126 replies to this topic

[TWoP Nikita]

From Zap2it:

The cheftestants must impress Wolfgang Puck; the chefs cook for 200 people at the Bite of Seattle food event.

This thread will open at 11:00pm EST on January 9th.

[Brooklynista]

How exactly did Micah think he could win...without actually cooking?? Sad to see him go, I really was starting to like his dry wit.

And sadly I must endure another week of Josie's stupid headband.

[cooksdelight]

OMG... Tom with a head full of thick black hair will be forever burned into my mind. What a fox! The stubble he had tonight looked white, he must have gone gray early.

Josie gives a replay of her slow dog & pony show with dried out meat and she survives? Micah's raw dish must have really sucked.

Carla helping Stefan with her hair even farther in her eyes than I thought possible. At least she was quiet.

Why wasn't Josh's unseasoned steak enough to land him in the bottom, when it has with every other contestant? I was shocked to see him in the top after their earlier comments. At least it was satisfying seeing him be the odd man out.

Stefan ..... Thai German? Really?

[awaken]

UGH, No!! "Chef Josie" skates by AGAIN! Just a sad, embarassing showing all around for her this season!

I liked the reinvention of restaurant wars, with sort of an extended audition this week to see whose concept gets expanded on next week. Better than the frantic throwing things together that usually seems to happen.

As soon as Brooke said "squid" in the quickfire I knew they would love it and she'd be in the top!

Just as, as soon as Micah said "raw" I knew he'd be in the bottom! that never goes over well on this show! I'm disappointed, I thought he was pretty good and should definitely stay longer than Josie or Josh! Reminds me of Spike's season, that one guy whose focus was raw and healthy- that angle never seems to work out!

Josh's wife is beautiful, and he looks SOOOOOOoooo much better without the handlebar mustache! I bet it he did it just to try and stand out for tv.

Sheldon's kids are adorable!

OMG, Tom with hair! I actually think he looks much better now, with a shaved head and more weight!

I will be *shocked* if Kristen doesn't win this thing!

[cooksdelight]

Kristen should have picked Stefan second instead of Josie. What was she thinking??

[archer1267]

Stefan ..... Thai German? Really?

Currywurst is popular in parts of Germany. I think there are interesting ways to fuse European and Asian cuisines, but Stefan's dish didn't sound like it really blended the cultures. You can't just stick potatoes in something and call it German-influenced.

I was surprised that Lizzie was in the bottom, as her dish and concept sounded very appealing to me. But no more shocked than Josie staying there. I've gotta think of Sam getting the axe in S2 when Tom said "he didn't cook anything! It's a cooking competition!"

Kristen should have picked Stefan second instead of Josie

She didn't. She picked Lizzie.

Don't like Restaurant Wars with uneven teams.

Edited by archer1267, Jan 9, 2013 @ 11:24 PM.

[Lopethina]

I would rather be down a person than have Josie on my team.

Edited by Lopethina, Jan 9, 2013 @ 11:24 PM.

[cooksdelight]

I would rather be down a person than have Josie on my team

It's all the same thing, isn't it? :D

[mrhooks]

Kristen should have picked Stefan second instead of Josie. What was she thinking??

She picked Lizzie second. Unless she knew how her dish turned out in that EC, I probably would have picked her too. Until the last two episodes, she's done consistently better than Stefan.

I'm so glad Brooke won the QF, because otherwise I would've been panicking once she said she was making matzoh ball soup, thanks to the preview. Still, I was disappointed she didn't do better...or that she didn't have a better concept.

How the hell did Josh get in the top 3 with underseasoned meat?

Thai German could work, if Stefan was thinking modern, high-end German. Kiin Kiin, a Michelin 1-star restaurant in Copenhagen, does high-end Thai, sometimes with a New Nordic twist, and it's fantastic.

Fucking Josie. Ugh.

