Top Chef - S6E8 Postmortem

Damn, damn, damn. And I was going to talk about how Kevin was totally going to rock the pig challenge. Ah, well... you don't get credit after the fact. That's what I get for slacking.

And moments after uttering one of the funniest lines in Top Chef history (seriously, the delivery killed me), Ash is toast. He needed to go. I smell a bit of a collective effect figuring into this particular elimination. I thought Laurine was going home for crimes against pork. But as much as I liked him, Ash was due. Overdue, really. But it makes me sad. I thought he was one of the funniest and most personable folks I've ever seen on the show.

On the other end of the spectrum, not that I want to delve too deeply into the Robin vs. Everybody train wreck 'cause, you know, that stuff drives me insane, but this episode sure seemed like a reminder that there's more than one side to every story. It's like Rashomon with scallops. I'm not saying it excuses some of the behavior we've seen, but it certainly makes it a little more understandable.

And, as if our top four couldn't distinguish themselves any further, there they are... one, two, three, four. If they can survive four more times, we'll have an epic finals to end all finals. But if there's anybody who thinks that's how it'll shake out, as much as I'd like to see it, I'll gladly take that bet. Then I can use cash money to dry my tears when one participant in our perfect finals doesn't make it.

Restaurant Wars, baby! RvE (Robin vs. Everybody) comes to a nasty head! With Captain Valium, no less! And rankings. No way I'm dropping the ball on a call like that again.

Comments

[Dan V.]

I would be really sad if Jennifer got the boot for being front of house (because it looks like she is from the preview).

Kevin's the gift that keeps on giving, and I can't wait to see what he does when I tune in every week.

[Dan V.]

Note that I didn't mean that Jennifer would be booted, what I meant is that she is freaking out in the preview and hopefully this is normal Jennifer freaking-out and everything will be fine as it usually is.

[babyarm]

Volts + Robin + Eli(Foh)

vs

Jen + Eli + MikeI + Laurine(Foh)

Edit would indicate Team Jen is struggling. Hard to say who vegas would favor. Safe money on the volts I'd guess.

[paula]

Dear Jen: Please drop the "Oh my god, I, like, totally got an F on that test" crap. DON'T BE THAT GIRL. It's irritating and beneath your talent.

[mena]

So Toby says paella with an L sound but rillettes with a Y sound? Weird.

From the previews I think Eli is pulling a Spike move by doing FoH and leaving the kitchen to implode with the Volts + Robin.

[Krazikarl]

Man, Restaurant Wars makes me nervous. Its sent a lot of worthy competitors home in the past.

Interesting stuff in the blogs this week. Michael V slams Robin pretty good in his interview. And Tom gives us a reminder out of nowhere that anybody can go home at any time in his blog which makes me more nervous than the previews.

[Krazikarl]

Also:

Maybe I missed it, but was there no prize at all for the quickfire? Eli probably should have been allowed the "Wild Card" knife at the very least...

[Esther]

Kevin continues to be amazing. Wasn't he called "smart" by, like, three separate people tonight? And I'm totally drooling over his recipe. A pork-fat-based mayonnaise with mushrooms and hazelnut, spiced pickled cherries, and a luscious-looking terrine? It sounds utterly delicious, and it takes what could be a basic dish to a new level.

I'm happy that the top four are divided up for RW next week, and that Mike I isn't on the same team as Robin. I frankly don't care about her apparently-grating personality, and I'm a little annoyed that the producers have been spending time on Teh Drama instead of actual cooking.

Agreed with Paula about Jen's "OMG I suck!" anxiety being a little much at this point. She seems to feel less confident than she did at the start of the show, and that worries me. (Of course, given that this episode was filmed two days after the last one, she may still be getting over being sick.)

[altoids]

Great episode. Our top 4 dominate again. I didn't like having Palmer as a guest judge - I'm sure he didn't feel as free to give the Volt brothers the win, just to avoid claims of favoritism. Hopefully that wasn't the case.

RW week! From the preview, it looks like Jennifer-Kevin vs. the Volt brothers. Oh well, I was looking for the top 4 to team up and destroy the others.

@paula:

It does really seem that Jennifer can get stressed out easily, doesn't it? She's in panic mode all the time. Like she said, she's a perfectionist.

[anon man]

@babyarm, Assuming Michael I on Team 1, even though we didn't see him, but who knows if there's a twist... If Team Volt loses, I think we know who goes, if the other loses, toss up between the FOH and the unseen 4th. Otherwise, there will be much fervor next week.

I liked the cooking part of the episode. Great stuff. Ash's humor and good nature will be missed. This season, most chefs came in pretty clear on their cooking, but I think Ash will be the one who might learn and grow from it. Let's hope we see him again sometime in the culinary world. The QF was the obligatory sponsor challenge, but in some ways, the least offensive: take the sponsor product and make something that goes with it. Note that most (including the most successful) served the product on the side. No "Cook with Dr. Pepper" this year.

Rankings next week seem easy: the Top 4, the middle 2 and the bottom 2. Easy.

As for Robin, the dislike, especially from Eli and Mike I is pretty hard to watch. Maybe she's unbearable to live with; she's older than the rest and maybe doesn't fit in (Arianne, last year was older, but so was Stefan, so maybe there wasn't the tension), but absent some horrible hygiene or something, I can't imagine that she's THAT bad. Jeez, guys, ease up. Notice no Volt brother comments: these guys are tight lipped. Kevin's comment was more like "some people don't like other people, like Robin; not everyone likes everyone else..." What a polite young man...

That sad, I feel dirty. I laughed hard at the stew room out ake "Did you get to second base?" Tactless, tasteless and tacky, and I ran it back and watched it twice more. I am ashamed. Forgive me.

[TxGriff]

I really don't mean to harp on this, but... what were the two sides of the story? Yes, Robin was being passive-aggressive, but I looked at the situation that she was putting up defense mechanisms because she was aware of how others in the house viewed her. I don't think she came into the competition acting that way. The "passive-aggressiveness" was only towards Eli (and to an extent Mike V. because he was there with Eli), who has been openly antagonist towards Robin from the start (Robin herself has voiced this)- I understand why she is defensive around him. It disappoints me that some people in the house decided they don't have to act like civilized adults because of personal biases. Just my opinion.

So, restaurant wars! Looks like the teams are Brothers V/Eli/Robin versus Jen/Kevin/Laurine/Mike I. Those teams are actually pretty even, I like the sound of the Jen/Kevin team more, although it looks like there are problems in both kitchens. It also seems that Mike V is the EC, although from the way Bryan stepped in during the Mike/Robin fight, I could be wrong.

[Nancy]

From the previews, it looks like Ms. Norris is cooking and Laurine is FOH. Volts + Mama's Boy + Robin = potential cluster**** worse than anything we had the misfortune to witness w/r/t Marcel in S2. Eli must be FOH since Volts and Robin were all shown in chef coats.

This week? No brainer. My husband, who only watches when he's not asleep, was amazed at how early in the challenge I called winner and PYKAG. Kevin and pork were a match made in hog heaven. The tat reveal was priceless (and I generally find tats unattractive).

Don't worry Ash, I wouldn't invite Padma either. Did she botch "PYKAG" or what? How hard is it to string those five words together without awkward pauses, glances (even after she'd announced it was Ash), etc?

[Ooba]

Does anyone think that the comment Kevin made about Mike V trying to manipulate his brother and Bryan being a ticking time bomb who will go off and wreck his own chances - is foreshadowing? I wasn't sure what to think. But then again I did think that the Ashley is a dark horse comment by Padma meant that she would reach the final 4 and that was way off base.

Nervous for the top 4 next week. RW means anything can happen. Yes it does look like Mike V and Jenn are EC.

[Lon]

Since the top four have been established from early on, I think all of us have been anticipating Restaurant Wars with both eagerness and dread. Eagerness because it usually provides some of the most sterling shows; dread because it seems like at least one of the favorites bombs each season.

Let's hope the final four we've picked are really the final four. I'd be really peeved if one of the middle or bottom muddled through to the final four as has happened at times in the past.

[Dionysus]

I agree with everyone in being nervous about next week. I'd love to see the Top 4 all survive RW simply because IF they do, I think they all make it to the Finals. However, between the previews, Tom's blog, and what we know about RW, I suspect we're losing one of them.

SO I guess the question is, who would you be the MOST ok with losing out of the Brothers V, Jen and Kevin?

I'm not really sure myself. I think losing Kevin would hurt the most, but I'd need to think on it and try not to let my crush on Jen influence me.

[òste e còc]

Seeing “chef’s” predictable predisposition to vying for the oh-so tired pork belly does little more than highlight a tiny technical repertoire, especially when Jennifer removed/butchered (negative connotation) the importantly gelatinous skin, in doing so she removed much of the meat as well. Kevin fulfilled the fundamental expectations of using a pig’s extremities: charcuterie, (a terrine in 4 hours no less) which few of the other contestants seem prepared or able to do.

Once these contestants show that they are capable of successfully fabricating worthwhile preparations from the versatile elements and properties of the pig other than the roast, smoke or braise triptych, then perhaps they might get closer to this fashionable realm of chefdom.

One considerable gripe: There was no mention of the pig’s origins or breed and seeing Kevin remove the leg from vacuum sealed plastic would suggest that they were using industrial pork rather than the prized and justifiably trendy heritage breeds generally raised in smaller and more conscientious settings and offer a better taste after limited preparation time (not enough time to properly brine/marinate the industrial stuff).

[Skillet Doux]

Wait... wait... something so... familiar... just stepped into the room...

That particularly gloomy disdain for any cook not operating at the highest pinnacles of the traditional and stuffy, and a full-throated insistence that the word "chef" never be applied to anybody who couldn't seamlessly be transplanted into a brigade in early 20th century France...

...Poivrot Farci, have you decided to grace us with your uniquely astringent charm?!?

:-)

[Shelly]

I didn't see another side to the Robin story. Robin is annoying and passive aggressive. Everyone else is exhibiting pack-like passive aggressive behavior against her. Eli is the only one who actually told her to what he felt. No one else there had the balls. They're all so childish, except for Kevin and maybe Bryan. It's the same thing that's gone on for the past few episodes. I'm getting a bit tired of it.

Is anyone else getting sick of Mike V's insecurity and tantrums? If one of the top 4 goes home next week, I hope he's the one to go.

On a more pleasant note, this week's better food looked so delicious. And I really need to make a point to stop in Atlanta the next time I go through.

I noticed too that Eli didn't get anything for winning the quickfire, not even an advantage. That was really lame. He should at least get something. Ah well. Looking forward to RWs next week with trepidation.

[Chris]

I think it was a mistake to have Palmer judge. Its not so much that he was biased but that he had to avoid the appearance of bias. Mike V or Bryan's dishes' might have been the best but Palmer couldn't say so because he was afraid of looking biased. We'll never know.

I agree with Dionysus - from Tom's blog it sure looks like one of the top 4 goes home next week. I truly hope not as there are so many other (un)deserving choices.

[òste e còc]

^Yep. Nothing in the past two seasons warranted a tickle of the keyboard until Jennifer mutilated the pork belly and Kevin made pâté. Though Kevin looks like a jolly flood victim, he is disciplined, deliberate and a pleasure to watch.

Astringent, absolutely! Disdain...whats lesser than antipathy? But a loyal viewer and reader nonetheless and I read somewhere that "it's a valuable exercise, if for no other reason than to know your enemy."

There used to be a time when part of becoming a chef required making 50 variations of potato. I'd like to see that challenge.

[Independent George]

At this point, I almost feel as if Robin being eliminated would be an act of mercy. It's just so deeply uncomfortable watching things unravel, and I feel so awful for her. Each episode is another week of public humiliation; I just want it to end.

