Top Chef Seattle - Ep. #6 - 12/12/12 (Spoilers)
OK, we're back with 12 cheftestants. Stew Room shows the cheftestants angsting about the previous EC and knowing that no one got a win.
The next morning, they show up in the TC Kitchen, and Padma is there with an older woman. Tesar wonders if she's Martha Stewart's mother. Nope, it's Marilyn Hagerty, the food reviewer for the Grand Forks Herald for over 30 years. Marilyn explained that she was the one who wrote a column about Olive Garden, and suddenly she was told she was "viral", which she didn't even know what that meant.
She got a chance to go to NYC and try some fine dining. Padma notes that Tony Bourdain is collaborating with her for a book deal using some of her writings. "It's just been a hoot, the whole thing." What a sweet woman!
For the Quickfire, Padma notes the holidays are here. Marilyn says she's of Danish descent, and she likes foods that are sweet and savory. One of her heritage's dishes is ebelskiver. The challenge is to make a sweet and savory dish based on the cheftestant's family heritage. Padma and Marilyn do a little pitch for Truvia Baking Blend with Sugar, which they'll use for the sweet part of the dish.
They draw knives - they all have the words "off limits" on them, except Lizzie pulls a blank knife. Padma tells them they can put their knife rolls away, because the ONLY knife available for ALL of them is the one that Lizzie is holding. Twelve cheftestants and one knife. This ought to be interesting.
They have 30 minutes to prep their dish, and the winner will be safe from elimination. They rush into the pantry to gather their ingredients, but Josh uses the knife first. Others use a grater, a food slicer, a spatula, a pizza cutter, scissors and a few other items as their working utensils.
They continue to cook - everyone is asking what each other is making; the camera continues to :::::WHOOSH! ZOOM!:::: in on various dishes, on the GE Monogram ovens, on the blender, etc. GEEZ LOUISE! Stop with the zooming camera shots!
Josh - Johnnycake with Bacon, Cheddar, Chili Compound Butter & Sous Vide Egg - Marilyn likes the bit of sweetness in the johnnycake.
Danyele - Bread Pudding with Ham, Raisins, & Pecans - Marilyn says "leftover ham never tasted this good!"
Lizzie - Bobotie with Ground Lamb, Egg Custard & Roasted Apricots - no comment about the dish, but Padma asked her about having the knife first. Lizzie said she tried to do all that she needed to do at one time so others could use the knife.
Sheldon - Banana Lumpia with Peanut Butter Mousse, Coconut & Pineapple - Padma said he created something sophisticated.
Micah - Pineapple & Pork Tamale with Charred Tomato & Tomatillo Salsa - Micah said in the confessional that when he was making the tamale, he wondered if Marilyn would even know what it was. Sure enough, she said she's not seen it before: "You've created something...rather unusual!" She liked the plantain and seemed to like the dish.
Bart - Waffles with Celery Three Ways, Apple Purée, Chicken & Prosciutto - Padma laughs and asked if chicken and waffles are traditional Belgian food. He says he knows people who do the dish with turkey.
Brooke - Apple Crostata with Cheddar Cheese, Candied Pine Nuts & Apple Salad - Padma says it's a very "homey dish", and Brooke said it never feels like a compliment when you're in a room of chefs and you've made the "homey dish." (However - that *could* be an extra point in her favor with Marilyn!)
Stefan - Smoked Salmon Tartare, Potato Latkes with Sour Cream & Chives - Stefan said he's half German, half Finnish, and married twice to the same Jewish woman. Marilyn says "Oh really? Well, that didn't show a lot of imagination!" and cracks Padma up. And me. :-D Marilyn tells him he did very well with his dish.
Josie - Tamale with Habanero Masa, Mangos & Papaya - Marilyn said it was a nice combination of flavors.
John - Bondino of Parmesan-Reggiano, Figs, & Apricots in Port Wine & Truvia Caramel - Marilyn said she's all for the port wine in the dish!
Eliza - Hush Puppies Two Ways: Shrimp & Sweet Potato / Sausage & Corn - Marilyn seemed to like the taste.
Marilyn said it was an amazing display of creativity and put her in the mood for the holidays.
Bottom group - Bart, Micah (she called his tamale a taco!)
