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Food TV
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| bravotv.com |
It's part one of the Season 6 finale, and there are only a few things on my mind at this point in the competition. First � remember when Preeti said she became a chef because of 9/11? That was awesome.
Second � knowing what we know now, that Top Chef snoopage sesh from yesterday has created nothing but more confusion for me. And the last thing I need is more Top Chef confusion.
Quickfire: Our final four � Jen, Kevin, Bryan and Mike � show up one by one on a railroad platform at what looks like Shining Time Station, hair all different and strangely rested-looking. They're in Napa. Kevin's beard has a Facebook page. A pretty train arrives. The transcendently beautifully preggos Padma emerges alongside Top Chef Masters finalist Michael Chiarello. Does anyone else feel as though Padma should always be trailed by a Crazy 88-style entourage every time she enters or exits any type of door or vestibule?
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You know what? It's the second-to-last episode of this season. I'm just going to go ahead and get this out of my system:
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God that feels good. What am I supposed to do when this season is over? Read books? I'm so angry already.
So the Quickfire is that the final four cheftestants have to cook dishes for Padma and Chia on board the Napa Valley Wine Train, using grapes as a thematic ingredient. Kevin gets motion sickness easily so he's not feeling so hot about the situation, at least until he hears that the prize is a brand-new Toyota Prius. Jen reveals that she drives a 2000 Chevy Cavalier, which endears me to her even more � I'll race you down Broad in my '98 Civic with the cracked-ass back bumper, Jen!
Chia has kind words for all of the chefs and their dishes, even threatening to steal to Jen's chicken liver/clam/cabernet grape combo for his restaurant, but Mike ends up getting the keys to the whip with a "cous cous"-stuffed grape leaf (his "dishes" always have so "quotes" around the "ingredients") with a "scallop" "skewer." "Screw him, man," says Jen. GOOD FOR YOUUUU, Mike!
Elimination: Napa Valley's fall crush season is reason for celebration, and the foursome are told to cook two dishes apiece for a crowd of 150 rich people who wear denim shirts. One dish must be all-the-way vegetarian, while the other can feature a protein � but ALL the ingredients, S&P excepted, come from within a 50-mile radius. This stirs up some trepidation in Mike, who's used to cooking with space food sourced from the Crab Nebula, but Kevin, Jen and Bryan all seem OK with it.
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| bravotv.com |
"There's definitely a sibling rivalry," Mike says of competing against Bryan. Really? While we're all rattling off long-established absolute truths here, I definitely spend way too much time thinking about this show and Gail Simmons is definitely extremely into me.
Jen puts out a chevre mousse for her veg entry and a delicious-sounding roundup of braised duck legs and confit duck breast for her meaty plate; Chiarello compliments the "duckiness" of her Sonoma duck (are chefs allowed to say stuff like that?), but there's apparently too much salt in her goat cheese jawn. Mike's veggie pistou with slow-poached eggs and turnip/foie/pear soup earn dubious feedback. (His food causes Chiarello to utter the phrase "finish in my mouth," which made me laugh because I am 12 years of age.) Kev's roasted root-veg dish (above) is a huge hit, as is Bryan's goat cheese ravioli, and it's a battle of the short ribs for their meat courses: B's comes fig-glazed and flavorful, while K's ropy � sorry, "toothsome" � presentation with polenta is slightly less well-received.
The judges have quibbles for each of the chefs, but when it comes time for elimination, it's our girl Jen who's sent packing. Not to sound like too much of a homer here, but I think this is a perfect example of how utterly stupid it is for the judges to claim that they view the chefs' efforts on an episode-by-episode basis. If that were really true, Mike would've been axed, only because the stringent locavore parameters of the Elimination threw him off his game a bit � he stated himself that he missed his "tricks," and it showed in the mixed-bag reactions to his food. Jen's veg dish apparently had too much salt, but her duck was a smash across the board � even though they tried to twist her on-the-fly decision to confit her duck breast instead of grill it (coals weren't hot) into a shortcoming.
Next week: FINALE. OK Top Chef fans � who's taking this? My gut says Kevin, but based on my nosiness research, the logical pick here miiiightttt be Bryan. Let's hear what you have to say.
I can't recall a Top Chef "chopping block" session in six seasons when I couldn't pick at least one cheftestant or even say all of them deserve to go...but last night's elimination left me flummoxed on who they were sending packing. Right-on Drew, they loved Jen's duck, but seems the reason she was kicked to the curb, according to Tom, was it wasn't her initial intention?? Jen rocked and did us proud. My money's been on Kevin since Episode 1. If he doesn't pull a Blaise, he's taking the title.
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Forget it. I'm not even reading next week's recap. Shouldn't chefs be rewarded for thinking on the fly, not punished? It's good to let the 12 year old backpack rapper out. Don't want him to get suffocated.
I say we take friendly wagers on the ganador. Being in Philly means that we can use the term "high stakes," but instead spell "stake" like "steak," and the winner gets a cheesesteak. We've got to have odds, though, and Kevbo's at 10-1 (or maybe instead of winning cheesesteaks, I will eat 10 cheesesteaks if he wins). I put Li'l V at 3-1, and Bry-Bry's dead even. Thoughts?
