329 replies to this topic

[readingrainbow]

Has anyone heard about this show airing tomorrow. I think they're airing it after Top chef masters. It looks really good and I'm a huge fan of TCM so maybe I'll like this as well. Rocco's got some contest going on his FB page as well, seems pretty cool.

http://www.bravotv.c...ct-dinner-party

Has anyone seen this and want to discuss?

[Arizonaguy]

Rocco is so fine on the eyes so I can't wait to see this show. Should be good.

[dirtyhippiegirl]

I hope it doesn't crash and burn as bad as The Restaurant did.

[CrumbyButtons]

I missed the first 10 minutes or so, but I liked this. I think I watched some of The Restaurant, but I barely remember it. Anyway, I thought this was good fun to watch. Straight forward, a little design thrown in, no big time negativity or arguing. I liked the snips of the judge's conversations. (Wait, were they judges? Or just guests with opinions?) I liked that they had to do a vegetarian version.

I loved the Geoff's glassware and the way it caught the light. But I did like JJ's whole party better.

Yeah, I liked it. I love a good breezy little summertime show. This fits the bill. (Please show, don't start being all yelly and bitchy!)

[biakbiak]

no big time negativity

That is because Rocco got all of his assiness in the first ten minutes. Seriously, if he had kept up that level of douchiness I wouldn't be able to continue to watch.

Is this the same place that The Cooking Loft was filmed?

[Writing Wrongs]

Good to see Rocco hasn't lost his douchebagginess.

[syxe]

If the OP wants to add something like this in the show's tagline on this thread: Chopped partay!

It looked to me like Food Network's Chopped w/the slightly different premise of a party, less cheftestants and different hosts (Rocco vs. Ted Allen, who as you may know, used to judge TC on this same Bravo TV oufit).

Well, at the end credits of the show appeared as a Notional production, the same producers of Food Network's Chopped, so it IS another version of Chopped.

[Former Nun]

Is it Rocco's "real life" loft...getting a good tax deduction for use as a TV studio? Surely this show is based on a BBC-show premise, but the British cooks aren't professional chefs. Three different cooks, three different locations/meals/themes, and then they are judged by each other and the host. Much more fun.
I'd probably like this if Rocco weren't on my screen. WHY does he need to bother them in the kitchen during preparation with his superior knowledge? Oh yeah, drama. One show was enough for me.

[Kodiboku]

I was bored. Reminded me of the FN show Private Chef of Beverly Hills.

[joanne3482]

I liked that they had to do a vegetarian version.

I liked that too, but I really liked that they talked about her vegetarian option and the chef's ability to make her happy carried as much weight as the omnivores' opinions.

I was glad JJ won. I'm sure he got the "aww shucks" edit as compared to Jason(?)'s jackass edit so it totally worked since I rooted for JJ the whole time.

[kitty32]

I liked the guests -- it's always a treat to see Marcus Samuelson and the vegetarian was a Broadway star that has a sometimes gig in Royal Pains sometimes and I should remember her name and can't at the moment. Only having two chefs (after the chick got eliminated) made it easier to keep track of who was doing what and serving separately with different designs was much more interesting than three of four plates on the table at once.

Rocco -- well, he can really be an ass sometimes but I can put up with him for the concept and I'm willing to watch this on a regular basis.

[Nilo]

The thing about Rocco is that sometimes he's such a smug douche, but other times, he's really funny and warm. You never really know what Rocco you're going to get. And he's always so pretty to look at.

[kiki1234]

That is because Rocco got all of his assiness in the first ten minutes. Seriously, if he had kept up that level of douchiness I wouldn't be able to continue to watch.

I love Rocco but he really was an asshole. Why be so frickin' obnoxious. If he keeps it up I guess I'll just have to skip the first challenge of the episodes.

I thought JJ was a jerk for playing mind games when Geoff was trying to cook.

What the hell was the harmonica for at the end?

[larapu2000]

This show just proved what Anthony Bourdain has been saying for years now-that Rocco is a brilliant chef and should be in the kitchen, not judging cooking shows. When Marcus Samuelsson tells you that you prepared the best scallop he's ever eaten and you don't own a restaurant currently, you are wasting your talent.

That being said, I liked it. I love cooking shows with talented people, and since the Food Network is short on those these days, I'll take it.

[Lisette]

When Marcus Samuelsson tells you that you prepared the best scallop he's ever eaten and you don't own a restaurant currently, you are wasting your talent.

