Top Chef - S5E7 Power Rankings

Wow! Seems like it's been weeks since the last power rankings.

Ah... right.

This week's episode kicks off with a total head-scratcher. Clearly, the chefs weren't obligated to use Diet Dr. Pepper, yet Ariane and Stefan did. Was that really their choice? Was there some kind of incentive to do so? Strange. Even more puzzling, the "sugar free" challenge where granulated was verboten but drowning your dish in honey or agave syrup was just peachy. Seems kind of arbitrary and pointless. Predictably, we got spotty results. Here's hoping this gets dessert out of their system for a while. I feel like we've seen more desserts in the first half of season five than in the previous four combined. For the record, I don't consider this a good thing.

The long-anticipated elimination was really structured beautifully, I thought. Tom seems to suggest that this was a rare instance where he helped design the challenge, and if so, kudos. Hearing that peer criticism and, in turn, criticizing their peers had to have hammered home just how critical every detail is and how sharp they have to be in everything they do. Judges' Table shines an awfully bright light on the contestants' flaws, and this was an elegant way of not only making that light brighter (a remarkable feat, really), but more credible to the chefs, as well -- even if the whole "blind tasting" aspect was a total farce. Put the chefs in Column A, the dishes in Column B and let them start drawing lines, and other than Toby Young and Novelli, there isn't a single person at that table who doesn't score 100%. The dishes might as well have had name cards, they were so demonstrative of their chefs' respective styles.

And frankly, this only strengthens the vague feeling of disappointment that I felt after watching the elimination. The anticipation may have simply been too great with such a long layoff, but while I agree that this was one of the season's better episodes I must confess that I'm a little disappointed with the results of the no-holds-barred "wow us" challenge. The food definitely took a step up, but I wasn't wowed, and neither were the judges. I've been preaching patience to those who would declare this the weakest field since season two, and I still have to believe we're going to see better in the latter half of the season, but a little bit of doubt is starting to set in. It may make for a tight race and good TV, but watching this week's episode made me feel like I may have restored the number one spot a little too quickly.

How ridiculously tight is this group, though? We're now down to nine and I don't think anything could possibly shock me next week. Maybe Carla winning an elimination, but that's it. Anybody could go, anybody could win, and you start to get the sense that that's how it's going to be every single week from here on out. You know the usual three or four chef scrum in the middle of the pack that's shown both good and bad and is inconsistent yet promising enough that you almost feel as though you could select their order at random? This season, that scrum is the top eight spots. I think only about half the group has a real shot at winning, but the finals? Anybody's game. Anybody's.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Jamie Quickfires 0 4 1 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 1 4 2 I expect this will be an unpopular pick, but I take my notes and I keep reading them and re-reading them and Jamie keeps floating to the top for me. She's flawed, sure, but who isn't? I see two common lines of criticism among those who feel she belongs lower in the rankings, and they're not without merit, but I think they're overblown. First is that she's mistake-prone and could blow a dish at any minute. Perhaps, but the only person who's less mistake-prone, I think, is Stefan. This isn't exactly a gaffe-free field. What's more, those two heinous mistakes that landed her on the chopping block were undercooking an egg by a few seconds in a timed presentation, and not keeping her raw scallops cold enough while at a banquet station (or, arguably, not stopping to think that a banquet might not be the easiest place to keep raw scallops cold). In both cases they created big problems, but they're both small mistakes that I don't see as an indictment of her overall skill and, more importantly, I'm not sure I buy the theory that they're predictive of future mistakes. (Incidentally, when Tom said he thought those scallops were a product she should have reconsidered serving raw, I really hope he meant those particular scallops and not scallops in general. With the possible exception of really good bluefin otoro, scallops sit atop my personal raw seafood pecking order, and if Tom doesn't appreciate them without a sear or a cure, that's definitely HIS problem.) The other common complaint is that she only makes soups and scallops. You could just as easily say that Radhika only does Indian or Carla only does comfort food. As long as they stay creative and compelling within that framework, it's a non-issue. It is, admittedly, sometimes a fine line between expressing a personal style and getting in a rut, but I think Jamie's on the right side of that line. In any case, when I look at what's coming out of the kitchen and picturing the kinds of dishes that I can see winning the finals, Jamie's behind more of them than anybody else, and with this inconsistent field, that's enough to keep her on top for now.

2 Stefan Quickfires 1 3 1 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 3 0 Stefan has actually pulled a bit of an Ariane the past couple of weeks (and Ariane pulled a bit of a Stefan this week, but we'll get to that). The man executes, and up until recently he's been standing out with subtle little touches that make the dishes his. But recently, that restrained creativity has been less evident bordering on AWOL. Of his last four dishes, we've seen a Celtic goulash, chicken pot pie and a duck with pretzel dumplings and cabbage that, by his own description, is the soul of his home. Fine dishes all, but the savvy of some of his earlier offerings will need to return as we get into the final weeks. I've no doubt it will, and given the lack of strong movers I'm not inclined to ding him for this turn towards the conservative, but it is notable.

