Top Chef : Season 7 - Washington, D.C.

[Reignking]

Various blogs have picked up on this tidbit -- that the next season of Top Chef is filming in DC, in April. I can't believe we have to wait so long for the next one! I guess the other Top Chefs will have to do.

http://events.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/dining/reviews/17rest.html

He had been in Washington, too, where he will film the next season of “Top Chef,” the cooking competition on Bravo for which he is chief judge.

HOST'S NOTE -- Links to previous Top Chef Seasons on the eGullet Forums:

Season 1: San Francisco

Season 2: Los Angeles

Season 3: Miami Beach

Season 4: Chicago

Season 5: New York

Season 6: Las Vegas

[dhardy123]

Don't forget Top Chef Masters Season 2 starts April 7th.

[Reignking]

The cheftestants' bios are out:

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-7/bios

[KristiB50]

I'm happy they replaced that awful judge Toby Young with Eric Ripert. At least that's how it looks on the website.

[GwennP]

Any word on an air date?

[ChefCrash]

Any word on an air date?

June 16th

[pogophiles]

Excellent. Good to see a Nashville chef get a shot. Arnold Myint is a hoot!

[GwennP]

Great!! Thanks!

[Pierogi]

I'm happy they replaced that awful judge Toby Young with Eric Ripert. At least that's how it looks on the website.

Oh Lord, one can only hope........not only is Eric pretty damn fine to look at, he KNOWS food and is articulate and gracious. Not like pissy Toby.

[Chris Hennes]

The date has finally arrived: tonight at 9 Eastern season 7 kicks off. I'm especially looking forward to having Ripert as a judge. And I'm ever hopeful that they come up with a way to make these early episodes interesting, at a point when there are WAY too many contestants to keep track of.

[Reignking]

There's a fantasy Top Chef game on the Bravo web site.

[BadRabbit]

I know that a true brunoise is very difficult with onions but did anyone see a contestant actually doing anything close. They all looked to me to just be cutting onions into fine shreds. None looked even approximately square much less 1/8 by 1/8.

Edited June 17, 2010 by BadRabbit (log)

[ChickenStu]

The ones that were doing it properly were probably the ones that didnt finish.

[Chris Hennes]

Right, it definitely looked like what Tom was really looking for was a "fine chop" not a "brunoise." Can't say that I was sorry to see John go, he had a weird vibe (maybe just a victim of the editors, I suppose). Anytime a chef of TC makes something that I could make at home, I figure they are doomed. Pre-made puff pastry and whipped cream? Say what?

[BPBNY]

That dude jon was the scariest man i have ever seen on top chef. The eyes...THE EYES!!!

[MattyC]

That dude jon was the scariest man i have ever seen on top chef. The eyes...THE EYES!!!

Ha ha that's what I was saying the entire episode to my friends ' Holy shit he has crazy eyes!'. He reminded me of a crazy hippie I met once back up in northern Maine.

I still can't believe recipe girl - did you really need your recipe right in front of you?

I know people seem to think Angelo is too cocky already, but I like him, and I like his style.

[BadRabbit]

I don't understand the whole "I'm going to take a risk and do a desert" mentality. It virtually never works. It generally just reduces the risk that you'll be around for the next episode.

Oh, and I too was glad John is gone. He looked like what me and the wife refer to as a "bodystacker."

Edited June 17, 2010 by BadRabbit (log)

[IndyRob]

The level of entrants continues to rise, it seems. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I understand that the popularity has made it a high stakes affair, but I thought the show was originally about the dreams of up and coming chefs.

This season we have two sous chefs and an assistant professor at a culinary school - all the rest appear to be executive chefs or chef/owners. Of course the publicity is valuable, but weren't they already in a much larger competition with much higher stakes?

Plus, I'm not sure how the line between Top Chef and Top Chef masters is determined (stars and/or rosettes?).

I also miss the odd home cook thrown in as an underdog.

[ChickenStu]

In the first couple seasons the contestants, for the most part, were sous chefs and the like, not owners and executive chefs like recent contestants.

There have been enough seasons of top chef now that people shouldn't make the dumb mistakes. Clearly john (the cat in the hat) thought that a dessert would set him apart enough.

