Top Chef - S5E11 Postmortem

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

Well, this sucks.

First off, in my defense, I'd like to point out that while I've already read the J-word three times in the comments, Jamie was actually eliminated months ago. It's not my fault!!!

Secondly, sorry this took so long to get up tonight. Whoever redesigned the Bravo site should be shot. It was always broken, but at least you could find everything with a little determination. Now, you can't even get part two of Jamie's exit interview? Epic fail, Bravo.

Most importantly, what a fricking bummer. I'm not suggesting the judges' call was unwarranted, and Jamie doesn't appear to object to it either, but that doesn't make it suck any less.

No more commentary tonight. Too depressed.

P.S. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

UPDATE : Okay, I lied. A couple of quick thoughts. Lop off the last two minutes, and it's a great freaking episode from start to finish. Those who are pissed at the result would do well to consider the episode that got them there as Exhibit A for why you can't give up on this show, no matter how disappointing an elimination may be.

Look, I know some are angry, but raising the producer boogeyman? C'mon. Much as it hurts, Jamie blew it, she knew it before her dish even left the kitchen, and it was written all over her face for the rest of the episode. Yes, everybody on the block made mistakes. But while Hosea and Leah made mistakes that made their dishes less than the originals, Jamie was the only one who had the misfortune of making a mistake that rendered her dish inedible. There's no getting around that.

Lastly, has Hootie just been lying in the weeds this whole time, or have the editors been waiting to spring her on us? For nine episodes she cooks hearty, soulful American food and then she's suddenly all about classic French technique? I still haven't seen anything that changes my assessment of her chances in the finals -- but I feel like we're suddenly getting a completely different chef. Weird.

Comments

[aaalex]

Yes, but what a brilliant show. I thought last week was fine, but this was an interesting challenge, an entertaining quickfire. It showed Carla to be much more than you might at first think and, of course, it's clear Stefan is a very very talented man. Nice to read Stefan talking about how much he will miss competing against her, and nice to read Jaime own up to her bad food. fantastic show.

[KarenB]

done, done done with this season. I am a pretty big Top Chef junkie, but this is producer manipulation I think and even if not, no joy left in Mudville so I am out....

[canasian]

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

No comment. Will wait to stop crying (yeah, I cried over this one) and try to make some sense of this.

[aaalex]

If anyone's actually heard Jaime's interview: what did she say on camera? Anything different from the Q and A on the Bravo site?

[Adam]

After all my whining and complaining in the last thread about the unfairness of the setup of that elimination challenge, I feel as though the top chef gods have slapped me upside the head and reminded me that, well, stuff happens on this show. Both Hosea and Jaime probably drew what would have been their bottom choice, and for one of them it was their undoing. And heck, if they switch the order of the last two fish in the quickfire, Hosea is the one cooking Lobster.

The editing will always play tricks with us, but it sure seemed like Tom wanted Leah to go home.

[Independent George]

Reading the blogs, I can't fault the decision; of the bottom dishes, hers was the only one that was inedible. Had it been merely subpar, I think Leah gets sent packing, but it was apparently so bad that there was never any question.

While I'm not convinced that the talent level this year was especially bad, this may yet the worst lineup for the finale - worse even than season 2. All it will take is one little slip-up from Stefan, and we're left with Hosea, Leah, Fabio, and Carla. Nothing against any of them personally, but I think we can agree that we just lost 2 of the 3 strongest chefs in consecutive weeks. I'm now officially nervous.

[karenology]

Clearly, Dom, your review of Absinthe made Jamie five months ago oversalt her celery ;)

I am bummed as you, because now the finale will be just Stefan napping for 3/4's of it while the other two chefs panic (or give up, if one of them's Leah).

[Dom's cousin]

Dammit, dammit, dammit. What is happening to our chefs?

I (almost) don't care who else besides Stefan (who I'm convinced will take it all now) makes it to the finals just as long as it is NOT LEAH! Argh!

[aaalex]

The thing that makes me feel more optimistic (well, if I don't think about Stefan getting stupidly eliminated so that Hoseah or Leah win the final) is the emergence of Carla as kind of skillful. She occupies a weird headspace, but she knew a beyrre rouge when she saw it and we were reminded she'd studied French cooking. It would be great if she could do one more great dish of her own, but still ...

[Steve]

Well...it's Stefan's to lose now...no one else left comes close in technique or creativity. Very sad...and the reason why I strongly recommend that the judges keep the option of factoring in past performance as they see fit. Without Jamie and Jeff, what kind of contest will the finale be? Duh.

Yay for Carla finally getting her confidence and competitive edge. I'm sure she came in second in the elimination challenge. Wouldn't it be funny if she comes in second for the season? Nah...couldn't happen. (?)

Dom, you were right again. Jamie's attitude towards challenges she doesn't relate to was her undoing.

[Independent George]

I agree with Aaalex - regardless of how I feel about losing Jamie, this was an outstanding episode. I absolutely loved the setup of both challenges.

[Gilby]

Crap.

[Lou]

Tom said her fish was well cooked. Hosea didn't let his monkfish rest. Leah gave up in the QF and one judge said their portion wasn't cooked. Also Jamie was the only one Eric R didn't stop by to critique/help. H/L stayed on because of the drama - not their food. The show may have finally jumped the shark with this fish episode.

[Gilby]

Producer interference? What exactly did you drink, KarenB, to come up with such a dense notion?

There was no producer interference. That was painfully obvious. I did, however, spend the last commercial break hoping that there was, at least just a bit, and that would be enough to save Jamie.

It's not so much that I was rooting for Jamie....It's just that I wanted an interesting finals. Jeff and Jamie both would have been interesting in the finals. And both are gone.

[aaalex]

Lou: I love the idea of a show "jumping the shark" on a fish episode, but no one, not even Jaime, was surprised she was given the boot. Hers was the only dish deemed "inedible". Toby tried to defend her understanding of the dish, but he couldn't eat her black fish either. Sad to see her go, but hard to fault the judges.

[Beatrice]

At this point in the season, and in the fifth season of the show, can the contestants really not have suspected that lunch was part of their challenge? As soon as Tom said there were going to be six courses I said to myself, Ahah! six contestants -- six courses -- they are going to have to recreate the dishes. I actually suspected, seeing Jamie scrutinize one of the dishes, that she might have caught on. But at least a couple of them obviously did not. How could you possibly not have made that connection?

[donnie jeffcoat]

The responsible thing to do would be to start showing the audience Lazy Leah's background already. What's her deal? How long has it been now? One more thing: Why the Hell does Leah keep touching her face in the kitchen?

I am rooting for a flushed out dynamic between Carla and Stefan, because, well, there is nothing to lose.

[E L]

the thing about leah was that she didn't even know what she did wrong. she described what happened to her sauce as if she was unaware of the culinary term for it--"breaking". she's clueless, as opposed to jamie, who knew the technique, knew what she did wrong, but just made an error.

leah is also a child. she's a brat who quits when things get hard and giggles about what a 'hot boy' eric ripert is. get her off!

[donnie jeffcoat]

One more thing: Toby is not qualified whatsoever to be a judge on this show. If Jeff, Radhika, and Jamie all go, then so should Toby.

Bring back Ted Allen!

[aaalex]

I kind of agree Toby should just go. Doesn't add a thing to the show, personality-wise, but he also says on his blog:

"If Stefan has a shortcoming it is that his food lacks imagination, but no one could doubt his credentials as a skilled technician."

strange thing to say after the restaurant challenge when his imaginative desserts were what saved his team. Or is it that he saved his team despite the lack of originality of his desserts? Doesn't compute, for me. Toby makes no sense at all as a judge.

[kit]

Dom - in case you're still looking for part 2 of Jamie's exit interview...

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/videos/beyond-ripert-pt2

[KinderJ]

I really, really liked this episode, and I have a profound loathing of seafood. The challenge was simple but hard: recreate a subtle, exquisite dish to world class standards. Creativity is an important skill in a chef, of course, but so is meticulous attention to detail. As I understand it, and god knows I am no expert, what separates a guy like Tony Bourdain from the Ripert's of the world is that utter laser-like focus on detail, and the ability to knock out the same perfect dish every single time the order is called. This challenge savagely exposed the differences between the top two chefs- the creative Jamie and the precise Stefan. They both are very skilled, but the perfect recreation of a dish you did not care for, well, Jamie just could not pull it off. Damn shame.

I did wonder if the judges took into account the difficulty of each recreation when scoring the dishes. According to the Ripert interview on the Bravo web page, the lobster dish was simple, but very easy to screw up. He seemed very impressed with Stefan, so... I am just curious how close Fabio and Carla came to winning. Top notch episode.

Oh, and to the people who keep accusing the producers of interfering- You want to go call Tom Collicchio and Eric Ripert liars, never mind the other judges, you want to tell them that their pallets and integrity are for sale? Don't tell us. Tell them. Go on. I freaking dare you. Me? I have eaten at one of Collicchio's restaurants. I would not dream of it.

[august_west]

I was more disappointed in Jamie's attitude concerning the challenge than the result. She essentially said Ripert's food was boring and/or uninspiring?!? And please bring back Gail Simmons. Ted Allen brought very little to the table imo.

[Dreamboat]

Well sh!t!! I really wanted Jamie to make it to the finals. I hate to see her leave now.

But know this: Regardless of Top Chef, Jamie has a HUGE career in front of her and will be impressing many many people in years to come. Good show Jamie!! And I agree with you that braised celery is just kinda weird...

[Unhappy Gilmore]

Adam - if they switched the char with the eel in the quickfire, Hosea may not have made it to the final round. I would bet that Fabio would come in second.

[Dreamboat]

I usually do not post twice, but I just read this in Eric Ripert's Q&A and ROFLMAO!! LOVE IT!!

Bravotv.com: When Leah gave up on the arctic char, what were you thinking?
Gone baby gone …

[kit]

A couple of comments regarding Jamie saying she's "bored by this kind of food, it's not something [she's] inspired by".

This came across pretty harsh to me at the first viewing, but I *think* she was just trying to express what her personal preferences are, in terms of the kind of food she finds exciting, interesting, and therefore inspiring.

I thought Tom might ream her for being disrespectful or something, but he was actually less reprimanding than I thought he would be, and chalked it up more to that notion of personal preference as well: "Jamie expressed that Eric’s food really didn’t do much for her, and as misguided as that may be, I respect it. As good as Eric is, his work isn’t every chef’s cup of tea."

Also, being super-obsessive, I noted that the outfit she was wearing, for when she made that comment, is the same as the one she's wearing in her exit interview, which for me sorta changes the context. It's not like right after lunch, she did an interview ragging on how boring Ripert's food is. At this point she's been eliminated, and she's probably being asked alot of leading questions about why she think she got eliminated, whether the food at lunch inspired her, etc.

Also, is it just me or does Hosea do as much as possible every episode to live up to Ariane's characterization of him as a whiny b***h or whatever it was she called him...

