Bravo's Top Chef Season 2

[rconnelly]

It was interesting to watch the after show. Marcel acted very odd and he never really shut up even when the question wasn't addressed to him. He squirmed around, looked itchy and mumbled.

Some say drunk, I say that is the reason why he drove everybody crazy. That is his natural behavior and only in the kitchen when he has something to focus on does he appear "normal"

[Dave Weinstein]

So, does Andy Nusser get to call himself Top Chef (or Top Chef de Cuisine, or Top Executive Chef)?

[Jujubee]

Edit: I also didn't like Ilan's slam of Harold from Season 1. Ilan can't shine Harold's shoes.

←

Where did Ilan slam Harold? I watched the aftershow stuff on bravotv.com but missed it.

[annecros]

Edit: I also didn't like Ilan's slam of Harold from Season 1. Ilan can't shine Harold's shoes.

←

Where did Ilan slam Harold? I watched the aftershow stuff on bravotv.com but missed it.

←

In the finale, in one of the interview thingies done backstage. He said Harold was a boring "M****RF**KER". When discussing what he could bring to the title of Top Chef.

Here is the YouTube remix:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d3E-UYqzcA

Edited February 5, 2007 by annecros (log)

[Ex-S]

..... for those of you who think Ilan DESERVES being TopChef, I ask you: what episode where you watching??!!??..... Albeit BOTH Marcel and Ilan didn't deserve to be there in the first place, Marcel should have won for the same reason as the previous episode..... Sam (who probably should have been in the final) was criticized for doing the same thing over again, but Ilan decides to rip off the entire menu of the restaurant he works at; how original ...... Anyway here are a few point that have probably been beaten to death, but I'll say it again:

1. Marcel didn't blame Sam for his loss.... he even goes and tells the judges that Sam "saved his ass"..... On the other hand Sam goes and takes FULL CREDIT for the seabeans when they were one of Marcel's original ingredients.... Sam makes no effort to correct the judges; he just stands there and uncomfortably says "yes, it was my idea"......You can tell by the way he speaks that he was OBVIOUSLY lying and he knew EXACTLY what he was saying.

2. Head to head Marcel should have won especially from the comments made during the meals:

Ilan serves:

-"Soggy toast with canned eels"... One of the judges say "At the end of the day you should taste what you cook and see if it works"

- Perfectly cooked fish ........ cooked by Elia

- Surf and Turf........ again cooked by Elia

- Chewy short ribs.... "The short ribs could have been braised for a little longer"...... "I think I'm looking for a little more flavor, a little more juicyness"..... At the judges table Tom says " I think Ilan's dish is out of place; something served at a casual restaurant.

- Melon balls..... LOFL..... Ok, it's a pallette cleanser, but at the end of the day it's melon balls of fruit with sorbet and juice...... and oh yeah, the bay leaf idea he ripped off from Casa Mono.

Marcel serves:

-Uni w/ meyer lemon gelee and fennel cream.... Keller says "The idea, the whole thing behind it was exciting".....

-A salad.... which flops..... besides the isomalt though he could have added a protein...

-Fish dish w/o the fish.... but "very mature dish; round, bold, beautifully balanced"... "The way it's constructed, the way it's presented; it's like a totally different level"...... and yes, Sam probably saw the fish but didn't give a damn; he knew full well what the menu was....... Mike I can understand b/c he's a bafoon...

-Strip loin.... "It's nice to see someone so creative and so willing to take the risk"

-Blini w/ coffee caviar..... "How smart, a blini w/ caviar"..... "He has amazing potential; I think he's somebody to watch".....

Judges table:

-Marcel's own team throws him under the bus.... at least have some dignity and give him credit for what Marcel did..... some people say that Marcel is blaming his team mates, but WHO THE HELL wouldn't feel the same way he did if you team isn't trying to help you.

-The judges only ask Marcels team about what part they had in cooking.... if they asked Elia they would have known that Ilan for the most part didn't cook any of the good dishes.

-When Ilan gets questioned as to whether he had a set idea he denies it even though it's obvious he's lying.... Gail goes on to say "it's ok if you did, it's a game plan" and Ilan softens his stance and says that he "may have had some ideas"

- If that was the best meal Ilan ever cooked then he doesn't deserve Top Chef.... 2 courses didn't require cooking, and the one protein he does cook himself is chewy.

-Just a side note, notice Betty the bitch smiling when Marcel's team throws him under the bus.... what a snake... "HissSSSSSSSS"

In the end it had nothing to do with the food.... Marcel was better THAT NIGHT hands down; he might not even be the best overall, but he was definitely better that night and Ilan should have lost for the same reason Sam did. Elia and Sam would have made a much better finale, but the ratings of Marcel vs. Ilan must have been too hard to resist... Anyway, this was an end to a pretty CRAPPY season ...... None of the chefs were Top Chef material... even everyone's beloved Sam showed his true colours and ganged up to bully Marcel..... Ilan should be the LAST person to get the title.... he was F***ing holding the CAMERA and ENCOURAGING everyone to do the dirty work when they were trying to shave Marcel's head.... WHAT A BASTARD; I will NEVER EVER eat at a restaurant where Ilan Hall cooks. Anyway, glad to get that rant off my chest as I hope for a much much much improved season 3.....

