S19.E03: Noodles and Rice and Everything Nice

[GrannySmith]

Where did Sam find the potatoes he grilled? Are there extra ingredients available at the cooking stations?  I always thought they had to complete cooking with the food they packed from the kitchen.  

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, GrannySmith said:

Where did Sam find the potatoes he grilled? Are there extra ingredients available at the cooking stations?  I always thought they had to complete cooking with the food they packed from the kitchen

good point.

And related- the dish that won (with 87 ingredients); it seemed that she was mixing up a sauce at the venue. Why???? I can see you need to sprinkle your garnishes on at the last second, but why not have a big container of the sauce ready to go?

[carrps]

9 hours ago, Lassus said:

My wife: "Go back to goddamned Park Slope, urban hippie!"

Manic pixie dream boy.

[TzuShih]

OOOKAY!  This is one of those "Is it ME??" questions.   One of the pleasures I derive from Top Chef is watching the cooking, the presentations and the descriptions of each competitor's dish.  So, how did this show get to a point where almost all the 'food' segments seem to be "fast-forwarded?!?  I find myself having to frequently put my TV on PAUSE so that I can actually SEE the dish, SEE the ingredients, SEE the table judging.  Why has this engaging show become "Top Chef on Speed?" (I hope that Production will take this as a fan's well-meaning critique!)
 

[Rammchick]

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Gail's cleavage is so distracting.

Gail, please pack your breasts and go.

[carrps]

22 minutes ago, TzuShih said:

Why has this engaging show become "Top Chef on Speed?"

I'm hoping this will change as the cheftestant numbers decrease.

 

[VintageJ]

2 hours ago, GrannySmith said:

Where did Sam find the potatoes he grilled? Are there extra ingredients available at the cooking stations?  I always thought they had to complete cooking with the food they packed from the kitchen.  

I believe he said that he didn’t cook all of his potatoes the night before so he had extra.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, TzuShih said:

OOOKAY!  This is one of those "Is it ME??" questions.   One of the pleasures I derive from Top Chef is watching the cooking, the presentations and the descriptions of each competitor's dish.  So, how did this show get to a point where almost all the 'food' segments seem to be "fast-forwarded?!?  I find myself having to frequently put my TV on PAUSE so that I can actually SEE the dish, SEE the ingredients, SEE the table judging.  Why has this engaging show become "Top Chef on Speed?" (I hope that Production will take this as a fan's well-meaning critique!)

THE ONLY important thing is seeing the dishes and letting me read the description. That's THE ONLY important thing.  So please linger on that for the longest amount of time!

You should see Beat Bobby Flay.  It's a nanosecond at best.  I have to pause the television every time.  Food Network shows drive me crazy.

[Impalace]

11 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

Why are grilled potatoes the devil? I slice them thinly and grill them after coating with a little bit of olive oil. Was it just because they weren't done enough? Because the way he was acting it was like it was something he'd never seen before in his entire life. 

The judges also said it did not allow the flavors to be absorbed into them. 

[caitmcg]

Irony: Of the two people who drew Indian and decided to make samosas, the one who had no experience with Indian food and was intimidated by cooking it for Padma made a samosa and condiments the judges—including the two Indians—loved, and the one who claimed to be perfectly comfortable with the challenge tanked.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, TzuShih said:

OOOKAY!  This is one of those "Is it ME??" questions.   One of the pleasures I derive from Top Chef is watching the cooking, the presentations and the descriptions of each competitor's dish.  So, how did this show get to a point where almost all the 'food' segments seem to be "fast-forwarded?!?  I find myself having to frequently put my TV on PAUSE so that I can actually SEE the dish, SEE the ingredients, SEE the table judging.  Why has this engaging show become "Top Chef on Speed?" (I hope that Production will take this as a fan's well-meaning critique!)

I don't think it's just you.  I think the people filming these shows are increasingly hyperactive.  It's not just "Top Chef", I've seen it on other cooking competitions too.  It was so bad on "Next Level Chef" I wouldn't have seen any food or cooking at all unless I froze the frame.  I watched exactly one episode of that and thought it was too gimmicky and there wasn't enough actual cooking featured.  And don't get me started on the shows with the deliberately shaky camera work.

