I stopped watching after an episode last season wherein I had to pause the tv to read the following disclaimer at the end of the show: Spoiler It said something to the effect of: all judging decisions and/or eliminations are made in conjunction and in agreement with Bravo TV and the show's producers. All contestants are fully aware of these stipulations. Basically, what we all knew was true, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO FUCKING SAY IT!
Notes from this week episode: Alex has absolutely no idea how to run the front of the house. Either he's playing to the cameras and being a total slave driver, or he has no clue how to manage a front of the house staff whatsoever. I'm not saying to run the wait staff with kid gloves, but he was outwardly a douchebag, and like Kenny said, giving off a lot of negative energy. On top of that, why the fuck would you not want your wait staff, the people who have to SELL YOUR DISH, to taste your food before they go out and try to SELL YOUR DISH. That was short sighted, especially with the stakes involved. But whatever, Alex has gone from one of my favorites to a total douchebag in just 3 shows. He was also completely awkward in his descriptions of food, lots of trembling in his voice. I understand there are nerves involved, but he's somebody who never should have been in the front of the house to begin with. It really surprises me that a lot of chefs never ever work the front of the house, if not for the experience. Fuck, I bussed tables on my days off from being a sous chef so I could see how the front of the house was run and how to better work with the wait staff to be more efficient. Angelo has absolutely no idea how to run a real kitchen. Yes, his food is said to be great, but he's peaked in running a small kitchen. He'd be eaten alive in just about any regularly staffed establishment. There was definitely a deer in the headlights vibe coming from him. Problem is, the food looked fantastic. Kenny overdoes it again and gets called on it early. Kenny overthinks his food too much, it will probably be his undoing. The dessert might knock him out. His team definitely lost. Kelly runs the front of the house very well. The team made a lot of bad mistakes. I think Kenny gets knocked out. Too many problems with his team's dishes overall, and his goat cheese dish was probably the worst overall.
Called it 15 minutes before it occurred. Kenny is gone. THey are correct though, Alex is the weakest link and is skating by while taking credit for stuff he didn't do (like the pea puree' Ed did 3 weeks ago). Kenny is a good chef, but he blew both dishes. He is however a leader in the kitchen and ran a great team from top to bottom. I really respect that. That being said, the weak just got weaker. I'm calling Angelo and Ed in the Final with Kelly taking 3rd.
I don't know who I dislike more - Amanda or He who shall be referred to as PEA THIEF. There is something about Amanda that I can't stand. I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps that she hides in the middle in plain sight. Perhaps that she doesn't seem particularly skilled or imaginative. Perhaps its that it looks like she has herpes. Yeah. Lets go with that last one. I'll give her credit though, her team trusted her enough to actually let her cook. Pea Thief. I can't abide a liar. I can't abide a liar who profits from his lie at the expense of someone else. You are forever a shit stain to me. Kenny seems to have just lost his head of steam from the beginning until now. If we take out his leading the team and just focus on food, neither of his dishes were good. There wasn't anything about them that the judges said, "Well at least [thisthinghere] was awesome." He was 0/2. I don't like Amanda but at least she had a .30/1. There was something you could look at on her plate of cut too thin, over cooked meat and say that you enjoyed. If I was sitting there judging, I would like to have given Kenny a pass for the general fact that he actually lead the team well and has more promise than Herpe-lip. But then who do you throw under the bus in his place? Rules are rules so Pea Thief is safe. Amanda didn't deserve to go home because something was actually redeemable from her dish. Kenny had to go. Is it my imagination or is Padma a cunt who is more important in her own mind than she really is? She can be downright unkind when she speaks to people who she seems to feel occupy a lower station than her. Look bitch, you are there to be a hot piece of ass that we can look at and tolerate to explain shit to us. You have accomplished nothing. If it wasn't for this show, you'd not have a cook book. You'd be another pretty face. Gail is a bitch too and Tom can be a dick to people but they've earned the right to with what they've accomplished. Even then they are respectfully dickish/bitchy. edit to add this from Wiki: “I was the first Indian model to have a career in Paris, Milan and New York. I’m the first one to admit that I was a novelty." and this: On April 17, 2004, in New York City, Lakshmi married the novelist Salman Rushdie, to whom she was introduced at a party in 1999 hosted by the journalist and editor Tina Brown.[2] On July 2, 2007, the couple filed for divorce.[13] She is the model for one of the central characters — and love interests — in Rushdie's novel Fury (a novel dedicated to her as well). When questioned about Rushdie's age (he is only seven years younger than her father) and her long estrangement from her father (whom she has described as "the most sexy, manic, in-shape, lean, tall, handsome man I have ever met"), Lakshmi has said that there may be a correlation: “I think that we are attracted to what we feel we need." Now I'm even more convinced that this bitch should just stfu and look pretty. Don't say shit else you crazy bitch.
