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

[Domenicholas]

Does anyone remember Top Chef Just Desserts, where the first runner up was revealed to be a child predator and that show disappeared off the face of the Earth after two seasons? The Gabe situation reminds me of a less extreme version of that.

[Calamity Jane]

I so enjoyed this season (and last), so it’s heartbreaking that it ends up with a really bad asterisk next to the winner’s name. Of the final three, Gabe’s personality was the least appealing to me, although still quite likable, and his food always sounded so good. Shota seemed to have it in the bag, Dawn’s cooking always drew raves - I didn’t really see Gabe as the winner ahead of the finale. 

Despite the cloud over the end, I still loved the spirit of camaraderie and cooperation that prevailed across the episodes, and I think it’s pretty clear that the chefs were among the best ever.

I’m not giving up on TC just yet, but I’m so disappointed with how the finale played out. Nonetheless, from my vantage point after seventy-one years on the planet, I am heartened that at long last behavior such as Gabe’s is now recognized as wrong and condemned pretty much universally. It wouldn’t have been not too many years ago. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Calamity Jane

[ratgirlagogo]

17 hours ago, albarino said:

Too funny.  Watch RHOBH.  

No thanks. No interest in any of the Real Housewife shows or any of the Bravo programming other than Top Chef.    It seems people who watch too much famewhore-oriented stuff start to think that everybody is a famewhore.

17 hours ago, albarino said:

 Other than that, this is a fun coking show.  Padma is a flake.  Gabe won.  The end.

You watch TV your way and I'll watch it my way, thanks.

Edited July 3, 2021 by ratgirlagogo

[biakbiak]

9 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It made me wonder why these shows don't do blind judging.  It puts their decisions into question.

I mean that would mean that the judges never interacted with the contestants because if they still did Judges Table it would take about two or three challenges for the top contestants, who typical have a well defined point of, dishes to be known even if they didn’t present them. No one was going to confuse a Shota dish with a Gabe dish or Dawn’s dish even if it’s not labeled.

They have done blind tasting, including this season, and it didn’t appear to make a difference in the judging.

Edited July 3, 2021 by biakbiak

[laprin]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

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. 

This worked! Thank you.

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 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. 

I think a lot of Asian kids - south, east, what have you - grew up with this experience in North America.  Sometimes it's even depicted on television - probably "Fresh off the Boat" someone else probably has a better memory than I do.

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[jackjill89]

1 hour ago, Domenicholas said:

Does anyone remember Top Chef Just Desserts, where the first runner up was revealed to be a child predator and that show disappeared off the face of the Earth after two seasons? The Gabe situation reminds me of a less extreme version of that.

Yes! That show also brought us "the red hots were for my mommy!" It wasn't a successful TC spinoff. Wasn't Johnny Iuzzini involved in that show? 

I don't know if I'd say Gabe is a less extreme version of the Desserts guy. Desserts guy (can't remember his name) was a criminal. Gabe hasn't been charged with anything, and while sexual harassment is horrible, it's nowhere in the same league as child porn IMO. That being said, a guy who cheats on his wife, I don't care how talented you are, it says a lot about you as a person and none of it is good. He really sullied the "nice" season of TC. 

Interesting to me that the restaurant industry seems to have a lot of sexual harassers and predators. I wonder why it is -- or if it's not different than any other industry and we've just heard about it because of the celebrity status of some chefs?

[CrazyInAlabama]

It's so sad that a season that seemed to have a lot of supportive, nice cheftestants has now been spoiled by Gabe's disgusting behavior.     I am amazed that the same production company spent so much time and editing to get John Besh, and that other chef edited out, but still puts this entire season on the air with serious allegations against Gabe, when they had months to edit or even redo the finale with only two contestants.   Or just have a one time head to head contest between Dawn and Shota, with only a few judges.   

I think they could edit out his talking heads, and anything special featuring him, and shoot a Shota/Dawn finale, with only a few judges, and pick one of them.    If there isn't a way to cancel Gabe's winning prizes, then the producer's attorneys need to be fired.    