3 Radhika Quickfires 2 2 1 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 0 3 0 Her recent soup issue and Toby Young's groaners notwithstanding, Radhika's making a believer out of me. I've long been skeptical of a style that initially seemed more flash than substance, but her success refutes that impression and I find myself increasingly charmed by the dishes she's putting out. They are interesting, they are mostly very good, and they are hers, the importance of which cannot be overstated. I don't doubt that she usually nails that bisque, and I suspect the fact that it was overspiced was a result of overcompensation when it didn't initially live up to her standards. Plus, as Tom notes in his blog, this was a good dish at heart, just a "bit overspiced". Her dessert, though, was the only one out of the entire crowd that made me pay attention. A bread pudding with honey, cinnamon, ginger, lavender and peaches? Sign me up. We'll see if it continues, but she's been hitting a groove the past few weeks, and I think it'll take more than an overspiced soup to knock her out of it.

4 Jeff Quickfires 0 2 1 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 0 2 1 You get the feeling that if Jeff could just learn to do less, he could jump right to the top. When he's restricted to a single component of a trio, he makes a tomato sorbet that blows people away. When he finally manages to exercise a little restraint at the banquet, he puts together a cheese and beet dish that wows the judges and, quite possibly, misses the win because he uses two cheeses instead of simply sticking to one. Then he says to himself that a family style dinner is obviously the perfect time to send out what is essentially a collection of amuses, and gets himself into trouble once again. In his defense, I think this elimination challenge was a bit of a contradiction in terms for him. The chefs were instructed to serve a family style dish that shows who they are. How is the guy supposed to reconcile a simple, common platter format with a thirty components, artfully combined style? His failure, though unfortunate, is understandable -- not to mention far from decisive, given the raves he still received from both Toby and Novelli. What were they raving about? Fried oyster with saffron aioli and fennel chorizo (which, BTW, he made from scratch), prosciutto wrapped ricotta salata with grilled peaches and arugula, and tuna with grapefruit marmalade, asparagus ribbons and avocado sorbet. Tom wasn't incorrect in his criticism -- wrong place, wrong time -- but if Jeff figures it out, he's the one person who seems like he has the potential to run away with this thing.

5 Leah Quickfires 2 3 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 0 2 0 Dropping Leah from number two is, I think, less of a change and more of a correction, but I'm still higher on her than most seem to be. She's maddeningly inconsistent, tossing in these delightfully compelling and sharp-looking dishes from time to time before regressing into slacker mode and sticking some plain braised poultry and squash puree on top of puff pastry. Her elimination dish didn't quite hit on all cylinders, it would seem, but it's a perfect example of the kind of dish that makes me pay attention. Fish with a crust of bread frozen and sliced paper-thin on a mandoline? Beans taken into a new textural realm through frying before being dressed with caramelized onion, lemon zest, mint and cilantro? Introducing chorizo to a dish in a less aggressive manner by converting it into broth and pitching the solids? This is fascinating stuff, made all the more impressive by her claim that it was a completely new dish. Much like Jeff, if she can figure it out and get these ideas hitting on all cylinders, she could go very big very quickly.

6 Ariane Quickfires 1 2 1 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 3 4 2 As is probably evident by the ranking, I'm still not sold -- but let it not be said that I can't give credit where credit is due. That Ariane has been executing is not a matter for debate. But the skate dish she turned out in this week's elimination is the first she's made that I could see in the finals. I'll even step up and defend Ariane from those who are tearing down this week's offering by saying that skate with brown butter caper sauce is as clichéd as they come. They'd be right, except for that pesky pineapple. As I've said time and time again, simple creative touches can have a big impact, and anybody who insists on denigrating a successful attempt to bring a sweet, tropical angle to a savory, nutty classic isn't coming at this with an open mind. That said, this was one dish. If she can keep this up, I'll give those wins the full weight that they'd ordinarily deserve. But as it stands, this is a fluke... not a trend. That long history of utterly conventional (if crisply executed) dishes still carries more weight than this glowing exception, so I can't move her any higher just yet. But should she continue to climb the rankings, while most would probably identify the back-to-back-to-back wins after her early troubles as the turning point, I say this was the moment -- for the purposes of this competition -- that she went from cook to chef.

7 Hosea Quickfires 1 4 0 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 1 2 1 Hosea is a guy I'd like to put higher, but I can't for the life of me figure out where to squeeze him in. Like Jeff and Leah, one of his greatest attributes is that he hasn't gotten into a lot of trouble, and while most of his dishes don't quite garner top mention, he's had a few impressive successes that indicate he could go deep if he could be a little more consistent. In the end, I think the reason I have him below those two is because I see his issues as less correctable. He seems to sometimes get a little heavy-handed and clumsy, and rather than an obstacle to overcome, I get the impression that that's precisely who he is.

