What channel is this show on?
Early impression: that guy Dale seems like a complete douche. He's acting like he's part of some cage match competition with his camo threads and weird, smoldering aggression. Get over yourself, man.
I was kinda hoping that GG "Glorified Nachos" Allin would get the boot
I felt bad when Valerie got kicked off but I think it was just because she reminded me of Rachel Dratch.OH NO!!!! SPOILER!!!!!
The guest judge sounded like a muppet.you need to give us a heads up if you're going to be posting spoilers like this.
The guest judge sounded like a muppet.you need to give us a heads up if you're going to be posting spoilers like this.
Tom Colicchio commented here (http://www.radaronline.com/features/2007/10/tom_colicchio_top_chef_craft_1.php) that the judging table can last until four or five in the morning. That's a bananacakes production schedule.
And they definitely deserved to be booted.I think it's a little out of line to say that all black people deserve to be booted.
And they definitely deserved to be booted.I think it's a little out of line to say that all black people deserve to be booted.
I do agree with him about mexican food. I hate when they try to take it upscale... a mexican "bistro"? Feh.
Any black person? Have you been watching the show the whole way through? There have been plenty of black people who have made it through to almost the end... and plenty who have been kicked off as well. And they definitely deserved to be booted.
"I chose not to know anything about the chefs beforehand because I wanted to go in with a completely clean slate, but Ryan had worked in our kitchen at one time and I sort of recognized him, but when he was presenting his dish to me in the Quickfire Challenge he brought up the fact that he’d worked in our kitchen for a day or two, and he did it in a total brown-nosey way, and I was so taken aback because then I remembered him and I remembered that I didn’t really care for him." -- Rick Bayless (http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/4/blogs/index.php?blog=guest_judges_blog&article=2008/03/rick_bayless&page=1)
Also, I want to eat that little dumpling with the short ribs and carmelized apples. NUMMY!
2. People swear too much. And since Bravo bleeps out cursing, it's even more distracting. Besides, it's lazy.
Richard Blais will win this.
I agree that the Piccata was a complete mess, but you can't serve salty food and her shrimp scampi didn't even have tasty sauce on it!
And for the record, I'm also a fan of GG even though he put mashed potatoes in a souffle. Even I know better than that! I hope he sticks around for a while. I like his Mr. Clean look and all the tattoos.
I'm getting sucked into the Elizabeth Berkley dance show. Dancers are so accustomed to taking abuse & choreographers are so used to dishing it out--the stuff that gets said at judging is completely astonishing. Plus Jerry Mitchell doing his best Tim Gunn.
I'm getting sucked into the Elizabeth Berkley dance show. Dancers are so accustomed to taking abuse & choreographers are so used to dishing it out--the stuff that gets said at judging is completely astonishing. Plus Jerry Mitchell doing his best Tim Gunn.
I KNOW. I love it too.
I haven't heard anything horrible from the judging panel, but I did watch that "Make Me a Supermodel" UK marathon wherein a dead-eyed Rachel Hunter, a trollish modeling agency owner, and Zippy the Pinhead heaped abuse on a lady for being too fat (size 12UK/8-10 US). Uh... Why'd you cast her if you didn't want her to win, smart guys? And why did you send them out to pubs and fancy restaurant and supply them with a near limitless supply of alcohol if you didn't want them to put on weight? Assholes. So, as the judging panel calls this poor girl a fat, ugly slob who doesn't deserve to be there (again, you cast her... why?), they praise this clinically underweight teenage girl for having the ideal body.
(http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/11/jen261106_228x1027.jpg)
1. Richard may be a decent chef, though a little too self-consciously quirky for my tastes, but I hated that he described himself as very witty. That's almost as bad a Tracy Ullman calling herself an old soul.
How about the interview clips where Richard's faux-hawk was, for lack of a better term, flaccid. Yikes.
I'm watching this right now and if I had a shirt that said "Team Stephanie" I would be wearing it. True story.
select one total jerk, one lovable guy, someone who is having a "personal crisis and trying to reconnect with the soul of cooking", a token woman (who is kind of steely and vaguely unlikable), and a technician and you've got your final five. My guess, following this: Andrew, Mark, maybe Jennifer, Stephanie, and Richard. Prove me wrong, sweet Padma.
Hmmmm. He was 200 lbs. Now he's a skinny, twitchy dude. I'm still assuming he's a total meth head!
Thrilling episode! Right contestant to go! (Finally!)
