S18.E14: The Next Top Chef Is...

[The Solution]

Maybe Maria will really be the first Mexican-American winner of Top Chef!

 

[tvfanatic13]

6 hours ago, Leeds said:

You just have to love auto-correct.  (Especially when it makes something sound so tasty.)

I didn’t even catch that! Ha!

[tinderbox]

Who won fan favorite?  Thanks.

[watchingtvaddict]

2 minutes ago, tinderbox said:

Who won fan favorite?  Thanks.

Shota. 

[albarino]

2 hours ago, Leeds said:

I've no idea who Erika is, or who you are for that matter.  But I hope Erika sought and was able to get help.  You too.

Too funny.  Watch RHOBH.  

When Gabe gets charged with something, I'll care.  Other than that, consensual sex doesn't matter that much to me.  When Padma tells me who she slept with to get this gig, I'll care.  Other than that, this is a fun coking show.  Padma is a flake.  Gabe won.  The end.

[snarts]

While the Austin article is behind a firewall, the same story/quotes are included in https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/7841490002?__twitter_impression=true

Really puts production/Bravo in a bad light. They knew and apparently hoped it would stay quiet/be swept under the rug.

Even more details including clarification that he was fired for repeated harassment (rebuting his claim that it was one person one time, he's now learned from his mistake, blah blah blah)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/07/02/top-chef-gabe-erales-harassment/#click=https://t.co/N91kC2BHLC

Edited July 3, 2021 by snarts

[Leeds]

18 minutes ago, albarino said:

Too funny.  Watch RHOBH.  

No idea what RHOBH is either.

[Lassus]

It's not like 1950, it's like talking to a 15-year-old in 1950.

[albarino]

It's not like 1950, it's like talking to a 15-year-old in 1950.

Oh dear Lord, I went to USAF pilot training in 1980.  Don't insult me like that.  If you also served your country, I thank you for your service.

But I'm outta here.  Gabe won.  I'm very sorry people don't like it with respect to consensual sex allegations..  

Edited July 3, 2021 by albarino

[tinderbox]

55 minutes ago, watchingtvaddict said:

Shota. 

YAY....  So happy.  Thank you.

[akr]

1 hour ago, snarts said:

Even more details including clarification that he was fired for repeated harassment (rebuting his claim that it was one person one time, he's now learned from his mistake, blah blah blah)

Thanks for the links. I read both the articles, though, and think it suggests the repeated violations were for his interactions with the one employee with whom he'd had an affair, and it's just that they're referring to a series of unpleasant and/or unprofessional interactions they may have had during or in the aftermath of the affair. I believe in only holding people accountable for what they actually did, and I'm not going to assume there's more without evidence. It was a huge mistake that rightly cost him his job, but if that's all it is it's not the same as someone who's a serial offender. 

I think Top Chef handled it in part in the editing. You can't really edit out the winner, even if they wanted to, but they did edit him so that we won't particularly remember him even though he won. He'll be the guy who won that season that Shota & Dawn were on - oh, and Maria, and Jamie, and Sarah, & Byron. And Sasha who had that really long run on Last Chance Kitchen, and Avishar from Ohio who made some quirky food, and Gabriel who used to work for Tom Colicchio. The big thing we'll remember about Gabe is not that he made great mole and was the first Mexican-American winner, but that there was a scandal and there were other people we were rooting for instead of him. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by akr

[nokat]

When I saw Dawn again having plating problems. Sigh. I had really expected Shota to win, and over rice?

[nokat]

11 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I think it was the "crunchy rice" that killed him. 😢 I wish he or Dawn (Dawn! Again? WTF?!?!) had won. Not keen on Gabe, but it sounds like he cooked the best on the day.  *sigh*

Nonetheless, I got up this morning and cooked up a big pot of Japanese Curry Rice (one of my favs and I don't use the bricks, either) and a batch of Jasmine rice in the Rice Cooker. Shota's "staff meal" had me craving the stuff.

Since it's up on the Top Chef website, Shota won Fan Fav and at least gets $10k.

I have an Instant Pot, and as long as I measure correctly, it makes perfect rice, whether it's long grain white, basmati , jasmine or brown.

