Top Chef - S8E14 Postmortem

Well, that was overdue. Which isn't intended to be harsh towards Tiffany, who's a fine cook, but really, when your first win of the season comes in episode 14... yeah.

The great news is that Tiffany's ouster combined with Mike's sudden excellence means it looks like we're headed for an exciting finale no matter what happens next week. I'd most like to see Richard and Antonia, but heck, I'll take Mike at this point. I do really want to look carefully at him this week, though... something's... odd...

As usual, the show's at its best when the chefs are at their best. A good episode.

Wasn't it a month ago that I said I have two more Power Rankings left? Huh...

Discuss!

Comments

[Redpoint]

Just finished watching the quick fire. I'm incensed already at Mike and Richard's nasty attitude toward their competitors.

[garik16]

@Redpoint, I don't think it's nasty really. They're going back to the old bad-guy edit from season 6 for Mike Isabella, and I really don't think Richard is nasty.

I think we're seeing a lot of editing here to try and
make it girls vs guys.

[mncharm]

Pretty obviously manufactured drama. Both teams suggest the other side took the easy way out. Ho hum.

[mncharm]

Pretty obviously manufactured drama. Both teams suggest the other side took the easy way out. Ho hum.

[garik16]

Some really shoddy editing going on here at Judges Table. Mike barely got criticism at Judges' Table while he was there (the table had more critiques which were unvoiced).

And then he leaves and says it was a slap in the face. Something's being omitted from Judge's Table to make him look more competitive methinks.

[Bart]

"...it was too classic."

"Yeah, sweet potato noodles are real classic." *eye roll*

Can I just say how much of a crush I have on Antonia?

Thoughts on the episode to come later, but that was the most important thing I had to say.

[garik16]

And Mike wins. Shocking.

[garik16]

And it IS Tiffany! Two of the favorites survive into the top 3!

[garik16]

HAHA! I was right, the episode title WAS a spoiler for next week: It's the Last Supper challenge again!

(Though there's some twist apparently).

[mncharm]

Whatever you think of him, Mike is on a roll.

[mncharm]

I was worried about the challenge, but it really turned out to be solid. The twist of finding the conch didn't harm anyone, and cooking on a wood fire -- while challenging -- isn't so absurd or difficult to ruin it. I think the quality of the dishes spoke to this being a fair challenge.

Quickfire: so so. Just not that interesting.

[KinderJ]

Mike's dish sounded freaking fascinating, and I hate fish. Thats... a little scary really. Clearly Mike has stepped up his game majorly from Las Vegas.

[KinderJ]

That QF actually would have been a early midseason challenge, even an elimination challenge, with some tweaks. Just pitch it early enough that you are still clearing out the technical-issues deadwood, but have the number of chefs down to a more manageable level. Make them cater something unspeakably huge, give them an enormous kitchen, etc. Might be interesting

[KinderJ]

... and I am missing the word 'good' after 'a' in the first sentence and the word 'or' after 'early'. And a period at the end there. Putting my self to sleep before I lower the tone of the internet.

[mncharm]

I could see that, KinderJ -- under the right circumstances, it might make sense.

Here it just seemed like a fill in.

[KinderJ]

mncharm- yep.

[Danielle]

Richard didn't prepare conch ideas ahead of time. :(

[Maxx Antonucci]

Finally!

That's all I have to say on the elimination.

[Krazikarl]

The outcome of the QF was predictable. Mike and Richard got caught up on doing something difficult. Antonia and Tiffany wisely decided to do something that was a bit simpler, but tasted at least as good and could be done in a more efficient way. The goal of the challenge wasnt to do something really challenging, but to do something consistently that tasted good. Richard and Mike just got out thought on that one.

I didnt think that they were nasty though. Pointing out that they did something more challenging isnt nasty. They were basically just arguing that they should win because they did something more challenging, which just wasnt a good argument.

[Independent George]

I liked this episode. I'm not happy with the forced snorkeling (besides being silly, it's also a bit dangerous), but it didn't seem to have much affect on the cooking.

I admit it - I'm officially impressed by Mike this week. I'm intrigued by the pineapple.

Richard looks like he's going to go Full Metal Jacket on us.

[pottymouth princess]

@ Danielle: I thought Richard said he practiced with conch, but couldn't get it in the shell in the states.

I really thought he had the EC in the bag, but yet again, I am soooo tired of his incessant whining.

Agree that it does look like the Last Supper with a twist next week, but no mention of a finale, so I guess it's a 2 person cook off on the 30th. I guess they'll air the reunion show afterward? I've already seen stills from it, so I know it does, in fact, exist. I guess they taped it before Fan Favorite voting closed (I think we can still vote), hence the announcement with Andy on WWHL on the 30th.

I hate fish, so I am not the one to comment on the food in any meaningful way other than I called Tiffany's ouster. My husband called Mikey, to which I replied, "I WISH!"

Still on Team Antonia FTW, although the way Mikey's rolling, it's his to lose. Blais looked like he was going to have a stroke when they didn't announce him as the winner. And the remark about not believing some of the fish wasn't cooked? If they say it wasn't cooked, it wasn't cooked. I didn't hear Antonia kvetching about it and she was the one who said she was making a conscious effort to cook the fish evenly over her uneven heat source. Even then , she didn't complain, she put her head down and did her job, which tonight wasn't good enough.

[Bill]

Mike seems to have taken the Hosea path of mediocrity during the season followed by booking up on the finale location.

[Independent George]

I never thought I'd feel this way, but I was more than a little sad to see Tiffany go. I think more than anyone else there, she seemed to appreciate the opportunity being on the show brings her. I don't think we saw her at her best this season, but she's obviously got talent, and I don't hold it against her for advancing the way she did.

[Dreamboat]

@Danielle, one of the video clips on the TLC website last week has Richard saying that he has create 8 different conch recipes and wouldn't it be ironic if there was no conch challenge.

@Bill, I think you are right. Mike seems to have really prepared for the finales. And it is showing. He is not my favorite contestant, but he is clearly kicking some ass.

Don't rule out Blais yet. With his personality ("I suck/I'm great") I feel like he will rise to the challenge that Mike is presenting.

And finally, the Black Hammer strikes again....

[bryanD]

"Pretty obviously manufactured drama. Both teams suggest the other side took the easy way out. Ho hum."---mncharm

It was sooo predictable that the producers dared not risk a QF knife draw messing up the carefully embroidered battle of the sexes narrative spliced together across the past umpty-ump episodes.

I also notice this episode that Richard has turned into a stew cook. At QF he led Mike in some kind of homage to American goulash. His EC dish looked like a take on his QF dish. (MG DTs?) I also found Richard's strained guffaw at the girls' "beef salad" to be a clear case of whistling in the dark, because the dish was my favorite shot of food porn in many episodes, i.e. I would "do" that sliced beef and lettuce three times a day and again 'round midnight.

[ally]

Um, why am I just now shown funny Tiffany? What happened to the crappy edit she usually gets? That was an amazing transformation into a nice, funny, confident human!

[KateB]

Mike's food doesn't seem like his to me. Everything he'd made before seemed mediocre in terms of creativity. It makes me wonder whose kitchens he was practicing in during the finale break.

[rab01]

Did anyone else catch Tom's "the majority of the judges" line? It sounds to me like there was disagreement over who should go home.

I get the impression that the guest judge wanted Antonia and Tiffany to stay and Richard to go home. She really talked up Tiffany and Antonia's dishes at the table while the other judges seemed much less enthusiastic.

[Danielle]

Man, how the hell did I mishear that badly, then?
I didn't keep track, but did anyone see whether the chefs made extra portions to counter uneven cooking? Seems like when you're using an unpredictable heat source it makes sense to make a few extra pieces.

