Top Chef - S8E2 Postmortem

Anybody else think the Top Chef site being down is an intentional cooling-off period for Jen Norris fans? :-)

Welcome to Top Chef All-Stars, folks. Nobody's safe. I figured we'd have a big elimination before too long, but that's awfully big, awfully early. A normal season, you botch something, there's still a handful of scrubs around to take the heat. Not anymore. You stumble, you're done. Might have to weigh consistency a little more heavily going forward this season.

I'm shocked too. Not that Jen went home. Or anybody near the top, for that matter. But wow, what an exit. I've no doubt the psychoanalysis will be running hot and heavy on the intertubes.

Gird up, folks. Almost every week, somebody you love will be gone.

Discuss!

UPDATE : Your helpful mnemonic device for the day: I is the Roman numeral for the number one. Tiffani, with an I, is from season one.

Hopefully a mnemonic device will not be necessary to remember which Dale is a Talde and which Dale is a Levitski.

Comments

[Wangus]

Wow...

Jen was certainly right about one thing: this was not at all the Jen-personality we saw in season 6. I think she might've lost a lot of previously built-up Top Chef Karma.

That being said, she has a great career currently so I don't know how much that's going to hurt her. I guess we'll have to wait a bit and see if she interviews as poorly as Elia.

[Dave]

It was pretty clear that T-rex was going to lose, and that Jen's dish was terrible. However, I still really wish it was Jamie that was sent home.

Maybe it was the edits that they've shown so far, but I'm starting to really dislike Jamie.

[garik16]

First, there were some hilarious lines in the QF. Second, going through the Natural History Museum with flashlights at 2:50AM is awesome.

Oh right, cooking. Umm, wow, Jen snapped. That was very odd. Incidentally Casey allegedly claimed to taste the food ahead of time and agree with the judges that the meat didn't taste right, but she didn't seem to say that.

Re: Jaime, it's hard for me to know what she should and should not have done. I wouldn't have wanted a bleeding chef cooking for me, though I agree 2 stitches really isn't much.

Oh and Marcel, dude, seriously. Angelo is on your team, COOKING YOUR DISH. He is NOT PURPOSELY SABOTAGING A DISH HE'S TAKING PARTIAL CREDIT FOR! Shut up, seriously.

Listen, I hate sabotage claims normally, but this is just stupid.

[Maxx Antonucci]

All I can say is I am in total disbelief.

I mean...I don't even know...it's such a huge shock to see her go so early on.

Live on, Jennifer Norris. Live on.

[garik16]

@dave: From Jamie's twitter account:

"For the record @ChefJenCarroll was nothing but supportive to me during the whole challenge...and I was devastated to see her go....it should have been me..."

and:

"Apparently I'm getting the asshole edit this season...thanks bravo! #topchefallstars"

[Krazikarl]

Bad episode in a lot of ways. It was a longer than normal episode, but they really didnt have that much cooking content. The QF was stretched out way too long and they spent a lot of time and the chefs hanging out at the Museum.

Then Jen lost and looked bad in multiple ways doing it. Bummer.

Maybe that Elia interview really was a spoiler in hindsight (since it might have indicated that Jen was going home early).

[JoeS]

Wow, as much as I like Jamie I think she should have gone home.

[KinderJ]

I thought team Brontosaurus (Go Fighting Brontos!) had some interesting and appealing dishes. I would cheerfully eat gnocchi for breakfast, and those did look delicious. Did anyone else note that Steven was complemented on his portion? Interesting... Team Rex... looked like a car wreck. And like a car wreck it ended in wailing and the gnashing of teeth.

I think Jen is a hell of a cook, and I am glad to hear she is doing well in her restaurant career. I also think that she is just one of those people who collapses when not given enough sleep. Some people just can't handle it. That was really brutal to watch. That being said, even on my TV it looked like that dish was never going to fly. Not a great conception and bad execution. Shame.

[Alvin]

This wasn't the Jen I remembered. It's as if she overcompensated for being beaten down towards the end of her season. Why oh why couldn't Bourdain be part of this challenge?

If you bet me $100 before the season that Jen would go home before Isabella, I would have taken that bet and laughed my way to the bank. Whoops.

I thought the Angelo/Marcel/Richard dish was clearly the best of everything else, I wanted to eat that. Surprised that Padma didn't mind the QF dishes being flooded with sugar, after last season's "Think of the kids" healthy school meal challenge.

Now I'm firmly in the Angelo camp, quirks and all.

[Dreamboat]

w.o.w.

I am shocked. But mostly I just feel like this season is so personal for the fans, at least for me. Jen Norris going home second??!! How could that be?? But look at the other choices and they would have hurt almost as much -- Casey, Tre, Antoino, T2? (I don't think Jamie was in danger because she was not there for a good bit of the cooking -- as they said at judges table, she may not have helped but she didn't really hurt either) All of them -- ouch! I want to see ALL of these chefs succeed.

And Dom, you can red Elia's interview now. The spoiler was that she got to know Jen really well and some of the commenters speculated that it meant Jen went home early.

Finally, I hope your baby feels better soon. There is nothing more heart breaking or draining as when your child is sick. :)

w.o.w.

[bfish]

Krazikar, the Elia interviews about Jen being her best friend ("they spent a lot of time together") was considered to be a spoiler in many places. Since I read Top Chef spoilers, Jen's elimination wasn't a total surprise but still shocking and unfortunate -- I enjoyed her spunky attitude. Yet, I still trust in the judges when they say the bacon and egg dish wasn't good. Eh, this season is going to be tough with many painful eliminations as I like most of the chefs.

Elia poisoned my attitude toward her in season 2 when she turned so obviously on Marcel (in response to the popular opinion of their colleagues?) so it was a good thing to see her gone -- am not feeling good about losing Jen however.

I'm not a chef, just a regular person, but had to agree with everyone in the competition who thought Jamie totally wimped out about her finger cut. Gimme a break! Now I want her gone. It seems pretty clear that she didn't elicit much sympathy for her reaction.

[JoeS]

And of all nights for the Bravo site to be down!

[JJH2]

Wow... Incredibly disappointing. Two of my favorite Top Chef women made pretty poor showings tonight. I'm not a big "toughing it out" kind of guy, but I think her team had Jaime's number. For two stitches, she should have toughed it out. That was a seriously unimpressive bandage she came back with. Plus, her whole attitude about the kids was unnecessary.

And Jen... what the hell happened there? Obviously, we don't taste the food. Maybe her dish was that bad. But honestly, I think she might have talked herself right out of the competition with her attitude at Judge's Table. I love Jen, but her showing made it pretty hard to pull for her tonight. Btw, who was it that let loose the profanity-laden bleep-fest about how unfair it was that Jen went home when she was walking out the door? I couldn't tell.

On the other hand, I'm so glad Tiffani did well. She seems to have grown a lot since the first season and her attitude about the children was a nice contrast to how she acted on season 1.

Overall, I think it was a tough EC. The herbivore/carnivore split took a lot of breakfast foods off the table. No baking. No pancakes. No french toast. How do you balance all the heaviness of the carnivore ingredients? I'm not surprised they lost. Even though the herbivore menu was not necessarily breakfast like, I think they did a better job with what they had. I'd rather have well-made gnocchi for breakfast than most of what was on the carnivore table.

The editing also seemed very weird in that we seemed to spend the vast majority of the episode with the losing team. We barely found out anything about the winning dish, except that Marcel seems to think that Angelo would help sabotage his own dish by cutting the plums too small.

[Lon]

I second the WOW. Never laughed so much at a Top Chef episode. These chefs have a great sense of humor. Hopefully, now that reality has really set in, they won't lose that quirkiness.

I think we saw from Jennifer in one quick episode a condensed version of her performance in Season 6. She wears down and her decision-making is affected. Just like most people in that situation, self-appraisal is the most strongly affected.

I think we'll really see the claws come out now. They all know how good Jen really is and see what happened to her and they know the seriousness of what lies ahead.

[Cici]

Another theme from Jen's first go-round--as the season progressed a lot of us wondered if she could cook meat as well as she did seafood. In all-stars she rocked lobster, tanked duck and bacon. It feels to me that she didn't get to play to her strengths in these 2 ECs.

[KinderJ]

Cici- she had salmon available. Could have gone with that. Jen chose pork. My money is on sheer exhaustion leading to bad decision making.

[Anon man]

I'm going to give a shout out to Vesuvius for noting the Elia spoiler last week. For those who didn't read the Elia exit interview, she had a relative throwaway line about getting to know Jen and spending a lot of time with her. I said that assumed the excused got to hang out in the ousted house. Vesuvius was right. Nice call!

As for the result, Jen is in the list of competent chefs with no flash. I really don't see her leaving as a game change event.

I will note that apparently the other chefs don't respect Fabio. Vivo Fabio!

[Dave]

@Dreamboat: I disagree with that logic that Jamie wasn't a candidate to go home. Jen did sink herself down pretty deeply, there's no question about that. However, I think an extra set of hands and taste buds through the process may have been either able to save the dish, or to tell Jen straight up "This dish sucks, we need to just fry up some bacon and wrap it around an egg." So yes, Jamie wasn't helping, but she most definitely hurt the team effort.

My feeling is this: if you don't help make something (aka, you make nothing) you deserve to go home. Otherwise, what's the point? You can game the system. If you sense that your team is going down in flames, just sustain some sort of injury during mise en place, and don't get eliminated because "you didn't really hurt your team"?

Fabio broke his finger. Angelo battled tropical disease. Other names escape me, but there have been plenty of chefs who have cut themselves, fallen down, singed their eyebrows etc. during the show and just powered through.

[rf]

Bourdain's blog is up and it again is spot on. He destroys Elia, and also gives a good idea as to what the chefs really thought of the challenge. Which, by the way, are probably the same thoughts that most readers of this site think as well.

An interesting note on editing; Marcel's last sound bite would have come across as him being a complete ass if not for the last line where he delivers both humor and self deprecating sarcasm. My guess is those last lines are frequently left on the cutting board.

[doktarr]

The title of this episode should have been, "Sleep deprivation can affect decision making." That episode was funny at times, but also painful.

The "lets put the top two up and see what the kids pick" QF concept was, well, lame. It was immediately obvious when they announced it that more sugar = win. And honestly, Tiffany's dish sounded like a freakin' candy bar. I just lost all my respect for the Jonas brothers' palates. (Oh... right.)

