Ben Starr – The Ultimate Food Geek

Category: Blog

  • MasterChef 4 musings: Howard’s End

    I was in such a tizzy yesterday after my negative and cynical blog that I didn’t give Howard the fair farewell I give other contestants.  I’m sorry about that, Howard. Howard’s exit was not mandated by the judges.  He stood up there next to Lynn, the two bottom dishes in the challenge.  And the judges…

  • MasterChef 4 recap: Baby Eels and Agnolotti (S4E9)

    (PLEASE NOTE: This blog is not approved or endorsed by MasterChef or Fox, and you probably shouldn’t read it.  The opinions contained in this blog are merely the OPINIONS of a former MasterChef contestant who has no inside knowledge of how this season was produced.) So our magical time machine transports us back from the…

  • The Very First Eggs!

    As you know, I have chickens in my backyard.  This is not the first time I’ve had chickens.  I got a flock of 10 Rhode Island Reds back in 2008, and they became famous after they appeared on The Rachael Ray Show in 2009. On Easter 2010, the neighborhood kids were out in the park…

  • FRANK: The first MasterChef love child

    During the filming of MasterChef season 2, Jennie Kelley and I had become very close.  During one pressure test challenge, our team was safe and we were watching the opposing team battle it out from the safety of the balcony above.  Jennie and I were distraught, watching our friends cooking at the very limit of…

  • MasterChef Where Are They Now: Sharone Hakman

    It’s been 3 years since we first saw this strapping young man blow away Gordon, Graham, and Joe on the premier season of MasterChef.  I think most of us first noticed him for his good looks.  (When gathering photos of him for this blog entry from Google Images, the most common 3 searches for Sharone…

  • MasterChef 4 recap: Burgers and Lobsters in Las Vegas (S4E8)

    (PLEASE NOTE: This blog is not approved or endorsed by MasterChef or Fox, and you probably shouldn’t read it.  These are opinions from a former MasterChef season 2 contestant who officially has no inside knowledge of the making of this season.  …well, not officially, anyway.) Because of the disastrous Eggs Benedict pressure test, the judges…