Top Chef Season 4

[et alors]

Am I the only one heartbroken about no restaurant wars? It's my second favorite challenge of the season (the first being the final hoedown.)

I'm watching both Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef and it's day and night. HK is petty and people there can't seem to cook an egg-- I can't believe Gordon would give any of them a job as prep cook much less run of his restaurants. Meanwhile every season of Top Chef has better chefs... this season could be Next Iron Chef (yes, I am a junkie.) I really believe they like their fellow contestants, and they love cooking and they got the chops. I want to eat at all their places.

My money is also Richard vs. Dale, though I think Stephanie or Lisa could pop in, which would make me happy as Girl vs Boy is always cheering. I'd love to someday see girl vs. girl, but with Richard being such a consistently strong contender, I won't put money on it this season.

[Daniel]

My favorite line was when someone told Spike his fish was excellent or really good and Dale said "It should have been, he spent 3 hours on it"

I think Spike is too aware of the camera and too aware of himself.. He doesnt seem to be all that good of a cook..

It seems like that other guy, Spike's roomate, is the next to go..

Edited May 9, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[handmc]

Nikki deserved to go. When they broke into teams and hubby said that that he wanted itlalian Nikki was all knowing and then she steps in at Judge's table and says no way, there is no way I was executive chef. B.S.! no wonder Dale was pissed.

It appears the Cake bakers got a pass this week which is why grumplestillskin (Lisa) did not go home. I am really tired of looking at her sour face.

Richard was decent to pass the win to Stephanie that was a class move. Richard always appears to enjoy what he is doing even when he is tired. He reminds me a lot of Jose Andreas.

I still would not count Andrew out of this yet. In addition to being a character he appears to be able to cook quite well on his own. I think he is the dark horse. Culinary boner - you have to love that. This guy really enjoys his work and I think probably translates to his food. He strikes me along the lines of a Mike Symon and while irreverant still knows what he is doing.

Dale while solid appears to cook at the level of the people he is working with. While he "banged it out" it was not that good according to the judges. He should be able to stand alone if he wants the top spot. Not complaining and breaking things would be a plus as well. If things don't go exactly his way he tends to approach the task "as work" and the quality appears to suffer.

[Zeemanb]

Okay, after this episode I have to say....I'm confident enough in my masculinity to admit my man-crush on Richard....

[dockhl]

Okay, after this episode I have to say....I'm confident enough in my masculinity to admit my man-crush on Richard....

←

He has gotten much more appealing as his personality has been revealed.

[Daniel]

The one chocolate cake was pretty fugly.. But to bang out a wedding cake that pretty was amazing.. I am assuming she bought the icing at the Chef's Warehouse or whatever that place is called.. But still its looked really pretty..

Richard seems to be a really nice guy and I am happy to see that his cooking has been received well.. My one experience at Element in Atlanta was not a good one.

Edited May 9, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[tammylc]

Richard seems  to be a really nice guy and I am happy to see that his cooking has been received well.. My one experience at Element in Atlanta was not a good one.

←

Whereas my experience there was great, so I've been rooting for Richard from the beginning!

[Doodad]

My daughter's graduation present is dinner at Richard's new place. That is what she wanted; hope to see you there Richard.

[rconnelly]

Okay, after this episode I have to say....I'm confident enough in my masculinity to admit my man-crush on Richard....

←

He has gotten much more appealing as his personality has been revealed.

←

I agree. At the beginning I didn't like him at all - to slick or something - but he a great chef, shows leadership and respect for others and is confident without being cocky.

But i'm still rooting for Steph. She's all of the above but perhaps not quite as experienced as Richard.

Hope it goes down to the two of them

[JohnRov]

Regarding Restaurant Wars- hasn't that been a 3 person per team challenge in the past? Maybe it's coming up two episodes from now.

[stealw]

Is it me, or does the winners of HK seems to receive a "better" reward for winning. Comparing skill level it is night and day, if any of the contestants were to swapt it would be obvious of the outcomes...

Anyways, casting call for next season of TC going out real soon.

[Kevin72]

But i'm still rooting for Steph. She's all of the above but perhaps not quite as experienced as Richard.

Hope it goes down to the two of them

←

My Stephanie crush makes me want her to win still, but I think it's become more clear lately that Richard has the natural leadership and confidence that Stephanie lacks. When in team formats Richard rises to the lead every time and it's unquestioned. Stephanie soldiers through and lets someone else handle the politics. She certainly not as averse to it in the way Nikki is, but I think that ultimately that's what could feasibly give Richard the win over her.

[R Washburn]

Is it me, or does the winners of HK seems to receive a "better" reward for winning. Comparing skill level it is night and day, if any of the contestants were to swapt it would be obvious of the outcomes...

←

HK is on a major network. TC is basic cable, so it must have a much smaller budget.

[arbeck]

On the surface the winner of HK gets a better reward, but I don't know that what they get is truly better. They get to be the executive chef of a Vegas restaurant. They never disclose what the salary is. I'm under the impression the HK winner is basically a figurehead who does nothing for a certain contracted period of time. If your goal in life was to have a do nothing job for 3 or 4 years, HK is probably better for you.

[tmgrobyn]

Also need to chime in and say how much I am lurrving Richard! He is such a class act. The value of a true leader shows in their team and Richard is such a great leader. I was impressed with his ability to step up and choose the bride's side, knowing it would be the most difficult. Still they soldiered through, finish well, and Richard giving his win to Steph was impressive. No tthe best cake I've seen, but the best done in less than 24 hours. Accck. I don't even want to think about doing that ever!

