Tournament Of Champions - General Discussion

[schnauzergirl]

A thought about Christa's rant.  I wonder if that will be enough for her to not be invited back for TOC5.  My impression, based on speculation only, is that for all his frat-boy, carnival barker persona, Guy wouldn't tolerate disrepecting the judges.

[Salacious Kitty]

38 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

A thought about Christa's rant.  I wonder if that will be enough for her to not be invited back for TOC5.  My impression, based on speculation only, is that for all his frat-boy, carnival barker persona, Guy wouldn't tolerate disrepecting the judges.

I think Guy would be torn. Crista is his personal pet. He's the only reason she's on this show. 

[HyeChaps]

IIRC there was also an issue with Ilan possibly cheating on Top Chef. 

[littlebennysmom]

19 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I think Guy would be torn. Crista is his personal pet. He's the only reason she's on this show. 

Another reason why his taste is questionable at best.  She couldn't be more off-putting.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Episode 2:

The Randomizer has a Total Re-Spin this week! Heh. 

The Judges: Alex Guarnaschelli, Scott Conant, Ming Tsai.

I'll admit that I was tickled watching Darnell Ferguson Stroll into the TOC kitchen looking like an iced out Sub Zero from Mortal Combat.  Not a fan of Ilan, so I'm rooting for Superchef! Superchef wins this battle. 

I like Tiffany Derry and Viet Pham! I'm rooting for Tiffany. Both of their dishes looked good. Tiffany Derry wins! Viet will make a great showing next year.

I'm rooting for Mei Lin. You always have to watch the quiet ones...  Why is Alex always getting the not completely cooked proteins? Does someone not like ICAG or is she really persnitckety about how her meat is cooked? Mei Lin wins!

Eggs and Lima Beans? I'm rooting for Tiffani. But what will they make out of that? Huh. We just watched Scott Conant have a foodgasm after eating Tiffani's dish. Then Alex has one after eating Britt's dish! LOL! Guy's face had me cackling. The judges must have lit one during the day because they were real perky at the last match-up.  Hold up; Britt wins! She knocked Sweet Tee off!  Guess egg on egg crime pays off!  Okay!

[Lady Jane]

I saw this on my DVR, and said, "oh good! That Guy Fieri show is on! And it's two hours! Yay!"

Please send help. I don't know who I am anymore.

[torontomeridith]

I finally finished this week's TOC and, man, that Tiffani/Britt matchup was one of the most exciting things I've seen on TV in a long time. I love to pull for underdogs and this was the Platonic ideal of that kind of duel.  And Britt seems great. I don't think that episode of GGG has aired yet in Canada, so she was all new to me.  I hope Britt gets far, but even if she doesn't she'll be a major player next year.

But why is she the "Angry Italian?" These nicknames have beyond reached their peak.  Not everyone is worthy of a nickname. IMO, the only one that really works is Iron Chef Alex, which is more of a title than a nickname, I guess. Can you imagine if Chopped or Top Chef pulled this nickname garbage?

Oh and #getridofHunterFieri.

[Catfi9ht]

5 hours ago, torontomeridith said:

Can you imagine if Chopped or Top Chef pulled this nickname garbage?

Top Chef just lets their contestants gang up on another contestant and try to assault them. I'll take nicknames over that any day.

Chopped has some of the most egotistical judges on the planet. Nicknames are dumb but they're not toxic personality traits. The people from Chopped who are also on TOC are not assholes on TOC but they are on Chopped.

I have issues with this show, but Chopped is unwatchable for me because egotism is vile and Chopped encourages it. With everything I've heard about Top Chef, it sounds horrendous so I'll never watch that either.

[Harry24]

49 minutes ago, Catfi9ht said:

With everything I've heard about Top Chef, it sounds horrendous so I'll never watch that either.

Do tell.

[Daisychain]

On 2/26/2023 at 10:48 PM, Bastet said:

I know I should not hate Ilan this much based on one season of Top Chef eons ago, but I despised him then, because of his personality and that he remains probably the least-talented chef to ever win on that show, and hadn't seen him since, so that's how he remains in my mind. 

Yes, Bastet, you're absolutely right about the permanence of memory -- but I pretty much can't stand that season.  IIRC correctly Season 1 started and ended as a mini-train wreck and then Season 2 (with Ilan and others) was the full plane crash.  Tiffani Faison in Season 1 to me, has been working the whole time since to be a better in her treatment of people and in her expressing herself.  I'm a big fan of hers.  OTOH, Ilan from Season 2 has been missing from sight and so all I remember is the snide bully who cheered on the would-be head shaving of Marcel.  Marcel, who was at worst a young man who was annoying.  

