Top Chef - S4E10 Power Rankings

Wow, just when you thought you couldn't like Spike and Lisa any less. For all the praise lavished on last week's Wedding Wars in and around the blogs and boards, this was what I think of as a good episode. Individual challenges that presented the chefs with some restrictions but still allowed them to spread their wings, the right people on the top and the bottom, dishes that were interesting either on their own merits or because they showed us something about the chefs who produced them, and some great TV conflict to boot.

I love the quickfire, even if it is trailing the trend rather than leading it. Salads had, indeed, fallen on some hard times, but over the past few years I've seen a lot of chefs successfully challenging the notion that you don't make friends with salad, approaching them with a great deal of creativity and getting them out of the old greens + accent vegetables + dressing formula. Salads were well on their way back a few years ago, and I'm sure that's why, generally speaking, all of the chefs performed respectably, even if some had problems.

As for the elimination, yeah yeah, Top Caterer, blah blah blah, but it was a good challenge that told us a lot about the chefs, and it's hard to complain when the right three people end up on the bottom (by which I mean, of course, the three I'd ranked lowest the previous week!). The break between the top and bottom tiers is incredibly distinct now, both in terms of talent and character, and it was made even clearer by the bottom half's remarkable lack of tact at judges' table. Three lousy dishes, three arrogant, combative exchanges, three chefs who deserved to go home. I know I wasn't the only one thinking this, but man, how great would it have been if Tom had said, "You know what? All three of you can pack your knives and leave. The rest of you, go get some sleep, have a beer, enjoy the city for a while and we'll see you in a couple of weeks." Alas, there can be only one, even on the bottom, and so we're left wondering if the remaining scrubs will sneak into the upper echelon.

Aside from Andrew's ouster, no movement this week whatsoever. The degree to which every single chef did exactly what we've come to expect from them this week was almost comical. But that doesn't mean we didn't learn anything interesting. Far from it, in fact.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Richard Quickfires 4 7 2 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 3 4 1 You can't dominate every single week, and even though this wasn't one of Richard's strongest, he did just fine, was never in any danger, and didn't give us any reason to worry even if he was flying under the radar a bit. Seeing the recipe for his "Fresh & Clean" salad, I'm a little surprised that Sam called it out. I wonder if Richard got himself into trouble playing the expectations game by using the word ceviche, but light salad with beets, avocado, jicama, cantaloupe and pear dressed with a vinaigrette that incorporates ginger, lime, yuzu and truffle oil sounds awfully nice to me. Perhaps it didn't quite come together right. And for the elimination, he produced another smart dish, tailored to the challenge, combining some Asian and Latin flavors in a package that was healthy and refreshing but still looked quite hearty. A solid week, even if it didn't earn him recognition.

2 Dale Quickfires 1 5 2 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 3 5 1 Dale, meanwhile, pops right back and justifies the number two spot that so many seem to feel he doesn't deserve. If you'll forgive the tangent here for a moment, the debate over Dale's strength harkens back to an old subject that I think it's time to address -- partly because it's received a ton of play since his performance last week, and partly because I have a hunch it's going to figure significantly into next week's show. Both here and on other blogs and boards, a common sentiment seems to be that Dale can't or shouldn't win because he isn't a good teammate and a good leader. This isn't a novel line of criticism by any means. It's been applied to countless chefs over the course of the show's run. But when people say that the Top Chef must exhibit a good sense of teamwork and leadership, the only thing I can think is, "Says who?" The fact is that good food comes first, and everything else -- even the parameters of the challenge, sometimes -- is secondary. As I've talked about here throughout the season, there are no hard and fast rules. Of course leadership is valued and it's the kind of thing the judges like to lean on for team challenges and when it's such a close call that they're digging for ways to separate the contestants. But the bottom line is that whoever cooks the best food is going to walk away with the prize. This notion that leadership is somehow mandatory is a construction of the audience, not the judges, and I think it's a remnant of the first season, when Howard and Tiffani were very, very close and the judges were looking at a lot of factors. But who's won since then? Ilan and Hung. How, exactly, were they good leaders who everybody wanted to work with? Don't get me wrong, this particular failing could yet come back to bite Dale in the ass (I'm especially concerned about next week -- more on that shortly). But if he makes it to the finals and puts better food on the table than everybody else, he could be Terrell Owens with a bottle of toban djan and he's still going to win. This week only solidified my belief that he absolutely must be considered one of the favorites. I dug the idea of the nori paste in his salad (Sam agreed), and the kimchi pickled Brussels sprouts were a really neat way to work a Western ingredient into unfamiliar territory. His elimination dish was clearly inspired by traditional Vietnamese lettuce wraps, but the introduction of a lemongrass-mango marinated bison along with a mango-chile garlic sauce made for a healthy lunch that was simultaneously robust and refined. Yes, Antonia, he's all about the Asian, but he's doing it so creatively and at such a high level that it isn't going to matter. There's a reason none of the judges have called him out for it. He's making great food, which is the most important thing.

3 Antonia Quickfires 3 5 1 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 5 3 I can't quite bring myself to drop Antonia again, but man, is her food boring. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that she's going to make the finals. But I look at her dishes next to the others near the top, and it's abundantly clear that she's surviving on execution. Her salad, admittedly, was one of her more interesting dishes. Her quickfire was essentially a tricked-out salad Lyonnaise, adding mushrooms, sunchokes and squash blossoms to the greens and poached egg, and working bacon grease into the vinaigrette in lieu of lardons. But it was a nifty little reimagining, and I have to give her credit for it. With the elimination, however, she was back to her old ways, sautéing beef and a mirepoix, throwing in some blanched vegetables and seasoning the mix with spice cabinet curry powder. Yeah, it tastes fine, but it's totally uninspired, anybody could make it, and her competition isn't anybody.

