DanCole42 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Was there chocolate in that dish? I thought is was just strawberries, "ice cream", and a brittle thing. Even so, why wouldn't the chocolate be considered vegan? There are no animal products in dark chocolate. However, she did say she was allergic to soy, so if there was any lecithin in the chocolate, well..... Is lecithin the element in soy that causes the allergic reaction? 'cause plenty of other things have it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Was there chocolate in that dish? Yes, while introducing the dish, Art Smith said that there was chocolate drizzled on the brittle. Decent episode. I'm not so sure about the Top Chef claim that Good Stuff Eatery is a "favorite" of Michelle Obama's. She has eaten there. That's about as much as we know, I think. But a little exaggeration on Bravo never killed anybody. Incidentally, given the nature of the challenge, was I the only one who didn't understand why all the chefs didn't want to do dessert? Vegan, no-soy, no-gluten would seem easiest to do with dessert when fruit and chocolate can both be options. Then again, Art Smith managed to screw it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Yes, while introducing the dish, Art Smith said that there was chocolate drizzled on the brittle. Decent episode. I'm not so sure about the Top Chef claim that Good Stuff Eatery is a "favorite" of Michelle Obama's. She has eaten there. That's about as much as we know, I think. But a little exaggeration on Bravo never killed anybody. Incidentally, given the nature of the challenge, was I the only one who didn't understand why all the chefs didn't want to do dessert? Vegan, no-soy, no-gluten would seem easiest to do with dessert when fruit and chocolate can both be options. Then again, Art Smith managed to screw it up. she was there yesterday. I was searched by the Secret Service when I went to pick up lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Even so, why wouldn't the chocolate be considered vegan? There are no animal products in dark chocolate. However, she did say she was allergic to soy, so if there was any lecithin in the chocolate, well.....Exactly - didn't know how chocolate used was processed. Details omitted, choose your own adventure. I kept shouting at the screen, asking why Art couldn't do a strawberry rhubarb pie with oat flour or a peach crisp. Poor tv o'mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Spike is still a tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Spike is still a tool. Indeed, but I think (and hope) that Michael Chiarello is going to cringe when he watches that episode back. He came off as a real doofus. He also got higher scores than the comments on his dishes suggested. I guess the Top Chef editors felt the need to add some suspense about who was going to be eliminated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Why do people go eat at Spike's restaurant? He is a tool yet people want to support this tool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Why do people go eat at Spike's restaurant? He is a tool yet people want to support this tool? How many people who eat at Spike's restaurant know who Spike is? To lots of people, I suspect it's just a burger joint on Capitol Hill with good shakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Indeed, but I think (and hope) that Michael Chiarello is going to cringe when he watches that episode back. He came off as a real doofus. He also got higher scores than the comments on his dishes suggested. I guess the Top Chef editors felt the need to add some suspense about who was going to be eliminated. Agreed. The more I thought about it the more it seemed clear to me that MC spent almost all of the last decade outside the kitchen. He just seemed mystified about how to communicate with the "sous-chefs".(standard disclaimer - At least it seemed this way as edited. Obviously he did something right as he did not get the boot.) Also, I almost screamed when Kelly Choi started calling them "cheftestants" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickmoon Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 When I saw the previews of last night's episode, I thought Dale looked like a typical hot-head. Now, after the episode, I think he was totally justified to get up in Chiarello's grille (I'm sure some of you will disagree)...Why Chiarello felt the need to haze the Top Chefs, I'm not sure. It's like he thought they were new culinary students or something. I really liked Chiarello throughout this series, but last night he came off like a jackass. "What's my name?" Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Why do people go eat at Spike's restaurant? He is a tool yet people want to support this tool? How many people who eat at Spike's restaurant know who Spike is? To lots of people, I suspect it's just a burger joint on Capitol Hill with good shakes. I'm also sure there are many people who admire him as much as (if not more than) I find him annoying. To each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 When I saw the previews of last night's episode, I thought Dale looked like a typical hot-head. Now, after the episode, I think he was totally justified to get up in Chiarello's grille (I'm sure some of you will disagree)...Why Chiarello felt the need to haze the Top Chefs, I'm not sure. It's like he thought they were new culinary students or something. I really liked Chiarello throughout this series, but last night he came off like a jackass. "What's my name?" Wow. Chiarello tries to explain himself. Not much remorse. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Why do people go eat at Spike's restaurant? He is a tool yet people want to support this tool? Because we work on Capitol hill and there is nothing over here. and I actually do like the turkey burger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBooneJr Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 My question is: What does this woman Kelly have to do with good food, other than not eating any so that she can stay so skinny? Padma is gorgeous, and she is also a talented cook who has written a very credible cookbook. Kelly's real name is Young and she was a friend of mine at William & Mary. She has a masters in Journalism from Columbia and is about as sharp as they come. I have no doubt that she knows what she's talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Chiarello tries to explain himself. Not much remorse. . . I only saw the show once. It seems that people were grabbing fridges and Michael didn't grab the one behind him before Anita's crew grabbed it. There's no rule that entitles Michael to the fridge behind him. As for Dale blowing his lid, I don't know why and I think it's over the top if the only reasons is being called a "young man." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79pooh83 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 At least we got rid of Lo who contantly whines and couldn't ID hoisin sauce or PB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I haven't been able to watch the last couple of episodes and demand more pithy commentary!! I liked Lo, so explain what happened, please. Mike Isabella wants Rick Bayless to win. Unnamed sources claim that the best tasting dishes in the Bazaar segment were Bayless's even though he didn't win that round. The appearances of Zaytinia's chef (and Volt's) on the next run of Top Chef start next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandynva Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I haven't been able to watch the last couple of episodes and demand more pithy commentary!! I liked Lo, so explain what happened, please. have you ever checked out the recaps at tvgasm.com? i love them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I haven't been able to watch the last couple of episodes and demand more pithy commentary!! I liked Lo, so explain what happened, please. The challenge was a buffet. She wanted to do a raw bar. The buffet was then moved outside into the blazing sun. End of game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79pooh83 Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I haven't been able to watch the last couple of episodes and demand more pithy commentary!! I liked Lo, so explain what happened, please. Mike Isabella wants Rick Bayless to win. Unnamed sources claim that the best tasting dishes in the Bazaar segment were Bayless's even though he didn't win that round. The appearances of Zaytinia's chef (and Volt's) on the next run of Top Chef start next week. She was always tired, didn't have enough time to think about her menu, ..............etc - come on, all the chefs are in the same boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I would really like to see Hubert win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwertyy Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Topolabambo/Frontera Grill has to be among my favorite restaurants. Every time I've eaten there--even weekday lunches--chef has been in the kitchen, and the food has been phenomenal. I'm rooting for Bayless! But these guys are all so cool, this is just going to be fun to watch. For regular Top Chef--SPOILER!--I have to skittishly admit that I'm glad I don't have to look at those ear hoops and neck tattoo for the rest of the season... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdavidm Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Hurray for Bayless. That said, I'd swoon over any of the dishes the three chefs prepared in the finale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I think the finale challenge on Masters was touching on SO many levels. I found myself getting teary-eyed from their personal pictures and memories. The pictures brought me so much closer to understanding their philosophies, their dreams, and them; something that is often removed from the dining scene. What a wonderful episode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I know where I am going to eat next time I am in Chicago! Great final episode for Top Chef Masters. and they need to bring back Wolfgang Puck as guest judge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Hurray for Bayless. That said, I'd swoon over any of the dishes the three chefs prepared in the finale. You know, Bayless freaks me out a bit. He always seemed a bit of an oddball in prior seasons as a guest judge, and it looked like he had a few facelifts and teeth work (I am probablly wrong on both counts, it just looks like he has). But you got to see a lot of what he could do with this Masters competition and you learned more about him and what makes him tick. He's clearly passionate about what he does and, while I found it initially dubious that he was playing to win a contribution to a charity that he started himself, after I learned more about what the charity did, I was OK with that. His food looked great and I sure would have loved to taste that mole. But I still wish Hubert won. He's such a nice guy (I was incredibly lucky to have met him about 4 years ago at Fleur de Lys). Ah well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I think the finale challenge on Masters was touching on SO many levels. I found myself getting teary-eyed from their personal pictures and memories. The pictures brought me so much closer to understanding their philosophies, their dreams, and them; something that is often removed from the dining scene. What a wonderful episode. Agreed. I thought this was a terrific episode with a terrific challenge. All in all, I thought Top Chef Masters was much more successful than I expected. I feared that it was going to be a cheap ripoff, but in many ways, I found it more interesting than the original. And I'm happy for Rick Bayless. I ate at his wonderful Topolobampo once--on the day that I received my PhD--and I can honestly say that I have more memories of that amazing meal than I