Top Chef: Season 6 – Las Vegas

[Claudia Greco]

I don't hate Toby - he's really just your typical snarky Brit food crit. (Food criticism in Britain is more gossip columnist/mosh pit - not like the more analytical, objective and (by comparison) restrained food criticism we are accustomed to here). That aside, I was cheering to see Michelle pin his ears back by correctly pointing out that paella is, indeed, pronounced pie-EH-ya (not pie-EL-la, or as Gordon Ramsay used to say, "PY-lah"), that you do pronounce Barcelona with the slight lisp on the "c" (especially if you happen to be Castilian or taught to speak Castilian Spanish), and that, basically, since she's from Miami, she has a far better grasp of Spanish than Toby ever would. I went to British schools all my life, and I can honestly tell you that no Brit can actually correctly pronounce any word from any language other than English, no matter how fluent they might be in the other language. (Gordo's chronic mangling of "risotto" ("rizz-OTTO") always gives me apoplexy.) (Oh, and yes, while paella is Valencian in origin and there are many subsequent regional variations to it (and outside of Spain, too, like in Puerto Rico) . . .

Ron's wasn't one of them! (Poor Ron! Hadn't a CLUE, had he?)

[oakapple]

Michelle and Toby were talking past each other. Toby is right that there are a ton of foreign words that are not normally pronounced as the natives would pronounce them. We say PAIR-iss, not pah-REE, muh-DRID, not mah-DREED, FLOR-ence, not feer-EN-zay, and so forth. But he was being, I think, deliberately obtuse when he tried to get smug about the British pronunciation of Paella.

Although I prefer Jay Rayner to Toby, what's wrong with having Gail Simmons every week? She is more knowledgeable than Toby and a lot easier on the eyes.

[The Food Doc]

Well I think that was a cerviche free episode

Yeah, but can you imagine how many chefs used scallops for the Quick Fire challenge? It's like no one could think of anything more original to use for the "Angels and Demons" concept. I love scallops but that just shows a lack of imagination!

[Claudia Greco]

Oh, I agree, Toby was being pointedly obtuse, which is why I enjoyed the smackback. I would love to see Gail back every week, but maybe she has some scheduling issues, and Jay Rayner would be great, too. We can only yearn for Bourdain - I think he'd be glad to judge again, if invited, but they want him to blog, too, and he will not blog for Top Chef since they have bannered, advertising-supported blog pages. (They didn't always, back in the day.) That's why he refused to blog so, consequently, that's why he hasn't been back to judge. And Top Chef has been a little less lustrous for it. ("Your dish, while Flinstonian in execution . . ." and "He [Mike] is like the son I never had - the love child of Charles Manson and Betty Crocker . . ." I miss those bon mots!)

[gfweb]

Who the heck is this Michelle person and where's Gail?!!!

[tirgoddess]

. . . . regarding proper pronouciation . . . for llama, is it lama or yama? Always wondered, but for last nights show thought basically everyone knows that two L's together makes the Y sound . . .

[oakapple]

Who the heck is this Michelle person and where's Gail?!!!

Michelle Bernstein was the guest chef-judge, just like Tim Love last week and Daniel Boulud two weeks ago.

[gfweb]

I didn't like her. Not even when she gave that turd Toby a hard time.

I want Gail back and right now!

[mcsping]

But he was being, I think, deliberately obtuse when he tried to get smug about the British pronunciation of Paella.

Agreed. As you point out, Toby is "right" in the sense that not every single word is pronounced in the native way. It was still a dumb statement, because many words ARE pronounced in a non-Anglicized way, and "paella" is one of them. It was very "look at this clever edgy observation I'm making." Pronouncing "paella" phonetically in English is just strange and slightly confusing.

[mcsping]

Yeah, but can you imagine how many chefs used scallops for the Quick Fire challenge? It's like no one could think of anything more original to use for the "Angels and Demons" concept. I love scallops but that just shows a lack of imagination!

"It's Top Chef, not Top Scallop."

[Claudia Greco]

Oh, I thought it was Top Ceviche (!!) Enough ceviche. Enough scallops. And I hope they give tartares and carpaccio a rest, too.