[Bastet]

9 hours ago, Daisychain said:

Marcel, who was at worst a young man who was annoying.  

Astoundingly annoying, and if I had to both work and live with him as they did, I'd have wanted to tear my hair out.  My own hair, though; I would never stoop to dragging someone out of bed, forcing them down, and trying to shave their head.  Tom Colicchio wrote a good blog post at the time about how, yeah, Marcel is something pretty close to unbearable, but hell no on that shit.  I've always hated that only Cliff went down for it.

And, while TC did not attract the caliber of chefs back then it went on to be legendary for, so whoever won that season would just be an okay chef within the eventual big list of winners, Ilan was notably undeserving even at the time.  So, whatever he's done since, I'm just glad he was a one and done on this because I still have such a sour taste in my mouth about him.

[Ohmo]

9 hours ago, Daisychain said:

Tiffani Faison in Season 1 to me, has been working the whole time since to be a better in her treatment of people and in her expressing herself. 

Agreed.  I was solidly Team Harold during S1 of Top Chef.  IMO, Tiffani wasn't just competitive, she was a nasty person.  I didn't return to Top Chef after that.  Harold won, which made me happy, but I didn't like the vibe of S1.

Somewhere (maybe a previous season of TOC---can't remember), Tiffani talked about her wife leaving her.  Then, I watched Boardwalk Brawl and was impressed with the mentorship of her team.  It seems she's changed, and I'm glad about that.

[meep.meep]

Tiffany was a horrible person on Top Chef season 1.  She seems to have realized that and made changes to how she treats other people.  Wish her well even though we won't be seeing more of her on this show.

[Catfi9ht]

On 3/2/2023 at 5:52 PM, Harry24 said:

Do tell.

Recommend reading this thread. It's been full of stories about how disgusting Top Chef has been.

[HyeChaps]

It seems as though Top Chef has become a love fest.

[Daisychain]

On 3/3/2023 at 2:49 PM, Ohmo said:

Somewhere (maybe a previous season of TOC---can't remember), Tiffani talked about her wife leaving her.  Then, I watched Boardwalk Brawl and was impressed with the mentorship of her team.  It seems she's changed, and I'm glad about that.

@Ohmo, I think if you try Top Chef again you'll find that the level of professionalism has increased greatly -- there are definitely some outliers, but it is now a show that features accomplished chefs trying to make their careers get to the next level.

[Daisychain]

10 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

It seems as though Top Chef has become a love fest.

Yes, not exactly a love fest, but the camaraderie among the chef tends to be closer to Great British Baking Show than Seasons 1 and 2.  It's a career making show so in general (not always) the chefs put their best feet forward and there is less (but not any) drama.  Who wants to be a jerk with a lot of cooks/chefs/investors/employees watching?  That's my take anyhoo.  

[Daisychain]

On 3/1/2023 at 11:25 AM, HyeChaps said:

IIRC there was also an issue with Ilan possibly cheating on Top Chef. 

My last comment on Ilan forever.  IIRC, and this is years and years ago now, the critique he got was not cheating, it was that he was routinely using dishes from the restaurant where he worked (indicating lack of creativity or laziness).  I think it was Spanish food?  But I don't think it was a Jose Andres restaurant.  I could totally be wrong.  My kids have been doing a Top Chef re-watch and I told them to skip this season, but they are watching it anyway.  They reminded me that there were other nutter-butters that season, not just the head-shaving team.

[Salacious Kitty]

Casa Mono. I think it was a Batali place. 

[Ohmo]

Episode 3 spoilers
 

Spoiler

Winners: Maneet, Shirley, Adam, Stephanie

Judges: Nancy, Andrew, Scott

Maneet competed against Jonathan Sawyer.  She scored a 92.  I was fine with her winning, but I really liked Jonathan.  I hope to see him compete again.

Shirley competed before Adam, but she said he was once her boss.  They'll compete head-to-head in the next round.  Shirley was quiet during her battle.  Nate and Adam commented on that as they watched before their round.

When Nate and Adam competed, time got the best of Nate.  His pork tenderloin wasn't fully cooked, so he could only serve the judges a small amount of what was cooked.  He talked about not competing in a while because his son was being treated for Kawasaki's Disease.  Adam seemed nice.

Stephanie won by one point against Madison.  Madison did finish, but he also announced that he was retiring from competitive cooking.  Stephanie talked about how each year, TOC has been won by "a bad-ass woman."  Thought that was awesome!

All in all, an enjoyable show for me.

