bravofan27

They needed a way to use the flags. LOL. Seriously though, having teams made sense for how they voted, and allowed for teamwork in deciding which meat to use, and also provided a handful of sous chefs motivated to help them win.

Yeah, when they talk about something being seasoned they are talking about salt. If it's bland- not enough salt. They will never say anything is well seasoned but too salty. So seasoned = salt. Flavor = all the other seasonings. IMO.

How apropro that the power bottoms were again together for the sausage race. LOL. Kristen looked super cute and her jacket was adorable. Amir is doing WELL with his Finish sponsorship. Where there is Finish, there is Amir. That said, connecting the quickfire to dishwashing detergent as an inspiration was extremely brave in just how willing Kristin and the others were in looking shameless. And they aren't getting paid for their endorsements but sort of forced to. I'm very curious how well Laura will work with everyone. They made a point to air her interview where she talked about how her dad made her get her own place and be completely independent when she was 16-- that's going to mess you up and affect how you relate to people as an adult. I'm sure that was very scary.

You can hover over someone's username and select "ignore" to filter any users you would like to mute. It just hides their posts and/or mentions from your view. It's VERY useful.

So Matty is on the show, The Bear, which is SET in Chicago. So the restaurant show that he is affiliated with is in Chicago, however, he is from Canada. Apparently, he is responsible for cooking or creating a lot of the dishes that you see on the show. It's also shot in Chicago so he was probably in the area when they were filming TC episode.

From what I have gathered, chaos cooking came from people at home, making weird shit, posting on instagram, and then having it go viral. That is where the Bear I think comes into play, because they reference instagram all the time on the show. The weird stuff was people wanting to cook, but having what they had to work with, and ending up with some pretty outlandish things. I don't think chaos cooking was going to work at all with the chefs all getting to pick their ingredients. Here is a dense fairly disjoined attempt to explain it from a "fine dining" or "let's make choas cuisine and sell it for a bunch of money!" article:https://www.eater.com/23331987/restaurant-dining-trends-chaos-cooking-fusion-cuisine

There are a lot of interviews and people discussing Top Chef in Wisconsin-- unlike some of the bigger cities, having TC in town is a highly visible and reported event. In any case, one chef described being contacted by the show or a rep from the show asking if he wanted to be in a TC episode. He said OF COURSE! He showed up where and when they told him. He had no idea what he was supposed to do or what he would be doing. He ended up filling a seat at the judges table for dining. So I think some of the people at the chef's table are literally fillers or "extras" the show keeps on hand to plug into the show where needed. Here is a how-do on chaos cooking. It's actually the kind of cooking I do! https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-chaos-cooking_l_64a2e42de4b0dcb22c46c163

I read an interview with Kaleena where she talks about how she "very recently" learned that she could be an effective chef without being abusive and screaming and yelling at people in the kitchen. She seems like the type of person who has to try really hard to be nice. I feel like she has lots of slip ups at work regarding her new enlightenment. I think with chaos, the food needed to look like chaos. I would have thought Dan did the best job with everything. Danny's dish looked really really cool. I think this is one of those challenges that would have worked better with a partner. Soo is definitely going to elevate this for everyone. He also seems a good deal older than the other chefs. For chaos, I am thinking those McDonald hacks-- a spin on that. So making a Big Mac like sandwich with a chicken pattie and fish patty and serving it upside down on a huge skewer like a fair food. Putting onion rings and a crab cake in there. Pouring the sauce on the outside or served in hanging bird feeder type thing where people have to dip or press their food into this hanging vessle. Something that looks really funky.