4 Stephanie Quickfires 1 2 4 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 2 7 3 Stephanie, in the course of one episode, managed to perfectly embody the schism that could catapult her to the top or bring her crashing down at any moment. The quickfire was bad Stephanie, who took a clever little fall salad with two preparations of artichoke, mushrooms, celery root, basil and a pear vinaigrette and then botched it by getting flustered and making mistakes, even with a 45(!) minute time limit. But then good Stephanie came roaring back, making a hearty, satisfying elimination dish with some fun little twists, working celery root and apples into her squash and seasoning her meatballs with Dijon, balsamic, sambal and oregano. It's this inconsistency that keeps her behind Antonia in the rankings. I have no idea which Stephanie is going to show up over the rest of the season. Hopefully the latter. Probably both.

5 Spike Quickfires 1 3 4 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 0 1 4 The space you see between number four and number five is not a browser malfunction. The break is now so clear that, as a matter of principle, I refuse to put the bottom half that close to the top half. I still struggle a bit with whether I should be putting Spike or Lisa in the basement, but Spike did manage to win a quickfire, and we'll get to Lisa's shortcomings momentarily. This should not, however, be seen as an endorsement of his abilities. I'm a little surprised that his dish pulled down the quickfire win. It struck me as pretty straightforward Vietnamese + pineapple, and you'd think Sam would have seen through that. But he's managed a solid dish here and there, and I can only presume that he executed it perfectly. His elimination, though? What a fricking cop-out. Usually if I see a dish on the show that looks phenomenally boring, upon checking out the recipe little twists and subtleties reveal themselves and I come away with a more positive opinion than I originally held. Not so with Spike's chicken salad. Chicken, mayonnaise, mustard, olives, grapes. What puzzles me, however, isn't the debate over whether or not grapes and olives go together (I'll simply play devil's advocate by saying that not all olives are created equal), but the fact that Spike insisted there was no mayonnaise in the salad, yet there it is in the recipe. As discussed the last time we had a significant show/recipe discrepancy, it's one thing for an ingredient to go missing. It's another entirely for one to be included that was never used. Plus, it turned out last time that the recipe was, in fact, correct. So did Spike blatantly lie about the contents of his chicken salad in an attempt to make it seem healthier, figuring that nobody would call him on it? I certainly wouldn't put it past him. Especially in light of his grand strategy of ingredient selection. It was nice to see that bit of subterfuge backfire on him, even if the incompetence of his fellow bottom-dwellers granted him a reprieve.

6 Lisa Quickfires 0 1 6 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 1 3 4 Okay, it's possible that Lisa is now an even greater enigma to me than Nikki ever was. With Nikki, everybody knew she was phenomenally lucky and should have been gone a long time ago. But here we are in episode ten, and yet another chef -- Antonia, this time -- is singing her praises: "Early in the competition I wasn't really concerned with her, but now I realize Lisa's doing really well and she's strong female competiton." Can somebody explain to me what voodoo Lisa possesses that makes Top Chef contestants and judges alike compliment her left and right while she turns out lousy dish after lousy dish? Unlike many, I got the miso bacon thing. It made sense to me and I think she deserved that win. But since then? Not a single top dish, other than the dessert quickfire that looked suspiciously similar to Stephanie's block party dessert, and -- far more notably -- she's now been on the bottom for SEVEN STRAIGHT CHALLENGES IN A ROW. The only reason I've let this puzzling amount of praise color my opinions is because it's been so damn long since she's broken out her signature style. I kept telling myself that maybe she'd make a sudden move when she got back to her roots. Well, this week she did just that. Her salad looked interesting, at least, pairing squid and lobster with bananas and dressing them with a vinaigrette that included grapefruit, miso (great pairing there, incidentally), yuzu, mango and garlic. But it did look a little sloppy, and Padma and Sam both felt the banana was overpowering. Then, her elimination was a total disaster. Completely setting aside the rice, what kind of self-respecting Asian specialist serves reheated stir fry?!? The whole POINT of stir-fry is to cook the ingredients as hot and quickly as possible so that you achieve the incredible freshness and brightness of raw foods in a cooked dish. Letting the food sit, to say nothing of packaging and reheating it, is the very antithesis of stir-fry. From a chef who didn't specialize in Asian, a gaffe like this would be regrettable but understandable. But for anybody who's spent significant time over a searing hot wok, warmed over stir-fry should be regarded with the same kind of disdain that Italians reserve for gummy, overcooked pasta. Ladies and gentleman, we just got what should have been Lisa's best shot, and she completely bottomed out. I don't care who fawns over her next. I'm convinced it's all smoke and mirrors. The fact that she called Andrew out on the chopping block was just the punctuation mark on her trip to the bottom.

7 Andrew Quickfires 1 2 1 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 5 2 You know, even though the ego king came roaring back in grand fashion this week, I'm still sad to see Andrew go. You have to respect that kind of energy and passion, even if it IS tinged with more than a touch of stark raving madness. There are those who felt Andrew got a raw deal this week (no pun intended). But as much as I, too, would have much rather seen Lisa or Spike go home, I don't think it's hard to understand Andrew's demise if you take a dispassionate view. Even setting aside the dubious medical premise that raw food is inherently healthier, that pseudo-maki just looked awful to me. I'm not going to go shades of Zoi and promise you that it didn't taste good. I didn't taste it, after all. But it sure didn't look good. So presume, for a moment, that it was at least on par with the other bottom dishes in terms of flavor. How do you send somebody home over the guy who blew not one but TWO of the challenge's parameters? First off, no whole grain -- not even downplayed, as with the Polish sausage debacle. But secondly, even if I take issue with the common sentiment that he overshot his audience (what, cops can't like sushi?), you can't take a challenge where "hearty" and "satisfying" are two of the operative words, then walk up to judges' table talking about how you "want to leave them wanting more" and expect to get away with it. And even if much of the audience doesn't understand this, Andrew does. In his exit interview, unlike some other recent departing chefs, he makes it clear that he knows he blew it. And that's just another reason to be sad about his departure. For all his bluster and bravado, he conducted himself with honor, cooked some great food, gave us all a great show, and he even unleashed the epic and brutal tongue lashing we all would have liked to inflict upon Lisa on his way out the door. If nothing else, that makes him my hero.

