HappyDancex2

20 years?? Yikes. Well I would have to say I’d hate to be judged for the rest of my life for actions I did 20 years ago, especially if I was in my 20s. Reality TV never forgets though LOL. Carlos is getting better each year and we are all kinder gentler TV forum commentators now so I expect him to flip the switch from loud and obnoxious to….delightfully energetic! That was weird to see that obnoxious Matt guy reappear on the first episode….it’s been awhile and he was so cocky before….would have loved to see how that smirk has transformed.

Kudos to whoever pointed this out but whatever forces controls the editing and storytelling I can’t not see it now. Just in this last episode we have the cheftestants talking about how hard or unrealistic the concept of RW is and it’s unnecessary and redundant. We don’t need that part of the story arc crafted. What is left behind is more of the actual cooking or analysis of the food or restaurants or the drama that is going on to create interest or a hero or a villain. And now I think back to all of the guest judges at the elimination challenge whose opinions are not featured. That sausage challenge…..why not show more of their opinions? This season is edited oddly. The info we get we don’t need and doesn’t weave a story. It feels like too many people who aren’t even introduced, let alone featured for their food opinions and I’m left disjointed.

Other thing that just popped into my head was that this show is also another version of Food Network Star….play your cards right with some cooking chops and personality that is funny, intriguing or something that the viewer wants and you can be the next Aarti or Damaris or Carlos Anthony. Heck Guy’s shows have also populated the network with new faces! I found it endearing that both guys burst into tears at the end of the final cook. I found the relief and emotions genuine and the moment felt like respect of the sheer will needed for cooking and that was really cool to me. We all know how scripted and fake these shows can be but that moment was quite nice. Marcel was humble and even acknowledged his younger self was so showy and molecular and look at me and how smart I am and as he has grown up he just wants to cook tasty food with great technique and inspiration. Good for him….nice redemption arc.

This was a fun binge watch over the weekend! It’s way too long live but I was very much intrigued at the concept. I’m still confused by the casting since Marcel and Chris Oh and maybe Carlos could have been on the judging side. At the same time the other Added Demographic chefs didn’t seem to have quite the personality or cooking chops to hang with seasoned TV competitors. And also it would be so hard for the producers to build stories around them not knowing how they will react on TV. Season 2 using just no name chefs and everyone in their talking heads complaining about how tired they are will make me want to jump off a cliff LOL

Anyone else think it was odd that going into both top chef and assuming you were going to make it to RW that the Mexican Asian restaurant team didn’t have more desserts in their arsenal that they felt confident molding them to their concept? Especially when they had to nix their fish dish and they had to end up with a double tenderloin ending? I understand Kaleena saying that savory was more in their wheelhouse but dessert has often won/blown away the judges table. RW dessert is an opportunity to shine. Even a flan with a gochujang carmel spill would have been an obvious choice. Did they address the color difference of starter cocktail of the sparkling soda cha? The look on Tom’s face was HILARIOUS. 2 of them seriously looked like water sans cha.

I will say upon rewatching this without distractions I will say I credit Kaleena for being extremely decisive from the jump on what she wanted or did not want to do. I can now see why she was so OK with her exit because she seemed sure of all of her decisions along the way so that’s a solid way of exiting. Also as an aside I did happen to buy the Whole Foods version of corn flakes she used in her episode of crappy hard cheesecake crust and that product was ODD. Very thick and corny despite being light, zero sugar flavor and formed a thick unpleasant doughy carby mess in your mouth as you chewed. She now gets a pass from me on how that crust ended up so hard and nasty. also aquachile is the new risotto.

Is it me or is manny always making beef with mole? This season doesn’t have a clear winner but seems like a season where the winner would be upper part of the pack in stronger seasons. A few chefs, including eliminated Rasika, have had some nice high moments but by chance it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Even Soo seemed unusually exhausted and lacking a twinkle in his eye.

I thought the restaurants came out nice and had similar color schemes. A long way from clunky decor from pier one. Not sure why Laura was FOH when all I picked up on was a terse RBF. She didn’t seem charismatic at all. Speaking of not charismatic I was fine seeing kaleena go mostly because she thought they did great and no one was going to convince her otherwise.

