Tournament Of Champions - General Discussion

[sugarbaker design]

2 hours ago, schnauzergirl said:

Carlos Anthony vs. Brian Malarkey.  Who would out-shenanigan the other????

I would need noise-cancelling headphones!  You know what warms my heart and endears me to someone?  A simple declarative sentence, plainly said, like Einat Admony's "Do I look concerned?"

[JTMacc99]

I think the best part of this episode for me was the little look Eric Ripert gave the others when he took his first bite of Jet's dish.  That was the classic "Oh wow! This tastes amazing" face. 

I was watching this with my son when that happened and I told him I have eaten at one of Jonathan Waxman's restaurants, and he's a guy who really gets it.  For all of the techniques and styles and plating, nothing is more important than making delicious food. And Jet nailed it with that dish.

[meep.meep]

It's too bad they've chosen to use such ugly plates for this.  Nothing looks good on a charcoal gray plate; everything looks better on a white china plate.

 

[Bastet]

On 3/22/2022 at 10:30 AM, dewelar said:

I still remember last season when I noted that Justin Warner was (I think literally) always the one presenting the underdog's dish. I forgot to track that this season :) .

I kept track again this episode (I watched on Discovery+, but I'll wait until later to post about the results , as I hate spoiler tags) -- like the previous one (two episodes ago, I believe) where I paid attention, it was a "not always, but usually" situation -- three out of four match-ups, Simon presented the higher-seeded chef's dish.

[MerBearHou]

Why do I watch this?  Except for Jet, not one of the chefs I prefer won…again.

[Grizzly]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I kept track again this episode (I watched on Discovery+, but I'll wait until later to post about the results , as I hate spoiler tags) -- like the previous one (two episodes ago, I believe) where I paid attention, it was a "not always, but usually" situation -- three out of four match-ups, Simon presented the higher-seeded chef's dish.

I wonder if the chefs can request Simon or Justin? Sort of as a superstitious thing. That's who presented them the last time they won.

[mlp]

Disappointing night (for me).  I can't stand Tiffani and I just love Amanda so I wasn't happy with the result.  I was surprised to hear that the two of them are good friends.  

Jet's round had me holding my breath waiting for the decision.  Whew!  I'd love to see Jet win the whole thing.  

Elizabeth Falkner is apparently a very good chef but she irks me with her ego and karate kicks.  I liked Joe Sasto on Top Chef so I was hoping he'd win.  Darn.

I was torn during the last round because I like both Eric and Maneet but I was kind of pulling for Eric because Maneet has already won.  I knew he'd blown it when I saw the huge hunks of bread he served.  He must have been frazzled by the time because he should have known better.  

I could watch Ming Tsai all day.  

[Bastet]

The randomizer requirements were rather easy right up until the final match-up.  Poor Maneet, so embarrassed by how low their scores were.  But I knew she won; that thick bread was a bad move by Eric.  (I also hate white foams, because it looks like someone spit on my food, but that's a personal peeve - the bread was just plain dumb.)

I loved Tiffani's reaction to hearing Maneet say she's scared of going up against her, and her reaction to Nancy Silverton asking, upon tasting Tiffani's dish, what's the name of this restaurant as she wants to make a reservation for tomorrow night -- I also loved Amanda's well, dammit, that's about the best you can hear reaction to it.

I think it was also Amanda who was wowed by the other guest judges and said of Rocco: "He's very fair".  Ha!

Once again, I was torn in the Amanda vs. Tiffani round as I like both of them, and I wanted to try each dish equally.

I really like Shirley, so I was rooting for her, and I wanted to eat her dish maybe the slightest bit more, but, honestly, I wanted to lick both plates.  Those dishes looked so good, I am not at all surprised they got the two highest scores of the season so far.

I was rooting for Elizabeth because I've had her food and I was a little more interested in her dish tonight, but Jet is hard to beat.  She came within one, though.

[DEL901]

Interesting to see how things play out. Season 1 final 4 were all female.  Last year, f4 was Jet and three women.    Both years, f2 were female.   So far 3/4 of the final8 are female.   The guys are going to have yto step up their game.  
 

 

[Darian]

Elizabeth Faulkner can feel really about coming that close to taking down Jet Tila. Glad to see her do so well, because she can have rough competitions. Much preferred Shirley over Joe, so happy about that. Love Amanda and Tiffani, so happy and sad. Has the Randomizer ever been worse than for Eric and Maneet? I'm not surprised their scores were so low; they were high for that combination. I like them both so would have been happy either way. 

[dleighg]

15 hours ago, mlp said:

I could watch Ming Tsai all day. 

I love him too. He's so classy.

