Dignan

← "Officer Dimes? Officer Dimes? Um, this has nothing to do with me anymore, right? Okay? So I'm just gonna leave, and you guys just settle this by yourselves, all right?"

I'm not sure I agree. I would argue that had Casey NOT suggested what she did (i.e. sous vides on the beef and souffle on the dessert) (or had Carla NOT acted upon those suggestions), that Carla might have won rather handily. And, if we are to look back on a cumulative basis, I *think* (does someone have a running tally?) that Carla did have more overall wins than Hosea. Carla did indeed have more wins than Hosea, but she also had more of the really dumb moments that make you just shake your head in disbelief. Agreeing to prepare the steak sous vide when she'd never done it herself certainly fell into this category. Casey could have suggested anything she damn well pleased, but Carla didn't have to agree to it. On top of that, setting the oven to the wrong temperature for the soufflé seems to have been an unforced error. ← Here's a performance chart. Counting the final, they had the same number of elimination challenge wins. Interpret it as you will, but I think Carla's lows were more spectacular and her highs more pedestrian overall. Her first appearance in the top 3 was in episode two for her pastry crust at craft. Her second was in Ep 8, which became a team win, for her tartlet. That's just boring. I think Hosea was much more solid and creative -- not spectacular himself, mind you, but of the two....

Hell, they may have used the best stuff and did exactly what you seek. They could only conceviablly have used Restaurant Wars footage and forward to do so, which included, I think, him making an ass of himself in the make out session. They decided that was compelling TV, and thereon out he had to compete for screen time with Carla and Fabio antics. They used him a lot, I thought, for the set up voice overs where he tells us how important the visiting guest is, which was at least neutral.

Clearly I'm no expert on the filming of reality TV (or any other kind of TV)—this could easily be true. Assuming that it is, however, they would still have had quite a few episodes to work with, so I believe my point stands. Hosea was not a compelling winner, and to me this is a failure of the editors. They must have had hundreds of hours to work with, and all they give us is his whiney angst about Stefan. ← Also, in the penultimate episode, remember when the cheftestants were shivering at the plantation? That was winter in LA. They can't edit in compelling if its not there. They edited in goofy because Carla was flinging it at the walls like Pollock. They can easily manipulate our perception of these folks and events by editing, but they only have what they give them to work with.

This is what gets me: the Bravo editors knew who won before the first episode aired: they had months to tweak the editing to ensure that the winner was a surprise, but a pleasant one. And instead, what they ended up creating was some random schmuck that no one really cared about. Stefan was the "clear favorite," Carla the "Dark Horse," and, oh yeah, there was some other guy, too. What was his name? Of course I agree that within the context of the last episode it seems clear that Hosea deserved the win: the others simply screwed themselves with bad decisions. That doesn't explain to me how Bravo could have assembled and edited the season so poorly: I don't think anyone is "angry" about this choice, like many were when Ilan won; it's clear Hosea won fair and square here. The question is, why didn't they make him a more compelling winner? ← A quick search leads me to beleive that Commander's Palace was used to film the Finale on January 15, 2009. So I don't think they knew who won before the first episode aired.

Best scene of the show was when Rocco said that and they panned over to Gail who couldn't have been rolling her eyes further back into her head if she was passing out. I don't think it was a pan. I think it was a cut. I wonder if that shot was taken out of context. She did look awfully bored by whatever was going on at that time. Finally, a sensible post. I agree. ← Yeah, the edits/cuts in this show are for drama, not for capturing historical records. No telling at what point that eyeroll came from. Hosea should have won last night's matchup -- but I at no point felt the urge to eat at anyone's restaurant while watching this season's competition. And here we go again with the "I wonder if Gail is pregnant." She's curvy, always has been. But maybe she since she just got married the answer to that question this time will be yes. (And since somebody raised le due cupole grandi della cattedrale di Milano, I will ask: was Gail wearing the same dress as she was at the party in the previous episode?Edit to add Naw, never mind it wasn't. )

I'm having trouble seeing how they intend to get away with something here. Are they just trying to be a nuisance? Maybe have you run through a card to see if it's good or how high a charge is available on it? Because to get the item somebody has to come get it, and by then the gig could be up and there could be a cop waiting. You'd need a series of dead drops and delivery men to pull it off. Weird.

I completely agree, Chris. I'm getting more than a little tired of cheap shots aimed mainly at Achatz by people who have elsewhere pandered to the practice of "molecular gastronomy." The ad implies that this sort of presentation is preposterously theatrical - surely nothing of which Top Chef could ever be accused! I'm not very fond of Top Chef, but I've always had respect for Colicchio, and this is disappointing. As far as the argument that "well, he didn't write the ad" - I'm sure that he didn't, but no one held a gun to his head to make him appear in it, either. If anyone doesn't want to eat or do this style of cooking, that's fine - but to disrespect another chef's creativity and vision is beyond tacky. ← Why would you be all burned up if Achatz isn't?