8 Fabio Quickfires 0 2 2 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 1 3 0 It's hard not to feel that Fabio got off to a good start and has been in steady decline ever since. We're not talking the dramatic crash that was Gene's deconstructed sushi, but rather a struggle to stand out that grows with each passing week. Everything is coming out flat or not quite right, and while I admire his courage in bringing MG techniques to Italian cuisine, it doesn't seem to be working (nor am I convinced that Italian cuisine isn't inherently a poor venue for the novel and the whiz-bang). If he could successfully pull off Italian in a highly technical and creative modern context, that really would be something and I suspect it's what got him on the show (well, aside from his accent, of course), but after his initial success with the olives, everything else has just come across as clumsy and/or unnecessary. Italian is a rustic cuisine at heart. Bringing it into a hypermodern context is a steep hill to climb, and much as I like Fabio, I doubt he's the chef to do it.

9 Toby Smug Putdowns 0 0 7 Last Week: n/a Filmic Similes 0 1 2 Before this week's episode, I strongly considered doing some serious research into Toby Young to see what I could learn about the guy. Then I decided it would be more valuable, since I'm one of those who has had no experience with him, to come at him fresh and unspoiled. Well, now I'm spoiled, and my first impression is not a good one. In his first episode, he managed to trot out the übercliche of the way-too-pleased-with-himself food critic (cat/dog food), carefully explain that fennel has undertones of anise (you don't say?), and take potshots at American film stars (who largely deserve it, b-b-but the *blink* n-n-nation that inflicted *blink blink* H-H-H-Hugh *blink* Grant upon the *blink blink* world isn't exactly *blink blink* in a p-p-position to be *blink* throwing st-st-st-stones *blink blink blink*). Top Chef doesn't need a Simon Cowell. Tom's sniff-'n-sneer is quite adequate, thank you very much. I always thought Ted Allen's earnest but honest positivity with the occasional jab was a nice foil to Tom's paternal dressing-down. Paternal dressing-down and snarky dressing-down, on the other hand, are not as compatible as one might at first think. But in all fairness, it IS one episode, and Tom mentions that Toby toned down the smugness after realizing that he was going to have to actually comment intelligently rather than simply cracking snide, so he'll be given ample opportunity to redeem himself. For now, however, nine's as high as I can go. Sorry.

10 Carla Quickfires 0 2 1 Last Week: 10 Eliminations 0 1 2 Okay, I'm officially a Carla fan. Don't think she has a snowball's chance of winning, but I dig her. At first, I thought she was a total kook. But now, maybe it's something about the hypnotic quality of those eyes, but I'm starting to think she might be the only sane individual in the bunch. Not only was that Judges' Table error analysis one of the most thoughtful and mature displays we've seen this season, but it very well may have saved her. Though she's quality chaff, I think Carla's the last of those I'd consider bottom-tier this season. I have a great deal of respect for what she does -- soulful food with a minimum of pretension and a lot of layered flavors -- but while I'd love to eat brunch at her place, I just don't think this show's for her. She's been solid enough that she might have a fluky shot at the finals if a few people fall on their faces and the stars align just right (something she knows a lot about, apparently), but if she does, it'll be as the person who hangs around well past her time. But hey, I like her, so I might even be okay with it this season.

11 Gene Quickfires 0 0 1 Last Week: 9 Eliminations 1 2 3 The way the last few episodes had gone, everybody knew this was coming, and Gene finally goes down swinging. Gene was scrappy, and that was part of his appeal, but he lost me when scrappy turned to obstinate. But to his credit, his exit interview was very gracious. Tom was dead on in saying that the skill necessary to back up his creativity wasn't there, and it sounds as though that may have even gotten through to him, though perhaps not specifically when it came to the dish that got him ousted. Unlike many, I have no issue with warm daikon, but my reaction -- just like Jamie -- was that I couldn't see how daikon was going to work with a tomato basil sauce. Interestingly, in his blog interview Gene points out that none other than Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto uses that same flavor profile. So I went to my cookbook shelf (er... shelves), pulled down Morimoto's new book and lo and behold, there it was -- daikon fettuccine with tomato basil sauce. The good news is that while I don't trust Gene's palate, I do trust Morimoto's, so maybe the dish wasn't as insane as it appeared. The bad news was that it apparently wasn't Gene's sanity that was in question, but Morimoto's. Makes you wonder about some of his other creative endeavors.

12 Melissa Quickfires 0 1 0 Last Week: 11 Eliminations 0 1 3 Melissa's exit interview is hard to watch, but allow me to sum it up so you don't have to: "Nuh-uh! I am TOO creative!" You're welcome. To her credit, she seems to grasp that she didn't show it, and she understands that what got her sent home was as much her choice of fish as it was her treatment thereof. We see it time and time again and yet it still trips them up. Don't allow yourself to become so wedded to an idea that you find yourself accepting substandard ingredients to make it. Recipe for disaster. In any case, there are only so many times you can use "I didn't really get a chance to show what I can do" as an excuse, and Melissa got more chances than most. More than she deserved. But the point is moot.

