S17.E07: Pitch Perfect

[meep.meep]

Melissa ?

[Ashforth]

2 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Melissa ?

Yes, I fixed it, thank you!

[snarktini]

10 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

That's why I was HAPPY that Melissa's concept wasn't chosen. Her food seems so delicate and beautiful and personal, I would hate to see it decimated in the hurley-burley bullshit of the frenzy that is Restaurant Wars.

While they were working on mood boards, Lee Anne acknowledged winning was a double edged sword. Totally agree. I'd never want to be EC in this challenge.

I think it's great that the concept is formed/pitched in advance because it eliminates the hodgepodge we usually get, where they all figure out their lowest common denominator and muddle through. This way it's defined and clear. However, not all of the concepts translate equally well to team execution and frenzy. In the real world, you hire chefs who can support your concept. Not so in RW! You get a team made up of peer competitors, and your authority and control are weak. As another poster noted, Gregory may have a harder time because the chefs won't be as familiar off the bat with Haitian flavors.

[dleighg]

6 minutes ago, snarktini said:

While they were working on mood boards, Lee Anne acknowledged winning was a double edged sword. Totally agree. I'd never want to be EC in this challenge.

Oh yes, she was definitely hoping for "better than worst, worse than top two." 

And for the same reason, plus immunity, I don't know why Stephanie fussed about it. She was guaranteed to get what she wanted LOL. All she had to do was present a half-assed idea. But honestly, those chips and smoked fish dish looked great to me!

[Rambler]

1 hour ago, seltzer3 said:

Also, the idea of being asked how many customers would be seated is a stupid question as well.  Because they are obviously not going to follow the # of customers, to be fair for both teams.

I guess they ask the question to see how realistic the concept being presented is. If you are going to seat more people, you can get away with having lower margin items on the menu, but at the same time you can't have a complex dish that will take a lot of time to prepare. That is probably why they dinged Leanne for having too many items in her bowl.

Looking at the chefs who are on each team from next week's preview, if Team Gregory manages to pull out a win its going to be the biggest upset since Team USA beat the Russians in hockey.

[gorgy]

This was like the reality tv version of a bottle episode. They barely left the set, made some tacos, and the only cash spent went to scrapbooking. I'm expecting (and hoping) Restaurant Wars is where a lot of the production money went.

I like Eric, but his restaurant sounded... unappealing. When he mentioned using a particular color because it represented slave shackles. It's like, wow, you can really taste the suffering. Interestingly enough, Kevin's southern spice restaurant has its own connection to slavery. I'm pretty sure the eastern spice trade also involved using unpaid labor from Africa as well because, in a nutshell, humanity is terrible.

Speaking of terrible, I can see why Malarky is so successful. He has the same coked-out energy associated with so many restaurateurs and other hucksters. Fake recognizes fake.

 

[StrictTime]

So either Kevin or Gregory gets auffed next episode? I can’t imagine that the judges won’t hold them each responsible for how the restaurant is run. This kind of bothers me.

[BusyOctober]

Malarkey annoys me to no end.  His hyper “oops! Forgot to take my Adderall today!” energy and shtick is exhausting.  I guess some chefs need that “let’s put on a show” intensity, but I hate it.  I feel like Malarkey is always auditioning for a permanent gig on Food Network.  He’s gonna hustle til he gets it.  Maybe he, Richard Blais and Guy Fieri can team up. I already have a name for their show; “Triple D-Bags”.

[HurricaneVal]

Slide over on that "I hate Restaurant Wars" bench.  This is Top Chef.  Not Top Restaurant Manager, and it is usually the management of the restaurant or the lack of communication/coordination between the front and back of the house that dooms someone.  Not the food.....   The one thing I've learned over and over and over watching this show is that you never, ever, ever, want to be the person in charge of the front of the house.  You have to make your own dish, as well as handle the inevitable chaos of trying to seat and feed "patrons" as well as judges.

