S17.E05: Bring Your Loved One To Work

[Squee Bastard]

Hi all! Long-time lurker here, first time poster. I'm a big Eric fan and thought he and his wife made a beautiful couple. I'm really liking Melissa, too.

And Malarky is so full of well, ... Malarky!

[AAEBoiler]

They really frontloaded all the chefs with delicious products - I was worried they'd have a hard time choosing but then the clunkers came all in a row. My only other comment is that Malarkey is absolutely exhausting!

[BusyOctober]

Malarkey must have said, “I don’t wanna be a dick...”, or “I’m not tryin’ to be an asshole” or variations of these 2 or 3 times last night, and at least once in previous episodes.  After I heard him say he wasn’t trying to be an asshole for the 2 or 3rd time, I said out loud, “Wow, you’re pretty good at it for not trying! I think you have a natural ability with untapped potential!  Imagine what heights you’d reach if you did try!”  His relish sounded awful when he described it.  It sounded gag inducing when Padma (I think) said it was ‘oily’.

Melissa is a beast!  She is my favorite and I hope she wins. I like Stephanie too, but I think she is out of her depths. I like Eric as well.  What a gorgeous family he has!

Edited April 18, 2020 by BusyOctober

[questionfear]

Malarkey is exhausting in the same way that being home with my 1st grader is exhausting. Lots of energy, really good ideas, needs a lot of guidance and someone else to handle the sharp items. 
 

I have to say I loved this challenge. Sometimes when they’ve done the whole “sell your product” challenge, it’s been tied to some gimmick like frozen food, so it was nice to see them promote an idea that let the chefs cook real food and showcase the sauce/add on instead. 

and it might just be that quarantine has me on a weird pickling kick but I totally want to try Gregory’s dish. 

[MerBearHou]

23 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I simply cannot believe the scene where Malarkey shows off his rankings of the chefs. Everything about it. Where he puts "Me" on top. Where he has arrows and labels the axes "Top" and Bottom". Where he explains it all to the camera knowing that everyone will see it eventually. It's bonkers.

It may be bonkers, but I thought it made for entertaining TV!  Only Malarkey...

[ProudMary]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

From what Padma said to her after announcing the top three, it seems like she was their fourth favorite. 

I don't think so. Padma actually told Melissa that Kevin served them the best fried chicken.

8 hours ago, dgpolo said:

Speaking of common items, I had -just- watched an episode of Guy's Grocery Games where they had to get a spice that cost more than $17, everyone chose Fennel Pollen. Never heard of it. Then someone (can't remember who? the guest judge maybe?) mentioned using Fennel Pollen here.

It was Kevin who used the fennel pollen. His wife told him there was fennel in the dish.

In past seasons, they've had a couple of medical issues and they had medics on set. I was kind of surprised that only the chefs raced over to Lee Anne's mom and not a medic. That was scary. I felt bad for Lee Anne that she had to continue on with the challenge when she must have been very concerned about her mom.

I loved Gregory working with his mom. When he was originally explaining what product he was working on, my mind went to Chow-Chow. I was glad to see Tom make the same comparison at JT (along with Italiian giardiniera and a similar French pickled dish.)  At first, I also thought that his mom called him Chef but then it sounded to me that she called him the French "ch`ere" meaning dear. Would make sense as she's Haitian.  Did anyone have closed captioning on?

Edited April 18, 2020 by ProudMary

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Malarky is clearly using this for some type of reel he will send to try to get on another show. I cannot think of any other reason for his shennanigans....and he is annoying....

Oh he tends to show up on a lot of shows like a "bad penny" anyway so I don't think he needs to try too hard to promote himself.  He's a semi-regular on "Guy's Grocery Games" where Guy Fieri calls him "Chef Shenanigans", so that annoying eye-roll inducing shtick seems to work for him and he's going to run with it as far as he can!

Oh well, for the first few episodes of TC this season he was kind of subdued (for him) but I just knew it couldn't last!

