Guys, could we try and bring this back to Top Chef?

There are some studies that demonstrate a correlation between soda consumption and lower bone density, but it hasn't even been demonstrated to be a causal connection -- much less something as dramatic as "removing" calcium from your bones.

I believe the doctors were trying to be dramatic with me, by saying that it "removes" calcium as my calcium was so far off, I believe at the worst it was 11.4 when standard is 9.8-10.2 (maybe off a little there). So once my parathyroids were removed, my calcium went back down to 10.0 almost instantly that they didn't want my body to suffer anymore by having a lower calcium or higher, so when I asked for tips, the first one they offered was to stop drinking diet coke. Sorry I wasn't trying to post wrong medical information on the web, just posting what I was told.

Guys, could we try and bring this back to Top Chef?

Sure thing.

Chris Borrelli from the Tribune posted this on the blog this afternoon

In an email, Achatz told the Tribune that he saw the commercial and he thought it was funny: "It's great to be recognized in pop culture and I look forward to doing a Pepsi commercial with will.i.am."

As for Colicchio?

We called him and he quickly dismissed that crazy notion of ours, that the ad was directed at Alinea. In fact, he said he and Achatz had already had quite the laugh over it. "I have nothing but respect for Grant," he said. "He is that rare chef who creates high concept food and makes it taste delicious. If anything, [the ad] is aimed at people who try to imitate the kind of sophisticated food that Grant does." Colicchio said he pretty much just showed up on the set of the commercial and played his part then left.

So, there you have it -- potential foodie scandal averted.

I'll go with Stefan to win tonight because he's the one with the best technique. An underwhelming end to an underwhelming season.

Ronnie_Suburban will be Live Blogging with Time Out Chicago for Top Chef Season Final.

Info ---> here

Lame.

I blame that pesky Casey.

Did someone pay her off, dya think?

gleam wrote:Lame.

Very anti-climactic. Seemed like Carla really suffered from not being able to tell Casey "no." Stefan got a raw deal, too but I never really liked him, so it's not as bothersome to me.

Really ended with a whimper, not a bang.

=R=

earthlydesire wrote:I blame that pesky Casey.

Did someone pay her off, dya think?

Doubtful but Hosea should definitely send her a nice 'thank you' gift.

=R=

Did Stefan call Marcel a twat? I didn't know you could say that on Bravo. Kind of a lame, crappy ending to a mediocre season. It made me appreciate Stephanie Izard and the Season 4 cheftestants all the more. Hopefully we'll see more of Fabio on TV. He should have his own Food Network show. I don't think I'd ever have any desire to eat Hosea's food.

That TOC blog was pretty entertaining, Ronnie. Well participated!

Ilan, scoot over, Hosea needs a seat at the Ho Hum, He's A Winner Table. Those two could square off in a hotly contested kitchen duel - except, instead of cooking, they would dish out hate-filled monologues dressing down their finals' opponents. In fact, it could be going on right now and no one would know because few people subscribe to Scorn TV.

It just goes to support the original Top Chef maxim: Always bet on chef! (as opposed to a caterer).

And don't feel too bad for Carla - she did get to go to the Super Bowl.

I was on Team Stefan. But I hope all is not lost, I am campaigning to get Stefan in as the next "Bachelor" on ABC. Can't you see it now?

Did Stefan call Marcel a twat? I didn't know you could say that on Bravo.

He was quoting Robert Browning.

And how about Carla's line at the end about "I wanted to show people a different way of competing... to compete with love"? I think we've found the "You like me! You really like me!" of Top Chef.

gastro gnome wrote:That TOC blog was pretty entertaining, Ronnie. Well participated!

Thanks. It was really fun even though it was kind of hard to watch the show during that blogging frenzy.

gastro gnome wrote:And don't feel too bad for Carla - she did get to go to the Super Bowl.

And she won a car, too.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

gastro gnome wrote:That TOC blog was pretty entertaining, Ronnie. Well participated!

Thanks. It was really fun even though it was kind of hard to watch the show during that blogging frenzy.

gastro gnome wrote:And don't feel too bad for Carla - she did get to go to the Super Bowl.

And she won a car, too.

=R=

And it won't be announced until next week, but I'm thinking another $10,000 for fan favorite is probably a safe assumption

What, you don't think Fabio was fabiuloso?

Yeah, a wet squib climax, after a very good semifinal, but it seems clear (until the blogs tell us something completely different) that it was the only conclusion they could reach, based on the food. Stefan made two dishes of boring hotel food, which led Tom to finally blurt out "he has no soul" as if he'd just noticed that after 10 weeks of boring technical perfection. And Carla, yeah, she may have been led astray by what's her name, but in both cases it was just bad judgement; I don't know why she picked sirloin if she didn't know, in her bones, that there is only one way to cook sirloin and it's NOT turning it gray in a baggie for 12 hours. And obviously a souffle is far riskier, has far less margin of error, than a tart. She walked into that one as well.

I wish the final contest hadn't been so limiting. To cook the meal of your life, 2-hours of prep and 3-hours of cooking really isn't much time. What's the rush? Why not give them 3 days with no hourly limits? Not only would that allow for more varied and interesting techniques, but we'd also get to see the made-for-TV drama of sleepless nights where the chefs head to the kitchen in pajamas at 2AM to rework something based on a dream they just had.

Kennyz wrote:I wish the final contest hadn't been so limiting. To cook the meal of your life, 2-hours of prep and 3-hours of cooking really isn't much time. What's the rush? Why not give them 3 days with no hourly limits? Not only would that allow for more varied and interesting techniques, but we'd also get to see the made-for-TV drama of sleepless nights where the chefs head to the kitchen in pajamas at 2AM to rework something based on a dream they just had.