I still congratulate everyone on their efforts, except the winner.     I'm sick that the TC winner will apparently suffer no consequences from the producers, and will taint everyone's memories of this season.      

I looked at the Aspen Food & Wine event, and he's not listed under 'talent', so maybe they did pull that.    However, TV Echo found him listed under seminars with a one hour time slot.   It will be interesting if that actually happens. 

Edited July 4, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Ellee]

Thanks to all that replied to me about school lunches.  I learned something. My parents wouldn’t put up with that from us.  And as such none of us would even think of it.  We’d share our lunch, we’d try something from someone else’s lunch.  We’d never make someone feel uncomfortable about what they had or didn’t have.  Never. 

[Calamity Jane]

12 minutes ago, Ellee said:

Thanks to all that replied to me about school lunches.  I learned something. My parents wouldn’t put up with that from us.  And as such none of us would even think of it.  We’d share our lunch, we’d try something from someone else’s lunch.  We’d never make someone feel uncomfortable about what they had or didn’t have.  Never. 

Adults are not above this kind of bullying behavior, by any means. There was a woman of Chinese background on Survivor who was excoriated for her consuming chicken parts that the white participants found revolting, as if it were a character flaw. I was baffled then, and I still am, but there it was for us all to see. 

And as a former teacher of grades 4-8, I can say with certitude that kids will pick on anything they take into their heads as out of the norm. It sadly seems to be part of the human condition. 

[Leeds]

3 hours ago, Suzn said:

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. 

 

Am I the only one who finds a severe disconnect between Dawn being a successful athlete and her shockingly lacking time-management skills?

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Am I the only one who finds a severe disconnect between Dawn being a successful athlete and her shockingly lacking time-management skills?

I mean she started on time and missed plating by sometimes less than a minute so I don’t know what it would have to do with her track skills, they are completely different skill sets. 

[The Solution]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

It's so sad that a season that seemed to have a lot of supportive, nice cheftestants has now been spoiled by Gabe's disgusting behavior.     I am amazed that the same production company spent so much time and editing to get John Besh, and that other chef edited out, but still puts this entire season on the air with serious allegations against Gabe, when they had months to edit or even redo the finale with only two contestants.   Or just have a one time head to head contest between Dawn and Shota, with only a few judges.   

They could still do that since this Gabe situation is not going to die down or go away. Besides, how many people, myself included, would love to see a final showoff between Dawn and Shota for all the jewels? There would be no losers in that one!

Edited July 3, 2021 by The Solution

[Yeah No]

5 minutes ago, The Solution said:

They could still do that since this Gabe situation is not going to die down or go away. Besides, how many people, myself included, love to see a final showoff between Dawn and Shota for all the jewels? There would be no losers in that one!

Yeah I have been thinking that they should have either redone the finale with only the two of them minus Gabe or just announced after the season was over that Gabe had been disqualified and the title and prize was being given to the runner up, and then announced who that was (I presume Shota).

[nokat]

3 hours ago, Suzn said:

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,

She made food I so wanted to taste.  The judges would be exclaiming over it and would excuse the food not on the plates.

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, Calamity Jane said:

Adults are not above this kind of bullying behavior, by any means.

That's true.  I brought my take out into my own building's elevator (before COVID) and the other woman in there scrunched up her nose and told me my food stank.  I was really shocked.

Edited July 4, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Leeds]

19 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I mean she started on time and missed plating by sometimes less than a minute so I don’t know what it would have to do with her track skills, they are completely different skill sets. 

I suppose I just think that if I were her coach I'd have something to say if she was consistently late for practice, never mind a meet, and I'm applying that thinking to this competition.  (Sorry, not trying to be contentious here, just trying to explain my perspective.  Which is not helped by being the child of uber-punctual parents.)

