A new post for Top Chef-related comments:
* I found it interesting that Michael was not represented in the opening interviews. It seems that the producers think he's an asshole, too--as was borne out yet again by his comment that he could produce in four hours a ballotine better than the one it took that guest judge four months to conceive.
* I loved Padma's heartfelt "Welcome back" upon tasting Jen's dish. And I was very happy for Jen not only for winning the Quickfire and thus getting a confidence boost but for gaining thereby thirty extra minutes for the Elimination. And 'twas heart-warming that she ended up graciously using some of that extra time to help out Bryan.
* I was puzzled by Bryan's pronunciation of "crépinette" as though the "n" had a tilde, but Eli's saying "bo-koo dior" turned my stomach.
* My crush on Bryan grew tenfold when he taught Kevin how to cook lamb sous vide. Still, I think his brother would probably have done the same, although his explanation would have dripped with contempt, and the only reason he'd have furnished it is that he's so convinced he's the better chef.
* Though I would have preferred Bryan to win (I was very worried for him during this episode: he had a lot of face time and was unusually shaky during the Elimination), I am content that Kevin did, both for his sake and because it must have been a knife to Michael's gut. I cannot, however, imagine him doing well in the Bocuse d'Or, unless he spends a lot of time boning up on formal French technique. Either Bryan or Michael (particularly [she says begrudgingly] Michael) would have been far stronger in that competition.
* Padma and Kevin both have bangs next week.
* I'm sure we're all terribly, terribly surprised by the identities of the final 4.