Top group - Josh, Stefan, and Brooke
And the Quickfire Winner's dish is one that gave her a feeling of going home for the holidays - Brooke (TOLD YA, Brooke!)
For the Elimination Challenge, Padma tells them that a local family is throwing a big welcome home party, and the cheftestants get to cook for the guests of honor. Padma introduces Anna Faris and Chris Pratt. The party will be held at Chihuly Garden and Glass. They will each be responsible for serving one dish that satisfies Chris and Anna's cravings. The winner will get a Toyota Prius C.
They have 5 minutes to talk with Anna and Chris to find out what they like to eat. Wild salmon, Dungeness crab; Stefan asks their heritage (German & Norwegian), and they say they like big game and are adventurous eaters.
They check out the Prius and head back to the suite at Olive 8. Brooke shows a little plastic lizard given to her by her son. Josh brings up a small block of wood with Stefan's face drawn on it on one side, Josh's face on the other - they share it every day. Josh said he didn't like Stefan after watching him on his season - Stefan was douchy, and kind of an asshole. But they've become good friends. Like minds and all that, I guess. :-)
It's the next day - they're beginning prep of their dishes in the TC Kitchen. Stefan yells out "TWELVE MINUTES!" when there's more than 3 hours on the clock. Goober. Josh is trying to redeem himself with another pork dish. Danyele's making boar chops, and they're *very* thin, Kristen's making a filled pasta, John's making a chowder (noting that he worked for Rick Moonen, who taught him to make the best chowder).
They're done in the TC Kitchen, packed up and head over to Chihuly Garden and Glass. This place is gorgeous with the blown glass-decorated garden! They have 30 minutes until service, so they're scrambling to finish their plating.
Judges arrive - Padma, Tom, & Gail, along iwth the guest judge, Rick Moonen. John's freaking out...as he said, there's no room for error. Moonen will have to tell the blunt, hard truth.
Bart - Roasted Loin of Elk with Cherry Beer Sauce & Mushroom Couscous - Padma said the elk was beautifully done, Rich Moonen said other than a touch of salt, it was tender, delicious and well done. Chris Pratt said if the dish wasn't a frontrunner, this would be the best night of his life. (Still not sure what he meant by that, even after watching it 5 times. I *think* that's what he said!)
Brooke - Lamb-stuffed Squid on Black Rice with Coconut Milk - Chris was amazed at the flavor; Tom said Brooke did an amazing job and that it was a ballsy dish. Rick said she could have laid back, but the textures, the flavors were great. Tom said that the time to not lay back is *when* you have immunity.
Sheldon - Braised Okinawan Pork Belly with Seared Scallop and Rice Congee - Anna likes the sweetness of the pork belly and the savoryness of the sushi rice; every bite was a surprise.
Stefan - German Gulasch with Marjoram Bread Dumplings & Sour Cream - Anna said that the Gulasch is something that a pregnant woman craves - very rich and delicious.
Kristen - Délice de Bourgogne Tortelloni - Gail was doubtful of the apricots, but then she realized that dried apricots and a rich triple creme cheese go really well together. Rick said it was a perfect bite.
Micah - Braised Pork Ribs with Celery Root Purée, Grilled Apples & Celery Leaf Salad with Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette - Immediately, Tom said there was too much cream in the celery root purée. (Earlier, Micah was shown adding more cream to the purée trying to make it creamy enough - did he go overboard?). Rick said dishes they'd tried up until then all had many components, but they all worked. In Micah's dish, that isn't the case. Some of the components didn't work.
Lizzie - Crusted King Salmon with Horseradish Cream and a Radish & Beet Salad - Gail wanted more of a sear on the salmon with some caramelization on it so it didn't taste like a filet of fish; and Anna wished it was better seasoned.
Eliza - Elk Ribeye with Elk Sausage Polenta, Spiced Carrots and Huckleberry Port Sauce - Tom said the meat isn't bad but the rest of the dish he just doesn't get. It was very bland. "What happened here?" Gail said that the huckleberry sauce added a hit of acid that the dish needed. Chris said "You guys took a hit of acid too? This Chihuly glass is freakin' me out now, man!" :-)
Danyele - Pan-Roasted Wild Boar, Hoppin' John & Tomato-Bacon Marmalade - Tom noticed how thinly it was sliced and that you can't chew it; it loses all the texture. Gail said it was bland and cooked unevenly. Chris did seem to like the tomato-bacon jam.
