radiator 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?

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.

How DARE you question the integrity of Top Chef. It's a REALity show. As in REAL.

bnowell724 wrote:

radiator 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?

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.

How DARE you question the integrity of Top Chef. It's a REALity show. As in REAL.

+1

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yigit, Danielle and Heather H. come off as total fucking assholes.

Heather definitely was hardcore on last week's episode, and Danielle has shown some snark, but I haven't gotten any sense of assholishness from Yigit at all. What gained him entry into the club for you?

i<3pizza wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yigit, Danielle and Heather H. come off as total fucking assholes.

Heather definitely was hardcore on last week's episode, and Danielle has shown some snark, but I haven't gotten any sense of assholishness from Yigit at all. What gained him entry into the club for you?

I think it was his staunch intolerance of Seth, who seemed more troubled than deserving of ire.

But again, who knows what really transpired. I can only respond to what I've seen on the screen.

=R=

Ah -- I thought maybe it was the stern way he bossed his team.

Hi- I have been reading Seth's posts on egullett.org, and even though several posters have told him that he needs help, he claims that the producers focused too much on the drama part of the competition, and not enough on his fantastic talent in dessert making. He admits that he is stubborn, but that Breyer's is awful ice cream, and how could they expect him to use it. He did not like the premade cake that he was given to decorate too. He must have known that there would be stipulations on what he could produce on the show. He claims that things were a lot tougher than they appeared to be on TV.

He said that he is not working as a pastry chef right now, because he is only interested in working in a kitchen where he is given free artistic rein.

Apparently he wanted to continue in the competition, but the producers thought it would be better if he left the show. He just seemed so unhappy in the show though, and it was probably time for him to leave. I just can not believe that they allowed him to compete in the competition. Hope this helps, Nancy

Here's a (purported) description of the TC audition process. You'd think the producers would recognize his freak-out tendencies at some stage in such a lengthy set of tryout trials, which makes me think that Seth either managed to miraculously keep his cool throughout his audition, or the producers radically underestimated the amount of stress the competition would put on his emotions ... or else decided to exploit what looks like mental instability. :/

Hi- It seems that things have quieted down a little since Seth left. Seth says that he told the producers before the show started filming, that he had zero experience doing wedding cakes or showpieces. Heather made it very clear that she did not like Morgan though. What was going on with the two dresses made out of vegetables though? How many pastry chefs are going to be making showpiece dresses after they are done with the show anyway..

I was on the Bravo site yesterday, and apparently they are aware that many viewers feel that there is too much drama on this show. I would be interested to see if they bring the show back next season. Hope this helps, Nancy

jesteinf wrote:Here's the link to the thread

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

Thanks for the link. Its been fascinating to follow his rationalization of the series of events that led to his departure. No surprise that he (Seth) continues to blame everyone but himself and manages to slam the show at the same time.

radiator wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Here's the link to the thread

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

Thanks for the link. Its been fascinating to follow his rationalization of the series of events that led to his departure. No surprise that he (Seth) continues to blame everyone but himself and manages to slam the show at the same time.

Yeah, he's certainly an interesting character. From his posts I can see why he was cast.

Here's the link to the thread

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

Are we reading the same thread? He sounds like a petulant, finger-pointing jackass to me, and one with a profound lack of self-awareness, to boot.

I felt soooooooooooooooooo sorry for Gale Gand. . . .

sundevilpeg wrote:

Here's the link to the thread

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

Are we reading the same thread? He sounds like a petulant, finger-pointing jackass to me, and one with a profound lack of self-awareness, to boot.

I felt soooooooooooooooooo sorry for Gale Gand. . . .

His first post or 2 seemed normal. It's been downhill ever since.

Hi- Seth says he is coming out with a cooking blog. He admits that he has problems he has to deal with, but his cooking is first rate. He blames the fact that he had lousy equipment and did not always have the right ingredients as being the reason why he did not come in first every week.

If he does have asperger's, that might explain why he seems to be lacking in self awareness of the problems he creates. People with asperger's are often unable to read social cues, and misinterpret what is going on.

I read a few of Seth's posts on the pastry board of eguillet, and he does seem to offer much useful advice there. Hope this helps, Nancy

With the bacon and beet hoarding, I grow more disappointed that these punks seem to want the cheap win, beating their competitors at a handicap instead of at their best.

Edit: And I've now started rooting for the underdog baker Eric.

2 thoughts about Wednesday night's episode:

1) So pleased that Heather was sent home. She repeatedly came off as an incredibly unpleasant and hostile person and it was pure tv-viewing delight to see her dismissed.

2) Until I watched this episode, I had no idea that Nancy Silverton and Lyle Lovett were separated at birth . . .



=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:2 thoughts about Wednesday night's episode:

1) So pleased that Heather was sent home. She repeatedly came off as an incredibly unpleasant and hostile person and it was pure tv-viewing delight to see her dismissed.

Maybe. Frankly, I'm sick to death of Danielle. But Morgan, who is clearly talented, has lost any sense of proportion or sanity. His sole reason for existing seems to be to beat Team Diva. He has no interest in doing a good job, he's just become bloodthirsty.

ronnie_suburban wrote:2) Until I watched this episode, I had no idea that Nancy Silverton and Lyle Lovett were separated at birth . . .

So absolutely perfect! Hilarious!

"But Morgan, who is clearly talented, has lost any sense of proportion or sanity. His sole reason for existing seems to be to beat Team Diva. He has no interest in doing a good job, he's just become bloodthirsty."

