[rlibkind]

Well, I was wrong about Freitag.

[KensethFan]

I thought last night's episode was interesting. From the editing, it appears they all were not really happy with Mehta's food. Then they show Frietag's food and they all seem gaga over most of it (especially the Japanese fellow) and then she goes home instead of Mehta. Clearly there either must be a bias against Frietag and a love for Mehta or the editing must have just made it seem like Frietag's food was good and Mehta's didn't cut it. I wish they wouldn't do it. Makes their credibility suffer.

[KristiB50]

Honestly I don't think any of them seem interesting.

And I agree about the odd editing last night. I was surprised to see Freitag go after the judges comments.

[bsims]

Don't forget that unlike some other cooking-based contest shows, the competition isn't for a spot at a restaurant or simply a monetary reward - it is a competition for a slot on a television show. While the credentials of all the contestants show there are no slouches in the kitchen, don't doubt for a moment that the winner chosen has just as much to do with their ability to draw viewers to the parent program as their culinary skills, if not more. All of the existing iron chefs have something that makes them unique, some ethnic or regional specialty, with the exception of cora/symon, which have a Mediterranean overlap. And it may not be PC to say so, but Cora's primary "unique" contribution to the show is arguable being a reasonably attractive female.

I really don't think it is any coincidence that the contestants had strong representation from French, Indian, and Latin American cuisines - none of which are present in the existing lineup. The program is looking for someone that either has a unique personality or to fill what they perceive to be a gap in the current staff. To that end, I find it no surprise that comments on the cooking or not, Frietag was the one who went home. I predict it will be Garces and Mehta in the top two. Mehta definitely has the stronger personality (some of his expressions just freak me out!), but he may cross the line into bizarre and turn some viewers off.

[docsconz]

Based on his actions and personality, I think Mehta is in as the necessary "villain," the guy people watch hoping that he will lose. I think he will go down to the wire, but ultimately lose, most likely to Garces. Then again, my initial prediction was for Appleman.

[KatieLoeb]

Jose is going to win this thing. I'm feeling confident about that. Even more so now. It'll likely be he and Chef Mehta in the final and Jose will emerge victorious. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy or a better chef. Go Team Garces!!

[Danika]

bsims, on 09 November 2009 - 03:28 PM, said:

Don't forget that unlike some other cooking-based contest shows, the competition isn't for a spot at a restaurant or simply a monetary reward - it is a competition for a slot on a television show. While the credentials of all the contestants show there are no slouches in the kitchen, don't doubt for a moment that the winner chosen has just as much to do with their ability to draw viewers to the parent program as their culinary skills, if not more. All of the existing iron chefs have something that makes them unique, some ethnic or regional specialty, with the exception of cora/symon, which have a Mediterranean overlap. And it may not be PC to say so, but Cora's primary "unique" contribution to the show is arguable being a reasonably attractive female.

I really don't think it is any coincidence that the contestants had strong representation from French, Indian, and Latin American cuisines - none of which are present in the existing lineup. The program is looking for someone that either has a unique personality or to fill what they perceive to be a gap in the current staff. To that end, I find it no surprise that comments on the cooking or not, Frietag was the one who went home. I predict it will be Garces and Mehta in the top two. Mehta definitely has the stronger personality (some of his expressions just freak me out!), but he may cross the line into bizarre and turn some viewers off.

That’s a good observation. Also the idea is to see how adaptable these chefs are to the other foreign cuisines. I think the reason they have introduced these different cuisine rounds is because they want a chef who can cook in all these cuisines and yet have a distinctive style with which he cooks the dish. I think the final 3 contestants have proven that they can hold their own in any cuisine. Chef Garces did a great job in the Japanese preparations in spite of being known for his Mexican style though I am not convinced about his win in the Indian cuisine. At the same time Chef Mehta did exceedingly well in the Mexican round. The Tamarind Braised Pork was not an authentic Mexican dish but had all the Mexican flavors to it. I think the last two episodes are going to be really exciting to watch and the final will be between Chef Mehta and Chef Garces. My vote is reserved for Chef Mehta from the very beginning!

[Jane Die]

gfweb, on 09 November 2009 - 10:00 AM, said:

Who was that Indian guest chef for the last show? What an arrogant ass!

That was Suvir Saran. I don't think he's an arrogant ass IRL. He just played one for The Next Iron Chef audience. I think he's actually a pretty awesome chef/author specialising in Indian cuisine.

(Disclaimer: I love Indian cuisine.)

Rock on Chef Mehta!

[hsm]

I miss Suvir in these parts. Always generous, helpful and so very knowledgeable. Clearly, also a good actor.

[Danika]

KensethFan, on 09 November 2009 - 10:58 AM, said:

I thought last night's episode was interesting. From the editing, it appears they all were not really happy with Mehta's food. Then they show Frietag's food and they all seem gaga over most of it (especially the Japanese fellow) and then she goes home instead of Mehta. Clearly there either must be a bias against Frietag and a love for Mehta or the editing must have just made it seem like Frietag's food was good and Mehta's didn't cut it. I wish they wouldn't do it. Makes their credibility suffer.

