Top Chef Masters - S2E9 Postmortem

Uhhhhh... better late than never?

While I can't say I've been troubled by this season like some others have, I expect that's what you've been missing.

The camaraderie was back in full swing, and even ultra-competitive Samuelsson was exceptionally gracious in talking about Waxman (though we don't know whether this took place before or after the elimination). The love is back in TCM, and this is a good thing.

First thing, chefs, clearly you haven't watched much Top Chef. A day off is NEVER a day off. We know you're doing important things like, you know, running restaurants, and it's hard to stay on top of watching a show where half the contestants couldn't survive on your line, much less run the place. But should you be asked to return in future seasons, I think you'll find a modicum of internet research most illuminating.

Also notable this week was, I thought, a little bit of vindication for the critics. It's been suggested lately that perhaps the critics are being too hard on certain dishes, or not getting others, but between Moonen's broth and Samuelsson's shrimp, it's nice to see that the critics are catching errors that the chefs recognize as such. You're not sneaking anything past them. No five-hole on this panel (sorry... um... playoff hockey time).

But the big news, of course, is that we have a field for the finale and have to bid Waxman goodbye. As much as I hate to see him go, much like Feniger, I think it was his time. It could very well be that his style of cooking simply isn't well-suited to winning a competition judged by this panel, and I'm open to the possibility that that's a failing on their part, not his. But again, it's really hard to say. While it's tough for a restaurant to go too simple if the execution's tack sharp (though the proverbial "figs on a plate" may be pushing it), I'm in the camp that believes you have to draw the line somewhere for a cooking competition. Either way, particularly with Waxman fading and Samuelsson finishing strong, I think we got the right trio for the finale.

And who's not jazzed to see what these guys come up with? I really hope they stick with the same format as last season. The "meal of your life" is such an elegant showcase and so perfect for the show's theme that I'd be more than okay with them never touching it as long as the show's on the air.

Discuss!

Comments

[Kevin Hoey]

Go Hawks!

[Dan V.]

I feel for Waxman. Still, I think Susur's going to take the whole thing. I wonder what the vegas odds are on him.

Also, is it me or does Oseland consistently score everyone lower on average?

[garik16]

Bye Obi-Wan.

The Elves were strong tonight....it seemed pretty clear that the Elves made it seem that Susur would win until his name was called first.

Still he kicked ass and is clearly the favorite to win it all. Once again he demonstrates something that not even every top chef master has been able to accomplish:

HE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE GOOD DESSERTS!

Was anyone else reminded heavily of Art Smith by Waxman's dish? The same fries + Simple food.....

[Lou_NJ]

Over time the most disappointing aspect of the show has been Oseland's criticisms. He has added very little of value.

[kira]

Did anyone understand what Susur way saying at the end of the show (during the teaser for next week)? It sounded like he said, "My wife was shot down in Russian airspace. Suddenly the dream is over."

I'm kinda thinking I didn't hear him quite right...

[lamelama22]

@kira:

Yes that's what he said. I thought it was odd as well, so I looked him on Wikipedia. Apparently his wife was part of the "Korean airline massacre", where a Soviet fighter jet shot down a passenger jet, a Korean Airlines Boeing 747, flying from the US to South Korea which was slightly off course. Apparently the Soviets shot it down without trying to radio them or give them a warning, and the pilot knew it was a passenger jet. Then they lied about all that stuff until the fall of the USSR.

Since the final challenge is probably very similar to last season's: "cook your career/life in a 4 course meal", you can bet that one of his meals will be dedicated to this part of his life. They were probably working on opening a restaurant at the time... and so her death was probably the death of the dream of their life together and temporarily, of his restaurant.

Also, on the note of this episode... Waxman was the only contestant I was even interested in watching anymore, and I might not even watch the finale now. As soon as I saw him making roast chicken, I knew he was gone, just because it was "too simple" for this part in the competition, even though the judges seem to criticize all of the plates much more harshly. It's especially funny to me, since his plate is the only one I would even consider eating, and I think serving raw pork is much more egregious than not attempting something super complex. And as for Suser kicking ass... there are not many times & places where trying to create a vagina cracker would be well received, so um, yea. It surprised me he scored that high, but I guess it was the right crowd.

[jh]

@kira: Close captioning wasn't showing up on my tv, but from what I can deduce, he said, "My wife, her plane got shot down in Russian airspace. Suddenly, the dream is gone."

Chiarello had a huge problem with Oseland last season. Though Chiarello wasn't my favorite contestant, the more I see Oseland's scores and criticisms, the more I think Chiarello had a right to have a beef with him. My small gripe with Oseland is that I sometimes feel that he cannot completely separate his own personal preferences/biases/preconceptions from the dish that is in front of him, and he docks a large number of points based on sometimes petty (in my mind and Elves editing) things. Like eating a nice hunk of beef while tailgating. What he also the judge that had the problem when Chiarello used dried spaghetti?