Josh - Roasted Pork Shoulder & Grilled Corn Purée with Succotash & Fennel Apple Salad - Gail said it was insane what Josh put on the plate (the amount of pork shoulder). Both Anna and Tom said it needed seasoning. Chris's brother comes up to their table, and Chris asks how it compared to squirrel. His brother replies "infinitely better than rodent." The two of them once ate raw squirrel heart as a blood brother thing. Chris said "To get the soul, you've got to eat the heart. I saw it in a movie once." Tom tosses out "Dances With Squirrel?" and cracks everyone up.
Josie - Malbec Braised Short Ribs, Crispy Pork Belly, Polenta with Cippolini Onions & Figs - Rick said her dish *sounded* great, but there wasn't enough contrast.
John - Seafood Chowder with Cockles, Manila Clams, Crab, Mussels & Sockeye Salmon - Anna said his chowder was everything she craves when she's not in Seattle. Rick said it's a "hug from the ocean, and it's money." Padma said everything in the dish was cooked perfectly and the salmon skin was divine.
Tom notes that the cheftestants did a great job - clearly head and shoulders above the previous challenge. They note that the least successful dishes are Micah's pork ribs, Eliza's elk, Josie's short ribs, Josh's pork shoulder, and Danyele's boar dish.
The cheftestants are back in the Stew Room, saying they had a lot of motivation not to humiliate themselves after Marché. Padma walks in and asks to see John, Kristen, Brooke and Sheldon. And yup - they ARE the top dishes.
Tom told them they should be proud of themselves after the last challenge, that they cooked something to show who they really are with great technique. Padma asks Brooke if she felt she was taking a risk because she had immunity, and Brooke said she did, because she'd been afraid in the past of being yelled at. Tom said if Brooke continues to cook that way, no one would yell at her. Rick told John that the respect and integrity of each ingredient shone in his chowder. Rick called it celebratory soul food. John was pleased to hear that from someone he worked for.
Gail asked Kristen about dried apricots, and asked if she had made it before. Kristen said she knew cheese and dried fruit go together. Tom told her it showed she put thought into her dish and it made perfect sense when you hear it. Padma said Sheldon's dish told her so much about him. Rick said Sheldon's dish was a melting pot of ingredients.
Rick Moonen announces the winner - this chef showed more creativity, a balance of flavors - and they all unanimously agreed the winner is Brooke - and she gets the Toyota Prius! Padma asks them to send in Eliza, Danyele, Josh and Micah. They are the bottom group.
More ::::Whooshing ZOOM!:::: camera pans on the cheftestants and judges. Bleah on those camera moves! Micah's celery root purée was grainy. Padma says to Josh "You keep saying you're known for pork, man!" and he replies "Yeah, I think I'm going to stop cooking it!" Padma throws back at him "No, just stop saying it!" The ratio of pork to everything else on the dish was out whack. Rick tells him it also could have used more seasoning. Eliza's elk was unevenly cooked and too thinly sliced and the carrots were not cooked enough and dried out with little flavor. Danyele's relish was great, the hoppin' john was ok, but the boar was unevenly cooked. Gail noted that her fear is holding her back, and Danyele said the competition is holding her back when she knows she can do what she's making in her own kitchen. Tom tells her to make her own food and stop psyching herself out by what everyone else is making.
A repeat of the :::Whooshing:::: camera pans before Padma tells Eliza to PYKAG.
Previews have Stephanie Izard as a guest judge! Yay! And they'll be cooking in head-to-head battles. And John seems to throw Stefan under the bus? Looks like conflict time next week.
And we're done. And I'm off to go to sleep. :-)
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paulj
Dec 15, 2012 12:07 PM
The Eater review has almost as many details, and a few more pictures!