do of the graduation ceremony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Agreed. I thought this was a terrific episode with a terrific challenge. All in all, I thought Top Chef Masters was much more successful than I expected. I feared that it was going to be a cheap ripoff, but in many ways, I found it more interesting than the original. And I'm happy for Rick Bayless. I ate at his wonderful Topolobampo once--on the day that I received my PhD--and I can honestly say that I have more memories of that amazing meal than I do of the graduation ceremony. I'm happy for Rick, too, and admire the mission of his local farmer supporting charity. And far be it for me to diss regional Mexican food, which I am passionate about. That said, I think Hubert Keller should have won. He is a much more highly skilled chef and his food is far more refined and complex, his presentations far more beautiful than Rick Bayless' or Michael Chiarello's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanCole42 Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I'm happy for Rick, too, and admire the mission of his local farmer supporting charity. And far be it for me to diss regional Mexican food, which I am passionate about. That said, I think Hubert Keller should have won. He is a much more highly skilled chef and his food is far more refined and complex, his presentations far more beautiful than Rick Bayless' or Michael Chiarello's. Agreed. We were rooting for Hubert from the beginning.We do like Rick, though. He's kind of like the male equivalent of the Earth mother type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 [Keller] is a much more highly skilled chef and his food is far more refined and complex, his presentations far more beautiful than Rick Bayless' or Michael Chiarello's. I assume you are talking more about complexity of flavor than complexity of technique. Either way, I'm not sure that Bayless was that much less impressive. His 27-ingredient mole literally left the judges speechless. That pork dish struck me as technically very difficult and seemed to have a complex flavor profile as well. I will grant that Keller wins on presentation, but he also served raw garlic, as pretty as it was. Incidentally, did anybody else notice that James Oseland really did seem to have it out for Chiarello? I hadn't noticed it until Michael did that schtick with the Saveur doilies, but then Oseland only gave him 3.5 stars in the final judging. Even if Michael had gotten 4.5 stars, Bayless still would have won, but it was a bit strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I would like to call out all "chef-testants" who appear on cooking competition shows and then complain about not being able to make a dessert course. Dude, you're a chef, you should be able to at least prepare some basic desserts: ice cream, pie crust, something with fruit, even basic chocolate. No one is asking you make a blown sugar sculpture. Dude, you're appearing on a cooking competition show where 9 times out of 10 you are required to make a dessert course. Learn to make a couple desserts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.R. Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I thought Top Chef Masters was great, and I did enjoy the mutual comraderie much more so than the incessant bickering on the original. I had great respect for all of the "Masters", right up until Michael Chiarello ("pronounced KEY-uh-rehl-lo, in Italian, the 'ch-' is pronounced like a hard 'K' ") revealed himself to be an ass-hat of the highest order during the Sous Chef challenge. That he would treat his highly accomplished "Sous Chef" applicants like wet-behind-the-ears, first year cooking interns, on national television, smiling the whole time while acting like a world-class DICK ("on DR.com, dick is pronounced 'DICK', all hard sounds")was absurd. He could be a prince of a swell guy, but that was low-class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 Although I know that Chef Bayless's Frontera Grill was popular in Chi-town, I don't know how popular it was before Top Chef Masters aired. However, this past Saturday night, at 6:30pm, there was a 3.5 hour wait, AND this was with a pre-season Bears game going on! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezepowder Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Top Chef Masters -- the new season doesn't start until April 7, but the list of contestants is (here). I'm looking forward to the new season! I hope it'll have the same professional decorum as the first Top Chef Masters season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Looks like a bunch of chefs who didn't do too well last season have been given an opportunity to redeem themselves--Wiley Dufresne, Jonathan Waxman among them. Does that give them an unfair advantage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmsayce Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Looks like a bunch of chefs who didn't do too well last season have been given an opportunity to redeem themselves--Wiley Dufresne, Jonathan Waxman among them. Does that give them an unfair advantage? I would think so, especially since it always seems like the chefs are trying to just get used to the pace of the challenges at first. Aren't there rules for the "normal" season of Top Chef that you can't compete on the show once you've already been a contestant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 In his Editor's Note in the (March 2010) Los Angeles issue of Saveur, James Oseland talks about the last time he was in L.A., when he was a judge for two back-to-back seasons of Top Chef Masters. He went on to talk about being there for 6 weeks, that each "season" had taken three weeks to tape. I wonder if they had a partial complement of chefs booked for the second season, and offered in advance some spaces to first session chefs to repeat, in the event that they did not advance to