This is my house.
So far I think this season of Top Chef is the worst. There are no clear favorites and all the overly-arrogant personalities leave me wondering how they even have the jobs they have because some of their resumes are fairly impressive.
I guess being on TV is just a free pass for being a douchebag.
Do not click on if you have not watched Episode 3.
Rick “yoga-fit” Bayless was as trim and as humorously talking-to-a-3-year-old kind as normal but it was nice to see that he could be pointed with the food critique. Makes you realize why he has two successful restaurants.
But did the Nacho man really make fun of him? Oh yes he did!
And did Manuel not seem a bit peeved he, the Mexican, lost the taco challenge? This guy has all the makings of this year’s Howie. He’ll make it through for a long time by neither winning a challenge nor flat out bombing one.
The Wolfman’s ego is unstoppable, and what’s with the Dick Tracy hat?
Richard actually comes off as a surprisingly likable guy and the jicama tacos looked pretty damn good. His hair was pre-spiked when he was rolling off the top bunk though so I’m wondering if (a) he has so much shit in his hair it’s actually like that after a nights sleep or (b) if they were all “Richard. Could you maybe go get back in bed so we can get a good action shot of you rolling out of bed?”
Nothing says Top Chef like corndogs! Go Nachoman go!
Stephanie Izzard is the one I like most as she seems to be a good cook but modest to the point of being under confidant. Hopefully she’ll find her groove and let loose with two wins under her belt.
And finally…
Andrew. What can you really say about this guy? I’ve no idea how he works at Le Cirque, and as much as I hoped he’d get cut as soon as possible previously, now I want him to ride out a few more episodes so the judges can slay him.
If Bourdain had been a judge instead of Bayless it would have had greatest episode of Top Chef ever potential.
The Nachoman and his horrendously unappetizingly plated food will not be missed…though he must be a nice guy. Everyone seemed to like him.
10 Responses to “This is my house.”
I was pretty excited to see him go, and I agree that no one is really standing out thus far.
I KNOW you want one of these:
http://bravotv.seenon.com/detail.php?p=58158&v=bravotv-topchef
Wikipedia has a great graphic to look at how the competition has gone, according to it, Stephanie has performed the best with two wins, and Mark may have done second-best to this point. Also, I think Richard and Lisa have looked good. There’s too many cheftestants to get a good feel for them this early.
I love hearing Rick Bayless talk. I’m not sure what about his voice intrigues me, but everything he says is cool. His brother, not so much.
By Dan D. on Mar 27, 2008
Dan, I can’t explain it other than this. I live in California in Kindergarten and first grade and their was this weird hippie folk singer dude that wrote songs for kids and toured the Cali grade schools. He had the kind of vibe that would make parents today seem totally uneasy about the guy being around the kids because he was super buddy buddy with us all…the thing is, he was totally for real.
He was just a freakishly nice, earthy hippie sort of guy, and he had that same strange high pitched excitedness to everything he said just like Rick Bayless. That’s my Rick Bayless reminds me of someone talking to kids.
It’s too bad the last season of his PBS show just got outright staged and strange.
He sort of looks plastic though because he’s so youthful for his age.
He’s Ellie’s favorite. We had a phenomenal meal at Topolobampo and on our way out he was there and she was totally freaked out by it because of his celebrity status.
I personally just like that he actually works in his restaurants and has never expanded the empire like he could because he wants to stay in control of the quality of what they do. I’ve had his “favorite” tacos, and they because my favorite tacos that day too.
As for the chef coat…I saw that this morning, and I have plenty of my own collecting dust to prove that I was once a wanna be chef myself.
By Bill Burge on Mar 27, 2008
I concur. Simon has never watched until now and last night made the very same comment that ‘this show sucks and the cooks suck too’.
I don’t know his name, but one of them is on crack or crystal meth…way to tweeked out for me.
I haven’t seen anything amazing yet. I love how Tom C was stressing the fact that they all really sucked but it’s the show…and they HAVE to pick a winner. Not b/c they deserved to win…just b/c the best of the worst had to be decided. It’s like when you were in college and got a C on a test but felt really good about yourself b/c everyone else got and F. Grading on a curve at it’s best.
By Annie on Mar 27, 2008
That’s a funny story about Topolobampo, because he was sitting right next to us the one time I ate at Frontera, and our waiter told me that he ordered the same dish as I (catfish), so I was pretty excited too.
I think part of it is his exxx-treeme enunciation of words. I read all his cookbooks in his voice, which isn’t something I normally do.
By the way, his brother is idiot sportswriter Skip Bayless. I can’t think of brothers that I don’t know personally that seem so different.
I love watching Colicchio this season. Maybe it’s wearing on him, but he’s not messing around, and he’s really putting people in their place.
By Dan D. on Mar 27, 2008
I also think Tom is flabbergasted at how un-inventive this crew is…they are not even mastering simple technique like souffle or knowing that chips/corndogs/blinis can’t be pre-made and expect to be great when served hours later. I’m not even close to being professional and I know that.
I am also surprised at the number of challenges that require the transportation of food this year. These guys don’t do this in their everyday jobs…unless some are caterers. I guess that’s why they call it a challenge.
By Annie on Mar 27, 2008
I’ve got a question about some of these great “resumes”. Many of the contestants work or have worked at some impressive establishments; can someone tell me what it takes to get your foot in the door at say, Le Cirque?
And what does it mean to have “worked” at a place?
For example, after reading Heat by Bill Buford, it sounds like most restaurants are willing to let someone spend a few months in the kitchen with the right recommendation (and I’m not just talking about Buford). So maybe it isn’t necessarily saying a lot about your ability to cook if you spent a month at El Bulli? I could be VERY wrong here, I hope an industry vet will speak up.
By Orrin on Mar 27, 2008
Orrin, you’re absolutely right that just working there isn’t that difficult, but a lot of them are actually Sous Chef’s and things like that.
The Wolfman is Exec Chef at one of Drew Nieporent’s restaurants.
Dale (Asian guy) is a Sous at Buddakan.
Andrew (spaz) is Sous at Le Cirque.
Now…some of these are big restaurants where there are multiple sous chef’s no doubt, but it’s still better than an ordinary line cook.
Also, I think the best cook they’ve ever had on Top Chef was Lia from last year was was the Exec Sous Chef at Jean Georges. She got screwed when she got cut.
By Bill Burge on Mar 27, 2008
Lia may have been the best cook (I really don’t know), but Harold I think has far and away been the best “Top Chef”, considering management and leadership skills.
By Dan D. on Mar 28, 2008
I agree Dan. What they’re really judging on that show is cooking though at the end of the day. Only a few challenges give them an opportunity to truly lead, and it’s not set up in a way that anyone is truly willing to follow.
Harold is the only one that has done anything post Top Chef any of us have really heard of without scouring around for info–granted he’s had the most time post production.
By Bill Burge on Mar 28, 2008
I have to agree with you - this group is about as interesting as melted ice cream.
Even Padma seems kind of dull. Her fashion sense seems to be veering toward Seattle-style grunge so far.
By Karen on Apr 1, 2008