Top Chef: New Orleans

[David Ross]

Episode #1 was somewhat underwhelming, but the early episodes are never an indication of who will endure to the final rounds. I kept running through my mind all the wonderful possibilities of using turtle meat.

[gfweb]

That diluted dashi was a head scratcher. I can't imagine he never had to chill down a soup before. Ice in a Glad bag perhaps? Or maybe they aren't a sponsor this year.

[David Ross]

That diluted dashi was a head scratcher. I can't imagine he never had to chill down a soup before. Ice in a Glad bag perhaps? Or maybe they aren't a sponsor this year.

God what an abomination that was. If they guy has the title of head Chef anywhere, then shame on the sap who hired him. As Tom said, you know this is Top Chef you know this is a competition why would you do that. Water down a delicate dashi with ice? Goodbye.

[huiray]

So - episode 2 with gumbo (an overnighter of a QF) & food trucks (EC; they serve Habitat for Humanity volunteers). I suppose the latter tied in with Padma Lakshmi having those two food truckers try out for a TC spot in an episode of her "Padma's Picks" sequence.

I enjoyed this recap from Grub Street, in which the reviewer put in this little throw-away bit:

So far, New Orleans is not getting the best PR: According to Top Chef Season 11, it is a place where you stand in swamps, drink sugar, and eat bugs, and then every few years, your house blows down.

Heh.

Edited October 11, 2013 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

Some news that is closely related to Top Chef:

http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/magical-elves-considers-sale-options-exclusive-1200600644/

[annabelle]

That Grubstreet article is painful to read. Could the author be any more precious? Blech.

[huiray]

That Grubstreet article is painful to read. Could the author be any more precious? Blech.

Oh, I dunno.....I thought it entertaining. :-)

[Shalmanese]

I'm sure the chef who was sent home is a perfectly nice guy but the entire time he was on the screen, I could not help but think "goddamn, that man is an aryan super soldier".

[lindag]

I'm sure the chef who was sent home is a perfectly nice guy but the entire time he was on the screen, I could not help but think "goddamn, that man is an aryan super soldier".

I disagree, I thought he just came off as a dick.

[Jaymes]

It was amusing to me that the chefs/judges pretty clearly were extremely irritated at the notion that, because he "looked like a surfer," he could use that instead of his cooking skills.

We all know that there are some gorgeous chefs out there, but they're not supposed to so openly and obviously rely on their looks over their cooking skills.

Right, Tyler Florence?

[ElsieD]

That Grubstreet article is painful to read. Could the author be any more precious? Blech.

I thought it was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing.

[annabelle]

That's fine, Elsie. It's just not my style.

[lindag]

I don't care what anyone else says, Padma is bloody gorgeous; I'd go drinking with her. And I'm not into girls.

[gfweb]

I don't care what anyone else says, Padma is bloody gorgeous; I'd go drinking with her. And I'm not into girls.

My PITA meter goes off whenever I see her. Looks very high maintenance and not worth it.

People I know who know her, say she's very nice, though.

[annabelle]

I haven't even bothered to watch this season yet. I meant to get caught up last week, but read the promo about food trucks and thought, "Gawd. Again with the food trucks?" And Habitat for Humanity sounds great in theory, but the homes they build are rife with problems. My father was a commercial and residential builder and watching some of their volunteers use tools makes me wish they had a nurse on site.

(Gail > > Padma.)

Edited October 13, 2013 by annabelle (log)

[Brown Hornet]

The early episodes of any Top Chef season are always a drag -- and this season is no exception. I don't have any real favorites yet, although Carrie has exhibited some of qualities shared by the chefs I tend to root for. I am glad that they went ahead and got Gumbo out of the way in the early episodes.

[Jaymes]

Loved the idea of preparing something wonderful using a trend that is so over and so annoying.

However, I always have and always will love smoked foods, and bacon, and some of those dishes with the egg on top really looked terrific.

But the kale thing. It's probably just me; I never did get the obsession with kale. No surprise that the two worst dishes were kale something. Kale salad, and a fried kale concoction. Glad it was kale that sent somebody home.

As a southern girl that grew up eating all sorts of greens, I think there's a reason why kale was such a late arrival to the Greens Party.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Jaymes (log)

[Shelby]

Patty is a crier lol.