[Rambler]

To me this was the most boring season of Top Chef yet. My major complaints:

No sous chefs. I know that sous chefs have a snowballs chance in hell of winning, but I like to root for the underdogs. Besides there's usually an exec chef or two who looks down their nose at the sous chefs and it always funny when they get that angry look on their face when a sous chef does better than they did.

No mise en place. They haven't had a decent mise en place challenge in years. I'm not talking about the mise en place where all the chefs are prepping at the same time, but the relay race one, where you have the chefs on the sidelines cheering each other on while making snide comments in the talking heads about the chefs doing poorly. That is the challenge I most look forward to every year, but this year it was just "OK divide into teams, here's your ingredients and you have however many minutes to cook" like just about every other challenge in the season. Booooring.

They just flipped a coin to determine the teams for restaurant wars. I much prefer it when you have two captains who pick their own teams. There is a strategy involved as to whether you are going to pick a strong chef first or someone who is going to be a decent FOH. I think the recent trend is to pick a strong FOH first and I would have liked to see if that trend continued. Also if you had a strong captain in charge, he or she might have reigned in Dawn's waffling and maybe made it a closer competition than the blowout it was.

There was just an overall lack of gamesmanship in this season. For example, the challenge to write out recipes that the judges then had to cook. As the winner of the quickfire, they should have let Dawn choose which chefs would pair up with which judge. Is she going to try to screw with her other competitors by assigning a judge that would be most incompatible with their own style of cooking? Nah, just give her an extra 15 minutes of prep time which never came up again. I guess TPTB wanted to get away from the nastiness between chefs of earlier seasons, but IMO they've gone too far in the opposite direction. Through editing and the design of the challenges, they just removed any sense that these chefs were competing against each other for a quarter of a million dollar prize.

Lastly I knew Gabe had won this thing weeks before the final episode. How did I know? They kept repeating that talking head of his saying the he wanted to be the first Mexican Top Chef. When they keep hitting you over the head with that, you know they are showing you it for a reason. I remember they did a similar thing during Mei Lin's season. I kept quiet about it because I didn't want to spoil it for others and also I was LMAO at all the people moaning about how it was a sure thing that Dawn was going to win cuz reasons.

[Leeds]

48 minutes ago, Rambler said:

 

There was just an overall lack of gamesmanship in this season. For example, the challenge to write out recipes that the judges then had to cook. 

Lastly I knew Gabe had won this thing weeks before the final episode. How did I know? They kept repeating that talking head of his saying the he wanted to be the first Mexican Top Chef. When they keep hitting you over the head with that, you know they are showing you it for a reason. I remember they did a similar thing during Mei Lin's season. I kept quiet about it because I didn't want to spoil it for others and also I was LMAO at all the people moaning about how it was a sure thing that Dawn was going to win cuz reasons.

I was glad not to see gamesmanship.  As has been pointed out, the camaraderie between the contestants this year was refreshing.

As for who actually won, I'm not sure Gabe has come out as a winner.

[greyhorse]

Shota loses because he can't cook rice?  Something that is so fundamental to Japanese culture?  And THAT'S what likely costs him the crown?  What the heck?

Shota's first course looked amazing.  But come on, he's a high end Japanese chef.  He should be able to make a sushi dish that looks utterly amazing and unlike anything that you would buy at your grocery store.

I really don't understand Dawn's plating problems and just her process in general.  There was the scene where she tells Jamie "I'm going to have the menu finalized by tomorrow" and there was the restaurant wars where she really didn't have a concept finalized even as she began to cook.  How is this possible from a former Olympian?  I'm sure she was exact in her training then:  Daily workout regimen, analyzing technique, hitting the board at exactly the right place every single time...  Doesn't any of that translate to the kitchen?  Doesn't beating a time deadline fall into the same skill set?  She had the food all cooked.  It was just sitting there.  She just didn't allow enough time to plate.  When she has known that has been a constant problem.

I wonder if there is a rule that you have to list all the components of your dish ahead of time.  Seems like the judges have scrutinized it in the past.  Why can't you just be vague and whatever you don't like or whatever doesn't make it on the plate then wouldn't be really missed if they didn't know it was supposed to be there in the first place?

