While we took a break from Top Chef over the holidays, we had several people tell us how bored they are with this season. At first we fought back, if only because we sort of love seeing Ariane win while Jamie sulks, and we were sure Tom's lecture at the end of the last episode would lead to great things. Well, we got a new judge (more on that after the jump) and a challenge based on Diet Dr. Pepper- hm.
Note: We reveal the winner and loser below...
The quickfire challenge was about making a dessert without using sugar, and in case you didn't catch it, the episode was sponsored by Diet Dr. Pepper. It was a little murky, since we definitely saw some chocolate (from Carla) and a few sugar look-alikes that were never explained. The elimination challenge, in which chefs could cook whatever they wanted, should have been inspiring. Was it? Well, here are our thoughts...
1. Diet Dr. Pepper is not a food. Why the producers thought this would make an appropriate challenge was beyond us. A couple of the chefs did actually use the soda in their desserts, but they weren't highlighted. Maybe because they weren't good. We'll drink our Diet Dr. Pepper, thank you.
2. We wish we had more to say about the quickfire. Seriously, we're at a loss. Carla's dessert looked like it would have been good if she'd succeeded with the frozen bananas, but other than that, they all looked disappointing. And the guest judge, for someone who's getting his own show on Bravo, was not exactly giving off warm fuzzies.
3. The closed-circuit television was a great idea. We never thought about the fact that the chefs don't get to hear the comments as the judges eat their food. Also, the fellow chefs who were judging were fair and gave praise where praise was due, so that was nice.
4. Toby Young loves movie metaphors! First Hosea's dish was like two British character actors upstaging the main star, then Jeff's avocado sorbet was like Tom Cruise's cameo in Tropic Thunder. It felt like he was trying too hard to be clever.
5. If your dish is a signature one or a standby, it should be near perfect. What's the deal with Melissa's fish tacos not turning out the way she'd like? She created the dish and seems to make it often. And Radhika brags that people come to her restaurant just for her crab bisque, then completely fumbles it.
6. Ariane should have won. Yes, we're saying it. She cooked beautiful skate (i.e. not meat) that everyone loved, proving she's not a one-trick pony. And Jamie's scallops with fennel and orange felt very safe and ho-hum. We think they gave the win to Jamie just because she's been close so many times.
7. Toby Young got the low-down on Eugene during a commercial break. He wanted to keep Gene simply for his creativity, but we're sure someone set him straight off-camera. In other words, this wasn't the first (or second) time Gene had made a creative yet tasteless dish. His time was up, thank goodness. And Melissa went home, too, in a double elimination.
Overall, we're glad Carla is staying. She always feels a day late and a dollar short, but she's always close. It would be nice to see her have one big success before she goes, since she seems so earnest and humble.
So, what did you think? How do you like the new judge?
Related:
Episode 1: Ethnic Foods Galore
Episode 2: Hot Dogs and Angry Chefs
Episode 4: Lights, Camera, Kathie Lee Gifford
Episode 5: Make Your Own Sushi at a Bridal Shower?
Episode 6: And a Martha in a Pear Tree
(Images: Bravo)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
An Englishman trying too hard to be clever? (I guess I can say that because I'm half Englishman).
The WMD joke was definitely a heavy hitter right out of the gate. I loved the looks on the judges faces.
I wondering what's going to happen with Jeff. He doesn't seem to get a lot of attention but his food is pretty sophisticated and mostly consistent and he always does something different.
view art's profile
not a fan of the new judge- just seemed like he was showing off for the camera and was not terribly clever with his comments - when he was trying to be. Maybe he will mellow as he gets comfy in his new role?
Personally I am thinking it will be Stefan FTW, Adriana and Jamie battling out with him in the end.... btu we shall see.
I love this show but none can top season 1.... but still, I am a big fan... I wish they spent more time talking about flavor combos and the creative process behind their choices... I feel like Season 1 did that and the focus is more on the drama than the food.
view superchou's profile
I don't like the new judge too much. You almost need to be a movie buff to understand his critiques! Does it taste good or not? I don't want to think about Tom Cruise right now...
Jaime annoys me to death. She's been in the bottom as much as the top but she thinks so highly of herself. She acts as though she should win every time she's in the top. Like Fabio said, it's Top Chef, not Top Scallop :) He makes me laugh.
view sundancemoods's profile
Tom should have acted on his gut feel and cut all three of them.
view cweingarten's profile
i'm happy that the show has no problems from a sponsorship standpoint but the quick camera shots and obnoxious product placement are starting to obscure the show...leah sips a DIET DR PEPPER while packaging food in a GLADWARE CONTAINER before she puts it in a GE MONOGRAM fridge
not fond of the new judge, either. glad they finally booted eugene - creativity is fine as long as you can master technique and flavors first.
i was secretly hoping ariane would win again so jamie would start whining and crying that her pureed veggies/scallops should win.
view Supergaijin's profile
The new judge is trying WAY too hard. Just say it sucks and move on. Why does every british judge have to try and be like Simon?
