cheezepowder Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 I'm still watching, but I agree that this season isn't as entertaining as past seasons. I'm glad Radhika got eliminated. She did a terrible job last night as the leader. And considering that the premise was that the judge was pretending to be a restaurant investor, and he picked Radhika as the chef/owner's restaurant to invest in based on her quickfire dish, she should have cooked at least one dish at the restaurant. Though I really want Leah and Hosea to get eliminated next. Toby annoys me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 "Dees iz not Top Scallops, itz Top Chef!" was all I can think of when Radhika's team had the scallops + chickpea cake dish. I started laughing when that dish was served because it was channeling Fabio's rant. All I could think about when Carla defended herself was, "Mmmmmm. She's channeling some Southern Mama right there." Sass. It was great to watch. I think the guest judge won the annoying award this episode, rather than Toby. But Stefan's mint chocolate lollipops looked really appetizing. I just felt bad that the freezers weren't working well for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Toby is a punk indeed. He is trying too hard to be shocking and witty and I do not think he’s either. <yawn> I was bummed Radhika got the axe, but she did indeed not lead, so there you go. Leah has made it far further than I would have imagined. I thought she was weak way before all of the edited-to-be-dramatic-hook-up with Hosea. They’re both idiots, but I think Josea at least has half a chance to make some good food still. I still think it’ll be Stefan and Jamie in the final. Throw in Fabio if they have three, and if they have 4, it’ll be anyone else for that slot (maybe Hosea). Stefan will win it, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinwiddie Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I don't know. Carla just has to go. She can't follow directions, can't cook, and whines. Besides, she is scary looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I don't know. Carla just has to go. She can't follow directions, can't cook, and whines.Hmm, I think the Queen of Whining award goes to Leah. Other than being at the judges table a lot and perhaps sounding like Carla whines, she appears to be the supportive person (the mama) of the troupe. Maybe it's just me, but at least (minus restaurant wars) her desserts have saved some of the past team challenges. My .02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hm212 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Toby is a Simon Cowell wannabee - Begging for some press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I think Stefan is a lock for TC at this point, w/ Jaime & Jeff as competitors-don't really think much about any of the others, although Fabio & Carla are both delightful people... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Hmm, I think the Queen of Whining award goes to Leah. Other than being at the judges table a lot and perhaps sounding like Carla whines, she appears to be the supportive person (the mama) of the troupe. Maybe it's just me, but at least (minus restaurant wars) her desserts have saved some of the past team challenges. My .02. Leah is a total punk and needs to get the boot. The fact that she's lasted this long is due more to her ability to deflect blame moreso than actual skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithstg Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Worst. Season. Ever. Seriously, TC does NY and this is the best cast that they could come up with? Stefan is a lock to win at this point, but does anyone really think that he could hang with any of the prior winners (sadly, including Ilan), or even some of the strong contenders from seasons past - Dale, Tre, Lee Ann, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I think they need to change the format of the show. They give the big reward--immunity--to the winner of the Quickfire, which is often so quirky that it's not necessarily the best chef who wins. The winner of the elimination challenges gets. . .a copy of the guest judge's cookbook. There's no incentive to win the elimination challenge. (Compare, for a second, to Project Runway, which inspired Top Chef, but in which the winner of each challenge gets immunity for the next challenge). I'm thinking way too much about this. P.S. What's interesting about this season being so weak is that I think it's actually the season in which they've most allowed the chefs "just to cook." In years past, there's always been complaining about the constraints of the challenges. "I just want to cook my food," I can hear the contestants whining. I don't intend to do the research to verify this, but my sense is that this season has had more challenges (not all, but more) in which the chefs have been able to cook just about anything they want in the elimination challenges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 from Eater-- "Top Cheffage — From the tipline: "A colleague attended a cooking class at Radius in Boston on Saturday, hosted by chef/owner Michael Schlow. Schlow confirmed that he will be a participant in Top Chef: Masters and that filming begins in February." The TC spinoff is also rumored to have snagged Scotty Conant, Wylie Dufresne, and Todd English. [EaterWire]" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenticket Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I