f13.net

Fuck yea!

Thank fucking god it wasn't the letdown of last season. Goddamn am I happy with the results. Dale and Casey were a fucking mess.

Seems to be somewhat like Hells Kitchen right? I love Hells Kitchen. Maybe this is something I should pick up and give a shot.

BTW, the 9s are starting to line up for schild  :-P

My god, it's full of stars.

Also, this is nothing like Hell's Kitchen.

Hell's Kitchen is a bunch of shitty no-talent ass clowns put in a kitchen to cook for the guy that is the star of the asshole. Some eurotrash motherfucker who thinks he's king of the world and curses more than me. He is a dick. Everyone on the show is an unskilled fuckwit and the show suffers from not giving you any reason to give a fuck.

Top Chef on the other hand is mostly skilled, experience chefs and their food is the star of the show. It's about the food. It's a good show. Also, the only reality show I've ever liked even a tiny bit.

I was mixed about the finale.  I thought Dale had more heart and Hung had more precision.  You could base one hell of a cullinary career around either.  Hung kind of struck me as a "Marcel but less of an asshole".  Good technical chef with modern ideas, but so robotic as to miss some flair. 

FWIW, this is about the only show on television I'll go out of my way to watch.  I'm still trying to decide if it's because the challenges are entertaining or because I like the food.

Both.


How about this, Dale shouldn't have made it to the finals. :)

I think the finals should have been Tre and Hung, but Tre had a bad outing in a group task.  Of the 4 finalists, I think Dale and Hung were the best.  Dale had the training and was interesting in his flavor combinations.  I think Casey was too fundamental in her approach and showed a severe lack of sophistication and culinary knowledge.  She always tried to make things that were never going to fly given the timeline set before her.  Overall, I think they chose the best person as the winner.  I wasn't disappointed.

I liked Tre.  I think he tried to carry too much by himself and got caught in the Restaurant Wars episode.  Hung, for that matter,  came pretty close to an elimination when he got paired up with Joey because that idiot wouldn't listen to him.

Casey was alright,  but you knew she was going to the finals as long as she wasn't terrible.  Attractive, personable, fairly positive/sweet, girl-next-door-type?  I'm just glad she seems to have a decent amount of talent,  which didn't show through until the last few episodes of the show.

I heart Top Chef.

I was a bigger fan of last season though.

I like the show and I also liked last season better.  I liked Tre, too.  And I like Gordon Ramsey. I'm all like-y today.   :-)

I thought the "live" gimmick was a failure.  First of all, how long was the time between the taped finale and the staged bit in Chicago?  It obviously took a bit of tension out of it for the 3 finalists, poor Casey was just there to take a bullet, and at least 2/3 of the audience was SAD because they went all the way to Chicago to witness a LOSS.  Well played.

Also, having it live, they found a way to make Marcel even more of an insufferable prick.  Bravo.

I thought it was hilarious.

Cry me a river hilarious.

I think the final 3 all had some right to be there.  Casey choked hard on the last show, she's shown that she has probably the best palette among all the contestants this year, but she's not up to snuff technically.  Dale skated by most of the season but came on stronger during the last few weeks, the praise he got from the chefs was pretty good, and it seemed like if he hadn't of messed up that lobster curry dish he would have won.  Hung still never wow'd me with his food, he was technically superb.. but he didn't seem to really get into his food as much as some of the other competitors. 

I was waiting for one of the judges to say something about Hung's coconut foam though, especially since he's a friend of Marcell's. lol

Hung made like 2 foams the whole show. I think he made 1 reduction.

Marcel is a big egoheaded jerk who just thinks food is neat. They both happen to work at a fantastic restaurant.

I cant watch this show. I am on a diet and it makes me so fucking hungry for expensive food.

What diet?

Apparently the one where you can't even fucking look at carbs.

I have interest because I'm about to start a radical diet. After zee surgery.

Reductions are common place, hell even I make reductions at home.  It's those damn jelly's and foams that Marcell over used.

