62 replies to this topic

[TWoP Nikita]

From Zap2it:

Chefs must take inspiration from the Groundlings.

[DoleWhip]

It was definitely Jonathan's time. His food looked really good but too simple, which brought down Susan last week.

[nannerbadnanner]

I was depressed watching this episode because I hated the thought of any of them going home. This was a great final four.

I felt bad for Jonathan because I would have had no clue about what to do with "burnt sienna depressed avocado." I thought his dish looked great, but it's fairly obvious the judges want more complexity. Oh, well, I think his food looks fabulous.

I was happy that Marcus finally got some love from the judges.

Rick's quickfire cioppino was the best looking dish of the night for me. My mouth is still watering after seeing that.

[diorella78]

I, too, was depressed watching because I like everyone. What a great bunch.

As soon as Jonathan decided on chicken I knew he was out. He can cook it like no other but...again? nd at this point in the competition. That said, he got a shitty group of words.

Loving Marcus more each episode and I'll be happy with any of the 3 chefs winning.

James and his theatrics and shrill voice when making his points grates on my nerves. He can go next year, thanks.

ETA: I wasn't thrilled with this challenge overall, but perhaps it was due to the unfunny (IMO) Improv guest judges. I much preferred the quickfire challenge and would have loved to have seen each chef do the recipe in its pure form and an accompanying complimentary soup.

Edited by diorella78, Jun 2, 2010 @ 10:22 PM.

[lovinbob]

diorella, I have to agree on multiple counts. James Oseland is such a killjoy! Ugh, go star in a sequel to Revenge of the Nerds: Nerds in South Beach and leave my show alone.

And, I too found the improv-ers annoying. Maybe it's the show's fault, but they kept cracking each other up, and I had no idea what as funny! It came across as so pretentious and self-congratulatory. I do love the guy who MC-ed the improv show, though. He's hilarious on Community, and so cute!

I adore Waxman, and I adore Rick Moonen.

[biakbiak]

I do like all of these chefs and would have rather Jonathan stay then Rick because I like his personality much better but when Rick tones it down is also great. I really enjoy the love and respect Marcus and Rick showed for Jonathan in tonight's episode.

I think the line of the night goes to Marcus with his "It's aid for Africa" when Jonathan and Rick gave him money to buy his food.

Edited by biakbiak, Jun 2, 2010 @ 10:40 PM.

[punchbug]

Did any other parents of tweens recognize Lewbert the Doorman from iCarly as one of the Groundlings?

[eliza422]

I do love the guy who MC-ed the improv show, though. He's hilarious on Community, and so cute!

OMG it was killing me because I knew I had seen him before!

I'm so sad to see Jonathon go - he was my absolute favorite. It sure seems to be that this is Susar's competition to lose...

eta: I know Susar didn't win this one, but he's been so consistently great that I can't imagine him not winning!

Edited by eliza422, Jun 2, 2010 @ 10:44 PM.

[diorella78]

I think the line of the night goes to Marcus with his "It's aid for Africa" when Jonathan and Rick gave him money to buy his food.

I also liked Rick's "I wouldn't want to win because 'ha ha', you couldn't buy an ingredient!" (or something to that effect) The maturity and respect of this group is great--you know there are some people on similar cooking shows or the like wouldn't have cared and would have GONE FOR THE COMPETITON aspect of it. "$3 short? too bad! This is competiton!!"

lovinbob James in Revenge of the Nerds....hee. Perfect assessment.

[sloopster]

I knew something was up with the QF, it was all just too simple - but I completely forgot about the soup thing! And I loved the improv thing both times now. Except I keep remembering Lisa and her sulking about Polish sausage vs whatever it was she used.

This episode seemed a lot more warm-and-fuzzy, it's all in the edit. Helping each other out at the grocery store - Susur's crack about cats - Marcus saying he'd miss them so much - it was all very sweet again, I wish they'd done this edit from the beginning because its so much nicer to watch.