I got a big laugh out of Andrew when he said he could stay up all night, no problem. Yeah, no shit no problem for you, mister 24/7-coke-meth dude!
I got a big laugh out of Andrew when he said he could stay up all night, no problem. Yeah, no shit no problem for you, mister 24/7-coke-meth dude!
Did anyone notice the absolutely enormous bite of cake Colicchio wolfed down?
Did anyone notice the absolutely enormous bite of cake Colicchio wolfed down?
Lisa thinks the personalities of some of her competitors "suck ass."
They should have just eliminated Meth Boy, Spike, and Lisa last night, and let the remaining quartet battle it out for a few extra weeks.
I want to yank out Lisa's stupid eyebrow ring so badly!
I dislike piercings, tattoos, fancy hairdos, attention-seeking makeup/clothing--indeed, exhibitionism in pretty much all its forms. Whether a particular manifestation is passé or not doesn't concern me.
I don't mean this as a slam against you, Laurie. Just shaking my curmudgeonly cane again.
So what am I so afraid of?
They should have just eliminated Meth Boy, Spike, and Lisa last night, and let the remaining quartet battle it out for a few extra weeks.
My feelings exactly. The next couple of weeks are going to remind me of playing out a game of solitaire whose conclusion is already clear. I'll be glad when they're over and we've seen the last of sneaky Spike and unpleasant Lisa.
They should have just eliminated Meth Boy, Spike, and Lisa last night, and let the remaining quartet battle it out for a few extra weeks.yes! i thought the exact same thing. the next few weeks are so unnecessary. just lose them now.
Season 3 is coming along nicely. I was sorry to see soft-spoken Tre go. I like little Hung (he reminds me of my cat Cruz). And I want to kick Howie's teeth in. So, fun.
Unfortunately, Bravo chose not to air the first six episodes yesterday, so I never saw Lia in action. Still, the caliber of the contestants seems to have been much higher in season 3. Of the six remaining in season 4, really only Richard gives me any feeling of confidence that he could perform reliably day after day as an executive chef preparing up-market food in a successful restaurant. I think a lot of his food is gimmicky and silly, but apparently it tastes good, and he's the only one who seems like he could actually run a kitchen (without being murdered, that is).
I wish he'd left out the extraneous i in his cutesy "bouilliablais."
I only like red velvet recipes that use beets for sweetening and color and forgo cocoa. DO NOT PUT COCOA IN MY RED VELVET, THANKS!
I like his pink shoes.
Come on, crimestick. He's trying to be clever with his silly little pun, and he doesn't even spell correctly the word he's punning. (I find all his stupid little plays on his surname very tiresome. All in all, he reminds me of any number of people I've met who think they're hilarious and most emphatically are not. If he'd just be the person I think he really is--a fairly ordinary, decent, stolid citizen, who really wants to sport a conventional haircut and switch those pink shoes for something more staid--I'd like him much better.)
Wow, I just read that Richard has competed on Iron Chef America. He lost against Batali. I'm not surprised.
Senorcorazon, I find Iron Chef entertaining not for the competition but for all the ridiculous gadgets and cooking methods.
Wait... whaaaaaaaaat? ...are the judges smoking?
I was upset that andrew got kicked off until I found out how close he was to spike.
The judging generally seems to assign more of the blame to the Executive Chef in the team challenges. Dale was essentially finished when he won the coin toss because there was obviously no way that his team would defeat the A/B/S juggernaut. There was nothing he could have done to prevent Lisa's campfire cauldron and vomit w/ wood chips.
(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/4385/lisaoq1.jpg)
no one has mentioned butterscotch scallops yet? dude lost his mind, i'm convinced of it.
I don't know why the final 4 couldn't have just been a top 3 like in season 1. Lisa clearly does not belong anywhere near the end.
Seriously, a happy ending for me would have been fisticuffs between Lisa and Spike in front of the judges at the end, resulting in disqualification for both.
Guys, Spike says he has "a lot of strife." !!
I'd like to think they planted those frozen scallops to see if this dope would bite.
It was a wet scallop, but maybe I should have done a seviche, something with acid and liquid, rather than trying to sear them. It would have been really worth my time if I had just sat down for ten minutes and thought it out.
Quote from: dumbassIt was a wet scallop, but maybe I should have done a seviche, something with acid and liquid, rather than trying to sear them. It would have been really worth my time if I had just sat down for ten minutes and thought it out.
no! you should not have done a ceviche! you should have ignored them altogether and gone with a different protein!
the dude gets kicked off the show for this and he still hasn't learned his lesson?
