Top Chef 1/3 (Spoilers!)

[lindrusso]

So..............

Ilan - I wanted to smack that smirk off his face!! What was his problem tonight? He's usually so on his game, but his dessert was a train wreck. Why didn't he throw the funnel cake out?

Marcel - The usual. Get rid of the foam already. If even the judges are harping on it, it's time to stop. He looked so hurt when they ripped him for it. And why cherries? I would choose strawberries for lust before I'd choose cherries.........

Michael - Definitely should cook on pain killers more often. :D He's a bit of a clod, but you had to feel kinda good for the under dog.

Elia - She's such a class act. She deserves to win.

I was ready for Betty to go. I cannot remember the last time she cooked something interesting and tonight's dishes were ALL a mess. What was with the green dish? Where did the rules state that every single item in the dish had to be green?! And soups in a wine glass? It didn't look appetizing at all and personally, I don't wanna drink my soup.

I think the judges made the right decision.

[Canice]

... And why cherries? I would choose strawberries for lust before I'd choose cherries.........
Know many 26 year old guys? ;)

[KristiB]

Ilan had the mental maturity of a 13 year old razzing Marcel about his virginity and making the comment about the cherries to the guests.:rolleyes:

Sams turning out to be an assclown too. There was no reason to go off on Marcel like that at the store and say those hurtful things. No class.

Elia whines too much but I'm hoping she wins. Michael might have a chance but I keep thinking of his mushroom village...

I think Betty was a pot-stirrer so maybe attitudes will be better with her gone.

Marcel may irritate but he didn't deserve all the venom imo.

[lindrusso]

Know many 26 year old guys? ;)

Well, I should say that I can see how cherries would fit in, but that didn't really seem to be what Marcel was thinking. He and lust just don't go together - maybe that was the problem. Or maybe I didn't like it because it's a one-sided lust..............or maybe it's because I don't care for cooked cherries........ ;)


Michael might have a chance but I keep thinking of his mushroom village...

Marcel may irritate but he didn't deserve all the venom imo.

Actually, Frank did the dreadful mushroom thing.....

I don't know if Marcel deserves the venom or not - there's a lot we don't see - but everyone is on edge and he makes an easy target.

[little_bopeep]

Nah, that was Frank with the mushroom "flashback." :D

Yeah, I was ready for Betty to pack up. I loved her at first, but she just started to grate on me after being such a b!tch. I'm really surprised that she declined so badly since she won the TGIF sandwich thing and one other big reward. Oh, well.

Marcel. I think he deserved to be told off to an extent, but not to the extent that he was. I agree that Sam was totally without class to have a meltdown in the store, and that Ilan was just being hateful at dinner. I did, however, like the way they were all passive/agressive at dinner in not taking out his plates until he asked. That's the kind of subtle message that can be sent without harsh words...but in this instance it was just icing on the cake. I'm certain that this isn't the first time anyone has had this type of animosity toward Marcel because he takes most of it so quietly with that look of "here it comes again" in his eyes.

Michael. I am SO surprised that he's lasted this long. But he really has settled down and gotten serious, so he may go really far in this thing.

Elia. I dunno. She's such a little whiner, and her cooking isn't consistent. I guess that will come with age.

Cliff. Not an asshat this week like he was last week. I'm still waiting for him to dazzle, but this week he just hovered under the radar.

All in all, I really liked this episode and can't wait for the next one. :cool:

[lindrusso]

I'm still waiting for him to dazzle, but this week he just hovered under the radar.

Exactly. I was trying to think of something to comment about for him and couldn't come up with anything! I could barely remember what he did or said. :)

[KristiB]

Actually, Frank did the dreadful mushroom thing.....



D'oh!

What did Cliff make :confused:

Yeah Marcel doesn't really fight back. At least not that we can see.

Elia has worked with him off the show and likes him.

There's a funny video on Bravo of Stephen from last season ripping on all the chefs to Elia. He was at the Christmas party from the last episode.

[gertdog]

Cliff made bouillabase (sp?).

Yay for Michael- it's kind of amazing that he made it this far and it was nice to see him do well for once. I still don't think he's got a shot at winning.

I was really put off by both Ilan and Sam's behavior this week. Marcel is obviously annoying but in the way that you just shrug off. He's self-centered and fussy, but not in anyone's face or deliberately trying to cause problems. And he *does* help other people- it's interesting that the "selfish" label has stuck so firmly. Maybe he's selfish in some ways, but the editors have gone out of their way, in this and other episodes, to show us Marcel asking Betty or Sam or whoever how he can help, and Cliff mentioned that Marcel offered to help him pick out purple food last night. In any case, I don't think that the others dislike Marcel as much as Sam and Ilan. He clearly bugs Cliff, but Cliff seems to be able to deal with it, I don't think Elia dislikes him, and Michael seems to do okay with most everyone. So Sam's whole "nobody likes you" rant seemed a little silly.

