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"Top Chef" (2006-) Reality Chef-Competition Series on Bravo - Now in Season 16


cheezepowder

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I asked them what they thought about the success that DC Top Cheftestants have had after being on the show and they really wouldn't take any credit. I asked specifically about the chef from Seasonal Pantry (saying I thought his restaurant was about to be an even tougher reservation to get) and they looked at me blankly.

Seemingly no press is bad press when it comes to Top Chef -- Mike Isabella and Spike had their share of inflammatory moments, none of which have hindered their success. Of course, they hung around longer than Mr. O’Brien could manage (literally, 15 minutes).

Personally, I’ve found O’Brien’s recent media exposure to be disconcerting. From his inane rant about Neighborhood Restaurant Group stealing his idea for fried chicken and donuts (which is akin to someone ‘stealing’ the idea for a boutique cupcake shop), to his origami remark (tacky at best, regardless of editing context) and sensitivity to the comment trolls on Eater…I don’t think the spotlight has been going all too well.

Seasonal Pantry has always intrigued me, however, and my only comment about his cooking is that his omelet seemed no worse than the others -- which all looked uniformly crappy. Perhaps he’s right to feel slighted that Wolfgang’s generosity did not extend to him.

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I also had a negative reaction, after his appearance on the show, but after reading the Washingtonian interview I had a little more sympathy. Some folks are just not cut out for reality tv, you make a stupid comment, they are definitely going to use it. & even though I disliked Spike on his season, I've softened a bit, he seems to be a good cook, & I can't fault him for trying to leverage his tv exposure.

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I just watched it on free On Demand, and I am really glad Chef O'Brien is not moving on. I was really upset the edited portion showed him making an off-hand comment that I took as a racist comment toward Chef Yagi. [snip] I'm not exactly sure why but I'm still feeling rather sick from his comment.

When I watched this, I thought it was a classic "creative edit". I'll agree the comment was insensitive, but I doubt the whole ordeal went down as shown.

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The show surprised me. I'd been to Seasonal Pantry a couple of times and enjoyed it. Thought the food quite good and Daniel reasonably hospitable, making reasonable accommodations for some, showing patience with any and all questions, explaining most of what he was serving...

But then, the show, which I haven't watched regularly over the years. I also caught the comment he made toward Chef Yagi. While I don't remember the specifics, I do remember cringing a bit. And, when he was told he wouldn't be advancing, they showed him looking angry and saying "Okay, now I'm pissed". Seemed arrogant and abrasive in a way I didn't pick up as much at his place.

All said, totally agree with goodeats on connecting what he'd said with much that does divide us in this country.

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I called Seasonal Pantry earlier today to make a reservation and ended up having a conversation with Dan O'Brien about the controversy. Let's just say that his comment was completely taken out of context. He doesn't want to be quoted on this, so this is all I will say. I wish he would do an interview or make a statement to bring the facts to light. Instead he just wants to move on. Let's all give him a break. I've been wanting to try the restaurant for some time and now I am more resolute than ever to make that happen.

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I called Seasonal Pantry earlier today to make a reservation and ended up having a conversation with Dan O'Brien about the controversy. Let's just say that his comment was completely taken out of context. He doesn't want to be quoted on this, so this is all I will say. I wish he would do an interview or make a statement to bring the facts to light. Instead he just wants to move on. Let's all give him a break. I've been wanting to try the restaurant for some time and now I am more resolute than ever to make that happen.

As someone who's eaten at SP twice, I'm as (more even) inclined to give him a break based on what we experienced when there. It was a great time in both instances. Also since, though I've met him, I don't know him.

That said, how he handles anything is, of course, his choice, but generally better to just explain clearly and succinctly if there is a good explanation or to just apologize sincerely if not. No way to know here (and, again, he and noone else can decide how to handle) but, generally, referring to some unexplained details ("context") and then expressing a desire to "move on," doesn't clear the air as much as dealing with it directly and honestly. We all sometimes are misunderstood in professional contexts. And we all make mistakes. Explain the former. Apologize and learn from the latter. Then move on. Usually best.

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That said, how he handles anything is, of course, his choice, but generally better to just explain clearly and succinctly if there is a good explanation or to just apologize sincerely if not. No way to know here (and, again, he and noone else can decide how to handle) but, generally, referring to some unexplained details ("context") and then expressing a desire to "move on," doesn't clear the air as much as dealing with it directly and honestly. We all sometimes are misunderstood in professional contexts. And we all make mistakes. Explain the former. Apologize and learn from the latter. Then move on. Usually best.

