Top Chef: Season 6 – Las Vegas

[PopsicleToze]

Looks like an interesting group, but this is the second time in the series that people have actually bled onto the food while in a competition.  I'm sorry but that is wrong.  If the food couldn't be used due to their competence, then the bloody food should not count as a successful completion of the project.

←

I don't think the cheftestant in question actually bled into the food. Things like this happen, she/he (Can't remember at the moment) took care of it and moved on. Just like you would if you were on the line (it's happened to me). Hell I did it with people watching (we have/had a 16 place table in the kitchen) me. I felt it as soon as I did it, removed myself from the line - bandaged it up, put a glove on and returned to what I was doing. And didn't so much as have a drop of blood anywhere on the line or in food for that matter.

←

Great that you could work through the pain and adjust so quickly. However, in this case, I didn't see the cheftestant in question stop for a moment to do any bandaging, and I did see dripping blood.

Rhonda

[Dignan]

Looks like an interesting group, but this is the second time in the series that people have actually bled onto the food while in a competition.  I'm sorry but that is wrong.  If the food couldn't be used due to their competence, then the bloody food should not count as a successful completion of the project.

←

I don't think the cheftestant in question actually bled into the food. Things like this happen, she/he (Can't remember at the moment) took care of it and moved on. Just like you would if you were on the line (it's happened to me). Hell I did it with people watching (we have/had a 16 place table in the kitchen) me. I felt it as soon as I did it, removed myself from the line - bandaged it up, put a glove on and returned to what I was doing. And didn't so much as have a drop of blood anywhere on the line or in food for that matter.

←

Great that you could work through the pain and adjust so quickly. However, in this case, I didn't see the cheftestant in question stop for a moment to do any bandaging, and I did see dripping blood.

Rhonda

←

As she continued to work, you can see that she's wearing a glove over it, so at some point they did stop and bandage it. I saw another glove on someone at some point, but I don't remeber whether it was the same segment.

[PopsicleToze]

Okay Okay

[skipper10]

I really didn't like Michael Isabella - sexist and sneering.

←

According to today's Washington Post live chat many Washingtonians share your opinion and say they will never ever patronize Zaytinya again, despite the fact that they like the restaurant. However, Mike's boss Jose Andres simply advised him not to read blogs. Duh!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9081902382.html

Well, perhaps, one should give up JA's restaurants too...

Skipper

[scubadoo97]

The deep fried steak was indeed a WTF moment

He said his vice was smoking. Never said what he smokes

[Chris Hennes]

I really didn't like Michael Isabella - sexist and sneering.

←

According to today's Washington Post live chat many Washingtonians share your opinion and say they will never ever patronize Zaytinya again, despite the fact that they like the restaurant. However, Mike's boss Jose Andres simply advised him not to read blogs. Duh!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9081902382.html

Well, perhaps, one should give up JA's restaurants too...

Skipper

←

From the article:

"I'm a very sarcastic person," Michael Isabella told me this morning. The news that some viewers are upset with his comment (to fellow contestant Jennifer Carroll of Philadelphia) is "disheartening," he says. "I've been friends with Jen since before the show."

[...]

Did he mean what he said, though? Isabella says he doesn't. "Half my staff is female," he says.

So, maybe he only plays a schmuck on TV... as usual, I'm perpetually distrustful of the TC editors, who do their best to take comments out of context for sensationalism's sake. Sarcasm on camera is probably not such a great idea: out of context, it sure doesn't always look like it.

[markemorse]

If you are in Atlanta, and want to try that deep-fried steak...

Hector Santiago and Top Chef: cigars, women and fried steak

If you’d like to judge for yourself, head over to Pura Vida tonight, where the special is … Top Chef promo music here, please … deep-fried steak in a smoky brine for $11. Owner (and Hector’s lovely wife) Leslie Santiago tells me the plan is to offer a special of whatever Hector cooks on Top Chef each week from Thursday through Monday nights.

At least he has had more time to tinker with it...

←

We ate there in June, Santiago was in the restaurant but not in the kitchen. We didn't have any deep-fried steak, but what we did have was just OK. Sounded much more interesting on the menu than it was in the mouth. Great space, though, and really good cocktails....

[kismet59]

The current crop of Top Chef contestants have a few potential stars and a couple of folks who look completely out of their element.

Bravo’s choice to increase the contestant pool from 12 to 17 means “Middle of the road” contestants are going to take longer to get to know. With only an hour a week, if they don’t do something completely stupid or amazing sublime, they are just not going to get the airtime

Having just one episode to judge by I will go out on a limb and pick my early favorites:

Jennifer– Works for the most technically perfect chef I have ever seen, Eric Rupert and pays great attention to detail. – Achilles’ Heal – The clock will beat her.