Personally I think Marcel is going to make it to the final, but was glad to see the judges tell him "enough already with the foams!"

SO glad to see Betty go. That green dish was a mess and I was so glad when Ted Allen said so. And the soups- ugh. Chunky, unappealing in the flutes- why? Loved her comment about how she deserved to outlast Marcel. Well, no- he's more technically skilled, better at planning, execution, and plating. Annoying, yes. Undeserving, no (though I'll reserve the right to change my mind if he collapses under the pressure to produce a foamless dish!)

[lindrusso]

Undeserving, no (though I'll reserve the right to change my mind if he collapses under the pressure to produce a foamless dish!)

snort :D

Okay, double snort - apparently one snort isn't enough for a post. :rolleyes:

[IndyKF]

Ugh...I'm so disappointed in my two faves, Sam and Ilan...I think especially in Ilan because he just made some really immature comments to and about Marcel.

Agreed...it was time for Betty to go. I thought serving those soups in champagne flutes was just...odd. To me, a champagne flute is elegant...so how do you tie that in with "sloth"?

Michael was surprising and his dish looked great. Marcel - well, he is what he is. The foam (as is his gelee :rolleyes: ) is old and it's about time the judges said something.

Cliff was forgettable and I'm liking Elia more and more.

[SheRa]

i agree with most of the above, and although ilan acted like an idiot THIS time, he's still my favorite. let's just hope he doesn't act like that again.

i was hysterical when betty was talking about how her plate was "so green" and that it tasted great...but was more importantly GREEN. green should have been a piece of cake (not literally), so she could have made something that tasted amazing.

mike pulled through and didn't look like a total *** for once! i'm happy for him. let's just hope that winning 2x doesn't make him addicted to painkillers ;)

the foam comments about marcel cracked me up too!

[Hammster]

I felt so bad for Michael. He finally wins a quickfire and this is the time that they don't get immunity. Oof. Well, at least he won the long challenge as well. Good for him. Maybe mellowing him out a bit with the Vicodin is a good idea. I think he presents this mellow guy persona, but really gets wound up and inside his head during the contests. So it was good for him to be actually relaxed and just focus on cooking.
Agreed on Sam and Ilan. Although Marcel is maddening on many levels (we could do a thread on him alone) they really lost it. What I'm interested to see is who ends up left when the finals come. And who will be willing to work with the finalists. Assuming they do the finals like they did last year. I'd be willing to work with Cliff and Elia at this point.
It kind of looks like next week's episode uses the new restaurant theme from last year's season. But, it's hard to tell from a quickee preview.
I think Betty does very well within her narrow scope (comfort foods) but just can't seem to break out of that mold. So, it probably was her time to go. It'll be interesting to see if Marcel changes his stripes a bit and goes away from foams and gelees. His plating skills are great, but there seems to be some disagreement regarding the flavors of his foods.
I'm thinking that Elia is looking good as a finalist. I disagree that she is whiny as I thought Marisa was whiny. Elia is just very young and IMO expresses herself quite well for her age, but her age sometimes shows as in the Thanksgiving episode. But she recovered well from that tantrum.
There are certain things they do on this show that I don't understand. What does Marcel's virginity, Michael's sniffing of his wife's panties, Josie's sexuality, etc have to do with the show at all? While interesting at some level, do they just put that in there so people will talk about it? (Like me? ;) )
I think there has to be some level of privacy even on a show such as this. I realise that the contestants would have some say as to what can be aired (or maybe they don't) but it just doesn't seem necessary for a show of this quality. Perhaps it helps us to understand them as a person and why they cook as they do? Although I thought Debi Mazar's comment that Marcel's dessert was done by someone who needs to get laid was probably the best line of the episode, so who am I to ask?? LOL I may have just answered my own question. LOL.

[KristiB]

There are certain things they do on this show that I don't understand.... Michael's sniffing of his wife's panties

Ughhh I though that visual was out of my head forever :p

[SDMomChef]

It was a great episode! I was so worred that Ilan would be asked to leave since the funnel cakes were such a disaster (and I also wondered why he didn't just leave them off?!), coupled with his completely inappropriate comment to the guests about Marcel's cherries. All I could think about is that at this point, all the contestants are exhausted and their tempers are getting the best of them.
I still like Ilan alot.

I was glad Betty was the one to go - she was really starting to annoy me - including her smile.