[kit]

Kinder J says: "According to the Ripert interview on the Bravo web page, the lobster dish was simple, but very easy to screw up."

Hmmm, just wondering from what part of Ripert's interview you got that. He says, "In fact, the lobster dish Stefan had to make was not that simple." Was there something else Ripert said as well that I missed?

[aaalex]

Kit: no, it's not you, Hosea really does seem more and more like a kind of pathetic, whiny b***h. The obsession with beating Stefan is just, after a while, childish. Of course, maybe it's Bravo that wants it that way: either because Hosea will suffer because of this obsession or because he'll triumph over Stefan in the end. The way they include so many clips of Hosea going on about Stefan, it's got to be one thing or the other.

[Jason]

After a disappointing last episode (for me anyway), THIS was a perfect example of why I love Top Chef. Loved the QF and the Elimination challenges.

I thought Leah would go home, but I understand why Jamie did. Count me in as one of those thinking that it's Stefan's to lose now (not that it wasn't before).

One quick thing...what an awesome prize for Stefan's win in the Elimination.

[aaalex]

Jason: I missed the significance of Stefan's prize. He got a copy of Ripert's book and then ... what, exactly? Do they hang out? (I didn't catch it all.)

[Dave_P]

This was absolutely an awesome show, maybe my favorite of the year. Except for the last 5 min. Honestly, for the first time all season, I realized I wanted absolutely no one eliminated. Not even Leah, but mostly because I hadn't seen the QF (missed the 1st 10 min the first broadcast; when I saw it, I wanted her gone... again). Still, Jamie was doomed when she didn't get her dish critiqued by chef Ripert (and how cool was that?!). That's too big of a competitive advantage to overcome. Plus, it may have just been the "elimination" edit, but Jamie seemed out of it with her, "I find [Ripert's food] boring" comments. Still, she gave it her best shot, but messed up her celery on a technical level. I hate to see her go, but it was a fair ruling ane I think the editing made it seem closer than it was between her and Leah.

Stefan will absolutely steamroll into the finals, and I mean the final 3. I won't quite go so far as he's gonna take it all since anything can happen on a given night, but he's absolutely dominating right now and his 2 biggest competitors just got sent packing in 2 successive episodes.

I'm also picking Carla for the finals (final 4, at least). Nice to back up her talk of a classical training from last week's episode. Between Fabio, Leah & Hosea, one of them will slip up, but all have shown *something* during the course of the season (some earlier than others) that makes me think we'll be in for a very good final two rounds, esp. if chefs like Leah can get her head back on straight.

BTW, how about all the teamwork in the kitchen displayed this episode? This late into the contest, at that. I really gained a lot of respect for all the remaining chefs just seeing that (which was another reason I was sad to see anyone go).

Next week, Wylie Dufresne and... I didn't recognize the other celebrity chefs. Still, sounds like quite the stellar cast the way Tom was talking it up.

--
Dave

[Skillet Doux]

"Next week, Wylie Dufresne and... I didn't recognize the other celebrity chefs. Still, sounds like quite the stellar cast the way Tom was talking it up."

Jacques freaking Pepin, man!

:-)

[kit]

Dave_P says: "Plus, it may have just been the "elimination" edit, but Jamie seemed out of it with her, "I find [Ripert's food] boring" comments."

I also was struck by how strange her demeanor was during that comment as well, which led me to suspect it may have come from her exit interview, meaning she would be the one getting the boot. Someone pointed out for the last episode how bummed Jeff looked in some of his interviews that they showed before they showed the elimination, which seemed to indicate that Jeff would be getting the boot, and that definitely popped into mind when I saw how she looked during the "boring" comment. Hence my investigations into what outfit she was wearing for the exit interview, ha!

Of course, at the beginning of the episode I was worried about Fabio, since he was getting the "calling home, doing this for my family" edit - those wily editors get me every time :)

[KinderJ]

Kit- No, you are quoting more exactly. I was using the term 'simple' in the sense of using relatively common ingredients and techniques. When Ripert called it 'not so simple' he was pointing out that it was difficult to execute really well. I think that when I wrote that post, I had conflated what I remembered about the dishes construction and his saying that it was not so easy to make,and coming up with a misleading attribution. My bad.

[KinderJ]

aaalex- The second part of the prize was following Ripert in his restaurants for a couple of weeks, picking up tips, technique, etc, then flying off for a food festival. I may be flubbing this a bit, but it's something like that.

[SorchaRei]

I have come to the conclusion that when Carla said she's classically trained and for some reason, it had fallen by the wayside, she was telling the truth. I don't know whether he spirit guides were talking so loud in the early part of the contest that she forgot her training, or what. However, once she remembered that she is classically trained, her food changed. Good for her!

[kit]

SorchaRei says: "I don't know whether he spirit guides were talking so loud in the early part of the contest that she forgot her training, or what."

Or maybe they started saying, "hey, we just remembered you're classically trained, let's try that instead of emoting love!" :)

[Vega]

...

...GAIL

[Scott]

You know, as much as I love Ted Allen, let's not forget that under his watch as well as Anthony Bourdain's did poor Dale get sent home last season for food that was not as bad as Lisa's. It's really hard to fault the judges but I think, to a point, when Tom asked which is worse doing something wrong or not knowing how to do it at all, I was thinking not knowing how to do it at all. How could you send someone home who did it wrong over someone who had no clue? I found this profoundly puzzling. Chefs have cooked inedible food in the past but got by, off the top of my head I would think Richard's unscaled Salmon.

This season's talent level is definitely a bit lower. I remember the challenge in season three where they had to recreate that fish in that famous restaurant for the QF and none of them had a critique. I found that challenge pretty hard too but Hung got off perfect.

Sadly, my GF saw Jamie outside Absinthe today and took a picture with her. My gf asked Jamie if she won the final and Jamie said you have to wait and see. NOw both my GF and I feel that the question must've dug at her heart. I really liked Jamie because her personality is great and also she had heart.

To repeat Vega, and Carla

...
... GAIL! I MISS YOU COME BACK.

[Anne]

I think if the food had been equally bad, Leah would have gone home. But It wasn't. Jamie's was, alas, nearly inedible, far below the rest (read Tom's blog for more on this.). I do think that missing out on Chef Ripert's critique was too bad, and a real competitive disadvantage. It was really quite unfair to let some people get it and not others.

As for Hosea's Stefan thing, it just feels like a pissing contest, except only one guy's pissing. The other is cooking great food.

[Robert Johnson]

1. The Bravo website has gone from bad to worse. It's always been hard to find things on the site, but now it's impossible. The only way I found to get to part 2 of Jaime's interview was to guess at the URL.
2. It was a joy to watch Jaime's exit interviews and her entrance into the losers' apartment. She was upbeat, positive, and a real sweetheart. I'm sorry she went home.
3. I agree with Jaime about braised celery - even Eric Ripert's genius couldn't make it something I'd want to eat.
4. In a voice-over, Jaime said she didn't have time for Ripert to taste her dish - in other words, it appears to have been her choice not to get the benefit of his mid-cooking advice.
5. I suspect Jaime's celery was too salty because she didn't take into account the saltiness of the ham, with which she seemed to be unfamiliar (for example, she turned to Stefan for advice on how to break it down).
6. I really enjoyed how much the chefs appeared to be helping each other out. Stefan seemed to have his hand in lots of other people's dishes, in a positive and generous way.
7. Stefan is definitely and deservedly the man to beat, his skills are so well-developed, but wouldn't it be wonderful if Hootie were to rise to the top?
8. Toby isn't a good fit with Top Chef, and I hope this season is the last we see of him. I was going to say the worst judge ever, but that honor has to go to Rocco, whose creepiness makes my skin crawl.

[anon man]

Great episode, bad result. Not necessarily the wrong result given the product, but still bad. Now, I'm not super-schooled in classic French techniques, but some of these dishes seemed really classic/borderline basic. Lobster with asparagus and a mother sauce? Pretty easy. The one who really surprised me was Leah. The Asian-themed dish? She pooched it? This from the chef who notes her Asian heritage and has clear influences from that part of the world?

For those of you who think its the producers, think again. I think its the evil influence of Toby Young. Tom seems to have Leah marked for death. His comments at judges table implied that he was annoyed the Leah had no clue what she was doing and didn't seem to care. Jamie on the other land knew what she did wrong and how to make it better. This was no different than Hootie's self-saving at JT a few weeks ago. But Toby couldn't get past that he hated Jamie's dish. Maybe he convinced Tom that the badness of Leah's dish was worse than the ambivalence of Leah.

I also really liked the QF. A classic skill, and Hosea did pretty well with the eel given that he hadn't done it before. Give him a couple more tries and maybe he beats Stefan the eel machine.

Random thought: I wonder how Jeff, who was certainly doing a lot of odd details in his food would have fared with WD? There's no real MG guy this season, but Jeff's food, with its weird combos of sorbets and odd garnish might have been the closest (minus the chemicals and water baths, of course).

[Elise]

After seeing this episode I was thinking, "Well, Stefan just won this season..." Then it hit me, the final is in New Orleans, home of classic French food mixed with American soul and filled with love. Since they try to do something related to the locale for the final Carla's chances just got a whole lot better.

All she has to do is make it there.

I would have loved to see Jeff do this challenge. Better yet, just sit back and watch Hung take apart a sardine, that would have been a thing of beauty.

[kit]

Robert Johnson says: "I was going to say the worst judge ever, but that honor has to go to Rocco, whose creepiness makes my skin crawl."

I know alot of people strongly dislike Rocco, but I have a hard time understanding where it comes from. Personally, I enjoy his appearances as a judge, he seems very knowledgeable about food and has genuine restaurant chops. True, he may more fairly be characterized as a celebrity-whore than a restaurant chef these days, but that doesn't seem to change the fact that he's got the qualifications to judge food. I found this recent article about him in the NYTimes interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/dining/17rocc.html

One interesting quote in there was from a NY food critic:

"Anthony Bourdain was so funny and so amusing that he became a show-business personality, and we don’t question that, because he was not a great chef who sold out. He was just a perfectly ordinary cook. But somebody like Rocco, who is exceptionally gifted, seems to have thrown it all away — that’s why people are so upset about it."

[babyarm]

At this point last year Blais had it in the bag and choked. Nothing is certain. I never thought Jamie was all that and was primarily a function of kind editing.

Tough one to go out on. I wondered at the time couldn't she have just flooded that celery with just regular old chicken broth or something to rinse the salt off? Hell, putting raw celery down was perhaps the best choice at that point.

That being said she did not let eric taste a demo. Those that did fared much, much better.

[Megan V]

Are there no more blogs from Leanne? Or, if she has written something about this episode, could someone please post a link?

I hate that the editors use the post-EC interviews throughout the show. It was clear from Jamie's flat affect and post-crying complexion that she had lost.

