Top Chef - S5E9 Postmortem

That's a shame.

Those still angry with Leah are doubly pissed now, I imagine, having been right on the edge of tasting sweet, sweet retribution. And those who can't stand Stefan now have another reason to hate him -- saving Leah's bacon. (Incidentally, say what you will about Stefan... the dude was in control.)

Anyway, this is exactly what I was afraid of. I hate to see an interesting chef go home without even cooking anything. Radhika had done some interesting stuff, I was looking forward to more, and the fact that she piqued Starr's interest made her departure all the more disappointing. Not that I'm complaining. She made her own bed. And while they could have just as easily axed Carla (and I wish they had, much as I like her), I can't argue with the selection.

Incidentally, is it just me or did this episode have more great lines than the rest of the season to date? Too bad none of them came from the guy who was ostensibly put here for his one-liners. (Still down on Toby, in case it wasn't clear.)

Here's hoping the Holeah awkwardness is less annoying than the Holeah romance. At least the completely unscientific poll showed 88% of the viewers uninterested in this little daytime drama tangent. Hope the producers take note. We. Don't. Care.

Holy cow, guys, we're getting down to the wire here. Only three more eliminations to the finals!

Discuss!

Comments

[anon man]

I said no one goes home from the front of the house. The footnote being, unless that person is the "chef-owner" who doesn't cook.

Kudos to Stefan for the "make it work" thing with the desserts. Carla should have done the same. Jeff did well, Hosea was passable, and Leah is clearly a quickfire specialist who's time will end... soon.

And Fabio reminded me on an Onion article where he pumps up his accent for affect.

Not sure what to think of next week.

[Babyarm]

It's a democracy at this point ... So everyonehas some sort of bull&&&& input.

EPIC

From a bald germanish guy no less,

[David]

You know, I am not a fan of the immunity given to all members of the winning team, particularly when that team squeaked by and had really bad performers. In this case Leah. There should be no reason why she should have been insulated from the bottom three.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I think Radhika deserved to go, and you could tell by the edit that she was headed down. I am disappointed with Carla, but I still don't think she's the bottom dweller that Dom and so many here make her out to be. If this episode hasn't revealed that Leah doesn't merit being up toward the top, I don't know what will. Contrary to what will likely be the next rankings, I think Leah should be #7 and the next to go.

FOh, for the record, am I SO sick of Fabio's pseudo charm. Sick, sick, sick I tell you.

[aaalex]

@David: you might be sick of Fabio's charm, but I don't think it's "pseudo" charm. He's exactly what you want when you enter a restaurant: fun, polite, and there when you need him. In perfect contrast to poor Radhika who was in over her head at front of house. If this were "Top Maitre d'", Fabio would be on this competition like a dirty shirt.

[Esben]

Jamie’s quickfire choice of Chilean Sea Bass doesn’t really fall into sustainability (nor would cod) since only a very small amount of the sustainable South Georgian longline fishery arrives in the US... though the other aquatic protein was rotten snapper.

And what’s up with non-functioning freezers and crappy aluminum pots? Why is there no accountability on Bravo/Judge’s behalf for faulty freezers and spoiled food?

Rotten fish and broken equipment is pretty much the executive summary of this tired gameshow.
Whoever is in charge of purchasing and maintenance should be sent home.

[rab]

Leah has so outworn her welcome. After this episode, I think I'm less impressed by her than by Lisa (S4) and I thought that could never happen.

Given that Sahana lost, Radhika. had to go. For anyone thinking that Jeff should have done the FOH, that would have put Radhika in the kitchen and given her lack of speed, would any food have gone out? Radhika isn't inherently unlikeable; I think fatigue just killed her. She was more energetic and outgoing earlier in the competition.

[David]

Alex: I think Fabio lays the "Eye-talian charm" on rather thick, and quite intentionally. It feels manipulated and annoyingly over-the-top. To me, Fabio seems to be teetering precariously close to the edge of a walking stereotype. He might be entertaining for a few minutes upon entering the restaurant; however, I don't go to restaurants to be entertained. Sure, I appreciate a warm host, but after I've been seated, I'd want him to leave me alone.

[Rahul]

Is anyone else a little appalled that a duo of desserts won Restaurant Wars?

At first, I thought the judges were taking too long to cut the front-runners free from the chaff. Then I realized almost every contestant qualifies for inclusion in the latter group...

The only way this season could bottom out even more is if Ariane wins Fan Favorite (guaranteed)...

[Wangus]

I was hoping for a Carla exit as well. Mostly because as a trend (and I know that judging is the most ridiculously unpredictable thing on this show) Tom and the Judge's tend to say the phrase "it's about the food". Thus, Carla's desserts truly ruined their meal, and thus, I expected her to go.

In a non-judging note: if you could choose which of the two (Carla/Radhika) you'd rather have to eat a meal in the finals, I'd like to think most would choose Radhika hands down. And that's why I'm slightly upset.

Also, go team-Euro for saving their team.

P.S. Seriously, how ridiculous would it be to be either Hosea and Leah's (hopefully now ex) girlfriend/boyfriend watching these episodes.

[aaalex]

@David. Hmmm. Could it be you've heard too much from him, period? And so you're not giving him credit for his performance this time out? He volunteered to take the fish back. He wasn't obstreperous or overly familiar ... a quick joke and then to your table and see that the food comes in reasonable time. He also let the kitchen know what wasn't working. So, good communication between front and back. Total contrast to Radhika. Also, as per the judges, he and Stefan are what saved Hosea and Leah. Though, I must have lost something in the watching. Who did the amuse bouche that everybody hated from Team Sunset?

[Steve]

I can see the judges' point, even if the polling is going in favor of Radhika. She should have learned from last episode that she has to cook something substantial. And why do I have this vague feeling that taking charge has been an issue she's been called on in the past? (Unlike Dom, I'm not going to search for it.)

Poor Carla. Lucked out. She is the weakest one left. And I give, Fabio's food was not good this episode, and we might as well consider him biding time with Carla. But they both should stick around for fourth and fifth place just to keep us entertained. :) I don't care. I'm tired of Leah's depressive moods and the whole Holeah thing.

Sunset Lounge's food (except desserts and the short ribs) was either bad or passable. Sahana's food was either very good or generally done right (except for the horrible desserts). I still don't get it; but accept that the judges (factoring in service) know best.

In the end, this episode affirms it for the fans: Stefan is the guy to beat (you got it right, Dom) with Jamie and then Jeff coming up the rear. Lesson: don't underestimate Stefan. That was Radhika's mistake (and choosing Carla before Jeff and over Stefan and Fabio). It's not how difficult it is to work with someone towards your goal. It is whether they will come through, and whether they will sabotage your efforts.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

Maybe they are editing out most of Toby's idiocy since they are stuck with him for the rest of the NYC part of the show.

Radhika deserved to go - Carla got lucky (as did Leah).

Even if Stefan is obnoxious, why would anyone not have choosen him for their team? The man can cook!!!

Just for picking Carla over Stefan, Radhika deserved to go home.

[Independent George]

Quick thoughts:

1. I LIKE Stefan. He might be brusque & arrogant, but the man knows what he's doing. Even when he's negative, he's usually right. Grown-ups deal with difficult people, and professionals learn to listen even when you don't like what's being said. Instead of bitching about him passive-aggressively, Sunset Lounge could have done much better if they'd accepted him as part of their team and took his feedback seriously. The man's got game.

2. Before we come down too hard on either team for the food, this is still the second-best Restaurant Wars performance in Top Chef history. In twelve attempts (including the mulligan in season 3), Stephanie/Richard/Antonia remains the only team to actually WIN, as opposed to not losing.

3. Even if Leah wasn't 'protected', I still think Radhika goes home. Lousy leadership from both, but I think lousy leadership + lousy food is better than lousy leadership + no food. This was Radhika's concept; she wisely picked something right in her wheelhouse. There's no reason why she couldn't at least conceptualize one dish, and have her team prepare it.

4. It seemed like Carla could have made her ice cream the traditional way - in small, metal cans in an ice/salt mixture. Or, she could have just turned it into a custard/pudding.

5. What was up with the freezer being stuck in the Quickfire? Heck, what was wrong with the freezers in general tonight?

6. When I saw the frozen lamb shanks, I nearly screamed at the television, "YOU FOOLS! Did you not watch last season?"

[Skillet Doux]

"Who did the amuse bouche that everybody hated from Team Sunset?"

Fabio, I believe, though I haven't checked yet.

[kit]

Just based on what we got shown, I thought Fabio toned it down for FOH. It's not like he was bouncing around talking about monkey asses on clam shells in front of customers. I actually thought, while watching it, that his tableside manner was Exactly what I like when I go out, warm, attentive, but not over the top.

I get the sense from Radhika's blog and exit interview that she doesn't really understand why she was eliminated. I think she sees it as solely being about her FOH performance, and I'm not sure why she doesn't understand that there were other expectations of her, being the leader of that team. Maybe she thought if she didn't put much of an imprint on their menu or its execution, she couldn't be held responsible for it?

As an aside, Radhika also complains about Tom's pronunciation of her name, which I hope she's just joking about, because otherwise it comes across just petty and silly. And what is up with so many contestants thinking Tom hates them? I feel like he tries really hard to give them insightful, personalized feedback, based on trying to understand where they were coming from and what their thought process was, and some of these contestants just have a hard time handling this back-and-forth and generally taking criticism. Please grow a pair!

Speaking of JTs...I think Carla may have somewhat cancelled out her earlier, much-praised and eloquent defense with this metaphysical love-sending and smile-wearing defense. Though I do find these types who are always running around imbuing or feeling, but can then suddenly be ridiculously pragmatic, fascinating beyond belief.

Radhika's avoidance of and Leah's reaction to Stefan have made me appreciate other contestants who have stepped up to the challenge of dealing with the thornier types. I'm thinking of how Jamie, despite finding Stefan stubborn and annoying, still manages to deal with him and doesn't just run away for a smoke. I also love how Sarah M, who generally came across really sweet and warm, could kick some bulldog Howie butt when necessary for Restaurant Wars.

[Jotham K]

I gotta say I really liked this episode. Holeah necking was cringe inducing sure, but there was a real energy in the show. It went down to the wire and kept my attention 100%. As for the Fabio thing, well, schmaltz in small doses combined with prompt service and good attention to detail makes for one hell of a good host. Did anyone else notice the seating thing? Sunset Lounge had a seating area for people to chill while they waited for a table. Looked comfy. Radhika had people leaning up against a brick wall in a loft. Not ideal really.

That's what makes restaurant wars so interesting to me. It's not just the food. It's your ability to launch and operate a restaurant displayed in miniature. The front of the house is a key and important part of that. The fact that Fabio executed that role very well is to his credit. As for Stefan? Dude delivered. A dick, does not play well with others, needs a firm hand, but delivers. Everybody else complains about faulty equipment, and fair enough. Stefan complains, then makes it work. Top marks that man. I dont know that I would give him the win over Fabio, but damn, I am impressed.