Edited April 18, 2020 by Yeah No

[AnnaBaptist]

18 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

People like Malarky don't bother me. It's like he can't help himself..he's just got to be That Guy. I actually thought he was going home because they showed his burn book, but was secretly glad he didn't. Plus, I find him cute. (I know!)

 

He doesn't bother me, either. He is on the show for comic relief. He is a successful businessman and I get the impression that he doesn't care very much how he does on this competition, as long as he is entertaining. I guess he rubs people the wrong way, but my daughter and I think he is harmless and just shamelessly trying to get some air time. He cracks us up. 

[Ashforth]

7 hours ago, ProudMary said:

In past seasons, they've had a couple of medical issues and they had medics on set. I was kind of surprised that only the chefs raced over to Lee Anne's mom and not a medic. That was scary. I felt bad for Lee Anne that she had to continue on with the challenge when she must have been very concerned about her mom.

They did show the medics taking Leanne's mom out of the kitchen. I'm guessing that the closest people when she started getting woozy were the other competitors, who ran over to help. We can't know how long it was until the medics took over; it was at least long enough to have that heartwarming moment of caring more about a person than winning a competition. 

I agree that it had to be hard for Leanne to carry on. It seems that even when she isn't creating her own obstacles by trying to do way too much in each challenge, something else is thrown at her. From the very beginning of this franchise, she has seemed to be such a nice person and talented chef. I was hoping she'd have more success on TC this time around, but it doesn't look like it's in the cards.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Ashforth

[jalady]

I agree with ProudMary; I think Gregory’s mother called him “cher”, meaning “dear”, not chef.  Which is adorable 😍 

As for Malarkey, I don’t mind him and think the ranking segment was totally producer driven.  Was he thinking it?  Probably.  Did he make a list?  Definitely!  LOL. But they asked him to do that bit on camera, and he enthusiastically agreed.  Because?  Publicity!!!

Edited April 18, 2020 by jalady

[carrps]

12 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

Michelle is a beast!  She is my favorite and I hope she wins. I like Stephanie too, but I think she is out of her depths. I like Eric as well.  What a gorgeous family he has!

Agree with you on all points. But...it's Melissa. 😋

[WatchrTina]

I'm just here to say how much I LOVED this episode.  I generally hate team challenges because they almost always expose the worst aspects of a few of the competitors, but I love it when they bring in "significant others."  Inevitably, those challenges make for the best, most heart-warming episodes.  And this one went right over the top when competitors immediately pitched in to help when the oldest family member felt unwell under the hot lights.  

I also thought the quick-fire challenge was great with all those non-chefs (well, mostly non-chefs) trying to describe complicated dishes over the phone.   I could not pick out arugula at the grocery store without a sign and the same goes for cilantro so I'm glad *I* did not have to describe those dishes.  But I'm pretty sure I could tell the difference between chicken and fish.  I'm afraid the Voltaggio sister is NEVER going to live that down, especially since her other brother is an asshole. (Nope, I still haven't forgiven him for stinking up his season with his horrible attitude.)

Edited April 18, 2020 by WatchrTina

[dleighg]

42 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

But I'm pretty sure I could tell the difference between chicken and fish.  I'm afraid the Voltaggio sister is NEVER going to live that down, especially since her other brother is an asshole. (Nope, I still haven't forgiven him for stinking up his season with his horrible attitude.)

I thought she just got the kind of fish wrong-- it was someone else who thought it was chicken at first. I forget who.

ETA: it was Jen's sister who thought it was chicken

Edited April 18, 2020 by dleighg

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, AnnaBaptist said:

He doesn't bother me, either. He is on the show for comic relief. He is a successful businessman and I get the impression that he doesn't care very much how he does on this competition, as long as he is entertaining. I guess he rubs people the wrong way, but my daughter and I think he is harmless and just shamelessly trying to get some air time. He cracks us up. 

That pretty much sums up how I feel about Malarkey too.  He doesn't rub me the wrong way but a lot of people that others find annoying don't bother me.

