Top Chef - S9E7 Postmortem

That squawking you just heard was Heather killing the golden goose.

Wow. Y'know, we like to talk about the villain edit around these parts, but I'm... um... willing to believe that one wasn't the edit.

That I'm going to hang myself is a given. The question is whether I'll do it because the drama factor just exploded, or because we just had a 2-4 on the bottom, 10-12 on the top quickfire and a double win from the guy in the basement.

I get one free pass every season, right? Maaaaaaan, is it tempting...

Discuss!

Comments

[Redpoint]

The award for the worst delivery of lines in a commercial goes to -- the Voltaggio brothers.

[Vega]

I was literally yelling at my TV to stop fighting for stupid reasons. I hate it when the editors play with my emotions.

[Redpoint]

However, the editors didn't fabricate Heather's true colors. She displayed them proudly.

[attheapollo]

i wonder if dom will do a mass scramble of the rankings come next week...also, down with heather.

[Redpoint]

I wonder what she thought when she watched this tonight.

[garik16]

I'm a bit confused how throwing your partner under the bus in a challenge where your fate is the SAME AS THEIRS is going to help you survive.

Anyone else notice Paul's dishes in both challenges basically being ignored by the editors? Nothing in the Quickfire and barely a mention of anything but the sausage (which was his partner) in the elimination.

[Independent George]

1. Ok, I was ready to shiv Heather tonight.
2. The ending wasn't eally a surprise - raw meat will end you
3. Did they have access to writing implements? Why not just do a blind vote instead of airing it out against each other?
4. I defended Heather last week because with 13 people working on different components, you need somebody to step up and take charge, even if it didn't work. With two people working together, you need to step back and collaborate. Beverly clearly tried - which, Heather, of course, misinterprets as a sign of weakness, and steamrolled her way through.
5. Did they have to eliminate an entire team together? My impression was that Chris & Dakota were responsible for the worst components, and Heather & Dakota were the most responsible for their teams' showings. It's a little hard to do that kind of detective work at JT, though, but it didn't seem just to eliminate Nyesha.

[cube]

Looking forward to the rankings next week.

[garik16]

IG, there was a situation two seasons ago, where they said that the losing two chefs would come from the worst team of four chefs....and the editors made it seem like the worst team was the one in which two chefs (Angelo and one other) had immunity - but instead two chefs from another team went home.

There was a lot of critique/confusion about that (The Judges maintained they hadn't changed the rule mid-challenge, but that the edit made it look like the actual losing team wasn't as bad). In other words, the Judges will not violate the rules they set for the challenge. So no, there was no way to eliminate two chefs on different teams.

[Redpoint]

Nyesha's axing hardens back to the axing of Arnold in season 7. He was doing so well, and then bam. If Top Chef asks me, I will tell them not to do this type of elimination again.

[foodie]

I'm appalled at Heather's behavior. Whenever you throw someone under the bus, you make yourself look bad. Her insistence in opposing anything Asian exposes her own narrow world view. She does not need the magical elves to give her the villain edit, she is doing a fine job all on her own. If I were on the show, I would be as nice and personable as possible. Look at Carla, she is now a co-host because she came off as a very decent person. Heather is digging her own hole.

[Independent George]

garik - good point. I was thinking back again to Mike V and Mike I at the S6 AFB challenge. Mike I was on the bottom and Mike V was on top even though they were on the same team, because they weren't told to form teams. I wasn't sure if it was explicitly stated that the bottom team would be eliminated, or if they just implied it because of the double elimination.

[Ali]

Good lord. Heather makes me want to hurt her. Lots. Shiv. Now. Wow.

I agree with Beverly. In a short time frame, teamwork is about asking lots of questions and making sure the other person knows what you're thinking. Trying to communicate via questions because you don't understand your partner's thinking is perfectly acceptable. To call that somehow less and "sous chef level" is so appalling and shows such a gross lack of teamwork skills that I can't help but wonder what Heather is like leading a kitchen.

And what the heck is so narrow about pan-Asian that it couldn't mesh with whatever Heather's food is about (don't know; don't care; won't eat at her restaurant given a choice)? Really? Because American farm-to-table or whatever is locked into particular flavours? ARG!! Narrow-minded twit!!! And the onions sounded not good.

In other news, I felt bad for Nyesha for leaving but was so appreciative to see her partner being so gracious about leaving. Maturity. Wow.

I'm thinking about giving up on this season. I can only remember Ed and Heather's names at this point, and really, at any given point in time, I can't necessarily put faces to those names.

