Top Chef Just Desserts

[redmedicine]

I think that's a statement we can all get behind!

[mahgeetah]

I think we can all agree that the percentage of unstable, immature, anti-social wackos is much higher on "Just Desserts" than it is on the regular "Top Chef." To what do you attribute this difference? Is it just a difference in casting? Or does it reflect a personality-type discrepancy between pastry chefs and "chef-chefs" in the real world?

[Martin]

It's the first season, the first time pastry chefs have their own show. The producers have probably had a smörgåsbord of wackos to choose from.

[fonpr]

To what do you attribute this difference?

Sugar!

[Sarah]

Good point.

[pscan]

My wife is a pastry chef (Three Tarts, Chelsea, NYC, plug over...) and she's appalled and embarrassed by this group. As a long-time Top Chef fan, she was really looking forward to this show and it's become a weekly chore because of the hysterical emotion and borderline personalities. Of course, it's a reality show and everything is heightened, but she feels that this show is taking it to the extreme.

For counterbalance, seek out Kings of Pastry, a documentary by DA Pennebaker about the MOF competition, which portrays pastry chefs as the creative scientists they really are.

Despite these criticisms, we're still watching. We are also big fans of Eric in our household and it's pretty awesome to see him learning how to plate and present week-to-week. While I like the individual members of Team Diva well enough, their clique really bugs me. And Morgan is just an awful person.

[Kim Kelly]

Oh, I've been to Three Tarts! It's super cute, and please note that I could taste no sign of resentment in the peanut butter cookies I sampled there. Quite the opposite, they were delicious.

[Kim Kelly]

That guest judge's hair was just ridiculous. She looked like a fraggle.

[Sarah]

I'm having trouble finding it online so I can't comment. Come to think of it, I don't know what a fraggle looks like, so I won't be able to comment even after I've seen her.

[Stan]

I'm having trouble finding it online so I can't comment. Come to think of it, I don't know what a fraggle looks like, so I won't be able to comment even after I've seen her.

 This?

[Sarah]

Ah.  Yet another reason for me to be annoyed that the episode isn't up anywhere that I can find.

[Sarah]

Finally watched the episode last night (and saw the hair in question).  You must be happy, Laurie.

An uninspired list of random observations:

* Eric's roses truly were much nicer than Heather's.

* Yigit was a big baby about getting some whipped cream on his pants.  It's a kitchen:  you get dirty.

* I would have loved Danielle's float.

* I was pleased both that Yigit didn't rat Heather out about the pie crust and that she voluntarily took responsibility for it.

* I'm not too fussy about formality in restaurants, but I thought the way Danielle leaned casually on the back of Gail's chair was way too chummy. 

* I was happy Eric was on the winning team.

* I loathe Morgan.

[Martin]

* I'm not too fussy about formality in restaurants, but I thought the way Danielle leaned casually on the back of Gail's chair was way too chummy. 

This. I hated her whole vibe in the restaurant.

[Sarah]

No more nice Eric.  Oh well.  At least Morgan didn't win the elimination challenge.  Congrats to Zac.

Two things:

1. The flowers produced in the quickfire were remarkably ugly.  I've seen gorgeous flowers on cooking shows, whether pulled sugar or piped icing.  That none of the contestants managed to produce anything pretty surprised me.   

2. I found it very odd that Morgan felt compelled to lie to the judges about his inspiration for the elimination challenge.  In the supermarket sequence, he says he flipped through a magazine to come up with his couple and then decided what he would make.  He then had to rethink his recipes when he found no chocolate in the kitchen.  But to the judges he claimsx he came up with his two tea party offerings and then decided on the couple.  It was very strange and pointless lie.

[Kim Kelly]

I hope you all are voting for Eric for fan favorite.