[Independent George]

"Radhika's avoidance of and Leah's reaction to Stefan have made me appreciate other contestants who have stepped up to the challenge of dealing with the thornier types."

Don't forget Stephanie managing to bring Dale & Lisa together just long enough for a win. I'd put her on the short list for a Nobel for that one.

[jo]

Leah will be known for reclining a lot, but then again, that's a grade higher than Melissa on the depth chart.

By the way, the curly blonde woman at the Sunset Restaurant who said it "amused my bouche" and who was also incapable of describing Leah's fish to TV viewers is probably insane.

[your cousin]

Fabio was, in fact, responsible for the amuse bouche, because he wanted to cook something. Good thing his FOH skills saved him as it was yet another mediocre to bad dish that he put out. I'm a little surprised there was no comment on it at JT, although in the grand scheme it did seem to get outweighed by the larger issue of Leah's undercooked fish. It's too bad...I'm really going to miss that guy when he gets eliminated.

[Dave_P]

Jamie nailed it early on in the QF--you didn't wanna win this one. Quite possibly the two worst chefs won control of the 2 restaurants and either could've easily been sent home. I think the most *entertaining* 2 head chefs to lead their respective restaurants would've been Stefan & Jeff. Jeff has maybe the best leadership of the group and Stefan finally would've been able to boss people around as he pleases. It would've been a very fun contrast in styles to watch unfold (Harold vs. Tiffani redux?). Alas, we got the two least motivated, and perhaps least capable.

On assembling the team--is there any doubt that Fabio is the best FoH guy? He'd be 1st or 2nd on my wishlist for RW. I'd also want Jeff to be running the kitchen, though you can't fault Jamie as the first pick. And Stefan may be an ass to work with, but the guy can flat out cook. Not surprising he was picked last, but that's just poor decision making. My dream team would likely Jeff, Jamie and Stefan in the kitchen w/Fabio out front.

I was actually impressed they sent home Radhika instead of Carla once their restaurant was pegged as the loser since the front of house usually skates by, but they actually stuck to their guns this time. I mean, if it's just going to be about the food, there's really no reason to even stage a "Restaurant Wars" is there? It's gotta be about the whole product, and Radhika really failed at her position. They would've been perfectly justified with sending Carla home as well--as much as I've grown to like her, she did a truly awful job, esp contrast to how Stefan handled similar freezer problems.

As for Leah... it really is a shame that they had to pick from the losing team instead of just an overall worst performer. As impressed as I was with Stefan's desserts (and Fabio's people skills), I was more than a bit testy with them for saving Leah's bacon.

Next week's TC All Stars should be fun. I actually got to meet Andrew (and Nikki) during TC's mobile tour last year and the guy is hilarious. Not so crazy about seeing Spike again, but I'll be curious to see how he tries to screw over the current chefs.

--
Dave

[bryanD]

And Carla was BEGGING to be Front of House. (Wasn't she?)
It was like Radhika felt she had to fulfill her part in some preordained trainwreck of destiny to reach the next level of existence or something.

[elle]

Kit,

Mispronouncing someone's name is lazy and disrespectful, especially when one has the resources to learn. I don't think Radhika's complaint is petty or silly. Maybe if you had a multisyllabic name you would appreciate this.

[Skillet Doux]

"Mispronouncing someone's name is lazy and disrespectful, especially when one has the resources to learn."

Unless one is never corrected, which happens... a lot.

[Bart]

Two things occurred to me:

1. If I was Radhika, I would have insisted on Carla (and not Jeff) on being front of the house. Say what you want about Carla, she's outgoing enough to make a favorable impression on customers.

2. Carla could easily have thrown Radhika under the bus for the desserts. "Well, I had her taste my desserts and she said they were fine, so I went with them." Radhika got flak for the dessert miscues, but not for that particular reason. I gotta admire Carla's integrity.

[JW]

I was not so crazy about this episode of RWs. It seemed like quite a few of the chefs were scared of the challenge...case in point Jamie who actually admitted that she wanted to lose the QF because she didn't want the responsibility.

Compare that to past chefs (Blais, Stephanie, Casey, Dale, Hung, Andrew, even Lisa) who tackled EVERY challenge to WIN...even if they didn't like it.

So we end up with the two chefs who were least qualified to lead in charge of the teams. I keep thinking of the poster who described Leah perfectly a couple of episodes back as a "walking, talking shrug." Of course this affected their teams. It didn't seem that either of the teams ever really came together...for good or bad...which is why you get the worst and the best performances come out of the same kitchen.

I really thought they might just call everyone in, not name a winning restaurant, give Stephan the win and boot Leah.

Say what you will about Stephan, he at least really put forth some effort, dealt with a difficult circumstance and delivered - as he has fone consistently. And some have talked about Fabio ramping up the Italian charm...I have a suspicion that Stephan's ramping up the pain-in-the-*ss-iness just to get under people's skin. And it works. He is just so genuinely happy, though, when something works for him, I love it.

As far as Radhika getting sent home instead of Carla...I think it comes down to what Toby said (sorry Dom) - that if they give the win to the other restaurant because of FOH performance (even though Radhika's team's food was better), they've got to weigh FOH along with food when it comes to elimination.

[kit]

Elle says: "Mispronouncing someone's name is lazy and disrespectful, especially when one has the resources to learn. I don't think Radhika's complaint is petty or silly. Maybe if you had a multisyllabic name you would appreciate this."

Unsurprisingly, I'm with Dom on this one. If people are mispronouncing a word, and no one ever bothers to point it out, especially if it's a subtle difference (it's not like Tom kept calling her by another contestant's name, or something ridiculously off like Radish or something), then the likelihood of them suddenly figuring the mistake out is slim to none.

"Kit" is actually a nickname completely unrelated to my real name, which is exotic/foreign and I have spent my entire life hearing it butchered. People often take a long time, and multiple reminders of how to pronounce it, before they start getting it right on their own. Would I be annoyed to the point of calling out someone really revered in my field on the Internet about it? Um, no. But anyway, I probably should have mentioned this up front because I can see how silly it looks for someone named "Kit" to tell "Radhika" to stop complaining about name-butchering :)

[Skillet Doux]

"(it's not like Tom kept calling her by another contestant's name, or something ridiculously off like Radish or something)"

Does anybody have Tom's number? Can we make this happen? I'm thinking it makes season five at least 17% better.

[sleepyirv]

There's no doubt in my mind that Stefan deserved to win this challenge- he stayed calmed in the face of trouble. It's basically proof he's going to out-survive Carla. Both had an empty suit leader, both had freezer problems (which is ridiculous), only one of them made a good dish.

[paula]

My favorite line of the night was Radhika channeling Yogi Berra: "As far as natural-born leadership, I'm still learning." I almost did a spit-take on that one. Second favorite line was "I could serve monkey ass on an empty clamshell." Seriously, that's comedy gold right there.

After watching this episode, my immediate impression was that I wished we could just fast-forward to the final challenge with Stefan, Jamie and Jeff, because I've lost all interest in everyone else. I agree with the other poster talking about Carla at JT: Last time, it was impressive the way she owned her mistakes, but this time, it exasperated me. She's a sweet woman and very endearing, but she's waaaay too much of a peace-maker. Too quick to admit her faults and make nice by doing what the others want her to do. Rhadika was pathetic; no comment on Leah and Hosea; and Fabio...well, I find him shrewdly self-aware but not in an obnoxious way, so I like him, but he's not long for the TC world. I was loving Jamie and Stefan last night: They're clearly the only ones left who are true "top chef" material.

[Polybus]

I hope that this post isn't too much over the top, but I was really disappointed.

I am forced to ask: What kind of a cooking show is this? Fabio almost wins for cooking nothing and Radhika goes home for reasons that have nothing to do with food.

Maybe it's not that the chefts are worse this season, maybe it's that the show is starting to stray away from what made it great. Who knows, maybe next season, they can just line the chefts up outside the restaurant and the judges can pick the prettiest to win.

So, you have a restaurant that puts out great dishes, but bombs on dessert and hostess. You have another restaurant where the food is terrible, but the host is nice and they have good dessert. Which restaurant would you come back to?

As far as front of the house, I say seat me, then go away. For me, the host or hostess has practically nothing to do with the dining experience.

Radhika made some serious errors in judgment. First, she bi-passed Stefan, arguably the best chef in the group, to take Carla, then she chose to do front of the house when there were two employees, Carla and Jeff, either one of which would have done a great job, on staff. If I were Executive Chef of such a promising restaurant, I would have certainly put myself back in the kitchen where my recipes would be executed under my watchful eye.

Still, Radhika's mistakes pale in comparison to Leah. Her failure was so immense that you really can't even compare them.

If the judges thought that the restaurants were roughly equal, why not haul out all eight of the chefts, grill them as to who did what, then decide a winner and loser based solely on performance?

I guess it irks me that perhaps the worst performance in the history of Restaurant Wars somehow got turned into a winner.

Sheesh!

[DaveP]

As another with a difficult-to-pronounce name, I rarely bother correcting people when they get it wrong. Usually, people are polite enough to inquire as to the correct pronunciation, and I oblige once or twice, but it's a tough one for Western tongues and I usually say, "good enough," and that's the end of it. Like Kit, I too go by "Dave" for a reason. :)

I didn't see her actual comments (damn you, Bravo's web designers!), but they sound pretty petty on the face of it.

I hardly think we needed proof at this stage that Stefan is going to out-survive Carla, of all people. Stefan's not only shown himself to be leading the pack, but he's also the least mistake-prone of the bunch, which means he's savvy enough to know when to go conservative. With only 3 more eliminations to go, I would be outright shocked if Stefan let himself get Tre'd, even more than when Tre himself did it.

Come to think of it, Tre & Dale T. both got kicked off during RW, which sorta reinforces my opinion that RW is all about survival, not winning.

--
"Dave"

[paula]

Yes, TC is all about survival to a certain extent: But only the ones who have the guts to take risks and make an effort to put out really impressive food while also being smart about survival tactics have a shot at winning.

[Steve]

My revised rankings, after this week's episode (things are clearing up):

Stefan
Jamie
Jeff
Hosea
Fabio
Leah
Carla

But I hope Fabio and Carla outlast Hosea and Leah! :)

[vin]

Although, like most posters, i can't wait for Leah to go home, in this episode clearly the right decision was made. RW is about the whole concept, not just the food, in fact it is and should be the only episode where the "other stuff" gets the same treatment as the food. In this case, radhika lost because she made not 1 but 5 terrible decisions. She picked her friends over who would be most competent in the kitchen. She didn't develop the menu for HER concept restaurant. She took the front of the house, a place she clearly was uncomfortable with, instead of forcing one of her employees to do it. She tasted the food and approved it when the dessert was clearly subpar. And she provided zero leadership. Once it was determined, not only by the judges, but also the other diners, that Sahana was the losing restaurant, then of course she had to go home. One thing this episode solidified for me was that there really is a gap between 1-3 and rest of the chefs. Here's hoping none of those top 3 poop the bed prior to the finals.

