S17.E13: Parma

[Rammchick]

2 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Kevin totally douched it up after returning from LCK. I mean, the restaurant reminiscent of a plantation was one thing, but he came back certain he was going to win. His talking heads were, "These are the last three chefs I have to face before I win" whereas Stephanie said things like, "I am just honored to be here with such talent." 

 

You do realize that all those talking heads are producer driven, right?  Granted, they can't show you saying something you didn't say -- clearly he said the plantation stuff -- but they can definitely coax the answers and tone they're looking for.  I don't think Kevin was any more competitive than any of the others, but particularly with LCK, the cheftestants are being guided to show a winning spirit, no matter how it might sit with us.  And if he hadn't said that thing about the plantation, we might have been more accomodating.

Regarding soul in cooking, it reminds me very much of music.  I once listened to a child violin prodigy who played utterly, technically perfect, but it lacked...something.  A spark, perhaps.  Some vital essence of passion and love that once it was missing, was very apparent.  I don't necessarily believe that Bryan doesn't have passion or love for cooking, obviously he does.  I do think the competition gets in certain people's heads more than others, and can mess with the outcome of a dish.

 

[buttersister]

Quote

Granted, they can't show you saying something you didn't say -- clearly he said the plantation stuff -- but they can definitely coax the answers and tone they're looking for

This wasn't Kevin's first rodeo (hoping it'll be his last here). Producers can ask questions all day long--they do of all the contestants. Somehow, none of them made me say, How big a douche? Let me count the ways.

[Sew Sumi]

Kevin also uttered the infamous California, the land of fruits and nuts in LCK. I am a native Californian and hadn't heard that old, bigoted saw in 20 years. Thought we were past that. 

That was NOT producer driven. He did that all on his own, thinking he was being witty.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Sew Sumi

[dleighg]

5 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

I am a native Californian and hadn't heard that old, bigoted saw in 20 years. Thought we were past that

I lived in the Bay Area in the 80s. It was old and bigoted then, though some found it slightly "amusing". And I believe you that you haven't heard it in 20 years. That's as it should be.

[bosawks]

Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, all I can say is I hope you take the advice my mother gave to me and my brother in the back of the car in hour 10 of what should’ve been a 6 hour drive, “SHUT IT”.

Edited June 16, 2020 by bosawks

[Roslyn]

On 6/13/2020 at 10:01 PM, xtwheeler said:

You're absolutely right about the industry. It is one of the most toxically sexist work environments in the world, on top of all the other problematic things going on there (the completely out of control substance abuse, the belief that abuse produces better results, the punishing hours head chefs impose because "that's how I did it," and the notion that the good chefs are the bad boys--the binge drinking, smoking, drug use, and dishing out abuse types. Thomas Keller whispers in his kitchen.  Bradley Ogden's kitchen is quiet and well-organized enough in the middle of dinner service on a Saturday that he gave me a full walking tour that took about 20 minutes. There IS another way to chef.

Quite off topic...but this made me remember when I worked in industry the worst, most sexist, toxic person I ever experienced was a woman.  I didn't mind the banter and I could hold my own (and set my own boundaries), the places where I worked it only happened with willing participants.  Before I left the industry I worked in a predominately female kitchen and we all did just fine with each other and the few men who worked there. Then one woman came and she was the most vile sexist, pornographic person I have ever met.  She was handsey with the men (she had an odd obsession with the delivery guys) and the women, had zero boundaries and the owners wouldn't do anything about her.  Several people tried to tell her to tone it down but it was as if she had no idea what we were talking about.  She made the whole place toxic and finally was fired, but I guess my point is, toxicity is a two way street.

[BlackberryJam]

7 hours ago, Rammchick said:

You do realize that all those talking heads are producer driven, right? 

 

Well, yes, because every know that reality TV is mostly scripted, but I see no reason to be a Kevin apologist. However, as mentioned below, producer driven doesn’t mean producer created. No one edited clips together to make Kevin sound like a total jackass. He did that all on his own. 

[nokat]

10 hours ago, MaggieG said:

I've seen a lot of comments about Stephanie's cabbage and I agree, it looked and sounded delicious but hot damn, if I didn't want to jump through the tv to get my hands on her pasta dish! Padma's "mmmm" made me super jealous!

Watching Padma have a foodgasm made most of us notice. I also happen to love a cabbage roll.
 