[biakbiak]

39 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I suppose I just think that if I were her coach I'd have something to say if she was consistently late for practice, never mind a meet, and I'm applying that thinking to this competition.  (Sorry, not trying to be contentious here, just trying to explain my perspective.  Which is not helped by being the child of uber-punctual parents.)

She showed up on time for everything which would be the correlation to showing up late for practice or a meet. Her plating issue would be more not meeting goals set for her but that also isn’t a good example because how far she can jump isn’t the same skill as how fast she plates. You can’t really even compare how people do on this show to how they perform in their restaurants so it’s even more of a stretch to compare it to a completely different type of competition and training.

etb; I remembered she was a long jumper not a sprinter.

Edited July 3, 2021 by biakbiak

[Chicago Redshirt]

25 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I suppose I just think that if I were her coach I'd have something to say if she was consistently late for practice, never mind a meet, and I'm applying that thinking to this competition.  (Sorry, not trying to be contentious here, just trying to explain my perspective.  Which is not helped by being the child of uber-punctual parents.)

Time management in a competition like this isn't the same thing as being on time for events, though.

Dawn is probably a ways away from her days as a competitive athlete. She is 47.

But the discipline and mindset to be a competitive athlete in many senses don't translate well to a competition like Top Chef.

For one thing, a competitive athlete is going to have coaching.

For another, the athletic competition is going to be generally more predictable. No track star is going to show up and have the organizer be "Surprise! Your course is covered in oil and you're going to have to do half of it hopping on your left foot!" It's not really possible to overthink a track and field event the way it is to overthink a cooking competition, and there is just an inherent comfort in doing something you've done literally thousands of times before, pretty much just in the same way.

[catrice2]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

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.

Well, when I was in school in elementary they would tease you if you ate the school lunch and did not bring one from home.....picking on WHAT it was was next....but then in Junior HIgh if you brought a lunch from home then they picked on you.....fun times. 

[emmawoodhouse]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

Am I the only one who finds a severe disconnect between Dawn being a successful athlete and her shockingly lacking time-management skills?

Her athletic skills weren't timed. She was a long jumper.

[Leeds]

12 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Her athletic skills weren't timed. She was a long jumper.

It's still a timed sport - not how long the jump itself takes, but between stepping up to the runway and taking the jump.

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, Leeds said:

It's still a timed sport - not how long the jump itself takes, but between stepping up to the runway and taking the jump.

But is in no way similar to how the challenges on TC are timed. 

[watchingtvaddict]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

It's still a timed sport - not how long the jump itself takes, but between stepping up to the runway and taking the jump.

But she doesn't have to think up a new, different, creative jump in an innovative style just before her turn. 

She also didn't consistently leave things off the plate. She got herself together after the first course. I think if she had more time to plan her menu. (I'm not sure if chefs in past seasons were allowed to develop and practice new dishes for the finale.) But, if she had time to develop her ideas.the plating issues would probably disappear. 

[Nordly Beaumont]

By the time the clock started, Dawn had her menu and knew what her plates would look like. It would have taken her one minute at the beginning to explain to Jamie how she would plate - at least a general idea if not every one of the 13(!) touches. If Jamie had some idea of the final plate she wouldn't have had to keep asking for direction or "show me" causing Jamie to be confused and Dawn to be frustrated - and ending up with the two of them literally throwing food at the plates in the finale! 

Also, when time management is your issue, and Nina told you to simplify, consider not having 13 frigging touches!! I like Dawn a lot, but... sigh. She's just not made for competitive cooking.

Ed Lee's hat had a strong Stevie Ray Vaughan vibe, loved it!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think the truth of the situation is that the producers had plenty of notice about Gabe, and his actions, but they chose to do nothing.    I'm guessing that appearances, and other perks of winning, and invitations back to the show for future judging, or guest star have been banned for Gabe.   However, I think the producers underestimated the uproar from viewers.    I know the saying is 'there's no such thing as bad publicity', but that's not true in my opinion.  I feel betrayed by the producers, which include Tom and Padma.     