Tiffany committed the first of what was going to be many "I'm tired, so I'm stupid" moments of the evening with her "Carnivores eat everything!" thought. I also honestly think Jaime had a similar moment when she went to get stitches. She had checked out mentally, and leaving to get stitches was just checking out physically.

I immediately thought the choice of hard-boiling the eggs was strange. It's just hard to really do anything impressive with an unadulterated hard-boiled egg. It takes a lot of the creativity off the table. And the choice to not try to get any crispy texture on the pork... again, strange. But it all started to make sense when we saw her reaction a JT. This was just not somebody firing on all cylinders.

I guess part of winning Top Chef is making good decisions when you're tired.

[Cousin Sam]

wow, you guys called the spoiler!

Dom, here's the full sentence that I deleted the first half of for you from the article:

[We were able to spend a lot of time together and] I discovered a wonderful woman and an amazing professional.

[ally]

This is like bizarro world Top Chef.

In meta-reality TV it seems that what's happened is that Tiffani the First has learned from her mistakes. Jen decided she was Jennifer Norris (which she clearly wasn't these last two episodes) I could hear her cap-pistol going off as she went out the door. And Jamie, well, what the hell is her attitude about? Last season she talked in her Bravo blog about gaining a following because of Top Chef and now she seems to be spitting at them. Puzzling.

Personality-wise Marcel is exactly the same as his season, which is really quite funny.

Some people just don't seem to be in it to win it. Some people seem to be bringing it with each dish (hello Tiffani I, Casey, Richard and Angelo) and I don't think the will be part of the drama/nonsense. What's clear is that, essentially this season is like the end of each season - a weak dish sends even a great chef home. Still can't wait to see the rest of these episodes. Riveting!

[Daniel]

Very disappointing to see Jen go home, and equally disappointed in the way she reacted at judges' table.

This is not a Bravo blog or a Harry Potter novel. Can we leave the all-caps in those places where they belong? :D

However, I am somewhat mystified that the judges chose to send home Jen instead of Jaime. She did nothing. She didn't contribute - and she most definitely was not in any jeopardy. By not eliminating her, they most definitely gave her a pass. I think it was a stupid decision. Had she cut her own hand off, I'd still argue that she should have gone home for not contributing, and she merely slightly hurt a thumb.

As for Jaime herself...her half-assed tweet is ridiculous. If she thought it should have been her, if she was 'devastated,' she would have spoken up at the appropriate time...or not have left the kitchen in the first place. She's not getting an 'asshole' edit...she's being an asshole.

Ah well.

[jbb]

Jamie is definitely getting the asshole edit this season. Seems like a slightly odd choice to me, but I guess she just gave the elves enough to work with this time around.

[chrish]

Stephen reminds me a bit of Charlie Trotter in mannerisms, and such (not cooking).

[Danny]

Dom, nothing but good wishes on the health front. Please keep us posted.

I found it very disconcerting that the QF involved loading kids up with a ton of sugar just before bedtime. I don't have kids but I have taken care of them for extended periods and the Sugar Shack is closed for the evening - if nothing else, than for my own self-preservation.

I hope each episode is not going to be about a contestant going after the judges. Granted, we can't taste the food, but Jen's dish loooked gross and the conception - watching the bacon sit in that liquid - just didn't seem appetizing.

I really liked Dale saying that it was selfish to only care if the judges liked the food and not care about what who else you are feeding thought.

[Dreamboat]

Dave, I agree with you completely. I personally think Jamie should have been high on the list of chefs to go home. I was simply parroting what the judges said at judges table (at least my recollection after 1 viewing). They seemed to take Jamie out of the running for elimination, based upon the comments shown in the episode.

I also personally think that Jamie wimped out because she does not like team challenges. I don't think she purposely cut herself, but I think as soon as the medic suggested she need stitches (and for TV, the medic will err on the side of caution so the show is not sued -- Fabio was told to go to the hospital too) that she took her opportunity to get out of the team challenge. 2 stitches??!! Really? Put on a tight band aide and a glove and help you teammate!! I have seen chefs on Challenge and Iron Chef do that! Perhaps Jen's dish would have shined if she had help and someone to say "Hey, the seasoning if off".

Sorry, I just ranted. I will stop now. :)

[gdis]

@Anon Man: I agree with the Jen assessment. She is a great chef but by no means the most intriguing one in this competition - Angelo, Dale (season 4), Richard, Tiffani (season 1), even Marcel would have disappointed me far more as I'm usually more intrigued by their creativity and cooking - that's just a personal thing though. Usually from those 4 I'm more likely to see something I would never have thought of.

This episode was a disappointment - 30 minutes into it before we get to the EC? Awful. However, I did like the Elimination Challenge - it was tough and really forced the chefs to use their creativity with limited ingredients.

This early in the competition you usually can skate by with cooking something "well" instead of "awesome." None of the winning team's dishes looked especially brilliant but they all executed. The losing team just didn't execute at the right level. As chefs have shown in the past you can get by with simple as long as the execution is spot on.

Jen can try and convince us that her dish was spot on, but I have to say I trust Tom. Each round is about that current dish and hers apparently failed.

This episode showed me two things:
1) If Angelo/Blais flame out in the next few episodes the rest of the season will not be nearly as good. These two are at the top of their game.

2) I'm really glad Padma took over the hosting duties.

[Scott]

Shocked beyond belief, but not for the same reason as other people. Granted we only have two episodes of testing material, but Jen's palette has been off so far this season. I saw her outbreak as nothing more than sleep deprivation so I wouldn't put too much into that, but the bacon was universally panned so I am shocked that she would defend it so heartily. I thought Tre was going to go home since Top Chef since overreduction is like the number one crime on the show, but I think Casey cooking the Salmon beautifully saved him. Tiffany and Antonia aren't going home for faulty burners, so that leaves Jen and Jamie. From all the previous season's "restaurant wars" I have come to think that the judges have a hard time sending home chefs who didn't cook. So from that perspective, Jen would be the logical person to leave, however unfair it is.

To touch upon the editing this season, I think the Elves are purposely making people seem like jerks in an effort to shore up more drama. We obviously all love these chefs, they're all stars. I'm a Marcel fan myself despite the fact that he's shown to be a complete jerk. Tiffany also seems to be more irritable this season as well. That's fine. What's not fine is that we're two episodes in and we haven't seen great food from these chefs yet and the blame is squarely on the producers of the show. These challenges are terrible. Only meats/Only vegetables? really? I get that it's challenging but I can't FATHOM how they expect kids to enjoy this breakfast.

[Scott]

I just wanted to add that either Bravo is not doing well or I've become a bit crazy, but it seems that Bravo turned Top Chef from a 1 hour show into a 1 hour 15 minute show by literally adding 15 more minutes of commercials.

[Danny]

Bourdain and Gail's blogs are up at Bravo and they are illuminating. Gail said that Jen's dish was unanimously the least favorite among both the judges and the people the chef's were supposed to be cooking for. And, I'll take her word for it, but apparently Mr. Jonas is quite the TC enthusiast and had talked with Gail months before he knew he was going on TC about his love for the show. Go figure.

[Cousin Sam]

JJH2: "Btw, who was it that let loose the profanity-laden bleep-fest about how unfair it was that Jen went home when she was walking out the door? I couldn't tell."

I ran it back a couple of times and I'm pretty sure that it was Jen.

[Steve]

Pity for Jen. She deserved better. But something is off when Jen; her attitude and her cooking - since the start of the season.

[Steve]

Other surprises include Tre's bad cooking and Antonia and Tiffani D. not seeming to be aggressive enough to fix their mistakes. Not to mention their frittatas were considered mundane.

[Cousin Sam]

favorite line from Bourdain's blog post (re Jamie's two stitches):

"And when you're competing for a quarter million dollars? Most would cauterize even a sucking chest wound with a hot spoon."

now THERE's an image. if that actually happened do you think the elves would show it? sssssss AAAAHHHHH! ow, that hurt. ok, now where's the pork belly? ;)

[Jesse]

While the Top Chef site is still down, you CAN get to the blogs by going through the all bravotv blogs page, and sorting. Here, I'll get a link for you...

[cuts hand while typing]

[sucks it up and manages to hit the paste command]

http://www.bravotv.com/blogs?field_show_nid=117

Really though - it seemed clear that the medic recommended stitches. While we can't tell if she fought the decision or not (certainly looks like not) at the end of the day, I think the judges can't in good faith send someone home for getting medical attention, when they have a perfectly good candidate to send home in front of them, taking 100% responsibility for what seems to have been a terrible dish.

Being a great chef and being a great top chef contestant aren't the same thing - although they do share a lot of overlap (which is the point of the show.) I can't imagine Jenn, no mater how great a chef she is, being good enough at the game of the TV show to take home the title. So it doesn't really matter if she goes home now or in ten episodes. I think Elia shared the same quality.

I predict we're going to be seeing a lot of the deciding factor not just being the food, but how it fits into the challenge and requirements.

Blais and Season 1 Tiffany look to me like they get that, and have the chops to deliver the goods.

[Eric]

Got to read Tom's blog. (accessed through the blogs link) Apparently, when Jen said that Jamie's exit had no effect whatsoever on the dish, that was that. And Jen was sent home.

[Nsam]

What an exit, indeed. Some people, lots of people, believe pugnacity=strength. I've never been a fan of that attitude. Yet Gail writes, as angry and disrespectful as Jen was, the judges were pleases that she defended her dish with such vigor. Hmmm. Well, I can try to take Gail's word for it, but here's hoping that Jen's forthcoming media interviews aren't as toxic as Elia's...

[Eric]

oh yea... something else... I watched the episode again and Tom explained the ingreedients for the two teams prior to Tiffany making her choice. He said meat and meat by-products dairy and eggs. I can't stand all the poo-pooing that team T-Rex did when it was Tiffany's fault for not listening. And if any of the other T-Rexers had been paying attention, they would've known that.

[timothy]

As constraining as the T-Rex pantry was, it's obvious from Dale L. and Tiffani's food that if the members of T-Rex cooked simple meat and eggs well, they would have won. They might have been called out on creativity, as Tiffani and Dale were, but if they had made tasty, crispy bacon, well seasoned salmon, and evenly heated frittatas, they wouldn't have lost. They couldn't pull it off, so they couldn't win. It was not a factor of limited ingredients as much as it was a factor of failed technique.

[TDub]

Jen had a complete meltdown, but Jamie definitely should've gone home. Consider this: Would she have gone to get stitches if it had been an individual challenge? OF COURSE NOT. She was a brat, and she's acting like she doesn't want to be there. Just send her home already.

