S17.E09: Cabin Fever

[CrazyInAlabama]

The camp is at 6,000 ft., and some don't adapt quickly to that.   When I lived in Colorado, you could tell who the newcomers were, they looked so tired, and some people were really affected by the height.    It also wreaks havoc on cooking.    There are special cookbooks for high altitude cooking.    It's hard to get baked goods to come out right, without adjusting the recipe, and cooking temperatures. 

When I moved to Colorado everyone told me for at least a week you should take it easy, drink extra water, and get extra sleep.     They're lucky no one ended up with altitude sickness, which can be very dangerous.     There are also people who cannot go to high altitude, without severe health consequences.   I'm hoping the producers screen everyone before the show starts about health issues, before they send people to high altitude. 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Macbeth]

Melissa's gotta fight.  When Gregory took out the spinach later - I was like Melissa why didn't you do a spinach salad?

She's my favorite - I don't want her to go.  But she has to fight.

And I really don't watch Top Chef for bad brunch food.  

They have lots of eggs but no tomatoes???  

I hate Top Chef Shenanigans.

[Ashforth]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The camp is at 6,000 ft., and some don't adapt quickly to that.   When I lived in Colorado, you could tell who the newcomers were, they looked so tired, and some people were really affected by the height.    It also wreaks havoc on cooking.    

I thought about that, especially because Leanne dropped out of TC Colorado because she was pregnant and had altitude sickness.

I guess if she ever competes on TC again, she'll have to insist on a "no mountains" clause.

Also the show got them up there, no time to acclimate, and sent them out to do strenuous physical activities when some of them (Melissa?) were already saying they were tired and needed to sleep. So it's like they fucked with the chefs in a lot of ways. Why didn't they go all out and make them cook blindfolded?

Edited May 16, 2020 by Ashforth

[Brookside]

4 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

 

This whole episode was a waste of everyone's time. Chefs, judges, and us. Oh, and a waste of the 200 eggs Gregory boiled, but didn't use. 

I'm sure they get eaten/taken home by production or anyone else hanging around.

[seacliffsal]

I was glad Leanne was finally eliminated.  She circled the drain for far too long in my opinion as she had been in the bottom three several times.  I also felt like she continually looked for someone else to blame for her errors (going back to when Marlarky helped her dish her plates and then she tried to blame him for whatever reason after which he explained his perspective and she went to "driving the bus over my back").  She tried again with the "Brian turned it to steam..."  However, what really bothered me was how many times she referenced having PTSD whenever something occurred with which she had a problem.  "Camping? PTSD..."  I know she was kidding, but that was what bothered me.  There are real people suffering from real PTSD and I felt that her making that reference (more than once in this episode) really did an injustice to those who truly have it.  She could have made the same point using another word (and, no matter what people may think, words matter).  "It brought back nightmares, it sent shivers up my back, all the hairs on my arm stood on end..."  She referenced PTSD while laughing, so she was making a joke about a really serious issue (one of my nephews has it from his three tours of duty to Iraq and Afghanistan during the active war years [he was in the midst of intense fighting]).

[wlk68]

The thing I'm curious about is what was Bryan V cooking in the oven that required steam? What component of his dishes was steamed? The judges definitely didn't complain about whatever it was. 

[Josiemae]

Really lame challenge but good to see Bryan get a win.

Not sorry to see Leanne go after the way she treated the wait-staff during last week's Restaurant Wars. That tells me all I need to know about your character.  

I've never ever understood the Brooke Lovefest.  Does her family own Bravo or something? 

 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, wlk68 said:

The thing I'm curious about is what was Bryan V cooking in the oven that required steam? What component of his dishes was steamed? The judges definitely didn't complain about whatever it was. 

His slab bacon braise. Using the steam function isn’t bad if it’s the right dish.