[ilovebeaarthur]

22 hours ago, Leeds said:

How can you be "allergic to shellfish but only the shell"?  Where do they find these people?

THANK YOU. My husband is severely allergic to shellfish and fish, and when he heard her say that, well, I wish I could’ve gotten a picture of his face. That’s not how it works!

It’s possible she has an intolerance or sensitivity, but if she was allergic, she would not be able to eat it at all. 

Edited March 19, 2022 by ilovebeaarthur

[ilovebeaarthur]

8 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

So I would like some Indian experts to weigh in, if I am wrong. 

But it seems like Sam is got confused.  Yes aloo means potato.  But vindaloo is a compound word, and not two words.  Its not say like Aloo Gobi (which is a cauliflower potato curry).  So vindaloo (or the ones I've had) do not have potato.  The most common vindaloo is beef vindaloo.  Which is more vinegar, and less creamy looking.  Its also super spicy.  Sam's did not look like a vindaloo at all.  It looked like a generic potato curry.  So it seemed like Sam, went the whole aloo=potato, and just went completely off the rails.

You’re correct, aloo does mean potato. The term “vindaloo” is not Hindi at all, but Portuguese in origin, from a dish called “vindahlo.”
Vindaloo is a traditional Goan dish that was influenced by the Portuguese who traveled to that area. In Goa, it is made with pork and no potatoes, but it varies by state and city (I’ve had it with chicken and potatoes). 

Source: I’m married to a South Indian and have done my fare share of research on Indian cooking ☺️

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

Vindaloo is a traditional Goan dish that was influenced by the Portuguese who traveled to that area.

Goa was actually a Portuguese colony, from the early 1500s to officially 1974. It's a lot more than just influenced. Also the only majority Catholic area of India. 

[Rai]

I do not know why, but Sam just bugged the hell out of me. He seems nice! He seems friendly! But he also came off as pretty try-hard, and I just COULD NOT by the end of this episode. Dude, I love a potato. I have loved many potatoes. But you are a little obsessed.

As a bosom buddy of Gail's, you might say, I hate the fact that so much nice clothing is cut for women with smaller racks, so that when it's on someone of our build, things get bosomy. But the older I get, the more I feel this is really other peoples' problem. It's the body I got, so learn how to deal, folks. 😃

Intrigued by Jo, Nick, Damarr, Evelyn, Jae, and Sarah who has that Stephanie Cmar sense of humor going. Wanting to be impressed by Ashleigh. Buddha is interesting, but I don't think he needs this show, and neither does someone like Luke or Jackson. Robert and Monique might be solid middle of the pack chefs. Anyone who I forgot....probably a reason for that.

[laprin]

On 3/18/2022 at 6:53 AM, Mountainair said:

I actually found that rather interesting. I’ve never been to an allergist but I have a self diagnosed peanut allergy. Only to the shells. I can eat peanuts and peanut butter all day long but if I touch the shell I break out into hives and get a major rash all over and have uncontrollable sneezing. Oddly enough Screwball (peanut butter whiskey)does the same thing to me so they must process that differently than regular peanut butter. 

I experience something similar with crab. I can eat the meat in a dish, such as broth, but eating crabs in the shell causes me to break out in hives and my eyelids and lips get swollen. 

[BlackberryJam]

7 hours ago, Rai said:

I do not know why, but Sam just bugged the hell out of me. He seems nice! He seems friendly! But he also came off as pretty try-hard, and I just COULD NOT by the end of this episode. Dude, I love a potato. I have loved many potatoes. But you are a little obsessed.