Now I did find last nights elimination challenge to be interesting, but I didn't find it to be very fair for the follow-on episode--not every chef wants to, or has the skills to, conceptualize, pitch to investors, or open a restaurant.  Nor do I think the resulting Restaurant War will be very fair.  Both concepts seem fairly specific, and biased toward the winning chef's wheelhouse.  You could argue that all chefs should have some broad knowledge of world food, but what if--for pointed example--the only Haitian recipes you know how to make are the only Haitian recipes most of the non Haitian chefs know.  You can't really serve rice and beans with every app and entree.  So some of those chefs are going to be forced to either cook a dish outside of their experience, or cook a familiar dish to them and try to give it a twist to fit the brief.  Either way lies madness.

And I do love Eric, and I would love to try his food, but I just don't think this is the show for him.  He has a certain something that is very watchable and approachable.  Even when he's being painfully earnest about African culinary roots, he comes off as eager and sincere and not patronizing or lecturing.  That's kind of hard to do, especially when talking about touchy subjects like slavery, racism, and African and African-American cultures.  Eric needs a show on the Travel Channel or CNN where he travels around Africa and the US showcasing the cultures and foods and how African roots inform a lot of southern and other cooking today.  I'd watch the hell out of that show!

[seltzer3]

11 minutes ago, StrictTime said:

So either Kevin or Gregory gets auffed next episode? I can’t imagine that the judges won’t hold them each responsible for how the restaurant is run. This kind of bothers me.

Yeah Top Chef Seattle had the concept ideas before Restaurant Wars.  Kristen was one of the winners with Sheldon.  We know how that turned out.

[HurricaneVal]

Oh!  I forgot to add:  I wonder if the chefs got to keep their machetes?  That would be a really cool souvenir--especially if they could get Danny Trejo and Padma and everyone to (carefully) sign it.

 

[catrice2]

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

I guess I'm the only one who wasn't sold on either his concept or his dish. Country Captain as the name of a restaurant that holds zero appeal to me (note that as a person who has lived only in the NYC metro area and California, I've never heard of the dish). The name of the restaurant reminds me of Cracker Barrel. (duck)

And even though I was actually paying attention, I don't really have a sense of what this restaurant is going to serve. I mean "Southern" is not a new concept. How is his different?

 

Nah, he sells them. He's gotten rich that way.

I'm sure Kevin is awesome, but I've looked at the menu at all of his restaurants and concepts and I am not blown away....

14 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

Slide over on that "I hate Restaurant Wars" bench.  This is Top Chef.  Not Top Restaurant Manager, and it is usually the management of the restaurant or the lack of communication/coordination between the front and back of the house that dooms someone.  Not the food.....   The one thing I've learned over and over and over watching this show is that you never, ever, ever, want to be the person in charge of the front of the house.  You have to make your own dish, as well as handle the inevitable chaos of trying to seat and feed "patrons" as well as judges.

Now I did find last nights elimination challenge to be interesting, but I didn't find it to be very fair for the follow-on episode--not every chef wants to, or has the skills to, conceptualize, pitch to investors, or open a restaurant.  Nor do I think the resulting Restaurant War will be very fair.  Both concepts seem fairly specific, and biased toward the winning chef's wheelhouse.  You could argue that all chefs should have some broad knowledge of world food, but what if--for pointed example--the only Haitian recipes you know how to make are the only Haitian recipes most of the non Haitian chefs know.  You can't really serve rice and beans with every app and entree.  So some of those chefs are going to be forced to either cook a dish outside of their experience, or cook a familiar dish to them and try to give it a twist to fit the brief.  Either way lies madness.

And I do love Eric, and I would love to try his food, but I just don't think this is the show for him.  He has a certain something that is very watchable and approachable.  Even when he's being painfully earnest about African culinary roots, he comes off as eager and sincere and not patronizing or lecturing.  That's kind of hard to do, especially when talking about touchy subjects like slavery, racism, and African and African-American cultures.  Eric needs a show on the Travel Channel or CNN where he travels around Africa and the US showcasing the cultures and foods and how African roots inform a lot of southern and other cooking today.  I'd watch the hell out of that show!