 

[Harry24]

Just getting in under the wire before the next episode to say that I found last Sunday’s episode remarkably exciting.  Always happy to see Darnell win, although I found that ridiculous mask off-putting, the first off-putting thing I’ve found about this delightful, gorgeous, talented man.  (I read recently that he actually spent time in prison!  That makes what he’s accomplished triply impressive.)

I really admire ballsiness and competitiveness in women (Antonia, Tiffani, Tiffany, Brooke, Mei, Alex, etc.), for one thing because I, a woman, don’t have it.  But there’s a point where it becomes childish and annoying.  Crista L blew right past that point last Sunday.  I will actually be surprised if she stays on Guy’s short list.  Yay Mei!!!!

I actually would have preferred Chef Viet, but like Tiffany a lot.

Finally, I am INCREDIBLY impressed with Britt’s win over Tiffani.  Yes, Tiffani might have felt the pressure of being a returning champion, but she is still a top level chef at the height of her powers, whose dish blew Scott C (ew!!) away.  And to cook eggs and LIMA BEANS and take the win over a masterful dish from Tiffani is amazingly impressive.  

See?  Exciting!

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Harry24

[Lamb18]

Go Stephanie! This is the matchup I've been waiting for. I wonder why she's just a 3.

[susannot]

Dammit.  My Food Network is down and I can't watch it.  I was also looking forward to Stephanie.

[FormerMod-a1]

I'm glad Madison had a good showing, especially considering last year.  That said, I love Stephanie and am very happy with her win.  Also happy to see Shirley win - love her too!  I didn't know what to expect with Nate Appleman and Adam Sobel but that turned out to be the best match, imo.  They were both so creative, and I wanted all the food!  Felt a little bad for the guy against Maneet, but he would have been cut eventually, I think.

I love how happy Scott Conant is to be judging and eating all this food.  You do see that with a lot of the judges, but he was so vocal about it.  That really tells you the quality of the food.  I remember in season 1, when no one involved knew how it was going to be, how a couple of the top tier judges they got were so pleasantly surprised.   They were used to judging "normal" cooking shows where you can get some really middling food - even on Top Chef depending on the challenge and competitors.  

[Nidratime]

I missed the conclusion of the last match because I misjudged how long the commercial was. Glad to hear that Stephanie won. The fact that Madison did not want to change the yellow squash irritated me. I like squash, but squash is mostly water. No flavor.

[Grizzly]

9 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

I missed the conclusion of the last match because I misjudged how long the commercial was. Glad to hear that Stephanie won. The fact that Madison did not want to change the yellow squash irritated me. I like squash, but squash is mostly water. No flavor.

It was a one point difference so a good showing by both.

[GaT]

Gee, the judges see a pakora on their plate & they don't immediately know it's Maneet? 

Edited March 6, 2023 by GaT

[dleighg]

8 hours ago, GaT said:

Gee, the judges see a pakora on their plate & they don't immediately know it Maneet?

I had EXACTLY the same reaction. Not so blind. It sounds like it was really tasty though.

[Bastet]

Stephanie is my favorite Top Chef champion of all time, so I root for her to win all the things.  I'm glad Madison came back with such a great showing after being disqualified last season, but also glad she beat him.  I love her pointing out this show has always been won by women.  I also appreciated her pointing out she got her ranking by her wins in other competitions, but he came up through this show and it's new to her, so she's not waltzing in thinking it's in the bag.

Stephanie vs. Maneet is going to be one hell of a match-up next round.  I like Maneet, too, but I am Team Stephanie all the way.

I grew up catching and eating catfish when vacationing at my uncle's cabin in the California Delta, but I pretty much never like catfish anyplace else, so I laughed at both their descriptions of the goal being to hide the flavor of the catfish.  Maneet's looked and sounded great.

I quite like Shirley, too, so I'm glad she won.  I don't like tofu, so I didn't actually want to eat her dish, but it looked beautiful and the flavors sounded great, so with a different protein I'd have been all over it. 

I'm not familiar with either of the guys in the pork tenderloin round, and I was in the kitchen for most of it, so I just saw the presentation and judging.  The winning dish looked delicious, so I'm not at all surprised by the win.

[catrice2]

Madison looked so defeated. Sorry to hear of his financial woes. Looks like they are taking a toll.

[Tippi]

I don't watch many of the cooking competition shows--I catch GGG, Top Chef, and the Holiday Baking ones when I can (rather sporadically.)  In previous years of TOC, I was familiar with most of the contestants.  This year I feel a little lost.  So far no one new is really grabbing me, but I could change my opinion on that.  That is one of the great things about this show, seeing someone new that I can root for, or changing my opinion to "Really like!" from a previous opinion of meh.