I'm not so sure about the verdict, though. Rick served raw pork! I don't believe what he said about "it just seemed raw" - one of the comedians said part of hers was cooked and part wasn't, and anyway, who cares if it is raw or it just seems raw, it's pretty unpleasant either way though I guess one won't make you sick. And there wasn't any "punch" as they kept saying. Whereas no one complained about Jonathan's dish, just that it was simple. I'm not going to complain, because I'm glad Rick stayed, but seems to me something fishy was going on... appropriate for Rick, I guess. ;)

[aceplace57]

I was glad to see the chefs smiling and complimenting each others recipes. They didn't seem as exhausted this episode. Maybe everyone got a second wind? I loved the QF cookbook challenge. It seemed all the chefs found the recipes intriguing. I wish they could have completed the dishes without the soup twist.

The EC was one of my least favorite from TC season 4. None of the TC chefs did well. I was pleasantly surprised that the Masters seemed inspired by the challenge. They all did well. But, I have to agree Jonathan's comfort food was a little bland compared to the other dishes. It's hard to beat a vagina served with chocolate mousse.

I'm liking all three finalists. I'll be happy regardless of who wins.

Edited by aceplace57, Jun 2, 2010 @ 11:08 PM.

[attilathebun]

First and foremost - can we get James off the judging panel? Take your self-serving drama elsewhere ok?
I loved, loved, LOVED the quickfire tonight. Everyone cooking everyone else's food. I thought Rick was sunk for sure trying to interpret Susur's recipe, but then realized Susur had the real disadvantage by having to read an English recipe. Can you imagine trying to cook on the fly reading a recipe in German or Russian?
I really am enjoying the camaraderie between the remaining chefs. Good on Jonathan and Rick for kicking into Marcus's food budget. At this point do what you can, and as Rick said "May the best man win".
Dear Jonathon - have been SO a fan of you this season, but really did think tonight was the night for you to leave. You really really look tired.
I am stoked for next week - what a face-off! I will be happy with anyone winning but this is what I'd like to see:
Susur for the win - the breadth and scope of his cooking is astonishing!
Rick for second - very very good at what he does, but seems to be more limited in creativity (sorry)
Marcus for third - FANTASTIC concepts but really needs some reining in in terms of over-thinking, and offerings (too many sometimes).
Quite honestly I think he's the most innovative, free-thinking chef, but needs a little more seasoning that years will bring (see Obi-Wan Jonathon).

Can't wait until next week!!!!!!

Also have to add - I have 5 cats (and a dog) but I did a belly laugh when Susur made his statement about a black cat. Ewwww, but still funny.

[screamapiller]

I'm not so sure about the verdict, though. Rick served raw pork! I don't believe what he said about "it just seemed raw" - one of the comedians said part of hers was cooked and part wasn't, and anyway, who cares if it is raw or it just seems raw, it's pretty unpleasant either way though I guess one won't make you sick.

Precisely. There's a difference between rare and raw. The pork didn't cook evenly, so some of it was at the right consistency while some of it was more rare - and the rare pork can take on a similar consistency to the "lamb jello" that Rick described during last year's TC Restaurant Wars. The meat is cooked to temperature and safe to eat, but not necessarily to the doneness than folks want. (See also: the egg in Michael V's semifinal EC course which was cooked to a safe consumption temperature, but was dinged b/c there were some with slightly loose whites.)

[ChicagoRedshirt]

Strike Waxman down and he will become more powerful than you can imagine.

I think there needed to be more fairness in those dish selections. I think anybody stuck with "burnt sienna depressed avocado" would have been hurting for certain.

Whereas if I've learned anything from watching cooking competition shows, everything tastes better with bacon.

One thing I like about Top Chef Masters over the original is that these establish chefs do all have respect and love for each other. It may be the editing, but you haven't seen any of them being disrespectful to each other in the competition at all, and then you do see them going out of their way to be friendly.

[swankie]

Rick served raw pork! I don't believe what he said about "it just seemed raw" - one of the comedians said part of hers was cooked and part wasn't, and anyway, who cares if it is raw or it just seems raw, it's pretty unpleasant either way though I guess one won't make you sick.

I was always told to cook pork well done or you'd get worms. So my mom was wrong, may she rest in peace. Who knew? Anyway, I liked this episode because it didn't have all the over competitiveness as the last one did. I especially loved the quickfire because I'm absolutely gaga over soup. I would always salivate whenever the Soup Nazi episodes aired on Seinfeld. I would have liked to have tasted each and every one of them. I also didn't find the improv group very funny. Nowhere near as funny as Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David which I've heard is mostly improv. I'm so glad Marcus finally won. I just hope that winning both challenges hasn't jinxed him for the next one. Look what happened to poor Susan.