[garik16]

IG, that wasn't a TEAM challenge - by the terms of that challenge, the group was ONE team, but it was an individual challenge. So there was no rules to prevent the judges from changing their minds when they determined who was responsible for a part of the dish.

[rab01]

Heather steamrolls her partner, insists that the technique she wants to do will absolutely result in crispy skin (which it doesn't), then throws her under the bus, and then claims that she had no voice in their dish ... wow.

For the rest of the season, I'm rooting harder against her than I ever rooted against Lisa. Her defense afterwards will have to be "I'm just keeping it real" - she won't even be able to try to blame the editing.

What was her fucking point in lying about her partner when either they were both staying or both leaving?

[Independent George]

Ali - I agree completely. Bev was being about the best teammate she could be in that situation, and behaved appropriately. It was Heather's bullheaded narrow-minded vision which torpedoed them. And the more I think about it, the more I believe the duck should have been a home run. If you take some of that rendered duck fat, fold it back into the polenta, and use the five-spice rub to season the vegetables, and you've got a unified dish. The problem was, that puts Beverly's contributions at the front, and pushes Heather into the background - and you just can't have that, now, could you?

Mmmm. Duck fat polenta.

[attheapollo]

garik and IG, the S7 school lunch challenge was a team challenge in which one chef went home. the two worst of the teams of 4 were on the chopping block, but angelo and tracy had immunity, so kenny and ed were left to fend for themselves. still, only one person was eliminated in that episode (think back to a certain additional 2 pounds of sugar).

[TxGriff]

I'm just...appalled. We all know the editors create a story. They can't create the person Heather revealed herself to be.

[TokenOmnivore]

Heather's place is totally off my list of restaurants I'd like to visit after seeing their chefs on Top Chef or Top Chef Masters. If you can feel the love in someone's cooking, I assume you can also feel the hate.

And if your gig is farm to table, uh, don't billions of Asians do that on a daily basis?

I'm sorry to see Nyesha go home. And am glad to see Ty-Lor and Chris C stepping it up. But no fawning and love for Love? Ok, I'm happy Chris is focusing on his food.

[doktarr]

I was defending some of the reaction shot stuff they were doing with Heather early in the episode - the producers can take any random moment where a chef has an odd look on their face and splice it in so it seems like a reaction to that moment. But the stuff at the end of this episode was not editing - or at least, Heather was providing the editors with some prime material to work with. (The classic non-apology apology in the stew room was the best.) That basically all the other chefs seem to be appalled by Heather's behavior is the most telling thing.

Anyway, I hated the challenge format, for the obvious reasons, which played out in almost the worst possible way. Why not give the judges some flexibility? I've often thought that it would make sense to hand the judges two or three bonus eliminations, and let them use them whenever they are most deserved, over the span of a whole season.

I also really wish that they had allowed two chefs to survive in LCK. I won't spoil who advanced here, but they only allowed one of three. I would have preferred if LCK was a 2/3 eliminated, at least until the last challenge. It makes it much more likely for a prematurely eliminated chef to have a long LCK run.

[David]

On Top Chef, the rules for a challenge are "rules," not *rules*. The judges should have set aside the "rules" for the elimination and 86ed Dakota and Heather, or Dakota alone. From what we were shown of judges' table, it should have been clear that either of these outcomes would have been far more fair than eliminating Dakota and Nyesha.

And of course yoking teams together for elimination is *never* a good idea, but obviously the Elves will never learn. To recycle an analogy I thought of a couple seasons ago (in the wake of a similarly boneheaded challenge design), it would be like announcing, in the middle of a singles tennis tournament, that for the next round the players would have to team up and play doubles. Dumb dumb dumb.

[garik16]

Also, Dom - save your free pass for when you can't actually do the rankings :-P.

[Independent George]

TokenOmnivore - I've been to Sable, and the food was really good. It looks simple, but there's a lot of flavor there, and I was very happy to have dined there. That said... I'm inclined to agree with you. Even though I had an excellent experience there, but a television game show has managed to make me less inclined to return. I'm ashamed to admit that. And if that's the effect it had on someone who was already very happy ath the restaurant... then Dom put it perfectly - Heather just strangled the Golden Goose.

If you do come to Chicago, though, and want to try a TC contestant's restaurant, Chuy's restaurant, Chilam Balam, is one of my happy places. Darn it, I really wish we were still watching him.

[Olie]

Heather's behavior was pretty appalling!

It came off like she wanted so badly for someone to just validate her issues with Bev, that she lost all self awareness (or maybe she never had it in the first place).

