GwennP
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Anyone been watching? What do you think of it?
I've been watching it religiously since it's related to food (tick) and is on at a convenient time -dinner (tick).
I have to say, I was really disappointed about Brent's elimination last week. Certainly unfair from my pov.
For anyone who's been missing out, episodes are available on streaming here
Is this on TV in the states? If so, what channel? Thanks!
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On Sunday, Norm Clarke wrote in his column for the Review-Journal that filming for Top Chef Season 6 was starting this week in Las Vegas.
I don't care where they tape it as long as they get some great chefs this time around!!!
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Please keep in mind, The Food Network isn't about food, it's about entertainment. And Robert Irvine is a about showmanship.
They should call it the Entertainment Network then. Oh, wait, that's already taken!!!
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The contestant list was just announced: definitely some top-notch chefs in there:
- Rick Bayless
- Wilo Benet
- John Besh
- Graham Elliot Bowles
- Michael Chiarello
- Michael Cimarusti
- Wylie Dufresne
- Elizabeth Falkner
- Hubert Keller
- Christopher Lee
- Ludo Lefebvre
- Anita Lo
- Tim Love
- Rick Moonen
- Nils Noren
- Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson
- Cindy Pawlcyn
- Mark Peel
- Douglas Rodriguez
- Michael Schlow
- Art Smith
- Suzanne Tracht
- Jonathan Waxman
- Roy Yamaguchi
(Any typos are mine - sorry!)
The host is Kelly Choi, and the judges are:
Can't wait!! - Rick Bayless
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I don't think he acted like a properly trained chef at all. He was childish and his recipes were all outdated and gross.
I agree - his recipes really looked bad. Can't believe they brought him back.
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Does anyone know why this show was cancelled? It seemed very quick - I set up to DVR it in the AM and it appeared in my guide, then went to watch it instead and it was gone!
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I used to love watching "Three Sheets" on the MOJO cable channel. With the demise of MOJO I wonder if it may show up someplace else? Does anyone have any info or know if it is even still in production?
Lots of chatter on the Three Sheets mesaage board, but nothing definite.
What is three sheets? Thanks!
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I had a reservation for Per Se while I was in New York this week. I needed a dining companion, and Donbert graciously agreed to come with me
I think Donbert's got better photos than I do, but I'll post mine and he can post the better ones later!
We arrived about 10 minutes before our reservation and we seated in the lounge and offered champagne, which we accepted. After our first glass of champagne we were led to our table, where we had another glass of champagne!
We discussed the menu with our captain who was aware of my mushroom allergy and we agreed that although I was going to try the oysters and caviar, any other fish dishes would be substituted from the vegetarian's menu for me.
I asked him to pick a nice half bottle of white and one of red and to keep it at about $150.00. Donbert's got the wine info, so he'll have to post that!
We began with an amuse. A salmon cone for Donbert and a tomato one for me.
Service was extremely polished, very friendly and at no time were we rushed. In fact dinner took about 4 and a half hours. We spent a lot of time conversing with our captain about various dishes and how they were cooked. In fact, I think the kitchen might have started calling us the "dust" people, because every time a plate came out, we wanted to know what the "dust" was on the plate.
We began our chef's tasting menu with Oysters and Pearls. Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca wiht Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar.
I've never had oysters or caviar before, and this was truly the place to try them. While they wouldn't necessarily be first on my go to list at a restaurant, I wouldn't turn my nose up at this dish!
Next up was a choice of Endive Salad or Foie Gras. Like there was a choice to be made here?!
Donbert had the foie terraine, while they seared mine, as the terraine was layered with quite a bit of black truffle and we didn't want to take too many chances.
This was my favourite dish of the evening. I love foie and I love it seared and this was as excellent as you would expect from a Keller establishment:
The next course was a fish course, so for me, they substituted a Ravioli aux Fines Herbes. Inside was a soft boiled egg, leeks and a sauce soubise. I liked this one a lot
Next we had the BLT Butter Poached Lobster. This is the one dish that we felt let us down. The menu said butter poached, but we both found it hard to cut and very chewy. Donbert felt it had been sous vide'd so we asked the captain and he agreed they had done it that way. We suggested they stick to old fashioned butter poaching!
Mext was a choice of either Venison or breast of duck. I took the duck, while Donbert had the venison.
The duck was wrapped in swiss chard leaves. I liked this one, but it didn't blow me away. It sort of tasted like duck sausage.
Moving right along, was the famed Elysian Fields Farm's lamb. There is no doubt that Keller gets excellent lamb from his purveyor and it always shows in the lamb dishes. This was excellent. They insisted this wasn't sous vide'd but if that's the case, the fat caul around the lamb could have been crispier. Or even marginally crispy would have been nice. But the lamb itself was outstanding.