[butterycroc]

While I find his presence impossible to enjoy, I can't hate James Oseland. What a strange, persnickety man. He must have had a hell of a time growing up.

Raw pork? Eeew.

I think that's the first time I've seen the chefs drinking beer instead of wine.

Congrats to Marcus!

I think this shows that if you adequately demonstrate the concept to Susur, he can get it. Tonight's also the first time they've showed us a smiley Susur enthusiastically congratulating another chef on his win- I'm sure they've been editing up his competitive streak. Susur's dish was as literal as ever, with hilarious results. It's kind of awesome that his food is so good that he is able to take a dish to such a boundary-pushing place and not have it detract from the final effect. (God what a horrible sentence)

Sad to see Jonathan go, but chicken again? Even my father, who has a horrible memory for the contestants, was able to identify him as "that chicken man" tonight. He seemed ready to go. No matter how I rack my brain, I can't come up with a burnt sienna depressed avocado dish. Maybe some wilted greens somewhere? I can imagine Susur drawing a frowny face with guacamole.

I end up writing about Susur everytime, hee.

Edited by butterycroc, Jun 3, 2010 @ 12:08 AM.

[strengththroughpeace]

Those Groundling comedians were incredibly annoying with their gales of laughter at their own NOT funny comments. Improv comedy is really hard, and I don't expect them to be constantly on target, but at least have some humility and taste. Listening to them guffaw was more tiresome than a bad laugh track.

[swankie]

Those Groundling comedians were incredibly annoying with their gales of laughter at their own NOT funny comments. Improv comedy is really hard, and I don't expect them to be constantly on target, but at least have some humility and taste. Listening to them guffaw was more tiresome than a bad laugh track.

Seriously! Was "I think everything is a vagina" worth all of the cackling belly laughs? These people must not get out much. Vagina jokes became not funny once it was reduced to a vajayjay.

While I find his presence impossible to enjoy, I can't hate James Oseland. What a strange, persnickety man. He must have had a hell of a time growing up.

I used to be annoyed by James, but I have grown to respect his openness about the food he eats. Sometimes he's the only voice of reason in the whole group when it comes to pointing out that a dish isn't what the other judges are hyping it to be. He calls it as he tastes it.

[hung10]

To be fair to the unfunny improv guys, if they all had a lot to drink, alcohol does make everything a lot funnier than it should be.

[buttersister]

Obi-Wan won money for his charity, made his family proud and looked like he wanted to go home so badly he could taste it.

Thanks to the editing monkeys for giving us the camaraderie we've been looking for this season (hugs and money).

Marcus winning might give him the momentum, but I agree it's Susur's to lose. Just the way he described how he added more "feminine" ingredients to his dessert (not looking at you, vagina thing) showed how deeply he's crafting his food. Rick's caviar sauce was a hit, but as he said, it's also part of his repertoire. I didn't get that vibe from Susur's dish.

Edited by buttersister, Jun 3, 2010 @ 1:27 AM.

[VMaxxwell]

While I do agree that the Groundlings were mostly annoying and unfunny at the dinner table, I did quite enjoy the one's picking on James... "When I go to the drive through, and I ask for the epiphany of flavor fries, I always have a problem."

Seriously... James needs to stop. He is annoying, over-the-top, and somewhat creepy.

I'm sad to see Jonathan go, but I do think it was his time. I'm glad that Susur was painted in a more positive light tonight... over the past few weeks I was starting to think he wasn't a very nice man, but now that's just not the case. The edit can really change anything. Personally I want Rick to win, but I too think it will be Susur.

[BoobTubeTob]

I can't believe the Masters didn't see the improv twist coming. Although it just as easily could have been the "roach coach" challenge from Season 3. Now that would have been interesting.

Strike Waxman down and he will become more powerful than you can imagine.

Hey... I was going to say that...

I was always told to cook pork well done or you'd get worms. So my mom was wrong.