A confident leader/ teammember touts the skills and accomplishments of their peers because they know that the success of others is also their success. By being so focused on only her own contribution, Heather signaled that she is too immature and insecure to let anyone else shine. Otherwise, ego wouldn't have played such a role in her cooking or her collaboration.

[DF]

Heather didn't bother me as much as the requirement to send home both members of a team. IG nailed it in point 5: Chris and Dakota should have gone. It seemed to me like Nyesha's contributions might have been the most praised at JT.

Yes, Heather came off badly, but tonight was all about Nyesha to me. Class will tell.

[Independent George]

Dom, here's my stab at it...

1. Paul
2. Sara
3. Ed
4. Grayson
5. Lindsay
6. Beverley
7. Ty-Lor
8. Heather
9. Chris C
10. Chris J

I'm a little concerned Sara is getting rattled, but I thought she and Paul well enough to remain at the top. Ed impressed me this week. Chris J looks to be getting too cute with his techniques and losing sight of making good food.

[Lon]

At one point, Heather commented that when she went home she wanted it to be for her efforts, not someone else's. I sort of understand what she was staying, but in team situations, a team win is a personal win as well. At least she got it said now and perhaps won't beat the topic in future shows.

I appreciate Dom's attempt to look at receipes as a tell for his rankings. Don't know enough about cooking at this level to make that determination so I can only go on what I see. But I concur with the way everyone placed this week.

Still time chefs to work their way up the charts and tonight was a good effort for Ty and Ed. I kind of get this sinking feeling though because sometimes the winner of an early episode that looks so strong fals flat on his cooking pans in the next show.

Every season a good chef or two goes home early because the chef missteps or gets involved in a group that missteps. That's the way of Top Chef.

[Ali]

Independent George - in not going back to Sable, think of it this way. It's not about Heather, per se, but how she conducts herself in a kitchen. Yes, it is a dictatorship of a sorts in a professional kitchen, but there's no need to be so nasty about it, and Heather has pretty much communicated that she's the worst sort of leader, overbearing and overly controlling. Whether you can taste the hate isn't so much at issue as whether or not you can feel the misery from the people who work under Heather.

I've done my share of working under despots (well, to overstate matters). I have no need to take my precious dining dollars to support one (and someone with so narrow-minded a view on Asian cooking), especially when there are far, far too many good restaurants to try in Chicago for the few times I manage to travel there.

[Helaine]

Heather - I can't stand when someone doesn't let other people talk. If she keeps that up, i hope someone calls her on it and we get to see it. Also, I laughed aloud when she suggested that she was sent to the bottom because she won the week before. How insulting to your fellow chefs!

Secret Ballot - IG- I'm assuming they were told they couldn't vote by secret ballot - not good TV!

Moto Chris - well, he's trying not to be boring, but not in a good way. As (I think) Dom feared early on, he gets too caught up in the preciousness of his concepts sometimes and doesn't focus on creative flavor combos.

[Anon Man]

Ty-Lor with the rare double win! I don't know why, but suddenly I'm actively pulling for this guy.

Many of the usual top chef rules were out yesterday.

1. Do not make risotto. (Sarah- QF)
2. Incorrect meat doneness = death.
3. Do not use some cool technique just for the technique.

I kind of wanted Heather to go home. Not because she's a big meanie or because I find Bev kind of annoying too, but because of Heather's immensely idiotic attempt to throw her own teammate under the bus in a double elimination challenge. What was up with that.

I'm assuming there will be a sort of dart board approach to the rankings next week.

[Independent George]

Ali - the thing is, though, I've eaten at plenty of restaurants where I've known or heard about the chef's reputation as a tyrant, serial philanderer, drug addict, etc. I've never cared one whit about it as long as they can cook. And, really, that's the way it should be - the customer experience in the dining room. Everything else is just a distraction. And here, I've let my gut reaction to what I see on a TV reality show I've no stake in supersede an actual, physical, experience I had. And that disturbs me.

Frankly, it makes me wonder about how 'objective' critics can truly be. How many axes to grind are there in an industry where pretty much everybody knows everybody by reputation? If I went back, I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy my meal just as much as before, and forget all this nonsense on the television. But I also know that there is always random variation in the service and quality in any restaurant. How willing would I be to assign some random misstep to some unknowable variable based on some preconceived notion I had going in?

[dfan]

"For the rest of the season, I'm rooting harder against her than I ever rooted against Lisa. Her defense afterwards will have to be "I'm just keeping it real" - she won't even be able to try to blame the editing."

That's pretty much what she's saying on Twitter - "I just tell it like it is".