[AriAu]

Quote

People like Malarky don't bother me. It's like he can't help himself..he's just got to be That Guy.

Yeah, but That Guy was kind of a dick!

While we can debate the relative merits of MALARKY, there is one thing we can not debate-these cheftestants are turning out some GREAT dishes. There are almost no bad dishes and people are going home for some fairly small things...many people liked Jen's dish.

There is one other thing we can not debate-Nancy Silverton is a GREAT judge. She is really able to explain things clearly and in ways that make up for the fact that we can't taste the dishes. And she was able to plug her products (and her incredible success) without sounding arrogant.

I am shocked that they didn't have Bryan Voltaggio's other sibling show up-yeah, it would have appeared unfair, but there would have been some comedy gold of watching them try to work together and how funny it would have been if they had NOT won.

And I did notice that Bryan V was one of the people attending to LeeAnne's mother...he really is the "dad" of the house. 

I really like Jen and she is clearly VERY talented, but I think it's time she hangs up her TC chef's coat. It's just not happening. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by AriAu

[seltzer3]

I loved the quickfire challenge.

I was cracking up at Jen's sister throughout the entire challenge.  Don't play pictionary with Jen's sister.

"There's a fork and a wine glass!"
"Its a chicken! No wait, it has wings!. No wait, it looks like horseshoes!"

Jen:  "WTF?!"

It was kind of impressive that Jen didn't completely go off the rails with their interaction.

 

The only thing I didn't really care about was that chefs could watch the other chefs.  Like how Nini could just copy off of Gregory.

Edited April 18, 2020 by seltzer3

[geauxaway]

42 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

I loved the quickfire challenge.

I was cracking up at Jen's sister throughout the entire challenge.  Don't play pictionary with Jen's sister.

"There's a fork and a wine glass!"
"Its a chicken! No wait, it has wings!. No wait, it looks like horseshoes!"

Jen:  "WTF?!"

It was kind of impressive that Jen didn't completely go off the rails with their interaction.

 

The only thing I didn't really care about was that chefs could watch the other chefs.  Like how Nini could just copy off of Gregory.

OMG Jen’s sister tore that plate up, too!  What did she say “I’m eating like an animal.”???

I laughed out loud through this entire QF and loved it!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I loved how so many of the chefs came to help when Lee Anne's mother was feeling faint.     And the way others helped Lee Anne, was so touching.  

[catrice2]

Michael V did not bother me. I do remember that season and he may not be a people person, but neither was Harold who won....Marlarky? doesn't necessarily bother me I just feel like he is a plant and a waste of a spot that should have gone to someone else.  The judges already have their favorites and it is clear who is going to be in the top three already....

[HyeChaps]

They have done this describe a meal challenge many times on Food Network's Worst Cooks.  These family members are way better than those scrubs.

[sweetandsour]

Malarky rubs me the wrong way for sure - I highly doubt I could stand him in person for any real measure of time, but on this show, he's tolerable for me bc of two main reasons:

• He is the pretty much the only one acting this way in more than a one-off.  I can't handle it when there's too much negativity or gross behavior on reality competition shows based on merit.  That's not what I'm there for.
• His egotistical soundbytes come back around in an unflattering way, and that's funny.  He talks about how he'd love to win the Trolls premiere tickets bc his daughter is the biggest fan (of Trolls or Kelly Clarkson - don't remember) and she'd think he was the coolest in the world.  Oh wait - she already thinks that! - and then he ends up doing very poorly in the QF.  He's at the top of his ranking, shows it all off, puts Eric, Gregory, and Nini in the bottom half, and then look what happens in the EC.

I love Bryan V, and also loved how he was holding up Leanne's mom.  When people have been through or are going through some shit, and they need/value someone steady and consistent in their lives, I think he's that exact kind of person.  Not flashy, kind of corny, totally solid, and never a drain on you even when you're a drain on him.