Wouldn't mind seeing Jet or Antonia take it this time.

[susannot]

The competition between Maneet and Stephanie is going to be epic.  Cannot wait.  Since Tiffani was knocked out and Brooke chose not to compete again, there is no one who has beat Maneet.  If i am not mistaken she has the highest score in the competition so far at 92.  Stephanie is the only one who can beat her.  Go Stephanie!!

Edited March 7, 2023 by susannot

[schnauzergirl]

Star of the show: Scott Conant.  On Chopped he can come across as grumpy and arrogant.  Last night his judging was measured and he celebrated the dishes presented by the chefs.  Scott was just having a great time.  Nancy, Andrew, and Scott made for an exceptional juding panel.

[sugarbaker design]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:48 PM, Bastet said:

I know I should not hate Ilan this much based on one season of Top Chef eons ago, but I despised him then, because of his personality and that he remains probably the least-talented chef to ever win on that show, and hadn't seen him since, so that's how he remains in my mind.

He's still a douche, and now he dresses like a douche.  He looked ridiculous in that hat, glass and stupid outfit.

[Lamb18]

Team Stephanie all the way! If she gets knocked out, then Team Maneet! If she gets knocked out, I'm not sure who to cheer for.

Top Chef 4 was the first season I watched and I started cheering for Stephanie about halfway through. I'm glad she's been so successful since.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Lamb18

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Team Stephanie all the way! If she gets knocked out, then Team Maneet! If she gets knocked out, I'm not sure who to cheer for.

Both of those, but also Tiffany for me. I'll be rooting for Leah Cohen, too...but unfortunately I think she's destined not to make it out of the first round 🙁 But maybe she'll surprise me!

[Rammchick]

I love Stephanie and Shota, but I also have to throw some love Jet Tila's way.  He's been a bridesmaid too many times -- maybe this is his year?

[MerBearHou]

I would do the happiest of dances if Jet Tila won the whole thing!!

[DEL901]

30 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

I love Stephanie and Shota, but I also have to throw some love Jet Tila's way.  He's been a bridesmaid too many times -- maybe this is his year?

In the first 3 seasons a total of only three men made the semis and two of them were Jet.  He is due. 

[whinewithwine]

On 3/7/2023 at 8:01 AM, Lamb18 said:

Top Chef 4 was the first season I watched and I started cheering for Stephanie about halfway through. I'm glad she's been so successful since.

I've watched all 19 seasons of TC and my favorite moment of all was when she beat Richard Blais.  Hope she wins it all on TOC.

[roseslg]

I don't think anyone is due. It's interesting to note (as Steph noted) all the winners have been women. I think the blind tasting is key to that. I wish there was blind tasting on Top Chef and other cooking shows. 

[Catfi9ht]

Figured that Johnathan Sawyer would lose to Maneet. He's an awesome chef. Hope to see him again.

I was torn between Tracey and Shirley but oh boy, Tracey should have never gone with Asian flavors. Big mistake on her part.

Didn't care about the third match. Not sure why that guy was listed as a third seed. He crashed and burned spectacularly. They must be hurting to find west coast contestants. Although the guy who won seemed really genuine.

I was rooting for Stephanie because she's awesome, and Madison is an egotistical turd. I was devastated at what happened to him last year, but I still don't like him. He couldn't go out being happy that he lost to one of the most winningest chefs on FN of all time. He pouted, took his ball home, and said he was "retired". Good riddance.

Overall, I'm glad there are lots of new folks this year. I get to see lots of new stuff from folks I don't know or only kind of know. Really digging this season compared to last year.

 

[Stardancer Supreme]

Episode 3:

Lots of chefs making their TOC debut this episode! The audience gets a slot on the Randomizer. Cool!

The judges: Scott Conant, Nancy Silverton, Andrew Zimmern

Maneet Chauhan vs. Jonathon Sawyer - I'm rooting for Maneet! Hopefully Jonathon covers all that hair in the kitchen. All this talk about taking her belt; sir, you cannot take a 2-year-old belt. Heh. They make a new one every year.

Maneet wins! Highest score this season with a 92. 

Tracey Shepos Cenami vs Shirley Chung -  I'm rooting for Shirley. I like how they respect each other's skills and talents. I guess we have to give winners of GGG battles their props! I don't watch GGG, so most of them are unknown to me.  Battle Tofu against the Dumpling Mafia Queen? Fuggeddaboudit. 

Shirley wins!

Adam Sobel vs Nate Appleman - Not familiar with either of them. Adam was Shirley's boss? Heh. I want him to win just he can lose to her. 

Adam wins!