Even if she says she doesn't care what the others think, we know that's not true. It couldn't be true; these are her peers, and she expects to be treated with some measure of respect. And she does deserve to be treated with respect, both as a human being, and as a professional. Think about how lonely it must be in that house; for the month they're filming, the only human contact they have is with each other. What must it feel like when everybody in your world despises you? How awful must it be to not only go through that once, but having to re-live it again on national television?

Thank God all of my failings are private. Whatever her sins, she doesn't deserve this.

[Will Allen]

If one had to wager a sum of importance on who would eventually prevail, going with the smartest person in the kitchen isn't a bad approach. What is impressive about Kevin is that he not only has a formidable intellect in terms of completely, calmly, thinking a problem through in a short amount of time (to be unfair, contrast that quality in the persons of Ash or Robin), he also is damned smart in how he interacts with other people. He is going to be a simply outstanding entrepreneur.

To top it off, he seems to be a genuinely nice person, and other people seem to enjoy his victories. That ain't a bad way to live.

[Po]

It's Laurine who's definitely front of house next week...go figure because her cooking is too unreliable at this point in the game.

[Po]

If this were a boring conventional reality show where they're stuck in the house, Kevin would win by default. What a good sport!

[aaalex]

independent george: i completely agree, but i was actually kind of comforted by bryan voltaggio's interview on the bravo site. the whole interview is thoughtful and a good contrast to his brother's interview. re robin he writes:

Bravotv.com: Everyone is just sooo anti-Robin at this point, but you seem to stay out of it. What was your relationship like with her?

I came here to cook is my position behind my behavior with the other chefs and the challenges. In my kitchen I don't let personal feelings get in the way of my goals and the goals of my team. Why would I change that now? I also believe that all of the chefs on this season deserve to be here. The experience levels are very different amongst the group; some push the envelope and don't succeed, some play it safe and stay under the radar. That's the game and I see a few of the chefs letting that part overwhelm them and it fuels confrontation. My relationship with Robin was good. I do respect her for her strength in overcoming her illness and keeping in under her control. It takes a lot of a person to do that. She should be proud of what she has accomplished so far. I do, however, know we have completely different views when it comes to cuisine, but that only makes our food different, not better or worse.

bryan's answer suggests not only that he's as mature and gentlemanly as kevin but, more importantly, that bryan respects robin's differences.

an another interesting thing about bryan and kevin, though. in his interview, bryan questions why kevin is speculating about the brothers' relationship and, as this comes after last episode's bryan/kevin "confrontation" in the stew room, i kind of wonder if kevin isn't getting under bryan's skin a little. not in an evil way, but still ...

[Independent George]

There used to be a time when part of becoming a chef required making 50 variations of potato. I'd like to see that challenge.

They did. The QF in the Air Force episode. Mark Peel was the judge.

[Dawn]

While I know a chef should be able to cook anything, being a specialist in certain fields or cuisines is inevitable. Thus while I can entertain the idea that Jennifer might lack the technical knowledge of pork butchering, I wouldn't say she's a mere 'cook'. If the challenge was seafood-related, I'm sure her skills will be more apparent (not that it isn't before). Saying that, this challenge was made for Kevin. Seriously, him + pork... there's no way anything less than amazing would be produced.

I'm awfully scared for next week. If Jen gets eliminated before the finals, I would seriously cry a river.

[Independent George]

Thus while I can entertain the idea that Jennifer might lack the technical knowledge of pork butchering, I wouldn't say she's a mere 'cook'.

Seeing as how she placed at the top, I wouldn't read too much into her supposed lack of butchering skills. Besides, do you remember Stephanie with the Brontosaurus chops in S4? Short of absolutely massacring the meat, I'd say that it's what comes after the butchery that counts most. Charlie Palmer calling it the lightest pork belly dish he's ever had counts as pretty high praise in my book.

[mena]

Dawn, now that you brought up Jennifer & seafood I feel a little bit better about next week's challenge. It's Restaurant Wars and the guest judge is Rick Moonen... he's a seafood guy! The competition will likely take place at his restaurant in LV and it is probably going to involve a lot of seafood. It would make sense for Jennifer to be the Exec Chef for that since she's the seafood specialist.

I was worried about her in the previews but now I think that may be more of her constant fretting even when things are fine. (Yeesh, I really hope I'm not setting myself up for a big disappointment! LOL)

That said, if one of the Top 4 were to go next week, I wouldn't mind if it was Michael V. I already had him as the bottom of the Top 4, but this week and the previews for next week sealed it for me. Michael V was the one who started the "I hope the judges send the right one home" conversation and then he had to add calling Robin "Grandma" as an insult. Way to go Michael, showing you can be a douche just like Mike I and Eli.

If that wasn't bad enough, from the previews it looks like Michael is a real thorn in Bryan's side. It's bad enough to be a micro-managing untrusting member on any team - but to do it while on his brother's team makes Michael V look worse to me.

So while he is a great chef, losing Michael V wouldn't upset as much as losing Kevin, Bryan or Jennifer.

[Dawn]

^ Independent George, actually my post was a response to òste e còc's post. My mistake for not prefacing that.

And I agree, the final product is what counts. Though I do appreciate great food prep-ing skills, be it butchering pork or shucking clams, a few 'missteps' shouldn't relegate a great chef like Jennifer to cook status (which I assumed what òste e còc was trying imply).

[Skillet Doux]

"Seeing as how she placed at the top, I wouldn't read too much into her supposed lack of butchering skills. Besides, do you remember Stephanie with the Brontosaurus chops in S4? Short of absolutely massacring the meat, I'd say that it's what comes after the butchery that counts most. Charlie Palmer calling it the lightest pork belly dish he's ever had counts as pretty high praise in my book."

I-George... you make the mistake of presuming that òste e còc feels that Stephanie was worthy of the "chef" title. Or Charlie Palmer. Or nearly every contestant and guest judge to appear throughout the the run of the show, really :-)

(I'm pretty sure he'd get behind Robuchon.)

[Nsam]

Dom, thank you for the comments about Robin. It's entirely possible/probable that Robin is an extremely annoying person who's difficult to get along with, and also that the others are behaving horribly toward her. Those two facts needn't be mutually exclusive.

It's awful to watch, a prime example of how out of hand this kind of thing can get. Like a pack of wolves going at a weakling elk. You get jerks with vicious streaks as the ringleaders (Eli, and possibly Isabella) and an easy, unlikeable target, and ugliness can ensue.

But, my point it, from the evidence presented, Robin does NOT seem like an innocent victim. Eli may be vying with Isabella for the title of biggest jerk in the house, but Robin easily takes the bronze medal with her annoying qualities, no contest.

If she never took People Skills 101 and by this point in her life (in her forties) she still doesn't understand some very obvious basics of getting along with different kinds of people (Eli and Isabella, obv., and also she's not getting along with Laurine, and she rubbed Ron the wrong way, too), then some portion of the blame for the situation is hers. For Eli I wish someday that he'll experience the painful, sharpened other end of this stick. For Robin, I hope she learns some hard but necessary lessons from this.

[Dawn]

mena, that's good to hear. While I'm dreading next week, can't deny that I'm excited at the thought of Team Kevin/Jen vs Team V.Bros. In fact, I'm salivating at the thought. It would be one HELL of an interesting episode, regardless of the outcome.

And I agree, if, and I say that with complete dread, IF we have to lose any of the Fab Four, I'll be the least sad with Michael V.

[Skillet Doux]

Well, my point re: Robin v. Everyone was simply "Who the hell knows?"... which is why I try not to dwell on that aspect of the show too much :-)

[jh]

Although the previews already hint at who's FOH for both teams, I think that Kevin would do an awesome job in that role (he's needed more in the kitchen). In terms of personability, calmness of mind, and ability to communicate well, I think he's actually the best of the bunch. Kevin could not only serve a plate of monkey ass filled with fried bananas with a panache, but he could make it taste great too.

[Dawn]

Dom : "Well, my point re: Robin v. Everyone was simply "Who the hell knows?"

EXACTLY. Plus, it hurts my head (and heart sometimes) when I think about it too much. As much as I wish it could be just about cooking great food, it is a reality show after all.

Dom, seeing as I believe in the power of your Vodoo, you should call Ms. Norris out for something. She performs better when you give her a checklist :)

[Nsam]

Yeah, the Robin drama this episode was dismal, the food looked pretty terrific. And now we have next week to look forward to -- Restaurant Wars! And the preview video on the Bravo site for the Quickfire is fascinating. (I'll try to be considerate here and not go into detail.) I didn't watch the early seasons of TC and so my knowledge isn't complete, but I've never seen this type of challenge before. And I have no idea if this challenge proves anything about the chefs' skill, really, but the concept is extremely entertaining.

[Independent George]

Dom, what the heck are you doing still up? I'm trying to finish a report in the next four hours, and you're really not helping me by replying.

[Bart]

1. Dom, what line are you referring to? The thing that Ash said was so funny...

2. I love, love, love Kevin's boyish enthusiasm and charms. Easily my favorite to watch this season.

3. I noticed for the first time that Eli is just 25 years old. That's pretty damn young; no wonder he's acting pretty immaturely around Robin. Robin isn't making it any easier, sure, but I bet she'd respond well if someone said to her, politely, "Can you please use your 'internal voice' for a bit?"

4. RW should be a good one!

[gilmore]

The top 4 are so strong, Bravo has to reach even harder to make us wonder what will happen next. I am guessing Tom's blog wants to keep the tension up. Hard to imagine one of the top 4 leaving this coming week.

Pork belly has not been kind to good chef's in prior seasons. Jen's got high praise. Maybe she did not "butcher" the meat, but butchered it the way she wanted too.

[gilmore]

Bart - The line Dom referred to was probably when Ash returned to the stew room after being eliminated and saying "I forgot flavor".

[mill]

Keith Floyd had something to say about cooks vs. chefs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXMbB_681Ig

Regarding all the drama. How do you think Tiffani Faison would have treated Robin? I bet she would have told her to shut up the second episode. Trying to avoid confrontation is what has brought it to all this.

So if Kevin or Bryan (since they seem to be regarded as the mature, good ones) would just tell Robin to shut it, Mike I to stop being an ass, and Eli, well his only problem would be his insistence that he is the best cook yet runs from actually cooking (prawns).

[Dan V.]

Kevin, who's the consummate good guy, was as diplomatic as he could be in his interview segment about Robin. You could tell that even he doesn't like her - but he doesn't succumb to the drama. Even the consummate Icemen, the Volts, don't particularly like her.

At least Arianne was winning stuff last year and had a modicum of personality. There's not much redeeming I can see about Robin. She wasn't actively annoying - nothing on this level of backlash.

[Anne]

Which was the funny line, Dom?

I have to say I'm finding the Robin stuff so incredibly unpleasant to watch that I'm rooting for her elimination. It's awful. As far as I can tell, Kevin's the only one who isn't piling on, making him even more wonderful.

[paula]

aaalex: I thought the same thing after reading Bryan's blog (coupled with the snippy exchange in the stew room last week), that Kevin bugs him a little bit. Very interesting.

The top 4 shifts for me after this ep: Kevin, Bryan, then Jen and Michael tied for 4th. I want to see Jen bring back that badassery we saw in the Air Force challenge; her current attitude would earn her a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the head.

[Dave_P]

Wow, what an ep.

Not that my picks were original or creative or anything, but I nailed last week's rankings (along w/a bunch of others). Only surprise was Ash being sent home ahead of cat food. Seriously? Ah well, overdue, indeed. This week's rankings are untouched, except now the bottom two are firm as 7. Laurine (QF mention) over 8. Robin (bottom x2).

I love Jen's nervous energy in the kitchen. Her self-doubting is actually very endearing to me, and I loved the way she was running by Tom as he was exiting the kitchen after his walk through. Still, it was pork and Kevin was not to be denied.