Looking forward to next week, may I just say that if the producers' intention was to let everybody cry foul over the elimination of Restaurant Wars only to make us look like asses when it's revealed the next week that -- whoops! -- it isn't really gone... mission accomplished, guys. Though I'll refer you to Padma's quite definitive quote:

"This season we're not doing Restaurant Wars."

I like to think that my reaction, if erroneous, was justified. At any rate, woo! Restaurant Wars!

-- POTENTIAL MINOR SPOILER WARNING --

The preview doesn't give us any info about the quickfire, but since there's no longer any immunity, it hardly matters. What seems clear, however, is that Restaurant Wars is going to be done under an EXTREMELY compressed timeline, which will put the shaky under pressure. Stephanie is dressed for front of house duties, so hopefully that means her nerves won't get the best of her. I can't say for certain, but it looks like the teams are Richard, Antonia and Stephanie vs. Dale, Spike and Lisa. This has me positively terrified for Dale. Remember how I said his teamwork and leadership issues were unlikely to cause him problems now that we're so late in the season? Yeah, well it's looking like next week is probably his absolute rock bottom hide the women and children four alarm disaster worst-case scenario: teamed, probably in a leadership position, with Spike and Lisa. Add to this the fact that both Lee Anne and Ted have hinted there's a big upset elimination looming, and I'm more than a little spooked. Dale deserves to be in the finals, and not only would it be a shame if he doesn't make it, I think I'd go so far as to call it the single biggest upset elimination in the history of the show. When I think about all of this, I get nervous. When I think about the fact that Dale's elimination would mean that either Spike or Lisa would make a four person finals, I get sick. Of course, this could all be a matter of deviously subtle and elaborate misdirection. But I'm not holding my breath.

Discuss!

Comments

[Steven]

Nice write-up! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I must say I am extremely worried for Dale as well after watching the online video preview for the next episode. There were some tale-tell signs in there.

[canasian]

Ted and LeeAnne have hinted to a big upset elimination, but also remember that those are the two Bravo bloggers who most heavily sing Lisa's praises. I think it could go either way.

[Megan Valentine]

The introduction of a dish and the subsequent expectations of the diners have an enormous impact on how a meal is perceived. We saw that earlier in the comedy club challenge: Antonia's description was of a brightly colored, vivid meal that ultimately outshone the actual dish; her description raised expectations and contributed to the poor review. On the flip, none of the diners were thrilled when they heard about the Richard/Dale/Andrew composition of tofu, horse radish and "roe"; their pre-taste expectation was so low that -- as long as the meal wasn't complete crap -- it had nowhere to go but up.

Same deal with last week's challenge. Dale served *bison* and you could see the officers wrinkle ther noses. But then, after the first bite, they thought "hey, really good" and got the added bonus of bragging rights for having eaten something so unusual. Richard, on the other hand, may have hurt his dish by first getting folks to admit that they liked burritos and then by serving them something that wasn't a burrito. Because he's so talented with flavors, he was able to pull it off, but I've got to wonder whether he would have rated even higher with the officers if he hadn't primed them with all of the references to burritos.

This pseudo-psychological element always comes into play with resturant wars. How the chefs choose to describe their menu --written and verbal -- is critically important. Oversell at your own peril.

[Jason]

**Minor spoiler conjecture***

Haven't watched the preview video yet online, so I can't speak to what's on it. But maybe the "big upset" is that the lesser team actually wins out in this challenge and one of Richard, Stephanie or Antonia goes home (if that's the case, my guess is Stephanie). That's my hope, anyway, if Spike and Lisa are both to somehow survive another week. If Dale and Richard aren't in the final than it really is a travesty. They clearly are a cut above the others in my opinion.

[tcxxxx]

Great blog---as thorough and detailed assessment of the contestants as can be hoped for. I agree with your rankings as well.

I esp. share your concern re the precariousness of Dale's survival in this week. Essentially the restaurant war episode has the same team on both sides as the one in wedding war. The outcome will likely be the same. If Dale's team loose, he has over 50% chance of packing his knives---knowing that Lisa and Spike has no compunction about throwing him under the bus.

But who knows. The edit in the preview as you noted can be deceptive. His team might've won. We'll soon find out.

[anon man]

Good write up. Love the gap between 4 and 5. Classic. Gotta hand it to the Bravo editors. They give us this seating that looks like its A Team versus the Bad News Bears and make it look like Dale is in deep doo-doo on that team.

Now as for tonight and all our hand-wringing over Dale, let's assume that Dale, (or Richard or whoever) for whatever reason doesn't make it to the finals and Spike (or Lisa) does. Is that so unusual based on the history of the show? Tre went down for being Exec Chef of a bad restaurant even though his team stunk. Cliff went down for being a drunken idiot, even though he had a chance of winning it. Meanwhile Malarkey, Dave (Season 1) and Elia made it to the finals before getting smoked.

Just saying that even if Dale is the 2nd best, there would be history to say that the best don't necessarily make it to the finals.

[Skillet Doux]

Canasian... that's a very good point. Here's hoping that's what they consider a controversial elimination :-)

Jason... another very good point. It's easy to assume that Dale, Spike and Lisa will lose, leaving you with the hopes that Dale survives. But yeah, what if the OTHER team loses? Talk about a brutal elimination decision.