I don't know a whole lot about Tom Colicchio outside of what I see on "Top Chef", but he's always struck me as being pretty fair-minded and sensible within the confines of the show. He may not be all that exciting when expressing his favor (his best compliment seems to be simply "it was well-seasoned"), but he is pretty consistent in his standards and unlike Padma and Gail, seems to take interest in the chef's development. (That may be a function of editing and/or production, but still.) And while we don't exactly know how the judging works on "Top Chef", I suspect Tom is the kind of guy that would have had a hard time overlooking the fact that Kenny's two dishes failed pretty convincingly even if he took Kenny's and Kevin's accusations about Alex to heart (and I think he must have believed them...he's been around kitchens long enough to sense who is and isn't a poser). Remember also; this wasn't Kenny's first time in the bottom. In fact, it was his fourth. Although this show doesn't have a lot in the way of hard and fast "rules", it's not like Kenny could fall back on some sort of "I've been a consistent performer" card. That said, though, I could see Tom being the kind of guy to talk to Kenny off camera and explain this to him face-to-face, man-to-man.
Gail Simmons flat out knows food. I've met her at various expos and she comes off as being nice and sincere. I'm assuming there is a producer in her ear telling her to lay it on some contestants, which I think she does fine. I don't think any of her input is unfair in the least. Compare her to say Padma or Toby Young and it's not even close. Toby Young would write out what he was going to say long before he even ate any food. Padma, while knowledgable, doesn't exactly blaze a trail with her criticisms. I'm fairly certain a producer is telling her what to say many times, especially when you hear her say "don't you think X's dish is a bit salty?" or whatever. TV does have a way of making people look better or worse then they actually are. I've known Tom for a while now, and I have nothing but respect for him as a chef and restauranteur. If you think he's harsh on the show, you should try working for him some time. He is tough, but also reasonable. When The Gramercy Tavern won the Beard Award a few years ago, he took his entire staff on vacation to St Barths. Yes, he is tough, but he also doesn't let a lame excuse slip by him. As far as the show goes, Kenny is a good chef, but he definitely overthought a lot of dishes in an effort to impress the judges. I don't think that is his game, and had he stayed on point I don't think he would be gone. I was more than impressed in what I saw in regards to running his kitchen. Compare that to Angelo and you can understand why one guy is running a 2 person sandwich shop and one guy has run some large kitchens. Kelly has grown on me over the weeks. She's fairly humble and has a nice (albeit nervous) demeanor. She's strong on a lot of levels and rarely makes a big mistake. Ed is bland, but he's solid. He's a stand up guy, admits when he makes a mistake and realize how to improve upon his last dish. I like his work and think he's probably the only person other than Kelly who could beat Angelo at this point. Amanda is awful. She makes so many mistakes it's unbelievable that she's still around. Stupid mistakes, like slicing your beef into thin strips for a simple beef bourguinon dish. That's not a mistake you make unless you're inexperienced. Alex flat out sucks. At first I thought Ed was being harsh about him, as I appreciated that Alex was somewhat aloof if not funny as hell. But the more I've watched him, the more I realize he's a pretty bad cook overall. His recipes are simplistic and his technique is lacking. On top of that, he cheated, and I have no time for that shit. I fucking can't stand Angelo and could never work with or for somebody who comes off like such a total bitch. I know a lot of it is the cameras and edit, but still, a bitch is a bitch is a bitch and Angelo is a bitch.