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Another douchy Kevin moment from this episode, how he explained he was going to make the extra special Italian dish Pasta e fagioli.  His delivery of this just cracked me up.  He wanted to act like this was one of those special dishes very few Americans have heard of instead of one of the most basic Italian soups.  

Thank you for reminding me of this, I looked at my husband and did a big eye roll when he said that.  Wow, way to look like a rube that just fell off the turnip truck, dude.  And not just a rube but a clueless one at that, who outed himself as being far less sophisticated than his pretentious persona presented himself to be.  The bit with the cheese just put it over the top.  

My dear Grandma, who made the best "pasta fazool" for me growing up is rolling in her grave.....

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, dleighg said:

I lived in the Bay Area in the 80s. It was old and bigoted then, though some found it slightly "amusing". And I believe you that you haven't heard it in 20 years. That's as it should be.

That's interesting - I'm from the Northeast and when I drove from Seattle down to San Francisco in 2001 a California park ranger or some sort of ranger in a Smoky the Bear hat stopped us with a big happy grin at the CA border and said, "Welcome to the land of fruits and nuts".  I had never even HEARD the expression before but our Seattle friend who was with us explained what it meant like it was a lame old "joke" that should have been put to bed eons ago.   I thought that was especially strange and I never forgot it.  It's like he must have said that to every out of state car he encountered.

[nokat]

I'm not a native Californian but I've been here a while. I've heard the fruits and nuts insult, but I've chosen to think yes, we do have an abundance of delicious fruits (cherries currently that I am nuts for) and almond trees.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by nokat

[carrps]

3 minutes ago, nokat said:

There are definitely pockets of scary deep red areas.  You might have in the past had to stay out of the marijuana areas while hiking too.

A lot of farms though with produce, farmer's markets, things to inspire.

 

 

 

Oh, yeah, and it's physically beautiful, too. I have friends in Eureka who went to Humboldt State, so I spent a lot of time up there. I also knew people who were "growing" on their "land," and you knew not to just got strolling anywhere.

[nokat]

7 minutes ago, carrps said:

I also knew people who were "growing" on their "land," and you knew not to just got strolling anywhere.

Now I want to see one of the chefs make medicinal brownies as a dessert.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by nokat
spelling

[rhygirl720]

On 6/15/2020 at 12:55 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

Another douchy Kevin moment from this episode, how he explained he was going to make the extra special Italian dish Pasta e fagioli.  His delivery of this just cracked me up.  He wanted to act like this was one of those special dishes very few Americans have heard of instead of one of the most basic Italian soups.  

they serve it at Olive Garden...it  isn't all that

[BlackberryJam]

1 hour ago, rhygirl720 said:

they serve it at Olive Garden...it  isn't all that

Kevin Gillespie - Olive Garden: Refined.

[nokat]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

Kevin Gillespie - Olive Garden: Refined.

You all are being mean. It is Olive Garden: De-constructed.
 

[Jobiska]

I think Stephanie can handle Malarkey.  In an earlier episode he said something goofy and a little obnoxious (I think while entering Whole Foods) and she just said his name quellingly and he shut up.  If I'm remembering correctly, that is.  

A rare kitty sighting on the bench at the hotel/restaurant courtyard!  Kitteh!!!!  Ahem.

 

[dleighg]

8 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

A rare kitty sighting on the bench at the hotel/restaurant courtyard!  Kitteh!!!!  Ahem.

I missed the kitty, but whenever my husband and I see a cat in a TV show/movie our go-to exclamation is

An Acting Role for a Cat!

[rhygirl720]

3 hours ago, nokat said:

You all are being mean. It is Olive Garden: De-constructed.
 

at least at the Olive Garden they ask you if you want grated cheese!

[nokat]

One of us will be at an Olive Garden soon, and Kevin will show up. Would it be rude to put your hand over your food? 
 

[CrazyInAlabama]

11 minutes ago, nokat said:

One of us will be at an Olive Garden soon, and Kevin will show up. Would it be rude to put your hand over your food? 

No that wouldn't be rude.  However it would probably cause a scene if you picked up your plate, and ran away from him, telling him to keep away from your food.  

[rhygirl720]

20 minutes ago, nokat said:

One of us will be at an Olive Garden soon, and Kevin will show up. Would it be rude to put your hand over your food? 
 

If Kevin shows up at an Olive Garden I guarantee you there will be a pork special !