[Duffy]

Yipe! Hey Dom, wouldn't you save a lot of time just drawing names out of a hat??

[Bart]

I had a feeling that Jen was in trouble as soon as Casey said, "It tasted like wet bacon."

Then I saw the photo - it looked like it'd have the texture of pork belly, but it was grayish and unappetizing looking, and it sat in a bunch of thin, muddy-looking liquid.

I can't taste it (and it might have tasted fine), but it LOOKED unappealing. I think Jen was trying to say that the egg on top was fine because the "bacon" was so salty and seasoned, but my gosh, bacon = crispy, crunchy strip of fat. It does NOT = watery, chewy, gummy pork.

I think she suffered from overpromising and underdelivering.

I'm not surprised that she, like Elia, expected to be in the finals. Just about ALL of those contestants made it to the finals, so for any of them to get eliminated before then will be shocking...to them.

Aside from that, I'm coming to really like Tiffani. I liked her in Season 1 but she's really won me over so far this season. She's got mad chops. And Angelo's rocking it this year. Gotta give him some respect.

[EdT.]

RE: all the sugar in the winning QF dish. Given that one of the Jonas brothers is a diabetic, and given the current worries about the increase in Type II diabetes among the young, I'm really surprised they let the kids eat that stuff. I was almost expecting armed FDA "food police" agents (the ones who torment Alton Brown so) to break down the doors, confiscate the good stuff, and make the kids eat lean tofu burgers - cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees, for good measure! Oh, wait, maybe *that* was what "Team T-Rex" served them!

Also: I guess that future chefts will need to bone up on dietary habits of extinct life-forms - T-Rex as an omnivore!? Of course, given current thinking that T-Rex actually ate *carrion*, hmmm, maybe *that* explains the performance of "Team T(rain)-Rex"!

Quote of the night, from Casey: "I've never seen a live T-Rex". Which explains a lot. Then she breaks into relating what she saw in "Jurassic Park". Which explains a lot more.

Lastly: I wonder if the Jennifer Norris Fan Club took over 4chan's LOIC and turned it on the Bravo TV web site? I'm sure that Visa, MasterCard, and Sara Palin's web sites could use the break!

~EdT.

[dc]

I'm convinced Jen was drunk at JT -- embarrassing drunken tirade. As to her closing tirade, she's always been the girly girl tomboy who could get down and dirty, and swear up a storm like a navy man. But did she really think team Bronto should have been up for elimination? She did poorly both EC, and neither one did she seem to have any awareness of why judges or her competitors (week 1) did not receive her dish well. That is very worrying. That's like a chef losing their taste touch.

I agree Jamie couldn't get sent home once Jen took total responsibility at JT. And one of Jen teammates commented her bacon was bad .. but her fellow all-stars seem to respect her so much they are afraid to criticize her. Like the opening week TIffani was surprised, almost shocked, by the flaws in Jen's duck dish. And by Jen's crestfallen reaction, other diners and judges must have agreed. I think that was pretty close to bottom 3.

Has the episode editing giving away PPYKAG every been more blatant? After 40 minutes it was clear team T-Rex was big loser, and Jen was off in her own, losers edit, world of what was constituted good and bad food, different than everyone else.

[paula]

Having not seen Season 1, I'm watching Tiffani with virgin eyes, and she seems totally cool to me. Jen, Jen, Jen--I have no doubt that even if Casey had tried to tell her her dish tasted like wet bacon (for all we know, maybe she did offer a suggestion for improvement), Jen would have snapped: "No, it doesn't. It's delicious." And at JT, once Jen said "This one's all me--not Jaime's fault at all," I knew they wouldn't send Jaime home. Besides, I agree with the commenter who said it would have been a risk to send Jaime home after the medic told her to leave and get stitches--I'm sure the lawyers/producers made that clear to the judges.

[dc]

For such long episode, we didn't really see much kids or parent comment on the food (I may need to rewatch). I am curious how meat vs veggies went over with kids palettes.

And braised pork dish can be good. I've had wonderful "Chairman Mao's Pork", which is spicy fatty chunked slow braised chunked pork belly. I just don't know if Jen's had any hope given the time or conception.

Going back to her comment of cooking for the judges over cooking for the "customers", did she pick pork (over salmon) because of the judges love of pork in s6? Hmmm...

[Bart]

I read the Top Chef blogs - all were insightful, especially Tom's and Tony's.

I tried watching the Ripert videos, but alas, I am hearing impaired and had difficulty understanding him. Would anyone care to offer a concise summary of what he said?

[Wangus]

On Jaime's 'absenteeism'

Tom writes on his blog: "Jamie, by the way, had never had stitches before and was a bit frightened when she heard she needed them, which is why she left to go get them right away."

As a person in the health professions field I totally get this. We see patients all the time that tend to freak out about these things. Minor cuts can bleed ... a lot. A lot of people worry about their bodies to a greater extent than others (they aren't necessarily hypochondriacs, just worriers). Would I expect a professional chef to have her fair share of experiences with the sharp end of her equipment and thus be less likely to freak out about something like this? Yeah, probably. But that doesn't mean there aren't chefs like that out there; maybe Jamie is one of them. With Tom's comment, I'm inclined to believe that possibility.

Along with that, I agree with paula and the other posters who've mentioned that it becomes hard to blame a contestant for leaving when they are recommended to do so by a health professional. Would a lot of those chefs have stuck it out? Absolutely. But the show isn't 'Top Badass' so it's hard to fault Jamie's decision. She certainly might have used to the recommendation to leave as a lucky chance to get out of a bad situation, but it's not like she pricked herself on purpose and then went 'whoops I gotta go!'

[paula]

Wangus: Oh, I still "blame" Jaime for deciding to leave instead of toughing it out (she clearly didn't want anything to do with this particular challenge, and I'm sure that made it an easy out subconsciously). I just don't blame the judges for not sending her home because of it. Also, in my mind, this show is totally Top Badass. :)

[nomnomnom]

I'm going to basically pretend this episode never happened. It did not look like Jen came prepared and felt that she could just stroll in and dominate. She made a half-ass version of what MikeV made in the hangar challenge, and it bombed. Laters.

The QuickFire was a joke, and the parameters with the scale upgrade was pointless when they announced who had what. I think that it was rigged to put a savory vs. a sweet and to get the sweet to win and force them to pick the meat.

I just don't see anything else that can be taken from this episode.

Next week we do get the double elimination. I haven't gazed at the preview to see all the teams of four for the relay and the EC, but will do so later.

The Tiffany, Marcel, Angelo, Carla 4-some next week if they do lose would cause a huge detonation in the rankings, however. I didn't see another loaded 4-some, and couldn't figure out where Stephen fell at all. Will have to find him based on process of elimination.

[Bill G]

The judges would have been justified in sending both Jamie and Jen on their way.
Casey looking surprisingly strong in the early going but barring catastrophe I think this fight is between Blais and Angelo.

[Danielle]

Re. the swearing--remember how a couple of seasons back the producers/elves/dorm parents stepped in to cut down on it? Because the stew room conversations had become such bleepfests? It almost sounded last night like the producers had forgotten to tell the older contestants about the new regime.

[momjamin]

Our fearless bloghost said: Hopefully a mnemonic device will not be necessary to remember which Dale is a Talde and which Dale is a Levitski.

No, that's clear -- the Dale that doesn't like kids, and, oh, wait a minute.

[timothy]

Bart: I watched the Ripert video and it was odd. The title says something like "Eric comments on the elimination of his friend "Jenny," but unless there was some part I missed he didn't comment on that at all. He basically gave a plot summary of the episode. The only thing along the lines of personal opinion he says is (my paraphrase), "Some of the contestants are selfish/self-interested on this episode and that's not a good idea in a competition because they may need the help of others in the future and they may not get it." He didn't talk about the elimination at all. At least not in the part I watched. Maybe there was a part 2 that I missed.

[chrish]

Tom C says in his blog "As for why Jen would go home for the dish instead of Jamie, Jen herself said that Jamie’s not being there did not affect the outcome of the dish. If Jen herself said so, there’s nothing further to be said about that."

It was surely obvious Jen was being a good teammate. And that having two people rather than one working on short time with no sleep would almost certainly have been helpful. Not saying that dictates Jamie going home, but it's wrong for Tom C to take the easy way out by citing Jen.

[Polybus]

Well, if the show is "Top Badass", then one of the topmost badasses just went home.

I loved the episode. I laughed a lot right up until JT. I agree with the poster who said it was way cool to go exploring the museum by flashlight - and I'm glad that we got the extra 15 minutes to include some of that footage (I bet it will be gone when it gets edited down to one hour). I thought the EC was fine, too. Some of the challenges should be about cooking with limitations of ingredients and some of the challenges should be about cooking under extreme time limitations. Lack of sleep is a factor. Wedding Wars in Season 4 was a really good example of that.

In terms of how the personalities come across, I don't trust the editing and I never will, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the show. I don't really care what Magical Elves wants me to think. And the very mention that a medic had told Jamie to get stitches negates any arguement against her staying and toughing it out. I'm surprised that legal implications of injuries hasn't played a larger role in the show to date.

Wow. So far this season has not disappointed me a bit.

[Bart]

timothy - thanks for the quick recap! What you paraphrased (about the contestants needing to be more helpful toward each other) made me think of season 1, where everybody wanted to chose Harold over Tiffani during the finale.

A lot of contestants have been very quiet this season (Casey, Carla, Marcel). I'm not getting a sense of who's blowing everyone away outside of Blais and Angelo, and who's barely keeping his/her head over the water. It's early yet, but I feel like it's still anyone's game.

[mncharm]

I don't think Jamie (or Marcel, for that matter) came across as an a-hole yesterday. Jamie left, others felt she should have stayed, and they said so. Wimpy? Quite possibly -- I was thinking she should have gone home -- but I don't think they made her look like an a-hole.

In any event, should be quite a shootout with Blais/Angelo/Tiffany all cooking well.

[Naomi]

Did anybody else think the editors missed an opportunity by NOT cutting to a shot of Angelo when Joe Jonas said celery and peanut butter wouldn't cut it?

[Skillet Doux]

"Did anybody else think the editors missed an opportunity by NOT cutting to a shot of Angelo when Joe Jonas said celery and peanut butter wouldn't cut it?"

From the blogs, is sounds like he's actually a big fan of the show, and if that's true, I don't doubt for a second that that was a direct reference to Angelo. But it's subtle enough that maybe even the editors missed it.