[the dude]

i too was wondering about the guest judge. her title when introduced said "investor". oh, and she's on the new NBC show w Bobby Flay. Does anyone know if she actually has a culinary background or opened restaurants before? It seemed to me that she was on the opposite side of what the judges liked and disliked all episode. She did say one of her favorite things in a dish all night was "cilantro". So I'm inclined to think she has no idea what she's talking about when that's the best thing you can highlight about a dish.

[Lon]

After the show ended, I was trying to decide why I'm not excited about the finale. Then it hit me. It's the crappy challenges. The QF would have been a good challenge earlier, although the shear number of contestants may have made it impossible to do then.

Even cooking on the beach is sort of lame. Diving for your own conch. What would have happened if a chef doesn't swim. Not everyone does.

I want them see them cook something complex and great looking and tasting. I will admit Mike I. seems to have ramped up his game, but I still don't really see the magnitude of cooking I'd like to see at this stage of the contest.

[Kenny]

The ladies do seem to be handling this a bit more graciously. ( I.e. they didn't complain that Blaise and Mike had just done a meat sauce and spaghetti in the QF.)

And I have to admire Tiffany's comportment; she had been on the chopping block enough that it appears to have affected her self esteem at times. Yet she rose to the challenges when it could have been very difficult for her.

Lots of varied statements over the dinner; must have been a long night at the table after that.

Richard's continuing comments (and Antonia's hilarious reply,) call to mind Gail's blog admonition: "if anyone has to see him make a great dish and complain about it one more time, I cannot be responsible for the actions taken by our viewers."

Should be interesting...

[Bawdy George]

Like many others, I don't trust the editing AT ALL, especially lately. I do kind of love Antonia for her apparent demeanor this season, though. The way she shrugged off apparent slights - which seems very L.A. to me, as a native Angeleno - is pretty endearing. Plus, of course, the goofy weed reference.

I sure won't miss Tiffany's screech, either.

[Independent George]

I forgot to add - when Richard started talking about 'Lord of the Flies', I immediately flashed back to 10th grade English class, and Piggy screaming, "I got the conch!!!"

[Independent George]

I really dug the QF. I don't think it would work in the early season; the whole challenge was about a small number of people preparing a large number of portions with consistency. If you have too many people per team, then the challenge becomes easier as you divide people into stations. If you have too many small teams, then the logistics becomes too difficult. It had to be two-man teams, so I think the only other time to do it was with six contestants left.

[Maria]

What this episode NEEDS, is more CARLA!

Thanks for humoring my online Christopher Walken impression.

Fun to watch them "Easter Egg Hunt" for conch.

Mike impressed me tonight. I don't mind the "thinking you're better than the competition" comments from Mike and Richard in the quickfire. I enjoy chefs putting out good dishes, and thinking they are better than their competitors. I am sure there are sour grapes, but it's a competition. I don't need everyone to sing Kum Ba Ya and hold hands.

As long as they are ultimately respectful of each other (listen to Richard's comments to Tiffany when she says goodbye), then I think a little competitive smacktalk is fine.

You don't need to win any but the last one Richard. Hang in there....

[Krazikarl]

Yeah, I hadnt heard of the guest judge before. Apparently she has opened restaurants before, so I dont think that she is a complete write off.

Her biography on her website though...man its badly written. It reads like some sort of parody tbh.

[verycleanteeth]

I think Mike got it into his head that this is a contest between him and Blais. He's been watching his "rival" and is now making a concerted effort to bring more creativity into his own food. It seems to be paying off.

[Krazikarl]

I dont really want to make too much fun of the guest judge because I really dont know much about her, but her self promotional stuff just cracks me up. I did a quick google of her previous restaurant because I was curious. Her description of the place just makes me smile:

My vision for Elements is based on the conjunction of the different components that not only define food and cooking as an art, but they make life possible, and create synergy among the individuals that conceive art, and all its expressions, as a form of living.

In implementing Elements we are able to go back to the roots of the cooking, and we will able to showcase the process of cooking from a more simplistic; ethereal way.

[Danny]

I've spent a lot of time in the Carib Islands as well as the Bahamas and it really brought up my mixed feelings about the place. The Bahamas population of year-round residents is probably what?...80% or 90% Black and yet we were watching the members of the apparently all-white Yacht Club sample food (at least the servers were Black). It is that odd dichotomy that exists in that part of the world that can sometimes make it uncomfortable to be there - the hostility can at times be palpable. While the population is mostly Black, the owners are mostly White and the poverty is almost entirely among the Black residents. Add to that, the very open and aggressive homophobia of the populace and it can be a challenging place to be. But beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I prefer Roatan, Costa Rica or Belize over most of the isles but I must admit I've had many good times there as well as a few frightening times. Ah the fun of being in a bus in Jamaica with the locals trying to tip the bus over because we were from a gay cruise - thankfully a one-time occurrence for me out of 150+ visits to the area - and the large number of gay tourists has done a lot to ease tensions.

And then we had the ever off-putting Richard. I replayed this twice and I believe I'm paraphrasing correctly....he seemed to say that there was extra pressure on him to win because he lost his season. This seemed to hark back to his thinking that we remember his season as the one that Richard should have won.

Played up or not by the Elves, Mike and Richard really did come off badly with their sour grapes attitude. Yes, making pasta from scratch is challenging but cooking beef perfectly and creating a fantastic looking Chimichurra sauce also takes skills. Just from looking, I would have chosen to eat Antonia and Tiffany's dish over Michael and Richard's.

It was also interesting to see the locals have almost opposite opinions of the judges as to how they liked the food.

Having to cook on a windy beach just isn't that much fun at this stage of the game. Can we please get them a good kitchen with optimum facilities? Or are we going to watch them cook Thanksgiving Dinner with a toaster oven for the Foo Fighters? At this point I'm not interested in seeing them avoid sand or battle the elements. Just let them cook yummy food and give them the tools to do it with.

[Sweet Sue]

I was glad that Antonia stood up for herself and her style of cooking. That, I belive, led Gail to remind the other judges that the locals liked Antonia's dish best.
Danny, thanks for writing that, I'm a little ashamed to admit that the all white Yacht club didn't even register with me. Now, it does.

[rab01]

Danny, I couldn't figure out what the hell Richard meant with that comment. Everyone on this show lost their original season so how was he any different? Eventually, I guessed that he meant that the other 3 had been tripped up before the Final meal so he was the only one who had lost when cooking without crazy constraints. But, that wouldn't really fit the challlenges yet because they weren't at the final meal so ... sigh, he really is that self-absorbed on this topic.

[Bart]

Danny,

I noticed the all-white Yacht club as well. It seemed odd to me as well.

Richard's complaining is getting old. I get that he's playing the role of tortured genius, but my god, man. At this point, I was glad that Mike won the elimination challenge. I can't take this whole "wah my food sucks but wah I lost the challenge even though I'm clearly the best chef out there wah I'm so awesome I should have won my season, people remember me for choking despite me being the best chef to ever live...but my food sucks wah" thing anymore.

Ok, that's really harsh and I'm exaggerating... but, Richard, part of the role of being the tortured artist is suffering in silence :)

[Bart]

Tom was much more polite about it in his blog:

"...but if Richard hates all of his dishes, why does he always think he should have won with a dish that he hated?"

[Jeff]

"Ok, that's really harsh and I'm exaggerating... but, Richard, part of the role of being the tortured artist is suffering in silence :)"

Thank you. Ugh. I'm sooo over Richard's whining. It really didn't show much his season because he was winning all of the time.