I don't believe that producers didn't know about a lot of the allegations, and they still apparently did nothing.   THe only way they can redeem this is do exactly what was suggested, and edit out as much of Gabe as they can.   Either make this the season without a winner, or redo the final cookoff between Dawn and Shota, and one of them gets the title.   I'm not sure I can watch this show again.    

[caitmcg]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I  feel betrayed by the producers, which include Tom and Padma.     

Tom and Padma are credited as executive producers, which is usually more of a business arrangement (meaning financial compensation) than hands-on production. 

[Mellowyellow]

After all the ho hum about editing out John Besh and Johnny Uzzini, I'm so incredibly disappointed that they went on to crown Gabe as if nothing had happened. Were they hoping we wouldn't notice? That people would just let this slide like they did?

What they should have done was get Shota and Dawn back for a cook off.

Or failing that have a big disclaimer that there was no winner for this season. But no, money obviously speaks louder.

I know the show isn't perfect and I don't expect it to be, but I did think it was mildly better than this.

To crown Gabe as a winner, letting him walk away with $250,000, knowing full well the history behind him and brush it all under the carpet makes me look at this show in a completely different way now.

[Cotypubby]

So what are all these numerous allegations? I just keep seeing people posting about “someone said on Twitter” and “some unnamed person said this on Reddit.” Can someone just post a list here what he is accused of doing? All I have seen here is that he cheated on his wife with a co-worker, and then at some point cut the hours of said co-worker and was fired for an undisclosed reason.  

I mean, people are comparing him to child predators and rapists! 

[Vermicious Knid]

Dawn's exit interview in Parade. She's taking responsibility for the miscommunication...but still throwing Jamie under the bus?

Quote

So what exactly happened in the finale that caused not everything to get plated in that first course?
It was both a lack of communication and a lack of editing. I could have taken two of those things off of the plate, and that would have been perfectly fine. It would have been well-received. Secondly, Jamie and I were plating from opposite sides. She was unwrapping all of the bread. And I was putting them directly on the plate because that was my presentation. But I did not tell her; I just thought she saw me. When I looked over and saw that she was taking a lot of time, I discovered what she was doing. And so we had to fix that problem.

I don't think being an athlete 20 years ago means anything to her time management skills now.

[Norma Desmond]

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

All I have seen here is that he cheated on his wife with a co-worker, and then at some point cut the hours of said co-worker and was fired for an undisclosed reason.  

I mean, people are comparing him to child predators and rapists! 

cancel culture at its finest.

 

 

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, Norma Desmond said:

cancel culture at its finest.

 

 

He won the show and is opening a new restaurant in August, he wasn’t “cancelled”. 

[MerBearStare]

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

So what are all these numerous allegations? I just keep seeing people posting about “someone said on Twitter” and “some unnamed person said this on Reddit.” Can someone just post a list here what he is accused of doing? All I have seen here is that he cheated on his wife with a co-worker, and then at some point cut the hours of said co-worker and was fired for an undisclosed reason.  

There are links to multiple articles in the Cheftestants thread. You could also just google it.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

All I have seen here is that he cheated on his wife with a co-worker, and then at some point cut the hours of said co-worker and was fired for an undisclosed reason.  

I mean, people are comparing him to child predators and rapists! 

I worked in the corporate world for 30 years and a married boss having an affair with a subordinate would definitely have resulted in dismissal if found out, so losing his job or forfeiting the Top Chef title would not be overboard nor do I think such actions should be reserved only for rapists and predators.  The reason for his dismissal was disclosed - the restaurant said his behavior was against company ethics policy.  And I don't believe Gabe denied the allegations either.  Obviously it's not against Top Chef's ethics policy or they would have done something to either remove his title or have filmed a different finale without him....

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

So what are all these numerous allegations? I just keep seeing people posting about “someone said on Twitter” and “some unnamed person said this on Reddit.” Can someone just post a list here what he is accused of doing? All I have seen here is that he cheated on his wife with a co-worker, and then at some point cut the hours of said co-worker and was fired for an undisclosed reason.  