[xingcat]

So I'm guessing the producers really want to stack the deck in Kristen's favor, so they made it so that Micah was eliminated. There's absolutely no reason why Josie is still there [snip] unless there's a real understanding that the returning chefs will be a part of the finale, or at least not the waste of space and time they've been. The other chefs have consistently out-cooked the three (even Stefan, who I hate but I know can cook), so I can't think of a better explanation.

Edited by TWoP Nikita, Jan 10, 2013 @ 1:43 AM.
LCK talk

[Butch718]

Josie has to be one of the least talented contestants that I've seen on the show in a long time. The last time she was on the show was back in 06. Her cooking hasn't improved one bit since then.

I can deal with chefs that come off as total jerks and assh*les. I can even deal with chefs that have annoying quirks and habits. But what I can't deal with are chefs that just barely get by week after week and are allowed to continue to cook in the competition. She's the worst chef left. It's not even debatable. Yet I get the feeling that she's going to survive restaurant wars because someone( yet again) is going to do slightly worse than her.

I'd rather see a total villain move on based on the merits of their food, rather than see someone like Jose skate by week after week.

And props to Sheldon for making a classic Filipino staple. Padma is right. Normally sinigang is not a visually pleasing dish to eat. So to see him do a refined version of a classic was great to see.

Also loving Kristen and Brooke. Although sadly I get the feeling we're going to see one of them eliminated next week instead of Josie.

[SilentMinority]

Currywurst is popular in parts of Germany. I think there are interesting ways to fuse European and Asian cuisines, but Stefan's dish didn't sound like it really blended the cultures. You can't just stick potatoes in something and call it German-influenced.

Based on how his dishes were roundly panned (by chefs and guests alike), I'm still trying to figure out how Stefan didn't even end up on the bottom.

Kristen and Brooke just move further and further ahead of the pack. If one of those 2 don't win, this will be a very disappointing season.

(They just had an interview with Paul Qui on the local news tonight that reminded me that, every great once in awhile, a talented, nice chef actually wins this thing. Like, maybe 1 out of every 4 seasons.)

[MuppetCoat]

There's already a restaurant in Brooklyn called "treif" that specializes in... well, treif (non-kosher) cuisine. I guess Brooke's concept could have been interesting but it just seems like non-kosher Jewish food is pretty much just called Jewish food these days... And outside of an area like NYC or Cleveland or LA is that even a joke that most people would even get, much less find intriguing?

That said, if she had put bacon in matzoh brei I might have actually eaten it.

How is Josie still there?! I knew Micah was doomed as soon as he told them his interest in raw food stemmed from cooking for Hollywood ladies watching their figure (vom) but I hoped.

[TiffanyNichelle]

Go Kristen once again! And yay Sheldon. I love how Restaurant Wars is being set up this year. This could be pretty good. But damn it Josie is still there? She's just so awkward and embarrassing! I can just see her and Mustache somehow making it to top 4. Just because it would drive me crazy.

[Modernwhimsy]

Not sure how Kristen having Josie as her extra person is an advantage.

[The Solution]

I guess Brooke's concept could have been interesting but it just seems like non-kosher Jewish food is pretty much just called Jewish food these days... And outside of an area like NYC or Cleveland or LA is that even a joke that most people would even get, much less find intriguing?

I'm from Jersey living in Cleveland, and I found Brooke's concept the most intriguing of all of them, so I guess you nailed her target market. HAHAHA!

I don't hate Josie, but I can't understand how she could make it through with an embarrassingly inept performance in front of the judges again, and with food that was described as inedible to boot.

I do hate Josh and I don't understand how grey unseasoned meat with what? Maybe a potato? Could land him in the top three.

After all these years of watching this show, why do I think that anything other than producer shenanigans and good TVis affecting the outcome of the competition?

[Butch718]

Not sure how Kristen having Josie as her extra person is an advantage.

I wouldn't call it an advantage either. Josie is slow and has a problem staying focused, as evident with her not being able to plate her food in a proper and timely manner in two challenges already.

She's loud and abrasive. It's the type of personality that would be tough to work with in a team challenge.

And her food has been consistently mediocre to bad. She hasn't really displayed any kind of skills, outside of the dumpling challenge.

