Spoiler Ding dong the Robin is gone, which 'ol witch? The Robin witch! Ding dong the Robin Witch is gone! Okay I know she was utter fail sauce who never produced anything above the palatable mark and was only aroundfor drama, but I'm so glad her sorry ass is gone! Jen may be a lush & Michael may be a douch, but at least they can cook.... usually.
I was really disappointed with tonight's episode. Cook a dish inspired by a casino? I hate it when the challenges are so vague. Last episode was a perfect Top Chef challenge, go to Craft Steak, and have vegetarian cooking thrust upon you. That being said I think alot of the dishes were uninspired. Buffalo Wings? I'm hoping the drama gets dialed up for the last few episodes. With the amount of talent present, there isn't going to be a filler person such as Lisa from 2 seasons ago, and Dale from 3 seasons ago.
I really thought Eli was going home and Robin was going to be around for the pre-finals. His dish was something I would make if I were tripping on acid and had the stomach flu. He might as well have chewed up all the food and spit it into a dish and served. It looked awful. I'm really surprised that he didn't get the boot because that might have been one of the worst looking dishes in Top Chef history. Robin screwed up by not doubling up on her "glass sugar". I give her credit for trying something new, but that being said, if she had known what she was doing she would know that there's a simple remedy to her problem. What the fuck does chicken wings have to do with New York, New York or NYC? It looked delicious, but still. He went to a place that was inspired by New York City and he comes up with chicken wings? Not only that, but he fucking won? I can't believe nobody called him out on that one, especially by Tom who is a stickler for these things. Tom was hard on Robin for her dish not looking like a fucking sculpture yet he had no problem saying chicken wings are inspired by New York City. I can't believe Nigela Lawson is 49.
Jennifer is just becoming a greater disappointment with each episode. So Padma and Nigella didn't hate her shit on a shingle, but how could she expect to actually wow them with that? And then steak and beets (and poorly done at that) for her elimination dish? Christ. Looking back I find the rumor that she hits the sauce a little hard to be believable. I have to second the sentiment against Michael and his chicken wings. First, he talked shit on Kevin two weeks ago (and apparently is going talk some more next week) about his simple and uncreative dishes, to which he cooks chicken and blue cheese. Congrats, you took something from TGI Fridays and made it with better quality ingredients from Whole Foods. Plus when I think of NYC I think of Katz's Deli, Brooklyn pizza, bagels, cheesecake, Italian food... god the list goes on forever. But chicken wings? Maybe if there was a Buffalo-themed casino, but not this time. Also, what was all that talk about firefighters? Bryan almost showed some emotion when talking about his son. I think he almost smiled, but it could have just been the light shining in his face. Eli's dish was a fucking mess. I swear he must have gotten a pass because he won the quickfire and has been doing well recently because I still have no idea what he was going for. Plus I don't know how he got so lost in the concept. Circus = junk food. Not all that hard and plenty of Top Chef challenges have dealt with the foods he saw there. The only other thing that kept Eli in was that Robin talked down about her own dish too much. The judges never give you credit for stuff that didn't make it onto the plate, and tend to actually use it against you more likely. Plus panna cotta isn't exactly rocket science like the judges said.
Guy at the donut shop looked exactly like Jeff McInnis from last season. I don't really know why but he's definitely the one guy from all the seasons that I would want to hang out with.
I take a little back on what I said about Michael's dish. After I read Tom's blog this morning, the dish sounds alot better to me. Still its chicken wings winning Top Chef, but the technique sounds pretty cool. http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/t ... tion-hotel
I think that decision was a clear case of "it would be a travesty if Robin goes any further". They were going to send her home if at all possible.
That's possibly one of the big problems with the show. Not all of the contestants are even remotely on the same level, so the title of "Top Chef" means very little. Granted, there is more talent on this season then the last 3 seasons combined, but still. Technically, Robin was one of the worst prepared chefs to ever be on the show. There wasn't one episode where she didn't make some sort of technical cooking error that any 1st year culinary student or somebody who is proficient working in a kitchen would not make. Yes, time does matter, but still, how the fuck is she even competing on the show is a question I think the producers need to answer eventually. Her one saving grace is she stayed on the show long enough to see that douchebag Mike get booted before her. Anybody want to make any predictions for tonight?
I thought Padma telling Jennifer "Welcome back" after tasting her quickfire was a nice touch, and goes to show just how much expectation they have of each of these last contestants. And at Judges table I got the feeling that Tom was being 100% genuine when he told them how much respect he had for each of those five. Great episode, and was great to see Jennifer utilize her 30 minutes extra to help out anyone that wanted it. Michael Voltaggio is becoming more and more of an unbearable prick.
Watching him excoriate Kevin's food and technique and then lose to him will never get old. Kevin's plate should have showcased more technique and skill for sure, but his cooking fundamentals are without peer on the show. He handles criticism well, but remains true to his vision and style. And he couldn't be more of a gentleman. In short, fuck Voltaggio.
The sequence of Padma saying that followed by Kevin's little wink and nod was probably one of my favorite parts of the episode. Kevin is just such a likeable dude, and an awesome chef, and you can tell he is a genuinely solid guy thats great to be around. He is one of my favorite contestants in awhile. Which brings me to my next point... I know editing is involved, but sweet lord. I liked Michael alot at the beginning cause he is inventive and daring, and he reminded me of some of the ridiculous risks Blais used to take, but he is just an insufferable douche now. And bagging on Kevin is low, cause I seem to recall Kevin roundly praising his food in the past and who you know would be gracious and complimentary if Michael were to beat him. EDIT: Anyone else think the footage from the Bocuse d'Or was hilariously low budget and looked like a bad 80s gameshow?
