Top Chef 8/22 - Spoilers Possible

[avariell]

SPOILERS. LAST WARNING.







OH. MY. GAWD. I did not expect that ending!!!

[sweeps]

I had a feeling that would happen. I'm sad.:(

[avariell]

i am bummed too - i think they made a big mistake. i couldn't pay close attention to the episode, so i will be curious to watch it in reruns. i will say this, even last week, i think they set us up for someone on team april going home since they were so unconcerned about everything... like how their team was just naturally so much better than the other team, etc.

[Robyncz]

I was sad, but not surprised. I think they sprinkled lots of little hints in the previews--especially all the stuff about the decision being based only on what happened tonight.

I thought the winning team really pulled it together. They worked like a team, and as executive chef really seemed to make some good, decisive judgement calls that likely affected the final outcome.

I loved the quickfire challenge. That was fun to watch. . .

[Laura]

Actually, based on the comments last week, I was pretty sure that it was coming. Then when I heard the comments about the food tonight and saw that it was the background of Restaurant April, I knew they would send Tre home. He was the executive chef. It did remind me a little of last year when Gail said that Sam's watermelon and gorgonzola dish was going to make her vomit. Still, it seems crazy to me to send him home. Oh well.

[Laura]

I loved the quickfire challenge. That was fun to watch. . .

I was kind of hoping that would be the basis for sending Casey home (sorry Hammster). I can chop onions faster than that. :eek:

[KristiB]

I expected Tre to be there longer but now that I think about it he's had more misses than hits. He even acknowledged his faults and he left with class. He said he could make bread pudding in his sleep. He didn't mention it wouldn't be good.

But CJ really threw Tre over and under the bus with his comments.

I'll miss the guns.

On the other hand Hung seems to have checked his ego and bounced back. He was a machine breaking down those chickens.

I could totally whoop Caseys a$$ at onion dicing.

I KNEW Stephen would be the sommelier-I don't know why the cheftestants were so suprised. I mean who else could it be?

Note to Bravo-please don't show Madonnas brother again.

And another thing-how come in every season no chef ever has a decent dessert? You'd think, knowing they were going on the show, they'd brush up on pastry!

[lindrusso]

I didn't want it to be Tre, but I think it had to be him. He was executive chef and he was responsible for at least two of the dishes that they had big problems with.

What I don't like is that Brian seems to find a way to fly under the radar week after week after week. Brian may still be there, but he hasn't really earned it. Tre did earn it, by putting himself out there - something that ultimately got him cut loose too early.

I really liked the way that Quatre came together and worked it all out. It was also nice to finally see what Sara is capable of. She did a good job of taking charge and insisting on having things just right - something she failed at so miserably when she was paired up with Howie before.

Casey (or is it Kasey?) was driving me crazy with those onions! Come on! I kind of thought she should go home just for that. ;) I shouldn't talk though - that would be me - I'm so slow with a knife. :D

Looks like next week might be back to more drama, though..........

[avariell]

What I don't like is that Brian seems to find a way to fly under the radar week after week after week. Brian may still be there, but he hasn't really earned it. Tre did earn it, by putting himself out there - something that ultimately got him cut loose too early.


i so totally agree about brian -- sorry hammster :) there is something about him that is grating on my nerves recently (maybe just the past 3 episodes where he has been more "front of the house"? so maybe it is just him talking too much?? :p :cool:)

[sweeps]

Casey (or is it Kasey?) was driving me crazy with those onions! Come on! I kind of thought she should go home just for that.

I'm not all that fast with a knife either, but I think I could've taken her! Hung with those chickens, though, WOW!

[Robyncz]

And another thing-how come in every season no chef ever has a decent dessert? You'd think, knowing they were going on the show, they'd brush up on pastry!

Well, the judges and the other guests seemed to love Quatre's crepes. . .

And whoever made a comment about Madonna's brother. NO KIDDING. I almost fainted when I saw it was that a$$ from last week. I was surprised that nobody mentioned him in the blog entries, but now I guess I see why.

I was under the impression that the second chance challenge was a decision that was made on the fly at the judges table for last week's episode, but the whole thing the reappearance of Madonna's brother as restaurant designer makes me suspicious that they planned it this way all along. . .

[sweeps]

I loved Anthony Bourdains's blog (http://www.bravotv.com/blog/anthonybourdain/2007/08/train_in_vain.php) on this episode!

[Robyncz]

I loved Anthony Bourdains's blog (http://www.bravotv.com/blog/anthonybourdain/2007/08/train_in_vain.php) on this episode!


Ina Garten on thorazine?

Joe Piscapo's brother the landscaper?

I like Anthony Bourdain better than I thought I did. That was a great entry! Thanks for the link.

[lindrusso]

I like Anthony Bourdain better than I thought I did.

Me too. I like his writing style and generally agree with most of what he has to say. I thought he'd come off as much more pretentious and arrogant.