As a bosom buddy of Gail's, you might say, I hate the fact that so much nice clothing is cut for women with smaller racks, so that when it's on someone of our build, things get bosomy. But the older I get, the more I feel this is really other peoples' problem. It's the body I got, so learn how to deal, folks. 😃

Intrigued by Jo, Nick, Damarr, Evelyn, Jae, and Sarah who has that Stephanie Cmar sense of humor going. Wanting to be impressed by Ashleigh. Buddha is interesting, but I don't think he needs this show, and neither does someone like Luke or Jackson. Robert and Monique might be solid middle of the pack chefs. Anyone who I forgot....probably a reason for that.

 I think the pandemic was rough for the rough straw industry industry and they all need the show to boost their profile and get people in the door.

 I am getting very intrigued by Jackson and how hes managed to make very good food apparently while unable to smell it although he said he does have some taste back.  I would totally go to his restaurant.

[TwopLurker]

7 hours ago, Rai said:

 

I do not know why, but Sam just bugged the hell out of me. He seems nice! He seems friendly! But he also came off as pretty try-hard, and I just COULD NOT by the end of this episode. Dude, I love a potato. I have loved many potatoes. But you are a little obsessed.

 

Sam was just 10000% bullshitting for most of the episode and through last chance kitchen. A potato curry is not innovative, no matter how many times you repeat a cute name for a dish. I think he was trying to cook something safe to get himself through the episode and then tried to pivot once he left the potatoes in the pot. I could buy a “oh I tried to char the potatoes to get a flavor similar to a tandoori oven” but either way, the potatoes have to be cooked.

Happy to see Jae do well! I’m hoping to get to her restaurant in the next few weeks, it sounds delicious.

Thank goodness we didn’t have to hear North Dakota whine about the “exotic” ingredients through the whole episode! Can you imagine if she got Filipino food?? She’d probably have managed to make chicken adobo sans the adobo 🤣🤣

[dleighg]

6 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

rough straw industry

took me a moment. Restaurant. Love spell check.

[Cheyanne11]

7 hours ago, Rai said:

I do not know why, but Sam just bugged the hell out of me. He seems nice! He seems friendly! But he also came off as pretty try-hard,

At least he didn't sing his "I believe the children are the future" comment.  Yeah, something about him makes me fine that he's gone.

[meep.meep]

21 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 

Yeah, but he's already asking others for their opinion in solo competitions so if they wanted to sabotage him they could still lie about their opinion whether they thought he could taste or not.  They don't have to know about it to sabotage him.

But that always goes on, even with the contestants who haven't lost their senses.  People like to get a second opinion while cooking so they have a chance to make a course correction if necessary.

And to those who think the gal with the seafood shell allergy is bullshitting - you can be allergic to different chemicals that are only found in one part of an organism, and there's no chitin in the muscle tissue, for example.

[Spicysweet]

On 3/18/2022 at 11:02 AM, Straycat80 said:

I just developed an allergy to vine tomato’s last summer, my lips burn like crazy, but I can eat the grocery store or canned tomato’s. Weird. 

I've tried to eat fresh pineapple because it tastes sooooo good, but my lips get crazy itchy if I do. Canned pineapple is fine.

[Spicysweet]

9 hours ago, Rai said:

I do not know why, but Sam just bugged the hell out of me. He seems nice! He seems friendly! But he also came off as pretty try-hard, and I just COULD NOT by the end of this episode. Dude, I love a potato. I have loved many potatoes. But you are a little obsessed.

 

I can't stand when a cheftestant names a dish after himself. Not only that, but anyone who does this always seems to lose. I thought Sam was  silly and weird. Won't miss him.

[ProudMary]

I thought it was fine that Sam used a cover story to the judges at the Night Market itself about why he chose to grill his potatoes, but it seemed ridiculous to me when he was standing on the chopping block at Judge's Table, not to come clean about the potatoes he'd pre-boiled during prep that never made it off the stove. That would have been the time to admit the initial mistake and plead your case truthfully. Then again, undercooked potatoes are most likely still getting you booted over greasy samosas or beef and daikon not made bite-sized.

Speaking of Ashleigh's dish, if you didn't want Tom to eat that particular portion, thinking it was too large and possibly tough, why did you even have it on the counter when the judges got to your station in the first place?