I, too, enjoyed Jen's duckiness and her shout-out to the chevy cavalier. I was dissapointed that she gave her recipe away to the devil so eagerly. Jen works for a real man. Mike is a smug alert in himself. I wouldn't want to see Jen crusing down Walnut in that newfangled contraption anyway. I'd like Kev to win, cause I cook like that on my day off, but knowing Bravo, they will pick one brother over another. It's not about the food people, it's about the drama.
I couldn't join Kevin's group fast enough after I heard that. My wife and I want him to our personal gnome-chef. He's awesome. I was sad to see Jen go, but who could argue with this top 3? This is the best final group ever, I think, and she can't feel too bad. I would've taken her over anyone in season 1 or 2, maybe more, but, oh well. You kinda had to think they would set up the brother battle in the finale. Last year, they used the whole Hosea-Stefan feud (but forgot to realize that no one likes Hosea either) to make the finale personal. A sibling rivalry is just too easy for them to pass up. Thankfully, they deserve to be here. I'm rooting for Kevin. Any man that has a pig tattoo has a spot in my kitchen. But I have a feeling it will be a fancy technology-driven battle between the brothers. Out of the them, I think I like Bryan a little better.
Kevin 4-eva! And while I love Kevin the most, it upset me a little bit that he used the word "toothsome" incorrectly! He was trying to say that his dish had some texture, right? But toothsome means delicious or alluring (professor vocab, over here). Not the same. Although I'm sure his dish was delicious and alluring so whatever. Finally, if I had to pick between the two brothers I'd choose Michael because Bryan's mouth really freaks me out and tattoos are cool.
I've really been disappointed in this season of Top Chef. I haven't found any of the personalities at all interesting. I really hated Eli and his smarmy, "Mommy, the pressure is so tough" phone call and his I have my own restaurant and I'm big whoopie sh*t but I live with my parents thing. In truth I only wanted Ron to win because he almost got eaten by sharks or some crazy thing. But I do imagine that it will come down to Kevin or Bryan. Because they seem to be to the two best at consistently coming up with good stuff and never coming out with things that seem utterly terrible.
Kibby, your comment compelled me to google toothsome and I discovered that it can also mean "sexually attractive or exciting", weird. If Mike wins I'll be upset because he is a douche. Not Hosea-upset, but still upset. Gooooooooooo Kevin!!!!!!!!!!
How do I get in touch with Kevin? Can you direct me to a fine dining experience? Kim H
[...] Arboretum next Thursday, necessitating this awesome Photoshop. Still not nearly as horrible as our Top Chef/Kill Bill hatchet job. Great moments in Dick Vermeil-related [...]
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| Courtesy of the Almond Board of California |
You'll have to wash your hands before you make me lunch, |
Everyone's favorite hunky Brit adventurer and host of Discovery's Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls, has teamed up with the Almond Board of California to bring you "Man vs. Hunger," a "survival snacking action plan."
Sadly, the recipes are not for lightly toasted grubs or snake kebabs. Bear has gone the mass appeal route, prescribing apple-almond oatmeal for breakfast and tuna crunched up with toasted sliced nuts for a mid-hike snack. He's even cooked up positively elegant almond-parmesan crisps that would be lovely on a bark serving platter at your next survival-themed dinner party.
Try the two-ingredient recipe for almond-parmesan crisps after the jump; visit almondboard.com for more of Bear's recipes.
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| Photo courtesy Almond Board of California |
Almond Parmesan Crisps, courtesy Bear Grylls and the Almond Board of California
Makes 8 Crisps
Ingredients:
1/2 cup high-quality, finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400�F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or coat� it with baking spray. Stir together Parmesan and almonds in a small� bowl. To make crackers, form 8 small piles of cheese and almonds on� the lined sheet pan, using your fingers. Flatten each pile to create an� even thickness. Bake about 6-7 minutes, until browned on the� edges. Remove and set aside to cool until crisp, about 10� minutes. Serve immediately, or store between paper towels in an� airtight container for up to 3 days.
I heart Bear G - and Almonds...nice pairing ;)
Bear is fantastic! He has a son named Marmaduke, that's so Bear.
hai.....i like ur program very much...r u visited INDIA for MAN VS WILD program......?
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Yesterday, 10 Arts by Eric Ripert announced they'd be holding two big viewing events for the last two episodes of this season of Top Chef Las Vegas � from 7 to 11 tonight, guests can partake in final-four cheftestant Jennifer Carroll's $35 three-course prix-fixe, with the episode unfolding on flat-screen TVs in both the restaurant and bar/lounge areas. (They're also selling "Bet on Jen" buttons, with proceeds benefitting Philabundance.) Next Wednesday, Dec. 9, when it's whittled down to the final three, 10 Arts will do a $65 dinner deal that includes an autographed menu from Carroll as well as a champagne toast.
