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Top Chef
Last week, I addressed the whine flu outbreak that spread as a result of the slow-moving debut episode of Top Chef Masters. (Kelly Choi = a host in more ways than one.) While I didn't disagree with the criticisms (sticking Christopher Lee in a shitty dorm room to prep is slightly off-putting), I was confident they'd make it interesting sooner rather than later.
So how did last night's episode � which involved four superstar chefs cooking a feast themed around ABC's Lost � turn out? Let's throw that one to Aziz Ansari of Human Giant and the criminally slept-on Parks & Recreation, who discusses food stuffs regularly on his Twitter:
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I am with that.
Last night's contestants � Elizabeth Falkner (Citizen Cake/Orson in San Fran), Suzanne Tracht (L.A.'s Jar), Graham Elliott Bowles (of his eponoymous Chicago restaurant, and TCM's youngest cheftestant so far) and wd-50's Wylie Dufresne, a multi-appearance Top Chef guest judge who's been given more opportunities to talk about how much he likes eggs than I've been given to make love to a beautiful woman. Last week, I predicted that wily Wylie, he of the foodie-boner-inducing moleculargastronerd persuasion, would breeze through to the championship round of Masters based on the show's outward-bound obsession with him. Turns out � bless my tapioca malodextrin-sprinkled stars! � that I was really wrong.
Quickfire: Choi throws the four chefs a roll of quarters to recreate the infamous vending machine amuse bouche challenge from Top Chef Season 2. Judging: Former cheftestants Ilan, Betty and Michael, all of whom competed in the original. Dufresne found some time between coin feeds to explain his original life goals: "If I had my druthers, I'd be a professional athlete, but I'm not particularly fast or tall or strong," he says. (If I had my druthers, I'd ball-tap anyone who uses the word "druthers.") He earns a lackluster 3 stars out of 5 for a grilled cheese with beer nuts and a Dr. Pepper reduction. Falkner braises beef jerky for a 3.5. Though Bowles comes close to taking the challenge with his 4.5-star tuna salad with pickled shallots and orange soda froth flavored with lime leaf, lemongrass and ginger, Tracht ends up on top thanks to pitch-perfect fried shallot rings with a microgreen salad and Dr. Pepper aioli.
Elimination: Using a bunch of island-y ingredients, the foursome must cook up plates for a group of Lost staffers, including the writing team, co-creator Damon Lindelof and exec producer Carlton Cuse. Tracht is a big Lost fan, stating that she frequently sits down and watches the show for "three and a half hours" at a time. Since it's an hour-long program, that means she creates her own cliffhangers, which is masochistic. Dufresne's never seen Lost, which is probably a good thing for him because the island's mystical magnetic properties would probably prevent him from transmogrifying foie gras into a badminton racket or whatever the hell that guy likes to do.
In addition to the fresh stuff � fish, wild boar (shoutout to Locke), and various veg � the chefs are allowed to buy canned/pre-packaged products to emulate the long-shelf-life Dharma Initiative products from the show. The guests take much glee in the fact that the servers for the challenge are bedecked in Dharma jumpsuits. (This is probably the point in the program when Ansari laid his set down on his futon.)
Falkner braises and sous-vides some boar with ancho garlic rub and throws it together with a papaya yam pudding Gael Green curtly compares to baby food. Bowles, a Navy brat who grew up on the island nations of Hawaii and the Philippines (what up!), impresses with a multicultural tuna trio, including a coffee-crusted plancha-grilled loin that makes Saveur's James Oseland swoon. Dufresne does roast chicken with � yes �� his signature poached egg, along with a plaintain pur�e and some banana mustard. Lost's Lindelof likens Dufresne's offerings to "a piece of art in a museum that I don't understand," which is a totally fair criticism from a guy who's responsible for creating one of the most straightforward, easy-to-decipher shows in television history.