Tcxxxx... Oh, I agree. The trailer and preview edits have been so blatantly deceptive over the course of the season, packed with misdirection, fabricated exchanges and red herrings that I assume they're all noise. But if Dale, Spike and Lisa are, indeed, on the same team (which, while it seems likely, I don't think we can assume, even based on the website preview), that's all I need to be afraid. I don't need them setting it up for me.

Anon Man... no it's not unusual at all. In fact, on another board I got into a discussion with somebody where I was arguing that it'd be MORE surprising if the top four (as though there's universal consensus on how those four are) all made the finals, for the same reason that it was a big shocker this year when the Final Four was all number one seeds. There are just too many variables and too many opportunities for the best performers to stumble. But with season one, at least Dave made a good showing, even if it should have been Lee Anne, Cliff was eliminated due to his own stupidity, and with the caveat that Tre went way too soon, the remaining finalists were all reasonably talented survivors. With the possible exception of Brian (and I'm not even convinced of that), I think Spike or Lisa would be the weakest finalist we've seen over the four seasons. Ironic, considering that this really is, I think, the strongest field we've seen to date.

[Bill]

I think Dale is getting too much respect. He has two bandwagon wins in which he did practically nothing (Richard's tofu and Lisa/Stephanie's shrimp miso/maple bacon). Other than that he picked up wins for throwing ribs on a grill and lettuce wraps (excuse me, Napa cabbage wraps). I'm just not overwhelmed by that.
Also, doesn't part of the Top Chef competition include being able to run a kitchen? Isn't the prize set up for the winner to open his/her own restaurant? Wouldn't one be expected to show a certain maturity level and "leadership" to do well in that aspect of the competition? Dale certainly fails on those counts. I agree he is in the top tier but I wouldn't see it as a travesty if he gets spanked before the final four.

[anon man]

SD,

Great comparison between the NCAAs and TC.

One thing that's been bugging me: Is there a bias toward Asian cuisine on the show? My cooking is largely Northern/Central Italian and Spanish inspired. So it seems are the judges: French or Italian trained. So when Spike or Lisa (or Dale) pops out some Asian influenced dish, the food gets raves as innovative, whereas, as you point out, it can just be a traditional lettuce cup with a twist. Just throwing that out there as 3 of the 6 remaining claim to be heavily influenced by "Asian" cooking.

Unrelated to TC, I've been reading your blog and note that you are a temporary resident of Balmer. I'm in DC and now think a trip up to visit some of the restaurants you reviewed. You should come down here and try some of our restaurants too while your nearby. We aren't New York (or even Vegas for that matter), but we have some yummy viddles down here.

[Skillet Doux]

Bill...

"He has two bandwagon wins in which he did practically nothing (Richard's tofu and Lisa/Stephanie's shrimp miso/maple bacon)."

Let's grant you the miso/maple thing for a moment, but the tofu dish? Are you serious? Everything aside from the block of tofu itself was Dale. How is that bandwaggoning? The dish was as much his as Richard's, and the fact that for the first time ever the judges split an elimination win for it should only drive that home.

"Other than that he picked up wins for throwing ribs on a grill and lettuce wraps"

Have you looked at his recipes? I certainly understand disliking Dale, but since week three, he's been on top of nine out of fourteen challenges. And contrary to your claim that he's a bandwaggoner, he actually does far BETTER in individual challenges, being on top of six out of eight in the same stretch. As a basis of comparison, Antonia's been on top of five individual challenges in the same stretch, Richard four and Stephanie three. I'm not giving him the top spot because the whole point of this exercise is to get into the recipes and the blogs and get more than the surface glance the show and the stats generally grant us. But if you review what he's made and take a look at the recipes on the website, it's hard for me to see how you can justify the position that he's getting too much respect. Since coming out in week four, he's been, at least by the numbers, the most successful contestant. And I think the recipes support that success.
Besides which, if we grant, for the sake of argument, that Dale is overrated, who do you believe belongs in the number two spot? Technically capable but boring Antonia? Wildly inconsistent Stephanie? Certainly not Spike or Lisa. If he's been ranked too highly, who should take his place? Honest question! :-)

"Also, doesn't part of the Top Chef competition include being able to run a kitchen? Isn't the prize set up for the winner to open his/her own restaurant?"

No and no. Most of the contestants aren't ever put in an executive chef role, and when they are, it's no more an "official" part of the competition than 30 other skills that are all tested incidentally. And nowhere is it written that the prize is for setting up a restaurant. Clearly, that's what many of the chefs want to do, but again, read above. This idea that leadership is mandatory is a construct of the audience, not the judges. They routinely reward food over attitude, except when it's a very close call.

[Skillet Doux]

Anon man...

"One thing that's been bugging me: Is there a bias toward Asian cuisine on the show?"

A really good question, and one I've asked myself. But I don't think it's overly significant. I mean, I don't proclaim to be an expert, but I've eaten my fair share of Asian food and I've traveled to Asia about 40 times (I lost count a long time ago), but I'm still impressed by what Dale's making. I think the best thing you can do is compare Dale's recipes to the Asian dishes being produced by the other contestants, even those who claim to specialize in it. He's clearly operating on a different plane. I don't know that that explains Spike's quickfire win this week, but if you look at the recipes I think you'll agree that Dale isn't winning on novelty.

[Tim]

I really enjoy your analysis and the fact that you take the time to review the recipes. I only regret I didn't find this blog earlier in the season.