 

12 hours ago, Bastet said:

The randomizer requirements were rather easy right up until the final match-up. 

I didn't think it was that bad (except for the carbonator). I immediately thought of a po' boy (though Eric clearly used too much bread) and some sort of parsnip soup with some prep of oysters as a garnish.

 

12 hours ago, Bastet said:

I think it was also Amanda who was wowed by the other guest judges and said of Rocco: "He's very fair". 

Like with Giada, some "faint praise" :) 

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Interesting to see how things play out. Season 1 final 4 were all female.  Last year, f4 was Jet and three women.    Both years, f2 were female.   So far 3/4 of the final8 are female.

The blind judging - meaning no subconscious gender bias as a factor - is why I am all in for this show despite the presence of Guy Fieri and his spawn.

[xaxat]

I watch the show from the recording, fast forwarding so I only watch the cooking and judging because two hours of Guy is exhausting.

[SHERMDOG]

On 3/21/2022 at 7:38 AM, cameron said:

Love me some Eric Ripert.

He is the Bees Knees!!! I loved Anthony Bourdain...still have like 15 of his shows saved up. I still can't watch them...such a damn shame!! He and Eric were buds. I loved how they bickered with each other. All in good fun!!! Sigh!!@

[DEL901]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

The blind judging - meaning no subconscious gender bias as a factor - is why I am all in for this show despite the presence of Guy Fieri and his spawn.

If it is another female dominated f4 and winner….the blind judging should put to bed the stereotype of men being better chefs than women.  

[Stardancer Supreme]

I had a feeling that Tiffani was going to win. The judges liked her dish much more than Amanda's, hence the 2 point difference.

It's cute that Elizabeth Faulkner thought she was going to beat Jet Tila.  He had me at ground mahi mahi seasoned so well that it fooled Ming Tsai into thinking it was pork!

Guy is so extra; Why is Shirley Chung the "Dumpling Mafia Queen"?  Is "Dumpling Queen" not enough? I love that she won! I want some XO sauce.  She scored the highest thus far; the match between her and Jet Tila will be epic! 

Chef Eric should have chosen better bread for his po'boys. That was what tripped him up! Maneet goes on to defend her title. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Stardancer Supreme

[Ciarrai]

Shirley's dish looked so unappetizing; a whole lot of brown.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, xaxat said:

I watch the show from the recording, fast forwarding so I only watch the cooking and judging because two hours of Guy is exhausting.

I have learned to tune Guy out over the years but despite the presence of Eric Ripert and other favorites of my husband's, he still refuses to watch the show because of Guy and won't even fast forward through him!

Guy is even more annoying this year because he insists on yelling out the introductions.  I think he's trying to channel one announcer in particular whose name is escaping me at the moment.  Last year he wasn't so bad because he had a hoarse voice all season.

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, DEL901 said:

If it is another female dominated f4 and winner….the blind judging should put to bed the stereotype of men being better chefs than women.  

This show is proving what I have felt was going on for decades now since cooking competitions became popular.  It was particularly bad on Guy's Grocery Games until the judging changed over to a cumulative scoring format.  It's still not a blind judging on that show, but I'm noticing more women winning now.  It amazes me that even women judges can have unconscious bias favoring men.

[Catfi9ht]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

It was particularly bad on Guy's Grocery Games until the judging changed over to a cumulative scoring format.

I always thought the opposite. GGG featured more female and BIPOC chefs than any other show on FN, and I saw alot more of them winning because of it. I never really give credence to scoring on these shows because they never really talk about the math calculations properly. This was especially apparent in the "tie score" on TOC last year. There are three judges. How are there whole numbers as a result of scoring? If they are averaged, how are the fractions rounded? For the "tie" were the fractional results also equal? Scoring always seemed suspect to me to give the appearance of impartiality.

However, I do think a chef should be judged on every round not just on the previous one so I'm glad they changed that in GGG.

[Yeah No]

27 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

I always thought the opposite. GGG featured more female and BIPOC chefs than any other show on FN, and I saw alot more of them winning because of it. I never really give credence to scoring on these shows because they never really talk about the math calculations properly. This was especially apparent in the "tie score" on TOC last year. There are three judges. How are there whole numbers as a result of scoring? If they are averaged, how are the fractions rounded? For the "tie" were the fractional results also equal? Scoring always seemed suspect to me to give the appearance of impartiality.

However, I do think a chef should be judged on every round not just on the previous one so I'm glad they changed that in GGG.

I actually found a blog a few years ago that kept the stats on the percentage of female winners vs. female contestants on GGG and it was noticeably lower than for the men.  I can't find it now unfortunately.  Of course I'm not even talking about the celebrity women, just the unknown chefs.  I think the celebrity women have fared better in general on that show, especially Alex G. and Antonia L.