[SemiCharmedLife]

23 hours ago, rozen said:

That was an impressively undiverse group of moms. And they all looked so hungover, but were still trying to bat their eyelashes at Bryan and Tom 🤣🤣. Karen's despair at everyone giggling around the school QB was the highlight of the episode for me.

Quarterback? I would have pegged Bryan V. for the school band geek, but what do I know?

[NowVoyager]

On 5/15/2020 at 11:24 AM, dleighg said:

I ate at VOLT some years ago and the dish I remember most was a vegetarian carrot dish!

Just Google-ing the VOLT menu. Fantasizing what life may be like out of quarantine. Was it this?:

 CARROTS almond vadouvan granola, frozen cultured coconut, carrot top chimichurri 14

https://www.voltrestaurant.com/mobile/

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, NowVoyager said:

CARROTS almond vadouvan granola, frozen cultured coconut, carrot top chimichurri 14

No, something different (this was years ago), on a "coffee dirt." It was closer to this (but mine didn't have beets. Bryan does love his beets-- at least one other course in my (veggie) tasting menu had beets. My husband had the non-veggie and we shared)

http://www.cookindineout.com/2012/06/roasted-beet-and-carrot-salad-with.html

[wlk68]

9 hours ago, biakbiak said:

His slab bacon braise. Using the steam function isn’t bad if it’s the right dish.

Thanks. I didn't realize the bacon was braised. I didn't know that was even a thing. 

[Ellee]

So I have a question.  LeeAnn said she needed to put her dish in that oven and would take up quite a bit of it. I believe Bryan V checked at that time to make sure there was enough room for his food.  Did one not know that the other’s needed to be steamed or baked?  

[Rahul]

On 5/15/2020 at 6:21 PM, ProudMary said:

How the hell could Lee Anne, who worked behind the scenes at Top Chef for several seasons and was WELL aware of past oven shenanigans, NOT double-check the settings on the oven??? Mental error, indeed. I knew Lee Anne was gone as soon as the camera shot lingered on the oven's settings panel. 

LeAnne squeaked by much longer than she should have, perhaps in part due to her previous behind-the-scenes Top Chef employment. 

Did we get a glimpse of the dreaded phone call home? I can't remember but the fact that we saw a picture of her fiancé while she discussed her impending nuptials was a fairly good indicator that her time in the TC kitchen was up.

[meep.meep]

On 5/15/2020 at 3:02 PM, dleighg said:

I loved Tom saying "Moms are my fan base" while he twinkled those blue eyes!

Everyone knows Tom's real fan base are Bears.

 

[buttersister]

Quote

I didn't realize the bacon was braised. I didn't know that was even a thing. 

Think: Braised pork belly.😋

Hey, Leanne, if the oven was off, you'd have to turn it on--in other words, pay attention to the oven controls as part the deal. Yeah, the gimmicky chef runaround was bs, but it was time for her to go.

 

[BlackberryJam]

Didn't Michael V braise bacon in the airforce challenge? I know it's been done before.

[Brookside]

LeeAnne: "Today I've actually made for you . . .".  Good to know you actually did it.  While actually remembering to dye your hair pink because you think it's attractive.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Brookside

[BlackberryJam]

3 hours ago, Brookside said:

LeeAnne: "Today I've actually make for you . . .".  Good to know you actually did it.  While actually remembering to dye your hair pink because you think it's attractive.

Karen’s hair is pink. Leann is long and dark.

[biakbiak]

13 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Didn't Michael V braise bacon in the airforce challenge? I know it's been done before.

He did, it’s been done several times on both regular and TC Masters because if you get slab bacon you can treat it like pork belly so it’s a common technique.

[Ashforth]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

He did, it’s been done several times on both regular and TC Masters because if you get slab bacon you can treat it like pork belly so it’s a common technique.

I thought the bacon looked raw. Yuck. I know that a lot of people love pork belly, but eating big gobs of fat isn't my idea of a good time (unless it's ice cream LOL). I'll take my bacon in slices that have been cooked to render the fat and result in crispy perfection!

