01:05:37 Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time right here on Extra Hot Great. Clip 01:05:48 And the big thing is getting the tack-os right.