As per the 'potential spoiler,' I'm concerned about Dale, too. Of course an upset at this point could just mean that someone other then Spike or Lisa going home. I wouldn't mind seeing Antonia packing her knives. She's good and consistent but boring. They must have drawn knives again to form the teams they did. If I was Dale I would have fell on mine before giving the other two a chance to use my back as a block. The big question would be 'who drove the bus and who shoved Dale under the wheels?' Hopefully it doesn't play out like that. I agree with you - Dale deserves to be in the top 3 if not the top 2.
As for other potential upset victims: We have seen Richard choke with over-confidence before, although he doesn't impress me as one who would make the same mistake twice. Stef is inconsistent, but being in front of the house is where I think she would feel most comfortable. Isn't she a semolier(sp?)? There have been praise for Lisa, but for godssake, she's been on the chopping block so often she answers to 'bring in the usual suspects.' Well, and if Spike goes, that would be a shocker.

[DaveP]

Yay, the power rankings are up! I've been waiting for this all week. Just in time for Restaurant Wars, the gotcha! ep. Damn you, Bravo! And Bourdain's back too!

Unfortunately, for the first time ever, I think, I have to disagree with your rankings. I can't possibly see putting Antonia ahead of Stephanie, especially at this stage in the game.

Boring but stable works early where you play not to lose. Now that we're shooting for the finals, I'll take a bit of unpredictable, but brilliant over consistent goodness any day. Also, Steph's clear weakness is in the QFs, which are worth a fraction of the ECs. As long as you don't screw up the EC, you'll get to the finals, and there, there is no QF. If you eliminate all of Stephanie's QF screwups (and yes, there's been quite a few), I think she's clearly ahead of Antonia.

Re: Asian cuisine... I'm Asian, and I was reading a lot of complaining about TC's attitudes over "Asian food" on other forums and blogs, and personally, I find it overblown. I didn't have a problem with Tom and other chefs criticizing Hung for not cooking w/more Vietnamese flavors, for example. Having said that, Antonia's comments about Dale only cooking Asian was unbelievably stupid. As many others have said, it's akin to saying a chef, who cooks Italian, French and German cuisine, "only cooks European." Seriously, for that alone, I'd drop Antonia below... oh wait, there's no one left to drop her below, because that gap between 4 & 5 really deserves to be there.

Finally, the potential spoiler issue has me very, very worried as well. I'm convinced that either Dale or Richard won't be making the finals, mostly due to paranoia, but from reading in between the lines and other things you imply in your last paragraph. It would be a horrible shame, far worse than Tre being kicked off early in S3, moreso since it would mean Lisa or Spike make it to the final stage, if not the finals itself.

--
Dave

[Skillet Doux]

Dave...

Regarding Antonia and Stephanie, that's definitely a defensible position. I really want to put Stephanie ahead of her (hopefully it's clear I think more highly of Stephanie, generally speaking), and I agree, Steph has a much better chance in the finals, but what keeps me from moving her ahead of Antonia is that she has to get there first :-)

For me, a strong week for Stephanie paired with a weak week for Antonia would probably be enough for me to make the move. Or if Stephanie finishes strong to make the finals and Antonia's still around. But much as I like her, the rankings aren't a strict prediction of future performance. They're an amalgam of past performance, current strength and future potential, with a whole bunch of other nebulous variables thrown in. And she's been too weak too recently for me to put her back in the top three just yet.

[Bill]

Points taken on the recipes, I'll have a look. My memory of the green, perplexed tofu was that it was all Richard and Dale just did what he was told.
Re leadership: Top Chef or Top Cook? Doesn't the title of chef imply a certain level of leadership? Also, didn't the judges eliminate Nikki because she failed to step up into the leadership role? Granted, she shouldn't have been there anyway and maybe they used that as an excuse but that is what they said.
In the totality of the competition (including leadership and the ability to run a kitchen) I rank both Stephanie and Antonia higher than Dale. I disagree that Antonia's food looks boring. Stephanie and Antonia are both better under fire than Dale, he gets rattled very easily and that's why it won't surprise me if he gets the ax before his time.

[Skillet Doux]

"Re leadership: Top Chef or Top Cook? Doesn't the title of chef imply a certain level of leadership?"

That's a fair point, but whether or not it's implicit in the title, it hasn't historically been the reality of the show. Admittedly, I'm completely sidestepping the debate over whether or not it SHOULD figure prominently in the judging, but leadership has only been applied very selectively in close team challenges, and the winners of the last two seasons should demonstrate quite clearly that it's far from being a prerequisite.

"Also, didn't the judges eliminate Nikki because she failed to step up into the leadership role? Granted, she shouldn't have been there anyway and maybe they used that as an excuse but that is what they said."

Very true, but her food was also bad. If she made good food, I don't think her lack of leadership would have come into play at all. At most, it might've earned a mention, but it wouldn't have gotten her sent home. Also, I think you nail it on the head with the second part. I don't know that I'd call it an EXCUSE, per se, but when there's a close call, it isn't difficult to pick the one who's long overdue over the top performer for the axe, and that was a textbook example of how the leadership angle is usually approached -- as a secondary consideration that's often invoked as a means of eliminating the one who the judges just feel, in their gut, deserves to go home.

"I disagree that Antonia's food looks boring."

Pure difference of opinion there, and not something I can refute, even if I disagree. I'd be curious to hear if you still feel that way after flipping through their recipes, though.

"Stephanie and Antonia are both better under fire than Dale..."

Antonia, yes. Stephanie? C'mon, this is the contestant whose propensity to wilt under pressure has come to DEFINE her performance thus far :-)

"...it won't surprise me if he gets the ax before his time."

Here, we agree. At this stage of the competition, I wouldn't be surprised to see ANYBODY go home. But aside from Richard, he's the contestant I'd miss most in the finals (with Stephanie running close behind him).

