Bravo's Top Chef Season 2

[cocoagirl]

for those with Ilan crushes- he claims in his MySpace page to love the women...however I have never been on MySpace- this was a quote from the Televisonwithoutpity website.

[plattetude]

And what was that word he used in his one on one with the camera after he won the quick fire? It started with an "S" and my husband and I were laughing so hard I had to pause Tivo 

If I'm remembering right (and I think I am), it was sangfroid. Literally "cold blood" en francais, and figuratively "calm, cool, collected."

I did a tiny spit take when he said that, fer sure. But hey, I'm not one to pooh-pooh a good vocabulary. Good for him, the little geek. Which I say from my own perch of geekdom, of course.

Christopher

[BryanZ]

Actually, I'm pretty sure he said he was "soignee." In this case, refined and elegant.

[Matcha Eyes]

Yes, Marcel is weird. But I think that's what I like about him. Despite his behaving like a pretentious twat in the kitchen at times, I think he would be a fun person to meet. I like introverted, geeky types. They often appear mysterious, but then they surprise you with a fun side like when the contestants went swimming after the beach challenge.

Okay, I admit that I am forming somewhat of a crush on Marcel. Ilan is a hottie, but probably too hot for me.

[SorchaR]

It would have been great to see Betty leave this week, but keeping Frank's personal safety in mind it's probably best that he was the one to go.  It was inevitable that he was going to start a fight with Marcel.  Frank's a big guy and everything, but when Marcel unsheathed his Adamantium claws.........BOOO-YA!  GAME OVER! 

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*dies* Made by Global, maybe? It's funny how many of the people I liked at first, I can't stand now, and vice versa. I wish someone would take a good old-fashioned cast-iron frying pan to Betty, man.

[oneidaone]

O.K., I'm knee deep in the hoopla of an inner ear problem and sinus cavity havoc but let me say:

- frozen waffles? When we were watching we were wondering "Where did the waffle maker come

from?" then we find out they were frozen.

......not quite the same ingredient but a pre-made bagel then a rotisserie chicken?

So Cliff's dish wasn't so pretty but it was in my opinion - knowing lots of surfers - satisfying and

if any of these people ever went to our North Shore that is what surfers would want.

Marcel - O.K. I have mixed feelings about his Joker/Batman hair but I too have come to both

like and dislike him, the whole surfer lingo thing was too much however.

Frank saying a "chef is always a gentleman" was so way strange we just didn't understand it

although at that level of "take your knives and go" he was more gracious than Josie & Carlos. Frank is

a good pugelist I'll give him that and possibly from that he should have gone long ago.

I am waiting for next week when Ted Allen & Ilan - I totally love Ted Allen in book and TV show - look

like they are either separated at birth OR father and son by the magic medicine........I know I

will get some comments about that, or not. Betty is bothersome to us but who knows, I don't want to go longer with my ear problem but who will win is not in our hands - o.k. so what about

Padma's outfit at the beach? I'll stop at that, we are about to have dinner and should probably

stop now..........

[brooklyncook]

Actually, I'm pretty sure he said he was "soignee."  In this case, refined and elegant.

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My gf thought this was hysterical, like Marcel was trying to be all high-end.

Personally, I've heard this term used many times over, especially related to cooking -- it almost seemed like more of an inside joke than Marcel trying to be highbrow.

[C_Ruark]

Actually, I'm pretty sure he said he was "soignee."  In this case, refined and elegant.

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My gf thought this was hysterical, like Marcel was trying to be all high-end.

Personally, I've heard this term used many times over, especially related to cooking -- it almost seemed like more of an inside joke than Marcel trying to be highbrow.

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"Soignée" is a little more intensive than refined/elegant. A better translation (IMPO) is "impeccable, verging on perfection".

Still, It is chuckle ammunition!

~C

[kathryn sossen]

im enjoying this thread- hate to admit it but Marcel is starting to grow on me- I really can't wait for Betty to go- I have high hopes for next week!

[scottie]

Actually, I'm pretty sure he said he was "soignee."  In this case, refined and elegant.

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My gf thought this was hysterical, like Marcel was trying to be all high-end.

Personally, I've heard this term used many times over, especially related to cooking -- it almost seemed like more of an inside joke than Marcel trying to be highbrow.

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"Soignée" is a little more intensive than refined/elegant. A better translation (IMPO) is "impeccable, verging on perfection".

Still, It is chuckle ammunition!

~C

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The word "Soignee" appears on our tickets at work when the guest is someone like the owner's mom or a fellow cook, so "make it nice"! I think "Impeccable, verging on perfection" is exactly what we are shooting for in that situation.

I had never heard the word before starting this job. I was glad to hear Marcel use it, even though it was a little strange, because I knew immediately what he meant. However, I bet many viewers were like "WTF?" And not just because of his hair!

[brooklyncook]

Thoughts on the "holiday catering episode":

- Good to see Sam and Cliff as finalists in the Quickfire, after being on the chopping block in the previous episode.

