Top Chef Season 5-Spolers Probable

[Thomkal]

Well what do we think of the chefs so far? I hope that trend of whomever wins the first competition wins the season doesn't come true this time around because I can't stand that guy already. No real surprise on who went home imo, they never are a big fan of culinary students. And how weird that the two that knew each other beforehand were the ones to go.

I was surprised Hosea was not one of the judges three favorites after their comments during his judging. I'll go on record right now and say I think he wins. Pretty funny that the guy who had no idea what he was cooking ended up in the top 3 anyway.

Who do I want to go home soon? Probably crazy lady who lets her spirit guides determine what she's going to cook.

[MJ4H]

Where was the (_)#$(_@# eye candy??? I miss Casey.

[DaddyTorgo]

what's a spoler?

[DaddyTorgo]

I think the big furry-faced gay guy who had the comments about Tom was hilarious.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

what's a spoler?

A french recipe that uses native mushroms

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm not digging the European guys.

Rough guesses on who could win: the blonde guy from the Ritz in Florida, the girl who cooked the modern italian last night...hmm who else? Hosea?

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm pulling for my fellow CU Alum (Hosea).

I did call who was gone last night though, from just looking at the bios. No way a freakin' culinary student hangs with some of these guys.

Added bonus of eliminating one of "Team Rainbow" right out of the shoot.

[terpkristin]

Interesting first episode. Glad the 2 that got kicked went, didn't like either of them.

Richard and Daniel cracked me up, but I don't know if that's enough to want them to stay on for long.

I'd love nothing more than to see Ariane go home, she seemed like a complete talentless hack.

So far, I'm pulling for Eugene and Hosea. Eugene impressed the heck out of me, especially with presentation.

And now I'm really hungry. Where the heck is my Chinese food?

/tk

[JetsIn06]

I think for now I'm rooting for the tattooed guy, I think it's Eugene. The European guys are assholes but the Italian guy cracks me up. I also was glad to see the two who got kicked go, they definitely didn't seem to be worthy of a Top Chef title.

[Coffee Warlord]

Yeah, Eugene and Hosea are my early favorites at the moment.

I actually am predicting Eugene is going to be the talented, all around decent guy who gets a raw deal with around 5-7 people left, and gets sent packing. You heard it here first.

[Barkeep49]

Eugune is my personal early favorite. It's hard not to root for a guy who has done what he's done and seems nice to boot. The random person I drew in my work's Top Chef pool is Alex, so I will also be rooting for him. I will NOT be rooting for Stephan, who is my predicted victor.

[DaddyTorgo]

which one is Alex?

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

which one is Alex?

the youngish blonde guy from Miami I think?

[DaddyTorgo]

aaah. if he can get his plating-time down (which i have every reason to believe he can) he could be a legit contestant rather than just a pretty-face

[JeeberD]

Euro dude #1 (Fabio, I believe) - Douche

Blonde pretty boy - SUPER DOOOOUCHE

I like the tattooed Hawaiian dude, the big gay dude, and the tall brunette chick ('cause I like tall chicks)

[Coffee Warlord]

The spirits-cook-for-me chick needs to go home rapidly.

[timmynausea]

I think I'm pulling for Hosea, too. It's early, though.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

The spirits-cook-for-me chick needs to go home rapidly.

She's a little odd, I'll grant you, but I'd rather have her than the "I didn't have any cookbooks handy" woman who was facing elimination.

Unacceptable.

/tk

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

The spirits-cook-for-me chick needs to go home rapidly.

I read a liveblog of the premier and one of the people said "More muppet or human" about her. I thought it was a great description.

[Coffee Warlord]

The trend of kicking out the relatively decent looking chicks displeases me.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

The trend of kicking out the relatively decent looking chicks displeases me.

Yeah, it was already a motley group to begin with but the herd is thinning much too quickly.

How Ariane avoided packing her knives last night is beyond me. She was been next to dead last in almost every challenge so far, quickfire and elimination. It seemed like Jill's error was taking an exotic ingredient and not doing anything good with it while Ariane made some basic and still fucked it up.

It is nice to know just how little stock the judges place in Padma's dramatics. I don't know how or why you would spit something out simply because it was too sweet. You would think having someone spit something out would be a bad sign for that dish but I don't think Tom, Gail and the guest judges have much respect for her palate. She always seems to be on the outside, thank goodness. I'd still take Katie Freakin' Joel over the Bollywood pron queen.

Bring on the Foo Fighters!