EPISODE EIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

While it's going to be fun to see Hung, I'm a little less than enthused about next week's quickfire, which involves creating a dish entirely from dried and canned pantry items. I'm actually okay with the pantry staple aspect of it. As far as I'm concerned, it beats both the vending machine and the minimart, and there are plenty of ingredients that are not only fine in canned form, but sometimes better for certain applications. What gets me is the 15 minute limit. With a little time, I bet some ingenuity comes out of that challenge. But with 15 minutes less whatever time it takes to navigate the scrum? There are going to be some BAD dishes.

Thankfully, the elimination looks a lot more interesting, even if it also looks like it's going to be a team challenge. I like that they're taking the show to the farm. It'll be interesting to see whether they touch on some of the related social and ethical issues, or sidestep them entirely ("What's that? Oh, no, no, nothing to see here. Hey, did you know pork grows on trees?). And it will be instructive to see which chefs enjoy seeing their product face-to-face and which chefs don't want to be bothered. Plus, I kind of like the anti-fresh to reallyreally fresh symmetry that they're setting up. Without knowing anything about the challenge, it's hard to make any predictions, but it looks like there will be potential for some fun.

Discuss!

Comments

[Bart]

Good read. I think the only difference in the rankings is that I would have put Ariane over Leah - and maybe even Jeff.

Toby's inclusion in the rankings? Hilarious.

Your notes on Carla were interesting. I sometimes get a little frustrated watching her, because she's really not that far off from being an elite contender. She's self-aware enough and seems to have deep knowledge of flavor profiles - so why isn't she executing dishes the way she should?

I feel like she's always just one component or one tweak away from making a dish a bottom tier one to a top three one, or even a winning dish. She might have won that elimination challenge, if it weren't for her scallop.

At this point, I tend to see her more as an editor rather than a chef. If another chef presented a dish to her, I bet you she could improve it by leaps and bounds, better than any other contestant on the show. But she can't turn that high powered culinary perception to her own dishes. Why is that?

Again, good read. Great to have you back.

[Megan V]

It was worth the wait, Dom. Thanks.

[Naomi]

Dom, I've been faithfully reading your blog since Ted Allen linked to it last season. And, as others have stated, I've come to look forward to it as much as I look forward to watching the show. These weeks without rankings have been torture but I'm very happy that you're back ;-)

Thanks for your excellent insights. And thanks too to your regular commenters for interesting and intellegent discussion.

[Ally]

Thank God you're back. Phew.

Toby Young's biggest sin was not doing his homework on the show. He has absolutely no clue as to what his role is, and I bet Tom had a little talk with him before judge's table (did you see him give Toby the death stare during dinner?). But you're right that the dumbing down at judge's table was also heinous. I hadn't remembered that.

[Steve]

Outstanding dissection of each contestant's strengths and weaknesses, Dom. My only substantive disagreement is with Radhika ranking third and Fabio eighth. While your understanding of culinary issues are tres deeper than mine, I see Fabio definitely in the top tier, despite his missteps. His arrogance may sabotage his dishes every now and then, but he still impresses with his cooking. The judges raved about the other items (aside from the undercooked lamb) in his EC dish this past week.

Radhika I would place in the same tier as Hosea and Leah. I am just not confident that her talent and her culinary heritage can give her the successful major dishes she needs to make it to the top tier. In fact, I cannot think of a major EC dish she has done that impresses (the lamb for Gail's shower was a team effort).

That said, I am real excited about tonight's episode. I want to see if Carla's new insight will allow her to hold on for another week. (I love her!) And if the others' experience being on the other side of the judging will help them improve their focus and execution or not.

Thanks for your service, Dom!

[Steve]

PS. I may have been cheerleading for Ariane - and still am, and would love to eat at her restaurant - but I am fine with where you ranked her. In fact, I do not see her advancing further than fifth place, just outside of the semis.

[Wangus]

Have to admit, the rankings seem hard to impossible right now. Usually it's around now when everyone begins to heavily root and defend their 3-4 favorites, but I find myself fairly unmoved by any of these contestants' plights. I'm just as compelled to watch the early episodes of American Idol.

[One moment as I laugh at the ridiculousness of that thought... sorry, American idol fans.]

One thing I've been dying to figure out: did Novelli actually say that he could not make a sorbet this good when referring to Jeff's sorbet? I keep hearing that and keep thinking that if so, it would be a huge compliment.

[Skillet Doux]

Novelli:

"I make avocado sorbet, and it's never been as good as this one."

[Steve]

Yes Wangus, Novelli did say that about Jeff's sorbet (avocado too!).

My money's on a final between Jamie and Jeff - they are both very creative and have consistently shown their ability to execute their vision well (in spite of some missteps).

[anon man]

Random comments:

1. Carla/Hootie is this season's Michael. Around for at least a few extra weeks.

2. Ariane is this season's Antonia. Around until she under/over- cooks something (or some other techical error and then she's toast.