Well, doesn't he, by definition, have to do a good job to beat them? (OK, being less bad than others would work too at this point). His motivation isn't part of the judging criteria.

Morgan sure did a good job in the most recent episode

rickster wrote:Morgan sure did a good job in the most recent episode

I don't question his talent; indeed, I specifically said he's talented in my post. And he is. There's no question about it. My objection is his attitude, his demeanor, and his overall bitchiness.

He (and he's clearly not the only one) is precisely why I prefer to watch Top Chef Masters. They manage to be competitive without having to piss all over everyone else. Their motivation is to produce the best possible dish(es) they can. Sure, they want to win, but they act like adults. Zac ain't exactly my cup of tea but at least he manages to act his age. Eric may have been paired with Morgan and Danielle, but he managed to act like an adult without buying into the juvenile behavior of his teammates.

Of all the Top Chef family of shows I've seen, this one stands out for the immaturity of the contestants.

ronnie_suburban wrote:2 thoughts about Wednesday night's episode:
Until I watched this episode, I had no idea that Nancy Silverton and Lyle Lovett were separated at birth . . .



=R=

My fiancee said the same thing!

Gypsy Boy wrote:

rickster wrote:Morgan sure did a good job in the most recent episode

I don't question his talent; indeed, I specifically said he's talented in my post. And he is. There's no question about it. My objection is his attitude, his demeanor, and his overall bitchiness.

He (and he's clearly not the only one) is precisely why I prefer to watch Top Chef Masters. They manage to be competitive without having to piss all over everyone else. Their motivation is to produce the best possible dish(es) they can. Sure, they want to win, but they act like adults. Zac ain't exactly my cup of tea but at least he manages to act his age. Eric may have been paired with Morgan and Danielle, but he managed to act like an adult without buying into the juvenile behavior of his teammates.

Of all the Top Chef family of shows I've seen, this one stands out for the immaturity of the contestants.

Well, the contestants on Masters have already climbed the peak; they all have successful careers and restaurants. It's a "friendly" competition for the most. The folks on "Desserts" have something to prove...that they're the best. I have no problem with bitchiness here.

I was wondering, how did the center of Morgan's cake count as 'crème brulée' if it wasn't bruléed? Just that it had the relevant ingredients?

I was wondering, how did the center of Morgan's cake count as 'crème brulée' if it wasn't bruléed? Just that it had the relevant ingredients?

I was wondering the same thing. It looked like custard but maybe it's more refined to call it brulee. Whatever....it still looked good.

2 thoughts about Wednesday night's episode:
Until I watched this episode, I had no idea that Nancy Silverton and Lyle Lovett were separated at birth . . .

My husband and I thought she looked more like Sideshow Bob with a haircut.

Overall (I haven't watched last night's episode yet), I like Eric, Morgan and Yigit for the finals but no guess on overall winner. I think Danielle's soon to get booted and Zac will make a mistake. Of course, I could be wrong.

With all this drah-ma, I'm sure Bravo will renew for next season. They just need to keep the crazies off the show.

dees1 wrote:With all this drah-ma, I'm sure Bravo will renew for next season. They just need to keep the crazies off the show.

If they do that, there won't be anyone left to be on the show!


P.S. Handicapping, fwiw, my guess is Yigit takes all, and is joined in the final by Morgan (my dark horse candidate to win) and Zac. I'd really love to see Eric get there, but I just don't have enough confidence in him based on his uneven performance so far.

Well they did eliminate someone last night, but I won't spoil it since it seems no one else saw it.

I thought the challenge twist was unfair though, as it affected some of the contestants a lot more than the others and really seemed to rattle them.

You're right; didn't see it. Thank for not spoiling the surprise, though by the context alone it would appear that one of our named personnel must have been eliminated. 'Cause if it were the richly deserving Danielle who got the boot, I'd be thrilled beyond words to hear it!

As this show limps along to the finish line I can't help but think that a better name for it would have been Top Chef: Just Assholes.

=R=

Thanks for that big belly laugh, Ronnie!

I'll tell you what...I am starting to really look forward to Top Chef All Stars. At least those folks can cook and they're a known quantity.

Well, with it down to the finals, I'm hoping I'm not spoilerizing, but it's oddsmaker time:

Danielle: 9:1
I frankly don't know how she got this far. Her creations may taste good, but she's got no artistic capabilities whatsoever. I mean, seriously, grey icing?

Yigit: 5:3
It's his to lose. Of the three, his creations have the most class and beauty, but he's fallen on troublesome technique and confidence a couple of times.
If timelines were longer, he'd probably have won more challenges, but he gets caught in time crunches.

Morgan: 6:5
A technique powerhouse, and hasn't done anything truly awful that I can remember. He pulled punches a couple of times on art and flavor, going for safe instead of flash, which could be his downfall if Yigit doesn't flame

When push comes to shove, this probably will depend more on the nature of the challenge and the twists than the raw skills and talent. If they bring back castoffs as sous, Yigit's probably got it sewn up, since I don't think Morgan left any friends behind him. If it's grinding out a large quantity of items, it's probably Morgan's win.

I won't spoil who won in case people haven't seen the show, but I thought the finale was the best of the series as it focused on the food much more than the personalities. I was particularly taken with Morgan's Baumkuchen, which looked really, really good and was very well received. The desserts appeared to be some of the best prepared during the series, as they should have been. Still, I don't think they need to do another one unless they tweak the format or bring on more stable individuals.