Bravo's Top Chef Season 2

[kkeym]

does anyone know how to find out what they're doing in real time? I'm going to LA next week and would love some info if they're doing one of their restaurant style our outdoor food challenges or something...

anyone know how to find out about that?

[RMeierdirks]

I really thought Carl should have been the one to go....they said that Suyai's potatoes were good, at least.  No one had anything good to say about Carl's food.  But Suyai was really nice, too, and I've noticed that the producers stay in reality show format to an extent by eliminating people who will provide less drama for the show.  That is the only explanation for why Lee Ann was eliminated last year.  She was robbed.  I watch Project Runway, too and in the crdits at the end, it says something to the effect of "the producers have a say in who is eliminated."  I wonder if this disclaimer runs at the end of Top Chef, too.  Bet it does....

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Yes it does have that disclaimer. At the reunion show for he first Top Chef, I recall Tom Colicchio and or Gail making a point of saying that the producers have not influenced the voting in any way. But if that's really the case, then why print the disclaimer? Hmmm......

I thought Lee Anne was robbed, too.

[Holly Moore]

does anyone know how to find out what they're doing in real time?  I'm going to LA next week and would love some info if they're doing one of their restaurant style our outdoor food challenges or something...

anyone know how to find out about that?

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Like Project Runway, this show is most likely already taped. Too expensive to keep all those people around for a week between shows. And no need since there is no audience voting.

Get a feeling someone from Top Chef has been reading the Top Chef 1 eGullet thread. Tom Coliccchio made a big point of stressing that he is a judge and not a mentor.

Since Tom is stricklhy a judge, maybe Top Chef should bring back Stephen as a Tim-like mentor. That would be good television.

[Luckylies]

Ilan will win. Mark my words.

not an inside tip, just a hunch.

[Dani Mc]

this has nothing to do with food, but did anyone notice the large scar  on padma's right arm?  I am wondering where that came from

I also find her to be much more watchable than the broad from last season.

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She was in a pretty horrific car accident in her teens, I think. She used to model, and was very self concious of it having to be caked in make up. I think she said she finally decided, 'fuck it, its part of me, I'm owning it', which couldn't have been easy for someone in a profession where physical perfection is a requirement.

[orangeman747]

does anyone know how to find out what they're doing in real time?  I'm going to LA next week and would love some info if they're doing one of their restaurant style our outdoor food challenges or something...

anyone know how to find out about that?

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I'm pretty sure that they taped all (or almost all) the episodes over the summer.... sorry.

I think that this season will depend a lot more on what type of food they are looking for. Mia looks like she can make good food, but like Dave its not as refined as someone like Ilan or Sam. There are a lot of wild-cards this season though! It will be interesting to see where they go.

Also, does anyone miss seeing last season's chefs? I keep expecting to see Harold and Dave and LeeAnne (and dare I say Stephen?!) etc.... its so sad they are gone! But this season does look exciting!

[mmm_chocolate]

this has nothing to do with food, but did anyone notice the large scar  on padma's right arm?  I am wondering where that came from

I also find her to be much more watchable than the broad from last season.

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She was in a pretty horrific car accident in her teens, I think. She used to model, and was very self concious of it having to be caked in make up. I think she said she finally decided, 'fuck it, its part of me, I'm owning it', which couldn't have been easy for someone in a profession where physical perfection is a requirement.

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I don't think she's pretty at all. Her eyes are too far apart, kind of like an alien. Not that that's her fault, but I can't figure out why she was hired. She's not a good host. I hate to say it, but I MISS Katie Lee. She was so bad, it was GOOD. It was fun to watch her wooden performances, and I loved the way she said "pack your knives and go," with that little southern twang. It was funny watching her try so hard to be a serious tv host. I find this new chicky pretty boring and bland....she doesn't seem very excited to be there. What they need to do is get Jenny McCarthy, or at least someone with a spark of life in them. They're 0 for 2 in my opinion. But the show still rocks despite the useless eye candy host issues.

[Grub]

Padma is a big improvement -- I mean, she's actually written a prize-winning cook book, so from where I'm seeing it, at least it's not just another gig, to her.

