Top Chef

[mmm_chocolate]

I agree completely about this episode being a waste of time.  I also have to say that while I can't stand Stephen, my opinion of him changed when I read in Lee Anne's blog that she thought he was a "stand-up guy" or something like that.  It made me think that he was playing a role and the editors were having a field day with him.

←

Does anyone know if LeeAnn's blog back up? I heard it was taken down after she was booted, but I would love to read it if it's out there somewhere! I only see Gail and Tom's on the bravo site today, but maybe I don't know where to look...

[plattetude]

- I found it funny that Stephen and Lee Ann plowed through two bottles of wine.  You can see he's got roughly half a bottle left in the first 15 minutes, and then shortly after Stephen's handing another bottle (full) to Lee Ann, who is about to chug it before they cut to someone answering a question.  This, I think, partially explains his apology to Candace (which was a tad slurred, I thought, but nice) and his going after Ken.

←

Don't be too sure about how much wine either consumed. You're assuming the reunion was presented chronologically, when in all likelihood, plenty was altered in the timeline in the editing. Of course, in 10 hours, each one of them could've had 2 or 3 bottles of wine, for all we know.

Christopher

[scordelia]

Man, was Lisa drunk or what?  How long do the producers at Bravo leave them in a room with a full bar before they start filming?  Same thing happened during the last Project Runway reunion show.

←

If they are doing it like "Project Runway," then the answer is a couple of hours before they start taping.

[JohnRov]

Stephen and Ken are two sides of the same extreme coin. Both are insufferable boors, but Stephen has a handler now, so he's working on his image. Choosing to call Ken white trash shows he is still out of control. It's not a slur a professional person should make on camera.

←

It's not a slur any human being worth anything should make on OR off camera.

[Tess]

I think "white trash" is a horrible expression, but until very recently it was unfortunately quite accepted even among people who ordinarily would not think of using a slur. That Stephen would use it of Ken suggests to me that he isn't really very aware of the word's history and he just thinks of it as one of the few remaining insults that's still allowable. Which is stupid, and I'm not a fan of his anyway, but I don't think it was a catastrophic personality leak.

I am still surprised and rather sad that everyone hates Tiffani. I love her, although not as much as Lee Ann.

[ingridsf]

Lee Anne's blog is down but it was FANTASTIC. Hope it will be back up after the finale. She is one BitterBitch, and I mean that in the most complimentery sense.

I just can't believe they filmed this thing over ten hours.

[fiftydollars]

what ivy league school did stephen go to?

I guess arithmetic education is not what it used to be... or is 100 minus 13 really 77?

I went to public school, so I wouldn't really know.

[Tess]

what ivy league school did stephen go to?

Does he say he went to the Ivy League? He went to Cornell which I thought was not traditionally referred to as an Ivy school.

[eje]

Turns out the reunion was a fun-fest that went on for TEN HOURS.  They're lucky anyone was still conscious by the end.

←

10 Hours!

Holy Crap.

Well, Tiffany's freak out and the extreme drunkeness of most of the contestants makes a lot more sense to me now.

Anyone catch what they were drinking?

Looked like some sort of sparkling wine; but, I didn't recognize the label.

~Erik

[Holly Moore]

what ivy league school did stephen go to?

Does he say he went to the Ivy League? He went to Cornell which I thought was not traditionally referred to as an Ivy school.

←

Ahem. Stephen and I both attended the Cornell Hotel School. Cornell is definitely one of the Ivy League Schools.

And yes that makes us superior.

[slkinsey]

Indeed. The Ivy League consists of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Penn and Yale. Perhaps I should observe that the high reputations the Ivy League schools enjoy are primarily due to the extreme selectiveness of their undergraduate programs. This is not to say that the other programs are not good or are not prestigious. But an MBA from Harvard Business School will never have the cachet of a BA from Harvard College. I don't know a single thing about the Cornell Hotel School except (now) that Holly attended... which, in my book, makes it a top school on that basis alone -- no creeping vines required.

[Tess]

I don't know a single thing about the Cornell Hotel School except (now) that Holly attended... which, in my book, makes it a top school on that basis alone -- no creeping vines required.

←

My thought was that in the food industry Cornell would mean more than "Ivy League," so why say it? I guess if you feel the need to put on your c.v. that your parents are nuclear f***ing physicists you might have some reason.

Edited to add: also, there are many undergrad programs that compare perfectly well to Ivy ones. Stanford and Swarthmore are not Ivy League-- so what? It seems like kind of an old-fashioned thing to emphasize.

Edited May 12, 2006 by Tess (log)

[fiftydollars]

what ivy league school did stephen go to?

Does he say he went to the Ivy League? He went to Cornell which I thought was not traditionally referred to as an Ivy school.

←

Ahem. Stephen and I both attended the Cornell Hotel School. Cornell is definitely one of the Ivy League Schools.

And yes that makes us superior.

←

Ok, then... subtract 13 from 100 (no calculator!).

[slkinsey]

I don't know a single thing about the Cornell Hotel School except (now) that Holly attended... which, in my book, makes it a top school on that basis alone -- no creeping vines required.

My thought was that in the food industry Cornell would mean more than "Ivy League," so why say it? I guess if you feel the need to put on your c.v. that your parents are nuclear f***ing physicists you might have some reason.

Where on his curriculum vitae does it say this? All I have seen is a mention of his parent's professions in the bio on his web site -- a bio being where one traditionally lists interesting things about one's life, upbringing, family history, etc. It is somewhat unusual for the child of a physicist and oncology research nurse to go into the culinary field, and perhaps some people might find that interesting. I am a classical singer, and people are sometimes interested to know that I am the child of research scientists.