think last night's episode was my favorite one of this season. What a great opportunity and honor to be able to get direct feedback from Chef Ripert, in his own kitchen no less! I am trying to stifle my outrage that Lame Leah is still there...yes, Jamie screwed up, but at least she has some talent and insight. Leah is just boring and doesn't strike me as having any passion or original ideas. But, as they've said all along, they are only judging the challenge at hand and prior performance doesn't come into consideration. Tom C. says on his blog that Jamie was the only chef they ever considered sending home for this challenge. If Leah's there after next week though...I don't know if I can watch any more Stefan continues to rise to the top, with Fabio not far behind. Carla has really grown on me (she drove me nuts for the first several episodes) and now I'm pulling for her. It was great to see her nail the sauce in her dish, which she was able to do because of her classical French training. It's also nice to see her showing her chops beyond the dessert course. I do wonder what the final would look like if Jamie and Jeff were still in the running.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I think last night's episode was my favorite one of this season. What a great opportunity and honor to be able to get direct feedback from Chef Ripert, in his own kitchen no less!I am trying to stifle my outrage that Lame Leah is still there...yes, Jamie screwed up, but at least she has some talent and insight. Leah is just boring and doesn't strike me as having any passion or original ideas. But, as they've said all along, they are only judging the challenge at hand and prior performance doesn't come into consideration. Tom C. says on his blog that Jamie was the only chef they ever considered sending home for this challenge. If Leah's there after next week though...I don't know if I can watch any more Stefan continues to rise to the top, with Fabio not far behind. Carla has really grown on me (she drove me nuts for the first several episodes) and now I'm pulling for her. It was great to see her nail the sauce in her dish, which she was able to do because of her classical French training. It's also nice to see her showing her chops beyond the dessert course. I do wonder what the final would look like if Jamie and Jeff were still in the running.... It was a good episode and I am dismayed to see Jamie go. Leah is a hack. OK, maybe not a hack, but she is so blah about everything it's nuts. I *really hope* Leah gets the axe next episode. I can't imagine a final 4 with her in it. Bleah. Jeff was just all over the board -- he didn't know how to self edit and that was his failure. Stefan is still going to win it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy510 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Stefan is still going to win it all. And it's not even going to be close, at this rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divine One Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 If the editors are any good, which they usually are on this show, Carla is the surprise of the season and may give him a run for his money. If I remember from past seasons contestants that get a ton of face time do quite well in the end, and Carla has been on the screen throughout, much to my delight. I could be wrong, but she might be peaking at the right time for a win. Stefan has been so dominant it would be almost a non-event for him to win, and that does not make for very good television. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwertyy Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 If the editors are any good, which they usually are on this show, Carla is the surprise of the season and may give him a run for his money. If I remember from past seasons contestants that get a ton of face time do quite well in the end, and Carla has been on the screen throughout, much to my delight. I could be wrong, but she might be peaking at the right time for a win. Stefan has been so dominant it would be almost a non-event for him to win, and that does not make for very good television. She's been teaching at CulinAerie lately. I was in a different class in the next room, but hers looked well-attended. I think she's fun. I like her a lot on the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I can't even imagine being on this show-I think it would be more stressful than just cooking-the timed challenges, not knowing what's going to be thrown at you, guest judges-I'm impressed w/ anyone who even auditions for this kind of stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 If the editors are any good, which they usually are on this show, Carla is the surprise of the season and may give him a run for his money. If I remember from past seasons contestants that get a ton of face time do quite well in the end, and Carla has been on the screen throughout, much to my delight. I could be wrong, but she might be peaking at the right time for a win. Stefan has been so dominant it would be almost a non-event for him to win, and that does not make for very good television. Agree and disagree. Agree: Stefan is too obvious. Lots of people thought Richard was going to win last season. Disagree: I don't think the editors on the show are very good at all. They foreshadow the outcome of every episode at the outset of the