[Skillet Doux]

"So, you have a restaurant that puts out great dishes, but bombs on dessert and hostess. You have another restaurant where the food is terrible, but the host is nice and they have good dessert. Which restaurant would you come back to?"

I'd agree if this were the case, Polybus, but that's not at all what the judges said. I'll rewatch, but I'm almost certain they said the food was also EXTREMELY close, and the service and great finish were what took Sunset Lounge from being very slightly behind to very slightly ahead.

As far as why Radhika went home instead of Leah, the show's not becoming anything. That's how it's always been. In almost every team challenge they've ever had, the elimination goes from the losing team. It's been that way since season one. You can question the wisdom of that format, but it isn't some new development that's ruining what the show used to be.

[Charles]

This group is pathetic. I’ll leave the food talk to those who know more, but from a competitors standpoint they’re horrible.

Jamie, universally hailed as one of the three best, openly admits she doesn’t want to win the challenge and be placed in charge. Nice. With that leadership mentality I have no idea why she could never get her restaurant opened.

Leah sets female chefs back to bringing berries back to the cave by a) not even being able to focus for one night on being a leader, choosing instead to get in some quality snuggle time, b) looking defeated from day one, c) not taking charge in any discernable way, other than to tell Hosea something needed salt, d) when things started falling apart, choosing to say screw it I don’t care rather than working hard to make something of nothing, and e) you can debate this, but I actually thought her teammates took it easy on her.

Radhika looks dazed and confused throughout the entire episode. She looked defeated from the moment they said she was in charge, even though she had two of the top three chefs. No input, no leadership, no advice, nothing, not even a dish or an idea for a dish, or simply standing outside the kitchen and speaking to people. I thought her performance was worse than anything Carla could have screwed up.

Fabio falls all over himself to be front of the house. Yeah, it’s the smart move, but his gusto for doing it just kind of bothered me. I like the guy and he’s funny, but it’s a cooking show, shouldn’t you be fighting to cook? And no, I don’t think the amuse counts.

Hosea kisses a girl and suddenly he can’t think straight. Exactly why was that awkward? Did he think he caught cooties? They’ve been building towards it for a while; it’s what they wanted. Why did it all of a sudden cause a problem? It’s not like they got hammered and it just happened. They wanted it to happen. Also, did anyone else get the feeling he wanted Leah to go. Why didn’t he say something about the way she was doing the fish?

Carla seems like a really nice person, and I think she may have been the victim of editing. I think what she was trying to say is she knew it was screwed up, but was working hard and trying to make the best of it. Also, for someone who likes to babble about the “soul” of food, Tom smirking at her saying she put “love into it” is a little hypocritical. Still, when it came down to it Carla is not willing to fight to stay in the game. She should have pointed out that Radhika had zero input on her dessert. At some point it’s not nice and classy, it’s being a pushover.

Jeff and Stefan are the only ones who seem to really want to win every challenge. They seem driven to put out the best food every single time, no matter what.

If you compare this group to last seasons, leaving out the food aspect, it’s still not even close. I think Season 5 can go down as the slacker season. I think Dale, Hung, or even Blais would have snapped and murdered one of these guys by now.

[aaalex]

Umm, gee, Polybus, that is over the top. First of all, it's "Top Chef" and the duties of a chef aren't only related to cooking.If it was just a cooking show, you'd have a bunch of nice recipes, a bunch of competent people tasting and judging the results and the kind of polite show that would put you in a coma on the second evening. If you're not watching Top Chef for the human interaction, the human flaws, the displays of ingenuity, incompetence and frustration, then you're basically watching a living cookbook and not a very good one, either, since recipes aren't given. Also, Leah's fish was undercooked. She didn't poison anyone, and it's far from certain that ALL the fish that went out was undercooked. After all, the diners voted in favour of Team Sunset. Marginally, but still ...No one said Team Sunset's food was "terrible". As for front of house: I would definitely go back to the place where I enjoyed the atmosphere and had a great dessert. I'm not a food critic. When I go out, it's usually with friends, so part of the point of the evening is being able to enjoy the place we've chosen and part is in tasting something great. The maitre d' is largely responsible for making you feel at ease, that you belong. It's an illusion, but it's so great when it's done well. (And especially noticeable when it's not.) And that's what restaurant wars is about: not just the food but the restaurant ... atmosphere, tone, feeling AND food. Restaurant wars is fun because the chefs are asked to do the impossible (start up a restaurant in days) and, for the most part, they do exceptionally well.

[DaveP]

Polybus, if you're not going to use the FoH as one of the judging criteria, why even have the position? Why not hire a professional Maitre D' and just have everyone cook? Why bother having a budget to decorate even? If it's your case that the entire RW premise is flawed and everyone should just present their food, then every RW has been similarly flawed, and in fact, is worthless as a concept.

*You* may not mind bad service, dirty/missing utensils and a lack of "personality", but you'd find many people who'd disagree with you (and many who'd agree that it's all about the food, no doubt). If you're going to have a concept called Restaurant Wars, and you have to admit it's a very popular concept for TC, then you have to incorporate all the aspects of what makes a Restaurant attractive. Yes, it starts with the food, and until now, everyone's been eliminated off the basis of the food, but if your service is bad enough to drive customers away, should that not count against the whole restaurant?

Add to the fact that Rahdika was also the "owner" and in charge of the whole operation, which includes the food, I can easily justify her elimination and giving the win to the other restaurant. Don't forget too that the other side had a huge advantage in the dessert dept. If Carla just served some Ben & Jerry's ice cream on slices of mango w/some coconut milk, they would've pulled out the win.

--
Dave

[Polybus]

Well, I was afraid my comments might be a little over the top. Just from watching the comments of the judges and guests as they ate the food, it seemed clear that the Sahana food was just way, way better than Sunset. I think the comments make that quite obvious. Maybe after dessert, the judges reconsidered. I don't know. I haven't had a chance to view the episode a second time.

[Jamie]

Just an off hand comment about the Howie/Stephanie Dr. Pepper commercial. I know they're just chefs, but wow that was pure reading off cue cards.

[anon man]

At Dom's point about a losing team always goes home, it is ultimately a reality show. This isn't "Best Chef" its "Top Chef".

Let's talk about dessert. Carla's spice cake was apparently really bad. Both teams had a frozen dessert that wasn't working (Panna cotta and sorbet, I believe) in the freezer. Stefan, rigged a handmade freezer. Carla relied on the freezer to bring the love instead of cold air. (Also, as good as her defense was at JT in the Gene/Melissa episode it was horribly bad this time.) If her sorbet had set or she had done something else, it probably would have been ok and then lots of maybes. Maybe they win, maybe Leah goes home, or Radhika goes home without discussion. Thinking more about Radhika's descision to be FOH while the team leader, I think I would put that up there with Malarkey's "Help yourself to some fixins" blue cheese debacle in the sub finals as one of the most horrifically bad and fatal errors in the show's history.

The thing I like about Stefan and Carla (the caterers remaining), is that they do make desserts without much griping. None of this "I'm not a baker" nonsense. Assuming Stefan and Jamie are in the finals, Jamie better bring some dessert magic or Stefan will crush her in the final meal.

[kit]

"In almost every team challenge they've ever had, the elimination goes from the losing team. It's been that way since season one."

And more specific to the RW challenge, it's often the leader who takes the hit for the losing team (which all the contestants seemed abundantly aware of, especially Radhika and Leah).

I think it's debatable whether this was "the worst performance in the history of Restaurant Wars." I was a fan of Dale T, but "baby vomit with woodchips", among other general reaming of most courses, made that performance sound off-the-charts bad (of course, that could just be the Bourdain effect).

[Terry]

It would have been nice for SOMEONE to note that Starr's restaurants are Philadelphia - only two, second restaurants are in New York.

[Skillet Doux]

"Just from watching the comments of the judges and guests as they ate the food, it seemed clear that the Sahana food was just way, way better than Sunset."

The problem there is that you're relying heavily on the edit. If that's all you have to go on, fine, but when the judges sum up afterwards by plainly saying that they liked one's food slightly better than the other, that trumps whatever impression the edit of the mealtime comments may have left you with.

[DaveP]

I've been harshing just a bit on Tom lately, so in his defense...

When chefs generally talk about putting "love" and "soul" into food, they're really talking about flavors and seasoning (this latter esp in Tom's case). Rocco had a really good blog about this on the Bravo site in season 3 (I think it was Rocco, it may have been Bourdain). It's pretty common chef-speak, and most of them get what another chef is talking about when words like that are thrown around.

I get the feeling (and I think the judges do too) that when Carla says it, she actually means she's emoting at her dishes and trying to channel that positive energy to the customers. While that's a noble philosophy (and a good way to go through life), at the end of the day, smiling at a bad dish isn't going to make it taste any better.

--
Dave

[Skillet Doux]

FWIW, I also take issue with the suggestion that this was one of the worst Restaurant Wars ever. There were certainly a couple of spectacular flubs, but overall I came away with the opposite impression -- that despite a few glaring problems (which always exist in RW) you got two fairly solid offerings, compared to some of the total train wrecks of previous seasons.

[DaveP]

Kit, I think the baby vomit was Lisa's dish. She had another crappy one too. Dale's single, but spectacular failure was his butterscotch scallops, which I guess were almost as sweet as Ariane's dessert martini from ep 2.

I don't think last night's RW was anywhere near the bottom of the various RWs we've had. In fact, it might be one of the better ones, though there were some clear rough spots. I think both restaurants would've beaten Mai Buddha (talk about a disaster) or the either of the S3's 1st night attempts. Can't remember too much about S1 or 2's RW atm.

--
Dave

[babyarm]

I think all this episode has done is cement in stone the 4 finalists as Jeff, Jamie, Hosea, Stefan. The rest are only there to play spoiler if they can. It's clear Rad and Leah are/were both really struggling with the time commitment. I do think they film the whole non-finals part in about 15 days and the contestants say frequently the JT lasts till well past 2am sometimes and QF is 8am or earlier.

Jamie, the fresh local seasonal girl does a chilean seabass and frozen lamb shanks. Sigh.

As a whole this season has a totally normal quality of finalists. It's just the people beneath them have been totally worthless. Fabio again goes 0-fer. Leah, our generation-ADD girl can pull off another QF, but the EC was another disaster. Carla, well is still carla.

I think the next 3 weeks are worth only focusing on the finalists. The momentum from that can really push people through. Just let the others fall off where they may.

I'm really sick of the preview editing tipping the QF winner. Would it be so hard to cut it up a little more? This is 5 weeks in a row you could easily get a read on that.

[Cheryl]

I almost had the impression that both Leah and Rahdika WANTED to fail..like they were both ready to go home...Rahdika tired and not holding up to the pressure and Leah completely embarrassed by her behavior with Hosea. Too bad Leah's team saved her butt because they want to win..and too bad they didn't just send them both home.
The whole thing was lame...last year Stephanie managed to run front of house while making the clam dish and a dessert and Spike did the short ribs. Did the FOH people not trust the other chefs in the kitchen to execute a concept for them or did the chefs in the kitchen have no interest in doing anything other than their own food ideas? Fabio had to do an amuse just to have a dish to take credit for.