Maybe you skipped her because she's not worth mentioning, but I'm wondering what you think of Tiffany. She's had a few days where she's been stellar, and then some where her food isn't quite up to par. I would think if she's on a hot streak, she could win it all. I hate Angelo. He just seems like a cheap knockoff of last year's winner Michael Voltaggio. At least in the sense that he's a decent cook, but is also a cocky asshole who most can't stand. But even then, I could get on board with Voltaggio winning because he showed range. It seems like unless he's cooking Japanese food, Angelo isn't that good of a chef.
Tiffany is good, but she's kind of hard to figure because her cooking style is all over the place. She is fairly consistent though as she's rarely (if ever) near the bottom, although she's only won a single event. She's basically this season's counterpart to Eli. She'll probably make top 5, but it would surprise me if she went further. Angelo isn't even on the same planet as Mike Voltaggio. Voltaggio is good enough to be a judge on Top Chef, whereas if Angelo was on last season there's no way possible he makes it to the top 5. Angelo sticks to what he does best, which is Asian themed fare that uses some unique items to the American palate. He doesn't make a lot of errors, but he also doesn't have a lot of range. This would be exposed if there was more competition, but because this season is the weakest in memory, he tends to stand out. I've eaten at Angelo's sandwich shop, it's very good, but also very limited (4 items on menu). I'm vaguely impressed with his cooking and less impressed with him as an overall chef.
Angelo is a bitch. The quickfire isn't interesting at all. Nobody is a molecular gastronomist and it shows. Alex has 6 years experience. Alex has a clear cut idea of what he wants to make for the quickfire. Alex is on a show called Top Chef. There is no reason why Alex was cast on the show. There is even less reason why he's still around. Angelo is a bitch who can't make dough. Angelo's idea is simplistic, wow, beef that looks like pepperoni with store bought puff pastry. Nobody has an original idea for the round. The idea is to make food that is disguised as something else. Kevin comes the closest with his Cobb Salad idea. Ed's idea is appetizing, although simple. This is the worst season ever. How about making a curried chicken puree' and encapsulate it and then do the same with a coconut puree. Serve it to look like it's an egg cooked sunny side up. That's me coming up with something off the top of my head and I only play around with the stuff Wiley Dufrense does with food. This season sucks. Kelly blows the rice. Not entirely her fault, although why would she use a rice cooker if there is almost limitless stove space. Tiffany is cool as hell, even if her dishes are somewhat mediocre. She's a total team player. Angelo's dish is beef wellington disguised as pizza. His dish bombs. Angelo is a bitch. Kelly's dish is kung pow shrimp disguised as pad thai. She's in. Tiffany's dish is a gyro disguised as whatever. It's pretty elegant, but easy to guess. She's in. Kevin's dish looks pretty good, considering he made a fucking Cobb salad. He's in. Amanda's French Onion soup tastes like shit and is obvious. Alex overcooks his veal parmesegn dish bombs. He blows the execution on the veal. Ed's dish looks pretty fantastic, but is obvious as hell. He's in. Angelo is safe because Alex and Amanda suck. Tiffany Kelly and Ed make it to the winner's circle. Tiffany wins with a nice looking Gyro. It was well played. Angelo, Alex and Amanda (Triple A) get to be made fun of by the judges. Alex is gone, nothing he did seemed to work. Angelo should go because the dish wasn't creative and he used store bought dough. Told ya he's bad when he's out of his comfort zone. Amanda blows the soup. Angelo is a bitch. His confidence is getting shattered during the past few weeks. He's still the front runner, but he's still a bitch. Of course Alex gets sent home because again, nothing he cooked seemed to work. None of the other chefs seems to care. At the very least he stayed positive and wasn't hostile. He just never should have been in the competition to begin with. Next week: Amanda goes home. Angelo is a bitch.
Quoted for emphasis. Did anyone else notice that Angelo mentioned he had a Russian fiancee he needed to get to the States which is why he wanted the 10K? Does Angelo have a mail order bride? If so, bahahahahahahah. I continually like Ed and his demeanor and approach. His reaction shot to Angelo buying pastry was priceless. Tiffany was annoying at first as that stereotypical loud black woman, but I think that was bad editing. I like her and her food. Kelly is pretty consistent. For never cooking Asian food, she did a pretty solid job, unlike Angelo who spazes whenever he can't put on an Asian twist.