[Catfi9ht]

41 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I actually found a blog a few years ago that kept the stats on the percentage of female winners vs. female contestants on GGG and it was noticeably lower than for the men.

Interesting. If you do find it, I'd be interested in reading it! 

Also, I wonder if there's a site that compares these stats across FN shows. I didn't find anything that specific after a quick Google search.

However, I found two pieces about FN reinforcing gender norms through their shows. I thought both were an interesting read.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/j9602281r?locale=it

https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/cooking-class-gender-food-network

[Rammchick]

54 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

Interesting. If you do find it, I'd be interested in reading it! 

Also, I wonder if there's a site that compares these stats across FN shows. I didn't find anything that specific after a quick Google search.

However, I found two pieces about FN reinforcing gender norms through their shows. I thought both were an interesting read.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/j9602281r?locale=it

https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/cooking-class-gender-food-network

That second link had a really interesting observation -- that a lot of the men who have shows on FN are professional restaurant chefs (there are a few exceptions like Alton Brown), and almost all the women are some stripe of home cook (the only ones I can think of who aren't are Alex Guarnischelli, Anne Burrell and Antonia Lofaso -- any others?).

But back to ToC -- I love Jet Tila, I wanted to dive into the screen to get his Khao soi gai.  It looked like Ming Tsai was going to lick the bowl 🙂

[chessiegal]

Giada graduated from culinary school, worked as a private chef, and founded a catering company. She had a restaurant in Vegas.

[GaT]

I do not like Shirley Chung, I find her personality really annoying. I want her to lose & be gone.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

Interesting. If you do find it, I'd be interested in reading it! 

Also, I wonder if there's a site that compares these stats across FN shows. I didn't find anything that specific after a quick Google search.

However, I found two pieces about FN reinforcing gender norms through their shows. I thought both were an interesting read.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/j9602281r?locale=it

https://www.natcom.org/communication-currents/cooking-class-gender-food-network

Absolutely fascinating, thanks for posting them.  I could see myself wanting to write a thesis similar to the first one.  I love that it was done by a student at CalTech, LOL.  I'll have to read both of them when I have time.

35 minutes ago, GaT said:

I do not like Shirley Chung, I find her personality really annoying. I want her to lose & be gone.

I've never liked her either.  I've never particularly loved Joe Sasto either but I would have preferred him to win over her.

[MyMaui]

I am so glad Jet made it thru.  I hope he wins the whole thing.  I hope it's Jet vs. Michael V. My dream match up.  

I wanted Amanda to win this time.  I'm tired of Tiffany on Food Network., she seems to be the new princess and for that reason I hoped she would lose.  Please lose next round.

I'm glad Shirley won.  I like her and think she is awesome but I hope she loses against Jet lol.

 

May be sexist or whatever but I want a male to win.  I want a male final two. I hope it's Michael Vs Jet. (didn't check the board) but this is my match up. Also means NO Brooke anywhere near the finale.  

[emmawoodhouse]

Michael V and Jet could only be a semi-final since they're both in the West bracket. 

[schnauzergirl]

Any one but Brooke.  

[mlp]

Here's a very interesting article that answers a lot of questions:

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2022/03/tournament-of-champions-food-network-behind-scenes-questions-answers/

[Bastet]

13 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

I never really give credence to scoring on these shows because they never really talk about the math calculations properly. This was especially apparent in the "tie score" on TOC last year. There are three judges. How are there whole numbers as a result of scoring? If they are averaged, how are the fractions rounded? For the "tie" were the fractional results also equal? Scoring always seemed suspect to me to give the appearance of impartiality.

Good timing; this is discussed in the article posted in the post before mine:

Quote

The Tournament of Champions judges independently score each dish, awarding a maximum of 100 points:

50 points for taste

30 points for use of the randomizer ingredients and techniques

20 points for presentation and plating

Those scores—300 points total—are averaged together to get the cumulative number we see on TV, such as 83 points overall, and also the category scores, such as 17 points for presentation.

If there is a tie, the producers turn to “the raw scores,” Lando told me. “We don’t look at the averages, we look at the cumulative points for each category. In the event that those scores are exactly tied, we start with who did better, cumulatively, in taste,” and then if that’s tied, they move on to the cumulative score for the randomizer, and then if that’s tied, to presentation.

During season two, there was a perfect tie: the overall score was tied, as were each of the categories, during Jet Tila and Antonia Lofaso’s battle. It was, “to the point, every judge exactly the same, cumulatively and overall,” Lando said, so that’s why they cooked again.