Happy Gabe won because Mexican cuisine isn't typically seen that much on Top Chef.  But now we wait for the details.  

[Leeds]

8 hours ago, theajw said:

I realize I might be the only one to remember this foodie reality television moment, but I kept thinking about Season 3 of The Next Food Network Star when the producers had discovered that JAG lied about his military experience and inflated his resume.  I was half-expecting some sort of BSOJ announcing that Gabe had been disqualified.  Nope.  

Who's JAG?

What's BSOJ?

Thanks!

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, Leeds said:

No idea what RHOBH is either.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

3 hours ago, albarino said:

It's not like 1950, it's like talking to a 15-year-old in 1950.

Oh dear Lord, I went to USAF pilot training in 1980.  Don't insult me like that.  If you also served your country, I thank you for your service.

But I'm outta here.  Gabe won.  I'm very sorry people don't like it with respect to consensual sex allegations..  

There are two parts to the allegations: consensual sex and cutting his ex's hours.

I tend to doubt that anyone here cares so much that he cheated on his wife as he apparently/allegedly started screwing with his ex's livelihood by making sure that she got fewer hours to work. 

His claim was that he cut her hours because she had work-related performance issues.

Even taking him at his word, it has the potential appearance of impropriety. 

But if there's the possibility that he cut her hours because he was angry that they were exes or things along those lines, then that's a shitty thing to do. Possibly shitty enough to revoke the title and the prize? It's hard to say again without more details.

Edited July 3, 2021 by Chicago Redshirt

[Chicago Redshirt]

28 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Who's JAG?

What's BSOJ?

Thanks!

JAG is Josh Garcia, a contestant on Next Food Network Star.

BSOJ apparently means "black screen of justice/judgment," so like a disclaimer that explains something. 

[Norma Desmond]

Yay Gabe! I was rooting for him all along, though I would be happy with Shota winning too. Great finale! This is the second time the person I was rooting for won (the other one was Brooke). So glad I'm not mad and disappointed at the winner, for a change.

[Fukui San]

2 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Shota loses because he can't cook rice?  Something that is so fundamental to Japanese culture?  And THAT'S what likely costs him the crown?  What the heck?

Shota's first course looked amazing.  But come on, he's a high end Japanese chef.  He should be able to make a sushi dish that looks utterly amazing and unlike anything that you would buy at your grocery store.

I really don't understand Dawn's plating problems and just her process in general.  There was the scene where she tells Jamie "I'm going to have the menu finalized by tomorrow" and there was the restaurant wars where she really didn't have a concept finalized even as she began to cook.  How is this possible from a former Olympian?  I'm sure she was exact in her training then:  Daily workout regimen, analyzing technique, hitting the board at exactly the right place every single time...  Doesn't any of that translate to the kitchen?  Doesn't beating a time deadline fall into the same skill set?  She had the food all cooked.  It was just sitting there.  She just didn't allow enough time to plate.  When she has known that has been a constant problem.

I wonder if there is a rule that you have to list all the components of your dish ahead of time.  Seems like the judges have scrutinized it in the past.  Why can't you just be vague and whatever you don't like or whatever doesn't make it on the plate then wouldn't be really missed if they didn't know it was supposed to be there in the first place?

Happy Gabe won because Mexican cuisine isn't typically seen that much on Top Chef.  But now we wait for the details.  

I just think the athletic process is different than a creative process like cooking. Her Olympic career she had to prepare for a known event. Cooking on Top Chef is always an exercise in decisionmaking and it's not necessarily transferable skills. I'd still bet on her on a footrace between all the competitors!

Dawn has what seems to be an improvisatory creative process and makes decisions as she goes rather than outlining things at the start and executing the plan. I think whatever the time limits you give her are, she'll be rushing at the end because she's made critical decisions later than other chefs.

That's not to say her restaurant would be like that, in all seriousness. Presumably she'd have a set menu that isn't dependent on Dawn coming up with something on the spot. At least one would hope that.