Kevin – Really surprised me with his interpretation of the challenge. He almost has to be a favorite – each season the winner of the 1st elimination challenge has gone on to win the whole thing. - Achilles’ Heal – He may just be to smart for his own good.

Bryan – Great knife skills, economy of movement, great game face. He didn’t do great the first week but he’s one to watch. Achilles’ Heal – His brother.

Eli – I like him just because he looks like a devilish little monkey and he knows his way around a kitchen. Achilles’ Heal - He looks like a devilish little monkey.

[LizD518]

So far this week the women look like the much weaker team. Too bad Ashley made the panna cotta instead just concentrating on one dish - the judges liked her original dish.

One thing has been bugging me for a while - and not just on this season - everyone seems to describe theor dish with the phrase "a little". As in, I took a little Artic Char and paired it with a little blah blah blah... "A little" is the current "like" or "dude". Drives me nuts...

[Chris Hennes]

Yeah, no surprises this week, I don't think my estimation of any of the chefs really changed. I still think this is the strongest group yet, but we'll need a couple more weeks to eliminate the lower tier regardless. After that, I think things will heat up...

[TAPrice]

Completely petty of my (and hypocritical of me because I'm constantly butchering foreign languages), but could someone tell Jennifer that "ceviche" is a Spanish word and that final vowel is not silent.

Overall, this looks like a strong group with a few obvious clunkers. Guess we'll just have to wait a few weeks for the judges to thin the herd. Then the real games can began (unless, of course, someone good does something stupid).

[Claudia Greco]

I think Jesse will be the next to go. Jennifer, Kevin, Bryan and Michael - all strong contenders. Two James Beard nominees and a chef who works under Ripert MUST be treated seriously!

[Doodad]

Completely petty of my (and hypocritical of me because I'm constantly butchering foreign languages), but could someone tell Jennifer that "ceviche" is a Spanish word and that final vowel is not silent.

Overall, this looks like a strong group with a few obvious clunkers. Guess we'll just have to wait a few weeks for the judges to thin the herd. Then the real games can began (unless, of course, someone good does something stupid).

←

Don't you think that is a hipster affectation like vege? That was my take on it.

[KristiB50]

I think Jesse will be the next to go.  Jennifer, Kevin, Bryan and Michael - all strong contenders. Two James Beard nominees and a chef who works under Ripert MUST be treated seriously!

←

I agree. I had to roll my eyes and laugh when Jesse started to cry in front of the judges.

I think the men vs women idea is lame.

And I think whining about a possible challenge (we're in Vegas so there has to be a wedding challenge and I'm gonna hate it cuz I can't get married!") is lame.

Edited August 27, 2009 by KristiB50 (log)

[rickster]

Completely petty of my (and hypocritical of me because I'm constantly butchering foreign languages), but could someone tell Jennifer that "ceviche" is a Spanish word and that final vowel is not silent.

Overall, this looks like a strong group with a few obvious clunkers. Guess we'll just have to wait a few weeks for the judges to thin the herd. Then the real games can began (unless, of course, someone good does something stupid).

←

Don't you think that is a hipster affectation like vege? That was my take on it.

←

My take was that it might be the way they pronounce it in her and Ripert's kitchen as sort of a shorthand, "One order of the scallop cevich'"

[Chris Hennes]

According to my copy of The Food Lover's Companion her pronunciation is an acceptable one, though not the first listed.

[gfweb]

Completely petty of my (and hypocritical of me because I'm constantly butchering foreign languages), but could someone tell Jennifer that "ceviche" is a Spanish word and that final vowel is not silent.

Overall, this looks like a strong group with a few obvious clunkers. Guess we'll just have to wait a few weeks for the judges to thin the herd. Then the real games can began (unless, of course, someone good does something stupid).

←

Hey she's from Philly. I've heard cevich a few times around town. Kind of a Tony Soprano pronounciation. Want some cevich with your gabagool?

[TAPrice]

Did anyone else notice the subtle product placement? In the stew room, there were cases of Stone beer on the shelves.

Last season in New York, I seem to remember that they were always drinking Brooklyn beer (is this right? Do others remember this?).

Any idea why they would have Stone for Vegas (other than the possibility that Stone paid them or provided free product). Does Stone has a connection to Vegas? Is there no local brewery in Vegas?

And in previous seasons, were the contestants drinking local beers in the stew room? If they were, I never noticed it.

