Top Chef - S7E1 Postmortem

Go ahead, TGP... I deserve it.

Eeeeysh. That was more embarrassing than Eve. And for even more painful reasons. (Just a vehicle to get it to your mouth? John, I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and you're killing me here.) You win... that's the last time I let accolades keep me from putting somebody where I suspect they ought to be.

Couple of surprises, for me, anyway. Kenny apparently hasn't lost a step since shifting from EC to empire management. Stephen's the other big mover, but I'm betting he bounces back. I'm hoping he bounces back. I don't think I can take two early flameouts in the top half, especially if one of them is number two. And Alex shoots out of the middle of the pack, at least for now.

Enough about my broken pride, though... great start to the season! Good challenges, interesting food and the judges are in fine form. It is, of course, still early. I'm sure some who looked shaky will get it together, and some others may have just used their best ammunition and have nowhere to go but down.

A quick note, for those who are wondering, anything that's been broadcast is fair game the moment it hits the sets on the East Coast. And with that, I'll leave the rest for the rankings. On Monday. There's... um... going to be some movement.

*sigh*

Comments

[TGP]

I don't usually gloat but... :)

[Bart]

As soon as I saw [NAME], I knew [s/he] was a goner. Two reasons:

1. [S/he] didn't conform to the "this is how you should look on Reality TV" stereotype.

2. As soon as the dish was described, I knew that contestant was a goner.

That said, I'm very pleased to see my Jersey Boy represent. Very fun first episode, let's hope the contestants combine the fun of the New York City season with a bit of the expertise from the Las Vegas season.

/Tried to keep my post spoiler free since I'm apparently the first commenter. I watch EST. What's the policy, Dom, for people on the East Coast who comment right after they see the episode? Are we OK to say who lost?

[JJH2]

Well, Hippie McGreasyChef is the first to go and I'm glad because he was annoying. I don't think anybody in the house is going to miss him. His dessert had disaster written all over it from the get go, although it actually looked pretty tasty.

Angelo is extremely grating, but seems to have mad skills. I sympathized with the guy who wanted to whack him when he was talking about just returning from Monte Carlo (if I remember correctly).

I was totally rooting for Kenny against Angelo in the showdown and was disappointed when Angelo won. Something rubbed me wrong about Kenny the first time he was on screen, and the fact that he is the CEO of "Passionate Culinary Enterprises" makes him sound like kind of a wanker, but now he's my early fave.

Color me not impressed with some of the guests they have coming up. Nancy Pelosi? Buzz Aldrin? I think I lost my appetite.

[Nicole]

Will the fact that the DC chef was in the bottom four due to poorly prepared fish fuel the Ripert critique? Was he in a fairly strong group?

The consistency in the top 3 between quickfire and elimination challenges seems indicative. I'd like to see what the blonde caterer can do if she learns to manage her time better, but she already seems to be hanging by a slim thread.

[KinderJ]

The whole Angelo/Kenny rivalry actually works for me. The more the merrier, they should push each other to improve. One line I thought was indicative was Kenny saying he was 'The Alpha Male.'

'Aha,' thinks I. 'This one is going to be a handful. And look how he broke down those chickens! Not Hung speed maybe, but close!'

Should be fun.

On Ripert calling out the skin on the fish- I was in the camp that said Ripert will crucify any failure of technique on fish dishes. I have to admit that's not what I saw tonight. I thought he did a very fine job judging, and displayed some of his knowledge without seeming to show off. Good stuff. Plus he inspired the line "I just served one of the best French Chefs' in the world gritty pate. There is no way this is a good thing.'

JJH2- I grant you he is not a culinary great, but what's wrong with Buzz Aldrin? They are doing a NASA challenge, and Neal Armstrong is in deep cover in Ohio. Pelosi does not bother me either, but if there is one thing this blog is mercifully not, it's political. So, yeah, what's wrong with Aldrin? Oh, and did anyone else spot Bordain in the promo reel? He's back baby!