[Karen B]

re: Eric Ripert- there are 3 videos of his recap, and it is in the second and third that he discusses Jen and her dishes. Basically he says he would have sent home one of the frittatta makers for the unsafe uncooked eggs or Tre for bad, unedible sauce, but he really didn't approve of Jen's outburst. He also ( I think in the 2nd video) rips into Jaime-for not being a team player, and for having lousy knife skills- he actually says he's not surprised she cut herself due to her lousy knife skills and for leaving to get TWO stitches.

[Katherine]

For possible liability alone, it would have been impossible for the judges to send Jaime home for leaving to get stitches. Tom said it best when he pointed out that Jen herself said Jaime's absence made no difference in the final outcome of their dish, and that was that. I think it takes a lot of assumption and conjecture to say that if Jaime had stayed, the dish would have turned out better. That dish seemed flawed from the beginning, and when Casey described it as "wet bacon," I couldn't help gagging. There's simply no way of knowing what effect Jaime would have had on the dish had she stayed. Couple a bad dish with Jen's sleep-deprived implosion, and her exit makes sense to me -- sad as I am to see her go.

I was really surprised how many people felt cooking only with fruit, vegetables, and grains was a significant handicap to making a good breakfast dish. The last thing I would want to eat to start my day is something heavy and fatty, like pork belly. However, I would happily eat anything off the bronto menu any day, including the gnocchi. I think that dairy-free parfait truly deserved the win.

As a side note: Tre without a shirt? Damn. Can I have THAT for breakfast?

[Wangus]

I'm hoping to bring up a small discussion on "unsafe/raw" comments on top chef.

One would think that if judges actually thought the food was dangerous in any way then the contestant that cooked that dish would get an automatic 'pack your knives...' I don't think that Tom or any of the staff would tolerate this kind of potential contaminants. However we still hear these comments of 'raw' and 'undercooked' often in top chef and they've caused a few stirs and outrages in the past (these fritters now and I recall the Voltaggio egg causing one in season 6 as well though I am aware of the whole final story with Mike V's egg).

Here are some of my inconclusive potential theories.

1. The judges have a differing preference / tolerance for 'doneness'? I have found that more food-passionate individuals (as well as maybe just younger generations in general) tend to have preferences for food that is less 'well-done' than the "old guard". Burgers medium rare, pork medium, eggs not done to dryness (ie still have some of the wigglyness). This difference causes a disconnect with the viewers?

2. The judges use the words raw/undercooked/etc with a flare of hyperbole? Expecting perfect execution, a few degrees away from perfection all of a sudden is declared as 'undercooked', and viewers assume this just means raw. This coupled with the producer elves picking out these particular comments because they are dramatic and you get the disconnect?

In the end, I have to assume that if the frittata was an actual health concern, the judges would've stepped up to not only eliminate her in the end but also control the crowd to not eat the food. One would imagine that an event like that would also hit the news: "Top Chef Contestant Serves Uncooked Food to Children and Families. Hundreds Exposed to Dangerous Pathogens. News at 10!"

I'd love to hear what people here might think about this.

[jonesy]

Even though Jamie (Jaime?) probably should have been sent home, I can't say I'm too brokenhearted about Jen leaving instead. This is such an elevated season, I just don't feel as attached to my previous favorites. I loved Jen on her season, but I was surprised at how angry she was this episode.

I think Marcel watched last season, after his comments about Angelo and keeping an eye on him.

Also, I thought it was hilarious that Casey seemed so offended by Jen's food and attitude.

[Anon Man]

IIRC, they cut to Stephen with the "celery and peanut buttter". My memory is hazy, but wasn't there some similar celery and peanut butter kerfuffle in S1 too?

[Anon Man]

@Wangus, they have on occassion stated they weren't comfortable eating something because of sanitation or doneness. In reality you're unlikely to die from that, but you might get very sick, which I guess is the risk you take as a reality host.

Examples of under-done to the point of concern that I can think of: Jamie's egg in the Today Show challenge and The Testicular Fortitude Kiwi (Mark?) and his messy grill station. By contrast, Howie of the constantly-underdone-pork was never given a second thought, just some complaints.

[jonesy]

One more thing...

I have a daughter, but I don't mind the Dale/Jamie approach to children. I would hate to be trapped in a room with a large amount of shrieking children. I don't love challenges that involve children, though. The majority of these chefs are not trying to make a career out of cooking for children. I'd rather see some creative EC's dealing with adults.

[Trillium]

I am sooo glad I found this site; very illuminative, entertaining, interesting.

I didn't care for Jaime in her season and this season hasn't done anything to improve my opinion of her. I also felt that she should have gone home since, as a chef, you should have better knife skills. Of course, there are always accidents. Additionally, I felt that she should have sacked up, applied duct tape and soldiered on. But it was very interesting to read the gent's comments on the previous page who is in the healthcare industry and he discusses how the reaction of someone who has never had stitches would impact. Thank you sir, I have now changed my opinion. Although, it does set up a precedent that someone who doesn't participate in a challenge is given a pass. Personnaly, I was thinking that perhaps it should have been Tre for the overreduced sauce; particularly since he acknowledged it was happening and not only didn't do anything to counteract but felt it would be better to do oversalted.

Thanks to all who share their insights!

[Steve]

Now that we've seen the second episode, we can tell who's on and who isn't. It's not just skill and creativity as the determinants this season; it's also focus and will. Jen just wasn't at her best. I can see that Tiffany doesn't seem to be very discriminating. Pre or post-marriage distractions?

Here's my take based on the trends so far:

Angelo and Richard - want it and are very discriminating.

Spike, Tiffani, Jamie - consistently good competitors

Dale T., Mike, Casey, and Carla - solid, but not placing

Dale L., Antonia and Fabio - mixed, no high hopes

Tiffany, Tre and Stephen - just not on

Marcel - can't figure him out yet

[Steve]

I meant to say:

"it's also focus and will more so than usual because of the high caliber of competition. No breathing room."

[JJ]

I'm as surprised as the next guy that Jen was eliminated second, but I don't get the "should have been Jaimie" rationale. The main reason Jen was eliminated, it seems to me, had to do with the real disconnect between the judges' assessment of the dish and Jen's insistence that it came out exactly the way she conceived it. In my view, this was what led the judges to chose her over Tre. The fact that Casey too seemed unimpressed by Jen's preparation of the pork (which she called "wet bacon") corroborates – if any corroboration was necessary – that the dish had some serious problems. I also recall a certain disconnect last week between her dish (which she thought would land her in the top three) and the response to it by the judges and fellow chefs.

It seems to me that the fans' ire should mostly be directed at the show's producers, since it is exactly this type of tricky challenge that sometimes results in a talented chef being eliminated before their time.

And as a footnote, can I add that I still like Jaimie and have no issues with her child-phobia, which might have been out of place in another context (e.g., if she said this when asked to cook for a family of 4), but certainly seemed more than justified when surrounded by a bunch of screaming, hyper-excited kids. Let's not forget too that the chefs are feed questions in hope of generating good "sound bites."

[Joanna]

@nomnomnom: "She made a half-ass version of what MikeV made in the hangar challenge, and it bombed."

Those were my thoughts exactly. I couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever even tried braising bacon that way before. When Mike V did it, he was trying to make a dish that would normally be made with "plain" (not smoked or cured) pork belly, so my guess is he wanted to add flavors that would take away from the typical smoky cured flavor of bacon. And he was very successful in that task.

Here, I'm not sure why Jen decided to braise the bacon since she seemed to ultimately want that bacony flavor. Also, she served it basically as a slab without any contrasting textures. Going back to Mike V again, I believe he was making lettuce wraps with other ingredients that could have provided some crunch. Seems like she tried to do something she had seen somebody else do once without considering all the elements that made that dish successful, and she totally missed the mark. I'm sad to see her go but she was just really off her game these 2 episodes.

On a different note, I think the challenge was kind of silly even before you factor the kids into it. Both sides were SO limited - one side basically had a vegan challenge (the likes of which has stumped many great chefs in the past), and like Tiffani said, the other side couldn't use ingredients like herbs or acid that typically give food balance. Tiffani and Dale's dish, which was regarded as the best on the team, was still put on par with hotel food. The limitations felt so artificial - nobody eats the t-rex way.

[EdT.]

I also listened to the video where Eric Ripert discussed Jen's behavior at (and after) JT. He was really trying to be polite: but, if *my* boss said the things about me that he said about her, I would be looking for a way to rehabilitate myself - or maybe a career change. Also interesting in that he mentioned specifically the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in his video.

Also of note: looks like the content back-end of the Bravo site is deader than that poor slab of pig that Jen served up for breakfast. I wonder if the site is getting slammed that hard as a result of the episode last night?

~EdT.

[ally]

"Quote of the night, from Casey: "I've never seen a live T-Rex". Which explains a lot. Then she breaks into relating what she saw in "Jurassic Park". Which explains a lot more." - EdT.

I think that Casey has a very deadpan delivery and has her tongue firmly planted in her cheek. She's no dummy.

[Megan H.]

Sign me up with those baffled by the Jamie hate. Sure, her attitude was not the best, but I never in a million years thought she should go home last night.

I had Jen pegged for exit soon into JT for committing the cardinal sin of not understanding that your dish was just bad. Tre committed the second worst of knowing your dish is bad but serving it anyway. Usually, though, it seems that the judges have slightly more sympathy for those who at least recognize that something has gone wrong.

Why has no one given Joe Jonas any credit for his "and you have 30 seconds!" line? I laughed out loud, and loved the look on everyone's faces.

My other bafflement in the comments here: I'm surprised by the number of people complaining about the sugar, etc of the snacks. If this were a group of diabetic/overweight kids going on a health-focused outing, sure. But for a group of kids who a having a special occasion and getting a treat? I don't see why having a single cookie is such a crime.

Just my $.02.

[Independent George]

I find the contrast between Jen and Tiffani really interesting.

Nobody disputed Tiffani's talent in S1, but she was dinged (unfairly, in my opinion) for an abrasive attitude & personality. In S6, Jen was rightly celebrated for her confidence & talent.

In the intervening years, it looks like Tiffani really made an effort to understand how others saw her, and took it to heart. Jen, perhaps, started to believe the hype, and underestimated the competition; she honestly looked like she was half-assing it the whole way, as if people were to supposed to bow to her on account of her past accomplishments.

Anyway, everybody gets humbled at some point; it looks like Tiffani learned from her experience. Here's to hoping Jen does the same.

