Top Chef: Season 3

[kalypso]

I haven't worn a sash or badge since Girl Scouts....although I do vaguely recall getting some kind of cooking badge...wonder if my mom still has it...

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Ah, but did you notice how those sashes and heavy medals just seem to accentuate the - ahem - assests of one of the club members

Did anyone else find it odd that no one, not the poor misguided chefs doing dessert, Chef Tom, Warren G or the gaggle of gourmands seemed to remember that fresh pineapple is one of the fruits (along with papaya) that will prevent gelatin from setting. It wasn't the friggin powdered gelatin (and what the heck is Knox if not powdered) that prevented the panna cotta from setting, it was the pineapple!! To me that was a major faux pas that should have gotten Sara sent home, not Camille.

Edited July 12, 2007 by kalypso (log)

[Darcie B]

Did anyone else find it odd that no one, not the poor misguided chefs doing dessert, Chef Tom, Warren G or the gaggle of gourmands seemed to remember that fresh pineapple is one of the fruits (along with papaya) that will prevent gelatin from setting.  It wasn't the friggin powdered gelatin (and what the heck is Knox if not powdered) that prevented the panna cotta from setting, it was the pineapple!!  To me that was a major faux pas that should have gotten Sara sent home, not Camille.

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Excellent point! It even says on Jello boxes not to use fresh pineapple juice! I don't know if it says that on the Knox box tho...but it's pretty common knowledge.

[TAPrice]

Bartenders are now called "mixologists"? OK.....

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Bartenders have been mixologists since at least 1856, when the word was coined.

[Reignking]

Did anyone else find it odd that no one, not the poor misguided chefs doing dessert, Chef Tom, Warren G or the gaggle of gourmands seemed to remember that fresh pineapple is one of the fruits (along with papaya) that will prevent gelatin from setting.  It wasn't the friggin powdered gelatin (and what the heck is Knox if not powdered) that prevented the panna cotta from setting, it was the pineapple!!  To me that was a major faux pas that should have gotten Sara sent home, not Camille.

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Really? I've ever made a gelatin-fruit concoction, so I've never come across that, but that seems very important. I have to give you credit for that -- maybe they should edit the episode to include that fact. God knows they use voice overs for most of the elimination, anyway.

[tejon]

Did anyone else find it odd that no one, not the poor misguided chefs doing dessert, Chef Tom, Warren G or the gaggle of gourmands seemed to remember that fresh pineapple is one of the fruits (along with papaya) that will prevent gelatin from setting.  It wasn't the friggin powdered gelatin (and what the heck is Knox if not powdered) that prevented the panna cotta from setting, it was the pineapple!!  To me that was a major faux pas that should have gotten Sara sent home, not Camille.

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I was thinking that exact same thing. You can't use fresh pineapple with gelatin! The enzymes break everything up and it won't gel at all.

[JohnRov]

Oh, the bling and the sashes! I laughed out loud to myself every time they showed those pretentious twits on TV! It was too much to take. Are they knighted? The episode wasn't bad, the deserts were pathetic, but how could you forget to add salt when you underseasoned the tuna?

[KristiB50]

Was there pineapple in the panecotta(or whatever it ended up being) or was there just a pineapple topping?

The judges said it just tasted like cream.

[KristiB50]

Bourdain is guest blogging for Tom this week

http://www.bravotv.com/blog/tomcolicchio/2...est_blogger.php?

[BryanZ]

Wow, those people looked like such douches.

Camille was not a good cook.

The shrimp plate looked pretty damn good.

That is all.

[I_call_the_duck]

From Tony Bourdain's blog:

It's not freaking FILET MIGNON for Chrissakes! ... If you're hoping only to dodge the bullet (or fly beneath the radar) it's a smart move but you ain't dazzling Colicchio (of a little operation called Craft STEAK) by managing to properly sear filet. Tom could train a chimp to do that -- and likely has. Many times.

Would have been even funnier if Hung was on the beef team, seeing that he talks about his monkey all the time.

[tmgrobyn]

I haven't worn a sash or badge since Girl Scouts....although I do vaguely recall getting some kind of cooking badge...wonder if my mom still has it...

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Ah, but did you notice how those sashes and heavy medals just seem to accentuate the - ahem - assests of one of the club members

Did anyone else find it odd that no one, not the poor misguided chefs doing dessert, Chef Tom, Warren G or the gaggle of gourmands seemed to remember that fresh pineapple is one of the fruits (along with papaya) that will prevent gelatin from setting. It wasn't the friggin powdered gelatin (and what the heck is Knox if not powdered) that prevented the panna cotta from setting, it was the pineapple!! To me that was a major faux pas that should have gotten Sara sent home, not Camille.

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EXACTLY! I mentioned this to my husband. I couldn't believe that not one person figured out why the panna cotta wasn't setting up. Please!

Also... I love the juxataposition of Bourdain in all of this. He adds a new dimension to the competition as a viewer and judge. It has made it a much better season already!