[JJH2]

KinderJ

Well, generally I think Buzz Aldrin is a grasping, doddering old coot desperate for his last 15 minutes of fame before heading off for his last big trip to the moon. And he punched some wacky moon landing conspiracy theorist in the face, which I do not approve of. He just rubs me the wrong way, and I strongly suspect he will add nothing to a challenge that I suspect is going to be gimmicky and lame.

As for Pelosi - the fewer politicians I get with my Top Chef, the better. Although given that Obama is a foodie, I would make an exception for him :-)

[Nicole]

From Tom's blog, perhaps in answer to my earlier question:
"In fact, it’s interesting to note that given how the challenge was structured, each group needed to have a winner and a loser while, in fact, one of the groups was so uniformly strong that any one of the dishes in that group could have won the whole challenge. Those four just happened to be squared off in a heat against each other, so one edged out the others in that group and emerged victorious while another of those very fine dishes landed its chef in the bottom."

[nomnomnom]

Once again, they gave away half the season in the after E1 promo, but whatever. Getting there is half the battle.

Bourdain is back which is a huge plus. Ripert probably lobbied hard. I love Ripert in that role already and that will be a profound improvement.

Padma again shows her dominance over Kelly in her restraint, her manner of speaking, and grace. Yes, some of those overlap, but still. Thank god they waited for her to get her baby situation under control. Great move.

Bacon >>> chicken liver > frozen puff pastry...who knew?

Taking this episode without the promos there's little to be taken away beyond the strong showing from the top 2.

Seems like a good set of chefs and should easily eclipse last season for the first 10 episodes.

[KinderJ]

JJH2- I think this is one of those 'agree to disagree' type situations. I really, really want a manned space program. Given that, I find anything that raises awareness and interest in a manned space program instinctively appealing. I agree that punching people in the face for having ideas you find crazy is, you know, excessive. On the other hand, dude went to the freaking moon. I mean, every time he looks up at night, he is one of the very few people who can think 'I miss that place.' And some random guy pops up and says that he never went.

I do agree that the challenge for NASA is going to be gimmicky as all hell. Not all food that goes up is freeze dried these days, but water weight is still at a premium, so I bet there is some sort of freeze dried/weight related element. And I agree that Aldrin has zero background (that I am aware of) in anything even vaguely related to cooking. But what the hell, it's NASA. Should be good for a laugh.

[Dan N]

@JJH2 I think the issue with Tim's dish being on the bottom had to do with the other components too. Tom basically said that all he had was parsley, aioli, and bass. With the poorly prepared fish playing such a major component of the dish, it makes sense why it was in the bottom.

Also, remember this is depends on how the group does. Tim was up against the borscht, jerk chicken sphere, and gnocchi. All those dishes had no complaints during the tasting, except for Tim's. Although, watching that part again, I realize they edited out the chicken sphere tasting.

[Anon man]

Standard first episode fare. But, that outtake in the stew room. All these people saying they aren't going here to drink or play dice or whatever? Talk about a no fun crowd. Wow. These people need to loosen up.

[Lon]

I enjoyed this first show of the season very much, more than I have in previous years. Unless we get a repeat of season 5 where it started out good, then moved into the doldrums of people afraid to risk anything, I think we're in for another good season.

Somehow I knew John wasn't going to make it. We see this every season. A person may be a good cook, but they can't compete under the kind of pressure that Top Chef brings. I know I couldn't.

[GlennM]

I was very happy to see Waxman in the judging lineup. He may have burned out during TCM, but I still have a soft spot for Obi Wan.

[Tony H]

That guy Ed...wasn't he one of Cat Cora's helpers on ICA?

[Jon Olsen]

Wow, mystery group this year apparently. DOM! wha happen?!? Anyway, it looks like these guys are going to confound our expectations all season.

Loved the relay—notice the format change? The winners of each leg get closer to be able to cook. Rather than having to cook something in order to stay in. Much better than the first round elimination quickfire.

Totally loving Eric Ripert. I wasn't as much of a Toby hater, but there's no way I'd pick him over Ripert.

Also, when Just Desserts starts, I'm hoping for power rankings there, okay? If not, can we just get stills of Gail in fabulous outfits eating giant bowls of stuff?