He also soothed my mildly ruffled feathers about the teasing of Nini last week.  After they finished the EC and were walking away from the booths, he and Nini were walking together in a way that I have to believe showed they are still friendly and enjoy each other.  It was just the two of them, apart from the others.

Eric's adoration of his wife hits all the right spots - genuine and accessible.  lol which also describes his child's unbothered facial expression hahah.

[greyhorse]

I think it's hilarious that Padma calls him Malarkey and not Brian.  Yeah, I know there's Bryan, but still, I think they've had past seasons where they identify the contestants by first and last name.  I don't recall him being such an a$$ on his season.  All I remember of him is that he was from San Diego and that he was a fish guy.  So it's interesting that I think this was the first episode where he made fish.  

We've all watched enough reality competition shows now to know that when there is a confessional and the contestant is talking about how great he/she is, that it is not a good sign.

I thought it was hilarious that Jen's sister thought it was chicken.  Chicken or fish.  Yeah, I could see how that is easy to confuse.  Spot on that she knew it was a yellowtail collar immediately.  I think Bryan just jumped to branzino because he got the sense it was Italian.

Did Melissa win anything for selling 31 bottles, out of I think 50 contestants?  Wasn't that the name of the challenge?  If she sold the most yet wasn't even in the top 3, then what was the point of counting how many bottles somebody sold?

[LeighLeigh]

I’m not getting enough Karen for my liking. Show me more Karen!

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

Did Melissa win anything for selling 31 bottles, out of I think 50 contestants?  Wasn't that the name of the challenge?  If she sold the most yet wasn't even in the top 3, then what was the point of counting how many bottles somebody sold?

The person who sold the most of their condiment was safe from elimination, regardless of what the judges thought of their food. So, a kind of instant immunity.  Even if they hadn’t found her food good enough to keep her out of the bottom three, she wouldn’t have been placed there because sauce moved.

[Yeah No]

I told myself I wouldn't be "that person" but after so many times I just can't help myself - it's MALARKEY, not MALARKY.  ~Whew~, thank you, I feel better now.  😉

3 hours ago, LeighLeigh said:

I’m not getting enough Karen for my liking. Show me more Karen!

See now while Malarkey doesn't annoy me, for some reason Karen does.  I don't dislike her but she's too everything for me.  I'm one of those reserved introverts in person and she is just soooo exhausting in some ways.   Too bright, too shiny, too happy, too much teeth and grinning for me.  Not that I'm a dour old sourpuss or anything, far from it.  I'm sure she's a nice person, but she does annoy me nonetheless.  I feel like taking a nap after watching her for 5 minutes.

[GreyBunny]

I actually enjoyed Malarkey’s list and his moment of mustache-twirling, he’s just putting on paper what everyone else is doing in their heads. 

Jen came off much better this time around and I probably would have bought her sauce; lemon, ginger, and yogurt sounds like a good combo. So many of the other offerings sounded spicy and I prefer mild. 

I wish they said how many sales each item made besides the winner, is there a list anywhere?

Edited April 22, 2020 by GreyBunny

[seltzer3]

One thing that caught me off, was hearing Jen reflecting on the judges' comments.

Jen says that she realizes that she should make the sauce based off of what other people like, instead of her preference, and that she loves eating chunks of raw ginger.

People like to eat chunks of raw ginger?!

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:33 PM, catrice2 said:

Malarky is clearly using this for some type of reel he will send to try to get on another show. I cannot think of any other reason for his shennanigans....and he is annoying....

I completely agree with you, and he's no fool.  His little scene with the rankings has everyone talking- goal accomplished!  I also like what another poster pointed out: being in the bottom 3 gives him more airtime than being in the middle of the pack.

I loved Stephanie for sending her husband over to help Leanne and when the others pitched in, I teared up a little, too.  I was so glad to see her mom happily cooking the next day.