Yes, based on what you said that is why I fear Gregory will be gone next week...

27 minutes ago, StrictTime said:

So either Kevin or Gregory gets auffed next episode? I can’t imagine that the judges won’t hold them each responsible for how the restaurant is run. This kind of bothers me.

It won't be Kevin.....

[catrice2]

2 hours ago, Rambler said:

I guess they ask the question to see how realistic the concept being presented is. If you are going to seat more people, you can get away with having lower margin items on the menu, but at the same time you can't have a complex dish that will take a lot of time to prepare. That is probably why they dinged Leanne for having too many items in her bowl.

Looking at the chefs who are on each team from next week's preview, if Team Gregory manages to pull out a win its going to be the biggest upset since Team USA beat the Russians in hockey.

Who is on each team?

[Thumper]

5 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I half expected Tom to start twitching when the words "dim sum" were uttered.  I'm surprised he hasn't banned their use altogether, to avoid triggering his PTSD.  I think the only time we've seen him angrier was in the wake of S2's Shavegate.

Why does Tom hate dim sum?

Malarkey’s eyes creep me out.  Also too much of a showman.

Southern food always seems heavy to me.

[Fukui San]

3 minutes ago, Thumper said:

Why does Tom hate dim sum?

Malarkey’s eyes creep me out.  Also too much of a showman.

Southern food always seems heavy to me.

I'm sure Tom likes dim sum fine. It's just that the cheftestants of the All Stars seasons fucked up the concept spectacularly during a dim sum challenge during their season.

[Sew Sumi]

30 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

Who is on each team?

See the Spoilers thread. I'm not sure previews have definitively shown the teams. 

[Ashforth]

Just now, Sew Sumi said:

See the Spoilers thread. I'm not sure previews have definitively shown the teams. 

and PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE SPOILERS THREAD! That's not for you, @Sew Sumi but for others who may not know.

[MajorWoody]

21 hours ago, IndyMischa said:

"Where are you having dinner?"

 "Oh, this great new place, named for the Atlantic slave trade!"

 WHUT? Major record scratch.

My thought exactly. Who in their right mind would think that Is the atmosphere people want when going out and paying for a dining experience. Amazing none of the judges questioned that. 
 

It would also give a whole new meaning to when the owner says it’s time to crack the whip.

 

Seriously, that was mind bogglingly stupid for a concept. What next, a holocaust dining experience? 
 

Some themes are better for museums, not restaurants.

 

Also, regarding Malarkeys 19 restaurants in 5 years. That is  pretty much one new restaurant every three months for five years. How can you really devote any real attention to any of them when you are pretty much onto your next one as soon as one opens?

Edited May 2, 2020 by MajorWoody

[staphdude]

This elimination round was the one to shoot for a solid middle showing. 
 

The new process gives a more complete feel to a restaurant wars but overall that episode is a fuster cluck and is always my least favourite part of the competition. I see no reason bastardized a process that everyone in the production knows takes huge amounts of time, planning and resources to pull off. There is really no way to fairly judge what goes on during those services. 
 

Malarkey is what most investors want-an over enthusiastic professional with a proven track record. 

[Archery]

2 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

And I do love Eric, and I would love to try his food, but I just don't think this is the show for him.  He has a certain something that is very watchable and approachable.  Even when he's being painfully earnest about African culinary roots, he comes off as eager and sincere and not patronizing or lecturing.  That's kind of hard to do, especially when talking about touchy subjects like slavery, racism, and African and African-American cultures.  Eric needs a show on the Travel Channel or CNN where he travels around Africa and the US showcasing the cultures and foods and how African roots inform a lot of southern and other cooking today.  I'd watch the hell out of that show!