[BlackberryJam]

6 minutes ago, rhygirl720 said:

If Kevin shows up at an Olive Garden I guarantee you there will be a pork special !

Pork raviolo wrapped in bacon in a fatback broth served with pork sausage meatballs and covered in a mound of beautiful 2020 average cow pre-grated Kraft parm-reg.

Edited June 17, 2020 by BlackberryJam

[Ashforth]

19 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

Pork raviolo wrapped in bacon in a fatback broth served with pork sausage meatballs and covered in a mound of beautiful 2020 average cow pre-grated Kraft parm-reg.

Olive Garden: Plantation Style.

[rhygirl720]

6 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

Olive Garden: Plantation Style.

paese capitano! or Country Captain for those not Padma!!!

[nokat]

23 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

Olive Garden: Plantation Style.

I may have ruptured something 
 

[nokat]

29 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

Olive Garden: Plantation Style.

After the Gone With the Wind post and then this. Laughed a bit too hard.
 

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, carrps said:

Remember. Calfornia is mostly a blue state (by the numbers), but there are pockets of deep scarlet...especially in rural areas. The far north of the state is an interesting area. Lots of back to the land hippies. But also lots of scary neo-Nazi types. Sov Cits, etc. I'd be willing to bet this ranger's crack was referring to the Bay Area or "Hollyweird"...either that or he was about half a century behind the times.

Yeah, I realize that but he didn't seem the type to want to insult anyone to be honest.  He was a happy, positive person, someone that didn't take himself too seriously.  He seemed like the kind of person that could make a slightly ironic self deprecating joke and laugh at himself all in good fun, you know, the way people used to be 20 years ago.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, rhygirl720 said:

at least at the Olive Garden they ask you if you want grated cheese!

And Kevin should know this because he's made soup before that he actually admits was inspired by the Olive Garden, which he says is his mom's favorite restaurant, and I suspect likely his too if you read between the lines, and not even a "guilty pleasure" either, who is he kidding?.....Complete with cringeworthy dollop of "parmesan" on top just like on this episode, LOL.  You can't make this shit up!

https://www.pannacooking.com/recipes/spicy-sausage-kale-soup-kevin-gillespie/

So the resemblance of Kevin's soup to the Olive Garden is actually based in reality and not even a JOKE!  Probably because that's the only Italian food Kevin has any experience with other than maybe Chef Boyardee.

[rhygirl720]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

And Kevin should know this because he's made soup before that he actually admits was inspired by the Olive Garden, which he says is his mom's favorite restaurant, and I suspect likely his too if you read between the lines, and not even a "guilty pleasure" either, who is he kidding?.....Complete with cringeworthy dollop of "parmesan" on top just like on this episode, LOL.  You can't make this shit up!

https://www.pannacooking.com/recipes/spicy-sausage-kale-soup-kevin-gillespie/

So the resemblance of Kevin's soup to the Olive Garden is actually based in reality and not even a JOKE!  Probably because that's the only Italian food Kevin has any experience with other than maybe Chef Boyardee.

This. Actually. Explains. A . Lot.

[Lamb18]

I am OK with any of the three winning, but my order is 1. Stephanie, 2. Bryan, and 3. Melissa. Order of preference, but I like them all. I often cheer for underdogs and Stephanie is the underdog of this competition. I've loved seeing her soar, making this surprising, wonderful food.

Regarding Bryan and cooking with soul: my opinion is that he is thinking too much of what he should do instead of what he wants to do. Instead of thinking what he should do, maybe go for "what would I love to cook with these ingredients?" He has the experience and training to do it this way. He can think about what would he find exciting, fun, to cook? Stephanie and Melissa are cooking like that and succeeding. 

[Ellee]

I can’t even put them in an order of preference.  I’m just happy with the three. 
 

it is great to see Stephanie blossom (??). Don’t know what word should be used but she seems more herself. 
 

I do think all the outside pressures are getting to Bryan plus he may see winning the title as the answer to his problems. I remember he had restaurants close due to financial reasons but for some reason I thought it had to do more with his business partners. Anyone remember?  
 

I’d really like all to do the best, be the best and honestly be happy with/for each other.  
 

 

[xtwheeler]

On 6/13/2020 at 5:09 AM, zibnchy said:

Padma kinda looks like she's imagining what she could do with Kevin's knives before he packs them to go.

Yet after this, Padma still named his as the cheftestant she would bone if she had to. 