"...it was too classic."
"Yeah, sweet potato noodles are real classic." *eye roll*

Yeah I'd probably respond that way too. Imagine hearing that crap before and after every judges table. I'd want to strangle him. Keep your neuroses to yourself please.

[Anon Man]

I can't say I'm sorry to see Tiffany go; not because I don't like her or she isn't talented, but I never really got a sense of her style the way I did with the others. I noticed they changed her title to "Personal Chef" for this episode, in light of her restaurant closing. Here's hoping she finds a new restaurant gig soon.

Richard my man, get help. I'm hoping you win so maybe you won't be so tortured any more.

And a big ditto on the love to Antonia for taking Richard down a few pegs with the eye roll, and the very clear edit that Mikey came to play in the finals. Next week is going to hurt, no matter what.

[nomnomnom]

Gail's attempt at a greek goddess look was funny, and almost worked. I kept thinking it was a toga party with all the white everywhere.

The high wind with no cover for the fire was going to be a huge problem for anyone trying to sear. Like deep fried pork tender last week I thought antonia was going to have the same issues. She needed to pull the grate and put her CIS right on the coals.

I'm fine with this. I think they got the right three to finish the season off given where they were after Dale and Angelo went home.

[Independent George]

I was glad that Antonia stood up for herself and her style of cooking. That, I belive, led Gail to remind the other judges that the locals liked Antonia's dish best.

I felt the same way. Not to flog a necrotic equine, but going back to the "simple vs complex" debate, the best analogy I can think of in defense of simple foods is pizza.

The best pizzas I've ever had consisted of no more four ingredients, not including sauce & cheese (and even the sauce is optional). Potato, rosemary, roasted garlic. chopped basil, sliced tomato, Arugula.

The worst ones I've had were just jumbled messes - frat boy pizzas with sausage, pepperoni, bacon, jalpenos, etc, or flashy avante-garde pizzas with prosciutto, bay scallops, capicola, etc. Beyond a certain point, ingredients just fight each other rather than complementning each other.

Simple doesn't mean easy, and complex doesn't mean tasty. I think most people understand that when it comes to pizza, but don't necessarily apply it to other things.

[Anon Man]

Geroge, funny that you mentioned the two primary ingrediants (other than dough and sauce) in my all-time favorite pizza, although one in the good column and one in the bad column. Mine was Prosciutto and Rocket (Arugula). That's it. I had it in Naples and I've not had another pizza since then that was even remotely comparable. (My wife's margarita pizza was great there, too, BTW...)

But funny that you mention that in this context: The winning dish, Mike's, had curry-grilled pineapple, fish smoked in banana leaves and conch sauce. I'm going to call that complicated, but in a way that is swinging for the fences. You hit it, it goes very far; you miss, and you fall over.

[bryanD]

Eh, Richard's a faker. He is simply warring for the cameraman's attention. Who didn't notice there was something half-baked in Richard's needy nuts-as-musical-genres lecture; that Professor Richard's knowledge of music ran the full spectrum from "rock" to..."English rock". What a brain! What a poser! (and everyone knows peanuts are honky tonk anyway---jeez)

As for Lorena Sanchez. She just seemed to *appear* 2 weeks ago onto the boob tube from nowhere. I ASSUMED she was one of Bobby Flay's favorite cooks from his restaurants whom he is helping along, but apparently she might just be a by-product of the weak US dollar. She seems nice to me, if a bit of a Blais: big hat/small cattle. Her cilantrotricity is more a symptom of her determined "healthy foods" kick, i.e. ameliorate the need for salt through sharp herbs, etc. That's fair, though to the uninitiated it makes her "cilantro! cilantro!" sound quaint and (post-1995) old-fashioned: HELLO! NAFTA!

PS. No spoiler, but if anyone hasn't seen Chopped Champions Part 2, watch it. Wow.

[Independent George]

Anon Man - I've had some great pizzas with prosciutto on it, and some awful ones. The great ones had prosciutto plus 1-2 ingredients; the awful ones had another 7-8 on it.

The first time I ever had arugula was on a pizza; it was a revelation. It was a pizza bianca, with provolone, parmesan, and another hard cheese I can't recall, oregano, and arugula. It was brilliant.

One of the worst pizzas I ever had included prosciutto, pancetta (why oh why would you put both of them on the same pizza?!!), pine nuts (which is normally one of my favorite ingredients), spinach, onions, and some other stuff I can't even remember. The thing I remembered thinking was that if they would have stuck with just one protein, and then randomly cut out 2/3 of the remaining ingredients, it probably would have been pretty good. The cheese was nice, the herbs were nice, the crust was beautiful - that's 80% of the way right there - but they screwed it up by flinging all those disparate components onto it. I was almost offended by it.

As for Mike's dish, I'm actually intrigued because precisely because there seems to be so much going on with the pineapple braise. The fish sounded pretty simple - the banana leaf and the fire added the depth to the flavor, and I think he purposely kept the conch at the center of the sauce. It's the pineapple that seems to have put him over the top. I'll search for the recipe on the Bravo site when I'm at home and after I've downed a half-dozen beers.

[Independent George]

Damn it, now I'm hungry and want pizza. I brown bagged it today, and that's just not going to cut it anymore.

KHAAAAAN!!!

[rab01]

Richard has such a better attitude about the competition in his tweets than he does on camera. Either (1) I prefer the charater he plays in his twitter account than he played on TV; or (2) he regained some perspective after the competition was over.

[Mahalo]

@Danny: "Played up or not by the Elves, Mike and Richard really did come off badly with their sour grapes attitude"

You should check out new Top Three's After Hours video on Bravo TV, called, 'Salty Grapes."

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-8/videos

Hilarious how Antonia stops Mike, as he's whining over losing the QF, right in his tracks.

Outside the Magic Elves editing, I do think these three really like and respect each other -- their recent tweet exchanges during episodes are lovefests!

[Mahalo]

@bryanD:

I also was impressed by the trio in Chopped Champions All Stars, Part 2. I think the upcoming All Stars chefs will be even more impressive!

[Krazikarl]

@rab1:

Yes, Richard seems different through different media than what we are seeing on TV this season.

This is pretty clearly reality TV at work. Why do we always see Richard saying the same thing every episode and it getting air? Its not because he is begging for attention like somebody said - with 4 people left he is going to get his share of attention.

Its because this is how reality TV works. They come up with a story line for everybody. Then they use their editing powers and interview powers to push that story line. I guarantee that nearly every single interview Richard does has questions specifically designed to bring out his "story" yet again. People have to realize that in these interviews, the people in the show are actually responding to questions that the producers ask, but the questions are edited out.

So I dont really have to repeated redemption story line from Richard as something that he just walks around repeating to anybody who will listen. No, its the editors of the show pushing that story line like they push story lines in every other reality TV show.

Notice how well the editors have created their characters this season: Mike is the obnoxious, mildly misogynistic Jersey guy. Richard is the tortured genius looking for redemption. Antonia is the quirky, likeable, and mellow chick. All classic characters on reality TV shows. In real life everything is more complicated - Mike isnt as big of as ass as he looks, Richard doesnt talk everybody's ear off about losing etc.

[Independent George]

I can't believe we've gone this long talking about winning & losing without any Charlie Sheen references.

[Bart]

Krazikarl, I don't think anyone here believes that Bravo projects an accurate reflection of their personalities... but if you don't say something, they can't air it. By now, Richard, Isabella and Antonia have been around Bravo cameras long enough to have an idea of what'll make the air and what won't.