Edited May 18, 2020 by Ashforth

[Nordly Beaumont]

22 hours ago, Ellee said:

So I have a question.  LeeAnn said she needed to put her dish in that oven and would take up quite a bit of it. I believe Bryan V checked at that time to make sure there was enough room for his food.  Did one not know that the other’s needed to be steamed or baked?  

My guess is that they were both over-tired and had their minds on what they needed to get done. So Bryan didn't think to say "it's on steam" and LeeAnn just assumed it was on bake.

Everyone looked so cold at judges table. Seems like they should have/could have moved it inside. Hopefully it wasn't too many hours of judging!  I thought it was cute that you could see the rolled up pillow Gail was sitting on to get her head up level with the other judges.

[Rai]

19 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Everyone knows Tom's real fan base are Bears.

 

I may have yelled at my TV, "Tom, your fanbase is BEARS!" Don't try and get out of that!

Anyway, I really feared for Melissa. It's interesting because on her season, I really wasn't rooting for her. She had this obsession with knife cuts that really made me over her very quickly. But on this season, she's killing it, and I'd like a gal to win. Saying "I'll take whatever" is a way to get eliminated very quickly, so...don't do that, Melissa.

Malarkey is a huge drama queen, and I'm glad no one took the bait. They just ignored him whining about the station, let him work it out, and everyone got on with their lives. And honestly, his set-up had nothing to do with how his soup turned out. Why he didn't treat the shrimp separately is beyond me.

If it comes down to Melissa vs. Gregory, that will be pretty amusing. Season 12 is such a bland season overall that it'd be amazing to realize it harbored some of Top Chef's strongest this whole time.

PS -- love Karen's pink hair, and I know how hard that is to maintain, so I respect how bright it's stayed this whole time. And envy it too!

Edited May 18, 2020 by Rai

[SemiCharmedLife]

8 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Everyone looked so cold at judges table. Seems like they should have/could have moved it inside. Hopefully it wasn't too many hours of judging!  I thought it was cute that you could see the rolled up pillow Gail was sitting on to get her head up level with the other judges.

Did you see them all grab blankets to warm themselves when they went inside while the judges were deliberating?  So cold!  But, then they went back out again, not a jacket in sight.  Brr.

[Lois Sandborne]

On 5/15/2020 at 11:53 AM, BlackberryJam said:

Once Melissa had what she wanted for her congee, she was pretty much like, “I don’t care, I’ll take whatever’s left.” I don’t think that’s getting screwed over at all. I think that’s phoning it in. 

 

On 5/16/2020 at 1:19 PM, Macbeth said:

Melissa's gotta fight.  When Gregory took out the spinach later - I was like Melissa why didn't you do a spinach salad?

I was thinking the same thing. Being non-confrontational is one thing, but it felt like she just threw up her hands and said okay, at least one dish will be good. The judges wanted two good dishes. They were ridiculous for wanting that, but that's what they asked for. I was disappointed when Gregory pulled out a whole box of delicious, available spinach while she put out that pan of rabbit food.

But what I really came here to say is that on top of being a goony, frustrating main challenge, this episode was full of painful reminders of our current misery and I didn't appreciate it. Oh, summer cookouts, you say? Huh, a giant semi-sumptuous brunch for moms right after I finished zooming my mom for our Mother's Day celebration after which she cooked her own dinner. Cool, they're gonna be heading to Tokyo and the Olympic village ... It sucks to think about where we were supposed to be and where we are. They should've shelved this episode and just tweeted out a written summary.

[yourmomiseasy]

On 5/18/2020 at 11:10 PM, Lois Sandborne said:

 

Cool, they're gonna be heading to Tokyo and the Olympic village ... It sucks to think about where we were supposed to be and where we are. They should've shelved this episode and just tweeted out a written summary.