episode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Disagree: I don't think the editors on the show are very good at all. They foreshadow the outcome of every episode at the outset of the episode.I completely agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Stefan was in a bit of trouble there last night. Judging last night was somewhat ridiculous. Some people thought the squab was overcooked but others did not. But all judges thought the salmon was overcooked. From what I can tell, the salmon was well done, that means it's overcooked? As for the quickfire, I wish the judge would say he wants something simple or ornate. Who've thought Wiley wants a simple green eggs and ham? He sure doesn't dish that shit up at WD-50. Instead, he serves some less than tasty foamy stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithstg Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Tom said it all last night when he begged the remaining contestants not to embarrass him during the last meal challenge. What a weak group. Leah's elimination could be seen coming a mile away. At least Fabio had some funny lines! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monavano Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Tom said it all last night when he begged the remaining contestants not to embarrass him during the last meal challenge. What a weak group. Leah's elimination could be seen coming a mile away. At least Fabio had some funny lines! Fabio is so entertaining, and I loved his determination after mangling his finger. He went on to win, where others would have made excuses. Leah-I thought she managed to remain in the middle of the pack until the episode where there was not middle. Only winners and one loser. Yay, Carla! I think she's got a shot. I just wish Jamie made it to the finals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooter Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Did anyone see how he managed to break his finger? I could understand a bad cut, but I don't understand how he broke it. Not Top Pussy, indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I thought last night's episode was terrific. A producer's dream--lots of drama. Cooking for food celebrities--several of whom are clearly idolized by the contestants (as well as many of us out here). It was pretty obvious that the celebs were instructed to come up with a very simple "last meal". And was it somehow pre-ordained that Fabio would cook for Lidia Bastianich, Stefan for Marcus Samuelsson and Carla for Jacques Pepin? Stefan boasted that winning the challenge was a "piece of cake" and then over-cooked the salmon and had to worry about being eliminated. (note to Ericandblueboy: sophisticated palates prefer salmon that is medium rare, not cooked all the way through.) During prep, Fabio dislocated and broke a finger but then manned up, toughed it out and performed brilliantly. The way his face lit up when he was told that Lidia, "the queen of Italian cooking in America" had really liked his roast chicken, was wonderful to see. And we can finally say "buh-bye" to Leah, who proclaimed a passion for cooking that was belied by her low energy and "whatever" demeanor. And Carla has emerged from the back of the pack and early lackluster performances to reveal some very sophisticated chops. She is forthright and honest about critiquing her efforts, perhaps too much so, because not all of the judges shared her assessment that she had overcooked the squab breast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajcaj Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Last night's challenge was great and I was really glad to see Leah finally go - she just doesn't have the skill that the rest of the chefs have and she was always so damn "meh" about everything. BUT can I just say that what they always say about judging based on the challenge alone and not taking past performance into account is BS! Come on, overcooked fish?? That should have gotten almost anyone eliminated - and the rest of the dish wasn't even perfect - it seemed no one really liked the 2 types of spinach idea. However, Leah got eliminated, so I'm ok with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Did anyone see how he managed to break his finger? I could understand a bad cut, but I don't understand how he broke it.Not Top Pussy, indeed! According to the Fabio Q&A blog on Bravotv.com: Bravotv.com: You really hurt yourself — what happened?I took a corner and I did fall due to the wet floor and my pinky was dislocated, so it got very swollen and I coud not move my whole hand. The funny part is that I was about to start cooking and I am a professional chef and like I said this is Top Chef not Top Pussy, so I held strong and got the job done! Bravotv.com: Had you ever hurt yourself that badly in the kitchen before? I did burn myself really badly three years ago. I accidentally coated my whola hand with caramelized sugar and I had a third-degree burn. I almost lost my hand and after four days I was back to work. I was eating painkiller sfor breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is what it is; you have to deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekkerwijn Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Carla "the tortise" is a great foil to Stefan "the hare". She's also fun to watch. They say she is from DC and she talks about eating in DC. But just out of curiousity, has anyone on this board ever eaten her food