. . . which is why he's [dmnkly] the blogger, and I'm just some guy watching the show and hoping my kids fall asleep so I can actually hear the show.

Ugh - this episode was even worse than last week's. Even the presence of the gracious Art Smith couldn't save it. Once again, we have an elimination that was both questionable and utterly predictable (When I saw the bottom 3, I knew Mark was history.). This season's going south in a hurry.

So now we're down to 8, and I'm going to predict the order of elimination and pick my winner. Hopefully, they structure the finale along the lines of last year's, which I thought was outstanding.

I've maintained for a while that the main objective of this season was to have the females do well. I've become convinced that this is the year that they want a woman to take it all. In fact, I'll put 2 women in this year's finale.

On to the order of elimination, beginning with

8 - Lisa
A case can me made that she should have been the one sent home the last two weeks. Her attitude and body language are getting progressively worse. Her arms were defiantly folded in front of her the entire time during judges' table. It dawned on me that I have the tendency to stand in the same manner a lot. That habit is going to change. Thanks, Lisa.

Anyway, her act ran out its welcome several weeks ago. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's seen enough of her.

7 - Spike
The show has made it a point to keep the male/female ratio even this season. Just like Mark this week, one of the guys has to go, and Spike is the weakest of the remaining men.

6 - Richard
The shocker of the season. I'll eliminate him here because they want a woman to win, and if he comes anywhere near the finale, he wins it handily.

5 - Nikki
Un-freakin'-believable. How she makes it this far is a miracle. However, the Cinderella story ends here. She's simply not on the same level as the remaining chefs.

4 - Andrew
Two women are destined for the finale, so it's either him or Dale. It's close, but Dale has the better track record.

3 - Stephanie
Probably doesn't deserve to be here, but it was written in stone almost from the start. She lacks the confidence that the others (including Andrew) have in abundance. I see her pulling a Casey here.

2 - Dale
Certainly worthy of the title, he's a victim of participating in the wrong season. Plus he's too similar to Hung.

1 - Antonia
I don't care much for Antonia, and I've stated why. However, she does have the right attitude and demeanor to win this. I don't think she's as good a chef as Dale or Richard, perhaps even Andrew, but she benefits from participating in the right season. She'll take the ball that Stephanie has dropped and she won't give it back.

I actually hope I'm wrong, because if I'm right, it means that the judging will continue to be as questionable as it's been all season. By that, I mean that during SEVERAL episodes this season, there was a chef much more deserving to be eliminated than the one actually sent home. This week and Lisa is just another instance.

BTW, dmnkly, my congratulations as well.

riddlemay wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:First of all, congrats Dom!...

This truly was an Antoniasode and it seemed like it was going that way from the outset.

Ditto on the first part. On the second part, it's good to remember (not that anyone here doesn't know this) that before the film editor even sits down at his/her workstation, the winner of the week is a known fact. So it's the function of the editor and the producers to work backward from the outcome and create a "narrative" that makes the outcome feel unarbitrary.

If I so chose, I bet I could take the show's raw footage any given week and create a cut that would have viewers going WTF at the judges' decision. I could have you positive this week, right up until the judging, that Mark was going to win and Antonia was going home. Viewers wouldn't stay with the show for long if the show did that, so the show doesn't do that. Maybe this week the producers went a little overboard in their quest to create the illusion of order in the universe.

Yes, I understand how editing works and that the result is known before the editing is done. I was just surprised that the ultimate outcome wasn't masked a bit more than it was.

=R=

I don't know about you guys, but I sure could go for some Uncle Ben's microwave rice right about now.

I'm sorry, what were we talking about?

Why, you're in luck, I have some Uncle Ben's microwave rice right here in my Gladware!

I can't believe how badly Stephanie seems to be falling apart as the competition goes on. I"m holding out hope that she just had a few bad challenges (particularly since my least favorite, Nikki, has had two GOOD competitions in a row, maybe they temporarily switched personalities?) I actually think Lisa has overtaken Nikki in my "oh my god can they PLEASE get eliminated?" category. I was glad to see the guest judge call out her rotten atttude.