[KristiB50]

...and purees

I don't remember where I read it but someone was complaining about the sides of "baby food" that are on every plate these days.

Edited September 24, 2009 by KristiB50 (log)

[oakapple]

Yeah, but can you imagine how many chefs used scallops for the Quick Fire challenge? It's like no one could think of anything more original to use for the "Angels and Demons" concept. I love scallops but that just shows a lack of imagination!

For the quickfire, they don't get to go shopping. They are limited to what is available in the TC kitchen. I wouldn't criticize the choice of scallops without knowing what else is there.

I've always wondered how this works. Padma says, "Your time starts now," and immediately everyone starts running. There must be some planning time that is not shown, where the chefs scope out the pantry and figure out what can be done with the available ingredients.

Edited September 24, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Another episode that I enjoyed. Deconstruction is fun and can be good if done well. I thought Bryan's quickfire dessert duo was pretty cool. The guest judge wasn't impressed. I didn't get to taste it so I can't disagree but I read the recipe and it sounded tasty to me. Maybe I'll try it sometime. Glad to see last weeks preview for this episode was indeed the drama edit, Jennifer's too good to go home over deconstructed lasagna.

[Dignan]

Well I think that was a cerviche free episode and Jen can cook something other than fish!

Robyn needs to go. It was luck that she won immunity but then she had to keep running her mouth about it.

I really think Ron didn't know what paella is.

And Michelle did not seem to like Toby. Does anyone? Why is he still on the show? Bring in Jay Raynor from Top Chef Masters! Bring back Bourdain! Anyone but Toby!

Robin called a rattlesnake skin a "pelt", and the snake rattle the "rattler." She said she was from Idaho, didn't she?

I think Ron knows what paella is. At one point he mentioned his "saffron broth," and saffron is an element you'd likely miss if you just thought it was fish and rice. He clearly didn't understand "deconstruct." I was imagining the others trying to explain it to him, with him only understanding that he had to take it apart somehow. Pure speculation on my part based on watching him cook his rice, but I think he just thought it meant he had to cook the elements separately them pile them back together in paella form. In other words, the cooking process was deconstructed, not the dish. No matter, it was past time for him to go, though his paella was more paella than Ash's shepherds pie was shepherds pie, that's for frickin' sure. Ash is on his last legs, too. Two botched quickfire dishes, and I don't remember him ever being on top.

Toby was brought on to out-Bourdain Bourdain and over did it. He seems more reserved now, but he's still a tool and I miss Gail for her insightful commentary. I think maybe Bravo and Bourdain split up over that Michelob thing anyway.

[Dignan]

Another episode that I enjoyed. Deconstruction is fun and can be good if done well. I thought Bryan's quickfire dessert duo was pretty cool. The guest judge wasn't impressed. I didn't get to taste it so I can't disagree but I read the recipe and it sounded tasty to me. Maybe I'll try it sometime. Glad to see last weeks preview for this episode was indeed the drama edit, Jennifer's too good to go home over deconstructed lasagna.

Aren't they all a drama edit?

[JohnRov]

Well, this may be the episode that sours me on the season. From the juvenile red bandana protest to the cancer and salad and crisp statements. On top of that one of the V brothers refusing to applaud when Robin won the quickfire. What kind of little crybabies are these chefs? I really, really could care less about any of them at this point.

Ron looked startled when Eli was telling him about the crusty layer of rice in paella, unless that was in the editing.

[Lisa Shock]

I think there are several dishes that should have a moratorium placed upon them:

caprese salad, even with watermelon

ceviche

tuna tartare

bread pudding

Or, at the very least, cheftesants should be told that such dishes carry an automatic negative point score. And, scallops should be banished from the TC kitchen....

[saturnbar]

I think Bourdain has ascended to a higher place. The vagaries of this dish or that just isn't that interesting. I get the fealing that Collichio would just assume be doing something else as well, except he can't really get away, he and the franchise are basically one at this point, and I think he is even producer.

