Top Chef: Season 6 – Las Vegas

[oakapple]

Poor Ash, I didn't think he deserved to go. I thought there was a lot worse dishes. If anything makes anyone think of cat food, that should be an automatic out.

Dana Cowin made the catfood comment, but she wasn't part of the final judging panel. Colicchio said on his blog that, despite what Cowin said, the dish wasn't that bad. You have to assume that the people who actually tasted the food have an advantage over those of us who only looked at it on TV. If there is any justice, Ash was the one who deserved to go. I realize that the judging isn't cumulative, but he had been in the bottom group for three of the last four weeks, and he had never been among the top.

I think for all the crap Robin is recieving she sure is hanging in there. I am surprised she made it this far cooking wise.

There is an element of luck in this show. Fortunately for Robin, when she has screwed up, someone else has screwed up worse. But I think her luck will run out soon.

I think they are keeping Micheal around for the show factor.

Most of what you call "the show factor" is not known to the judges when they make their decisions. Mike (I assume you mean Isabella) is simply better than every chef eliminated thus far. I don't see him going all the way, but by the same token, I can't think of any eliminated chef who clearly deserves to be there in place of him.

Edited October 21, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Don't the credits still include that line about the producers having some influence on the judges? Or is that gone?

[oakapple]

Don't the credits still include that line about the producers having some influence on the judges? Or is that gone?

That line is still there, but people associated with the show insist that it only comes into play in very close cases. Obviously we have only their word for that, but all of the eliminations this season have seemed correct, or at least reasonable, given what we were shown. If the producers had any say, I can't see where it led to the "wrong result" in any episode.

[tirgoddess]

Disappointed for blue team....thought that Jen would take the helm as she did on the air base episode. The bickering amognst the brothers is sad to watch. I also think that house is in forclosure....the early shots in the episode showed the pool dirty and without the fountain running.

[Claudia Greco]

I really hurt for poor Jen. She's a much better chef than she demonstrated during Restaurant Wars, and you could see her breaking down from her failures - not so much because she feared she might be going home, but because she's such a perfectionist, a classically trained chef with high standards. I hope (and am pretty sure) she'll fight back and make it to the final 3, but it was really painful watching her last night. And Robin - delivers! Man, the natural order of things really got turned upside down in this episode!

[KristiB50]

Well that was painful to watch. I felt bad for Jennifer.

I'm glad Revolt did well despite the name but Mission has to be the worst in the history of restaurant wars. Between all those chefs they couldn't make ONE dessert? And Laurine just plopping down plates in front of people with no explanation?

The right person went home imo and Robin survives another day....

[RWells]

Interesting episode. Whenever I watch this show I repeat "it's edited for maximum conflict" constantly under my breath. The predestined "stars" certainly had it handed to them. Jen is getting a little tiresome. The other thing that I have to keep reminding myself is that this is shot over a short period of time and not the one burst of activity, once a week like we see it. So a lot of the anxiety is more real than it sometimes appears. If memory serves Jen is an "executive" chef. In past seasons these people seem to struggle. Concept and menu planning is one thing, firing and plating is something else. Steaming shellfish to order? Do it all the time at home, busy restaurant, please. Everybody has been busting on Robin and she simply delivered and Mike the token scumbag simply skates as usual.

With the tease for next week I think I see how this works out. They show a tricked out Natalie Portman, cut to Mike doing his best cartoon wolf stepping on his tongue, edit to Natalie with a bitter beer face saying something about "this is just bad'. Mike poisons Natalie and is thrown off, his male piggishness and ego in tatters.

[oakapple]

I really hurt for poor Jen. She's a much better chef than she demonstrated during Restaurant Wars, and you could see her breaking down from her failures - not so much because she feared she might be going home, but because she's such a perfectionist, a classically trained chef with high standards.

To be a great chef, you also need to be a great manager. Jen obviously knows how to cook, but she seems to get frazzled just about every episode, which reflects poorly on her managerial ability. It is also possible that she's not cut out for a competition show where unexpected twists are part of the sport.

If memory serves Jen is an "executive" chef. In past seasons these people seem to struggle. Concept and menu planning is one thing, firing and plating is something else.

That may be over-simplifying, because Jen has delivered plenty of times during this season so far. The girl can obviously cook for herself. I do think that she worries herself to death.

Everybody has been busting on Robin and she simply delivered....

Robin is certainly one of the weaker remaining chefs, but like anyone on this show, there are some things she does well. There just aren't enough of them to survive the whole season.

[Ochowie]

If memory serves Jen is an "executive" chef. In past seasons these people seem to struggle. Concept and menu planning is one thing, firing and plating is something else.