I want Waxman to roast some chicken for me to eat. That would really comfort me.

[Danny]

My problem with this episode is that the judges didn't take into account the difficulty that different chef's faced. As soon as I saw Susur's words I pretty much knew what he was going to make and sure enough he made what I thought he would. The dish practically made itself. On the other hand, Waxman had "burnt sienna" "depressed" "avocado". Words that were infinitely more challenging than Susur's. Can anyone not think of a dish that Susur could have made? Can anyone think of a great dish that would satisfy the words that Waxman was given? Avocado left out after peeled so that it turns brown....yum.

[aaalex]

yeah, jonathan had a tricky combination of words. but susur's dish did not "make itself". it was a dessert and it's far from certain that a chef will be able to make a credible dessert. it's almost axiomatic that desserts bring chefs down on this show. that he had the second highest dish was impressive and his dessert sounded very good. (and susur didn't make a "vagina cracker". a woman at the table suggested the cracker looked like a vagina ... not like any of the vaginas i've seen, but nevermind ...)

the problem with jonathan's dish wasn't the simplicity. i think that's a false issue, here. his plate looked uninteresting and even the groundlings were only mildly impressed with the food. (3 stars. they gave rick 3 1/2) if jonathan had gone with the same idea he had (comfort food to combat depression) and executed/plated in a more inventive way, he would have beaten moonen, i bet. (i can't think of anything more off-putting than raw pork ... a trichinosis special.)

i know we've been wondering about how much taste should count for and it should, obviously, count for much, but jonathan - going by the judging - served roast chicken that tasted like good roast chicken, not excellent roast chicken. he came up with a good concept and he failed to execute it at a high enough level. he deserved to go and, in the end, he was probably READY to go. weeks ago, it seemed like he'd had enough.

unlike lamelama22, i think the three best chefs left in the competition made it to the finale. i really WANT to see the personal stories reflected in the food of samuelsson, lee and moonen.

lee lost his wife - a canadian woman - as they were going to canada to start a new life. he was young. it sounds like she was his first great love and he was devastated, not only because he lost the love of his life, but i imagine because he had survivor guilt. the food network did a documentary on susur that was quite good. the dislike for him, here and at other blogs, is a little baffling to me. i think he's a great chef and he has been impressive, week in week out. (the only moment i hold against him is the sopranos comment to mantuano.) the last episode is a toss up. any one of these chefs is good enough to win on any given day, but i hope susur wins. to me, he's been the most consistently impressive.

[Danny]

aaalex, I overstated when I said the dish made itself. I meant that the concept of the dish practically made itself. Given the words that Susur got, I knew exactly what he was going to make (obviously with some variations). He didn't need to spend much time coming up with the concept of the dish. Waxman, on the other hand, got a very difficult word combo which didn't lend itself well to a dish. Comfort food doesn't convey depressed to me....it conveys the opposite. I'm not saying that he wasn't the one who should have gone but I didn't hear any one acknowledge that he had a more difficult (or obsucre) challenge than some of the others since he had to convey burnt sienna depressed avocado.

I should say that I have no dislike for any of the four chefs and would be thrilled to eat any of their food. I'm near Vegas but Moonen's is just a wee bit pricey for me right now, but someday.......

[juli]

My DVR cut out five minutes early last night. I know Waxman was sent home but I can't tell who won.
Was is Susar or Marcus?

[Megan H.]

@ Juli - Marcus won, by half a star.

I think I spent more time thinking about the original TC challenge during this episode than paying attention to what the Masters were doing with the concept. Let us not forget that the original TC variation of this challenge included polish-sausage-gate, which lead to Ted Allen mentioning this blog in his Bravo blog. Which lead me (and I'm sure many, many others, directly or indirectly) to this site. So, a happy episode, if only for that reminder.

Sad that Waxman went, but it was probably his time. Excited to see what they do for the finale!

[Janet]

Danny,
I ate at RM Seafood last weekend. Dig around in your sofa cushions, sell your car, mow the neighbor's lawn. Do anything to get some extra cash, and then go. RM "downstairs" is less pricey. Dinner for two was about $230, which included tip & a bottle of good wine. His food is amazing. Moonen was there, "working" the room. He is friendly and charming. Now that my beloved Waxman is gone, I'm rooting for Rick.

[Anon Man]

I expect to see a blog post reviewing the defensive strategy of letting two Flyers get behind the defense.

