Top Chef: Seattle

[tifosi77]

Why U No Chat?

Spoiler:

After two episodes, no one has really pulled away from the pack yet. But the winning dish from the first elimination challenge looked brilliant, and I ID'd it as the winner immediately. Poaching Ling Cod in chili oil? Inspired. Spot prawn dashi shabu shabu? Genius.

Carla is not long for this competition; she's a hot mess (emphasis on the mess) and is either going to have an aneurysm or one of the other cheftestants is going to smash her in the face with a frying pan and make her lips even more artificially fat.

Was absolutely aghast at the chefs who didn't realize they had selected a cod fish until they started butchering it. That's shameful.

Kinda got a laugh at the chefs who were so up in arms over the presence of the returning contestants. Dude, who cares that they're getting a second crack? You are here now. Just cook.

[the wicked child]

Spoiler:

I thought it was hilarious that the veterans were trying to school everyone else and then ended up in the bottom.

[BigMcK]

I so envision Tif standing up in front of his TV screaming "COOK SOMETHING, YOU FRAUD!" while Mrs. Tif tells him that he is going to scare the new neighbors.

[the wicked child]

Hahaha. I can see it too.

[columbia]

Spoiler:

The under cooked turkey woman needs to get booted ASAP. That was inexcusable.

[Fast B]

I didn't even know there was a new season; my dvr didn't pick it up. How many episodes in are they?

[the wicked child]

3 so far, I haven't seen the latest episode yet myself.

[tifosi77]

I so envision Tif standing up in front of his TV screaming "COOK SOMETHING, YOU FRAUD!" while Mrs. Tif tells him that he is going to scare the new neighbors.

Haha.... actually, when it happened Mrs Tif said, "Oh, shut up, you p***y."

I didn't even know there was a new season; my dvr didn't pick it up. How many episodes in are they?

Starting with the last season they added the name of the host city in the series description on the DirecTV program guide. So instead of "Top Chef", it's "Top Chef Seattle".... which means the former no longer shows up on the DVR searching. Don't know if your provider is doing that also, but we missed the first two episodes because of it.

[the wicked child]

It's amazing how often the person with immunity completely screws the pooch on this show.

[tifosi77]

Spoiler:

So bummed that the person who exhibited so much inventiveness and creativity to win the first elimination challenge completely ate poop and exploded on the second and got sent home.

I mean, wow...... didn't even plate a dish for the Quickfire, and then complained that 5 hours was not enough time to make a potato pavé?? Start to finish (including the passive time you let the 'taters compress in the fridge) there's no reason that dish should take more than 2 hours, max.

She seems like a super nice person, but I was thoroughly disappointed by her showing.

[columbia]

Yeah, I would love to try that poached fish in chili oil idea.....that was smart.

[the wicked child]

Haven't seen a turnaround like that since the jerkoff that basically sabotaged himself in the finale and all-stars.

[the wicked child]

I'm rooting for John. Hysterical that the one dude was accusing him of lecturing when that was all he and the girl that can't cook a turkey did when they first came back into the competition. And for the record, John was right. Kuniko might be talented, but holy ****... if you can't get a potato dish right in 5 hours, you do not deserve to be part of Top Chef.

[the wicked child]

Also, Josh's mustache annoys the **** out of me. He looks like a fricken clown... no way can I take him seriously.

[the wicked child]

Spoiler:

Hysterical that CJ and Josh ended up in the bottom, but what a cop out to blame someone else. Hopefully it didn't have any impact on the judges decision. Glad Carla is gone though... she was beyond obnoxious.

[tifosi77]

Spoiler:

Hysterical that CJ and Josh ended up in the bottom, but what a cop out to blame someone else. Hopefully it didn't have any impact on the judges decision. Glad Carla is gone though... she was beyond obnoxious.