[Mark F]

"Ted and LeeAnne have hinted to a big upset elimination, but also remember that those are the two Bravo bloggers who most heavily sing Lisa's praises. I think it could go either way. - Steven"

Based on the preview of episode 11 I’ll submit the following “Best guess”-

Apparently the elimination challenge has 2 teams working to “Open” a restaurant in 5 hours. Team 1 appears to be composed of Richard, Stephanie, and Antonia, and team 2 Dale, Lisa, and Spike.

Team 1 is a good, strong team and all work well with each other. Team 2 on the other hand all have personality conflicts and that hinders them from the start. I’ll guess team 1 is the winner as I can’t see Richard, Steph, and Antonia crashing and burning. Possible, but not probable.

Team 2 on the other hand has problems from the word go, as all those personalities, ego’s and resentments are going to be clashing. None are what I’d call “Leaders.” and I don’t think they’re (Dale-Spike-Lisa) big or strong enough to overcome their differences and work as a team.

So, who’s going to get sent packing? Frankly, it could be anyone. Dale is the best/strongest chef of the 3, but his personality, hissy fits, and inability to be a team player severely hinder him. Neither Lisa nor Spike can match Dale as a chef, and both have serious attitude/ego/personality issues as evidenced throughout the season. None are willing to take responsibility, and Spike and Lisa are only too ready to resort to subterfuge and dirty tricks. So who packs it in? Tough call. I’d think it would be Spike or Lisa, most likely Spike as the apparent “Leader/Front of the House.” But based on the comments in the preview about being a “Team Player” I’m going to say- Dale.

We'll see.

Cheers,

Mark

[Wangus]

What's most interesting to me about Dale is that his ability to work with others varies from person to person. It's obvious he doesn't get along with Spike or Lisa (which makes me very nervous about tonight as well), but we've seem him work harmoniously with Stephanie and brilliantly with Richard (and Andrew to a point). I think it boils down to his sense of respect. If he thinks you cook beneath his level, he doesn't work well with you. It's a problem for certain, but not one that's he's too mistaken on (Spike/Lisa/Nikki/etc are indeed below his abilities).

HOWEVER, that being said, I don't think this is an accurate portrayal of how his true leadership abilities would be if he were an actual executive chef. In these challenges, regardless if you've been named "executive chef", you're still working with competition that is supposed to be at your level of skill/risk. On the other hand, when you are a true executive chef, you don't have to worry about the same issues: all those working beneath you cannot and will not disagree or go against you. It's a different ball game entirely.

Anon Man: as another resident Baltimoron I'd definitely recommend a fooding trip to Baltimore. There are absolutely some gems here, many of which Dom has found and blogged on. We're no DC (heh), but we might surprise you here and there.

Bill: A good curry is easy to find - if you like the flavors of curry, most curries will appease you. However, an exceptional curry is rare, requiring a harmonious blend of spices in perfect amounts. I remember the curry being all Dale's baby, and the mixture of spices and effort he put into that was still his highest moment in my opinion. (for those who might not be familiar with curry, think of it like making the perfect pasta sauce)

[anon man]

Two points:

The curry was all Dale. The grilling in beef fat was Richard. At the table they even admitted that because Richard was immune Dale got to drive, reversing roles from a previous team challenge. From everything I've read about the curry it was insanely good, with the only complaint I could think of being that the seem to conflate the defintionas of "complex" and "perplexed".

Again with the Antonia bashing. Jeez. I freely admit she isn't doing anything as innovative as Richard and possibly Stephanie. But, this goes to my point about Asian bias. She makes a salad Lyonnaise with a twist and its boring but tasty; Dale adds Bison to a lettuce/cabbage cup and its innovative and new. She does very traditional European food with some modest changes. Most of that playbook is well known so its pretty hard to shock anyone. By comparison, most of the judges and anyone who's not really fluent in Asian culture will see the lettuce cup as "new" when its really traditional Asian with a twist. Maybe its the Italian in me; maybe its my bias towards European styles, but I look at what Antonia puts out (aside from the rice salad) and it appeals to me.

Bordain is supposedly pretty well-versed in Asian foods. It would be interesting to see if Dale and Lisa (two self-proclaimed Asian cooks) provide such a menu tonight and see how Bordain reacts.

[Michael]

I love your blog. I just have a question. Is anyone bugged over the fact that every dish Antonia makes is based on something her mother made, her kid eats, or she always orders when she goes out to eat? It doesn't sound very original.
I have been a Dale fan for a while. I understand his frustration with the team events. He somehow always ends up with Lisa and she loves painting people as negative thus trapping them when they disagree with her. When Dale was with Richard he was a great team player. I think it is a respect thing.

[Steven]

I'd like to address the tofu issue as well. Richard himself said on the show that it was Dale's brain child. He simply would not say that if it wasn't true. Richard's a nice guy but he's not that kind of modest. Dale was the guy who conceptualized the whole dish, and Richard's brilliant idea just helped the execution. Without Dale, the dish would've never happened. Furthermore, you have to imagine that dish in your head and on your palette. A block of tofu, no matter how nicely grilled with beef fat it was, will not have won the elimination challenge by itself. I have cooked a lot of tofu myself, and am a big fan of the food. You simply cannot do much with the flavor of the inside of the tofu. The beef fat only can add so much to a tofu. While I'm sure it did add a nice touch of aroma and flavor to the outside of the tofu, it was the curry that "carried" the dish, if you will.

P.S. Nobody noticed Padma's eyes during the "Pack your knives and go" in the online video preview? If you watch carefully you can tell who is standing at the far left. I'm going to stop there to avoid any potential spoilers. Obviously this is still pure speculation, and I hope I am wrong.

[Skillet Doux]

"Again with the Antonia bashing. Jeez. I freely admit she isn't doing anything as innovative as Richard and possibly Stephanie. But, this goes to my point about Asian bias. She makes a salad Lyonnaise with a twist and its boring but tasty; Dale adds Bison to a lettuce/cabbage cup and its innovative and new."