Yes!  I very much enjoyed learning about new categories of food, and for the most part, Eric's food was very well received in both seasons.  I really want West African cuisine and, for that matter, Haitian cuisine, to be held in high regard in restaurants, like French or Italian food, and not relegated to food you eat at your friend's aunt's house.  

I didn't get the sense that Eric's restaurant would have literal shackles and other reminders of the slave trade, but rather colours that tied back to the theme, and would be pitched as food of the African diaspora (basically, food of everywhere in the Americas).  I do think the name, Middle Passage, will disappear somewhere in the development of his restaurant.  He'll be talked out of it.  

Honestly, I was more skeeved out by the Caucasian Brian Malarkey's concept of marrying food from the Baja (Mexican) with Asian cuisine -- all I could think was, yes, go ahead and marry up the cuisine of two oppressed California peoples and act like you invented it.  

Padma's "FFS" expression whenever Malarkey gets going is priceless.  Also loved Leanne's Brad Pitt in "Se7en" impression:  "What's in the booooooox?"

[roctavia]

I feel like the restaurant war in the very first season was so interesting- that we saw having a great front of the house person was a key element,  etc. Which has made restaurant wars such a big deal. It's an interesting way to see how they can work together as a team, and is something different from them just making dishes... but I feel like over the years as they have tried to make it more interesting or more challenging/something different, it's become a little ridiculous.     

I did like seeing the different restaurant pitches tonight, it was a new challenge (for me, i think i missed most of last season due to boredom 😛 ) and let each contestant do their own thing instead of some crazy challenge. 

Edited May 2, 2020 by roctavia

[catrice2]

Did Julia Child ever open a restaurant?  I'm curious.....

[mlp]

12 hours ago, Rai said:

That said, of the more high-end choices, it was Melissa's that appealed the most to me. I was really surprised when she didn't win one of the spots.

Melissa's dish did look great but it would be hard to mass produce and serve properly in the chaos that is Restaurant Wars, especially when she'd have to rely on others doing or helping with the preparation and plating.  My guess is that the judges took that into consideration.

11 hours ago, Yeah No said:

The problem with Eric is that he was so far into his head and feeling the pressure of the competition that he tried too hard to relate everything to his greater mission, and thus missed the point entirely that food is not just about representing a cause but about pleasing its audience.

Yep.  Eric doesn't seem to get that no chef is going to be successful if he or she doesn't please the customers.  In Top Chef, the judges are his customers.  They aren't there to be taught a lesson.  They want good food presented well.  His concept was poor and so was his food.  I'm sure he's a very nice guy but I'm not sorry he's gone.

I've always liked Stephanie but she sure didn't acquit herself well during this challenge.  She just looked over it.  I'm inclined to think that she and Lee Anne, in one order or the other, will be the next two PYKAG'd but anything can happen, and often does, in Restaurant Wars so who knows?

[caitmcg]

14 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Did Julia Child ever open a restaurant?  I'm curious.....

No, Julia Child never even worked in a restaurant. She was very clear on being a home cook and food writer, and not a chef. Her memoir My Life in France, about how she got into cooking and came to co-author Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a good read. 

Edited May 2, 2020 by caitmcg

[rozen]

20 hours ago, Rai said:

So. Difficult to get on board with that concept. BUT. In a similar vein, I'm a little uncomfortable with Kevin's concept being one of the winners, since a Southern restaurant inspired by the spice trade (at least the European era, which I assume Kevin was referencing) evokes colonialism at best, and also could fall into slave trade territory, only from the slavers' perspective, which. Gross.

Yup, exactly how I thought. This is not the first time a black chef has pushed cuisine that celebrates the diversity of food born of tragedy while a white southern chef goes "whee, look at our Cool. Neat. Culinary Heritage!" while eliding the underlying genocidal colonialism. It is gross and tiresome.