I like Elia - but I'm not sure that she has the maturity to win.

[Canice]

Another glad to see Betty go! Funny how likable she was at first, but then came across as a big fake. Yuck. And not only was her "green" dish unappealing (green! how lucky can you get!) but to contradict Ted Allen when he said, "Not to be unkind" or whatever. He's never a jerk or unneccessarily rude or unkind to contestants, unlike some guest judges. (Which reminds me, from the preview it looks like they have Mike Whatsisname on again next week; the one who was so nasty when he was chef at Le Coloniel?)

Ilan was just plain childish but one thing I was thinking about Sam's meltdown is that it's hard enough to shrug off someone you don't like at the office, but they work and live together 24 hours a day, down to sharing a bedroom and bathroom. They can't go out on their own or call their families. They're not allowed to have their own money, and the cameras are in their faces all their waking day. I'm not saying he was princely or that his behavior was appropriate, but I think we see only the pressures of the cooking, not the whole "togetherness" thing, which is obviously built in as part the of the strategy; it's definitely not just about the food or they'd toss 'em all in hotel rooms.

[little_bopeep]

Canice, you've reminded me of a question that I have (when you mentioned them not having their own money): What was the deal with not accepting an offered discount? Seems to me that places like that store routinely give professional discounts, so why shouldn't they take advantage of them if everyone was getting the same amount off? I'd think that this would show common sense and be sanctioned by the show. :confused:

[gertdog]

Another glad to see Betty go! Funny how likable she was at first, but then came across as a big fake. Yuck. And not only was her "green" dish unappealing (green! how lucky can you get!) but to contradict Ted Allen when he said, "Not to be unkind" or whatever. He's never a jerk or unneccessarily rude or unkind to contestants, unlike some guest judges.

Yes! And Betty answers with "But you are" or something like that. Grrrr.

Ilan was just plain childish but one thing I was thinking about Sam's meltdown is that it's hard enough to shrug off someone you don't like at the office, but they work and live together 24 hours a day, down to sharing a bedroom and bathroom. They can't go out on their own or call their families. They're not allowed to have their own money, and the cameras are in their faces all their waking day. I'm not saying he was princely or that his behavior was appropriate, but I think we see only the pressures of the cooking, not the whole "togetherness" thing, which is obviously built in as part the of the strategy; it's definitely not just about the food or they'd toss 'em all in hotel rooms.

I totally agree- the 24/7 togetherness is an essential element of the show and the resulting interactions. Still, I find it interesting that Marcel generally manages (at least onscreen) to say "whatever" and not take the bait (usually), and that when people do go off on him, he remains pretty calm. Colicchio said in his blog today that he thinks Marcel is the kind of person who's probably been irritating people his whole life w/o really understanding why, so maybe he's gotten used to it.

Ilan seemed to be kind of piggybacking on Sam's vent- almost showing off for the others, in a way. Not the guy who would make the first attack, but once someone else does, he'll join in. While I've liked Ilan for most of the season, I was happy that the judges called him on his bashing of Marcel's dish. Reading the judges' blogs, it's clear that the judges were quite put off by how Marcel was treated in the last episode.

[Canice]

.... Colicchio said in his blog today that he thinks Marcel is the kind of person who's probably been irritating people his whole life w/o really understanding why, so maybe he's gotten used to it.
....

For some reason that cracks me up! Maybe because we've all known people who are utterly clueless as to how much they irritate everyone? Off to read today's blogs! (BTW, I'm surprised to read that Stephen was bashing everyone from last season; I'd gotten the sense from LeeAnn and Harold that they'd made their peace. I'll have to catch that one too!)

[Sookie]

Originally Posted by Hammster
There are certain things they do on this show that I don't understand.... Michael's sniffing of his wife's panties
Gee, I must have missed that part and I've seen every episode! Ugh!

Originally Posted by gertdog
.... Colicchio said in his blog today that he thinks Marcel is the kind of person who's probably been irritating people his whole life w/o really understanding why, so maybe he's gotten used to it.
Marcel doesn't bother me for some reason. I don't think he is trying to be mean and every single one of them has over reacted to him IMO. And did Betty have to leave with giving every one of them a long hug good-bye and ignore poor Marcel? She's 44 y/o and should act it. That was just plain mean and I think a lot of what goes on there is intentionally immature and mean. Sam yelling at him in front of everyone when they were in the store was not right. Have some class. And I used to like Sam. Elia is the only one who is nice to him, and I notice that she treats everyone well.

I really enjoyed last night's episode though and was glad to see Betty go. She can be just as annoying as everyone seems to think Marcel is.