[Independent George]

Sometimes, keeping it real goes wrong.

[Anon Man]

George: Nice.

I'm fairly certain that Karma wants that to happen to Heather.

[nomnomnom]

So they come to dallas and:

-Stop off in a ditch
-Go to the most nauseating section of Dallas high society
-Go to a set of a TV show people still can't forget
-Go to a cooking school
-Leave

Perfect

It could have been worse. They could have setup at the grassy knoll.

[Redpoint]

On a side note, we decided to name our new kitten Chuy.

[TxGriff]

On a positive note, I thought several of the chefs displayed true class last night. Dakota and Sarah were more upset at the thought of taking their teammates down with them than getting themselves sent home. Nyesha had faith in Dakota's skills, but did not blame her for their dish's failures. Paul praised his competitors, but was willing to provide level criticism when no one wanted to select the bottom 3 teams. Ed and Ty-Lor seemed to work genuinely well together and were truly humble and gracious when they won. I hope to see more of this behavior going forward.

[Independent George]

TxGriff - good point. I think I went a little off the rails a bit over Heather, and you're entirely right about everone else. Nyesha displayed a lot of class after the fact, but I really admired the way she was trying to encourage Dakota throughout. That made her elimination even harder for me, and I feel really bad for Dakota. I also got a kick out of Chris J bluntly rambling on and on about how badly he screwed up the sweet potato, until Grayson, horrified, shuts him up. I found that really endearing - both of them.

Nom(3x): They could also have visited the JerryDome, and had an eighty-foot Colicchio head passing judgement down from the massive TV screen.

[chrish]

Thinking about it, I really don’t have a problem with the double elimination. This is a reality tv show that needs to attract an audience. If they really wanted to identify the best chef, they would have something like 15 consecutive individual challenges, with generous budgets and time constraints, centered around different themes or proteins or what have you.

The way this episode was constructed, the chefs had a chance to cook very good food. Budget didn’t seem to be an issue and the time allotment was ok if not generous. The “twist” was working in teams and the double elimination. Yes, it introduces an element of randomness and loss of full control, but in the context of the show I think that's fine and even makes sense. And even then, to some extent, the twist is testing an ability to work cooperatively. Maybe not a great test, but it relates to some skill that is not wholly irrelevant. And the elimination wasn’t purely random. It was based on the food that you put out together. Some other chefs might have checked up on Dakota or done more to ensure the protein was cooked correctly. And some other chefs would have managed to work much better with Heather (or Beverly) than Beverly (or Heather) did. And some other chefs might have been able to rein in Moto Chris more or had more of a backup plan.

My only real “beef” is that it wasn’t clear to me how critical the proteins were in the challenge. I actually thought Dakota/Nyesha were safe because Tom emphasized how much he liked the overall dish and how it made sense as a dish (yes, I realize it was a game challenge, but still). But maybe I didn’t appreciate how undercooked it was. I also don’t know how much detail the contestants are given on what the criteria for assessing the challenge are.

I also agree that many chefs acquitted themselves very well. Paul had the self confidence (as well as probably the comfort of knowing he had the respect of the other chefs) to start the discussion. Something I could see Harold or Blais or Voltaggios doing.

[Anon Man]

If you haven't read Hugh's blog yet, go do it. The man should be a comedy writer. Highlights:

1. He likes the way Grayson gets the point: "You promise this will be bangin'?"
2. On Grayson thinking she's going home: "I'm going to get a bottle of vodka and go find a cowboy."
3. On Chris's sweet potato: "The most unconfident fence salesman ever."
4. "Ed calls Heather a word that rhymes with b-itch."
5. Plus kind words about Nyesha and her background and guys she's worked for.

[chrish]

Did anyone name themselves as one of the bottom 3 teams, either in listing out the bottom or in the show of hands?

[ally]

I thought Beverly was the true standout person this week, from a character perspective. The more Heather bullies, the stronger she gets. She's stopped crying and is still working hard.

Chris J continues to show his true colors as a chef who cares more about gimmicks than flavor. Demote him please. Chris C may be shallow about how "cute" someone is, but for this show Chris J is shallow in a different, and worse, way.

[ally]

Hugh Acheson is the Shecky Green of TC blogs. He's trying too hard. I guess I'm in the minority with this one, but I find him incredibly annoying.

[Alamos Road]

This was one of those episodes after which I spend the next day repeating the mantra "It's just a game. It's just a 'reality' show. The best chefs don't always win. Deserving people get cut. Undeserving people stay. They all know what they signed up for." And then I have a flashback to Angelo at the freaking ridiculous Target challenge and dissolve in a puddle of tears. Again.

