743 replies to this topic

[TWoP Nikita]

For the time being, at least, this is the place to discuss the Last Chance Kitchen web show. Please do not discuss it in the episode threads.

[arc]

The concept is great, but I think dimming the kitchen lighting is a little silly. Presumably they did it to make the look of Last Chance Kitchen distinct from the regular show, but it's off-putting how dim it is.

[Unraveled]

I have a feeling that this won't be known to the regular cheftestants until the end.

[Puds38]

I'd be pissed if I was one of the regular chefs who make it to the end. If last night is any indication, the losers just have a basic cook off with a theme (make a pizza). Meanwhile the regular chefs have to jump all the crazy hoops that come along with the regular episode challenge and yet the best of the losers get back in the game to compete for the win.

[Constantinople]

I'd be pissed if I was one of the regular chefs who make it to the end. If last night is any indication, the losers just have a basic cook off with a theme (make a pizza). Meanwhile the regular chefs have to jump all the crazy hoops that come along with the regular episode challenge and yet the best of the losers get back in the game to compete for the win.

The cooking challenges may be simpler, but it will be more difficult to advance in Last Chance Kitchen (LCK) than regular Top Chef.

To advance in LCK, you must win.

To advance in regular Top Chef, all you need do is not lose.

Moreover, if the challenges are simpler, and don't involve teams, the competitors don't have any excuses.

[lz1982]

This concept annoys me. Top Chef is an hour long show. I hate feeling like I have to do "extra credit" to see the whole thing.

[phoenix780]

This concept annoys me. Top Chef is an hour long show. I hate feeling like I have to do "extra credit" to see the whole thing.

This. I wish they'd let the eliminated chefs compete for some kind of consolation prize, maybe as a replacement for the Fan Favorite prize or some of the high stakes quickfires.

I can't figure out why it's a good idea to run part of your show online only and then try to incorporate the person back into the tv show right at the end. Which is why I'm assuming they'll marathon it on television eventually. Otherwise they risk having someone in the finale, having a winner, without that person having developed a fan following the same way those competing on tv would. There are those of us who can't/won't watch this element and get to know those people.

Alternatively they could rig the whole thing and have the last chef eliminated before the finale be the one who gets to go back to the main show. That would be fair, in a way.

[Unraveled]

I do wonder who is likely to win this contest of losers. Will it be someone who was eliminated later (who is probably wiped out with the all of the actual challenges)? Or someone who is sitting on the sidelines and cooking something for Tom?

I also hope that this addition to the actual challenge won't be at the very end. I would be OK with them adding this person right before the final x (to whatever destination they will be going this season). I would not be OK with them being added to the final 2/3.

[Puds38]

I can't figure out why it's a good idea to run part of your show online only and then try to incorporate the person back into the tv show right at the end. Which is why I'm assuming they'll marathon it on television eventually.

You can also watch the weibisode ON Demand. I just pulled up last night's entry.

[hanoi jane]

To me this is an unneeded addition, but I don't really have a problem with it. In a way, it's a potential safety net for a talented chef who had a bad day (or got screwed by restaurant wars).

It provides extra content for fans who are interested (and potentially drives web traffic which then may boost sales of various products promoted) but if you don't want to watch, it doesn't seem like you're being hurt by not watching. So, potentially a random chef you don't know much about somehow makes it back onto the show, surprise! Harmless. The person who makes it back still has to compete for the ultimate title.

[loud]

As BravoTV's website is geographically specific to the US, those of us elsewhere in the world will need your help in telling us what happens in Last Chance Kitchen. Can I just ask that we get a very brief weecap of theme, challenge and winner? Thanks!

[thursdaynext]

Does anyone know how many weeks TC is into the competition in real time? Because all those remaining would now know of LCK if they weren't told already.

I think it's an interesting concept and provides an avenue for a good chef who has a bad day. They did similar during the New Orleans finale bringing Jeff back for a chance to move on only if he won.

It would be quite a twist if Andrew made it all the way and he's pretty much a complete stranger to the finale chefs! What seems more likely is that a chef who goes out at top 5 or 6 might get back into top 3 or 4.

[Puds38]

As BravoTV's website is geographically specific to the US, those of us elsewhere in the world will need your help in telling us what happens in Last Chance Kitchen. Can I just ask that we get a very brief weecap of theme, challenge and winner? Thanks!