3. I can't believe you would suggest MG is not right for Italian. Why the hell not? I'm not suggesting Lasangna foam, but why not powdered parmesean crystals or something. Anyway, that's a discussion to have over several beers or a bottle of Brunello.

4. I want Fabio to be higher, but its hard to justify moving him up in this crowded field, with the exception of Leah.

5. Leah. I think she and Hosea can look forward to extended off-camera togetherness time at the stew house. I haven't seen squat from her lately that impresses me. She's the glaring over-inflated this week, IMHO. I would put her below Ariane and Fabio.

6. Other than that, hard to disagree materially with any of these. Maybe Fabio and Ariane higher, not sold on Jamie at #1, but all generally good, well-reasoned rankings. In terms of who goes early, I'm going to say Jeff. This episode showed that Tom wasn't real impressed with his trio even though the guest was. I can totally see Jeff going this week or next if Tom gets a burr in his saddle.

[Eliza]

I'm a Carla fan as well, but more for her personality than her dishes. Sure, she's quirky, but she's also kind, mature, and professional in her interactions with the judges and the other chefs. You never hear her snarking about her competitors and never whines about being older than the other chefs, as Ariane has.

[Skillet Doux]

"My only substantive disagreement is with Radhika ranking third and Fabio eighth."

I think you're probably right about Radhika. I was borderline catatonic while writing last night, and I feel a little funny about having her in front of Jeff, but I'd probably keep her in front of Leah.

I'm standing behind where I have Fabio, though. I wondered whether I was out in left field, and then I started working my way backwards:

1. Great ravioli, okay lamb -- a point in his favor
2. Oat and grain bar with mediocre cream
3. Crab cake with chipotle mayo that Lee Anne described as TGI Friday's fare
4. Unexciting mushroom polenta and duck breast in the one pot
5. The blue corn bass that was universally panned
6. Sesame crusted ahi that was competent but 20 years late
7. Bruleed banana and espresso zabaglione "milkshake"
8. A creative and fun spin on tiramisu.

It sounds like the ravioli was great -- and if he couldn't nail that he has a serious problem -- but then there's a loooong stretch of meh before you get to the last dish of his that was well-received.

[Skillet Doux]

"I can't believe you would suggest MG is not right for Italian."

Well, that's not what I said... at least I don't think so :-)

I'm saying that I think Italian is more difficult than most when it comes to putting an MG spin on things. I'm not saying it can't be done, or that it shouldn't be done, or that I wouldn't welcome it warmly if it were done successfully. I'm just saying that I think the nature of Italian makes it very, very hard to do well in that context, and would take a really special chef to pull it off.

[Eric]

Re Tom's comment on raw scallops: the best scallop dish I've had so far was at Craft in New York, and they were indeed served raw, with very little seasoning (salt, pepper, a little acid). So my guess is that Tom did not mean that scallops per se should not be served raw.

[Eric]

Re Tom's comment on raw scallops: the best scallop dish I've had so far was at Craft in New York, and they were indeed served raw, with very little seasoning (salt, pepper, a little acid). So my guess is that Tom did not mean that scallops per se should not be served raw.

[peterme]

I think we need to face it, though. This group simply isn't that good, and is the worst since season 2, if not worse. They just don't produce anything all that interesting. Jamie is the only one who could compete with the upper echelon of earlier seasons.

[kit]

"The other common complaint is that she only makes soups and scallops....As long as they stay creative and compelling within that framework, it's a non-issue."

I agree with this comment as it refers to soups/purees, but I worry about the fact that she hasn't shown a wider range of proteins. Maybe it's just Tom's protein execution obsession that's biasing me, but it does seem that no matter how innovative a dish is or how well-balanced it tastes, if your protein is not cooked correctly, that's a major problem (not disaster-level, but come finals time, and given Tom's predilections, could be a swaying factor). So by Jamie repeatedly going to scallops, for me I have a big question mark whether or not her ability to execute well translates to other proteins. She can't do a 5 course tasting menu of scallops in a final (well maybe she could, and pass it off as Top Iron Chef). On the other hand, Tom may have shown this is really a non-factor when he suggests in his blog that this reliance on scallops is probably more about what was available at Whole Foods (after seeing Hosea and the canned crab and Melissa and the fishy fish, it may be that in terms of stellar product, Whole Foods may not exactly offer the widest panoply to choose from).

So pardon the interruption, but I'm really hoping someone can explain the allure of bread pudding to me. I can't figure out whether I've just had bad bread pudding, or it really just isn't for me (as a matter of personal preference). Every time I've tried some, a scene from Married With Children (random I know, but please bear with me) comes to mind, where Al has gone out in the rain for groceries. He pulls out a bag of Wonderbread, and wrings it out as if it were a towel, and that's all I can really think of when it comes to bread pudding. Soggy bread. More specifically, rain-soaked Wonderbread. Obviously, I need some help :)

And did anyone watch the first episode of Chopped? I'm not really sure why they poached Ted Allen to then have him play a role in which he doesn't actually taste or critique any dishes. Padma hosts, but she also judges. Ted's role is more like the host on Iron Chef, and actually, the way he delivers some of his lines definitely felt like Ted doing his best impression of the "Chairman" (albeit without any of the karate chopping). I do like how food-oriented the show seems, all the discussion is about food food food, and the judges aren't busy trying to be entertaining, they're just judging.