[Redpoint]

Do you think the producers staged the contestants so Heather would be paired with Beverly?

[Skillet Doux]

Redpoint... That's a devious thought, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit. It would certainly explain why we're seeing "the person you're standing next to" rather than the knife block this season.

[EdT.]

Dom - pleasepleasepleasePLEASE send Heather down the list. How far down I'll defer judgement on until after I watch the re-run. But, just based on the segments I saw, she does NOT deserve to be anywhere near the top.

I have said elsewhere, Heather stepped way over the line - that was no "bossy chef" behavior, she was acting like a punk schoolyard bully - and, given her ongoing snide comments about "Asian", there were some racist overtones present.

What got me during the JT segment were the fact that she was willing to throw her teammate under the bus during a double elimination (and, given the statement from another talking head cheft, they all KNEW it was a double elimination), and she insisted on focusing attention, not on the current challenge, BUT ON THE PREVIOUS CHALLENGE WHERE BEVERLY WASN'T ON THE BOTTOM. If Heather has EVER watched this show, she would know that each challenge is judged separately - and, that it is judged based on the FOOD, not on the REALITY TEEVEE DRAMAZ! that is going on.

What I did like was Bravo putting Bev's statements about being in an abusive relationship on air. While it certainly didn't do anything to help Heather (nothing could, IMO), I think it sent a really powerful message - just because you are being tormented by someone else, doesn't mean you have to give up.

What I hope will happen is that someone will stand up to Heather, and tell her every thing we have been talking about - to her face.

Oh - and Ty-Lor deserves a nice bump up. Just sayin'.

~EdT.

[mar]

That was the first thing I thought of when the pairings were explained - did they line up the contestants ahead of time? Because with that many people, why would two people who don't like each other be standing next to each other if they had a choice?

Anyway, I was thinking they went about selecting the bottom three teams the hard way. There were six teams, one was the winner. They could have voted on the two strongest teams left, and then the other three would be in the bottom automatically. Then you aren't calling out the worst, but choosing the best of the rest. That being said, kudos to Paul for getting it started, though it would have made more sense for one of the winning chefs to take the lead.

[rab01]

If the winning team had made the choices, there would have been claims they were sabotaging sttrong competitors or protecting friends. As it is, the chetestants managed to pick the same teams the judges would have so kudos to them for being fair. I bet the Elves denied them paper because a secret ballot wouldn't make for good tv.

Heather clearly needs a huge drop in Dom's standings. Since it's a rating of current "awesomeness", who is less awesome than her?

[Anne]

Heather knows that Asia's like, a continent, right?

This was the first time I got my boyfriend to watch TC with me. I told him it's rarely about drama before we watched. Good times.

[Bob]

I thought it was a pretty interesting challenge. Heather ripping Beverly at JT was inevitable, but more interesting was how they chose what dish to make in the first place. It's called "Top Chef" not "Top Cook" after all, and it's important to get along with others in a kitchen. I could be wrong, but seems to me in earlier seasons they had challenges designed specifically to test leadership / collaborative skills (that is, besides Restaurant Wars, which clearly does.)

I would have liked to see how other teams worked out their dish/roles. Did they flip a coin to determine Asian vs. Western, or head vs. sous? Interesting game theory at work - you don't want to go home for someone else's mistake, obviously, so what really puzzles me is Heather's confrontational approach - DURING the cooking. Tom correctly picked up on the schizophrenic nature of the dish.

On the other hand, seems to me that a fairer challenge would have had two chefs each cook the same protein (that is, two dishes, not one), and then have the 6 losers do a follow-up challenge (maybe they did that in a previous sesson).

I like to watch the show with my 14-year-old daughter, an aspiring chef (not really - she knows how much they earn) and I tell her if she's ever on TC, to follow these rules:

1. Get the darn food on the plate
2. Cook your protein correctly.
3. Season well.
4. Don't over-complicate things - less is more.

Maybe you don't win that way (gets back to last week's thread on "taking chances") but you get pretty deep. As soon as the venison was undercooked, that team was toast (so to speak). By the way, didn't Tom go from "slightly undercooked" during tasting to "very undercooked" during first JT, and then "very very undercooked" when they were sent packing?

Seriously, has Tom ever said; "Well, your ______(protein) was cooked perfectly, but I hated your garnish - get outta here."

Love the fact that Hugh and Tim Love were both on TC Masters, and both sent home (Hugh twice!) - they clearly know what these chefs are going through.