[Peter the eater]

I think Bourdain has ascended to a higher place. The vagaries of this dish or that just isn't that interesting. I get the fealing that Collichio would just assume be doing something else as well, except he can't really get away, he and the franchise are basically one at this point, and I think he is even producer.

I'm fairly new to this show and that's precisely what I was thinking. I watched several dozen episodes this summer from various seasons, and I'm following the latest shows with enough interest not to stop. I like the hosts, and many of the contestants, but at the core it's just another Mark Burnett tv clone. It's a proven format . . . not an innovative classic.

[Shalmanese]

Well I think that was a cerviche free episode and Jen can cook something other than fish!

No ceviches but both Ashley & Jen made scallop crudos.

[Dignan]

In Jamie Whatshername From Last Season's blog she says that Whole Foods always had good scallops and not a lot of other choices, therefore a lot of scallops got cooked. Which makes me curious about the behind the scenes in a quickfire. She wasn't talking specifically about quickfires, but it made me wonder about where the stuff comes from for that part. I wonder how much shopping they do for it. There does seem to be an abundance. Anyway, it also occured to me that it might seem like a good choice of protein in a "quickfire" where you don't have a lot of time to cook. A quick sear and you're good to go. Of course, as many times as we have see them done well we have see them done poorly.

[David Ross]

It would be interesting to actually know what the Chef's do have waiting for them in the larder. Yet if we are correct that there are foodstuffs other than scallops available, isn't it really a question of the Chef's showing their creativity and presenting the absolutely best dish possible under the time constraints and limitations of the Quickfire?

If you share my opinion that it is quite reasonable for the judges to expect a very high level of innovation within the challenge-then it seems to follow that scallops, ceviche, raw tuna or pasta salad fall far short of what one should expect from a "Top Chef."

I personally don't think that slicing a raw scallop, garnishing it with a few chives, a drizzle of olive oil and serving it with a lemon wedge, (Jennifer's "Angel" portion of her scallop dish), is anything more than a pedestrian effort to race through and get the dish out to the judges.

[David Ross]

It would be interesting to actually know what the Chef's do have waiting for them in the larder. Yet if we are correct that there are foodstuffs other than scallops available, isn't it really a question of the Chef's showing their creativity and presenting the absolutely best dish possible under the time constraints and limitations of the Quickfire?

If you share my opinion that it is quite reasonable for the judges to expect a very high level of innovation within the challenge-then it seems to follow that scallops, ceviche, raw tuna or pasta salad fall far short of what one should expect from a "Top Chef."

I personally don't think that slicing a raw scallop, garnishing it with a few chives, a drizzle of olive oil and serving it with a lemon wedge, (Jennifer's "Angel" portion of her scallop dish), is anything more than a pedestrian effort to race through and get the dish out to the judges.

Let me add that I don't discount how wonderfully delicious a "Crudo" can be. Last week I tasted three different plates of "Crudo" in a local restaurant that were fabulous. Two of the crudo were especially good--one using fresh escolar, the other using geoduck clam. I use that example because a crudo can be delicious, and innovative, if the Chef uses just a bit of whimsy and uses a variety of seafood that we don't typically associate with crudo.

Scallops, not so innovative--but geoduck is a more unusual shellfish that can push a dish to a higher level. And of course, I qualify my comments by stating that I'm not aware of what the Chefs had at their hands to work with for the Quickfire. (And live, fresh geoduck probably wasn't available at Whole Foods in Las Vegas in May).

Wasn't it just a few years back that Hung did that wonderfully creative dish of geoduck and chicken? Sometimes just one ingredient or one simple technique is what separates a "Chef" from a "Top Chef."

[Dignan]

I guess what's coalescing in the foggy recesses of my brain (which actually includes most of the acreage available) is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of limitation on the ingrediants the have to use in a quickfire. Maybe to the point that it's the same range they would have for an elimation challenge? The theme, plus the prep time seems to be the limitation in both instances. But Jen in the potato quickfire cooked mussels or clams or some kind of shellfish if I recall, and garnished it with a potato broth? The edit is a mad scramble to cook, but it seems like maybe they they got more time to get their scheiss together than it might seem.