Wow, what a weird episode with weird storylines. I don't buy Kobe and Emily's storyline of her not be accepted by Kobe's friends because she is too bossy. This show is all about showcasing problems, so they needed one. They seem acting to me, and Kobe keeps laughing embarrassingly through each scene. Emily also often has a smirk on her face. Sophie and Rob are like little kids that got married. That tarantula is going to get more love and action from Rob than Sophie ever will. But that they don't have sex makes a lot of sense why the aren't living together. If you can't get along and fight constantly, AND there is no make up sex to make it worth it, why stick around? Just to fight and go to bed alone each day? No thanks. Not that regular make up sex makes up for a bad relationship-- they would be lasting a little bit longer if they sexually into each other. Manual and Ashley, and the Muslim/CA couple fight just as much but are sexually VERY active. And they keep each other pretty much within eyeshot at all times. Liz and Ed both have drinking problems. Guarantee they were both drunk, fought, Ed left, called off the wedding hammered, and now can't go back and make it right so he is stuck finding some reason. All for the best.

I was thinking of compression to be to flatten or narrow down, constrict, so in that way, Kaleena's crust was very very apropos, as that shit was condensed as anything could be. I could never come close to pulling this off, but since FLW was into natural beauty and letting the wood/material's natural beauty come through, maybe use a very pretty protein and a light or clear sauce/dressing, or maybe a lime/lemon sauce or a blend of things that you need to squeeze (contract). A ceviche could fit that bill nicely. I thought Manny's flower shaped pasta was super lame and someone else used cutouts shaped like stars or something really lame.

Michaelin judge tried to give Kaleena credit for her hard and soft pie-thing-shit-show and Tom reminded her right away that THAT was an accident. LOL. It was a very hard challenge. They needed to make something "fancy" and precise and beautiful yet simple (Michaelin star chef at the table with Buddha!) and also that would taste great, and they needed to work well together and have dishes that made sense to pair, both flavor, taste, texture, and keeping with the theme. It was very very hard IMO. IMO, from being the nerdy girl trying to fit in with the cool girl in middle school, the Kaleena and Alisha relationship was painful. From the get go, Kaleena kept her back turned to Alisha as much as possible, made very little eye contact, and tried to always be keeping a distance and seemed to be embarrassed about working with her. Alisha sensed that distance and dislike, and tried to compensate by being very complimentary, agreeing with everything she said, being extra supportive, always patting her back, and was pretty much her shadow, which just pissed off Kaleena more. In the interview, when Alisha said, "Sorry, I touched your foot" jokingly, Kaleena's aggressive and frankly mean comment, was very telling of how she really wanted her space and wanted to establish social dominance and dislike to everyone. I just think Kaleena is such a mean girl, and I don't really like her "I'm too good" attitude. But even if they got along great and made a good dish, they were the weakest people there without immunity. Sort of far second is the Kevin and Manny pairing, who I thought did a great job getting along. Also Laura and Savannah will likely be the next two to head out.

They brought out the fancy snobby guest judges for this architecture Wright challenge. They got Joe Schmo for the champagne beer challenge with everything made with Miller High Lite. LOL. I was really surprised how no one knew how/who to pair up with for the elimination challenge, and how pissed off Kaleena seemed to be with Alisha. Alisha asked her to pair up, and Kaleena said yes, but was scanning hard core the scene to see who was pairing up with who. Not surprised it was a disaster. Alisha was kiss ass up to very end. It's like when you try really hard to get the popular kid to like you and you get in, and then end up in detention and grounded.

I don't remember if it was phrased as an advantage (it wasn't an advantage), but they needed someone to start the picking.

Here is a study guide. Easy to remember/have story arc: Michelle: Pit Master, happy, super white teeth, wins Manny: Mexican, really large man, overbite, likely to win if he can make Mexican food in the challenge; screwed if he can't Kevin: Top Chef France, accent, cute, pastries Charly: Haitian, sweet and thoughtful, can't season for shit Dan: From Wisconsin, Kennedy's Disease, oldest contestant. Rasika: Cheerful, looks like an Indian Peter Pan, yoga and running, great with flavors, wins Amanda: Queer bi-racial black Daria Kaleena: Loves cheese, thinks she can win, kind of full of herself Alisha, Laura, and Savannah all resemble each other, and none have done anything super great or outrageous that they have highlighted in editing. Laura- super serious, very conservative appearance and professional attitude. Savannah-- also very serious, few facial expressions, started the WIN CONSIN chant (I think), talks about how she makes Japanese food, and Alisha is the hardest to remember. She has something in front of her head, like a colorful scarf or bow, much of the time and wears glasses. Danny: Dominican and PR, runs with Rasika, people pleaser Valentine, David, and Kenny --> They Gone No math

There will be a test!