Dom - don't be too hard on yourself. Your track record speaks for itself. It's spooky good. The problems of sorting this pack probably has more to do with the relative evenness of the chefs - individually they have all put up some good plates, and some mistakes, though most don't seem to work well with others. (Exception: has Mr. Moto put out anything remotely appealing?)

We're rooting for Paul - we like his approach to food - and his temperament.

Conspiracy theorists doubtless think they're keeping Heather/Beverly for the drama, but no, I think they just cooked their protein better.

[TokenOmnivore]

@Independent George - Thanks for the recommendation for Chuy's restaurant. Next time we're in Chicago we need to get to a Bayless place and would like to visit Chuy's as well. We've got friends and family there, so it's a matter of "when" not "if." The hard part is just getting into the city from the 'burbs, and to drag the friends and family along with us. The last high-end place we've been to was Lula Café, a couple of years ago now. Yum!

@Dom - ditto on not beating yourself up too much. The rankings seemed good to me based on what we'd seen so far. With the difference between a good chef and a good competition chef (cases in point, Messrs Love and Acheson), I'd skew things more to what we see on screen rather than what they do at home. And Ty-Lor and Chris C had been yawners until last night.

[Keryl]

Arrgh! Yet another episode where the LCK was a lot more fun. I'm really digging those little, all food, drama free episodes.

If only the longer ones worked that way.

[attheapollo]

one last thought: grayson knows more than most how to play this game of top chef. chris j made the (ill-advised) move of telling the diners the very mistake on the dish and grayson steps in and goes, "no, no, no, that's EXACTLY how we intended it to be." i love a competitor like that and hope she goes far, or at least gets fan favorite.

[Scott]

I, like others, did not like this challenge. I almost feel like the elves did this challenge to light a fire under the chef's butts because it was just so poorly constructed. You don't get to choose your teammates and you don't get to choose your meats. this is the more unrealistic than cooking outside in the wilderness IMO.

To me, I thought Chris shouldn't have gone home. Even though his sweet potato wasn't delicious, he cooked his meat extremely well. If I ate a plate of food and the sweet potato fries weren't crispy? i'd probably forget about it in the next second if the meat was that delicious. Chris J does have a problem with creativity and I think grayson did a good job stopping him from throwing himself under the bus.

Like other people said, I'm proud that Beverly stood up for herself. she didn't cry nor did she try tot ake heather down. I'm actually EXTREMELY offended, i think heather is a racist. asian food is like cooking american food or french food. it's a freaking continent of foods. stop saying it like it's a derogatory term. additionally, i think the top chef judges should've said something about her attitude and defended beverly a little. This isn't housewives of beverly hills. I watch top chef instead of the next iron chef because top chef has class, the judges have class. it's really disappointing to see top chef swooping lower and lower.

lastly, while I feel for Nyesha, I do feel like it's somewhat fair to eliminate both due to the uncooked meat. I think Nyesha should've checked on the meat, it is the main dish afterall. I like dakota, i like her attitude, and i think she made a mistake like everybody does in top chef. it's unfortunate, but you really can't get past raw meat so they have to go. i blame the elves for stirring trouble in the wrong pot.

[Scott]

I, like others, did not like this challenge. I almost feel like the elves did this challenge to light a fire under the chef's butts because it was just so poorly constructed. You don't get to choose your teammates and you don't get to choose your meats. this is the more unrealistic than cooking outside in the wilderness IMO.

To me, I thought Chris shouldn't have gone home. Even though his sweet potato wasn't delicious, he cooked his meat extremely well. If I ate a plate of food and the sweet potato fries weren't crispy? i'd probably forget about it in the next second if the meat was that delicious. Chris J does have a problem with creativity and I think grayson did a good job stopping him from throwing himself under the bus.

Like other people said, I'm proud that Beverly stood up for herself. she didn't cry nor did she try tot ake heather down. I'm actually EXTREMELY offended, i think heather is a racist. asian food is like cooking american food or french food. it's a freaking continent of foods. stop saying it like it's a derogatory term. additionally, i think the top chef judges should've said something about her attitude and defended beverly a little. This isn't housewives of beverly hills. I watch top chef instead of the next iron chef because top chef has class, the judges have class. it's really disappointing to see top chef swooping lower and lower.

lastly, while I feel for Nyesha, I do feel like it's somewhat fair to eliminate both due to the uncooked meat. I think Nyesha should've checked on the meat, it is the main dish afterall. I like dakota, i like her attitude, and i think she made a mistake like everybody does in top chef. it's unfortunate, but you really can't get past raw meat so they have to go. i blame the elves for stirring trouble in the wrong pot.