That was quite a compliment! But, after watching both seasons of Rocco imploding as a restaurant owner on "The Restaurant", I think he's wise to be a celebrity-chef-on-television-and-cookbook-author instead.

After watching "The Restaurant" I completely despised him. It was only several years later, seeing him (somewhat matured, I think) on "Top Chef" and, especially reading his TC blogs which were every bit as good as Bourdain's (high praise, imo), that I got to see the better side to him.

He seemed pretty harsh to the chefs last night, but they all seemed OVER-confident, so I didn't mind the smackdowns and "I'm not here to be your friend or mentor" vibe.

Food and concept and decor made it interesting enough to me. And I was as shocked as everyone else that his "celebrity friends" were really high powered names enjoying the dinner. Cooking for Marcus Samuelson? Wow. I felt JJ's anxiety when he was "cooking dishes like Marcus would make." (Liked his answer to Rocco, "Yes, I'd have done it even if I knew he was coming. I stand by my food." Probably not true--but definitely the right answer.)

I'll watch again.

[Mlle Poilane]

For me, this show didn't hold a candle to "Top Chef," which I'd hoped it would, but it was an interesting hour, and I'll probably watch it again. I, too, was disturbed about Rocco after seeing "The Restaurant." I think he's a big mama's boy with an undeserved huge ego. The one contestant's language was a real turn-off for me, so I was hoping JJ would win.

On the plus side, I thought JJ'S dinner looked really delicious! If Marcus thought so, then it was a big winner. It was fun seeing the rooms transformed, although they introduced the decorator as one of the top in NY, and she really isn't. I thought JJ's room was much more appealing. It was also fun to see the guests. It's a clever show concept, I think.

[Nilo]

I still want to know if that really is Rocco's house. If it is? Even more reason for me to want to hang out there - just to look at the pretty and hope that maybe he'd cook me a scallop.

And honestly? Even though he was snarky? I kind of agreed with most of what he said. I thought that what the woman "cooked", well, prepared, looked kind of unappetizing. And watching Jason/Geoff standing there holding the lobster shell totally cracked me up.

[vallegirl]

I thought Rocco was fine, too. The conceit of the show is that they're coming to his home to prepare a dinner party for his friends. It stands to reason that he's going to QC their cooking. Could he have been nicer? Sure, but he didn't call anyone a donkey or a donut, so just by keeping his criticism to the food put him light years ahead of Ramsay. And all three of them needed to defend their decisions, which is what he was asking them to do.

Plus, the guests were fun. Even Kelly Choi, who managed to find her personality after locking it away for two seasons of TCM.

Plus, Jacques Pepin did an entire series cooking with his daughter and he was no nicer to her than Rocco was to these three. It's just the way of the kitchen.

[Quorwyf]

I love Rocco but he really was an asshole. Why be so frickin' obnoxious. If he keeps it up I guess I'll just have to skip the first challenge of the episodes.

I thought JJ was a jerk for playing mind games when Geoff was trying to cook.

What the hell was the harmonica for at the end?

My reaction was the opposite. I thought the way he ripped into them at the start was completely reasonable and highly entertaining. I also got the feeling JJ was just ribbing the other guy to have fun and pass the time rather than trying to get in his head or anything.

The harmonica was one of the props for JJ's speakeasy. Each guest had one w/ their name on it to show the seating assignment. They only showed them once when the party changed rooms so it was easy to miss.

I think my favorite part of the ep was watching Michael K. Williams pick up the oxtail and eat it off the bone.

Edited by Quorwyf, Jun 17, 2011 @ 10:21 AM.

[kiki1234]

It's just the way of the kitchen.

I've never understood that. Why is bad behavior given a pass in the culinary world? I know it's fast-paced and they're under pressure but it's not brain surgery. They aren't saving lives. Well, maybe the guy who slices up puffer fish is. I thought Rocco was being demeaning and mean spirited.

I also got the feeling JJ was just ribbing the other guy to have fun and pass the time rather than trying to get in his head or anything.

That could be. I might have misread him. But still, it's a competition and the guy's trying to cook a meal for 20 grand and really didn't need the distractions.

Edited by kiki1234, Jun 17, 2011 @ 9:35 AM.

