eatchicago wrote:

Tom Colicchio wrote:The snails we presented to the chefs were live. However to cook a live snail requires a lengthy purging process that the chefs wouldn’t have time to do. They were given snails that had been precooked, and just needed to be seasoned while being finished. This leveled the playing field, so that those chefs who had never before worked with snails weren’t put at that much of a disadvantage.

This certainly takes a ton of the danger out of the challenge. My first thought when they presented the challenge was, "If you've never cooked a snail before, you're f-ed. How do you avoid making a chewy piece of leather?" Since they were pre-cooked, it would be hard for the judges to ding them on the quality of the snails themselves, so they stuck to composition and seasoning (a much more conventional challenge).

Interesting. Yes, I know it's 'reality tv' but this is the exact type of information that should not be withheld during the actual episode. Knowing this would have provided much better context while viewing.

=R=

DML wrote:Wow. The show aired last night, and nobody cares.
That was my impression also.

I stand corrected. People did care. They just did not comment immediately.
I will have to watch the episode again tonight, while more awake than when I originally watched it.

tem wrote:
And Robuchon is either Emperor Palpatine or ...

Thank you for that. I turned to my wife and made the same comment, and though I was prepared for it, the emotionless blank stare she offered as her reaction to my exuberantly geeky observation still left me wanting to share. Imagine my joy at seeing a post already there waiting for me to reply to.

Overall, I liked the episode, though again, as with past episodes, I can't exactly say why. Top Chef is kinda becoming like a favorite coffee mug. There's no particular rhyme or reason that I choose it every morning, but it always seems to make me a little happier when I do. Top Chef doesn't seem to excite me anymore as far as tv viewing goes, don't even really look forward to the next episode, but usually around dinner time on Wednesday evening, it's a happy little surprise to be reminded that it comes on in a few hours.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

eatchicago wrote:

Tom Colicchio wrote:The snails we presented to the chefs were live. However to cook a live snail requires a lengthy purging process that the chefs wouldn’t have time to do. They were given snails that had been precooked, and just needed to be seasoned while being finished. This leveled the playing field, so that those chefs who had never before worked with snails weren’t put at that much of a disadvantage.

This certainly takes a ton of the danger out of the challenge. My first thought when they presented the challenge was, "If you've never cooked a snail before, you're f-ed. How do you avoid making a chewy piece of leather?" Since they were pre-cooked, it would be hard for the judges to ding them on the quality of the snails themselves, so they stuck to composition and seasoning (a much more conventional challenge).

Interesting. Yes, I know it's 'reality tv' but this is the exact type of information that should not be withheld during the actual episode. Knowing this would have provided much better context while viewing.

=R=

I agree, they should have made this clear. But in one sense I know that they can't get everything across in every episode and still make it enjoyable to watch. They do have to strike a balance between satisfying the food-obsessed viewers and the rest of the audience who just digs competition/reality TV.

This is why, as a food-obsessed viewer, I'm glad that they supplement the show with the blog. It would certainly be better if they could offer this stuff alongside the episode as a "viewers guide" instead of afterwards. But, I'm glad they do this to provide the info instead of assuming that no one gives a shit.

Personally, I'd love it if they'd provide a longer-form judges table video online instead of leaving that all behind a sliced-up mystery. Every season, there are a few episodes where I'd love to see their decisions play out during discussion.

tem wrote:

And Robuchon is either Emperor Palpatine or ...

. . . .LA Dodgers manager Joe Torre. Eerie.

While the episode was enjoyable, it sort of sets up a pretty uninteresting middle of the season.

Saving a surprise ouster, the cream of this crop is so clear and so distinct from the others, I fear we're going to watch a bunch of clueless teenagers get whacked one-by-one, horror film style, until the real competition starts when it's down to 4 or 5. Maybe it's always this way. If it looks like any one of the 4 favorites is destined to go, I'm going to suspect a heavy dose of editing until I actually see them packing their knives.

I get that Hector is a celebrated chef. And he did finish in the winner's circle in an elimination "cooking" tofu - by choice. But he will always be the guy who deep-fried a steak for Wolfgang Puck. I never thought he was long for this competition.

I also don't understand what he meant that he shouldn't have trusted the thermometer. I imagine this is your chief tool when you are cooking chateaubriand for (what seems like) the first time. With all the trouble he had with beef, maybe he should have stuck to tofu

gastro gnome wrote:While the episode was enjoyable, it sort of sets up a pretty uninteresting middle of the season.

Saving a surprise ouster, the cream of this crop is so clear and so distinct from the others, I fear we're going to watch a bunch of clueless teenagers get whacked one-by-one, horror film style, until the real competition starts when it's down to 4 or 5. Maybe it's always this way.