I'm glad Kaleena is getting some camera and interview time, and super glad she likes cheese, because she was sort of bougie about some of the other challenges. Rasika is cool in general, but there is something about her big smile giggle and wide eyes that she does so often makes her seem a little TOO jolly, almost cartoonish. I also didn't understand her loud "OOOOHs" when they were describing the elimination challenge. It wasn't a magic show. Maybe I'm just a miserable person, but she is just a little too happy. Dan seems like he might be prone to pouting if he isn't getting his way.

I loved that Kaleen got a challenge she really liked. They did sort of tease us with her pasta choice in the editing, like, "will she knocked for dry pasta?" but apparently. she knew what she was doing. Maybe that was what the issue was with the croquettes-- it was something people could pull off "from scratch" given the timing and highlighting the cheese. Unfortunately, croquettes were a horrible choice given the batter needs to be cool before frying and they were in extreme heat. Oops. So using a product that was dry and didn't need cooling was a great choice for binding the cheese. I've had croquettes many times at fancier restaurants or places with trendy menus, they are "French" you know. LOL. So even though they are a cheffie thing to make, it was also surprising so many kept with the croquette choice after realizing so many others were going that route. Charly explained it well though-- people can make it to order, they have to serve 100 people, and they are good. I feel for Dan, but he sort of insinuates that he is the only one of all the chefs with a disability and struggling. Others may also be struggling, not all disabilities are visible, and not everyone talks about it. Regarding the packing chef. Kevin tried REALLY hard to not go home. He knew his dish wasn't that great, and he really really worked it. Kenny didn't put in the same effort, and was just kind of shrugging that his dressing or whatever was gone by the time the judges swung through. Plus, his dish was a cold dish and I am not sure how he would keep it cold-- they said it was like mush and watery. It looked gross. Manny was trying to make a poutine, so he had an angle. Kenny tried the least hard to win and focused on what he could make quickly with cheese and serve 100 people. He got into caterer mode.

The recipe is eggs, potato chips and olive oil so it's likely just the picture is AI.

He said, "if anyone isn't going to finish their salmon, you can pass it over here." or something like that, since it sounded like they were dissing on it. Or it could have been the potluck comment-- he said something like if this dish was at a potluck, they would definitely be invited back." Or something like that. In both cases, it was pretty funny.

The way he worked impressed me. He had total command of the kitchen, his space, was authoritative yet a team player, took control, great communication, was a real leader. I think he can win. I personally wouldn't define him by some poorly cooked fish-- I think he's talented enough to learn quick how to up his game, AND I think he said this dish was the most technically difficult thing he has ever made, so pretty good sign he is willing to take chances and push himself. I think he's cool as hell. I don't care what others think, and if you don't like him, that's your problem. I'm not changing my mind. LOL.

Beer is really filling, so maybe Kristin is trying to save some room in her stomach. Or maybe she is being really picky about what she puts in her stomach. She's pencil thin, and she was talking in an article about her strategy for handling all the eating. I think she said she was going to be extremely picky, just bites and only really eat something if it's beyond delicious. One thing good about Padma was she wasn't afraid to eat and gain some weight. A Michelada is in the same category as the Bloody Mary, and I've actually used my beer chaser and added it right on in to the Bloody. The chaser is supposed to cut the spice and salt of the Bloody. A palate cleanser of sorts. So Kevin with the accent did have the right idea for the salt bomb, at least for me, as I have been known to order a Bud Light for dinner on more than one occasion and can appreciate the type of food that goes well with beer. But because it is so filling, it's hard to have with a lot of food- definitely best with snacks.

