Top Chef - S9E9 Last Chance Kitchen

Well, I can't keep using that same image of Nyesha smiling, can I?

She's starting to feel it. Though after seeing Tom describe Chris' sandwich, I thought it was going to go the other way.

LCK's getting all old school on us, now! For those who weren't around or don't remember, this was a throwback to the Season 1, Episode 4 quickfire where the chefs had to do their shopping at a gas station convenience store. It's the same challenge, right down to the time limit and the budget. Lee Anne won and her dish had something to do with Funyuns, but I don't recall the details.

In any case, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, despite being what I'd ordinarily consider a dumb challenge. Nyseha did what looked like a restaurant dish, a lovingly plated beer-glazed Polish sausage with pork rind tuille and a green chile nacho cheese sauce. Chris, on the other hand, embraced the convenience store and made what Tom described as a "perfect" grilled cheese sandwich, made with fried ham, jack cheese and pickles, and paired with a togarashi tomato soup with fried ham and chicharrones. But despite that praise, Nyesha wins again!

Y'know, the gas station challenge has caused me to reassess what I'm enjoying about LCK. It isn't the challenges, though they've been good. It's that the tone, particularly with the peanut gallery, is more of that collegial feel that I loved so much about the first two seasons of Masters. In some ways, this feels kind of like the spiritual successor to Masters. Sort of. You know what I'm saying, hopefully. In any case, still digging it. And starting to really enjoy Nyesha's run.

Discuss!

Comments

[Libster]

I did enjoy this challenge I only started watching top chef the 2nd season so I missed the first run of the challenge but I do remember the vending machine challenge in season 2 which is kind of similar.

This challenge made Nyesha nervous because I think with her training and pedigre she isn't used to cooking this way. Malibu can be a bit of a wild card at times. He either gets it right, or throws everything together and hope something sticks. So it was nice to see him do so well in this challenge but I'm still pushing for Nyesha to keep on mopping it up.

With this it made me think, are the challenges on the show just not enjoyable? We keep pushing it all off on the chefs playing too safe but really I think the ECs are just lacking especially when it comes to the texas meat challenges.

I don't think Malibu got lucky here I think he actually put thought and came out making something delicious, which also made me think maybe they need more of the LCK challenge types in the show.

Hopefully Restaurant wars will be fun to watch.

[nm]

Did I hear Nyesha say "two to go"? If so, I guess we know when they're going to fold the LCK winner back into the main competition.

[Skillet Doux]

nm... Just listened again. She says "...a few more to go."

[nomnomnom]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I would think Nyesha back now would be the only real challenger on merit right now to Paul.

[ally]

That is a great, defining picture of Nyesha!

And nom may be right about her, she still impresses me as just *looking* so competent in the kitchen, and having well-thought-out dishes. And as each battle-weary chef comes back from the war to greet a well-rested Nyesha, she might have a better chance than that 60-40 chance predicted earlier. Here's hoping!

[Joanna]

I am loving LCK so much. I agree with Dom that the tone is a big factor, but I think the 1-on-1 format also brings out the best in the chefs. There's been a lot of discussion in these comment threads about incentives, and LCK provides the ultimate incentive: cook something awesome, or you're done for good. And I think this has been reflected in the food -- has Tom had an easy decision yet? It seems like every week brings 2 (or 3) great dishes, and the flaws are always minimal compared with what we see in the regular elimination challenges. A lot of the eliminations set the chefs up to fail, but LCK sets them up to succeed, and I love that.

I also would be so excited to see Nyesha go all the way. Girl is in the zone.

[nm]

Thanks, Dom. I was listening too fast.

[Kevin]

After that BBQ debacle, I'm tempted to agree with nom. Counting LCK challenges, she's probably been more consistent in executing than any other chef except Paul. And early in this week's clip, Tom even says to Malibu something along the lines of "I've see her cook, and she's impressive. Really impressive."

If Nyesha does get back in (and I want that to happen), I'm curious how Dom will rank her.

[DF]

I doubt too many people here watch "The Bachelor/Bachelorette," but after more seasons than TC, the dialog is as ritualized as kabuki. But at the end of each episode, there are outtakes in which the participants act like, well, human beings, including making fun of the rituals of "The Bachelor."

LCK is like those outtakes. This is easily my least favorite season of TC, and part of the reason is that Tom seems dyspeptic much of the time. I love the Colicchio on LCK, as well as the interaction among the competing chefs and the peanut gallery.

It kills me that the producers don't understand why people watch the show -- they genuinely don't seem to understand.

[Bob]

Like other posters, I'm really enjoying LCK, and think it's the best part of Season 9. The chefs (and Tom) actually look like they're having fun - imagine that. But, conflict "sells" on reality TV - you see it from "Survivor" to "The Amazing Race" to "The Apprentice." All these shows are looking for the next Omorosa (sorry, non-Apprentice viewers - Google her if you want to know more).

