50 replies to this topic

[DrSparkles]

I am almost certain I worked with him one summer I was waiting tables in Nantucket. How can I find out more info on him? I googled him & found that he did spend 5 summers in Nantucket, but didn't see the years, nor did I see this info on the Bravo site.

[SillyConspiracy]

http://tc2blogger.bl...es-beneath.html

Top Chef 2 has this excellent, excellent post on his humanitarin work.

[cherry malotte]

Holy cow...I'm so in awe. What a great guy! Thanks for the site article SillyConspiracy. No matter how Otto comes out in the competition, he's number one in my cookbook.

Gee, I came here to post that my husband thinks this is Charlie Watts Yankee brother, and now I feel shallow.

[Bungalow Joy]

Top Chef 2 has this excellent, excellent post on his humanitarin work.

Make me feel bad! I'd just rewatched American Beauty last night and Otto reminded me so much of Chris Cooper's abusive, closeted Nazi bottom character.

[416]

Why did Otto think he could get away with anything with cameras rolling? I'm assuming that the cheftestants get away with things all the time as long as their not ratted out. Otherwise the incriminating footage is cut out.

[carmelized]

What he did was wrong, a bad, split-second decision made in the heat of competition. But after reading about all his humanitarian work, I forgive him. I wish he had owned up earlier, but at least he did own up in the end. I think he was so caught up in the zeal to win, that he initially looked at it as an opportunity, and momentarily lost sight of what a bad decision it was. By trying to brazen it out, he just compounded the error.

He seems like a really good person, who made a bad choice, and paid for it. His decision to leave was the right one, because even assuming that they let him squeak by this time, he'd have been under a cloud for the rest of his time there.

Still, knowing all the good he has done in the world, I was sorry to see it happen, and I wish him well. I have a feeling that he wanted the $100,000 so much to help further his charity work, and that's one of the reasons he was so desperate to stay in the competition. That might be wishful thinking on my part, but Otto does seem unusually dedicated to charity. I hop his appearance on the show doesn't hurt his endeavors to end hunger.

[link417]

This episode made me feel bad for Otto, even though I thought he should've been the one to go home. During his final talk with the judges, after he said something like, "I want this more than anything," I thought he was going to play the sympathy card and hope they pick someone else, so I was all set to dislike him. But then he completely surprised me by withdrawing and that put him in an entirely different light. I'm glad the other cheftestants gave him a warm farewell, though, I really think he deserved it.

And I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I do think Otto was kind of screwed over by Marisa; if it had bothered her that much, then she should've said something back at the store, instead of blowing Otto's split-second mistake way out of proportion.

[baha0007]

blowing Otto's split-second mistake way out of proportion

Whats annoying me at this point is how history has been re-written about Lycheegate. Otto was the one who pointed out that they had a case of fruit that wasn't paid for, and he did it right outside the store. Was this just because he was looking at the receipt ? I dunno.

But as keckler already noted, each and every single one of the team knew that the case was there, and it wasn't paid for. I don't get how this suddenly transformed into "Otto secretly stole a case of Lychees, and we were all traumatised to the point of not being able to cook by it". Did we just not see what happened ? How does being the first to mention it make him responsible for it in any way ?

I am so irritated by this whole thing right now.

[link417]

I think being the first to mention it makes him responsible, from an ethical point of view, for making it right. Along with anyone one who may have heard him (I'm talking to YOU, Marisa). I've already expressed my annoyance at Marisa for not doing something about it while they were actually AT THE STORE instead of at the kitchen**, and as far as I know she was the only one that heard then. I would have to watch the episode again (and, thanks to Bravo, I no doubt will within the next half hour) but I don't remember seeing anyone react as if they had heard him, because he did basically mutter it.

**I just read on the Marisa thread that she had written something about the episode saying she had tried to take it back to the store while they were there, but somebody wouldn't let her. But we all know how good she is at spinning things, so I don't know how much of that is true. (sorry for the slight OT, by the way)

[steptacular]

I feel really bad that he left. He seemed like a really nice guy and I think that it would have been big of the judges to not allow him to pull out based on his honesty with them and so forth. I dunno though, that's just me. Otto just seemed like an all around nice guy, there was something about him that I really liked.

[Erdbeere]

I feel really bad that he left. He seemed like a really nice guy and I think that it would have been big of the judges to not allow him to pull out based on his honesty with them and so forth. I dunno though, that's just me. Otto just seemed like an all around nice guy, there was something about him that I really liked.

Same for me, actually. He was a favorite of mine for no particular reason, and I was very sad to see him go.

[safranal moeity]

He's one of my early favorites as well. His departure was a bummer for me; I loved his whole 'pirate' background and general character.