Usually it's only one or two. Having four or five is a treat.

But as much as some people always feel that final group is a foregone conclusion, there are always surprises.

In season one, Dave unseated Lee Anne to go to the finals.

In season two, Sam, widely considered the favorite, didn't make the final episode while Ilan, considered by most to be the third-best chef in the competition at best took the whole thing.

In season three, Tre, considered by most to be one of two clear frontrunners, didn't make it past midseason in a surprise elimination, while Dale L. who looked like an also-ran suddenly caught fire in the final third of the season and narrowly missed the win.

Season four was looking to most like a season-long coronation of Richard Blais, until he choked away the final, and meanwhile Dale T., considered among the top three, was a surprise elimination a few episodes away from the finals and Lisa, who didn't cook a decent dish all season, just kept hanging around and hanging around and hanging around while one other person always bombed out, and she made the final meal.

Season five was similarly seen as a season-long coronation of Stefan to most, with Jamie as his only serious competition. But Jamie became a surprise midseason elimination, while the funny but culinarily unimpressive Carla suddenly caught fire in the last third of the season and gave everybody a two-person battle in the finals. Except that they both choked in the final meal and Hosea came out of nowhere to win.

Point being, it's never worked out the way it seems it will this early in the season. Our final four could, indeed, be Jennifer, Kevin and the Brothers V. But history suggests otherwise

I expected someone to point out my presumption that eliminations will conform to expectations, but I didn't count on the TC history lesson

I have no doubt that drama awaits (and if it doesn't, then count on editing to inject some seeming threats to top competitors).

As an avid TC watcher, I know that each season brings surprises and you certainly name the notable ones. Although I think most of the surprise comes with the closers closing towards the end rather than the top dogs stumbling mid-way through.

But point taken.

The fact that this is a cadre of full-on talent heightens the perceived disparity between them and the rest of the field. Had it just been one or two strong competitors early on, you would still be looking for the 3rd and 4th best to emerge from the middle. Here, it seems like they separated themselves almost right away.

gastro gnome wrote:The fact that this is a cadre of full-on talent heightens the perceived disparity between them and the rest of the field. Had it just been one or two strong competitors early on, you would still be looking for the 3rd and 4th best to emerge from the middle. Here, it seems like they separated themselves almost right away.

That's true, but I'm not convinced there aren't a couple of sleepers still in the middle of the pack. Eli and Michael I. are two that certainly could crack that top tier (I presume you were referring to one or the other for your fifth). I think Hector had a lot of potential if he hadn't just blown it. And despite problems, I think Ashley and Robin have some latent magic that they might suddenly start to conjure up. Just a hunch. I don't think either of those last two are on the same level as the top tier, no, but to me they seem to have some longshot potential to make things interesting.

Anyway, we'll see

(BTW, I apologize if the history lesson was unnecessary... when you said "maybe it's always this way", I presumed that meant you weren't super familiar with the show's history.)

Assorted random thoughts:

1) At first I thought Jessie was one of the few bringing personality to the season. Eventually I realized the personality she brought to it was "depressed"...

2) Mike I.'s reputation as a jackass goes back to that "pastry chef" crack early on. Adjust for his east-coast-stereotype persona and he really hasn't been a bad guy and has shown some ability. He could be the Hosea of New Jersey, hangin' in there...

3) Aren't there records of Robuchon cooking for the Chinese emperors in the mid-19th century?

4) "In one sense I know that they can't get everything across in every episode and still make it enjoyable to watch." Right, they need to leave room for insightful comments like "Joel Robuchon is like, a f[bleep]ing god of cooking." Thanks, that really set the context for me. Also, Padma saying "Well, I think we have our decision" and the guest judge going "Uh-huh." That's got to be like the chef equivalent of ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. "I got to say ze 'uh-huh' to ze Padma in my episode! Now, I can die ze happy!"

5) Did anyone else see Robuchon sucking the blood from the heads of the rabbits in between courses?

6) "But he will always be the guy who deep-fried a steak for Wolfgang Puck." Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that. Now I feel better about Hector getting it, knowing that he ruined steak twice.

7) ASHLEY, Dom? Ashley? They could be hiding something about some of them like Eli, Robin or even Laurine, but Ashley's shown us her deer-in-the-headlights imitation too many times.

8) When I shot the clips of Joho that are in my latest podcast, he had just gotten back from the judging in this episode. He said they spend a million dollars a day producing Top Chef. I assured him Sky Full of Bacon goes for somewhat less...

Mike G wrote:2) Mike I.'s reputation as a jackass goes back to that "pastry chef" crack early on. Adjust for his east-coast-stereotype persona and he really hasn't been a bad guy and has shown some ability. He could be the Hosea of New Jersey, hangin' in there...