[Independent George]

In the brief history of Top Chef, there has been exactly ONE successful Restaurant Wars: Stephanie, Richard, and Antonia's. Not surprisingly, it's the only one which consisted of three executive chefs (two of whom had opened their own restaurants).

In this year's crop, I believe only Jamie & Jeff are executive chefs, and Stefan & Carla own their own catering businesses.

[kit]

DaveP says: "Kit, I think the baby vomit was Lisa's dish."

Oops, I didn't mean to imply I thought Dale was directly responsible for that dish. I was referring to the performance of the entire restaurant/team for that episode, for which Dale, as much as I adored him, got the boot.

[aaalex]

Sorry, Independent George, but I have no idea what you mean. That the season three bunch are the only ones that made good food, created a place you'd like to dine in, came closest to having a "real" restaurant? The fact you stress Richard, Stephanie and Antonia's credentials as executive chefs means that they were experienced chefs and so, what, best business heads? Best restauranteurs? Is the fact that Stefan "merely" owns his own catering company a sign that his competence is lesser than Richard's or Stephanie's where restaurant creation is concerned?

[Biebs]

The whole thing was lame...last year Stephanie managed to run front of house while making the clam dish and a dessert and Spike did the short ribs.

Should be noted, last year, I believe there was a consultant to help with FOH stuff. Also, there was a necessity for FOH people to cook as there were only 3 chefs per side, not 4 like this year.

[Jake]

A few points (where's my bullet point tag, huh?!)

-FOH is not just about seating customers and taking orders. It's about communicating with the back about what's going well, and keeping things running smoothly. Any good chef should know what sort of help they'd need from FOH. Fabio nailed it in terms of supporting the kitchen. Radhika did a lot of standing around.

-I don't think Radhika went home just for her FOH performance. She was the team leader, and seemed to abdicate responsibility very quickly. It's your concept, make sure things are working, even if you're not cooking. She seemed to stop doing anything as soon as the menu was created. How's she going to run a real restaurant?

-In other words, her elimination had /everything/ to do with the food, even though she cooked none of it. Perhaps especially because she cooked none of it.

-The fact that Stefan was chosen last is a huge indictment of the team leaders. Who cares if he's a dick? Most of the time he rubs someone the wrong way it's because he's stepping in to fix something that's not working, or that nobody has stepped up to offer opinions on. One of the other contestants mentioned him "sabotaging" people, and I think that couldn't be further from the truth. He'll call people out, but he'll also let them know something sucks before it's too late, unlike many other contestants.

-I do think Stefan is purposefully irritating other contestants. I don't blame him. Most of them have not done much to earn respect in the kitchen, and nearly all of his comments are focused on improving the food -- and he's usually /right/.

-Leah's performance was bad, but far from the worst performance by someone who survived. Relax. She's not sticking around much longer anyway, I'd bet.

-My rankings remain: Stefan, Jamie, Jeff, then who cares? Although I still think the latter two could screw it up (it happens).

-Carla's comments at JT did not bother me (although as L put it: "the crazy ship just landed again"). I thought it was clear she knew what she made was an irredeemable mess, and this was her way of saying, hey, I sent it out and prayed because I didn't know what else to do.

-Top chefs find ways to fix things when they go wrong. Middle-of-the-pack finishers don't.

-Fabio's "monkey ass" comment may have surpassed Stefan's cock in the henhouse bit as the funniest thing I've heard all season.

[Jake]

A few points (where's my bullet point tag, huh?!)

-FOH is not just about seating customers and taking orders. It's about communicating with the back about what's going well, and keeping things running smoothly. Any good chef should know what sort of help they'd need from FOH. Fabio nailed it in terms of supporting the kitchen. Radhika did a lot of standing around.

-I don't think Radhika went home just for her FOH performance. She was the team leader, and seemed to abdicate responsibility very quickly. It's your concept, make sure things are working, even if you're not cooking. She seemed to stop doing anything as soon as the menu was created. How's she going to run a real restaurant?

-In other words, her elimination had /everything/ to do with the food, even though she cooked none of it. Perhaps especially because she cooked none of it.

-The fact that Stefan was chosen last is a huge indictment of the team leaders. Who cares if he's a dick? Most of the time he rubs someone the wrong way it's because he's stepping in to fix something that's not working, or that nobody has stepped up to offer opinions on. One of the other contestants mentioned him "sabotaging" people, and I think that couldn't be further from the truth. He'll call people out, but he'll also let them know something sucks before it's too late, unlike many other contestants.

-I do think Stefan is purposefully irritating other contestants. I don't blame him. Most of them have not done much to earn respect in the kitchen, and nearly all of his comments are focused on improving the food -- and he's usually /right/.

-Leah's performance was bad, but far from the worst performance by someone who survived. Relax. She's not sticking around much longer anyway, I'd bet.

-My rankings remain: Stefan, Jamie, Jeff, then who cares? Although I still think the latter two could screw it up (it happens).

-Carla's comments at JT did not bother me (although as L put it: "the crazy ship just landed again"). I thought it was clear she knew what she made was an irredeemable mess, and this was her way of saying, hey, I sent it out and prayed because I didn't know what else to do.

-Top chefs find ways to fix things when they go wrong. Middle-of-the-pack finishers don't.

-Fabio's "monkey ass" comment may have surpassed Stefan's cock in the henhouse bit as the funniest thing I've heard all season.

[Independent George]

aaalex - sorry if I was unclear.

My main point is that the organization & logistics challenges of Restauran Wars have as much to do with success as technical skills. Executive chefs have an advantage in that they're used to dealing with those issues; chefs who have owned their own business are at an even greater advantage because they've likely dealt with even greater challenges.

When you look at the many failures in RW, think of how many organizational challenges have a direct impact on the food. How many times have we seen one team member off on his own, to the resentment of the others? Or one team member preparing a dish the others have never tried before, such that nobody else can help if things go awry? Or each team member going in their own direction instead of producing a unified menu?

I've defended Stefan on the grounds that, for all his bluster, the man knows what he's talking about - not just cooking, but organization and planning. Steph/Richard/Antonia's success was not just because their food was good, but also because they put themselves in a position to prepare good food.

[stefan]

Ok here it goes: First of thank you for the nice comments about my dessert. Second: I'm not hard to work with, im in the restaurant biz and go outside and check on your neighborhood restaurant how slow it is. That’s why u need to be harsh with staff or people you work with sometimes. Because if you f... up, customers will not come back. And to the people who make comments that he or she or whatever should have won the last challange. How the f... do u know how the food tasted. Do u lick ur tv screen and decide what food was better. That is beyond anything I have ever heard. So weird that people blog about the taste of food. See I love the blogs and they make me laugh so hard. But f..f... sake you can not taste it, it is TV.TV TV TV.

Best Stefan

P.S. I love your blog

[Bart]

I think most of the cheftestants can't deal with Stefan because they don't know how to approach him. I've met folks like Stefan - they're not dicks, they're perfectionists. If they understand that you're after the same goal of achieving perfection, they're going to work with you.

It feels like they're working against you, but they're trying to get the best product out there.

And if that previous poster really is Top Chef Stefan - I find it amusing how the Internet has erased the wall that separates the viewers from the show.

[David]

So many good comments, I don't want to be redundant or reinvent the wheel.

Stefan is, unquestionably, the most techically proficient chef in the bunch. He's far too brash for me, and doesn't seem to miss an opportunity to insult or be dismissive of a fellow contestant. That aside, he delivers when he has to.

I was a bit surprised that Carla accepted the task of desserts. She just won for desserts, and fretted two episodes back that she was worried about being judged for not cooking protein. That being the case, I thought she would have been more forceful about cooking appetizers or the entree. When Jamie asked her for ideas, it appears (you never know with editing) that she drew a blank. That, to me, was more disappointing than her flaws with the desserts. Speaking of desserts, I disagree with the suggestion that Stefan pulled a McGuyver and Carla fell on her face with the failing freezer. The way I saw it, the desserts were different and needed different levels of frigidity. Stefan was preparing something that merely need to set, while Carla was preparing something that needed to freeze. Perhaps putting the frozen yogurt in smaller containers would have sped along the process, but we are at the mercy of editing, and have no idea what was tried or was going on to remedy the situation. Speaking of editing, I suspect that that was also the culprit in the seemingly disjointed performance at the Judges' Table. I don't trust the editors of the show, and fully expect they cut and spliced Carla's utterances to play up "the crazy." If I had to guess, this editing is intentional. Not just for misdirection on this episode, but possibly setting us up for remaining eps.

This whole Leah/Hosea thing has me annoyed. As Dom said, I.Don't.Care. Period! Further, in the first teaser up for next week Hosea's sitting as far from Leah as possible. They are so young and immature. That's a high school move. As far as the talent exhibited by either? Leah definitely has become low hanging fruit to me. Hosea is still hanging in there. I have to put aside his personal "stuff" like I have with Stefan.

As I said earlier, I'm suffering Fabio. He's just not THAT charming to me. Add to that, his amuse bouche was panned by the judges. Let me add, in response to an earlier comment, I'm not basing my impression on what Fabio did in this episode. I'm taking into account his over-the-top mugging and "Freesh offa da boat" schtick almost since day one. It just gets old.

I just don't have it in me, right now, to comment on the rest of the crew.

Here's how I would stack up the remaining 7:

Stefan
Jamie
Jeff
Hosea
Carla
Fabio
Leah

[Wangus]

Hey, it's Stefan! I'm aware that it could be a fake, but I'm going to have faith that he's real. He definitely writes the way I'd expect him to. That's very cool. Dom, you're officially a celebrity now. Good luck, Stefan.

Some points to make:

- One poster did mention this beforehand, and while we can't be certain, the way that the judges spoke at JT it made it seem like the judges considered both teams fairly equally and that it was the DINERS whose evaluations helped team Sunset win. This, doesn't particularly surprise me. If you are evaluating something, first and final impressions are going to always stick in your mind: first being the first person who greets you (service) and final being dessert. Thus I'm not surprised the comment cards gave the edge to team sunset lounge.

- I think that many people see Fabio as 'hamming it up' because they specifically hear him during the interviews mentioning that he is try to charm people. Thus you think 'well I have inside information'. But as something who has worked in service industries for many years, I can safely tell you that everyone is fake to a degree. We may not use heavier accents particularly, but we are definitely focused on being chipper and making sure you like what we are selling/providing. That's service. It's just that simple. It's different from an outsider viewing in prospective rather than one from a person receiving the service.

- Finally, I'd like to draw to attention something that Blais wrote in his blog last week. He states that these challenges are all done quite rapidly after one another (not sure if there are perfectly back to back, but I remember he said they were very close). He points out that fatigue is a tremendous factor in this show. I think we've definitely seen that fatigue hit both Leah and Radhika. I'm personally a little disappointed to hear about this quick progression (though I understand it in a value standpoint). Maybe if they gave the contestants two or three days of rest between each challenge we'd see better quality food?

