Top Chef Spoilers
This season of Top Chef seems to be filled with more Real Worldesque drama than ever before. It’s annoying and it detracts from what made the previous seasons so enjoyable to watch even when the challenges were ridiculous like that airplane one.
And speaking of challenges we’ve had two now that were aimed at lower brow food the chefs would most likely never serve in their restaurants. I didn’t get the impression that the Sandra Lee crowd was the mainstay of Top Chef viewership but perhaps I’m wrong.
Really though this show should be called Top Cook and not Top Chef because they’re judging cooking more than any of these people’s ability to lead. How could they have time to lead with all the constant posturing? It’s like stags fighting it out for a mate.
Never-the-less, spoilers…
If you didn’t catch it Jennifer is doing it for Zoi.
The quick fire judge was Koren Grieveson who is the chef at Avec and one of the other 2008 Food & Wine Best New Chef winners along with Gerard.
Paul Kahan is the chef/owner of Blackbird and Avec. He is Koren’s boss. He is cool as shit. He was a 1999 Food & Wine Best New Chef along with a few other folks you might have heard of like Rocco DiSpirito, John Besh and Suzanne Goin. He signed a menu for me once that says “cook what you love” and that concisely sums up dining in his restaurants of which I am a big fan. He and his chefs cook what they love and if you find yourself in Chicago you should go.
Was Tom serious with that scarf?
Wolfman: First the attitude, then the hats, and now the smug comment about not drinking beer because “it all tastes the same”; I hate you so much I’ve all but forgotten about The Tweaker.
And speaking of hats, why is it seemingly a Top Chef requirement to wear inappropriate things in the kitchen? Is it really that big a deal to dress like Stephanie and just put on a chef coat, some chef pants, some clogs, and go into the kitchen and cook? Do you really need $200 jeans, or goofy shoes, or ridiculous hats? It bugs me. Real chefs are like Fred Flinstone. When you look into their closests it’s all the same.
Also amongst my annoyances, why do all these people have to refer to everything they do as we? It is annoying. We didn’t do it. You did it, and by you that’s I or me.
As for this weeks winning and knife-packing…
Mark is an idiot “testicular fortitude” or not, and man did he look hung-over. I thought he was just going to drop during the grilling.
How do you run out of food before the judges have gotten some and not get cut; seriously? Not that I liked Ryan (nor did Rick Bayless) but at least he fed everyone his dishes no matter how out of place his “California Flare” might have been.
Since Manuel was cut unexpectedly Nikki is starting to get my new nod for the chef who will undeservingly hold out longer than expected. There’s just something about her and how she comes off a bit like a homemaker-gone-chef that annoys me. Her restaurant, 24 Prince, seems a bit odd as well with the pictures showing a seemingly swank restaurant space for a place that basically serves up what amounts to home-style comfort food.
And back to Ryan, was it just me or did they really hype the schmooze factor of his personality in this episode more than the others? Not that I was a fan but I hadn’t noticed how smug he was before and what a chatterbox of BS he apparently is.
Perhaps Josh Galliano will weigh in as I think he mentioned he was at Daniel at the same time as Ryan and they felt basically the way Rick Bayless did about him.
Last but not least: Dale. He understood the challenge and won. ’nuff said. Don’t miss the first paragraphs of Ted Allen’s blog this week regarding him, it’s hilarious.
And my favorites (not that you should care what I think)…
Richard is chatty, confident and likable. Stephanie is not chatty, confident and likable. Both are putting up consistently good food and it’s pretty clear these two are the ones to beat. They had better not step up and be the opposing chefs in Restaurant Wars though because we all know how that goes down don’t we Tre?
I’m pulling for Stephanie. She’s a solid cook, humble to a fault, and appears–visually anyway–to be putting up skillful food.
7 Responses to “Top Chef Spoilers”
I have been catching the exit interviews on Bravo’s website. Ryan and Zoi’s comments made me pause. One stated that there were no other line cooks on the show (what was soggy corndog man?) ….the other comment made on an exit interview spoke to the fact that ‘competitiveness’ was not one of their traits/characteristics and I quote, “what I do is to not compete but to cook”…isn’t competition the basis of this show??
By Annie on Apr 17, 2008
Obviously it is a competition but I would think just getting on the show would get you the kind of exposure that will open all kinds of doors.
Therefore, even if your not competitive, it’s a win for your career.
By Bill Burge on Apr 17, 2008
even if they put slop on a plate?
i can see your point though.
By Annie on Apr 17, 2008
Jennifer needs to do it for herself, not Zoi. Also, did anyone else notice how she is (was) constantly praising Zoi’s abilities, but not once did Zoi return the compliment?
I think this show reached an all time low when they felt the need to show Mark and goofy hat guy in the bathtub. (Won’t stop me from watching, of course)
By Finchy on Apr 17, 2008
How about Padma’s turtleneck?
By Theo on Apr 18, 2008
Ryan was an interesting cat when I worked with him. He had a tough time with hot apps, as it was a really tough station and it seemed like every French chef loved to yell at Ryan. He took a lot of it personally, but I think he was really tough on himself. He would have little blow-ups on himself (I think he even did that on one show when he forgot to save pomegranates, or something like that).
The blow-ups seemed to be his way of outwardly showing that he was trying and tough on himself even though it didn’t change the fact that he had messed up. In the end, it all boils down to the same thing in a restaurant as it does on that show: attention to details. Either you have the wherewithal to pay attention to multiple things at once, or, you don’t.
By Josh on Apr 19, 2008