I mean, people are comparing him to child predators and rapists! 

The public facing information seems to be that he was fired from his most recent restaurant job for repeated violation of its sexual harassment policies and values. In looking at several articles, his former boss does not go into details about the nature of the harassment, how long it was going on, how many employees claimed harassment, etc.

Gabe's version is that he had a consensual relationship with an employee and cut her hours because of performance issues. (His former boss did say that the woman's performance did not justify the cutting of hours). Gabe acknowledged that his behavior was "discriminatory' and said he was working to be a better person, husband, etc.

On Reddit, people seem to be claiming this is a pattern of behavior of him cheating and lying to women and abusing his power.

It seems unlikely that a restaurant would fire the executive chef if his behavior was as limited as Gabe described it. It seems like there would be a lot of different approaches that they would take if it was just that he limited his ex a few shifts and said some regrettable things to her. 

They had to weigh the pros and cons of keeping Gabe and decided that as talented as he is, he wasn't worth it (or that upholding their values was worth taking the hit to their bottom line. in which case, good on them). 

Edited July 4, 2021 by Chicago Redshirt

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Dawn's exit interview in Parade. She's taking responsibility for the miscommunication...but still throwing Jamie under the bus?

I read that as taking responsibility for the miscommunication and not throwing Jamie under the bus. She acknowledged she didn't tell Jamie what she want done with the bread, that Jamie and she started plating from opposite sides and that she jumped to the conclusion that Jamie had seen that she wanted the bread wrapped but Jamie had not. 

To throw her under the bus would require implying or stating that she in fact showed or told Jamie that she wanted the bread wrapped and Jamie ignored her.

[Vermicious Knid]

This part sounds like she's blaming Jamie:

Quote

When I looked over and saw that she was taking a lot of time, I discovered what she was doing. And so we had to fix that problem.

 

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The public facing information seems to be that he was fired from his most recent restaurant job for repeated violation of its sexual harassment policies and values. In looking at several articles, his former boss does not go into details about the nature of the harassment, how long it was going on, how many employees claimed harassment, etc.

<snip>

It seems unlikely that a restaurant would fire the executive chef if his behavior was as limited as Gabe described it. It seems like there would be a lot of different approaches that they would take if it was just that he limited his ex a few shifts and said some regrettable things to her. 

Their use of the word "repeatedly" does make it sound like he did this with more than one woman, but it could have been that when the restaurant found out about that one relationship they warned him several times about the potential consequences, but he continued to see/pursue her anyway.  They may have been able to let it go and not fire him if he had heeded the warning the first or even the fifth time, but since it looked like he was going to see her no matter how many warnings he got, they finally decided to fire him.  So that's a scenario of repeated violations in which only one woman is involved.  We don't know whether Gabe is telling the truth about that, though, and the restaurant has not clarified what they meant either.

[HyeChaps]

  In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the little girl was teased about bringing moussaka for lunch.   "Moose-caca"

[Yeah No]

24 minutes ago, HyeChaps said:

  In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the little girl was teased about bringing moussaka for lunch.   "Moose-caca"

Oh, so now I know why my husband calls it that....🙁

I grew up in the Bronx, in a neighborhood which at the time was solidly Jewish and Roman Catholic. After finding out I was an Episcopalian the kids nicknamed me "Picklepissy".  Not to do with food, but still.

Edited July 4, 2021 by Yeah No

[tv echo]

18 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I looked at the Aspen Food & Wine event, and he's not listed under 'talent', so maybe they did pull that.    

Although Gabe is currently not listed among the chefs under "Talent" for the Aspen Food & Wine event, September 10-12, 2021, if you look at the event's "Seminar Schedule", you'll see the following listing for Sunday, Sep. 12:

Quote

SEM #       TIME                       TITLE                                          SPEAKER
*  *  *
503          10:00 am–11:00 am  In the Kitchen with Top Chef       Top Chef Season 18 Winner

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by tv echo

[catrice2]

9 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I read that as taking responsibility for the miscommunication and not throwing Jamie under the bus. She acknowledged she didn't tell Jamie what she want done with the bread, that Jamie and she started plating from opposite sides and that she jumped to the conclusion that Jamie had seen that she wanted the bread wrapped but Jamie had not. 