And two examples isn't enough sampling material to draw any conclusions on, but still -- first Billy Joel's wife, then Shalman Rushdie's wife... How do they pick their hosts -- do they throw darts at a wall covered with famous people, and then offer the job to their spouse?

[Dave Weinstein]

But Suyai was really nice, too, and I've noticed that the producers stay in reality show format to an extent by eliminating people who will provide less drama for the show.  That is the only explanation for why Lee Ann was eliminated last year.  She was robbed.

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No, it isn't the only explanation. In fact, Tom Coliccchio explained it in a recent interview. The reason Lee Ann was eliminated was the guest judges in the Napa event.

Essentially, the guest judges get to pick the winner, but not who is eliminated. However, the guest judges chose Dave as the winner, which meant he could not be eliminated.

The interview was linked up-topic.

--Dave

[Swicks]

Finally caught a re-run this weekend. Off to a good start I think, should be enjoyable. I just hope they keep more to the food and cooking rather than drama. Bravo is falling prey to this with Project Runway and I hope this doesnt transfer over.

Padma is definately an improvement over the robot. She is strikingly beautiful to boot...

This seems to me to be a stronger bunch of candidates than last season...

Edited because I can't spell...

Edited October 23, 2006 by Swicks (log)

[Grub]

Spoiler alert for episode two...

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So, who can tell me the difference between a traitor and a whistle-blower?

What happened was, as team Korea exited the store after bying their ingredients for the elimination challenge, Otto was caught on tape making the comment "I think we got those lychee for free" to Marisa. Some time into the cooking process, Marisa told Tom about it, who confronted Otto, and Otto went back to the store to return it (oddly, during the judgement, they showed some "confessional" interviews where team members complained that Otto was gone for a long time while they were cooking). Otto appologized and bowed out.

Maybe I missed something, but if the team left with stuff they didn't pay for, wouldn't that be the responsibility of the entire team? Obviously, if Otto discovered it, but didn't do anything to correct it, shame on him -- but if every other member of the team failed to discover it, shame on them, too. And doubly so on Marisa for not discovering it, but after being told about it, still didn't do anything about it -- except of course back at the base, when she could save her own ass by informing on Otto.

As I said, I might have missed something, but this didn't seem right to me. Sometimes you are overcharged, and sometimes you're undercharged -- I reckon it evens out in the end. This totally reminded me of the incident in the first series where the Irish dude used his finger to taste a sauce. Ie., they made a lot of hoopla because this is on TV.

I see zero points being handed out for team spirit here. And I guess it makes sense that the contestants act that way, but in turn, that means that these team challenges are completely meaningless -- and are merely a ploy to create conflict.

[msfurious1]

I agree with what you've said. Marisa did know about the lychee when they put everything in the car. If she knew and felt that something needed to be done to rectify the situation, that was the time to do it. Waiting until they were back in the kitchen and then start to whispering and "ratting" Otto out as the bad guy to cover her butt was not the way to handle the situation.

Funny thing is, didn't Tom say during the judges deliberations (and all the judges agreed), that when they bring them all back in, if Otto took responsibility for the mistake, Marisa would be the one to go? The reason being that she was the one that was responsible for that craptastic and inedible rubbery dessert that she knew shouldn't have been served.

Unfortunately for Otto, he took himself out of the competition.

[KristiB50]

I'm glad they're doing challenges that show they can work in the industry as opposed to things like kids and junk food.

Sushi!! I've read sushi chefs in Japan train for three years before they're even allowed to touch a fish. I have no idea what they do for those three years. But that challenge would have freaked me out.

Otto leaving the store with the unpaid lychees was a bad choice. On camera even! I have no doubt in my mind that if he hadn't been called out he would have kept them. I wonder if the producers would have stepped in?

I'm glad Marisa spoke up but I think she should have done it at the curb instead of back at the kitchen.

[hosinmigs]

Spoiler alert for episode two...

.

.

.

So, who can tell me the difference between a traitor and a whistle-blower?