So is this is two-part celebration a giant tell of Carroll's victory on the show's sixth season, a la the big-ass party Jose Garces threw at Distrito when he became an Iron Chef? It's tempting to say yes � but first we gotta check on the other three cheftestants to see what their plans are. Meal Ticket just put in calls to the restaurants of fellow Top Chef finalists Kevin Gillespie, Michael Voltaggio and Bryan Voltaggio to see if they had any comparable events planned.
Woodfire Grill, Gillespie's restaurant in Atlanta, informed us, in an almost regrettable tone, that there was nothing Top Chef-related scheduled for this week or next. Pasadena, California's The Dining Room, where Michael Voltaggio is chef de cuisine, will be playing the show at their bar, but there are no official parties on the books for tonight or next Wednesday. Tonight's a normal night at Volt, Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant in Frederick, Maryland � but next week, the city of Frederick is hosting an invitation-only bash at the restaurant for the final episode.
Last year, eventual winner Hosea Rosenberg held a viewing party at a bar in Boulder, Carla Hall held a viewing party in D.C. and Stefan Richter, who didn't have a restaurant at the time, watched from home. (Check out our recap our last season's finale.)
So there y'all have it. Draw your own conclusions, Top Chef fans!
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: Is 10 Arts' "Top Chef Las Vegas" viewing party a tell of Jen Carroll's victory? Meal Ticket investigates: http://tr.im/GrhD...
Nope!
[...] is more than just trannies, Garces vs. Starr, sticky questions• Philly Cupcake opens Dec. 10• Is 10 Arts' Top Chef Las Vegas two-part viewing party a giant tell? Let's find out! Stuff to Win and CP Promotions• WIN tickets to see "Oh My God?"• WIN tickets to see [...]
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| bravotv.com |
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Eli, eh. He was OK, but never my favorite. Bryan is next on the chopping block (can you say battle of the Voltaggio brothers?). Final three prediction: Kevin, Jen, Mike. Team Jen all the way!
Eli was too prissy to go the distance in this competition. And what is wrong with Benevolent Bryan? Why would you help your strongest competitor do ANYTHING? He defeated himself right there.
Tom was actually apologetic someone had to go home--didn't know he was such as softee. I think I shouted "nooooooooo" when Padma told Eli and his knives to hit the road. Just think, last year at this time, Carla hi-dee-ho'd her way to the Final 3. This season's final 5 was no doubt the strongest cast to date. Jen has been awesome and the V-Bros are studs (in a chef, hetero way) but Kevin has dominated the competition, so my money's on him taking the title--he gets it that simple, well-executed food is what wins and he's followed that formula. Sadly, only one more episode of Top Chef and three more episodes of Dexter...how many days til pitchers and catchers?
Drew: you were the best damned dish washer Smitty's Pub has ever seen. However, the JV squad was not really for you.
I can't believe Kevin won 30k! Maybe now he can treat his grandmother to a nice breakfast instead of knocking her door down every morning for food. I kid, I love Kevin and hope he wins.
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: TOP CHEF LAS VEGAS Episode 12 recap (read, comment!): http://tr.im/FCps...
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| Photo | HughE Dillon, phillychitchat.com |
For those of you who were fixated on Desperate Housewives and/or that chintzy Eagles W last night and missed the news, we're about to ruin it for you: Philly's Jose Garces is now an Iron Chef, joining the "veritable pantheon" of Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, Mario Batali, Cat Cora and Michael Symon atop those uber-dramatic raised platforms in Kitchen Stadium. Meal Ticket was in the place at Garces' Distrito last night for a viewing party that swept up the entire two-story restaurant in a tequila-fueled whirlwind of culinary revelry. Though we'd be lying if we said that the scale of the bash didn't serve as a giant tell of Garces' victory, there was still a hint of anticipation floating in the air as our dude's "ribs and racks"-centric battle against NYC pastry supervillain Jehangir Mehta began.
The chef and his family, joined by third-place contestant Seamus Mullen, watched the action unfold in Distrito's hidden karaoke room. As soon as the Iron Chef chairman dropped Garces' name, the place erupted, and it wasn't long before the champ materialized and began working his way through the crowd, high-fiving and hugging folks like he'd just won the World Cup on PKs. He eventually made his way upstairs, only to be pinned between the luchador wrestling mask wall and the bathrooms by a throng of photo snappers, hand shakers and shrieking well-wishers. Good on ya, Jose.
Food Network tells us that Garces' first battle on Iron Chef America will air on Jan. 17 � it'll be Philly versus Seattle this time, as our dude will take on chef Rachel Yang of that city's Joule.
There's a spirited opinion thread popping off on our Nov. 16 post on the show. Now that Garces has sealed the deal, what do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks to HughE Dillon of Philly Chit Chat for the nice shot of Garces above (see HughE's recap here). After the jump, a few non-pro shots of Garces getting mobbed, and the crowd in general. (You can check out live updates from last night by peeping our Twitter or searching the "#ironchefgarces" hash tag.)
