Nathan Barnhouse, the self-described “small, little tuxedo salesman” from Slippery Rock, has been eliminated from Fox’s “MasterChef.”
“I feel like I’ve learned so much about being who I am,” said Mr. Barnhouse, 21, who has been living in Hattiesburg, Miss.
It was a dramatic exit. Six of the remaining chefs had to re-create a luxury picnic setting that included a lobster roll, Scotch eggs, sliders, homemade chips and strawberries dipped in chocolate.
Mr. Barnhouse was paired with Shaun O’Neale of Las Vegas, one of the competition’s front-runners. At one point, the Bob Jones University student appeared to be hyperventilating, and host/chef Gordon Ramsay made him stop, sit down and drink some water.
After that respite, Mr. Barnhouse returned, only to have another incident. He fell to the floor, then got an amazingly kind response from Mr. Ramsay. No surprise, his team’s picnic was judged the weakest, and the judges chose to keep Mr. O’Neale.
Also on reality TV
• On “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (Logo, VH1; Thursdays), Pittsburgh’s Alaska wasn’t quite ready to ditch his old friends. After giving the judges top looks in comedy, runway (that black Latex outfit! That perfect blond wig!) and lip sync, the artist sometimes known as Justin Honard won $10,000 and the right to send a girl home.
Of the three choices, two were part of the old “Rolaskatox” gang from season five. Tatiana (Joey Santolini) made it easier, given the judges were unhappy with her for a bunch of reasons (but she did capture the spirit of Ariana Grande). But Roxxxy Andrews was also pretty bad, sooo ....
Tatianna wasn’t the only lady out the door. Earlier in the episode, grunge queen Adore Delano (Danny Noriega) tearfully took herself out of the running.
• “Toddlers & Tiaras” (TLC, Wednesdays) is still about the glitz, but this season has sort of gone all “Dance Moms” on us.
Past seasons focused on individual tykes with unorthodox first names. But the recent cycle, which began Aug. 24, has shifted the focus to a team showdown between the girls of Cambrie Littlefield’s “Cambrie’s Court” and Jaimie Otterson’s “Sassy Supremes.”
OK, these coaches have probably endured a lifetime of people misspelling their names, too.
Ms. Littlefield works out of California and charges $175 an hour. Ms. Otterson’s going rate is $55, and the producers have definitely tried to craft an Abby Lee Dance Company vs. the Candy Apples rivalry.
In the first two episodes, little glitzed-up girls like Jaylianna, Kallyn and Selyse competed at the Jungle Safari pageant in Louisiana. As usual, drama and chaos ensued. One mama decided her 4-year-old wasn’t perky enough, so she gave her a slug of Red Bull (and then proceeded to spill it on her).
Are these coaches civil to one another? Let’s put it this way: If someone created a drinking game around every time Ms. Littlefield said something awful about Ms. Otterson, no one would be standing by the end of an hour.
• Many fans are not happy with ABC’s choice of two-time runner-up Nick Viall as the next “Bachelor.” Judging from online comments, they’d hoped the show would follow the custom of selecting someone from the previous cycle of “The Bachelorette,” particularly JoJo Fletcher’s would-be lover Luke Pell.
“At the end of the day we had some really good, viable candidates, but Nick’s sincere,” host Chris Harrison told People magazine.
• Shooting is underway for a new culinary reality series from Kinetic Content. “Man vs. Master” will present 13 one-hour episodes on FYI in 2017 and presumably will have women in there as well.
James Beard nominee Richard Blais hosts the three-round competition. In each episode, a trio of rising chefs competes head-to-head in a series of challenges centered around the specialty of the guest master chef.
The last puppy standing then takes on the master. A rotating cast of experts includes Jonathan Waxman, Elizabeth Falkner, Ming Tsai, Rick Bayless and Art Smith.
Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1478 or @MariaSciulloPG.
First Published: September 3, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