[doktarr]

@chrish - Dakota voted for herself; I'm not sure whether or not anyone else did.

[gdis2002]

I really hope in the next challenge they are forced to draw knives and each knife has a country or region of a country in Asia who's cuisine they are supposed to cook.

[Independent George]

I have to disagree - I didn't think there was anything wrong with the setup of the challenge. There were no ridiculous time or budgetary challenges to it, no ridiculous thematic twists, and the game meats were not especially unusual or exotic. The biggest difficulty was working with a partner, and that shouldn't have been a problem by itself.

[chrish]

Thanks, doktarr, on the info about Dakota. Was that in the show of hands? I couldn't remember anyone volunteering themselves when they went around naming teams.

I do remember Grayson pressing Heather on who Heather would name as the third team, but I can't remember if they showed any of the others who ended up in the bottom naming teams. I also remember Heather suggesting the winners pick the bottom three (a not completely unreasonable proposal), perhaps hoping her friendship with Ty-Lor would save her, and Grayson quickly nixing that. Grayson does seem like a very savvy contestant (in a good way), although I'm very sympathetic to the Moto Chris approach of fessing up to mistakes (perhaps he shouldn't do it as he's serving the dish).

[Anon Man]

I think I'm with you, iGeorge. (You're now an Apple product.) Sure you might not have extensive experience with game, but they weren't that exotic. I'm no professional and I've worked with all of those proteins. (Wild Boar, by the way, is one of my favorite meats.) This isn't like they had to do rattlesnake again or something truly exotic like monkey brains or insects. Work with your partner and cook something nice.

But, to the extent that the grouping was staged and not random then I am kind of annoyed. I don't mind that a good cook can get booted because of a bad partner or a bad knife draw - them the breaks on reality tv. But, if the producers are picking teams to maximize drama, then it seems like too much interference to the point that it could non-randomnly change the outcome. Odds we ever know the answer here: close to zero.

[Pepperjack]

I remember a blind vote before. Maybe that was All-Stars or Masters, though? I think the horrible fondue one was a 'write your vote on a card' affair.

[Genevieve]

I gave Heather the benefit of the doubt last time, but no more. She's convicting herself out of her own mouth, both of bullying and of (at best) tremendous closed-mindedness about Asian food (which, as Dom keeps saying, is an extremely broad category). The part that really got me was the attack on Beverly's work ethic. You can say you differ in styles, approaches to cooking, etc., but work ethic is a major attack. Bev was working hard on the shrimp - just not as fast as Heather wanted (which last week, I thought Heather might've been right about, but now I'm doubting). It's not like she was lazing about and goofing off.

Very happy to see Ty get some wins (especially after last week), and to see mature behavior and humility on part of most of the other chefs. I'm glad Bravo put that on camera (Dakota and Sarah's worry about not taking down their teammates, Nyesha and Paul's rational and kind approach to their teammates, Ed and Ty's good teamwork) and not just the massive drama.

[Miss Nadine]

Not until Tim Love dissed Heather's salad did I realize I have eaten at Sable-- that exact salad was on their menu circa early Sept. And he was right--tasty enough but totally Houlihan's. Also I'm pretty certain that rock shrimp, grapefruit, and avocado don't come from any farm anywhere near those tables. Otherwise the meal was memorable b/c the service was so horrible I ended up with half my ticket comped--I sat at the bar to eat (solo business trip) and couldn't get a second drink for love or money, or waving my arms at the two bartenders like I was guiding a plane in for a landing. The bar back pitied me and brought water, but none of the servers were available to assist. Because they were all--and I mean every single server and the manager-- clustered at the end of the bar conferencing repeatedly about "what to do" about a group of African-Americans who were eating/drinking also at the bar, whom they were absolutely convinced were planning to dine and dash. At one point when they realized I could hear everything they tried to be a little quieter (I am also black) but it went on for like 90 minutes. (of course, everyone paid like normal and the servers congratulated themselves for their watchfulness, I never saw anything indicating any kind of shady behavior on the part of the patrons going on at all) I vowed never to return; after watching these past couple of eps of Top Chef it all came back to me! Ugh. Horrible person, meh food, piss poor behavior in the joint.

[Bart]

I feel bad for Nyesha. She looked like she could have been a solid contender - top 6, maybe. Clearly, Dakota felt awful about it. The failure rested entirely on her part of the dish. What a terrible feeling. I don't envy her.