A couple of the breads we had with dinner. Donbert graciously shared some of his brioche with me during his fish course, but I think he's got the picture of it. I could eat Keller's brioche forever.
Finally winding down, (or so I thought), the cheese course came.
Then a lovely Mandarin sorbet:
And then a brownie, and then chocolates... I was getting full at this point. I loved this brownie. I'm a sucker for brownies, and this one didn't disappoint at all. Rich dense chocolately good.
Obviously they thought we hadn't had enough, so that brought out this very whimsical "coffee and donuts:
And finally, truffles. Oy.
When we were ready, they offered us a kitchen and wine cellar tour and presented a copy of the menu on the way out.
There's no doubt this is more than just "dining out". It's truly an experience and one I wouldn't have missed for the world. Other than the lobster, I thought it was fabulous. No doubt, Donbert will have some comments, and probably better descriptions of the food and better pics!
It looks like they've gone the way of Bouley, small, savory courses and fill you with the desserts and the end. I'd still be hungry after that meal although it looks very enticing.
This is totally French Laundry - lots of the same dishes, like the amuse, oysters and pearls and coffee and doughnuts.
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Uh Oh! I better tell my brother that before he makes white pizza with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and mozzarella.
Mushrooms are okay if they are sauteed first and dry.
Tomatoes need to be used sparingly and in small / thin pieces so the extra juice evaporates in the hot oven.
Celery?!?! who would add that to pizza?!
Peppers - only if they are roasted in my world.
My problem is with bbq sauce...It does not belong on my pizza for any reason!
Neither does pineapple, salad or pasta of any kind!
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Thanks so much for this link! I finally ordered one - can't wait to get it!! :
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I wanted to create a topic to as a potential list of professional chefs with Twitter accounts.
I follow Tyler Florence, Jamie Oliver, Daniel Patterson, Chris Cosentino.
Two other twitter accounts of note are Foodporn, and Ruth Reichl .
Its pretty fun getting updates on whats happening in the food world.
Anyone know of other food tweeters?
Shaun
@shaunbaxter
Hey - this sounds interesting, but pardon my naivete, but how do you follow someone on twitter (I only recently learned facebook where you have to be accepted as a friend)? Thanks!
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I think it's important to remember that Top Chef can be defined first as a reality tv show, and secondly as a cooking competition.
I don't remember one thing Hosea made. Honestly.
Accorting to the reunion show, he won a few. I don't remember them either! I really hope next season is better.
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This is the first reunion show I don't really care about since I barely remember the cheftestants other than the last few. The tee shirt will probably be hooty-hoo or something about monkey's ass or it's top chef not top scallop! I too agree about Jamie.
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You would think from watching the American show and the original Japanese one that they would have to have a bit of a heads up. Ocassionally the challenger has some ingredient or tool they bring with them. Funny how often the ingredient/tool/gadget matches perfectly with the theme ingredient.
This article describes the process.
Thank you so much for that! Very good article!
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Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that they are really allowed an hour of hard cooking. But they are given a list of likely theme ingredients to prep a menu around. It seems to me like they can have some basic items up and running for the battle: water simmering, stock or broth premade, etc.
I've read they are given a list of 2-3 possible theme ingredients to prepare for in advance. And they practice the menu to make sure they can bring it in under an hour.
I've also read that in fact they cook the menu twice - once for the TV taping of the cooking, and a second time for the actual judges tasting. I assume it's because the food would get cold by the time they get set up to tape the tasting portion.
Thanks so much for the clarification. That makes sense!
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I am curious, and pardon me if someone asked this before, but I have only been on this site for a couple of weeks, but how did the original ICA chefs become Iron Chefs? Michael Symon had to compete for it, but how did the rest get the Iron Chef title? Did they beat the japanese guys? Also, do they really only have an hour? It seems to me that once they get the secret ingredient they know exactly what pantry items they want and all the chefs have a specific responsibility, so something must be discussed ahead. And, BTW, I am so with you on the judges they have on this show - a football player? The judges should all be food critics, chefs, etc, but not tv personalities or sports figures, etc.
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I just don't get the "luck" aspect. He obviously outplayed all the chefs who didn't get to the finals (which, btw is another aspect of these reality contests); and then he beat the other two chefs in the final. Some call it luck; perhaps there was a bit of brains and skill thrown in there too.
I guess I mean that he didn't get into them so much for what he did well, as what others did worse.
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most disappointed I have been in the show since Ilan won...Hoser is NOT Top Chef.
Worst winner since Ilan Hall.
I have a real problem with the random elements introduced to the finale. I think the finale has been a "cook the best meal of your life," straight ahead challenge. I really didn't like the random elements which all went Hosea's way.
Casey's comments were classless. Especially if what she was saying was that Carla's cooking school wasn't very good. Utterly classless.