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re: paulj
roxlet
Dec 15, 2012 01:06 PM
This made me laugh out loud:
"The party is at Chihuly Garden & Glass, which is some weird museum/gallery/event space that looks like a stoner's paradise. It brings Eliza back to her Widespread Panic days. Chihuly Garden & Glass seems like a crazy name, but it's of course named for Jeff Chihuly, who was hired by Tonya Harding to bash in Nancy Kerrigan's knee four hundred years ago"-
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re: roxlet
paulj
Dec 15, 2012 06:20 PM
and his take on the QF judge:
"This week's Quickfire guest judge is Internet-famous and Real Life-old food columnist Marilyn Hagerty. Though she's been writing for the Grand Forks Herald for over half a century, no one paid any attention to her until she wrote a review last year of a new local Olive Garden. She liked it, and that made assholes who read blogs in big cities go bananas. Far more interesting to me is how she keeps pronouncing "restaurants" as "restrints." Tony Bourdain should give her a book deal for that fact alone."http://eater.com/archives/2012/04/05/...
Regarding her book deal. Bourdain's take:
" I think she made us all on the coasts look small and bad, and I admire her for that." -
re: roxlet
mariacarmen
Dec 18, 2012 02:21 PM
this got me:
The chefs cook things from their family's background, and it seems like the less white the food is, the less Marilyn likes it.
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re: paulj
Joanie
Dec 17, 2012 04:21 AM
This was a good review, some that made me laugh:
"all the chefs turn up their intensity. John slips and falls as he runs first into the kitchen. Maybe it's because he wears his glasses two inches above his eyes. Is your forehead near-sighted, John? Are your glasses the most hated chef in Eye-Town?"
"Top Chef keeps bothering to give title card to people at the party. Though she says nine words, I now know that Margo Hass Klein is a family friend and what she looks like, and I'm so thankful for that."
And re: Brook's loss: "She walks toward them and say, "I'm not gonna shake your hands because I'm fighting a cold, so I'm just going to give you all a nod." Uhhh. Kudos to Bravo on the creative editing, removing the inevitable moment when security tackled her to the ground for being unhinged. She heads home to the Widespread Panic tour."
I did think it was funny how she wouldn't shake hands but hugged people in the stew room.
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hal2010
Dec 14, 2012 09:27 PM
This episode suffered from a frequent flaw in earlier series - whoever gets a profile up front gets eliminated.
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re: hal2010
paulj
Dec 15, 2012 09:31 AM
In other words, they get to wear the Red Shirt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirt...With this many contestants, they almost have to profile the looser of the day. The only ways around that are to skip some profiles entirely, do several at a time, or do some posthumous profiles.
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fame da lupo
Dec 14, 2012 01:41 PM
Really? No mention yet of squid stuffed with lamb? What kind of insane combination is that? I'd never have thought of this pairing, ever ever.
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re: FoodPopulist
fame da lupo
Dec 14, 2012 02:38 PM
I think the fact that it was lamb that threw me off, not meat in general.
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What happened to Kristen in the Quickfire Challenge? I had to watch the judging twice. She was cooking and she was standing at her station while the judging took place. I assume she didn't get food on her plate. They usually show that and show the disappointment on the contestant's face.
The best exchange of the episode:
Padma: "Josh, you keep saying you're known for pork, man."
Josh (cutting off Padma): "I know <chuckle>...I think I'm gonna stop cooking it."
Padma (cutting off Josh): "No...just stop saying it."
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John E.
Dec 13, 2012 12:38 PM
A few random thoughts on last night's TC. First, yes Micah, Marilyn does know what a tamale is. She has been working at the Grand Forks Herald since 1957. She thought your tamale was dry, it had a lot of other stuff on the plate, and she knew what the plantain was. Yes, she called it a taco in her comments after tasting, but she is 86-1/2 years old.
Josh, do you really think getting Stefan to be your buddy is going to help you in this competitiion? (Mike Isabella attempted a similar strategy in TC6 and it didn't work for him). Please, DO NOT touch your nose or mustache in the kitchen. I'm sure you just went back to food prep and that's gross. Josh cut his pork into big bricks. He likely seasoned the outside of the shoulder and then did not season the pork on each plate, or at least not enough. It was a weird dish.
Danyele why did you buy such thin boar chops? Don't apologize for your food before they eat it.
Bart did not have a problem with cooking elk. Too bad for Eliza.
I too have noticed that John seems to be less abrasive. I wonder how much editing has to do with it. He does seem to have considerable cooking skills. He should, he's 54 years old and has been cooking a long time.
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re: John E.