Robin... whatever. She'll be gone soon enough (hopefully, next week?). We're not there, and we don't know the full story, but I'm about 99% sure that she'd drive me bat-sh** crazy too with her behavior, esp in cramped quarters. I like to think I'd take Kevin's path, but who knows what they'd catch on camera. Laurine too--she's developed this aura of gloom around her it seems. I guess she wasn't meant to go last night, since she got so little camera time earlier on (so no "loser's edit"). She's prolly safe next week as FoH though.

RW: bros-V vs. Kevin & Jen. Epic! Eli & Laurine as FoH will likely be non-entities (really, last season was an outlier for FoH). I'm thinking (and hoping) Mike V & Jen will be ECs. I can't see any of the top 4 falling, even in this trap episode, so it's either Robin (75% chance) or Mike I (15%, 5% it's a FoH, 5% it's one of the 4). If Mike I takes leadership of his restaurant, I can see him fall, but I don't think Jen & Kevin will let him. I dunno, w/the actual ppl cooking, I can't see anyone but Robin go home, unless someone really trips up.

Oh, funniest line ever goes to Toby for me. His "shaved armpit vs. hairy armpit," out of context in the trailers going into commercial break almost killed me. Tom too evidently, sitting next to him. :)

--
Dave

[L.S.]

Does anyone have a tally of exactly how many quickfires and elimination challenges each of the top four contestants has won, separated by category (quickfire vs. elimination)?

[babyarm]

Dom usually keeps the tallies on his power rankings, but short of that the wiki of top chef keeps a running tally as well.

The blindfolded relay race next week seems a bit contrived. It's a very long preview video, and I can't seem to gather the reasons why the blindfold is necessary. I mean just put them in the next room...

It would appear they select their RW teams prior to the QF even starting and it isn't clear how this would solve the problem of who is EC for each side.

[Julie]

Independent George said..."Even if she says she doesn't care what the others think, we know that's not true. It couldn't be true; these are her peers, and she expects to be treated with some measure of respect. And she does deserve to be treated with respect, both as a human being, and as a professional. Think about how lonely it must be in that house; for the month they're filming, the only human contact they have is with each other. What must it feel like when everybody in your world despises you? How awful must it be to not only go through that once, but having to re-live it again on national television?

Thank God all of my failings are private. Whatever her sins, she doesn't deserve this."

I totally agree Independent George. I was watching last night with my eyes half-closed. Perhaps it's because I'm a woman of similar age but I find Eli to be juvenile and downright rude. He himself was being passive-aggressive by asking Mike V. to get him scallions from the kitchen when Mike was sitting at the counter and Robin was standing right next to him. Mike V. was doing nothing to support Robin, as a matter of fact, he was egging Eli on. No matter how irritating Robin's chatting is, she doesn't deserve to be treated so poorly by everyone. It seems that a silent (sometimes not so silent) group bullying has begun. Again, as a woman, it bothers me that none of the other female chefs, who call themselves professionals, have taken the time to pull Robin aside and say, "you're driving everyone crazy with the non-stop talking". Maybe if someone had, Robin could try to turn the volume down. During my lifetime, I've heard more times than I can count that women can't work together and these woman aren't doing anything to dispel that myth. It's disappointing in so many ways.

Eli's admission that he still lives at home is equally revealing. He's a "man-child" who doesn't seem to have the ability to empathize. He may have good reason to hate Robin as much as he does, we just don't know. However, that does not excuse him for throwing her cancer in her face. If I were his mother, and sadly I'm old enough to be, I would be deeply embarassed by his behavior on national television. I tell my kids all the time, just because you're is angry, it doesn't give you the right to be hateful and rude. Think before you speak because what you say can come back to haunt you.

[Bart]

Hear, hear Julie.

[anon man]

@Dave_P, Tom's blog provides an articulate explanation of what Toby was trying to say (using actual food language instead of culturally insensitive metaphors).

Its interesting the Jennifer's "nervous energy" is ok, but Robin's motor mouth energy is not. Don't get me wrong, I like Jen a lot, (except for her inability to pronounce the letter "D"), but it seems like a very thin line between Robin and Jen.

A word on Mike I. His comment that he cooks the most different ethnic styles is correct and commendable. Now, as an Italian man married to a Lebanese woman, I'll say that its not exactly a wide swatch of real estate from Spain to Italy to Greece to Crete to the Middle East, flavor wise, (with the possible exception of Spain), but his comfort with different traditions is notable. That said it would help if he could pronounce things correctly. My wife kept asking "Is he trying to say "Kibbeh"? (Also, Kibbeh is not traditionally made with Pork alone, and often with none at all...)

[paula]

It's not for nothing that the producers revealed--in this specific episode--that Eli lives with his parents, and showed him on the phone with them and talking about how close he is to his mom. It's quite possible that young Eli really misses his mommy and is lashing out at Robin because she's an older woman who's not providing the environment he's used to. (Well, OK, also because she's irritating as hell...)

[L.S.]

Thanks, babyarm.

[Danny]

Thanks Julie and Independent George. You are so right. The reality is, once someone is the chosen one to be bullied, there is nothing that person can do to stop the bullying. Every little thing they do becomes yet another thing to attack and ridicule them for. Interesting to read Bryan's words - saying that he respects Robin and that she deserved to be there. It sure makes me think more highly of him than his brother. Mike V on the other hand laments that she is there when other more talented chefs could have been there. Funny he says this about Robin but not about Ash who has faltered time and again and has never shined or made a dish that garnered raves (I can't really count the QF pudding thing since it wasn't what he intended to make - it was an accidental dish). A wee bit of sexism perhaps?

For some reason, a lot of the food last night didn't look that interesting. I'm glad to read Tom's blog and his explanation of where Ash went wrong. Tom said that the pork had been overcooked and was very underseasoned. Ash said he could finally cook his way. If that's his way, it sure doesn't make me want to eat his food.

Kevin is just in a world of his own. I don't think of the Top Four. I think of Kevin, then the 3 below him and the rest MOTP. Each of the MOTP has shown flaws and shortcomings. I just don't see much difference between Robin, Mike I, Eli and Laurine. I would not go out of my way to eat any of their food. On the other hand, I would make a trip just to eat Kevin's food and if I was in a city where any of the other 3 was cooking I would make it a point to go eat there.

[Will Allen]

I agree, Julie, but would add that The Pack vs. Robin subplot commits the worst of all television sins: it is utterly boring. Observing the banal cruelty of The Pack and the annoying Robin reminds one of a middle school lunchroom, except with better food. That these are supposed adults only makes their lack of self awareness and fatuous egotism all the more pathetic and uninteresting. Thank goodness the producers aren't delving into this subplot any more than they are.

If I had to pick between the very annoying individual, and the stupidly cruel Pack, I'd choose the annoying individual, but I'd rather not have to watch either, as opposed to, say, more individual commentary from the chefs as to the thinking that produced their dishes. I could listen to Kevin give a 20 minute lecture with each episode.

[Dawn]

But anon man, Jen ISN'T a motor mouth. Her 'nervous energy' is usually reserved for the confessionals, which is a fair game place for the cheftestants to be 'whiny'. Even when she was feeling less confident about her dish & scrambling around the kitchen, she mostly kept her thoughts to herself. I specifically remember Ash said that she is soft-spoken outside the kitchen.

I might come off as a Jen fangirl, which admittedly, I am a little, and I do feel for Robin, but I don't see any double standard going on here.

[Jon Olsen]

Oh Dom, you've arrived! Chef--errr...cooks' spouses coming on here to comment, praise from Ted Allen, Stefan, and now a visitation from on high! We win!

"Know your enemy." Jeezum crow you stuffy galoot, this is the Internet, what the fuck is wrong with you? No one is enemies anymore, it's a movable feast of friendly tribes, or it's nothing. So, y'know, welcome to the family, o e c.

ObTopic This was a perfectly serviceable episode. I'll miss Ash (I feel the line is "Oh I forgot flavor!!" for those of you wondering) but he passed up a shot at polenta to make something Mike Isabellalugosi suggested? That toothy monster wasted his opportunity: if he really wanted her out of the place, he should have pointed his suggestion-mal-de-ojo at Robin.

Jennifer's panic attacks: can't decide if I'm endeared or annoyed, but I'm leaning latter. This is a woman who bragged of making boys cry?

My money is on Robin next week. It's time. Laurine's foh role will save her.

I love the sibling rivalry. I wish they'd start punching. When brothers fight, it's always so savagely entertaining, because they usually just wail on each other!

[Dave_P]

I should clarify, when I heard Toby's armpit comment the first time, it was out of context as a promo clip, and it had me rolling on the floor. I did then hear it in context, saw Tom's reaction, and still had a hearty chuckle, but yeah, I knew then what he was talking about. Toby earned some serious points from me though.

Jen has "nervous energy", but mostly keeps it to herself. Robin doesn't seem to keep much to herself. I can see a clear difference. I realize the tendency to stick up for the picked upon, but there's surely a reason why *everyone* else finds her annoying, and age prolly has less to do with it than Robin would like to believe. Ron was certainly not part of any "young" clique and he was one of the first to voice his annoyance at her verbocity.

Reading Tom's blog, and everyone else's that's up so far, I can see why they sent Ash home instead of Laurine. I'm a bit worried about his closing remarks about how every contest is its own competition, no history, etc. Sounds eerily prophetic about one of the top 4 going home too soon, esp. coming from someone who knows the outcome.

--
Dave

[Lon]

If you've ever been in an environment with someone who talks all the time, especially in tense situations, you would understand the dislike of Robin. Some people relieve their tension by verbalizing everything (Robin and Jen); others draw into themselves (Bryan, Mike and others). And if you are a quiet analyst, the noisy ones are extremely disruptive and annoying.

As to piling on in group situations, the rants against Robin remind me of Season 2 when Marcel received very similar treatment, instigated, I've always felt, by Ilan who used it as a tatic to build support for himself.

[Karen]

Question: In the preview videos, Robin is upset because Mike V., acting as EC, asks her to cut down the portion sizes and is adding a topping (?) to her dessert. Is this within the EC's realm of responsibility? I would think it is since he is ultimately responsible for the food being served.

[Anne]

I would certainly think it is, Karen. Ultimately, he is responsible, and ultimately, everyone else is working for him.

[Will Allen]

Julie, I agree, but would add that the Robin vs. The Pack subplot commits the worst of all television sins; it is utterly boring. The banal cruelty of The Pack and Robin's annoying nature reminds one of a middle school lunchroom, except with better food. That these are supposed adults displaying such a lack of self awareness, and an abundance of fatuous egotism, only makes the spectacle more pathetic. Thank goodness the producers aren't devoting any more time than they are to this nonsense.

If I had to choose between the annoying individual, and the stupidly cruel Pack, I'd choose the individual, but I'd rather not watch either, compared to, say, more individual commentary from the chefs explaining the thinking that went into their dishes. I could listen to Kevin give a 20 minute lecture with each episode.

[Anne]

Oh, did anyone catch who it was who said, "Hopefully they'll make the right decision this time?" when the bottom 3 went out?

[jh]

I think the "tension" that is between Bryan and Kevin, could be chalked up to the fact that Bryan is extremely competitive and Kevin keeps winning the QF and EC. He may not be bugged by Kevin's personality, but rather the realization that he may not be the best in the room. It's probably driving Bryan mad that he's in the top, but not always winning.

As for seeing only snippets of her personality, if any chef, male or female, took her aside and told her about her grating personality, she might throw that to the wind regardless of who it was. She's already put up her defense mechanism of playing the victim role, and her talking is something that would be hard to change. Her lengthy explanation of the dish at Pigs and Pinot were reminiscent of Spike. Also, as the oldest person of the house, she may not be receptive to any suggestions that come from the youngins. She's older, had more life experiences, and survived cancer, what do these other younger chefs know?