It's an interesting article; I particularly enjoyed this, as I always wonder the same thing:

Quote

Speaking of breaks in filming, I’m endlessly fascinated by how food is judged on cooking competitions where it’s not served to judges immediately.

What happens to the food? How long does it take to clean the kitchen? Alex vs. America showed some of that behind-the-scenes work, with producers rushing in to clean the kitchen after the cook, or swapping plates for judges, so I was curious how it worked on Tournament of Champions.

First, the entire kitchen is cleaned in less than five minutes.

“It’s like a pit crew. We are so fast,” Lando told me. “We actually rehearse the transition. As soon as the cooking’s done, everybody knows their exact roles. I would say that between the end of the cook and the first judge is less than five minutes.”

The judging order is based on the order the TOC competitors finish plating. “The chef that’s finished first—and this is a rule they all know—gets to be judged first. Chefs can use that an advantage if they want; if they want to finish they last because they prefer the judges taste the other dish first, they can do that also. It’s an extra element of game play,” he said.

The first dish is being judged within five minutes of finishing cooking, while “the second chef talks to the culinary team, and they’re given a whole array of ways they can store their food, whether it’s an ice box, in a freezer, in a fridge, in a hot box,” Lando said. “They work with the culinary team to store it exactly the way that they want.”

But even the chef who’s judged second doesn’t have their plates sitting around for hours. “They’re not waiting any more than 10 minutes,” Lando said.

That’s because the judging is very quick, so an episode of Tournament of Champions includes most of the judges’ comments. “We don’t cut out a lot. You see a lot of it,” Lando said. “There are other culinary shows that judge for hours on end. We don’t do that. The judges that we have are so good it doesn’t take them 20 minutes to come up with an opinion.”

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Bastet

[Catfi9ht]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Good timing; this is discussed in the article posted in the post before mine:

I read it. Some questions answered some not. It doesn't answer how the averages are rounded. I'm still really skeptical of the exact tie from last season. The article basically said every judge scored both plates identically in every category. The chances of that happening are pretty astronomical.

I still call shenanigans on the Madison/Christian debacle. If that really was the reasoning, why wasn't it explained in Christian's episode? Guy spent several minutes explaining and pontificating about the decision for Madison with zero minutes about Christian missing a randomizer ingredient. Justin mentioned it twice in a sentence each time. The judges and Guy made no mention of it. The answer feels like a retcon.

As protective as FN is about their image, I didn't really expect much except info that toes the line.

Sorry this post is such a downer. I really don't mean for it to be. It's more about my skepticism than complaining. I'm trying to couch it in those terms, but I'm struggling with trying to make the tone more neutral.

Anyway, I'm glad it was posted because some of the info was interesting.

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

I still call shenanigans on the Madison/Christian debacle. If that really was the reasoning, why wasn't it explained in Christian's episode? Guy spent several minutes explaining and pontificating about the decision for Madison with zero minutes about Christian missing a randomizer ingredient. Justin mentioned it twice in a sentence each time. The judges and Guy made no mention of it. The answer feels like a retcon.

They didn't mention it the first time it happened, with Darnell in season one, did they (I didn't watch then; I didn't even know this show existed until last season)?  It makes sense to only explain why someone is disqualified, not why they aren't.  Although, I certainly take the point of it happening twice in one season being a reason to address it in Christian's case; I just figured Madison had been a special case based on how very much was missing, but because that had just recently happened, I did take note of them not actually stating that difference for the audience when Christian didn't get the parsley element on his plates.

3 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

The chances of that happening are pretty astronomical.

Yet not impossible, which is why they'd put a detailed If A fails to produce a winner, then B, if still a tie, then C, if still a tie, then D, and if still a tie, then E, and if all that fails, they cook again procedure in place just in case it did.

In this day and age of loose lips and social media scrutiny - and especially with Guy, as popular as he is as an on-air personality, having so many detractors who'd love to catch him in See, I told you this guy's an assclown shenanigans as a producer - I just don't see why they'd risk manufacturing an exact tie to force the drama of a cook-off when season one had been enough of a hit to generate a season two, which was doing well in the ratings.  They weren't floundering.  To me, it seems more likely it was indeed one of those freak ties they'd made contingency plans for.

[Catfi9ht]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

They didn't mention it the first time it happened, with Darnell in season one, did they (I didn't watch then; I didn't even know this show existed until last season)?  It makes sense to only explain why someone is disqualified, not why they aren't. 

It's fairly common in Chopped for chefs to forget a basket item and still be judged with a recognition from the judges an item was forgotten. When it happened in season 1, the behavior was similar to Chopped so I didn't really think anything of it.