[dave_p]

I think I may have hated that QF more than the "no taste" or boat junk food challenges. Why? The latter two were horrible concepts from the get go. Last night's was horrible execution of a very good concept, which seems worse to me. Let's see, you want to test consistency, dish after dish, night after night--very good standards in a chef--so... let's allow you to make one big batch of something and serve it on 100 plates? What's that testing, exactly, that you used the same sized ladle? That you can cut food in the same shape & size? Terrible.

EC was awful too. So sick of Bravo's antics. What if you can't swim? Tiffany had never snorkled before--think that put her at a disadvantage? I'm a terrible swimmer too--if there weren't conch in walking depths, I'm not sure if I could've gotten a single one. Cooking on a windy beach too. I was sorta rooting for those storm clouds to come it, but that would've been unfair to the chefs serving later. Amazing job they did w/not getting any sand in the dishes.

Never, ever trust the editing. I thought Richard's and Mike's dishes were neck & neck, and w/Tom's finishing comments, I thought Richard had the win. Looking at the extended JT & Tom's blog, it looks like the edits way overplayed Mike's use of butter as a criticism. Tom says Mike's dish was one of the best of the whole season!

Extended JT also makes it pretty clear who the dissenting vote was on Tiffany's soup. I've never heard of Lorena Garcia before, but I really question her loving that soup after she "mixed everything together." If you're purposely serving cold over hot, they're likely to be eaten layered, right? I mean, Tiffany's concept threw me for a loop as soon as she mentioned it, but still, you have to give her credit for having a purpose behind serving cold ceviche over hot soup, and it's not to just mix it all together. If Tiffany really meant it all to be a jumble, she would've been better served with one (more complete) dish.

Next episode sounds like it has some stupid curveballs too. Only real positive for me is Morimoto--I've long wanted the original 3 Iron Chefs involved w/TC in some capacity. I would pay to see Morimoto & Batali on Masters. Outside of that, I'm not even sure I'm going to tune into TCM3 after seeing some of the promos.

--
Dave

[ally]

Regarding Antonia sticking up for her food--that's fine, but I'll take a newly improved Mike I vs good Richard (good as in creative playful delicious) over predictable delicious any old day. This was a great food episode imo. Never heard of taking the sweetness out of pineapple before, sounds intriguing. If Mike learned a hell of a lot in the break and is going to wow us, that's fine, I'll get on that boat. I just wish he'd zip it. In all of his interviews he looks like the cat who swallowed the canary, and is just so negative. Shut up already!

[TxGriff]

I think most people here acknowledge that what we see is edited. At some point though, if you keep making the same comments, well...then you keep making the same comments. I know the producers prompt certain responses, and we only see a fraction of that in the on screen interviews. However, Richard made a similar comment during TC Masters 1 (to Rick Bayless I believe) when he was asked where he placed in his season. He said that he was runner up, but added as an aside, and not prompted by a producer or interview, "...but I should have won." He was the only constestant shown who didn't just answer the question. Again, I realize that other contestants might have had the same response and the interaction wasn't aired, and it's just a small frament of the issue being discussed, but I think it's safe to say that Richard does define "his" season by his loss rather than Stephanie's win. Which is understandable. Having a competitive spirit is great as long as it's not malicious (which Richard does not seem to be) and Richard certainly has the talent. However, as Bart brings up,a story line can be exagerated, but not completely manufactured. The material has be available to edit in the first place. Whether or not Richard's story line bothers you is a matter of opinion.

[rab01]

Tiffani needed to serve her ceviche in a separate little cup that the diners poured into the soup at the table. Then her concept might have stood a chance. Otherwise, she had to expect conditions and TV timing would muddle the intended effect.

Next episode's curveball looks to be something about who gets to cook in the Final Dinner. I'd guess there's some sort of preliminary semi-elimination ...

[Krazikarl]

Yes, I agree that Richard does have the attitude that he should have won "his" season and that some people might have an issue with this attitude.

But what most people seem to be objecting to is the fact that we hear this line of reasoning from him time and time again - multiple times an episode really. And that repetition can certainly be manufactured by the editors even if the original thought can't.

[Mahalo]

From the Bravo TV site preview video for next week, it looks like the winner of the QF got to assign which chef had to cook a Last Supper for which guest chef(Morimoto, Puck, Bernstein).
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-8/videos/calling-out-mike

[jonathan]

I laughed out loud when the guest judge (who was terrible, why they can't have an actual respected chef for the final episodes is beyond my comprehension) said something to the effect of, "these yacht club members know this food; they're locals." What? Stunningly ignorant.

[ally]

Obviously the choice of judge was arranged as a commercial for the new show they plugged. Simple as that. Seems to me that advertising shouldn't be affecting the judging.

[paula]

IG: I just happened to make pizza last night. Homemade thin crust, homemade sauce, mozz, parmesan, Italian sausage and sliced onions. Polished the rest of it off for lunch. Jealous? ;)

Objectively speaking, I love that Mike worked so hard between the regular season and now to learn more, research the area and step up his game. Subjectively speaking...I still effin' hate that guy. Like Redpoint, I was incensed watching the QF play out. My ire was up as soon as he said (paraphrasing): "Richard and I are the frontrunners, and the girls are just making... [blah, blah]" Oh, really, Mike? You're the frontrunner? "Girls"?

Now, ok, I admit, I totally want to eat that conch dish he made. But I intend to wear my heaviest-heeled shoes during the finale, and I will hurl both of them at the TV if Mike wins. My TV sucks, anyway.

[ally]

Next they'll be saying that the chefs didn't use enough Swanson Chicken Stock in their dishes.

[Independent George]

Paula - VERY. Damn you.

This is the nearest decent pizza place to the office; it's good, but totally not worth $10 for a small pie. It did fill the craving, though.

Just out of curiosity, do you use the broiler for your pizza? I'm actually afraid of my broiler, even though I've heard it gets you an outstanding crust.

[rab01]

To feed a little more into the guest-judge bashing ... You know how they always include a talking-head clip of a contestant saying something uber-respectful of the guest judge right after they're announced? This time, *crickets*

The show gave us viewers no reason to think that she was as good a chef as any of the remaining contestants, let alone in a position to judge them.

[paula]

IG, I used a baking stone with the rack set on the second-highest setting in my oven (electric), at a temp of 500 degrees. I use the thin-crust dough recipe from cooksillustrated.com and it's fantastic.

[paula]

....500 on bake, not broil.

[Independent George]

Paula - I use the same recipe! I love Cook's Illustrated/ATK.

The show gave us viewers no reason to think that she was as good a chef as any of the remaining contestants, let alone in a position to judge them.

Is she a chef, or is she a restaurant partner/manager? I know they're widely reviled by right-thinking chefs, but I actually have an enormous amount of respect for them. In many ways, it's as big a job as being a chef, with a fraction of the respect or publicity.

I keep waiting for 'Bigfoot' (one of Bourdain's old bosses, made pseudonymiously famous in Kitchen Confidential) to make an appearance during Restaurant Wars. That would be all kinds of awesome.

[matthew]

A lot of my thoughts about the episode have been articulated by others already.

* I'm glad Antonia stood up for her style of food

* I, too, noticed the dynamic at the beach immediately. Carla had been the personal chef during the winter months for a family that owns an island in the Exumas. I went down to visit her a couple of times when she was there, and the delta between blacks and whites on the Islands is pretty drastic and in your face. I won't belabor the issue, though.

On personal note, I couldn't help but sit and wonder how well Carla would have done on this episode. She can bang out 100 consistent dishes with the best of them. Add to that, she knows about conch. [sigh] Oh well.

