The TOP CHEF Texas Thread
 

Here we go ...The new season starts tonight.

Let's see how this goes. Good to see Tom and Smokin' Padma back.

I hope every week isn't a BBQ or chili cookoff, but I'm not holding my breath.

Always look forward to another season of this. Just hope there isn't a douchebag like Mike or Angelo this year. But there probably will be...

29 contestants in episode 1, which Tom Colicchio says is going to be Top Chef's way of forcing the contestants to cook for their spot. He implied in an interview that on previous seasons, they've had candidates who looked good in videos and from recommendations but really weren't all that great at actually cooking and presenting food, and this is their way to reduce that.

/tk

Looking forward to checking this out on my DVR when I get home. Will avoid the thread till then I guess.

I really dislike when reality shows kick people off BEFORE they actually start the competition. Survivor did it. Project Runway did it. Amazing Race. Um a couple others.

Usually it's 1-4 teams people...but 29 people competing for HOW many spots? Ugh! Gonna be messy. Why don't they , instead of having a cook off, just put them all in the stew room and then watch them with a hidden camera and only take the ones that aren't douchebags.


I guess this is maybe a reaction to all the past seasons where the first half of the series are a lot of mediocre people that can't adjust to the top chef way of cooking. Perhaps they think this will make the season stronger cookingwise . Might work. GOod theory. But one dish does not always mean anything.

If they cook something simple REALLY well they will get in. If they overthink and make something complicated that they have never done, they will fail.

Heh. We just stayed at the hotel that Sable in Chicago is connected to. Kinda cool the chef from there is on the show...for now.

.....Wow.

Hot Top Chef Chicks thus far: 0. In fact, negative 5.

:+1: and a :funkychickendance: for you, sir. :)

I take back what I said. I like how this played out. Really liked the fact that people were getting booted IN the kitchen. LOL!

I've always wanted judges to be IN the kitchen and judge them there too.

This was a great test. Some couldn't even get the stuff on the plate already! Won't last. I am not really surprised at the stuff the Seattle contestants were making. :P Vegans......phbphbbbbt!

And wtf Emeril is there? I really hope he makes me like him cause I can't stand him...at least his show. Already someone has said BAM but thankfully they have already gone home. :)

Yeah the vegan in the pork challenge was pretty funny. And the overconfident dude getting kicked out so early. 3.5 weeks to make a cookbook, eh?

/tk

I better see some motherfuckin' snakes on some motherfuckin' plates.

They REALLY shoulda not put that line in the preview a couple weeks ago. It lost its comedy gold.

Well, The Individual Who Went Home went out with class.

Yeah. That elimination was unsurprising. I didn't like Sarah's attitude, and Beverly's self-importance and pity party drove me BONKERS.

/tk

Cooked shrimp? WTF. I'm pretty sure I'd kick most of these peoples asses on this show.

Totally agree. That clip is on their site and really the only clip from the show available. The douchebags don't even post full eps. Bravo has a lot to learn...

No kidding. Way to sabotage other people's dishes. I swear these people need to stop trusting each other to do things right.
Cooked shrimp...:P Surprises me too about the generic flour tortilla thing. Facepunches for that. This isn't taco bell.


I will say that this was probably the most intense first episode I've ever seen of Top Chef and I really had no idea who would do well and who wouldn't.
Team challenges are for the birds however. The dynamic is fun but the major flaw is that the worst person might end up on the winning team.


I also don't really like the redemption island thing they are doing with the person getting kicked out does head to head challenges with the last loser to come back onto the show. Total copout.

Regardless of what it tasted like, that dude's enchilada/burrito looked like something straight out of a high-school cafeteria. He seemed content to sabotage himself and everybody else, straight out of the gate.

yeah. I was surprised at his suckage level. He looked like a strong cook and a funny guy. THen this episode he turned into a douchebag who'd be better off asking if I want fries with that.

The big challenge I think was that hey! This is cooking mexican food FOR Mexicans. :) That doesn't mean TEx mex, that doesn't mean American mexican. It means authentic mexican.

The green team really got lucky for getting the only mexican on the show to guide them.

Except he fucked them over with the store-bought tortilla thing also, so he wasn't all that impressive to me I guess.

They probably should have just all avoided things with tortilla I'd guess.

Also...wasn't the chick who did the mole sauce on his team? He probably could have told her it wasn't that great, or she shouldn't even attempt it or whatever.

I've never liked mole sauce myself. Probably because most people fuck it up. :)

I didn't know he got the flour tortillas. Actually I'm not a big fan of "authentic mexican". Give me crunchy tacos anyday. Those soggy tasteless mexican tacos are bleh

I would have bet my life he was "self taught" in regards to his training. Sure enough, the bio confirms it.

The whole ep was a bad flashback to every wannabe chef I ever worked with.

If you were gonna use store bought tortillas, Flour is such a horrible horrible choice.