What happened was, as team Korea exited the store after bying their ingredients for the elimination challenge, Otto was caught on tape making the comment "I think we got those lychee for free" to Marisa. Some time into the cooking process, Marisa told Tom about it, who confronted Otto, and Otto went back to the store to return it (oddly, during the judgement, they showed some "confessional" interviews where team members complained that Otto was gone for a long time while they were cooking). Otto appologized and bowed out.

Maybe I missed something, but if the team left with stuff they didn't pay for, wouldn't that be the responsibility of the entire team? Obviously, if Otto discovered it, but didn't do anything to correct it, shame on him -- but if every other member of the team failed to discover it, shame on them, too. And doubly so on Marisa for not discovering it, but after being told about it, still didn't do anything about it -- except of course back at the base, when she could save her own ass by informing on Otto.

As I said, I might have missed something, but this didn't seem right to me. Sometimes you are overcharged, and sometimes you're undercharged -- I reckon it evens out in the end. This totally reminded me of the incident in the first series where the Irish dude used his finger to taste a sauce. Ie., they made a lot of hoopla because this is on TV.

I see zero points being handed out for team spirit here. And I guess it makes sense that the contestants act that way, but in turn, that means that these team challenges are completely meaningless -- and are merely a ploy to create conflict.

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Couldn't agree more. I think Marissa is a spinless biotch who is going to take every opportunity to screw her competitors. If I were a pastry chef and I let my whole team down like that, I would bow out, not Otto.

Yeah, Otto made a mistake. And yes, he should have paid a price (need to make an example out of him because it's on TV). But, I think he showed his true character by stepping down. He was the bigger man in this situation, bar none.

My girlfriend and I were seriously rooting for Marissa to leave. I love how she says in this episode, "you have to play by the rules. That's very important to me." But earlier in the season it was, "I'll use my sexuality to get ahead." Give me a freakin break...

[howard88]

Otto had a loss of judgement with the lychee caper.

Marisa showed her evil and manipulative personality

as well as poor judgement in her cooking, particularly

since desserts were supposed to be her specialty.

It was so interesting to me to see Marisa's expression

change into what looked like a Djinn when she was

exploiting the team and Otto to further herself.

Don't worry Marisa, it won't be long.

[Tess]

I've been enjoying some of the blogson the Bravo site, especially the ones by Wong and Colicchio. (Why don't they use someone like Lee Anne as a Tim Gunn figure? I realize you can't stop cooking and consult with someone the same way you can with sewing, but it would still be cool.) I think it's Lee Anne's blog that says Marisa used *tablespoons* of gelatin, not teaspoons.

I agree it's weird that no one said anything about the lychees on the spot. It looked like everyone could hear Otto. I found Otto very irritating though. He was kind of smarmy and defensive. "Even top chefs have a bad day." That kind of making excuses in the third person just bugs me. He may be a nice guy off the show, but I don't like listening to him talk. That said, I wish they had booted Marisa instead for that cooking mistake.

[Dave Weinstein]

Otto made a serious mistake.

He was not the reason they lost.

However, I am a firm believer that no job out there is worth your integrity; and by voluntarily taking responsibility for his action and walking away from the competition, he impressed me enormously.

Only one person is going to walk away with the prize package, but there are a lot of ways to win and lose at any reality show. Realizing that you made a mistake and there is only one way to atone for it doesn't strike me as losing.

Should there have been a double elimination? Possibly.

But I cannot think of any other way that this would have ended well for Otto, and in this case, I think it did.

[Jensen]

Can anyone tell me whether or not season 2 is airing in Canada (specifically, BC)? My mum was just here for a visit and she got hooked on the opening episode. Unfortunately, it was not on Bravo at her place last night so she's thinking she might be relegated to watching re-runs of season 1.

Thanks!

[MissAmy]

God I hate this show. And yet, I still watch every week. How weak am I.

I can't stand the competitors. The only two who are even remotely tolerable are the Catering Lady from LA, and the African-American girl who does all the soul food.

Both Marisa AND Otto should have been eliminated. That biotch Marisa should have said something AT THE CAR instead of waiting until cooking was already underway. Otto trying to get away without paying was shady and underhanded. They are both pretty reprehensible.