[vallegirl]

To me, demeaning and mean-spirited would have been to make his criticisms personal instead of about the food, but I never once heard Rocco actually say something demeaning about the competitors. He was critical about their decisions, and as professional cooks they should have been just as critical about those decisions, but he didn't demean their sklls or intelligence for making questionable decisions, like choosing obvious ingredients, or not cooking her food, or intentionally serving raw monkfish. He just wanted to know what their thought process was that led them to serve the dishes they served. With JJ, after pointing out the obviousness of scallops, corn and bacon, he had nothing critical to say about the actual dish, since he didn't find anything wrong with it. Could he have been nicer in pointing out the obviousness of JJ's ingredients? Probably, but I've watched enough TC to know that most dishes needs a little acid.

Since the show isn't about a cooking camp, I'm fine with Rocco not providing positive reinforcements for the competitors. They already know how to cook, so some criticism, even blunt or sharp criticism, shouldn't dissuade them. But Rocco didn't yell or personally criticize them or laugh at them for being incompetent, which is Ramsay's SOP, even on Masterchef, so if he told Geoff to hold the shell Geoff put on the plate, so be it. I'm fine with that because it gets to decisions Geoff made about how to serve a dish that supposedly would be served to Rocco's guests.

[kiki1234]

but he didn't demean their sklls or intelligence for making questionable decisions

I disagree. One example - making the guy stand there holding the shell was meant to demean him. It was akin to slapping a dunce cap on him and making him stand in the corner.

Since the show isn't about a cooking camp, I'm fine with Rocco not providing positive reinforcements for the competitors.

He doesn't need to coddle or baby them but IMO he needs to provide constructive criticism without being a douche. Just because he's less offensive than Ramsay doesn't make it ok.

[Ahoskie59]

That is because Rocco got all of his assiness in the first ten minutes. Seriously, if he had kept up that level of douchiness I wouldn't be able to continue to watch.

I didn't think that Rocco was as much of a douche on this show as he was in "The Restaurant."

I am glad JJ won. I hated both of the other chefs, especially Goeff; they both had this, "I know I'll that and my shit don't stink" going on. I got the feeling that Goeff was pissed off that he lost to a kid from Harlem.

I was glad that Michael K. Williams was one of Rocco's guests, he's one beautiful man and a great actor.

[Tafatia]

I liked it and thought that it was charmingly obnoxious. I am not sure if that is going to be the tone of the show, although that is Rocco's MO, but in this case that tone was also contributed by the contestants.

Edited by Tafatia, Jun 19, 2011 @ 2:18 PM.

[Nena]

I liked the dietary constraints being thrown at them, and that they were given an open theme, not some obnoxious, unrealistic constraint like they've taken to doing more and more on TC (cook a gourmet meal in a moving RV's 2'x3' kitchen without slicing your fingers off so we can complain about how plain it is). Also that the judging wasn't entertainers (or food bloggers) pretending to be trained chefs - it was entertainers commenting as normal people who like food, and chefs commenting as chefs.

[cwih57]

I like it. I think it is a good thing that Rocco said to their faces what is often said at the judges table, that J.J. dish was predicable and someone's fish was underdone. Making the guy hold the shell was borderline, but didn't cross the line for me. Sugar and spice and only the nice makes for very boring TV.

I also liked the general theme with a few dietary restrictions, but more or less free range to cook. I'm kinda tired of the crazy circumstance of Top Chef, the person who makes the best meal with what the vending machine as to offer is not necessarily the best chef.

[musa17]

The most interesting thing was how they inadvertently showed the vegetarian guest was not a surprise at all.
When they were shopping, a chef bought six short ribs. I said to my husband, wow, I would by extra in case one turned out bad.
After they finished shopping and stated cooking, Rocco comes in and announces in a classic last-minute twist, there will be a vegetarian and someone who doesnt eat pork or alcohol. Then I noticed there were seven people at the dinner table, Rocco plus the six guests. That shows that they were told in advance that one person wouldn't be eating meat. This dishonesty is typical of "reality" shows, but it was funny "catching" them lying.

[Auntie Anxiety]

Yes, Padma seemed like she was definitely under the influence; Rocco kept reiterating how much wine they'd consumed, as if he was a little worried that someone might say something questionable. Also, she looked like she had lost too much weight.

[nanobabes]

The dishes didn't sound as tasty as last week's, but they were interesting (and not in the bad way).

Man, Rocco really knows how to make those chefs uncomfortable. This week and last week I just cringe for them. So cold! He might not scream obscenities like Ramsey, but there is something scary about him. He really seems to make them work for his praise. Which isn't a completely bad thing! Either way, it's entertaining.