This is not to say that the behavior of the some of the other chefs are acceptable, but in this high-stakes, sleep-deprived world, tension is bound to run high. If you can't stand Robin's personality (or any other contestant), you can tell it to her face politely, and if nothing happens you can:

1. Tell it to her face rudely.
2. Ignore her (because if you talk to her you are bound to do 1.)
3. Avoid her, that way you wouldn't have to do 1 or 2.

I am also not condoning 1. But I see many of the chefs doing 2 and 3. If your personality does not mesh with another (and you've honestly tried to get to know the other person), what are other alternatives besides the occasional, "Hi"? It's like mismatched college roommates.

Ironically enough, although I can't stand Mike I., I could probably deal with his personality better than Robin's around the house. Her passive-aggressive constant chattering and unwanted advice giving would drive me up the wall. Mike I seems like he can dish it and take it. He's just a jerk that has no tact with the camera, and an ego that could fill the Rose Bowl.

[Will Allen]

Sorry about that.....I'm not completely familiar with this site.

[timothy]

Hey Dom, Was the funny Ash line the one about flavor or the comment about not inviting Padma to dinner. That was a pretty great quip as well.

[Julie]

Wow Will, are you reading my mind?! I was just remembering my kids years in middle school. Their school had an anti-bullying program it ran every year and one of the things it focused on was the "observers" of the bully and victim. An observer doesn't interfere because the bully may turn on him/her. So it's best just to be passive. The program taught the students that bullying affects everyone negatively. This is clearly what's happening in the Top Chef house.

While I agree that it can be boring and this is a "food" show, I must admit that part of what I love about TC is the dynamics between chefs. I find it interesting to watch how living in such a stressful, competitive environment makes people behave. I firmly believe that our character shines more honestly when we fail rather than succeed. The insecurities of the "observers" are painfully obvious when they complain about a chef they feel is more talented, like Hector, go home, while Robin, who they feel is inferior, is still around. It fuels their fear that noone is immune and they too could go home at any moment. They seem to have convinced themselves that going home before Robin would be a terrible fate...completely forgetting that while they may not like her cooking, she's held her own and is still there for a reason. I'd like to believe that Robin is on the show because she is a talented chef, not just to create drama.

Having typed all that, I would enjoy hearing more from each chef about how and why they created their dish. I am not a foodie so much of what they talk about is over my head, but I truly enjoy listening to someone who is passionate about what they do explain or defend themselves. TC has given me a real appreciation of how hard chefs work and the fact that they are artists in their own way.

[jse91]

"Oh Dom, you've arrived! Chef--errr...cooks' spouses coming on here to comment, praise from Ted Allen, Stefan, and now a visitation from on high! We win!

"Know your enemy." Jeezum crow you stuffy galoot, this is the Internet, what the fuck is wrong with you? No one is enemies anymore, it's a movable feast of friendly tribes, or it's nothing. So, y'know, welcome to the family, o e c."

???
Care to fill us in?

[Bart]

FYI, folks, Toby Young has a very amusing blog up about his "pie-ella" brou-ha-ha.

And, frankly, I totally agree with what he was saying. And I completely understood what he was trying to say, when the episode aired. I never understood why people took offense to what he said, because what he says is true.

[paula]

Like jse91, I'm out of the loop on that thread, but "Jeezum crow you stuffy galoot" is something I now HAVE to work into daily conversation.

[Duffy]

We see what the camera catches and Bravo edits. Why would they show us any of the polite, civil and perhaps even friendly exchanges between Robin an the others? What interest or drama would be in that?

We know now that Robin started the rhubarb with Eli and picked on him -- even when it was apparent that he was annoyed -- until he blew up. Then she stayed on his tail and went after some more!

While there are cameras all around, they do not catch everything. I suspect that most if not all of the other women -- from the beginning -- tried to approach Robin privately and failed.

We are getting a fair number of high drama moments, but I question whether "everyone" is ganging up on Robin "all the time."

[mena]

Karen & Anne, I got the impression that Bryan was the EC not Michael. The only people they showed having confessionals about RW were Jennifer and Bryan - so I took that to mean they were the ECs. Bryan was also the one who broke up the fight between Michael & Robin and ordered each one back to their respective tasks.

Also, it sounded to me like it was Michael V who said "Hopefully they'll make the right decision this time?". When someone else asked who that was, it also sounded like it was Michael V who said "Big "R", little "obin".

[Jon Olsen]

If òste e còc is Poivrot Farci then we've been visited by a very knowledgeable, and just a teensy bit stuffy blogger/netizen. He writes a really cool blog about his experiments in home cooking French classics. For my money I find his wit a little too acerbic but still amusing. He dipped his pen in sulfuric acid (okay, his keyboard) to compare Hector's looks to those of a serial rapist while calling Kevin a hippie virgin. However, he takes great photos and has made some very whimsical looking dishes.

http://kitschnclassics.wordpress.com/

[Joanna]

I thought it was Mike I. who said that he hoped the right person went home. Then someone (Bryan?) asked if he thought she had the worst dish, and he said "I don't even care about the dish."

Eli's outburst in last night's episode was immature, but I still think that Mike's treatment of Robin last week was much worse, because it was during the challenge. I basically lost all respect for him after that.

But. There was one throwaway comment by Robin that I think could give some insight into her personality and why she might bother the other chefs so much. While she and Eli were in the kitchen in the house, she said, "I like to keep the salt over here, and the sugar over there, but they don't seem to stay that way." That comment is SO passive-aggressive that I don't even know where to begin... I've had to live with people that like that and it is one of the most frustrating things ever. If you want the salt in one place and the sugar in another, just tell me that, and I will try to keep them there. But don't act like I have offended you by moving something that we both use if you never told me that you prefer it in a certain place! Better yet, deal with the fact that you are living in close quarters with a lot of other people and things are going to get moved around.

Like I said, it was a largely insignificant comment, and it struck a nerve with me, but if that is how Robin always is, I think it makes some of the dislike towards her a little more understandable. Doesn't really justify the hatred and venom though.

[òste e còc]

“I-George... you make the mistake of presuming that òste e còc feels that Stephanie was worthy of the "chef" title. Or Charlie Palmer. Or nearly every contestant and guest judge to appear throughout the the run of the show, really :-)
(I'm pretty sure he'd get behind Robuchon.)”

Skillet Doux's facetious typeset notwithstanding, Charlie Palmer was a formidable working chef and is a tremendously successful restaurateur (financially at least), but his empire has a few cracks. http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/59627/.

I worked for Charlie for 3 of my junior years, 1 of those at Aureole, right after he passed the Egyptian cotton apron to Gerry Hayden, before Charlie migrated to the west Coast. One of the immediate consequences of the 9/11 events was a staff reduction and Bryan worked and managed the kitchen & staff in a capacity that would make most Prime Ministers blush. For his age, Bryan is a legitimate chef one of the most confident I have worked with, both as a determined, technically savvy working chef and GM. Consequently, he and other established chef/owners don’t have much farther to go in realizing their dreams of owning their own restaurants. (I prefer to keep watching the talent and ignore Padma’s intro).

Stephanie is well deserving of the title of chef in terms of technical/theoretical/practical proficiency , as are many others (Tre, Blais, Harold, Stephan, etc..) but must be distinguished from a self-appointed management rung title by virtue of ownership (e.g. Spike). Those such as Ilan (worked with him too, he cried on his last day as an extern when his civilian pants were vacuum sealed and frozen…with his wallet in them) and “Hosea” might dilute the trade and expectations of the viewing public, though based on many of the comments above, the secondary soap-opera drama is more of a lure than the tangible food manipulations. Then again, it is Bravo, not PBS and I am grateful that the trade gets attention, albeit as a vehicle for promoting plastic wrap and tupperwares.

PS. SD, consider Craigie on Main for a noteworthy meal.

[TxGriff]

Joanna and others- I don't know, I didn't see the salt and sugar comment as passive-aggressive. I literally think Robin just has no inner-monologue (I'm going to eat this orange!). I don't think her comment was ill-natured or she was trying to point fingers, I just think while most of us would internally think "Oh, the salt and sugar were moved around, I'll put them back in place", Robin has the tendancy to just verbalize whatever is going through her head.

And I don't think she egged Eli on either (or rather that she intentionally egged him on...obviously her personatlity leds itself to causing frustrations). I think she is aware that he and others dislike her, and she is internally defensive around them, which comes across as passive-aggressive. It honestly just makes me feel terrible for her, I get uncomfortable everytime I see her on the screen now. Part of it is the editing. For example, when Eli said that some chefs clearly didn't know much about the Pinots, why did they immediately cut to a shot of Robin??? Was she the only one Eli was referring to? I hate the feeling that I'm going to have to fast forward through half the show from now on to avoid this type of stuff. As someone said earlier, I wish she was just eliminated as an act of mercy at this point.

[Skillet Doux]

"PS. SD, consider Craigie on Main for a noteworthy meal."

Oh, it was :-)

[Skillet Doux]

"though based on many of the comments above, the secondary soap-opera drama is more of a lure than the tangible food manipulations."

Historically speaking, not so much around these parts, though this particular drama du jour seems to have touched a nerve. I suspect because it was otherwise an unusually calm and quiet season and for a while there we were thinking we might actually get a straight-up cooking contest.

[Will Allen]

Well, Julie, having said what I did, I'll also concede that some of the chefs just aren't worthy of as much cooking commentary as Kevin, because they just don't have his chops. Part of what makes Kevin great is his thorough understanding of the chemistry and physics of making great food, along with the cultures and history of cooking. Thus, when presented with a challenge of cooking in an idiom that he has not done before, he can think the problem through, and explain to the camera how he did so.

To draw an analogy with other endeavors, and yes, I know that some may see this as hyperbolic, part of what Frank Lloyd Wright such a giant was his engineering chops. He could design, for instance, the Johnson Wax Building with a radical element that had never been tested, confident that his understanding of physics was such that it would work. Similarly, Picasso could be Picasso because before he went into uncharted territory, he had mastered realism. Kevin just knows a helluva lot of stuff, and knows how to apply the principles. The fact that he has tremendous people skills, unlike Wright or Picasso, is the icing on the cake.

[KathyV]

Even though our primary focus is, and should be, the food, I guess some of us do get wrapped into the "secondary drama". Human nature I guess. As I'm sure some might view comments based solely on a person's appearance, such as "pasty skin" and "boorish brow of a serial rapist" as a bit myopic instead of the pithy food-related bon mot they might have been intended to be.

And Dom, I do apologize for any line I might have just crossed.

[Julie]

Will, while I agree that listening to Kevin explain his dish is more interesting due to his knowledge and expertise than listening to say, Robin; for the non-foodie viewer like me, hearing both chefs helps me to understand "why" Kevin is so much better than Robin. Kevin describes his dishes in a way I can understand without being condescending whereas some chefs just jabber on without saying anything. Since we cannot, as has been mentioned here many times, eat the food, I have to base my uneducated judgements on what I hear from the judges and chefs themselves.

I am a "meat and potatos" kind of gal who doesn't know the difference between mole and gravy. As a matter of fact, I'd never even heard the word mole until Top Chef. I will probably never eat in most of the restaurants mentioned on this site or on TC. It is for this reason that I seldom (read: almost never) comment on this blog. I feel I learn much more by reading the comments of those better educated on such matters. I always watch TC, and read this blog, with the expectation that I will learn something new, even though I may never try it myself.

The only reason I was prompted to comment this week was the drama surrounding Robin. While, as I admit I'm intrigued by the drama, not just the food, I prefer the drama to occur during the challenges. Who is sweating, literally and figuratively; who's running wildly with a hot pan or sharp knife, who's cursing and announcing she'll be the one leaving (Jennifer)? I can't wait for Restaurant Wars just to watch the dynamics between each team. I really would, as Dom acknowledged, have enjoyed this season as a cooking contest without this particular drama. It really is painful to watch.