[aaalex]

I think the thing with Jamie is she wasn't ready to have Ripert taste her celery. It's really her own fault, as she had gotten behind in her preparations. Also, her saying braised celery is "weird" (okay, maybe after she'd lost, but still) was a perfect clue to her biggest flaw: not caring about anything but her own food. I'd love to visit her restaurant, but she wasn't always in spirit with the challenges or the show. I kind of wonder why she chose to compete, if she wasn't going to give it her all, whatever the challenge? What she was called on to do was difficult, but an interesting challenge for a chef of her caliber. She should have done better.

[caulder]

C'mon. Producer manipulation? Jumping the shark? No way. That episode smoked! I loved it! I loved that Jaime got eliminated, not because I thought she was bad, but because I thought she deserved it. And I can't stomach Leah. I hate her pouty-lipped expressions, I hate her "can't do it" whining. I hate her "I'm better when I'm with a guy" attitude. I hate the way she's constantly moaning about some how she's blowing a quickfire and then acts all shocked when she wins. And while Jaime's had her share of woe-is-me moments, I feel like there's someone in there. But the moment she started bitching about Ripert's food—"I'm bored"—I knew she was gone. I had almost no confidence in my guess, at least until she wasn't ready for Ripert to taste her food on the walkthrough. I must have missed the shot of the producers pouring salt into her celery.

On a happier note, how about that prize? Wow. I mean, wow.

[kit]

In case anyone's interested in more footage of squirmy eel butchering, Gordon Ramsay featured the eel on the F word:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL98UUovxJQ&

the heart is *insane*.

[aaalex]

Kit: thank you. That was ... interesting and the beating heart thing was in-frickin-sane, indeed. I've been horribily conscious of my own heart beating since I looked at that clip.

[Bart]

1. This episode was HILARIOUS, especially during the quickfire. Carla, Stefan, Hosea, Fabio - they all had really, really funny things to say. I don't think I've laughed this hard during a Top Chef episode.

2. While I wanted to see Leah go because she's quit several times in the past, we have to remember that this is the first time the judges had any hint of Leah quitting.

3. Jaime's attitude brought her down. If she was a little bit more enthusiastic about the challenge, I think she might have pulled off a better dish.

4. I LIKE Toby Young. Eric Ripert seemed humbled and happily pleased when Toby praised his dishes. To me, that says something. I think the Toby-hate at this point is just hating Toby for the sake of it.

[Bill]

For all who think the talent is sub-par this season I think it will go down as having the best team of mid-season eliminated chefs.
This is Stefan's competition to lose, there is no one left who can challenge him unless he has an unexpected meltdown.
I think Hootie has earned #2 status.
I'd be looking forward to the finals a lot more if Rad, Jamie and Jeff were still around. I think they had a legitimate shot at winning.

[rab01]

Most of the chefs knew that they were going to have to recreate the dishes they were eating. When I heard that it was a six-course tasting menu, I instantly remembered Season 3's penultimate quickfire and guessed that they'd have to recreate it so I was listening carefully to how they talked about the dishes at the table -- their conversation had polite deconstructions of the sauces mixed in with the praises of Ripert. They've seen the show and knew exactly what they were in for.

I wish that Leah and her "I want to hook up with every male chef" attitude would just diappear but I'm resigned to her presence in the finals. She has a suspiciously large number of interviews in the same green blouse looking well rested. I'm pretty sure those are after-season pick-ups. I'm just hoping against hope that they were done in the sequester house rather than New Orleans.

[Tim]

Well, I really loved this episode, though I couldn't stomach the outcome, either. The QF and EC were what I have been expecting for the last two episodes. No, sorry Chef Collichio(?) I am not looking forward to anymore NFL collaboration. To use his own words - it's too "pedestrian." Next week looks promising, too. Let's just keep our asparagus spears crossed.
The final tally - WOW. Not disputing whether Jamie deserved to go home, but maybe Tailgate cuisine might be an appropriate fare for the remaining cheftestants. I'm not looking for one winner over the other, but just a good final three to give a spectacular spread. Stefan is still favored to take it. I think his only screw up this season was when he got over confident and slacked off. But I don't think he disappointed anyone any more than himself, so he won't do THAT again. All of a sudden Carla seems interesting as a culinary threat. I'm sure she was all along, it just shows you the power of The Editor.
Which brings me to my next grievance - editor manipulation. Unlike 'producer' manipution where the actual outcome of the show is suspected of being altered, by 'editor' manipulation I propose that the personalities and talents are grossly misrepresented to fabricate false impressions and predictions. It's an insult to the thinking viewer - if I can call us all that. Why not just have the 'bad' guys dress in black and the 'good' guys dress in white chef frocks?
Another interesting bit relating to this theory is how prior to this week Stefan has been portrayed as being arrogant and bossy, and generally working against the team. In this episode they show clips of people going to him for advice and him helping out. It's also funny how in the first 1/2 of the season, the clips of Carla has been about her consulting her spirit guide and sending out the love. Now, we're seeing references to classical french training and a committment to detail.
Whom I would now like to see in the final 3 - Stefan, Fabio, and Hosea. But the way the editor is grooming us I predict it'll be Stefan, Carla, and Leah. It'll be like The Rocky Horror Picture Show with all the viewers yelling "A----" and "S---" at Stefan and Leah, and Carla being the kooky but lovable underdog. God. You gotta love television.

[Charles]

Would Jamie have been better off serving the fish without the celery? I know it would have been a major ding, but it might have been a case of better them not see it and think it's bad, than to taste it and realize just how awful it is. I personally would have left it off, because Top Chef has shown a history of taste coming before anything else, even the rules. I wish she had rolled the dice, rather that sending out something that wasn't fit for consumption.

Also, it sounded like Padma came very close to saying Stefan's dish was better than Rippert's.

[Jon Olsen]

Great episode. Probably my favorite so far. "The cream rises" right? Well, the milk this season has been pretty thick so maybe it's just taken Carla some time. This metaphor is officially soured.

I think decrying producer manipulation THIS episode is just not thinking objectively. Braising celery sounds like a highwire technique in the first place and if one adds in the over-salting? I think if anything the producers/editors made an effort to spin us into thinking the judges were dancing to find ways to send Leah home ("it sounds like Jamie knows what she did wrong" "Hosea knows what he did wrong" etc) but inedibility will kill you Every Time. Period.

I was just flabbergasted to hear Stefan go "I really wasn't paying attention" and variants like that. You guys! Nothing. Nice. Happens. To. You. They aren't just going to take you to a six course lunch at one of the premier fish factories in the world to be nice to you. The niceness comes AFTER you win. Right now, you're cannon fodder! Assume you are Cannon Fodder until they say "Congratulations ________, you are the winner of Top Chef." I mean, this was so much like the Le Cirque challenge I immediately blurted out "re-creation challenge" as soon as they showed the interior of Le Bernardin. At least Stefan's total cool under pressure continues to serve him. Maybe that's the deal: Carla's meditation, Stefan's unflappable calm. There's something to these chefs when they're zoning in and calm. They start winning. Look at how Stephanie started landing either in the top group or winners circle as her hand got firmer and she settled down. Or Hung in the last four episodes of S3. And the way Richard described himself as choking? He wasn't calm. It's so simple, but it works. It kind of looks like Hosea is settling down, while we see Leah constantly freaking out. This is a source of hope.

Gawd, Leah was right about one thing: Eric Ripert is one good looking piece of frog, ain't he? Zut alors! I like how he's actually kinda dorky. I thought that last season when he was googly eyed about Blais' nitro, this season confirmed it. He's just a big ol fish geek and that's fine with me. And how great a prize is that? After weeks of product placement prizes or lame "here's a copy of my new book" wins, Eric rolls out the "here's my new book." And I'm sinking in my chair when he invites the winner to stage with him and then like... hang out! How much fun would it be to just hang out with Eric Ripert? Probably lots. Lots of fun.

I was salivating over those char; what happens to all those fish they broke down? I hope they cook it, because it looked delicious. I was thinking "come on man, everybody's seen those Iron Chefs when they nail the eels to the board, right?" Honestly at the time on IC I thought that was just an example of Morimoto "cooking to the /Extreme/" or something. But then Stefan breaks out the hammer and casually pounds that sucker into place, "this is the standard technique," I was very pleased.

Those prep relays are so awesome. To get two in a season is a treat. I could watch that madness three or four times. Way more interesting than fried oatmeal, imho.

DOM, how crazy is it your review posts the day of her elimination? "Jamie's surprise elimination tonight" indeed! Creepy. You familiar with the Madden curse? When a player appears on the cover of Madden football video games they have a crummy season or a career threatening injury the following year? (same thing happens with Sports Illustrated, actually) Could you review Leah's restaurant next week? I'll take up a collection to pay for your tab.

Speculate: does anyone think they're saving Bourdain to spring on us late this season? We had Ripert finally, next week we get Pepin/Dufresne. Maybe they figured they would hit us with all the best personalities later in the game when the stakes were highest. How cool is it we get two faces of a coin of awesome next week? Mr. La Technique and Mr. Space Age? Sign me up. Was there a woman in the mix of guests? I can't find preview video. With those august personages, I'm sure they got some gal who is equally top notch to round out the group.

Speaking of gals, does Padma look skinny? Like dangerously skinny? Please say it ain't so. Free the twins Padma! Eat a sandwich! Some pork skins! Something!

To summarize:
Hootie! Ripert! Everybody just be cool. GAAAAAiLLLLLLLL! and I'm spent

[DaveP]

Jacques Pepin! I knew he looked familiar, but I just couldn't place him. Thanks for the heads up, Dom.

I'm really happy to see more and more ppl complaining about Bravo's website. I'd given up on them since around ep 2 or 3 of this season. Hopefully, they'll get some feedback and fire whoever their current web-monkey is, because I really miss reading the blogs.

Bourdain & Ted Allen sent Dale T home for having by far the worst dish of the night. I was a huge Dale fan and was pissed by that ep, but it was made abundantly clear by the subsequent blogs that his scallops were just as inedible as Jamie's celery. Leah didn't have anything nearly as disasterous on her plate. I don't like the results, but it looks as fair as can be judged with the information we have available to us.

I've given up trying to predict who's getting the loser's edit. First off, if I get it right, it ruins much of the suspense. Second... I rarely get it right. :) I'm really trying to avoid getting caught up in the editing game and focusing on the food as much as possible this season--it's just too easy to get sucked into believing cheftestant A is the villain, B has no classical training, and C can't work with a team.

--
Dave

[hayamyma]

This is actually about last week's episode; I just read Blais' blog about what he would do with oats, and this guy is unbelievable. He writes a whole stream of consciousness about all the different ways he could use the oats besides just as a crust, and they sound interesting and deliciousness (he's even exploring Scottish themes for heaven's sake!). I completely understand why we got greeen, perplexed, beef-flavored tofu last year. I think we are all missing this guy (along with Stephanie's unusual flavor combinations) when we bemoan how undertalented this season's chefs seem, although I liked what Stefan pulled off this week. It was a really great QF and EC, and an incredibly generous chance to learn from a great chef.