[Thomkal]

yeah Ariane should have been the one that went this week. Showed zero confidence in herself and emotionally she's a wreck. Jill's problem was that she has no clue-no defense for her dish, no idea what she's going to do with her culinary career. I think not being able to defend herself is what got her eliminated more than her dish. Though one judge saying it tasted like glue probably didnt help either. I think she should have got a little credit for the use of the ostrich eggs and kept her over Ariane.

I see my choice for the winner nearly was out last night. Great picking there. But I also picked Stephanie early last season and then she was in the bottom 2 the next week. So I'm not worried about him. I cannot wait for Team Europe to be heading back across the pond. Loved Stephan's reaction to the judges comment about his hot dog, lol

[DaddyTorgo]

I think Hosea will be fine. In some ways I think it's a benefit for him. It seems that every year there's someone that uses bad seafood and gets called-out on it (Spike last year with the scallops and now Hosea)...much better to have it happen this early than later in the competition - no way he's going to be using any 2nd-class ingredients from now on.

[Coffee Warlord]

Yep. I knew he was gonna be on the block the second he pulled that shitty crab out. Dude shoulda known. EVERYONE gets called out when they try and use subpar ingredients.

[terpkristin]

In the introduction section of the first episode, Rhadika made a point of saying that just because she's Indian doesn't mean she'll be cooking Indian all the time. This is the 2nd time she's done something VERY Indian. I wonder if that will continue.

/tk

[kcchief19]

Thought the same thing, tk. Ever since she made that point about not cooking Indian and she's been putting curry into everything since then. It seems like she got there and just freaked out and is going to what she knows. Frankly, that's the way to go -- cook what you know. Ilan won season two doing nothing but Spanish dishes.

Yeah, I was baffled when Hosea went for that crappy crab. Most people wouldn't know the difference but those judges absolutely would. He just locked in on a dish and wouldn't change his mind once he realized he couldn't do it.

I realize not all Whole Foods are the same, but I'll admit it bothers me that make these chefs shop at a run-of-the-mill grocery store. Guess it's part of the challenge. The Whole Foods I've shopped at here is awful -- their produce is the worst. I needed some garlic and the only ones they had were in a jar. Everyone jar on the shelf was two months past its expiration date. One had mold growing inside. The manager seemed surprisingly unconcerned when I brought it to their attention.

[terpkristin]

I enjoyed the Quickfire challenge this week but I thought the elimination challenge was kind of silly. I understand about improv and such, but how likely is it that chefs of this caliber will be doing that kind of service in their careers, without kitchens?

I wish Danny would've gone home, I'm tired of him, and I thought his error was as big as Richard's.

Has it become the new "in" thing to say things are prepared al dente? The beans last season, and now twice this season people have said they prefer their stuff "al dente," things that aren't traditionally served al dente.

Edit to add: I love how they're all pretending it's really Thanksgiving. Foos played in Rochester in late July, if I'm not mistaken. If it really WERE Thanksgiving in NY, they may have been able to use the out of doors as a "natural fridge/freezer" instead of worriking that they didn't have one.

/tk

[terpkristin]

Dola,
Which season was it that the person that won the first elimination challenge didn't win the overall title?

/tk

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I enjoyed the Quickfire challenge this week but I thought the elimination challenge was kind of silly. I understand about improv and such, but how likely is it that chefs of this caliber will be doing that kind of service in their careers, without kitchens?

I wish Danny would've gone home, I'm tired of him, and I thought his error was as big as Richard's.

Has it become the new "in" thing to say things are prepared al dente? The beans last season, and now twice this season people have said they prefer their stuff "al dente," things that aren't traditionally served al dente.

Edit to add: I love how they're all pretending it's really Thanksgiving. Foos played in Rochester in late July, if I'm not mistaken. If it really WERE Thanksgiving in NY, they may have been able to use the out of doors as a "natural fridge/freezer" instead of worriking that they didn't have one.

/tk

I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I'm fucking sick of Danny "Donald Trump is the most richest and powerfulest New Yorker" and his uncooked potatos.

I thought the elimination was a bit silly - they could have done something else to make them "think on their feet" more.

We laughed about the "Thanksgiving" thing a ton over here as well.

[Coffee Warlord]

I actually didn't like the quickfire or the elimination. They've gotten a bit too "extreme" with challenges ... I wanna see these guys be creative and cook. I don't care who can use the microwave the best, and stopping people halfway through a quickfire to do a complete 180 is kinda lame in my book as well.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I actually didn't like the quickfire or the elimination. They've gotten a bit too "extreme" with challenges ... I wanna see these guys be creative and cook. I don't care who can use the microwave the best, and stopping people halfway through a quickfire to do a complete 180 is kinda lame in my book as well.

they stopped them 10 minutes in, not halfway

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Dola,
Which season was it that the person that won the first elimination challenge didn't win the overall title?