[Danny]

This was one of those "What were they thinking" episodes. You make a dish with three components and one is store-bought pre-made and you think this is going to be a winning dish? He deserved to go. Only problem with the episode for me is that some of the bad dishes didn't get included because they were in a group with more than one bad dish. I much preferred NY TC when in the first challenge it was groups of two going one on one. All in all this looks to be a good season and hopefully without the uncomfortable interactions that made last season a foodie delight to watch but still hard to view.

[Anthony]

nomnomnom-
I beg to differ, I much prefer Kelly to Padma in terms of a host. Padma has become more or less the 4th judge, she's constantly critiquing the food and seems to be overly serious. Kelly on the other hand seems to have a lot of fun and does what a host should do in my opinion, which is act as a mediator for all the dialogue going on between the chefs and judges.

As far as this season goes going into it I thought that Angelo was the man to beat based on what I could dig up online. Strangely enough though now that he's swept the first episode I'm not as confident in my pick... Does that make sense?

[TGP]

I just wanted one more time to reiterate that being a Beard award semifinalist is meaningless. You just need to be known *in your area*, so if your area has no good food (Metro Detroit, for example), you'll get the votes from the chefs in your area.

[dach]

I'm sad John went early. He seemed the most potential as wierd/fun contestant. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and guess he just isn't good in TC type competition. Maybe he needs his comfort zone, surrounded by his kitchen, staff, recipe notes. I admit it is giving a big benefit of the doubt considering how many seasons TC has been on now, he would fully know the situation he's jumping in to.

Dom was spot on about blonde caterer Jacqueline being low seed. She had all signs of being first challenge sacrificial lamb out of pasture. John pulled a blindside and jumped Jacqueline's place in queue. It will be a huge upset if she is not eliminated next week.

Still early to get much sense of anyone. But Kenny versus Angelo was the initial storyline, we'll see how deep it goes. Kenny "alpha male" versus Angelo who looks like he's been around the block a few times and then some. They both clear 1/2 throughout the QF race.

[dach]

BTW, Fun quiz on Top Chef Las Vegas:

http://www.hwdyk.com/q/quiz/index.cfm?howwellID=847

I got 26/30. Brought back memories.

[mncharm]

"You make a dish with three components and one is store-bought pre-made and you think this is going to be a winning dish?"

I was willing to bet my life savings that John was gone when he said "I've never bought this brand [of pre-made dough] before...."

Other than that spoiler, enjoyed the episode. Will be curious to see the Angelo/Kenny relationship develop. Different demeanors, but they both clearly are aggressive competitors and aren't afraid to hide it.

Ripert is a great add. Didn't think his rockfish critique was over the top; I got the impression -- and Tom's blog seemed to confirm -- that the dish was only on the bottom because the rest of the group was strong.

Early days, but seemed like impressive dishes overall. Always going to be a half dozen or so clunker chefs; let's hope the rest stay strong.

[nomnomnom]

I think after sleeping on it I'm thinking they have done a good job replicating the talent distribution of Season 3 and 4.

Season 6 was scarred by having 4 A+ chefs and a gaggle of 12 C+ to D+ chefs. It made the season's mid-episodes merely a vehicle for glad commercials. Season 5 wasn't much different except they had 4 B- chefs and 12 D-/F types.

This already has the feel of what the "best" seasons (3 and 4) had in a great range of B-/B+ types where anything can happen mid-season.

[Bart]

Re: the Padma vs. Kelly debate... I like both of them very much. Kelly has so much more fun, and I think she's more enjoyable to watch. Padma has a bit more gravitas and I tend to take her criticisms a little bit more seriously.

Either way, both ladies are very easy on the eye.

[Toquesha]

Kenny represent the brothers! Angelo's goin down

[Pei]

What a delicious, milk-filled rack on Padma! Great to see her again

[Megan H.]

While I'm sure his cooking earned him the exit, I was a bit sad to see John go simply from a personality standpoint. I was an early Carla fan in Season 5 (?) and I could see that maybe he would have had some of the same personality quirks that made her enjoyable to watch (at least for me).

I agree with mncharm - as soon as I saw the quote that he hadn't used that product before, he was guaranteed bottom of the pack.