[Cheryl]

I have to say I wasn't sorry to see Jenn go. It was ashame but from what I could see, she made the worst dish. Her behavior on her way out was a bit over the top. I think it's good to stand up for yourself but not to the point where you won't even acknowledge someone else may have a point. She clearly is a very competitive person and the competition is alot stiffer this time around. We all saw her crumble in season 6 when she landed on the bottom a few times or just wasn't on the top. She didn't start out strong and that definitely effected her mentally. There are others, less interesting chefs, who I expected to see leave before her but it was pretty clear to me that her dish was the worst in the bottom.

[jbb]

@KarenB:

Thanks for summarizing Ripert's videos. Let's just say that this episode made Ripert's angry tweet at Jamie last week (dinging her about her knife skills, etc.) make a lot more sense.

[KinderJ]

Bravo still not letting me read the blogs. This is kind of pathetic.

[KinderJ]

I mean, "Sorry Mario, your princess is in another castle." pathetic.

[bryanD]

Well, everybody has said everything already. I tend to agree with a previous comment that Jen might have been three sheets to the wind at JT. This can be the only nice way to explain Jen's repellent parting shriek. Egotism meets failure and booze is the fuse. Not presidential timbre.

The episode was greater than the sum of its parts thanks to the cast.
The QF was big ol' Jonas Brother commercial. At least the taller goofier uglier Jonas brother stayed home. Anyway, befitting the occasion, the food was poop. Spike was frying up some chips and then mentioned gooping them up and I zoned out (got a beer).

The EC was just OK. A montage.

Of course, Jamie is a selfish bleep. Eject button in pocket. She will maintain the same wan smile as she voids herself from a challenge eventually. She'll probably claim boredom. She gamed the system for immunity with that cut.

Tiffany still frowns, Tre a non-entity across both seasons. Both cheeks of the bottom. Texas TP.

Top3: 1.Tiffani, 2.Marcel 3. Angelo
(Angelo has occasional seasoning issues and Tom has a tender tummy. Marcel has a stronger psyche than Angelo. Angelo also keeps an eject button in his pocket like Jamie's)

Contenders: Casey and Blais (I've always been Blaiskeptical. Not sure why. MG being stupid isn't it. It's somethinnnng else. Oh, yeah! Blais hates stoves and ovens and fire.)

PS. Where's Carla? I hope she doesn't get lost in too many accursed group challenges. Not getting nervous for her...yet. Dale L.: move it or lose it. Good job, Spike and Stephen A. I am also most definitely mellowing on the Fabio since he made Bourdain swallow his cigarette. Finally, I will trade 1 Padma for 1 Katie. (She was fun!)

[KinderJ]

Wait, now I'm just not authorized to read Tom's golden words. We make progress.

[KinderJ]

Princess Peach! I have found you at last! Huzza!

[Ranhorn]

@KinderJ: we really don't need the play-by-play of you reading the internet. Kindly STFU.

[paula]

BryanD: isn't this just how Carla was in her own season? Seemed to be invisible for the first half of the season, and then hey! Look at that! She's in the top 3. It would be fun to see that happen again.

[Polybus]

I cannot get Anthony Bourdain's blog to load. Can anyone who has actually been there provide a direct link?

[ally]

you can get here by googling "top chef bourdain" but whatever:

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-8/blogs/anthony-bourdain/all-in-the-game

[Anon Man]

Not especially a Jonas brother fan, but I thought the "you have 30 seconds" part was pretty funny. Would have been better if he had said "go!".

[Bill G]

I think you are correct.

In the end, I have to assume that if the frittata was an actual health concern, the judges would've stepped up to not only eliminate her in the end but also control the crowd to not eat the food. One would imagine that an event like that would also hit the news: "Top Chef Contestant Serves Uncooked Food to Children and Families. Hundreds Exposed to Dangerous Pathogens. News at 10!"

I'd love to hear what people here might think about this.

[timothy]

I don't get the concern about unsafe eggs. People eat runny eggs all the time. I think it was less cooked than it should have been to be appetizing or aesthetically pleasing, but I don't think we were talking about salmonella.

[Skillet Doux]

Timothy... that was my first thought too, but I wonder if the concern was because they weren't made-to-order and instead were sitting out for a while. Fritatte are great at room temp. Perhaps they weren't holding them in the hot box?

[redpoint]

Just one look at Jen's food and I know why she was sent home. It looks disgusting. I don't understand why there could even be any controversy.

[nomnomnom]

Teams for next week:

1: Tre Steven Blais Spike
2: Antonia Casey DaleL Jamie
3: Tiffany Mike Fabio Angelo
4: Marcel Carla Tiffany DaleT - Cooking at WD50

Team 1 looks clearly to be the weakest. It isn't clear whether one team loses two chefs or two teams lose one each.

[mar]

Okay, off the food topic, but the "Brontosaurus" thing was killing me the entire episode. Brontosaurus is a scientifically obsolete synonym for Apatosaurus - when "Brontosaurus" was discovered it was thought to be a different animal but was later determined to be within the same genus. I can't believe the production team (or museum staff?) allowed the use of "Brontosaurus" in this way - any kid who knows anything about dinosaurs would be correcting them!

[Dave]

I'm beating a dead horse here, but I can't resist some parting shots at the Jen/Jamie topic.

Did Jen make a terrible dish? Yes. Was that outburst during JT and as she walked out the door over the top? Yes. Is Jamie getting the obvious A-hole edit? Yes.

Was the dish itself conceptually flawed? Maybe. Could the ship have been turned around if Jamie were present? Maybe. The dish has pretty clearly worked in the past. At the point where Jamie cuts out (it seemed like very, very early on) Jen is working on an hour of sleep. She then states she will her job and Jamie's. I don't know about you, but if your workload is effectively doubled and you're working on little sleep, whatever you do is likely to be half assed. If Tre had cut himself and wimped out, do you think Casey would have been able to perfectly cook the salmon and make the sauce? If Stephen accidentally blended his hand, do you think Fabio can devote his all of his time and effort to hand making gnocchi?

Now, T-rex looks like it would have lost even if Jen's dish was a success. If Jamie didn't cut herself there's way more discussion about who goes home. Was the dish a conception failure or execution failure, who did what, and does Tre go home for his sauce?

My issue with Jamie is how she's conducting herself. Yes, she's getting the A-hole edit, but there's a simple way to avoid that: don't say douchey things on camera during interview sessions. Saying stuff like "I'm going to suggest a trio because I think I'm the best chef from my season and it'll let me shine." is beyond stupid your second time around. You know that the elves will run with anything that you say, and from there you know that your targets will eventually see the episode and learn that you didn't want to work as a team because you chose a fleeting individual moment over team immunity. That kind of attitude is just poisonous. Contrast that to Jen. We saw some Jen Norris take charge leadership again during the extended QF portion. Then during judges table, she ran about as far away from throwing Jamie under the bus as possible. I know I couldn't have done that. Yes, it's an excuse, but it's a damn good one.

Lastly, a crazy thought just popped through my sleep deprived, bitter mind (Jen and I have a lot in common this week...), Jamie doesn't seem to like Ripert and vice versa. So who does she pair up with and get eliminated? Jen, one of Ripert's golden protogees. There's probably 0 chance this is true, because it would be incredibly risky to cop out and not make anything on the chance that the person you target is eliminated, but that scenario would actually be pretty awesome to watch unfold.

[timothy]

Meat by-products or meatlessness? Which would you have chosen? I had a hunch when Tiffani (I) made the initial choice that she was giving herself the more difficult task and thus might be on the losing side of things. Unlike Tiffani, I heard Tom say that the Rex team could only use meat or eggs or cheese while the Bronto team could only use fruits and vegetables. There is a lot more color, taste, variety, and texture in the vegetable and fruit side of the market than in the meat side of the market, so why wouldn't a restricted chef make that choice? I think the TC chefs, and maybe chefs in general, have some kind of aversion to vegetarianism. I have read that chefs in restaurants, Bourdain included, become annoyed by vegetarian diners. I am not a vegetarian, but I appreciate a well-cooked veggie dish. I don't understand the bias that meat is always better and I think that bias did team Rex in.

[TxGriff]

Just a comment about the product confusion for Trex v. Bronto. Tom makes it pretty clear in his blog that not only does he explain the rules to the contestants, but a producer also comes in with more detailed instructions before the start time. So, really, thre's no way Tiffani could have *misunderstood* the restrictions, unless she just wasn't paying attention. Which, with little sleep and your mind on an upcoming challenge, is very possible. But, she only has herself to blame.

That said, I like Tiffani far more this time around. She seems to be one of the only people who really learned from her past TV persona and matured (same can't be said for Elia). I hope the Tiffani trend continues.

[Jse91]

I assume Tiffani had make her choice after Tom presented the options, but before the producer went through all the details. So she would have known pretty quickly about the limitation, but not necessarily before she picked. Also, I didn't so much hear her complaining about it being unfair as much as I heard "man I made a boneheaded assumption that really kicked me in the ass".

Jen did not comport herself well. And I have never liked Jamie, but I like her even less now. Best way to avoid the asshole edit: don't be an asshole.

[TxGriff]

JSe91- At JT, Tiffani said she was shocked when she went into the kitchen and saw meat products only, and that she had to change the concept for her dish. Plus, Tom clearly said meat and meat products only while introducing the challenge. Not saying Tiffani was whining, but it's pretty clear she did not understand the restrictions until the challenge began. Once again, exhaustion, stress, etc were all probably contributing factors, but there was a definite disconnect there.

[rab01]

I thought Tiffani claimed at JT that she'd been surprised when they got to the museum kitchen.

[subgenre]

Timothy: "I don't understand the bias that meat is always better and I think that bias did team Rex in."

Absolutely agree. Have none of these people tried the vast array of delicious Indian food out there? Now there's a culture who knows how to make vegetarian food SING!

I think what did team Rex in was not being allowed to use herbs and acid. A restriction that makes me wonder about Tom's comment that Jen's eggs were underseasoned. If you allow only salt & pepper, then what did he expect?

I am curious what any foodies here would have come up with if on team T-Rex? My first thought was a deviled egg with bacon in the yolk. And I am no Top Chef. Not even a Top Sommelier. But it certainly sounds more appealing than wet bacon and rubbery egg crumbs.

[timothy]

If they truly didn't get to use any acid (the culinary kind) on the Rex side, how did Dale and Tiffani make hollandaise? Doesn't that require lemon juice? I haven't made hollandaise in years, so perhaps I am misremembering.