[Bart]

Historically speaking, not so much around these parts, though this particular drama du jour seems to have touched a nerve. I suspect because it was otherwise an unusually calm and quiet season and for a while there we were thinking we might actually get a straight-up cooking contest.

Probably because unlike other dramas, this one just makes us uncomfortable. At least when others ragged on Lisa or Spike, it was understandable and we didn't care too much for them either.

When people whined about Stefan, we either saw through it and appreciated him...or realized that he could dish it was well as take it.

Here, Robin seems like a victim (and I hate using that word because I'm sure she'd disagree with my using that word). And rather than get the usual back-and-forth, this just feels like everyone piling on Robin and leads only to awkward situations. That's what it is - it's just awkward.

Besides, just last week, we had a great discussion on umami. This week, it's all about Robin. Next week, I suspect it'll be all about how to manage a restaurant (a topic that many of us, I suspect, will suddenly become experts on by next week ;-) ).

[ally]

anon man -- I watched the "flirting" segment three times and laughed out loud every time but I don't feel dirty at all.

Is that wrong?

=D

[Will Allen]

Oh, absolutley, Julie. The human drama in the kitchen is fun stuff. I just don't really care for the stuff I could observe down at my local mall's food court.

As to chefs that jabber, I often think they do so to hide their lack of knowledge. Every profession, art, or craft, is the same at some level. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, befuddle them with bullshit.

[Clarita]

To respond to an earlier comment: Out of the top four, I would be most OK to lose the brothers V. I will die if Kevin or Jenn go before the finals.

[ally]

At the risk of still talking about the drama (and by the way, I hate that I didnt learn much about the dishes this week because of extra drama footage)

Bart, I couldn't disagree with you more that Robin is a victim. She KNOWS that her housemates are having a problem with her, esp. Eli, but she still just is in his space and in his business. Eli is a jerk, but I don't think he is instigating it.

That said, it is sad to see the rest of them sitting around gossiping about her. (Or listening to the gossip) Very sad.

[Will Allen]

If we have to lose one of the Big Four, I'd prefer it to be Michael V.. There are times that he reminds me of a Tom Cruise character, and I hate Tom Cruise movies.

[kit]

In case anyone hasn't checked it out yet, Harold's got a funny take on that ubiquitous JT's question - "did you taste your dish?" It's got me thinking about possible ways to answer that without completely screwing yourself. It would probably have to be a, "Yes I did, but by then it was too late to fix it because of X," sort of like Jamie with the salty Ripert dish...though that dish did get her eliminated... Ok do over, "Yes I did, but excuse me while I hail this bus and explain to you why it's my partner's fault." :) Any contestant thinking they may be in the bottom should definitely add an answer to that question as part of the defense they're going to mount at JT.

[Will Allen]

I'd pay money to hear, from someone who knows that they can't win, "Yes, I did, and I find you to be such a disagreeable person that I decided to serve you a lousy meal as my last act".

[TxGriff]

It's interesting- while I would most likely want to eat Mike V.'s food, I would also be most willing to lose him as a contestant if I had to choose from the top tier. There's something arrogant about his personality that I just don't like watching as much as the other top contenders (who also make beautiful and perfectly executed food).

Bryan kind of touched on my problem with Mike V. in his BRAVO interview this week- while Bryan is more likely to take the diner's consideration and experience into account while creating a dish, Mike has a stubborness that means he's always going to cook his food, regardless of the diner. Now, when you cook expertly prepared and innovative food (which I'm sure he does)I don't think this is a flaw, I just don't like the slightly condescending manner in which such an attitude comes across on TV.

All that being said, I don't want anyone in the top 4 to go home, obviously. However, the tone of Tom's most recently blog post is giving me reason to believe we may need to brace ourselves for an unwanted elimination in the near future.

[babyarm]

All this Robin stuff is really starting to suck away my will to live. At least with the Lisa stuff people focused at least somewhat on her food from time to time.

[aaalex]

whoever said last week was all about umami and this week it's all about robin couldn't actually have read all of last week's many posts. there were more about robin than about umami, by a very long, sad margin. (i wrote my share. so: mea culpa.) i'd have thought everything had been said, for good and for ill, but this week there's rehash of last week's talk (and to an extent the week before's). it's what bravo wants, of course. there's another "who's the worst, eli or robin?" poll up on the bravo site. so, from bravo's perspective, this must be a fine discussion and a good season. òste e còc is pretty much right, i think, domenic. on the other hand, his (flagrantly gossipy) image of ilan hall crying over his vacuum sealed pants is one that will give me much pleasure in the years to come.

[Independent George]

Last week may have been all about Robin, but the week before that was all about Fennel Funnel-Cakes served on a naked Padma. That is what I would prefer to be discussing.

[Julie]

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, befuddle them with bullshit."

I love this line Will! Thanks for the laugh. My boss came into my office to find out what's so funny.

I agree about Mike V. too. He would be my first pick from the top 4 to go. I admire that he cooks to his strengths but he's so condescending about it. Presumably a chef wants to please his customers as well as his own sensibility. Mike V. doesn't seem to feel that way.

I want to see Bryan, Kevin and Jennifer battle it out. It would be fun to see (and listen) to Jen freaking, watch Bryan stew silently in his own juices and Kevin just seemingly plod along while being brilliant.

[zsparks]

On a network whose bread-and-butter is now The Real Housewives of Atlanta (you may have noticed their breast implants in someone's dish during any given episode?), it's hard to hope that they could trust TC viewers enough to give us the basic drama of the competition and the sweat room. Remember back when Inside the Actors Studio seemed like a self-involved and vampy look at the arts? By current standards, it's practically Masterpiece Theater, even though the next ep will probably feature Kim and NeNe. So it feels to me as if they have taken the relatively tiny Robin drama and stretched out to Housewives size in order to keep building that audience - the rest of us be damned.

[aaalex]

independent george: talk about selective memory! you're forgetting the naked colicchio discussion ...
can you say nantaimori?

i knew you could...

[Will Allen]

There's no accounting for taste!

[aaalex]

will: that sentence just about perfectly sums up top chef itself. good work.

[Nadzag]

Babyarm, you echo my sentiments exactly (your post at 10:44 AM 10/14)- but I think "man-child" is an undeserved euphamism for Eli. As edited, he appears to be a mean-spirited misogynist. Regardless of any annoying traits, also as edited, Robin appears to be mostly benign and certainly not as insulting, abusive or offensive as those who attack her.

Often, it's just easier to focus on one's antipathy for another than to face one's own shortcomings. I trust that that is Eli's problem.

Jen rocks big time. The V's are chafingly serious, but Bryan is dead great. Kevin walks the walk - I pick him to win the whole enchilada.

My final thought: I want to have a child with Michelle Bernstein.

[TxGriff]

"On a network whose bread-and-butter is now The Real Housewives of Atlanta (you may have noticed their breast implants in someone's dish during any given episode?)"

Yes, the pop ups MUST stop. I'm tired of the right portion of my screen being filled with that garbage. It's almost as annoying as the the infamous grand poobah of pasta (Ericaaa!)

[paula]

"I want to see Bryan, Kevin and Jennifer battle it out. It would be fun to see (and listen) to Jen freaking, watch Bryan stew silently in his own juices and Kevin just seemingly plod along while being brilliant."

I just pictured that, and you know, someone always chokes in the finals. Jen might have the potential to do a Casey-type choke. And Kevin already reminds me a bit of Blais...might he be capable of falling victim to Finals Flame-out too?

The final episode is always a little anti-climactic for this reason. Someone starts screwing up halfway through the episode, and then all this conjecture and hope evaporates.

Eh, who cares.

[paula]

Ha! Ignore the "who cares" at the end of my post. I was going to make a joke about how none of this really matters, because it's time to watch a housewife pull out someone else's weave, but I deleted that part. :)

[aaalex]

a technical question for dominic (sorry if it's been asked and answered. i missed it, if so) is it possible, when you click on the latest comment, to be directed to the actual page on which that comment exists? (or even to the comment itself?) i didn't mind, in previous years, when you only had to wade through a hundred or so comments, but now that we're getting to 200 and more, it would be good to go directly to the latest comment without passing "go" every time.

if others disagree. no problem. but at times, it's the one thing i wish for, here.

[Maria]

For what it's worth, aaalex, I totally agree.

[jh]

I second aaalex's comments. What I have found to be a bit easier with the current format, is when the comments border on 150+, rather than scrolling to the bottom of the page to see "Next 50 comments", I change the url to the last page. For example, to see comments 151-200, I change the url to "www.skilletdoux.com..........comments/page/4/#comments". For comments 201-250, it would be "....comments/page/5/#comments." That way, I don't have to scroll to the bottom of 4 pages to see the latest one.

[jonathan]

Just a general observation on the comments here this season - I feel like there's been way too many instances of labeling Mike, Eli, and others misogynists from their interactions with Robin. There's a substantial difference between not liking a specific woman and not liking women in general. Okay, now feel free to flame away on me. :0

[jh]

There's been so much discussion about the annoying personalities that I'm kinda missing the food aspect. With that said, there's a great link on Bravo that asks the contestants "What is the most annoying thing a customer has ever asked for/ordered?"

"Salt for their charcuterie platter that consisted of chorizo, Jamon Serrano, and olives."-Hector.

However, Kevin has my favorite. "We had a famous musician demand that we not make contact, address her directly, or engage her in any way. We told her that once she could go out to dinner like normal people, should could eat at our restaurant."

The link for those who wish to read the other ones:
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/photos/whats-the-most-annoying-thing-a-customer-has-ever-asked-forordered

And Kikkoman has been running a series of ads on Food Network with umami as it's theme.

[doktarr]

On Robin/Eli - I've seen this dynamic play out everywhere from camp cabins to sports teams to college dorms to offices. The person who is getting ostracized brings it upon themselves due to a lack of emotional maturity. This, however, does not absolve the people who treat that person disrespectfully. It's both annoying and painful to watch, and honestly, I want Robin eliminated simply so I don't have to see it any more.

On RW - it's not really any more of a "graveyard of champions" than any other episode - or at least, not in it's standard incarnation. To review:

S1: Miguel. No complaints there, I think.

S2: Michael. Definitely no complaints there.

S3: Tre. This is the one that created the myth. Still, it's worth noting that this was after the "soft opening" episode, which possibly changes the dynamic. If they had had to eliminate someone after the first go around, I suspect it would have been someone from the other team (and assuming it wasn't Hung, nobody would have complained).

S4: Dale. The other elimination that makes people point to RW as a graveyard. However, two points:
1) This was a 6-person RW, as opposed to the standard 8. It's a lot harder to skate by on a 6-person team. The 8-person episode was "Wedding Wars", and nobody was complaining when Nikki got the axe.
2) Dale was eliminated for making a borderline inedible dish. Honestly, this would probably have gotten him eliminated in any second-half-of-the-season episode; that it was RW was incidental.

S5: Radhika. Looking back on it, it's hard to argue she was a favorite for the finals. Not the weakest remaining? Sure, that's easy to argue. But the weakest doesn't always go home, Dom's streak notwithstanding.

[Independent George]

watch Bryan stew silently in his own juices

Technically, I think that would be a braise.

[Skillet Doux]

Oh, and yes, it was the, "Ooooooh, I forgot FLAVOR!!!" line that killed me.

[Skoolie]

I just got a chance to watch it tonight. I did spoil it for myself by reading this post and the 30 comments that were listed at the time.

but I wanted to comment on the Robin and Mike I thing, even though we are beating it to death at this point.

I do not have a phd in psychology but I have studied it and I'm facinated by it. I don't think any of the contestants are evil, or villians, or just bad people, this group is a really good group. So I think they have to edit things to tell a story as much as possible.

with that said I think Robin has a few strikes against her as to why the others do not care for her.

1. Robin is a lot older than the rest of the remaining contestants. It is harder for her to get along with them. Especially because she is older but yet not one of the front runners, I can see that the other contestants don't respect her as much as their collegues and she feels they should respect her because she's been around longer.