This challenge definitely had the potential to be ridiculous, but I was impressed by the thoughtfulness of the chefs. Even among the dishes that fell flat, nothing was truly ridiculous...well, I thought peanut butter and tomatoes and lemon was sort of disgusting, but if the guest judge thought it was good, maybe not.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yes, I understand how editing works and that the result is known before the editing is done.

Just in case you thought I was being condescending (I'm picking up a hint of that possibility), I want to assure you that I figured you already knew what I was saying. I wrote it on the chance that there are some who, while knowing it full well, may have pushed it to the back of their minds. I cut film with editors for thirty years and even I still have to remind myself from time to time of the "smoke and mirrors" when I'm watching these shows--the way they appear to be edited moving forward to a result, when in fact they are edited moving backward from a result in order to make the result feel inevitable.

I got a kick out of Spike's puttanesca: "and now children, we serve you the pasta of whores!"




Mark(who I enjoyed, generally) deserved an immediate dismissal for gratuitous digeridoo playing(all digeridoo is gratuitous imo)...blecch...

riddlemay wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yes, I understand how editing works and that the result is known before the editing is done.

Just in case you thought I was being condescending (I'm picking up a hint of that possibility), I want to assure you that I figured you already knew what I was saying. I wrote it on the chance that there are some who, while knowing it full well, may have pushed it to the back of their minds. I cut film with editors for thirty years and even I still have to remind myself from time to time of the "smoke and mirrors" when I'm watching these shows--the way they appear to be edited moving forward to a result, when in fact they are edited moving backward from a result in order to make the result feel inevitable.

LOL . . . no, I just was worried, after reading your reply, that I appeared naive. And after suffering through being a part of the film/tv industry for years (back in a former life), I felt compelled to speak up.

=R=

well, I thought peanut butter and tomatoes and lemon was sort of disgusting

I'm not too sure about the lemon, but why did everyone (Tom, in particular), have such a problem with the p-b/tomato combo? It's actually pretty common in African cuisine, particularly stews. See below e.g.:

http://www.congocookbook.com/chicken_re ... sauce.html

jbw wrote:I'm not too sure about the lemon, but why did everyone (Tom, in particular), have such a problem with the p-b/tomato combo? It's actually pretty common in African cuisine, particularly stews.

Because, the longer I watch this show, the more I am convinced that he has a relatively narrow comfort zone for his palate and he seems to be remarkably close-minded to combinations he doesn't think will work. On occasion he will acknowledge being pleasantly surprised (I believe he conceded that Richard was right when combining white chocolate and salmon), but far more often than not, he seems to close his mind before tasting and that's the end of the story.

The most amazing thing about this ep is that it's the first time I haven't heard any whining: they were a little nervous about the $10 budget, but that grousing was pretty minor. I expected a "(bleep) no, I'm not letting a kid touch my food."

Every one of the chefs seemed pleased and energized by the kids in the kitchen. It's like when somebody with a baby or a dog shows up at a college dorm, they were all fawning over them. Really surprised me.

On the actual food: Cous-cous should be a no-fail dish. Add hot water and ignore. Peanut/tomato sounds better than peanut butter/tomato -- Stephanie needs to work on marketing. Then again, it may have just sucked, but I didn't see the kids turn up their noses.

"Underseasoning" and undercooked beans may have nearly knocked out Lisa, but hers was probably the prettiest dish.

Spike probably didn't win because, like Mark, his dish was protein-shy (although the judges didn't call him on it).

Why Mark chose a turkey breast on his quickfire is baffling -- it's a nasty protein to get just right. A veggie curry isn't a bad idea, I just wouldn't have made it based around sweet potatoes: beans, yoghurt-and-flour dumplings or paneer, all would have come out better.

Things I might have tried:
* A bean-oriented meal, although the kids might have had problems.
* Something more dairy-based, although Oprah's chef was very fat-phobic (notice no bacon this week).