Dan’s languaging is getting more and more dour. I think his ailment just makes him more tired than the rest and when your body doesn’t feel great well it’s hard to keep any positive state up to persevere. Just in this episode he said he sucked at quickfires, he should just sit out, he was just going throw stuff together and hope for the best and then get something on the plate that doesn’t embarrass himself in front of voltaggio. Pretty defeatist like a tired person. I think he’s done well all things considered. Let’s see some energy!! love KK’s tracksuit!

Not sure why Danny kept talking about his wife laying into him if he wasn’t perfect at dessert. He’s not a pastry chef, she’s the best in New York so I’m sure she’s fine with it Dano. What’s more troubling is his necessity to make steel grey food 2 episodes in a row LOL at the specialty store Dan said his favorite ingredient at Mo’s Asian food store was Aji Moto or haji moto? Is that supposed to be Aji no moto? So he just loves MSG? LOL you can get that anywhere Dan.

In the beginning I was OK with the quick fire twist of no immunity but as the season has worn on it’s contributed to the “the show seems off” element. I didn’t think it was important but turns out that even I’m less interested in the quickfires because they don’t seem to have that bearing weight to them. Money is great but it’s not the same incentive as immunity on a show where longevity breeds more after show options, let alone winning. And it makes the elimination challenge immediately a puzzle depending upon the parameters because someone already has immunity. Now it seems like because KK is hosting by herself they didn’t want to give her and the guest judge sole control of dispensing immunity. They leave that to Tom in the elimination challenge and LCK. But in doing so they’ve added a Meh factor to an already muddled season.

I’m hoping for a surprise 17th contestant introduced in LCK so we can get some better chefs in here. Soo 2 Get rid of Laura, Kev’’’’in and then any combo of kaleena, manny, Amanda and/or Savannah. Rasika and 17 return LOL. Manny lost me when he screwed up a churro. Somewhere Buddha weeps into his custom molds and tuilles.

Rasika was both a contender and a personality that was fun to watch. Guess Tom is going to send her back through LCK a la Kristin Kish? I’m still not sure how Soo’s dish was anymore chaotic than the “concept” of Michelle’s. He made a firecracker shrimp with salsa verde and salsa roja. Tasty? Of course. Who doesn’t like crispy shrimp?! Rasika should have said “this dish is chaotic because it will be completely devoid of flavor and the most unpleasant texture because I made it up for this challenge.” LOL

Bummer the quick fire winner didn’t get immunity. Laura getting the selfish edit…from throwing back her first recipe card for tartar sauce and then hogging the budget for her 1.5 dishes for the “experience.” I’m sure it wasn’t as cutthroat as it seemed but that was an unlikeable edit. Every week I become less impressed with this group though. There aren’t any drama whores (dang did I say that?), villains, look at meeeeees, stellar savants, modern masters….I’m not intrigued by the dishes. Katsu…..big deal. They make more innovative food on Guys Grocery Games. And certainly a lot of katsu.

I get it. You can name your fear whatever you’d like but you are essentially choosing therapy in the form of highly pressured situations involving other people. If she does well then she can be all smiles and gracious but when it goes wrong she is bursting into tears, telling someone to not touch her foot, leave her alone, shutting down etc. She’s electing to challenge her anxiety by food competitions which is fine but doesn’t excuse her behavior when it goes wrong imo. Many people have fear of failure or not being enough. And only one person is going to get the title of TC. isn’t the opportunity to compete it’s own victory? This is still a very prized show for chefs!

Kalina seemed like she was on the verge of a breakdown….her histrionic vibrations were not pleasant to watch. I want to call her focused but I feel like her need to win…or maybe not lose, is unhealthy. Alisha was gone the second she made her losing dish again and it only slightly better. Kaleena took a huge risk. I would have plated one protein and two sauces on that dishware LOL i visibly grimaced at the strawberry sauce. Good for him for making that work.