For me, the difference this season is that Guy only talked about the missing randomizer ingredient for Madison being the reason he couldn't be judged. There's a post on this board from someone who rewatched to confirm this was all that was mentioned. When the same thing happened with Christian, neither Guy not the judges mentioned a missing ingredient. The lack of explanation and difference in behavior is what I'm calling shenanigans on. 

Anyway, what happened happened. This nonsense aside, I think the editing this season makes me show better than last season.

[Yeah No]

Is it me?  Maybe I'm remembering wrong but isn't the reason Madison was disqualified because he didn't finish in time to have much of anything to present to the judges?  I think the difference between Christian's case and Madison's is that the judges had enough on the plate to judge Christian's dish, while Madison's did not.  And I don't think what Guy was quoted as saying about it makes any difference to that.  It seemed fairly obvious to me. 🤷‍♀️

[dleighg]

10 hours ago, mlp said:

Here's a very interesting article that answers a lot of questions:

 

thanks for that! I'd figured a lot of it, but it's impressive how *quick* they are at, for example, stocking the fridge with the selected protein. I would have figured that the chefs have more time to ponder and strategize during that period.

[Catfi9ht]

12 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Is it me?  Maybe I'm remembering wrong but isn't the reason Madison was disqualified because he didn't finish in time to have much of anything to present to the judges?  I think the difference between Christian's case and Madison's is that the judges had enough on the plate to judge Christian's dish, while Madison's did not.  And I don't think what Guy was quoted as saying about it makes any difference to that.  It seemed fairly obvious to me. 🤷‍♀️

FWIW, this was the post I was referring to. 

Anyway, I'll stop beating this dead horse. Thanks for the info and for the discussion. 😃

 

 

[Rammchick]

On 3/29/2022 at 8:16 AM, chessiegal said:

Giada graduated from culinary school, worked as a private chef, and founded a catering company. She had a restaurant in Vegas.

I had a feeling Giada was another woman who had been a restaurant chef.  Thanks!

[binky101]

i wish Eric Adjepong had gone further, but at least Guy can stop saying "Chef Pong"  -- pong is British slang for "stink" or "a bad smell" and though I didn't recall the exact definition, while watching, it did strike me as having faintly negative or pejorative undertones. Watch the stupid nicknames, Guy, some are actually offensive (particularly when used for a BIPOC chef).

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, binky101 said:

i wish Eric Adjepong had gone further, but at least Guy can stop saying "Chef Pong"  -- pong is British slang for "stink" or "a bad smell" and though I didn't recall the exact definition, while watching, it did strike me as having faintly negative or pejorative undertones. Watch the stupid nicknames, Guy, some are actually offensive (particularly when used for a BIPOC chef).

"Chef Pong" is a dumb nickname, no doubt, but neither Guy nor Eric are British. In the US, if "Pong" means anything, it refers to the old videogame, which has no relevance to this show. So I don't really think it's in danger of being offensive in this context. Just lame.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

"Chef Pong" is a dumb nickname, no doubt, but neither Guy nor Eric are British. In the US, if "Pong" means anything, it refers to the old videogame, which has no relevance to this show. So I don't really think it's in danger of being offensive in this context. Just lame.

Agreed.  I never heard of that meaning before and I know my share of Britishisms.  I very much doubt that Guy has heard it and I wouldn't expect him to either.  It is lame, for sure.

[Rammchick]

14 hours ago, binky101 said:

i wish Eric Adjepong had gone further, but at least Guy can stop saying "Chef Pong"  -- pong is British slang for "stink" or "a bad smell"

You must have heard me on Monday when I said this out loud.  I'm not British but I watch a lot of British TV and movies.  Believe me, the nickname Pong, especially for a chef, is not complimentary!

[kirklandia]

10 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I'm not British but I watch a lot of British TV and movies.  Believe me, the nickname Pong, especially for a chef, is not complimentary!

Ditto. I'm not British, but I read a lot of British books. I'm quite familiar with the connotation of that nickname. Somebody should take Guy aside and suggest he stop using it. Because I think we will be seeing quite a bit of Chef Eric in the future.

[Yeah No]

If Chef Eric were British I'd say Guy should stop using it, but he is not and most Americans don't even know there's any other possible meaning.  I doubt that the British are going to stop using any of their offensive-to-Americans Britishisms on their TV or anywhere else just because some Americans might be offended by it.  I don't know why we should feel obligated do the same.

https://youtu.be/sUiF7stf44w

 

[HyeChaps]

They don’t all need nicknames, Guy!

[Grizzly]

He doesn't give the judges nicknames. I don't even think he used ICAG when Alex came out to judge.

[mlp]

2 hours ago, Grizzly said:

He doesn't give the judges nicknames.