On 6/14/2020 at 8:14 AM, Yeah No said:

 I don't think it means he's a racist, but perhaps he just needs to realize the implications of what plantations represent to African Americans (most aware people) before he waxes sentimental about anything associated with them. 

It's pretty much racism 101 not to associate plantations with generations of slavery that still impact this country today. You cannot romanticize plantations without reckoning with their history. Glorifying the food house slaves prepared for their owners is hugely racist to me, at least when there is no mention of that history. 

Plantations were the site of humans' inhumanity to other humans. The "history" is celebrated, and often divorced from the discussion of slavery that built and sustained them. They were places of torture and death. Slavery was legal for more than 250 years, and is enshrined in our Constitution. We ALL have an obligation to wrestle with that. Kevin didn't even bother to identify what parts and ingredients of his meal were brought directly from Africa. Talk about whitewashing. 

If you wouldn't romanticize concentration camps, you shouldn't romanticize Plantations, which existed 10+x as long and affected millions upon millions more people. 

On 6/14/2020 at 11:35 AM, buttersister said:

Oh, and watching Tom giggle at Kevin's parm performance and seeing his love for Kev fly away during Judges' Table was redemption (for me, for his Kevin boosting all season. 

Tom giggling is as joyful to me as a box of puppies. Love it. 

On 6/15/2020 at 4:35 PM, Roslyn said:

Quite off topic...but this made me remember when I worked in industry the worst, most sexist, toxic person I ever experienced was a woman.  I didn't mind the banter and I could hold my own (and set my own boundaries), the places where I worked it only happened with willing participants.  Before I left the industry I worked in a predominately female kitchen and we all did just fine with each other and the few men who worked there. Then one woman came and she was the most vile sexist, pornographic person I have ever met.  She was handsey with the men (she had an odd obsession with the delivery guys) and the women, had zero boundaries and the owners wouldn't do anything about her.  Several people tried to tell her to tone it down but it was as if she had no idea what we were talking about.  She made the whole place toxic and finally was fired, but I guess my point is, toxicity is a two way street.

It is, but when you're talking about an industry that has been male-dominated from its inception, where most owners are men, most head chefs are men, and the men are the ones with the power & money (and hire/fire authority), AND those men in all likelihood came up in kitchens so blue they would make a sailor blush, it's not really comparable. Women can absolutely be toxic too, but I've yet to hear of a female chef run out of the industry as we grapple with #metoo (maaaybe one of Batali's co-owners?) nor any woman producer in Hollywood trading roles for sex. Women in these industries tend to have worked 10x harder than the men to get where they are, including surviving that toxicity, and they're not about to risk their hard-won careers like that. Toxicity isn't just behavior, it is behavior + power. YMMV 

[buttersister]

Quote

Yet after this, Padma still named his as the cheftestant she would bone if she had to. 

I read that she liked/admired Kevin. We’ve seen Parma leer, er, admire male chefs before. Like to see the receipts on this one.

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, buttersister said:

I read that she liked/admired Kevin. We’ve seen Parma leer, er, admire male chefs before. Like to see the receipts on this one.

When she answered, she cited Kevin's intelligence; she found him intellectually engaging. Plenty of people find intelligence an attractive/important trait, after all.

Edited June 18, 2020 by caitmcg

[buttersister]

Oh, I'm one of those people. (And she's the former Mrs. Salman Rushdie.) But Kevin has other traits that aren't as attractive--at least on display during this season.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, xtwheeler said:

It's pretty much racism 101 not to associate plantations with generations of slavery that still impact this country today. You cannot romanticize plantations without reckoning with their history. Glorifying the food house slaves prepared for their owners is hugely racist to me, at least when there is no mention of that history. 

Plantations were the site of humans' inhumanity to other humans. The "history" is celebrated, and often divorced from the discussion of slavery that built and sustained them. They were places of torture and death. Slavery was legal for more than 250 years, and is enshrined in our Constitution. We ALL have an obligation to wrestle with that. Kevin didn't even bother to identify what parts and ingredients of his meal were brought directly from Africa. Talk about whitewashing. 

If you wouldn't romanticize concentration camps, you shouldn't romanticize Plantations, which existed 10+x as long and affected millions upon millions more people. 