[Hammster]

Gee, I must have missed that part and I've seen every episode! Ugh!

It was at the very beginning of the Nov 8th episode. When they showed him waking up in the morning in the loft. Said he needed a new pair after sniffing the pair he had. :eek:

Sorry to all who now have to relive that moment.

[Canice]

LOL, Hammster!

Reading Lee Anne's blog reminded me: what was with Betty's freak-out when Marcel asked her to hold the service. What was so out of line??

I don't know about those Season 1 blogs: Dave is a terrible writer and does little more than recap the show. Harold's is OK but he's dropped in my estimation since his comment about "my lady and I went...." :p
Lee Anne is always interesting and even-handed (big surprise) but I think she worked on the show each week, so had a much different perspective.

[mrswaz]

I wanted to check out Elia's chicken recipe- everyone was raving about it, so I headed over to Bravo, and here's the recipe. Check the butter for one chicken.

Pride: Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, giblets removed, legs tied together with kitchen twine
4 sticks butter, cut into pieces
5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
5 zucchini, sliced
8 ounces button mushrooms, cut in half
12 ounces fingerling potatoes, sliced lengthwise
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
8 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. Using about 1/4 cup butter, rub chicken all over, evenly coating the bird. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
3. Combine carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and potatoes in a large roasting pan. Spread into one layer in bottom of pan. Distribute remaining pieces of butter evenly over top of vegetables.
4. Top with chicken and sprinkle with herb sprigs.
5. Roast for 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size of chicken, until chicken is golden brown and has reached an internal temperature of 165F.
6. To serve: Cut chicken into four to eight pieces. Divide vegetables between plates and top with chicken.

In general, it does sound good, but no wonder it was so tender and moist! A pound of butter!!!

[Canice]

Wow!! Paula Deen must be worshiping at her altar!
I have to say, I've always been leery of cooking a chicken directly atop vegetables; it looks wonderful on TV, but I can only imagine fat-drenched veggies --ick. But cooked under a chicken, plus 14 ounces of butter? :eek: That doesn't even sound edible to me. But indeed, it got rave reviews. Kind of odd, unless they tasted only the chicken.

Speaking of the recipes, Lee Anne noted on her blog that she had to make Mike's winning "envy" dish and that it was easy and delicious. It may be easy, but doesn't look simple (i.e, there are a number of steps to it) but I'd love to give it a try. The recipe is here (http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef_2/recipes/episode_9/elim/michael.shtml).
Speaking of Mike's dish, wasn't it almost endearing when Colicchio whispered, "OUR Michael made this?"

[Terri_A]

Speaking of Mike's dish, wasn't it almost endearing when Colicchio whispered, "OUR Michael made this?"

I loved that part! But, I'm of the opinion that Michael's been snowing everyone to make them think he's not competition. I think boy has skills. If he didn't I don't think he'd have gotten onto the show in the first place.

[AdGirl]

Check the butter for one chicken.

In general, it does sound good, but no wonder it was so tender and moist! A pound of butter!!!

did you notice elia's comment when she was slathering the butter on the outside of the chicken? something like "definitely not for a dieter" or something like that. i guess that's why! 3 sticks of butter for the veggies?! now don't get me wrong, i love me some butter, but this seems ridiculous!

[sarah2397]

I felt so bad for Michael. He finally wins a quickfire and this is the time that they don't get immunity.

There are certain things they do on this show that I don't understand.
I think there has to be some level of privacy even on a show such as this.

I agree that Michael did well this time but overall I think he is lazy. He said that he would totally bag out of the challenge if he got immunity. Others who have had immunity before have always commented that they still want to do their best. I know he was hurting but still, he obviously could do it, since he did. IMO Others have been more consistant overall. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up the good work.

Regarding the privacy. I bet they all have to sign something that anything, even personal stuff, may be aired. As with other reality shows, clever editing sometimes makes for better shows. That is how I feel it must be with Marcel. Everyone says how annoying, etc. he is but we don't see much of it. If it is really getting to some of them so much, it probably is happening, we just are seeing those clips.

I agree that I thought Betty's time was up and was also glad they called Ilian on the comment he made about Marcel's dish.

[SDMomChef]

Wow!! Paula Deen must be worshiping at her altar!



SNORT!!! :D

I can't even imagine using that much butter to roast a chicken!

[stacy7272]

Like Canice mentioned, I really don't think that Marcel "went off on" Betty! My goodness - everything Marcel does will be frowned upon by everyone else. How was he supposed to tell her not to serve yet?