[aaalex]

Idependent George: great clarification, Thanks.

[paula]

Stefan, eh? Prove it! :D

[John Coctostan]

Hey, lighten up, Jack. When people write here about how a dish tastes, it's pretty much understood that all opinions are based on what we're shown - reactions, comments, etc, because that's all we've got. It's pretty tiresome to put in front of every opinion "based on the editing and the comments we were allowed to hear...", so that part gets dropped, that's all.

P.S. I'm a fan.

[Liz]

"As far as why Radhika went home instead of Leah, the show's not becoming anything. That's how it's always been. In almost every team challenge they've ever had, the elimination goes from the losing team. It's been that way since season one. You can question the wisdom of that format, but it isn't some new development that's ruining what the show used to be."

I've been wondering about the reasoning behind that. Is is to encourage the teams to work together to put forth the best food possible? If the contestants knew that someone from the winning team could be eliminated, would the team challenges devolve into disasters because of an every-man-for-himself attitude?

[Jon Olsen]

"Why not hire a professional Maitre D' and just have everyone cook? Why bother having a budget to decorate even? "

Dave that's it! That's what I'd do! The FoH is a *responsibility* of one of the chefts, right? If I was on this show and I survived to RW...I'd try to back door in a pro. I'd *spend some of my FoH budget to poach a temp from a nearby restaurant!* Or task one of those servers with it. Just say "you, you're playing host. you go and greet people, keep me informed of things at tables, and I'll be out regularly to check on everyone. notify me when judges are seated."

Just get somebody who will manage the flow of incoming people, and then spend my time as team lead expediting and visiting tables throughout the course of the meal. I bet I'd score major points for showing leadership and innovation. The point of leading this is that it's your *responsibility* that it get done, not that you're expected to carry out the actual *doing* of it. That'd be my defense at JT anyway. Plus I'd be able to have a direct hand in guiding the dishes to completion. Gawd I hope somebody has this insight someday.

Course, I can't cook one tenth of one percent as good/effectively as any of the people who get within shouting distance of RW, so I'll never be able to hatch this stratagem irl.

[Skillet Doux]

Hey, all...

I can confirm that the comment above is, in fact, from Stefan.

This has been a public service announcement.

[Skillet Doux]

"Dave that's it! That's what I'd do! The FoH is a *responsibility* of one of the chefts, right? If I was on this show and I survived to RW...I'd try to back door in a pro. I'd *spend some of my FoH budget to poach a temp from a nearby restaurant!"

This, Jon, is an awesome idea. I doubt the producers would allow it, but if somebody could get away with it that'd be fricking brilliant.

[aaalex]

Well, if it really was Stefan, allow me to be among the first to say to him: if the catering business goes a little south, you should definitely consider a career in comedy. TV TV TV ... that's why it tastes so dusty when you lick it...

[aaalex]

@Mr Doux: yeah, but the price of the pro comes out of your budget for silverware or table cloths or "atmosphere". And then: you're not in a city you know, how do you know this pro FOH person is any good? You do interviews? Not much time for that, is there? Worst case scenario: some dipsy FOH who will suffer NO consequences for his/her screw ups.

[babyarm]

Doubt that's stefan. Dude just won what is probably the 3rd biggest prize of the season and has a lead pipe iron clad NDA. No way he risks losing the appliances over a fan blog.

Plus, you can taste the food. They put out the recipes to try and hardly any of it is super hard to execute. No 20 ingredient sauces simmered at 3 levels to be found. I've done a bunch of them. Actually Howie's from S3 work out great. Just last night did bone out legolamb in honor of arianne.

[Skillet Doux]

"Doubt that's stefan. Dude just won what is probably the 3rd biggest prize of the season and has a lead pipe iron clad NDA. No way he risks losing the appliances over a fan blog."

Unless somebody has hijacked his catering business' website and domain, it's him.

I haven't seen the TC NDA, but clearly it doesn't prevent the contestants from speaking generally about the show. They do midseason interviews all the time. Actually revealing the content of unaired episodes carries a stiff (read: crippling) penalty, I'm sure, but he hasn't done that, so where's the issue?

[kit]

babyarm says: "Plus, you can taste the food. They put out the recipes to try and hardly any of it is super hard to execute."

To be (perhaps annoyingly :) ) anal, you can taste the food conception-wise, but there's always that pesky execution factor which can't be tasted after-the-fact.

I would think the NDA restricts them from revealing certain aspects of the show (like who gets eliminated when), but generally I would think they are free to talk about any of the other aspects. Bravo wouldn't want to put a complete gag order on them, otherwise they can't do things like interviews to help promote the show.

As for farming out FOH duties, I think it is a good idea if you actually know of someone good to bring in. Just like the contestants, who I believe are not paid for appearing on this show, it's an opportunity for self-promotion, so I don't think whoever was brought in would necessarily need to be paid alot of money. And if you're really worried about proper incentives, whatever you pay them from the budget could be based on whether or not your team wins (of course, if you don't win, you've left money on the table so to speak, that could have been spent elsewhere).

[anon man]

Yeah, Stefan. I would eat your food any day. Best of luck the rest of the way.

[anne]

Whoever said both leaders lost by picking Stefan last was right. He hasn't seemed THAT difficult to work with, and he's one of the two most talented chefs on the show. He takes his stuff damned seriously and he plays to win, which is more than you can say for all of them. At least Radhika showed some strategy by picking Carla, presumably to do desserts (that didn't work out well.) But they had every opportunity to pick a good team for themselves--get the best chef, then someone for FOH--and both failed. Leah showed her bad leadership right away by picking Hosea first, who brings absolutely nothing to the table that someone else doesn't do better. Besides, perhaps, smooching.

[DaveP]

So we have Ted Allen and Stefan reading this blog confirmed. Awesome. :)

BTW, it'd be a cool idea to "outsource" your duties using your budget, but what if you just outsourced another chef while you were at it? I think many past seasons could use a pastry chef at the very least (obviously, the show would never allow this).

--
Dave

[Tyler]

I agree wholeheartedly with Charles up above.

I'm not going to argue about Rhadika going home. She went home and that's what the judges decided.

Leah did, however, set female chefs back to "bringing berries back to the cave." After Arianne and the butchered lamb last week, Leah wows everyone with a fish that's not even filetted before it's sectioned. What kind of genius does that take? Another butchering problem on team Leah.

And then her butchered fish is sent back from judges table as it's undercooked *and* otherwise inedible.

Given the history of the show (i.e. last season especially), she could easily end up in the finals. So.

I hereby reserve the right to be reactionary and emotional.

[Anne]

p.s. any difficulties Stefan has shown can be more than explained by having to live in a house with Hosea and Leah. Yeesh.

[DPP]

I don't understand all the Hosea hate. Sure, the kissing and flirting with Leah has been annoying, and I don't think he's quite on a level with Jeff, Stefan or even Jamie, but his food has been solid throughout. I certainly think he's talented enough to make the four-man finals and is even capable of pulling off an upset.

[babyarm]

"babyarm says: "Plus, you can taste the food. They put out the recipes to try and hardly any of it is super hard to execute."

To be (perhaps annoyingly :) ) anal, you can taste the food conception-wise, but there's always that pesky execution factor which can't be tasted after-the-fact."

Perhaps, but doux turned me on to looking at the recipes they publish awhile ago. I ain't no professional cook, but none of these are any harder to pull off (removing time constraints) than the average fare that gourmet mag. or even something like cooking light publishes. Especially if you have attained a masters degree from the alton brown school of cooking ;-).

[kit]

babyarm -

I hope you didn't think I was suggesting that your ability to execute dishes is somehow worse than the contestants, because that's definitely not what I meant (sorry if it came across that way!). I was referring more to the fact that sometimes the contestants, due to time constraints, equipment malfunctions, irritating teammates, sleep deprivation, and/or overwhelming guilt from cheating on their significant others on national television ;) can sometimes fail miserably on the execution front, and how that failure affected the quality of the food can't be easily replicated from the recipes.

[annie]

Ok so as one of Radhika's biggest supporter's im really sad to see her go. I felt she def had a lot more to prove, but with that being said I Understand why she went home and im fine with it. Even though truth be told for me a relaxed dining experience is not being bothered by the host, I'd rather choose to have a conversation with my friends instead. I would just like my food out in a timely manner so I dont see what the fuss is about, I didn't realize some people like to have heart-to hearts with the host.....

At judges table Tom says something to the effect that a Top chef has to be a jack of all trades in the restaurant business, not Just a GOOD CHEF. With that ebing said, some people have posted that the dream Restaurant Owner's would have been Jeff and Stefan. Can someone honestly say that Stefan would be great at Front of the House. He is the most akward person on this show to ever make small talk ever. But I still think he's a top chef, and his FOH wouldnt not affect my opiion on that....Sad to see Rad go on this

[Polybus]

Tyler said, "I hereby reserve the right to be reactionary and emotional."

I would like to revoke that license from myself.

I hereby vow to take more to time to review episodes, read the blogs carefully, and spend some time in quiet reflection before posting. I was right in a few of the comments I made, but I apologize for letting my emotional reaction to the program frame some of my more wayward opinions.

Welcome to blog, Stefan!

[paula]

Just wanted to note that the one Toby one-liner we had to suffer through was just so damn awkward. As soon as he said, "This dish reminds me of..." it's like the whole room went silent and you could feel the judges' eyes mentally rolling (while the rest of us, on our couches, were free to eye-roll and throw crap at the screen with abandon). Also, maybe it was the editing, but it seemed as if the line landed with an audible thud.

That made me happy.

He has made some (two?) astute clarifications about the process at JT, so I don't knock him completely. I miss Ted Allen, though.

[aaalex]

@annie: I don't get this anti-Front of House thing. Nobody wants the maitre d'to be intrusive. Good FOH is unobtrusive. Nobody wants FOH to behave like a pal and hog the conversation. Good FOH helps create an atmosphere where you and your friends feel free to talk. Nobody wants a heart to heart with a Maitre d' and a good Maitre d' wouldn't give it to you. Radhika didn't manage to make anyone feel at ease. She spent oodles of time in the kitchen making the chefs nervous. She didn't even manage to help Carla by letting her know her dessert wasn't up to scratch. So, there wasn't even useful communication between Front and Back. She was as bad as it's possible to be, to the point of making the diners in the restaurant feel anxious about her. And that's just selfish, on Radhika's part, after all. I can't really imagine Stefan being worse than Radhika, because Stefan runs his own catering company. If he turns people off, he loses money. Simple equation. Also, he's clearly uber-professional. He'd likely see to his diners' needs and put them at ease OR, if Fabio were on his team, he'd let Fabio run FOH.I kind of wished Carla had gone, but Radhika was really really lousy.

[DaveP]

"some people have posted that the dream Restaurant Owner's would have been Jeff and Stefan."

