Top Chef Season 5

[GordonCooks]

just because she doesn't drink that doesn't mean she does know wine. I'm sure she has plenty of knowledge about how wine works. You can enjoy wine without being a drinker.

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That's a bit of stretch. I would equate that with looking at pictures and descriptions of a great meal vs actually eating one in the restaurant.

[rconnelly]

just because she doesn't drink that doesn't mean she does know wine. I'm sure she has plenty of knowledge about how wine works. You can enjoy wine without being a drinker.

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That's a bit of stretch. I would equate that with looking at pictures and descriptions of a great meal vs actually eating one in the restaurant.

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What I meant was - just because she doesn't drink socially it doesn't mean she doesn't taste wine or has never tasted wine.

[oakapple]

Last night I looked up the web site of Fabio's restaurant. I was a bit surprised as maybe I was expecting more.

The menu reads typical red and white tablecloth Italian fare found anywhere in small town USA.

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Just to give the benefit of the doubt...perhaps he has rotating specials that aren't shown online. Also, my understanding is that he owns more than one restaurant, and perhaps the one you looked at isn't his flagship.

Mind you, I think the difficulty of doing standard Italian cuisine really well is often underestimated. A typical put-down is, "It's a red-sauce joint," as if there were something intrinsically wrong with that.

[oakapple]

What I meant was - just because she doesn't drink socially it doesn't mean she doesn't taste wine or has never tasted wine.

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Yeah, but I don't think anyone could be really adept at pairing food with wine without deep experience. The range of flavor possibilities is too vast.

[ulterior epicure]

Last night I looked up the web site of Fabio's restaurant. I was a bit surprised as maybe I was expecting more.

The menu reads typical red and white tablecloth Italian fare found anywhere in small town USA.

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Just to give the benefit of the doubt...perhaps he has rotating specials that aren't shown online. Also, my understanding is that he owns more than one restaurant, and perhaps the one you looked at isn't his flagship.

Mind you, I think the difficulty of doing standard Italian cuisine really well is often underestimated. A typical put-down is, "It's a red-sauce joint," as if there were something intrinsically wrong with that.

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Agreed.

He does corporate catering, which probably limits him in some way. That is, I'm sure he's not able to indulge his creative/authentic Italian side as much he might like.

[KensethFan]

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.

[plattetude]

One thing popped out at me about last night's show. Carla decided to depart from the rest of the contestants and make a non-alcoholic cocktail/drink for the event, explaining to some of the guests that she doesn't drink and often ends up drinking water when attending parties or other events. However, early in this episode she's seen raising a glass of champagne along with the other contestants which came in a goodie basket provided by the Louisiana tourist board I think. She wasn't actually seen drinking it though.

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I'd expect the goodie basket was provided, at least in part, by the producers, given the extremely prominent shots of the Korbel (read: product placement). The fairly staged "toast" was probably required for all of them.

Christopher

[Tess]

My question is can someone actually be a top chef and not drink alcoholic beverages at all? In particular I'm thinking that chefs at the top of their game should have some expertise on how to flavor foods with wine or other spirits and especially need to be knowledgeable about how different wines pair with their finished dishes. Just asking since I have no idea.

I know several people that don't drink in the sense of consuming significant alcohol, but cook with wine and have tasted plenty of wine. In some cases they used to drink, in others they never tolerated alcohol well or whatever.

No idea what the case is with Carla but hey, she won in New Orleans!

[oakapple]

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.

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Colicchio explained all of this on his blog. Unfortunately, there are factors weighing in the decision that sometimes don't make it into the final edit. The judges/producers felt that since Jeff had already been eliminated once, and the others had not, he had to meet an extra burden to make it to the final. That seems like a reasonable rule, and having announced it, there could be no principled justification for changing it at the last minute.

Colicchio also explained why, objectively, Fabio's dish was worse than Stefan's, which meant that Stefan stayed and Fabio went home. I've said this before, but there's a huge element of luck, and Stefan has gotten lucky two weeks in a row. But remember, there were plenty of times that Carla got lucky.