[Danielle]

I agree that Padma looks gorgeous--she always looks gorgeous--but Pei's comment strikes me as a little, um, much. We're here to talk about the food, you know? And not the food for infants.

Has anyone here ever tried eating or cooking no-fat-added liver mousse? I'm curious about whether it's possible to make it taste good that way.

[JJ]

I don't know, man. It seems to me that the producers are going for a more "Hell's Kitchen" kind of feel this year (at least with the contestants). Last season, there were all these ridiculously accomplished chefs. This season ... not so much. The losing chef was like a cartoon character. I wanted to like him, but I still can't get over the fact that for his very first cooking effort he purchased pre-made frozen pastry dough!! How can this be?? There were also a lot of lucky chefs, it seems to me, whose mediocre dishes went unmentioned b/c there were people in their group with even less impressive dishes than their own. In a word, underwhelming.

[bryanD]

I'm ready to hate this season! According to Episode One's own TV season coming attractions, we'll have tax-subsidized pantloads and skirtloads galore imposing themselves on the Challenges and we the peons. Ugh!

Also, marble and granite government settings for impressing people outside of the ancient (defunct) empires doesn't work well for me. But NEVERMIND! *shakes head vigorously*

I'm still game! It's Top Chef nonpareil! Optimism!

PS. Skilletdoux, Don't be hard on yourself viz. prognostications. You figured Angelo fairly in your obviously-researched outline. I give you an A+ for your writing, and a A++ for admitting ahead of time to not being a damn psychic. I enjoyed the read. Mission accomplished?

It's only Rock and Roll/ Top Chef!

[Pants McCracky]

Damn. I know John was freaky lookin', but he had an intriguing background and I wasn't ready for him to be gone already. Plus, I was hoping to milk this image for comedy gold all season!

[KinderJ]

That... is a hilarious picture. Never thought I would say this but now I kind of want him back too. Just for that picture. And so I can use all my Doc Brown jokes. But mostly for that picture.

Something that has not been raised yet- the chicken fried steak. Is this a thing some places? I have never had a batter coated, deep fried steak, so I don't know if this is some random concoction or a play on an established dish. Seems like kind of a waste of steak, though.

[SorchaRei]

Chicken fried steak is Texas (and Eastern Washington, and likely many other places) thing. It is properly made with a fairly tough piece of meat (cheap imitations of the real thing use cube steak, which just, no) that is pounded within an inch of it's life. Then it is either floured and fried (the better way to make it) or battered and deep fried. It is almost always served with white pan gravy with lots of pepper in it. Done right, it is one of the best things there is to eat. Done wrong, it tastes worse than you are imagining it.

[juli]

Speaking of Bourdain, I'm reading his new book and so far, I'm digging it! He's as committed to explaining why the Food Network is moronic as he is to making fun of his own mistakes/attitudes. I'm looking forward to him judging.

[rab01]

John's dish had all kinds of problems but if he had been a shade less awful at Judge's Table, he could have saved himself. Instead of that "vessel" nonsense, he should have said that it had started out crisp but he assembled it too soon due to lack of catering experience. Everyone messes up desserts so they might have given him a second chance.

Tip to future contestants -- don't fry a steak and serve it to Tom; just don't. Ya really think the owner of CraftSteak is into eating your fried shoe leather?

[Pei]

Danielle, you are such a prude, get over yourself. Ever try cooking with breast milk? I kid you not, it is heaven on earth

[FoodieAtlanta]

Loved the episode, but we're still going down the path of Top Caterer-style challenges.

John seriously freaked me out. Creeeeeepy.

[suzanne]

I'm so relieved to see John go; his hair was making me lose my appetite.

Usually things like that don't bother me ... Who was it that used to drip sweat into his food? Howie? That never bothered me. John's hair, though? ick.

That said, I really thought it was going to be Jacqueline. But yeah -- purchasing 1/3 of your dish, plus this it the dish that is supposed to represent you and your culinary roots? Goodbye.