Quote from: dumbassIt was a wet scallop, but maybe I should have done a seviche, something with acid and liquid, rather than trying to sear them. It would have been really worth my time if I had just sat down for ten minutes and thought it out.
no! you should not have done a ceviche! you should have ignored them altogether and gone with a different protein!
the dude gets kicked off the show for this and he still hasn't learned his lesson?
the dude gets kicked off the show for this and he still hasn't learned his lesson?
its hard not looking at your avatar/icon after reading, "...and he still hasnt learned his lesson?"
So, did he pick the scallops before he looked at them and got stuck with that protein?
Yeah, it’s interesting to hear Bourdain and Padma critique the food, but it was a little much for me. I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing Anthony inside a chef’s coat walking around the kitchen. I just didn’t. It’s just not how I think of him. The guy’s not known for being a famous chef; his credibility does not lie in food. But the guy has never created amazing food, that’s not what he’s known for. He’s known for being a great book writer. While at Les Halles, he made bistro food and there is nothing wrong with that because it’s good but it’s not the type of stuff that gives you mass credibility and unquestioned knowledge from a food standpoint. Tom’s the head judge because he has multiple three-star restaurants and a James Beard winner. That’s why he does what he does and why Anthony does what he does.
you guys!!!
check out what harold said about anthony bourdain in his blog:Quote from: HaroldYeah, it’s interesting to hear Bourdain and Padma critique the food, but it was a little much for me. I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing Anthony inside a chef’s coat walking around the kitchen. I just didn’t. It’s just not how I think of him. The guy’s not known for being a famous chef; his credibility does not lie in food. But the guy has never created amazing food, that’s not what he’s known for. He’s known for being a great book writer. While at Les Halles, he made bistro food and there is nothing wrong with that because it’s good but it’s not the type of stuff that gives you mass credibility and unquestioned knowledge from a food standpoint. Tom’s the head judge because he has multiple three-star restaurants and a James Beard winner. That’s why he does what he does and why Anthony does what he does.
HELL YES! i hate anthony bourdain! i want to kiss harold full on the mouth for writing this.
(though i admit that bourdain's brutal honesty sometimes makes his criticisms the most enjoyable to watch, but it still bothered me that they chose him to fill in for tom. tom is all about the food, whereas bourdain seems to feed and feed off of their interpersonal drama and character flaws.)
(although I'm remembering now that during the Common Threads challenge she talked about how she was raised eating upper-crust food--what, one wonders, is her definition of "upper-crust"?).
I thought Harold's comments about Bourdain were extremely bizarre. I actually had to read them several times to make sure I wasn't missing something. Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and spent the next 20 years running various kitchens in NYC restaurants, including the highly-respected Les Halles. Not to mention traveling around the globe sampling world cuisines for the past five years or so. The notion that he has no credibility in assessing the food on a reality television program because his highest-profile post was at a bistro-style restaurant is absurd. Plus, Bourdain (and guest judge José Andrés) injected some life into the proceedings, unlike the increasingly narcotized Colicchio, barking out the same old notes about improper seasonings and other minor quibbles, often with an annoying 'tude. Harold is very talented, and by all accounts his restaurant is top-notch, but he, like Hitler, is a grade. A. JERK. I do agree with him regarding Padma's food critiques. I'd rather listen to Stevie Blue serenade Lisa with "Chocolate-Covered Hearts" than listen to Padma's commentary. Then again, she's probably better than Gail Simmons. Ew buoy.
Also, is it just me or are they really starting to overdo the looped-lines voiceover. It seemed particularly bad this week.
I thought Harold's comments about Bourdain were extremely bizarre. I actually had to read them several times to make sure I wasn't missing something. Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and spent the next 20 years running various kitchens in NYC restaurants, including the highly-respected Les Halles. Not to mention traveling around the globe sampling world cuisines for the past five years or so. The notion that he has no credibility in assessing the food on a reality television program because his highest-profile post was at a bistro-style restaurant is absurd. Plus, Bourdain (and guest judge José Andrés) injected some life into the proceedings, unlike the increasingly narcotized Colicchio, barking out the same old notes about improper seasonings and other minor quibbles, often with an annoying 'tude. Harold is very talented, and by all accounts his restaurant is top-notch, but he, like Hitler, is a grade. A. JERK.
I do agree with him regarding Padma's food critiques. I'd rather listen to Stevie Blue serenade Lisa with "Chocolate-Covered Hearts" than listen to Padma's commentary. Then again, she's probably better than Gail Simmons. Ew buoy.
Let's not forget that you are a vegan, Joanna, and Anthony Bourdain is the Vegan Anti-Christ.
I do agree with him regarding Padma's food critiques. I'd rather listen to Stevie Blue serenade Lisa with "Chocolate-Covered Hearts" than listen to Padma's commentary. Then again, she's probably better than Gail Simmons. Ew buoy.
Surely the Katie Lee Joel era has not been forgotten? She was the absolute worst. It's funny, when I go to check the episode info on my cable, they still list her as host of the show.
GOOOOOO STEPHANIE! (Richard is warming to me too but I still like Stephanie more.)
"congratulations, you won the fucking bronze medal"
I've really warmed to Richard of late.
ive been trying to figure out this ENTIRE season why (oh why! oh why!) has Lisa survived when she obviously possesses a bad attitude, can only make semi-decent dishes, and is constantly pissed or sulking.
to top it off, she's ugly.
ive been trying to figure out this ENTIRE season why (oh why! oh why!) has Lisa survived when she obviously possesses a bad attitude, can only make semi-decent dishes, and is constantly pissed or sulking.
to top it off, she's ugly.
The judges claim that the only thing considered is the food produced by the chefs and anything that happens in the kitchen personality-wise never factors in their decision. I have a really hard time believing this. Honestly, even if Lisa was a much better chef than she appears to be, would anyone ever want to work for or with her? I think not.
P.S. II thought Stephanie was amazing to Dale when she found out he'd neglected to refrigerate the pork belly. Can you imagine what Lisa would have done?
I thought Harold's comments about Bourdain were extremely bizarre. I actually had to read them several times to make sure I wasn't missing something. Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and spent the next 20 years running various kitchens in NYC restaurants, including the highly-respected Les Halles. Not to mention traveling around the globe sampling world cuisines for the past five years or so. The notion that he has no credibility in assessing the food on a reality television program because his highest-profile post was at a bistro-style restaurant is absurd. Plus, Bourdain (and guest judge José Andrés) injected some life into the proceedings, unlike the increasingly narcotized Colicchio, barking out the same old notes about improper seasonings and other minor quibbles, often with an annoying 'tude.
I'm guessing Lisa is a Sephardi.
PS. Two revelations in this episode (or I haven't been paying attention): Steph has known Dale for ten years, and Lisa is jewish.
To confuse things further, her last name is Fernandes.
PS. Two revelations in this episode (or I haven't been paying attention): Steph has known Dale for ten years, and Lisa is jewish.
I thought the fact that she's known Dale for so long was the main reason she wasn't more upset about him leaving out the pork bellies. If it had been Spike or someone else maybe it would've been more of an issue for her.
I just remembered that Erika vowed to not eat ever again (or something to that effect) if Lisa made the top three... so how's that working out?
should we guess who the guest chef will be for the last challenges? it's usually someone crazy famous, like eric ripert.
i'm so excited!!
Is there going to be a reunion show?? There fucking well better be!!
should we guess who the guest chef will be for the last challenges? it's usually someone crazy famous, like eric ripert.
i'm so excited!!
(http://www.ourblogoflove.com/images/content/rileyBLOG007.jpg)
More pics:
http://www.ourblogoflove.com/index.cfm?postID=143
Grub Street blog re this NYD interview (http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2008/06/06/2008-06-06_lisa_fernandes_is_last_new_yorker_standi.html?page=0):
"The Daily News’ Rachel Wharton dared the fates and sat down with Lisa “The Gorgon” Fernandes for an interview in today’s paper — and the results are predictably frightening. Wharton’s questioning starts off with a few softballs about fellow cheftestants Stephanie and Dale (the former is “an amazing person”; the latter is not a friend, but “we get along”). Then she gets to the heart of the matter: why everyone despises her with a white-hot passion. (Of the 40 comments on our Top Chef chat, the vast majority are screeds against her.) The Gorgon shrugs off all blog hostility: “Oh, no, I don't read the blogs — you couldn't pay me to read the blogs. I don't want to know what people who can't even afford to eat in my restaurant, let alone know how to cook, have to say about me,” she says, feeding the fires of loathing. Lisa's gift for inflaming the dislike of blog readers is almost preternatural; only she would think to claim that no one who reads blogs can afford to eat at Mai House, a not especially expensive Asian restaurant well within the range of people who use computers. The result was predictable: The outrage on the Daily News comments board is even more vitriolic than on ours (and, in some cases, simply hateful). But then, our readers only experience the Gorgon's hostility when it's directed at other chefs."
If this (http://www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com/MHmenu3-6-08.pdf) is its menu, then even I could afford to eat there occasionally, and I'm quite poor.
I like that one of the offerings is "nem sausage."
jbissell, I just came across this (http://eater.com/archives/2008/05/eaterwire_spike.php). Riveting stuff, no?
im surprised no one has brought up Lisa's snide remark at the end, "you guys could have said congratulations"...or along those lines.
the television almost lost its life to my rage
im surprised no one has brought up Lisa's snide remark at the end, "you guys could have said congratulations"...or along those lines.
the television almost lost its life to my rage
Well, that is what Richard's bronze medal quote was referencing so it was indirectly mentioned.
select one total jerk, one lovable guy, someone who is having a "personal crisis and trying to reconnect with the soul of cooking", a token woman (who is kind of steely and vaguely unlikable), and a technician and you've got your final five. My guess, following this: Andrew, Mark, maybe Jennifer, Stephanie, and Richard. Prove me wrong, sweet Padma.
Crap - I'm down another!
PS - Why oh why has someone not done a March Madness style bracket for this show?!
im surprised no one has brought up Lisa's snide remark at the end, "you guys could have said congratulations"...or along those lines.
the television almost lost its life to my rage
Well, that is what Richard's bronze medal quote was referencing so it was indirectly mentioned.
should we guess who the guest chef will be for the last challenges? it's usually someone crazy famous, like eric ripert.
i'm so excited!!
should we guess who the guest chef will be for the last challenges? it's usually someone crazy famous, like eric ripert.
i'm so excited!!
Guest judge confirmed: Eric Ripert!
should we guess who the guest chef will be for the last challenges? it's usually someone crazy famous, like eric ripert.
i'm so excited!!
Guest judge confirmed: Eric Ripert!
So, season 5 of Project Runway is going to air on Bravo, and then it jumps to Meredith Baxter-Birney HQ for season 6? That makes no sense.
i love heidi, but im not watching lifetime- the commercials alone will kill me.
OH THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!
OH THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!
Only Stephanie was more or less herself, although I wanted to smack her when I learned that she hadn't thought to come prepared with a decent dessert.
I hope the reunion show is good. I thought the wrap up of the finale felt very cut-off.
It was way too anti-climactic. This would have been muuuuuch better if they did it before the finale. They were all in Puerto Rico, apparently! They could've done it right there. You can bet, with Lisa still in the running, there would have been a lot more bitchery.
And no one was obviously drunk!! Remember when Stephen the Sommelier got hammered? That was great.
From the release: 'With 'Top Chef Junior' we're reaching a growing market and are developing a series that will teach and test the skills of younger aspiring chefs and appeal to the whole family."
Top Chef Junior (http://eater.com/archives/2008/06/death_to_societ.php)QuoteFrom the release: 'With 'Top Chef Junior' we're reaching a growing market and are developing a series that will teach and test the skills of younger aspiring chefs and appeal to the whole family."
I can't wait to see Gail Simmons shattering the dreams of a squadron of 14 year olds.
Top Chef Junior (http://eater.com/archives/2008/06/death_to_societ.php)QuoteFrom the release: 'With 'Top Chef Junior' we're reaching a growing market and are developing a series that will teach and test the skills of younger aspiring chefs and appeal to the whole family."
I can't wait to see Gail Simmons shattering the dreams of a squadron of 14 year olds.
Sounds like it'll pair nicely with Sarah Jessica Parker's 'American Artist' (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i1da5db18eb0203bbeb07d4d8fee26254).
No thanks.
Sounds like it'll pair nicely with Sarah Jessica Parker's 'American Artist' (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i1da5db18eb0203bbeb07d4d8fee26254).
No thanks.
* "Get the the hell out of my loft."
Stella reminds me of Rachel Dratch's Debbie Downer. That being said, I'll take her seemingly genuine love of leather over Suede's third person speech and Blayne's "licious" and tank tops any day.
I thought Amelie over at the AV Club made a great point about Bravo pretty much burying the show this season. The only time I watch Bravo is when Top Chef is going but I noticed that they really weren't advertising much for PR. Hell, I didn't even know it had moved to 8pm/c.