As long as the for-profit business is set up separately, and pays even a nominal rental fee to the synagogue, it should be fine. Personal chefs and caterers do it all the time. Churches, synagogues et al. are required to maintain certified kitchens that they might only use for a few hours weekly. These kitchens are comparably inexpensive to rent, the rental generates a bit of income for those institutions which are often strapped for cash, and legality is maintained all around. ← This is not entirely true in its simplicity. Yes, non-profits often hire out the use of their space to unrelated for-profit businesses without an issue. The question, however, is one of degree. For example, a very important question might be how much of their total income do they derive from activities that are unrelated to their non-profit purpose? And how regular and extensive are those activities? We're talking about regular and extensive weekly use of their kitchen space, not a couple of times a month thing. If a Burger King opened up in a church kitchen, I suspect they'd have an issue they might want to discuss with a professional advisor. At a minimum they could owe Unrelated Business Income Tax even if their non-profit status is not threatened. I think this scheme would not address his main concerns, which were being responsible for starting a new business with modest baking experience while starting a family. Keep working on that business plan. You'll be able to vet the idea and see if it is worthwhile. ← I agree with this idea, provided you don't let it make you feel obligated to go through with it in the end because folks have put an effort into it. It would be a good learning experience for sure, but perhaps if you have no intention of going through with it whatever the outcome of the plan you might feel better about it to say no from the start.

Yeah, I was just coming to post that. It was her alright. Ditto ! It was absolutely her. ← I have to know about what went on behind this. Granted it was probably shot alongside TC or even before, but Ariane just doesn't strike me as the one you want on your team in such a high pressure situation. And they had her butchering and prepping meat?! ← They are apparently close friends and Frietag was the one who told her about the Top Chef auditions or some such thing. Can't do a cite linky right now but google them together and you'll get some blurbs. Edit: Here's one.

Good point. Iron Chef America, with Chef Amanda Frietag of Harrison in NYC.

Yeah, I was just coming to post that. It was her alright.

I'm pretty sure I've had it in both smoked and raw preparations in the US too. A menu. It says "fresh" salmon, which I've always assumed was served raw.

Yep, plus Vegas and now NOLA.

If I was scamming, I'd use a hotmail or yahoo account with all fictitious info.

After the small claims court filing fee is paid, what name should be listed under "defendant"?.......... ← I'm no lawyer but have filed several small claims that my secretary usually fills out. IIRC the defendant is the person you are suing. The person filing the suit is the plaintiff. ← If you read the thread, you'll see that the problem here is he probably could not identify a defendant.

The use of the hearing impaired/disability operator is a not uncommon element of scam. The multiple denied credit cards also were an obvious sign. The use of the interpreter makes it harder to track the scammer, e.g., now you don't even have a phone number. What's odd here is that usually this done to place a large order of merchandise which will be shipped somewhere, often out of the country, so that when the chargeback comes from the credit card company the seller is SOL and there's no way to know who it was really sent to. Here you apparently had someone who, if one or some of the credit cards had worked, was going to run the risk of being seen (or maybe would send a patsy) in order to get the merchandise. Example

Am I nuts, or was it the other way around, with Tom saying he prefers the game birds rarer? ← You're right -- Tom said there was a generational divide, with the older chef=done and the younger=rare.

Easily after 4 or 5 of them...! I think I went for "Duke argh's" - it seemed to work. ← Close enough. I've always gone with "Duke-urs". Failing that, you can usually get it by just asking for "the IPA" and giving a nod or a quick point towards the appropriate tap/pump. ← This is about where I would have hit just using Kentucky windage, but I'd come across so versions that were focusing on a nuance at the front of the mouth, ending up with a "Jew-kers" or even "Tchew-kers".

How do you pronounce "Deuchars"?

He announced the win. There were four judges that decided who won. If you watched it, you'll remember how pleased they all were with Stefan's dish. Padma told Eric that Stefan was nipping at his heels. It clearly was the favorite from their comments at the tasting.

I took it to mean she wasn't ready, she was behind, she was struggling -- it wasn't complete enough to be sampled.

The problem with that theory is that they are always shown in the stew room in their whites. They go in and out of Judges table in their whites. I don't think I've ever seen an interview in whites -- they've always changed to street clothes. It's most confounding when they show interviews during an event, and the cheftestants are talking in the present tense, as if they are right in the middle of it, but are wearing street clothes and have neat hair and lip gloss.

I'm not sure that Jaimie's statement about "uninspiring" was during the exit interview. I suspect it was during what reality shows call a "confessional" that probably occurred just after the meal. That would be more typical. Participants are called over to an interview area away from the group and asked to give their top-of-the-mind thoughts or impressions. ← Yes, you really have to be careful about assuming that the timelines you see created in the editing of this show in any way reflects the actual course of events. Folks disecting these shows like to make a lot of reaction shots cut into a sequence, but unless they have a camera on every single person involved in this it's probably an editor's reimagining of events. And during Hosea's "interview" about the making out with Leah incident, he was shown in 3 different T-shirts during what was presented as one sequence.

Okay, that's me warned about the Plummed Horse. Thanks! ETA: Would you say bookings are a necessity for the likes of Wishart's and/or Kitchin at lunch?