I was thinking the same thing.  He introduces the judges with respect.  He treats the contestants like they're on GGG.  They're all working chefs and shouldn't be called nonsense names like Dancing Spice Queen.  Being associated with Guy has brought a lot of them exposure not to mention money in their pockets during the pandemic which has been devastating to their industry.  I suppose that makes them reluctant to complain even if they want to.

[Stardancer Supreme]

The thing is, most of the chefs already had nicknames. It's just Guy running those nicknames into the ground and gifting the chefs who don't have nicknames ridiculous ones.  Maneet's nickname is legit; we are just hearing it all the time in TOC.  Shirley Chung is the "Dumpling Queen", not the "Dumpling MAFIA Queen".   Elizabeth Faulkner and Jet Tila do not have nicknames, hence Guy calling them "Faulkster" and "Jetster".   It's also the carnival barker/wrestling announcer schtick that makes Guy so annoying.  I'm sure his chef friends just tune him out by now.

[paramitch]

So this show is one of my gleeful silly guilty pleasures. I can just turn off my brain and watch people make beautiful food. The cheftestants have been great (especially this season), and it's so lovely to see Ripert in the mix!

I'm so bummed Antonia Lofaso is already out, since I just adore her (and she, Simon, and Jet Tila were always so much fun on "Cutthroat Kitchen"). Her cooking always looks breathtakingly good, she's effortlessly funny, and I love her confidence.

I feel the same way about Alex Guarnaschelli. I know most people here can't stand her, but I've always thought there was a twinkle in her eye when it came to her confidence -- she always seems to have fun, she's articulate and thoughtful about food, and her sense of humor is a lot of fun (I adored her in her first Iron Chef appearance many years ago, where she and Alton just kept sending zingers back and forth at each other). I also think she's a  pretty gracious loser.

Speaking of confidence, I'm happy Tiffani Faison is doing well. I've always liked her, and she is one of the few reality show stars I've ever seen who really used their experience to evolve. While she was often unjustly maligned on Top Chef 1 (I think if she'd been a man a lot of the reactions around her would not have been nearly as extreme), she did come off as unlikable and arrogant in ways you could tell she wasn't aware of, and I felt terribly sorry for her in the reunion show, where producers had plied them all with alcohol and she was flat-out drunk.

Tom Colicchio has implied frequently that he feels bad for how Tiffani came off that season, and he openly talks about how much he likes and respects her. So I was glad she came back to a later All-Stars season and distinguished herself (and came across like a genuinely more patient, warm person). She's also done great things in her career and I'm really happy for what she's achieved. I think she's driven and competitive, but also was never really the villain she was painted to be to begin with. I'm rooting for her.

On 2/27/2022 at 8:04 PM, aquarian1 said:

I just love this show.  After watching the 1st ep of this season I have no qualms about the doubling of contestants.  I love the quality of contestants they get to compete and to judge.  I love the set up of head to head battles.  I love the truly blind judging (they don't even know which chefs are competing so it's not like they know one dish is Michael's and the other is Philip's) And I even love the hype and sports-like set up. 

I also still love more traditional chef competition shows, but this is a whole other animal.  All the head to heads mean you have to be the best every time.  No getting by with not being the worst.  The other types of competitions, like Top Chef, take a lot of effort too, of course, but in a different way - more of a marathon where this is a series of sprints. 

This is a great description, and why I enjoy the format as well. It's a lot of fun -- I mean, yeah, it's sort of hilariously over the top, but when you get right down to it, we really do get to watch people do some fantastic and creative cooking on the fly. Everything has looked beautiful so far.

On 3/2/2022 at 6:51 AM, tracyscott76 said:

I think Guy would be the first to agree that he's not as good as most of the competing chefs. However, he is apparently good enough to hang with them, or else he wouldn't keep getting their enthusiastic participation year in and year out.

In terms of how he got to be this big, while his personality can wear on some people, it is also clearly very popular with a lot of people. You can't have the longevity he has had without the viewership numbers. Where some see loud and over the top, others see outgoing and energetic. He's also very positive, encouraging, and generous. That's the kind of presence that a lot of people like to watch. He's no dummy, either, and seems to have a pretty good business/marketing sense (possible Hunter blind spot aside).

So I don't think it's any great mystery why he's risen to the top as he has, if one sets aside one's own personal preferences.

Well said. I know Guy can be, er, a lot. And I kind of hated him for years (while grudgingly admiring his ease in front of the camera), but my late mother adored DD&D and I eventually succumbed, especially after GGG. And then the past 10 years, I began to realize how incredible he's been on the charity front (and often in a very quiet, non-showy way that says a lot about him). Sure, he's determined to make fetch Hunter happen, but that seems relatively harmless to me, and honestly? He's okay on the show to me in his current limited capacity.

