Top Chef: Just Desserts

'Desserts' on 'Top Chef' menu: Bravo sweetens franchise with new spinoff

Bravo's "Top Chef" is finally getting its "Just Desserts."

Cabler has cooked up another spinoff of its popular "Top Chef" franchise, but this time focusing on the sweet stuff. Casting gets under way this week for "Top Chef: Just Desserts," which is set to air sometime in 2010.

"Just Desserts" will pit pastry chefs against one other in a weekly elimination competish similar to the original "Top Chef."

no word yet on host/judges/airdate.

Since it's been a while since Ed started this thread...

Host - Gail Simmons
Head Judge - Johnny Iuzzini
Judge - Hubert Keller
Judge - Dannielle Kyrillos

Episode 2 aired this week and I'm enjoying the show, overall. As one might expect, it follows the Top Chef template pretty much to the letter. There's definitely a lot of interpersonal drama (relative to Top Chef-original recipe) but since I'm not quite as invested in desserts (or their makers), I'm finding the drama bemusing, for lack of a better term. Since I know so little about dessert making, I've actually learned some stuff, even though the show doesn't spend a ton of time on the actual food.

The one contestant with obvious ties to Chicago is Malika Ameen (of the now-shuttered Aigre Doux) and she seems to be just hanging on. She's ended up in the bottom in a couple of challenges already and the judges have openly questioned her ability to perform within the show's paramaters.

Anyway, I'll stay with it as long as it remains enjoyable to watch.

=R=

I'm finding it extremely difficult to watch this -- and I am a pretty solid Top Chef fan, despite the lackluster DC season. I love to bake and I'm really interested in how hard it is to turn out beautiful desserts on a dime and there are some interesting people to watch. However -- watching the nutjob manic depressive dude who also might be an undiagnosed Asperger guy is painful. It seems really exploitive to watch him disintegrate on tv - -and definitely not fun tv watching. It makes my stomach hurt everytime he starts running or freaking out. It's more than just stress. He seems very unstable and I also hate seeing how uncomfortable it makes the judges and the other contestants.

Anyone else agree?

earthlydesire wrote:I'm finding it extremely difficult to watch this -- and I am a pretty solid Top Chef fan, despite the lackluster DC season. I love to bake and I'm really interested in how hard it is to turn out beautiful desserts on a dime and there are some interesting people to watch. However -- watching the nutjob manic depressive dude who also might be an undiagnosed Asperger guy is painful. It seems really exploitive to watch him disintegrate on tv - -and definitely not fun tv watching. It makes my stomach hurt everytime he starts running or freaking out. It's more than just stress. He seems very unstable and I also hate seeing how uncomfortable it makes the judges and the other contestants.

Anyone else agree?

I agree. I turned the show off for good when he broke down wailing "The Red Hots were for my Mommy."

Totally and completely OT, but the reference to Asperger's reminds me that the very first guy to understand what was going on in the mortgage meltdown also had Aspergers. He is an MD named Mike Burry who started a hedge fund which eventually made millions selling short credit default swaps.

Now back to food-related stuff.

It's not just Seth (though he's the worst). Not only am I having trouble finding anyone particularly likeable or compelling, I find the majority of them annoying to the point of distraction. It's too bad, I was looking forward to this.

Hi- I saw this show tonight for the first time. The blue dessert that Seth made was really weird. He does seem to have problems getting along with the other contestants, and he does seem hyper. He is still in the competition though. One of the hallmarks of Asperger's syndrome is the lack of social skills, although it is much more evident in some people with Asperger's than others. Dan Akyroyd has admitted that he has Asperger's, and his social skills are much better than Seth's. Working in a kitchen would not be the best job for somebody with Asperger's, because it is too fast paced. Most people with Asperger's do not do well at multitasking, and there is a lot of multitasking in a professional kitchen. Hope this helps, Nancy

I have no problem with any of the behavior (or its depiction) at all, though it is definitely over-the-top. Listening to Seth cry about his "mommy" made me uncomfortable but not nearly enough to stop watching. Perhaps if I cared about desserts more, the foucs on personal behavior might bother me. But I don't and it doesn't. So, I'm enjoying all aspects of the program, even the freak show element.

Does anyone think the goal of the producers is to make pastry/dessert chefs look like overly-dramatic divas? If so, they're doing a fine job of it so far.

=R=

Does anyone think the goal of the producers is to make pastry/dessert chefs look like overly-dramatic divas? If so, they're doing a fine job of it so far.

=R=

Ronnie -- that very thought occurred to me as well. I thought after Episode 1 "man...those pastry chefs seem more...volatile...than the regular chefs" and of course...the last episode made that incredibly clear. Most pastry chefs I know (I don't know more than 2 or 3) are actually very calm and precise. That's why i just focus on making tasty cookies and cakes instead of being all Martha Stewart about it. Precise -- is NOT my middle name.

