avecsans

I was not surprised when Kristin and Buddha came in to have the come to Jesus moment with the chefs. I think with the exception of Rasika, everyone has been underwhelming this season. I don’t think I wanted to eat any of that food. Mr. sans commented during the prep that Manny’s pasta looked dry, and it was. And mushroom cheesecake? Revolting. I hope they step up their games soon.

I took one look at neck tattoo guy with his douchey hat and greasy hair and knew I would loathe him as a cheftestant. And I knew he sealed his doom when he insulted Tom right out of the box. I agree with the poster who said they hadn’t disliked a competitor so quickly in a long time. Same here. Roast chicken is my very favorite meal and most of them didn’t disappoint. The soups looked great as well. All these people just met and they were freely hugging and kissing each other and I heard an “I love you, man” to the eliminated hat guy. Granted, I am uptight but isn’t that all a little much so early in the competition?

I am so grossed out watching people licking their fingers. And to have to watch them lick their plates???? I spent a lot of the episode with my hands in front of my face like I was watching a horror movie. When Tom talked about half an hour being the optimal time for his mousse to thaw, I knew he hadn’t taken the heat of the kitchen into consideration. I can’t wait for Sarah to be eliminated. She is just crass, in my opinion. Loving Team Middle East.

Wait - you can eat burdocks?? To me, they are a sticky weed that used to get stuck in my dog’s coat when she rolled around on the grass. We used to have to cut it out of her fur. Not appetizing. I am disappointed that Shota lost, but they didn’t love his burdock course, and he made the fatal mistake of undercooking his rice. Too bad. It was clear that Dawn would lose during her disastrous first course. Too many components, and she didn’t give Jamie clear directions. I thought her beef cheeks and black eyed peas looked delicious, as well as her dessert. It seemed like Gabe had fewer mistakes. Other than his charred mushrooms, the judges seemed to like everything. I really enjoyed this season.

I had a feeling everyone would be safe because all the judges were smiling at the end of their deliberations. It’s okay, though. I agree with the poster who said that they didn’t have enough prep time. It must take ages to shell the crabs, on top of all the other prep work and the time to cook the food. That crab looked so delicious. Such an upgrade to the cheddar cheese challenge! Why were the judges passing around Gabe’s torn tortilla after the meal? And so much food left off the plates tonight. Wouldn’t you make more than you need just in case you drop one or something? I don’t know how Dawn would have fit those potatoes on the plate. She had so much food crammed into relatively small plates. It looked delicious, though. Although there was way, way too much finger licking tonight. That’s a sure fire way to turn my stomach. Shota for the win.

I kept falling asleep and having to rewind, probably because cheddar cheese is such a boring ingredient. Thank you judges for finally getting Jamie out of my tv. Fish and cheese just sounds wrong. I remember really liking Nina back in her season. I wish we had seen more of her tonight. The seasons often blend together in my mind, but didn’t she come in second place to a real mediocrity? Dale seemed to take personal offense at Dawn‘s plating lapses. He’s right, though. That’s just inexcusable at this point in the competition.

Good lord, that was painful. I was hoping that Maria would be eliminated and I was afraid for a minute that the judges would give Jamie her way. I felt terrible for Maria being put in that situation. I felt less terrible when she called Jamie an asshole. And then I remembered that she blamed her wife and son for causing her to cook bad food because of the ingredients they lovingly sent her, and I was back to feeling happy. I am worried for Dawn. She needs to focus and not leave components off the plate. Gabe’s dish looked so good. He is peaking at the right time.

First of all, so many of the judges looked spectacular in the elimination round. There were a lot of great jackets, and can we talk about Kwame’s coat? It was gorgeous! I was sad for Byron that he was beaten so badly in the first 2 rounds. It had to feel terrible. I wasn’t surprised that he lost. He and Dawn made essentially the same dessert, so it made sense that she would win. I am really loving this season. I don’t ever remember wanting to visit a city that has been featured on Top Chef, but I would love to go to Portland just based on what I have seen in these episodes. Shota is so smart. I think he and Dawn are the strongest chefs left. I would be happy with either of them winning.

I agree about the lack of cooking space. Shota had this problem with his chicken when he tried to stuff that massive pot into the oven. I don’t know why he thought he could cook the chicken that way. It looked so nasty on the plate. You can’t crowd chicken pieces together like that and have any hope of browning the skin. I was kind of surprised that Dawn was in the top three. I thought her meal looked delicious, but who wants to eat a big hunk of red meat at lunch? I would need a nap after eating that. Jose Andres is a saint. I choked up when they played the clips of the hospital workers. I love challenges that allow the contestants to help out in the community.

Okay, Dawn totally took both hands off the steering wheel while she was driving. What the hell? Mushrooms make me violently ill, and I don’t like game meat, so these were not my favorite challenges. I still liked watching the chefs have to work together to make coherent dishes out of such disparate ingredients. I would love to be able to come up with creative recipes on the fly here in year 2 of the pandemic. I like Nelson but I was willing to sacrifice him in the service of pykag-ing Gabriel.

Jamie should have gone with her first instinct not to make chicken wings again. She let douchey Gabriel talk her into making them. I wish he had gone but there’s always next week. That being said, her wings looked unappetizingly rubbery. Dawn was smart to make gourmet popcorn. I didn’t catch what was in it, though. Byron has been under my radar until now. His chicken looked delicious. Shota has to step it up. Whatever that monstrosity he made was, it looked inedible. And the dead dog story didn’t help. I would totally watch a show with Gregory, Kwame and Melissa. They are fun, interesting judges. Pretty sure Tom was stoned during the drive in challenge.

They tried not to make it so obvious that Kiki would have to go by harping on how bad Nelson’s dish was. But raw chicken? Just typing that made me gag. I agree that Avishar did not have enough time to make his risotto, but it also seemed to me that his pan was too small for the amount of rice he was cooking. I like him, but I think he’s in his own head too much. Chris has been under my radar until now. I thought his scallop dish looked delicious. Gabe? Gabriel? Still don’t know which is which, but he deserved to win by the way the judges raved about his sauce. I was honestly disgusted, not charmed, when Amar licked his plate clean. That’s just gross.

Did Brittany say she doesn’t cook with spices? How did she think she could compete on Top Chef? I thought she would be in the bottom, and I was sure she would lose when she diluted her sauce with coconut milk. I think Shota is the chef to beat this season.

That was a tough elimination to watch. I hope Sasha is okay. She and Shota broke my heart talking about drinking too much to cope with the pandemic. What a clusterfuck. I won’t get political, but certain incompetent politicians can burn in hell. I actually thought pasta guy would be eliminated because after underseasoning, bad pasta will burn you every time. Speaking of seasoning, the sheer gall of Gabe ordering Dawn not to pepper the ribs! He can go next, followed by Jamie. She seems like a lovely person, but the sound effects are way over the top. Breakfast is my favorite meal. If I had been there, I would have ordered an omelet or some waffles. Definitely bacon. I guess that’s why I will never be invited to be a judge.

So glad my favorite show is back. I learned no names, so I can’t go into specifics. That losing dish looked totally disgusting and I thought he legitimately should have lost. I know that Richard Blais thought to himself, “Gee, there will be a lot of contestants and judges on the set. How can I stand out and make everyone pay attention to me? I know! I will pile all my hair up on top of my head and look like an asshole!!! Yay me!!!!” I cannot stand that man.