[Hoosier80]

How is Josie still there? How many bad dishes has she made again and again? Good grief, I have made pork a lot, and never ever as tough and dry (and unseasoned!) as they all said hers was. And again with people waiting for her food to be done at event.

I think Micah thought he'd be on top for such an innovative idea, but it looked almost like some sort of seafood salad. And Josh's steak was not seasoned properly, which is what lands quite a few on the bottom or eliminated. I guess the rest were just worse?

Edited by TWoP Nikita, Jan 10, 2013 @ 2:06 AM.
off-topic preview talk

[WickedTuna]

Ugh. Hated seeing Puck again. I was hoping he was gone for the season. I didn't much like the guest judge although I couldn't tell you why.

Fucking Josie. Ugh.

Well said. She should really be gone just for not getting her food ready in time. I think it's at least the second time. I can't remember the season but I know I've complained about this before. If the chef doesn't have some food ready when time is called then their food shouldn't be judged and, IMO, that should mean they're PYKAGed.

I hated seeing Josh on the top but it was worth it to see the look on his face and his body language when he wasn't the winner. His dish in the QF sounded disgusting.

[Butch718]

I hated seeing Josh on the top but it was worth it to see the look on his face and his body language when he wasn't the winner.

I think that's just typical Top Chef bad editing. He seemed genuinely happy for Sheldon and Kristen when he gave them high fives heading out the kitchen.

[bawarner]

I thought the right person got knifed this week. From concept to execution Micha (sp?) was the weakest. It seemed like the judges thought Josie had a good concept and I agree. It really hit home when she explained that the restaurant could work anywhere, you'd just change the area code numbers in the name. I also think the judges thought that the dish she made expressed the concept fairly well. Her problems came in the execution of the dish. Meanwhile I don't think the crew thought much of Micha's concept, dish idea OR his dish execution. I think if all he was going to do was slice up raw food he needed to make it the most perfectly sliced raw food ever. And it wasn't anywhere close to perfect.

Yeah, Josie seems to end up in the bottom more often than not but when she's been there there's always been someone worse and that's just the way the game goes. And until they change the game to take cumulative results into account, that's how it'll always be.

I'm sure it was some editing monkey tricks, but the looks Josh was giving (or made to look to give) Kristen and Sheldon when the won made him (continue to) look like a complete asshole.

I really hope Kristen just keeps doing her thing - I'm already convinced she's done enough to deserve a shot at the title. She must be an amazing cook to be putting out this kind of quality at a relatively young age.

Finally, I agreed with the team Kristen chose - I think Brooke and Lizzie were no-brainers, even with Lizzie being in the bottom the past two times; and Josie and Micha was basically a coin-flip IMO (turns out she chose wisely with Josie.) I'm really looking forward to next week!

[Butch718]

Kristen reminds me of Paul Qui. She's always awesome and has great technique. That egg dish looked delicious. The fact that she got those eggs at the right consistency under those conditions is even more impressive.

Edited by Butch718, Jan 10, 2013 @ 12:18 AM.

[CrumbyButtons]

Loved Sheldon - "Padma gave me ten thousand dollars for my birthday!"

[BuddhaBelly]

How the hell did Josh get in the top 3 with underseasoned meat?

I like to believe it was a gift to the viewers, so we could watch his face fall when he wasn't picked. It sure made me feel good.

I think Michah's story shot him in the foot more than anything. They clearly said they wanted the chefs to cook from the heart and Michah came through with a really shallow narrative. Given that, I still don't know how Josie is still hanging around. Maybe they're keeping her as the ultimate Restaurant War save.

[Maddingcrowd]

Micah should have made up some bs story and he wouldn't have been eliminated. I thought Top Chef was beyond rewarding/punishing people for warm and fuzzy stories. I also think the guest judge disliked him from the beginning and disliked the raw concept. I don't think the concept of raw foods is anymore 'out there' then German-Thai or even Kristen's idea of a not quite bistro that was formal. I can't speak for Micah's dish, but I don't think he had a chance anyway.