Edited July 14, 2007 by tmgrobyn (log)

[foodie52]

Tre in Austin a couple of weeks ago. Some of us got to go out with him after the class. (I prepped one of his sauces...) He's closed-mouthed about the outcome, of course, but did tell everyone that Food Network has contacted him ...and that he doesn't ever put on a bathing suit and swim in ANY episode!

[tmgrobyn]

I totally envy you Foodie52! Not just hanging with Tre but being able to be at Central Cooking School with him! What fun. And what a great picture!

[KristiB50]

Lately it seems the editing reveals who will go....I knew it was Lia but was hoping it was going to be Caseys cough syrup over dried chicken and mushy rice.

And Sara has no confidence in her food. Why is she even there?

The other Sara(not the guac girl) made her own cheese. I'm surised she wasn't one of the finalists as people were raving about her dish

I would have liked to have seen Hung go home only because his arrogance was annoying. Plus he said, "if I can't cook rice I might as well go home right now." and then his rice was dry.

Also running around the kitchen with a knife and a cleaver bothered me.

Joey is right-Howie needs to step away from the pork and do something else. I'm glad those two seem to have buried the hatchet. Although I'm sure the editors will find more controversy somewhere

Tre has fallen to the middle. I'm a little disappointed.

So far only female cheftestants have been eliminated. I was hoping there would finally be a female Top Chef but it doesn't look like it's going to happen as I feel the remaining women don't seem strong enough.

Edited July 19, 2007 by KristiB50 (log)

[laurelm]

I was kind of surprised at last night's elimination, I thought the girl who made guacamole should have gone home, My guess is Liaa's dish must have been really bad and had fundamental things wrong with it (I.e. soggy polenta)

Hung needed the reality check- his defensive nature towards his cooking is annoying. He obviously is a great chef, but he should take some things as a lesson and learning experience.

[KristiB50]

Is smoked trout and polenta even Latin? Maybe that was one of the deciding factors.

Edited July 19, 2007 by KristiB50 (log)

[wkl]

"So far only female cheftestants have been eliminated"

not true. first chef eliminated was a guy. i don't remeber his name. he was the one who talked about his dad committing suicide.

[KristiB50]

Ohhh that's right.

OK but since then we've had what-4 women in a row?

I'm not saying they didn't deserve to go. Especially the disaster that was Micah. I'm just wondering why women don't seem to be as strong contenders as men?

[wkl]

well, i was suprised lia got he axe last night. i think she's a good cook.

better than the cheese maker, the mohawk guy, and joey.

btw, wasn't the latino cast raving or at least pretty happy with hung's dish? i seem to remember lots of compliments around the table.

casey should have gone last night.

[rconnelly]

well, i was suprised lia got he axe last night. i think she's a good cook.

better than the cheese maker, the mohawk guy, and joey.

btw, wasn't the latino cast raving or at least pretty happy with hung's dish? i seem to remember lots of compliments around the table.

casey should have gone last night.

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I don't think so. The one comment I remember was a woman commenting on how dry it was.

And no one really made mole? what's up with that? Mole can go so many ways; maybe they should all come on down to Tucson to learn how it can be done.

Edited July 19, 2007 by rconnelly (log)

[wkl]

wasn't sara going to make mole, but didn't because of the time constraint?

[Kevin72]

I was really surprised and a little sad to see Lia go. I thought that she'd be able to go the distance. Collichio and someone else also "defended" her stuff, which led me to believe she wasn't going, whereas Casey seemed to get roundly criticized for her efforts, particularly again by Collichio. And I guess you shouldn't take previous contests into account, but when you consider that last week Lia won and Casey was in the bottom again, it just seemed like she warranted another chance.

[Morgan_Weber]

Is smoked trout and polenta even Latin? Maybe that was one of the deciding factors.

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Well, people have been smoking fish for thousands of years as a preservation method. I would venture out and say, though I have not done the specific research, that people on the Yucatan Peninsula smoke fish...they do just about everything with fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn

Corn got developed in Mesoamerica...my opinion is if it came from there, I don't care what form it is in, it can be attributed to that culture. If corn had never been developed in Mexico, other cultures wouldn't have been able to add their own flare to it.

According to Wikipedia, boiled cornmeal has been seen in certain forms in Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela, although it is a "staple in Northern Italy".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta

[Reignking]

wasn't sara going to make mole, but didn't because of the time constraint?

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That was Casey, who had to try something else and ended up with the coffee-molasses sauce.

[JohnRov]

Hung is annoying. For each dish, he says, "well, this and that always work together, so it has to be good". He has a theory, apparently can't pull off the execution, and then attacks the judges. How can you learn anything without improving on your shortcomings. I'd like to see him go just so I don't have to hear him whine anymore.

I thought Howie got short-changed on the prize. It may have been a nice bottle of wine but others get more prestigious prizes.