Whoa, now, to be fair, Anon Man, I can't speak for others, but I thought I gave Antonia the credit she was due for the salad above. But I hope I also made the point that that was an exceptionally creative dish for her.

As for Dale's dish, I agree, had it been a straight-up substitution of bison for beef in a Vietnamese standard, I'd absolutely call it out as such. But he also made a nice mango marinade and sauce that worked in the flavors of multiple Asian traditions, and perfectly tailored his choices to the challenge. This, in contrast, was one of his least creative dishes, I think -- but I don't see that as a huge negative given the nature of the challenge. If this was what he came up with for an elimination challenge in the Top Chef kitchen, yeah, it'd be lacking. But it wasn't. It was a pre-portioned catering elimination with some very strict guidelines. Under those circumstances, I think he worked in some nice touches.

[kay]

Thanks for the rankings! Great analysis entertainingly written -- totally worth the wait!

I agree that Richard and Dale should make it to the finals. They consistently cook great food. Period.

As for leadership or team-player abilities, my guess is that trying to lead people like Lisa and Spike must be like herding cats, a near impossible task due to their inflated ego. (To hear their monologues, their assessment of their own abilities is so detached from reality that it borders on delusion.) A top chef would be able to pick his/her teammates. And as far as I can recall, Dale had no problems working with Richard and Stephanie. I also remember one episode where someone complained about Richard -- who is generally regarded as a good leader and team player -- for always taking the lead (even though Richard ended up leading the group to victory). All of this to say, leadership and teamwork depend not only on the leader but also on the other people on the team and on whether they're wililng to set aside their egos and insecurities to follow someone else's lead.

Looking forward to your next installment!

[Mark F]

Oops! I didn't realize the poster's name was under the comment and I credited Steven with the quote when it should have been Canasisan. Sorry.

Steven- Very observant! Speculate, speculate! I made my prediction it will be Dale nearly a week ago, and what's been posted here only reinforces my belief. Will have to watch the preview again.

Another prediction- Antonia is a snake in the grass, a cobra waiting to strike. I don't think she can "Get" Richard, but Staphanie- Watch out! Be careful, be very, very careful!

Cheers,

Mark

[Travis]

I was really sad to see Andrew go this week. I totally didn't expect him to win, but he sure made the show entertaining and i thought his cooking was much better than Spike or Lisa. I understand why his dish was bad, but it seemed to me (obviously since i couldn't taste the dish this is pure conjecture) that Lisa and Spikes dishes were worse. Not to mention both of them conducting themselves like children. Spike's ingredient selection was bad enough, but to then not do anything with it and then deny that you were trying to undercut your competitors at Judges Table? Woah there. Doesn't Spike know that the only thing a prevent defense does is prevent you from winning? And Lisa calling out Andrew was such a cheap shot, and especially ironic that she's suddenly a stickler for the rules after the drunk polish sausage thing. Lisa, you're the pot, and you're black too. I can't wait for Spike and Lisa to be out of here.

I'm beginning to realize that while Antonia is technically very proficient, her food tends to be pretty boring comfort fare. I'm getting a little tired of the whole single mom schtick too. You've got to hand it to her though, she's been very consistent. I just don't think she's got food thats creative enough to win this thing.

I like Steph a whole lot, and i think she's got a legitimate shot at making the final, but at some point i see her nerves and inconsistency getting the best of her.

I really don't get people's criticism of Dale. He's obviously a very talented guy, and i might not want to work on a team with him, but the guy turns out good food and thats whats important. And the knock that he only does asian food? Its not like he's turning out steam table fried rice and eggrolls that you can get at your local mall. He's keeping things innovative and fresh, just with a consistently asian flare. I've got no problem with that.

Tonight's episode just can't come soon enough. I can't wait for restaurant wars. I'm a little bit worried for Dale, and i feel terrible for him if he gets stuck with Spike and Lisa again (as it looked from the preview).

Richard still has this in the bag as far as im concerned. I'm going to miss Andrew though. Maybe they could just keep him around to keep the show interesting like a color commentary guy and just not judge his dishes. No more culinary boners. Damn.

[Greg]

Although Dale's dish this past week might not have been the most innovative, it truly fit the parameters of the competition. It hit the four food groups, it was healthy, it obviously tasted great, the flavors and ingredients were something that almost anyone would like, and it looked hearty and filling. If you wanted to grab a quick healthy lunch that needed to hold you over for the rest of the day, Dale's dish fits perfectly.

[anon man]

Fair points, SD. I freely admit that I don't know a lot of the basics of a great deal of Asian cuisines, at least well enough to pick stuff apart by looking at ingredients, (tasting I do fine) but if your analysis is that Dale's approach is "New Asian" or "Pan Asian" or "Asian Fusion" and not just Vietnamese (or other) with a twist then he deserves his props.

In an unrelated non-food comment from the preview: WTF is up with Richard's new Faux-hawk? (Its "his version" of a Faux hawk?) I would consider it ok if they sent him home for that on general principle.

[canasian]

Sorry, this time my post has minimal relevance to the upcoming war or last week's episode. I just wanted to say that I think it is so funny that you see Malarkey as the weakest finalist in the show's history. I just noticed his blog on bravotv.com, and he makes a complete joke out of power rankings. I can recall one time when you wrote less than a novel to explain a person's rank, and that time your one-liner said more than you could've said with 1000 words. Brian's rankings on occasion say nothing at all about the chefs.

It's funny how one's cooking skills are shown in their writing skills. If you ever need an ego boost, check it out.

[Danny]

Thank you so much for your rankings. I only found out about it due to the blogs at Bravo. I only regret that I didn't know about it a long time ago. Keep up the great work, and I agree, it seems like it should be a Richard vs Dale showdown.