I think chefs have some leeway in terms of how to write their menu. I remember Richard Blais' finale menu on his original season he just had whimsical descriptions for his dishes, like "Chicken or Egg?" and "Home".  And didn't Restaurant Wars/Chefs Table this season have one team with less descriptive item titles?  Like "lamb - potato - ramps - couscous". 

 

[Vermicious Knid]

So they did edit somebody out of the last episode, Seattle chef Edouardo Jordan.

Quote

Meanwhile, a source close to the show tells The Seattle Times that chef Edouardo Jordan, recently accused by 15 women of sexual misconduct or unwanted touching, was one of 12 guest diners at the finale where Erales beat out Seattle’s Shota Nakajima and Houston’s Dawn Burrell to win the title of “Top Chef” and $250,000. With the revelation of the allegations coming just two and a half weeks before the air date, Jordan was edited out of the final show. 

A Bravo spokesperson declined to comment on Jordan’s role and on the network’s decision to air the season with a winner who’d since been fired for misconduct. 

The source close to “Top Chef,” speaking on condition of anonymity as they are unauthorized to comment officially, said that production on the “Top Chef” season had already wrapped when Erales was terminated from his executive chef job last December, and that the network looked into his behavior on set and found nothing inappropriate. When it came to Jordan, the source said, the fact that 15 women had come forward with accusations led to his removal from the final episode. With no official allegations against Erales, they said, his termination was all the information the network had. The decision to go forward with airing the show was also made, the source said, in order to showcase the work of the group of chefs.

Also a Seattle Times interview with Shōta. He made the whole finale menu for his parents. Awww. Denies dating Sara, really missed his dog.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, albarino said:

Too funny.  Watch RHOBH.  

When Gabe gets charged with something, I'll care.  Other than that, consensual sex doesn't matter that much to me.  When Padma tells me who she slept with to get this gig, I'll care.  Other than that, this is a fun coking show.  Padma is a flake.  Gabe won.  The end.

It being "consensual" is for me beside the point, because in this case he was the boss and that in and of itself is considered an abuse of power due to the power imbalance in the relationship between a boss and an employee.  An employee is far more likely to feel coerced into a sexual relationship because not to do so may make the boss treat them unfairly.  In this case his cutting her hours after the relationship ended when he came back from filming TC, (which it is doubtful had anything to do with her performance at work based upon what I've read) kind of proves that point.

So I'm skeptical at best about just how "consensual" that relationship was.  Also his choice to have an affair, and not only an affair, but an affair with a subordinate at work is enough to call his ethics into question in a big way.  And as someone else pointed out, that he could have done all this and then gone to filming the show without any reservation whatsoever says a lot that's not good about him.  Even scum bags have ethics and the cardinal one in this case is never to "shit where you eat".  So even among scum bags he's on a pretty low level.

I've been too busy to post, but all week before this episode I had the strong feeling that one of the reasons we did not hear the real reason Gabe was fired from Comedor was because he was the winner and they were going to keep that quiet so as not to cause a social media storm while the season was still airing.  Those vague comments about violating ethics were a big clue that this was about something sexual and the fact that we were told nothing specific led me to wonder if that meant he was the winner.  I didn't post that hunch but I did have it.  I'm actually really sorry I was right about that.  I had a feeling that if he did win all would come out after the fact, which is happening now.

With or without this, I was not a fan of Gabe's.  His food seemed good but nothing about him personally impressed me based on what we saw on the show.  Also I know some don't agree with this but this is Top Chef, not "Top Mole".  I thought Shota's food was probably on a higher level given the judges consistent reaction to him all through the season.  And Dawn too, if she didn't mess up with the timing so much might have actually won.  It's too bad that both of them made little mistakes that cost them the win in the finale.

I am actually somewhat conflicted about the way Top Chef handled this even though they could not have known while filming was going on what Gabe was doing they certainly knew after the fact, but decided to go ahead with things anyway.  I don't expect that they should have edited him out or anything but some kind of public acknowledgement and transparency about the situation while the season was airing should have happened.  They are going to get slammed for this after the fact anyway so why did they avoid it while the season was airing?  Did they think that would make it better?  I have wonder about that.  It just seems so self-serving.