Tracht, who already had a big leg up from her Quickfire win, earns plaudits across the panel for her seafood risotto with uni, clams and prawns, wild boar strip with oyster beer sauce and mango corn salad. "If I was lost on an island, I'd want your instinct for flavor to get me through the dark nights," Britcrit Jay Rayner tells the Angeleno chef. Tracht ends up securing a slot in the finals alongside Episode 1 winner Hubert Keller, accruing a total of 22.5 stars. Rounding out the finish: Bowles (20.5), Dufresne (20) and Falkner (16.5), who I think got shafted a little bit.
Next week: Rick Bayless whines about quesadillas.
she gets it on DVD...no commercial breaks for four episodes = roughly 3.5 hours of watching (include a minute between episodes, plus some bathroom breaks). i know this, because that's how i watched seasons 1 and 2 off of netflix. i've since kicked the lost addiction.
Rory dropping SCIENCE!
Was Suzanne Tracht on quaaludes or WHAT? Soooo chill and her face didn't move except for her mouth. Too bad I don't write these recaps, huh? I have such good insights.
Second attempt...Gael's baby food comment=too predictable. Wylie=disappointing because he choked culinarily and I missed his f-bombs in the latter part of the show.
I have to stop reading these. It makes me feel no need to watch the show at all. This is a compliment, by the way.
how the hell did i miss this?
[...] Cook eggs with one hand behind your back, monkeys! (How did the albumen-crazed Wylie Dufresne not draw this one?) Rodriguez rightly calls the task a “circus act,” and rocks out with [...]
[...] crush object Zooey Deschanel was featured on last night’s Top Chef Masters, joining NPH and the dudes from Lost as the latest example of this miniseries’ celeb-pulling power. (”I loved her in [...]
[...] Meal Ticket :: Blog Archive :: Top Chef Masters Episode 2: No cook is an island :: Philadelphia City... mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/06/18/top-chef-masters-episode-2-no-cook-is-an-island – view page – cached o ⢠That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Brad Lidge blows save o ⢠That was [DEL: un :DEL] expected: Fumo wants to pick his — From the page [...]
Tom Colicchio visited the Williams-Sonoma in the Bellevue yesterday to get his scribble on and grin at slews of blushing admirers. The line to chat it up with the chef, restaurateur and Top Chef judge snaked throughout the store, and people waited up to 45 minutes for a personalized version of his latest book, 'wichcraft (Clarkson Potter), full up with sandwich recipes from his multi-location concept of the same name. The eager throng was happy to wait, however, and like the patron foodie saint that he is, Colicchio was gracious, posing for pictures, answering recipe disaster questions and chit-chatting with starry-eyed foodies.
I wonder if he went to The Bike Stop after the signing?
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From my perch in the alley behind atop the precipice of Food TV Mount Olympus, I can see some marked ambivalence toward Top Chef Masters, the Top Chef spin-off that debuted on Bravo last night. "Shit is boring!" I hear y'all say. Two thoughts on this. First: We're one episode in, relax. Second: I think Top Chef fans might've overestimated how compelling 24 all-stars competing for a $100K charity prize would be. Sure, these polished women and men will all bust their asses to earn cash for a cause (and save face too, of course), but since they're already so established, the hungry, competitive scramble that makes the original TC such an addictive watch is simply a non-factor. (There's also no Tom C. or Padma! There is Gael Greene, thankfully.) We're probably going to have to toe-tap till the six-chef championship round to witness the real craziness.
(Real quick, logistical crap: Each ep features four chefs competing in a Quickfire and an Elimination. All the QF challenges you see will be borrowed from previous Top Chef seasons. There's a star system: QFs are worth 5 and Eliminations are worth 20. At the end, the one chef with the highest star total earns a finalist slot, and the other three are sent home.)
Episode 1's four gladiators � Christopher Lee (NY's Aureole and formerly of Striped Bass; check out Adam Erace's great Q&A), Hubert Keller (SF's Fleur de Lys; seems like a real nice guy, looks like Euro Gandalf), Michael Schlow (Boston's Radius) and Tim Love (Fort Worth's Lonesome Dove).
