Top Chef 16: Kentucky

[Lisa Shock]

The first episode aired on December 6, I can't believe it just snuck up on me! Luckily, I have On Demand. Look for episode 1 to repeat on Thursday night, the 13th followed by episode 2.

 

This season takes place in Kentucky, and apparently will be heavily influenced by horse racing and bourbon. Fifteen chefs appear in episode one, and there appears to be a good mix. Many of them are from the American mid-west and almost all have worked under some big names. Only one is a personal chef.

 

IMO, both the quick-fire and main challenges were fair, and each chef got to showcase their personal style a bit.

 

Clips from future episodes show a lot of bourbon, hundreds of barrels of it, and a big change to restaurant wars.

 

LCK is back and well worth watching. The only comment I will make here is that certain issues with under-doneness could have been avoided with different pans. High-sided pans are not the way to go on the oven, unless you're braising, or trying to contain a large volume of liquid.

[chileheadmike]

I'm torn on this one. I kind of want to watch because it's local. But I really dislike TC. I saw the 1st episode. I'll probably watch the 2nd and go from there. 

[nonblonde007]

Am I the only one who thinks Padma seriously loses cred for dressing so blatantly sexual?  She has many times before, but for some reason this was more "in your face".  Brave....  you're pandering again and letting me down.   I love Top Chef but this is the sort of thing that to my mind, takes away authenticity.

[lindag]

I agree with you about her mostly over the top wardrobe...she's way too smart and accomplished for that.

The folk at Bravo need to pull their heads out.

[gfweb]

6 hours ago, nonblonde007 said:

Am I the only one who thinks Padma seriously loses cred for dressing so blatantly sexual?  She has many times before, but for some reason this was more "in your face".  Brave....  you're pandering again and letting me down.   I love Top Chef but this is the sort of thing that to my mind, takes away authenticity.

 

Bravo is , by definition , trashy.  Real Housewives etc. 

With TC they are showing restraint...Padma’s clothes are still on her. 

 

But yeah

Edited December 12, 2018 by gfweb (log)

[lindag]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

 

Bravo is , by definition , trashy.  Real Housewives etc. 

With TC they are showing restraint...Padma’s clothes are still on her. 

 

But yeah

 

I respect your opinion.

[pastrygirl]

I liked the white outfit. 

[Toliver]

Tonight is the "Top Chef" finale...a 90 minute episode.

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

Tonight is the "Top Chef" finale...a 90 minute episode.

 

I'm finding this year's show less absorbing than previous ones.

[FauxPas]

3 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

I'm finding this year's show less absorbing than previous ones.

 

Same here. And I'm not really sure why that is, though I didn't think much of some of the challenges or the way they evaluated them. For example, that challenge that had them cooking something from their own (usually mixed heritage) plus Chinese or Macanese was a bit off, I thought. For someone like Michelle, that gave her Mexican, Italian, Portuguese and Chinese plus maybe a bit of Spanish. That's an awful lot to try and combine. They seemed to be critical of taking a dish and subbing in Chinese ingredients and yet Sara got praised for doing exactly that. I didn't understand their logic there. Did you, @gfweb? Or you, @Toliver? 

[gfweb]

36 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Same here. And I'm not really sure why that is, though I didn't think much of some of the challenges or the way they evaluated them. For example, that challenge that had them cooking something from their own (usually mixed heritage) plus Chinese or Macanese was a bit off, I thought. For someone like Michelle, that gave her Mexican, Italian, Portuguese and Chinese plus maybe a bit of Spanish. That's an awful lot to try and combine. They seemed to be critical of taking a dish and subbing in Chinese ingredients and yet Sara got praised for doing exactly that. I didn't understand their logic there. Did you, @gfweb? Or you, @Toliver? 

 

Yes, some of the challenge judging seemed more arbitrary than usual.

And my favored chefs are gone.

And its on too early.

And no Emeril.