It does seem like they ran out of budget (or more likely could not find another sponsor). It was like we need to get out of NoLA in like a day, so get it done, NOW.

Yes, Hosea's dishes were the best, but anyone who's in Louisiana and uses scallops from a can instead of the local bounty should be immediately disqualified. In fact, as soon as Richard started sniffing the scallops, the producers should have replaced Hosea with Fabio.

Dmnkly wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

gastro gnome wrote:That TOC blog was pretty entertaining, Ronnie. Well participated!

Thanks. It was really fun even though it was kind of hard to watch the show during that blogging frenzy.

gastro gnome wrote:And don't feel too bad for Carla - she did get to go to the Super Bowl.

And she won a car, too.

=R=

And it won't be announced until next week, but I'm thinking another $10,000 for fan favorite is probably a safe assumption

That's as nauseating as watching Rachel Ray.

Yes, Hosea's dishes were the best, but anyone who's in Louisiana and uses scallops from a can instead of the local bounty should be immediately disqualified.

So doesn't that mean Commander's Palace should be disqualified? That's where he found them. Anyway, did he use scallops? I don't think he did.

Mike G wrote:

Yes, Hosea's dishes were the best, but anyone who's in Louisiana and uses scallops from a can instead of the local bounty should be immediately disqualified.

So doesn't that mean Commander's Palace should be disqualified? That's where he found them. Anyway, did he use scallops? I don't think he did.

I do not see scallops on the CP menu. I could be wrong, but I do not think it was just the CP kitchen that they were limited to; I mean does CP also serve cavier?

Fabio will win the fan favorite.

Mike G wrote:

Yes, Hosea's dishes were the best, but anyone who's in Louisiana and uses scallops from a can instead of the local bounty should be immediately disqualified.

So doesn't that mean Commander's Palace should be disqualified? That's where he found them. Anyway, did he use scallops? I don't think he did.

Yes, Hosea used the scallops, proving that Fabio knows nothing about the show.

Fabio's quotes from prior episodes:
- "It's Top Chef, not Top Scallop."
- "It's Top Chef, not Top Pussy."

Wrong on both counts, as last night's result proved.

Vital Information wrote:Yes, Hosea's dishes were the best, but anyone who's in Louisiana and uses scallops from a can instead of the local bounty should be immediately disqualified. In fact, as soon as Richard started sniffing the scallops, the producers should have replaced Hosea with Fabio.

I've always thought that the top-quality, dry-pack scallops come in a can like that. I guess outside of getting them in the shell, I think that's the next best thing and pretty common in restaurants.

That was an anti-climactic ending for sure. It was Carla's to win. If she had put out the same quality of stuff as she had been in the last few weeks, it would have been her win. It feels like they gave it to Hosea by default.

Remember that the producers often supplement or bring in all of their own ingredients when cooking in a restaurant's kitchen. Remember last season, with the frozen scallops?

Incidentally, can we finally put to bed all of the charges of producer manipulation of the judging process? I mean, really, what producer in his/her right mind would have orchestrated THAT outcome?

Vital Information wrote:It does seem like they ran out of budget (or more likely could not find another sponsor). It was like we need to get out of NoLA in like a day, so get it done, NOW.

I had the same feeling. The whole episode felt slap-dash: cook a good meal and get the hell out. Even the "twist" felt like something that wasn't very well thought out.

I would have really loved to have seen them be allowed to have at least a full day of prep. The fact that two of the three threw together a raw fish plate that didn't really taste like much calls out the fact that they simply didn't have enough time. One dish for each of them was basically a sacrifice: throw it on the plate and hope that it works.

I'm wistful about what the final would have been like with an ingredient-focused chef like Jamie.

All season, Hosea never really made a dish that I thought was particularly interesting, Carla is skilled but her inconsistency and inexperience came through at the wrong time, and Stefan seems like the kinda guy who would be great heading up the kitchen at a prestigious old hotel. None of them really excited me in terms of this competition.

I wish the final contest hadn't been so limiting. To cook the meal of your life, 2-hours of prep and 3-hours of cooking really isn't much time. What's the rush? Why not give them 3 days with no hourly limits?

I'm with Kennyz on this, give them time to cook the meal of their of lives. The food would hopefully be more inspiring. Seems that stocks and sauces could be made.

Incidentally, can we finally put to bed all of the charges of producer manipulation of the judging process? I mean, really, what producer in his/her right mind would have orchestrated THAT outcome?

Believe me, I had that exact thought last night. Carla let the manipulative producers who were orchestrating her surprise win down.

I will revisit a line I was ready to use if Lisa won last year: "Hosea: The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals of Top Chef!" Just barely competent enough to make the playoffs and then outlasting/surviving the other contenders. I will spare you tortured analogies about how Stefan making that lame dessert at the end was the equivalent of the Mets bullpen blowing two games in the NLCS or how Carla choosing to get away from the basics and her style/technique was like the Tigers' pitchers making multiple fielding errors in the World Series. Oh wait...

I agree with Dom that this probably has to put to rest the "producers orchestrate the outcomes" line of thinking, or at least the stridency of it from some quarters. And not just the producers, but the judges as well -- I thought Colicchio looked pretty dismayed at having to make that decision, particularly in light of the contenders' respective bodies of work. I got a kick out of the part at the end where they had the other contestants (at least those who were in NOLA -- I believe I saw Jeff, Jamie and Leah) in to celebrate with the winner. Jeff had this big time "WTF?" look on his face. Now it could be that Jeff generally has a somewhat shocked/lost mien generally (and I assume it was really late at night), but I interpreted as "Are you kidding me that this joker won? How was I unable to win this competition?" Which, come to think of it -- and to bring it full circle, might be what the 2006 New York Yankees were possibly thinking at the end of the season.

/baseball geek