Jen is not an "executive" chef as you put it. She is the chef de cuisine at Eric Ripert's restaurant in Philadelphia. I believe Preeti was the executive chef and worked at Google.

[KristiB50]

Natalie Portman is a vegan so I guess we know what that challenge will be.

Jen's anxiety gets in her way.

[LizD518]

Jen has shown that she can take command and run the kitchen - She was all over it in the Air Force Base episode. She also said to Colicchio that she got into the weeds really early, so maybe she didn't plan to steam the shellfish to order?? I also think the group over all fell prey to the idea that they all respected each other's abilities so they didn't think to question each other and the plan to each plate both dishes of each course. Whereas even though the Red team didn't appoint Mike V as the leader, he took an over-all view of the proceedings, rather than just worrying about his own portion of things and that seemed to help the group perform better as a unit. OTOH - he was a d**k to Robin and should have backed off when she was plating the desserts. And she took more offense then necessary in order "to maintain her voice" (I'm paraphrasing).

[RWells]

I respect Jen's abilities, however her abilities will not count for much if she isn't able to get her stuff together. I think the most hurtful comment that was made last night was Tom's statement, "Her mentor won't be very impressed with her now." As far as the difference between a chef d' cuisine vs. an executive chef at a Ripert restaurant I think she is the bottom line person who is not expected to hit the line very often.

I get a real kick out of the editing process that they use to form the personal dynamics of the show. The spat between Robin and the one brother followed by the underperforming brother trying to take credit for her dessert during judging certainly gives us the "bad" brother" from here on out. At the same time we have the other brother constructively intervening to push the team forward followed by his winning and then splitting his prize with the team. Which give us the "good" brother.

The Natalie Portman bit will be a repeat of the Zooey Deshanel (sp) episode on Top Chef Masters. You remember, "I'm having a birthday party for 15 of my closest friends oh and did I mention, I'm a vegan, lactose intolerant, allergic to eggs and have been known to react to lots of other foods which you will have to guess about, but otherwise knock yourselves out." Ditzy hollywood starlet who is allergic to oxygen. This the episode where Old Fried Chicken and Grits, Art Smith, was forced to buy a gallon of icky vegan nondairy raspberry ice cream(?) and make a brittle and call it dessert.

Edited October 22, 2009 by RWells (log)

[oakapple]

I respect Jen's abilities, however her abilities will not count for much if she isn't able to get her stuff together. I think the most hurtful comment that was made last night was Tom's statement, "Her mentor won't be very impressed with her now." As far as the difference between a chef d' cuisine vs. an executive chef at a Ripert restaurant I think she is the bottom line person who is not expected to hit the line very often.

I wouldn't assume that Jennifer is so far removed from the line that she can no longer do the job herself. Her results up to this point don't bear that out. She clearly can cook. Before last night, Jennifer had been in the top group for 5 of the previous 8 episodes, and fairly often in the quickfire as well (I don't have exact counts for that).

I just think that, for whatever reason, the team (not just Jennifer) misjudged the timing. Until the avalanche hit, there was no indication that any of them realized that they might have a problem. The nature of these challenges is that once you're underwater, there is very little chance of recovering.

Edited October 22, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[BKYLN]

LOL at people saying that Robin delivered. With what is basically a pear version of McDonald's apple pie with pretty holes cut in the top. Woop-de-doo!

[daisy17]

LOL at people saying that Robin delivered. With what is basically a pear version of McDonald's apple pie with pretty holes cut in the top. Woop-de-doo!

Also, during that planning session at the house, it sounded to me as though the V brothers had quite a bit of input into that dish. Cannot recall the specifics though.

Jennifer is awesome. I think she is solid and talented, and she avoids all sorts of bullshit that the others engage in regularly. She reminds me of Harold in that way.

Last night seemed to me to be the kind of situation in which the producers might heavily weigh in, and the kind that makes me wish it were a cumulative competition. Jen screwed up and I expected her to get the boot. But to have a final 4 without her in it seems not right.

[David Ross]

Jen blew it, plain and simple. Given her background, she surely knows the standing of Chef Moonen and his regard for seafood. She must have at least considered the fact that given her background and association with Chef Ripert that Chef Moonen and the judges would have expected more. Yet rather than push herself to do a more creative and challenging seafood dish, she chose a pedestrian treatment of a common trout dish.