Sounds silly, but the thing I liked the most about the episode was that Nyesha and Malibu went to the store together (That GPS feature in the Toyota Prius is slick!) I assumed they'd drive separate cars, and the winner might be due in part to finding a c-store with more variety.

Like Malibu, I've used tomato soup often as an ingredient in a dish, but never actually ate it as is, right out of the can. Wonder if anyone ever does.

I think Tom did a mental-coin-flip for the winner. But, glad to see Nyesha still in it.

Did the other chefs taste the food in the previous LCK's? Can't remember, but another very nice touch. And, note that all were extremely complimentary. Take them out of the rat race that is TC, and these seem like quite decent folk.

[garik16]

DF - two things:

1. Tom's stated that this whole season was essentially filmed while he was delaying needed surgery (I think on his back) so he was in spurts of pain (particularly during the housewives episode apparently). I suspect that affects his mood.

2. The people on this blog are almost certainly the minority - I suspect the producers have market research showing most of those who watch the show are less foodies and more people wishing to see drama (there's probably some overlap, but drama probably helps the ratings).

[doktarr]

Yeah, you have to remember that this show is on a network whose other major products are semi-documentary shows about rich socialites and matchmakers. The network tagline, "watch what happens", is a pretty clear reference to the drama. They know their audience, I'm afraid.

That said, TC is their big hit, so it seems reasonable to imagine that some of the extra eyeballs are there for the food.

[Bart]

@garik16 - yeah, I totally agree with your second point. I think it's easy to forget, amid this wonderful community here on Skillet Doux, that viewers like us are solidly in the minority. Not that people don't want to see good food being cooked, but they're not as interested in the food as they are in the people cooking that food.

Besides, as any great storyteller will tell you - if at the end of the scene, the characters are better off than they were when the scene started, you're doing it wrong (for examples of this in action, see Shakespeare, William or Martin, George R.R.). While reality show storylines can't be outright changed, the conflict/struggle is usually going to be emphasized over the easygoing storyline.

If there *is* an emphasis on the easygoing storyline, then...well, I won't elaborate on that, but I think you can see where I'm going with it. I haven't seen that yet in this season in Top Chef, but Angelo Sosa's meteoric streak during the end of his season comes to mind.

Anyhoo, nice LCK. Good for Nyesha. She's in a groove. At this point, I'd love to see her come back to Top Chef proper.

[Alamos Road]

Tom wants Nyesha back in the main competition. Tom is the sole LCK judge. Ergo, the odds are that Nyesha will make it back unless she faces an eliminated contestant (like Paul) that Tom wants in the finals even more.

I'm not saying this to be critical. Tom seems unhappy with many of the other contestants' lack of consistency or level of talent. A Nyesha-Paul face-off would be interesting.

[MBinMD]

A Nyesha-Paul finale (please please please!) would also sidestep the potential question of fairness. One could say that it's not "fair" that a chef who was eliminated so early would be able to re-join the competition. But you can make an excellent case that Nyesha wasn't eliminated because of her own work, but because she was teamed with another chef who had a really weak performance. Nyesha herself didn't make any dishes that were worthy of elimination.

I had a good feeling about Nyesha from the very first episodes, and am so glad to see her kicking butt in LCK.

[Alamos Road]

MBinMD: Exactly. I'm projecting my own feelings here, but if I were Tom, I'd be at least a little embarrassed about the circumstances of Nyesha's elimination, given how enthused all the judges and guest chefs were about Nyesha's contributions to that dish.

[aaalex]

the saddest thing for those of us in Canada is not just that we don't get to see LCK but that we don't get to know the chefs on LCK. is nyesha as good as she sounds? has it been good luck that's got her so far along? are her skills better displayed on LCK? has her training come into play in an interesting way yet?

i watch TC a day after it's been on, but i can't find LCK anywhere on-line. i feel so deprived ...

[OmicronPersei8]

aaalex, you can watch LCK on hulu if you use a VPN. I've been watching it from Australia using Hotspot Shield.

[aaalex]

omicronperseii8, thanks very much for the suggestion. can you tell me your set-up? are you on mac? do you pay for strong VPN? at the risk of boring the pants off everyone else, could you fill me in a little more? thanks again.

[OmicronPersei8]

I just use the free download here: http://hotspotshield.com/

Free version has ads but I literally only use it for ten minutes a week to watch LCK and the extended JT if they put one up so it doesn't bother me. Windows here but it runs on OSX as well. When you're connected you should be able to access videos on Hulu (doesn't seem to work for videos on the Bravo site though).

[aaalex]

omicronperseii8: never mind. hotspot shield works perfectly. i just watched the LCKs. great! i really, really loved nyesha's "wipe the smile off heather's face" moment. i'm gonna have to agree with dom: this may be the best part of this year, a cool little sideshow. (i wish it went on longer, though...)