He may still be under some kind of contractual obligation not to give details about the show. My initial inclination was to agree with DrXmus that there was possibly some kind of editing that removed context and made the comment sound sensationally offensive. I try to maintain a great degree of skepticism about what appears on screen with this type of reality show.

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I've been watching this season and it's nice to see them actually cooking instead of focusing on how weird the challenges can be. Mixed feelings about Carla being gone -- very irritating personality in the kitchen, but it seems that most of the time, she had a very good palate. Her criticisms of the food aligned with what the judges said about the same dishes when they were giving their critiques. She definitely screwed up on the squab, though.

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Bart got so little airtime this week I almost forgot he was on the show.

I know it. I guess that's good. Lay low and play it safe until its time to wow the judges. I would have thought that Josh played it safe with the French Onion soup. It's amazing that one could F that up. More cheese !

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I have to say, I'm disappointed about this season of TC, but I think they're scrambling for relevant challenges -the last one, w/ 'artisan' products from the market, right after the quick fire challenge, first thing in the morning, breakfast 'on a stick' was a little tough. I wouldn't want to get stuck w/ rose petal jelly or truffle popcorn, or anything else they had to work with-they're setting them up for failure...

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Josie had a point at first -- no need for Stephan to be shouting across the room to keep his fight with John going when everyone knew the score while drowning out a different & new conversation going on beside him. However, after the point was made, they both started acting badly. But I think this will end soon enough because Josie's cooking isn't putting her at the top.

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I think this season is better at least at this point, then TCTexas-I think that Bart Vandaele is representing for this area, he's not consistently at the top, but he's good, fun to watch & a good competitor. I can't help it, I like both Stefan & John, I'd have them cook me a meal anytime. & the best part is the strong field of female cheftestants-Kristen, Brooke, & Lizzie-it's fun to see what they come up with ( & it's amusing to watch all the others-not discounting them at all-hanging in there-except for Josie, ready to see her gone).

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I haven't watched this week's episode though WTOP spoiled the results already for me. I think this is a much stronger season than last season. What "drama" they show seems to be manufactured at least partially in the editing rather than the actual crazy actions of bat-shit crazy contestants. I hated, hated, hated the bullying last season...

I do really want Josie off my screen. Season 2 is the only one I've never seen any of and I don't think I need to.

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Read the blog entries. I still wonder if behind the scenes people were directed to keep Josie off track or what? I can't fathom a chef with that much experience as a line and a sous being so blatantly insubordinate to direct orders unless there was something else at work here. The only other reason than interference I'm coming up with is someone being too stoned to find the way to the soup pot.

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I recommend reading Tom and Gail's blog posts about this episode. They were worth reading, well-written explanation on things.

I haven't been an avid follower of Top Chef but had seen a few episodes in previous years. This year, have followed it more. Last night, couldn't get to it until the elimination and then the on-screen comments about taking one for the team, ethics, etc.

So don't really get what happened but was definitely very surprised who was eliminated.

So this is my question. Better to read the moderator blog posts first or better to watch a replay first? Or doesn't it matter? Thank you!

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Hmm, I am off to read the blog posts then because I cannot imagine getting behind that decision, especially since Josie should have been gone weeks ago. I will say that I would have punched Padma in the face if I could have. I really in that moment of judging watching her adamantly argue for Kristen being sent home had some less than kind thoughts about her.

This also presents a dilemma regarding who I root for in LCK for the first time. I think I have to stick with total domination despite feeling Kristen was one of the best chefs there. Or not, I don't know! :P

Okay, I read the posts. I get it, I was pissed Kristen wouldn't stand up for herself in judging so in theory it's her own fault, but I don't care! Break the rules, base the decision on performance over the show - no one would have known or cared. :P

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In Keith Law's write-up here - http://meadowparty.com/blog/?p=2615 - he makes the point that Josie's dish was obviously quite late, and that Josie's dishes had also been late in two of the more recent challenges, suggesting that she was in fact to blame. The existence of LCK makes me slightly less angry about this than I ordinarily would be, but the elimination of the strongest chef in the entire competition still makes me less excited about this season as a whole.

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So this is my question. Better to read the moderator blog posts first or better to watch a replay first? Or doesn't it matter? Thank you!

I think of this question as, "are you the type of person who wants to find out whodunit by flipping to the end of the book first?" The Bravo TV blogs, especially Tom's is like a play-by-play analysis. Based on how you answer the question I posed, I think, is the best way to answer your question.