Quickfire: The cheftestants are told by host Kelly Choi (I think they posted a Craigslist like "Seeking Hot Ethnic Woman Who Claims to Be a 'Foodie' But is Clearly Too Skinny For That Shit") that they'll be whipping up a dessert for some Girl Scouts. First impressions: Lee and Keller seem happy to be there, Schlow does not, and the producers really enjoy playing up that Love is "just a punk from Texas" with no formal culinary training. Look at that guy, juggling eggs! How non-traditional!
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The Scouts, as expected, are far tougher critics than little girls should be, and Lee expresses his desire to cap the redhead who keeps saying everything sucks. (Always the redheads.) Keller ends up winning the QF because he uses mousse and whipped cream to form adorable edible animals (right). He earns a perfect five stars for his efforts. "Cool, you can't higher than that," he exclaims.
Elimination: The four chefs are given $150 to cook three courses in a Pomona College dorm room using only a hot plate, a microwave and a toaster oven. "I don't even own a microwave oven," says Schlow with the same ennui-soaked inflection of someone who thinks they're cool because they don't have TV. You don't care about what they cooked (though Keller did rock pasta in a dorm shower ... mmm) so I'll gloss over that this time to share what I found most interesting about this round � there was a huge gap in scoring between Love and Schlow and Keller and Lee. While neither the cowpokin' toque nor the Beantown Italian chef managed to break 15 stars, Keller and Lee earned scores of 20.5 and 19, respectively.
Could it be that two those simply outcooked their opponents on that day? Absolutely. But it's also worth pointing out that both Keller and Lee have a discernible leg up on the other two guys in terms of national presence. While it's too early to truly tell, I won't be all that surprised if the Masters season progresses in this manner, with lil' Epicurean Manchurian Candidates gently ushered through to the finals to ensure airtight ratings. So if wd-50's Wylie Dufresne takes next week's LOST-themed episode ...
Last thing: I need someone to figure out a way to superimpose this picture of Hubert Keller DJing onto tabs of acid so I can drop 90 of them.
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I actually think that the Craigslist ad said: "Seeking Asian version of Giada de Laurentiis."
I found it barely watchable. Ok, I get it, these guys don't NEED to win this. They don't really take it all that seriously, ok. But sticking Hubert Keller in a dorm room with a hot plate? Its a tad patronizing.
But sticking Hubert Keller in a dorm room with a hot plate? Its a tad patronizing. And it's only going to get more patronizing from here on out! I believe they'll be doing the vending machine challenge on the next ep.
not only was it patronizing, but it was also stupid. I'll watch young up-and-comers do gimmicks like that because I don't have any expectations of their food, but i want to watch Hubert Keller and Chris Lee COOK. I want to see what goes on in their brains when you say "caviar. 30 minutes. go" also, having the guest judges know who was cooking each dish? weak. would have been much better to have been blind judging. I also would have loved for them to group the chefs by style/city/something. So group one could have been classic french chefs, group 2 the gastronomists, group 3 fusion, etc. Though anything that gets these recaps back on the blog I'm for. favorite recurring post of mine.
[...] - Hubert Keller [...]
[...] For this “high stakes” challenge ($15k prize), Texas chef Tim Love (a Top Chef Masters contestant) has the remaining cheftestants create a dish based around a tough ingredient selected by the Top [...]
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Bravo's Top Chef Masters, featuring all manner of cantankerous, egomaniacal celebrity chefs fighting with each other in the name of sodding charity, starts next Wednesday, and Team Meal Ticket could not be more excited. (Yes, we'll be doing recaps. Aren't you excited? No? Hello? Wait, where are you going? You just got here!)