I guess I have a hard time understanding why you are reacting so strongly to this. I didn't get the impression it was mentioned in his bio in order to inflate his reputation. Rather, I thought it was an interesting fact.

also, there are many undergrad programs that compare perfectly well to Ivy ones. Stanford and Swarthmore are not Ivy League-- so what? It seems like kind of an old-fashioned thing to emphasize.

Well, regardless of what you personally think, the Ivy League schools carry some additional prestige. This is not to say that other schools don't also have their own special cachet or that other schools might not have even more cachet in certain fields (places like MIT come to mind). The fact, is, of course that a well-motivated student can get an excellent education at Western Bumblefuck State College -- maybe better than the education that some students get at Yale or Stanford. But, again... so what? It is what it is. Doesn't matter if it's "fair." More to the point, there really isn't too much point in debating the connotations of the words "Ivy League" in these forums.

[Tess]

More to the point, there really isn't too much point in debating the connotations of the words "Ivy League" in these forums.

←

Sure-- agreed. It really doesn't much matter and anyway, I think this started with my mistake.

[BryanZ]

  But an MBA from Harvard Business School will never have the cachet of a BA from Harvard College.

←

I know this isn't on topic really, but I can't believe that no one has refuted this. An MBA from Harvard looks a hell of a lot better than a BA.

[Pork Neck]

Agreed, BryanZ. Few degrees hold MORE cachet than a Harvard MBA...

[NYC Mike]

Agreed, BryanZ.  Few degrees hold MORE cachet than a Harvard MBA...

←

This is the best/most accurate depiction of an MBA I've seen.

-Mike

Edited May 12, 2006 by NYC Mike (log)

[Kim Shook]

Stephen and Ken are two sides of the same extreme coin. Both are insufferable boors, but Stephen has a handler now, so he's working on his image. Choosing to call Ken white trash shows he is still out of control. It's not a slur a professional person should make on camera.

←

It's not a slur any human being worth anything should make on OR off camera.

←

In the South, publicly calling someone 'white trash' is something that trashy people do (privately doing it is, however, another matter ).

[dvs]

I don't know a single thing about the Cornell Hotel School except (now) that Holly attended... which, in my book, makes it a top school on that basis alone -- no creeping vines required.

←

My thought was that in the food industry Cornell would mean more than "Ivy League," so why say it? I guess if you feel the need to put on your c.v. that your parents are nuclear f***ing physicists you might have some reason.

Edited to add: also, there are many undergrad programs that compare perfectly well to Ivy ones. Stanford and Swarthmore are not Ivy League-- so what? It seems like kind of an old-fashioned thing to emphasize.

←

my father is a high energy physicist!! can i really put that on my resume??!!

Edited May 13, 2006 by dvs (log)

[Jujubee]

  But an MBA from Harvard Business School will never have the cachet of a BA from Harvard College.

←

I know this isn't on topic really, but I can't believe that no one has refuted this. An MBA from Harvard looks a hell of a lot better than a BA.

←

I know it's off topic, but I'm with you Bryan. To say that an MBA from HBS doesn't have the cachet of, well, just about anything, including a BA from Harvard College ... well, it just doesn't compute. It's like saying 100 - 13 equals 77.

[silentryan]

  But an MBA from Harvard Business School will never have the cachet of a BA from Harvard College.

←

I know this isn't on topic really, but I can't believe that no one has refuted this. An MBA from Harvard looks a hell of a lot better than a BA.

←

I know it's off topic, but I'm with you Bryan. To say that an MBA from HBS doesn't have the cachet of, well, just about anything, including a BA from Harvard College ... well, it just doesn't compute. It's like saying 100 - 13 equals 77.

←

Mmm, actually on Harvard campus "business school kids" aren't held in very high intellectual regard at all. So, insofar as cachet tracks perceived intelligence...

[KatieLoeb]

Agreed, BryanZ.  Few degrees hold MORE cachet than a Harvard MBA...

←

An MBA from the Wharton School, the University of Chicago, Northwestern or Stanford might, depending on whom you ask...

[BryanZ]

Agreed, BryanZ.  Few degrees hold MORE cachet than a Harvard MBA...

←

An MBA from the Wharton School, the University of Chicago, Northwestern or Stanford might, depending on whom you ask...

←

According to US News, not so much. Harvard MBAs are to be respected. Hell, I don't like Harvard (boring, old-fashioned, weird kids, etc, etc) but you can't knock the value of the school's degrees and its educational standard; being a part of Harvard, in nearly any way, is an achievement in itself. And to say an MBA is useless seems highly irrational. It's a hell of a lot more useful than a masters in hotel management, in my opinion, even for the hospitality industry.

[Jujubee]

Agreed, BryanZ.  Few degrees hold MORE cachet than a Harvard MBA...

←

An MBA from the Wharton School, the University of Chicago, Northwestern or Stanford might, depending on whom you ask...

←

In the world of b-schools, the M7 (i.e. the most prestigious) is made up of Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Chicago, Kellogg (Northwestern), Sloan (MIT), and Columbia. Among this group, Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton are considered the most desirable. Many different publications rank business schools but it almost doesn't matter - these are the biggies. Even after Business Week ranked Kellogg #1 and Chicago #2 (great for those schools, to be sure), more people would still go to H/W/S, if given the choice. So, for prestige alone, a W/S MBA might equal a Harvard MBA, but exceed it? That would be a hard statement to back up.

Of course, as for the quality of the education you get in the various programs, that's a whole other discussion.