[Polybus]

I think that Tom was perfectly correct about one thing - the Brontos took a creative approach to the breakfast and the T-Rexes didn't. The T-Rexes collectively dropped the ball, mostly because of their incorrect assumption that they could use anything while the Brontos were restricted to fruits and veggies(!?) I thought Tom's instructions were crystal clear and I cannot figure out how they missed it. One teammate, yes, but all of them???

In terms of missing the boat creatively, Jen, in particular, served up wet, brown bacon topped with unflavored hardboiled eggs. It's possible that Jamie might have saved the dish, but it really doesn't matter. Jen Norris decided that she was going to assault the thing herself and somehow make it work. I know that Jen is a terrific chef, but whether she was exhausted or defeated psychologically or whatever, she suffered a complete failure of imigination.

I felt really bad for her - as I'm sure I'm going to feel sad for many that get eliminated this season. Her expletive-laden cry as she walked out the door (something about not deserving this) was heart-wrenching.

There was another moment of pure truth in the stew room just before Jen was eliminated. Dale L. was talking about how their food was more popular with the diners and Jen made the comment that it doesn't matter how the crowd feels about the food, it's the judges you have to cook for. Aside from challenges where the diners have a say in the outcome (which are few and far between), Jen was spot-on in her assessment. I don't know if it played a role her ouster, but it is an axiom that all contestants should be aware of by now. The judges make the big decision and you must impress them first.

[dc]

Now I'm more curious exactly what was in the pantry for both teams. What did team TRex have beyond salt and pepper for flavor enhancement? Did T-Rex have vinegar, mayo, mustard? I know team Dallas had chili powder rub. I'm just thinking what I could come up with in a meat only restricted pantry... I'm stuck on steak and eggs. Maybe an egg-drop soup.

The perfect scrambled eggs can get you far. Last season Kelly won QF with her ostrich frittata.

[Anon Man]

To be fair to team T-Rex, who doesn't love a nice greasy breakfast from time to time? When you're cooking for a crowd, the bangers always trump the oatmeal.

Gail on her blog (which apparently I was exremely fortunate to be able to read), noted that the real challenge for T-Rex was variety. There's a lot of different veggies and fruits and things you can do. Gnocchi for breakfast? Hmmm, maybe not classic, but definitely different. In short, a lot of different options. But with T-Rex: You have steak and eggs: classic. The Frittata trio: eggs with meat and/or cheese. Kind of similar. And then Jen and (Jamie), tried to do something different with bacon so that it would be different than bacon an eggs out of a hotel pan. The limited ingediants led to more duplication, a desire to get more out of the box, and thus a bigger chance to make something bad.

[bryanD]

Jen NORRIS or Jen CARROLL? Did Jen get married? I pity the fool.

"BryanD: isn't this just how Carla was in her own season? Seemed to be invisible for the first half of the season, and then hey! Look at that! She's in the top 3. It would be fun to see that happen again."----Paula

I would happily tear up my betting slip to see Carla in the finals, but she needs to get positive notice soon somehow seeing how this entire season might be a succession of team challenges. While the judges claim each challenge is judged in a vacuum, virtual ties happen often in group challenges and the judges are on record falling back on secondary considerations such as "He didn't cook anything!" or "But he had all day!" (quote/unquote). If, say, Carla and Spike (an inferior all-around cook than Carla, I think) should end up on the bottom, and since Spike has the ameliorating fact that a plate of his has garnered consolation-kudos from Bourdain et al, and Carla's plates have all been invisibly Just Okay, I would guess that Carla would be in greater danger of PYKAG than Spike. This would never be cited publicly, since such a decision would be informed by past performance (a no-no), but it doesn't have to. After all, "a decision must be made" "because somebody has got to go home". A hypothetical super-tie would just have to be crunched harder with more factors considered such as who's Game for the game. (100% valid. It still seeks The Best. And it beats flipping a coin.)

I am still confident Carla can make herself felt since it's still early. I do want to see her strive to make something like a meat and pea pastie using her pastry and sauteeing skillz so the judges can say It's Carla! AND We've never been served this here before!

"Okay, off the food topic, but the "Brontosaurus" thing was killing me the entire episode. Brontosaurus is a scientifically obsolete synonym for Apatosaurus -"---mar

I noticed that, too. Well, not the Apatosaurus part per se---the Bronto has been pushed of the chart years ago--- but the picture part: Wasn't that a silhouette of a Brachiosaurus? Oh well, when our Sino-Teutonic overlords assume control heads will roll. And don't get me started on those slack-jawed "cave men" who keep forgetting to use their comb and razor objects. Mustn't give the tourist cause for reflection!

[BK]

Jen's Chicago Tribune interview is up:
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/12/top-chef-exit-interview-jennifer-carroll-disappointed-but-unbowed.html

Far as I can tell, no spoilers. But can someone explain this parenthetical:

"I guess I'm going home over overseasoning the first time and underseasoning the second time instead of going home over something that is inedible or that will get you sick. Or not doing anything at all (editor's note: a reference to the winning banana parfait)."

I assume the writer knows with certainty that Jen was taking a shot at the parfait team. But what would Jen be complaining about? Why was the parfait "doing nothing at all"? Is that a shot at the full dish, or is she taking a shot at one of the individual chefs on the team of three who executed the dish?

[redpoint]

I think the writer of the article got it wrong. "Not doing anything at all" probably refers to Jamie, not to the parfait makers. From the recipe, I see the parfait involved many well-thought out steps. It wasn't the work of amateurs.

[EdT.]

"Jen NORRIS or Jen CARROLL? Did Jen get married? I pity the fool."

Not that I know of. "Jennifer Norris" was a nickname she was given here, during Season 6, after her "take charge" episode (where they cooked, buffet style, in a hangar at Nellis AFB.) It was a takeoff on Chuck Norris, based on the fact that (at that time, at least) she was the consummate badass.

~EdT.

[redpoint]

Mmm. I also think Jen's article has a potential spoiler--when she says who she's rooting for. I wouldn't read it if you don't want to know.

[TxGriff]

**WARNING. Not a spoiler, but a comment about a potential spoiler. Avoid reading if you have no interest in reading the Tribune article.**

redpoint- The relationship Jen is referring to was formed before All Stars began, not as a result of the show, so I don't think that is a spoiler. In retrospect, Elia's comment last week was definitely somewhat of a spoiler because she and Jen did not know each other before All Stars. In this case, however, I think she is just referencing a preexisting relationship.

[EdT.]

"But can someone explain this parenthetical:..."

It might have had something to do with the fact that there was less actual cooking done on the parfait than on the other dishes. I don't know of anybody who did "nothing" (heck, even Jamie did something - she injured herself!), though I don't recall a lot of airtime given to the parfait team (except for the drama between Marcel and Carla/Spike.)

While perusing the article, I saw something that might help explain Jen's attitude and behavior:

"I had the T-Rex inside of me that day. The T-Rex on a lot of caffeine."

Combined with the alcohol which historically flows freely in the Stew Room, I wonder if we weren't seeing Jen on what must have been a DIY Four Loco. This certainly explains the odd body movements she was displaying at JT.

Also, I wonder if Tom gave Eric a heads-up before the episode aired, so that he wouldn't be blind-sided by her actions there at the end. As a matter of professional courtesy, and strictly on the QT, of course.

~EdT.

[bryanD]

"Jennifer Norris" was a nickname she was given here, during Season 6...Chuck Norris"---EdT

Thx. I would have never figured that out.

Elsewhere. The Trib article (above) is indeed spoiler-free.

Thoughts: Jen STILL works for Ripert at his immaculate establishment? (I thought she was an ex)...Well that may explain things. The kitchen spec-star whose showboat gets sunk forthwith. Razzing and *looks* to follow from heartless top-flight kitchen brigade.

Also: the Trib reporter's presumption (noted elsewhere)
quoth JEN: "Or not doing anything at all (editor's note: a reference to the winning banana parfait)."

Whatwhere-huh? Moral: Beware of nerds with guns, pens or word processors and even a modicum of job security.

Money set-quote from article, re: Jamie's cut(complete!):

Jamie to Jen:
(enter JAMIE) Jamie: "I gotta go." (exuent JAMIE)
Ugh. Villain.

[timothy]

Jen: "I guess I'm going home over overseasoning the first time and underseasoning the second time instead of going home over something that is inedible or that will get you sick. Or not doing anything at all (editor's note: a reference to the winning banana parfait)."

My hunch: Inedible= Tre's sauced salmon
Get you sick= Tiffany (2) and Antonia's undercooked eggs
Not doing anything= Jamie
Editor's parfait comment= wrong
Jen's notion that she went home for underseasoning= self-preserving delusion

[pottymouth princess]

@the poster who broke down next week's teams:

Can you (or anyone else) differentiate which Tiffany is on what team since the poster did not accurately identify TiffanI Faison?

Thanks! :)

[bryanD]

pottymouth princess,

Due to a wild hair, I figured I would clear up your (and my) most excellent question regarding the deployment of the 2 Tih-feh-neez of episode 3.

The stupid Top Chef blog is never obvious or helpful enough ("no results"), so I googled "top chef all stars episode 3".

DO NOT DO THAT! A semi-spoiler will greet you on the search page.

Paging nomnomnom...nomnomnom stat.

[Wangus]

Here it is for those interested (just rewatched the episode)

Tiffani, Marcel, DaleT, Carla
Angelo, Mike, Tiffany, Fabio
Richard, Spike, Tre, Steven
Jamie, Casey, DaleL, Antonia

nomnomnom calls the Richard's team as clearly the weakest. I'd hesitate to agree until I see the challenge. The big thing I notice is that Jamie's team is lacking the "creative" mind which may or may not hurt them depending on what they have to do (they should at least be thankful they aren't at WD50). Also an interesting though likely useless thing I noticed: Tiffani's team is the only one where none of the members are from the same seaon.

[marjorie]

My nine-year-old was yelping, "There is no such thing as a brontosaurus! It's apatosaurus!" I wonder if the AMNH folk were watching and wincing too. I'm betting yes. Though probably not as much as Jen did when she watched herself at judges' table.

[Kenny]

I've watched all the seasons, and am probably starting to burn out on Top Chef. (Maybe, maybe not...)

One of my favorite chefs from all the seasons was Elia; down to earth, very realistic, simple yet wholesome approach. So I was sorry to see her go.

With that in mind I was not quite so surprised to see Jen go this week.

While the dish she made did not sound very appealing in the judges description, it certainly sounded much more appealing than an over-reduced shrimp sauce, with everything that entails. Besides being salty, what about the texture of the shrimp?