And let me add my voice to the chorus of fans who are so glad you're back Dom!

[paula]

My 3 cents:

1) After reading Tom's blog on Bravo and all the discussion here, I'm left uncomfortable by Toby for a different reason than I've seen. It bugs me that he walked into this like, "OK, what's my role here? Asshole? Got it. Oh, wait, you want me to be intellectual but still witty? No problem, I can do that." He's not an actor auditioning for a part--or at least he shouldn't be. He's supposed to be a food critic. Yes, I know, reality television is at least half about personality, but still...the fact that he's so eager to slip on whatever personality they ask him too rankles me, and makes me completely distrust any opinion he gives to these poor chefs working their asses off.

2) I found it interesting that Fabio's lamb was undercooked, and yet that fact was skirted over so blithely by the judges. Undercooked protein? That's usually the kiss of death on this show! Why did he get such a unanimous free pass for that? The ravioli can't have been THAT good.

3) Also interesting to juxtapose the praise for Jeff's avocado sorbet against an earlier competition when someone (I forget who) was absolutely blasted for making "sweet guacamole" (an avocado ice cream) for dessert.

4) If Carla "the Editor" could coordinate on a dish with Jeff "Doesn't Know When to Quit," oh, what sweet music they could make...

[Weirdsmobile]

(1) Thanks for summing up why Ted Allen was such a gift to Top Chef. He's someone who could have been a lot more snarky, but approached the role with a positive, constructive attitude while remaining critical and honest, without losing the funny. The Judges' Table feels a little colder in his absence.

(2) Cheftestants really walk a thin line on this show when it comes to their cooking styles. We want them to demonstrate a unique, distinctive style, but we also don't like to see them doing too much of the same thing. So is it any wonder that we end up with a bunch of people making middle-of-the-road, unmemorable food? Frankly, I'd love to see these guys take something and really work it, and take it to exciting levels. Jamie wants to be Top Scallop? Great! Do nothing but scallop dishes, but show us wild, exciting scallop dishes we've never seen before. Radhika? Do MORE Indian-inspired dishes, and educate us on what's possible with those flavors and spices. I mean, it seems like we're hammering down a lot of nails and then wondering why none of them are standing out.

(3) Whenever Fabio reminisces about his grandmother inspiring some dish he's making, the dish ends up flopping bigtime. Fabio, I know you love your grandmother, but she's the kiss of death for your chances in this competition.

(4) Random observation: have I just missed it, or has it been a while since judges commented on the plating and presentation of dishes? It seems like in the early seasons there was more discussion of plating than in the past couple of competitions.

[Skillet Doux]

"I agree with this comment as it refers to soups/purees, but I worry about the fact that she hasn't shown a wider range of proteins. Maybe it's just Tom's protein execution obsession that's biasing me, but it does seem that no matter how innovative a dish is or how well-balanced it tastes, if your protein is not cooked correctly, that's a major problem (not disaster-level, but come finals time, and given Tom's predilections, could be a swaying factor). So by Jamie repeatedly going to scallops, for me I have a big question mark whether or not her ability to execute well translates to other proteins."

This is a good point, Kit. It's entirely possible we'll discover that she has a complete inability to prepare land mammals. But for the most part she's been very technically sound, so that would surprise me.

"I found it interesting that Fabio's lamb was undercooked, and yet that fact was skirted over so blithely by the judges. Undercooked protein? That's usually the kiss of death on this show! Why did he get such a unanimous free pass for that? The ravioli can't have been THAT good."

Perhaps because, like steak, doneness with lamb (to a lesser extent) is a matter of preference rather than a matter of what's "proper"? Just theorizing.

"Also interesting to juxtapose the praise for Jeff's avocado sorbet against an earlier competition when someone (I forget who) was absolutely blasted for making "sweet guacamole" (an avocado ice cream) for dessert."

It was Radhika's avocado mousse. And yes, that is telling.

[Skillet Doux]

"Whenever Fabio reminisces about his grandmother inspiring some dish he's making, the dish ends up flopping bigtime. Fabio, I know you love your grandmother, but she's the kiss of death for your chances in this competition."

Fabio's nonna is not amused.

"Random observation: have I just missed it, or has it been a while since judges commented on the plating and presentation of dishes? It seems like in the early seasons there was more discussion of plating than in the past couple of competitions."

Probably because we'd end up with a two minute recap, followed by 57 minutes of savaging Fabio's plating and an elimination.

Yeah, it's that bad.

[kimberly]

Kit -- I absolutely adore bread pudding. To me, it is like a custardy french toast, but no syrup required. Yum.