* I hope this comes out right. The stuff about "the girls" drives me bananas. There was a question earlier about whether this was really an issue. Carla stated in an interview that there was clearly a divide between the men and the women on the show...driven by the guys always staying huddled up among themselves. That dynamic doesn't have to affect how each chef performs, but it does turn me off as a viewer to constantly hear dismissive comments about the female chefs. I'm sure a lot of this will get chalked up as bravado uttered "in the heat of competition," but it gets old really fast when someone constant throws out barbs, only to follow with "C'mon...I'm just joking!" I tend to follow the notion that once (or maybe twice -- see Season 6) is a mistake; after that, it's a habit. I can't help but wonder how Antonia, Tiffany and Carla feel about the comments. I've prodded Carla a few times about this, but she's mum. I have been around Mike, and he's always been cool with/toward me, so I'm puzzled on what's real and what was show.

* I have to give credit where credit is due. Mike CLEARLY did his homework on flavor profiles of the Bahamas.

* Like others, in reaction to Richard's "I lost my season," I find myself saying "So did everyone else on the show."

* I have sneaking suspicion about how the season is going end. The "edits" of each of the three remaining chefs is almost too obvious. Given Dom's request to keep SD spoiler free, I won't go into my thoughts on the Win, Place and Show order.

* As someone in love with words, I have to give a huge high-five to Independent George for his use of "necrotic equine." Classic!

[lb]

This episode made me miss Angelo. And Dale. And Carla. Not sure why but I haven't been able to move past their eliminations.

[natmicstef]

Agree with KatyB; the new and improved Mike's food doesn't seem like his. Rightly or wrongly, I get the feeling he has been helped by more creative chef friends who have given him a some recipes which he's practiced to perfection. He showed very little creativity in his season and most of this and now suddenly we're supposed to believe he's got talent and God help us, might actually win? There is no comparison between him and Dale, Angelo, Richard or Antonia as far as I am concerned.

[dave_p]

As long as we're talking pizza...

First off, a small nitpick with IG, in that just having fewer ingredients is any less "complex". A 4 ingredient pizza can still be layered by the preparation of each ingredient, the timing of each ingredient's addition, etc, and be far more complex than a garbage can style (say meatlovers) pizza, which isn't complex at all. A mess isn't complex; it's just messy.

When I worked at a semi-high end Italian kitchen, we made a few specialty pizzas on occasion. I never worked the "oven" (was a saute guy) so I never touched the actual restaurant recipes, but I made my own for private consumption. One of my favorites was a dry pizza w/roasted garlic, caramelized onions, sliced, roasted red potatoes, sliced sausage, and a mix of cheeses. Another was my attempt at replicating a pizza I had in northern Italy w/a ton of seafood & garlic. I used a tomato & anchovy sauce as a base, sauteed some calamari & shrimp in heavy garlic & white wine, topped w/fresh red onion & various cheeses and cooked the whole thing lightly so that the dough was still a bit soft (knife & fork pizza, for sure).

Damn, I'm getting hungry.

--
Dave

[Polybus]

@Independent George "I can't believe we've gone this long talking about winning & losing without any Charlie Sheen references."

Well, we did make it that far! :-) (Dang, now I contributed!)

I can understand people being upset about Mike. He's an arrogant, insensitive ass about women - he pretty much made that clear during his season and has continued to make it clear during this one. I don't think Richard fits that profile. He just wants to win everything. At this point, much as I had wanted him to win, honestly, I'd really like to see Antonia win. No offense to Carla, but Antonia has won my heart this season. However, I honestly feel it will come down to Mike and Richard.

And - as some have already pointed out - Mikey did his homework and is now reaping the rewards. After the first finale episode, I moved him up to No. 2 on my board because - irritating as it is - he brought his game. He came prepared and he is performing far above any level we have seen him at previously. If I've learned anything from past seasons, it's that you don't have to like the Top Chef.

[Jon Olsen]

I may be alone but I'm tired of people saying Richard is whining. Maybe I just don't get it; but I have an 8 yr old and a 3 yr old and I'm pretty sure I know whining.

[Alamos Road]

@JonOlsen: Ah, but do you know whining & dining?

[Mahalo]

Well, in this episode, as the say "___ conch-ers all." :)

[Genevieve]

You're not alone, Jon.

[Bart]

Yeah, well, I'm tired of people saying they're tired of people who are tired of Richard whining.

Now how do you like dem apples? :p

[Independent George]

Bart, Jon, et al: Please Stop!

[Anon Man]

Let me summarize the Zietgeist here:

Richard: Whines, pouts, "insists he lost, rather than was beaten, creative, uses too much Liquid N, basket case, witty, funny, self-deprecating, willing to help others, should win as the most talented, cannot win because he's a whiner.

Mike: Hates women, loves his grandmother, can't cook if it isn't Italian or Greek, came prepared to cook island food, can't win for the sake of women everywhere, winning would be an honor for his grandmother.

Antonia: Everyone loves Antonia.

That about right?

[redpoint]

Yes, that's it, Anon Man!

[Independent George]

Don't forget, "We miss Carla", "What's with all the white people?", and "Mmmmmm. Pizza".

[Skillet Doux]

Clearly, we have reached the latter stages of the season here :-)

[rab01]

Dom,

End-of-season fatigue alright and the immediate segue from Top Chef to Top Chef Masters is making me feel sorry for you in advance. I'm not even sure whether I have enough interest left to watch TCM. I can't imagine having the energy to write 2 posts a week about it.

[Anon Man]

I'm still looking for the person who hates Antonia. Nomx3?

With 3 people left, I thought I might remind people of Dom's preseaon rankings of the three finalists here:

2, 11, 13.

Not a knock a Dom, just an observation of how crazy this season ended up.

[Skillet Doux]

Anon Man... I was hoping nobody would notice that :-)

[matthew]

Funny. I think the punchy comments reveals that we (or at least some of us) are about as fatigued as the contestants.

@Dom - A belated high-five for the comment you left on CinemaBlend.

[Anon Man]

Sorry, Dom. I went and looked when it was five and it was 2, 10-13, which I thought the grouping of 4 straight from the lower MOTP was kind of an odd happenstance.

I thought, BTW that your comment above that just because someone didn't win doesn't mean they couldn't have won. With the exception of Steven (and only because he really doesn't cook any longer), if you had picked 5 names out of a hat I probably wouldn't have been surprised about who made the finals.

[Mahalo]

@matthew, we know you don't know who really won (although you have your suspicions) -- and of course, it sounds like Carla has rightly kept you in the dark -- but from a TV viewer's standpoint (not a person who is actually familiar with the players), do you have a rooting favorite from the remaining three?

Sorry in advance if this is an impossible question for you to answer! :)

[Megan H.]

@ IG - Your KHAN! reference + Hyperbole and a Half in the same thread makes you my new hero.

[Brian]

Dagnabbit. If Mike had gone home my 1, 2 and 3 from the offseason thread would have been the last ones standing. Instead, it's 1, 2... and 17. Bleh. At least I recognized that Antonia was legit.

Too bad that Richard's in Bill Walsh's "give yourself zero points for winning" land. I miss the Richard that's about the action, not the reaction. That guy's awesome.

[bryanD]

"I can't believe we've gone this long talking about winning & losing without any Charlie Sheen references"---Independent George

Charlie Sheen? That was FOUR world crises ago! Behold!

0_Charlie Sheen
1_9.0 Earthquake
2_Great Tsunami Deluge
3_Nuclear Reactor Holocaust
4_Rebecca Black: "Friday"

"I laughed out loud when the guest judge (who was terrible, why they can't have an actual respected chef for the final episodes is beyond my comprehension) said something to the effect of, "these yacht club members know this food; they're locals." What? Stunningly ignorant."
Posted by: jonathan

The lady doesn't have a wiki page yet---which might reinforce my following thesis in light of her ascending out of nowhere suddenly:
Maybe Ms Garcia of Venezuela was born into the native high-caste cosmopolitan elite.