[anon man]

Having had the chance to read Tom's blog, I retract my previous statement about Toby. He isn't the anti-Christ after all, just an asshole. (But to paraphase "Die Hard", he's "my kind of asshole")

Randomly about the other guest judges, I kind of like Rocco. He has a sort of smarmy ease around cameras, but I think as a judge he's been good. His comments about Rihard's pizza last season were very honest. (Something like "Peaches and tea, pizza? I thought this would suck, but I was very wrong.") This season, they actually exploited that smarmy ease by using him as the guest for the TV challenge.

Kind of a jumble right now ranking wise. Stefan clearly is way out in front, but who's second? Hosea did well except for the over-spicing, Carla has classical training? Who knew? Fabio has been solid if unremarkable. And then there's the "walking shrug". I would say the 1 gap 2-3 smaller gap 4 bigger gap 5.

[paula]

1) I had that same feeling that when the judges were eating Stefan's dish, they had to hold back to keep from saying, "Damn, this is better than yours, Eric!"
2) I would have loved to see Jeff in this particular challenge, where his monkeys would have no choice but to sit it out. Sigh.
3) Loved this episode--everything we food geeks jones for: Technique, skill, no gimmicks. That kicked ass that Eric gave them feedback mid-prep. How amazing. And yeah, Jamie not being ready for that was a huge disadvantage.
4) This week's advantage for Stefan was a killer one. But he totally deserved it.

[Kathy]

I believe the lady in next week's episode is Lidia Bastianovich.

[Jake]

-At first blush I hated this elimination challenge. L pegged it as soon as they sat down for lunch, and my response was, "no way, that'd make a terrible challenge" because they won't get to show their own style, but rather imitate someone else's. But you know what? In the end I loved it. It was a completely technical challenge involving palate, identification of techniques, and quick thinking as well as more traditional skills. On top of that, the group as a whole did way better than I thought they would.

-Producer bias? No. They haven't even played up the "romance" thing lately.

-Hasn't anyone stopped to consider that the Toby Young we're seeing is the version the editors want us to see? Just like the contestants.

-I'm now 100% sold on Hootie. She's been nailing it. Plus she's gotten the "out of nowhere" edit, hasn't she? From kooky harmless mystic to classically trained meticulous chef. Plus, as someone else pointed out ... the finals are in New Orleans. Hootie's 'hood!

-It sure did sound like Tom wanted Leah out, and her mistake was arguably a bigger one in terms of matching the original dish ... but we have little idea what they tasted like.

-As soon as they showed Jamie saying she wasn't ready for Ripert to taste her food during prep time, I was sure she was in serious trouble. His little nuggets of wisdom were absolutely crucial.

-That said, Leah seemed to misunderstand that Ripert was essentially telling her ... no butter. And it's clear that as soon as she quit the QF, Colicchio was done with her.

-Is this thing Stefan's to lose or what? I see Carla with some chance of making it interesting, and Hosea as a long shot, but man. He must feel like the Steelers felt when all the other good teams got knocked out of the playoffs and they got to play the Cardinals in the Super Bowl this year.

[Brent]

1. Stefan
2. Stefan
3. Stefan
4. Stefan
5. Carla
7. Hosea
8. Fabio
9. Leah

[Bart]

Jake - don't forget, the Steelers had the #1 defense all season, and Kurt Warner absolutely shredded them in the big game. Were it not for a few timely plays by the Steelers office, the Cards would be the ones hoisting the trophy.

My point? Yes, it looks like it's Stefan's to lose. But then, we said this about Blais last year. Carla (and to a lesser extent, Hosea) seem capable of keeping up with Stefan. I wouldn't count them out.

[Bart]

offense* not office! Gah! Working in a cubicle is getting to me.

[Jon Olsen]

Jake: "Hasn't anyone stopped to consider that the Toby Young we're seeing is the version the editors want us to see? Just like the contestants."

Spot on. That's very true. However, I firmly believe there's a corollary. The camera does not lie. It doesn't. Editing CAN lie, it can make the camera's truth into a lie, but the camera itself does not. So the point is, one of the reasons Gail *seems* better than Toby to us is that in the on-camera content she produces, she rarely provides the editors a chance to make her look bad. Toby's work offers up trenchant stuff, but the groaners he tosses in *exist*. They are present for the editors to work with. *They're there* and aren't fabricated.

So the corollary is, don't give the editors enough material to make you look bad!

Gail doesn't, and there's less material to make her sound bad.

Go back and listen to Padma's voice when they're at JT. I really think they did this with Tom a lot in past seasons when he'd give a valedictory to the chefs at JT. Very often you'd see them start to talk to a contestant, then the camera moves to the contestant and you hear the rest of the critique in voice over. The voice over was obviously cut in later. Presumably there were some "umms" and "uhhs" in there and they just asked them to rerecord a particularly trenchant line with a better take. That's taking true material and making it *sound* better while staying true.

Well, you'd pretty much be able to tell if a blatantly false statement was fabricated by cutting tiny bits and pieces together because it'd be jumpy and the vocal cadences would be off. Like ...oh let's say cutting a Ted Allen speech to say "that dish was /tiny cut/ my favorite of the night." (I still believe that's what happened in S4 finale)

Even if we think the Toby here is not the real Toby... hey, Toby, don't give the editors enough material to make you look bad!!

[aaalex]

Jake: I'm with Bart on the Super Bowl analogy. If it weren't for a very very good catch with 35 seconds left...

So, hard to say if Stefan's talent and palate translate to winning. Hope so.

The Toby thing, for me, is about how little he conveys of the experience he's had. He's not a good critic for television, in that sense. He might be fine in print, but what comes across (on TV) is attitude and a sheepdog-like desire to please with a bon mot or a cutting analogy. A good comparison would be to someone like Jeffrey Steingarten who's often in Iron Chef. Steingarten is an old curmudgeon and there are times I'd like to push his face in, but I always know what he's talking about with the food. He gives me a sense of what's there and what's missing. Toby Young might be a nice guy and all, but I just don't find him helpful or even suggestive. Ted Allen was better at conveying the qualities of the food he'd eaten. He was also more modest and direct.

My feeling about Toby Young has something to do with how he's edited, for sure, but what Young said about last night's Ripert re-creations, for example, wasn't memorable. I don't want Ted Allen or Gail or whomever in particular. I'd just like someone who was more informative about the food. (Padma presents, Tom Judges, the critic should give us a sense of the food he's had.)

[anon man]

Jon,

The weird bad vocal level during cut aways has been a problem with TC since the beginning. I notice it other Bravo shows too, like Project Runway. Its not as bad as it used to be, so I wonder if its bad production values or if its really over-dubbed later. First season had a couple that were really bad overdubs, but I assumed that was because Katie was such a miserable host that they had to have her read the critique of the food rather than do it spontaneously.

[Jake]

"Jake - don't forget, the Steelers had the #1 defense all season, and Kurt Warner absolutely shredded them in the big game. Were it not for a few timely plays by the Steelers [offense], the Cards would be the ones hoisting the trophy." (Bart)
Yep, that part of the analogy was fully intended too. The Cards got hot at the right time. Sounds like one of the other contestants, doesn't it?

"Jake: I'm with Bart on the Super Bowl analogy. If it weren't for a very very good catch with 35 seconds left..." (aaalex)
Hey, I just said their road got a lot easier, not that it was a breeze :). I'm sure if you let them pick their opponents they would have preferred the Cards over at least 3-4 other possible opponents, not to mention their conference rivals who got knocked out, too. Even if a team or contestant is a 70-30 favorite -- which is a MASSIVE edge (pardon the caps, but it's that massive) -- they'll still lose 30% of the time. For example, I still think Stefan made the right pick of opponent for the Super Bowl challenge, and I'd have him heavily favored in a rematch. Sometimes the better competitor loses. To borrow a horrendous cliche, that's why we play the game.

"Toby's work offers up trenchant stuff, but the groaners he tosses in *exist*. They are present for the editors to work with. *They're there* and aren't fabricated." (Jon Olsen)
Oh, absolutely. From the way others have been reacting to him, I'm guessing there's a lot of less snarky, more insightful stuff being offered up ... someone else already pointed out Ripert's reaction to a compliment from him. And they absolutely do some fishy stuff with voiceovers.

While I'm sure this analogy is far from perfect when it comes to judging, I am a huge fan of Simon Cowell *as a talent evaluator*. Regardless of how it's delivered, he's nearly always right, and there's nearly always some insight into what needs to be fixed in his comments. So far, all we've seen from Toby Young is the snark (the flashy part) without the insight (the substance). I'm not sure if that's an accurate representation or not.

At the risk of going over my quota of strained metaphors, maybe he's the Jeff of the judges.

[Scott]

I wanted to comment a bit on comparing Stefan to Richard. Although Richard was the runaway favorite last season, Stephanie was definitely up there. The combination of flavors for her were undeniably good and her final dishes all looked delicious. Hung had Casey and (my favorite) Dale, and Ilan had Marcel (worst season IMO). Stefan has nobody in the finals. The best cook IMO that is left is Hosea, but he doesn't come anywhere close.

To me, Stefan is more like Hung while Richard is more like Jeff in this season, except Richard is definitely more refined and also more imaginative than Jeff ever was this season. Stefan, like Hung, has the technical skills with the heart to back it up. I believe, like Hung, Stefan will play it safe in the finale and win it all

[Rachael]

This was definitely a show all about the editing. It's clear that the judges knew she was gone as soon as they tasted the dish but played up the flaws in Leah and Hosea's dish so as to make it appear as though it was a tougher decision. It's unfortunate- I think that Jamie is a talented chef but a mistake like that is difficult to forgive. She erred along the way by not having something ready for Ripert to taste, and I think that really sunk her ship.

I'm so pleased to see Carla doing well. Her personality is a little scary but I knew she had some chops tucked away. I don't know if she's really going to have a chance at winning it, but I was thrilled by her success in the last challenge.

[kit]

"Lastly, has Hootie just been lying in the weeds this whole time, or have the editors been waiting to spring her on us?"

I get the sense the Hootie coming from behind story is (relatively) real. Jamie, when speaking to the other eliminated chefs in her after-the-knive video: "Carla's definitely starting to step up, which is interesting, she's doing this huge role reversal, she's doing well."

[Princess Kate]

There's nothing scary about Carla's personality - she's delightful. I love her. I'd love for her to cater an event for me. As a restaurant chef, though, I don't think she'd ever have the chops, personality-wise.

I've noticed some of the judging is predicated on the idea that the Top Chef has to ultimately be some kind of "leader", presumably of a restaurant kitchen. Is this really the case?

[canasian]

I smell a Casey edit on Carla.

[Gilby]

Stephan has nobody? I'd everyone remaining (well, maybe no Leah--and even that's a tough call) above the three that accompanied Hung to the finals in Season 3. Dale and Casey showed almost nothing all season long, and Casey showed almost nothing in the finals.