So I grumpily kind of adore Guy now. I think he's a good person, has some decent cooking skills, and genuinely tries to make the world a better place.

On 3/2/2022 at 11:57 AM, meep.meep said:

He's also raised more than $25M for restaurant relief during the pandemic.  You might not like his style, but he is doing good things.  Plus he's not competing or judging these chefs.

Guy's charity efforts are seriously his best legacy. And he consistently, constantly, doesn't just "do stuff for charity," or raise money. He is tirelessly out there on the front lines, leading on-the-spot kitchens and cooking for firefighters and other disaster relief, and when marriage equality became legal in Florida in 2015, he officiated 101 same-sex marriages to celebrate (and honor his late sister, who was gay).

I think beneath the bluster he's honestly a pretty good guy. Er, Guy.

On 3/13/2022 at 10:20 PM, Bastet said:

Marcel, you did not give birth to a baby.  I'm quite sure I'd have read about that in the news.

I cannot stand him, and I absolutely adored Shirley on Top Chef and have had her food, so I was very happy for her to get him off my screen.

I remember mildly disliking Joe on his TC season, while I liked Antonia and have eaten her food, so I was rooting for her, but I figured her attitude about the asparagus would bite her in the ass.  Indeed, the two point difference between them came from the randomizer.

She had my favorite of the reactions to learning Eric Ripert is one of the judges.  "Shut UP.  You guys got Eric Ripert?"

I also loved Justin (commentator, not contestant) answering Ripert's question with "I believe that's up to your interpretation, as you are Eric Ripert".

I really didn't think Marcel meant anything bad there, but that he was actually attempting to do that thing where the husband expresses the pregnancy as a shared experience (and not something all on the wife). I didn't think he meant it disrespectfully.

I've always liked Marcel, especially given his abuse and bullying on Top Chef, and how quietly and classily he reacted. Yes, I think sometimes he has been brash and arrogant, but that always felt like a slightly silly (and very young) performance to me rather than real malevolence. 

As I mentioned earlier, I do adore Antonia Lofaso. I think she's witty, smart, and incredibly talented. She manages to exude confidence but while still coming off (to me) as as nice, normal person. (When she announced that she "just peed" when she was being judged, it's one of my favorite moments on FN ever. And her appearances on "Cutthroat Kitchen" with Alton were practically classic 40s screwball comedy. She and Alton just have effortless, genuine rapport.

I absolutely loathed Justin on TNFNS and for years after, but honestly, he's very charming here and doing a great job. And I always love Simon (who just seems like a sweetheart).

On 3/14/2022 at 6:22 AM, Maverick said:

 No, Guy, Madison did not miss getting the food on his plate by ONE SECOND (oooohhh).   The clock ran out while he was running back from the oven.  You know, like it showed in the flashback that was running during your OTT recollection.  

In Justin vs. Justin, I was Team Warner.  I'm kind of indifferent to him, but he looked genuinely hurt at that.  

That got me too -- Madison was several seconds behind, not one. I did feel for him, and hope his hands are okay. I think he can be arrogant (and I don't love chefs who talk about cooking like it's sexual, it's just goofy and weird to me), but his battle with Lance on "Chopped" will always be one of my favorite things ever.

On 3/14/2022 at 1:52 PM, mlp said:

I remember reading an interview with one of the other contestants from his season and that person said that Joe is a really nice guy and that he got up every day during TC and fixed breakfast for everyone.  

This was so nice to hear! Joe has always rubbed me the wrong way, so this made me reconsider -- it's nice to hear he's such a nice guy.

On 3/14/2022 at 3:49 PM, MsMalin said:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/top-chef-marcel-vigneron-shaved-head_n_5b806383e4b0348586006bcb

Just read about the bullying incident. It really was quite bad. Link is above...don't know if I did that right

It was horrible. And the physical incident itself was just the culmination of weeks of intense and gross bullying of the poor guy beforehand. What always stayed with me was the fact that their yelling and cruelty toward him just kept rolling off Marcel, which enraged them even further. He was imperturbable. They'd mock him or scream at him -- several of the bullies together led by the loathsome Betty, Ilan, and eventually joined by Elia and Cliff, and tacitly supported by Sam. And Marcel would just shrug and then do a terrible rap for the camera about how he wouldn't let it bother him.

And then there was the actual assault incident itself, where I agree with Tom Colicchio that they should have ended the competition. Ilan and Elia at the very least should have gone home with assaulter Cliff -- they both directly were involved in the assault and Ilan recorded the whole thing on camera thinking it was funny (and can be heard egging Cliff on, along with Elia). For me, the icing on the cake was when, just a few episodes later, Elia spoke up at judging and was still defiant, unapologetic, and rude, accusing Marcel openly and ridiculously of cheating (thankfully, Tom spoke up sharply and shut her down).