[skipper10]

What does person's sexual preference have to do with cooking? I found yesterday's discourse into cheftestant's inability to get married totally out of place.

We live in a world with lots of issues and there are multitudes of forums to discuss them. If I understand correctly, Top Chef is about food and cooking. When I eat dinner in a restaurant or take a cooking class all I want is good food or good instruction, the last thing I care about is the chef's sex life or marital status.

I find laws forbidding or preventing gay marriage unfair. If there is ever a referendum on gay marriage in my state I will vote for it, but if Bravo continues to weave in unrelated subjects to cooking into Top Chef shows, and the shows are as boring as they were last year, I may decide to vote with my thumb on the flicker.

In episode 2 they singled out three gay females, are they going to single out other minority groups in next episodes? What a waste of time! Whole Foods and kitchen equipment seem to have more shots than actual cooking. On Top Chef I want to see cooking. I want to hear cooking discussion. I want to hear judges talk. Those judges are probably the highest paid people in the world considering the number of seconds they appear on the air.

Skipper

[Claudia Greco]

I think Jesse will be the next to go.  Jennifer, Kevin, Bryan and Michael - all strong contenders. Two James Beard nominees and a chef who works under Ripert MUST be treated seriously!

←

I agree. I had to roll my eyes and laugh when Jesse started to cry in front of the judges.

I think the men vs women idea is lame.

And I think whining about a possible challenge (we're in Vegas so there has to be a wedding challenge and I'm gonna hate it cuz I can't get married!") is lame.

←

Right. I agree it must bum out the gay cheftestants to have to cook for a ceremony in which they cannot participate, but as a chef, it's about the food, the event, the challenge. Ashley (?) could've pretended it was for HER wedding - that had a lot of men attending.

[Tri2Cook]

Completely petty of my (and hypocritical of me because I'm constantly butchering foreign languages), but could someone tell Jennifer that "ceviche" is a Spanish word and that final vowel is not silent.

←

Don't you think that is a hipster affectation like vege? That was my take on it.

←

My take was that it might be the way they pronounce it in her and Ripert's kitchen as sort of a shorthand, "One order of the scallop cevich'"

←

If they were in Canada, it would resolve itself. "One order of scallop cevich, eh?".

I'm perpetually distrustful of the TC editors, who do their best to take comments out of context for sensationalism's sake.

←

I agree. For all we know they were having a fun conversation in which they were teasing each other and he said "So what, you're the pastry chef right?" and she said "Yeah, now go mop the floor donkey." and the editors just pulled a convenient segment out to get the drama flowing. Either way, she didn't seem too worried about it so I don't know why so many others are. I've never understood the need to be offended for people who are not themselves offended.

[TAPrice]

Any idea why they would have Stone for Vegas (other than the possibility that Stone paid them or provided free product). Does Stone has a connection to Vegas? Is there no local brewery in Vegas?

And in previous seasons, were the contestants drinking local beers in the stew room? If they were, I never noticed it.

←

I talked to Stone. They don't pay for placement, but they will provide free products to a show (kind of no brainer, really). Because of their location, they're popular with Hollywood types. When Top Chef Masters shot in L.A., Stone donated some beer. The producers asked them to do the same for the Vegas show.

But what about in earlier seasons? Any signs of regional craft beers before the New York season?

Edit: Apparently Stone shows up a lot in "Weeds" (personally, I don't have those fancy cable channels). Again, it was just a case where the crew behind the show really liked their beer (and I guess found a way to get some free).

Edited August 27, 2009 by TAPrice (log)

[CtznCane]

I agree with those who say this season is the best collection of chefs. I think as of now I'd have Jennifer, Kevin, and the brothers V as the top 4. Another 4 good. 4 not sure of and 3 that will go relatively soon.

The first two eliminated seemed clear cut. Too bad the women are getting eliminated quickly and I'd have to say that Preeti and Jesse look like the next couple to go.

As for Ashley's whining, give me a break. If her sexuality influences the desire (or lack of) for who she cooks for she won't last long. Maybe we'll get lucky and next week they will have to break off into pairs and she draws Michael.

[Tri2Cook]

The Bravo site sucks for putting the macaron recipe in video format instead of print and then only allowing it to be viewed within the U.S.

Ok, I'll eat my words... found the print version. Bravo rocks!

One final edit: they semi-rock. They do post the recipes but you have to be some kind of psychic to find them unless you happen to find a direct link on someone's blog or something.

Edited August 27, 2009 by Tri2Cook (log)

[scubadoo97]

If they were in Canada, it would resolve itself. "One order of scallop cevich, eh?".

Thanks for the laugh