But what about the regular Top Chef season? Where will it be? We're sure you've heard the Philly rumors, partially spurned by the March casting call held at XIX. No dice on that, unfortunately � those crazy kids are heading to Sin City. This just in from the network (looks like the stratifying Toby Young will be back!):
"Top Chef: Las Vegas" Set For Season Six
NEW YORK � June 2, 2009 � What happens in Vegas airs on Bravo � "Top Chef" moves to Sin City for season six.� The Emmy and James Beard Award-winning No.1 food show on cable, "Top Chef," returns with host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, alongside judges Gail Simmons and Toby Young.�
"Top Chef" offers a fascinating window into the competitive, pressure-filled environment of world-class cookery and the restaurant business at the highest level. The series features aspiring chefs who compete for their shot at culinary stardom and the chance to earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef." "Top Chef: New York" was the series' highest rated season ever, averaging almost three million adults 18-49 and almost four million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Additionally, the season five finale was the highest rated telecast ever for the series among adults 18-49 and total viewers (with almost five million).
We've heard plenty of rumors about a few Philly cooks who may or may not be appearing on this season, but nothing substantiated as of yet. If/when we get confirmation, you'll be the first to know.
Can't wait for Top Chef Masters to start! Should be a good hold-over till season six starts.
When Is season 6 starting?
amy: NBC LA said Oct. 28.
i'm pretty sure that top chef has never won a james beard award, and that it's only been emmy nominated.
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| Nicole Bengiveno/NYT |
Cool read from the May 1 NYT on how New York-based Top Chef contestants fare once the show's over. Featured are Leah from Season 5, Season 1 winner Harold, Season 3 winner Hung and Season 4 contestant Nikki. The skinny: Though $100K and the title of Top Chef (not to mention the Gladware!) looks quite sexy on paper, it doesn't always go far in translating to off-screen success:
... [Harold] Dieterle, for his part, quickly learned that investors were more interested in a solid business plan than a star turn on a reality show, and that his winnings wouldn�t go far.
"It's kind of like being handed a case of vodka and saying, go open a bar," he said. "It's not going to happen."
Lackluster 2007 review from the Times notwithstanding, at least Harold owns his own restaurant. The same can't be said for Hung, my favorite Top Chef winner to date:
As the months dragged on, however, one location after another fell through. Finally, in January, Mr. Huynh decided to strike out on his own. But the offers that rushed in immediately after the show have slowed, and the current economic climate has made investors increasingly averse to risk.
"I'm dying right now," Mr. Huynh said with a grin to show he was joking, sort of. "I'm not a celebrity chef. A celebrity has money. A chef has a restaurant. I have neither."
allure.com
Non-Colicchio'ed version of the picture after the jump.
Top Chef host and constant Meal Ticket fixation Padma Lakshmi recently posed for Allure's Naked Issue, which hits newsstands on April 21. Her brief Q&A with the magazine is sure to infuriate people with weight issues worldwide:
ALLURE: What did you do to prepare for the shoot?
PADMA LAKSHMI: "I exercised a little bit extra, but I actually think I look better when I have a little bit of weight on � my breasts are fuller, and I'm curvier than when I'm at my thinnest."
Crazy � I feel like I look better when I gain weight, too! We have sooooo much in common, Padma.
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| allure.com |
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Guest stars/judges will include Neil Patrick Harris (!), Lost producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (!!) and Zooey Deschanel (!!!).
Full rundown of Masters contestants � it is intense � after the jump.
-��� Rick Bayless � Frontera Grill, Chicago, Ill.
-��� Wilo Benet � Pikayo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
-��� John Besh � Restaurant August, New Orleans, LA
-��� Graham Elliot Bowles � Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, Ill.
-��� Michael Chiarello � Bottega Restaurant, Yountville, Calif.
-��� Michael Cimarusti � Providence, Los Angeles, Calif.
-��� Wylie Dufresne � wd~50, New York, N.Y.
-��� Elizabeth Falkner � Orson, San Francisco, Calif.
-��� Hubert Keller � Fleur de Lys, San Francisco, Calif.
-��� Christopher Lee � Aureole, New York, N.Y.
-��� Ludo Lefebvre � Ludo Bites, Los Angeles, Calif.
-��� Anita Lo � Annisa, New York, N.Y.