And, yeah, Hung is a great comparison to Stephan.

[paula]

"Case showed almost nothing all season long"? That's not how I remember it at all. I don't quite see the Carla/Casey connection either. What am I missing?

[DaveP]

Woah, no way I'd take Hosea, Carla or Fabio over Dale L (or T for that matter) or Casey. Brian's a bit of a wash. Casey might've flamed out in the finals, but her food was absolutely solid going into the last round.

My call for the last 3 seasons (big assumptions on some of the orders here):

1. Hung > Steph > Stefan
2. Richard = Dale L >> Hosea
3. Casey > Carla >> Lisa
4. Brian = Antonia > Fabio
5. Early Leah > Sara > Spike > Recent Leah
6. Dale T = Jamie >> CJ

Actually, I think Dale T or Jamie would beat everyone from 3~5 and Hosea too.

Seriously, if you just look at wins, top finishes and bottom finishes, Stefan has a far wider gap than anyone ever did on TC. I absolutely think he's practically guaranteed a spot on the final 3. Once there, anything can happen though, ala Blaise or Casey.

--
Dave

[Skillet Doux]

Beatrice:
“At this point in the season, and in the fifth season of the show, can the contestants really not have suspected that lunch was part of their challenge?”

Though it was edited that way, from reading Jamie’s Q&A, it doesn’t sound like anybody was surprised at all. She said half the people were taking notes under the table.

Kit:
“Dom - in case you're still looking for part 2 of Jamie's exit interview...
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/videos/beyond-ripert-pt2”

Thanks... I was :-)

Jason:
“One quick thing...what an awesome prize for Stefan's win in the Elimination.”

As far as I’m concerned, this is better than Blais’ car. And I bet Blais would agree.

Scott:
“You know, as much as I love Ted Allen, let's not forget that under his watch as well as Anthony Bourdain's did poor Dale get sent home last season for food that was not as bad as Lisa's.”

Whoa... I think this is a bit of revisionist history, here. Everybody involved in that episode has always said that despite Lisa’s problems (significant though they were), Dale’s scallops were, by far, the absolute worst dish of the evening. I hated that elimination as much as everybody else, but even Dale didn’t object.

Elise:
“After seeing this episode I was thinking, "Well, Stefan just won this season..." Then it hit me, the final is in New Orleans, home of classic French food mixed with American soul and filled with love. Since they try to do something related to the locale for the final Carla's chances just got a whole lot better.”

Best observation in this week’s comments. I thought the same thing when I saw the finals are in New Orleans. I think Carla’s the most likely to go home in a no-holds-barred cookoff next week, but if she survives to the finals, I bet she rocks the traditional “four people left and we’re exploring the local cuisine” challenge and makes the final battle.

Kit:
“I know alot of people strongly dislike Rocco, but I have a hard time understanding where it comes from. Personally, I enjoy his appearances as a judge, he seems very knowledgeable about food and has genuine restaurant chops.”

Agreed. He has the unfortunate tendency to come across as rather smarmy, but his commentary is among the most intelligent of all of the judges – including the regulars. Of course, I never saw The Restaurant, which seems to be the genesis of much of the antipathy directed towards him.

Babyarm & Charles:
“Tough one to go out on. I wondered at the time couldn't she have just flooded that celery with just regular old chicken broth or something to rinse the salt off? Hell, putting raw celery down was perhaps the best choice at that point.”

“Would Jamie have been better off serving the fish without the celery? I know it would have been a major ding, but it might have been a case of better them not see it and think it's bad, than to taste it and realize just how awful it is. I personally would have left it off, because Top Chef has shown a history of taste coming before anything else, even the rules. I wish she had rolled the dice, rather that sending out something that wasn't fit for consumption.”

I don’t think that was an option. I want to take a closer look to that dish to be sure, but I think the celery and the braising sauce were kind of a package deal. Without them, you’re serving a piece of plain seared fish.

Jon Olsen:
“Could you review Leah's restaurant next week? I'll take up a collection to pay for your tab.”

Ha!

“Ted Allen speech to say "that dish was /tiny cut/ my favorite of the night." (I still believe that's what happened in S4 finale)”

I’d have to check, but I believe Ted is on record as believing he got a manipulative edit there.

Aaalex:
“[Toby] might be fine in print, but what comes across (on TV) is attitude and a sheepdog-like desire to please with a bon mot or a cutting analogy.”

Which I’d probably be okay with if, you know, they were funny, or at least came off as earnest rather than scripted.

Rachael:
“This was definitely a show all about the editing. It's clear that the judges knew she was gone as soon as they tasted the dish but played up the flaws in Leah and Hosea's dish so as to make it appear as though it was a tougher decision.”

No question. The reality is that it’s their job to try to maintain some suspense, even in the situations where there isn’t any. And I don’t mind this as long as they don’t misrepresent what people DO say. Unfortunately, we’ve seen at least one glaring example of just that this season, and even when they’re honest but a little selective in trying to build some suspense, that just encourages the “OMG it’s teh evil producers!!!” crowd.

Princess Kate:
“I've noticed some of the judging is predicated on the idea that the Top Chef has to ultimately be some kind of "leader", presumably of a restaurant kitchen. Is this really the case?”

Eh... it’s kind of remnant from season one, when Harold and Tiffany were INCREDIBLY close, and the judges were desperately searching for any daylight between them so they could declare one the winner. I doubt it would have even come up if one had been notably better on the food front. I don’t doubt their sincerity in considering leadership, but you get the sense it was more of a third or fourth tiebreaker than a primary consideration. And because it figured into the very first finals decision, people kind of hung onto it for a long time as something “official”.

Paula:
“"Case showed almost nothing all season long"? That's not how I remember it at all. I don't quite see the Carla/Casey connection either. What am I missing?”

Casey didn’t look like any great shakes until very late in the season, leading to speculation that the editors intentionally downplayed her performance only to have her come on strong for dramatic effect. It’s speculation, though.

[Charles]

I could see an epic failure in the finals.

Fabio and Carla don't strike me as the types that will do well with finals pressure.

Fabio's weakness in technique would really manifest itself in any situation where he had multiple dishes going and was under enormous pressure. It would be a lot of overcooked, too heavily seasoned, kind of comments.

Carla, well I just can't see her being in charge and telling her sous chefs what to do. I also have a hard time imagining her concocting several noteworthy dishes. Maybe one or two, but anything more than that would be likely to either crash and burn spectacularly or be incredibly mundane.

Hosea would probably represent himself well. And, even if he didn't I think they'd edit it so that it looked closer. It'd be interesting to see him telling others what to do.

Leah, well we've all seen what she's capable of doing or choosing not to do.

[wolfefan]

A small side-note.... is there any doubt that Richard Blais is the best writer of any of the official TC bloggers? Reading the closing paragraph of his most recent post, I was struck by the wonderful metaphor. I am impressed that he is so thoughtful and such a stylist as a writer.

"There are two rewards you get from being on Top Chef. One is an egg. It’s a $100,000 egg. One chef gets it each season. The other is a chicken. And some of these chefs don’t realize that chickens make eggs."

Great stuff. I wish all of their bloggers were even half this good as writers. Some of them seem to spend about 5 minutes on the whole blog entry, and it shows.

[ash]

Lou - not sure if anyone has said this yet but Jaime said she wasn't ready when Ripert stopped by and that's why he didn't taste/critique her dish prior to service. Nothing sinister or producer related, but I'm sure it didn't help her chances.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

Agreed Wolfefan. Love his writing and what a great analogy.

Don't like Bravo web site, but I have not had a problem with it. Maybe because I use my mac for it, not my windows computer.

Stefan 1-4!!! good ranking Jake.

1. Stefan
2. Hosea
3. Leah
4. Carla
5. Fabio

[Skillet Doux]

"Don't like Bravo web site, but I have not had a problem with it. Maybe because I use my mac for it, not my windows computer."

Cute, Gilmore... but unless Macs have the power to spontaneously generate videos that were never posted, or take a massive page of jumbled videos and neatly categorize them in a way the web designers never conceived of, or to have the link on a video's category... you know... actually bring up a page of other videos in that category rather than just going to that single video, or for there to be ANY way to sort through the videos rather than paging through 140 of them, it's just a matter of bad, bad design.

Don't get me wrong. I've been led to believe that Macs can make my photo album, do my taxes, wash my car, feed my kid, solve the financial crisis and do the limbo, but I think the Bravo site is beyond even their mystical superpowers.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

I am not a mac bigot. I use it for internet and photography. I have 5 windows machines for business, email, etc. Just have not had a problem on the Bravo site, even though I do not like the looks of it.

[Skillet Doux]

Ah... then forgive me for misreading that as a thinly veiled shot :-)

(For the record, I've always seen it as apples and oranges... no pun intended... a matter of preference and computing style. It's the smugness of the hardcore devotees of either that always gets me riled up.)

Ugh... nevermind... I hate this subject. Forget I said anything :-)

[Unhappy Gilmore]

I can be obnoxious and arrogant, but never smug.

[Megan H.]

"Don't get me wrong. I've been led to believe that Macs can make my photo album, do my taxes, wash my car, feed my kid, solve the financial crisis and do the limbo, but I think the Bravo site is beyond even their mystical superpowers."

Woah...I clearly bought the wrong Mac!

I'll join the choir of people unhappy with using post-show interview footage during the show. This is the second week in a row that I have known who was going home within the first ten minutes, due to obvious post/near cry faces.

I know you have limited time - but can't you hide it a little better?? Maybe interview the loser the next day while they are hiding with other eliminees?

It was a fun mental game for me to try to come up with ideas as for how Jamie maybe wouldn't lose, as she was my favorite. Alas, my mental gymnastics could not save her!

[Weirdsmobile]

Wow, I think some of you guys came into this episode with Jamie-colored glasses on. I'm not that guy who always claims he saw the twist ending coming, but seeing Jamie's interview clips during the Le Bernardin lunch, I figured there was a 75% chance she was eliminated -- which shocked me as much as anyone else. Jamie was visibly upset in her interview, and the clincher was her "meh" attitude towards Ripert's cooking, which reeked of sour grapes.

I haven't been a fan of Jamie for a while now -- her attitude is way too sour, and she clearly came in with this attitude like she would just skate though the competition. Based on what I've seen of her, she appears to think very highly of herself, so I'll admit to a bit of schadenfreude at seeing her eliminated on a night that not only saw Carla among the winners, but also Jamie losing to...Leah?? So I'm not sorry to see her go. Frankly, she was sucking a lot of the fun out of the show for me.

To those suggesting Jamie didn't deserve to get cut: I would have cried "producer manipulation" if she hadn't gone home. For pete's sake, hers was the only dish that was actually inedible! And her screwup was completely avoidable, had she been paying attention to her celery.

