SCALLIBUT: I don't have much to say about tonight's Top Chef All-Stars that you haven't seen from me in previous seasons -- I love me some technique competitions. I appreciated the "go to a restaurant, now do their food" challenge, and found myself missing the extra 15 minutes (that I normally regard as padding) where I felt like we could have learned more about the chefs' cooking processes. The eliminations ... one was unsurprising, the other disappointing but justified.
I am nowhere close to predicting a final four yet. Richard Blais, almost for sure. Marcel, probably. The others? Not. A. Clue.
added: Bourdain. Colicchio: "Stephen has a solid knowledge of food. But cooking is something you have to practice. Repetition is key. You don’t forget how to do it, just as you don’t forget how to ride a bicycle, but you have to ride that bike a lot to win the race. Stephen might have all the knowledge in the world, but he didn’t have the chops to pull off his dish."
Completely agree - both eliminations justified, but wow, am I sad to see Dale go. Also completely agree with needing the extra 15 minutes - we barely saw any prep or cooking time for the elimination challenge at all.
ReplyDeleteLOVED this version of the mise en place relay.
Disagree on Marcel.
ReplyDeleteI think Richard, Antonia, Angelo, Dale (the one left), and Carla and either Tiffany could make it to the finals. They all not only are good chefs, but they play smart and that's key. Marcel made it to the final on his season because many of his colleagues sucked ass. Seriously, Ilan won that season. Ilan!
I'm enjoying pretty much everything about this season. In particular, I really like this comment about Stephen in Scott Tobias' recap on AV Club: "He’s like a Wes Anderson character in the real world, with a gulf between ambition and achievement that resembles Max Fischer’s in Rushmore."
ReplyDeleteLoved Colicchio's line re: "I know Led Zepplin. Doesn't make me Jimmy Page." This season is so fantastic - my Wednesday nights are really overwhelming TV-wise between this and Survivor.
ReplyDelete*Zeppelin. I cannot spell today.
ReplyDeleteI really love Bourdain's praise for Dale L in his blog. Peanut-Popcorn-Veal-French Toast sure sounds like a train wreck, but a train wreck is so much more entertaining than bland nothingness. I like it when the chefs swing for the fences. Dale's lamb poached in duck fat from the season three finale will always haunt my stomach's dreams, and it is a bummer he had to go, even though it seemed deserved.
ReplyDeleteFor the finals, right now I think its an anyone-but-Fabio game. Blais, Angelo, and Tiffani are the top tier in my mind, even with her bottom appearance, and I started typing the next tier but I realized I was just listing almost everybody else. I'd be more surprised to see Spike, Mike, and Tiffany make it to the end, but as stated, only Fabio would truly shock me.
wow! just caught up and as a newbie viewer this episode really hooked me for good. loved both the challenges and i really wish we could taste all the dishes for oursevles. also nice to see some different chefs rise up this week to win their grouping.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the Bravo blogs, did anyone else catch Ripert's slightly belated smackdown of Elia in response to her comments about Tom? He's normally so restrained, but he essentially called her out and said Colicchio is an accomplished and respected chef. You served us profiterole sauce and called it mole in your season, and followed it up with inedible fish on all stars. You'd do better to shut your mouth and show us some cooking, you rank amateur.
ReplyDeleteIt was COLD. Justified maybe, but damn, from Ripert, that's withering.
Loving this season. I was a bit shocked to see Fabio survive, given that they didn't like the concept or execution of his dish. But they really could have justified anyone going in that final four.
ReplyDeleteThanks to whoever initially introduced me to Skillet Doux (was it you, Genevieve?)---I've been loving his commentary.
Granted, the competition was weaker in the first two seasons, but that doesn't mean that Marcel (or Sam, for that matter) couldn't hold their own in a later season. Plus, this version of Marcel has 4 additional years of experience - even as he was losing to Ilan (and your one-word point of "Ilan!" is also well-taken), the judges said it was based on who was better rightthenthisminute, not who they thought would be a better chef down the road. I don't find it hard to believe that he or Tiffany (who was in the even-weaker first season) can make a deep run against the later seasons.
ReplyDeleteThe sense I always get from Ripert is that he is extremely measured in both criticism and praise. So, yeah, "withering" is a great choice of word. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI think I heard about Skillet Doux here. Love it, especially when Carla's husband comments.
ReplyDeleteAnother fun commentary is here, from Amalah:
http://www.mamapop.com/2010/12/top-chef-all-stars-recap-new-yorks-finest.html
I'm kind of rooting for Mike because I love his food (at Zaytinya) tremendously. But never having watched Top Chef before this season, who knew he was such a, um, personality? Everyone but me. My husband finds him kind of funny and likeable in his obnoxiousness, but again, that's probably because his food is some of our favorite in DC.
It seemed really deserved.
ReplyDeleteI *really* liked both the QF and the EC this week. I think they are Masters-ish. No lame product placement or unrealistically weird challenges.
ReplyDeleteI find myself really liking people that were kind of ass-ish in their original seasons--Dale T, Mike I, Spike. Seems like time (or perhaps seeing themselves onscreen) have matured/mellowed them out.
I heart Dale and was sad to see him go, but thought it was very much justified.
I totally agree with you. I think Dale T might be my favorite this season. He seems so much happier now. And his dish for Wiley? Wow- I was totally sold when Tom said the broth tasted like breakfast...
ReplyDeleteSpike now owns two pretty successful restaurants in DC on Capitol Hill - so I think he might be slightly less aimless than he appeared on his original season.