FWIW, I'm almost certain that was Hector (the fellow was off-camera, so there's no way to confirm).

Mike G wrote:7) ASHLEY, Dom? Ashley? They could be hiding something about some of them like Eli, Robin or even Laurine, but Ashley's shown us her deer-in-the-headlights imitation too many times.

Hey, man, I didn't say I think she will. I think she could (Call it a hunch)

Mike G wrote:8) When I shot the clips of Joho that are in my latest podcast, he had just gotten back from the judging in this episode. He said they spend a million dollars a day producing Top Chef. I assured him Sky Full of Bacon goes for somewhat less...

Good god... doesn't that seem awfully high? I believe each episode is 2-3 days of shooting, so you're talking $30-$50 million per season, then. That can't be right, can it?

Oh, I thought that's what everybody was ragging on Michael I. for. So what are they ragging on him for, other than being kind of a mook? One thing I thought was in his favor-- he was the one who suggested Jennifer be in charge of the catering since she had immunity. That was smart strategic thinking not just for personal advantage, I thought.

That's what Joho said he was told, a million a day. I can't verify it beyond that.

Mike G wrote:Oh, I thought that's what everybody was ragging on Michael I. for. So what are they ragging on him for, other than being kind of a mook?

There were some other choice quotes, one a variation on the classic "beaten by a girl" theme, another making reference to "one less old lady to worry about" and a few other gems. All the kind of stuff that could be highly offensive misogyny or playful, self-aware ribbing depending on the context in which they're spoken. Thankfully the TC editors are all about providing us with as much accurate context as is humanly possible.

Dmnkly wrote:

Mike G wrote:8) When I shot the clips of Joho that are in my latest podcast, he had just gotten back from the judging in this episode. He said they spend a million dollars a day producing Top Chef. I assured him Sky Full of Bacon goes for somewhat less...

Good god... doesn't that seem awfully high? I believe each episode is 2-3 days of shooting, so you're talking $30-$50 million per season, then. That can't be right, can it?

That does seem high -- networks spend a couple million an ep on their highest rated dramas, this would put it in the same neighborhood, for a little cable/sat station seems unlikely. The networks depend on syndication and DVD sales to become profitable. I can't imaging the DVD sales of Top Chef rock, but there is sideline income (games, books, aprons).

It is Bravo's highest-rated show, and they appear to have substantial corporate sponsorship, just based on the product placements (GE, Glad, Lexus in TCM, Toyota in the plebe version, Whole Foods... did I miss anyone? Probably the Las Vegas Tourism Bureau too. Oh yeah, "Food and Wine"). It's possible the show is break-even just from the sponsors, without the commercial breaks and subscriber fees from the cable/sat providers

It's also possible that it was a casual turn of phrase exaggerating reality by some degree.

I'm still pretty sure it costs more than Sky Full of Bacon though

Dmnkly wrote:

Mike G wrote:8) When I shot the clips of Joho that are in my latest podcast, he had just gotten back from the judging in this episode. He said they spend a million dollars a day producing Top Chef. I assured him Sky Full of Bacon goes for somewhat less...

Good god... doesn't that seem awfully high? I believe each episode is 2-3 days of shooting, so you're talking $30-$50 million per season, then. That can't be right, can it?

I think that budget number is highly unlikely by orders of magnitude. Part of the rationale for producing these reality shows is that they're cheap to make. There's an outside chance that the budget for the whole season is $1 million, but even that might be a stretch (unless Padma is pulling down some really serious coin ).

Some reality shows are cheap to make. I don't think Top Chef is one of them, though it may still be substantially cheaper than a network drama show in its eighth season when all the stars have jacked up their salaries. I think what makes Top Chef affordable to produce is that it contains so many opportunities for sponsorship money to offset production costs, which "When Animals Attack Real Housewives" does not. So what it costs and what the production company is actually out of pocket for are substantially different. This post brought to you by the Glad family of products.

In any case, I offered it merely as a passing anecdote second hand. Do not make any financial investments in Bravo, its parent companies, or Magical Elves Productions based on the information contained herein.

I did a marathon last night watching all of the new season's episodes, including the new one. Good to be current. Really like the the cast. And especially the tough but sweet Jennifer. Great demeanor, great onset, I may be developing a crush. Speaking of which: did anyone notice the butt-slapping and shopping cart frivolity with her at the last Whole Foods outing? I'm kind of wondering if some kind of entanglement or other example of hijinks will ensue....