-��� Tim Love � The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Fort Worth, Texas
-��� Rick Moonen � Rick Moonen's RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nev.
-��� Nils Noren � French Culinary Institute, New York, N.Y.
-��� Lachlan McKinnon Patterson � Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder, Colo.
-��� Cindy Pawlcyn � Mustards Grill, Napa Valley, Calif.
-��� Mark Peel � Campanile, Los Angeles, Calif.
-��� Douglas Rodriguez � Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia, PA
-��� Michael Schlow � Radius Restaurant, Boston, Mass.
-��� Art Smith � Table Fifty-Two, Chicago, Ill.
-��� Suzanne Tracht � Jar, Los Angeles, Calif.
-��� Jonathan Waxman � Barbuto, New York, N.Y.
-��� Roy Yamaguchi � Roy's Restaurants, San Diego, Calif.
oh man. Lost producers on Top Chef as guest judges? The fanboy in me just squealed.
YAAHHHH!! That was my idea!! Oh well.
A little too California heavy for me; I'd also take off Art Smith and put Grant Achaz in his place. Hopefully, there'll be a second edition that'll feature Eric Ripert, Marc Vetri, and the like.
Just give the title to Dufresne now. Top Chef loves him as much as they love scallops.
- The video above is from Hulu because bravotv.com stopped allowing embedding about three quarters of the way through this season. Of course, it cuts off right before that salt-and-pepper-headed guy with the non-moving eyeball announces this season's $10,000 Fan Favorite. To no one's surprise, it's Fabio, he of the panty-disintegrating accent that we've talked so much about this season. I am OK with this. Did you know that he is William Shatner's private chef? Even if he was an incorrigible bastard, I would still vote for him for Fan Favorite based solely on this. And apparently he is getting his own show.
- Lackluster conclusion to this season notwithstanding, is anyone else kind of bummed out that Season 5 is actually over? I would always temper the impossible-to-understand claw hammer to the brain that is the latest season of LOST with some good, clean Top Chef fun. Now I'm slowly slipping into fullblown madness.
- Leah and Hosea drunken pouty relationship crap: nomorenomorenomore. Both cheftestants' relationships are now kaput. That's probably a good thing. And now, please pour one out for Hosea's betrayed ex-girlfriend, who is quite attractive (and seems to just love the outdoors! fellas?):
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- Why does Richard, who was voted off the show in Episode 3, constantly feel the need to remind everyone that he is popular with bears? Richard, you are a farcically large gay man who could crush my head with your bare hands. That you are a hit in the bear community is a given.
- Is wearing an "I <3 Foie" T-shirt, like Episode 1 victim Patrick, more or less obnoxious than the act of harassing someone who just happens to love foie?
- I kind of like Jamie now. I think she's funny. I would like to apologize for ridiculing your overreliance on scallops throughout this season.
- I've ready several takes on last night's reunion that criticized its reliance on overproduced montages, which focused on everything from "stew room" antics to the Stefan/Fabio "bromance" (retire ... word ... now). Why?! Overproduced montages are pretty much the only reason I watch TV. You have seen America's Funniest Home Videos, no?
- Till next time, Padma. Have I mentioned that you are transcendently beautiful?
Yes, Drew...I am with you. Feeling quite silly, as if I really knew these people, but I will really miss this season. I've always loved Jamie, but what's up with umm...what's his name. The one next to her, Edward or something. Damn, what was his name? He obviously was there out of contractual obligation. I love Fabio. I love Carla. Hosea annoys me, and Stefan...well, he seems the type to have a small package. Long Live Top Chef NYC.
Montages are truly the best, AFV and otherwise. And jesus christ, the I heart foie tshirt was the lamest thing that i have ever seen besides the actual dude wearing it.
I loved the I heart foie shirt especially after the fight for foie on the finale! I got one at www.savorygusto.com. Very cool.
Season 5 of Bravo's Top Chef wrapped up last night. Meal Ticket readers and I have been blabbing all week about who we thought would take home the title among last-chefs-standing Stefan, Carla and Hosea.