I do think that would be the most *entertaining* matchup. They're both natural leaders, i.e. they both assume leadership positions whether asked for or not. They do have very distinct styles and I think it'd be a great contrast in how they operated their restaurants.

As for Stefan's FoH skills or the lack thereof, if he truly has poor people skills (you can't assume anything from his interactions with his other *competitors*), he'd also have the option to remain in the back and assign FoH duties to someone more suitable. Which is exactly what Radhika should have done in the first place (I would've picked Jeff in a heartbeat in her shoes).

BTW, we also missed out on a great opportunity for a battle of the sexes. Stefan, Jeff, Hosea & Fabio vs. Jamie, Leah, Rahdika & Carla. Gotta say advantage men here, though maybe Leah's game might pick up w/o Hosea around (and vice versa).

Finally, I actually don't mind Toby's critiques when they're about the food, and his blog is pretty insightful too. I just wished he would stop looking for the perfect metaphor or some good soundbyte every time he had something to say.

--
Dave

[paula]

My dream owner match-up would have been Jamie vs. Jeff. They're the only two who seem capable of leading firmly and decisively without being complete bulldozers (talkin' to you, Stefan), while also putting together a kick-ass menu that might have allowed all of the chefs on each team to put up or shut up. Actually, now that I think of it, I would have loved to have seen a battle of the sexes with those two in charge. Good call, Dave. I bet all the players would have stayed on their toes.

[CW]

Just a small note, but those who are blasting Jamie for "not wanting responsibility" are kind of tilting at windmills.

It seems that rather than "being afraid of responsibility and leadership," she's rather aware that being in charge of a 6 hour restaurant opening and in charge of supervising 3 people who don't recognize your authority is kind of a lose-lose situation. Which, as past restaurant wars have proven (All RW losers but Mikey have been sent home b/c they failed as leaders whereas the only RW winner who was a team leader was Stephanie, no?), she was right to shy away from putting herself in a lose-lose situation

[Unhappy Gilmore]

It is not that hard to hijack an email address or web site to post on this site (or any other site), or send email from outlook.

If that was Stefan, I would have expected at least one "douche" in his comments. There were none, so I figured it was an impostor.

[Bill]

Like Annie, I don't see what the fuss is about. They seemed to make a big deal about Radhika not saying goodbye to them. I don't recall anyone other than a waiter saying goodnight to me in a restaurant.
Apparently service was good other than a missing fork, the decor was nice and the food (except the dessert) was good. That's good enough for me, I don't want the Fabio show when I go out to eat.

[paula]

Radhika didn't get sent home for not saying goodbye or being late with a spoon. She got sent home for not contributing anything to her team, in any way. I know the editing may have misled us, but it appeared that she cooked nothing, she gave no menu guidance, she failed in the front of house and she failed in the back of house...in what was supposed to be HER OWN RESTAURANT. I actually really like her and would love to eat at her actual restaurant, and I would have liked to see her stick around, but I don't see how anyone could argue that she didn't completely blow every aspect of this challenge.

[Doug]

Hey, Stefan commented! Good thing I had him at the top of my personal ranking already. He's got an edge to him, so I wouldn't want to piss him off.

I thought this episode played out with almost sublime justice. It may not work perfectly from a foodie perspective, but it made for some great TV.

Leah and Radhika excelled when it came to an individual challenge, but were exposed when asked to lead. Hard to argue that leadership is an essential skill a chef is expected to possess.

The stronger chefs shined with only minor quibbles about performance (Stefan, Jaime, Jeff). The weaker chefs struggled massively (Carla, Fabio's amuse, Leah). The front of the house chefs showed they either GET how that works (Fabio), or don't (Radhika). And Hosea kind of faded into the background after his embarrassed cooty-catching smooching session.

Then we got the "apples, oranges, or bananas" elimination, in which there were perfectly good reasons to send three different chefs home, and all that was left was to decide who's sin was greatest. It might have been Carla, for making bad food and defending it while apparently high. It might have been Leah, for making bad food and leading poorly, despite her team saving her behind. But in the end it was Radhika for shirking her role as a leader altogether while flopping in running the FOH. Despite knowing that the leader of the losing team in restaurant wars usually goes home, this one seemed close enough I really didn't know until it was announced.

Good show, I say. And fie on those of you who didn't like it (I add in good humor).

[PMS]

Dom,I never comment because I agree with every single think you write.

[Jon Olsen]

Of course it's Stefan. If you check out Amuse-Biatch or David Dust, you can see him showing up there too. His online voice is just too distinctive—it's the real deal. Plus, my God, who *WOULD* hijack a *catering company domain* just to post on some food blogs? No offense, but real hackers have better things to do.

I for one welcome our new Finnish overlords, and offer the use of my skills to recruit other Americans for labor in their lingonberry mines.

[peterme]

Jamie ducking the responsibility to be team leader means she will not become Top Chef. To win, you must have some killer instinct. I like her food and personality, but she's simply not aggressive enough.

On my own blog I posted a list of lessons learned from this episode (which I think is one of the more entertaining RWs we've seen). The short of it: it's not all about the food. Clearly. Remember, the diners judged SL's food to be better than Sahana, even though the judges didn't. Here's what I wrote on my site:
http://www.peterme.com/?p=729

I couldn’t watch last night’s episode without realizing how much of it applied to experience design and management. There were three key elements that popped out at me. In order to explain, I have to reveal what transpired so…
Spoiler alert!

Communication. This arises in pretty much every team challenge on Top Chef, as it seems that chefs are terrible communicators. Early on in the service, the Sahana team, Jamie in particular, could see that Radhika, the team lead, was not focusing on the right things. Radhika should have been paying attention to front-of-house, making sure people felt attended to, and instead she kept drifting into the kitchen, where she was more comfortable. Someone, probably Jamie, should have said something to Radhika, but she didn’t. It’s as if she didn’t want to suggest that a teammate is not working up to par. Similarly, Radhika, as team lead, had almost nothing to say to her team, and they managed as little islands of activity. The Sunset Lounge team, for all their problems (and there were many) were in constant communication with each other. And they won.

The lesson: communicate. When things aren’t going well, call them out. Don’t be afraid of offending or upsetting others, particularly in group work. Yes, you have to figure out tactful means of communicating, so that your message will be received, but you can’t not communicate.

Experience matters. The judges all felt that Sahana’s team had the better food (if only by a slight margin), but they lost. Why? Because Fabio rocked the front of the house for Sunset Lounge. He made everyone feel welcome and attended to. He was gracious, even a little flirtatious. When things went wrong, like the undercooked black cod, he apologized and offered to replace it. He recognized that dining is not just about eating, and made the guests feel good about being there.

The lesson: Attend to the complete person. Make them feel good. Recognize the role that emotion plays, and don’t assume a superior product will win out self-evidently.

Finish strong. Even though the judges preferred Sahana’s food, the comment cards from the other eaters rated Sunset Lounge’s as better. I trust the judges’ palates here, so the disconnect is revealing. One reason the other eaters preferred Sunset Lounge was the experience, as explained above. More important, though, was that Sunset Lounge finished strong — even the judges said their desserts were the single best component served all night, across both restaurants. Sahana’s dessert was considered among the worst offerings from either team.

Brandon introduced me to the “peak-end rule”, wherein people judge experiences based on either the most extreme aspect (the peak) or how they ended. So, even though the Sunset Lounge’s team’s food was weaker overall, it ended so strong that eaters felt the whole experience was that much stronger.

The lesson: It’s obvious. I know if my practice, though, I have to always remind myself to finish strong, to put that extra effort in at the end.

[Elise]

I'd like to second the poster who said that Jamie made a good decision by purposely not winning the Quickfire challenge. She's opened a restaurant before so she knows how tough it is to do with plenty of time and money, let alone in one day. She knows that she's one of the best in the field and taking the fall for another contestant just isn't a good plan. It's one thing to open a restaurant when you are really in charge, where you've actually been able to hire the people you want, and those people have no incentive to see you fail; it's a whole other thing when your "staff" benefits by screwing up so you get tossed off the show. If I was on TC and had any real chance of winning I'd stay as far away from the leadership role in RW as possible. Meanwhile if you're one of the barely possible long shots, RW leadership is a chance to make everyone think that maybe you do have what it takes to move on to the top, and if you fail, well, as another poster said here, "what does it matter if you finish fifth or ninth?"

[redpoint]

I miss Leeann's blog. Where is she?

[vin]

One thing i haven't read anyone comment on, was the first amusing brief interlude they played last night. I found jeff's magic tricks to be a nice glimpse into a different personality than is usually protrayed not just with jeff but with all the contestants having fun in the stew room. Nice job, finally, by bravo and their brief snippets.

[trujep]

Love all the discussion as always.

Quick comment to Independent George: Fabio owns his own restaurant Cafe Firenze, is the Executive Chef and has previously been in the Executive Chef position at various other restaurants.

Funniest Line of the Night for me: "I feel like a hummingbird on cocaine" courtesy of Jeff

Thanks for the forum Dom I'll treat you to dinner if ever in Ventura as a thank you.

[canasian]

Spoiler alert!

That's one of my favorite party tricks, vin. You get somebody to be in on the trick and nonchalantly move their cup to the same position on the napkin as the position of the selected can. The selected person pretends to be as shocked as everyone else, and you usually get about ten shots out of it before someone catches on. If you freeze-frame the clip you can see someone (Fabio?) moves their cup from the corner of the napkin to the center. Yes, I freeze-framed the clip.

Hello, my name is canasian, and I'm a Top Cef addict...

[Independent George]

From Stephanie's blog:

"Leah's team is pretty much taken over by Stefan right away. He seems to have the most ideas for the menu and concept and is really running the show. Leah of course gets frustrated, which was of course understandable, but I would have to disagree that Stefan was fully in the wrong. Someone has to take charge or nothing gets done."

Richard:

"By winning the Quickfire, Radhika, and Leah get to choose teams. This should have been a big advantage. Stefan gets left out. Most people probably watched that and felt like he must be the most miserable person to work around. But, I watched it and realized again, what a lack of leadership and enthusiasm some in this group show.

Why wouldn't you pick one of, if not, THE, best chef in the lot? If you're not a leader, you don't pick leaders to be on your team. There is a fear factor there.

A chef should always try to surround him/herself with the most talented people. Although, in real life, attitude and social skills play a big role in forming a team. This is not the case in a competitive cooking contest."

I also love the fact that they both have pretty much the same reaction to "Sunset Lounge":

Richard: "Sunset Lounge is the worst name I've ever heard of, for even a fake restaurant. I imagine giant fish bowls of spiked punch garnished with paper umbrellas. Cigarette smoke. Bill Murray singing the theme to Star Wars. And a few pirates in the kitchen, worrying more about their bet on the game, then the character of their food."

Stephanie: "Now over to Sunset Lounge. The name makes me think more of a gentlemen's club than a restaurant but that is just me."