<grin>

I'm hoping that next week's shenanigans aren't quite so disturbing but if they are -- I'll probably turn the show off too.

Plus...Gail as host? I'm not male so she has no effect on me in that manner and her hosting abilities sort of leave me "meh". Although -- she's certainly better than Katie Lee was. Johnny Iuzzini does not have Tom Colicchio's authority either.

S

earthlydesire wrote:Johnny Iuzzini does not have Tom Colicchio's authority either.

Nor, thank god, does he have Colicchio's self-important officiousness.

earthlydesire wrote:Gail as host? I'm not male so she has no effect on me in that manner and her hosting abilities sort of leave me "meh".

I am male. Meh is an accurate description Gail in all her TC roles.

I just finished watching the 2nd episode. It made me squirm. If it makes me squirm again, I'm probably done.

I agree with Ronnie that not much attention seems to be paid to the food or the cooking process, but that could just be because there are too many contestants to focus on right now.

I'm enjoying the dessert presentations, being more elaborate and structural than many of the entree/side presentations on regular Top Chef. I do agree, though, that putting any of man-child Seth's breakdowns or stew room shenanigans on television seems exploitative -- he appears to have serious psychological issues.

I find the ladies much more calm and pleasant than the men, overall.

Evil Ronnie and I are watching this train wreck...at one point I thought we were watching RuPaul's drag race. (not a bad show, they don't bake, however) Ron has been in the professional kitchen 30 years and hasn't seen this kind of behavior played out. If it did, Ron would tell them to go home for the day. In fact, his pastry chef is watching this with amusement and hoping his family doesn't think this is how all pastry chefs behave.

Seth truly needs some mental health care, his disruptions are getting to be so distracting- I hope his mommy is watching down on him and will communicate to him to behave. I'm amazed that he didn't get sent home based on not wanting to even try the wedding cake challenge. Perhaps they're keeping him for the drama he imparts.

The Asian Heather from the Cherokee Club in Georgia has training from a Certified Master Pastry Chef. Erica is the only other possibility.

IMHO, I think TC is bottoming out of ideas and it is really evolved into a comedy show, at least in the pastry division.

Will I stop watching? No.

The Lovely Donna wrote:The Asian Heather from the Cherokee Club in Georgia has training from a Certified Master Pastry Chef. Erica is the only other possibility.

Heather was Chris Northmore's assistant at Cherokee before Northmore left to take the pastry chef position at The Everglades Club in Palm Beach.

http://www.pastryprofiles.com/Chris%20Northmore.htm I was lucky enough to see and taste Northmore's work down in Palm Beach earlier this year. Just incredible. I can still taste those Everglades Club scones.

This really is a sorry-assed batch of drama queens (and kings). I've heard more people whining about wanting to go home (and not experiencing "joy") in 4 episodes of this series than in 7 full seasons of Top Chef original recipe. Seth aside, because it seems he might actually be mentally ill, there are a bunch of people on this show who have no excuses for their horseshit behavior. Again, I have to wonder if the producers chose to amplify this or if it just came to the surface naturally. Given that a few episodes (all?) have been stretched out to 75 minutes, I think it's all by design. Of course, the producers can't make people say things they don't ever really say but it seems that the contestants have been vetted specifically for their dysfunctionality. Sadly, conflict sells much more briskly than talent.

Malika seems like a big phony coward, especially going home the way she did. Heather C. is utterly clueless and should have never agreed to come back on the show after being eliminated if she didn't want to be there. Yigit, Danielle and Heather H. come off as total fucking assholes. Speaking of Heather H., she all but commandeered the showpiece dessert and then got pissed at Morgan for not assisting her with it. That was classic, predictable and laughable behavior.

After watching this, I'm actually considering a boycott of restaurant desserts.

=R=

This show is making pastry chefs seem extremely unlikeable. Zach is at least growing on me as a character, the rest, I completely agree with Ronnie, come across as total assholes or spoiled brats. Is this what pastry chefs are like? I mean, I get that it's reality tv, but is this a remotely accurate portrayal? or even a stereotype of them?

Seth clearly has problems and shouldn't have been on the show in the first place. Heather H., I don't even GET her rant yesterday. Nobody forced her to make the showpiece. Nobody denied she did all that work. if she was mad she wasn't the winner, why wasn't she mad at the judges? Why Morgan? it doesn't even make sense.

I'm also annoyed because I keep getting sucked in and staying up too late to see how it ends- why do I CARE?!

ronnie_suburban wrote:After watching this, I'm actually considering a boycott of restaurant desserts.

Don't worry, most of them come out of CISCO boxes, never touched by pastry chefs.