Stephanie Izard vs. Madison Cowan - I'm rooting for Madison. He was really stuck on the yellow squash. 

Stephanie wins! By one point. And that is it for Madison.  He was a worthy competitor!

 

[buttersister]

Team Stephanie. I've eaten at all of her Chicago restaurants --delicious food, fun atmospheres, never disappointed. We talked about brands of fish sauce at a cooking demo she did at Bloomingdale's (around her first TC season), and she couldn't have been nicer. Three Squids was her preference😉

I'm sitting out this season because I can't listen to Guy's circus barker act anymore, but now I'll record her eps and bless the ff button.

[Ohmo]

Episode 4 spoilers
 

Spoiler

Antonia's out, which surprised me.  Shota beat her by two points, but I thought she had it.  Jonathan Waxman called her dish "a hot mess," but I thought he meant it in a good way.  He also said that only a chef at the top of their skills would have done all that she did.

After her defeat, Antonia said she doesn't play around with the randomizer enough, and that's what gets her.  Earlier in her trailer, she said she wasn't retiring from TOC until she wins it.

I also felt badly because I saw her "host" side come out.  She gave Stota tips like "don't answer Guy's questions about the randomizer because she will hear you and give you what you don't want."  When Guy said "go," I could see Antonia was holding Stota's hand, and she pulled him in motion with her.

Other winners: Tobias, Joe, Karen  Judges: Nancy, Ming, Jonathan

Christian (vs. Karen) was in trouble as soon as Nancy said his dish "wasn't a competition dish."  She called it "a lunch plate."  I agreed with her.  I had watched the whole battle, but when he plated, I did think, "That's it?"

Karen was competing nine weeks after giving birth.  She beat Christian by six points.

Joe beat Elizabeth by a point.  She talked less smack this year, which I appreciated. Christian seemed less silly to me as well.

Tobias beat Leah by two points.  Presentation gave him the win.  Their scores were even outside of that.

I don't dislike Stota, but no Antonia, no Tiffani, and Brooke taking a year off is kind of a bummer.  I won't be able to watch any more of them in TOC this year.

 

[Lamb18]

Judges liked Darnell's presentation but I though it looked liked genitalia (a carrot between two meatballs or two chunks of venison).

[Lamb18]

It's fun to see Joe Sasto so excited about the judges' comments.

[roseslg]

56 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Judges liked Darnell's presentation but I though it looked liked genitalia (a carrot between two meatballs or two chunks of venison).

Uhm, that's not Darnell.

[FormerMod-a1]

I was happy with all the wins tonight. 

Elizabeth Faulkner did better than I expected and I would have actually been  happy if she had won, which is surprising because I'm usually never that impressed with her on these shows.  Still glad Sasto won, but it wouldn't have bothered me. 

It was also a toss up for me on Karen vs Christian.  I don't love either of them (don't hate them either, just eh...)  Anyway, both their dishes looked and sounded good.  

Next round should be really interesting.

[Bastet]

Battle Venison got this off to a great start.  Both dishes sounded fantastic, so I am not surprised they scored high and tied on everything but presentation.  Venison is not my favorite meat, but I think they both used great flavors with it.  I hate potatoes, so I would have liked Leah's dish more, but Tobias's curry had me drooling.  Leah was caught up in that drama with Hosea on her season of Top Chef, but I've always liked her as a judge on Beat Bobby Flay, so it was nice to see her competing again.  I also like Tobias - and empathized with his anxiety attack last season - so am pleased for him.

I've had Elizabeth Falkner's food, and Mustache Joe bugs me, so I was disappointed by the second match-up.   But those were also two delicious looking plates of food, so I knew it could go either way. 

I've had Karen's food (not in her restaurant, back when she was EC at Myers+Chang) and liked her on Top Chef, so I was rooting for her.  I don't like chickpeas, so I probably would have liked his dish better, but I found this a no-brainer and was not surprised by the six point difference; hers seemed more like a ToC dish and did a better job of using pancetta and wine.

I liked Shota on his season of Top Chef, but Antonia is a long-time favorite, so I'm really bummed by her loss.  He's always come across as such a nice person - I love him apologizing for referring to her as a beast - I'm certainly not mad at him, and I'd have happily devoured both dishes.  He won based on the randomizer (other than that, he had one more point than her on presentation but she had two more points than him on taste), and she said that category is always her downfall, but I didn't see what they found a full three points better about his.  Oh, well.  I hope he beats the ugly pants off Mustache Joe in the next round.  (And gets a sweat towel.  Not much grosses me out, but other people's sweat is one of the few things on my list, so looking at Shota just dripping with it distracted me from the food.)