I know Hung didn't make alot of foams.. he really didn't use alot of the newer cooking techniques, he's heavy classical.  I was just used to the judges making comments on all the foams last season. 

I'll be happy to share my current "cut" diet with you.  I go on this diet for about 3 months of the year to keep my body fat in check after a muscle mass gain food-fest.  The good part is that I've lost about 20lbs in the last 6 weeks while maintaining most of my lean muscle mass.  The bad part is that I'm fucking hungry all the time.

The point of starting a diet after my surgery is that I'll be on enough drugs that not eating will be a non-issue. I think.

My friend was on Hell's Kitchen. I assure you, he's not an unskilled fuckwit. His only flaw as a cook is that he screws his employees. Literally.

Compared to Top Chef contestants, he's an unskilled fuckwit.

I didn't mean compared to people on f13.

I was really satisfied with the outcome... Top Chef and Iron Chef (Japan version only, American version is just blasphemy) are the only 2 cooking shows I can stand to watch, any other cooking shows just annoy the hell out of me.

Japan Iron Chef sucks balls. If given the choice between a pizza cook from Naples, a cook from Provence, a cook from Boston, or a native, then they will always choose the man from Kyoto with the squid and eels. It's bullshit.

Just count yourselves lucky you don't have to put up with that dickhead Jamie Oliver..."luverly jubberly" and "pucka" have no place....anywhere.

Bourdain's blog on the show (http://www.bravotv.com/blog/anthonybourdain/) is pretty much great.

I prefer Hells Kitchen. The contestants may not be of the caliber of Top Chef across the board, but they can all cook, and its more interesting to see them handle the actual chef functions rather than just having a cooking pageant. Top Chef is like some sort of gastronomic fashion show, with an over indulgence of postmodern cooking styles including Californian nouvelle and molecular gastronomy. Hung did good though. Without tasting the chow, its pretty hard to disagree with the judges, right?

You just described a grand total of 3 of the way too many contestants from the last 3 seasons.

And not to be mean-spirited, but the moment you get a fast food line chef on your show, it's not about cooking anymore. I don't care how much more British that bastard on Hell's Kitchen is, it's just bad tv.

Actually HK certainly better TV - because its more entertaining. You never think that Ramsey decided to kick somebody off simply over his personal taste - the decisions on the food are made by the restaurant attendees. Ramsey judges people on things that you the viewer get to see, which makes you feel more involved. Top Chef is very pretty - you get to see the food, but you have to accept the judges decisions in every case - because its really just a cookery show, and the proof is in the eating. Which makes it something of an uninvolving fashion show. With provocative comestibles instead of boobies.

Hell's Kitchen is all about Gordon Ramsey, the chefs are the sideshow.  If most of those people on there would have been real chefs... sous/executive, like the ones on Top Chef.  The waffle house cook wouldn't have beaten better then half the field of contestants.

I love Gordon Ramsey.  It's not because he has had ten Michelin stars all together or because he's cute, it's because he was ALMOST signed up to the Rangers.  I like Jamie Oliver because he's cute.  My first boyfriend's name was Mike Colicchio.  We used to sniff glue under the railway station.  He was a bad boy and last I heard he and his cousin were in prison.  That's the reason I like Top Chef.

Gotta tell ya, I'll take one episode with Anthony Bourdaine or Rocco Dispirito or any number of the guest judges on Top Chef than 23 Episodes of Gordon Ramsey. That guy is unlikable. His new show is dick also. Not because he's juding amateurs, but simply because he talks like a wanker.

Hmm.. am I the only one that watches Bourdain's show No Reservations?  It's not as good as his old half hour one, as he fills it with fluff instead of just doing the food.  Which I guess comes with being on the Travel Channel.

Top Chef is food pr0n, it's true. And since I know what the people are doing, it's quality entertainment for me. iirc, schild and I nailed Hung as the winner last summer on Episode 1 or 2 (I think we both assumed Tre would be a contender also, but alas). Top Chef humbles me and makes me feel like a master of my craft at the same time. I love all things food, and this show delivers.