[Yeah No]

54 minutes ago, rozen said:

Yup, exactly how I thought. This is not the first time a black chef has pushed cuisine that celebrates the diversity of food born of tragedy while a white southern chef goes "whee, look at our Cool. Neat. Culinary Heritage!" while eliding the underlying genocidal colonialism. It is gross and tiresome.

Yeah, but IMHO it should be about the food, not the politics.  That goes for Eric too, only he seemed to forget the food side of the equation entirely.  I don't like the idea that some cuisines in general are being classified as politically incorrect just by virtue of the greater culture that they rose from.  I love German food but I try to remember that it has nothing to do with the Nazis.  A lot of the southern American food that has become very popular arose in a culture of poverty and even from black slaves themselves so I personally find that argument weak.  YMMV.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Did Julia Child ever open a restaurant?  I'm curious.....

No, but I bet she could have told you down to the table linen what it would have looked like!

[VintageJ]

23 hours ago, laprin said:

Average check refers to the whole table. That is quite reasonable for a table, which usually consists of at least 2 people. That’s two people for lunch where I live. 

Plus I believe he said that $60 per table was the high end of the menu.  Very reasonable for two people, especially if you have a drink.  

[Mellowyellow]

"She saw life in a romantic way, that's how I view my food."

Melissa's statement summed up her cooking perfectly for me! I have been watching and she's become one of my favourites (along with Gregory whom I adore). There is a quality to her food that I found appealing but couldn't verbalise and she described it perfectly!

Gregory made me want to cook a whole fish! I am wary about fish most of the time and I hate whole fish but his looked so tasty!

I like most of these chefs but Melissa and Gregory are my favourites! I don't want to have favourites! It's easier watching when I'm neutral! 

[nutella fitzgerald]

15 hours ago, Rambler said:

Looking at the chefs who are on each team from next week's preview, if Team Gregory manages to pull out a win its going to be the biggest upset since Team USA beat the Russians in hockey.

Season 3’s Bad News Bears needed a couple of tries, but they got it done! I’m going to go watch that mise en place relay now. Iconic!

[wlk68]

Upon rewatching the episode, I thought the criticism of Bryan V was a bit unfair.

The judges were like, "make up your mind, either you want to do fine dining, or you want to make your food accessible to more people."

I get where he's coming from. His plating is exquisite, and his culinary sensibility is very high end.

However, he probably wants his food to reach a different clientele, other than just food snobs. He wants "regular people" to experience fine dining in an environment that is not intimidating.

It's a great idea, but maybe one that he didn't quite get across to the panel.

Stephanie Izard's critique of "you're a fine dining chef, so own it!" was ridiculous.

Of course he owns it. Every single plate he puts out, is immaculate. Even the ones that he creates with a fucking machete!

He just wants his food to reach more people than it currently does.

I'm a bit of Bryan stan so your YMMV, of course. 

[rhygirl720]

Today's musings:

restaurants need to be about great food, excellent service and an enticing atmosphere. Not politics! I love Eric but he needs to get out of his head.

None of these restaurant concepts were groundbreaking. There are 4 African restaurants within 20 miles of me. Latin fusion is very well established California cuisine. Ditto for all the rest. The only restaurant type I can't find in my area is Haitian which is likely just regional. 

I think Bryan V had an interesting concept about accessible fine dining.. I'm just not sure it can actually be  a successful venture long term.

 

 

[Bunnyette]

I really liked Eric.  I just wish he kept his concept simple - high end west African food served in formal surroundings...even as a tasting menu.   West Africa has vibrant colours that could be used on a mood board.  No way would he have been in the bottom 3 for that.  Leanne the food network favourite keeps getting away with low level cooking.

[snarktini]

12 minutes ago, Bunnyette said:

I really liked Eric.  I just wish he kept his concept simple - high end west African food served in formal surroundings...even as a tasting menu.   West Africa has vibrant colours that could be used on a mood board.  No way would he have been in the bottom 3 for that. 