[Terrie53]

The results of this episode of Top Chef tonight made the most sense to me than any episode so far:


The Executive Chef, Sarah, from the winning team is this weeks overall winner. She did a great job! She was totally in charge!!
The Executive Chef, Tre from the losing team this week was eliminated.
I am sorry to see Tre go, but I truelly believe it is a fair call on the judges part.

Sarah was terrific with the onion, and Casey SUCKED! Hung was so great with those chickens, I blinked and he was done. AMAZING! My DH said, "Did you see that?" And I didn't. I had to watch it again to view it.

I cannot wait until next week........:D

[SueK]

As soon as they had Casey talking about how she and Tre work well together (or something to that effect), I figured one of them would be going home. They've done in the past few episodes; talking about friendships, only to have one of the pair get sent packing.

I was bummed it was Tre, though. He was my favorite!

And how about Dale saying (before the Quickfire) that his knife skills s*ck? I couldn't believe he'd admit that! Especially after saying last week that he has a weak sense of smell. Casey drove me nuts during that challenge. I don't know why she took so long chopping those onions!

[elnant]

I expected Tre to be there longer but now that I think about it he's had more misses than hits. He even acknowledged his faults and he left with class. He said he could make bread pudding in his sleep. He didn't mention it wouldn't be good.

I remember Tre saying the same thing about the BBQ challenge near the beginning of the season -- and the judges didn't like his creation THEN either.



I KNEW Stephen would be the sommelier-I don't know why the cheftestants were so suprised. I mean who else could it be?

Exactly -- as soon as Collicchio said the team would be meeting with a sommelier he knew -- I knew it HAD to be Stephen!

[SDMomChef]

I can't dispute the decision, but I was so bummed that Tre was sent home. Brian does seem to be flying under the radar - the last two times it seems like has been the front of the house guy and not really cooking.

My DH couldn't believe how slow Casey was with those onions. And, Hung was amazing with that chicken. Wow.

I thought it was really odd that they brought back other contestants to be guests, and the only comment that I remember them showing was Joey saying that he knew that Howie did the lamb because it was so rare. I would have loved to have heard more of their comments.

Even though Sara won, she is my least favorite remaining contestant...followed by a close second of Howie. I don't know who I want to win - but I know it is neither one of those two!

[Hammster]

Wow! I honestly thought CJ was going home with the comments made about not protecting his chef's back. I think those were some telling comments and gave insight in to CJ's motives to win Top Chef.

Sorry to see Tre go as I do think he's by far better than CJ.

No sorries necessary re: Brian and Casey. We all have our favorites. I like Casey because she is self taught and does really well even if she can't cut onions fast. I was surprised to see how slow she was. But, that's one of those things that gets done early in the day, so how fast does one really have to be to chop onions except in a show such as Top Chef? (Although I could for sure kick her in an onion chopping contest. LOL)

And of course, I cheer for Brian because he's the home town representative. His front of house nerves seemed to go down some this episode now that he had a little experience from before. I also think he's an awesome chef (Having eaten at his restaurant, I know first hand) Oh, service at his restaurant; impeccable.

I think I could rival Hung in his chicken breakdown skills. I'm pretty fast at it. (Yeah and I'm humble too ;) )

Sara M; where has she been hiding? Who was this P/A B**ch we've seen over the weeks pretending to be her? She did the exact right thing in this second chance challenge. Made her chefs recook things that weren't to her standards. Great job!

Did I see Howie actually hug her when they won?

So, Dale has no knife skills and no sense of smell. Hmmm.

And enough with CJ's tale of woe regarding his one testicle. TMI IMO. Is that really what makes him interesting to Top Chef producers?

Yeah, they were pretty vague when it came to the Sommelier. So, I knew it had to be Stephen. He's amazing, but booorriinggg. Glad that Dale stopped him some.

Was nice to see some of the former cheftestants back as customers of the restaurants. Although I think Joey has some sour grapes still with Howie as he said the food he got was probably Howie's because it was undercooked or some such.

To borrow Candace's line from Season 1: Madonna's brother is a "tool and a douche bag". Sheesh, is he really all that? Or is he just riding his sister's fame?

And from a male perspective, did Lia look hot, or what!! Hubba!!

On a related subject; during the show there was a crawler (popup?) that said they are doing the season 1 vs season 2 thing again next week. But then, they showed previews of the next new show. I wonder which one we are going to see next week? Or will it be a rerun from season 2? Bravo schedule from the site shows season 2 shows next Wednesday.
Hmmmm.

[IndyKF]

I think it was a bad decision...I will miss Tre :( I thought he has been one of the more consistent and solid performers each week.

Casey - wow - painful to watch, but made me feel good about my knife skills :D I might need to re-watch that, but her knife to me looked like a bread knife or something. Did anyone else catch that?

[sweeps]

I might need to re-watch that, but her knife to me looked like a bread knife or something. Did anyone else catch that?

I noticed that! I wondered why she wasn't using a chef's knife. In Tom Colicchio's blog, he wrote that Casey had trouble with the onions because her knives were dull. I would think that before a quickfire challenge you would be sure your tools were sharpened and ready!