I can't believe all those guys didn't taste that seasoning. Weird.

[Jaymes]

Patty is a crier lol.

I can't believe all those guys didn't taste that seasoning. Weird.

It is weird, isn't it. I'd think that even if Emeril or Paul or somebody equally fabulous had mixed up some of their Cajun seasoning and handed it to you and you were sure it was perfect, you'd still taste your dish to be sure it had salt (after all, a great many seasoning mixes don't include salt), and to be sure you had used enough of it.

But, especially since it wasn't Emeril or Paul mixing up the seasonings, how could you just put it into your finished dish and make no effort whatsoever to determine whether or not it was sufficient in every way.

[Shelby]

Patty is a crier lol.

I can't believe all those guys didn't taste that seasoning. Weird.

It is weird, isn't it. I'd think that even if Emeril or Paul or somebody equally fabulous had mixed up some of their Cajun seasoning and handed it to you and you were sure it was perfect, you'd still taste your dish to be sure it had salt (after all, a great many seasoning mixes don't include salt), and to be sure you had used enough of it.

But, especially since it wasn't Emeril or Paul mixing up the seasonings, how could you just put it into your finished dish and make no effort whatsoever to determine whether or not it was sufficient in every way.

I think they all wanted to be eliminated. That is the only possible reason lol.

When I cook I always taste it. Automatically. Multiple times.

[gfweb]

Letting a stranger of unknown ability make the critical spice mix....Just amazing on a culinary level and on a life level. Not tasting it or doing a test fish...bizarre. They were all morons.

[Jaymes]

Letting a stranger of unknown ability make the critical spice mix....Just amazing on a culinary level and on a life level. Not tasting it or doing a test fish...bizarre. They were all morons.

And, although nobody has yet exhibited any streaks of meanness, what would stop a particularly ruthless "cheftestant" from saying, "Here, you go; perfect spice mix," but, in fact leaving out a few key ingredients from the spice mix that he gave to others.

[Brown Hornet]

As a southern girl that grew up eating all sorts of greens, I think there's a reason why kale was such a late arrival to the Greens Party.

Agreed that Kale is overused right now, but I love braised Kale -- especially in the winter. It always seems more flavorful than standard greens.

Still, the folks getting Kale as the ingredient definitely got jammed. It was a good challenge in concept, but completely unbalanced. They didn't really take advantage, but the people getting "smoked" had a big leg up since you can smoke just about any ingredient and make it work in a dish.

[Jaymes]

As a southern girl that grew up eating all sorts of greens, I think there's a reason why kale was such a late arrival to the Greens Party.

Agreed that Kale is overused right now, but I love braised Kale -- especially in the winter. It always seems more flavorful than standard greens.

Still, the folks getting Kale as the ingredient definitely got jammed. It was a good challenge in concept, but completely unbalanced. They didn't really take advantage, but the people getting "smoked" had a big leg up since you can smoke just about any ingredient and make it work in a dish.

Well, of course our greens are always very flavorful.

Thanks to the bacon, of course.

Somebody should have done a dish of kale and smoked bacon with an egg on top.

[Brown Hornet]

As a southern girl that grew up eating all sorts of greens, I think there's a reason why kale was such a late arrival to the Greens Party.

Agreed that Kale is overused right now, but I love braised Kale -- especially in the winter. It always seems more flavorful than standard greens.

Still, the folks getting Kale as the ingredient definitely got jammed. It was a good challenge in concept, but completely unbalanced. They didn't really take advantage, but the people getting "smoked" had a big leg up since you can smoke just about any ingredient and make it work in a dish.

Well, of course our greens are always very flavorful.

Thanks to the bacon, of course.

Somebody should have done a dish of kale and smoked bacon with an egg on top.

I've actually made that exact dish for brunch -- and it is fantastic! A perfect side dish with shrimp and grits.

I also live in the south and in my world "braised greens" always infers that said greens are first sauteed in rendered fat from some cured or smoked pork product prior to braising.

Back to TC -- I'm still not really into the season (it always takes a 4-5 episodes to get going) but I think Carrie or Nina might be my early favorites. So far the women seem to be outclassing the men by a fairly wide margin.