or heard of her work before she got on the show? How do we get her to start cooking for us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Briosca Mor Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Carla "the tortise" is a great foil to Stefan "the hare". She's also fun to watch. They say she is from DC and she talks about eating in DC. But just out of curiousity, has anyone on this board ever eaten her food or heard of her work before she got on the show? How do we get her to start cooking for us? Three or four years ago I assisted for Carla at a class she taught at Sur La Table in Pentagon Row. It was kind of a weird topic, Vegan Thanksgiving, so I didn't get anything culinarily for myself out of the experience. But it was a fun night anyway. I think Carla's main gig is as a caterer, but I've heard she's also teaching some classes at that new CulinAerie place downtown. Maybe she still does classes at Sur La Table (I don't know, because I'm out of touch with their program) and since she's a graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine she may teach there also, although I don't recall seeing her name in their catalog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgarden Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Carla "the tortise" is a great foil to Stefan "the hare". She's also fun to watch. They say she is from DC and she talks about eating in DC. But just out of curiousity, has anyone on this board ever eaten her food or heard of her work before she got on the show? How do we get her to start cooking for us? I think Bravo has previously identified her as the owner of a catering company. She's also mentioned that she is classically trained - perhaps at L'Academie de Cuisine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I think Bravo has previously identified her as the owner of a catering company. She's also mentioned that she is classically trained - perhaps at L'Academie de Cuisine?She did train at L'Academie and owns Alchemy Caterers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooter Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Carla "the tortise" is a great foil to Stefan "the hare". She's also fun to watch. They say she is from DC and she talks about eating in DC. But just out of curiousity, has anyone on this board ever eaten her food or heard of her work before she got on the show? How do we get her to start cooking for us? Her company catered my wife's association's Christmas party this year. She said the food was good catered food, nothing special, which is exactly what I would expect from a reasonably priced catering company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 (note to Ericandblueboy: sophisticated palates prefer salmon that is medium rare, not cooked all the way through.) Sophisticated palates also prefer squab not well done. So why the double standard? Why make excuses for Carla but not for Stefan? Are they trying to say squab isn't universally served medium or medium rare? Well, if that's the case, neither is fish (there's not a single Chinese fish dish that isn't cooked all the way through that I know of). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungry prof Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Sophisticated palates also prefer squab not well done. So why the double standard? Why make excuses for Carla but not for Stefan? Are they trying to say squab isn't universally served medium or medium rare? Well, if that's the case, neither is fish (there's not a single Chinese fish dish that isn't cooked all the way through that I know of). Well, I think the issue here is just how overdone were the two items. It seems like Stefan cooked the salmon until it was cat food while Carla's squab was more borderline. Recall Tom saying that there seemed to be a generational disagreement on whether the squab was appropriately cooked. That suggests that it wasn't *clearly* overcooked while Stefan's salmon was. Why can't it just be that simple? Carla's really grown on me. She has a great formula for doing well on this show: she's classically trained and she keeps it simple. I mean wasn't it obvious that trying to do molecular gastronomy in order to impress Wylie Dufresne was exactly the wrong thing to do? You're unlikely to do it as well as he does it, and just because he cooks that way doesn't mean that he can't enjoy eggs prepared simply. I'm glad Fabio won. I thought he had the hardest dish to prepare. You can't hide a bad roast chicken, and it's hard to make a truly great one (plus he had to deal with the request for a "leafy salad," which I thought was a bit silly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poivrot Farci Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Sophisticated palates also prefer squab not well done. So why the double standard? Why make excuses for Carla but not for Stefan? Are they trying to say squab isn't universally served medium or medium rare? Well, if that's the case, neither is fish (there's not a single Chinese fish dish that isn't cooked all the way through that I know of).That would not be anything without exception of neither a fish which has not been cooked outside of none other than "Chinese method" (rather than not being unopposed to a"Chinese fish") unless you aren’t talking about nothing else than Coi...or Yusheng (Chaozhou raw fish salad)I read Moby Dick and the essential Henry Miller in as much time as it took Carla to go to th’Academie