Hell's Kitchen is about Gordon Ramsey, which is why I also love that show. When people fuck up basic things like boiling pasta they should get yelled at. Even if they are so totally out of their league that shouldn't be there in the first place, seeing some retard fuck up pasta makes me angry and it's wonderful to see them get called a fat fucking moron to their face.

The thing about Ramsey is, he's not just a retired football star cum world-renowned chef. He is a one-man movement toward getting people into the fucking kitchen already. He is a one-man pundit for the Less is More movement. And he's a Scotsman with a sailor mouth who makes his kids raise their own Christmas turkeys.

Considering the former's viewpoints on the latter, it's somewhat funny that you paired the two together. I just finished reading  Kitchen Confidential  (http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Adventures-Underbelly/dp/0060899220/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-7954323-9867658?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191553579&sr=8-1) (which is a must read for anyone who is interested in the food biz) and am 2/3rds through The Nasty Bits (http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Adventures-Underbelly/dp/0060899220/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-7954323-9867658?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191553579&sr=8-1).

Bourdain (who is seriously cool) loves Gordon Ramsey and thinks Dispirito is a complete douchebag that has squandered his talent.

EDIT: To make voodoolily happy.

It's BOURDAIN. No 'e' on the end. Be proper fanbois ffs.

I love Top Chef, martinis in hand, we've sat riveted through all three seasons. I was glad it wasn't two idiots like last season. Probably the most talented finale of all three. Did anyone ever contemplate from halfway through the season 1 that the winner wasn't going to be the winner? And season 2 was like the Republican primaries this year--one of these idiots? you're joking? WTF?

Given that he got a villain's edit through the entire season, I was very satisfied with the winner. Plus he's from Pittsfield. Local is a plus.

I love Gordon Ramsey. I think the Brit version of Kitchen Nightmares is his best though because you can see the other side of his personality. And Boiling Point because you can see where the asshole parts come from and that they're directed at something other than entertaining a tv audience. Plus a dyke won one of the US Hell's Kitchens :)

For the food porn oriented, starting next week(?) is Next Iron Chef which is supposed to be fairly decent. All the competitors are real chefs. The judges are high caliber as well. I never missed the Japanese version, but even having Cora as an IC isn't enough to lure me to watch ICA much, but I'll give this one a try.

Bourdain. I worked in a "real" kitchen in high school. Our chef at the time is now an instructor at Johnson and Wales. Bourdain's book completely pins the experience I had as a sixteen year old scrubbing dishes, schlepping crap up from the basement, and running to the liquor store for ice when our machine broke. Working around a bunch of freaky derelicts with punk and new wave grinding out of a boom box in the window. I went to U-Mass for 5 years and spent another 4 in Amherst and all of those combined I never saw as many drugs as I did working a year part time in that kitchen. Ditto for obscenity. Gave me one other great gift. As a true lover of food and cooking, I have absolutely zero interest in ever owning, opening, or otherwise being involved in the restaurant business.

Oh, and apparently the reason they went live with the reveal (even though it was very lame) was because the winner had been spoiled the last two seasons.

To be fair, I think I'd like Gordon Ramsey if the people on his show weren't such absolutely fucktards. That's what makes the show uninteresting - I want to see good cooks cook. I don't need to waste time watching a line cook from Red Lobster fuck up. If I wanted that, I'd film myself cooking.

Ahh.  Are you from that corner of Mass, Numtini?

Anyone watch The Next Iron Chef?

Might have to check this out one Sunday if it's not too crowded:
http://blogs.clevescene.com/cnotes/2007/10/next_iron_chef_sundays_at_loli.php

Lolita is only about 10 minutes from my place and $19 for a dinner there is a steal even if the menu is already chose for you.

I love Top Chef. I really thought Tre there in the end, but he had the bad day with a team that didn't support him. I was hoping Dale would win because none of Hung's food really looked all that fantastic to me. It looked good, certainly technically correct, but without any real personality. His entire set of speeches from the last two episodes was him trying to deny what the judges were telling him all along, your shit is letter perfect but soulless. He always just seemed to fall back on his excellent skills without trying to risk anything.