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| Photos | Drew Lazor |
En hora buena, Jose!Felicidades, y que realmente realizes tus suenos! Oh, by the way, put Philly on the map! Muchos abrazos, Sharon Gonzalez
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by mealticket: Report/pics from last night's "Next Iron Chef" party at Distrito: http://tr.im/FA0c #ironchefgarces...
[...] Foie gras scrapple at Silk City • Burger Maestro opens tomorrow• NOW OPEN: Pho Saigon• Jose Garces is The Next Iron Chef• IN PRINT: Meal Ticket tackles Autumn 2009• Check out Meal Ticket's Felicia D in Grub [...]
[...] celebration a giant tell of Carroll’s victory on the show’s sixth season, a la the big-ass party Jose Garces threw at Distrito when he became an Iron Chef? It’s tempting to say yes � but first we gotta check on the [...]
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| Courtesy of Food Network | |
They have a great repertoire.The spices garnish the food very effectively.
Personally, I think they are both very talented chiefs. I'm rooting for Chef Mehta, however.
Viewing party... we know who won then Congrats Iron Chef Garces
After the jump, Erin Mae Szrankowski touches base with Food Network personality Guy Fieri to talk about his Guy Fieri Road Show appearance at the Merriam Theater this Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.
So how did the idea for this traveling Road Tour originate?
As a chef, one of the greatest things to come out of my restaurant back in California was [doing] demonstrations. I would do these demonstrations and everyone would get a kick out of them, because I like to entertain, I like to laugh, all that. When I got on Food Network, I was there and doing my gig, again. But it�s at such a higher level, with all the other Food Network stars doing TV promotions or big presentations and so forth. I really preferred the style of rock 'n' roll, music and so on.
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I was South Beach and I was doing a big demo at the South Beach Food and Wine event � everybody having a good time, everybody was getting wild. Bringing out the margarita machine, with everyone getting a little wilder. Rachael Ray comes on as I leave the stage. As I�m walking off, my agent from L.A. said, "What was that?" I thought I was in trouble, but she said, "Can you do that again?" I said, "Do that again? I could do that times 10." She said, "If you could do that again times 10, I�ll get you a national tour."
So the idea behind the show is everything food. Food and people, food and entertainment, food and laughter, food and music, food and Q&A, food and knowledge, food and tasting. It�s all done with the background of music going on, the rock 'n' roll being played from my big DJ. That�s the energy of it � let�s rock 'n' roll. Let�s have a good time.
There seems to be a huge music and cooking connection here. Are there certain genres of music, bands or songs that put you in the mood to cook or eat certain things?
Absolutely. One of my favorite songs is Motley Crue's �Kick Start My Heart.� A lot of the time, I'll go into the kitchen, start getting ready, getting knives and cutting boards out. Then we'll fire the song up [surprisingly good guitar impression]. When I�m doing Southern food, it�s things like Lynyrd Skynyrd. When I�m doing barbecue and I'm outdoors, it's Sammy Hagar. When I have a bunch of buddies over and we�re rocking out, it�s Metallica. Different food for different times ... it all depends on the energy level and depending on the punky level, how we�re feeling. I got a big digital jukebox that has all of my songs � 200,000 songs and a touch screen. And we just rock the noise.� It�s awesome. Everyone comes over sits on the counter, watches what�s going on and hangs out.
What's up with the bartender at your show?
Yeah, we have a flair bartender named Woody who's coming all the way from Australia. Everything that I do is done at the next level. So when I found this Australian flair bartender that does this wild activity, I figured why not bring him on the tour? He has a knack of throwing cocktails way, way, way into the air and catching them, stacking martini glasses and all kinds of other wild behavior. The guy is so out of control. The only thing we have to watch out for is that he doesn�t destroy the stage so I can come on there later.
How did you decide Philly was going to be a stop on your tour?
My stop in Philly is going to be gangster. One, I love Philly. Two, Philly is a great food spot. Three, people in Philly get food � they really like and appreciate food. There are a lot of reasons why Philly was picked.
At every stop on your tour, you have a local chef prepare a dish for the audience.� I heard that Tony Luke Jr. will be the special guest on Wednesday.
I picked Tony Luke to be the opener because I want to have a local guy who has a really good personality, really good energy. And you know Tony Luke Jr. � come on, everyone in Philly knows Tony. So, he�s gonna come and make a cheesesteak after me, called the Guy Fieri Philly Cheesesteak. I�m dying to eat it.
What kinds of stuff will you be addressing in the "lecture" part of the show?
It�s all incorporated � [not like], "This is the lecture part and this is the cooking part." It all goes together and a lot of it has to do with how the audience gets involved. Everything from stories on the road to stories, people asking their own questions, you name it. There is no way to tell ... there will not be the same show twice.
Anything else you would like our readers to know?
I want them to tailgate before they come. I want them to bring the party to the party. We�re gonna bring out these gigantic 6-foot, 25-gallon margarita machines. We are going to have a party. Bring it, come have fun, enjoy it.
I think his show sounds exciting! It would be a little better though if they did serve cupcakes...
...huh?