Full commentary after the jump (warning for DVR people — immediate spoilers).
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| bravotv.com |
Boulder, Colorado's Hosea — who I've consistently labeled as an underachiever thanks to his back-of-the-line shuffle through this year's competition — is Top Chef.
I did not anticipate this happening AT ALL, and I don't think anyone else did, either.
The final challenge is always simple — cook the best three-course meal of your life. It's a task that I felt Stefan, ever the steely-yet-eloquent tactician, and Carla, whose bubbly, soulful nature has come through in her food in the second half of the season, would destroy. Yet both made odd, uncharacteristic mistakes and decisions that tarnished their final offerings so much that Hosea's inspired, well-executed meal was the clear champion.
It's just one more thing to argue about for the two schools of Top Chef judging thought: determining a cheftestant's fate based on his or her collective output, or picking winners based solely on a singular challenge. It doesn't seem that Top Chef has a hard and fast policy regarding this — if they did, Stefan would've been eliminated for his extremely overcooked salmon in Episode 12 instead of Leah for her runny eggs. Last night, however, Hosea was clearly the best — and this stroke of superiority was enough to convince the judges that he deserved the crown.
What the hell happened here? Let's see.
After an idyllic breakfast on a paddleboat, we got to hear the contestants rave about what winning would mean to them. "It would suck to go home without the title," Hosea said at the outset. At this point, I don't think anyone thought the guy was capable of going home with it. We were so wrong.
The Final Three learned that they would be cooking their meals at NOLA restaurant Commander's Palace for a group of tasters that included all our judges' table friends in addition to the likes of elimitaliano Fabio, Rocco DiSpirito and Hubert Keller. Then they tossed a sous chef twist into the wind by bringing back close-but-no-$100K-cigar finale participants from previous seasons — Season 2 chem slanger Marcel, twangy Season 3 debutante Casey and Season 4 frontrunner Richard (who was featured on Meal Ticket back in November). After knife-drawing, the ladies were paired up, while Richard and Marcel ended up with Hosea and Stefan, respectively. ("He's a bit of a twat, but who's not?" Stefan observed of his sous chef. I'm not a twat man.)
A prep period saw the baldies bitching at each over the distribution of foie gras and caviar, which ranks as the most presposterously insensitive first-world debate I've witnessed this season.
The next morning, Tom C. materialized in the Commander's Palace kitchen with another twist: Each contestant was required to prepare an additional passed hors d'oeuvres using one of three native NOLA ingredients — crab, red fish or alligator. To determine who would get to pick first (as well as assign the other cheftestants their food), they ate pieces of king cake, which Felicia D. told you about the other day. Whoever found the plastic baby in their wedge would get the advantage. (Please just read this.) Hosea landed the infant/choking hazard — he took red fish, giving Carla too-easy crab and leaving the gator for Stefan (of course). This ended up being irrelevant to the finale's outcome, however, as all the judges and guests dug the bite-size starters of each chef.
It all came down to the coursework.
Hosea started with sashimi drizzled with hot fennel oil, following that up with a scallop/foie gras dish on pain perdu with apple compote and foie gras foam and the third course, a Colorado-like venison dish with 'shrooms, chestnut/celery root purée and Richard-fied carbonated blackberries. No dessert — but no one was required to make one. All dishes were approved by the judges (small criticisms included blandess in the first course), though Tom C. and Toby butted heads over the lack of a sweet plate.
Carla began with a beautiful seared red snapper bouillabaisse-type thing with saffron aioli, moved on to a NY strip cooked sous vide (Casey's suggestion, though Carla had never used the technique; judges found the meat tough and Toby called it "rather anemic") and ended with an incomplete cheese plate that she sent out sans a souffle that got effed in the oven. (She originally wanted to rock one of her signature tarts, but went instead with Casey's suggestion.) A lot of people are blaming Casey for "sabotaging" Carla's chances, which I think is horseshit. The chef had 100 percent creative control over her menu, and was not obliged to take any of her (admittedly overly opinionated) sous chef's suggestions and run with them. Why did she do it? It had to have been nerves. It's just sad and unfortunate that it cost her $100K — if Carla had cooked her steak traditionally and put together her cheese tart as originally planned, she definitely would've won.