[Gilby]

Holy crap, Bill!

Can your opinion on Dale be any more uniformed?

[Bill]

Post-recipe scan conclusions:
Being that I’m a mediocre home cook and not a professional chef I’m probably not the best person to look at recipes and draw conclusions about flavor profiles and how the ingredient list will come together in the finished dish.
Nonetheless, I do agree that Dale’s recipes look more interesting than Antonia’s. I tend to cook in a similar style and his go-to flavors are typically what I most like to eat. So if I was deciding which one to hire as my private chef I would chose Dale as long as I didn’t have to listen to his incessant whining.
If I recall correctly, Antonia won the palate contest and my guess is that she always seasons her food correctly. This seems to be a big deal with Tom as his biggest meltdowns tend to occur over salt. It seems the judges always like Antonia’s dishes even though they may not appear to be particularly impressive. Possibly this is why Casey came out of obscurity at some point last season and launched an impressive winning streak. I think she won last season’s palate challenge also.
I’ll give Dale the edge on taste but I don’t think it’s a huge advantage and I still contend that as near as can be determined, without tasting the food, Antonia has solid skills.
In the kitchen management department I think Antonia has a distinct advantage. I doubt there is anyone that would dread working with her whereas it seems that no one wants to work with Dale. I also think his temper affects his cooking and that may be his downfall.
As long as the winner isn’t Spike or Lisa I won’t have any complaints. In my opinion Richard, Antonia, Dale and Stephanie are all very good and worthy. I think it may even be possible that Lisa has been holding back her “A” game and might come up with some surprises. That probably won’t happen but it might. I got the impression early on that she was pretty good but she has had a very long losing streak with some really terrible looking food.

[Charles]

Great Blog!

I take it from reading some of the archives that you are not a professional chef, just a foodie. Ever thought of trying out for one of these shows. Maybe not Top Chef, which is for professionals, but maybe Hell's Kitchen which seems to have a lot of people on it who can't actually cook terribly well.

[txc1010]

Re Anotonia. She's a competent cook, but I think a lot of people don't like because she's guileful person, as full of guile as, say, Spike or Lisa. A lot of her comments about her peers just makes me wince. If I may say so, I've known her types. I sense the other contenders---Richard, Stephanie, and even Dale with his outbursts, care more about the food than the politics.

[Mark F]

"Re Anotonia. She's a competent cook, but I think a lot of people don't like because she's guileful person, as full of guile as, say, Spike or Lisa. A lot of her comments about her peers just makes me wince. If I may say so, I've known her types. - txc1010"

Absolutely. She's much more subtle (Up to this point) than Spike or Lisa, but you can see it on her face and in her eyes- Someone's going to get Antonia's knife in their back. She's a snake and Stephanie (I think) really needs to watch her back around her.

Cheers,

Mark

[Gilby]

There you go, Bill. Read Dale's recipes. Can't call you uninformed after that. I was going to make Dale's Ribs and Potato Salad after the tailgating episode, based on LeeAnne's comments about it. Ribs were on sale, so it looked like something easy. Then I read the recipe. The layers going into those flavor profiles are not, at all, basic. I didn't make the ribs or the salad that weekend. This was all before I found SD's blog, but I had to agree with his take on Dale.

As for Antonia and guile, I definitely agree.

[Bill]

I'll refrain from gloating as I know most people are howling in anguish over the loss of Dale. But perhaps a brief recap is in order. Unimaginative Antonia and can't-take-the-pressure Stephanie both picked up another win while Dale, the Michael Jordan of cooking, decided butterscotch scallops were a good idea and managed to perform worse than Lisa and Spike (who didn't even cook anything).
Kidding aside; I do think it's absurd that either Spike or Lisa (or possibly both) will end up in the final four. This just emphasizes the need for cumulative scoring in my view. But based solely on last night's episode the judge's decision was certainly justified. I think the chefs like Bourdain and Andreas (and Tom if he had been there) put a lot of stock in being able to run a kitchen and that is something that Dale is not capable of at this stage in his development.
Are there any countries in Asia in which butterscotch is served? This is not a sarcastic question, I'm really curious. As far as I know there isn't and I can't imagine why he would showcase that in an "Asian" restaurant. When he said what he was making I had a WTF moment but then I remembered I had the same reaction to Richard's Willy Wonka concoction and the judges loved that so I figured he knew what he was doing.
But apparently melted candy bar over scallops doesn't taste good.

[Skillet Doux]

Bill...

You'll refrain from gloating until the next sentence, you mean? :-) I do, indeed, hope you're joking. Nobody, including myself, has characterized Dale as anything near the Michael Jordan of cooking. In the context of this season, I think Pippen would be far more appropriate :-)

As disappointed as I am by Dale's departure, cumulative scoring would do nothing other than to completely remove the drama from the second half of the season, as the ones on top pull away and the ones on the bottom play out the frame with no chance of catching up. It would mean the finals would almost certainly be populated with the best chefs, but the fact that anybody can go home at any time not only creates the drama that makes the show compelling, but also forces the chefs to perform at their best from wire to wire.

[Bill]

It might work if they did cumulative scoring up to the final four and a 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 playoff after that (and then the two winners square off in the final). The drama could be maintained if just about everyone had a mathematical shot at 4th place throughout the season. Even if there were occasions in which someone was so far behind you knew who was going home the mid-pack jockeying for scores could keep it interesting. That way Dale would still be there and Spike and Lisa would be long gone with perhaps Jennifer or Andrew still in the hunt. The disaster for Bravo would be if, when they came down to five left, the person in fifth had no mathematical chance of coming in 4th. Although I guess there could be some drama in how the playoff seeding worked out.
Just a thought because it’s very irritating that perennial bottom dwellers like Spike and Lisa still have a chance to win.