apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

"I'm so comfy...I want to sleep right here...smooch smooch...kiss kiss."

sorry, I could not resist. The slanted camera angle peering through the outside glass was so TMZ. I wonder if they knew who the camera guy was and now give him the evil eye.

It was sad to see Radhika go home in the midst of so many mistakes by so many others but I can understand the decision. The expectations for a leader, Radhika, are higher than those of her subordinates. She really didn't accomplish anything remarkable in the challenge other than getting chosen to lead the challenge. I'm sure she will learn from this experience and it will help her become a strong leader.

I think the right team won. The first and last impressions of an experience carry a lot of weight. Sure everything in the middle was murky but enthusiastic and personable service and dessert and mignardises that show creativity and years of training score pretty high points.

Stefan's experience is really starting to come in handy. He knew how to position himself in that challenge to help his team and stand out personally.

I still think Jeff's a sleeper. He's a good cook, he overthinks things a little bit though. He needs to wing it, be a little more spontaneous.

Leah's "I want to sleep right here" is such a lame, college
girl move.  She has been on Hosea like a cheap suit 
and it pains me that I have had to look at it.  Her
fish looked lousy.  How is she still around?  I don't
get it.  I don't get how Sunset Whatever was declared
the winner either.  Having a good host serve you
inedible fish gets you a win?

I have no problems with Radhika being sent home for being a poor leader. Leadership is a key difference between "chef" and "cook." That she was not outgoing and charming was fine, but she showed very poor judgment by putting herself out there.

But I thought Leah should have gone home, because she failed on all counts, and Stefan's desserts--which she had nothing to do with--were the only thing that saved her.

Also, Carla's schtick is out of control. I was sympathetic to her for a while, but her "defense" was preposterous and embarrassing.

here's another perspective on the lea, hosea thing:

http://gawker.com/5137058/leah-and-hosea-consummate-their-dumbpoop-romance?autoplay=true

At this stage, likeability and value for the program matter. So although I think Radhika is a good cook, she's got so little personality that I think keeping Carla makes more sense. Carla is nice, and she says nutty things, and she has succeeded more than she's failed. Also, she takes responsibility for her failures in a way I find refreshing.

I agree that if you serve inedible fish you should go home, team win or not. I half expected them to break the elimination from the teams, but I guess that would ruin the schema. When Leah started cutting her filets to get out the bones, I knew she was in bad shape.

Kiss kiss, blech.

Neither Leah nor Radhika showed leadership skills on their team, and they both failed at their specific task (the fish/front of house). When you compare them that way, I think Leah certainly should have gone, since this competition is about cooking, not hostessing.

But Radhika did make a mistake, as she said, in not making Jeff do front of house. He would have done a good job--he's very personable. And she knew she was not a natural leader, so she could have tried abdicating more of her power to Jamie, who obviously is a strong leader. She said she did sort of put Jamie in charge of the kitchen, and I think she kept coming back there not because she didn't trust Jamie and her team but because she is shy and that's where she feels most comfortable.

I can see why she picked Carla second, because she is normally easy to work with and has made some standout desserts. But my impression of her completely changed during this episode with her crazy defense of herself. And actually, I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time she has been called out for sending out a dish she knows is bad. Stefan really showed his strength when he handled the exact same freezing problem she had calmly and professionally. It's a shame he is so annoying.

Leah is not creative, she is immature, she should have gone long ago. She did the duck & cover last week when Ariane got nailed to the wall and she did it again this week with Radhika. Pity the producers that are keeping her on simply as Hosea's love interest - GROSS. This is Top Chef not The Real World people.

Carla's "send out the love" would have resulted an immediate firing in any professional kitchen I know but I felt this was a contest between the two "leaders" that refused to lead.

I was hoping Leah's team would lose so that she would be sent home. I am sick of her dodging bullets on every challenge. I was a little embarrassed for Carla when she was going on about how loved her food was, but that's totally her personality. I don't think it strange she a pastry chef with that attitude. I think she is great and was happy they finally sent Radhika home.

Radhika showed no leadership roles on this challenge even though she knew the leader would be sent home if they didn't do a good job. I couldn't believe she was okay working the front of the restaurant even though she is the old hand at working with old world spices. I would have put Carla in the front. She at least could have charmed them with her foodisms and not offended their intelligence trying to defend her food at the end.

I think if Radhicka had done anything she would probably still be around. The problem is there was nothing the judges could point at in the challenge to keep her, other than the quickfire winning food and thus the concept of the restaurant. She didn't set the menu, everyoe was left to come up with their own dishes. She didn't demonstrate any leadership, other than to name Jamie head of the Kitchen. She was abysmal in the front, which I get because I'd have a hard time schmoozing too, but if I were in charge I certainly wouldn't choose to put myself in that position, just so Jeff wouldn't whinge. (And I'd have picked Fabio too, though I'd also have picked Stefan, because ego or not, he's clearly good and has shown that even though difficult to work with he has made compromises that resulted in the team being stronger, if for no other reason than it forced the chef to think about thier choices) and she didn't make a single dish herself, even Fabio did a crappy amuse bouche. She just didn't contribute at all.