Why can't Top Chef be fun and lighthearted in the same way the Project Runway is? Why can't they have a mentor figure instead of someone who comes in just to treat them like idiots? I can't stand that guy. He makes me want to slap the TV. I can't stand the judges. The host woman looks like she should be hosting America's Next Top Model instead of a food show, and the Food and Wine woman just leaves me cold. They're both mean. I don't like them. And they don't look like they ever eat, so what are they doing judging food and working in food?

I keep thinking maybe it will get better as the season moves forward, but somehow I don't think it will.

[K_A_S]

I'm in agreement with the consensus here: Otto was wrong, Marissa was wrong for not speaking up earlier, and if anyone else heard what Otto said or about what Otto did and didn't speak up, he or she was wrong, too.

Frankly, I was glad to see Otto finally accept responsibility for what he had done and take himself out of the competition, but it's worth mentioning that it took him quite a while to do that; he clearly was trying to weasel out of it the first time the foursome was in front of the judges (Otto: "Let's not turn this into a he said, she said situation" or some such), so I'm not willing to give him full credit for fessing up at the very end.

As for Marissa, she dodged a bullet this time, since her food was terrible. Her mistake was all the more striking since it was the sort of mistake that "even a pastry student" (or something along those lines) would know better than to make.

Last night's episode was one of those during which I was sorry that only one competitor gets eliminated each week; I would like to have seen both Otto and Marissa go.

[Zeemanb]

I can't decide if my apathy towards Season 2 so far stems from the fact that it isn't "as good" as Season 1 in some way, or if I just need to tune out for several episodes and then get back into it when they are down to the final five or six contestants. Looking back, I think that's when I actually started getting into the first season. I find myself really reaching to find anything interesting enough or annoying enough about anyone to latch onto, and there has been virtually nothing of substance that highlights anyone's talents (or lack of) in a manner that truly sets them apart from the crowd. I know, there have only been two episodes, but I guess that's my point......there are too many people for it to be a good food-related show yet. It's MTV's The Real World right now, but I think (hoping) that will change.

[BryanZ]

Marissa is a huge bitch. As Chef said, Otto rectified the situation and upon taking responsibility at the end should've been cleared (at least somewhat) of his lapse in judgement. Marissa should have been sent home not only for her terrible food but for her inability to support her team.

What Team Korea should have done is meet as a group, then go to Chef as a group, instead of Marissa going behind all of their backs.

I have a crush on Elia, she's endearing. Marcel isn't being Stephen-y enough for me to love him yet, hopefully soon. And it was baller for Ilan to come right out and say their dish was much better than the pho of Team Vietnam. He was somewhat too forward about it but I respect him for that.

ETA: I was so upset about Marissa when I first wrote this I forgot to comment on the challenges. They're much, much harder this season. Since they're so much more industry-focused I wish they'd show more technique and process as to what the chef are actually doing. The butchery of the fish, more of the dishes, the process of getting together and producing food for nearly 1000 diners.

Edited October 26, 2006 by BryanZ (log)

[ghost]

Maybe I'm just a bad person. But if I was running a kitchen, and a purveoyr dropped off 2 cases of something instead of one, and I didn't get charged for it, I'd probably keep my mouth shut. I've worked in enough kitchens to know that most suppliers will take any chance they can to give you what someone else didn't want or to squeeze some extra pennies out of ya. It's a dog eat dog industry. The so called "Top Chef" should be prepared for that. :-D

[patti]

Why can't they have a mentor figure instead of someone who comes in just to treat them like idiots?I can't stand that guy. He makes me want to slap the TV. 

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Do you mean Tom Colicchio? I LOVE him. He's the best part of the show.

I do miss some of last season's characters, but I think this season might get better after a few more people are weeded out. I hope.

[Raquel]

does anyone know how to find out what they're doing in real time?  I'm going to LA next week and would love some info if they're doing one of their restaurant style our outdoor food challenges or something...

anyone know how to find out about that?

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OK. Here's a scoop.

Someone I know is a make-up artist for the show, and she said that they are heading off to Hawaii in November for filming. They'll be based at the Hilton Waikoloa.