Yeah, that footage was bad. Looked like it was recorded on my dad's old VHS camera, then transferred to DVD in one of those VCR/DVD combos. I wasn't surprised at all that Eli was let go, but next week is going to be tough. All the chefs are great. I'm hoping that Jennifer doesn't screw herself up and get eliminated for something dumb. If it all comes down just to the food, I don't know who will go home.
Correction...fuck Michael Voltaggio. Big Bro Bryan is still holding up as the sentimental favorite, considering all the time the show has spent highlighting how he'll take time out to buy souvenirs for his kids not to mention airing the financial problems his restaurant is having, thus setting up the $100,000 prize to be all the more meaningful. For the record, I would love to see either drunkie Jen or hippie Kevin go home next week to ensure a Voltaggio showdown in the finale. And considering the disclaimer at the end of each episode concedes that the eliminations are made in consultation with the producers and Bravo I think we're in for a highly-rated season finale.
Yeah dude, but for the most part they don't allow a lot of cameras into the Bocuse d'Or so it's understandable that the footage looks like it's 20 years old. This was by far the most difficult challenge of any Top Chef show ever. I have my own problems with the Bocuse d'Or, because basically it's a fashion show for chefs where I feel style wins out over substance (hence the reason why so many Norwegian chefs win out, because they're taught food styling over flavor). That being said, it was cool to see that Kevin won because his style seems to be more substance over style. I like Kevin a lot, because as somebody above me stated, he is a gentleman chef, and I respect those guys a lot more then talented arrogant types. However, if this episode did expose one thing, it was his lack of technique in the kitchen. Now, this could go both ways on the show, but to me it's a major weakness and one that could be exploited if it comes down to the final against one of the Brothers V. What would have been fucking hysterical is if Robin had made it through to this week because it would have been like taking a fry cook from Burger King and throwing them on the line at WD-50. That would have been great television although I don't think Robin deserved such a grand comeupance. I cannot believe that Kevin makes 30K a year, although he is a restaurant owner without the benefit of having major backers, so it sort of makes sense. I'm making a pilgrimage down to Atlanta in January to dine there just so I can see for myself what exactly he's doing.
I found that startling as well. For the record, he appears to be a part owner of Woodfire Grille, but still, 30k ain't much compensation for that kind of skill (especially for a Beard Award nominee). Maybe somebody in the industry can explain the pay scale; I'm completely ignorant. Also, just ran across the fact that Kevin passed on a full ride to MIT to cook. I agree that he may lack some technique, but I doubt it's for lack of aptitude. And he's just 26. The Voltaggio's got 5-8 years on him.
I like Jen. She's a really talented chef. Eric Ripert doesn't choose just anybody to run his kitchen, so the girl has talent. Yes she's a big drinker, but when it came down to it, she really knows how to cook. I don't know her personally, but in the kitchen she came off as incredibly professional and wonderfully inventive. Had she been on Season 1, 2, 4 or 5 she would have won (nobody beats Hung imo). This season however, she can hold her head high and say she was beaten by three chefs who might not have beaten her in another challenge. Top Chef is fucking hard. I'm a chef who has cooked for 20 years and I can easily say I would not do too well on the show. There are a lot of factors that are glossed over on the show due to time constraints of the program that would completely alter any game plan you can think of when you hear the challenge. For starters: time. There are plenty of recipes I could think of right off the bat, however, then you hear the amount of time you have to purchase, prep and cook an entire meal and immediately most chefs are already off their game. Truly great dishes can take days to complete. Scott Conant at Scarpetta takes 3 days just to prepare his tomatos for a simple sauce, and that doesn't include the time it takes for one of his purchasers to go through an entire truck full of produce to get 4 cases of product. A lot of these chefs do this every single day, so their recipes are never within the 2-3 hour time constraint. When I watch the show I see that they have recipes that need to take all day to prepare what they consider a "perfect" meal, and I see how the realization of the fact that they won't have enough time to execute the meal. I watch the show and it makes me cringe, I can't imagine what it would do to the disposition of a chef that is on national TV. So I empathize with chefs like Jen when they seem dour. I understand how difficult the show has to be when all your recipes that you would execute to perfection are null and void due to the fact that your time constraints are going to make you seeI see the machine working, I see it trying to come up with a new calculation. I see the angst that permeates on the show when they do the interview and suddenly come up blank like Jen did when she had to pick her protein for her final dish to get into the finals. However, this is the difference between an extremely good chef like Jen and three great chefs as we see in the Brothers V and Kevin. For me, the best part of the last episode is watching Bryan smile when he realizes he's in the finals without ever purchasing his food because he had that winning recipe working in his head as it was being read. Jen is very good, however, with the exception of Hung, the three finalists are three of the best ever on Top Chef. This was the best season ever in regards to the skill level needed to reach the end. Eli, who got 5th place would have at least been in the finals of every prior season. Even if you don't watch the show I urge you to watch the final for season six. You will not be disappointed. I eagerly await the finale.
15 minutes in and Spoiler Kevin is fucked. Seriously, what I hate about Top Chef is the twist the producers throw in on the finals.
Seriously. The only way it could have been worse for him would be if he picked Spoiler Robin and Eve I think they are setting him up for a come from behind thing. At least, I hope. After watching the dinners served, my guess for the winner would have to be Spoiler Brian. Kevin wins course 1, Michael course 2, and Brian 3 & 4 Yeah... Spoiler Don't know if I agree with Michael winning. He is amazing, but it seemed pretty clear that Brian out performed him tonight. I don't know, I told myself I would be happy with any of the three (Kevin more than the brothers), but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth for some reason.