Remind me that if I'm ever in Chicago, NOT to go to MOTO Restaurant. The chefs there apparently drip tears and an undeserved ego on the food.

To be honest, based on their TV show (not sure if it's still on, it was on a channel I rarely watch, Planet Green), I'm not sure I'd even bother with their show. A lot of what looks like molecular gastro stuff and just odd creations (let's figure out how we can get stuff that isn't watermelon to look like watermelon and remind you of watermelon...).

/tk

Seriously?

Nobody wants to mention Padma's outfit in this last episode. Jeezus. Are you all alive?

Am I the only one who finds this season completely uninteresting? They did a horrible job with casting this year, and a show who's format stays the same every year really depends on having an interesting cast. The chefs seem especially douchey and "alternative" this year, but completely lack any personality. It's all really bad haircuts and people who seem way overconfident.

We also need a villain and heroes. Season 7 had Angelo and everyone else, Season 6 had mike isabella and the brothers (and kevin was awesome), season 5 had Stefan/Fabio/Carla, and season 4 had Blais/Dale/Spike. I can't comment before, because I didn't watch it.

Yeah - I'm not really finding any "villains" so far this year. I like that guy Edward (?) because he seems...I dunno...genuine? Other than that I suppose you're right - I haven't really "connected" with anyone yet, either in a positive sense or a negative sense.

Yeah, Edward (or as I refer to him, the guy with the bad back), is the only likeable guy on that case as far as I'm concerned. After what, 5 or 6 episodes in, I usually remember most of the chef's names, and have a rough idea about 'em.

Not so this year. They're unmemorable and flat...much like their cooking (I can remember a lot of dishes that just looked 'wow' in the past. Not this year).

Spending two episodes weeding out a bunch of people that we won't see again wasn't a great plan, IMO. That's two episodes of character development that we missed.

Good point. They could have just posted it online or something and that would have done just as well - and would have driven traffic to their website that they could have tried to capture.

Eh it usually takes a few episodes really to figure everyone out and also takes that time forthe chefs themselves to open up. Right now they're all freaking out still. :)

I'm finding the location a bit offputting actually. It's a lot of gimmicks about Texas so far. Okay we've had chili AND a rodeo. What's next? design a meal in the shape of a cowboy hat and belt buckle?

I do like Ed a lot. Chirs is kinda cool although I have to check to see if he's still there as I missed the ending of this week's episode. Tylor is okay although same.

And I'm not sure how giving MORE episodes means LESS character development. But I do think this show also needs to leave Bravo channel as they pretty much ruin everything.

Loved Tom this episode. He just looked disgusted during the whole meal while all those rich turds were like OOOOOOOooh I love this crap!
It's a good thing they weren't judging it.

THe cigar idea was hilarious. SUre it was innovative but no one wants to eat grey food. :)
Brown would have been a better choice. WOuld have been better as a dessert. And speaking of dessert why are they killing the contestants with dessert demands? THey already have another show for that! :P

Wow! Chuy left? Crap and he was not only one of the better ones I thought but had one of the better (or only) personalities.

I kinda like Lindsay too.

Season 1 had Tiffany/Dave/Miguel and Stephen the wine guy! with Tiffany being the original villainous.
Season 2, the infamous Marcel who everyone hated (but I liked) and also Sam and Elia (and Cliff who got kicked off the show for putting Marcel in a headlock).
Season 3, I can't even remember. Have to look it up. Wow I can't believe I had to look that up! The best personalities ever. Brian, CJ, Casey, DALE!, Howie & Joey!, and the arrogant prick Hung. (So hated him)

I'm surprised to hear the love for Edward. He seems a bit arrogant to me, and so far I can't tell if it's warranted.

The cigar for me was ridiculous. It looked like a turd, literally (ok, maybe a greenish turd...which might be unhealthy). Though I'm guessing MOTO Chris can cook, I find him a bit odd to watch. It's like he's going out of his way to be a bit different (wearing a pair of sunglasses on the top of his head while wearing normal glasses, the bandanas, etc....). I've also been less than inspired by his food but it's really hard to tell so early in.

I kind of like Dakota. I'm not sure why. I also really like Paul. Unless I've been fooled so far, I think he's going to go quite a way into the tournament (and make Texas proud!).

I still really dislike Beverly. I won't be sad to see the crybaby go home. Though I will be annoyed at her inevitably tear-filled exit interview.

Interesting side note on Nyesha: she is the executive chef at Wilshire restaurant. She's already been on one "reality" cooking show--Chef Hunter on Food Network. One of the first episodes was for the Executive Chef position at Wilshire...which she got, obviously.

/tk

Have eaten at Moto a few years back, so can give some firsthand feedback.

It's an interesting, mindblowing experience. Lots of molecular gastronomy stuff, putting unique wacky takes on dishes. For example, they had 2 kinds of "Caesar salad" back to back. One was a shot (and to be drank like you've a shot), with all the flavors of a Caesar salad infused into it. The other was a small dish with romaine and a few small pieces of squid.