It just goes to show how you can't judge a book by its cover.  He seemed like the most inoffensive, innocuous guy based on what we were shown but looks can be sooooo deceiving.  Just goes to show that even so-called "nice guys" can be assholes.  It really is depressing but I've already come to terms with that in my own personal life based on people I've known who were supposedly above reproach showing themselves to not be above just the sort of behavior Gabe is being accused of.  

Next thing you know we'll find out that Gabriel, who was eliminated weeks ago is the nicest, most humble and decent human being ever to walk the planet....LOL  😉

[tv echo]

Tom addressed Dawn's plating issue in this Uproxx interview, which was done before the S18 finale episode aired...

‘Top Chef’ Judge Tom Colicchio On ‘Biased’ Judging And Over-Hyped Restaurants 

Quote

[Tom Colicchio:] ... Obviously, the one big change was bringing back all of the ex-contestants as judges, and having them with us pretty much every meal. That was kind of neat. Restaurant Wars is clearly very different, and very successful, I thought. One issue that’s come up the last couple of episodes was Dawn leaving food off of plates, and why she was allowed to go through. This typically happens, only we don’t see it, and the audience really doesn’t see it, because a lot of times they’re not left off the judges’ plates. But because you’re actually getting comments from every diner, I think it showed up a little more.

FWIW, in this same interview, Tom also addressed accusations of bias in judging and why the judges don't taste the dishes blind (without knowing which chef prepared which dish). He denied having any bias and he said that blind taste testing would not allow them to connect a chef to a dish.  (eyeroll)

Edited July 3, 2021 by tv echo

[Chicago Redshirt]

48 minutes ago, tv echo said:

Tom addressed Dawn's plating issue in this Uproxx interview, which was done before the S18 finale episode aired...

‘Top Chef’ Judge Tom Colicchio On ‘Biased’ Judging And Over-Hyped Restaurants 

FWIW, in this same interview, Tom also addressed accusations of bias in judging and why the judges don't taste the dishes blind (without knowing which chef prepared which dish). He denied having any bias and he said that blind taste testing would not allow them to connect a chef to a dish.  (eyeroll)

Obviously Tom is lying to cover for their foiled plot to install Dawn as Top Chef. /sarcasm

[MajorWoody]

Amazing how the season where Social Justice pandering was shoved down our throats every week ends up with a dude who abuses women and cheats on his pregnant wife as the winner. And Bravo basically admits that they didn’t address it or change the finale due to inconvenience and cost. So ignore all the holier than thou bullshit they pushed this season, and realize that they will place profit over principles when it comes down to it.

 

Now Padma is speaking out, a little late if you ask me. The news about Gabe was out there months ago, and was completely ignored by Bravo. 
 

This season was dull, condescending, and full of hypocrisy. Top Chef , and Padma and Tom in particular, should be ashamed. 

[Macbeth]

On 7/2/2021 at 8:43 AM, rlc said:

I’m pleased with the outcome. Gabe repeatedly made the food I most wanted to eat. Call me crazy, but that’s what I want to see from the winner of a cooking competition.

As for any allegations against Gabe, true or not, all we have seen are vague statements. No one has come forward to claim that they were a victim of any sexually inappropriate behavior. I think it is wildly inappropriate for Padma to tweet about it and amplify something without having any solid information.

Congratulations to Gabe for cooking the best meal.

Not vague allegations.  The owners of his restaurant FIRED HIM.  

He was the executive chef.  He was the reason the owners invested in the restaurant was to showcase his cooking.  

Do you know how much shit has to go down for that to happen.  Really.  Sexual predators generally get a walk - just like Bill Cosby did.

Edited July 3, 2021 by Macbeth

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

Tom addressed Dawn's plating issue in this Uproxx interview, which was done before the S18 finale episode aired...

