Top Chef - S8E3 Power Rankings

Hey, all!

Between the kid with pneumonia and holiday travel, try as I might, I haven't been able to get to the rankings this week. So I'm cashing in my once-per-season "Get Out Of The Rankings Free" card. But because I hate doing nothing, here's a really, really quick and dirty set of rankings for the week:

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

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Angelo Quickfires 0 0 2 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 2 3 0 Continued strong showing allows him to hold first place, just barely ahead of Richard.

2 Richard Quickfires 2 2 0 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 1 2 0 Tom's favorite dish from the Marea group, even if he was outvoted by those who preferred Tre's. Combined with the QF win, thought about putting him ahead of Angelo. Could be either, really.

3 Dale T. Quickfires 1 2 0 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 2 0 Elimination challenge win that demonstrates everything a finalist needs to do and gets heaps of praise serves as a reminder of why I was so big on Dale T. back in season four. He has to maintain, but earns the jump this week.

4 Tiffani Quickfires 1 2 1 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 0 0 2 A disturbing trend of bottom appearances for a chef who I believe is better. An early wake-up call can be good, and hopefully that's what this is for Tiffani. But even at number four, she's on thin ice and needs to come back strong to maintain her rank.

5 Marcel Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 1 1 0 Got a big, fat fastball right down the heart of the plate and whiffed. Doesn't bode well, but he didn't hurt himself either.

6 Spike Quickfires 2 2 0 Last Week: 9 Eliminations 0 2 0 Curse you, Spike!!!

7 Casey Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 0 0 1 Not breaking into the top ranks, but looks consistently strong which, as discussed earlier, is unusually important this season.

8 Jamie Quickfires 0 0 2 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 0 1 1 Has skill, even if she didn't show it on this elimination, but lack of flexibility is exposing her.

9 Mike Quickfires 0 1 2 Last Week: 10 Eliminations 0 1 0 Makes a great dish... on his own!

10 Antonia Quickfires 1 1 1 Last Week: 12 Eliminations 0 1 1 Wish I could see a recipe, but that dish looked nice. Seems to be stretching a little further this time around. Could make a big move if she keeps it up.

11 Carla Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 11 Eliminations 0 1 0 Deftly handles a challenge that could easily have sent her packing.

12 Tre Quickfires 1 2 0 Last Week: 13 Eliminations 0 1 1 There's Tre the chef rather than Tre the legend. Gets a bump, but I want to see if he can do it again.

13 Tiffany Quickfires 0 0 3 Last Week: 14 Eliminations 0 0 1 Just can't get it going. Took half a season last time, but she won't have that luxury this time. Needs to get it in gear, and quickly.

14 Fabio Quickfires 0 0 2 Last Week: 15 Eliminations 0 1 2 To be fair, that was about as brutal as a challenge could be for Fabio. But still, you'd hope he'd be able to do a little more with it than that.

15 Dale L. Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 0 0 2 A disappointing finish for one of my sleepers. He was always high risk / high reward, and I thought the gig at Sprout meant he might come in a little more evenly this time around.

16 Stephen Quickfires 1 1 2 Last Week: 16 Eliminations 0 1 2 Clearly didn't belong in this field, but made a classy exit, shameless explanation of his motivations in the extended exit interview notwithstanding.

Back at full strength next week...

Discuss!

Comments

[Naomi]

Aw Dom! Thanks for posting an abbreviated version even though you were using your pass!! I've been up for several nights with sick kids so I'm grateful for this little bit of mommy time and also feeling your pain. (and since I haven't slept I don't know if this post is making any sense). In short, I'm thanking you for posting this even though you didn't have to and I'm wishing your family improved health!!

[Anon Man]

Antonia is at 10? Typo.

I'll admit, as much as I enjoy your thoughtful, complete prose every week, I actually think your pithy, acerbic summaries are even better in some ways. "Curse you, Spike!!!" and "Makes dish on his own!" = classic. A pleasant holiday week and excellent holiday cooking to everyone.

[Skoolie]

Yes, Thank you for writing this quick and dirty one up even though you were using your pass. Its good to see the rankings and have some ideas for tonight.

Interesting your top 3 are in the same order as mine, I have casey as 7th too and my bottom 3 are in the same order as yours.

Makes me realize just how muddled the middle can be.

[paula]

Happy holidays to everyone! And a speedy, full, LASTING recovery for Dom's kiddo (and a Christmas wish that your whole family can stay healthy for a while).

Two comments, one on topic, one off:

What on earth has Jamie done this season that merits her being so high on everyone's rankings? I must have a short memory...Dom, I think you have a blind spot for her because you ate at her restaurant and loved it so much. Just sayin'. :)

Off topic: My husband and I have Christmas Eve sans kids this year, and are looking to make a big, special, kick-ass dinner for ourselves. Can anyone point me in the direction of a great dinner-for-two menu of recipes we should tackle? We like a challenge.

[Bart]

Can't argue too much, except I think I'd bump up Carla and Tre a bit higher, and move Jamie and Mike down a little lower.

Hope the kiddo feels better in time for Santa's appearance this Saturday!

[Skoolie]

Paula I agree about Jamie I have her listed as number 11th.

I think Dom is right though her food seems to be really amazing when she puts forth the effort.

but she isn't always putting forth the effort and that is the problem.

[rab01]

Thanks for the rankings. Hope your kid gets better soon.

I think Jaime and Marcel are placed a bit high. The disdain for Jaime expressed in Bourdain's blog is really strong -- and not just for her non-showing last week but also her dish this week. Tom's discussion of Marcel this week is polite but not one that I think can go with someone that Tom ever seriously considered for the win. I think you have to factor in the expressed preferences of two of the regular judges ... particularly since that's part of why Tiffani is so high. (She hasn't done an awesome dish yet this season.)
p.s. -- I love Marcel and hope that he and Blais get to have an MG show-down late in the season but I don't think he's making the finals in this field.

[vizoroo]

Maybe you should have Blais and Angelo tied for first. I prefer Blais, but can't really argue.

Hope Santa brings you and yours a Merry, Merry Christmas. Seriously, your New Year's resolution should be to keep the family healthy in 2011!.

Thanks for the ratings.

P.S. Spike needs to put his hat back on. lol

[LB]

Your top 4 are my 4 favorites. I hope it stays this way but I doubt it will.

[Elise]

Dom, hope everyone gets feeling better soon. Thanks for the rankings. You've just perked up my home with sick kids day to no end!

[Polybus]

Get your child well, Dom - and as far as I am concerned you still have that pass - thanks for giving us your concise thoughts!

I am going to have two wonderful cooks making duck & trimmings (including to-die-for green chile stuffing) for Christmas Day - all I have to do is watch and learn.

Happy Holiday everyone!

[Polybus]

Oh, Paula, I have a soft spot for Jamie for the same reason Dom does. Maybe she's not competing at the level she is capable of, but once you've eaten her food, you can't help but be a fan.

[JJ]

A few remarks on this weeks Power Rankings:

(3) Dale – of the six contestants who failed to make the finals of their respective seasons he definitely seems to have the best chance of making this one. I still think though that he is a hit/miss kind of chef and his consistency could be his downfall. I'd like one more wow moment like the last challenge before placing him in the top three.

(5) Marcel – I dig Marcel but I don't think he's done much to justify his top five ranking here. I would put him possibly as low as 11th or 12th.

(6) Spike – Based on QF and EC placements, I suppose Spike belongs here (he certainly deserves it more than Marcel), but the judges indifferent response to his last dish reminds me why he is a non-contender. Yes, he could make it to the late stages of this competition but I don't see him having the culinary skills to go to the finals. For this reason, I would rank him a bit lower.

(7) Casey – Agree with your comments (if not ranking). She has reminded us over the first three episodes why she is a contender if not for the win than at least for the finals.

(8) Jaimie – To the contrary, Jaimie has demonstrated why, despite her considerable talent, she probably won't be around much longer. There is a lack of flexibility that is disconcerting. Very disappointed by her timid entree last week which, if not for Dale L's spectacularly fail, would have surely placed her in the bottom. For this, she should be ranked lower. Possibly as low as 11th or 12th.

(10) Antonia – Should be higher. Possibly even as high as 6th. She will make it to the second half of the season, both because of her skills and positive attitude. Here was someone who rose to the occasion, on the last EC, while still staying true to her style.

(12) Tre – Considering his top four placement last week this seems a bit too low. I have to agree though that I wasn't super-impressed by his dish. It seemed solid but not terribly inspired or interesting.

(13) Tiffany – Not sure she has another gear to switch too, really. Yes she did go on a nice winning streak during her season, but it wasn't the strongest of seasons and she never really wowed me. So far she has been cruelly exposed by the talent level of her competitors. We might recall too what happened in the last challenge before the finale of her season: when her competitors all cooked to their potential she suddenly ended up on the bottom.