I liked Elan from Season 2, but really thought Sam should have won. Marcel was just a douche.

I hated Gordon Ramsay, until last night I caught a few episodes of the Brit Kitchen Nightmares show. I figured out why I had no interest in seeing any of his US Fox shows. The US stuff seemed edited to show nothing but him being a complete cockmonkey to everything and everyone. The Brit show had him cursing, but none of the yelling and screaming and denigrating that the US versions have featured. He genuinely seemed like a guy that was passionate about food and wanted folks to not fuck it up. The US just made him seem like a horrible little cunt.

Maybe that's true about the US versions (all I've really seen/Ramsey).

As for Season 2, I wanted Sam to win from his first quickfire challenge. He was robbed for the sake of drama.

As for Hung, his SKILLS were so much better than everyone else he didn't even belong on the show. The man is a knifemare. Amazing to just watch. Also, Haemish, his Hamachi and ESPECIALLY the duck were the two best looking versions of both foods I'd ever seen. And I've eaten a good deal of both.

Well, more of a lifestyle change than a real diet. I cut out ALL fast foods and all sodas. I also am trying to watch my salts cause high blood pressure runs in my family. Im 30 now and not getting any healthier by sitting at a desk all day. So I though "Now or never". I also try and cook more healthy foods and eat out a lot less. I also do push-ups every morning.

So far I have lost around 25+ lbs in 3 months. Down to around 215.

But damn does a Jack in the Box Sourdough Jack sounds good right now.

Things you can do to lose weight.

1) Eat many small meals instead of 2-3 large ones.  It maintains a more consistent blood sugar profile. 

2) Keep portions small: a portion is no larger than the size of your fist.  FOR ANYTHING.

3) 3 of the meals should have a carb, a lean protein, and a veg.  Fruits count as carbs.  The other 3 meals are usually a carb or carb + protein.

4) Protein = White meat chicken, eggs, soy, whey, seafood.  No red meat and no dark poultry.

5) Carbs = WHOLE GRAINS (brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc) or fruit (whole fruit, not fruit juice): NO PROCESSED CARBS.  PERIOD.

6) To speed up the process: 3 days weight training, 3 days of elevated heartrate aerobic exercise.  30 min a day minimum.

7) ALWAYS take a multi-vitamin. 

Eight) Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.  Dehydration is the number one problem in americans.

This program works 100% of the time and results will be easily apparent in 2 weeks.  Amazing results begin to appear at 12 weeks with exercise. 

I have a fist 3 quarters the size of a Chipotle burrito.

Edit: Shit, I'm snarky today.

Must come in handy as a single guy.

I beg to differ on the no red meat thing - I eat plenty of buffalo (readily available at grocery stores), because it is wild (e.g., not raised on feedlots and forced IN DEFIANCE OF GOD'S WILL to eat corn instead of grass), has a higher iron and lower fat content, and it damn tasty. I am making a pot roast of it today, as a matter of fact.

I switched from soda to Vitamin Water (50 cal v. 100 cal/serving), and then eventually to water. I use sweet potatoes or squash instead of regular potatoes on most days, so I still get that starchy comfort thing but at least get a little beta carotene. Making too many sacrifices at once WILL cause you to backslide (out of self pity). You just gotta know when to cut yourself some slack, and then try to pick a less-terrible option. If you want a burrito, get it without guac and sour cream and get black beans instead of refried. Not too devastating.

Speak for yourself.

I only drink diet soda except rarely - 0 calories 90% of the time. And an absolute shitton of water. We have it delivered and have a water cooler. We talk around it.

My bad.  I should have been more careful rather than generalizing.  Buffalo is excellent for being a high nutrient, low fat protein. 

Dude, you are the master of torrenting foreign TV shows. Do yourself a favour and grab the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares. Then you might understand why the US Kitchen Nightmares FOX's EXREME RESTAURANT MAKEOVER!!1! makes want to cry.