I agree with you. In fact the same thing happened in the Indian round. Chef Mehta had cooked the most delectable Indian feast and the judges were totally impressed with his efforts. They went on to declare that it was delicious and had all the right flavors. They criticized Chef Garces’ food majorly because it lacked any Indian taste to it. He had served Dal with zucchini! I agree that he had innovated but the outcome of innovation should be balanced flavors. I don’t know how they thought a touch of Zucchini could balance anything in a Dal. So there is no bias towards anyone but an attempt to increase the entertainment value. Now there is nothing wrong in editing a reality show to increase the entertainment value but they need to stop misleading people!

[gfweb]

Mehta is cast as the vampirish villain; a role he is well-suited to and probably in some way reflective of reality. With the editing we really don't know whether the judges were completely impressed or not with his meal.

So the last show is down to Garces vs Mehta. Good vs. evil.

What drama.

[plattetude]

Danika, on 16 November 2009 - 05:07 AM, said:

Chef Mehta had cooked the most delectable Indian feast and the judges were totally impressed with his efforts. They went on to declare that it was delicious and had all the right flavors. They criticized Chef Garces’ food majorly because it lacked any Indian taste to it. He had served Dal with zucchini! I agree that he had innovated but the outcome of innovation should be balanced flavors. I don’t know how they thought a touch of Zucchini could balance anything in a Dal. So there is no bias towards anyone but an attempt to increase the entertainment value. Now there is nothing wrong in editing a reality show to increase the entertainment value but they need to stop misleading people!

All this criticizing of the judges is wayyyy misplaced. You're not seeing/hearing all their comments; you're seeing how the producers have had the comments *edited*, very likely in some cases deliberately overstating strengths and weaknesses of the contestants' efforts to make it seem like more of a horse race, or to make the results more of a "gotcha." Same thing with Top Chef. Like gfweb said, drama.

Christohper

[Pierogi]

Any SHRED of respect for Mehta I had evaporated last night, along with any desire to see him as an Iron Chef when Chef Mullin asked him if he had any sugar and Mehta said no, even though the camera clearly showed him with a hotel pan full of I'd say about 5 pounds of it, of which Mehta was using maybe the top 1/2 inch. OK, I'll give him the top inch.

I could understand this attitude if Chef Mullin had said, "hey, can I have some of that truffle/cavier/uni" or some other exotic, hard to source ingredient.

BUT SUGAR????

What a pr*ck.

Pure and simple, cut and dried. An asshat. Total.

I will not watch ICA if he wins.

And I liked him in the first couple of rounds. He may be talented (although I also thought his presentation in last night's episode was an affront to the theme of "integrity") but he's a total jerk.

Again, as has been stated up-thread, compare his behavior to that shown on "Top Chef Master". No class, whatsoever.

[KatieLoeb]

Ghef Garces is hosting a viewing party at Distrito this coming Sunday for the final episode. No one throws a party if they know they're the loser. Go Team Garces!!!!

Jose Garces is the next Iron Chef. Take it to the bank. Hell, my stock just went up too. Jose is one of my references on my resume.

[gfweb]

Katie, around these parts Jose benefits from his association with you!

[KristiB50]

Pierogi, on 17 November 2009 - 12:54 AM, said:

Any SHRED of respect for Mehta I had evaporated last night, along with any desire to see him as an Iron Chef when Chef Mullin asked him if he had any sugar and Mehta said no, even though the camera clearly showed him with a hotel pan full of I'd say about 5 pounds of it, of which Mehta was using maybe the top 1/2 inch. OK, I'll give him the top inch.

I could understand this attitude if Chef Mullin had said, "hey, can I have some of that truffle/cavier/uni" or some other exotic, hard to source ingredient.

BUT SUGAR????

What a pr*ck.

Pure and simple, cut and dried. An asshat. Total.

I will not watch ICA if he wins.

And I liked him in the first couple of rounds. He may be talented (although I also thought his presentation in last night's episode was an affront to the theme of "integrity") but he's a total jerk.

Again, as has been stated up-thread, compare his behavior to that shown on "Top Chef Master". No class, whatsoever.

Ditto.

He's an awful person.

[Reignking]

I felt like the "sugar incident" was pure editing. You never saw Mullen run over and grab it from him, or even complain about it. Or Mehta even say "This is a competition. I want to sabotage them. Muhahahahaha."

[GwennP]

KristiB50, on 17 November 2009 - 10:22 AM, said:

Pierogi, on 17 November 2009 - 12:54 AM, said:

Any SHRED of respect for Mehta I had evaporated last night, along with any desire to see him as an Iron Chef when Chef Mullin asked him if he had any sugar and Mehta said no, even though the camera clearly showed him with a hotel pan full of I'd say about 5 pounds of it, of which Mehta was using maybe the top 1/2 inch. OK, I'll give him the top inch.