JoelF wrote:Don't worry, most of them come out of CISCO boxes, never touched by pastry chefs.

Are you trying to tell me that after-dinner router I had at Gibson's last week was not house made?

Don't worry, most of them come out of CISCO boxes, never touched by pastry chefs.

Are you trying to tell me that after-dinner router I had at Gibson's last week was not house made?

Oh man -- if only Just Desserts was THIS entertaining! Laughed outloud at this...

Last night's trainwreck was just awful. And yet...as was mentioned...I keep staying up to see who stays and who goes! I had heard really great things about Aigre Doux but now I'm kinda glad it's gone. I mean..okay -- cooking competitively isn't very fun but for god's sake...stick it out until they tell you to go! Plus -- look at all the economic opportunities some of these folks get who don't win. All the Top Chef events, etc -- there's some scratch in that. And who knows how you can parlay that into another opportunity. But a quitter -- is a quitter.

I will say that Gale Gand looked fabulous. She's lost some weight!

Hi- I agree that Malika should have stayed on the program. Seth had no business being on the program from the start. He was clearly having a melt down last night, and just seemed over whelmed. Things did not go the way he wanted them to, and he just could not deal with change. They said that he had an anxiety attack, but I really suspect that he had a panic attack. I am sure that he was picked for the show, because they knew that he would add drama to the show. Does anybody know if Seth worked as a pastry chef anywhere before he came on the program?

I watched part of Hell's Kitchen on Fox last night too, and Seth would not have lasted 5 minutes with Gordon Ramsey. I don't know how any of the chefs can deal with him. Hope this helps, Nancy

Seth had been a pastry chef at several NYC restaurants.

I believe Seth is eGullet member sethro. He's been posting about his experiences on the show.

jesteinf wrote:I believe Seth is eGullet member sethro. He's been posting about his experiences on the show.

Seth is such an emotional train wreck on tv I cringe at the thought of reading his exposed raw self indulgent babble. Now which is it, egullet dot org or com?

Seriously though, I did not watch the last episode, simply too much drama.

Here's the link to the thread

I've never seen the show, but he seems to come off surprisingly normal online.

I don't even GET her rant yesterday. Nobody forced her to make the showpiece. Nobody denied she did all that work. if she was mad she wasn't the winner, why wasn't she mad at the judges? Why Morgan? it doesn't even make sense.

Nor did Morgan win anything substantive, did he? My God, what kind of hissy fit would she have had if he'd won a trip to Paris or a cookbook or something? Perhaps Morgan should've been gracious enough simply to offer her half of his winning prize.

The phrase, "danger to himself and others" kept running through the back of my mind from the start of the show. If it is obvious to everyone watching now that Seth is disturbed, don't you think someone at Magical Elves would have picked up on that before filming started? For liability purposes, I would assume the "Cheftestants" have to go through some battery of psychological exams before being allowed to compete on the show. Who adminstered Seth's psych exam, Dr. Nick Riviera?

FWIW, I don't like Breyer's either, and was creeped out by Heather H.'s fawning, "I don't know what Seth's upset about, I love Breyer's!" Weak sauce, indeed.

The phrase, "danger to himself and others" kept running through the back of my mind from the start of the show. If it is obvious to everyone watching now that Seth is disturbed, don't you think someone at Magical Elves would have picked up on that before filming started? For liability purposes, I would assume the "Cheftestants" have to go through some battery of psychological exams before being allowed to compete on the show. Who adminstered Seth's psych exam, Dr. Nick Riviera?

I'm thinking it was Dr. Spaceman!!!!!

earthlydesire wrote:

The phrase, "danger to himself and others" kept running through the back of my mind from the start of the show. If it is obvious to everyone watching now that Seth is disturbed, don't you think someone at Magical Elves would have picked up on that before filming started? For liability purposes, I would assume the "Cheftestants" have to go through some battery of psychological exams before being allowed to compete on the show. Who adminstered Seth's psych exam, Dr. Nick Riviera?

I'm thinking it was Dr. Spaceman!!!!!

I was going to use that, but wasn't sure everyone would get the reference!

The last episode nearly pushed me to stop watching this train-wreck of a show. First we have the stuff about Seth, which seems more appropriate for TLC. Then we have terrible editing in which we are prevented from actually hearing any conversation between two people. Finally we have a contestant whose dessert is clearly the worst of the group being kept on the show because someone else didn't want to stay. There are a lot of good shows on television and this is not one of them.

Speaking of TLC, what appears to be the worst cooking show ever created debuted last week. The show is called Kick Off Cook Off and the idea is it somehow brings together football and cooking. The hosts are former Top Chef contestant Brian Malarkey and ESPN reporter Erin Andrews. It's so bad that I wasn't going to mention it but with Darren72's TLC reference, I couldn't help myself.

You really really should not watch this highlight.