I have to say that I really enjoy Nini, her cooking, her personality, and her colorful outfits.  She brings a smile to my face.  I noticed the juxtaposition of Jenn and Nini in the supermarket.  Jenn shouting out orders to the butchers while Nini was being fun and conversational with them.  

8 hours ago, GreyBunny said:

I wish they said how sales each item made besides the winner, is there a list anywhere?

Malarkey probably has one...

[SemiCharmedLife]

23 hours ago, geauxaway said:

OMG Jen’s sister tore that plate up, too!  What did she say “I’m eating like an animal.”???

I laughed out loud through this entire QF and loved it!

I loved the Quickfire, too!

I loved seeing the plates- especially how messy Jen's sister's plate was and how empty Leanne's mom's plate was! She really enjoyed that steak!

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

People like to eat chunks of raw ginger?!

I cook with ginger a lot, and always munch on some raw pieces while I'm cutting it up.

[theatremouse]

17 hours ago, greyhorse said:

I think it's hilarious that Padma calls him Malarkey and not Brian.  Yeah, I know there's Bryan, but still, I think they've had past seasons where they identify the contestants by first and last name.

My recollection is that in general people do call him Malarkey rather than Brian, like in real life. It's not something just Padma is doing, or doing just for the show. I think the first time he was on Top Chef he was called Brian...and it is his first name, but people who actually know him tend to call him by his surname, and I'm pretty sure I've also heard him called by surnameon other TV shows he's appeared on in the meantime.

[dleighg]

17 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I've also heard him called by surnameon other TV shows he's appeared on in the meantime.

On the show "The Taste" he was a one name phenomenon, a la Cher or Sting.

[ratgirlagogo]

Just wanted to comment that every single cheftestant had a problem recognizing the voices of their SPOUSES and PARENTS and SIBLINGS on those Metro cellphones.   Not a great advertisement for Metro.

[seltzer3]

6 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I loved the Quickfire, too!

I loved seeing the plates- especially how messy Jen's sister's plate was and how empty Leanne's mom's plate was! She really enjoyed that steak!

I was cracking up, when Leanne was calling her mom, and her mom was just ignoring her eating the food.  She did do a lot better than majority of the relatives identifying the food.  Obviously, she probably wasn't familiar balsamic.

Also, I noticed that LeAnne used kecap manis (an Indonesian soy sauce), which is really smart because kecap manis is a lot sweeter than most soy sauces.  So that helped her out, even though she didn't know it was balsamic.  I know people are pretty down on Leanne, but she did well this episode.  I actually thought she should have been top 3, since her sauce is probably a lot more complicated to make than others.

 

[Irlandesa]

2 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

Obviously, she probably wasn't familiar balsamic.

I think balsamic can take on different properties when it's cooked or added to protein or used as a marinade...etc. I don't think anyone recognized the balsamic so I don't blame the mother.

[seltzer3]

4 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I think balsamic can take on different properties when it's cooked or added to protein or used as a marinade...etc. I don't think anyone recognized the balsamic so I don't blame the mother.

No for sure.  I mean she was the only who even figured out that there was a sauce, while everyone else just thought it was salt and pepper.

[nanners84]

I think I’m in the minority in that I’m a big fan of Jen.  Maybe it’s because I live outside of Philly, but I also remember her being a bad ass in her season, a season known for its bad-assery.  She doesn’t seem the softest, but she had a no-nonsense assertiveness with a bit of that nervous perfectionism that I really empathize with.  I was really disappointed with her performance and attitude in her appearances after her season, but she’s been a class act this season.  Looks like she’s a good friend of Lee Anne, was very affirming when Lee Anne expressed self doubt back at the house, and looked to be one of the first people to rush over to help.   Her attitude towards her experience and elimination this go around was so positive and healthy.  

I also like that she’s part of a “zero proof” movement in Philly, offering a wide selection of non alcoholic drinks.  Word is that she was struggling with alcoholism herself (no surprise in the industry) and recently went sober.  