Charly really impressed me with his command of the kitchen. He really is confident and competent, lots of super focused exacting energy. I see him going far. Personally, I think beer complements everything, but maybe another thing that made this challenge hard to cook for was that it was introduced as "make something goes go well with beer" and "snack food go great with beer." I should write for these guys. Instead, the intro should have been something about making a progressive meal that would pair well with beer, that most people would never associate with beer. That would make it more difficult and interesting to see what they would make to pair with it.

Regarding the champagne glasses, it's how they brand the beer, and Miller High Life was paying big bucks I'm assuming, so champagne of beer it is. The brand ambassador was there, and man, she was SERIOUS. The only thing she said that made it to the edit was about one dish being perfect with beer. The challenge was pretty cool, as all those salty snack foods do taste great with beer as beer is pretty much sodium free (why people crave junk food when drinking). Also really popular in Wisconsin, which I love, is having a beer chaser with a bloody mary. It's awesome. It seemed like Valentine's "soup" would have been better as a dip of sorts. Fondue maybe? Michelle is a smart chef and smart shopper. She incorporates the high end proteins and saves with cheaper ingredients and less of them. (lobster and corn for example). Manny's dishes being Mexican seem like they require a lot of ingredients, but he is pulling it off. It's been awhile since I've been to Madison, but I would love for them to stop at Ellie's Deli (I think it's a museum now) and the Dane County Fair. They show them at the Farmer's Market on the square, which is awesome. Those were my favorite places there in the 80s! Also would love for them to make a stop at the Cave of the Mounds, and Baraboo for the circus! Also, I'm not sure how this is really a "new" top chef. Besides the obvious missing Padma, everything seems pretty much the same. The format also has some changes here and there.

I can't imagine having to make a dish with hops! I've never seen it in anything but beer. Michelle is either an amazingly talented chef AND really downplaying her comfort with the challenges (pasta, hops), OR an amazingly talented chef with amazing food muscle memory. For lack of a better analogy. Last episode, at least the way they edited it, the winner and the loser both were outspoken about making pasta, but Michelle killed it and David Murphy (sexy sexy) sucked. I think being competitive-- wanting to win and getting that adrenaline rush that creates focus and resolve and energy, definitely helps, but the best player in the world can't make talent. I really like Kenny, although I actually kind of think he really should have gone home last episode since he really *ed up with not putting out the basics of the rules-- light and dark meat. IMO, he's really lucky the producers wanted sexy David gone, or that his food was really just that bad. Plus, he kept whining about how to cook "trash." Dude, praise the lord you are still around, boo! I love watching them all chit chat while they are cooking, keeping the mood light.

It will be interesting to see the Emmy's-- my first thought was that it was strange that Padma would leave a show that has had so many Emmy nominations. She herself has had a dozen, either as a host or as a producer (granted, there are a lot of producers). But I see Taste the Nation was also nominated in 2023, and a MUCH shorter list, so maybe she thinks she is more likely to get the Emmy win with Taste the Nation. I don't think Top Chef has won an Emmy since the creative design team received one for Last Chance Kitchen. It would be wild is Kristin was nominated and won an emmy for hosting Top Chef. I bet Padma would be so furious. I bet she didn't think a show set in Wisconsin would be special enough to get nominated for anything. Or maybe that is what I would think. Hehe. In any case, I bet she will be back at some point. That is of course, if it really was her decision to leave (or her decision to come back). Kristin is a beast! She's just so killing it. She is donning the sleeveless shirts just like Padma did. I don't think Kristin can bring the same elegance that Padma did, which I think Tom and Gail appreciated, because it's the high class crowd that caters to fine dining-- people that look and act like Padma. But in some of the clips for the rest of the season I see a very glamorous looking Kristin. She is a model so she can pull it off. I just think she is the perfect replacement.