Man, am I tired of cupcakes. And Guy Fieri. And hipsters, and Twitter, and Frat Boys, d-bags, Stumptown Coffee, waxing poetic, and all kinds of sh*t. But I love a good pressed sausage. 'narf. Ok, thanks for letting me vent. I'm not sure this even has to do with this post. Hate out.
Whys he on TV? Because the internet is overrun with whiny pseudo foodie hipsters who think they're all food critics and "hate" 99% of everything so he had no place else to go. Now if hes waxed poetic about Stumptown and pressing his own sausage on his rooftop garden while providing Twitter updates then its on!
What a tool. Why is this d-bag on TV? Overgrown frat boy hack.
I love that Guy Fieri added Alaska and Hawaii to the list Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Not sure why he doesn't visit Colorado as I don't see it on the map. We went to Chicago over the New Years and visited all those places. Frosted Mug was closed and the Mac and Cheese at Dell Rheas Chicken Basket was extremely fattening and good!
why doesnt Guy wear a wedding ring?
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| Courtesy of Food Network |
Not to jinx our dude or anything, but if you caught last night's penultimate episode of The Next Iron Chef on Food Network, you'll agree with us that Jose Garces looks pretty good to win the title of Iron Chef over New York-based pastry supervillain chef Jehangir Mehta. (Sorry we haven't been following the series with the same vim as Top Chef � there are only so many two of us!) We have to admit that Garces, ever the master of downplaying himself, spoke with the slight lilt of a champion when we talked to him back in September, and now we've learned that he's throwing a restaurant-wide viewing party at Distrito for the finale airing this Sunday. Interesting.
More on the Garces/Mehta matchup soon.
ICA or NIC will never have blind judging because they watch the whole thing the whole time.. if u are talking abt a 'throwdown' style judging i doubt that too... the show is slanted to let its house contestants win.. i had a major problem with Melissa DArabian winning over Jeff Saad, but i remember one of the judges kept bringing up the virtue of capturing a demographic like home-moms... i think its fair to say the Latin demography is more important than the smaller indian demography.. thats not race, its just business... you cater to who brings in business.. i just find flay's silence during the judging awkward, it was clear that it was either a 4-2 or 3-3 vote with all 3 ICs voting Garces... what is not fair is that the ICs have equal voice like the judges without history of chefs' other dishes.. this is gonnab one bland show and i hv no respect for Symon... classless comment... good luck to Garces... but ICA has lost me
I find it funny that we have such strong opinions about the contestants and their food when NONE of us have even TASTED a single dish. Considering how many of us have come to such strong conclusions about who the winner should be, it would only be expected that the judges are influenced by factors other than the food. The comment about the judges tasting the dishes without knowing who prepared them was spot on.
@ Jessica: The reason people expected Chef Garces to win the Mexican challenge was because Chef Garces runs a Mexican restaurant! So it�s a shocker that he failed to top there! I concur with you about the fact that a chef�s personal background and his/her culinary inclinations are not co-related. That holds true in case of Chef Mehta too! Chef Mehta specializes in Eclectic cuisine and not in Indian cuisine alone. He has shown that he can tackle different cuisines with equal finesse. The ease with which he adapts to different ingredients shows his depth of knowledge and his experience in different cuisines. The advantage that Chef Mehta has over Chef Garces is his ability to be innovative and creative. A good chef serves good food but a great chef serves good experience. With Chef Mehta it is not only about the food but also about the experience he serves along with it. That is what makes him the best!
[...] a spirited opinion thread popping off on our Nov. 16 post on the show. Now that Garces has sealed the deal, what do you think? Let us know in the [...]
Garces DID beat Bobby in his ICA debut so he has demonstrated some legit chops. Also, let's no forget. This is television...it needs ratings. It's not a college football game or admissions test into Harvard. The Food Network can put whoever they want on the show and under whatever conditions they want to do that. Was Garces pre-selected to win? Who knows... He had to go earn it after however many episodes. Another woman besides Cat or Mehta would have given the Food Network as much demographic pull. I think it is interesting that in a very short time we live in a society that celebrates competition of art, design, food and fashion as much as pro team sports. That's a good thing right?
Wow.. good finish... the dishes all seemed ICA worthy... i did find it wierd that the iron chefs who hadnt experienced either chefs' food had equal say in the final vote... maybe only 2 judges of IC plus 3 regular judges... the Iron chefs were sold on the execution and not creativity and that sealed the deal... imagine if u are mehta, you are kicking yourself over some undone meat and raw fries... bummer.. but garces had his raw cartlidge too.. i do think Garces would be good in ICA.. not sure innovative but surely consistent
The reason all were bitching mehta is because he really is a villain. In some episodes he hide ingredients so other chef could not used. He sabotage other people dishes by taking all the ingredients before they could used it, and he did it to Iron Chef Jose with the grape leaves. Sometimes he used a pot for a long time, so others could not used it. Iron Chef Jose Garces is the Best suited to carry the title Iron Chef. He is not arrogant, he have confidence. He know how to cook, and cares for what is more important "FLAVOR". Not for firework, like Mehta. How could he just give a RAW burger. He is a Chef, he needs to be careful of this. When you cook, what is more important is the flavor and how you handle the ingredients. It was like Iron Chef Symon said before, "are you creative or a failure?"