You and I can disagree on this but I would never make this type of comparison between the Holocaust, in which 6 million innocent Jews were slaughtered in only a few years to plantations.  I think both were horrific injustices to mankind but just not horrific in the same way.  And yes, I am part Jewish and I have watched countless documentaries on the Holocaust, most very graphic indeed.

That said, anyone my age remembers the sitcom, "Hogan's Heroes".  Or let's not forget "The Producers" with "Springtime for Hitler".  While not waxing sentimental both showed that once upon a time people could find at least some humor in these things.  The very people that were the victims of these things.  Most of the cast of "Hogan's Heroes" were Jewish.

Plus I won't even get into how people STILL wax sentimental about gangsters via "The Godfather" movies and the "Sopranos", much to the chagrin of the Sicilian side of my family and actually one late Governor of NY and at least one of his sons that I won't mention by name, because we felt it associated us with criminals - and growing up many of my classmates routinely asked me if I had relatives in the Mafia.

But back to Kevin - There's a reason the word "woke" was invented - because a lot of people do things routinely not even thinking about their social and historical implications.  I myself as a northerner who has been down south many times am shocked to find out that the confederate flag has flown on state houses anywhere in recent times.  I'm in my 60s - Even as recently as the '90s or even later I remember that it was not unheard of to see the confederate flag as a sticker on people's trucks, on T-shirts, etc.  We didn't even think about it because when I was young no northern white people I know understood the REAL significance of that flag.  Heck, I never even knew that Army bases were named after confederates until this WEEK.  If I had known I would have been against it long ago.  Does that mean I was a racist?  No, it just means I was uneducated.  I even think a lot of Black people decades ago weren't completely aware of the implications of a lot of these things otherwise the general consciousness wouldn't only just be focused on them right now instead of decades ago.

So I just think Kevin isn't "woke" enough.  If he got educated about what he was doing he'd probably realize its implications and change his stance on it, just like most white people changed about confederate flags and other things once we were educated.  I give him a little less slack for his ignorance than I do for people years ago, though, because today people should know better if they haven't been living under a rock, especially someone as young as he is.  But I am willing to give him at least some of the benefit of the doubt because I think that if he were shown the implications of glorifying plantation anything, he'd be against it and would never want to go on a TV show and present "plantation cooking" to the world.  And if he really were a racist he'd know better than to "out" his racism like that.  The fact that he just went out publicly on TV with the plantation cooking idea leads me to believe that he just doesn't get the implications of it and that if he were to be clued in to it he would be embarrassed of himself and want to apologize for his insensitivity.  The more I get to know Kevin (as with the Olive Garden stuff) the more I think he just doesn't get a LOT of things.

Edited June 18, 2020 by Yeah No

[Ashforth]

In fairness to Kevin, he did post on Facebook acknowledging his racist behavior. It seems a little disingenuous to me, maybe more self-serving damage control than sincere, but I don't know the man personally and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a minute because he did step up to talk about it publicly:

On 6/1/2020 at 1:47 PM, ProudMary said:

Kevin Gillespie has written a Facebook post on his own racism. 

It is embedded here, but if you have difficulty seeing it in full, clicking on it will take you directly to it on FB.

As for the Olive Garden thing, it's fun to make fun of it, but there's nothing wrong with taking inspiration where it comes. If your mom loves Olive Garden kale soup, take that and make it better! Melissa wows with her congees, which are based on a very humble, everyday porridge that certainly did not originate in "fine dining."

Who among us has not enjoyed a Cheddar Bay Biscuit at Red Lobster? Would it be so wrong for a TC cheftestant to take that and "elevate" it? If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. 😁

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

As for the Olive Garden thing, it's fun to make fun of it, but there's nothing wrong with taking inspiration where it comes. If your mom loves Olive Garden kale soup, take that and make it better! Melissa wows with her congees, which are based on a very humble, everyday porridge that certainly did not originate in "fine dining."

Who among us has not enjoyed a Cheddar Bay Biscuit at Red Lobster? Would it be so wrong for a TC cheftestant to take that and "elevate" it? If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. 😁

Honestly, I prefer simple dishes done well over "fine dining" dishes.  What I initially brought up about Kevin and his pasta fazool was the way he explained the dish in his talking head.  He acted like it was a super secret special dish only found in Italy and not a basic soup found in Italian restaurants around America.  There is nothing wrong with making humble fare like basic beans or congee or cabbage cooked with pork fat.  The Italian chefs were receptive to the dish at first until Kevin dumped all that grated parm onto each bowl.   