So finally herpes girl is gone. There is just not a whole lot to get excited about with this season. Andrea thinks she faced tough competition? Voltaggios could have coasted through this season. Hung would have taken a nap and asked if he could just be woken up for the finale. God this is just the worst season ever.
Yes, but the question is: Would you rather watch Top Chef: DC, Top Chef: Masters or Top Chef: Deserts?
Top Chef Masters is kind of boring for me to watch. Everybody has too much mutual respect for each other on the show. Top Chef Deserts is going to be meh. Just can't be interested in the show for a couple of months. DC has been disappointing, although I have to admit, I really liked the final last night. Ed is pretty funny. I like the way that he's both focused and aloof at the same time. Coming from a Todd English kitchen, you can tell that he's very comfortable running a high end back of the house. I'm going to try and make those Asian flavored plantain fritters. I probably would have added a chocolate/chili dipping sauce, but why mess with what seemed to be perfection. Facts of the matter, he totally throws Angelo off his game without scheming. He's simply a dick to Angelo, and Angelo completely folds. The last 2 episodes where he's done this, you can see how subtle he is about it while seeing how effective he is in doing it. Kevin is cool. He's probably a step above the Ilan Halls and Josea Rubensteins of TC past seasons, but he comes off as being very professional. Amanda annoyed me at first, but I like her mix of being confident while staying vulnerable. It's a shame she lost, but she's very talented and I'm going to look up her restaurant if I'm ever in Colorado. Angelo is a bitch. Not only is he a bitch, but he's creepy, not in a Wiley Dufrense mad scientist sort of way, but in a "holy shit, this guy is gross" sort of way. One of the best things about this season is watching how Angelo went from unbelievably cocky to a complete bitch in a matter of a few episodes. Ed totally owns him and knows exactly what buttons to press to shut him down. I think the fact that Ed beat the shit out of him on his home turf (Asian cuisine) ruined him for the finals next week, as it looks like he can't even show up because he's got a bad case of "being a pussy". Next week: The finalale (and Angelo is still a bitch).
I think you mean Kelly not Amanda (She had the herp). Angelo must be one of the most mentally weak and unstable competitors of all time. For Ed to be able to take him out of his own game plan with very little actions is just embarrassing. I had never really liked Ed until the last couple weeks. Now I find myself rooting for the guy, not just for food but because his generally attitude. Fuck Angelo.
Ed strikes me as another Harold Dieterle type, although Ed plays the game a lot differently than Harold. But seriously, Ed really isn't doing anything that's over the top to Angelo, he's simply just being a dick to him. Angelo is stuck on an island now because everybody he's been friendly with has been eliminated. The funny thing about Angelo is that he has a little something to do with those same friends being eliminated. Add that to the fact that he's downright creepy. He quotes Tony Robbins, he makes daily affirmations while speaking to himself, he's got a mail order bride from Russia, he's passive aggressive and he thought way too highly of his own talent early on only to watch that same confidence wilt when he stopped winning every single quickfire. I don't think Angelo is a bad guy, I just think he's a creepy bitch.
Some thoughts after the finale last night: While my personal favorite was Ed, I was fine with Kevin winning. From the comments, he seemed to have cooked the best overall meal, and that's all it takes in the final round. I'm happy Angelo did not win. He just came across as such a little bitch. Personally, for $125K, I would have just carried a fucking bucket around with me and at least have been at the store picking out the foods. Hung is a beast in the kitchen, so he had a chance anyway, but why not man up and make sure everything met his desires. Ed clearly had the worst sous chef. I only remember that guy making Spanish food his entire season, and everything else seemed outside his comfort zone. I don't understand why Ed seemingly did not participate in even coming up with the dessert. That was the biggest failing, in my opinion. Kevin's dessert seemed to make an unimpressive first impression, but everyone seemed to love it once they actually started eating it. I think that's what put him out in front and got him the win.