[Rahul]

Random note: Carla's cookies arrived yesterday and they are delicious! My tastes definitely lie on the savory side (couldn't get enough of the blue cheese+walnut and cheddar+pecan), but the black forest crinkle was probably my favorite overall. Matthew, let Carla know I'm very happy with my purchase, and would love to visit her café when she gets it up and running. Everyone else, I suggest you at least think about buying a gift tin or two...(http://www.alchemybycarlahall.com/cookie-collection/)

[Alamos Road]

In defense of Dom's preseason rankings, Tom Colicchio also ranked Tiffani Faison #1.

[bryanD]

"In defense of Dom's preseason rankings, Tom Colicchio also ranked Tiffani Faison #1."---Alamos Road

I had Tiffani #1, too. Her failure to rise (let alone collapse) has taught me something [South Park reference]:

A_ "Tour of Spain!"
B_ Were you COOKING in Spain?
A_ "No. Eating. Tasting. Honeymooning."
B_ Then shut the fudge up about Spain!

I see the above as a variant of Richard Blais' problem. The little guy has aptitude, but his dot.net bio is hinkier than a wind chime in a tornado. (He doesn't like the grunt work.)

My final prediction:
1) Mike
2) Antonia
3) Blais

[Nsam]

Well, we've covered the Blais downside ad nauseam. How bout a reminder of Blaisian upside? He's gotten a lot of inquiry about the sweet potato noodles, so his Facebook page now gives the recipe for the "impasta."

http://www.facebook.com/notes/richard-blais/so-you-want-to-make-sweet-potato-noodles/10150116432505671

The guy is funny, among his many other talents.

[BK]

Tepid review for Marcel's SyFy show in the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/18/DDPV1IC2A6.DTL

Although Marcel apparently says this in the premiere episode: "I'm making love to this meat log right now." I'd say it's worth watching just to see that.

Couple days ago, noticed Andrew Zimmern tweeted, "Answer to FAQ: yes, i am rooting for @richardblais. And yes, the Marcel show on SyFy seems lame." And Michael Voltaggio retweeted it.

[Anon man]

In defense of Marcel, I think I would rather watch a show of him doing crazy stuff with food then actually seek out his food to eat it. The knock on him is that he cooks food to demonstrate technique, rather than using modern techniques to make the food better. So, in that regard, if he can reconstruct a raw egg using gum and LN, then I would think that would be cool to watch, rather than eating a raw egg so reconstructed.

[Cousin Sam]

IG: Hyperbole + a Half reference FTW!! :)

[bryanD]

"The guy is funny, among his many other talents."---Nsam

I think "impasta" comes from an old Carl Reiner bit from the 1950s. In fairness to Blais, he does put the word in quotation marks. Blais being Blais, he also give it it's own paragraph, i.e.
__Ta-da!__ [APPLAUSE]
==============================================
"Couple days ago, noticed Andrew Zimmern tweeted, "Answer to FAQ: yes, i am rooting for @richardblais. And yes, the Marcel show on SyFy seems lame."---BK

Oh, we just KNOW that enquiring foodies nationwide want Blais to win. Not a shadow of a doubt there. Only Blais of the remaining three upholds any of the precepts of haute cuisine; meaning, Blais's food is calculated to force you to go somewhere and PAY for it, rather than DIY. Foodies appreciate that team spirit.

[Nsam]

@bryanD: Carl Reiner was before my time and I had no idea the quip wasn't original. (Anybody? Anyone?) And I'm not getting on board with calling Blais a plagiarist -- no, that would be Isabella.

"In fairness to Blais, he does put the word in quotation marks. Blais being Blais, he also give it it's own paragraph, i.e.
__Ta-da!__ [APPLAUSE]"

Ah, why so hard on the Blais? I'm inclined to be more generous, just as he's been demonstrably, repeatedly generous with his fellow cheftestants in the kitchen. (More Blaisian upside.) A look-at-me applause line? I think more like a tickling elbow in the ribs, entirely appropriate as one ventures a groaner.

[ally]

@BK That reviewer seemed to have enjoyed at least some of Marcel's show. To me it sounds kind of interesting, but I probably wouldn't tune in on purpose.

Whats worse is that the author of that article doesn't want "a mouth full of nitrogen," which he thinks he'll get by eating something cooled by liquid nitrogen. Apparently he doesn't know that the air he breaths is about 80% nitrogen gas. And that N2 would vaporize and wouldn't "stick" to the food. Duh!

[Duffy]

Come on, here -- give Blais a break. "Impasta" is in the public domain, defined in the online urban dictionary as a combination of "imposter" and "pasta," i.e., any fake pasta. Is anyone seriously suggesting that he should have to footnote the dictionary to use a somewhat novel word??

[Sweet Sue]

Well, Carl Reiner is still alive so, technically, he's not before anyone's time.
I loved Carla's "undonte."

[Independent George]

Carl Reiner, as in the director of "The Jerk"?

[MH]

Found this link from a poster on Television Without Pity that I thought some of you might be interested in. They are fabulous pictures of Carla from her modeling days.

http://www.ivillage.com/top-chef-carla-halls-modeling-photos/3-b-325935

Matthew, hope you don't mind me posting the link. Carla is gorgeous in these pictures.

[paula]

Thanks for posting those photos, MH.

WOW! Especially in those retro-themed poses, Carla is absolutely stunning. Not that I'm surprised...

[Sweet Sue]

Those photos of Carla are gorgeous-what a knockout.

[nomnomnom]

I still think this is Blais' to lose. I've thought that since Day 1 and only briefly flirted with the idea that Dale had a shot the week he was sent on.

I think Bravo has gone to great lengths to make sure we are seared in the idea that:

-Blais came in cocky and unprepared
-Antonia came in as the underdog
-MikeI came in strong after lots of prep time

The edits here have been unwavering in their consistency, and they look to continue this as you look at the available previews.

I'm not sure what they are setting up exactly, but it might be a way to make the finale look a little closer than it was in actuality. Nobody likes a blowout.

I wonder if it's time to rank the chefs 1-10 at least all-time. I have a rough idea of where they would fall out assuming a Blais' blowout win.

I've sort of come up with a rough draft that looks something like this:

Season ranks

6, 4, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1

Note: Prior to this season I would have had it

6,4,3,7,5,1,2. Season 3 takes a dramatic reputation hit top to bottom.

All Time rank rough draft top 10:

MikeV - No doubts here
Blais - Guy brought new techniques to Ripert still one of the best moments in show history. Survived in a comfort food season of TC to go on to win?
BrianV - Overshadowed by his brother. How much of his success is due to Mike. Never got a chance to find out.
Kevin - Could have rolled this season.
Stephanie - Underrated season winner here. Also seems to be having tremendous success solo now.
Stephan - Best fake villain ever. Seemed to have skills, but I have no idea what became of the guy.
MikeI - Has a solid adaptable style and was just overshadowed his own season.
Angelo - Took two bad beats in his own season and dropping into a series of challenges that rattled him this time around.
Hung - Takes a huge step back with the flop his S3 guys laid out there. May have been product of poor season. Seems more like a super-sous rather than super-chef at this point.
Tiffani - Tom's favorite still gets a top 10 spot.

[Independent George]

My favorite Top Chef moment of all time remains, by far, Stephanie micromanaging Eric Ripert on how to cut her fish. I still smile just thinking about it.

I don't even know what's in 2nd place; Colicchio's "Can't talk - eating", or Hung slicing his way through the chickens, but the gap is pretty wide.