I think they are just going to the Coliseum.  There's been several shots of the peristyle in the season previews and the episode has Coliseum in the name.  There isn't an Olympic Village from the 84 LA Olympics, they just used USC and UCLA since it was the summer, USC being across the street from the Coliseum.   Maybe they'll grocery shop in Little Tokyo.  It isn't time to leave LA yet.  The camp they went to for this episode was only about 90 miles from LA, so only like a 4 hour drive 🤣

[ShawnaLanne]

I'm finally eatching this and haven't read through yet. Off the bat. I do not like to watch the blatent placed ad quickfire. I don't watch Top Chef for canned bean challenges.

[carrps]

14 hours ago, yourmomiseasy said:

I think they are just going to the Coliseum.  There's been several shots of the peristyle in the season previews and the episode has Coliseum in the name.  There isn't an Olympic Village from the 84 LA Olympics, they just used USC and UCLA since it was the summer, USC being across the street from the Coliseum.   Maybe they'll grocery shop in Little Tokyo.  It isn't time to leave LA yet.  The camp they went to for this episode was only about 90 miles from LA, so only like a 4 hour drive 🤣

14 hours ago, yourmomiseasy said:

 

Ha, you kid because you love???

Yeah, that was the Coliseum. It would be cool if they shopped in J Town, but I don't think they will.

 

[MerBearHou]

On 5/16/2020 at 5:52 PM, seacliffsal said:

I also felt like she continually looked for someone else to blame for her errors

LeeAnne seems to default to blaming others quite easily -- she even slightly blamed Tom for distracting her in Last Chance Kitchen when he came by to see what she was cooking.  I'm glad she's gone at last.

Edited May 21, 2020 by MerBearHou

[yourmomiseasy]

9 hours ago, carrps said:

Ha, you kid because you love???

Yeah, that was the Coliseum. It would be cool if they shopped in J Town, but I don't think they will.

 

Probably not a big loss once I thought about it.  The big grocery store over there isn't as good as it used to be when it was Mitsuwa.  Like I'll go to it if I'm over there, but most of the time I wouldn't make a special trip.  

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

Yeah.... I might have made a few totally inappropriate comments about how white that moms group was. I'm pretty sure the one one eating who wasn't white was Padma. I'm white, but that mom's camping things was some white woman shit for sure. 

Do you remember that Oprah episode when Oprah and Gayle went camping at a national park?  Oprah said she had never been camping before and had no desire to, but she had gotten a letter from a black national park ranger who asked Oprah to promote camping in America's national parks because she never saw black campers and thought there were a lot of bad information out there. (Yes, there are real bathrooms there.)

These moms probably all sent their kids to camp, so were very familiar with the concept.

[sATL]

On 5/14/2020 at 11:54 PM, CoyoteBlue said:

I adore the man, but he cannot highlight an ingredient intentionally or hit a challenge to save his life. After a dozen "Delicious! But WTF does this have to do with the task?" you'd think he'd learn.

Please learn before it takes you out, Bryan!

This is why I asked the question a couple of weeks ago... something is just not quite right with Bryan... professionally and/or personally.. He's not just the same man with a fire we met years ago. Does he only closely listen and follow to directions and fight with a vengeance, when his brother is nearby ? I mean all the man had to do was to cook with beans, and he grabbed a steak...

I need to re-watch but was Gregory trying to peel 200 eggs and time got to the best of him? If so, I guess there is no fast way to peel a egg...

If I was Tom (or whomever thinks of the quick fire challenges), I would have the next one be an egg brunch dish challenge to make up for what no one cooked in this episode. 

Edited May 23, 2020 by sATL

[dleighg]

21 minutes ago, sATL said:

f I was Tom (or whomever thinks of the quick fire challenges), I would have the next one be an egg brunch dish challenge to make up for what no one cooked in this episode. 

well Last Chance Kitchen after that was absolutely an egg episode. No hiding that.