It may have been true when your mom was growing up but a little research indicates that modern farming and inspection practices have reduced the occurrence of trichinosis in the US to only a handful of cases. "The few cases in the United States are mostly the result of eating undercooked game, bear meat, or home-reared pigs. It is common in developing countries where meat fed to pigs is raw or undercooked, but many cases also come from developed countries in Europe and North America, where raw or undercooked pork and wild game may be consumed as delicacies." Here's a link if you want to read more about Trichinosis. Which you might not want to do around meal time.

James Oseland is a fussy little man but if I can play Rick Moonen's advocate for a bit he's not all that bad. If you don't believe me then just read his words from last season.

Regarding the improv comics - it seems to me that a few people felt about them how I feel about Andy Samberg:
I don't find him as amusing as he seems to find himself.

[electricfish]

I love medium rare pork, but Rick's was over the edge. When meat has been stuffed it feels like it's been handled too much to be safe unless it's more thoroughly cooked, imo.

I find the judges' bias against simple food a bit odd. Most of the time I'd rather have the best roast chicken in the country than a complicated mess on my plate. It takes real skill to take a simple, familiar dish to the next level. That said, Jonathan has been more inconsistent than Rick, so I think the judging was fair.

So, who's enrolling in Top Chef University?

And in other news, improv still sucks as an art form.

[Rammchick]

Jay got on Gail's "I want to smear xyz all over someone" train last night -- and I wanna know where I can buy a ticket ;)

I thought for sure that Susur wasn't going to get the humor at the show (whatever there was), but he was laughing along with the other guys -- obviously he's not as clueless (or humorless) as he seems at times. Also nice was Jonathan and Rick picking up the tab for Marcus' overrun. Now that's sportsmanship!

[MeeMaw]

I really enjoyed this episode. It had more of the camaraderie and good feelings between the chefs that we saw in the first season.

Does Rick feel that he always has to go with seafood? I know that's his specialty and what he's most comfortable with, but his annoyance when one of the other chefs gets the seafood and he doesn't is getting old.

Next week's finale preview - all of the finalists from last season are at the table! Sigh - Hubert Keller love.

Any of these 3 winning will be fine with me, but I admit to a bit of a Susur crush. He brings the food and the pretty!

[diorella78]

Does Rick feel that he always has to go with seafood? I know that's his specialty and what he's most comfortable with, but his annoyance when one of the other chefs gets the seafood and he doesn't is getting old.

That's what's bugged me about him overall. TCM....break out of your zone a bit. TBH I am surprised the judges didn't make a comment about it---but he did pork (not by choice) this week, so...

[Artistictype]

reat, but it's fairly obvious the judges want more complexity.

And then they dinged Marcus for having too much going on in his plate! I guess when you're dealing with chefs of this caliber, the judges have to struggle to find something to criticize.

I think Susur had a legitimate beef this time; not reading English that well and having to replicate a recipe without any visuals. And wasn't that the money shot of him on his own cookbook? (Hair blowing in the wind....)

Surprised that it took Rick so long to notice his pork was cooking properly. He hadn't given it a glance for 20 minutes? Agree that almost raw port seems more egregious than chicken-again.

For all of Jame's picky ways, I'd still take him over that British food-critic judge that's been on. (Can't remember name.) All his comments/jokes felt like he'd been saving them up just to casually drop them into the conversation, like a lead balloon.

[OHNicki]

I thought that the EC would have been more fair if the improv guy had put together five food/color/emotion sets. That way everyone could have had a choice and no one would have been stuck with Burnt Sienna. Jonathon still would have been last to picka nd probably would have had to choose between the lesser of two evils, but at least he might have gotten something to work with.

[Fukui San]

Rick could have easily done bacon wrapped seafood, so it's good that he extended himself a bit. But the other thing that bugged me about his dish was that it wasn't at all red.

I thought Susur + desserts would have been an easy win, but good on Marcus for taking the win. He looked so surprised that he won.

Burnt umber depressed avocado was so much tougher than the other combos. Maybe a terrine or something that is similarly compressed? Then it could be combined with some brown elements like cooked meat or mushrooms. But that wouldn't seem like Jonathan's style at all.

[MeeMaw]

For all of Jame's picky ways, I'd still take him over that British food-critic judge that's been on. (Can't remember name.) All his comments/jokes felt like he'd been saving them up just to casually drop them into the conversation, like a lead balloon.

Toby something? Thank God we haven't seen him in a while. Hopefully he's been banished from the Top Chef franchise permanently.