I could understand this attitude if Chef Mullin had said, "hey, can I have some of that truffle/cavier/uni" or some other exotic, hard to source ingredient.

BUT SUGAR????

What a pr*ck.

Pure and simple, cut and dried. An asshat. Total.

I will not watch ICA if he wins.

And I liked him in the first couple of rounds. He may be talented (although I also thought his presentation in last night's episode was an affront to the theme of "integrity") but he's a total jerk.

Again, as has been stated up-thread, compare his behavior to that shown on "Top Chef Master". No class, whatsoever.

Ditto.

He's an awful person.

And what about the way he left the ice cream machine - knowing Chef Mullen needed it. I felt bad to see him go. It should have been him!

[gfweb]

His PR machine would be better used if it taught him a bit of graceful behavior.

[KatieLoeb]

You're much too kind. I am just so excited for him. I just know he's going to win and that he's going to be a great addition to the Iron Chef lineup. Jose will always remain one of my favorite ex-bosses. He's every bit as nice a guy as he seems to be. And I learned a lot from him. I'm very proud to have worked for him and been able to help him open his first restaurant in Philly. Now that there's a small burgeoning empire it seems like a million years ago, but he's always been very gracious to me and expressed his gratitude for my help at the beginning. He's a class act and deserving of all the success he's having.

[Pierogi]

Reignking, on 17 November 2009 - 07:54 AM, said:

I felt like the "sugar incident" was pure editing. You never saw Mullen run over and grab it from him, or even complain about it. Or Mehta even say "This is a competition. I want to sabotage them. Muhahahahaha."

Absolutely no doubt it was edited to make it look worse. But as someone else also said up thread, you can't edit in intent, and Mehta's intent was to screw Mullen. Just like when he took all the grape leaves when he knew Garces (?) needed them for his dolmas.

gfweb, on 17 November 2009 - 10:34 AM, said:

His PR machine would be better used if it taught him a bit of graceful behavior.

Word !

[Danika]

Actually Chef Mehta did explain his actions regarding the ice – cream machine but maybe you missed that part. During the previous challenge when Chef Mullen had used the ice – cream machine he had left it unclean in spite of knowing that Chef Mehta was going to use it after him. Chef Mehta just gave him the taste of his own medicine so I don't know why anyone should feel bad for Chef Mullen.

[Danika]

His graceful behavior is evident from the fact that he has never bad mouthed anybody nor has he looked down upon anybody’s preparations. He lets his food do the talking. Another thing that I like about him is that he has never played a victim just to get some audience sympathy. He has had numerous occasions where he could have complained as other contestants often do. Take for example the time when Chef Mullen wrestled the leg of lamb leg out of his hand or when Chef Mullen blocked the ice cream machine and left it unclean. I completely appreciate Chef Mehta’s spirit of taking everything in his stride. That is proof of his graceful behavior and proof of the confidence he has in his own abilities. This chef is unquestionably talented and humble.

[gfweb]

How about the grape leaves? Ask your boss how graceful that was.

[Dignan]

Danika, on 18 November 2009 - 10:22 AM, said:

His graceful behavior is evident from the fact that he has never bad mouthed anybody nor has he looked down upon anybody’s preparations. He lets his food do the talking. Another thing that I like about him is that he has never played a victim just to get some audience sympathy. He has had numerous occasions where he could have complained as other contestants often do. Take for example the time when Chef Mullen wrestled the leg of lamb leg out of his hand or when Chef Mullen blocked the ice cream machine and left it unclean. I completely appreciate Chef Mehta’s spirit of taking everything in his stride. That is proof of his graceful behavior and proof of the confidence he has in his own abilities. This chef is unquestionably talented and humble.

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[Jane Die]

Chef Mullen screwed himself, actually. He seems to be a damn fine chef and his last presentation was simply beautiful but how does a chef f**K up rice? That's fundamental. *Rice*

I do think Chef Mehta hit the wall with the over-abundance of flora but his food must be pretty special. I also think Chef Mehta has been edited to look the villain, and while he's no saint or second coming of anything (but maybe the Next IC), I don't think he's Satan/Nosferatu/EvilGeniusBaldGuy or... whatever thing he's being called. The only thing evil going on is a bit of editing shenanigans to provide the unsuspecting viewers with a culinary luchadores, minus the mask.

I'm still rooting for Chef Mehta because I really want to see Indian cuisine represented on ICA and I think Chef Mehta is a very knowledgeable, creative and highly skilled chef.

On the other hand, Chef Garces is AMAZING, his food looks AMAZING and I'd enjoy watching him, too. He is really very impressive. And humble, too. I like him a lot.

Regardless of which of these chefs win, I think they'll bring something original to ICA. It's all good.

edited for spelling

This post has been edited by Jane Die: Yesterday, 12:32 PM