Food allergies come in all sorts of weird. I'm allergic to honeydew melon, but have no issues with cantaloupe or any other melon. 🤷‍♀️

[Leeds]

19 hours ago, carrps said:

Manic pixie dream boy.

 

10 hours ago, Rai said:

 

As a bosom buddy of Gail's, you might say, I hate the fact that so much nice clothing is cut for women with smaller racks, so that when it's on someone of our build, things get bosomy. But the older I get, the more I feel this is really other peoples' problem. It's the body I got, so learn how to deal, folks. 😃

 

As someone with breasts that were small to start with and non existent after nursing my children, I can tell you that it's hard to find clothing cut for women with smaller "racks" (a word I despise, by the way). 

 

 

[carrps]

10 hours ago, Rai said:

As a bosom buddy of Gail's, you might say, I hate the fact that so much nice clothing is cut for women with smaller racks, so that when it's on someone of our build, things get bosomy. But the older I get, the more I feel this is really other peoples' problem. It's the body I got, so learn how to deal, folks. 😃

 

Preach it, sistah!

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

23 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 

Yeah, but he's already asking others for their opinion in solo competitions so if they wanted to sabotage him they could still lie about their opinion whether they thought he could taste or not.  They don't have to know about it to sabotage him.

But that always goes on, even with the contestants who haven't lost their senses.  People like to get a second opinion while cooking so they have a chance to make a course correction if necessary.

Yes, that's the flip side of my point.  It always goes on so there's always the risk of sabotage.  Just because the person asking for a second opinion can taste doesn't mean the person they ask will give them an honest opinion.

[Suzn]

What's with the women judges on this show!  I'm not understanding why they wear such body exposing clothes.  I didn't need to see Gail spilling out of her dress and I didn't need to see Padma wearing the red dress at the start.  I don't see how she could wear any underwear with that skin tight dress. Here's the thing - you don't see the men dressed in any comparable way.

[Rai]

It's almost like women have unfairly high beauty expectations foisted upon them, right? Totally cool with having the men dress better and more flamboyantly too though. Let's make that happen.

 

[seltzer3]

Padma's Indian flexing on the chefs cracks me up (although it is kind of obnoxious).  "Is anyone scared to cook Indian food for me" 😏

Reminded me of when Stephanie Cmar tried to make Indian food in the restaurant tour (Jonathan Gold tribute) challenge.  And Padma, was like "I guess this is your version of an Indian nacho" freaking Stephanie out.

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by seltzer3

[bravofan27]

Sam didn't take  it seriously- or he came off as not taking it seriously. I think that pissed off the other chefs like Luke. And the judges. I think his immaturity sent him home, though I have to say, I thought he was adorable and funny. But this isn't a kids cooking show (didn't he mention he works with kids?) Know your audience, Sam!

Tom has really ticked me off this season. I really didn't like when he went off on Jae for cooking a North Korean dish that she had been imagining for awhile now. He told her that imagining does not make a dish good, but eating it and experimenting makes it good. Basically he told her she never should have made a dish that she hadn't made or eaten before.

Then in the kitchen Tom caught flack from Dawn and Brooke who insisted it was okay to make a dish that they were unfamilar with-- I can't remember who Tom was saying it to, but he was basically saying that someone shouldn't make a new dish "on the clock."

THEN, the next challenge  is all about chefs making dishes that they have no experience with whatsover! What the fuck? That inconsistency and lack of logic makes me crazy. If Tom is going to almost send someone home for making a new dish, then he should make sure that all the chefs are able to cook their own food on each challenge. 

 

[carrps]

But they all "cooked their dishes" -- just not in a genre they were familiar with.

Sam was improvising on the fly, then lying about it.

 

[bravofan27]

2 minutes ago, carrps said:

But they all "cooked their dishes" -- just not in a genre they were familiar with.

Sam was improvising on the fly, then lying about it.

 

Sam tried to make it seem like he meant to grill the potatoes, when he really forgot about them. I think he might have been able to stick around if he owned  up to it instead of trying to make it into a fairy tale. 