Response to Jessica:
Whoa, let's not get too Calabrese. As a Latino who is not Mexican, I agree with the spine of your post; your specific conclusions, however, miss the mark. There are no guarantees in life; if one is to guess (and what more is there to being human than to guess), then its not terribly inhuman to guess that a Latino knows more about Mexican food than an Indian, or that a Korean knows more about Japanese food, or a Spaniard more about Portuguese food. It hardly seems necessary to ridicule nathan for making similar assumptions. Furthermore, it's the very nature of this show's producers to play upon those common assumptions, in order to create dramatic tension and surprise; shouldn't you first criticize the show itself for employing such crass social manipulations?Thanks Jessica, that was a classy post...
It has been obvious that Garces would be the next Iron Chef since before the show aired.Any one whom saw his performance and comentary on Iron Chef America would know this. His performance is not the reason why he is to be the next Iron Chef. Along with the Spanish language commercials on the Food Network, the network wants and needs more Latin/Spanish "stars". Obviously is pandering to the Latin population as is the rest of America, the show was decided long before its airing. This from a Cuban guy fed up with all this. Graias..Muchas Gracias
I am sad that Chef Mehtha lost and did not become the next iron chef. Ia still proud of this chef because he is very humble and rarely bitched about other chefs and thier cooking style throughout the competition.I watched the last 2 episodes where the other 2 chefs bitching about chef mehtha's colourful plating sytle for lack of creativity and judging him and those 2 judges sounded arrogant.
Response to Nathan: Are you serious, you just demonstrated to all of us how ignorant you are. Just because a person is hispanic/latino does not mean they are Mexican, Chef Garces is Ecuadorian!! And no, just because you are Latino does not mean you know more about Latino food, it's like saying that a Japanese person is likely to know more about Chinese food than a French person. You are a joke, think before you speak please.
It's a surprise for me why people consider Chef Jehangir Mehta a supervillain of cooking. He is very creative in his dishes. He was beaten by one of the Iron Chef(I think was Bobby) for only a point. Chef Garces looks an arrogant for me and looks ridiculous how he pronunces his name with a gringo accent when he is a first generation of Americans from Ecuadorean parents. Many children of immigrants are proud of their parents culture and language. Or prehaps his parents never teach him Spanish.
I don't know if anyone else noticed that this show was rigged from the beginning. It was so obvious that they were looking for a minority to add a bit of new flavor & coloring (pun) to the existing chefs. And with the growing Latin population, it was inevitable, or should I say so predictable. The others had no chance at all. Most of the Food Network competitions are prejudice. What I'd like to see is "blind-tasting" events, especially with the Iron Chef competitions, and Chopped. It's astonishing that the opponent never wins. So, take away the cameras within the kitchen area & allow the judges to taste the foods without the chefs personal presentations, and let the chips fall where they may. Who's with me, huh?
Well this episode was shot long back and Chef Garces is hosting a 2floor viewing party... they took the suspense out of it.. shudnt it be against the rules or something .. the whole 'suspense' is gone...
Chef Mehta has the Iron Chef potential. Chef Graces is ok and doesnt jump out as far as his food is concern. Graces just play it too safe with familiar food and presentation . Many chef are capable of whipping up dishes but few are able to move beyond to Innovate a dish. Not as a disrespect, the only true iron chef in the Iron chef America line up is Chef Morimoto and grossly underrated and Flay is grossly overrated . I don't remember most of his dishes but Morimoto's dishes and presentation lingers on me. Similarly Graces present existing food with his own flare..not innovating...very forgettable. The truth is Chef Metha create flavorful and dare to be different. Let's admit..who wants another boring flay like chef. ..bring on Morimoto like chef calibrate anytime for me. my vote is to Metha
I absolutly cannot stand Mehta's personality...not to mention his obsessed eyes, Garcia does nothing for me... in all honesty Amanda Freitag should have won..she competed well against Flay when she was on the show. She is an amazing chef.. they really got it wrong this year.. what iron chef needs is new judges and to fire THE MAN WHO EATS EVERYTHING.
Wow.. all this hate for Chef Mehta... hope most of you are aware the TVshows clipped versions of a marathon... anyway the fix is in, they need a latin flavor profile and Garces is the deault ... he has been saying that for weeks on the show and to boot he has a viewing party on the day of final episode... For those who cry abt Mehta getting an upperhand in the Indian challenge, didnt Garces get the upperhand in the Mexican challenge the previous week... and ironically Mehta wins Mexican week and Garces wins Indian week i still dont get the hate... i dont mind either one winning, its clear who has won though...