[timothy]

The purchasing part of your dish thing is not unprecedented on TC/TCM. Art Smith, who arguably should know better than John, purchased store bought fake ice cream; and others have purchased store bought sausage. Yes, Art Smith went home for that offense, and if I remember correctly some of the sausage purchasers did too (Nicki?), so I am not saying John should have survived the cut. I am just saying it is not an unprecedented mistake and doesn't seem out of the realm of the kinds of mistakes people make on these shows...especially in the early episodes.

[Skoolie]

It was interesting to see that 3 chefs seemed to rise above the pack - Angelo, Kenny, and Kevin.

Re: Kenny and Angelo - they are competitive against each other and I think that is because they know that each other are so strong. However I did want to wack Angelo upside the head during his small talk session about traveling around the world. He seemed to have a little bit of Stephan type arrogance - I ended up really liking stephan by the end though.

Re: Stew Room - Anon Man give them some time, they will all get so bored in there they will start doing silly things. Even with lasts seasons extreme competitors they still made up games and had fun.

I always find the first episode hard to decipher because there are so many contestants things get edited out

people that weren't in the bottom or the top - They seemed to like Andrea and Kelly's dish but not Tracys

Re: Premade anything - The only person I've ever seen do well with premade food (sausage) was Carmen on TCM2.

Re: John - I think I'm in the camp that wanted him to stay for a little quirkiness to the show. I knew he was a goner when I realized the premade dough. I have to agree he's to out there to really excell at a competition like this. For some reason he reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, but now I do see Doc Brown. lol.

Re: Ripert - I love him and I think he really helps make juding table. I also have to agree he is probably the reason Bourdain is back.

Upcoming! - Waxman YES! Bourdain YES! and of course they had to have atleast one politicion on the show, they are in DC I do with though that it was the Obama Family though.

[Skoolie]

Oh and does anyone know why Arnold bought a potted Orchid from whole foods? Did he use it in his dish?

[JJ]

In response to Timothy re: pre-made items: can I just point out that in the case of Art Smith you had a fully-established chef competing on Top Chef Masters who had also, at that point in the competition, cooked more than one dish for the judges. In the case of Hippie McGreasy Chef (thanks, JJH2) this was his first cooking challenge. It was the first time the judges were going to taste anything by him, and he chose to purchase pre-made frozen pastry dough!! The mind boggles.

[mill]

I don't see why pre-made puff pastry would be a negative. I mean what would the upside be of making it yourself? "Your dish was bland and we couldn't taste the maple, but you made the puff pastry yourself.. yay?" Seriously, could you make it any better than store bought? If you could, would it be worth the time to do it?

No, he was booted because his dish was bad and if he had gone with his own puff pastry I would ask if that was good decision considering the overall quality of the dish.

I think the same applies to Art Smith. If the ice cream was good (it wasn't) and the rest of the dish as well I doubt it would matter it was store bought.

Remember when Sandee (season 3) put puff pastry on a dish? No comments on it being store bought (I am assuming because I can't remember her making it), but a lot of critique for putting it on the plate at all.

Not to say that including the comment from John at the store wasn't the elves way of hinting his coming demise.

[dach]

Reminds me last season Michael made his own bread for croutons, it seems the editors made a point that he wasn't using store bought bread. So I think it is not uncommon to use Whole Food bought premade components.

In an interview John blamed some of the problem on the non-ac heat, causing his filling to turn runny. He sounds like a nice guy, who's passionate about cooking, but put himself in wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong recipe.

[gilmore]

I would have liked to see more of John. His personality would have been fun for a while.

I am looking forward to a field where 8 chefs could be in the finals.

Bravo! is all about political correctness so I expect a full house of politicians. I do not care for most of them - party affiliation is not a determinant of my dislike. I am not looking forward to these preening egomaniacs on the show.

I predict that Ms. Obama will be on with her two children in a healthy food challenge. Remember Art Smith (he is getting a lot of ink) and his. How hypocritical with his unhealthy Southern cooking that he hosted that challenge. I got the kids part. That was fine. But the healthy???

Well, the Obamas are telling us how to eat healthier and then they feast on everything we are not supposed to eat. I expect similar mendacity on that episode.

Oh yes, I am a joy to be around sometimes.