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| bravotv.com |
Much to Marcel's befuddlement, Stefan decided to freeze a hyper-fresh portion of halibut so he could slice it thin for a first-course carpaccio with smoked salmon, a decision that led to the judges ripping the dish for being too watery and bland. In the middle, he whipped up a homey, extremely well-received pan-seared squab (Tom's favorite of the night) before concluding with the universally reviled dessert trio at right. My girl Gail, whose soul-screaming cleavage was my change-of-heart pick for Top Chef after I knew Stef had lost it, said it looked straight out of 1982. Padma called it "pedestrian at best." I don't quite understand what happened here, especially considering a) Marcel surely had more than a few tweaks and tricks in his bag for his chef; and b) Stefan has dominated with his desserts in previously (see Restaurant Wars).
"Cooking basic food is much sexier than doing a bunch of bullshit," Stefan said while going over his menu. I agree, but there's nothing basic or sexy about something that looks like it could be served at one of the restaurants from American Psycho. You were my pick, Stef! What went wrong?
On paper, Hosea deserved to win — IF (big if) your criteria is strictly the final challenge. He did a better job than his two competitors, who succumbed to unfortunate lapses in judgment (Carla's over-reliance on Casey's ideas) and in imagination (Stefan seemed to resent being asked to cook with no boundaries or stipulations). It's just difficult for me to accept that Hosea deserved the title. IF (another big if) you look back and absorb what he did in Season 5 as part of your decision-making process, you'll find that though he did win a handful of challenges, the chef side-stepped his way through most rounds by squeaking through in the middle.
In Seasons 1 through 3, I felt that each Top Chef winner — Harold, Ilan and Hung — was the premier talent of his season. In Season 4, I didn't have a favorite, but was comfortable with either Richard or eventual winner Stephanie taking it.
This time around, however, I can't bring myself to say that the show rewarded the chef who possesses the widest breadth of culinary ability. I'm not taking issue with Hosea's on-paper talent — he proved in this episode that he can do it and do it well. Rather, I'm flummoxed because his victory proved that this season was nothing more than a game of Sharks and Minnows — keep your neck above water long enough, and catch a couple lucky breaks, and you may just find yourself the last fish in the pool.
As much as I have crapped on Hosea this season — for both his creepo relationship with pout factory Leah and his irritating Stefan's-little-brother inferiority complex — you have to give him credit for pulling off something that a majority of Top Chef fans thought was impossible. It just makes me wonder — with the producers aware of the identity of the winner some time before the airing of the finale, why did they make absolutely no effort to build audience empathy for Hosea in the episodes leading up to last night's? Throughout this season, he was never portrayed as scrappy enough to become default underdog. (That was Carla.) Most of his camera time was dedicated to complaining about Stefan. And they made sure to squeeze every bit of manufactured "he's a scumbag!" drama out of the Leah/infidelity subplot. In other words, they basically skipped over any and every opportunity they had to connect Hosea with viewers, so much so that no one (no one I know, at least) was rooting for him — or even really thinking about him — come finale time.
What does this tell us about Season 5? It tell us the producers probably didn't want — and certainly didn't expect — Hosea to win.
So what do you think? Let me know in the comments. Meanwhile, I'll be scouring the Internet for a high-res picture of Gail's bosoms.
UPDATE: Here are some pictures of Gail's boobs for archival purposes. Many thanks to PW's Style Blog:
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| style.pwblogs.com |
Gail has got to be preggo. Those tits are on some serious hormone-flation.
Gail's tits looked awesome!
So, you get to be "Top Chef" by flying under the radar throughout the entire series? This season was truly craptastic. As for Carla, sometimes you have to learn an important lesson publicly and painfully. I hope that she never second guesses herself again.
the last episode made me so sad. goddamnit carla. we were rooting for you! WE WERE ALLL ROOOOOTING FOR YOU!