To throw her under the bus would require implying or stating that she in fact showed or told Jamie that she wanted the bread wrapped and Jamie ignored her.

People really look for something negative in everything .  According to some Jaimie and Dawn seem to have a really good relationship post show. 

I read it as she realized it was taking Jaimie so much time because she had not told her what she was not unwrapping the bread but putting it on the plate unwrapped.  It would have taken Jaimie more time because she was unwrapping the bread and Dawn was not. She took responsibility for not telling her what she wanted, as well as putting too many things on the plate.  It's over, she 's fine, why are the fans not fine???  What more do people want? Do they want her to berate herself from now until eternity? 

She messed up, she is not the first person to do so, she won't be the last.  There is more conflict between fans than the contestants/actors have between themselves on most shows or movies, etc. these days and it is sad.  This season was lovely in that the contestants seemed to respect and support each other. 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by catrice2

[Talented Tenth]

I was rooting for Dawn but I knew she lost when elements didn't make her plates in the first round.  She seems like such a great person and hers is the food I would like to taste the most.

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, tv echo said:

Although Gabe is currently not listed among the chefs under "Talent" for the Aspen Food & Wine event, September 10-12, 2021, if you look at the event's "Seminar Schedule", you'll see the following listing for Sunday, Sep. 12:

 

That could be a function of the Food & Wine Festival not wanting to spoil the winner. I presume the schedule came out before the finale aired, and it is more likely IMO that they haven't bothered to update it to reflect Gabe's victory rather than it being a sign that Gabe may be stripped of his title. 

[nokat]

50 minutes ago, Talented Tenth said:

I was rooting for Dawn but I knew she lost when elements didn't make her plates in the first round.  She seems like such a great person and hers is the food I would like to taste the most.

It's not always the winners who find the success.

[snarktini]

On 7/3/2021 at 7:22 AM, Ellee said:

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.

I totally disagree that it should be an exact replica. Not on Top Chef! Not in the finale. They are tasked with showcasing extraordinary skill and bringing forward new dishes the judges haven't tasted before. The japanese curry his mother made was a beautiful inspiration and it could have been elevated so that it was both an ode to his mom and TC worthy. In his own kitchen, fine, but this was not a wise move for winning Top Chef.  And I say that as a big Shota fan! I wanted him to win.

20 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

Interesting to me that the restaurant industry seems to have a lot of sexual harassers and predators. I wonder why it is -- or if it's not different than any other industry and we've just heard about it because of the celebrity status of some chefs?

I'd go the other way and guess it's because kitchen staffs have been fairly invisible to the outside world. It's undervalued service work that people ignore. We want our food and don't care how we get it. There are celebrities today and kitchens have achieved a higher profile, but the rough culture of kitchens predates that. That said, I don't know why kitchens ever became a place where partying and abuse run rampant. A couple of guesses about some of the dynamics...hierarchy is probably a big factors. Chefs have power and exacting standards, and other cooks/line workers have low status and low pay. That brings out a lot of abuse. And everyone is worked to the bone, which leads to lots of blowing off steam.

Edited July 4, 2021 by snarktini

[biakbiak]

Dawn just posted this to her IG in which she says this was harder than her track and field competitions and a lovely thank you to Jamie and the judges. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ6iOAFJtgI/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by biakbiak

[stewedsquash]

I think she did subtly blame Jamie in that article for taking up time. She took responsibility but also managed to make it Jamie's lack of awareness that created the time issue. This is the second time that Dawn brought Jamie into being the reason. Jamie was a wonderful helper and I think Dawn would have messed up even more on the first course and the later courses if Jamie had not been able to get Dawn to focus outside of her head and communicate to her like she did. Jamie was a total pro during this episode. Dawn is a brilliant person with her food yet she is her own worst enemy, food competition wise.  I have come across articles that say she has been on two other food shows, with the same issues so this is her deal, not anything or anyone else. I don't know how she is in the real world of kitchens but I bet there are a few that work with her who know exactly what Jamie was dealing with in the finale. I think she is a wonderfully thoughtful chef who has a creative process that works for her and she is a kind, thoughtful person that also has just a tiny bit of bringing someone else up when her own issues are to blame. I wish she or Shota had won.