Hmm.. put those both together, and you get fatteh: yoghurt and chickpeas over toasted pita and bits of roast chicken or lamb, lots of garlic and garnished with radish and pomegranite -- what could be easier and cheaper, not to mention pretty?

tem wrote:that *would* be a great twist -- bring in a blogger guest judge to really piss off the chefs. "What the F*** is a BLOGGER doing judging my food ? I'm SO INSULTED ! F***!!! "

In last season's Restaurant Wars they had a guest blogger - Andrea Strong of The Strong Buzz. I believe her comments were taken into consideration by the judges.

I just got this e-mail from Gale Gand:

CATCH GALE GAND'S APPEARANCE AS CELEBRITY CHEF JUDGE ON BRAVO’S NEXT EPISODE OF “TOP CHEF”, AIRING THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 7 AT 9 P.M. CST.

I recall someone hinted she may be on and maybe it has since been confirmed. Now you have it from the source.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I just got this e-mail from Gale Gand:

CATCH GALE GAND'S APPEARANCE AS CELEBRITY CHEF JUDGE ON BRAVO’S NEXT EPISODE OF “TOP CHEF”, AIRING THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 7 AT 9 P.M. CST.

I recall someone hinted she may be on and maybe it has since been confirmed. Now you have it from the source.

Regards,

Which means more whining about pastry, most likely.

FWIW, the preview for tonight's episode on Bravo's website shows the remaining cheftestants at judges' table with one noticeable exception. If that person wins the elimination challenge tonight, I'm gonna be so pissed that they gave away the results so offhandedly. I can't think of another reason why this person wouldn't have been featured in the preview.

I almost gave away that person's identity while writing this - whew!

jaybo wrote:I almost gave away that person's identity while writing this - whew!

Your restraint is greatly appreciated

Stephanie kicked a$$ with that mayo!

I grok the whys and wherefores, but I still think Dale shoulda gotten the boot.

He imploded and exploded when placed on a team of complete and utter failures as cooks. I would too. It's hard to hold it against him.

I can't honestly remember for sure, but it seems to me that every week, the first group that is called to the judges' table is the more favored one, which then is sent back to summon the unfortunates for their turn. Yet week after week, the first team to be summoned looks like they're marching to the gas chamber, and the judges try to keep that impression going with their initial demeanor. If my memory is correct, such that I know the first group called in is home free, how come they don't know that?

riddlemay wrote:I can't honestly remember for sure, but it seems to me that every week, the first group that is called to the judges' table is the more favored one, which then is sent back to summon the unfortunates for their turn. Yet week after week, the first team to be summoned looks like they're marching to the gas chamber, and the judges try to keep that impression going with their initial demeanor. If my memory is correct, such that I know the first group called in is home free, how come they don't know that?

It's only been done once or twice, but I believe they have switched up who is summoned first. Just not this season.

Or perhaps, in the words of the grizzled and wise Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger, Major League), "You don't want to celebrate in front of the guy who just died."

First off, Gale Gand get over yourself, puh-leeze . . .

"Even for people who are good at it like me [making a wedding cake], it takes days and days and days."

Not the humblest of moments for our local girl. I'm certainly not doubting the woman's credentials, even though I've never been a huge fan, but she would have been well served to substitute the word "experienced" for "good." She really came off poorly there.

As for the chef-testants and the elimination challenge, it would have been hard to argue with Dale getting the boot but it was only a matter of time until Nikki was exposed and tonight was her night. The looks on the judge's faces after she denied being in charge were priceless. Her dismissal mirrored Manuel's in that it seemed more about what she didn't do, than what she did do. Dale has his issues and he's likely to run out of real estate soon enough but I have no problem with him surviving this one.

Blais on the braise . . . loved that, although brisket's pretty darned easy and almost always a crowd pleaser.