The most outrageous thing about her performance this episode was her suggestion that Ripert's food is too ordinary. This coming from the chef who at least a couple of times expressed disdain for some unusual flavor combination, in one case losing out to that combination. So...whatever. Frankly, I wasn't wowed by most of the stuff she produced during the season. Although I really thought she'd make it to the end, I also thought she was a little overrated.

By the way -- I had forgotten about this until she mentioned it, but my wife reminds me that Carla said early on that she was classically trained, so I guess her busting out some French cooking skills shouldn't be too shocking. Anyway, I still don't think she'll beat Stefan, but I would love to see her make it to the finals. Man, if she somehow won, it would be the all-time Top Chef rope-a-dope upset.

P.S. Toby sux.

[Skillet Doux]

"The most outrageous thing about her performance this episode was her suggestion that Ripert's food is too ordinary."

Fact check... two of Jamie's quotes were edited into the lunchtime segment, neither of which said anything about Ripert's food being ordinary:

"It’s delicious, but to be honest I’m actually bored with this kind of food, so, it’s not something I’m inspired by."

"This is definitely my least favorite out of the six dishes. I think the sauce is a little weird. Um, I’m not really a fan of celery anyway, though, but – and then to braise it, I just— I don’t like it."

Unless there's another line somewhere else that I'm missing (entirely possible), I think it's grossly mischaracterizing her comments to say she called Ripert's food "too ordinary". Though "bored" is kind of a loaded word, I simply read it to mean that his style isn't one she finds compelling, which isn't the same thing. For example, lots of people are bored with MG, but few of them would describe it as ordinary. As to whether her feelings are justified, I've never eaten at Le Bernardin (much to my dismay), so I'm not in any position to say.

At any rate, draw whatever conclusions about her attitude you like from what was shown... just trying to maintain accuracy :-)

[kit]

Inspired by the discussion over Jamie's comments, can we discuss Ripert's food for a second?

My understanding is that Le Bernardin, though showing "global" influences, is at heart hyper-French, and hyper *subtle*. Yes, it's had 4 stars from the NYTimes since like before the Civil War, and is one of only 3 restaurants in the NYC area to have Michelin 3-stars, all of this being even more amazing considering its essentially considered a temple to fish. But honestly, I can see how eating 5 courses centered around a precious square of fish prancing amidst some delicate this and refined that, accomplished via some crazy techniques involving 50 gallons of supreme-virgin olive oil, 3 sage leaves of exactly identical size, and a blessing from the Dalai Lama, is not everyone's "cup of tea" (as Chef Tom says). Did I mention his food is subtle?

(Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting Ripert is one of those chefs who believes a complicated technique, by itself, adds value. I'm sure he subscribes to that school of flavor being paramount, and something annoying/difficult/obscure is only worth doing if there are perceivable results in the finished product. But I do question what percentage of the population is capable of perceiving or appreciating these subtle differences that his culinary gymnastics have wrought.)

Upshot is, I can see how one can appreciate the skill, palate, and maturity of voice (yay for Dom's Holy Trinity of chefery :) ) that goes into a dish, without really enjoying (as a diner) or feeling inspired by (as a chef) the dish.

[Weirdsmobile]

@Dom: I'll totally admit there's a lot of room for subjective interpretation in what Jamie said (not to mention that the editing makes it impossible to know the full context). When I hear food described as boring and uninspiring, my knee-jerk assumption is that they mean it's ordinary. Which you're 100% right to point out is not necessarily the case. Mea culpa.

However, I think the reason my thoughts went that way is that her quote came a few seconds after Fabio enthused about how the food was so basic and well-executed, without a lot of "foo-foo." With Jamie's comment following close behind, the impression I was left with was that this simple quality was what Jamie was referring to when she said she was bored/uninspired by "this kind of food." So, while it's true that her comments could be taken any number of ways, I don't think my take is COMPLETELY unfair.

Speaking of editing, maybe it was just me and my Toby-hate glasses, but my laugh-out-loud moment was when Toby started opining about one of the dishes and they cut to a shot of Tom looking down at his plate, and it totally looked like he was thinking, "Oh God, here we go..." =)

[Skillet Doux]

Weirdsmobile:

No, no, I understand why you walked away with the impression you did. I just thought using the word ordinary was (untentionally) putting words in her mouth a little bit, and I thought the quotes bore mentioning, that's all.

And, BTW, whether genuine or a product of editing, I caught that look too. It was PRICELESS.

[aaalex]

Reading Richard Blais' blog I was left a little bemused. Blais criticizes Stefan for choosing "the easiest" dish to reproduce: the lobster. In effect, Blais sides with Hosea, getting down in Stefan for not doing enough. To me, this sounds like sour grapes from Hosea, but maybe a little jealousy on Richard Blais' part. I mean, in his earlier blog entries, Blais insisted that Top Chef is not the real world but a competition that should be played in the spirit of competition. (He criticized Radhika for not choosing Stefan, one of the best chefs, to be on her team.) But in choosing the lobster, Stefan was playing precisely in the spirit of the competition. He used his first choice to choose something he knew he could do and do well. Should he have left the lobster for Hosea? Does anyone imagine for a second Hosea would have complained about having to do the lobster, if it had been left? In both these last two episodes, Stefan has made very wise choices: Andrea and lobster. One of them (Andrea) didn't pay off, but it was still the right choice. So, which is it, Mr Blais, play this like the competition it is or make things unnecessarily difficult for oneself? The reason Blais' inconsistency feels like jealousy is that he made a point of mentioning how great (maybe the greatest, says Blais) Stefan's run of cooking has been. So, to me Blais' silly criticism feels like a surprisingly petty way of cutting down Stefan's accomplishment. Stefan is playing his hand very well.

[Robert Johnson]

[“I know alot of people strongly dislike Rocco, but I have a hard time understanding where it comes from. Personally, I enjoy his appearances as a judge, he seems very knowledgeable about food and has genuine restaurant chops.”
Agreed. He has the unfortunate tendency to come across as rather smarmy, but his commentary is among the most intelligent of all of the judges – including the regulars. Of course, I never saw The Restaurant, which seems to be the genesis of much of the antipathy directed towards him.]

You've correctly put your finger on why Rocco makes my skin crawl: watching him in The Restaurant. His smarminess was in the stratosphere and it's impossible to look at him without remembering his awfulness on that show. It also didn't help when he came on Top Chef pimping Bertolli Frozen Pasta dinners.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

I won a trip to NYC in 1991. My wife and I ate at Lutece, Le Cirque, La Cote Basque and Le Bernardin. Gilbert Le Coze was still alive and was chef. This was our first exposure to French Cuisine. Le Bernardin was our least favorite. The food appeared plain to our redneck eyes. The flavors were not laced with cayenne pepper. To us, there was no flavor. The food at the other three looked more complicated. The sauces were richer. The food was heavier. And the plates were fuller. A lot older and a little wiser, I hope I can go back and better understand the delicate flavors and combinations. Hopefully, I can better appreciate the apparent genius of their food.

[Charles]

@wierdsmobile: I think you're being a little hard on Jamie. She never gave off the warm fuzzies, but she handled herself well on the show.

Arrogance has never bothered me as long as the person can back it up and Jamie showed throughout the season she had the goods. And - here's a distinction - she wasn't THAT arrogant. Geez. It's not like she walking around spiking spatulas when she won. What was her biggest sin? She made some dubious comments about Rippert's food, but they were respectful. It didn't inspire her. It's not like she spit the food out and said it sucked.

If anything I appreciated the way she took the rejection in stride. No tears. No whining about the unfairness of it all. No "but, but, but, but." She made the worse dish and accepted the punishment. She could have went on a Leah rant or tried to call her out at the judge's table. She didn't.

One last thing, I also liked the point she made about if she had to lose, she would rather lose trying to recreate someone else's dish than for something of her own creation. From a competitor's standpoint, I can understand that logic.

The entire show just got a lot less interesting for this season. I'll still watch, though.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

I meant to add that Eric Ripert and others on the Bravo blogs/videos said that none of the dishes was easy to recreate. Cooking lobster is not a slam dunk. I would also wager that the hollandaise was not standard out of a jar sauce. Probably seasoned in a way that tested Stefan's palate to recreate. What looks simple on a plate at Le Bernardin is not.

[JW]

About Jamie: She seemed to get her ego in check a little as the season went on. She was getting on my last nerve early with the "why haven't I won yet" whine and the bitching at Danny for dropping crumbs, but seemed to calm down in the later episodes.

About Richard Blais:
1. The comparisons between Stephan "running away with it" this year and Blais last year...Now, I'm a fan of Blais, too, but it's my memory that he and Stephanie were neck-in-neck last year. The only surprise out of that final would have been if Lisa - or Antonia - had won. Am I misremembering?

2. Also love Blais's blog. Someone else has already mentioned the chicken/egg discussion from this week, which I think, shows a lot of maturity - and wisdom - on the whole process.

3. I work right down the street from Blais's new burger place, Flip, and I've been there twice. Nice spot, and great burgers with some interesting flavors. Had the pate melt, but preferred the butcher's cut burger with blue cheese and carmelized onions (though that's more a personal preference than any reflection on the pate melt). Sides were a little inconsistent...fries were a little better the second time.

[kit]

Is it just me, or did it seem any extra seafood chops that Hosea claims to have ("I'm the seafood guy") go pretty much unnoticed by Ripert? Hosea hinted to Ripert that seafood is his thing ("I do seafood") during the QF, but by the time they came around to eating his EC dish, Ripert looked surprised when he found out Hosea is a chef in a seafood restaurant. It's probably Stefan's fault though, something to do with him being from Europe. :)

[Ally]

Isn't it the editors' job to surprise us? Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride...

[Jake]

Re: Jamie -- if you were an excellent chef, and you knew it, and you kept finishing in second place, wouldn't you be a little frustrated (possibly with yourself as well as the competition)? I have zero problems with her alleged attitude, especially after she handled her elimination with grace and class.

She's one of the contestants that absolutely knows what they want to do, and how to do it.

[rab01]

Gilmore, I have to admit I've been underwhelmed by Le Bernardin too. The last time I ate there was probably ten years ago and the food was perfectly prepared but that didn't make it automatically exciting, interesting or memorably tasty. I think to apperciate Le Bernardin I would have had to be a true lover of fish and interested in seeing someone wring the utmost out of the fish I ordered. I've enjoyed meals at less well-regarded restaurants like Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill much more becuse the spices and marinades shared equal billing with the protein. "Respecting the ingredients" isn't the only standard to which a cook can aspire.

[bfish]

Too funny about "Stefan's fault", kit. I noticed exactly the same thing as you -- and think Hosea made repeated references to being a fish cook, working in a seafood restaurant, etc., in the QF. Yes, Ripert seemed quite surprised when Tom said fish should be Hosea's specialty.

[Lon]

As with the previous two seasons, the show gets more interesting when there are eight or fewer chefs left. Challenges are stronger, performances are better. . .and we can actually see who is doing what because there isn't all the noise from so many bodies.