[dmeets]

I can’t stand Malarkey, am not entertained by him in the slightest, and am annoyed that he keeps skirting by on the bottom. And he was kind of a dick to his wife which leads me to be,I’ve it’s not just a TV persona.

i think this episode was the nicest Padma has been to Stephanie all season, which isn’t saying much.

Sad to see Jen go early again. Doesn’t seem she’ll ever get back the mojo from her first season.

Edited April 20, 2020 by dmeets

[JTMacc99]

I loved that Malarkey took one for the team and ranked everybody, knowing full well that he's one bad dish away from going home.  In anAll-Star season like this, when well more than half of them really are All Stars, it doesn't hurt to have somebody around to say interesting/stupid things.

Here's the thing about his list: I think if you made Tom do it, he wouldn't do it in a top down list, he would put them on rows.  And that top row will have about 7 names on it, and the second row will have the rest with a caveat of "But any one of them could easily win."

Having said that, here's what I think.  In the episode where they traveled around the City and ate at several restaurants, Tom leveled the following criticism before they headed back to the judging table: "Some of these chefs forgot that food is supposed to be delicious."

Chefs that rarely if ever forget food is supposed to be delicious both this season and their first one: Kevin, Gregory, Melissa right off the top of my head.  Eliminated Joe was another one.  The rest of them have are also all very good at not making this mistake in elimination challenges, but you can find moments where they made food to fit a challenge or something that looks/sounds more interesting than it tastes. (Like Jen in this episode.)

It's been a fun season for me so far! I realize right now that I'm probably going to be just as sad for the people who don't win as I will be happy for the one who does.

[geauxaway]

20 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I loved the Quickfire, too!

I loved seeing the plates- especially how messy Jen's sister's plate was and how empty Leanne's mom's plate was! She really enjoyed that steak!

YESSS!!!  Leanne’s mom putting the phone down was gold.  Then she picks it back up “you still there?”  Like yah ma....still here.  🤣. I think this is one of my all time favorite challenges ever.  I’m still laughing about it.

[BlackberryJam]

On 4/17/2020 at 6:02 PM, meep.meep said:

Well at our castle we were hoping Bryan's loved one would turn out to be Michael.

I meant to respond to this and totally failed. I would have loved this. Especially if they had handicapped Michael and given him a list of taboo words, or told him he had to describe each component using a meal from their childhood. I have no idea how they would have enforced it, but it would have cracked me up. 

 

 

[Sara2009]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:32 PM, Bastet said:

From what Padma said to her after announcing the top three, it seems like she was their fourth favorite. 

She said that Kevin had a better chicken dish, though.

[MMLEsq]

On 4/17/2020 at 9:51 AM, NowVoyager said:

 

I love how Eric felt the need to clarify that the two married men out together were on a platonic date....would anyone have thought otherwise?  😂

On 4/19/2020 at 11:23 PM, nanners84 said:

I think I’m in the minority in that I’m a big fan of Jen.  Maybe it’s because I live outside of Philly, but I also remember her being a bad ass in her season, a season known for its bad-assery.  She doesn’t seem the softest, but she had a no-nonsense assertiveness with a bit of that nervous perfectionism that I really empathize with.  I was really disappointed with her performance and attitude in her appearances after her season, but she’s been a class act this season.  Looks like she’s a good friend of Lee Anne, was very affirming when Lee Anne expressed self doubt back at the house, and looked to be one of the first people to rush over to help.   Her attitude towards her experience and elimination this go around was so positive and healthy.  

I also like that she’s part of a “zero proof” movement in Philly, offering a wide selection of non alcoholic drinks.  Word is that she was struggling with alcoholism herself (no surprise in the industry) and recently went sober.  

On her first season she was introduced as Eric Ripert's (swoon.....) mentee -- that was enough for me.

[Eolivet]

On 4/19/2020 at 4:08 AM, Yeah No said:

See now while Malarkey doesn't annoy me, for some reason Karen does.  I don't dislike her but she's too everything for me.  I'm one of those reserved introverts in person and she is just soooo exhausting in some ways. 