Not sure about that...both his dishes sounded awful, an opinion shared unanimously by the judges. Tom immediately "pushed away" the lamb and they all agreed it was way overcooked. His other one was deemed extremely salty. Virtually every comment was negative. From the judge's comments we heard, inedible food did him in way more than the concept.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, snarktini said:

From the judge's comments we heard, inedible food did him [Eric] in way more than the concept.

That's probably true but I'd be willing to wager real money that there was a lot of discussion about his concept that wasn't aired because it would have been seen as politically incorrect.  

[catrice2]

What it Michael V is an addict, or a recovering one?  Does that take away from his cooking ability and I assume his well earned success?   I don't know his drug of choice, but Gregory has been open about his struggles, and from what I've heard it is common in the restaurant business , like Anthony Bourdain.  I doubt that only fellow drug users are eating his food and declaring it good. 

Sometimes people don't always translate their personalities well to television, and sometimes people are just not a people person.  He was there to win, not make friends, and if he does have a problem I hope he is getting help for it. 

[Ashforth]

 

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

No, but I bet she could have told you down to the table linen what it would have looked like!

My sense is that if Julia Child had opened a restaurant, it would have been totally unfussy, probably with communal seating and family-style service.

9 hours ago, rozen said:

Yup, exactly how I thought. This is not the first time a black chef has pushed cuisine that celebrates the diversity of food born of tragedy while a white southern chef goes "whee, look at our Cool. Neat. Culinary Heritage!" while eliding the underlying genocidal colonialism. It is gross and tiresome.

I think it's well established that Black slaves from Africa have hugely influenced Southern, Creole, and other food. I have never seen a White chef directly or indirectly  indicate that he or she thought that slavery was groovy or cool as part of our culinary heritage. Instead, they largely seem respectful and love the food and want to celebrate it.

That being said, the deeply embedded racism of the US and the systemic oppression of Black Americans has kept Black chefs from getting funding to open restaurants, while White chefs with the same concept are more likely to get financial backing.

This is an interesting article: https://www.eater.com/2016/3/22/11264104/gullah-food-charleston

Edited to add: Southern American food and other food influenced by African slaves are a part of the lives of White Americans as well, and it isn't fair, in my opinion, to say that White people have to deny that it is now part of White culture as well. We're talking about hundreds of years of cultural melding.

Edited May 2, 2020 by Ashforth

[snarktini]

29 minutes ago, mlp said:

That's probably true but I'd be willing to wager real money that there was a lot of discussion about his concept that wasn't aired because it would have been seen as politically incorrect.  

You're probably right. They would have had a hard time discussing it without it being really awkward.

OTOH, they said one had food issues and one had concept issues. (And Stephanie had both.) It wasn't clear to me exactly which was which...but given how bad they said Eric's food was I inferred that his concept was actually not that bad in their eyes.

[Bunnyette]

3 hours ago, snarktini said:

Not sure about that...both his dishes sounded awful, an opinion shared unanimously by the judges. Tom immediately "pushed away" the lamb and they all agreed it was way overcooked. His other one was deemed extremely salty. Virtually every comment was negative. From the judge's comments we heard, inedible food did him in way more than the concept.

I think Eric was worried about his concept he lost focus on the food.

[Cotypubby]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

That's probably true but I'd be willing to wager real money that there was a lot of discussion about his concept that wasn't aired because it would have been seen as politically incorrect.  

Absolutely. I knew right away that there would be not one negative or dismissive reaction about his concept from anyone on the show aired on TV because the offenderati would immediately cry racism on Twitter and create a fake controversy. Before they said how terrible the food actually was, I feared they’d give him the win just to score points. 

[rozen]

2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

I think it's well established that Black slaves from Africa have hugely influenced Southern, Creole, and other food. I have never seen a White chef directly or indirectly  indicate that he or she thought that slavery was groovy or cool as part of our culinary heritage. Instead, they largely seem respectful and love the food and want to celebrate it.

