Top Chef Season 5

[Chris Hennes]

I bet if Jill defended her -very poor dish- better she would've stayed. Ariane was the one who definitly needs to go.

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Agreed - I would not have been sorry to see any of the losers yesterday go home. I don't have a good feel for the top yet, but the bottom is clarifying, IMO. In a few weeks we should be down to a pretty good crew: hopefully it will make for some good battles.

[Kevin72]

Most of the contestants ended up making some kind of sausage, which is fine, except it was called a hot dog challenge. Yes, I'm being pedantic. Still...

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No, I totally agree. It wasn't until halfway through the battle that I realized that they had to actually make the friggin' things.

Good main challenge. I'm really over Ariane already and hope she isn't this season's Nikki (? the caterer last year who got bounced on wedding challenge).

[gfweb]

I only caught the last half, so I'll say more when I see it all.

One comment: it surprised me that Padma was so disgusted by the avocado dessert. Maybe it was done badly, but it doesn't seem that unusual.

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Maybe Padma is emulating Gordon Ramsay... She'll start saying "F... me" soon.

[wkl]

Maybe Padma is emulating Gordon Ramsay... She'll start saying  "F... me" soon.

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if padma starts saying that, i'm guessing ratings go thru the roof.

[FoodMan]

Maybe Padma is emulating Gordon Ramsay... She'll start saying   "F... me" soon.

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if padma starts saying that, i'm guessing ratings go thru the roof.

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LOL...you beat me to it.

[rconnelly]

I agree with you on the naming of the quickfire, especially when they called out one cheftestant for using *gasp!* store-bought hot dogs. Unless they were given a more complete explanation off-camera.

I also got the impression that one of the factors that went into Jill's elimination was her incoherent defense of her performance, which is one of the reasons I like this show.

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agreed. If she had sounded the least bit coherant she would still be there. Plus, it's always going to be a pressured situation.

That's the name of the game......well actually it's Top Chef but you know what I mean.

[skoolpsyk]

I only caught the last half, so I'll say more when I see it all.

One comment: it surprised me that Padma was so disgusted by the avocado dessert. Maybe it was done badly, but it doesn't seem that unusual.

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Same here; avocado mousse sounds yummy! we love avocado shakes!

[Tri2Cook]

[On a sidenote, is there any practical reason to peel an apple with a knife? Isn't a peeler always more efficient? Should I be working on dexterity with a paring knife?]

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For me personally, I find peeling apples, pears, potatoes, etc. much easier with a knife than with a peeler. Maybe it's just a matter of what a person is used to.

[Reignking]

If you've watched past seasons, there's never been a foreign chef as a winner. So start thinking the Italian or the Finnish chef's as your choices. The Euro boys sure can cook 

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I can't even recall if they have had foreign chefs before. It isn't as if they said "You know, we finally got a female winner last year, so now we need to fill the foreign quota."

[chezcherie]

One comment: it surprised me that Padma was so disgusted by the avocado dessert. Maybe it was done badly, but it doesn't seem that unusual.

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i thought it was the lemon curd and "cherry surprise" dessert that made her wretch. (it appeared that those cherries came from a can of pie filling---SURPRISE!!)

[Chris Hennes]

I can't even recall if they have had foreign chefs before.  It isn't as if they said "You know, we finally got a female winner last year, so now we need to fill the foreign quota."

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Plus, as we've discussed in the past, even if that is what the producers and Bravo are thinking, and despite the legalese at the end of each episode, it definitely seems like the judges are not influenced by it. The most the producers could do is "stack the deck" in their favor, ultimately the "best" chef (in some sense) is going to come out on top.

[382]

Agreed - I would not have been sorry to see any of the losers yesterday go home. I don't have a good feel for the top yet, but the bottom is clarifying, IMO. In a few weeks we should be down to a pretty good crew: hopefully it will make for some good battles.

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The bottom is so low this season. It would be great to break with tradition and dump more than one cheftestant per show and possibly not cutting someone on other shows. I am really tempted to skip the show for a couple of weeks as the dead wood is pruned.