I lost a lot of respect for Carla on this one though. The crazy eyes part is getting a little old. And well, I've been tired of both Leah and Hosea for weeks now.

I hated to see radhika go for something like this as I think she was one of the most talented there, but she really messed up. she was simply not there as a leader, and that was her job. why did she put herself out front? she was the leader! it didn't matter if nobody else wanted to do it, she should have told them to. besides her lack of personality on the floor, (come on, at least plaster a smile on your face), she let the judges walk out without talking to them? even if she ignored the other diners the whole time, she should have been trying to schmooze the judges!

she just didn't take command. considering how much time she spent in the kitchen, why wasn't she aware how bad the dessert was? why didn't she say it couldn't go out, or attempt to make any changes? maybe she was hoping that allowing carla to mess up so badly would ensure that she would be sent home if their team lost?

carla's not going to win, and the dessert was a huge screw up. if radhika had shown just a little bit of leadership and passion, I think the scales would have tipped. yeah, it's a cooking show, but it's top *chef* and a chef is a leader, not just a cook.

as for carla's 'sending out the love,' I think people are being a little hard on her. I think she just meant that she recognized the problem but didn't think there was anything that could be done at that point so she was staying positive rather than throwing a hissy fit.

I agree with the comment that Radhika did nothing positive the judges could point to. Had she any real success to point to, no matter how small, they would have given Carla the boot.

As for Carla, I would rather eat nothing than be served a crappy item that was sent from the kitchen "with love" and a full understanding that they were giving me something they knew was awful.

Regardless, having the fish sent back should have been a ticket home.

Leah says "like" about 20 times in every sentence. And she talks in baby talk to Hosea. And she sent out raw fish! I am so annoyed that she keeps getting saved despite parading around like a vapid 14 year old in a chef suit.

Radhika's a fine cook, but this is Top CHEF. Chefs need to lead or they don't deserve the title. I was also a bit cheesed when Carla begged her for her opinion on the cake and she told Carla that it was just fine. Yeah, Carla's desserts were crappy and she shouldn't have sent them out, but I read Radhika's response as a nod to just go ahead and do it, especially as she helped plate the droopy frozen yogurt. If I were Carla and working in Radhika's kitchen, you wouldn't have been able to fire me because I would've quit.

Leah and Hosea: weak. Cheaters like them really bum me out.

As for the short ribs, I started seeing them on a lot of local menus shortly after Gail (or maybe Padma) commented last season that she loved a good short rib. Personally, I'm glad because I love a good short rib, too. ;)

I was worried for Stefan when he mentioned he was going to add more gelatin to his panna cotta, but I'm glad he worked out. I need to go to the website to check out his chocopop recipe!

Oh awesome--nothing to it, but eye-popping and memorable, from the Top Chef site:

10 mangoes cut into half inch cubes
2 oz. melted chocolate
1 T mint oil
10 mint leaves
10 skewers

1. Melt chocolate and add mint oil
2. Dip mango halfway into chocolate
3. Serve on chocolate

i usually love 'top chef', but i just can't muster up much interest this season.

radhika, one of my favorites, should not have gone home. she's one of the more talented, innovative chefs on the show. i know she made a mistake, but i still think it shouldn't have been her to go.

leah gets on my nerves. not only do i not think her cooking is the most creative, her pouty, grouchy attitude the day after her (icky) kiss with hosea was irritating. and unprofessional.

i'm just not impressed this time around with 'top chef'.
*sigh*

did you hear them mention Israeli couscous? I was sure you were going to mention it today in your post. :-)

As many have already pointed out it seems that the elimination (and possibly the winning team decision) this time around was largely producer driven and had little to do with the contestants actual qualifications as chefs. Radhika even expressed her shock in being eliminated in this way b/c after all it's a cooking competition, and I think she couldn't be more right.

Call me jaded, but season after season I've felt like from day one there are 3-4 top contenders. No matter how crazy some of the decisions appear along the way, the majority of the eliminations leading up to the finale episode are based on what makes the best TV. Last season they even let someone who clearly should have gone home into the top 3 b/c she created tons of tension. That said, I'm still totally hooked!

So, they are not supposed to consider what contestants have done in past episodes. I think it's a stupid rule. It allows someone to be mediocre repeatedly and still make it far. But a generally good or great chef can mess up once and get the boot. Sure, the "Top Chef" should not be messing up badly ever, but for sure a mediocre chef should not be Top Chef.

Still, I don't think it would necessarily have saved Radhika. I think Radhika has been making good dishes, but this episode and the last, she hasn't been doing so well. It might have...not necessarily though.

I agree...I think Carla (who I haven't liked since the beginning) should have gone. Sure, she had an equipment problem...but Stefan was having similar problems and he sucked it up and won. Honestly, I'm taking a liking to Stefan.

Of the six, I would have chosen Fabio, Stefan and Jeff. Fabio as FOH of course. Stefan because he's a good chef even if he's a d-bag sometimes. Hosea could have been a good choice instead of Jeff, but Jeff seems like a good line cook that could follow through on what you want him to do for your menu.