[KristiB50]

.  The judges thought that Jeff's food was better than Stefan's according to what I heard.

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According to Toms blog Jeff was never in the running as his oysters tasted like Sterno.

He said the judges all commented on it but apparently the editors wanted us to think he had a chance.

[Reignking]

.  The judges thought that Jeff's food was better than Stefan's according to what I heard.

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According to Toms blog Jeff was never in the running as his oysters tasted like Sterno.

He said the judges all commented on it but apparently the editors wanted us to think he had a chance.

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I think this explains Stefan's "Is something burning?" comment that was never explained. Poor editing.

[rconnelly]

What I meant was - just because she doesn't drink socially it doesn't mean she doesn't taste wine or has never tasted wine.

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Yeah, but I don't think anyone could be really adept at pairing food with wine without deep experience. The range of flavor possibilities is too vast.

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Pairing wine and food and cooking wine and food are two separate isssues.

I'm a great cook. i love a good wine. But to say I know how to a certain wine with a certain food, I wouldn't even try.

I drink what I like....

[divalasvegas]

What I meant was - just because she doesn't drink socially it doesn't mean she doesn't taste wine or has never tasted wine.

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Yeah, but I don't think anyone could be really adept at pairing food with wine without deep experience. The range of flavor possibilities is too vast.

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Yes oakapple that's what I was trying to say, but you nailed it far more succinctly than I could. Again, taking into consideration my very limited understanding of wine, I would assume that wine appreciation/pairings is an ongoing learning experience the subtleties of which would be quite difficult for someone to master even if they used to drink wine. I just remember Carla saying quite definitively "I don't drink" and seemed to exclude doing so even in social settings.

[divalasvegas]

What I meant was - just because she doesn't drink socially it doesn't mean she doesn't taste wine or has never tasted wine.

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Yeah, but I don't think anyone could be really adept at pairing food with wine without deep experience. The range of flavor possibilities is too vast.

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Pairing wine and food and cooking wine and food are two separate isssues.

I'm a great cook. i love a good wine. But to say I know how to a certain wine with a certain food, I wouldn't even try.

I drink what I like....

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Me too! What a relief, I'm not alone.

[oakapple]

I think this explains Stefan's "Is something burning?" comment that was never explained.  Poor editing.

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Poor or brilliant, depending on one's viewpoint. If the idea was to give the impression that all five were still in the running, they succeeded. Edited February 19, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[rickster]

What I meant was - just because she doesn't drink socially it doesn't mean she doesn't taste wine or has never tasted wine.

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Yeah, but I don't think anyone could be really adept at pairing food with wine without deep experience. The range of flavor possibilities is too vast.

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Yes oakapple that's what I was trying to say, but you nailed it far more succinctly than I could. Again, taking into consideration my very limited understanding of wine, I would assume that wine appreciation/pairings is an ongoing learning experience the subtleties of which would be quite difficult for someone to master even if they used to drink wine. I just remember Carla saying quite definitively "I don't drink" and seemed to exclude doing so even in social settings.

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Carla runs a catering company so I would guess the need to have a lot of experience matching wine would not be so important. Or else one can use a wine expert/sommelier to assist.

[Holly Moore]

What combination of events leads to food in a chafing dish picking up the taste of sterno, especially in a very large venue?

[divalasvegas]

I think this explains Stefan's "Is something burning?" comment that was never explained.  Poor editing.

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Poor or brilliant, depending on one's viewpoint. If the idea was to give the impression that all five were still in the running, they succeeded.

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Oh well, I guess I've been naive enough to think that if a judge/judges present glowing comments on a contestant's food, they actually mean it. May be it's just me, but to tell someone to their face and on national television, how much you adored their dish and how much they nailed it only to later state on your blog how the dish tasted like sterno is not just misleading or poor editing, it's LYING and unnecessarily hurtful as well, in my book. Oh Tom, how so very tacky.