The one thing I've learned from this show is that cooking is hard:) These are professional chefs and they are making some serious duds. Makes me feel better about my own cooking.
view Nikita's profile
The new judge is a pompous ass. When he said that Jamie's fennel had an 'underlying anise' flavor, I thought, OH, REALLY? I never would have thought that about FENNEL. What insight!
And speaking of pompous asses, Stephan is getting more and more annoying. Who walks around in a shirt that says 'I make Good Babies?' Thanks for the visual, Stephan. Now please shut up.
I'm beginning to pull for Jeff; he has proved himself to be more than just a pretty face.
view Peggasus's profile
The new judge is a pompous ass. When he said that Jamie's fennel had an 'underlying anise' flavor, I thought, OH, REALLY? I never would have thought that about FENNEL. What insight!
And speaking of pompous asses, Stephan is getting more and more annoying. Who walks around in a shirt that says 'I Make Good Babies?' Thanks for the visual, Stephan. Now please shut up.
I'm beginning to pull for Jeff; he has proved himself to be more than just a pretty face.
view Peggasus's profile
i'm sorry, but i was totally annoyed by the inconsistency of the "blind tasting" at the end. after numerous times harping on it being a blind test, and padma even asking for the top 3 chefs by dishes, they then called the bottom 3 into the judges table by name. sure, they probably were brought up to speed during judging, but it was just poor editing in my opinion for something that they made such a big deal about throughout the episode.
view kellyf's profile
Seriously, why does Jaime keep making scallops? Can she make anything else?
view willson's profile
OMG, I just laughed out loud about the 'underlying anise' flavor of fennel, Peggasus--I had that same thought!
I too am annoyed by Jamie's sense of entitlement--did you hear her say "finally" after her name was announced? It's a shame because I started out really liking her.
And I love Carla and am glad she was not booted. I would love to see her get a win. I don't think she'll make it to the end, but she has such a great attitude, her food seems generally quite good, and she is so supportive of the other chefs. Plus, she is representing DC. :)
view erin79's profile
Um, is the name of Jeff's restaurant hilarious to anyone else?
view cakekick's profile
Well, the winning chefs called out the three losing chefs by name. What we don't know is if the judges knew them by name or not. I'd assume the chefs knew who cooked what.
Hell, most of us probably could have as well.
view cweingarten's profile
Cakekick, I do a double take very time when they show the name of his restaurant :)
I was also disappointed by the quickfire challenge and their lack of creativity. I was hoping they would use more stuff like the agave syrup, balsamic vinegar etc.
Saying "No sugar" but leaving honey, chocolate was lame. Not to mention most of the dishes were pretty unhealthy from both a metabolic and oral health standard.
view crazykj's profile
What so funny about the DILiDO Club?
view art's profile
Cakekick, YES.
I don't understand why so many people (other forums) seem to thing Stephan is such an obvious front-runner. I think he has won only 1 challenge, correct? I don't mean to say he's not a contender, but it seems like a foreign accent and especially a hefty dose of arrogance have done more than their fair share to lean the odds in his favor, while Ariane is consistently underestimated (2 duds at the start, ok, but her food otherwise seems very successful).
Definitely unimpressed with Novelli's tv presence. I hope he can come up with a lot more than "interesting" for his show.
Toby Young is very very typical British critic; Simon Cowell didn't really invent that schtick. I think the reason he's less amusing is that, as a newspaper critic, he's usually benefiting from a little editing and revision. From my memories, British restaurant criticism was generally a delight to read, pompous and brutal and prone to incorporating many observations having little to do with the food. As long as he doesn't try to play too hard to the American audience, I think he'll be entertaining.
view renata's profile
When I was seeing previews for this episode, I thought that the new judge was going to be a gag judge. I kept thinking through the whole episode that it was going to be revealed that he was a hired actor, that they wanted to make a point about keeping them on their toes or something. I swear I had seen him somewhere else before. I agree with Ariane being the true winner. I thought when Jaime said "Finally" after being announced the winner was so pompous. She needs to learn a thing or two from Ariane about humility and maybe a taste of humble pie. Hasn't it ever occurred to her that maybe Ariane is a talented cook.
And scallops? Again? That's what she wins with? I wish Fabio was in the room at that moment when she said she wanted to prove to them that she does know how to cook a scallop so he could chime in with "It's Top Chef, not Top Scallop."
view mamaspank's profile