2. This is the big one. Robin revolves around Robin and doesn't ever think to ask questions about or listen to the other contestants. When Robin speaks it is all about her, how she arranges things in the kitchen, how she lives life, how she survived cancer, which I agree with her, is a great thing to accomplish and I'm glad for her, but she makes the mistake of thinking that the contestants have never had to conquer any thing in their lives. She does not know because she doesn't bother to ask. I bet you there are a few contestants that have had hardships wether it was deaths in the family, genetic deaseases such as Sam with Diabetes, poverty, health issues, the list goes on and on.

I wonder if this is or isn't something that cancer survivors struggle with when they beat/ go into remission. Suddenly the focus is not on them as much and they are used to it being on them. I'm not trying to belittle cancer survivors, I would never do that, I'm just trying to understand why she is the way she is. She needs to learn how to be a cancer survivor and not a cancer victim. Cancer survivors go out and give back to others who are going through what they went though, cancer victims constantly talk about their horrible experiences and relive them. I hope she can do that.

3. Personality. Lets face it they are in tight quaters they work, sleep, eat, and entertain each other, they are with each other nonstop 24/7, so it's bound to happen.Combine this with reason one and to and you have a molotov cocktail.

This brings me to Mike I.
I've been reading some of the comments on him from the beginning and you know what I'm a woman and I never really thought he was a villian. I didn't even think he was a true sexist, and I still don't think he is.

I'm speaking from being in two male dominated industries, the art of armor and swords, and the IT Computer industry. I know what real sexism is, and I can distiguish this from playful competitive banter. Mike I is playful banter. If you don't believe me I'm sure you can believe Jen, she has a good repore with him, in fact we haven't actually heard any of the females on the show complain about him.

Mike I seems to really respect Jen, and hasn't said much about Laurine as to my knowledge. I think he actually is more playful on the show, and the edits they give him are just the editors trying to create drama.

also I just want to point out I'm a free open minded person, or atleast I try to be and I found it odd that some seemed to try to point out Mike I as a sexist yet they sterotyped him as the typical new jeresy jerk. He is no saint, but he hasn't done antying to merit that.

I really just want people to try to look at everything and then base their opinions, instead of on some quick edits at the shows premier.

Kevin - I'm falling in love with him - he is so thoughtful, he incorporates his expereinces in his dish.
He draws off his inspiration from his travels.

Bryan - He's so like my older sister, and I'm so like his younger brother personality wise. He paved the way, he's very structured, yet likes to take a chance here and there, and he's very kinda sorta "conservative" at least compared to his younger bother, not in food but the way he carries himself.

Mike V - more of a renegade, has ideas that are not like his brother and is trying hard to step out of the shadows of his brother. I understand the sibling rivaly. I was born a year and 8 days apart from my older sister and we shared a room up until we moved out of the parents house.

It is tough you grow up so close together always trying to make your parents proud plus if your close in age there isn't any breathing room. I also find it funny that my sister love bryan more and I like Micheal more I think we identify on certain levels.

Jen - Perfectionist. She called herself that and I know because I am one too. It took me forever to turn in a project in college because I wanted it to be perfect. My professor called me out once. He said this would have been the only 100 percent if it was turned in as is, I saw it, yet she refused to turn it in. He was letting me know that even though it wasn't perfect in my eyes it still would have receieve a 100 percernt, instead I got a 90% for it being late. I've learned but perfectionist always fret, we never think it's good enough. It is never good enough to us. Jen has the same problem that is why she frets, and gets stressed.

Eli - at 25 I don't think there is anything bad with living with your mom/parents just remember to save up and find a girlfriend with her own place. I actually liked Eli better this episode.

Laurine - I've liked what little personality they have shown of her. dishes, ehhhhhhhh.

[natmicstef]

Thanks jh; now I know how to get to the last page.

Agree with much of what Skoolie says. I was impressed at how perceptive Kevin seems to be, specifically about Michael V pushing Bryan's buttons until he implodes. Robin seems to have no perception and as such fails to recognise when and how she irritates. She doesn't realise when someone is keeping a distance and instead comes further into their space (figuratively and literally); following Eli around in the kitchen when he clearly wants her to leave him alone. Michael I's pronounciation of Kibbeh was annoying to my ears and am I the only one who thought they could have eliminated Ash, Laureen and Robin last night and saved us the agony.

[Skillet Doux]

BTW, folks, I'd love to set it up so you can link directly to the last page of comments, but it isn't a feature TypePad offers (as least as far as I can tell) and while I sometimes ditch the control panel to get under the hood and do a little tinkering, I wouldn't even know how to begin to approach setting up something like that.

Sorry :-(

[zsparks]

I really do want to know why you guys all love RW. I hate it. It feels cheap and preschool. The constraints destine both teams to fail. Two excellent contestants have to abandon their careers in order to play hostess - come to think of it, it's the perfect Halloween show. The contestants always say they love it, too, but it just seems like a gang-humilitation to me.

[aaalex]

i can't speak for others, zsparks, but for me RW shows the different aspects of the profession: having to please diners, having to delegate duties and authority in the kitchen, having to perform under opening night conditions ...

obviously, the essence of being a chef is cooking, knowledge of flavours and combinations, and creative invention. But a man or a woman who perfects their art in private is like a writer who refuses to publish. the public stress and distress is a crucial part of how artists gets better. it's how a chef is forced to learn to think quickly and test their instincts and maybe even learn things about themselves. RW is like a boiled down version of that process and we get to see who can really commit to the job or jobs at hand, and who can't handle maximum pressure. RW also happens at a stage in the competition when you think you have a good sense of the personalities of the remaining chefs. it can be pretty surprising who behaves like you think they will and who doesn't, who really plays well with others and who, for whatever reason, can't.

also, i really like thinking about restaurant names and cuisines and decor and service. i think about these things along with the contestants, and RW always reminds me just how much goes into putting great food on a table. and it isn't any more artificial or halloween than, say, asking the chefs to cook erotic meals for a group of swingers. i mean, for me, RW's always fast and surprising and nerve-wracking.

and it beats the hell out of watching golf.

[SorchaRei]

The only thing that the non-food drama did was ratchet up my satisfaction when, after all Eli's yammering about how he is such a pairing expert, specifically saying "My dish pairs well with my wine," Palmer's comment was "Eli did well with the dish - I don't think it's a good pairing with the wine." I wonder if he knew he got that response before he saw it on TV?

Jen is a very nervous chef, doing the whole "Oh, I know I failed" mixed up with "Oh, I'm afraid I will fail" schtick. For this reason, I don't trust the edit suggesting that her RW kitchen is totally in the weeds.

[Bart]

Dom, I can understand your reluctance to go under the hood of the blog, especially since you have it where you like it.

But Six Apart (the company that manages TypePad) does feature blogs that paginate comment pages, like Movable Type (see this as an example: http://www.nj.com/jerseyguy/index.ssf/2009/10/what_do_you_like_about_newark.html#comments)

I'm fairly confident they'd have something similar in place for TypePad - a widget of some sort. I bet if you reached out to their tech support, they'd be helpful. Could be worth looking into after the season ends.

But honestly, I don't have a problem with the way the comments work now. The site functions smoothly, everything looks good. Oh, and the blog's not bad ;-)

[Duffy]

Re: "going under the hood," or some such, to tweak the pagination of the blog

Dom -- for the sake of all of us, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[anon man]

zsparks, Drawing on from what aaalex says, its really the opportunity to see them in their environment. I'm unlikely to ever hire a caterer contestant from L.A. for anything, but I could certainly drop in on an eatery while visitng a city. And, as foodies, I think we all like the "behind the curtain" aspects of RW. For the same reasons that Kitchen Confidential was such a great success (the book, not the show), RW draws on that.

The formula isn't perfect, of course. I'm not a big fan of the "decorate it yourself" aspects and the FOH job someone has to do. I know most chefs spend some time waiting (even if its just at CIA), but this isn't top waiter or top decorator. I suppose the theory is the winner might open a restaurant (although most already run places), so they want to see what they will do with a blank canvas. Personally, I think this is silly, as a good chef is probably going to find a FOH/GM type to deal with that.

I would actually prefer RW to be more like the steak house challenge in Chicago: everyone does a couple dishes to order with an expediter and professional wait staff. I realize that many would consider tampering with the forumal heresy akin to asking for ketchup for a filet, but I'm ok being a heretic.

[Danny]

Yes, you are right anon man. I hate that they have to decorate the restaurant and that one of them has to be front of house. Let's say that Kevin, who is a brilliant chef, is assigned to FOH by the EC and he is a terrible greeter and waiter plus he decorated the restaurant very poorly. Would it make any sense that he would be dismissed by the judges when he is arguably the best chef? Wouldn't that be a travesty? Would the judges actually do that? If the answer is no to these questions, then why should any of them be FOH? Yes one FOH person did get dismissed but she was also in charge of the kitchen and that seemed to be the main reason they told her to PYKAG.

[babyarm]

Two things about RW irritate me

-Having a current contestant run front of house. They have kept the dead bodies on ice for the last few seasons. Thaw a few out and pick them to run it. Ash could certainly handle that. Not sure who the other one would be but it would be funny to see Mateen do it.

-The Decor thing. I know it's another sponsor tie-in, but what a waste of time. Note that the dishes made by the decor people that aren't FOH tend to be the weakest. These people aren't decorators they are chefs.

[Luray]

I would say it has probably been discussed enough, but I'm going to add something anyhow- I think it's hard to put the whole Robin thing in perspective since we aren't living in the house with them all for 20 days and going through the schedule they do, so it's hard to understand their feelings when we only see such a small part of their experience. And though I like to see the shots of them joking around with each other to get an idea of who they are or their insights on each other's food, I would rather just see the food and the cooking.
For my perspective, I share an office with someone similar to Robin- who is constantly talking wether anyone is listening or not or if she is bothering anyone or not. It can be very frustrating and I can't imagine having to live with her. Though a few have mentioned that someone should speak to Robin, if that's her personality, then what are you supposed to say? That would be like telling Mike I not to speak. A person might be able to be quiet for a bit when it's mentioned, but it's who they are, so you can't really nicely tell someone to stop being themselves.
It's human when you're all frustrated by the same person to talk about it. Of course it seems childish and rude from the outside, but can everyone say they have never talked about someone behind their back that was annoying them?
On a food note. Kevin makes me want to have a reason to go to Atlanta so I can try his food. Not many other chefs on the seasons have done that.

[anon man]

@Danny, when Radhika as FOH got booted it was because, as you point out, she was also "in charge" of the kitchen, but I think mainly because she royally pooched the reservations. She ran it like a doctor's office. Everyone had a reservation at 8 (or thereabouts) and it was doomed to failure. I think Leann had a blog about the clusterf*** that was that restaurant's reservation book.

[Nadzag]

100% agreement with those who say RW's need to go or change. It's not Top Host(ess) or Top Decorator. (Isn't that on another network? :-) To take a page from Ash's book: Picasso my have had to wash his own brushes, and washing them will certainly effect a painting... but who would be nutty enough to critique him on it? Like RW, it's just silly.

[ROBO-PUNTER]

Surprised at all those who would least mind Michael V going home of all those in the top 4. If the show was set up so that I had to fund a restaurant for the winner, that would probably be my opinion. I'd much rather put up cash for Kevin or Bryan or Jennifer, who have all shown more consistency and level-headedness. And maybe you can even make an argument that, of the four, Michael has the least delicious food. But he also has the craziest, riskiest, most far-out food, and that is the most interesting to me. Kevin has won like a madman making Coliccio food -- few ingredients, simple, perfectly executed. Jenn has done the same. But I'd rather lose either of them than either of the Voltaggio brothers because the brothers are just more interesting.