[paula]

If the discussion about Fabio's lamb had been that is was "rare," then OK. But unless I'm misremembering, Fabio AND the judges referred to his lamb as "undercooked." That sounds much more damning.

[kit]

"Probably because we'd end up with a two minute recap, followed by 57 minutes of savaging Fabio's plating and an elimination.

Yeah, it's that bad."

Ok so what's worse, Fabio's plating or Danny's splooges? :)

And as someone who often orders an avocado milkshake when at a local Vietnamese restaurant, I am feeling vindicated that I am not some weirdo with a sweet guacamole fetish. At first I thought a possible difference would be the fact that Radhika combined her avocado with lime (thus triggering the guacamole comparison), but so did Jeff, so shows what I know.

[kit]

Thanks Kimberly, I love french toast and I love custards, so I obviously need to give bread pudding another chance. Hopefully, the local chowhound board will yield a good recommendation for a place to try :)

[DaveP]

Good stuff as usual, Dom. I agree with your overall take and can't really take issue with the individual rankings since there's little difference bet. 1 & 8. I do think that I've bought into the Fabio hype a bit after seeing your review of his past few dishes (taking notes >> relying on memory). I'll need to knock him down in my own internal rankings.

On another tangent that I touched upon before, I do think Tom has his biases, just like everyone else, and he has his blind spots as well. He definitely loves his proteins, likes his food well seasoned (read, salty), and I think he hates parsnip. In fact, I don't think he's all that into Asian cuisine--certainly he's not that well versed in all the intricacies. I can't cite too many examples (though one or two come to mind), but it's just a feeling I get from having watched him for almost 5 seasons on TC. I still think he's a great chef and fitting head judge, but he's not without fault. He's a far more accomplished chef than, say, Bourdain, but I think Tony actually has the better rounded palate.

--
Dave

[Doug]

Jamie is the most interesting to me probably because of the complex flavors she has attempted to combine in her "soup and puree" pursuits. And most often, if the judges are to be believed, she nails that aspect. To me that shows more skill and creativity than putting together an impressive plate display.

I thought Stefan might be showing the same kind of depth of skill in a different manner by now, but as you've said he seems to have pulled back. Pacing himself perhaps? He still seems to have a mastery of the basics well beyond the level of most. Reminds me a bit of Hung in that way.

Jeff seems to also have the whole package with that one possibly fatal flaw of trying to do too much. If Jeff only got burned by that once it might be nothing. But it comes back to get him over and over. I see him flaming out at some point with one over-reach too far. But I'll bet his eventual failure would be marvelous if he just had time to complete it.

And I'm with you on Leah. She seems to belong in the "brilliant but sometimes lazy" category. Likeable as Carla is, she's never turned in a single dish with the sophistication and originality Leah seems to toss out every time she doesn't mail it in. That's frustrating, but it's also reason to think Leah could wake up and contend seriously for the top.

Skipping a bit (like the "and the rest" line in the Gilligan's Island theme) I'm also with you on Fabio. I can't see what some of the others do in this guy beyond the obvious personal charm. His dishes have been consistently underwhelming in concept and/or execution since his success with the olives way back in the beginning.

[Unhappy Gilmore]

We kept hearing how the chefs for this season were the strongest group ever. They have not come across as anything close.

Are they sandbagging until later on (the time is now)?

I think Ariane, Carla and Hosea are maxing out and they can not get any better.

Can't figure Fabio out, but he is not as impressive as in the earlier episodes.

Leah seems to have the ability to go all of the way. i wouldn't be surprised to find her in the top 3. Same for Stefan. They will start to make their move this week or next.

I think the third will come from either Jamie, Radhika and Jeff.

[Danny]

Great commentary as always. Dom, I have a question that I'd love to hear your take on. It seems like some of the qualities that a Top Chef should possess are talent, skill, creativity and an outstanding palate (I know I'm missing attributes). I think the palate thing is very important. That being said, why do so many chefs smoke? It has got to damage their palate. Any ideas?

[DaveP]

I think this season has had fewer obvious rejects than seasons past, so the mean & median levels might have been higher to start. However, as the chaff have been mostly(?) eliminated, I can't say that's the case any more w/no standouts like Harold, Hung, Tre, both Dales (Dale L in the 2nd half of S3, anyway), Richard or Stephanie. Then again, maybe ppl like Stefan are truly sandbagging. Leah's definitely mailing it in whenever she thinks she can get away w/it (immunities).

One chef who's always trying is Jeff, who I think can easily flame out in any given competition trying to overachieve, but if he makes it to the finals, he might be the one to beat. Given a typical final round challenge format, he should be able to pull out all the stops and have ample time to work (and be given a sous or two).

--
Dave

[David]

Thanks for the rankings Dom. I write a personal blog, and know that it takes considerable time and focus.

It bears repeating that you do an excellent job presenting arguments for each contestant--even if I don't agree with several of them. I won't restate my rankings, as I already did that in the postmortem thread.

Good to have you and back! I enjoyed the 2008 recap, BTW.