Really annoyed that Tom insisted Micah was cooking from his head instead of his heart-how does he know this?

[bawarner]

If the chef doesn't have some food ready when time is called then their food shouldn't be judged and, IMO, that should mean they're PYKAGed.

If they're not done in a quickfire then their food doesn't get judged - that's what happened to Kuniko in the ep where she got cut. But this challenge was different - I don't think there were any of them tonight who had all 200 plates ready to go when the doors opened and aren't there always exceptions when they're frying stuff at their stations? IIRC Sheldon and his partner made the judges wait while they fried up their tempura failure during the roller derby challenge.

For all we know Josie was slow getting the food out because she was waiting for the oil to come back up to temp before she did the next batch. If that was actually the case it would have been smart 'cause that was a big problem in Sheldon's tempura offering.

[Kali12]

And Josie stays for a dried out flavorless piece of pork, "as hard as this table."

Meanwhile, the vastly more talented and inventive Micah goes home for undistinguished raw fish.

What? Does Tom (or producers) feel Josie adds some kind of entertainment value? I don't see it.

Her continuing on, yet again, is so annoying.

[WickedTuna]

I might have heard it wrong but did Kristen say her egg whites were loose? Aren't the whites something you should never eat if they aren't fully cooked?

I think that's just typical Top Chef bad editing. He seemed genuinely happy for Sheldon and Kristen when he gave them high fives heading out the kitchen.

It wasn't really anything to do with Kristen or Sheldon. He just looked so crestfallen. I'll probably go to hell for enjoying the moment but he's such a jerk.

I watched most of the second showing but still didn't catch the name of what Lizzie made. Was it a wad of fried bread covered in cheese?

But this challenge was different - I don't think there were any of them tonight who had all 200 plates ready to go when the doors opened and aren't there always exceptions when they're frying stuff at their stations?

I don't think she had anything ready for anyone. I don't think there's any way a chef could have 200 dishes ready at the start but I feel they need a rule that there should be at least 5 or 10 plates ready. Just my 2 cents :)

[Bastet Esq]

I might have heard it wrong but did Kristen say her egg whites were loose? Aren't the whites something you should never eat if they aren't fully cooked?

I find "American" egg whites overcooked, and prefer the style often found in Europe where part of the white is still a bit runny. I don't recall that specific comment from Kristen, but if she "undercooked" her egg whites I'd be all over them.

I don't often get caught up in chefs' personalities, but I hate Josh so much that when they inserted the dramatic pause before Padma announced the top two of three, I actually came up with a "Please not Josh, please not Josh" incantation.

I was a bit surprised Kristen went with Josie over Micah, as I thought - based only on the commentary shown to us, of course - they were equal contenders for elimination in this round and, on the whole, he seems the better chef. I love me some Kristen - and rather like she inadvertently chose an all-female team - so I wanted to root for Micah being eliminated in order to give her the larger team, but I couldn't help but feel - again, based on what was shown - Josie just edged him out for the worst dish. If Josie being out of her league bites the women in the ass next week, I'll be pissed.

Oh, and a folically enhanced Tom? One of the greatest things I have ever seen.

Edited by Bastet Esq, Jan 10, 2013 @ 2:00 AM.

[biakbiak]

I might have heard it wrong but did Kristen say her egg whites were loose? Aren't the whites something you should never eat if they aren't fully cooked?

She made an Onsen style egg which is a Japanese style boiled egg and she described the whites as "just set" not loose.

The weird thing to me was the editing of the sous chefs, I don't think they showed a clip of them helping Brooke and Kristen, And while Josie definitely used Kuniko, Micah seemed to overwhelm her time and she was also there with him for serving and Sheldon and Stefan seemed to monopolize Chrissy and Carla respectively from start of prep through service. It just seemed weird.

Also the grocery shopping was weird, I mean i love Uwajimaya but why did only three chefs go there and and was it their decision because it seemed arbitrary.

Edited by biakbiak, Jan 10, 2013 @ 2:34 AM.