Michael may have done well this week but both of his winning dishes were salmon dishes. Maybe that is just something he does well. Besides, the attitude of planning to take the day off if he wins immunity totally keeps me from respecting him (although I still felt badly for him that he didn't get the immunity when he finally wins something). Where Cliff said that he didn't care, he still wanted to win. Much more respectable, IMHO.

Ilan really surprised me this week. He was always so controlled and this week he just lost it. I can't believe he would trash Marcel's dish to all those people ESPECIALLY when he had trouble with his dish. Please notice that he mentioned to the judges about Elia's horrible idea to dip the funnel cakes into a simple syrup but didn't mention everyone else's idea to LEAVE THEM OFF! Why name names when it ultimately was HIS decision?! I can't imagine having the idea to cook a funnel cake ahead of time anyhow.

[Hammster]

Michael may have done well this week but both of his winning dishes were salmon dishes. Maybe that is just something he does well. Besides, the attitude of planning to take the day off if he wins immunity totally keeps me from respecting him (although I still felt badly for him that he didn't get the immunity when he finally wins something). Where Cliff said that he didn't care, he still wanted to win. Much more respectable, IMHO.

Ilan really surprised me this week. He was always so controlled and this week he just lost it. I can't believe he would trash Marcel's dish to all those people ESPECIALLY when he had trouble with his dish. Please notice that he mentioned to the judges about Elia's horrible idea to dip the funnel cakes into a simple syrup but didn't mention everyone else's idea to LEAVE THEM OFF! Why name names when it ultimately was HIS decision?! I can't imagine having the idea to cook a funnel cake ahead of time anyhow.

Michael did end up making 2 salmon dishes, but you will remember he was going to do crab but they didn't have enough real crab. So he defaulted to trout and salmon. I think the fact that he was (apparently) pretty heavily medicated and in considerable pain, it's amazing he did so well. I've had wisdom teeth out and while my jaw was swollen, the outside of my mouth was never torn up as his was. So maybe him wanting to relax after getting immunity was just to allow his surgery to heal?

There is something I see a lot lately, and not just in this show, but Ilan's answer to the lousy funnel cake just exemplfies it. That is that a lot of people have a "victim" mentality. What I mean is that instead of taking responsibility for a bad decision (allowing the soaked funnel cakes to be used) instead of just saying no way, they are playing the victim because someone else told them to do it that way. Somehow playing the victim lets you off the hook? No way! You're competing for $100,000. It's up to you to make it right. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they are helping each other from time to time, such as giving Michael some eggs at the beach and Elia offering the idea for the funnel cakes, but ultimately it's the chef's decision to go with it and they should take the responsibility, not try to pass it off.

I watched last night's replay of the show and they edited it even further to fit into a 1 hour timeslot. Some things that seemed to be important to the show were left out. That's not good IMO.

[stacy7272]

Michael did end up making 2 salmon dishes, but you will remember he was going to do crab but they didn't have enough real crab. So he defaulted to trout and salmon. I think the fact that he was (apparently) pretty heavily medicated and in considerable pain, it's amazing he did so well. I've had wisdom teeth out and while my jaw was swollen, the outside of my mouth was never torn up as his was. So maybe him wanting to relax after getting immunity was just to allow his surgery to heal?

Okay - so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.:D

I was impressed with his original decision to not go in front of the guests looking as he did. Sure, they ultimately wanted to see him and he went out but usually he doesn't see when he gives a bad impression and this time he actually thought about it. Hmm - maybe he really should stock up on those pain killers. ;)

[MISSINDI]

Finally caught up a bit on my Tivo and watched the episode last night.

I felt bad for Michael when they announced that there was no immunity, but was glad he pulled it off, not once, but twice ... and then earning the respect of the judges on top of that.

Sam - I've had him pegged to win, but the comments in the store were out of line, unnecessary and seemed out of character for him. I wonder if something happened to get to that point that perhaps didn't make it onto the episode.

Ilan - another one. I didn't think his comment to the judges was necessarily as bad as they did. I think he was just poking fun, but the bickering in the kitchen - enough already.

Marcel - I think he is just doing his own thing and focusing on winning, and not making friends. His comment to Betty was not "barking" at her, for pete's sake. He only said hold the line - they overreacted, and when he offered to help the others with their service, and did, there was no reason for them to walk out on him temporarily like that.

Cliff - definitely under the radar. Only thing we learned about him last week was that he is color blind.

Betty - how can you not end up in the top 3 with GREEN? Geesh. And with the soups, this is definitely not the first time they've asked her if she's tasted her stuff. How could she be so off? Maybe her palate needs to be checked. I was definitely ready for her to go.

I think Ted Allen was great on it - loved his bluntness when critiquing the quick fire challenge. Met him last year - what a nice guy.