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I'm not buying the fact that the judges didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. Even if they didn't know the full details, they do know that 1) Josie consistently gets her food done late thus making patrons wait 2) the same thing happened in this situation and 3) maybe those two things are correlated. Add that to the fact that the dish sucked (not just the plating, they talked about the fish being cooked improperly), Josie's food has sucked all season, and Kristin has been awesome all season, and I think that it is pretty easy to determine who shoud go home.

With all of that being said, this is a reality show, so I shouldn't expect much. At the same time, I always thought that Top Chef, for the most part, was beyond producers driving the outcome, maybe I am just naive in that thinking.

Either way, I don't see a ton of talent in this bunch. Look at the final six and tell me, "I can't wait to go to their restaurant!" I could see myself going to Brooke's restaurant if I heard good things, and I really liked Sheldon's concept, but other than that, really no interest on my part.

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The first season, the contestants were mostly line cooks and sous chefs and a couple were still in culinary school. the show was about chefs who were aspiring restaurant owners and the big prize was presumably to help them eventually open their own place, which the first winner (Harold Dieterle, if memory serves) eventually did. Later on it became executive chefs and chefs who owned their own restaurants.

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The other two should have stepped up for Kristen as well. Her concept worked, and she should have been credited for that.

Zora, I agree, the product placement is disgusting, the show has evolved, for better or worse. That said, this season has been more entertaining, IMO, than the previous, oh I don't know 4 seasons? Ever since Top Chef DC (included) the show has been diving downhill.

Line cook or executive chef, I'm sure these people could use the money.

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The first season, the contestants were mostly line cooks and sous chefs and a couple were still in culinary school. the show was about chefs who were aspiring restaurant owners and the big prize was presumably to help them eventually open their own place, which the first winner (Harold Dieterle, if memory serves) eventually did. Later on it became executive chefs and chefs who owned their own restaurants.

That seems like a natural progression to me. I'm sure when Bravo planned season 1 they couldn't attract the caliber of chefs that they can now because no one knew what the show was going to be. Now it seems it's a matter of pride simply to win the show although I'm sure like JuneBacon said many of them still need the money.

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My prediction is that we will see Kristen come back via Last Chance Kitchen. Actually, it may be more of a wish than a prediction.

Well, she did beat out CJ in the latest round, so it's a distinct possibility. I can't recall when they brought the winner back in previously.

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BTW, would someone kindly explain how Last Chance Kitchen works? I get that someone sent home has that chance to beat one other loser and get back into the competition. But then why isn't Kristen back in tonight? Does it have to do with the filming schedule so a LCK winner would reappear the following week?

And why is there a vote now for CJ vs Kuniko when CJ already lost a LCK?

And Josie vs Kristen tonight? But Kristen already won a LCK? Huh?

And, finally! The villainess is OUT!

Sincerely,

Top Chef Neophyte

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I'm a top chef expert and happy to help. Last Chance Kitchen runs in parallel.. the eliminated chefs face each other until the point where the winner at that time gets re-entry in the competition. Last year, the winner of LCK rejoined the competition with the top 3. So the eliminated chefs faced each other until that point in the competition.

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I think the Twitter voting thing for doubly-eliminated chefs is new this season. I can't figure out how they are determining which chefs to feature on that, probably somebody monitoring social media and the Bravo message boards to gauge fan sentiment.

I'm guessing they will bring back the most popular vote-getter that has already lost LCK and have them compete LCK-style against the "real" winner of LCK to get back into the competition. Which really makes the current LCK something like PCK (Penultimate Chance Kitchen) <_< .

I wonder how much further they will keep pushing competition content to the web in future seasons.

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I'm guessing they will bring back the most popular vote-getter that has already lost LCK and have them compete LCK-style against the "real" winner of LCK to get back into the competition. Which really makes the current LCK something like PCK (Penultimate Chance Kitchen) <_< .

I wonder how much further they will keep pushing competition content to the web in future seasons.

Or PPK: Penultimate Popularity Kitchen. Especially if, as you speculate, a big vote getter could upend the more talented chef (who'd ostensibly won a bunch of times already) at the last moment. And LCK is just web based? Didn't realize twitter drove the decisions. This kind of stuff is why I don't usually watch shows like this. Seems overly complicated and kind of silly.

Whatever happened to the 'good old days' of cooking competitions? Get some seriously credible judges. Some good contestants. The latter cook. The former judge. Someone wins. Game over. I know, I know--then ratings became important. ;)

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