[BlackberryJam]

2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Who among us has not enjoyed a Cheddar Bay Biscuit at Red Lobster? Would it be so wrong for a TC cheftestant to take that and "elevate" it? If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. 😁

*raises hand* I despise the Cheddar Bay biscuits and all things Red Lobster, but that could be because MomJam loves the RL and I'm often stuck watching as she's slurping up salt bisque, flinging bits of crab(?) with her fork and demanding more melted butter.

As @Ohiopirate02 said, it's the way Kevin spoke about the food that was so damn mockworthy, like he was educating us pleebs about exotic foreign dishes.

However, I am loving the idea of an "elevate this chain restaurant dish" challenge. Let me see what these chefs can do with hot artichoke spin dip, chili cheese fries or a bloomin' onion.  

[lovinbob]

Very interesting that Kevin posted about his racism. I would love to hear his explanation of where "plantation food" fits in with his burgeoning awareness of his racism. (Which most if not all white people are guilty of, myself included.)

I am among those who found Kevin very annoying and self-satisfied this season. His pasta fagioli explanation was a perfect example of his manner of speech being so off-putting, smug, and out of place. I also gasped when he talked about cooking with soul right after Bryan V had been gutted, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt that there was likely an extended conversation about "cooking with soul" that was not included. 

[gorgy]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

However, I am loving the idea of an "elevate this chain restaurant dish" challenge. Let me see what these chefs can do with hot artichoke spin dip, chili cheese fries or a bloomin' onion.  

chain restaurant wars

[xtwheeler]

14 hours ago, buttersister said:

I read that she liked/admired Kevin. We’ve seen Parma leer, er, admire male chefs before. Like to see the receipts on this one.

"For instance, he asks Padma Laksmi to name that one contestant she would like to hook-up with. After thinking for a while she names, Kevin Gillespie but is quick to clarify that her attraction shouldn't be read too much into. "My attraction to Kevin is culinary and intellectual and not physical. He has a really big brain," said Padma." Watch What Happens Live, March 19, 2020.

https://meaww.com/padma-lakshmi-mistaken-as-priyanka-chopra-top-chef-host-magazine-post-andy-cohen-studio-laughs-smile

And video is on YouTube. (I know other people confirmed, so since it was me you asked, I wanted to make sure you had links, etc. 

To the poster above who objected to my comparison of slavery to the Holocaust, I maintain the comparison is apt. The Holocaust was one of the most horrific examples of the inhumanity of human beings. I understand comparisons to it come with the responsibility to be accurate and respectful. 6 million Jews died. Their memory is sacred and we must keep that memory alive today more than ever. 

 

That said, more than 12 million Africans were shipped to the "New World" in the 17th Century alone. 2 million died just on the voyage alone. Then, families were torn apart, slave owners bred human beings like they were livestock, plunging another, what, 10 generations into slavery? I maintain the comparison is apt. 

 

That is why I felt so strongly about the glorification of "plantation" food, without regard for where the foodstuffs came from, nor who was preparing & serving the meal, maintaining the house, and responsible for its wealth, built on the backs of Africans. It was just such a tiny, myopic focus on his grandmother, that he never even stopped to think about the history of the food, which can be very important, especially to this crowd. Kevin waxed nostalgic about his grandmother without even having to wonder about the larger legacy of the food. Generationally, his grandmother's grandparents lived in antebellum south. Would have been great to see him dig deep into that history, and tell a story about plantation food that compared & contrasted what was prepared inside versus what the slaves were eating, etc. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by xtwheeler
Linky dinks

[ProudMary]

Kevin has a new Facebook post up on his FB page about this TC season, his physical and mental battle for survival, along with an apology for comments he's made along the way. I've posted the FB link in the "Chefs/Cheftestants of Top Chef" thread.

[MarylandGirl]

4 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

*raises hand* I despise the Cheddar Bay biscuits and all things Red Lobster, but that could be because MomJam loves the RL and I'm often stuck watching as she's slurping up salt bisque, flinging bits of crab(?) with her fork and demanding more melted butter.

As @Ohiopirate02 said, it's the way Kevin spoke about the food that was so damn mockworthy, like he was educating us pleebs about exotic foreign dishes.

However, I am loving the idea of an "elevate this chain restaurant dish" challenge. Let me see what these chefs can do with hot artichoke spin dip, chili cheese fries or a bloomin' onion.  