...

Edited to add: Southern American food and other food influenced by African slaves are a part of the lives of White Americans as well, and it isn't fair, in my opinion, to say that White people have to deny that it is now part of White culture as well. We're talking about hundreds of years of cultural melding.

I didn't say anything about white chefs fangirling over slavery. They just ignore the horrific process by which African cuisine was colonized and re-appropriated.  Kevin's food was clearly tasty, well-executed, and had a clear point of view and he is an excellent chef. It doesn't take away from his success to point out that his cultural narrative is the preferred one and provides him with the vocabulary to argue for that point of view, something which Eric very much lacked. 

 

[catrice2]

That is what worries me....the edits are always purposefully misleading, so while it looks like Gregory and his team are confident it usually tends to be the opposite....ugh...

[theatremouse]

On 4/30/2020 at 8:07 PM, Bastet said:

The QF was fun; I like how much fun they had with the machetes (although a few of them made me nervous with them).  I like Danny Trejo’s activism, although I have not tried his tacos (there are so many here, and I most often cook my own, so it takes a while to try all the ones I’m interested in). 

Can vouch Trejo's tacos are Good. At least the vegetarian varieties. Can't speak to the others.

On 5/1/2020 at 5:36 PM, MajorWoody said:

Also, regarding Malarkeys 19 restaurants in 5 years. That is  pretty much one new restaurant every three months for five years. How can you really devote any real attention to any of them when you are pretty much onto your next one as soon as one opens?

My limited understanding is that's the job. Unless he were intending to run the restaurant himself (which in most of these cases he was not), his gig was to do the lead up, get it open and then move on to the next. I'm also pretty sure some of those 19 were really just "second location of already established restaurant he opened previously".

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

What it Michael V is an addict, or a recovering one?  Does that take away from his cooking ability and I assume his well earned success? 

I was the one who posted that he looked awful on Grocery Games. I have no idea if he has had an addiction problem.  This is Top Chef - but for as many seasons as it has been on, often, the "best" chef has not won.

I tend not to like the braggarts, the asshole chef. The douchey Voltaggio filled that role during his season.  I feel like Bryan came across better - in personality and cooking.

I stan Bryan as well and have been saddened to hear that his restaurants have not been successful.  I don't think it's been because he is not a good chef - but some people have had luck with "schticky" restaurants.  I mean.. Guy Fieri.

[Archery]

12 hours ago, rhygirl720 said:

None of these restaurant concepts were groundbreaking. There are 4 African restaurants within 20 miles of me. Latin fusion is very well established California cuisine. Ditto for all the rest. The only restaurant type I can't find in my area is Haitian which is likely just regional. 

While I’m sure there are tons of specific African country (Ethiopian, Nigerian, Gambian) restaurants all over America, that’s not at all Eric’s concept. 

And for celebration of white Southern cooking without acknowledging the buried racial heritage of it, see Exhibit A: Paula Deen. Her whole shtick was “here’s how we cook in the South” (unspoken: “just like our Negro domestics used to make for our family for generations”).  

I think Stephanie was in that same headspace that Cheeto-on-a-Snickers Mikey was in seasons ago. She literally did not have the first clue where to start with the restaurant concept. Without that added pressure, she likely would have done just fine with her schnitzel. 

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, rozen said:

I didn't say anything about white chefs fangirling over slavery. They just ignore the horrific process by which African cuisine was colonized and re-appropriated.  Kevin's food was clearly tasty, well-executed, and had a clear point of view and he is an excellent chef. It doesn't take away from his success to point out that his cultural narrative is the preferred one and provides him with the vocabulary to argue for that point of view, something which Eric very much lacked. 