[Hammster]

I noticed that! I wondered why she wasn't using a chef's knife. In Tom Colicchio's blog, he wrote that Casey had trouble with the onions because her knives were dull. I would think that before a quickfire challenge you would be sure your tools were sharpened and ready!

I haven't read Tom's blog yet, but I find it interesting he said her knives were dull as a week or 2 ago they actually showed her sharpening her knives back at the hotel they are staying in. Maybe she isn't a good knife sharpener?

[little_bopeep]

Sara M; where has she been hiding? Who was this P/A B**ch we've seen over the weeks pretending to be her? She did the exact right thing in this second chance challenge. Made her chefs recook things that weren't to her standards. Great job!

I LOVED it when Sarah was dealing with Howie and the lamb---be diplomatic until he starts to argue, and then finally get some 'nads and say, "Just make it again!" Perfect in tone and directness---"Dont **** with me, ****head!! Just do as you're told!" Loved it.



Was nice to see some of the former cheftestants back as customers of the restaurants. Although I think Joey has some sour grapes still with Howie as he said the food he got was probably Howie's because it was undercooked or some such.

I agree. He would have found something to b!tch about no matter what.

[Jessnc]

I'm so sorry to see Tre go. I thought CJ may have gotten the boot. Team April let me down.

I was happy to see that team Quatre was able to work well together. Congratulations to Sarah for a great win.

Casey..... aye, aye, aye. They did say fine dice, didn't they? .....but, was it totally necessary to do the horizontal cuts as well as vertical? I was taught that horizontal isn't necessary. I could tell her knives were dull by the way she had to saw through the onion to make a slice. Rule #1 Keep your knives sharp.

Now Hung's knives - they were SHARP! He was fast, his knives were super sharp, and wow can he break down a chicken.

As always, I'm eagerly anticipating next week's episode. (C'mon Brian - show them what you've got! ;) )

[little_bopeep]

I expected Tre to be there longer but now that I think about it he's had more misses than hits. He even acknowledged his faults and he left with class. He said he could make bread pudding in his sleep. He didn't mention it wouldn't be good.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Peweh]

Casey - wow - painful to watch, but made me feel good about my knife skills :D I might need to re-watch that, but her knife to me looked like a bread knife or something. Did anyone else catch that?

I thought it was a bread knife but now am wondering if it wasn't a Santuko (I'm sure I spelled that wrong.) although it looked a little skinny. Definitely serrated I was wondering if it was a chef's trick to use a knife like that to eliminate onion tears or something? I felt bad for her team she totally lost the challenge for them but WHO could beat Hung's chicken skills anyway, I don't know! Sara kicked *** on those onions too.

I agree with everyone who was sad to see Tre leave but there was one clip of Collichio saying to the other judges "it's just about THIS week" it must be really hard to look at it in a vacuum like that but I think they made an OK decision in that light.

Will miss the Guns and wonder who will go next, my $ is on Brian. I've grown to like Casey, at first I didn't but she's very well spoken and I like how she stepped in and did some front of the house serving.

[cminmd]

I was so sad about Tre!

When I saw the former contestants as guest- do they have to stay for the entire filming, even after they loose? I was wondering if they are obligated to stay so word doesn't get out about who was back to work a week after filming started. Boy that would S*CK!! You loose out on the second challenge but have to stick around for the rest of the taping! Does anyone know how long it took to film the whole thing? I have no idea about production.

For anyone who hasn't looked it up yet- you MUST read Bourdains blog. He is spot on and insightful. He also made comments about chefs knowing how to take care of an injury- he is right on. They take care of some shocking burns and cuts on their own.

[Jazzmatazz49]

Did anyone read Andrea Strong's blog? She can criticize the chefs all she wants, but I think she needs to change the colors on her blog page. Brown and white are not the easiest to read.

So who voted for Sam for steamiest chef? He has a link in his blog. He also manages to endorse Cold Stone Creamery at the same time!

[Terrie53]

contest. LOL)
On a related subject; during the show there was a crawler (popup?) that said they are doing the season 1 vs season 2 thing again next week. But then, they showed previews of the next new show. I wonder which one we are going to see next week? Or will it be a rerun from season 2? Bravo schedule from the site shows season 2 shows next Wednesday.
Hmmmm.

Hammster, I think this is in reference to the challenge between season 1 and 2 that happened before season 3 began. It is just a filler/rerun for the holiday weeks before and after Labor Day. :)

[Hammster]

Hammster, I think this is in reference to the challenge between season 1 and 2 that happened before season 3 began. It is just a filler/rerun for the holiday weeks before and after Labor Day. :)

Thanks Terrie. Yeah, I got the reference. What I wasn't clear on is which show is actually going to air. They mentioned the "Smackdown" as Marcel called it, they mentioned a new show and then the Bravo site mentions an episode from last season. I'm surprised they would air a rerun so many days before the holiday weekend. Seems most viewers would still be home and not on their holiday trips. Very confusing. :confused:
It really doesn't matter, I'll watch it anyway and DW will shake her head and say "haven't we seen this one already?" LOL. She just doesn't understand. That's why I come here. :D