JuniorBalloon
Dec 13, 2012 02:13 PM
On the taco comment, it could also be she thought it was so dry and crusty it couldn't be a tamale. If it was it was the worst tamale she had ever had. She was only being "midwest nice" in assuming it must be a taco. :)
jb
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Stefan has really matured - not as a chef, but as a human. He is a soothing presence, especially juxtaposed next to that annoying mustached Oklahoman kevin gillespie wannabe.
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re: catroast
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 10:02 AM
John was the one who *wanted* the pork tenderloin cut and cooked in medallions, whereas Josh would have cooked it whole and then sliced it. That would have retained more juices in the meat. I'm not sure John would have managed as well with the medallions either.
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re: cwdonald
cowboyardee
Dec 13, 2012 09:12 AM
Wouldn't surprise me if Stefan was just a little more savvy this time around, maybe giving the editors fewer chances to make him look like a jackass. He doesn't strike me as a dumb guy and he's been through this before.
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re: cowboyardee
LurkerDan
Dec 13, 2012 10:04 AM
I don't know, I think Stefan is what he is and doesn't give a crap. That's how he was in Season 5, and he seems the same way here. I don't see much of a change, but then I kinda liked him in season 5. Sure he was an ass, but he knew he was one, and self-awareness makes it more palatable (and the fact that he has a sense of humor also helps). If there's a difference, it's that this season he's surrounded by way more chefs who have his same arrogance and belief that they're the best, so he comes off less as "the arrogant guy".
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re: catroast
mariacarmen
Dec 14, 2012 04:27 PM
i have to agree with all of this. Twisty mustache guy does nothing for me.
however, it says something that they've become friends.
what, i don't know.
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LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 06:21 AM
BTW - did anyone else notice the HUGE ramp-up in product placement in this particular episode? GE Monogram ovens got several :::zooming::: camera shots, both Marilyn and Padma had to deal with mentioning the Truvia, the Toyota Prius. I'm pretty sure there were a couple of others - Whole Foods, of course, even though we didn't see them shopping.....which I forgot to mention last night. I'm *glad* they took away the shopping expedition section of the show.
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re: bobbert
roxlet
Dec 13, 2012 07:03 AM
Yes, but I sure wish they would fill the time with more cooking. I know that the chefs are always rushed, but I really wish they wouldn't rush the cooking. Plus which, no one is just beginning a dish when they call, "5 minutes!" That seems to be a convention on all these cooking shows, but it is so rare for someone to not have finished their dish.
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re: chicgail
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 12:07 PM
I think, no matter what, they were *supposed* to use the Truvia. Nine of the recipes for the Ep. 6 QF are up on Bravo's website:
http://tinyurl.com/TC-Seattle-Ep-6-QF...
Just checked all of them - they ALL have Truvia listed as an ingredient except Eliza's hush puppies and Stefan's smoked salmon tartare and potato latkes. Interesting.
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re: LindaWhit
coney with everything
Dec 13, 2012 06:49 AM
and it's the cheapest Prius to boot :)
Couldn't they spring for a Prius V?
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re: LindaWhit
How could we not notice it? My girls & I were groaning about how obvious it was. I guess since alot of people use a dvr & forward through the commercials, they're forced to do that. Believe me though, I will NEVER buy Truvia. Nasty stuff that is. Prius' are nice cars, but I won't be buying one of those either, not practical where I live. I would love a GE Monogram kitchen, but not buying those either since most of my appliances are fairly new.
I'm sure Whole Foods will be shown soon enough. I really hate the product placements.
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re: LindaWhit
The Truvia pushing was pretty heavy-handed I thought (including at least one commercial later in the show). And strictly speaking, the enjoyable Marylin's appearance was placement as well, as Padma mentioned that Bourdain is publishing her book of reviews.
I do like how they had to add the "one knife" twist so that viewers wouldn't assume that it's a "challenge" to cook with Truvia.
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re: ennuisans
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 10:01 AM
Just a point (to everyone, not just you, ennuisans, as I've seen others say it as well) - the QF guest judge's name is "Marilyn Hagerty" - not Marylin.
And very good point on her being a "product placement" as well - hadn't thought of it that way, but I guess anyone selling something who is a judge is essentially product placement. :-)
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re: LindaWhit
The staging of the Stew Room is getting kind of ridiculous. Back in the early days of Top Chef, they were in what looked like a storage room with maybe a few boxes of Glad Bags in the background. Now, the entire Stew Room is a set designed to showcase sponsored products displayed perfectly on the background shelves.