Kevin is thoughtful and kind. Jennifer is high-strung and a perfectionist. That's really all the producers are giving us. Bryan, despite mostly talking in ROBO-TONE, has shown a much more interesting complexity of character, to say nothing about food. You can tell that he is fighting the Blais battle about just how high-tech to go on every challenge. You can tell that he gets angry. Kevin doesn't seem to; Jennifer tells us that she is but doesn't act like it. Michael meanwhile can be petulant, short-tempered, and cocky, but qualities are not half as offensive as they were on Lisa (or are on Eli) because he backs it up with execution.

The one person I really do not want to see leave is Bryan, and if possible having both brothers in the finals would be perfect. The gamesmanship alone (how ambitious? how cutting edge? what's the other guy going to do?) would make the finals super tense. Kevin filling it out would be perfect: Bryan knows that Kevin outflanks him on to the "simple" side, and Michael to the "avant garde" side, so if neither of them screws up, his path to victory is very difficult.

I think restaurant wars is the best challenge because, historically, the Top Chef contestants didn't have their own restaurant (the best ran someone else's) but all wanted one. Restaurant Wars is what they want in real life. How often do you get a dress rehersal for your life? It's not top decorator? Well, if you own the restaurant, you do have to decide how to decorate it. Not place everything on the wall yourself, but choose a theme and hire someone to execute it. Not top waiter? If all you can afford is a hole-in-the-wall, you may well have to be. Even if not, the staff is your responsibility in the end anyway. In real life, you hire/partner with people to cover your weaknesses. On the show, you try and convince teammates to do it.

Of course, now that the show is attracting such a high caliber of contestants, some of the chaotic excited/nervous/eager/terrified vibe has left the challenge, but watch the Season 3 RW episodes and tell me there isn't something really exciting going on there.

[jh]

"It's not Top Host(ess) or Top Decorator."

While this is true, many of the contestants are or want to be chef/owners in their regular lives. Running one's own restaurant involves cooking good food, service, ambiance, and cooperation. It's a vision of both the food and the experience. How often have you gone into a restaurant and thought, "Food was great, BUT.." and insert service was horrible/food was overpriced, and then decided the bad experience is not worth going back for the food. You can argue that it's not the chef's job to serve the food or decorate, but for RW, they do have help with the service and setting up the location, but the chefs are required to have at least a vision. It's a presentation of the food beyond the plate. RW also requires the chefs to come together and work as a team. In a kitchen, you are rarely, if ever, on your own. You may be in charge of your individual station, but the stations must come together to execute one theme.

As for the elimination of RW, the judging still centers around the food. And more often than not, the contestant with the worst food goes home. If the teams are similar in terms of food quality, then other factors do come into play. Tom may have talked about it his blog in years past. If wine can enhance a meal, then vanilla candles can detract. Family style seating worked with the food, etc.

They could switch it up a bit. Maybe tell them they have to do a gastro pub, cafe, fine dining, or seafood restaurant or each dish served must contain a "secret ingredient" like rice. In general, I do like RW as it currently is.

[doktarr]

Of course you like Bryan the best, ROBO-PUNTER. That need not be said. Michael V. is the kind of guy who would go for it on 4th down. Kevin is the guy who just keeps putting points on the board. Bryan is the one who drops it inside the 5, all while speaking in a monotone.

I thought Bryan and Michael's interviews on the Bravo blogs were pretty illustrative. I like the way they brushed off the sibling rivalry stuff.

I love the "a great cook who can't do well in restaurant wars is like a great writer who doesn't publish", aaalex. For better or for worse, it's part of the industry. It's a lot more meaningful than who can MacGyver a broiler using spare sheet metal, chicken wire, and a trash can fire.

[Kristin]

Re: Julie's comment,

Why do one of the women have to pull her aside and tell her she's annoying? Why aren't you holding the male chefs to the same standards of decency? I feel attitudes like that are exactly why men can behave like such assholes -- because people don't expect more from them, in the kitchen or not.

Also, it's been two male chefs who've ragged on Robin the most. Why does this make you think that women can't work together? I think heaping unfair (in relation to what you expect from the male chefs) expectations of an agreeable disposition and "you-go-girl" support from the female chefs is far more damaging to women in the kitchen than a lack of intervention from Jen and Laurine.

[mar]

Re: RW decorating. I don't remember exactly but I thought in at least one early season (S2? I didn't see S1) there were actual decorators brought in for that part of RW. Maybe one person from each team directed the decorators but it wouldn't have taken all their time away from the kitchen. Am I remembering this right? Seems like that's not a bad way to go - keep the contestants cooking.

[Danny]

"I think restaurant wars is the best challenge because, historically, the Top Chef contestants didn't have their own restaurant (the best ran someone else's) but all wanted one. Restaurant Wars is what they want in real life. How often do you get a dress rehersal for your life? It's not top decorator? Well, if you own the restaurant, you do have to decide how to decorate it. Not place everything on the wall yourself, but choose a theme and hire someone to execute it. Not top waiter? If all you can afford is a hole-in-the-wall, you may well have to be."

The problem I have with this thought, Robo-Punter, is that by this logic they should also have to negotiate leases for the restaurant, get city permits, negotiate a health plan, do payroll, hire an exterminator, do job interviews,get approval from the Health Board, pay the bills and do the books.

Most of us watch TC primarily for the food. While in real life a restaurant owner might also have to be a decorator, host and wait staff having one of the chefs do these chores means we get to see less of them cooking. I love watching them make choices at Whole Foods. I don't find it interesting to watch them go through plates, cutlery and candles at Crate and Barrel. FOH usually makes no food or at best, one dish. I would rather watch that person cook food and interact with the other chefs while cooking then watch one of them take orders from customers. Like the time spent on drama, time spent watching someone be host takes away time spent on cooking and hearing about the dishes.

[zsparks]

Anon Man: I think it would be more like asking for a filet to go with your ketchup, which would be an improvement, even if it were still uncouth.

Babyarm: Huzzah to the dead bodies. Mattin, CJ, Leeanne, and Fabio for FOH.

On decor comments: Exactly! Suddenly, someone is on Top Decorator (or whatever it's called), and I would rather stick needles in my eyes than watch that. Dale's scented candles are the evidence that this is a mistake.

Robo: I love Mike V. I think he's getting beat up a little because he's the only one of the top four who regularly displays some emotion. I'm going to be sad when any of the four go, and I don't remember feeling that way in another season.

jh: I absolutely agree that in creating a real restaurant, these things are critical. If the finale were a portfolio, a la P Run, it would make perfect sense to score all of these things for each contestant after giving them more than 48 hours to pull it together.

Kristin: Olbermann said that in his experience, approximately 100% of journalists are egomaniacs. Is it possible that this is true of chefs, too? I don't see how they could get where they are without the confidence. Annoying people are part of the package. ( Whatever you heard, it's not true - I am NOT exactly like Robin!)

[rab01]

Following up on Kristin's comment, I don't see what's inappropriate about Jen muttering "Oh, God" and leaving the room when Robin started on about someone moving around the sugar and salt. Robin has said in interviews that she talks constantly and that her restaurant staff have learned to distinguish between when she's talking to herself and to them. What should Jen really do in that situation?

The Robin thing is really uncomfortable to watch because it's making it clear that most of the others find her irritating and that is never fun to watch. But they have not shown a whole lot of "pack mentality" behavior towards her. As far as I've seen, they've shown one asshole (Mike I), a few interview clips, some complaining by Laurine, and one fight (Eli) but no bullying. At worst, one could say that she's becoming ostracized. If you were in that house and found yourself really irritated by another contestant's behavior, isn't the most mature thing you can do to withdraw from their presence as much as possible?

To turn back to food, as soon as Ash said that he was following an idea from Mike I, I turned to my brother and said that idiot is going home. For Ash to take someone else's advice the day after being reamed for playing second-fiddle the day before, showed that he had way less right to stay in the competition than (say) Robin, almost regardless of how his dish turned out.

[jh]

zparks, you pose an interesting thought that I think would be a good way to mix up RW and the finale. Having no concept on how much money they get for production, food, etc., I think it would be an interesting idea for the finale that the final 2-3 contestants get x amount for decorating a set space and y amount for food. They then have those few months to plan a restaurant opening, with the finale being "opening day" for the mock restaurants. Critique would still be food first, vision second, but there would be less scrambling than the normal 48 hours they are given. Twists would probably be a given, but if opening your own restaurant is often the ultimate goal of the contestants, why not make it the final exam?

[ROBO-PUNTER]

"Most of us watch TC primarily for the food. While in real life a restaurant owner might also have to be a decorator, host and wait staff having one of the chefs do these chores means we get to see less of them cooking. I love watching them make choices at Whole Foods. don't find it interesting to watch them go through plates, cutlery and candles at Crate and Barrel. FOH usually makes no food or at best, one dish. I would rather watch that person cook food and interact with the other chefs while cooking then watch one of them take orders from customers. Like the time spent on drama, time spent watching someone be host takes away time spent on cooking and hearing about the dishes."

That is 100% fair and a very good point. Part of it is probably that I am a sucker for all of these "you have a limited amount of time to create an idea, then execute it" kind of shows, so seeing what kind of theme and decorations the chefs come up with is a plus rather than a letdown. For example seeing Hung, who put together so many elegant and refined plates of food, team up with Dale to create a bizarre and almost disturbing dining room THAT THEY BOTH LOVED. Watching Marcel, always blabbing about his foams and chemistry and avant garde cuisine and foams, stretch way out and run... a diner? Learning why Stephen (wine guy) should never ever ever be allowed out of the kitchen.

I do think that Restaurant Wars is one of if not the best forum to watch the contestants "interact with the other chefs," however. And not just because of the almost inevitable meltdowns (Crying Old Man Dale, Angry Don't-Call-Me-Young-Man Dale, Radhika). They have to subordinate their personal preferences to the restaurant theme. They have to work together, first planning and then cooking. They have more "chef talk" in that one challenge than probably all the other team problems combined.

Hopefully this year will be the first where both teams succeed, and choosing the winner is hard. So far we've had one deeply flawed team beat another (S1, S5), both teams suck amazingly (S2, S3 take one), and one team smash the other into the ground (S4, S3 redux). Given that the top four are evenly split up, into the teams that make the most sense, if you will? Odds seem pretty good!

PS: Watched the teaser videos -- the idea of the blindfolded, sequential cooking quickfire is BRILLIANT. Obviously we don't know much so far, but the first two minutes makes me think that it will be one of the best quickfires ever. Also a little happy to see Bryan going into Executive Chef Mode and yelling at people for being ridiculous and immature. On the other hand, I'm feeling some serious trepidation to see that Jennifer is worrying that she isn't ready -- given the history so far, that is a guarantee that her team wins and given Coliccio's blog comments, maybe Michael V goes home.

[Naomi]

jh, interesting idea! Sort of like what they do with Project Runway. I like it!

I also like this I would actually prefer RW to be more like the steak house challenge in Chicago: everyone does a couple dishes to order with an expediter and professional wait staff.

I agree that it's interesting to know what decor the contestants would choose etc... and definitely understand how important it is in the grand scheme of restaurant planning. But I also feel that with the time constraints they're given, they are being set-up to fail. That's my main problem. A chef should have a vision and a tremendous amount of input in the look and feel of their restaurant. They should not however have their dish suffer because they have 48 hours to buy decor and literally hang the pictures on the walls.

[zsparks]

Robo, I think you actually talked me into it!

[Hillary]

I still miss Ashley...

The top 4 of this episode should be the final top 4, OR ELSE! :)

I hope Kevin or Bryan or Jen win this whole thing. Mike V is getting on my nerves.

[Shelly]

Rab01, of course it's a pack mentality. They stand together against her in every video clip, whether it's wearing scarves to protest Mattin's being kicked off while she stayed, to preparing meals and excluding her with silence and sly looks shared among them. They've made it clear that there's no room for her in their pack.