‘Top Chef’ Judge Tom Colicchio On ‘Biased’ Judging And Over-Hyped Restaurants 

FWIW, in this same interview, Tom also addressed accusations of bias in judging and why the judges don't taste the dishes blind (without knowing which chef prepared which dish). He denied having any bias and he said that blind taste testing would not allow them to connect a chef to a dish.  (eyeroll)

I always hated this about Chopped, too.  The judges stare deeply into the chef's eyes when they taste their food and it's so creepy.  And the so-called "judges" hit on the chefs they find attractive too.  Comment on their age, their disposition, it's nasty.  It made me wonder why these shows don't do blind judging.  It puts their decisions into question.

[theajw]

9 hours ago, Leeds said:

Who's JAG?

What's BSOJ?

Thanks!

BSOJ is the abbreviation for "black screen of judgment/justice" -- that disclaimer that appear at end of shows like Hoarders and Intervention to give an update.  Someone on the old Television Without Pity boards coined that term.

JAG = Joshua Adam Garcia.  He was one of two finalists in the third season of Next Food Network Star in 2007.  One of the last episodes began with a BSOJ telling the viewers that the producers had discovered he had lied about his military service and had embellished his resume.  He voluntarily dropped out when confronted, and he was replaced by the chef who was in third place, Amy Finlay.  

Edited July 3, 2021 by theajw

[Macbeth]

6 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

So they did edit somebody out of the last episode, Seattle chef Edouardo Jordan.

Also a Seattle Times interview with Shōta. He made the whole finale menu for his parents. Awww. Denies dating Sara, really missed his dog.

So Jordan, who was one of the guest judges at the finale, was edited out of the finale due to sexual harrassment allegations.  From 15 women so that is very serious.

But they still named Gabe Top Chef, who was fired for the same reason.  Last week's show should have been the finale with no winner.  And they should have addressed the elephant in the room.

They wanted to keep this hidden and it was never going to happen.  The Washington Post is talking about it. 

And they throw Padme out there to talk about her sexual harrassment.  Tom stop hiding behind her skirts - and be a man about this.  It's your show, nobody wins without your say so.

Now your show has no credibility.

 

 

[Ellee]

Shota’s 3rd dish....his mom’s favorite curry ... I’m curious ... if you ordered it out at his restaurant would you be confused as to where you were eating?  I ask because I’d like to read someday that it is on his menu and is plated exactly the way he did it on the show.   An ode to mom should be exactly the way  her son remembers it. 
 

ETA:  Ed Lee’s comment about being teased about what he would bring for school lunches...I may be more nieve than I thought. Is that true?  I can’t imagine even kids would do that.  I just can’t. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Ellee

[laprin]

Can someone please help me with the ignore feature? Why isn’t it easier to use? 
While I found this to be one of my favorite seasons of Top Chef, it saddens me that the show can’t escape the same divisions that have seeped into all aspects of life now. 

[watchingtvaddict]

31 minutes ago, laprin said:

Can someone please help me with the ignore feature? Why isn’t it easier to use? 
While I found this to be one of my favorite seasons of Top Chef, it saddens me that the show can’t escape the same divisions that have seeped into all aspects of life now. 

What do you mean? are you taking about the edit for the show or being able to block users on this platform? 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

ETA:  Ed Lee’s comment about being teased about what he would bring for school lunches...I may be more nieve than I thought. Is that true?  I can’t imagine even kids would do that.  I just can’t. 

It’s an extremely common experience. Michelle Zauner, the author of Crying in H Mart, has even remarked that she almost didn’t include a story about her experience being mocked for her lunch because almost every Asian person has told a similar story. And it doesn’t apply just to Asian kids many other people from Immigrant families have described similar experiences. Kids can be assholes.

Edited July 3, 2021 by biakbiak

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

ETA:  Ed Lee’s comment about being teased about what he would bring for school lunches...I may be more nieve than I thought. Is that true?  I can’t imagine even kids would do that.  I just can’t. 

I can't imagine that a set of average kids would not have at least some among them that would tease other kids about pretty much anything, especially something out of the ordinary. Most American kids don't eat beef tongue.

[nokat]

1 hour ago, laprin said:

Can someone please help me with the ignore feature? Why isn’t it easier to use? 
While I found this to be one of my favorite seasons of Top Chef, it saddens me that the show can’t escape the same divisions that have seeped into all aspects of life now. 