[annie]

radhika say in her blog that she doesn't think Tom ever liked her, and I remember someone else from last season saying the same thing. And Tom stated that was never the case, and I agree with him. But you can DEFINETLY tell that his patience with the latter season contestants compared to the earlier ones is wearing very thin, it shows in his facial expressions (which for some reason this season seem to be on the extreme ends of deadly stare of disaproval or the comical smile)...btw Carla's antics at JT, Hilarious, but she's gonna be next

[anon man]

annie,

I think it was Mark the Kiwi who last season flat accused Tom of bias because of his dislike for him. If you're on the bottom at JT a lot, you'll hear a lot of critical comments and think that Tom hates you. At least, that's how would imagine challenge after challenge of critical comments.

[august_west]

It looks to me as though Stefan is really starting to separate himself from the rest of the pack. Jamie's approach is too narrow, Jeff seems to make things too complicated. As mentioned above, I think Stefan has been both intentionally holding back, and pushing people's buttons while jockeying for position.
Stefan 1-1
Jamie 4-1
Jeff 4-1
Field 20-1

[Dave]

One thing bugged me about the show that no one has commented about. Part of the QF challenge was to pitch an idea for the restaurant to Starr. And yet not one of the contestants offered a coherent or compelling indication of their restaurant-to-be. I don't know if their efforts were butchered in editing or were simply uninspired, but I'm kind of shocked that none of them tried to pitch their concepts more forcefully.

[paula]

Curse you, Canasian! I wanted to believe Jeff was really magic...

I enjoyed that little snippet, too. And to add to the discussion about how those with executive chef experience did better, you all missed one: Radhika. Oops.

[craig]

Can't be too disappointed with Radhika going home. The two times she won immunity, the dishes she produced would have sent her home. She's not that strong, and frankly neither is her restaurant in Chicago....ouch, sorry, but it's the truth.

Toby is horrible, doesn't add anything to the show. Do you see Tom's expressions when Toby is offering opinions? Clearly, he's not on board with this decision.

Final thought ---- Not one person from this seasons weak talent would have finished in the top 4 last year, and perhaps any year. You could make an argument for Stefan, but that's about it.

[Independent George]

Paula - darn. My theory was working so beautifully, too!

That actually makes Radhika's performance even more disappointing - how could she have dropped the ball so badly? She's the team leader, and the restaurant was her concept... so why was Jamie setting the menu? Why didn't she include at least one dish of her own? Why did she keep disappearing to the kitchen, and then not do anything while she was back there?

I can see her being overwhelmed if this was new to her (which is why I thought it was when CJ made Tre executive chef in season 3, and why I find it so irritating to watch Leah whine about Stefan instead of listening to what he actually has to say). If she's already an executive chef, though, why couldn't she just do what she normally does?

[Skillet Doux]

"Final thought ---- Not one person from this seasons weak talent would have finished in the top 4 last year, and perhaps any year. You could make an argument for Stefan, but that's about it."

I know we're beating a dead horse here, but c'mon, Craig. You're telling me that if you put Stefan, Jamie and maybe Jeff up against Dave from S1, Elia and Ilan from S2, Brian from S3 and Lisa from S4, the only one who MIGHT have a shot at it is Stefan?

Plus, this was the point of the season when a lot of people thought Stephanie was going to choke and Dale and Casey were just starting to get hot.

Methinks your glasses are a tinge rose-colored, my friend :-)

[Weirdsmobile]

I don't know if anyone reads this far into the comments, but here goes...

* I like Stefan. Maybe it's that sort of jaded European, Stellan-Skarsgard-in-Hunt-for-Red-October thing he's got going, but I find him refreshingly blunt and no-nonsense in the dish of limp noodles that is the current crop of cheftestants. Since the norm for Top Chef is jerks like Lisa who have all the arrogance and ego of master chefs but with a fraction of the talent, I don't mind someone like Stefan who comes across the way he does, but can actually bring the cooking. Mainly the sense I get from Stefan is that he doesn't feel like he's cooking with chefs he respects -- or even grownups, really -- and I'd have to agree with him.

* When Radhika chose her team, my initial response was, "She's gonna win because she chose competent chefs who are team players." I still think it was the best team -- provided it had an actual leader. I liked Radhika, but unfortunately she failed on every level here, so I can't quibble with the decision, no matter how much I wanted Leah to go. If she had at least cooked something, or taken more control over the team -- or at least had some substantive input on the menu, for heaven's sake -- I don't think she would have gone home. And y'know, it's not like they don't all know that Restaurant Wars is going to be part of their competition, so they should all be prepared to know what they want to do if they end up in a leadership position. So it goes.

* I have to (reluctantly) disagree with the people who don't like the fact that the entire winning team is immune from the dreaded PPYKAG. While unsatisfying in a case like tonight, where Leah so very much deserved to be sent home, it's the key to ensuring that the team works together and that there's no backstabbing or other self-serving shenanigans. You're not going to be quite as tempted to let a teammate twist in the wind if you know that'll put all of you on the chopping block, or at least take away any chance of a personal win no matter how well you perform.

* And generally, I like Restaurant Wars even though it can lead to someone like Radhika going home for things other than their food. It's a nice change of pace and a regular reminder that there are aspects to being a top chef that aren't directly about cooking. Plus, at this point there is no reason why the chefs' restaurants shouldn't come off well, because, again, everyone knows Restaurant Wars is coming and everyone has the opportunity to prepare for it. Even though it's one of the tougher challenges, it's the most predictable one.

* I'm thinking of starting a petition to get Bravo to edit Toby Young completely out of the remaining episodes. The guy is just ridiculous. I was actually able to tolerate his presence until he brought out that groaner of a nElvis one-liner. He's an embarrassment to himself and the show.

[Rab]

I caught the 1 hour version of the show last night and sadly they left in the Elvis line while cutting out important details of Leah's and Radhika's failures. It's hard to be certain whether something has been removed because I could have just missed it but it seemed like they cut Hosea's surprise that Leah had portioned her fish before deboning it and I think they cut some of Radhika declining to give feedback in the kitchen.

All-in-all, while watching the hour-long version, the reaction to the food of the two restaurants seemed closer than when I watched the original episode. It was an interesting reminder that this is a show where the editing is really important to my impression of people's performaces.

[stefan]

http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=burning_questions_2&article=2009/01/stefan_happy_ending

Here is what i wrote in response to Bravo questions. And to all the non believers yes it is me. I will say all the words as a confirantion. ( douche, coooock, shit stick and a few others. Love the blogs guy keep it up and if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me.

Stefan u can find my website ;-)

[Hillary]

I really didn't feel that bad for Radhika. I thought her cooking was inconsistent, and her leadership skills were lacking. Leah is totally on my shit list though and I'm waiting for her to be gone.

[Independent George]

Question for Stefan: how do you feel about Canasian revealing the secret to Jeff's mystical mental powers? Or were they already revealed in the stew room?

[canasian]

I'm going to be taking s**t for that all week, aren't I?

[Anne]

Stefan, love that you're here.

[paula]

Nah, I forgive you, Canasian. Jeff and his abs are still magic to me.

[Lindsay]

Hi Friends! I am happy to report that I met Stefan while I was in a drunken stupor in Venice and he happens to be a great guy...super nice, not the hard ass he appears to be on the show. Editing these days is genius. He also happens to be a fantastic chef as well. He cooked me dinner tonight and I enthusiastically give it two thumbs up! So lay off....he is fab and I seriously think he is going to win! Cheers...............

[gastro gnome]

For a contestant that didn't cry in the exit interview, that's a mis-leading still shot :)

[Skillet Doux]

"For a contestant that didn't cry in the exit interview, that's a mis-leading still shot :)"

You know, at the time I grabbed it I didn't think so. I saw the context, so it just looked like a weird smirk to me. But then my wife said the same thing you did :-)

[Marya]

I couldn't believe that Starr picked Leah to win, given how stunningly bad her articulation of her restaurant concept was-- given that it was supposed to be a pitch for an investor, it was an abject failure. I wouldn't give her a quarter for a restaurant after a pitch like that! And, of course, her failure of vision was confirmed by her total lack of leadership. How could she get pissed at Stefan for trying to wrest control when she never even tried to lead (at least from the edit)?

Radhika's pitch was slightly better but still really feeble. Of course, her failures of leadership were even worse than Leah's. I thought this was the right result. Carla's desserts, apparently, were hideous. But the loss was squarely on Radhika's shoulders, and she clearly does not understand that, given her emphasis on getting kicked off for her "FOH" failures.

[kit]

Stephanie's blog reminded me about this...where the heck is the mise en place relay race quickfire?? Please tell me they are doing it again. Maybe they'll do it when they're down to 6? Though I don't know how I feel about only having 3 tasks instead of 4...I guess we'll see, well maybe.

[Danny]

Like most TC fans, I groaned when the preview showed Hosea and Leah kissing. After seeing the episode, I think that it was absolutely necessary to show what happened. TC is about the food and what they did affected the food. It made them distracted and made it difficult for them to work together. It was probably why Leah made so many mistakes with her dish and it affected the way she lead her team. If they hadn't shown what happened the viewer would have no idea why they were behaving the way they were.

It could be argued that it would be enough just showing what Hosea and Leah said in the confession. Problem is, when Hosea was in the confessional he didn't tell the truth. He said something to the effect that they were sitting on the couch and kissed a little when in reality a whole lot more than that happened. If we went by what Hosea said it would seem to the viewer like they were wildly overreacting to a fairly harmless little event.

TC has always shown things that didn't seem to be about the cooking but were in reality ultimately about the cooking. There was no reason to show the many fight that Marcel had with the other chefs, but those fights and the feelings the chefs had about Marcel certainly had ripple effect with the team competitions. They showed just enough for us to fully realize why they behaved the way they did in the kitchen but I certainly did not need to see another second of it. And Bravo, please don't show us more. We get it.

A short question. Was their any other team leader in the history of Restaurant Wars who worked front of the house? It seems like that would be the last place the leader should be.

The day the show aired Bravo showed the other seasons' Restaurant Wars. Seeing the first season really showed how much TC has changed. I forgot that at Judges Table that the chef sat at the table too. It seemed to make the judges comments less harsh. And seeing the first season host really reminded me how much an improvement Padhma is.

[anon man]

mis en place relay race was more or less the first one. Peel these apples, then dice. (That's the mise en place), and if that doesn't work, then you cook. Its not really a relay race, but its still a speed test.

I want to know where the alcohol-sponsored QF is this season.

[Esben]

For what it is worth, the pin bones in sablefish (the undercooked fish Leah carelessly butchered and undercooked) are hollow and can not be pulled out. There are cut away. Portions are made from the tail pieces (behind the last pinbone) and top half of the filet. Portions can be made from the belly if necessary, but it often contains worms -the curse of bottom feeding fish- and is too long and thin to make a viable portion size. Most contestants should know this if they choose to submit their candidacy for a "chef" position, in both televised reality or real life reality.

[Allison]

What a week. I agree with the ratings.

