Last Chance Kitchen 12/5 (spoilers)

[Joanie]

Okay, I *really* hated the way they did this LCK. CJ and Tyler walk into the kitchen and find out Koniko is the chef they'll go up against. They have a few laughs about what went wrong earlier and Tom says that part of being a top chef is working with people so they'll have to team up again. I thought for sure that each of them would take one of the other three chefs sitting there but no, CJ and Tyler are a team against K. That's just stupid. The obvious reason being two people can do more in 30 min than 1, but also I just think at that point, it's each man for himself. Whatever, continuing on.

K. makes some sort of fruit cut into odd shapes with compressed frozen banana (something like that) and lemon curd served in a bowl. CJ & T want to do new world vs old world, T is making cherry fritters and CJ comes up with hay ice cream (I still don't get it, and they have hay sitting around in there?) with some chocolate and not sure what else. Arugula is in there too. Tom liked both but thought K's dish wasn't presented that well and there was a lot going on. She said she wanted people to get a bite of everything every time. Tom thought the other dish worked surprisingly well but had too much arugula. He goes with the two guys. I don't mind that they won but the whole two people thing pisses me off. And as CJ said, I hope he doesn't have to stay in a team for the next round.

Bad bad bad LCK.

[mariacarmen]

i had no problem with the boys being a team, for THIS LCK. i do hope that's the last time they do that. i am sorry to see Kuniko go, but her dish did look a little soup and amorphous - of course, without tasting it, who knows.

i actually thought hay ice cream sounded very intriguing. but as Joanie said, did they actually have hay just lying around? actually, that's not even that farfetched. when you think of sweet-smelling hay, and how many people use savory elements in dessert (as everyone did tonight), it's not so crazy.

[KailuaGirl]

I keep wondering if there's some way for them to have a LCK type thing between these two guys, leaving one of them as the cheftestant for the next challenge. If not, keep them locked in together as a team. I realize that two hands make for easier work, but two brains make for more conflicts. I just wonder which of those two trumps. I did voter for Kuniko and was really sorry to see her go.
Cripes, I hate this new format! The type is so small for new entries...

[mariacarmen]

once again i've not read this thread, as i've not yet watched the 12/5 LCK. and once again, like an idiot, i cannot for the life of me find a link to watch it online. every time i search the site i find everything but - even last season's LCK. can someone please link me to it again, and i'll save it this time? thanks so much, and apologies.

[roxlet]

See if this works...
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/seaso...

[mariacarmen]

thanks roxlet! that's the one, and i saved it.

[chowser]

Hated this. Are they going to continue with being haunted with how you did on TC? The person who loses on a blindfold challenge is going to be SOL. I'm voting for Kuniko. Too bad we can't vote against some.

[nosh]

I'm in a Top Chef contest with some family members. I need to pick the next loser. I picked Tyler as one of mine, and he lost this week.

So who do you think is next to "pack up your knives and go"? I already have, and am rooting against, Stefan.

[Joanie]

Josie?

[LurkerDan]

One can only hope. ;-)

[chicgail]

I'm having a hard time watching LCK. It just keeps playing the Toyota ad over and over and over and over.

[roxlet]

Are you on an iPad? That happened to me when I tried to watch it on my iPad.

[chicgail]

I got in but i had to close the tab and reopen it.

[LindaWhit]

A P.S. to CJ..............................

1. BUY A LONGER CHEF'S JACKET!
2. Keep the bottom button buttoned. (We really don't want to see your belly)
3. Don't raise your arms in that coat, mmm'kay?

[John E.]

He probably tries to buy them off the rack, but he should get them custom fitted. I sometimes have trouble finding shirts with sleeves long enough and CJ is almost 5 inches taller than I.

I don't really think Kuniko was at too much of a disadvantage because she was alone cooking against a team of two. Look at the food that was created in the EC for this episode. I bet it would have been better if they had been cooking as individuals.

[Dee S]

My son is 6'7" and he doesn't have too many issues with clothes; pants are the toughest. Now I'm not sure if they make chef's coats in tall sizes. Heaven knows they make them is large sizes....but tall not so much.

You'd think that with his stints in those fancy places, he'd have a better fitting chef''s coat!

[John E.]

Was it a Top Chef - Elves provided chef's coat?

[Dee S]

No...it was in LCK and it was his personal coat. I don't think there was an issue with the Top Chef coat. Just his own.

Maybe he was wearing super low rise jeans.....IDK. I do recall seeing belly flash when he put his arms over his head, as Linda indicated.

[JonDough]

I believe CJ was trying to put on Koniko's coat.

[Dee S]

Yes after the win (and I found it amusing). The belly flash was prior to that.

[LindaWhit]

Yes, he was doing that after he and Tyler won. But I was referring to his regular chef's coat.

[John E.]

It was funny on LCK for TC 9 when Chuy put on Keith's coat.