The trout dish looked horrific, (it was kindly described as "beige"). But the presentation was merely a precursor for the tasting comments of the judges--a terrible dish with a broken sauce. I agree with the thrust of Collichio's comments about Jen's trout--that Chef Ripert would have been very disappointed in her poor effort. Her emotional reaction to the judges comments bore out the fact that she was disappointed in herself. Unfortunately, disappoint doesn't win out in the end.

Top Chef is a competition that is quite unusual and in many ways different than the day-to-day challenges the Chefs face in their restaurant kitchens. I would agree with those who say that a "competition" Chef is not necessarily a great "restaurant" Chef and vice versa. I mean really, how often will a "Top Chef" cook over an open campfire in the desert outside the Las Vegas city limits? Maybe Jen falls somewhere in the middle of that pack--a talented Chef in a restaurant setting that doesn't hold up well to the stress and challenges of a competition? I don't know, but it's a point worth considering.

However, history demonstrates each year that "Restaurant Wars" is probably the one challenge that most clearly gauges the overall abilities of the Chefs to prove themselves in the same type of environment they face every day in the "real world." Unfortunately, history also shows that each year the weak can't stand the heat of the kitchen during "Restaurant Wars" and that's often an ominous sign for the final weeks of the competition.

[hsm]

But to have a final 4 without her in it seems not right.

Padme referred to there being a Final 3. So that might be it. Or one of the brothers self-destructs. Hard for me to imagine Kevin not being there.

[Doodad]

I felt really bad for Jennifer. She is talented, obviously driven and creative. And easy on the eyes

I kept wondering if she was still feeling sick? She looked tired.

[daisy17]

But to have a final 4 without her in it seems not right.

Padme referred to there being a Final 3. So that might be it. Or one of the brothers self-destructs. Hard for me to imagine Kevin not being there.

I only said 4 because the brothers and Kevin are so strong that I want them all to be competing in the end. They can't all be unless they make a major change - the last challenge in the past has been 2 or 3 competitors, depending on the season.

[oakapple]

LOL at people saying that Robin delivered. With what is basically a pear version of McDonald's apple pie with pretty holes cut in the top. Woop-de-doo!

Colicchio has made his whole career out of doing simple things well, which sounds easier than it is. From the other side of the TV screen, we tend to admire the dishes that look pretty or that sound especially interesting, and to denigrate those that rely more on solid technique. If the judges raved about Robin's dish, I assume it was that good.

Last night seemed to me to be the kind of situation in which the producers might heavily weigh in, and the kind that makes me wish it were a cumulative competition. Jen screwed up and I expected her to get the boot. But to have a final 4 without her in it seems not right.

I think the results can be rationally explained without resort to extra-judicial meddling. Laurine provided terrible front-of-house service, and she was also indirectly responsible for the lamb, which Colicchio described as the worst dish of the night. There was nothing positive that came out of her performance. Jen screwed up in a number of ways, but cooked the halibut correctly. It was Jen's good fortune that on a day she did poorly, someone else did worse.

I agree that if the producers were going to meddle, this would have been a good time for it, as without Jen there would probably be an all-male finale (hard to see Laurine or Robin getting there). But the result made sense even without that.

Edited October 23, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[tirgoddess]

Forgot to mention that I enjoyed the blind fold challenge. It really made each chef consider all the facets that go into creating a dish. It was interesting to see each chef's approach to what was before them and their reasoning for their decisions. I hope they keep this challenge in the series. Also was glad that the scallops were dropped for the "Jen" team, it helped that they weren't prepared, but may have been a good back up move if the other protein failed.....

[Reignking]

But to have a final 4 without her in it seems not right.

Padme referred to there being a Final 3. So that might be it. Or one of the brothers self-destructs. Hard for me to imagine Kevin not being there.

Padme Amidala? She is next week

[JHeald]

While I feel for Jen as much as the next viewer, I'm particularly interested in Kevin's reaction to the judging and, as far as I could tell, Tom's final comments to each of them. When asked what the judges said, Kevin replied that he didn't want to talk about it, and that he was "really mad". My primary guess is that he didn't appreciate being told that he cooked the lamb...'horribly'...I think was the word Tom used. From the comments he made about meat temps, and his lack of reaction to being told they were not medium-rare, that is my best guess.

Any thought?

[David Crum]

I would think the reason for Kevin being angry was the undercooked lamb as it relates to Laurine being sent home. I would imagine that since he was responsible for the cooking of the lamb, even though it was not his dish, he felt partially responsible fo Laurine being sent home. I assumed when he said he was angry that he was angry with himself.

[Heartsurgeon]

has it occurred to anyone that this is a competition, and sabotage of a competitor's dish (the lamb) is certainly possible.

perhaps the lamb was undercooked on purpose?