[Reignking]

Yeah, they could've eliminated Jill for that disgusting hot dog she made. I think it was wrapped in rice paper and lettuce?

[FoodMan]

One comment: it surprised me that Padma was so disgusted by the avocado dessert. Maybe it was done badly, but it doesn't seem that unusual.

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i thought it was the lemon curd and "cherry surprise" dessert that made her wretch. (it appeared that those cherries came from a can of pie filling---SURPRISE!!)

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It was, she spit that one out. The avocado one also illicited some strong comments from her though. I love Avocado shakes and mousses as well...odd that she thought it was such a horrible idea,

[tino27]

If you've watched past seasons, there's never been a foreign chef as a winner. So start thinking the Italian or the Finnish chef's as your choices. The Euro boys sure can cook 

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I can't even recall if they have had foreign chefs before. It isn't as if they said "You know, we finally got a female winner last year, so now we need to fill the foreign quota."

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Apparently New Zealand is now considered domestic. What about Mark from last season?

Clicky clicky

[Septemberdog61]

So far , so good.

Loved the first episode. Nice to see my neighborhood representing Greek Cuisine.

[Dignan]

If you've watched past seasons, there's never been a foreign chef as a winner. So start thinking the Italian or the Finnish chef's as your choices. The Euro boys sure can cook 

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I can't even recall if they have had foreign chefs before. It isn't as if they said "You know, we finally got a female winner last year, so now we need to fill the foreign quota."

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Yes, they had an fella from down under last year. That's foreign. And Sara the year before was from Jamaica.

Edited November 21, 2008 by Dignan (log)

[Lisa Shock]

Season 2 had Suyai Steinhauer from Oxford England and Elia Aboumrad from Mexico City, Mexico.

[plattetude]

The post said "foreign winner" not "foreign contestant." None of the top chef winners, or even finalists (though Elia made it to the final four, as I recall), have been non-US citizens.

Christopher

[Dignan]

The post said "foreign winner" not "foreign contestant."  None of the top chef winners, or even finalists (though Elia made it to the final four, as I recall), have been non-US citizens.

Christopher

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But Reignking said in his follow-up post that he did not recall whether there had been foreign chefs on the show before. So people are remembering for him.

[Darren72]

It was, she spit that one out. The avocado one also illicited some strong comments from her though. I love Avocado shakes and mousses as well...odd that she thought it was such a horrible idea,

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I don't recall her thinking it was a bad idea, just bad execution. Maybe I am not remembering it correctly.

[emmalish]

It was, she spit that one out. The avocado one also illicited some strong comments from her though. I love Avocado shakes and mousses as well...odd that she thought it was such a horrible idea,

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I don't recall her thinking it was a bad idea, just bad execution. Maybe I am not remembering it correctly.

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That's what I thought too. Or maybe just not innovative enough. I got the impression she thought the chef wasn't trying very hard because she had immunity.

[gfweb]

I've been thinking about vinaigrette and whether it is an emulsion. I think that the answer is "it depends".

Shaking oil and vinegar alone doesn't make an emulsion since it separates almost immediately. If an emulsifying agent of some sort is added then it would be an emulsion. So some vinaigrettes are emulsions and some aren't and Stephan was wrong anyway, because he is an ass.

[Chris Amirault]

In any classic sense a vinaigrette should be an emulsion for sure, and with smug Stephan pushing his Europeaner-than-thou holiness on the prole Yanks, it was a stupid (and it would appear drunken) thing to say. I expect more smug, stupid, and drunken from Stephan, but if he saves that behavior for the apartment and doesn't try to shave anyone's head, he contends.

Like a lot of people, my money is on him, Fabio, and Gene: those three clearly have the chops and appear so far to have ice in their veins in the kitchen.

Is anyone else noticing that quite a few people already seem to be cracking and shaking at judge's table?

[Tri2Cook]

All in all, I completely agree with the judges on the second episode elimination challenge. Weak. Although the pressure of the moment probably does have it's influence, it's really not a valid excuse with a day to plan, shop and prep, a night to think it through and the Craft kitchen to work in. Would "it was a really busy night and there were some high profile guests in that night" be an excuse for sending subpar food in their own restaurants?