Do this many cooks really have that much trouble with desserts? Or is it just a curse...

[BPBNY]

i dont get it at all. I've done nothing but savory for 11 years. In the past 6 months i've taken an interest in recreating my dessert menu to something i think is fantastic using basic pastry techniques any chef should know and using the knowledge of flavor profiles. It shouldnt be that hard to do an amazing dessert for top chef. Memorize a basic sorbet recipe, ice cream recipe, cake recipe and use flavors that are intriguing.

[Reignking]

The level of entrants continues to rise, it seems. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I understand that the popularity has made it a high stakes affair, but I thought the show was originally about the dreams of up and coming chefs.

This season we have two sous chefs and an assistant professor at a culinary school - all the rest appear to be executive chefs or chef/owners. Of course the publicity is valuable, but weren't they already in a much larger competition with much higher stakes?

Plus, I'm not sure how the line between Top Chef and Top Chef masters is determined (stars and/or rosettes?).

I also miss the odd home cook thrown in as an underdog.

And that professor has worked in plenty of kitchens...

[Dignan]

Jon looks like something Robert Crumb drew.

[BadRabbit]

The level of entrants continues to rise, it seems. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I understand that the popularity has made it a high stakes affair, but I thought the show was originally about the dreams of up and coming chefs.

This season we have two sous chefs and an assistant professor at a culinary school - all the rest appear to be executive chefs or chef/owners. Of course the publicity is valuable, but weren't they already in a much larger competition with much higher stakes?

I also miss the odd home cook thrown in as an underdog.

I agree. It seems odd to have so many contestants who are former James Beard nominees or with gold plated resumes including work under Balud, Ducasse, et. al. It's no longer about giving a chance to chefs who are unknown and underappreciated. These people are already recognized in the field and fairly successful.

Then again, maybe this was always the intention for the show. It may have just been harder to get the top notch talent before the show was so popular.

Edited June 17, 2010 by BadRabbit (log)

[Chris Hennes]

I agree about "recipe girl" too, and with the judges' astonishment that she would openly brag about how she was making a low-fat LIVER MOUSSE!! It's not like the judges on TC have ever commented that they wished the food was lower fat. Colicchio owns a steakhouse! And there is no shortage of butter and foie gras on the menu at Le Bernardin.

It seems to me that this early in the competition, there is no reason whatsoever to take risks of any kind, be it making a dessert, or making a "light mousse." Let the losers wash themselves out for a few elimination challenges, see who the competition is, and try to avoid screwing up.

[oakapple]

I don't understand the whole "I'm going to take a risk and do a desert" mentality. It virtually never works. It generally just reduces the risk that you'll be around for the next episode.

Yes, especially as the show is not exactly new any more. Presumably they've watched some of the earlier seasons, and should have a sense of what NOT to do. But this guy didn't seem to be the brightest bulb on the tree.

The mistake is not doing a dessert, per se. Some Top Chef contestants have done terrific desserts over the years, and there actually was another dessert this episode that was just fine (it's mentioned on the Bravo blog), which they didn't have time to feature on the show.

No, the mistake was doing something—anything—that he considered a "risk". In the early weeks of the season, there's almost always a chef who screws up really badly. Just don't screw up, and you're going to be alive for one more week.

Later on, you need to take some chances, because the remaining chefs are all good, and you can get sent home for being merely mediocre. But in Week 1, all you need is something very safe that is prepared correctly, and you cannot lose.

i dont get it at all. I've done nothing but savory for 11 years. In the past 6 months i've taken an interest in recreating my dessert menu to something i think is fantastic using basic pastry techniques any chef should know and using the knowledge of flavor profiles. It shouldnt be that hard to do an amazing dessert for top chef. Memorize a basic sorbet recipe, ice cream recipe, cake recipe and use flavors that are intriguing.

If you've spent the last six months working on desserts, nevertheless I'll bet your savory work is better. I mean, if it's not, then it suggests your 11 years of experience at savory didn't really matter very much. Now, this guy, we don't even know if he's put in the six months at desserts. The fact that he said "he's taking a risk" suggests, on some level, that he was stepping outside his usual comfort zone.

Edited June 17, 2010 by oakapple (log)