This. I didn't see her first season, but she drew my ire when she whined in the art challenge about Kevin having immunity and that was going to be the reason she was in the bottom. She gives this aura of "why don't people understand my brilliance?" similar to Malarkey, except Malarkey's not serious, where I feel like she definitely is.

Another oldschooler bites the dust. Not quite as lopsided as this season's Survivor, but it feels like the bottom two remaining are probably oldschoolers (Malarkey and Lee Anne). Though I am hopeful Kevin (and Bryan) will go far, hopefully to the finals. Team Oldschoolers all the way (though I do like Melissa and Gregory a lot, too).

[nokat]

Regarding the quickfire, I was surprised at how many didn't taste the balsamic vinegar. Apparently it is used frequently.

Yes I have some, and I should be using it more often.

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by nokat
Looked in cupboard

[Archery]

Padma seemed to be having a blast during this Quickfire -- not in a "this is going to be really hard" diabolical way, but rather she seemed ... delighted.  And the casual jeans look really suited her.  

I loved that the top 3 Elim dishes were non Euro-American condiments.  

[sharifa70]

32 minutes ago, LucindaWalsh said:

Kevin seriously? You did hot salt? How was that not bashed by the judges?  I did like his wife and was happy to find out that she is a lawyer. 

I also immediately rooted against him for calling it “Hot-lanta” because even though I have no idea if that’s a thing with the locals, I hate that term. 

[RebeccatheWriter]

1 hour ago, sharifa70 said:

I also immediately rooted against him for calling it “Hot-lanta” because even though I have no idea if that’s a thing with the locals, I hate that term. 

We locals hate it. It is so overdone. 

[Yeah No]

On 4/19/2020 at 11:23 PM, nanners84 said:

I think I’m in the minority in that I’m a big fan of Jen.  Maybe it’s because I live outside of Philly, but I also remember her being a bad ass in her season, a season known for its bad-assery.  She doesn’t seem the softest, but she had a no-nonsense assertiveness with a bit of that nervous perfectionism that I really empathize with.  I was really disappointed with her performance and attitude in her appearances after her season, but she’s been a class act this season.  Looks like she’s a good friend of Lee Anne, was very affirming when Lee Anne expressed self doubt back at the house, and looked to be one of the first people to rush over to help.   Her attitude towards her experience and elimination this go around was so positive and healthy.  

I also like that she’s part of a “zero proof” movement in Philly, offering a wide selection of non alcoholic drinks.  Word is that she was struggling with alcoholism herself (no surprise in the industry) and recently went sober.  

I've always liked Jen.  I was sad for her after she drew fire for her un-classy elimination several years ago.  It looks like she went through a down period after that which her appearance on "Life after Top Chef" painfully illustrated.  For a while it seemed like she couldn't win for losing at anything, and it broke my heart because I thought she deserved so much more.  It looks like she's come a long way and gotten her act together since then.  I like her because she isn't full of herself like some chefs with her qualifications are.

[Bastet]

I've been in Jen's corner since the first episode of her season, when one of the male chefs, upon finding out she worked at Eric Ripert's new restaurant, assumed she was the sous chef (or the pastry chef, maybe, but I don't think the assumption was down another level like that; I think it was sous). 

She was, of course the chef de cuisine (and had worked her way up to Ripert's first female saucier, and then became his sous chef, at Le Bernardin before that), but, seeing a woman, her male competitor didn't just ask what her role was, he assumed the limit of what it could be.  She handled it directly and gracefully, and then put out fantastic food to come in third or fourth (I can't recall offhand) for the season, with an appealing confidence (tempered by perfectionist insecurity), so I've been down with her as a competitor ever since, regardless of her meltdown in the first All Stars (which I remember happening, but don't remember details of) and her friendship with Mike Isabella (which gives me much more pause, being a sustained thing rather than a single bad experience).

I don't actually think we're a small group, but whatever size, reserve me a seat at the liking Jen table.