I guess I'm in the small minority, but I wanted Hosea to win once Fabio (the clear fan favorite in my opinion) was eliminated. Its not that I think he was the best chef on the season, but he was far less annoying than god's gift to cooking or miss "if I love my food it will taste better".
Solid recap. The episode was a big disappointment for 86 percent of the people. On a Bravo poll, only 14 percent said they expected/wanted Hosea to win. Honestly, after seeing the goofs they all made, Tom and Padma should have demanded one final dessert course from them all seeing how none of them did it successfully. Or just an overall redo. When mediocrity becomes the victor, we all lose, and I think the show is going to lose part of its audience due to this year's choice.
Drew, Nice summary (especially the cleavage shots - hubba hubba!). I especially agree with this paragraph: "This time around, however, I can
Huh - my comment was chopped off. It was both snarky and witty - anyway, where are the hi-def Gail pictures Drew???!! Hurry.
The cumulative vs. single episode scoring debate annoys me. First, despite what is being said now, the show does not judge based on single epsiode performance. As said above, if that were the case Stefan would've been booted sooner. Second, if you did want to base performance on one episode, why would you put one competitor at a serious disadvantage in the final (Stefan having to cook with alligator). True, Stefan's alligator course, by itself, was succesful. However, one of Gail's criticisms of Stefan was that his meal was "up and down" rather than a consistent progression. In other words, the soup was heavy, the carpaccio was light, etc. Having the alligator limited what Stefan could do, and arguably hurt the "progression" of his meal. Finally, why call the show "Top Chef" and then create a situation where the best chef doesn't win? Overall I think this hurts the show's reputation.
[...] when I (and some of the rest of y’all, i’m guessing) boo-hissed at my screen due to the groan-inducing nature of the conclusion, I knew that all the remaining finalists were worthy adversaries for one another. While it’s [...]
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It looks like a majority of commenters on yesterday's call for Top Chef season finale predictions pick (or at least want) Carla to win. So I figure it's as good as time as any to share this masterful Photoshop piece I have spent several minutes days working on.
After conducting several heavy, heady rounds of scientific research involving DNA alleles and many more of the things they talk about on CSI: Miami, I can definitively conclude that character actor Tony Todd and Didi Pickles (Tommy's mom from Rugrats) are the frontrunner's parents.
I still stand by my Stefan pick even though his dad is not Candyman.
The Season 5 finale airs on Bravo tonight at 10 p.m.
I'm sick about Chef's Market closing. I'll be there tomorrow. I like that the producers chose to bring back sous chefs from prior seasons, rather than the current one - there always seemed to be an element of sabotage with current cheftestants. Good to see Blais! Having said that, why is Fabio back as a judge? Hosea took the appetizer. Carla took the first course. Stephan took the second course, maybe? Hosea maybe takes the third course? Can he take it all??? Carla!!! I thought the pressure might get to her; sad to say I was right. Bad mistake on her dessert. Love the Gail eye roll/head shake towards Rocco! And her cleavage! My goodness. Did I mention that I love Gail? I do. Regardless of who wins, this has been a pretty good season.
Did Stephan really call Marcel a twat? And that wasn't bleeped? And then he went on to say that most people are? Wow. Hollywood loves a happy ending, so I guess the Hosea vitory isn't that big of a surprise - watching the review of the current season, I realized how much Stephan really acted like a ******d toward just about everybody. Still, I also would've loved to have seen Carla win, though she did win the car - so I don't feel too too bad for her. Yes Carla, you can compete with love!! Carla's cool. Wasn't Stephan an executive chef at Chez something or other during the season? Now he's the owner of Stephan's Catering? That was a fast turnaround. On to The Last Restaurant Standing clone on NBC, whatever it's called - Chopping Block? Based on the promos - meh. We'll see.
Worst. Finale. Ever.
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