I don't know about that.  The judges were obviously very impressed with Gregory's Haitian cultural narrative and food.  I think that if Eric's food was better and his restaurant concept a little more well thought out, they would have preferred him over Kevin.  I don't think there was any preference paid to cultural narrative in the judges' final decision.  They have been very open to all cultural narratives in the past.  In fact, in both of his seasons I thought the judges were giving Eric and his food's background equal respect and advantage to the other chefs'.  They were very taken with his food, his POV and his cultural narrative, which he had no trouble expressing and arguing for because even I myself was completely taken with it and before him I didn't really have any great interest in African food.  I felt that in both seasons he did very well for quite a while and that the judges were rooting for him like the audience.  I just think that in this episode especially, he didn't perform so well at any of those things.  I could tell the judges were sad to have to send him packing.  It only takes one bad performance to get sent home here and I see no reason to read between the lines to find unfairness in the judges' determination.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

21 hours ago, wlk68 said:

The judges were like, "make up your mind, either you want to do fine dining, or you want to make your food accessible to more people."

I get where he's coming from. His plating is exquisite, and his culinary sensibility is very high end.

However, he probably wants his food to reach a different clientele, other than just food snobs. He wants "regular people" to experience fine dining in an environment that is not intimidating.

It's a great idea, but maybe one that he didn't quite get across to the panel.

Upon thinking it over, I think your last sentence is the real reason Bryan got the criticism he did from the judges.  They didn't understand what you and some of us in the audience seemed to understand about what he was trying to sell.  He just failed to sell it to them well enough.  As kooky and OTT Malarkey was in his presentation, he got his vision across.  Bryan V. obviously has more difficulty expressing himself in public and it really put him at a disadvantage here.  Also, I think the judges may think that if you don't make food "look"more approachable, it won't appeal to a broader audience.  Maybe if he plated his dishes with a little less finesse - more in a casual, family style perhaps they would have gotten on board with it.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Yeah No

[Fukui San]

On 5/1/2020 at 6:39 PM, StrictTime said:

So either Kevin or Gregory gets auffed next episode? I can’t imagine that the judges won’t hold them each responsible for how the restaurant is run. This kind of bothers me.

It needs to be said that any chef can get eliminated next episode, not just Kevin and Gregory. If Front of House is the problem or if someone makes an egregious dish, they can be sent home.

[wlk68]

3 hours ago, Yeah No said:

  As kooky and OTT Malarkey was in his presentation, he got his vision across.  Bryan V. obviously has more difficulty expressing himself in public and it really put him at a disadvantage here.  Also, I think the judges may think that if you don't make food "look"more approachable, it won't appeal to a broader audience.  Maybe if he plated his dishes with a little less finesse - more in a casual, family style perhaps they would have gotten on board with it.

The weird thing is that he actually has a family style restaurant called …*drumroll* ... Family Meal. It's super casual and geared towards serving yummy food to busy families.  

Edited May 3, 2020 by wlk68

[Ashforth]

17 hours ago, Archery said:

And for celebration of white Southern cooking without acknowledging the buried racial heritage of it, see Exhibit A: Paula Deen. Her whole shtick was “here’s how we cook in the South” (unspoken: “just like our Negro domestics used to make for our family for generations”).

Ugh, I had banished nasty racist Pauler from my memory. And I don't think she used the word "Negro." So yeah, there's that for sure. 😢

9 hours ago, Fukui San said:

It needs to be said that any chef can get eliminated next episode, not just Kevin and Gregory. If Front of House is the problem or if someone makes an egregious dish, they can be sent home.

FOH has long been a perilous role in RW. From the preview it looked like Karen and Malarkey are FOH this time. Other non-head chefs have been sent packing as well. Dessert is a dangerous course to take on (it's also often combined with the FOH role, so double jeopardy). 

Let us not forget that while Stephanie won immunity at the beginning of this episode, and I was happy for her that she did, it was burned in the pitch process, so everyone is available for PYKAG. She and Leeanne have been struggling,

Spoiler

and Nini will be back (I assume)

 so it should be interesting.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Ashforth