Early in the season Top Chef doesn't even have time to show all the chef's dishes during tasting. It's pretty much a crap shoot until the last five or six shows.

Even with all that said, I don't think the top five this year - with the exception of Stefan - are nearly as talented or passionate as the top five in any of the previous seasons. That was Jamie's undoing, obviously. If she liked a dish, she did well. If she didn't, forget it. That's a confidence issue, as she alluded to in her final comments, so I hope she's developed a better confidence level now.

On another note, I'm glad to see Bravo is sharing the "Sequester" house info. I wonderered where the contestants went after elimination. Must be excruciated for the first ones elminated from competition to sit around with nothing to do for another five-six weeks.

[jsd]

I think Stefan's eel filleting is going to go down in Top Chef history as one of those classic moments like Hung's chicken deconstruction. I loved it!

[Brent]

"Yes, Ripert seemed quite surprised when Tom said fish should be Hosea's specialty."

This could be because he was thinking, "then why did he screw up two fillets in the QF and then screw up the monkfish in the EC?"

[Elise]

One thought on the Richard/Stefan comparison. Yes, this time season four most of us thought Richard would win, but not easily. Stephanie was there to make him sweat, and there was the unlikely, but not impossible chance of Antonia coming up with something inspired. To come up with a real parallel between season four and five, the season four line up would have been Richard, Lisa, Spike, and Andrew. Yeah, one of the other three could have won it, but only by sacrificing their first and second born kids to Moloch. (And it's likely that win would have been in the form of Richard's oven/stove exploding and destroying his meal. Not better cooking.)

Well, maybe that's a tad harsh, but the point stands.

[Gilby]

JW, you aren't wrong about Richard and Stephanie. There was an expectation that Richard would run away with it, but Stephanie kept matching him throughout the season. Which is why the final result can't be considered some shocking thing--or if the final is shocking, it is no more so than the rest of the season. But, yeah, Antonia or Lisa winning it all would have been an amazing shock.

[mncharm]

Count me in as a lover of this episode. Had to play catch up over the last week on the previous three episodes -- this was far and away the best.

Sorry to see Jamie go for her cooking prowess, but I'd pretty much given up on the overall talent level of this season anyway. Happily, it has been replaced by several personalities that are fun to watch. I hardly hope that is the direction the show goes in the future -- I wouldn't remain a fan for long -- but hey, I can understand that sometimes you pick the wrong people talent-wise. In this instance, we have Carla to keep us amused in the interim. I think she's in the lead for my favorite Top Chef personality.

Also, like many others, enjoyed the team effort of this last episode, as well as Ripert's hints and comments. Very cool challenge.

[Tim]

Several comments (including one of my own) have all echoed the sentiment that arrogance is fine as long as you can back it up. And I'm starting to think that's not altogether a true statement. Now I'm not opening a thread here to take a personal swipe at anyone on the show, but to question this standard.
There is a difference between personal pride and arrogance. Pride means 'self-confidence' and is generally a good thing as long as you can back it up. Arrogance is personal pride combined with a varying degree of disdain for the work of others. I'm not saying that this automatically makes you a bad person. We all at least have a touch of arrogance. But it is a flaw and sometimes it could be counter-productive if not critical.
I think in the last episode we just saw an instance of that where one chef-testant apparently didn't put her heart into a dish because she couldn't appreciate its concept. In defense of Jamie, I think she was just being honest but not cynical in her opinion. But others have pointed out that this seemed to be a trend with her, though less annoying as with other chef-testants (names have been omitted so that Stefan will not attack me - LOL). I guess the point I'm making is that in whatever profession it's good to respect other professionals no matter at what level they are at as we can learn always learn something - even from the dishwasher.

[Independent George]

I remember Stephanie as excellent, but extremely inconsistent early on; she alternated between convincing wins & top finishes with being put on the chopping block ('Zoo Food', "Improv', and the peanut butter couscous). She finally hit her stride mid-season right around Wedding Wars and was neck-and-neck with Richard heading into the finale.

I recall Hung dominating from the start, but I also remember him having troubles mid-season (although, I also remember it seeming more like he was holding back instead of errors in execution). Early on, Tre seemed like the only one who could keep up with him, and I thought it would get boring once he was dropped.

I've blocked season 2 from my memory.

Season 1 had a huge dropoff after Leanne; if anything, that talent gap was even bigger than this year's.

[Omelet]

What a worthy episode. Almost everything has already been said but there is one thing I am curious about. Are there normally hammers and nails lying about in the Top Chef kitchen? It just strikes me as amazing that Stefan could find these items so quickly and that Hosea was able to as well once he saw how the eel should be handled. If there are not normally there, I would think it would be a huge clue to see them casually placed with the other supplies...

[wolfefan]

I didn't read Blais as being terribly critical of Stefan, but maybe that's just me. I really enjoyed Stefan's burning questions interview. If there was any doubt that he really was posting here, the syntax and style of the interview put that doubt to rest.

RE: next week - someone earlier noted that Wylie Dufresne was one of the judges. Didn't Fabio say something about working in molecular gastronomy early in the season? Were those spherical olives he did in week one (I think) an example of MG? I'm not really familiar at all with the trend...

[JW]

Wolfefan, I don't think Blais was criticizing Stefan...apart from maybe saying he's playing it too safe. I think his most pointed criticism was directed more at Jamie for her Eric Ripert remarks and, definitely, at Jeff for his comments about Tom Colicchio in People magazine.

[Adam]

Having eaten at Hosea's restaurant more than once, I wasn't really surprised by his failure with the Sardines and the Eel. As he said himself, those aren't fish he serves in his restaurant. If he had messed up the one conventional fish fillet of the three, the Char, I would have been surprised, but by all accounts his was the best of the four.

His failure with the Monkfish seemed like a timing issue as much as anything else - not leaving himself the right amount of time to let the fish rest.

[Scott]

I think Hosea did say he was good at cooking fish to Eric Ripert, however, Tom said that Hosea is the head chef in a restaurant and would be embarassed if he lost, which wasn't known by Ripert. I think that's what the shocked face is? I'm just ugessing.

[Duffy]

Fascinating stuff.

Stephan is probably the best technical chef we have seen – unflappable, innovative in his choice of techniques, and dead-on in execution. He has made no errors in technique or execution this season. That said, and while I do think the odds certainly favor his winning the contest overall, ANY of the remaining five are capable of beating him on a given dish on the basis of flavor. He executes his dish perfectly, but someone makes something that tastes better. Who knows?

I think Hosea is operating at capacity and his lack of classical training and experience is going to catch up to him. But he might get lucky. Who knows??

Fabio and Carla are still unknown quantities. Carla just woke up to the fact that at its foundation, this is a test of classical cooking for which she is well trained – and all of a sudden she is charging into the limelight. On past performances, the candle is burning at both ends. On the other hand, if she is finally tapping into her true abilities, who knows?

Fabio is erratic to the point of distraction from brilliant to amateur in the same dish. He is clearly capable of producing outstanding dishes that will carry him into the finals, but he could bomb out at any time. Who knows?

Leah continues to phone it in. She showed glimpses early on of being a truly talented chef, which I suppose got her into the contest to begin with, but if she cannot get her emotions sorted out, she simply cannot last. Tom C obviously wants her gone. On the other hand, if she does suddenly get it together, who knows??

How can anyone say they are not going to watch to see how this all shakes out??

[Dom's cousin]

"On another note, I'm glad to see Bravo is sharing the "Sequester" house info. I wonderered where the contestants went after elimination. Must be excruciated for the first ones elminated from competition to sit
around with nothing to do for another five-six weeks."

Lon, what is this sequester house info of which you speak? I had no idea the PPKYAG'd contestants had to stay hidden during the entire filming. Which makes sense if people know who they are and what they're doing, but kinda not since they film so far in advance...?

[Skillet Doux]

"Lon, what is this sequester house info of which you speak? I had no idea the PPKYAG'd contestants had to stay hidden during the entire filming. Which makes sense if people know who they are and what they're doing, but kinda not since they film so far in advance...?"

Without the sequester house, people could determine the order of eliminaton by finding out when people returned to work, etc. This way, everybody is released back into the wild, so to speak, at the same time. It's not a foolproof system, of course, but it makes it harder for enterprising sneaks to figure out the results ahead of time.

[Esben]

Jamie would do well at Top Apathy. Her skills do not extend to courtesy, class or curiosity. Wearing flip-flop slippers, a T-shirt and sweat-skirt that grumbles “I just gave up on life” to a flea market or Lilith fair is a great idea, but to Le Bernardin for a meal with the very philanthropic Mr. Ripert while showing boredom is disrespectful and what pouty teenagers do. After looking at the Absinthe menu, she could have learned a thing or two about fish.

[David]

Interesting, indeed. I think at this point of the competition, we are seeing one contestant, Carla, trust herself, and others, Leah and Fabio, showing their true colors.

Stefan has been steady, and confident or cocky, he's playing the game. I'm actually not sold that he's the best chef in the group, because "best" is rather subjective. Best at what? I think, without a doubt, that Stefan is very talented, but does remind me of Hung. Skill with no feeling. Regardless, He's not my favorite, but, he's got to be considered the lead horse in this race.

If Hosea can get past his penis envy, he could be a contender. I haven't seen Hosea have major slips, and he's shown creativity.

Carla, who I have called the sleeper all season, is proving me right. I don't think she just discovered skills at this late stage. To the contrary, I suspect that she's been too in her head thinking about what the judges want versus cooking her food and trusting it's good. I think many talented chefs go on this show and suffer a bit of self doubt when facing prestigious judges and talented competition. In the preview for next week's episode, Carla talks about not coming into the business until her 30s. Juxtapose that to Stefan who's been cooking since he was a teenager. I, for one, am not surprised by this surge by Carla. My only fear is that she will go back to a moment of doubt and second guessing herself and lay an egg at the wrong time.

Fabio. Ugh. He bothers me. I am not charmed, but can understand why others are. Maybe it's because I'm not a sucker for an accent. He's got some good chuckle moments, but this is not Last Comic Standing. I'm looking at his food. That oatmeal eggplant roll looked like some disaster that Gordon Ramsey encounters on Kitchen Nightmares. I have yet to see Fabio plate a really well executed dish. The Superbowl dish, and his excuses, offended me. The Focus Group dish was 50/50. Gail's Bridal shower was meh. I could go on, but why? He will move into the finals only because someone else will goof up next week. I don't see him in the final 3.

Leah. I am trying not to be petty, but I don't even feel like expending the brain watts to explain why she needs to go. Don't get me wrong. I was impressed with Leah early on, but she comes across like a talented slacker. If only she had some motivation. Perhaps it's because she's young, but it appears that the grind of shooting the season in a condensed period of time is catching up with her. Only more mature and/or seasoned veterans can sustain the mental and professional energy needed to perform well each and every show. In the last couple of episodes, she's just flamed out. Even her Superbowl dish was lackluster, and she won almost by default than a superior dish.