I'll try. This week was Janine vs Andrew and the challenge was pizza. I'll have to rewatch to get the exact ingredients, but Andrew won with a cheese-less pizza. There's no pictures on the LCK site, so I just played/stopped and rewound until I got this.

Andrew: Mediterranean pizza with salsa verde, anchovies & topped with grilled calamari salad. When presenting he says he had a calamari & capers salad at then end.
Janine: Fig pizza with Parmesan cheese, fig, arugula, balsamic vinegar and black garlic. Then she says she drizzles a honey/truffle oil/balsamic vinaigrette at the end

Edited by Puds38, Nov 10, 2011 @ 4:42 PM.

[thursdaynext]

I'll add to Puds38's weecap that Tom is the sole judge. It's just Tom and the 2 cheftestants. They had 30 min to create a delicious pizza. Tom did say that to get back into the competition they would have to beat all 16 chefs, so it sounds like even if they get brought back in at finale destination, they would still have to be the winning dish.

[biakbiak]

Does anyone know how many weeks TC is into the competition in real time? Because all those remaining would now know of LCK if they weren't told already.

This was taped over the summer, so the main competition is over. They usually film the finale when the airing of the final four gets close, so if they weren't informed before they left for the break they know now.

[fashionista79]

I feel like this is Top Chef: Redemption Island.

I guess I'm just not very fond of this new addition. Like someone else said above, it feels like extra credit, but even beyond that, if the judging panel eliminates a chef who places in the bottom, then that should be it for the chef. The eliminated chef who stays on Last Chance Kitchen also misses all the other challenges the in-game chefs have to go through, and depending on when the LCK chef returns, he or she could miss the pivotal "Restaurant Wars" (or maybe RW will be the time the LCK chef returns. I don't know).

And speaking of returning, how would it make sense to the general audience who doesn't watch the webisodes? I'm obsessive enough that I'll search this out (and some of the judges' comments about the competition (Eric Ripert's recaps were always my favorite), but my really good friend who loves Top Chef just the same doesn't do all the extra stuff like scour the Bravo site for video clips. How does the return of an eliminated chef get explained to the public who isn't looking for stuff online?

[arc]

Based on Tom's description of how the LCK works to 'get back in', I think LCK is a parallel competition that runs alongside regular TC right until the finals, at which point the LCK finalist rejoins the TC finals. So there's no way Andrew Curran or anyone who beats him in the first few weeks, if any, can join in for RW.

[just checking]

I feel so bad for Janine. To have to cook three times and have it not be good enough each time has to suck. Her pizza looked better (Andrew's looked overcooked), but I guess it all came down to taste.

[Puds38]

I just don't think Janine's pizza was refined enough. I make the same pizza she made except for the black garlic and truffle oil. Andrew''s just felt more out of the box to me. Still no way does he beat all the competitors that he will go up again. I give 1, maybe 2 challenges and he's done.

[ClaireO]

This means the jerk who was eliminated first for mis-butchering the pig gets another chance.

It also explains the #24 that Andrew was wearing in some of his talking heads.

And I suspect this happened very quickly, like in just a few days. If they took as much real time as the main show, they'd have to house these chefs for several weeks, which would be very expensive for little payoff. I bet they ran through this whole process in 3-4 days.

Anyway, I feel bad for Janine and I hope she comes back in a future season.

[LizDC]

This means the jerk who was eliminated first for mis-butchering the pig gets another chance.

Does it? I don't think that everyone who got eliminated gets another chance - just Janine and Andrew and everyone who gets eliminated from here on out.

[seltzer4]

Does Andrew get to reapply if he loses?

I think that sucks if he doesn't, because he's not really a contestant.

[Quilt Fairy]

I don't think that everyone who got eliminated gets another chance - just Janine and Andrew and everyone who gets eliminated from here on out.

They didn't even include the other 2 chefs on the bubble who didn't get coats. I don't think we have to worry about Tyler Stone coming back. It's Tom's rules after all.

[IttyBittyFlavur]

how would it make sense to the general audience who doesn't watch the webisodes?

I think it's enough to explain the premise of the webisodes: Each week until the finale, the knifed chef faces off against the previous winner of LCK. In the finale, the most recent LCK winner gets to compete. Chances are, it will be a recently eliminated contestant returning, so the opportunity will make sense.