and that doesn’t make me a student or scholar of classical fuckin’ literature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 That would not be anything without exception of neither a fish which has not been cooked outside of none other than "Chinese method" (rather than not being unopposed to a"Chinese fish") unless you aren’t talking about nothing else than Coi...or Yusheng (Chaozhou raw fish salad)I read Moby Dick and the essential Henry Miller in as much time as it took Carla to go to th’Academie and that doesn’t make me a student or scholar of classical fuckin’ literature. I have no idea what you're talking about. Can you simplify it for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoman Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Being an avid fan of these cooking shows (we had to try Farrah Olivia after Chef Morou's appearance on NIC), does anyone know (besides having an event catered) how we could try Carla's food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickie Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Being an avid fan of these cooking shows (we had to try Farrah Olivia after Chef Morou's appearance on NIC), does anyone know (besides having an event catered) how we could try Carla's food?She teaches at CulinAerie in DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thank goodness Leah is toast. And, I do agree that, if this show is judged *purely* on the current challenge, Stefan mighta coulda shoulda went home. At least from me watching the edited version on the TV like we all have to. BUT, I also seem to think that in the last few episodes leading up to the final 4 (didn't it all start with a final three originally? Why did it change to 4?), they allow for some looking at the whole history of work -- at least for the judges who have been there the whole time. I don't think it's bad, since at that point they are trying to get to the final 4 that really should be going there. But just say that is what you are doing. This all being said, we all watch the edited for TV content and do not have access to all of the details, most notably tasting the actual food. I mean, when will they make scratch and eat TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdavidm Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thank goodness Leah is toast.(snip) I agree; she was obnoxiously uninspiring. That said, we have eaten at her restaurant in NYC and thoroughly enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekkerwijn Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 And, I do agree that, if this show is judged *purely* on the current challenge, Stefan mighta coulda shoulda went home. If they really judged the show on the current challenge they would judge the food blindly without knowing who made it. But then you couldn't do fun things like judge people's food based on the personality, team spirit and ability to make good tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajcaj Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Everybody still bored with this season? Not even a "Yay, Carla!"? She's definitely grown on me this season and it was good to see her win the challenge last night. Even though it meant that Jeff didn't get a chance to come back - I feel like he might be a better chef than Josea, who I've found kind of meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 H-o-O-T-i-E! Still sad about Jeff though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biscuit Girl Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 H-o-O-T-i-E! Hoo! I would love to see Carla beat arrogant, self involved Stephan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I think Carla might actually take it. Stefan is overconfident. Josea is gunning ONLY for Stefan, so Carla might just sweep in and take it without the other two realizing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwertyy Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I really enjoyed that last episode a lot, despite having to say goodbye to Fabio, who is endlessly entertaining and seems to have some chops. I think the show has redeemed itself over the last few weeks. Hosea/Leah affair aside, I admire how they try to concentrate on the cooking much more than interpersonal dramas, unlike most competition shows. I'm rooting for Carla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hm212 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm rooting for Carla. Has anyone had her food? I think she is a caterer in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekkerwijn Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Has anyone had her food? I think she is a caterer in this area. I've asked this question as well. It would seem that aside from taking a cooking class from her, no one has tried her food before. But maybe some people have heard her yelling "hootie-hoo" in a Whole Foods . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 For all the hootie lovers - DCist's interview with Carla Hall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beto Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 For all the hootie lovers - DCist's interview with Carla Hall She seems like a real sweetie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 She seems like a real sweetie. *sniff, sniff* Wahhhhhhhhhhh! (writing as I'm watching this...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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