/tk

Season 3. Tre one the first elimination, Hung won everything.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I enjoyed the Quickfire challenge this week but I thought the elimination challenge was kind of silly. I understand about improv and such, but how likely is it that chefs of this caliber will be doing that kind of service in their careers, without kitchens?

You might be surprised. I've worked with some local big-name chefs and some nationally known chefs including Dave Martin from Season 1 with our consumer shows. For the show Dave was at, we built a "kitchen" on a stage with a refrigerator and a donated stove. Very low end. We didn't have running water at the stage and had to use buckets.

Wal-Mart also hosts their annual meetings the the KC convention center. The hall catering company holds exclusive concession rights and they are not a high-end outfit. Wal-Mart will bring up some celebrity chefs and use other great chefs for their catering and when those guys come in to cook, the exclusive clause means they cannot cook inside the convention center. Wal-Mart builds a big kitchen outdoors on one of the docks under tents in the middle of winter for the chefs. They bring in more equipment than the folks had in this episode, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if the scene in the show was pretty common at arenas and convention centers when a company holds exclusive catering rights and the Foo Fighters want a fancy chef cooking for them.

One interesting item from the episode: I've often seen people correct people for calling the band "The Foo Fighters" instead of "Food Fighters." When the band introduced themselves on the video, they said, "The Foo Fighters."

Kind of like whether it's an A-T-A-T or an AT-AT ...

[Coffee Warlord]

My god.

That guy. Was. An. Idiot.

[JetsIn06]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

One interesting item from the episode: I've often seen people correct people for calling the band "The Foo Fighters" instead of "Food Fighters." When the band introduced themselves on the video, they said, "The Foo Fighters."

Kind of like whether it's an A-T-A-T or an AT-AT ...

Well, it's different because they are the Foo Fighters. They have never been anything other than that. It's not one of those things where it could be either or...

[Toddzilla]

My god, this is the ugliest group of chefs I've ever seen. Every last one of them is horrifying.

And the fat ass with the fucked up beard that got voted off tonight looks just like Fez Marie Whatley

[terpkristin]

I'm sorry, anyone who says anything sounding like "spooge" when describing what they were trying to do with a dish deserves to be sent home--nevermind that he lasted way too long in my opinion.

Ariane shouldn't have won, she was basically a kitchen helper, and almost blew it entirely for her team.

/tk

[Coffee Warlord]

I don't think I've ever heard Tom flat out said he wished he could send all three of those folks home, either.

That entire dish was a clusterfuck from the start.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I'm sorry, anyone who says anything sounding like "spooge" when describing what they were trying to do with a dish deserves to be sent home--nevermind that he lasted way too long in my opinion.

Ariane shouldn't have won, she was basically a kitchen helper, and almost blew it entirely for her team.

/tk

I agree, I was shocked when she won for basically cooking the lamb correctly. They always harp on them when they don't cook meat enough or too much because they expect a chef to be able to do that correctly every time. The woman (Jamie?) who came up with the idea, used her special ingredient and was basically the team leader should have won.

And Eugene probably should have gone over the guy who did though both deserved it. It was his idea to do the surf and turf sushi, then overcooked both the rice and the shrimp. And didn't explain to the ladies how to make their own sushi. If you're gonna reward the woman for cooking the lamb correctly, you should be harsher with the guy who overcooked two things.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I agree, I was shocked when she won for basically cooking the lamb correctly. They always harp on them when they don't cook meat enough or too much because they expect a chef to be able to do that correctly every time. The woman (Jamie?) who came up with the idea, used her special ingredient and was basically the team leader should have won.

Tom C brought this point up in his blog. The judges don't get to see the behind the scenes planning, etc, etc. They only got to judge on the food and what they see/say, and Jaimie didn't speak up and say she ran the show.

[terpkristin]

On a different note, I'm surprised how much ire was drawn over the use of the Chilean sea bass. Last year, in the wedding, they made it for the groom (iirc it was something he mentioned he liked), but I didn't see much disparaging on the blogs or on the show about how overfished/virtually extinct it is, so it's almost a gauche choice. This year Gail and Tom's blogs both mentioned it, as did TWOP. Maybe there was some outcry last year?

/tk

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Tom C brought this point up in his blog. The judges don't get to see the behind the scenes planning, etc, etc. They only got to judge on the food and what they see/say, and Jaimie didn't speak up and say she ran the show.