- Definitely surprised to see Betty and Marcel working well together. Points to Sam for straight out telling them they need to stop "...this thing" (or however he exactly worded that). Good deal. Betty still bothers me when she lays it on thick to the people she serves food to.

- I can't understand how a team can have $1500 and only put out 800 or so canapes (unless I missed something in the episode). ESPECIALLY given the amount of food that the other team put out, Elia's team should have been able to rock that.

- During the Judges Table part, it was interesting to hear Mia go off -- that sounds more like most conversations I hear. If nothing else, Mia pulls no punches.

- Maybe she should have waited, however, to hear who'd been selected before she gave up to save Elia. Especially since the judges were calling attention to Michael; after last week's removal of Frank (versus Sam and Cliff), the possibility was there that they'd surprise us and can Michael.

- Ilan's two watches: any idea what the point is of that? Timing dishes?

[Dave Weinstein]

According to Tom Colicchio, it was going to be Elia.

[Grub]

The stress is getting to them -- you can tell who's got character, and who doesn't. Mia -- gimme a break... The judges explicitly asked Cliff who he thought should go home, and he gave them a straight answer -- and a perfectly valid one too: pissing, moaning and having a shitty attitude can ruin any work environment.

She already said she was tired and homesick, and then when she lost it in front of the judges, she probably realized she'd burned any chances of success, and tried to make a glorious exit by offering to leave, to save Elia... If that had been it, I would have been torn between admiring her, and feeling a tad cynical about it all. But with her "Woe is me, I am the only person in my family that achieved anything, we were homeless and I sold crack so poor pity me"-spiel at the end, I'm coming down on the cynical side...

And what the hell kinda competition IS this? Aren't the judges the ones who are supposed to decide who stays or goes? Not the competitors, damnit. If I'd been in charge, I'd accept Mia's resignation, and then announced the loser -- and then send that one home too.

If Bravo had produced Spike/UFC's Ultimate Fighter show, you'd have em wrestling in those inflatable sumo outfits, or poking each others with nerf bats or something -- and if someone lost and had to leave, another fighter would offer to leave in his stead. It really wouldn't be very good at all.

[Jenny McClure]

The stress is getting to them -- you can tell who's got character, and who doesn't. Mia -- gimme a break... The judges explicitly asked Cliff who he thought should go home, and he gave them a straight answer -- and a perfectly valid one too: pissing, moaning and having a shitty attitude can ruin any work environment.

She already said she was tired and homesick, and then when she lost it in front of the judges, she probably realized she'd burned any chances of success, and tried to make a glorious exit by offering to leave, to save Elia... If that had been it, I would have been torn between admiring her, and feeling a tad cynical about it all. But with her "Woe is me, I am the only person in my family that achieved anything, we were homeless and I sold crack so poor pity me"-spiel at the end, I'm coming down on the cynical side...

And what the hell kinda competition IS this? Aren't the judges the ones who are supposed to decide who stays or goes? Not the competitors, damnit. If I'd been in charge, I'd accept Mia's resignation, and then announced the loser -- and then send that one home too.

If Bravo had produced Spike/UFC's Ultimate Fighter show, you'd have em wrestling in those inflatable sumo outfits, or poking each others with nerf bats or something -- and if someone lost and had to leave, another fighter would offer to leave in his stead. It really wouldn't be very good at all.

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If they do that ( and I agree they should have) then they would have 2 gone in one episode and that would mess up their scheduling.

[lala]

The stress is getting to them -- you can tell who's got character, and who doesn't. Mia -- gimme a break... The judges explicitly asked Cliff who he thought should go home, and he gave them a straight answer -- and a perfectly valid one too: pissing, moaning and having a shitty attitude can ruin any work environment.

She already said she was tired and homesick, and then when she lost it in front of the judges, she probably realized she'd burned any chances of success, and tried to make a glorious exit by offering to leave, to save Elia... If that had been it, I would have been torn between admiring her, and feeling a tad cynical about it all. But with her "Woe is me, I am the only person in my family that achieved anything, we were homeless and I sold crack so poor pity me"-spiel at the end, I'm coming down on the cynical side...

And what the hell kinda competition IS this? Aren't the judges the ones who are supposed to decide who stays or goes? Not the competitors, damnit. If I'd been in charge, I'd accept Mia's resignation, and then announced the loser -- and then send that one home too.

If Bravo had produced Spike/UFC's Ultimate Fighter show, you'd have em wrestling in those inflatable sumo outfits, or poking each others with nerf bats or something -- and if someone lost and had to leave, another fighter would offer to leave in his stead. It really wouldn't be very good at all.

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If they do that ( and I agree they should have) then they would have 2 gone in one episode and that would mess up their scheduling.

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But didn't they do that last season? Or was that another cooking contest show? I remember two people leaving, and the next week they kept everyone so the schedule worked out ok.

I was glad to see Mia leave. It's a competition in cooking, not in how hard your life has been. I'm sorry that she's apparently had a hard one, and it seems like she's really pulled herself up by her own bootstraps, but that kind of tirade doesn't belong in any professional situation or contest.