So, if you weren't following my order, I've got it like this,

1. Stefan
2. Hosea
3. Carla
4. Fabio
5. Leah

I think that's how we will see the season conclude. The only suspenseful race at this point is between Carla and Fabio for fan favorite. I think Carla's got that one.

[Dom's cousin]

Sequester house: Makes sense. That's gotta suck though, especially if you're one of the first ones kicked off like Lon said. I wonder if they do anything else besides drink and occasionally get trotted out to wear foam fingers. Those After the Knife videos are illuminating, I'll have to start looking more closely for those.

[aaalex]

David: best is not entirely subjective. Otherwise, there's no grounds on which to compare the chefs. Stefan has been "consistent", true. But that's a word that hides what he's actually done. He's the only one who's won eliminations with both entrees and desserts. He's done lobster as well as Eric Ripert (by Ripert's own admission), one of the best chefs in the world. And his "comfort food", dumplings, was highly praised. The only one who has his range is Carla (Jeff did too, but ...). His food consistently tastes better than the other chefs', according to the judges, and the idea that he isn't "creative" is belied by the quick desserts he made with oatmeal AND the way he chilled his desserts with a makeshift freezer during restaurant wars. His skills as a butcher are also pretty good. Hosea's char might have been slightly better filleted than Stefan's, but there was no comparison of their eel fillets. Stefan's was so far superior, it was embarrassing watching Bravo try to create tension about the quickfire winner.

As the competition goes on, it's also becoming clearer that, although he can come across as "arrogant", he is not at all selfish. He helped Leah by letting her know her miso wasn't present enough, helped plate Carla's entree (along with the others) at Le Bernardin, and wished Leah and Jamie, whom he clearly likes and who clearly likes him, good luck before they went out to JT. (One of the things that makes this season so enjoyable is the liking the chefs have for each other and their generosity. It was revealing watching Stefan, Fabio, Hosea and Leah playing around with their own "quickfire challenge" last episode. And it was touching watching Stefan hug Jamie after she was eliminated. Also, in his post win interview, Stefan teased Hosea, but in an obviously friendly way. This season is so far from Season 2 it's ridiculous.)

Also, Hosea's and Blais' knocks at Stefan (that he chose the "easy" lobster (Hosea), that he's "taking his foot off the gas" (Blais)) make no sense. Stefan knows he's in a competition. By choosing the lobster, a dish he knew he could do well, he put pressure on the others to perform well. And not only did he get the lobster right, as a way of merely keeping himself in, he nailed it. (That's what I would call stepping ON the gas, not "taing your foot off".) Blais' comment that "you’re a chef, there’s matsutake mushrooms over there!" was thoroughly and completely stupid. If Stefan wins the competition, the money will allow him to fill a room with matsusake mushrooms and sleep on them if he chooses. Until then, until the last show when he can cook whatever the hell he chooses, Stefan should go on playing exactly as he is: seeking advantages were he can find them and cooking to the best of his abilities.

[David]

Thanks Alex. You write a rather passionate defense of Stefan. I don't know if that was all directed at me because I never suggested that he wasn't a fair player. In fact, I think that Stefan is not much of a jerk as the editing would make him out to be. I still suspect he's a bit cocky, but that could just easily be because he's insecure. (overcompensation) As I said, though, he's the lead horse and I admire his skills. I just think that the very things you commented on--helping others--could be also attributed to Carla. I think Stefan likes a good challenge and wouldn't derive any satisfaction if he felt his competitor(s) was not at full strength. (There are those who think Stefan sabotaged Leah's dish, but I don't agree.)

I think that in addition to his cooking skills, one of Stefan's MOs is to get into people's heads. He's quite adept at it, and clearly it's gotten to Hosea.

One correction, though. Carla has also won for a dessert(Stone Barn) and an entree (Superbowl).

[aaalex]

David: so sorry, no, I wasn't directing my comments at you in particular. I was responding to the idea that this is an entirely subjective game, and I wanted to think through just what Stefan has done. (Hung gets similar treatment to Stefan, sometimes: the idea that he's technically skillful but not quite at the top creative level. And, maybe no surprise, I liked Hung, too.) I completely agree about Carla and I'd forgotten the dessert win at Stone Barn. I did say, though, that I think she (and poor Jeff) were the only ones to show range equal to Stefan's. (Jamaie didn't.) The more I think about Carla, especially after the Bernardin show, the more I suspect she's very very good. I watched the first show of this season again, a few days ago, and I was surprised that Carla had, from the start, mentioned her classical training. I shouldn't have been at all surprised by her performance at Le Bernardin, but, like some people, I'd bought into the presentation of her in the edits. I'm hoping she makes the final three and I'm really wondering, if she does make it, which side of her will be on display for the finals: home cooking/New Orleans or classical French technique. How strange would it be, if two "caterers" were among the three finalists for Top Chef?

As for Stefan sabotaging Leah's dish ... how could that be? Stefan warned Leah there wasn't enough miso in her dish and, at JT, Toby specifically mentioned that the LACK of miso had ruined her dish. Stefan's advice to others always seems spot on. He couldn't tell her how too fix her dish. That isn't his job, but his palate is very fine and he put it at her disposal.

[Liz]

"Without the sequester house, people could determine the order of eliminaton by finding out when people returned to work, etc. This way, everybody is released back into the wild, so to speak, at the same time."

Makes sense, but is also makes nonsense of all those post-elimination videos of contestants saying, "I can go home now and see my family", etc.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

No posts for 24 hours?

Any thoughts on the preview of Fabio cutting himself?

Preview of his demise or drama and overcoming the injury?

I think he will overcome the injury.

[anon man]

I'm not sure what the challenge is for next week, but isn't Fabio pulling Lydia Broalasrjkfwifjvich (I won't even try, sorry), in the previews a huge advantage for him? Assuming you're supposed to do something for/inspired by/whatever the name you pull, isn't the Italian pulling the Italian chef a gift. (Which he looks to lose by doing his best Hell's Kitchen impression and badly injuring himself.)

[David]

I didn't notice that Fabio pulled an Italian chef. I had a similar thought when I noticed Carla pulled Jacques Pépin. There's been all this build up about her French culinary training and she pulls Pépin. That seems like a gift, too. I would have thought Fabio pulling Wylie Dufresne would have been a gift for the EC, since he's shown an interest in molecular gastronomy.

As for the injury, I don't know. We'll have to see. When I saw the clip, I admit being a little incredulous. I wouldn't put it past Fabio to play injured. Rather analogous to a sprinter developing a sudden hamstring pull when he knows there's no chance of catcihng the guy in the next lane.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

I would think that Fabio pulling an Italian or MG chef is a disadvantage, as with Carla pulling Pepin. The expectations would be very high. Like with Mr. Seafood's high expectations from Coliccio.

[Cheryl]

About the sequester house (I actually haven't watched any of that on the Top Chef site), but I would expect that once the episode airs where you are eliminated, you can truly back your knives and go home. The secret's out at that point and you can have your life back.

[Scott]

Hey Cheryl,
They can go home way before that. Remember top chef is filmed within three-four weeks in the summer so by the time the episode airs, they have already wrapped it up filming except for the finale (correct me if I'm wrong). So everybody goes home at the same time, nobody asks questions

[anon man]

I'm not sold on Fabio's MG chops. I rememebr the olives, was there anything else?

Random semi-related question. This challenge has me interested in trying some more interesting fish preparation and the "simple as complicated" approach. Anyone ever used the Le Bernadin cookbook? Is it any good? Any of these recipes? I would love to try the sourdough one that Fabio did.

[redpoint]

Just want to put in my 2 cents about Jamie's criticism of Le Bernadin. I ate there once a few years ago and I thought it was a little boring also. Don't disparage Jamie because she says it isn't her favorite food. Perhaps its refined, but not always exciting. Braised celery? Yuck!

[babyarm]

It's still funny to me to see people who are fooled by the timing of the episodes. I guess that's why Bravo keeps up the charade. Always the suckers out there.

I think they use the sequesters every day to run them out to the cars and take them somewhere while the chefs shop. There were lots of paparazzi around the condo where they had the chefs and now looking at those shots and who were in them it's obvious they used the SH people as shills to jam the paparazzi.

Also the real chefs left haven't really gotten out in public in some time. I really haven't seen the spoilers like in years past. The Season 3 was the worst for that because there weren't as many blogs established with tight parameters. The last 6 chefs off was leaked with about 10 weeks to go and it was right on the money to the last finalists which was announced live.

There were a few things I saw early about this season, but they were incorrect so far which is nice. (Fabio goes out very early was one of them) I've avoided seeking or seeing anything since then though the bravo editing has spoiled more stuff than anyone this year.

I do know another season 3 chef will make an appearance at a later episode. So be ready for that.

[Skillet Doux]

Heh... I always thought the most effective way Bravo could deal with potential spoilers would be to engage in an internet misinformation campaign. If there are "spoilers" floating around that predict all sort of different outcomes, how would you know which to believe? :-)

[Glen]

Redpoint - great comments. My favorite places to eat when I travel are Italy, Thailand, Cambodia and Hungary. Although I'm sure I would enjoy the food at Le Bernadin very much it is unlikely that it would be my first choice. Thai street food vs. braised celery is not much of a competition for me. Loved Morimoto's - subtle but bold at the same time. An absolutely amazing tasting menu.

Also great comments Babyarm. The Amazing Race does the same thing. Many of the contestants who have already been sent packing participate in the public challenges so nobody will know who is still in. One of the silliest instances of this is when Survivor did Fans vs. Favorites. At the beginning, Johnny Fairply quit so that he could be with his wife while she delivered his child. The reality was he had to stay in sequester until the final episode (not counting the reveal of the winner) 33 days later. It seemed all so sentimental but he knew that there was no way that he'd be with his wife during delivery.

[redpoint]

(twiddling thumbs, hoping to see the rankings here, trying to kill time before starting work)

[mncharm]

Don't you hate it when unpaid bloggers don't post their Power Rankings on time? ;)

Seriously, though...I'm dying over here.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

I agree. My productivity is negative this morning. As I am self-employed, I may have to fire myself.

[aaalex]

Kind of like waiting for the Racing Form to come out when you're going to the races, eh?

[redpoint]

You guys want to go get a drink while we wait?

[Naomi]

>>You guys want to go get a drink while we wait?<<

I'm in! I need a drink. My Power Ranking withdrawls are giving me the shakes (or maybe it's just the coffee....but still...)

[Unhappy Gilmore]

A drink sounds great. Otherwise, I might get arrested for stalking this site.

[Hillary]

Don't worry - you're not the only one who feels like you jinxed Jamie - I thought she was going to win the whole freakin' thing. Still so pissed from last week. The editors of Top Chef gave me false hope with Hosea and Leah finally both in the bottom. Arrrggghhh.

[redpoint]

Time for me to get a life. (sigh)