Thoughts on S6 E11 · 2:05pm Jun 12th, 2016
Kitchen Nightmares with ponies!
Check below the break for my thoughts.
Okay, so when I say Kitchen Nightmares, this really is it. Troubled restaurant has issues causing them to plunge into debt. Savior appears to find out what's going wrong, spend an oodle of cash on redecoration and uses his/their repute to promote the place for a re-opening. And as an avid fan of Gordon Ramsay and the Kitchen Nightmares series in general (UK > US on account of having less ham) I can tell you I was hyped for this episode.
I mean, what can I say? Saffron Masala, Coriander Cumin (ayy), Indian food. Love Indian food. Love it to bits. Love it in my media - Hundred-Foot Journey is a freaking wonderful movie that you should watch if you haven't. I mean, watch the trailer. It seems like you might know where it's headed, but it goes a bit further and then some. The trailer is the first act. There are two more that follows behind it. If I don't control myself this is going to become a Hundred-Foot Journey recommendation, melting into a puddle of 10/10.
Rarity and Pinkie mixing up their jobs in the beginning makes sense and makes for a good, reasonable conflict. Rarity and Pinkie being a duo is a thing! And that they actually work together instead of being constantly irritated at each other, which is what a poor episode would have been like. Pinkie seems very child-like, and I don't mind it.
Song was good too! I didn't even mind that they recycled some of the animation blocks, because the verses progressed their parallel actions nicely.
I mean, geez. There wasn't a lot to be unhappy about at all. Even Zesty Gourmand as an antagonist makes sense, considering how trend-reliant Canterlot ponies are. Everypony's roped into doing the same thing because of social standing, that's how the city works, and of course Zesty would be the one who takes control of this due to being raised amongst fine dining.
One unintentional point this episode raises along with the previous one is that it's all about who you know.
Pictured: influence.
Get to know super social standing pony? Get interest, get success. True, they won Rarity's trust because Saffron stuck with what she loved and got lucky...? But if the map hadn't sent them there they wouldn't have made it out, and the status quo would have remained.
Now that's really like Kitchen Nightmares, geez.
And, imo, Zesty's point of view is not even wrong. It is much more difficult to do subtle flavours, and while you can make an argument for extracting flavour to the maximum (like doing jus, crustacean tastes like prawn head broths, or soups that accompany pasta dishes like ravioli broths) as requiring skill... in the end it's about knowing how high to crank the heat, how small to chop the bits, and how long to leave it in the pot simmering. Where she's wrong is in the practicality of the approach, and it's the same as where art or even writing is headed - just because it's much more difficult doesn't make it better. And in the case of overly subtle flavours, it goes directly against a restaurant's success condition, which is appealing to the taste of the public rather than a small, elite group that might not pay enough to keep you afloat.
If you liked this, watch Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon is less of a caricature in it than he is in Hell's Kitchen, because in Hell's Kitchen he's expecting to work with cooks, which are supposed to be trained, and well...
...whereas in Kitchen Nightmares he's out to save struggling businesses because he is passionate about local food. Gosh, is this going to be a Gordon Ramsay apologetic?
Also we got Gordon Ramsay pony, as well as a fic in the featured box about it already.
I mean, you could say that maybe the episode isn't as good because most of my enjoyment seems to derive from its parallels to things I enjoy, rather than its substance itself. But I liked the pony parts as much as those bits, and all in all I enjoyed it tremendously.
Is there going to be a new fic about it? Maybe. If it is, it's going to be serious, which would be a good change of pace.
inb4 fifteen million Ramsay pony fics, amirite? D:
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Cuisine is art, but it's a transient art, like music. Both exist as a theoretical model, sheet music and recipes, that the artist tries to put into practice. Every performance is subtly different because of all of the factors that go into it. Afterwards, the sensation itself doesn't last, but the memories of the experience do. Zesty Gourmand would've done a lot better in a medium where the art itself lasts for all to see... and isn't essential to continued survival.
Also, I may need to see that movie.
The episode where Gordon visits Capri's was awesome.
Who could forgot those twin owners. I live in California. I need to someday pay a visit to that restaurant...
HOMEMADE MEATBALLS!
All I ask is that you let me edit again.
And enjoying something for the parallels it draws sounds like a perfectly valid way to enjoy something.
My only problem with the episode:
Was the unfired Chekov's gun of the two tourists from Whinnypeg. They're introduced, they get lines and everything, they're right there in the restaurant during the first scene with Zesty getting soup spilled on them--and then they disappear. Structurally, I hafta ask: why even include them in the script if they aren't gonna add anything?
And it's such a nit-picky point in an otherwise fine episode, I'm almost ashamed to bring it up...
Mike
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It's like a Hallmark style movie, except executed well. As in, it's not cheese because they worked so hard for the catharsis dammit. Music, set pieces, acting all are horribly pleasurable to soak in.
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So many people make Amy's Baking House to be the episode to watch when I feel the success stories are a bit more better. Like the Soul Food episode. Fried chicken and hearty goodness all around and Gordon being so goddam pleased at how it turned out. Whew.
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When I get it done you'll be the first person I ask :P
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That's a good point. Pointing it out they do feel more form than function - they're the only ponies that give Pinkie a chance, allowing a transition to the next episode. They literally say "want to try something new" as a contrast to what Coriander complained about. They're there for Zesty to conveniently make a point about the difference between her and the plebs. The grease in the wheels of the story, as it were.
Well, they also gave us Canadian accents, so form's not all that bad I guess
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I miss Ma Cherri's Soul Food Shack.
Not a big fan of Soul Food, but I WANTED to go to that. What Ramsay had looked freaking delicious.
Sucks its closed.
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Yeah, that was pretty surprising; of all the ones to close down, it had to be that one? .__.
I think there's a website somewhere out there that's keeping track of all the restaurants Gordon's visited. He himself did like a revisit episode or two at one point. Granted, I don't watch that much TV, but I liked how that sort of real life grounding really added weight to the show, that the changes Gordon suggests are meant to keep them going months, hopefully even years forward (as long as they keep up the innovation).
Oh boy this is going to be a Gordon apologetic isn't it