Interesting also, that both weeks have seen time-outs that have been excused: Richard last week for (appallingly) not plating his dish on time, and this week Jaime for her stitches. There was none of the same then Seth had his fainting spell on Top Chef Just Dessert, so there is certainly some concession going on to the detriment of others.

[Kenny]

@Wangus: "Also, in my mind, this show is totally Top Badass. :)"

I agree; sometimes it does appear less top chef than top badass. For me, I'd much rather a thoughtful and well composed meal from a wonderful chef than something hammered out in a competition. Not every great chef could begin to compete in these often strange challenges.

So, there is a lot to be said for the concept of the show. But when all is said and done, it's not everything.

[Wangus]

Kenny: I don't think there were any actual shrimp in the 'shrimp & bacon sauce'. I'm fairly certain it was just shrimp shells. That being said, over-reduced sauces are really salty.

As for the thing about Seth. Seth had fairly classic signs of having an anxiety attack. What I imagine happened was that the producers realized this: he's had an anxiety attack, and he has had several episodes of extreme distress and emotion so far. The rest of the competition is only going to produce more stress which will lead to more attacks. This is not good for his health. He can't compete.

In other words, his fainting indicated the likelihood of more of the same in future episodes. Jamie's cut doesn't.

I do agree somewhat with the potential precedent that Richard's plating issue could cause, much moreso than this current Jamie's cut issue. Though I think we hit on that enough last week.

[bryanD]

"Here it is for those interested (just rewatched the episode)
Tiffani, Marcel, DaleT, Carla
Angelo, Mike, Tiffany, Fabio
Richard, Spike, Tre, Steven
Jamie, Casey, DaleL, Antonia"
----Wangus

[My last word til Wed or Thurs!]

Ooo. Carla ensconsed w/ Tiffani and Marcel!

If Carla does not rock an element, I shall color myself Concerned (for her).

CAR-la! CAR-la!

[ally]

I'm just going to politely throw this out here --

Dom has asked us not to report on spoilers. If you think your comment is related to a potential spoiler, kindly keep your trap shut and let his continue to be a spoiler-free zone. Many of you seem like the older brother or sister who just can't wait to tell the younger kid that Santa doesn't really exist. Just please keep it to yourselves and comment in another forum/blog.

Thanks :)

[ally]

P.S. if any of you really thought that Santa exists and I spoiled it for you, I do apologize.
;)

[nomnomnom]

The reason I call Richard's team the weakest was not fully explained.

We know the QF is the relay race. I do not see Richard or Stephen as good prep chefs. Even with Casey on another team I can not possibly see them winning the QF.

Really, I see Casey's team as the most likely to win the QF. The 4 chefs there are for all intents still cooking on a daily basis for a living. That's more than what you can say for any of the others.

If 2 chefs from the same team go home I'm calling Tre and Stephen.

If they split the eliminations then god knows what happens. And the previews up would actually point you in this direction now. For the time being I'm discounting the thought that it is 2 from one team.

It's a pretty easy EC to figure out what happens. The chef puts out a plate and they have to copy, or improve on it. Not that hard to project who would excel in such a setting. Casey did win for an identical challenge (I think) and Stephan won in the next incarnation of this. I may be forgetting some that happened since.

I am convinced this episode will set the tone for the whole season. Putting your spin on a TC Master's dish and succeeding is not like polishing the turd that sent you off, or some hackneyed brunch entree.

[ally]

The idea that there will be one definitive challenge in this season is silly.

All of the eliminations are equally weighted - someone (of many talented chefs) will be sent home. The games have already begun.

[skoolie]

I fell asleep during the initial show, saw the ending and then had to rewatch it yesterday.

About Jen's Attitude
She was great during the first half of the show, it wasn't until the EC that we started seeing her sinking. I think this has a lot to do with only getting 45 minutes of sleep.

I went to a college where you had classes at any point during 24 hours. Sometimes we had a class at 1am or 5 am. I learned very quickly that if you don't have enough time to sleep for 4 hours then just stay up and hit your second wind. 45 minutes is only going to make you groggy and miserable.

I didn't have a problem with Jen at Judges table. She knew the only thing she could do was defend her dish. I also want to give her credit because she never once thought of throwing Jamie under the bus. She told it how it was and what she thought. Sure she was a little more abrasive than she needed to be about it but like Tom said, he didn't have a problem with her talking back to the judges and this is going to happen more often this season.

Jen while defending her dish also took credit for it's failures and that is why she was sent home.

[TxGriff]

ally- other than the the judge's blogs, this blog and articles referenced on this blog (which I assume are spoiler free), I stay away from all other TC related commentary or sites because I want to actually enjoy the progession of the season. The reason I added that disclaimer is because another commentor warned about a potential spoiler in Jen's Tribune article, and I was explaining how it was not actually a spoiler at all, so the article is safe to read (imo). I could cut and paste the exact portion of the article that I am referring to, but I decided not because I understand some people are sensitive to outside information, even if it gives away nothing about the outcome of the show. You could read the article yourself to see what I am referring to, or you don't have to, which is why I added the dislaimer to not read my comment if you had no interest in the Tribune article. And I didn't see any harm in mentioning Elia's comments since they referred to Jen and had already been discussed a few times here. Either way, I agree that this should be a spoiler free zone and I always appreciate it when other posters warn about potential spoilers (or lack thereof) in articles or other medias discussed here.

By the way, I'm the youngest of my siblings, so I know all about the disappointment of having Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and other childhood staples taken away at too young of an age :).

[timothy]

skoolie:

there are colleges that have classes at 1 am? What college? This is totally irrelevant and not my business but that is really interesting to me. It's kinda cool in the same way that going through the Natural History museum with flashlights is kinda cool...

[skoolie]

heheh Full Sail University in Orlando Fl

It also reminds me that in Jen's exit interview she mentioned she was hopped up on caffeine to keep awake.

Caffeine can make you irritated, not that it's an excuse to her behavior but it maybe something that helped cause it.

[ally]

TxGriff, I do understand where you're coming from. Just seems to me like for some reason this season there is a lot of spoiler talk on here, and hinting at what the spoiler is, etc. I am the type of person, if I know I could find something out, I might try to peek. So less temptation is better for me :) I havent so far, but only through sheer willpower...

[nomnomnom]

@ally, how can a double elmination by definition not count more?

After this we get another catering challenge to pair with a quickfire where they can't use knives or something stupid like that. Puke.

Not all episodes are created equal. Chefs that excel in small top single plate EC are the ones that hang around the longest and go on to have success. It's not Top Caterer.

[TxGriff]

Totally get what you mean, ally. Last season, someone posted a link about the upcoming cast for the All Star season, and I wished I hadn't looked because it ruined the finale. As for this season, I think there is so much speculation because these chefs have an automatic fan base from the beginning. A good policy would probably be to avoid posting any links or articles that may have spoiler potential. Although, if I did know more about the outcome, it would probably suppress some of my anxiety while watching the show :).

[ally]

nomnomnom, for me, an example of a sort of transformative episode was the one where we found out that Carla could do French cuisine very very well. I just think that there won't be a point at which the season will settle into a groove of any kind, no tone will be set, there will be no game-shifting episode, no four horsemen. At least I hope not because so far it's just so interesting.

[Duffy]

Rewatched it all, and reread Tom's blog. Here's my problem:

All the other competitors worked as teams, and Jamie left at the outset. Whether she should have or not is beside the point, which is that this put Jen under an additional handicap, not part of the problem and not of her own making. That she did not try to blame Jamie is to her credit, but certainly this aspect had to have an impact on Jen's performance. Tom's throwing this point away because Jen did not blame Jamie is disingenuous.

Jen claimed the dish was exactly as planned. Under the rules, no seasoning -- herbs, acids, extras -- allowed. Just meat, eggs and dairy. The judges all say they didn't like the taste -- Tom says the pork was spongy and the eggs were bland. But what is there to expect in a braise, and hard boiled eggs with no adds allowed? Ming Thai, on another show, commented that braised pork fat is an acquired taste -- that some do not like the texture.

Two other dishes had major technical errors. Mistakes in technique, in basic skills -- the underdone eggs and the over-reduced sauce. In other circumstances, either of these basic errors would have trumped discretionary taste.

Jen wuz robbed.

[timothy]

I dunno Duffy. You argue the case well, but all I have to do is look at the picture. Not Jen's, the one of the egg and pork. It looks so disgusting to me. I want to gag. I can't taste it of course, and therefore I know it's all subjective speculation, but the picture alone makes me -- a Jen fan -- feel okay about the decision.

[Duffy]

Yeah, Timothy, but its still all in the perception. If one refers to the dish as an "unctious morsel in a delicate broth" instead of "wet bacon" or "spongy and bland" how would the same picture be perceived? I don't like floppy bacon -- I send it back if served. Is this what the judges were talking about? And if so, isn't a matter of taste, not technique?

If the other dishes were without flaws, I would sit down and be quiet. Somebody has to go. But where two other dishes had demonstrable and significant deficits in basic technique, I wonder -- did Jen get sent packing because she underseasoned her dish, or because she shot off her mouth?

[Kenny]

@Wangus, thanks; I understand the comparison w/Seth is a stretch. Yet, it is not entirely invalid... That did take a time to flesh out, though it coulda shoulda been clear pretty early, sort of like an over reduced shrimp sauce.

And skoolie, I like your point regarding the sleep issues. Which great chef can jump the most hurdles?

It doesn't necessarily mean they are the greatest chef.

Not trying to be cynical, just bred that way.

[Nikki D]

@nomnomnom "Really, I see Casey's team as the most likely to win the QF."

Does anyone else remember Casey during her season chopping that onion...for like AN HOUR???

If they ask her to fine dice an onion, it's all over for that team :)

[nomnomnom]

Yes, I remember the onion thing. I assume we will be treated to that clip roughly 500x during the next episode.

The reason I like her team is it would seem on the surface the 4 people there are in a kitchen full time. However, it's not totally clear what chefs retain what roles. Dom doesn't usually like to comment on future challenges, but it may be helpful in this case as he is more up on this research angle. *please*

[bryanD]

"If the other dishes were without flaws, I would sit down and be quiet."---Duffy

Yeah, the curse of the nebulous team challenge format; I can agree with you there. But the fact remains that, judged as a breakfast, a plate, Team Casey-Tre presented a decent element in the fish(?), and Team Jen-Jen's elements all failed (by a long distance according to Tom's blog) making the breakfast plate score 1-0 Adv. Tre-Casey.