Dale took it in the short with the knife draw and he sulked his way through the challenge. Not the best way to go, but he did survive. Thank goodness. Nikki deserved to go home. She took the lead with her statement "we are so on the same page Mr. groom." or something to that effect. I think she was somewhat set-up by the "Italian" choice of her groom, and her team let her have it. Dale's line "why are some people still here?" was for her and Lisa.

Richard's choice of brisket was brilliant. But then again, we're southerners and knew that would win this challenge. It is easy to goof up, but their menu looked pretty good. Except Andrew's chicken choice, when will they learn? I thought the corn dog experiment would have taught them all that lesson!

[The Flame]

Everyone complaining about no restaurant wars episodes haven't been paying attention the past seasons! Restaurant wars are when there are 6 contestants left. It is teams of 3. In 2 weeks I guarantee we will have the restaurant wars episode.

[Qwerty]

The only thing that concerns me is that Tom, or Padma, can't remember, said something to the effect of "instead of doing a restaurant wars, this year we decided to...."

So it sounds like they might forgo it this season. I hope not though they were great episodes.

[Dignan]

The only thing that concerns me is that Tom, or Padma, can't remember, said something to the effect of "instead of doing a restaurant wars, this year we decided to...."

So it sounds like they might forgo it this season. I hope not though they were great episodes.

←

Here's an episode list. The episode which airs 5/21 is called Restaurant Wars. Relax.

[et alors]

The only thing that concerns me is that Tom, or Padma, can't remember, said something to the effect of "instead of doing a restaurant wars, this year we decided to...."

←

Here's an episode list. The episode which airs 5/21 is called Restaurant Wars. Relax.

←

Yep, I recall them saying wedding wars INSTEAD of restaurant wars, so clearly they are yanking the contestant's chains (and ours.)

The HK prize is always referred to as a salary of 200K, so roughly double winning TC assuming the winner can keep themselves from being fired. BUT with strings attached, obviously.

It's the elimination winners I feel sorry for; one week a trip to Italy, the next some cookware, the next survival. Not exactly fair. But, as everyone has taken a turn at pointing out, Bravo are sponsor ho's, so if one week no one is ponying up I guess the elimination winner has to be satisfied with another shot at fame and fortune.

BTW, I forgot to mention earlier that I have eaten at Public and eaten at CoCo500. I thought Public was excellent but uneven, but CoCo500 was really terrific with great flavor combinations, excellent execution and a sense of humor that didn't get in the way of the food.

I'm sad Jennifer went down because I know her food and I think she could have made it to the final 4, maybe the final two....

Has anyone else eaten at other of the chef's joints, other than Richard's?

[lucylou95816]

I am so rooting for Dale to go home....anyone with that attitude needs to get a grip and calm down. I don't like him. Richard, as stated above, a class act! Did not really care for him up until this point. I am glad that Stephanie is getting some good kudos..she's probably the strongest of the women, and I really really want a chick to win this one, it's about time.

[Dignan]

The only thing that concerns me is that Tom, or Padma, can't remember, said something to the effect of "instead of doing a restaurant wars, this year we decided to...."

←

Here's an episode list. The episode which airs 5/21 is called Restaurant Wars. Relax.

←

Yep, I recall them saying wedding wars INSTEAD of restaurant wars, so clearly they are yanking the contestant's chains (and ours.)

The HK prize is always referred to as a salary of 200K, so roughly double winning TC assuming the winner can keep themselves from being fired. BUT with strings attached, obviously.

It's the elimination winners I feel sorry for; one week a trip to Italy, the next some cookware, the next survival. Not exactly fair. But, as everyone has taken a turn at pointing out, Bravo are sponsor ho's, so if one week no one is ponying up I guess the elimination winner has to be satisfied with another shot at fame and fortune.

BTW, I forgot to mention earlier that I have eaten at Public and eaten at CoCo500. I thought Public was excellent but uneven, but CoCo500 was really terrific with great flavor combinations, excellent execution and a sense of humor that didn't get in the way of the food.

I'm sad Jennifer went down because I know her food and I think she could have made it to the final 4, maybe the final two....

Has anyone else eaten at other of the chef's joints, other than Richard's?

←

I've seen it said more than once that the elimination winners get prizes, but that they aren't always included in the end edit of the show for whatever reason.

[laurelm]

I've seen it said more than once that the elimination winners get prizes, but that they aren't always included in the end edit of the show for whatever reason.

That is weird, seeing as we all know how product placement/advertising "friendly" Top Chef is, so you would think they would always include the prizes, since they are from sponsers. Or maybe it is just the chef ones, they leave out, like spend a summer at my restaurant...

[jesteinf]

Has anyone else eaten at other of the chef's joints, other than Richard's?

I went to Stephanie's place in Chicago (Scylla) once and it was fantastic. Many of the dishes combined meat and seafood in some pretty interesting ways (she did a monkfish and sweetbreads dish that was fantastic). She sold the restaurant (apparently) to go on the show).

[plattetude]

The HK prize is always referred to as a salary of 200K, so roughly double winning TC assuming the winner can keep themselves from being fired. BUT with strings attached, obviously.

Well, winning $100k free and clear versus being on a payroll for $200k a year isn't really apples-to-apples. I can imagine situations where the former would be preferable, especially if you're a chef who wants to open your own restaurant rather than work in someone else's kitchen.

Christopher

[tmgrobyn]

I watched the show again this morning. Did anyone else noticed Stephanie's mentioning that maybe they should split the gift. I wonder if it will be split among the whole team or just her and Richard?