[oakapple]

Apparently the whole cast was in New York last night, where they attended a "viewing party" at Tom Colicchio's new casual restaurant Halfsteak, which occupies the front room at Craftsteak. A blogger for New York ran into Stefan and several others at a bar 3:00a.m., where he was just as arrogant in person as he is on TV.

I am not sure how Bravo justifies the cost of flying the whole cast in and putting them up in New York just two watch a 75-minute episode in Colicchio's restaurant, but hey, whom am I to say? I'm sure Colicchio was glad to have the seats in his restaurant occupied, but there were probably cheaper ways of doing that, e.g., just give the food away.

[rconnelly]

I think this explains Stefan's "Is something burning?" comment that was never explained.  Poor editing.

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Poor or brilliant, depending on one's viewpoint. If the idea was to give the impression that all five were still in the running, they succeeded.

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Oh well, I guess I've been naive enough to think that if a judge/judges present glowing comments on a contestant's food, they actually mean it. May be it's just me, but to tell someone to their face and on national television, how much you adored their dish and how much they nailed it only to later state on your blog how the dish tasted like sterno is not just misleading or poor editing, it's LYING and unnecessarily hurtful as well, in my book. Oh Tom, how so very tacky.

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I'm sure they told him - at least that's how I read it on the blog (now that i can get on Bravo again.)

[oakapple]

Oh well, I guess I've been naive enough to think that if a judge/judges present glowing comments on a contestant's food, they actually mean it. May be it's just me, but to tell someone to their face and on national television, how much you adored their dish and how much they nailed it only to later state on your blog how the dish tasted like sterno is not just misleading or poor editing, it's LYING and unnecessarily hurtful as well, in my book. Oh Tom, how so very tacky.

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My understanding, and Colicchio has said as much, that if you heard the entirety of their comments it would seem much more balanced, but sometimes significant pieces are lost in the editing. I've read elsewhere that the whole Judges' Table sequence sometimes goes on for hours of real time, of which we get about 10 minutes.

If the "sterno taste" was a factor in their decision, I cannot conceive of a reason for them not to have said so. But I can conceive of a reason for the producers to have omitted that in the editing, if they were trying to maximize the suspense over who would be going home.

[Claudia Greco]

Is it just me, or has Stefan crossed the line from being merely arrogant to full-bore obnoxious?

[Reignking]

If the "sterno taste" was a factor in their decision, I cannot conceive of a reason for them not to have said so. But I can conceive of a reason for the producers to have omitted that in the editing, if they were trying to maximize the suspense over who would be going home.

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That's what Tom says happened.

[divalasvegas]

If the "sterno taste" was a factor in their decision, I cannot conceive of a reason for them not to have said so. But I can conceive of a reason for the producers to have omitted that in the editing, if they were trying to maximize the suspense over who would be going home.

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That's what Tom says happened.

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Yes, yes I totally understand that this show is, as are all "reality tv" shows, heavily edited. But what I'm trying to say is a couple of things:

1) that the divide between the judges' comments as aired on how stellar Jeff's dish was and the blogged comments that it tasted like sterno is vast. In other words, how in the world would a judge be able to begin to heap that kind of praise on anything that in any way tasted like fuel in the first place?

2) secondly, I guess I'm just putting myself in Jeff's place as to how I would feel (actually Jeff was shown commenting on feeling good about the positive response to his dishes) initially receiving such praise only to later discover on a blog that my dish was anything but wonderful. I understand the soulless producers trying to maximize the suspense but still, IMHO, a crappy way to treat a person nonetheless, which I know happens all the time on these shows.

Yes, I really AM that sensitive; just a big 'ol mound of human marshmallow fluff.

Edited February 19, 2009 by divalasvegas (log)

[daisy17]

Is it just me, or has Stefan crossed the line from being merely arrogant to full-bore obnoxious?

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It's not you. He is an ass.

I'm amazed at Carla's performance in the past few episodes. I'm happy for her, but surely not convinced that she should win the competition.