And about the egg's blandness: there is a video clip showing a red pepper?/paprika? spice rub that someone is applying to meat. Therefore I MUST MUST! assume there was salt and pepper available to Jen for her egg dish.
If Jen would have simply guesstimated by throwing salt and pepper on those eggs (eggs are forgiving that way) she would still be here because breakfasts would have been tied at 1-Up with the tie being broken by Tre's failure to produce.

That being said, we'll miss Jen. And Tre had better whip up his cheese grits before its too late.

[aaalex]

ally: i completely disagree with your comment on "spoilers". i very much appreciated reading the interview with elia and appreciated being told there was a POTENTIAL spoiler in the interview. i was allowed to choose for myself what i should read. i'm an adult, after all.

though i don't want anyone telling me the winners/losers before a show is broadcast, i don't need people to censor their links. let me know there's a spoiler, or the possibility of a spoiler at the linked site and let me decide for myself if i should follow the link, please. i think it's great - a great resource - that people on this blog point others in the direction of interviews, etc, EVEN if said interviews (etc) might be too revealing. having warned me about spoilers, they put the responsibility in my hands.

i understand the temptation to go look at spoilers is strong, but unless you're 15, you should have the necessary will power. if people had been following your tight rules, no one would have pointed to elia's interview. to me, that would have been sad. if you don't have the willpower, you need to ask yourself if skillet doux - which is devoted to all things top chef - is the right place for you to come during the season. don't forget: dominic also warns you if there may be anything potentially spoiling in what he says or points to. that's pretty fair, i think. and working with the politeness and "rules" we've informally had over the last 8 seasons, i can't think of one occasion when something was spoiled/revealed here. i mean, it's been going good, why make people more antsy about sharing information?

as far as i'm concerned, a polite warning is enough.

[EdT.]

Kenny said: "Interesting also, that both weeks have seen time-outs that have been excused: Richard last week for (appallingly) not plating his dish on time..."

How was this excused? Richard wasn't eligible to win, because he went over time. He also wasn't eligible to PPYKAG, because he had immunity (his team earned it in the QF, if I recall.)

~EdT.

[Skoolie]

lmao @ aaalex

You are right though. As an adult I like the idea of choosing to read the interviews or not. I like when people link to the exit interviews other articles or blogs that may be of interest.

I don't think anyone here would link to a real spoiler which has detailed information about who wins and who looses. The people here all seem to be in the same boat as wanting to watch the show without huge spoilers, but I see nothing wrote with posting the links to the exit interviews.

[EdT.]

Duffy - one thing to remember is that, while the chefts split up into pairs (or trio, in the case of Richard/Marcel/Angelo), this wasn't required by the rules of the challenge. Sort of like Jen's "take charge" attitude during the Thunderbirds buffet during S6. Ultimately, the judges base their decision on taste (as they have told us numerous times): though it can be highly subjective, it would appear that in this case, Jen was "a good chef who had a bad day".

~EdT.

[Wangus]

EdT: this a really good point. Both teams interviewed saying "we decided to split into groups". Obviously, I think it was a good decision. But the question then comes down to: was Jen better off dropping her dish and joining one of the other groups and potentially turning one of the bad dishes into a good dish? Would the judges be angry then that they only served three dishes against the other team's four?

It's times like these that I would love to see those little rule cards that they're all given. As well as what items are available to them. For instance, it's been mentioned above that Tre made a spice rub for the salmon. That means they had some spices to work with. We also know this because Dale L.'s hollandaise was described as a 'smoked paprika and creme fraiche hollandaise'. But what else?

As a final side note that I found interesting after a recent rewatching: Angelo was picked 9th out of the total 14 contestants that were picked for teams. 9th! Do they (or at least Spike and Tiffani) underestimate him? Is it because his season was the most recent so they don't know a lot about him (ie. hasn't been in the 'Top Chef Family' long)? The sequence of people picked is actually very interesting on many aspects, and a great way to speculate and waste time. :)

[Skoolie]

Right Ed T.

and that doesn't bother me but I'm already over group challenges during an all star season.

First there was the QF qroup challenge and the 2nd episode was the EC group challenge and we know we are going to get more.

I want to see more individualism in an All Star Cast.

That said they judges do a great job of parsing the groups down to individual contributions.

[Polybus]

Skoolie, I agree with you regarding individual challenges. However, I also think it is more difficult early in the season with so many contestants. With, say 17 or 18 dishes, there just isn't enough air time to have hardly any focus on the dishes unless there are fewer of them. I heard that complaint for the first EC where there were 18 dishes and even with 75 minutes we couldn't get much of a feeling for them. Of course, if we weren't constantly subjected to ads for the Real Vixens of Hooterville, there might be more time... grrr...

[Skoolie]

That makes so much sense Polybus.

and I agree.

Also stop doing the weird ad thing, and I hate it when we see a segment before a commercial break and then we see it Again after the commercial.

We don't need previews of what is going to happen when it comes back from commercial break. Nor do we need a reminder of what transpired before the commercial break. Give us some credit we all have memories.

And lets not forget the internet can be used as a tool. When they have so many contestants they could use that top chef team blog to outline everything for those that are interested. Post the dishes and the ingredients, and the recipes. Of course that would take time and money but it would take less time and money than changing the show from say 15 episodes to 18 or 20 episodes.

I just don't think they are fully utilizing all that they have on hand.

[ally]

aalex, i guess employing hyperbole about willpower is not suitable for serious-minded people such as yourself. I've posted here several times and never have acted like a child such that i need to be berated and ridiculed, but all i can say in a 15-year-olds voice is: whatever. even when i disagree with other posters, i manage to keep my discussion out of the personal realm.

if my remark/request/chastisement made people think twice about discussing spoilers, then i'm happy. it just seemed like things were veering toward them too much. you've also been posting for years so you should also be aware that we have been discussing them more than usual. however i also know that i am not a moderator here and i will be mindful of such comments in the future.

[aaalex]

ally: i'm entirely and completely sorry if my comments made you feel attacked and belittled. (my "15 year old" comment was hyperbole as well.) it's just that i really appreciate it when people post links to other sources and sites. some of the best top chef info has come along with warnings about spoilers, etc. and i would hate to think people might desist from giving those links if we get too paranoid about spoilers. you're entirely right that this year has had - after only two episodes - its share of spoiler warnings, but neither "spoiler" was major and it was - for me - sad to think i might not have been directed to elia's entertaining interview if we start to get too self-conscious about spoilers. (elia's interview was hateful, in some way, but very revealing of her "true" self. it allowed a window onto the soul that felt it was okay to shave marcel's head.) as far as i'm concerned, a simple warning about possible spoilers is enough. i'm sorry if you don't agree. but i again apologize if you felt belittled by my post. i didn't intend to be mean. and i've enjoyed your posts over the years.

[nomnomnom]

The elia spoiler stuff was sufficiently vague to me. Somewhat like when they clumsily started editing in finale interviews in the regular season really early in the Lisa season, and people noticed her haircut and her verb tenses.

They have at least gotten a lot less sloppy on that stuff. This Elia thing obviously was a mistake, but it was early. So it goes.

There was another fan site that basically went so far as to diagram a few late season Kelly sentences last year to come to the conclusion that Kevin outlasted her. So to that end I see how the internet is sometimes it's own worst enemy.

[timothy]

"...the internet is its own worst enemy..." yeah. that's kinda deep. i could reflect on that comment for a while. in a good way. why does it make me think of the classic janis joplin/kris kristoferson line: "freedom's just another name for nothing left to lose."? Internet freedom is just another name for all sorts of ways to be spoiled. I obviously am ready for the Power Rankings. I am kind of just babble typing right now...sorry...

[matthew]

I'm glad to see long-time posters hug it out. I, too, engage in a healthy dose of speculation and reading between the lines. However, when Carla's competing (Season 5 and now), I tend to steer clear of spoilers. When she's not on the show, I must admit that I engage in a healthy dose of guess work and speculation.

Ok...on to a new week. It's supposed to be a double elimination. Those double cuts are always tense, but the paring usually leads to the chefs elevating their game in the following episodes. We'll see.

[Allison]

I'm with Timothy, ready for this week's Power Rankings, catching up here. Not much to say. I was surprised at Jen's exit, but not given the circumstances. I also agree with some others that the herbivore team held an advantage over the carnivore team.

I haven't had a chance to look, but I wonder if the Bravo site has more recipes posted. I would be disappointed if they don't include at least most (if not all) of them.

[bryanD]

"I haven't had a chance to look, but I wonder if the Bravo site has more recipes posted. I would be disappointed if they don't include at least most (if not all) of them."---Allison

I think the lack of foodie details on the Top Chef Bravo blog might be explained by the existence of Top Chef University ($30/mo). I recommend the free tour if you've ever wondered what it would be like to be annoyed at Our Carla. The weird feeling passes after it's over, and of course, she's forgiven. Go Carla.

BTW Kevin Gillespie is hanging out there. Don't know what that means.

[Elise]

Something of a late brainstorm. Tiffany F (Tiff the Red? Red Tiff?) had a pretty solid bad guy rep from her season. Now, she's the only one on her team with immunity, and she has a "brain fart" and picks meat? Sure, she's tired, it's possible she just wasn't really thinking. Or maybe she realized this was a pretty good way to get rid of someone on her team.

I looked at that challenge and decided there was pretty much no way team carnivore was going to win, unless team herbivore set the meal on fire, and not in a good way. If Red Tiff thought some of her own teammates were a bigger threat than the other side, it would make sense to pick meat.

[Polybus]

Elise, my personal opinion is that it was an honest error. I think that in the moment Tiffani just equated meat and eggs with breakfast. If she didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it, I'm sure she just jumped on it without thinking - at least that's what it looked like to me in the video. Given Tom's explicit instructions, I don't know how Tiffani could have thought T-Rex was an omnivore - but it wasn't just Tiffani - the whole team seemed to get it wrong. They were shocked when they checked out their pantry. Weird. Mass delusion?

[Bawdy George]

Anyone else get hosed on the DVR when the Dish network guide changed the name back to Top Chef from Top Chef All Stars?

[Allison]

"I think the lack of foodie details on the Top Chef Bravo blog might be explained by the existence of Top Chef University ($30/mo). I recommend the free tour if you've ever wondered what it would be like to be annoyed at Our Carla. The weird feeling passes after it's over, and of course, she's forgiven. Go Carla.

BTW Kevin Gillespie is hanging out there. Don't know what that means." -- bryanD

I thought it might have something to do with that & selling cookbooks, etc. Thanks for the free quick tour tip.