Olde School wrote:I did a marathon last night watching all of the new season's episodes, including the new one. Good to be current. Really like the the cast. And especially the tough but sweet Jennifer. Great demeanor, great onset, I may be developing a crush. Speaking of which: did anyone notice the butt-slapping and shopping cart frivolity with her at the last Whole Foods outing? I'm kind of wondering if some kind of entanglement or other example of hijinks will ensue....

I saw that as basic back-of-the-house dominance games -- your standard bump. It's the sort of thing that would send the EEOC and ACLU in a tizzy, but from Bourdain and Buford's books it seems to be SOP.

JoelF wrote:It is Bravo's highest-rated show, and they appear to have substantial corporate sponsorship, just based on the product placements (GE, Glad, Lexus in TCM, Toyota in the plebe version, Whole Foods... did I miss anyone?

Yeah. Diet Dr. Pepper.

DeathByOrca wrote:

JoelF wrote:It is Bravo's highest-rated show, and they appear to have substantial corporate sponsorship, just based on the product placements (GE, Glad, Lexus in TCM, Toyota in the plebe version, Whole Foods... did I miss anyone?

Yeah. Diet Dr. Pepper.

Also Calphalon

My wife may have solved a TC mystery. In episode one, if you recall, Ron Duprat seemed to have no clue as to what a 'vice' was. While everybody else incorporated their alcoholism into their dishes, Ron talked about the 27 days he spent at sea, which made so little sense in terms of the vice theme that they aired Tom Colichio's confusion during the judge's table segment. Well, we're watching a rerun of episode one, and during Ron's close-up when he explains his dish, he talks about the 27 days at sea and mentions something about 'letting it go'. Hearing that, the smarter half of the marriage comments that perhaps Ron is confusing 'vice' with 'vise', that his days at sea are something he has difficulty letting go of, as if they were in a metaphorical vise. That inspired hypothesis sent me scuttling over to the computer to make this post.
I don't read any of the TC blogs or anything, so maybe this is a subject that's already been addressed elsewhere, but I thought I'd put my one cent in (even though it's my wife's two cents, as the spouse, I get half).
Cheers.

*DELIBERATELY VAGUE SPOILER*


Holy crap. The season is irreparably ruined.

Guess who's back next week?

I was worried that such an extreme elimination challenge might produce the wacky result of a front-runner being eliminated but I needn't have worried. The bottom 3 was surpriseless and -- based on previous weeks' performances -- nearly predictable. Thinking about it, I have to say that it was one of the most unremarkable episodes in several seasons. Still, though, I'm looking forward to next week.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote: Thinking about it, I have to say that it was one of the most unremarkable episodes in several seasons. Still, though, I'm looking forward to next week.

=R=

It's as if they were building the entire episode around the drama surrounding which cheftestant's meal will Tom Colichio spit out. It was a pretty dull episode, though I did enjoy much of the commentary from guest judge Tim Love, especially the "just throw bacon on the top of it" comment. The look on his face mid-critique as he imagined the thought of bacon being thrown on the top of a dish was pretty funny.
And I agree with comments made thus far about the remarkable consistency of the two strati of cheftestant talent in the group. While I do enjoy the drama of a darkhorse building momentum from challenge to challenge, it has always irked me when one of the chefs hung around forever just because they consistently didn't produce the worst dish of the episode (ie Season 4's Lisa). It's kinda refreshing to see the pretenders get knocked off pretty quickly.

They need to ban ceviches for the rest of the season.

Why in the world did nearly everyone make fish? We're going out to a ranch in the middle of the desert where it will be 120 degrees, and we have no idea what the cooking conditions will be. What should we bring? Fish comes to mind? Really?

Kennyz wrote:Why in the world did nearly everyone make fish? We're going out to a ranch in the middle of the desert where it will be 120 degrees, and we have no idea what the cooking conditions will be. What should we bring? Fish comes to mind? Really?

It isn't just this challenge. The entire season has been really seafood heavy. Could it be that with five seasons in the rear-view mirror, the contestants are afraid of Colicchio's highly critical eye when it comes to meat preparation?

P.S...

Mike G wrote:7) ASHLEY, Dom? Ashley?

Yes, Mike. Ashley

Dmnkly wrote:

Kennyz wrote:Why in the world did nearly everyone make fish? We're going out to a ranch in the middle of the desert where it will be 120 degrees, and we have no idea what the cooking conditions will be. What should we bring? Fish comes to mind? Really?

It isn't just this challenge. The entire season has been really seafood heavy. Could it be that with five seasons in the rear-view mirror, the contestants are afraid of Colicchio's highly critical eye when it comes to meat preparation?

Ever since the first episode, it seems like every other dish is halibut, cod, or some sort of ceviche or tartare.