I will always root for Marcel after what he went through there. And for the fact that even after sleeping in the bathroom all night to protect himself from further assault, he just quietly came out the next day and cooked his ass off. (And was a gracious loser even after losing to the guy who incited the bullying and won using someone else's recipes.)

On 3/15/2022 at 4:49 AM, bad things are bad said:

Forgive me if it's been mentioned but Marc Murphy went to Poland to work with Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen,  feeding refugees.  I was annoyed by him last year, but this utterly redeems him 

I've always loved Marc, and enjoyed his goofy charm on "Chopped," and admit I may have gotten a slight crush when I started watching him cook in the "Chopped After Hours" judge segments -- he cooks like a dream, just effortlessly. And speaks perfect French.

And hearing that he's such a humanitarian and actively going to support Jose Andres in person in Poland is amazing. Kudos to him (and to Andres, who seriously at this point should win the Nobel prize for his incredible charity work).

On 3/17/2022 at 6:16 AM, Peper81 said:

Eric and Anthony were actually filming an episode when Anthony died.  If I remember correctly, Eric found him...  https://time.com/5306636/eric-ripert-statement-anthony-bourdain-death/

One of my favorite memories of watching "Parts Unknown" with them is when Anthony said something about people coming up to him and thinking he was Eric Ripert and he'd tell them in a (terrible) French accent that all the fish was canned.  It was hilarious and Eric got a big laugh out of it.  They were awesome to watch together. 

Eric did find Anthony after his suicide, and hearing that broke my heart. They were such close friends, visibly so, and I always loved the juxtaposition between the elegant, courtly, soft-spoken Ripert and the brash, rock-and-roll sharpness and brilliance of Bourdain. They were the perfect odd couple. And the knowledge that Eric was the one to find his friend after his suicide was so horrible to hear -- I have always wished him well, and am simply glad to see Eric again. I hope he's recovering and doing okay.

On 3/21/2022 at 1:26 AM, GaT said:

Unless the rule is if you're missing more than one randomizer ingredient you get disqualified, then missing one ingredient or missing three ingredients should have the same consequence.

I don't see why. For me it works on the same level as "Chopped" -- they may not get all the ingredients on the plate, but I can see a little room for leeway with one missing ingedient, depending on taste. But Madison was missing THREE. There was just no way anyone could overcome that mathematically. I agree with their decision to disqualify him.

On 3/21/2022 at 10:28 AM, bad things are bad said:

Psilakis looked like a homeless hopster. Not a fan

I support anyone's personal style, seriously, but the long curly beard just grosses me out because he is COOKING. All I can think watching him cook (with no beard net) was that there is a 100% chance beard pubes ended up in the food. I mean, look at that thing on his face. It's practically taking over the planet.

On 3/21/2022 at 11:15 AM, potatoradio said:

Was that the croquembouche she insisted on making for a wedding challenge while the bride begged and pleaded for, you know, a cake? Totally the defining EF moment for me, too, and not a good one. 

I remember that, and you reminded me that this has always subconsciously influenced my opinion of Elizabeth! She was just so arrogant and rude during that challenge, and what she made looked so terrible, to boot. She just came across like such an asshole there. 

I don't hate her or anything -- I'm used to her as a FN fixture, but I do think it's funny that this is the first time I think I've ever seen her win a challenge on anything.

On 3/23/2022 at 6:35 AM, JTMacc99 said:

I was watching this with my son when that happened and I told him I have eaten at one of Jonathan Waxman's restaurants, and he's a guy who really gets it.  For all of the techniques and styles and plating, nothing is more important than making delicious food. And Jet nailed it with that dish.

That's so cool! I love Jonathan Waxman, and I've always had a little bit of a crush on him ever since Top Chef Masters. He just comes across as being so warm, smart, and kind, and he's so soft-spoken. And his food always looks incredible.

[Ohmo]

Quote

Now, the judging might have been humiliating with almost nothing on the plates,

That's what I think was the difference between Madison and Christian.  Christian made a plate that could be judged.  It was a composed dish without a radomizer item, but it was a composed dish.

I think this went beyond just missing a radomizer item.  That's not what got Madison DQ'ed.  He didn't produce a complete plate.  There was one thing on it.  To have put that plate up against Amanda's would have been embarrassing.  She clearly would have won.

I don't think missing a radomizer item is a DQ.  Chefs should be docked for it, but I understand why Christian went to judging and Madison didn't.  Madison didn't produce enough to be judged.