@snarktini I think you are correct about the curry. And I think Shota realized that during the stewroom comments he made. 

 

I guess I am spoiled because my son's best friend is Honduran (he is a deputy and looks like a young Erik Estrada) and I eat with his whole family a lot plus they send me food when I am not there but Gabe's food never excited me. I prefer the Honduran food of the friend and the Puerto Rican food of my husband's cousin's husband's family more than the Mexican foods I have experienced. I was more interested in Byron's food than Gabe's. I was somewhat interested in Maria's but her being so overwrought most of the time was exhausting. I never clicked with Gabe from the beginning, he seemed like a dork, almost a cliche of a pretentious chef. I warmed up to him a bit when he seemed be a nice guy and wasn't shown as being a jerk. I still didn't find myself wanting to try any of his food. 

Eh, I just saw the post on Instagram from Dawn. It covered a lot of things that she wants out there and I am glad to see she has a lot of things in the works career wise. I see she also did that passive aggressive defensive thing (she does it in several articles I read) qualifying criticism with "I'm not perfect". I usually lose interest in the interactions when people deflect like that, it is putting the blame on others again. I don't think anyone has expected or said she has to be perfect. Everyone who puts themselves up for public view is going to be given feedback. I get that it can be a lot when it is coming from a lot of people. I am just annoyed with the "I'm not perfect" excuse. I do love the name of her new restaurant, Late August. She says it will include a chef's table. I wish her well.

Shota was just a joy to have watched this whole season. Nothing I can say can enhance what he did the whole season so I will just say I hope he is back for another TC or even his own show somewhere. He is doing a pop up sometime in August and Jamie, Maria, and Byron are going to be there. The menu will be the restaurant wars menu. I wish I could go. 

I am closing out for this season. It was good food tv viewing after a year of the pandemic. See everyone next season!

Edited July 4, 2021 by stewedsquash
of and with aren't the same

[VintageJ]

I think Dawn’s time management issues has more to do with her indecisiveness and lack of structure.  In track and field you have a coach and a set time for practice, track meets, etc. The decisions are already made, the parameters are clear and there is no wiggle room.  You cross the line, the jump doesn’t count.  There is no decision making and you have no time to get lost in your thoughts.  You’re either up, on deck or in the hole.  You have a set schedule and regimen and that structure is helpful to Dawn.

But with cooking and, in particular on Top Chef, Dawn has to make all of the decisions, decide quickly and execute.  Her creative process gives her too many options and I think she has a real hard time making a decision. As she is working, she may come up with a new twist, add this, cut that a new way and the lack of structure in the process itself is her struggle.

But in her restaurant, the structure is in place.  The menu is set, this is how it is cooked, and if she leaves something off the plate, there are other processes in place to catch it.  If that fails, she still has time to fix it.

I was rooting for Dawn but I knew, as did she, that the minute she left components off the plate AGAIN that she would not win.  But I loved Shota and would have been very happy with a Shota win. Those two have been in my favorites from the start.

And I loved seeing Maria again. I’ve loved her from the start.  She seems like the type of person who would just feed you and feed you all night, no matter how late and no matter how full.  Just like my bestie.  

Edited July 4, 2021 by VintageJ

[The Solution]

44 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Dawn just posted this to her IG in which she says this was harder than her track and field competitions and a lovely thank you to Jamie and the judges. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ6iOAFJtgI/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

I think that's further evidence of what a truly wonderful person Dawn Burrell is.