I was expecting to see pop-up graphics telling me to go to bravotv.com to buy the products shown in the background.
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roxlet
Dec 13, 2012 04:46 AM
I liked this episode since I felt that it was gimmick-free in terms of the food they had to cook.
Am I the only one here, but are some of these chefs entirely forgettable? I couldn't pick Eliza up out of a line-up, so for me, I guess it was OK that Padma asked her to PYKAG. And will someone please ask Eliza to get her hair out of her face? It's pretty unappealing --all I kept thinking of was finding long strands of her hair in my food.
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re: roxlet
I was also thinking how forgettable the chefs are as I too would have difficulty picking one out of a line-up.
I was OK with the qf and Marylin. I think they needed to recognize who they were cooking for and appropriately simplify for her. As cowboy mentions upstream, Brook may have stumbled into the qf win but "fancy" food wasn't going to win with Marylin. Ethnic wouldn't stand a chance either. They need to remember this if they have to cook for kids which seems inevitable.
Josh has showed me nothing.
Stefan has started to step it up.
John is less obnoxious and consistently at the top.
Kristen too.
And now Brooke. Lamb stuffed squid. Killer.
Really good competition. Except for last week, good challenges.
To think it was just 2 weeks ago when I was mentioning the lack of product placement.
The camera work. Please make it stop.-
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re: Worldwide Diner
lynnlato
Dec 15, 2012 12:20 PM
"They" may have required a dish relative to their heritage but the chefs knew that Marilyn -Love of Olive Garden - would be selecting the QF winner so they kind of needed to dumb things down for the win (harsh but true). It's difficult, I know, because the week prior they were chastised for being too simplistic. Frustrating, no doubt.
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C. Hamster
Dec 13, 2012 04:41 AM
Marylin was awesome!!!!
I thought the challenge itself was lame and the food didn't impress but she was great.
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re: C. Hamster
I really liked that they used her. When they mentioned her review of Olive Garden, I was reminded of a thread on CH where people were talking about OG and what happens when it is the best italian food in the area. Not everyone lives in a hip urban area with tons of ethnic groups.
And I loved the fact they were asked to do something about the holidays. Frankly I thought very few of them did true holiday food, but it was nice that they had the creativity. I was intrigued with the bread pudding with ham. The winning dish is reminiscent of my family's apple pie recipe which has cheddar in the crust, an homage to the English and Canadian traditions of serving cheddar with apple pie. And I can forgive someone for saying taco rather than tamale...
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re: DGresh
C. Hamster
Dec 13, 2012 05:41 PM
Being a Midwesterner by birth and by visit I think she was perky and witty. She made me laugh, particularly at Stefan's marriage comment.
But she was Midwesternerly in the niceness of her demeanor.
Both my Grammies are gone.., I seriously wanna adopt her!
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re: C. Hamster
paulj
Dec 13, 2012 06:01 PM
On the latest The Splendid Table, guest 'cook' Lizz Winstead, told a story about her mother being the master of Minnesota nice.
http://www.splendidtable.org/story/lizz-winstead-the-key-3
(audio link at the bottom)http://www.bookbrowse.com/blogs/edito...
At a big-name event in Minnesota, Lizz was part of a panel whose other guests were Desmond Tutu, Hillary Clinton and Jonathan Alter. Mom called Lizz and complained, "Lizz, you're the only guest I have never heard of!"
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Shrinkrap
Dec 13, 2012 12:10 AM
Thanks Linda!
"everyone is asking what each other is making"
So I and the daughter think someone is making them ask, since when one cheftestant asks, he walks away, mid answer.
Regarding ebelskiver....you have all seen this? My (multiethnic, meaning African-American and Carribean American) son is SO into the William Sonoma ebelskiver. After YEARS of hounding me, I sent "The Haters"guide, and he says he's giving up on the ebelskiver maker, but still wants to place an order......
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re: Shrinkrap
Actually, the correct spelling is "æbleskiver" (or aebleskiver on an English keyboard). I think very few Danish people nowadays are committed enough to æbleskiver to actually own a pan. My grandmother (who has now passed away) did, and her æbleskiver were fantastic. My mother never owned a pan for æbleskiver and never learned how to make them. I buy mine frozen and eat them while complaining out loud how crappy they are compared to my grandmother's. Interestingly Marilyn's correction on how to pronounce "æbleskiver" was completely wrong - this is how it's really pronounced: http://www.forvo.com/word/%C3%A6blesk...
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re: Shrinkrap
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 06:15 AM
"Because, honestly, what can you do with a pumpkin soup bowl besides put pumpkin soup in it? If you put tomato soup in it, God will murder you."
LOL! This is great! My poor mailbox has been inundated with catalogs since the middle of November. My recycle bin is quite heavy every two weeks. :-)
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cowboyardee
Dec 12, 2012 10:28 PM
- It's nice to see the chefs cooking individually in an elimination challenges reasonably early in the season. So kudos to TC there.
- When Brooke was saying she just wanted to 'play it safe' during the quickfire, I was groaning. You're not going to get eliminated, so why not try extra hard to impress? But I think she stumbled across perhaps the best strategy in Top Chef - make foods you really like and that you know how to make really well. I've seen contestants win with simple food and complex dishes, traditional American classics/cliches and wild creations out of left field. But all the best competitors seem to find a way to play to their strengths whenever possible, and whatever those strengths may be.
- After shrugging off Danyele's apparent distress, Josh says something along the lines of: "Yeah, we're friends, but I'm not going to worry about how she's doing. This is a competition, and she has to go if I'm going to advance." Close: this is a TELEVISED competition. One that many in his chosen profession watch. You help yourself not only by winning but by seeming like someone people would want to work with in the future. I'm willing to accept the possibility that Josh isn't really as bad as he sometimes comes across, but the dude sure doesn't seem too savvy. Does anyone remember Richard Blais' chicken and egg analogy from the Top Chef blogs, years ago?
- Whether he wants to or not, Josh must cook pork again. Personal reputation outweighs even one's chances of winning. Cook pork and make it awesome. It's pork - shouldn't be that hard.
- My top 4 right now: Tesar, Kristen, Stefan, and Sheldon. But this season still seems to have a pretty level playing field compared to some seasons.
- Linda - when Chris Pratt said if Bart's dish wasn't a frontrunner, this would be one of the best nights of his life, he was saying that if the remaining contestants could come up with four or five even better dishes, then he would be eating exceptionally well that night. Bart wasn't in the top 4, so i gather Chris was probably quite happy with the meal.
And thanks as always for another kickass recap.
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re: cowboyardee
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 06:12 AM
Ahhhh - THANK YOU for the explanation about Chris Pratt's comment, cowboyardee! Now that makes sense. It just wasn't clicking for me last night.
Interesting - I have Kristen in my Top group, but I'm still not sure if Stefan is there yet. He's close - but just a smidge out of it. Although he's doing better than Josh is, that's for sure. And Tesar does seem to be doing very well.
There were several dishes in both the QF and EC that I'd like to try - Lizzie's bobotie with ground lamb being one. I'll have to keep an eye out for recipes to be posted on Bravo's site.
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re: LindaWhit
cowboyardee
Dec 13, 2012 09:08 AM
Kristen probably impressed me even more than Brooke did this episode, despite not getting the win. Whereas Brooke pulled off a complicated, culture mashup, tightrope walk of a dish, Kristen combined a really solid and uncluttered thought-process and simple good technique to make a dish that is able to surprise and innovate and at the same time was never all that risky. That kind of thing should carry her to the top again and again.
Tesar is an obvious call. He reminds me a bit of Angelo (s7) though, in that he seems to be a very skilled head case, and it's possible that he may self-destruct before the finals.
The judges are already remarking that Sheldon is very good at flavoring and balancing his food. And when all is said and done, contestants whose food reliably tastes good tend to make it far, even if they have other deficiencies.
Stefan... at least in part, I'm influenced by his dominance during season 5. OTOH, that season seemed to have a weaker field than this season. Still, even his mistakes have seemed to be the kind which could be fixed by minor adjustments and a sharper focus. I think he has good odds to sharpen that focus as the season continues. Getting beaten up a bit in the early rounds might be good for him as long as he doesn't get the ax.
As for the bottom: several contestants are foundering and are good candidates to go home any given week. But IMO the least likely to make it to the finals are Josie and Micah. Not because they're foundering but almost the opposite - those two seem to already be cooking 'their food,' and it just isn't good enough. With some of the other contestants beating themselves, it might still be weeks before they go home, but I would be shocked if either made the finals.
A note on Josh - right now, he seems almost as bad as Josie and Micah, failing at his own supposed strengths. I have a hunch that he has a little more to offer than those two though. I think he's a guy who knows some good techniques and can make some great components, but his thought process just isn't there in terms of making a whole dish and balancing it out. That's a problem. But it's also the kind of thing that some previous contestants have seemed to learn during the competition itself. He's a long shot, but he's not yet dead in the water, IMO.
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re: cowboyardee
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 09:58 AM
Great "review" of each cheftestant. Good analogy on Tesar = Angelo. I would agree with that. As for Sheldon, I had forgotten he had an early "High" in the first ep. He's doing a good bit better than Josh with his three "Low"s these past 3 episodes.
John Tesar and Lizzie have both had two "High"s as well, with John winning 1 QF, but there's no one that is a huge standout as there was almost immediately in TC6, which will always be the standout season.
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re: LindaWhit
LurkerDan
Dec 13, 2012 10:42 AM
TC6, however, was really top-heavy. It certainly was the standout in terms of which season had the best 4 chefs, but top to bottom I don't think it was the best. I think last season probably had the greatest depth (obviously not counting season 8 as it was "all stars").
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re: cowboyardee
Forgot about Josie and Sheldon.
Agree. Josie is on the next to go short list. Very unimpressive so far and the headband? What's with the headband? At least it makes me forget about John's glasses and Josh's mustache.
I think you touched on something with Sheldon and his flavors. They're unique to the show. They obviously work and he knows they work as he's been cooking with them for years. What might be fairly pedestrian flavors in Hawaii might seem a bit more exotic and different to the judges giving him an edge. Four or five dishes with very good but familiar flavors and one very good but, to their palates, "out of the box" flavors has to get more notice. -
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re: cowboyardee
chefhound
Dec 14, 2012 01:24 PM
Totally agree on the top 4.
Wasn't sure Stefan was going to make it into my top 4 based on his inconsistent performance so far but he seems to be getting into his groove. And I've always liked Stefan.
I'm trying to like Josh as the poor man's Kevin Gillespie but he is really destroying the reputation of the pork-focused chef. They're both pork guys but that's where the comparison ends. He hasn't managed to make a decent pork dish yet on this show.
Really liking Kristen and Sheldon too. I was impressed with Brooke's dish but not sure she keep it up, so she's not making it into my top 4 yet.
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Worst QF judge ever. She doesn't have a clue about food so she picks the one that she's familiar with as the winner. They might as well ask an Eskimo to judge the next QF.
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re: ennuisans
LindaWhit
Dec 13, 2012 06:08 AM
Yeah, I noted her faux pas in my OP. I still liked her and thought the challenge was fun. Not *everything* has to be high end hauté cuisine. Look at the Muppets last season. And of course she picked the one that tasted best to her - doesn't every judge do that? She also complimented many of the dishes as she and Padma were tasting them.
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re: Worldwide Diner
Joanie
Dec 13, 2012 04:23 AM
I didn't think she was great and wonder if comments ragging on her were kept off air. I can't imagine they were happy to have someone so "unworldly" doing the judging. I'd be pissed if I were Micah getting my taco/tamale criticized by her. On the other hand, I can see it being dry which is a hazard of tamales.
Missed the Stefan-Josh bro love (switching back and forth between this and the concert for Sandy), I like Stefan way better than Josh. John still seems pretty mellow but the preview didn't make him look good. I really like Sheldon so far.
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re: Joanie
paulj
Dec 13, 2012 11:49 AM
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/837787
is the thread from earlier this year about her Olive Garden review.
Timing may be a factor. Top Chef was probably in the planning process in March, the time when this review went viral. So in casting around for judges for a QF, Marilyn could have come to mind. Product placement for the Bourdain book probably came later.
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re: taos
juliejulez
Dec 15, 2012 03:33 PM
Have you read the review? She didn't write about it as if it were a fine dining place, nor did she "rave" about it. It was a pretty middle of the road review... she didn't rave, but she didn't really rant about it either.
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