I had a Duh moment where a friend of mine who is a top chef fan, is from Wisconsin and currently lives in Seattle. Last time I visited her house I had a kcup of coffee that was amazing considering I don’t drink coffee. It was cinnamon hazelnut. She comes and visits me a couple of weeks ago and I ask her to bring some and I will buy a Keurig lol. Brand? Door County. i excitedly text her and say “did you even realize it was door county coffee during the episode?…”. And she was like Um Yeah…I went to Door County and discovered it. I lived in Wisconsin. So in addition to cherries, they make some bitchin coffee. Maybe a coffee challenge coming up!

I think many have noticed how much Michelle identifies being the BBQ fire pit master however she’s only been doing it for the last 6 years. She makes it seem like she was born Michelle Weber Traeger. She seems way qualified to be here without all of the asterisks and in front of a crowd or the judges is all rizz.

They were both so in their heads parsing the details of the potential dish to death that I became annoyed and said “who cares let’s just move on” and yet the editors didn’t LOL. It was like “it’s land and water but not sea but a lake but then your circle has to be bigger but not bigger like a lake but more like the sea but with aquachile which is more like using bottled water except it’s tap water kind of like lake water which is not like the sea….” and then they didn’t want to talk about their concepts at the house that night. Thank goodness!! In the end Tom said her dish was so bad it was like a culinary student pretending to make a fancy dish and it was aquachile with shrimp which is a huge insult IMO. There just isn’t a lot to mess up there. And kaleena’s edit of her self announcing all of her bad decisions along the way was also painful. It’s as though she swallowed a delusional pill and we got to hear her thoughts.

I actually love these artsy interpretive challenges and while I love a good backstory I think they just need to focus on yummy tasting food, not dots and pyramids and shapes. So many of the dishes this season seem so….creatively unappetizing. I’m not sure if the descriptor for pistachio powder as “reminds me of my grandma who smoked a lot” sounds all that appetizing either. Mmmmm cigarette ash? mannys pasta flowers looked thick and dense as he was forming them. Like flower pierogis LOL

Buddha was probably thinking he could come back thru LCK and wipe the floor with this cast while holding his twins.

I love the fact that Jet and Antonia studied together to get better on this show! The margins for points is so thin…maneet’s use of the randomizer is just so naturally on point. Maneet’s nickname”dancing spice queen” comes from the way the Indian spices she uses bloom in a pan, particularly when heated in oil as the spices tend to pop and jump around like they are dancing in the pan. At least that’s how Guy describes it.

I still team jet but would have been happy with any of the 4. Seeing Antonia cry after her loss made me tear up…that’s what makes this show so good. I’m glad to see them all so invested. I like Britt too…she’s got that nice blend of cocky badass while still being humble and respectful of her opportunity. Maneet is just a baller….results don’t lie.

It’s hard for me to get behind a guy who gets in from LCK since he’s not subject to 5 weeks of the regular competition. If he loses before that then the actual cheftestants will never know he existed which would seem odd. They would be out plotting their own plot twist. He’s schroedingers chef LOL. I finally got caught up on LCK to come here to find out what happened with the initial Hat chef only to find out it’s still a mystery….so intriguing! kenny did teach me something….i didn’t realize you could grill those rice papers into pizza! The whole concept seemed similar to a dosa with the egg spread…but leaving the egg raw was another signature Kenny move of lack of attention to detail. He could have torched it or griddled it instead of worrying about more toppings….raw egg on rice paper seems kind of another mushy gross mess. He went from flexing about bodying up chefs and taking them down to…Meh, it was a great experience and I’m proud of myself.

Rasika to Manny in car “what’s your backup plan?” Manny “I don’t have one” …which would have been the foreshadowing moment except Tom was visibly put out with Kenny not putting aside relish for the judges plates. I had to agree because it just showed a lack of focus in the context of this show. He’s served cabbage cores to the judges already so he was on thin ice. also, frying rice paper in the quick fire and the elimination challenge isn’t creative. Those chips would have been rapidly soggifying LOL in heat and humidity and not the sturdiest foil to wet crab salad even on a good day.