Does Andrew get to reapply if he loses?

That would be one reason to keep everything on the web, so he doesn't appear on the show unless he wins through. On the other hand, maybe he has traded a chance at a future season for the chance at the current season.

[ratgirlagogo]

I feel like this is Top Chef: Redemption Island.

Oh yeah. I hate it on Survivor and I hate it here. And to take this bad idea from Survivor and mix it with the equally bad idea of the "Opening Episodes Parade of Unworthy Losers Who Don't Make the Actual Show" from American Idol (which they also did on this season's Project Runway) is two bad ideas too many.

I don't like having to watch it online, particularly, but I guess it would be even worse to take up time on the main show for it, the way they do on Survivor. I think I'd like it better if it ran in a broadcast slot after the actual episode, the way PR did with Models of the Runway and After the Runway. That way you could see it on actual TV if you wanted to, and wouldn't have to watch it or record it if it didn't interest you.

I do like one thing about it and that is that it seems to be a straightforward cooking challenge, which sometimes gets lost on this show.

Edited by ratgirlagogo, Nov 11, 2011 @ 12:35 PM.

[stardanced]

My cable company has LCK on demand, so it is available on TV in some markets. I think it's highly unlikely that an eliminated chef will end up winning the whole thing, but if someone manages to cook a better dish than each eliminated contestant and succeed in whatever re-entry challenge they dream up and beat the other finalists, I probably won't be too upset.

I don't feel like it defies the spirit of the show. They have had contestants reurn in the past as competitors in their season (either as a last-minute twist or to replace someone who had to leave). They also love recycling past contestants as sous chefs or all-stars or in one-off specials. This just seems to be a chance for the chefs to redeem themselves after getting eliminated and for the audiences to see chefs they love (or love to hate) create one more nice meal.

One thing that I like about the show is that it seems to be more about the food than the winner. There have been winners that the audience declares undeserving (Ilan, Hosea) and runners-up that are revered as much as the winners (Kevin). So I don't mind trading the chance that someone undeserving might win (which has already happened) or that someone eliminated might come back (which has also already happened) for the chance to see the chefs make more delicious food.

Edited by stardanced, Nov 11, 2011 @ 4:34 PM.

[Quilt Fairy]

I don't feel like it defies the spirit of the show.

I don't think so, either. It's far more appropriate to use it in a judged competition such as Top Chef than on Survivor where strategy and your social game (of lack of it) are more important than any specific technical skill. To quote Alton Brown on Next Iron Chef, 'Great chefs have bad days'. We'll see how it plays out, but I'm perfectly happy to give the TC chefs a second chance.

Edited by Quilt Fairy, Nov 11, 2011 @ 6:55 PM.

[michaelp1]

I'm kind of scared about this new addition. I was so mad at the end of last season after Antonia's elimintation I swore I wouldn't watch the show anymore (I actually didn't watch the finale last season). Of course I ended up tuning in to the beginning of this season and immediately liked the new "cook your way into then competition" twist as well as they seem to be presenting this season in a much more serious tone, which of course means I will be tuning in for the whole season. Then when I heard about the Last Chance Kitchen I was very excited because I figured if someone got booted from a team competition for something that wasn't their fault or (IMO) got booted unfairly (a la Jen C) they had a way to keep going. But now that I see the sole judge is Tom I'm afraid this is just another way for him to have control of over who ultimately stays and goes. I don't know if anyone has heard but is it possible the judges will switch up for LCK? ie Tom judges a couple rounds, then Emeril, the Hugh (hopefully not Padma though). If this is considered a spoiler question I apologize in advance and please don't post an answer in this thread.

[416]

Every week when it's down to the last two and they play the dramatic music and they say how badly they want to stay, I can't help but feel that they're both safe. One will return next week and the other will return for the LCK. It'll take a ton of suspense out of the endings. That's why I agree with a previous post that the LCK prize should be something other than getting back in. Maybe half the jackpot and title of LCK champion.
Also, weren't there some past eliminated chefs that just gave up at the end because they lost their motivation? Wouldn't they suck at LCK or would they just forfeit?

[jonathanacohen]

I like how Tom C. is grinning like a fool all the way through, as if even he can't believe the silliness of this twist and the general low-rent proceedings.