I know it's possible, because I can see ignored users if I look at my account.

[laprin]

4 minutes ago, nokat said:

I know it's possible, because I can see ignored users if I look at my account.

I’ve ignored a user before - a couple of years ago.  However, I could not find the option again. Someone explained that I need to hover over the name, but I guess I don’t know how to hover, LOL. I end up being taken to their profile page. Still can’t an get ignore option. 

[stewedsquash]

Yes, David Chang has talked about his food as a child. Not sure if he said he was made fun of but there was curiosity about his food from other kids. Ugly Delicious is his Netflix show and it is really good. He also has the Breakfast Lunch And Dinner series. 

I came across this when looking up Dawn's Olympic career:

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-07-01/top-chef-portland-dawn-burrell-finale

It has a dateline of July 1 so it is current. It is a very good, somewhat short read. In relation to her plating issues, this quote 

"I just want to make sure that they get me." (I think there is a copyright thing, because it keeps automatically pasting on a different line here, not something I am doing on my own) sums up what I think was ultimately her downfall. Also this quote when talking about the finale meal planning was interesting, about her bread:

"It came to me throughout the day of shopping. I love bread baking. I wanted to create a bread course for the judges, but I couldn’t figure out how to fit it all in and make it make sense, so I ended up sprinkling my bread preparations throughout the finale and presenting them as components of each dish."

 

Oh and Kwame is such a jokester disguised as a serious dude. At the chef's meal at the hotel:

Can't remember who about Gabe: You put out 100 moles this season.

Kwame, almost deadpanning in demeanor: There's four more.

Then he bursts out laughing. I think he is such a serious soul, a total geek and yet he has the best ease at throwing out the oneliners. He did the same thing when he and Gregory were leaders of a quickfire. While running out of the kitchen he said:

It's not a competition between me and Gregory...But we got to beat him!

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by stewedsquash
way to many words

[nokat]

3 minutes ago, laprin said:

I’ve ignored a user before - a couple of years ago.  However, I could not find the option again. Someone explained that I need to hover over the name, but I guess I don’t know how to hover, LOL. I end up being taken to their profile page. Still can’t an get ignore option. 

I was looking, and it isn't made easy. There are posts I just don't read.

 

Yes. you hover over an avatar and get the ignore option.

Edited July 3, 2021 by nokat

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

child. Not sure if he said he was made fun of but there was curiosity about his food from other kids.

Made fun of and felt to feel shame for it. He talks about it a several times on his podcast with his cohost and guests (it was actual on his podcast that Michelle Zauner made her comment about almost not including it in her memoir)  who have similar experiences and in his memoir Eat A Peach.

6 minutes ago, laprin said:

I’ve ignored a user before - a couple of years ago.  However, I could not find the option again. Someone explained that I need to hover over the name, but I guess I don’t know how to hover, LOL. I end up being taken to their profile page. Still can’t an get ignore option. 

Go to the drop down menu on the top right of the page > Account>Ignored users and type in the name of the user in the box provided. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by biakbiak

[nokat]

This is what I see if I hover. 

[kirklandia]

Do the judges determine who came in second when there are three finalists?  
Wondering who would be the titular  (prizes aside) winner, if (a big if) they were to disqualify Gabe.

[jaybird2]

1 minute ago, kirklandia said:

Do the judges determine who came in second when there are three finalists?  
Wondering who would be the titular  (prizes aside) winner, if (a big if) they were to disqualify Gabe.

Tom said on WWHL because Dawn missed plating that she was out.  But this was before all mess with Gabe.

My heart has always been with Shoda

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Ellee said:

Ed Lee’s comment about being teased about what he would bring for school lunches...I may be more nieve than I thought. Is that true?  I can’t imagine even kids would do that.  I just can’t. 

Unfortunately, it's true not just for him but for many.  Melissa King told a similar story during her season, and I don't recall if she said it on TC, but Kristen Kish has said it elsewhere.  It happened to a couple of my friends (one Korean, one Japanese) when I was a kid, and I've heard many adults share the same bad memories.

