The REAL reason JJ won......

[myfishy]

Cant cook for toffee,doesnt matter because they were never interested in his food.

As soon as he applied he was going to win...why you may ask....because he is a renowned COCKTAIL maker and we all know where the real money comes from in resteraunts!

All they can see in the £££££££'s.

Just watch,he wont be involved in anything kitchen related...they wouldnt trust him!......just the fact they can now franchise his talent for drinks not cooking!

i mean,why have a programe/competition about cooking then have someone win who cannot cook?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Geared for them from the start!

The woman..Sarah...she has been involved in most high street franchise like Yo Sushi,Pizza Hut,shes gonna make cocktail bars everywhere now

I wont be watching the next series

[Minnie]

Hi myfishy, welcome to the forum I think you won't be the only one not watching the next series - if there is another series. After this fiasco I don't think they will be able to rescue it.

I think you're probably right about the cocktail bar idea. Isn't there already a programme called something like 'Bartender of the Year'? Why did they have to hijack a brilliant programme and turn it into a complete farce?

[jedidjahjulia]

I hope the sous chef gets an offer. He was the real cooking star. They never even mentioned his name! Who is he? I want to be his facebook friend!!

[azuremartini]

The interesting question is, were the BBC in on this weeks-long publicity stunt from the start, or were they had, just like the audience, until the production was past the point of no return?

It would be nice to think that RB has shot himself in the foot big time, but sadly, I don't think that the clientele of the Manoir tend to watch reality TV.

Hey, JJ!  I for one shan't be buying any book of cocktails with your name on it.

[Minnie]

It would be nice to think that RB has shot himself in the foot big time, but sadly, I don't think that the clientele of the Manoir tend to watch reality TV.

Maybe not, but Le Manoir is only a small part of his business. There is the brasserie chain for instance and on all the message boards I have read there are plenty of comments from people saying that they will never frequent any of his restaurants again, will never buy any of his books, never watch another of his TV programmes. He has a new series, Kitchen Secrets, starting soon on BBC2. In the past I would have watched it avidly but not now. He has lost all integrity and I have lost all respect for him, and I definitely won't be the only one turning my back on Raymond Blanc.

[no1_chris_fan]

Hey, JJ!  I for one shan't be buying any book of cocktails with your name on it.

I might...  The guy can't cook, but I'd love to get a hold of some of his cocktail recipes!

[Tinklefairydust]

^ Me too..

TBH I think they were such a ropey lot this year anyway, that I doubt any of them would  have sustained a restaurant business for more than a year.
Much like the XF which has happened on a couple of occasions, you don't necessarily have to be able to sing to win.

[russellhed]

I agree. There really wasn't a truly worthy winner throughout the whole series. I was actually beginning to wonder, as the final came to its moment of decision, whether Raymond was going to wish the two finalists the best of luck but tell them that he wouldn't be investing in either of them. I think he'd have gained a massive amount of respect for rejecting both couples - indicating that he insists on only the highest of standards, etc. Besides, companies often interview applicants for an available position without ultimately choosing any of them. 

[Tinklefairydust]

I also wonder after the first couple of weeks if Raymond & Co realised how unmarketable most of them were, that there wasn't one couple that stood out, and while Chris was a good cook, I still don't think he had that something special, and Nathan was awful and sulky. Nathan took no notice of anything Chris said, and I really do wonder if they would  have made a good team , there seemed always to be a lot of friction between them.  Makes me wonder if they decided to go with the couple (JJ & James) that did have a marketable concept. Raymond also made reference to JJ's understanding of food and combinations. (not his cooking skills)  In the last 3-4 weeks they talked a lot about identity and concept. Maybe Raymond wants to veer down a different path from what is Le Manor and the Bistro etc.

[clive]

maybe jj got friends at the bbc. maybe ray sarah and david were got to.well sarah without adoubt.money talks and chris and nat did not have any to give.