[johnder]

Last nights starting challenge was a joke. Coming up with a cocktail featuring baileys was disgusting -- and that "cocktail guru", jeeze, don't get me started.

[tammylc]

Last nights starting challenge was a joke.  Coming up with a cocktail featuring  baileys was disgusting -- and that "cocktail guru", jeeze, don't get me started.

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Yeah, she was AWFUL. One wonders if she'd had a few too many cocktails herself before the shooting started.

[Tess]

Last nights starting challenge was a joke.  Coming up with a cocktail featuring  baileys was disgusting -- and that "cocktail guru", jeeze, don't get me started.

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I agree; that was gross.

On the Bravo site, there is a video with Sam where he comments that the contestants had been up for 25 hours by the time the judging was over. Might have contributed to some of the odd behavior.

I am very tired of the way they keep stacking the deck through a combination of immunity and team challenges. One or the other would be fine, I think, but the combination is a real double whammy and they do so often-- not to mention the way the Thanksgiving challenge was loaded. I'm a fan of Cliff and would have been sad to see him leave, but (on admittedly interrupted viewing) I got the impression he played a big role in losing this one and it annoyed me to see the entire onus falling on Elia.

[BryanZ]

Selling rocks on the streets can be tough, indeed.

I thought Sam' team did a really nice job with the challenge, even if the food wasn't amazing, seeing them work together was refreshing.

It would've been very, very sad to see Elia go. Thanks to Mia, we get to hear sweet, sweet accent for yet another week.

I kind understood where Marcel was coming from after Sam was named the leader at the judge's table. I think that he just simplly wanted to emphasize that it was a team challege and they all really rocked it. Unfortunately he wasn't able to articulate that fact clearly and ended up looking like an ass.

Why can't Marcel and Ilan get along like Stephen and Harold last season? I'm excited to hear Ilan talking smack next week. "Make your foams and go cry in the corner!" Classic. But Marcel has a wealth of ammunition to fire back with. The watches, the sunglasses, the earring, the fauxhawk, the Spanish food ad nauseum. I hope we see a Candace v. Stephen-esque bloodbath.

[johnder]

Last nights starting challenge was a joke.  Coming up with a cocktail featuring  baileys was disgusting -- and that "cocktail guru", jeeze, don't get me started.

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Yeah, she was AWFUL. One wonders if she'd had a few too many cocktails herself before the shooting started.

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The thing that annoys me the most is the reference on her website which she is called the "Worlds best bartender" by Orange county magazine. WTF!

[coquus]

My boycott of this thread is officially over, I hear you on the cynicism Grub, I am with you in that 99%. The other 1% feels sorry for Mia, but she never really impressed me as Tom's next 'Top Chef' or whatever, so it's just another one bites the dust. I think she knew she was going to get sent packing sooner or later, so she took one for her girl, smart, she'll do well in life. No cynicism intended, just an opinion. Elia, hopefully she doesn't hit the snooze bar too often. Cliff and Michael too, but slightly less so. I hate these team challenges, I can't wait for more individual challenges.

[BryanZ]

So there's a great extra video on the Top Chef website that just has to be watched.

In it, Elia meets up with Stephen (yes, that Stephen; they're friends and I believe he recommended her for the show) after the cooking for the party is done.

So, in typical Stephen fashion he rips on everyone, calling them "hacks" etc etc. I was so pleased. Then, to top it all off, he rips on Marcel ("the guy who worked at Robuchon with you") and says his food pretty much sucked. Elia was aprehensive to agree, probably because she didn't want to seem like a pretentious bitch (in addition to a tool and a douchebag) on camera, but you could tell she was kind of agreeing with Stephen.

I wish I was friends with them so I could get these little nuggets of Stephen-wisdom.

[eje]

Last nights starting challenge was a joke.  Coming up with a cocktail featuring  baileys was disgusting -- and that "cocktail guru", jeeze, don't get me started.

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I haven't watched the episode, yet. I have recently noticed ads for a "Bailey's Drinkable Dessert" challenge in various food and beverage magazines.

Was the challenge tied in to that contest?

Drinkable Dessert Contest

[johnder]

The contest was to create an original cocktail using Baileys and match an "amuse" to it.

awful.

[Swicks]

-Begin Rant-

Dear TopChef,

Here are some suggestions to facilitate the removal of your show from the crapper.

1. Get it over with and cut everyone but Cliff, Sam, and Illan.

2. Have some reasonable challenges involving cooking actual food in creative manner and that don't involve product placement, "suprises", teams, stupid restrictions, or lack of equipment.

3. Allow us more than .00057 seconds per dish to see and hear about what was created in both the elimination and quickfire challenges.

4. More Anthony Bourdain, Ted Allen, etc, far less Gail Simmons and Tom Coliccio.

5. More Padma in revealing clothing.

For God Sakes, be all you can be.

Your friend (tentatively),

-Swicks

-End Rant-

Also, cry me a freakin' River Mia.