Yes, this would be a great challenge! Though I suspect it would be a "deconstructed bloomin' onion."

[BlackberryJam]

1 minute ago, MarylandGirl said:

Yes, this would be a great challenge! Though I suspect it would be a "deconstructed bloomin' onion."

I almost added that it would be forbidden to "deconstruct". 

"First dredge a forkful of the truffle-infused roasted onion through the spicy parmesan crumble and then through a Cajun horseradish aioli...."

[buttersister]

Quote

 wanted to make sure you had links, etc. 

Thanks. She seemed a bit baked that night, but perhaps it'll come up again tonight with Andy, following the finale (she and Tom are scheduled to appear on WWHL). 

I'm all in on Chain Restaurant Wars. So much opportunity, recalling the after-dinner exit from my one RL experience when, commenting on my response to "how was everything?" I was told the overly salty crab legs were supposed to be that way. Just no.

Watching the marathon. Go, Melissa. (Congrats, Steph and Bryan;-) Seeing again how RW redeemed Malarkey (at least for me) into not a total turd. And worrying about LeeAnn tonight.

[Brookside]

On 6/12/2020 at 3:35 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

It's NOT irrational because the last two episodes of TC -- post final LCK -- have had a little teaser or whatever it's called in the lower left-hand part of the screen about there being another LCK ... I assume they've just forgotten to take it off, or else they're going to spring someone on us at the last minute. I can only hope if that's the case it's Gregory. 

 

Gregory's back was causing him a boatload of pain.  He got treatment while still in Italy, but left to go home a few days after he lost, presumably to get treatment from his regular practitioners.  I just hope he had a lot of painkillers to get him through that long flight.  (Maybe airline Kevin was able to get him upgraded to first.)

On 6/12/2020 at 7:05 PM, Fostersmom said:

I noticed the LCK tag in the corner too. Seriously, if Kevin walks back in next week I'm going to lose my mind.

 

This.  Especially since he (to me) has the most pretentious sounding voice.

9 hours ago, Ashforth said:

 

Who among us has not enjoyed a Cheddar Bay Biscuit at Red Lobster? Would it be so wrong for a TC cheftestant to take that and "elevate" it? If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. 😁

Not me.  Never eaten there.  Though I do agree that Chain Food Restaurant Wars sounds fun.

[RemoteControlFreak]

10 hours ago, Ashforth said:

In fairness to Kevin, he did post on Facebook acknowledging his racist behavior. It seems a little disingenuous to me, maybe more self-serving damage control than sincere, but I don't know the man personally and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a minute because he did step up to talk about it publicly:

As for the Olive Garden thing, it's fun to make fun of it, but there's nothing wrong with taking inspiration where it comes. If your mom loves Olive Garden kale soup, take that and make it better! Melissa wows with her congees, which are based on a very humble, everyday porridge that certainly did not originate in "fine dining."

Who among us has not enjoyed a Cheddar Bay Biscuit at Red Lobster? Would it be so wrong for a TC cheftestant to take that and "elevate" it? If that's wrong, I don't want to be right. 😁

It's unclear that this Facebook post has anything to do with his glorifying slave plantations in his restaurant concepts.  It appears to be a requisite response to current events and BLM.

I don't think Kevin has any idea that his cooking and restaurants serve to squarely identify and glorify all that is reprehensible about the American South -- from slavery, to plantation life, to restaurants that serve large portions of bad food,  to irresponsible gun culture, to faux [fill in ethnicity] cuisine.  For god's sake, he even named his first restaurant "Gunshow," describing that one of his fondest childhood memories was attending gunshows with his dad. He even calls the employees, "hired guns." (https://gunshowatl.com/)

If he's not racist, he's certainly tone deaf. 

So it was completely on brand for him to show up in Italy, speak of himself in the third person, act like he discovered pasta e fagioli, and then serve his dishes with a tableside application of a mound of parmesan. It's probably just what he has his hired guns do at Gunshow Atlanta. 

[Ashforth]

58 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Not me.  Never eaten there.  Though I do agree that Chain Food Restaurant Wars sounds fun.

Think of the sponsorship possibilities! Better than Bush's beans! LOL

I am no apologist for Kevin, and I am struggling to not violate the rules about politics here, but I have to say that racism in America is not confined to the South. It's more overt there, but it is everywhere.