[bobbert]

Actually, I don't think it was a chef's coat - not double breasted. Just bad fitting white shirt. I think CJ was so pissed off at being eliminated that he beat up the first homeless guy he found on the street and took his shirt.
Also, the eliminated chefs don their own restaurants chef coat until they re-earn a top chef one. I don't believe CJ actually has a real job so he didn't pack one for the show. He probably never thought it possible that he would be eliminated.

[dmjordan]

It looks like the thin shirts the line cooks used to wear at the restaurants that I worked at.

[chicgail]

Even if he's not working, I would expect that he'd have one chef coat of his own. And I'm sure the producers provided packing lists of what to bring.

[babette feasts]

Some chefs prefer the shirts, I know I do. I hate wearing a chef coat. We keep both coats and shirts for whichever our chefs and cooks prefer.

[gaffk]

Yeah, I just watched a few minutes of this episode again, and it's definitely just a short-sleeved white shirt. (And agreed . . .he never thought he'd need one as there was no way he could be eliminated. He is, after all, a legend in his own mind.)

[linus]

i thought this was "top chef," not "top shirt"

[gaffk]

I thought it was "top scallop"?

Either way, I don't care what he wears as long as he loses the next LCK and I don't have to hear from him again. I liked him on his original season, when he seemed like a pretty humble, funny guy. But since his stage at Noma, he seems a bit smug and definitely humorless.

[Miss Needle]

Kuniko was at such a disadvantage. This was a terrible format. They should have just had the three of them duke it out for the spot.

Hay is being used in some cutting-edge restaurants. That's probably why they had it in the pantry. And turns out Johnny Iuzzini has been making hay ice cream.

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features...

[C. Hamster]

HAY ICE CREAM? Yuck.

I originally thought her dessert looked terrific, with those pretty cylidrical fruits which shw spent so much time on ... until she covered it al up with baby vomit and added pink peppercorns and olive oil. Huh?

I agree it was a terrible episode.

[LindaWhit]

Just watched it during lunch. And I agree - MAJORLY dislike that it was a team against Kuniko. And HAY ice cream? And WTF is with CJ and arugula with ice cream?

And I'm kind of in the group saying I hope they have to stay as a team. Just because I have deemed CJ as a putz this season and I want him to be pissed off.

Maybe Kuniko can win viewer's choice LCKer and get back into the TC kitchen that way.

[roxlet]

I was really sorry Kuniko lost, and I voted for her!

[LindaWhit]

Where do you vote?

[momjamin]

Vote here: http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/seaso...

[LindaWhit]

Thanks! I see she's up against Jeffrey this week. Or was that last week?

[roxlet]

I think last week, but she won last week. I don't get it, actually.

[momjamin]

If I understand...Kuniko is up against Jeffrey because they both lost. Until last night's episode, Kuniko was the LCK champ so far -- and the voters had chosen Jeffrey as LCK "loser fan fave" so far. Kuniko lost last night, putting her into the losers pool, so now this week she's up against Jeffrey for fan fave.

Next week, CJ/Tyler will cook against next week's eliminated chef(s), and the loser(s) from that cook-off will go into the losers pool with Kuniko or Jeffrey -- whichever one of them wins this week's voting. For example, if Kuniko wins this week's voting, and CJ/Tyler loses next week's cookoff (I'm counting them as one competitor until we hear otherwise ;-) -- then next week we'll get to vote for Kuniko vs CJ/Tyler to stay in for a chance to re-enter competition. Those chefs don't do another cookoff. Until we hear otherwise.

Make sense/sound right?

[LindaWhit]

Got it. Thanks.

[Joanie]

I think there's too much added shit going on.

[Worldwide Diner]

I think there's too much added shit going on.
***
Agree. WTF is with multiple losers coming back?

[The Dairy Queen]

Well said.

I'd be totally confused but for the help of my fellow chowhounds.

~TDQ

[Shrinkrap]

I'm STILL confused, but I don't really care. At least not yet.

[JonDough]

+1 on the bad LCK. Koniko definitely had an unfair advantage. I hope CJ & Tyler have to stay as a team in LCK just because I want to piss them off.

[JuniorBalloon]

Hated the main episode and hated LCK even more. Terrible decision to have them cook as a team. Hope they drop it in the next one.

jb

[Dee S]

I watched and just shook my head. Not a good episode. There was just something "off" about it.

I hope they *do* have to stay as a team. They lost as a team and should continue through LCK as a team. Sucks for them but that's how they went out!

It's consistent.

[Berheenia]

Thanks for the recap because I can't find LCK in the on demand menu and never watch Top Chef live, just watch it using comcast on demand the next morning after TC hater leaves for the office. It doesn't sound like I'm missing much so thanks again. I'll just read your recaps.

[caviar_and_chitlins]

Hi- John E in the TC thread told me how to find it on Demand: Go to TV Shows, "By Network", "Bravo", "Top Chef", and it's in there, but not when you search alphabetically, for some reason.