Re: RWs, To me chefs have to know all the things involved in RW to run successful restaurants. It doesn't mean they have to personally do them once they have their own places, but when they hire someone and oversea them they need to be aware of the needs of such a position enough to know that it's being done right. Any chef that insulates himself or herself in the kitchen before finding trusted, competent staff is doomed to failure.

[SorchaRei]

It looks like a pack mentality to me, too.

Eli also looks (at least as he's been edited) like a spoiled child who has no idea how to co-exist with people who are not genetically inclined to adore him.

Example, replete with irony: Robin washes a cutting board and puts it on the counter while she's making dinner. He uses it and then leaves the kitchen. She passive-aggressives at him about cleaming it, and he ends up yelling at her that she is NOT HIS MOTHER. But, in my experience, he is treating her as if she is his mother -- using her stuff and not cleaning up after himself.

In what world does a roommate who is barely on civil speaking terms with another think it is okay to grab and use and leave dirty something that the other roommate cleaned for herself? I don't even do that to my husband, and I'm on better-than-barely-civil terms with him. I might have tried it on with my mom when I was a teenager, but she wouldn't have let me get away with it. So I conclude, spoiled kid who has little real-world getting-along-with-housemates experience.

[Duffy]

Pack mentality?? That everyone seems to get along with everyone else except for Robin, whom no one gets along with, is the "pack's" fault? Nonsense. Robin managed, all by herself, to individually and separately antagonize every other person in the household -- despite clear attempts early on by most of the others to make friends and get along.

It is obvious now that she has no allies, and that all turn and run when she hovers into view -- but I do not see this as any "pack" response but rather to individual self-preservation on the part of each of the other individuals.

Anyone exposed to a clingy, incessantly nattering, intrusive, bossy know-it-all quickly learns that the only defense is distance and avoidance.

[mena]

But they haven't been using distance & avoidance. They talk trash about Robin as a group, loudly enough for her to hear. They insult her to her face. Eli laughed & bragged about being the most aggressive with her. And Michael V talked about her like she was merely an object for Eli to grope.

The other chefs are responsible for their part in this escalating problem - they can't blame it all on Robin.

Someone needed to be the bigger person and it doesn't look like anyone was.

[Duffy]

I don't necessarily mean to defend the actions of others towards Robin. Eli's fued is well covered, and Mike I's opinions have not been kept to himself. I do think that each of the chefs now act and react to Robin from and for their own best interest, and not out of any "pack loyalty." In large measure, the others -- other than Eli and Mike -- do appear to try to take cover when Robin is around. Granted, this means no one steps in when the fireworks start -- but what we have seen so far appear to have been ignited by Robin herself.

[jkelley]

Leanne's blog for the Macy's challenge is up. She has interesting things to say about the food and the quality of this year's cheftestants.

[Steve]

I'm somewhat disappointed that the top four were split up for Restaurant Wars...would rather see them all survive RW - and having a 3/1 or 4/0 split of them on the teams would certainly guarantee that, since the top four this year are virtually mistake-proof (in fact, generally superb) in the eliminations. I don't expect their dishes to send them home.

FOHers in the past have created at least one dish to ensure they could be credited with cooking. So there is an opening for them to be sent home for their cooking and the handling of the FOH. So Eli and Laurine (most likely) are at risk.

I think the Voltaggios have a tight rein on Robin. So I don't expect her to make a major mistake.

Mike I. on the other hand, I find to be at risk if he's the EC and have no one better to correct any mistakes he might make. He's been generally consistent in producing decent/good food during the eliminations, but hasn't always made mistake-free food.

[paula]

Just read Lee Ann's two most recent blog posts. Fascinating stuff, and I appreciate her straightforward take. She certainly isn't all that impressed with Mike I's cooking. And she calls out Ron on the camping challenge for deciding to "serve some shit in a coconut shell." Zing!

Pleasepleasepleaseplease no more talk about Robin v. Everyone? Can't we all agree that it's all been said by now?

[Duffy]

I keep getting more impressed with Laurene the more I read her stuff.

http://www.leftcoastcatering.com/blog/

[jkelley]

I agree Duffy, she does a nice job explaining her thought process and is appropriately reflective about her mistakes. I looked for Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs when I went to Trader Joes today.

Hear, Hear Paula! I'm so done with the "but she, but he" stuff. As far as I'm concerned I was spoiled this summer by the Masters. I'm ignoring any season 6 bad behavior in salute to Hubert, Rick and Anita!

[gilmore]

Agree Paula and jkelley - Masters spoiled us. No more about Robin vs. the world.

Stefan made it popular last year - time for it again. There are multiple douches in the house. Let them be douches. I care about the cooking and am able to block the douches out. TC will never be douche free. Accept it, ignore it and move on.

[timothy]

Two points:1) I am not sure I agree with the characterization that Kevin does "simple food." I guess it depends how one defines that phrase, but this week he made what? Pork pate with vinegar cherries and pork fat mayonnaise? And there were traces of hazelnut in ther too because the vineyard in Oregon has hazelnut trees? I probably don't have that just right but whatever it was, it doesn't seem simple as much as precise and delicious. Same with his bacon jam, reconstructed mole, and all the rest. His food seems well conceived, well prepared and unfussy. But there is complexity there. 2) RW- I get the point about how the decorating and all that is a bit silly, but I like the episode because it adds to how the show allows me to imagine. As a viewer TC is all about imagining in the sense that I cannot taste the food. RW allows me to imagine what it would be like to go the restaurants of this group of chefs. It is definitely contrived, but it gives insight which enhances my imagination and thus my enjoyment.

[SorchaRei]

When I say Kevin does simple food, I mean that there are only one or two things on the plate. As he himself noted in this episode, this means that everything on the plate has to be perfect. On a more complicated plate, say one with a protein, two vegetables, a sauce and two condiments, if one of those items is just okay, or even flat, it can be totally made up for by the awesomeness of the rest of the items. Kevin has no breathing room in his constructions -- every part of it has to be perfect, every time.

Now, with this group, when they get to the finale, everything is going to have to be perfect, anyway. But in the run-up, his tendency to create simple plates does mean what he says it means.

I'd call his plates simple, and the things he puts on them precise, intelligent, and sometimes complicated to create.

[timothy]

Sorcharei-
Yeah. Fair enough. I just know I could never make food like he makes which is what made me think his food was complex. Admittedly, however, using my own cooking limits as the definition of complexity is setting the bar pretty low.

[dc]

Robin is the yipping Chihuahua that keeps going after all the big dogs, even when they growl warning at her to stay away. The other dogs don't know how to handle it. They know if they attack her back they will be the one blamed, scolded or even put down.

Robin is a bully.

That's my epiphany on the TC6 drama. Yes, I love food that is TC main dish. But if I only want to watch fine food made in a competition, minus interpersonal drama... I'll stick to Iron Chef.

I'm really looking forward to RW clash. I wonder how it will compare to prior seasons with so much firepower heading both kitchens.

Ash is a wierd and cool guy I'd most like to hang with. I wish they showed more of him over some of the others in non-chef related bits. C'est la vie Ash.

[Julie]

Regarding Restaurant Wars...I love the whole idea that the team is responsible for the concept, decoration and cooking. As someone who has never worked in a restaurant, it has given me a new respect for the controlled, sometimes uncontrolled, chaos going on behind the scenes. I do find the time limit frustrating however. I would love to see TC extend RW to two weeks, let the teams name an Exe Chef then give the EC the chance to hire an outside decorator and FOH person. TC could bring in a group of experienced people to be interviewed. Then those hirees would handle the shopping and decoration of the restaurant. Kind of like Project Runway does for the finalists...they get to choose their own models for the final show. This would give the viewers an idea of what kind of employer the EC would be and give all the chefs a change to just cook and/or expedite.

This process may put even more pressure on the EC but that's the whole point of the showm right?

[Cheryl]

Just some random comments:

RW - I think the season where they had designers to decorate the restaurants was the same season where they literally had a "do over" and repeated the contest for a second night. That was either season 2 or 3.

RW - it is a dress rehearsal but remember in Season 4, the team that won had 2 people who had opened their own restaurants (Blais and Stephanie) and one in the process - Antonia. Stephanie won for dishes and her FOH. We've also seen where, if FOH is done ok, that person lives to cook another day (Spike) but if done poorly, is on the chopping block (Rhadika).

The Robin situation - On epidsode one, vices challenge, Eli described himself as a cynic. We are seeing Eli as he is. He's a cynic, but not a sociopath. If Robin wasn't there, he'd still be making snarky comments, they'd just be about someone or something else. As others have said, I think the whole situation is driven by the environment. As a person who treasures privacy and solitude, I'd go crazy if I had to live with someone who was constantly talking. The other problem is there is nowhere to go to get away from it. No TV to give everyone something to talk about besides the that day's challenges, etc. You can't even tune out with an ipod, computer or a good book. I think they should at least let these people have a tv to watch DVD's - but then they would probably criticize each other on movie choices! I'd probably spend my non challenge and meal time hours pretending to sleep just to escape it.

[Independent George]

RW - it is a dress rehearsal but remember in Season 4, the team that won had 2 people who had opened their own restaurants (Blais and Stephanie) and one in the process - Antonia. Stephanie won for dishes and her FOH. We've also seen where, if FOH is done ok, that person lives to cook another day (Spike) but if done poorly, is on the chopping block (Rhadika).

That's going to be the interesting thing about this season. Bryan and Robin have both opened their own restaurants, Jennifer, Kevin, Michael, Mike, Eli are all ECs, and Laurine owns her own catering business. Basically, everybody is used to being the boss. Even before seeing the preview, I thought we might very well be in a situation where there are literally too many chefs in the kitchen. RW is as much about organization/logistics as it is about cooking, so I think the winner will be the team that can manage personnel better.

[Cheryl]

totally agree Independent George...will be interesting to see how the Executive Chefs are selected and if the others on that team accord the same amount of respect and deference they would in a professional kitchen to The EC or if they let their personal opinions about who they think is the better chef influence their behavior. Those clips with Michael and Robin going at it over a dessert that she says is her dish and he's trying to change/edit are very telling. What each team needs to remember is that if you have the best restaurant, who cares who wins the challenge because you aren't on the chopping block. Alot of disagreement/conflict in the kitchen puts everyone at risk (season 4 - Dale and Lisa were their own worst enemies and being EC was Dale's downfall).

[natmcistef]

dc; I really like your analogy - describes it exactly imo

[altoids]

While I hate to restart the Robin-vs-everybody-fire, I think this clip illustrate what's going on.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/90617/top-chef-dont-record-us

This is from the first week, indicating that the Robin-hate has been going on for awhile. It's pretty clear that Mike I. is a verbal aggressor, but also quite self-depreciating. It's just the way he talks.

If Robin is actually in the boys' hot tub, then she is inviting ridicule. But it's surprising, and a bit disappointing, that Jen Norris is playing sidekick to Mike I. in his Robin-is-a-desperate-mantrap monologue. You can see Preeti laughing uneasily.

FWIW, I'm really enjoying the "Stir Crazy in Sin City" clips. It's pretty clear that Mattin and Hector were popular, explaining the handkerchief-solidarity thing. Mike I. and Jen Norris are apparently inseparable, they're always appearing in the same shots. To their credit, Bryan and Kevin seem to stay above the drama, only remarking benignly from time to time.

[Duffy]

Sorry, altoids, I disagree that the clip gives even a shred of a clue as to "what's going on." The clip -- and for that matter all of the non-cooking vignettes we see on all of the episodes -- are just that: clips. No context, no story development, and no follow-up.

I think the only thing that can be gleaned from the clip is that Isabella is an engaging drinking companion who enjoys telling jokes and funny stories, and that Jen likes to party. Reading come sort of conspiratorial plot against Robin into this is just plain silly.