As sad as I was to see Radhika go, it was the right decision. I'm just a "home cook," but I have management experience & a mere 3 months experience as a waitress during college (a LONG time ago). The FOH failures & the lack of communication with the kitchen were obvious. If these chefs haven't spent some time outside the kitchen, I wonder how much they know about how to run a restaurant …and isn't that their goal? I would have been fired in my short tenure (as a waitress/hostess … anyone representing the inn/restaurant) had I behaved as Radhika did.

Also, while Bravo posts recipes, they're not always accurate/detailed or in quantities appropriate for the home chef: An example is the lamb dish from Gail's bridal shower (nb: on Ariane's restaurant menu). Missing elements, e.g. "wilted greens," and an overall lack of clarity. Yes, I did the math to break down this recipe from 9 racks of lamb, all of the components, & it was very good, but it wouldn’t have happened without some common sense & Leanne. These recipes can be suspect & I’ve tossed a few.

Welcome to Stefan! I’m not surprised that you found the best blog discussing Top Chef.

[Russell]

My take on the selection of the teams:

1st round: Radhika takes Jamie, Leah takes Hosea

Both are unsurprising picks. Though a more focused competitor would not have selected Hosea first, we all know why Leah did that. And Jamie is a very strong choice for Radhika.

2nd round: Radhika takes Carla, Leah takes Fabio

This makes no sense to me at all. There seems to be an overwhelming consensus here that Stefan and Jamie are by far the strongest chefs left, and that Jeff is next in line. I completely understand (though I disagree with) their snubbing of Stefan, given how hard he has been to work with. But why not choose Jeff in the 2nd round? From everything we've seen, he's been a joy to have as a teammate. Yes, he can overcomplicate things and try to do too much, but that's a very minor flaw compared to the huge problems we've seen with the work that Fabio and especially Carla have done. The only way I can explain it is if Leah already had Fabio pegged for front-of-house, and Radhika had Carla pegged for desserts. That's a lot to assume, that Fabio and Carla would both agree to those positions and also shine in them. (And as we saw, Carla did not come anywhere close to shining.) Is Jeff harder to work with than we've been led to believe?

3rd round:

Radhika takes Jeff, Leah takes Stefan

Again, Radhika and Leah leaving Stefan for last may have been a mistake, but at least I get where they're coming from.

Someone please explain to me what it is about Jeff (his cooking? his personality?) that made Leah and Radhika pass him over in Round 2.

[aaalex]

@Russell: it was interesting, wasn't it, that Jaime's only worry on the team was Jeff. He cooks what seems to be interesting, creative food, but he lacks focus. He does too much (three dishes instead of one or two ... three complex dishes) and sometimes has a hard time reeling himself in. His demonstration of leadership skills was impressive in the early going, but it hasn't been much in evidence since, maybe because there haven't been many occasions for him to demonstrate it since, but still. It's not that he's overrated or anything, but you'd bet on him to fail through mental error in a way you wouldn't with Stefan.

[your cousin]

Is it just me or is anyone else having trouble accessing the Bravo blogs? I keep getting the comments but I can't get the blog text.

[stefan]

I can't find the comment about the Jeff thing. Magic Jeff stuff. Please i need to know how it works it drives me f..... nuts.

Stefan

[Steve]

SPOILER ALERT!!!

***********************

The trailer for next week's episode is out! And it shows three of our favs being lectured down by Tom at Judges Table. Some of these clips are red herrings. But most of them are honest in their depiction of chefs making mistakes, if not fatal ones. So it is not a good sign.

Sorry guys. Can't hold it in. I'm anxious about our friends! (And it's not Leah!)

[kit]

Stefan -

Here are Canasian's comments regarding Jeff's magic:

"That's one of my favorite party tricks, vin. You get somebody to be in on the trick and nonchalantly move their cup to the same position on the napkin as the position of the selected can. The selected person pretends to be as shocked as everyone else, and you usually get about ten shots out of it before someone catches on. If you freeze-frame the clip you can see someone (Fabio?) moves their cup from the corner of the napkin to the center. Yes, I freeze-framed the clip."

I of course, also being a Top Chef addict, had to go rewatch it. It is totally Hosea who is the shill!!

[canasian]

Hosea! That's who it was! Thanks, kit!

[anon]

I have been reading Skillet Doux since last season of Top Chef. I look forward to it for the wealth of information and "intelligence" gathering, the knowledge of food and the shared enjoyment of the show. Each week though, I am increasingly thankful to Dom for his reminder to us all not to get caught up in emotional reasoning and blanket hyperbole("this was the worst restaurant wars ever!") and his reminders to look at the big picture of each challenge and the history of the show. Even when I don't agree, I always respect the quality of thinking that goes into the analysis. Thanks Dom!

[Dan_Boston]

Is this Top Chef or The Real World? I really could give two shits whether Hosea and Leah hook up, and I definitely don't want to waste what little time we have on the show hearing Hosea make wimpy, puling statements about it. I'm here for the food. Next time, take those wasted minutes and show more clips of the discussion at judges' table.

[Megan V]

your cousin,

For some reason, some of the Bravo blogs appear below the left banner way way down the screen. So it looks as if they aren't there when you click on. Try scrolling down and see if you can access the blogs that way.

Just re-watched Jeff's magic trick...you guys are so right! Now I need to try it on someone who doesn't read this blog...

Am looking forward to the rankings, Dom!

Megan V

[Danny]

Sorry to comment again. I have two friends who were on Season 1 of The Amazing Race - Team Guido. They give a great talk called (and I'm paraphrasing the title) "The Camera Never Lies. Editing Tells Its Own Story". They were the villains of that season and when you heard the back story - what wasn't included - you understood better why things happened and that they weren't necessarily the bad guys that they were made to appear to be.

Scary saying this because Stefan, you read these posts (and I'm an entertainer and oh do I avoid blogs concerning me) but the only problem I had with Stefan on this challenge was based on something that Leah said (there's a reliable source!). In a very short clip she said that Stefan would not tell her what desserts he was going to make. Clearly a team member should tell a team leader that information. Like Team Guido said, editing tells its own story so who knows what is true. For all we know, Stefan, you were the epitome of cooperation.

[Cheryl]

Danny - I think I read in Stefan's interview on the episode that he didn't tell what desserts because he wasn't sure if he would be able to get the ingredients for what he had in mind. Having said that, he could have at least provided his proposed ideas with the caveat that if he didn't like the quality of ingredients or couldn't find certain ingredients, then he would have to make some changes. It was sort of disrespectful of her role as leader not to share his ideas even though she probably wouldn't have had an opinion on what he was doing anyway.

[Bart]

Cheryl - it's possible that he told Leah that he didn't know what desserts he was going to make, and that he would figure it out as the challenge went along. Of course, that's a lot of "ifs" here. I think it's probably a little bit of Column A (Leah being overdramatic/whiny) and Column B (Stefan being a little stubborn and recalcitrant).

In any event, Stefan did save the meal. And Fabio saved the team. Leah dropped the ball, big time.

[DH]

I see the comments above about Jamie using see bass for her Quickfire recipe. Does anybody remember back to the episode where the chefs cooked for Gail's bridal shower? In Tom's blog entry following that episode (on the Bravo website), he wrote the following on Team Blue's offering:

Chilean Sea Bass was a terrible choice. Aside from not being associated with blue water, the Patagonia Toothfish (it's real name) is one that nobody should ever use, as it's been fished out and is endangered (for more about that, you can check out Hooked: Pirates, Poaching and the Perfect Fish, by G. Bruce Knecht). Even if it weren't an ethical gaffe, this fish is never fresh, but always arrives at the store frozen and is defrosted there.

For Jamie to have been able to use Chilean sea bass in her dish, the fish had to have been available in the Top Chef kitchen. So while Tom and the rest of the judges are frequently spouting off about respecting/honoring the origins of our food this season, this is seemingly just lip service as they stock their kitchen with the very ingredient they decried.

[kit]

Lee Anne has returned :)

http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=lee_anne_wong&article=2009/01/this_weeks_special_monkeyass_i

[Steve]

Ok...Lee Anne confirmed that Sahana's food was clearly better...but Radhika's performance at the front of the house also clearly cost her team the win. They would have gotten better scores and beaten Sunset Lounge if she made an effort at being a better hostess.

[Dom's cousin]

Thanks for the tip, Megan V! That did the trick.

[Independent George]

This is the killer from Leanne's blog:

"Sunset Lounge wisely placed most of their reservations early, knowing that while dinner service may get backed up, at least their guests would be in the capable hands of Fabio and everyone would get fed. Radhika's team somehow booked several 11 p.m. tables for themselves, including a deuce for my best friend and her coworker. (You may see my Erin in the short purple dress caressing a cocktail while asking Radhika when their table would be ready). They were not sat until 11:40 p.m. because Team Sahana was so backed up in the kitchen and dining room because they couldn't turn tables, surely due to lack of communication between Radhika and the rest of her team. Not only did she seat my friends late, she very rudely told them they only had twenty minutes to eat and then had the nerve to complain to them about how hard it is being on the show. You can imagine my expression when my friends told me this afterwards (and we filmed on a weeknight, so I thanked them for being good sports about not getting out of there until after midnight). So from my perspective, Radhika automatically should've gone home because her behavior is the antithesis of what RW is all about. Even at Judges' Table she couldn't accept responsibility for her team or any of it's downfalls because I truly believe she had no idea what was going on."

Would she ever do that in her own restaurant?

[paula]

Yo, Dom? DOM? Where are you and your rankings? Hootie-HOOOOO!

[canasian]

Dom, come back! We need you! Dooooommmmmm!Dom?

[Dan Capone]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for mentioning the past four seasons' Restaurant Wars episodes. I was really impressed after watching the episode and agree that Team Fierce (Richard, Stephanie, and Antonia) only performed better. It's amazing that people watch only what they want to watch and think what they want to think no matter what they actually see.

Also, thank you for two comments about Jeff. Jeff is actually my favorite Top Chef contestant of all time, and you hit the nail of the head with two comments. Jeff always works. He grabs a little and showboats a little (what chef doesn't) but man, he puts in the effort - both physically and mentally. He seems to always have a positive (but not so positive it's unctuous) attitude and willing to do what's needed for himself, team, and co-contestants.

You also hit on something regarding his "spa cuisine." I'm not saying that any of the judges are playing favorites, but it does seem like Tom and Padma are not the biggest fans of Jeff's style. The guest judges seem to fall all over Jeff but Tom and Padma seem to be the epitome of the type of foodies who don't like spa cuisine. I adore Tom and Padma and don't want them to change one bit, however. I just wanted to bring up this point for discussion. What do you think?

[tyler]

Gaaaahhh!!!

Any one of the allegedly classically trained chefs could have gone for the ultimate losers, the New Orleans Saints, and been the ultimate winner. New Orleans is creole, not cajun, and I guess it just goes to show that they don't know what food is ultimately all about.

Bzzzzzzzt!

[tyler]

Uhmmm.... Never mind!