[Dave H]

So, does Andy Nusser get to call himself Top Chef (or Top Chef de Cuisine, or Top Executive Chef)?

←

Word.

Just to make it painfully obvious, let's walk through Ilan's five course finale menu:

1. Pan con tomate with caviar and angulas - a permanent dish at Casa Mono plus caviar (from a tin) and eels (from a can). The tomatoes, at least, were local.

2. Pan-roasted moi with macadamia gazpacho - the summer menu at Casa Mono has pan-roasted dorado on a tomato gazpacho; same dish with a substitute fish, and a clever local twist on the alternative form of gazpacho.

3. Roast squab in lobster sauce with prawns, foie gras, and braised leeks - I actually didn't recognize this from Casa Mono, but Padma called this out on her blog as being a copy of a quail with "langoustines" (probably actually prawns) dish there. Again, I haven't had that dish, so I don't know just how closely this was ripped-off, but given that her only other cited example was the perfectly identical fideos with clams from a previous episode, I'm guessing pretty close.

4. Braised short ribs with romesco - at Casa Mono, it's flank steak. Judging by comments that the short ribs were under-braised and the dish needed more juiciness, he might have been better off copying it exactly.

5. Fruit and sorbet with bunuelos - the bunuelos, which of course are the signature element of the dish, are also the signature element of Casa Mono's bunuelos with crema catalan. The ones Ilan made on the show were identical.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Dave H (log)

[psychobombshell]

I keep hearing about how young and immature Marcel is, but he is older than Ilan! Age is nothing but a number in this case

I am torn... I don't know who shouldve won..... it sucks that it wasn't about the food and was instead about who the judges deemed ready to be a chef... that was just stupid.. I thought this was a competetion for Top Chef, not a CIA graduation

Maybe Ilan is just super passionate about one thing... I don't know...

The whole end of the season mystifies me....

On the other hand this Top Design thing is just as surreal..

[Timh]

The immaturity shown by most of the contestants , both professionally and personally, invalidates the whole premise of the show. Why not just tape the Bocuse D'or and have the hot Rushdie arm candy narrate?

[MikeM]

Did anyone else think that Ilan came off extremely arrogant in the March issue of Food & Wine?

[Lateralus]

I have to agree with TimH.....immaturity, young cooks, who don't know how to cook is why us "true professionals" watch this show. Watching Marcel look like a complete idiot when he starts talking about molecular gastronomy was priceless, and then when Wylie was the judge...he was crapin' his pants. Maybe being a chef is not made out to be this glamourous profession amde for TV. Sure we cater to stars of film/ music indusry, people who may/ or may not have money?,there is a luxurious element to eating, dining, and the Chef life....but it doesn't belong on TV. Unless it is going to be portrayed in a resptful way to all chefs/ cooks!

[caroled]

I have to agree with TimH.....immaturity, young cooks, who don't know how to cook is why us "true professionals" watch this show.  Watching Marcel look like a complete idiot when he starts talking about molecular gastronomy was priceless, and then when Wylie was the judge...he was crapin' his pants.  Maybe being a chef is not made out to be this glamourous profession amde for TV.  Sure we cater to stars of film/ music indusry, people who may/ or may not have money?,there is a luxurious element to eating, dining, and the Chef life....but it doesn't belong on TV.  Unless it is going to be portrayed in a resptful way to all chefs/ cooks!

←

Well said.

[chappie]

I didn't think I would respond to this, but I've watched the reruns enough now to warrant it. I never saw Top Chef's first season, and caught this one midway through. Wow, the editing and directing behind the scenes is amazingly manipulative, turning a show about cooking into something little different than the Real Housewives of Orange County, only with more drama.

The show wants people to gang up on Marcel, and what results is really creepy, hazing incident or not. What kinds of adults feel proud behaving in gang-think, especially on camera? So many of them, Frank, the annoying blonde hag, even everyone's favorite humble hero, whatshisname cool jock, look like absolute idiots with their aggressive explosions against Marcel, who is clearly not an easy kid to work with, but so what? I didn't taste the food, so I can't judge who was best, but he clearly had talent, and it's as if some of them felt they could hide their own shortcomings by forming a middle-school clique and trying to "put him in his place."

How seventh-grade soccer tryout.

I worked under stress on Alaskan fishboats alongside a kid with a similar personality, and while, yes, his bragging about nonsense prompted an occasional retort, you just learn to ignore it. If someone's character is unprofessional or unsuitable to a certain work environment, it will surface on its own without sycophantic colleagues running to tell the boss.

When the Frank dude got in Marcel's face and threatened him in front of the crew for placing his toiletry bag on the floor (not, as one would have assumed by his demeanor, the litterbox of a diarrheal Maine coon cat who lives on asparagus) I felt embarrassed for him, not Marcel.

And you know as it all went down, the editors reworked scenarios to make the feuds even worse. Probably because they can count on a predictable number of viewers falling into the bully club.

I really didn't care who won the thing, but it sure wound up with a bunch of losers.

Edited March 11, 2007 by chappie (log)

[chappie]

OK ... just watched last three episodes of Season 1 today, and I definitely agree with whoever said it was much better.