I haven't watched Last Chance Kitchen but that takes the sting out of it a bit. If Dakota can beat Nyesha and Whitney fair and square, then it's all good. At least then if Nyesha gets eliminated, it's because she wasn't able to beat the other two competitors.

Still, that was a rotten way to go.

Agreed, re: all on Heather. Yikes. When even another contestant steps in and says, "This conversation is making me uncomfortable" then you know it's bad.

[Anon Man]

Bart, you mention LCK. I was holding off until Dom posted to avoid spoilers. Dom said he would post on Fridays. It is lateish Frisay now, and it seems like it would be ok to comment on it, but I wouldn't want to spoil someone's viewing by posting. Can we maybe get an etiquette ruling by Dom (or an agreement by the regulars here) on when it is ok to comment on LCK if life prevents Dom from posting on LCK. Noon Friday Eastern? Later? earlier? Not trying to be formal, but I didn't get around to watching LCK until this morning and I've avoided mentioning it because I know others might not. Have watched and it's an interesting balance between spirited discussion and spoiling someone's viewing of it by posting early. Thoughts, all, Dom?

[Duffy]

Hey Dom -- Good idea about a ruling on when LCK can be open for discussion without spoiling it for others.

[Bart]

Thirded on LCK etiquette!

Meanwhile, I did end up watching it. Gotta say (and I hope this is considered spoiler-free), I am loving the peanut gallery. Pretty pleased overall with LCK in general. I hope they keep it for future seasons.

[Skillet Doux]

Oh, I'm not troubled with where I had people before today. A couple I would have liked to have a little lower, a couple I'd have liked to have a little higher. I'm ready to hang myself because what the heck do I do now? I can't just flip-flop the standings. So finding daylight between all of these people mashed into the middle is not a prospect I find exciting.

[helaine]

My 2 cents regarding the rankings for this week: If you (Dom) finding it a really irritating/annoying task to do the ordering portion and have to justify why you have moved/not moved people with such a screwy episode, perhaps just a commentary/analysis of the episode without putting the people in order. To me, the rankings are fun, but I enjoy reading your thoughts, critiques, etc. the most and I would miss that if you decided to pass this week. So, if doing the rankings seem odious, perhaps consider a different format to reflect??? Most obviously though, do whatever the heck you want :-)!

[Skillet Doux]

No, no... don't mind me. I'm just being cranky :-)

[ally]

i was thinking this earlier and now i'll just put it out there ...

i think a lot of what happened earlier was that you put the people in a position that was related to pre-conceived notions, and moved up or down from there.

Why not just look at them with fresh eyes and put them where you think they belong based on Top Chef results only? You can justify it with TC performance.

Personally, I think Chris du Moto is just way too high, and it would be easy to re-place him using a re-shuffling strategy.

Seems like you're not thinking that way, and I had never considered it in previous seasons, but this time the rankings seem a little out of whack.

[ally]

Sorry for all the double posts, but allow me to add - I am in the Go Paul camp.

Go Paul!

[EdT.]

It looks like the backlash has already started - when I checked, Heather's Twitter account was "protected" (I am guessing in reaction to all the angry villagers after Wed's episode.)

~EdT.

[gdis2002]

Not sure if anyone else looked up Sable on Yelp, but Heather is getting hammered on there. Besides reviews of the food being decent but the whole place being pretentious, she really screwed herself over. I live a few blocks north of there, haven't ventured in and now I doubt I ever will.

[foodcurious]

Heather really needs to get her head out of her butt and learn something about the hundreds of regional cuisines of just China, let alone Japan and Southeast Asia. Until then, she cooks too much American food and can kiss my yellow-butt.

[foodcurious]

I just came from Sable's menus, huh, they make curries and bahn mi ... add hypocrisy to her laundry list.

[The Hedonist]

I do a weekly recap on my blog, but haven't listed my favs yet... I'm a big fan of Paul's and Sonny Chiba, er, I mean Ed. And I think that if Ugly Chris can control his urges, he can be a dark horse. I really like Tylor and Heather from a TV-watching perspective. I guess I'd put Paul at the top because of the whole Native Texan thing.

[Redpoint]

I know this is a cooking show, first and foremost, but, I don't see a beloved character lie a Fabio or a Carla, coming out of this pack. Or, in terms of food, a Richard or a Mike V. It's early yet, but so far there isnt much charisma or humor.

[JohnCoctostan]

"It's early yet." That's the key. I think Paul and Sarah both have the potential to come out as beloved characters, both for food and personality. For instance, I loved their cutaway monologues during this quickfire. I also look forward to hearing what Edward has to say about things.