Another dish was called "Roadkill" and uh looked like roadkill. (Here's someone's pic of it. Not mine: Roadkill).

They serve things in eyedroppers, use lasers in various ways (although when I went, the laser was "hibernating"), and generally present food in ways you've never experienced before.

And yet, after 3 hours and 12-15 courses, I found myself still hungry at the end. Disappointing to spend $150+ and feel like I needed a burger afterwards. I didn't do the largest tasting menu, so perhaps that was part of the issue.

Moto's definitely a "look at the cool stuff we can do with food" blow your mind sort of place. It was worth it for the one-time experience, but nothing foodwise makes my mouth water and think "I need to go back to Moto sometime...". By comparison, Alinea (another very expensive Chicago cutting edge place, albeit one with 3 Michelin stars) was amazing for both the experience AND the food.

That was the first episode of Chef Hunter that I saw, and I saw it right after watching Top Chef, so I knew she was going to win. Still enjoyed it though. Interesting idea for a show. Repetitive, but they all find different ways to fuck up, so I enjoy it.

That was close. Almost lost Tylor AND Ed! Another example of a poorly designed challenge. HOw do you properly judge a person for a PIECE of one dish. And when they may or may not be doing a ton of other things (like Ed did).

Plus why don't they ever judge people for ruining someone else's dish?
(like Lyndsey flashing the steaks too soon)

Random brag. My wife became good friends with a girl after doing the girl's physical therapy. The girl now works as John Besh's pastry chef at August. Evidently he's been trying to get her to go on Top Chef, but she won't. My wife just got Besh's latest cookbook signed and with a little note from John Besh.

Cool!

For our anniversary, the wife and I ate at Moto last night. This is the restaurant that both Chris J. and Richie are from. The food was very whimsical and awesome (including hands down the best piece of lobster that I've ever eaten and some other truly memorable dishes with a couple of misses) and terrific wine pairings.

At the end of the night though, as we were leaving, we were asked by the manager if we wanted to go into the kitchen. We jumped at the chance. We first saw the laboratory where they do a bunch of their experiments and this is where they filmed their show for Planet Green. Then we got to go into the kitchen and see where all the food is cooked.

The kitchen was surprisingly small. As we walked in I almost walked into a guy on my right. He turned around and said, pleasantly, "Hey, how's it going?" I looked and it was Chef Richie Farina! He was amazingly nice and grateful and the kitchen staff was really friendly and cool. It reminded us both of how much we liked Richie in the two shows before he got sent home.

Cool, fine night and topped off by meeting Richie.

Did you mention to him that you thought he was sent home too early?

I will admit, I mentioned to him that my wife and I both teared up when he was sent home. I felt really bad for him mainly because he doesn't seem to have the ego of some of those people.

Cool. Every time I see Moto on the PlanetGreen show and every time I see Chris cook on TC, I am kind of...underwhelmed. And grossed out, because Chris looks a bit...well, greasy. I'm glad that it sounds like it's better than it looks on TV. :)

Side note, I really liked last night's challenge. I wish they'd do more of stuff like last night's challenge instead of stupid team challenges and gimmicks related to "Texas."

/tk

Yeah, last night's episode was a move in the right direction. But this has definitely been a weak season, and the format and challenges haven't helped out.

I'm also not really crazy about the Top Chef Last Chance. The episodes are too short and the format seems to for whatever reason favor the chefs who were most recently kicked off. I'm not really looking forward to how this format is going to come together at the end. I fear that everyone is going to be disappointed at the outcome of this season.

Waiter, there's too much fat bitch in my show. Please take it back and bring me a new one.

LOL.

Also, anybody watching the Last Chance Kitchen things? I kinda like them, actually. After the Patti LaBelle episode, I had a feeling that Heather had a thing for "Malibu" Chris. After watching this week's LCK, I'm SURE she does. And that he doesn't care about her...

/tk

I finally watched all the LCK's. Yeah I kinda like that they are barebones with no ultra production value and it's just Tom and the chefs. Really like that they have the ousted chefs there to ask them questions and make them nervous. :)

And the bitch coment was not only directed at Heather but at Sarah now too...

I know.

That said, I thought Sarah was a bit crazy this week but Ed was also given an over-the-top edit. IMO there is a significant difference between cutting yourself and deciding to stop cooking immediately to get stitches and heat exhaustion. Kudos to Ed for not throwing Sarah under the bus at Judge's Table, though. But I thought the reactions they showed on TV were a bit over the top.

/tk

Ed is hilarious. I love seeing people get pissed off.And he's awesome about it.

Especially since he had every right to be pissed off. Sarah leaving meant he wouldn't have time to prepare his dish the way he wanted so he had every right to be pissed. NOt saying he was pissed Sarah got sick. But he was pissed cause they were screwed. Sarah was ridiculous when she came back. DOing her little song and dance, then leaving again. Pfff.
Send her home.