Spoiler:

Josh's point about the cold soup being an expediting issue were correct, imo. He's on the line, delivering up a hot (and apparently overly salted) portion of soup and the expediter is finishing off the plate and handing off to service. But he's not just plating dishes, he's the final quality control; checking seasoning, making sure the service plates are the right temperature when the line cook brings them up. There was a shot during the service of Josh pointing out that there was a soup at the pass that had been there for a while that was getting cold ('dying')..... frankly, I don't have any problem at all believing that John was meddling with the dishes at the pass. (Not trying to defend Josh, just more of an observation of what a colossal d!ck I think Dallas John is) And don't forget when the first set of tickets came in John was barking out the appie orders and saying he was already behind. On the first set of tickets!! That being said, the bowl Josh chose was the wrong size and shape for French onion (too flat and wide).

None of the foregoing excuses CJ from cooking lamb sous vide for the wrong length of time (or at all, really) and ruining the texture.

Hate to say this, but I'm glad Carla got sent home early. She was just...... terrible. I mean, turrible. Yelling at people when orders are coming in, behaving like she's having a seizure every time she adds salt to a dish. There are some..... interesting photos of her in a green bikini and in a black silky thing on the Internet. Confine yourself to those images for your Carla fix and you'll be fine. But anything involving food? Stay the eff away.

[tifosi77]

I'm rooting for John. Hysterical that the one dude was accusing him of lecturing when that was all he and the girl that can't cook a turkey did when they first came back into the competition. And for the record, John was right. Kuniko might be talented, but holy ****... if you can't get a potato dish right in 5 hours, you do not deserve to be part of Top Chef.

It wasn't a question of him being right or wrong, just that the girl - who by all means was well-liked - had literally just walked out of the room and he started bagging on her.

Big D John (the 'D' has many meanings) has been fired from umpteen kitchens (allegedly for drinking and throwing knives at one place) and had several other restaurants close from under his feet, including one very recently that apparently got killed before it ever opened when the building owners realized who he was. The guy is toxic, a locker room cancer. He's certainly got some culinary chops, but he's on the show for one reason - to provide 'interest'.

[the wicked child]

So I take it you are not a fan.

[Fast B]

It wasn't a question of him being right or wrong, just that the girl - who by all means was well-liked - had literally just walked out of the room and he started bagging on her.

Yeah, it's like in The Big Lebowski: "You're not wrong, Walter, you're just an *******!"

I don't know about his history but he does seem like a grade-A jerk (even for this show).

[the wicked child]

He's definitely a jerk. Doesn't bother me so far anyway.

[tifosi77]

He's not the type of chef who normally appears on this show, he's not an un-and-comer. He's yesterday's news. Like I said, I don't doubt that he can cook, and cook well. But he's there for one reason and one reason only, and it has eff all to do with cookery.

[the wicked child]

So how about that awesome showing in the latest episode?

Spoiler:

I generally hate these forced pair challenges... they are designed to create tension between the chefs and usually lead to subpar offerings... though I think this was a new low.

[tifosi77]

Spoiler:

I've never seen them not award a win. That was a first. And by all accounts, it was the right course; when you have to apologize to artisanal producers because chefs thoroughly effed up their creations..... yeah, no soup for you.

That said, the instant CJ said he wanted make a burger to highlight the pickles I told Mrs Tif I'd send him home simply for making that decision regardless how delicious the burger was. A hamburger to highlight the qualities of a pickle? Make en entirely different dish to use your feature ingredient a garnish? Really?!

He came into this all "Oh, I was just a stagiaire at Noma - you know, the best restaurant in the world - so this should be pretty easy for me," and he fell so far short it was as if he had never even seen a kitchen before. I think he was on the block in three of the four episodes, was he not? (Might have been all four) It just seemed like he was, well, a dope.

[the wicked child]

Anyone else find it a tad ironic that the guy with the douchiest mustache ever talked about how he became friends with Stefan despite feeling that he was a ***** after watching his season?

[the wicked child]

Curious what others think of Last Chance Kitchen...

I have mixed feelings myself. On one hand, it gives chefs a chance to redeem themselves when they could potentially have been somewhat screwed by a team challenge... but on the other hand, they aren't really competing in the same competition anymore and yet still get a shot to come back.

In particular, I think they're going completely overboard this time... the winner gets to come back in the finale, so they don't even have to win their way into that via the main competition... and now we also have this save a chef campaign... at what point is enough enough?