[Polybus]

Great rankings, Dom! Thanks for blogging - I agree with David that it is difficult and time-consuming and we are all grateful for your effort!

[Bill]

I tend to think the current chefs are are being criticized too much in regards to other seasons. There have been only one or two standouts from the other seasons (and none from season 2) and I think the by the time this season is over there will be a couple who are held in the same type of esteem as Harold (season one) and Stephanie (season four). We may not have the Richard or Hung flair but there is some solid talent.
I'm staying with my gut instinct that if Jeff and Radhika can focus they will be the elite of the this season. I think last week was the first week we got to see a little of what these chefs are capable of. Hopefully the challenges will play to their strengths in the weeks to come.

[David]

Oh, is it an insult or just comedy that Toby Young is rated higher than Carla? (lol)

[canasian]

[sarcasm] I personally think it is quite rude to Carla to take away her deserved ranking in favor of Toby Young. [/sarcasm]

Seriously, though, great rankings. The only thing I would imagine changing would be to switch Jeff and Radhika (and I recall you hinting thatyou would change that too).

[Kathy from Austin]

Thank you, Dom and commentators for this great blog. It is my "go to" spot following each episode.

I am going to have to disagree somewhat about some of the comments regarding Season 2. I think Sam was clearly head and shoulders above Ilian and the only reason he was booted out was a technicality from Tom C. The "he didn't cook" rationale was bad then and is still. If you put Sam in competition with any season's cheftestants he would make it to the finale. Granted, I didn't know about this blog then, but IMHO Sam could out cook Ilian and any number of top chef's.

Thanks again for everyone's insight.

[Dave Feldman]

Great stuff,Dom.

The winners have tended to be serious and relatively calm in personality (only Hung on point 2 doesn't fit the profile). I think this bodes well for Jeff. Of all the cheftestants, he seems the best built for the finals.

Kit, get thee to New Orleans and eat at least one bread pudding a day. I think you will be a convert.

[Independent George]

Is this cohort really worse than in previous years? To borrow from Bill

James, I think it's a question of whether we're defining relative strength

in terms of peaks or the median.

Finalists:
Season 1: HAROLD, Tiffany, Leanne, Dave
Season 2: ILAN, Marcel, Sam, Elia
Season 3: HUNG, Dale L, Casey, Malarkey!
Season 4: STEPHANIE, Richard, Lisa, Antonia
Season 5: Jamie, Stefan, Radhika, Jeff

Upper:
Season 1: Stephen, Miguel, Andrea, Lisa
Season 2: Cliff, Midgley, Betty, Mia
Season 3: CJ, Sara, Howie, Tre
Season 4: Spike, Dale T, Andrew, Nikki
Season 5: Leah, Ariane, Hosea, Fabio

I think Season 5 looks worse than it really is because (1) it follows Season 4, which was excellent all-around, and (2) we tend to remember the peaks more vividly than the medians. Seasons 1 and 3 are extremely top-heavy; once you get past the first tier, everyone that's left is mostly forgettable. Season 5 can't match Season 4, but I think it's already proven deeper than Seasons 1 and 3, and there's still time for us to be wowed by the top.

[Bill]

For the most part I agree but after Richard & Stephanie there is a sharp drop (even though I was Antonia's great defender last year) in Season 4 so I don't know if I'm on board with awarding them clear superiority as a season.
Looking at the final four from the other seasons and your projected for this year I think this season holds up well and even though we may not have a Richard-esque superstar I think you could make a reasonable argument that this projected final four is the strongest of the bunch from one through four. A little early to make a call like that but I'm optimistic about this crew.

[Allison]

Kudos on the rankings & the level of analysis. I know how much work this is (& share those shelves of cookbooks, thanks for the clarification on Morimoto's daikon fettucine) ... I pretty much agree with everything you worte.

I can't argue with the rankings because as you & others have stated, there's a blurry mass of constestants that are capable & could emerge to steal the show (higher mean & median as DaveP stated?), and there are others that could go home at any point.

Looking forward to tonight's show.

[b t]

I love reading your blog. As a average home cook (optimistically speaking), the insight from you and others who actually know what you're doing helps me to appreciate the episodes on a level that I otherwise could not. Also, I am now going to spend many months waiting for zucchini blossoms to be in season because I can't get the thought out of my mind. I hope I can do them justice. Your mouth-watering description has made a lasting impression on me.

Toby above Carla in the rankings, though?! Say it isn't so! I would much prefer those two be switched.

9. Carla
10. Toby

If you compare the two on cooking skill, it seems to me Carla would come out on top since she won a spot on a competitive cooking show. As far as we know Toby's cooking skills amount to having seen and tasted cooked food.

More likely, you have Toby in there for his tv personality, his food crtiques or a combination of the two. In which case, I would still put Carla first. She has much more fun, intelligent and unique things to say. She even made a comment about a side dish that upstaged the protein before Toby. Okay, I must admit you can't rely on editing timing. I for one would like to give her the benefit of the doubt.