[Leeds]

 

3 hours ago, theajw said:

BSOJ is the abbreviation for "black screen of judgment/justice" -- that disclaimer that appear at end of shows like Hoarders and Intervention to give an update.  Someone on the old Television Without Pity boards coined that term.

JAG = Joshua Adam Garcia.  He was one of two finalists in the third season of Next Food Network Star in 2007.  One of the last episodes began with a BSOJ telling the viewers that the producers had discovered he had lied about his military service and had embellished his resume.  He voluntarily dropped out when confronted, and he was replaced by the chef who was in third place, Amy Finlay.  

Thanks for taking the time to explain!

2 hours ago, Ellee said:

 

ETA:  Ed Lee’s comment about being teased about what he would bring for school lunches...I may be more nieve than I thought. Is that true?  I can’t imagine even kids would do that.  I just can’t. 

More often than not my school lunches were leftovers from the previous night's dinner. I was frequently teased by kids whose only knowledge of lunch was Kraft cheese and Wonderbread.  I can only hope that their palates have broadened.

ETA: Nothing exotic or "foreign" in my lunches, but they were still subject to ridicule.  :-(

Edited July 3, 2021 by Leeds

[AnnaBaptist]

I am half Asian, and I definitely was made fun of at school lunchtime for some of the lunches I had. There were students whose families came from several Central and South American countries, and their food was mocked, too 

Ironically, the children who were the meanest also ate "unusual" food at home, but were careful to stick to pb&j or turkey roll sandwiches and potato chips for lunch so they wouldn't get teased. One of my friends was the cousin of one of the meaner kids. When I went to her house for dinner, I was surprised to see her parents pour chicken fat on their food. Of course I didn't say anything, but it kind of grossed me out and was very happy to eat the meal without chicken fat on it.

I know some of you found this season boring, but I enjoyed the low-key quality of competition under covid and liked most of the contestants. I especially liked Shota, Dawn, and Byron, and there really wasn't anyone I outright disliked, just felt "meh" about a few. I appreciated the lack of drama.  Because of Gabe, it is likely that we will not be able to see this season again, which is a pity.

 

 

[biakbiak]

18 minutes ago, Bastet said:

but Kristen Kish has said it elsewhere.  It happened to a couple of my

Really? Her parents are white and she talked about how though they didn’t cook Korean food but they would always take her out to Korean restaurants and festivals so she was somewhat familiar. 

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, Ellee said:

ETA:  Ed Lee’s comment about being teased about what he would bring for school lunches...I may be more nieve than I thought. Is that true?  I can’t imagine even kids would do that.  I just can’t. 

BTW you don't have to be an immigrant or the child of one to have this happen to you.  I had it happen to me and I'm a 3rd generation Sicilian American on my mother's side.  Being from a very food oriented family with strong ties to our culinary traditions I was often given things that the other kids made fun of or acted disgusted over, such as anchovies, sardines, and stinky cheeses.  This was over 50 years ago at a time when those foods were not as common among Americans unless they also came from a background where those foods were commonly eaten.  And I didn't grow up in an Italian neighborhood.

BTW, Rachael Ray often tells a similar story about being teased over her school lunches and says that as a kid she had the diet of "an old Sicilian man", LOL, which I really identify with!  And she was not an immigrant or a child of one either.

[DEL901]

Look at the controversy about the James Cordon segment that is under fire for making people eat “gross” food that is actually sometime just foreign..Asian specifically.  

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-06-28/james-corden-will-revise-spill-your-guts-segment

[Suzn]

I wanted Dawn to win and never felt that things left off plates should disqualify her, but my patience wore out with this episode.  She clearly knew she had a time management problem and was trying to do more than she could handle, but wouldn't take advice or recognize that she needed to change.  She was stubbornly in denial. 

In the real world, in a restaurant, Dawn would not have a problem.  First of all there would be no creativity on the fly; there would be a defined menu and most important, the extra minute to finish plating would not be a problem and there would be someone else to see what went out to the customer.

It's a shame because I think she would have won and they wouldn't be left with the controversy over Gabe winning.  Given that Dawn screwed up again, I expected Shota to win.  Gabe winning has tarnished this season.