One thing they do say is to try and start slowly. My main thing that I cant do is whole wheat bread. I fucking cant stand the stuff. I dont know why, I just cant.

On that topic: parents of little ones - start your kids early. People eat the kind of bread they are used to. My mom only served whole wheat when I was a kid, and now it's all I will eat. The thought of white Wonderbread actually makes my slightly nauseous.

The chunkier and bittier my bread is, the better.

Actually that was all I was allowed when I was a kid was the hardcore whole wheat stuff. I think it put me off. When it comes to loaves of bread, ill buy Country Potato. Wonderbread is horrible. But when I go to a deli for a sandwich I will usually get a white roll, or sourdough.

I'm not sure how anything can be chunky and bitty at the same time.  Too quantum for me, I think.

Also, if you're you're trying to cut down on bread but must have white, use that Pepperidge Farm Very Thin bread.  It's almost even there!

Seen em all. Also, all the Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares made in the UK.  Still want to see the Boiling Point and followup that launched Ramsay.

Top Chef.  Yes, people who actually can cook. Competently. 

I really wanted Sam to win Season 2.  I thought Ilan was weak sauce.


If you want to avoid a SPOILER, don't read the Top Chef Wikipedia entry.  I didn't know who would win S3 and they have it up there.  Gah.

Not true, There were many foreign chefs from Europe and America that won over the Japanese Iron chefs...  Bobby Flay (who I hate with a passion) won TWICE against Morimoto. 

I thought they tied?  I thought Flay lost the first one after he electrocuted himself and was an ass on Japanese television.  Then he whined about his loss and they had a rematch, which he won.

BTW I'm not a big fan of Flay.. if anything Batali and Morimoto are way more then he'll ever be.  Batali is probably the best chef on Food Network and he's so under utilized it's a crime. 

Ya, you're right, Morimoto won the first won, then Flay won the rematch.

But Flay acted like an A1 asshole both times.

Ya, I think he's mellowed out a bit though since back then.  He's surprisingly civil on that Throwdown show, but I bet his two lady helpers wanna strangle him sometimes.

I mean if you are gonna be an ass.. go all the way like Gordon Ramsey.  hehe.

Bobby Flay always struck me as the most arrogant douchebag. And I should know.

He was your lover?

He's hardly my type.

Bobby Flay is sort of cute but Haemish's wife is drop dead gorgeous.

Goddamn right.

I don't get the no red meat no processed carbs stuff. All I do is eat much, much less than I did before. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner only. No snacks, not even an apple. If I want an apple I eat it with a meal. Breakfast is a cereal. Lunch is a sandwich. Dinner is whatever is served but typically half the serve the rest of the family eats. I did the no snacks thing because then it's hard to cheat, you can't just eat up a shitload of stuff without realising it. I'm seeing everything I'm putting in my mouth for the next few hours right on my plate.

I think the reality is we just eat more than we need to. I'm sure those tricks work nicely but just less also works. I find after enough time not eating too much your body gets accostomed to it. We had some pizza last week. Now in the past I could put away an entire large pizza and not feel anything but a content stomach. This time I had 2 slices and wished I'd chosen a smaller slice for my second. 2 sandwiches at lunch and I feel bloated, etc. The biggest thing that helped me is to make eating its own event. Don't eat in front of the TV. Don't eat in front of the computer. When eating means doing nothing else for as long as you're eating it loses some of its allure. This is helped by eating slowly. I take 45 minutes for lunch and it will take that long to eat my sandwich (I sit out in the sun though so it's not a sad ol' time of taking a bite every other minute and staring at the walls).

I came to the realisation that I liked eating much more than I disliked being fat. How can you win a war you don't want to win? The trick was to make day-to-day eating less fun. It's something I do because I have to. It's nice enough but I'd rather be playing X game or watching Y movie than eating a fucking ham and salad sandwich.

I won September's Paper Chef (http://www.tomatilla.com). My chowder pwned!

Gratz!!!

Your blog makes me cry tears of fun happy glorious  joy!   :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: