Top Chef Season 5

[Righ]

That's probably so they can refer to it as the Top Chef Whole Foods Gladware Semi-Final Calphalon Clash Aspen Classic sponsored by the fantastic family of Gladware products and Kenmore Kitchen Ranges of T.G.I. Toyota and Kraft Quaker Oats.

fify

GE Monogram ranges in the final, not GE Kenmore. And how did you both forget T-Mobile?

[Numtini]

My favorite was a few seasons ago when they said announced were going to put the groceries from Whole Foods into the Toyota Rav 4s and bring them back to the Kenmore Pro Kitchen. I think they may have called on a Sidekick on the way back too.

[schild]

I don't know if I like Chopped.

[schild]

Yea, I don't like it. Watched the first two episodes. It's just an hour of meh. I have better things to do with my time.

[Numtini]

I think Chopped is a great show destroyed by Food Network. They can't get past the idea that their viewers think Fine Dining is TGIFridays instead of McDonalds. There's some good things there covered over by a producer screaming at Ted Allen to say the word "chopped" just one more time so the plebes will "get it."

[HaemishM]

I'm not all that impressed with Chopped myself. Other than Iron Chef, Food Network just really don't know how to do compelling competitive food shows like this.

[Abagadro]

Just saw the promo and it says that this next one will be a "double elimination" so it is a sorta semi-final four, then final two set up.

[Numtini]

Even the US Iron Chef is a pale imitation of the original.

[AngryGumball]

Oh for the record last week. Stefan shoulda packed his knives. Everyone said his was overcooked. Yet the girl who went home only 2 of the 4 had problems. Clearly this showed to me Stefan was the worst of the week. I'm just afraid of the rioting that woulda ensued by cutting their favorite. Stefan was the worst for last week.

[schild]

Oh for the record last week. Stefan shoulda packed his knives. Everyone said his was overcooked. Yet the girl who went home only 2 of the 4 had problems. Clearly this showed to me Stefan was the worst of the week. I'm just afraid of the rioting that woulda ensued by cutting their favorite. Stefan was the worst for last week.

So what? He's also the villain of the season. Which means he's probably going to win or lose, but we won't know til the finals. Unless he severely screws up. Like, by shaving someones head.

[Nebu]

So what? He's also the villain of the season. Which means he's probably going to win or lose, but we won't know til the finals. Unless he severely screws up. Like, by shaving someones head.

The Top Chef fanbois in me says "well played".  Nice reference there. 

[eldaec]

That's probably so they can refer to it as the Top Chef Gladware Semi-Final Clash sponsored by the fantastic family of Gladware products and Kenmore Kitchen Ranges.

I love how the contestants are forced to refer to every object they touch by the trade name.

The hosts aren't quite so obvious and forced, and the long product/brand name shots seem par for the course, but contestants having to mention 'wholefoods' and 'whatever-the-fuck-that-PoS-Toyota-is' six times an episode cracks me up.

[Murgos]

Well, they called me back and now I have 1 shot to prove they made a mistake.  I don't know how to make a gumbo, or even what one is, I think I'll try that.   

[HaemishM]

That was TOTAL bullshit letting one of those 3 get a chance to make it to the finale. Granted, forcing them to win to make it to the finale was more palatable, but really, THEY FUCKING LOST AND WENT HOME. Fabio getting shitcanned for a catering challenge sucked. It sounded like he had good food, with the only complaints being it wasn't hot enough or Creole enough. At this point in the competition, that's enough, especially with what looked like solid dishes from everyone else. It still sucks though, because Hosea getting through blows. He's such a cunt.

I'm really considering blowing off this show for next season. This has been a terrible terrible season.

[Evildrider]

Fabio > Stephan. 

I was sorely dissappointed in that decision.

[Numtini]

I think doing such a specific regional American cuisine as a requirement was unfair when they knew they had two foreign chefs and that's really why I object to Fabio going. It seemed like their big bitch was that it wasn't authentic enough.

If they haven't done the "you get a chance but you have to win" thing then Runway has. But I know I've seen it before.

[schild]

Shame Carla won, would've liked to see Jeff go all the way even though I think it's bullshit when people get to come back. At least we didn't have to hear about the rainbow coalition or whatever.

As for Hosea and Carla in the finals, depends on the events, but I see Stefan ripping ass.

[Evildrider]

From first impressions I would have thougt that Carla would have washed out in the first 3 eps.  However as the show has gone on, she's demonstrated that she knows what the hell she's doing.

[Trippy]

She's still a psycho though.

[Signe]

She's not a psycho.  She's a hippie. 

[Trippy]

A hippie psycho!

[Signe]

Well, maybe that.  Not psycho killer hippie clown, though, or anything like that.  Maybe more eccentric than psycho.  I like her.  She's nice.

[Evildrider]

I wonder it the "Love" she puts in all her food is LSD!

[Azaroth]

Perfect final episode for this season.

[Abagadro]

No one in their right mind would trust Casey of all people to give good advice. It was actually quite illustrative of what makes a really good chef. They need to be complete A-type alpha dogs (male or female, but same personality type) that think they know everything. It's why most of them are first class assholes. Carla was too accommodating instead of sticking to her guns and it absolutely killed her. 

I was satisfied with the conclusion as well.

[schild]

and Ilan should open a restaurant called "Mediocre Meals."

Edit: Abagadro, the person that won wasn't a total A-type, at all. This is and will always be the absolute highlight of his entire career.

Edit 2: Also, man, who would've thought Toby had the best line in the season "If we're gonna give it to the most soulful chef, we might as well give it to Carla." Bravo to him. Now, go away and never come back.

Edit 3: Worth watching: http://www.bravotv.com/node/33352 - He insults the car they gave away.

[Nebu]

Top Chef should be a leader, not a follower.  They don't have to be an ass about it, but they should lead and make the cooks around them better. 

I also liked the help they gave the chefs.  I was expecting some high profile chefs like past seasons, but thought bringing in the old runners up was a nice touch.  That being the case, given the choice of Blaise, Marcel, and Casey... easy choice.  Blaise is amazing. 

I'm not thrilled by the outcome, but I'm satisfied with it. 

[Trippy]

Top Chef should be a leader, not a follower.  They don't have to be an ass about it, but they should lead and make the cooks around them better. 

I agree. I thought it was funny last season with Stephanie telling Eric Ripert, one of the best seafood chefs in the US, how she wanted her fish prepped, but that's what you gotta do.

Casey was looking good, though

[Azaroth]

I was being sarcastic.

The final episode was boring the food was uninspiring.

Carla ruined a souffle, Hosea served venison for dessert, and the dutchman scooped some fucking icecream onto a plate.

People in a restaurant ate it. There was a little pointless commentary. Everyone went home.

Oh, and they picked a Top Chef. I guess.



I watched an episode of Iron Chef America right afterward that had me dreaming about how often I'd go to a restaurant that served the shit on the screen.

[Azaroth]

Casey was looking good, though

Fucking right. Highlight of the episode.

[Signe]

I didn't much care about the ending.  Everything about this season has mostly put me off.  The food, the chefs, the judges, everything.  I might even be put off most cooking shows.  I finally watched an episode of Chopped and wasn't impressed.  The premise is kind of fun, and I like the fact that it's an all in one show thing so there's no actual commitment to keep up, but that's it.  Ted appears to be reading everything he says and I just hate what ever it is that he does with his mouth while he's speaking.  He doesn't look as if he believes a word he's saying!  The chefs are mostly okay or better and I'm interested in what they're preparing.  The show is so mediocre, however, that it nullifies any interest I might start with before the show's over.

[HaemishM]

Hosea winning is just shit. I actually agree with schild on this one. He's a mediore chef at best. Carla fucked up by listening to Casey (really? WHY HER?), Stefan got fucked by Marcel - he's a terrible sous chef because he doesn't work welll with others unless he's the top. Richard won that competition for Hosea by not fucking him up in any way. Hosea won by not sucking, but none of that stuff by any of the top 3 was all that inspiring.

Season 6 has got a long way to go to make up for this shit salad.

[Numtini]

There's some speculation that Richard won it for Hosea by cooking the food. There was foam on top of that thing.

I just ranted about it elsewhere, but this show got very lucky with Harold in the first season and naming Hosea top chef completes the circle by completely finishing off its credibility. The guy is not that good a cook, he simply blundered into it. They need to pick far better contestants, concentrate production on the food not the drama, and retool the show to get rid of the gotcha stuff and look for someone who's honestly the best chef. You just not going to see people like Ripert involved if they're crowning clowns like this guy.

[schild]

It wasn't just Harold. Hung also completely redeemed the show. But yea, Harold was just a joy to watch.

[Drai]

The only thing I enjoyed about the finale was watching Hosea being a sad, sad, simpleton (flipping off Stefan, taking all the foie gras, saying how great it was to beat Stefan, etc).  It just reinforced what an average dumbfuck this guy is - anyone with half a brain should have been able to tell that Stefan was just putting on the "asshole" schtick for the show and probably to entertain himself during the season.

I think in one of these threads I defended the "every meal stands on its own" episode structure since it made for a more compelling show, but man, I don't think I can take another person winning just because they didn't fuck up the most during any one episode (Ilan, Hosea), rather than winning because they are the best chef.  Stefan loses because of his last dessert dish, even though he dominated all season? Big mea culpa on that line of thinking, especially as Hosea kept advancing.