I think if Mehta wins, he has compromising photos of Alton Brown with a lobster crammed in his ass or something. There's no other way. I feel like Mehta is the Project Runway contestant on the show. His presentations are always over-the-top and quite fierce....but is that really an Iron Chef? He kept using the ice cream machine to prove a point. Marcel tried that ish on TC and look what it got him. 2nd place. Don't try to outsmart/snark the judges. They hate that. Sure Flay is an ass, and Batali is kind of a bag, but all of them are classyish folks that are serious about food. Mehta is not Iron in any way I've seen.
It has been interesting to see the difference between this series and the last. The first had good natured sparring that you see on ICA all the time, but moments where chefs would help each other out. In series 2, it is win at any cost. Lie, hide or steal ingredients / equipment (this is called "strategy"), bad mouth others work - It's all fair in the new world, far away from the Japanese honor code and the shows roots. Of the two remaining, both have become so arrogant that neither man would keep me watching an ICA episode. I have to agree with Pat (although for different reasons), Freitag possessed some honor, and humor, she could cook and I would have liked to see her win.
[...] down to two: New York’s Jehangir Mehta (chef-owner of Graffiti) and Philadelphia-based Jose Garces. We caught up with both finalists via conference call this afternoon; the chefs dished on ethics, [...]
I've been watching next Iron chef since the begin, I'm pleased to see a Latin chef in the final two. Jose Garces is definite Iron Chef material, PS he is cute too!!
Might never forgive you for no recaps of this. :( Okay, I will if Garces wins. Hold your breath.
I have no idea why Jehangir is still there. I was sure so many times he was going to be booted, for his ice cream messes that turned into puddings and shakes, for that vile combination of bizarre take out boxes, but he remains. His energy is so frenetic and scattered that I can't bear to watch him, and certainly will never watch him if by some bizarre twist of the planets, he wins. I like Garces and hope he wins, but I was really pulling for Amanda Freitag. She's been so consistently good. The episode where she was booted totally confused me. The judges had highly negative comments about Jehangir's giant oysters and the overall messiness of Garces' bento box, and Dr. Hattori himself said Freitag's bento box had the best umami. But then she's booted for not having enough umami? I think she was kicked off simply because women cannot stand to see other women succeed, and the two female judges have been especially vile to Freitag right from the beginning. If they'd had male judges, I think Freitag would have a shot at winning.
Could not agree more. Thanks for the heads up on the finale party, I've been dying to dine Garces while watching Garces...he's the MAN! We should be thankful as Philadelphians for his representation!
Mehta was appalling right from the start. Definitely not iron chef material. Garces on the other hand showed solid cooking skills. His victory was well deserved.
Watching on TV I really can't say how each chef's food tastes, we have to leave that to the judges discretion. But, what makes me lean towards Mehta is that atleast he does'nt drop is sweat in the food. I mean for God's sake whats wrong with Garcia..if you look back at the challenge, in every episode he is so sweaty with sweat dripping from his brow...eeew that makes me loose my apetite...
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
Stink Fisher, who owns Collingswood's The Pop Shop with wife Connie, is also an actor, and he's appeared in everything from The Sopranos and Tony Luke's The Nail to football flicks like Invincible and The Longest Yard. Sharp-eyed Jen A. Miller caught our dude last night on 30 Rock. He was one of the talking heads on Sports Shouting, an Around the Horn-style show that always beats TGS in ratings, much to Liz Lemon's chagrin. Check out extremely low-tech screenshot above (that's Stink on the top right).
If you mention 30 Rock at The Pop Shop today, you'll get a free soda or iced tea.
Connie tells Meal Ticket that her hubby has quite a few projects coming up, including an appearance on the new USA show White Collar and a part in Peter Jackson's locally shot The Lovely Bones.
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| bravotv.com | |
Welcome back, Top Chef! I was getting tired of watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion show (parts one and two) On Demand over and over while I waited out your return.
Quickfire: There are more than 67,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas, but there's only one that features the transcendently beautiful Padma and her wingwoman Nigella Lawson wearing bathrobes and lounging in bed like two oversexed debutantes just back from an Upper East Side sex toy party. They direct the remaining six � Kevin, Mike, Bryan, Eli, Jen C and Robin � to a kitchen "deep in the catacombs" of the Venetian and tell them they need to whip up and then deliver a breakfast-in-bed dish in 30 minutes.
Jen, whose 10 Arts is in the Ritz-Carlton here in PHL, is wholly comfortable with room service, so she rocks out shit on a shingle. Nigella makes a face. Eli does a reuben-inspired eggs benedict with 1000 Island hollandaise, which sounds like it would kill you in the tastiest way possible. Mike does some Cuban shit and acts real serious about it. Robin does wack blintzes, Kev puts together a delicious-sounding coffee-dusted steak and eggs plate and Bryan does something with egg and crab that also elicits Nigellaface. Eli takes it home, earning a page in the Top Chef Quickfire cookbook. Nigella says the tang of his sauerkraut "slapped the jet lag out of me," which, disappointingly enough, was probably the most sexual comment the notoriously randy British TV cook dropped on this episode. So for the Elimination, the chefs had to ... wait, what's that, Nigella?
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Yes, I would love some cherries, thank you. So this week's Elimination challenge involved the cheftestants heading to the ... wait, I'm sorry?
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Pasta? Why not? I really appreciate you feeding me and all, Nigella, but I have to get back to
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Dessert already? How'd you eat that pasta so fast? You're too kind. But seriously, we're getting off topic. The Elimination had ...
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Christ, who invited you, Giada? You're getting tomato everywhere. Sorry, I meant POMODOROOOOO. NOW CLEAN IT UP.
Elimination: Each of the cheftestants draws a random Vegas casino from which to cull inspiration for a dish to serve 175 guests. Jen C visits the Excalibur, where she meals out on a Cornish game hen at the Tournament of Kings and watches wizards and knights doing medieval magical shit; she goes with a NY strip dish meant to ape the sword in the stone. Bryan gets Manadalay Bay and decides on a sustainable seafood dish. Robin's inspired by the vibrant, colorful Chihuly sculpture on the ceiling of the Bellagio, so she does a ... panna cotta. Kevin's sockeye salmon dish comes to him after a visit to the Mirage. Eli gets Circus Circus and makes the troubling decision to put peanut, caramel apple and raspberry frothy elements into a soup. Mike, who draws New York New York, does a slightly trippy buffalo wing-inspired plate. "Firefighters, it's something they eat," he explains of his thematic inspiration. There's probably some truth to that, but I would've just gone with the fact that Buffalo is located in New York.
At the top: Kevin, who's praised for the tomato broth element on his plate; and the Voltaggio bros, who seem to be fostering more and more unspoken disdain for each other as we get closer to the finale. Toby calls Mike's food "effeminate," to which the chef replies that he's a "strong believer in putting your personality on your plate." Haha, you just said you're a girl. She He wins, though, taking home a big-ass bottle of wine and probably an off-camera reacharound from Nigella, since she's so
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Oh, you're still here? If that's the case, then yes, I would like a Bellini.
At the bottom: Jen C, who Tom criticizes for her apparent "lack of knowledge of medieval cooking" (you tend to stay away from the Ren Faire, huh Jen? GOOD); Eli, whose Barnum and Bailey soup was deemed a textural failure; and Robin, whose panna cotta, according to Nigella, lacked "the quiver of a 17th-century courtesan's thigh," which is apparently an imperative on the bizarre sex planet Nigella lives on. Robin also screwed up the hardened sugar meant to represent the Chihuly glass, so she's sent home. Seems about right.
Next week: Thomas Keller and Mike dissing the shit out of Kevin.
What aspects of medieval cooking did Tom get wrong? The big one is that he repeated the Victorian era myth that medieval cooks used lots of spice to cover the taste of spoiled meat. It's simply not true. Just from an economic point, such a practice doesn't make any sense. Why would they use the equivalent of $100 worth of spice on a $2 chicken? Why would they slaughter animals and then let them sit and spoil instead of waiting to slaughter them until they were needed? I can give you lots of other examples, but in short they didn't. Further, given that almost none of the recipes in surviving cookbooks note the amounts of the ingredients to be used - so anyone saying that medieval cooks used a lot of spice has no basis in fact for their assertion. Medieval cooks did use a wide range of spices in their cooking, but no more so than any other cuisine in the modern world (with the possible exception to modern, stereotypically bland, English cooking). Take a look at my website - I've got heaps of research and recipes there.
Doc, can you elaborate? I'm curious to hear what aspects of medieval cooking Tom allegedly misrepresented.
I felt bad for our local girl. When I saw what the challenge was with casinos, I knew they'd throw the Excalibur into there, and that's the lamest one on the strip. You can see a joust with cornish game hen and root veggies anywhere they have medieval nights; Vegas has many better things to do. But she made it, so that's good. I'm happy that they actually have a top five with mostly everyone who has really stood out. Early on, she and Kevin and the brothers established themselves. Don't know about Eli, but he's had some good dishes. Top Chef always likes to have surprises, so I figured someone good would go too early and someone everyone hated (like, oh, Robin?) would make it far, but this is a very strong group. Maybe their best top 5 ever?
The real irony is that just about everything Tom said about medieval cooking was completely wrong.
Brutal in a great sort of way.
Most hysterical recap so far. Keep it up!!
Ha, glad you guys like. Nigella's still here.
Bravissimo. Seriously. No Top Chef in Italy... thank you for your recaps!
Hahah. Hilarious. Nigella is amazing and I love her and I wish that they would make her a regular fixture on this show. However, she definitely went a little overboard with the excalibur/sword in the stone/wench jokes when talking about Jennifer's food, right? It was like she was competing with Toby to make the worst joke. Take it easy Nigella.
Stop. Just stop. With the photos and the innuendo. Nigella needs to feed Giada some pasta. Take that any way you wish.
I laughed out loud. Six times. Thank goodness I don't actually watch the show. I'm sure I wouldn't get so much pleasure out of these recaps if I did.
danya--they're even better when you've watched the show. You outdid yourself this time, drew.
[...] not all business, though, as his notorious�Top Chef Recaps are often better than the show itself. So besides Padma, what else is Lazor taking with him on the [...]
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