the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezepowder Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Reminder that the new season of Top Chef Masters starts tonight at 11 pm (will have to try to stay up past my bedtime) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 The latest episode had grilled cheese as the quickfire, and Kelly Choi as the sole judge. Is this show this pathetic? The host as the judge? The elimination challenge is soul food. The contestants are 1 African raised in Sweden, 1 Frenchie, 1 Puerto Rican, 1 whitie with not much formal training from Houston, and David Burke. Are all good chefs supposed to be able to do soul food? And of course the 3 judges are all white. I didn't like the first season. I think I'm done watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 The latest episode had grilled cheese as the quickfire, and Kelly Choi as the sole judge. Is this show this pathetic? The host as the judge? The elimination challenge is soul food. The contestants are 1 African raised in Sweden, 1 Frenchie, 1 Puerto Rican, 1 whitie with not much formal training from Houston, and David Burke. Are all good chefs supposed to be able to do soul food? And of course the 3 judges are all white. I didn't like the first season. I think I'm done watching. What I thought was odd was that the winner only served half of the dish she said she would prepare. On Top Chef that would have been grounds for elimination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hm212 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 The latest episode had grilled cheese as the quickfire, and Kelly Choi as the sole judge. Is this show this pathetic? The host as the judge? The elimination challenge is soul food. The contestants are 1 African raised in Sweden, 1 Frenchie, 1 Puerto Rican, 1 whitie with not much formal training from Houston, and David Burke. Are all good chefs supposed to be able to do soul food? And of course the 3 judges are all white. I didn't like the first season. I think I'm done watching. I have really been disappointed in this season too, The first week was supposed to be "First date food" - and I was really excited to watch that and was looking for an interesting idea to cook something for a friend. Not one drop of inspiration came from this show! This week - Grilled Cheese. I LOVE GRILLED CHEESE, but nothing on here made my mouth water and call me that I had to try it. Maybe just some disappointing editing, but they really need to kick it up a notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 What I thought was odd was that the winner only served half of the dish she said she would prepare. On Top Chef that would have been grounds for elimination. I know. I guess the "masters" play by different rules. I'm not entirely sure some of these masters are better than last season's Top Chef contestants - yeah the midget Puerto Rican lady who can't finish her dish wins the episode... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 I have really been disappointed in this season too, The first week was supposed to be "First date food" - and I was really excited to watch that and was looking for an interesting idea to cook something for a friend. Not one drop of inspiration came from this show! I finally got to watch the episode online and I thought that what Ana and Joe made with the flower-infusion stuff was pretty inspiring. I have never really cooked with blossoms or lavender and although it could be overpowering, the flavor combination didn't seem such in this case. I was more inspired by the fiery-hot cheetos sauce they made for the quickfire -- how does one get that color??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 I was more inspired by the fiery-hot cheetos sauce they made for the quickfire -- how does one get that color??? The Jalepeno Cheetos are themselves that color. If you're asking how Frito Lay get that color into Cheetos, I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 The Jalepeno Cheetos are themselves that color. If you're asking how Frito Lay get that color into Cheetos, I dunno. probably cayenne pepper and red food coloring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiveturk21 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Another show removed from the DVR after this awful episode. Last season was better, but I think that it really doesn't work because it is hard to find a story line since the chefs are on one episode each. Also, the first episode they get "stars" for the quick fire, but this episode they don't get any. They are clearly milking this concept for all they can. They really tried to make Marcus Samuelsson look like a jackass on this episode, didn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Since Susur Lee got 19.5 stars in the elmination challenge, getting the highest score by far in the history of TC Masters, I have to go eat at Zentan and then bitch about how much it sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Susur continues to pulverize his competitors. Seriously, is he really that good? Do I have to go to Toronto to get the best of Susur? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Susur continues to pulverize his competitors. Seriously, is he really that good? Do I have to go to Toronto to get the best of Susur? Yes, I have only been to Zentan once, but unless I heard wildly good things about it I wouldn't go back. It just didn't wow me at all. I thought maybe I ordered wrong, but I haven't heard many raves, just that the sushi is good. The one thing I did really like was the Singapore Slaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Susur continues to pulverize his competitors. Seriously, is he really that good? Do I have to go to Toronto to get the best of Susur? Nope. Just New York. He's more focusing on the Shang restaurant right now and probably can be found there, I believe. Have not been there to try the food though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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