(14) Fabio – Really didn't deserve to survive the last challenge. Not impressed by his inflexibility. He is certainly one of the lesser chefs to have made it to the finale of his respective season (just glad that some of the others who come to mind – hello, Lisa – aren't here as well).

That's it. Have a good holiday, Dom.

[timothy]

Dom, Thanks for the rankings and hope all is well. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone. Paula, here is a menu for two that looks good to me. I haven't tried it, but the potatoes are on my menu this year and everything here looks worth trying.

http://www.suite101.com/content/gourmet-dinner-for-two-on-christmas-day-a126706

[Steve F.]

Glad things are not bad for you.

My only quibbles are with Carla being so low as she's shown fortitude and creativity more so than Mike and less weakness than Antonia; and Marcel being so high as he's been coasting with mediocre showings.

But tough to tell as the challenge determines so much. Maybe another week and we'll see who's really on in the MOTP.

[nomnomnom]

I know Tiffani is a fan favorite here, but if you take away past performance in her very weak season there's absolutely nothing to warrant a top 4 ranking anymore. You don't go and get totally and completely exposed in a wide open challenge making a small number of plates with plentiful resources and stay up. Temporary slip-up or not it shows far too much anchoring to the early season rankings.

[Joanna]

@nomnomnom - Agreed that Tiffani hasn't done all that much this season, but before this episode, she hadn't done anything really wrong, either [unless you count making a stupid decision about cooking meat while sleep-deprived]. And she did win that random all-star holiday special a few years back, too.

No idea why Marcel is that high, though. I think I'd move Antonia and Tre up a few spots, and Marcel down a few.

[Wangus]

Yay for Dale T. and Mike I. doing well. What can I say, when you meet some of the chefs in person you can't help but root for them a bit. (I've eaten three more of the contestants' food but never met those three so the connection is less strong).

Some thoughts:

Tiffani being too high: I think one of the reasons she deserves to stay close to the top is that Tom has been a consistent lover of her food. Is it possible she has 'lost her edge' since then? Certainly. But until I see something specific that indicates she's no longer the Tiffani of old, I'll trust Tom's fawnings for now.

Fabio not going home: I thought Fabio should've gone home. I really did. And then I read Bourdain's blog. He actually enjoyed eating the food! He even said he'd probably eat it again. That being said there were errors made and it was completely out of place in the style and restaurant that he was supposed to be working under. But the food in itself was happily edible, and that's enough reason for me.

On a more personal curiosity: has anyone butchered lamb in the way Marcel was talking about? Can anyone that has tell me if it really works as well as he postulates? If you consider that he was doing all the lamb by himself whereas the green and blue teams had two people on the lamb, Marcel is correct that it is a pretty fast method.

[bryanD]

re:Stephen A. "Clearly didn't belong in this field, but made a classy exit, shameless explanation of his motivations in the extended exit interview notwithstanding."---skilletdoux

"Motivations". May I recommend a deep wade in Blais' wikipedia page? The sub-links? More sponsors than Dale Earnhardt and more smoke than Puff the Magic Dragon. I'm still trying to clean this bar code off my butt. Out, spot!
And Blais is NOT "owner, FlipBurger". I prefer Stephen A's version of racketeering.

[H.F.]

I can't quibble with the rankings, as this team competition stuff makes getting a feel for how each chef is doing nearly impossible.

Wishing your child a speedy recovery, Dom. Happy Holidays to everyone!

[Skillet Doux]

bryanD... Certainly. There likely isn't a chef in the field who is coming back more to promote themselves and their restaurants/projects. But most of them have the sense not to blithely dismiss the entire proceedings by stating that the only reason they came on the show was to grow their brand. Such realities can be handled with class or with arrogance.

[redpoint]

Casey is nothing if not solid, and I would put her strongly above Spike, who has good days and bad days. Spike, as you all know, was either in the middle or in the bottom of all but one challenge season 4.

I agree with other posters who say Tiffani and Marcel are overrated, and Carla and Antonia are underrated.

[matthew]

Hey Dom. I hope your kid is on the mend soon. There's nothing that makes you feel more helpless than to have a sick kid - particularly at this time of year. My son (now 15) had a terrible ear infection when he was a toddler; on Christmas Day no less. Hang in there! We'll be here.

[bryanD]

@skilletdoux: Yeah. I'll drop it other than say I hope an actual restaurateur or old-school cook wins this thing. As for Stephen's outro style: he seemed to live on-camera exactly by what he said on-camera. Maybe too Mister Belvedere (Clifton Webb version). Great blog.