Also: I object to the title 'Quantum Kitchen' because the name implies particle physics, when, if anything, MG is about chemistry.

[ally]

nom cubed: does "solid adaptable" style mean no definable style at all?

kidding
sort of

i'm wondering how he prepped and with whom during the break. whether he can go on after this and have a restaurant that reflects his "style" would be my question. if it's home-made pasta and dishes with greek influence, (his former style) then i wouldn't be impressed. so far his consistent style is mostly shouting about how great he is and how great he thinks his buddies are and how crappy he thinks the female contestants are.

i do hope you're right about the obvious spin they're putting on the editing, and that they're doing the reverse psychology thing on us. hopefully it's not the reverse-reverse psychology. or no psychology at all. i'm still rooting for Blais.

[tony]

I have not read all of the posts so forgive me if this has already been presented, but are conch really that plentiful or did Bravo plant a bunch in those waters?

[ally]

IG: there's quantum chemistry too, but it concerns nano-scale particles so it definitely isn't the type of chemistry that happens at the macroscopic level in the creation of food. quantum kitchen sounds catchier than large particle kitchen.

yes i'm a chemist :)
trying not to be obnoxious chemist.

[Anon Man]

nom, which Kevin? The one that one or the Pork Jesus one. Also, disagree with S1 being worse than S2. S5 might be worse than S1.

[nomnomnom]

Of course pork jesus. Kevin7 might just barely eek in my top 20.

[Independent George]

Who came up with 'Pork Jesus', anyway? I really need to thank that person - it's brilliant. Did we ever use the term back in S6?

[paula]

"Pork Jesus and the Voltaggi" is my new band name.

[Skillet Doux]

Sadly, TypePad allows searching of posts, but not comments. So I don't know who first mentioned Pork Jesus. I know it wasn't me.

[Independent George]

If it happened in S6, it would have probably been during or after the Pigs & Pinot episode.

[Skillet Doux]

...buuuuuuut, in an embarrassing display of digital hoarding, I happen to have every comment notification email TypePad has ever sent me, and Outlook is easily searchable.

And I don't see it anywhere in the comments. Which means I must've seen it somewhere else. Or, in a fit of addled genius, I came up with it and then completely forgot it was my idea. But I'm 99.9% certain that isn't the case.

[DPP]

nom
Just for fun I recently created a spreadsheet ranking the top 30. My top 5 is the same as yours, but not sure I understand the Bryan comment since he is older and started cooking first. I am also a Mike I fan but don't think I would put him in my top 10. How much weight should we give to this All Star season?
My ranking of seasons is actually 6-7-4-3-5-1-2. The reason I have 7 above 4 is that although 4 was top heavy with Stephanie and Richard, then Dale and Antonia, it was pretty weak depth wise. I felt that season 7 had both heavyweights and a ton of depth.

[Anon Man]

I don't think "of course" is really the right response. You rate the season high, and Angelo's up there too. Makes it hard to tell. I actually think Kevin the winner is a fairly underrated chef.

Plus, for some reason I thought you meant "Steven" instead of "Stephan", which made me completely discount your rankings on first pass.

For some reason, Dom, I kind of assumed Pork Jesus was your idea. But, that may just be because it was here.

[nomnomnom]

Ranking the seasons as a group is much harder. I'm not really happy with the seasons rankings as they sit now. It really depends on one's point of view.

-Top heavy
-Depth
-Display of new stuff
-Interesting characters
-Interesting challenges
-Location/guests

I mean where do you set the criteria up there?

I basically rank them on the quality of the Restaurant Week chefs and on as a group average and then fudge it by some of the subjective measures. I'm not sure there is a better way to do that.

To me there's no doubt 6 and 4 are in the top tier. Getting the #3 season is the toughest to identify.

[Independent George]

Nom: that's a good cutoff point for measuring the seasons. The thing to remember is that S4's RW came two weeks after the other seasons, and S3 had a mulligan after the disaster of the first attempt. S4 should include both Nikki and Andrew (who probably cancel each other out), whereas S3... I don't know how you handicap S3.

[bryanD]

"And I'm not getting on board with calling Blais a plagiarist -- no, that would be Isabella."---Nsam

I will only paraphrase Eric Ripert's contemporaneous video dissection of Master Blais' Complaint:

"Mike cooked my picture!"

"Ah, why so hard on the Blais? I'm inclined to be more generous, just as he's been demonstrably, repeatedly generous with his fellow cheftestants in the kitchen."---Nsam

I think a general goodwill reigns among the goldfish, minus inevitable segregation of the sexes which, I say, is a natural way of dealing with sexual tensions from time immemorial i.e. Junior High Prom. Kitchen boyz antics---including Blais'---raise up occasionally. The ladies are not snow white BTW.

"All Time rank rough draft top 10:"---nomnomnom

That's a handy timewaster. My version only includes 4 people:

1-T)Michael V.- M.V. dared put a damn grape leaf on 21st century food, and the judges loved it anyway. And he DID win "his" season; otherwise....

1-T)Stefan - (He's sitting in the Colicchio seat of Top Chef Finland now BTW)...My all-time favorite TC competitor. Occasional food traditions of Middle Europe managed by him under (relative-to-style) EXCRUCIATINGLY tight time restraints. AND his desserts were not stupid at all. Whole-package chef. (I subscribe his finals slackitude to the ironic fun of the contest wearing off)

3-T)Hung - Screw the incessant elfin "who are you?"! Along with Stefan's, the highest food I.Q. week in and week out. Pleasure to watch.

3-T) Brian V.- dem Volts, dem Volts, dem Rad Volts!

(All other competitors? Too inconsistent. Lows too low.)

[Independent George]

10 favorite Top Chef moments

1. S4: Steph telling Eric Ripert how to cut her fish.
2. S8: Padma in a bikini
3. S8: "Can't talk - eating."
4. S3: Hung butchering the chickens
5. S6: "Oh, that's right. I forgot the flavor!"
6. S8: Padma in a bikini
7. S5: "Hootie!" "Hoot!"
8. S6: Jennifer Norris kicking ass in the USAF kitchen
9. S8: Mike I & Antonia family reunion
10. S8: Padma in a bikini

[Anon Man]

A favorite moment of mine not mentioned elsewhere: "You've insulted Italian-Americans everywhere, me being one of them!" "Sorry."

As for Stefan, let me confess that I have a slight addiction to the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" show, which is 30 minutes of food-related fluff. And, recently they did a "Best thing I ever ate... on a stick" episode, and one was Stefan's LN frozen Lollipops. Standard format is TV personality announces the dish that they loved, then they cut to the chef at said restaurant describing it and then show talking head eating said thing. Stefan got about 2 minutes of air time describing his dessert. Seems like he's done reasonably well with his new restaurant.

Please do not judge me too harshly for admitting that I watch the Food Network sometimes.

[rab01]

Other favorite moments:

1) Hung's Smurf village
2) Donatella Arpaia (I think) slapping down Toby Young after he ranted about the way one of the chefs pronounced a word.
3) Jen C saying she shoud go to Judge's Table wearing a bikini and high heels (while modeling same)
4) Blais' confused tofu

[Independent George]

The smurf village! How could I have overlooked that!

Anon Man - I not only watch food network, but I watch the cooking shows, too. And I learn from them. And this includes Rachel Ray, who I think gets a lot of undeserved criticism and whom I will defend against foodies everywhere.