That was how I saw it on the show too. I thought they determined what dish they like best and who was in charge of the the most successful component. If a team is making a lamb dish and the dish wins, the person who cooked the lamb is going to win. You're not going to win for making the carrot purree.

I think Jamie tried to play the game and simply lost. It was her concept but she handed off responsibility for the most important component to Ariane. It was almost as though she was hoping that if the dish won she would win for coming up with the idea and if they lost she could blame Ariane for screwing up the lamb.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I agree, I was shocked when she won for basically cooking the lamb correctly. They always harp on them when they don't cook meat enough or too much because they expect a chef to be able to do that correctly every time.

They do harp on the chefs for poorly cooking meat but when the chefs perfectly cook meat, they fall for it everytime. They went on and on when Elia perfectly roasted a chicken, for crying out load. And they even fell for Howie when he finally perfected his pork.

[terpkristin]

Anybody see the Holiday Special they filmed in Chicago? I don't remember seeing it before, but it could be that I missed it. 8 chefs from seasons 1-3. Elimination is to cook a 3-course holiday meal, 2 chefs eliminated after each course. They showed it this morning, and according to my FiOS box, will show it again on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

/tk

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Anybody see the Holiday Special they filmed in Chicago? I don't remember seeing it before, but it could be that I missed it. 8 chefs from seasons 1-3. Elimination is to cook a 3-course holiday meal, 2 chefs eliminated after each course. They showed it this morning, and according to my FiOS box, will show it again on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

/tk

It originally aired last Christmas. It was enjoyable though I enjoyed the one they did before Season 3 more.

[DaddyTorgo]

the more episodes go by the more i am convinced Hosea will be MINIMUM in the final 3. guy seems to consistently bang out things the judges enjoy.

[Thomkal]

I was pretty annoyed with the Top Chef staff for not making sure the refrigerators were closed. You're supposed to be on an even playing field for these challenges, and to have people's food ruined like that was inexcusable. In the end I think they did the right thing by not sending anyone home (not because it was in the Christmas spirit like they tried to make it look like). Josea's and Radka's original dishes would have tasted quite different from what they eventually served and who knows if they would have been liked or not.

I feel bad for Jamie who seems to be in either the top 3 without winning or the bottom 3. But she really needs to stop making scallops like it looks like she might do in the next episode. They also need to stop rewarding Ariane for making simple dishes and then telling her simple dishes won't win the competition. I mean her beef and cauliflower puree didn't look like anything special yet it won, and then they nailed her for devilled eggs. This is the kinda things she makes, if you think they aren't Top Chef worthy because of their simplicity then stop having her win challenges and kick her off.

Next episode should be really good because apparantly there will be no limits on what they make. No stupid restrictions like 12 days of Xmas themes. It's either going to be a triumph or a complete disaster I think.

And DT, I picked Hosea to win from the start so I'm with ya there.

[DaddyTorgo]

Oh I thought Hosea would be great from the start too - it's just nice to see that he's living up to it (minus the canned-crab debacle, but like i speculated, i think that actually helped him to realize he had to "step it up" sooner than others).

And you're right - it's pretty bush-league of Top Chef to not make sure the fridges were closed. And you know what, they could have just as easily scrapped the challenge because of that (well not scrapped it, but not show it on TV and just replace it with another). So I agree, in the end, sending nobody home was the right thing to do.

Was also great to see Jeff up there at the top - I think he could go far too, and he at least seems to be a natural leader and to not be afraid to take risks with what he's cooking and really step it up.

Jamie & her scallops and her gay-pride are starting to get annoying.

Leah has sort of seemed to tail-off as Radika has come on strong (but I'd sure love to see some versatility from her also)

[bosshogg23]

I liked that Jeff tried to make something that wasn't lame like deviled eggs.

The whole idea of letting them off with no one kicked off was built into the show so I hope it doesn't fool anyone that they were being nice.

I expect to see Stefan win although Jeff and Hosea both can cook well. Ariane seems like a great caterer, no more. Fabio is annoying as hell.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by bosshogg23

I liked that Jeff tried to make something that wasn't lame like deviled eggs.

The whole idea of letting them off with no one kicked off was built into the show so I hope it doesn't fool anyone that they were being nice.

I expect to see Stefan win although Jeff and Hosea both can cook well. Ariane seems like a great caterer, no more. Fabio is annoying as hell.

I can see the final 5 being: stefan, hosea, jeff, radika, leah. The rest of them are pretty "meh" IMO