=R=

braising is such a no-brainer. It can impart subtle, layered flavors but it's practically impossible to screw up. And who cares if your pulled pork cooks 10 hours or 12 hours ? Odds are it's still going to be great and will keep well for a catering situation. As opposed to that crispy chicken thing that should have gotten whatshisface sent home even if they did win.

And Lisa's cake, while tasty, was butt-freaking-UGLY. It was like two big Leg-Os stacked on top of each other.

tem wrote:And Lisa's cake, while tasty, was butt-freaking-UGLY. It was like two big Leg-Os stacked on top of each other.

I'm in the minority on that. When Tom commented (in an "aside" to the audience) how ugly it was, I commented back, "really"? Certainly untraditional for a wedding cake, but I thought it was appealing in a prairie-style, Frank Lloyd Wrighty, chocolatey kind of way.

Something that got left out in the editor's suite, I guess, is the Marchetti's profile. At the start of the challenge, Padma let out that the couple had restaurant and catering background. So, it turns out that JP was JP Marchetti, scion of the Como Inn clan. That's a bit of background no? But then their opionions on the event were not really included at the end.

Also, is this me, but the build up to this show, including the inclusion of some DVR busting extra minutes, was that this was the drama episode, the wrestle Marcel to the ground and get kicked off episode. Was this episode really that explosive. I mean Dale banging a locker?

I thought Dale losing his temper was douchey, but forgivable. It seemed like they were trying to give him a jerk edit this week and it just was not working for me. I think Nikki is a total hack, Lisa has an abominable attitude, and Spike is just...Spike. He was in a lose/lose situation, and he did the best he could. thank GOD Nikki is gone. I did worry he might get Tre'd in that episode, but was very happy I was wrong. When she denied being team leader at the end, it was all over- that challenge would've been an absolute dream for any other contestant on that show. How can you consider yourself a potential top chef and NOT go nuts when the challenge turns out to be exactly your area of expertise?

Next week's challenge looks gimmicky...they're at the police academy (I know we saw police, but the guys doing push-ups were wearing the academy uniform of blue sweatshirts with their names in white). Hopefully it won't be too bad.

riddlemay...I agree with you on the whole cake thing. I thought Tom's little snarky asides were uncalled for when he obviously wasn't in in on the initial consultation with the groom. I mean, it was a "groom's cake" which is supposed to be much smaller and not look like the wedding cake. I always think of these as something that are served at the rehearsal dinner. It was great seeing how thrilled JP was with what Lisa came up with and even Gale said that it was very moist and tasted great. At judge's table, when Tom questioned why they made a cake like that, I thought it was great that they could sort of toss it back at him and say, "because he asked for it!" I also thought it was sweet that JP said that he did not want his cake to out shine his bride's...awwwww.

ronnie_suburban wrote:First off, Gale Gand get over yourself, puh-leeze . . .

"Even for people who are good at it like me [making a wedding cake], it takes days and days and days."

Not the humblest of moments for our local girl. I'm certainly not doubting the woman's credentials, even though I've never been a huge fan, but she would have been well served to substitute the word "experienced" for "good." She really came off poorly there.

=R=

I guess I didn't have a problem with this. Maybe I'm just so used to everyone on the show (contestants) talking about how good they are at what they do. I guess I think of it as, if you don't believe your good at what you do, then who else is going to.

Last nights episode was one of, if not my favorite of the season. Very happy to see Dale make it through, though his outburst at losing the quickfire was very childish. As soon as the teams were picked, it was obvious who was going to win the elimination challenge.

I was also impressed with Stephanie whipping up a quart of mayo by hand like that. I get deadarm after making like a cup of mayo. Not sure if it was as impressive as Hung taking apart those chickens last year though.

Nikki is gone, next week we can hope Spike or Lisa get the boot.

Any guesses on who the mystery guest judge is? Or does it say somewhere on the Bravo site?

Based on the "tall, dark and handsome" comment from one of the women on the show, my guess is Todd English. That's who it looked like from the back anyway....why do I seem to remember him already being on the show, though?