[aaalex]

anon man: i'm a sens fan (have to be. ottawa's my home town) but i was a hawks fan growing up. i idolized makita, magnusson and tony esposito/glen hall. if the hawks don't win this - against the world's nastiest team - i'm going to vegas and eat at RM. ie. commit economic suicide.

danny: you're right that jonathan had a trickier combo of words, but i thought his comfort food angle was original and surprising. it doesn't say depression equals comfort food but, rather, depression suggests comfort food ... unless you like depression and want to stay depressed. so, i don't think he failed with the tricky set of words. there any number of ways to do a "comfort foodish" chicken, though. he might have chosen a dish that went better with avocado. but i just think he'd had it. the inspired waxman of the initial episodes had long given way to a man who desperately missed his family and, effectively, wanted out. i think what we saw last night was waxman's creative suicide. i don't believe he actually thought he had a chance with the dish he presented. bbut, of course, i don't know the man, so ...

[doktarr]

Of course, anyone who watched S4 knew what was coming when they went to the improv. I joked to my wife that Susur should have shouted out "monkfish liver".

As others mentioned, we got some very strong misdirection by the elves last night. Normally I can call the loser, and often the winner, but last night I had both wrong. I'm particularly surprised by Moonen's survival - usually, improperly cooking your protein is the unforgivable sin of Top Chef. I'm not going to re-hash the Feniger/simplicity debate of last week, but I don't really recall any criticisms of Waxman's dish that seemed like a red flag.

With Samuelson's win, it's less surprising, simply because it's relatively easy for the editors to play up flaws. The presentation thing was obviously a red herring, but apparently the shrimp really wasn't that bad either.

Still, you've got to give it up for Susur Lee. He really deserves to win this thing and I'll be a bit disappointed if he doesn't. With nearly any other chef in the history of TC/TCM, I would have winced when they chose the desert item, but with Susur I thought, "oh, he's gonna knock that out of the park". And he did. He's been consistently great throughout the elimination challenges over a fairly wide range of dishes, and has put up two of the highest scores in the show's history.

[jh]

Which combination of words is harder:

1. Burnt sienna, depressed, avocado
2. Green, perplexed, tofu

I would be curious to know what Blais would have done with Waxman's words.

[Herb]

Is it my imagination or did Oseland seem to have a hard on for Waxman all season long? I doubt that the dish he was served was only worthy of 2.5 stars, no matter how many restaurants he's eaten at. He's a vindictive, petty bitch.

[gilmore]

Dan V.,, Lou_NJ and Herb: I agree about Oseland.

aalex - I thought Susur said he made a vagina cracker on purpose. Could be wrong. I did laugh that Oseland may not have recognized what it was. May never have seen one. I too HATE the Flyers.

Thanks jh for reminding me about Blais and his creativity. The avocado could have been depressed for not being part of a guacamole, etc., just as the tofu was confused for Blais.

Amazing stories to come from Marcus and Susur. I am excited.

[gilmore]

I should be more clear - Oseland said the cracker was strangely shaped. Did not identify it. Could not identify it?

[bryanD]

Waxman gone. (Aww, and yet!) The necessary outcome per fine dining/ haute cuisine milieu *sniff!*. I can't argue with that. (Otherwise my fried chicken is a true contender!)

PLUS! It makes it a better finals....And the Judges next week!!!?! Bayless, etc! (WOO-HOO! That will be SWEEET!...I want to see Bayless drop his (well-documented) valentines/ smiley face disguise!)

Yes! Waxman gone (boo-hoo!)! Now it's a TRUE 3-way!

In conclusion: great blog (writing) Skilletdoux (when's the book?----Jay Raynor's sucks!--which could explain his mood lately----End of print run???) and a best possible penultima to this *stange* TCM season is upon us now---I was about to give up. It seems there are more Good Elves than Bad Elves after all!

[gilmore]

This is a very nice article about Lee. http://www.shangrestaurant.com/2009/04/08/iron-man-susur-lee/

(The match was a draw).

[rab01]

First, Yay! Now I am totally unspoiled for the upcoming episode. (I was the accidental recipient of some sneaky intel about one of the chefs in the final 3.)
Second, they did acknowledge at the dinner that Waxman had a tough set of words with which to work. But, if this were Iron Chef, Waxman would have totally lost for not making avocado the star of his dish.
Third, Moonen was adamant that he did not serve raw pork and that he checked the internal temperature with a thermometer. Assuming that's right and the judges believed it, it was pretty clear that he was going to outlast Waxman. Based on what we see, Oseland doesn't really like simple food and Rayner rewards risk takers ...

[Lon]

I have the same comment about TCM this season that I often do about TC when it comes to judges. When judges, as rab01 mentioned (Oseland doesn't like simple food and Rayner rewards risk takers), a changing judges panel can really make a difference near the finals because the differences can be so small between contestants. It is entirely probable that if Oseland had been missing rather than Gael, Waxman might have stayed and Moonen gone home.