I so agree. This was the worst winner since Ilan and I think worse than Ilan. Hosea was lucky to be in the finale at all. Casey's comments were awful - funny since she was always the one keeping thiings together in season 3. And she lost season 3 by making the worst dishes of the finale - all her courses, as I recall and she wasn't even in the running either. Poor Carla - but isn't a sign of a Top Chef one who can also delegate to their sous chefs and stick to their guns?
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most disappointed I have been in the show since Ilan won...Hoser is NOT Top Chef.
Worst winner since Ilan Hall.
I have a real problem with the random elements introduced to the finale. I think the finale has been a "cook the best meal of your life," straight ahead challenge. I really didn't like the random elements which all went Hosea's way.
Casey's comments were classless. Especially if what she was saying was that Carla's cooking school wasn't very good. Utterly classless.
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I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed last night. I definitely think Carla should have won. But Stefan has been totally lax in his performance the last few episodes. His arrogance is overshadowing his performance. His competitive attitude with Hosea has thrown him off his game. The judges thought that Jeff's food was better than Stefan's according to what I heard. I like Stefan, but he's not been up to par and has slid through by the skin of his teeth sometimes. If they were willing to break from tradition to let Jeff in, I think in this case that they should have been willing to "break the rules" and let Jeff stay. Based on everything we saw last night, Stefan and Fabio did the worst and both of them should have gone home. I think we should have: Carla, Hosea, and Jeff in the last round. Again, I like Stefan, but he's really fallen down lately and has not really been punished for it.
I have been rooting for Stefan, but I have to say I'm over him. IMO, the competition this season is not great, but at least the other chefs are putting their heart into it. Stefan just assumes he is going to win and he's not putting in any effort and he's totally arrogant. I would like to have seen Stefan go home this week instead of Fabio. Now I find am am rooting for Carla. Hooty Hoo!!!
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There have been a few cookbook/recipe threads happening recently. I simply want to know, as a strictly academic exercise, how many cookbooks the greater eGullet commumity owns. End to end, would they circle the world?
C'mon, take a few minutes or half an hour. Post the totals here. And it ain't some friggin' contest! Many great cooks have few books, and many non-cooks own lots.
Food magazines don't count.
I'll keep a running total. Awbrig, don't forget to count the Nancy Silverton book we borrowed.
It's relaxing. Glass of wine in hand, go out there and count.
Good grief, I only have 85! I thought I had a lot of them,but I guess not!!!
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Well, I don't know if you're nuts or not, since I don't know you, but,yes, it was the other way around. Older chefs like game birds more done and the young chefs like it less done.
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OK, so I'm a happy camper that (1) Fabio didn't get chopped, and (2) actually WON an elimination challenge - with a broken finger! He won't be Top Chef, but if he makes it to the top three I will be ecstatic. You could see he was thrilled to be cooking Italian food for a paesana, and that it would be straight out of his nonna's (grandma's) playbook.
I was shocked by Stefan's misstep, but I never thought they'd send him home. Leah? Sorry, she was expendable.
And Carla continues to ROLL! You GO, Carla, girl! I thought the squab looked a little bit done, but then figured it was the lighting and the sauce. It was interesting to hear Colicchio and Pepin discuss how the old school cooks prefer game birds cooked rarer,and the younger cooks go for more done, and I was glad Pepin did not hold it against her.
I'm thinking Carla, Stefan and, yes, Fabio for the final three. I had thought Hosea was stronger initially, but he doesn't seem to have quite the technical grasp I originally thought - and brain fog seems to be setting in. Whereas Fabio, who was previously put off here and there with small elements (like avocado) seems to be undergoing a personal culinary renaissance - he's GETTING it, now.
It'd be a serious hoot if Carla took down Stefan in the final battle. He is technically a good chef and pretty creative, but Carla's classic training is finally coming out and working nicely with her off-the-wall creativity - she is rapidly becoming my favorite cheftestant EVER.
It would be a serious hooty-hoo!!!
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More and more, however, this show feels like "Top Cook"—the dishes that keep winning are never really creative, never go out on a limb, never show any chef-like qualities. They are simple food well prepared. Great. I'm happy for you, you can roast a chicken. Make something interesting!!!
Really? All the creative dishes were shot down in the quick fire.
I don't follow... I think we agree, but I'm not sure! Any time one of them tries something creative, they lose to someone doing a damned roast chicken. Being able to make a good roast chicken does not mean you are a good chef, it means you're a good cook. Whereas, being able to successfully invent a new/unique/interesting dish seems much more applicable, at least to me. Alas, none of them seem to be able to do it. Where are this year's Richard and Stephanie? Absent, IMO. All we have is a room full of decent cooks. Not a chef among them.
You are so right. Stefan keeps shining because of no competition. There is no one there that is creative at all!
Top Chef: Masters
in Food Media & Arts
Posted
I've already got my DVR programmed!!