[MarleysGhost]

Otto was the patsy for seven people who jointly screwed up. Even so, I'm not so sad to see him go. Based on last week, the Head Judge was gunning for him, and we all know how ugly it can get when the Head Judge gets a notion (cough "Dave" cough). While not exactly cannon fodder, Otto also didn't stack up against the Sams, Elias and Bettys of the competiton. He probably wasn't going to Hawaii. I can't see the Head Judge letting that happen two years in a row. So I'm glad Otto went out in a stand up way on his own terms. Given that his heart seems to lie with the humanitarian stuff, I'm a little surprised he even tried out for Top Chef, especially after seeing Season One and knowing that Top Chef is a cooking competition, yeah, but served with a big heaping helping of reality show BS.

Good luck, Otto.

[Bubbacat]

Otto was one of my early favorites, too. But that's just because my brother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather are all named "Otto". I think he made a major error in judgment, and I agree that he was right to fall on his sword. I just wish he'd stabbed Marisa with it first.

[bbcookin]

I just wish he'd stabbed Marisa with it first.

THAT would have been must-see TV!

[smrou]

Otto did make the biggest mistake of everyone else, though -- if he thought it wasn't paid for, he should've taken it right back inside in the first place.

Otto told everyone that they weren't paid for. As a result, the situation was as follows:

Otto thought the lychees weren't paid for, so he should have checked and returned them.
Everyone else also thought the lychees weren't paid for (because Otto said so), so they should have checked and returned them.

How exactly is Otto more culpable than everyone else? Their situations were equivalent.

[Bungalow Joy]

So I'm glad he's gone. I never really got a good vibe off him, anyway.

Neither did I and I think he could have gone last week easily too. I listened to the interview at Chow.com and he really seems like a good guy but not terribly engaging. Like...some dude. With not much to say with any conviction although his charity work speaks otherwise of him. Conversationally he seems very flavorless. In the end I only hated that his booting came down to exaggerated accusations of moral irresponsibility and not the food.

[mightymos]

How exactly is Otto more culpable than everyone else? Their situations were equivalent.

Yeah, they made it sound like he put the lychees under his chef's hat, threw up a smoke screen and escaped. It was an honest mistake that could have/should have been remedied by anyone. He said it so he should have initiated it but it wasn't just all on him. And Marissa ratting him out as opposed to exposing the situation was just foul. And she knew she was wrong because when she was talking to Tom and he called Otto over she said, "Shit" under her breath. Like she expected Tom to scold him without mentioning her name.

[tvmovielover]

I suspect that Otto may be as honest as he needs to be in a given situation and no more but I still feel it was wrong for him to take the fall for this when we know that at the very least one other person (Marisa) heard him and could have spoken up then and there. Both look equally bad for not speaking up outside the market. Otto is wrong because he is old enough to know better and that is why I think he took the fall in the end. Marisa looks like a very bad person in general to me for not speaking up immediately and telling everybody to hold on and then making a big deal out of it later and using Elia as a mouthpiece.

[MarleysGhost]

Otto is wrong because he is old enough to know better ...

Marisa's old enough to know better, too. Anyone past, say, third grade is old enough to know better. Marisa didn't do anything about a known breach of ethics, she was responsible for the crappiest dish of the challenge and it was in her speciality, and she whined and fingerpointed. She should have gone home. I can only hope that there is a bigger humiliation in store for her. Given her apparent lack of character, I think that's likely.

[biakbiak]

Otto told everyone that they weren't paid for.

Including a guy who works at the store. If you look at the clip there is a guy in a blue/black shirt that helped them load up the car and he is standing by the group when Otto states that he doesn't think they paid for the lychees.

[bbcookin]

It is too bad the team guilted Otto into taking the fall instead of gutting it out at Judges'
Table. From Head Judge's mouth it seemed he was ready to PYKAG to Marisa had Otto put up the slightest defense.

No Otto did not seem like the most distinguised chef on board but he didn't seem to be a total asshat like Marisa. And remember it took Harold a few elimination challenges before he found his sea legs!

[baha0007]

I always thought it was pronounced "lee-chees."

That's how we say it in India.

[bbcookin]

I always thought it was pronounced "lee-chees."


That's how we say it in India.

I think it's already been pointed out that Merriam-Webster accepts both pronunciations. I went to high school in Hawaii where we always asked for lie-chee.

Edited by bbcookin, Oct 27, 2006 @ 7:58 PM.

[bbcookin]

Really? This thread is only two pages long. I can't believe I missed a reference to Merriam Webster.

keckler pointed this out. Perhaps in another thread. Or just go to Merriam-Webster for a double check. Here ya go...

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/lychee

Is it that difficult to believe that a word can have two different pronounciations? Such as po-tae-toe vs. po-tah-toe. And so on and so forth. I could think of lots of words that can be pronounced two ways.

Edited by bbcookin, Oct 27, 2006 @ 10:41 PM.

[keckler]

I pointed it out in at least two other threads, yes. It's also not that hard to look up. Back on topic: Otto.

[keckler]

Wow, words can have multiple pro-nun-ci-a-tions? How many does 'condescending' have?

I said, back on topic. Also? Unnecessary baiting, samosa.