A world-class chef who quickly illustrates how to prepare a gourmet...

Question

A world-class chef who quickly illustrates how to prepare a gourmet meal during a reality television cooking-competition show does so solely for entertainment purposes. Some viewers watching from home can improve their overall cooking skills by tuning in, but few, if any, will duplicate the dish as presented by the chef. For this reason, the world-class chef is correct in not offering detailed and lengthy cooking instruction on a reality TV show.

Which of the following is assumed in the reasoning of the argument?
 
A. It would take an impractically long time to illustrate the finer details of preparing a gourmet meal during a reality television cooking-competition show.

B. Most home viewers who watch reality cooking-competition shows watch for entertainment purposes only.

C. World-class chefs stay that way in part by not broadcasting their secrets to home viewers.

D. Even if a chef were to offer detailed cooking instruction during a cooking-competition show, few home viewers possess the rare talent required to faithfully replicate a gourmet meal.

E. Chefs prefer to offer detailed, lengthy instruction during cooking-demonstration reality television shows.

I am confused between two answer options. Please let me know how you would reason to eliminate incorrect answer choices in this case.

theunicornbuzz · Answer

I am confused between option D and E.

Both answer choices when negated will completely break the argument but still the official answer is D.

One argument can be made is that the first statement in the passage is a fact since it is presented in simple present tense (indicating something that is generally true). If so then option E is directly challenging the fact that chefs are doing so not for entertainment purpose.
 
The crucial word to stress here is - ???solely??? for entertainment purpose. Option E challenges this fact, and presents another reason for chefs who demonstrate quickly

But I am not sure whether this reasoning is correct.

Also if my reasoning is true then how can I better evaluate whether a statement is a fact or an opinion of the author?

Mavisdu1017 · Answer

I can’t understand why D is an assumption. I think it is repeating the premise: few viewers will duplicate the dish as presented by the chef.
So pls offer the OE, thanks.

theunicornbuzz · Answer

Option D states that only a few viewers have the required talent to replicate the dish as intended by the chef, whereas the passage simply states that only a few viewers will be able to replicate the dish as the chef intends. The statement in the passage is a claim; option D provides relevant fact to support this claim.

If we negate D it will say that "large number of viewers have the talent to duplicate the gourmet dish as intended". This will break the premise that Chefs believe that there are only a few that will be able to duplicate the dish exactly. The conclusion is dependent on this premise, and option D therefore breaks the logic of this premise.

ck2911 · Answer

Why is option B is wrong?-- as it is specifically mentioned in the question-solely entertainment purposes

A. It would take an impractically long time to illustrate the finer details of preparing a gourmet meal during a reality television cooking-competition show.

B. Most home viewers who watch reality cooking-competition shows watch for entertainment purposes only.

C. World-class chefs stay that way in part by not broadcasting their secrets to home viewers.

D. Even if a chef were to offer detailed cooking instruction during a cooking-competition show, few home viewers possess the rare talent required to faithfully replicate a gourmet meal.

E. Chefs prefer to offer detailed, lengthy instruction during cooking-demonstration reality television shows.

theunicornbuzz · Answer

You are the victim of a common correlation error.

Chef's who quickly illustrate how to prepare a gourmet dish do so for entertainment purposes only.

However we cannot say for sure why they do not want to provide lengthy instructions. They may be doing so because they live on the other side of the world , and after the shoot they have to catch a flight. Therefore they are always in a hurry.

Another way to identify why B is wrong is by negation.
Try to negate option B. What if the viewers do not watch the shows for entertainment purpose? How does it affect the author's conclusion? The author has supported the conclusion by questioning the viewers ability to replicate the gourmet dish.

theunicornbuzz · Answer

Here's the official explanation.

A. It would take an impractically long time to illustrate the finer details of preparing a gourmet meal during a reality television cooking-competition show.
 That it would take “an impractically long time” to illustrate the finer details of a gourmet meal does not connect the conclusion to the evidence in the argument, and, therefore, choice (A) is incorrect.

B. Most home viewers who watch reality cooking-competition shows watch for entertainment purposes only.
 Choice (B) is also out of the scope of the argument, which is about a why a world-class chef is correct in not offering detailed instruction during a reality television cooking-competition show.

C. World-class chefs stay that way in part by not broadcasting their secrets to home viewers.
 Choice (C) is also outside of the scope.

D. Even if a chef were to offer detailed cooking instruction during a cooking-competition show, few home viewers possess the rare talent required to faithfully replicate a gourmet meal.
 Choice (D) provides a necessary, unstated premise that connects the conclusion to the evidence. The world-class chef is correct because a person must have a rare talent to duplicate a gourmet meal. Because choice (D) provides a valid assumption for supporting the argument, it is the correct choice.

E. Chefs prefer to offer detailed, lengthy instruction during cooking-demonstration reality television shows.
 Choice (E) represents an irrelevant comparison.

npthao191 · Answer

Hey, I'm still not convinced that D is the correct answer. My reasoning is that it seems to contradict the premise stating 'only a few' viewers can duplicate the action. If we negate D, it implies that 'many viewers can do that,' which directly challenges the given premise. I've learned that premises are always treated as true, so shouldn't the correct answer be something that doesn't undermine the initial premise? Can anyone help here?

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

In option it mentioned Chefs which talking in general sense, but the argument is about the particular chef

A world-class chef who quickly illustrates how to prepare a gourmet...

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

A world-class chef who quickly illustrates how to prepare a gourmet...

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards