apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

have you checked the menus at her restaurant? Very ho-hum. I dunno, but in New York, there are so many other more interesting opportunities around, that I can't see myself ever trying it...

I think this has been said before, but this season should be called Top Caterer and not Top Chef, I am tired of watching them make 100 of this and 100 of that ... I want to see actual dishes, menus ... no more canapees, large pieces of pork, beef or whatever will feed large amount of people.

amen Pogomon.

It's getting harder for me to stay focused throughout an entire episode now.

I did think that Dale's fist to the locker routine would have sealed his fate though. It's probably just a matter of time. If there was any question of who's better I think Richard proved that last night. Being a chef requires a certain amount of maturity that comes with experience. Dale doesn't have that yet.

I don't know, that wedding cake looks a little wonky.

At least I learned how to pronounce the wedding venue. It's pronounced Galleria "Mar-ket-ee" not "Marsh-etee." I assumed this when they announced the name of the couple getting married--Marchetti. Probably not just a coincidence. Kind of like a double bonus for the owners. Free wedding and free advertising?

The final product was very pretty, but I wonder if Stephanie made her own fondant--that can often be the most hellatious part of making a covered cake.

Dale definitely needs a time out. One of the first things I learned in cooking school was that you have to be able to work with your brigade, love em or hate em. He set himself up to fail in that as soon as he threw his tantrum. I mean, you can't control what team you end up with, but if you don't like it, you can still handle it with some dignity.

@art on the wedding cake--I agree about the wonkiness, but I wanted to leave it to a trained and tenured chef to pick it apart. ;D

re: stephanie's wedding cake, you say "according to the judges, it tasted fantastic," but i thought that tom told lisa that her cake tasted better?

Sounds like the judges had two yummy cakes and one was better tasting than the other.

I don't watch the show, but is that picture of the winning cake? With the wrinkled fondant and uneven border? Wonky just barely covers it.

antonia had the best lines:

"Andrew is not allowed to talk to the guests" and "dale threw a fit... and then needed his diaper changed."

I, too, am a bit disappointed in the catering bent of this season. I wonder why the producers decided to go this route? You can tell the contestants are tired of it as well.

I thought I liked Dale, despite his earlier outburst with Lisa in an earlier episode, but after last night I am pretty disappointed.

I thought it interesting how negative Dale was when that was what he'd criticized Lisa for before. But I still think I like him better than Spike, who is plain unpleasant. I can empathize with Dale--being on a bad team, feeling like someone has to do all the work, and having no leader. That's a tough mood to work out of, especially given that torturous lack of sleep.

I cry foul on last night's episode all round. Catering? Wedding cakes? Up all night, then have to serve, then have to be judged? That's not Top Chef, it's Tortured Chefs. They're not med students or fashion designers. Bad enough that the chefs should be required to do a dessert, but that it should be a wedding cake? They're chefs, not patissieres. It reminded me of the Project Runway ep when they had to do menswear. The challenge was too far off the mark.

I hope Andrew sticks around a while longer. He is so vastly entertaining.
I agree that the challenges are geared to Top Caterer and not Top Chef. I'd like to see more individual cooking too instead of group efforts. But this is the first season of Top Chef I've ever watched and so far I love it.

I don't follow this season of Top Chef, but... Ok, making a wedding cake in one day deserves mad props, but that has to be the frumpiest looking wedding cake I've ever seen.