Top Chef 2 episode 3

[Robert Lauriston]

Interesting comment by Gail Simmons that "only four of thirteen contestants served anything close to what I would consider satisfactory" in the TGIF elimination challenge. And two of those four didn't make the cut because they weren't entrees.

http://www.bravotv.com/blog/gailsimmo...

The ice cream challenge ... wow are some of these contestants clueless.

[hartleypool]

Last night, I actually went to TGIF and ordered the winning dish by Betty! I haven't been to a Friday's in years, but I was "craving" that port. mush and cheese sandwich!

The grilled cheese was very good. The bread was nicely buttered and the port. mush really did make the dish grown up. It also had sauted red onions in it.(I noticed on the menu that you could opt to replace the mushroom with chicken for $1 more - perhaps that was to appeal to the more protein friendly TGIF crowd).

The soup was served in a small cup and was okay. I was disappointed because the soup wasn't temperature hot enough for my liking and I didn't want to send it back. However, it was quite a yummy meal, satisfying meal and was very "comfort food" friendly. The port. mushroom grilled cheese and soup was only $7.99! Good deal.

[Siobhan]

Thanks for taking one for the team and braving TGIF. You are Chowhound's Otto.

[Katie Nell]

And how many chefs haven't made ice cream before? At least once?!

[pitu]

I'm going to guess that Marissa can only execute recipes. So far she's failed over and over in her supposed expertise, except once managing to put some berries under a crumble without dire consequences.
AND she comes across as so unpleasant that it's impossible to feel bad for her.
Too bad Otto jumped under the wheels last week -- I bet she would have been out in that round.

[sugarbuzz]

Marissa really bothers me. She's extremeley arrogant. Can never admit when she's wrong or screwed up. And always has an excuse as to why she failed. "Well we only had Knox gelatin not professional gelatin" And she assumes she lost because kids don't know good ice cream and it had nothing to do with lack of flavor or quality in her ice cream.
How she got that job at Ame I'll never know. Maybe she just can't work under pressure & the time limits posed on them. It seems to me she only went on this show to get some kind of certain "celebrity" status out of it. She can't even cook..she only makes desserts. This is Top Chef..not Top Pastry Chef.

[Emmett]

Marissa made a DESSERT for the TGIF contest instead of the entree they told them to make. Was she thinking that would help her win? She's also mean and petty. Wish she had been told to leave long ago.

[AmblerGirl]

For the ice cream challenge, I understand why Marcel and whats-her-name made into the bottom three. They did not cater to their audience - they made unusual flvors not suited to the palettes of the everyday person. That was a flaw in their strategy (and probably a sign of their arrogance. But I am shocked that the pastry chef made it to the bottom three in an ice cream challenge. I think her flavor was vanilla peanut, which sounded pretty good - something kids and families would like. But she was beat out by "bacon and waffle" and "avacado" ice cream! And beat out by chefs who never made ice cream before! Her ice cream must have been really bad lacking in quality. How can a pasty chef not know how to make decent ice cream... her's must have been pretty bad to make it to the bottom three along with Marcel's bacon and avacado extravaganza!

She just irks me... what kind of pasry chef is she? Last week she couldn't make panna cotta, this week she couldn't make ice cream. I just do not get it!

[scenicrec]

I'm sure she knows how to make ice cream, but kids are a tough audience- the flavor probably wasn't "exciting" enough... and she didn't do a little dance when she handed out her samples

[keysdax]

Some of them seemed to really overlook the goal of that challenge. They clearly stated that they were supposed to be cooking for the "common man". It seemed like they really just wanted to impress the other contestants.

[mollyomormon]

The avocado and bacon ice cream that Marcel made looked absolutely vile. I don't think he's aware that molecular gastronomy doesn't dictate that the food has to taste bad.

[Robert Lauriston]

I can imagine that avocado and bacon ice cream could be good (I've had both, separately, that were), but serving it to kids would be a bad idea regardless.

[Berry]

Avocado ice cream is good. Did the chefs know that kids were going to be judging their stuff?

[Robert Lauriston]

Yes.

[singleguychef]

I don't know if it was a given that the contestants knew that kids would be taste-testing. During the explanation of the challenge, the host said only that they would be serving the ice cream at a local beach on a hot day. The contestants might have thought of adults at the beach right away instead of only kids.

[Robert Lauriston]

Swimming pool. It seemed clear that the contestants knew, since the guy who won tailored his for kids, and another complained that she hated kids.

Though the way they edit the stuff, who knows.

[heathermb]

Whether or not they knew they were to serve kids, they WERE told they'd be serving the "average person" or something along those lines. I don't know any "average person" who would enjoy bacon and avocado ice cream. In fact, kids might be more inclined than adults to try something like that if only for the entertaining "ick" factor.

[Kater]

They were told that they would be serving to average people. They were not told in advance that they would be serving children. The quote about 'hating' children came from the contestant after they had finished their ice cream and traveled to the location and gotten a look at their target audience.

[Robert Lauriston]

From the host's blog: "I told them they would be going to Redondo Beach where it was a hot summer Sunday, and that there would be a lot of kids."

http://www.bravotv.com/blog/padmalaks...

[BackyardChef]

I was so glad when she got the boot-- when she was told her ice cream needed more sugar by one of the 'public' tasters, she later said that the woman had "4 teeth and a fat ass" or something to that effect. She made me sick...

Also she said the chocolate and lavender are showing up in 'high end' restaurants. Wasn't the goal to make something for the average Joe or Joanne?

[ChinoWayne]

Marcel is clueless in his arroangance, he is this year's Steven. Then as far as beer-belly-guy, he comes in second place in terms of reveling in his arrogance, and who do you know that has childhood memories of STEAK SANDWICHES for crying out loud.

[AmblerGirl]

Ok, I grew up in Philly so I admit that I do have childhood memories of steak sandwiches! That being said, he should have taken the opportunity to make a good steak sandwich, not something sloppy and inedible! His attitude just irks me... he is 28 years old, but is acting like a 19 year old frat boy! Grow up and care about your career!

[pitu]

At least *last* season's arrogant fussboy knew something about food, and alot about presentation. Wolverine seems to have read a magazine article about a trendy movement called "molecular gastronomy" without actually knowing how to apply cooking technique...

And the dessert chef failed at another dessert? whoa....bottom three in ice cream.
I'm ready for both of them to be gone. I'm sure plenty of drama could emerge elsewhere.

[ChinoWayne]

Agree, let me ammend my assessment of Wolverine: "Clueless, arrogant, late to the table trendoid". It sure is fun to watch, though.

[Emmett]

Not true. They all turned out good, considering that some of them had never made ice cream before. There wasn't time to think about it, let alone make it. I don't think they realized how many children were gonna be there. A sophisticated audience might have loved avocado with bacon bits, but not those folks. It was the wrong choice for them, but that doesn't make it bad.