[Mahalo]

The 2011 James Beard Award finalists were announced today. Stephanie's restaurant, Girl and the Goat, made the finalist list! Awards will be announced, May 9th.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110321/NEWS0702/110329987/stephanie-izards-girl-the-goat-among-beard-award-finalists

Full List:
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/03/21/2011-james-beard-awards-chefs-and-restaurants-finalists/

How ironic it is that Tom Colicchio will be hosting the Awards. . .

[bfish]

bryanD, I like your top 4. I too am a big fan of Stefan and Hung. Would it hurt to add Kevin G. (aka Pork Jesus) as #5? It didn't seem like he was particularly inconsistent and he certainly put out many dishes that wowed the regular and guest judges. We'll soon see where Richard ends up on the all-time list.

As for best moments, Hung's chicken butchering and the Smurf village breakfast are standouts to me (admittedly I'm biased). Although it was a low-light rather than a highlight, Casey's onion chopping was definitely a memorable moment.

[bryanD]

Memory Lane dept.

Outstanding citizen journalism in the entertainment and television field:

http://screampunch.typepad.com/i_am_screaming_and_punchi/2007/01/top_chef_an_alt.html

(I happened to be a reader of this blogger at the time. Funny was her angle, and then WHAM! Sherlock Holmes. Impressive. And all her hunches were right. She doesn't blog Top Chef anymore for some reason...)

[bryanD]

"Would it hurt to add Kevin G. (aka Pork Jesus) as #5?"---bfish

Hi. Memories of Kevin sending out raw purple deer steaks over and over again during restaurant wars---to the judges, no less!--earns Kevin a great big anodized W.T.F. headband from me.

[ally]

i'm curious to know the date of Dom's first use of Pork Jesus. If you google it theres an article entitled "Pork Jesus" and I can't easily (i.e. with little effort) find one before that.

[paula]

bfish: any particular reason why you're biased? Or just a Hung fan?

Hung's smurf village was a top 3 moment for me. I'd add to the list of favorites Blais showing Ripert the liquid nitrogen trick, Fabio's "monkey's ass on a clamshell" comment, and Wolfgang Puck hurling a beignet across the room. IG, might I humbly suggest substituting one of these for...oh, I don't know..."Padma in a bikini"?

I never was all THAT impressed with Stefan. I liked him OK as a contestant and was rooting for him, and I thought he was the best of the lot, but I don't know...maybe i need to watch that season again. Except for our lovely Carla and the comedy stylings of Fabio, that season bugged the crap out of me. The contestants were by and large a bunch of slackers hoping to coast through for as long as they could. (Am I misremembering? I'm too lazy to look up the rest of that season's cast.)

[ally]

Speaking of a season's cast:

brianD i don't know if you did me any favors providing the link to the blog that has a video reproduction of the Marcel clipper debacle. it really just made me want to hurl. i can see why no-one else from that season was asked back. just such a bunch of ********. that season is still the low point of top chef. i can see why tom c. wanted to just end it there and award marcel with TC title.

[ally]

oops sorry, the crouching elia (see video in bryanD link) was also asked back. also a testament by the *******ishness of that cast.

[ally]

*to not by

[Token Omnivore]

@Tony: I was also wondering if the elves salted the beach with conchs.

From Eli's blog on the Bravo Site:

"It lives in its shell, and slugs around very slowly on the seafloor, in usually very shallow waters. ... Due to a very slow grow time, as well as a fleeting natural habitat, they have become over fished very quickly. ... There are a few sustainable conch fisheries based down in the Bahamas and I would feel confident with Top Chef’s drive towards ethical food, that the conches that were offshore had an origin in one of these farms."

And a comment on the Team Top Chef blog backed that up "Secondly, it was very obvious the conch had been placed there for the competitors, as they were all upside down, with the pretty side pointing up."

It seemed to me a little too photogenic for the conchs to be lying there across empty sand. And while I'd love confirmation from the crew, I'll trust the experts on this one.

[Independent George]

Paula - ok, Smuf Village goes in at the #2 bikini shot, and Wolfgang Puck flinging the beignet across the room goes at #6.

I didn't find Ripert studying liquid nitrogen nearly as memorable as Steph bossing him around the kitchen. The sense of curiosity was fun to watch, but, in context, that really wasn't Richard at his best, and he really didn't use his MG techniques to the best effect that day.

Watching a three-starred Michelin chef get bossed around like a line cook by a five-foot tall chef half his age, however, was pure comedy gold.

[Independent George]

On the other hand, watching Ripert handle the grill station at Les Halles during the dinner rush was also my favorite episode of Bourdain's show, so maybe I just like watching him suffer.

[Independent George]

Wired has a review of Marcel's show; they gave it 7/10. It's actually a decent article, as the reviewer touched upon two things most stories don't mention:

1. El Bulli opened in 1987, and MG is entering its third decade
2. Flashy techniques don't necessarily produce good food, which was a major weakness for Marcel on Top Chef.

The scientific techniques flaunted in Quantum Kitchen and elsewhere appear at times to be driven by the notion that food should be transformed because it can be transformed. Vigneron serves schoolkids freeze-dried crumble that a few minutes earlier functioned perfectly well as slices of a fresh orange.

Still, Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen captivates with flashes of genuine creativity grounded in precision craftsmanship. The end result may or may not taste great, but the process itself can be a beautiful thing to behold.

[Elizabeth]

@rab01: It was Michelle Bernstein, I believe--she shot down Toby Young after he complained about the chefs pronouncing the double l in "paella" as a y.

[rab01]

Thanks Elizabeth. I couldn't for the life of me remember who had done it. I did remember that he was complaining about a chef pronouncing a word correctly. God, I'm glad he's no longer with the show.

[Robin]

Yes, what I like about Richard's food (and about his show, Blais Off!, which I hope continues) is that he was looking at techniques in terms of what would make it taste better. Not whether it would look cooler. For example, discussing Blais Off, he said, "That's one of the issues with hyper-creative cooking: that's really interesting or cool, but do you want to eat it again? Do you want to go to that restaurant next week, and not just for your anniversary next year?"
http://eater.com/archives/2010/12/17/3-2-1-blais-off-richard-blais-science-channel.php

[bfish]

Paula -- Re: Hung, he just grabbed me from the start; from episode 1 of S3 it seemed like he should/would win. His combination of uber-competitiveness, whirlwind movements, and generally stoic (but slyly subversive) personality appealed to me. And . . . it was very refreshing after all of the S2 shenanigans. I liked Dale and Casey pretty well, was disappointed when Tre blew RW, etc. Recognizing I may be in the minority here, I never cared much for CJ either as a cook or personality. Now when CJ got eliminated for the burnt broccolini, the dissing one-upsmanship between Colicchio and Bourdain was entertaining! It would probably be worthwhile to watch S3 and S5 again, the latter to study Stefan more closely.

Kevin G's cooking in RW was WTF, bryanD. However, he pretty much steamrolled other than that gaffe -- though I grant you, also when it counted the most in the finale, when he messed up on cooking the mushrooms. His ability to coax wow flavors from fairly simple ingredients, in a short time, was one of the talents that made him stand out to me.

[aaalex]

while waiting for the next episode of TC, here's a guardian special on this year's bocuse d'or:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2011/mar/23/lyon-bocuse-d-or-french-food-video

[HF]

Warning, awkward paragraph ahead...

I guess nobody mentioned it because Dom didn't cover it, but there are several top Top Chef moments from Just Desserts. To mention two...

~Seth breaks down and bawls "The red hots were for my mommy!!! *sobs uncontrollably*"

~The Elves manage to find a high school for a Just Desserts EC where the Principal is gay and the Team Mascot is flaming gay. Fabuloussth!

@bryand, thank you. Without your reference, I would have been totally ignorant of the fact that after Friday comes Saturday, and Sunday comes after...wards. We so excited!