[BlackberryJam]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

took me a moment. Restaurant. Love spell check.

Yeah…that was classic!

[OlderThanDirt]

That whole thing about leaving the potatoes behind didn't make sense to me.  How do you forget your main ingredient? And did he plan to leave them boiled in water overnight?  Talk about time management! 

[bravofan27]

5 minutes ago, OlderThanDirt said:

That whole thing about leaving the potatoes behind didn't make sense to me.  How do you forget your main ingredient? And did he plan to leave them boiled in water overnight?  Talk about time management! 

I didn't understand why he didn't just tell the judges what happened. I think that would have helped them know that he understands how to cook Indian food. Grilling potatos didn't let the flavors set, and that was what the whole demo was about-- making flavors.

[theatremouse]

23 minutes ago, OlderThanDirt said:

That whole thing about leaving the potatoes behind didn't make sense to me.  How do you forget your main ingredient?

I'm under the impression he was leaving them on the stove while he packed his other stuff because they weren't quite done yet and wanted to pack them last. And then forgot to go back and actually do it before time was up.

[MsMalin]

4 hours ago, Suzn said:

Here's the thing - you don't see the men dressed in any comparable way.

You're not kidding. I live in the Philadelphia area. I am appalled at the way many weather women and female newscasters dress. The men wear suits.

[TzuShih]

On 3/18/2022 at 10:36 PM, Yeah No said:

I don't think it's just you.  I think the people filming these shows are increasingly hyperactive.  It's not just "Top Chef", I've seen it on other cooking competitions too.  It was so bad on "Next Level Chef" I wouldn't have seen any food or cooking at all unless I froze the frame.  I watched exactly one episode of that and thought it was too gimmicky and there wasn't enough actual cooking featured.  And don't get me started on the shows with the deliberately shaky camera work.

Like you, Yeah No, I "watched exactly one episode of "Next Level Chef" and thought it was too gimmicky and there wasn't enough actual cooking featured!!"  My overall reaction was:  "Is this Gordon Ramsey mess for REAL?!?!?"  I could try to be kind and say that the show fell into the category of:  "It's so BAD, it's almost good!"  But I don't think I could forgive myself for such self-deception.  So, I will leave with a simple plea to Gordon for future shows:  Please bring back the quality of your earlier series that won you your loyal following!

[Ms Blue Jay]

21 hours ago, Rai said:

As a bosom buddy of Gail's, you might say, I hate the fact that so much nice clothing is cut for women with smaller racks, so that when it's on someone of our build, things get bosomy. But the older I get, the more I feel this is really other peoples' problem. It's the body I got, so learn how to deal, folks.

I was the one who made the comment and I'm huge up there too.  But..... it's just something about this show where I find her cleavage distracting.  It if was Real Housewives I would love the outfit.  Here, I'm trying to think about the food.  I think she's trying to steal shine.  The show is really not about her but every 5 minutes I'm thinking, well there's Gail's breasts again.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

11 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Food allergies come in all sorts of weird. I'm allergic to honeydew melon, but have no issues with cantaloupe or any other melon. 🤷‍♀️

Totally.  It's so annoying when people don't believe that they're real and try and force feed you that food anyway. It's happened to me several times.

10 hours ago, Suzn said:

What's with the women judges on this show!  I'm not understanding why they wear such body exposing clothes.  I didn't need to see Gail spilling out of her dress and I didn't need to see Padma wearing the red dress at the start.  I don't see how she could wear any underwear with that skin tight dress. Here's the thing - you don't see the men dressed in any comparable way.

Thank you for understanding

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, TzuShih said:

Like you, Yeah No, I "watched exactly one episode of "Next Level Chef" and thought it was too gimmicky and there wasn't enough actual cooking featured!!"  My overall reaction was:  "Is this Gordon Ramsey mess for REAL?!?!?"  I could try to be kind and say that the show fell into the category of:  "It's so BAD, it's almost good!"  But I don't think I could forgive myself for such self-deception.  So, I will leave with a simple plea to Gordon for future shows:  Please bring back the quality of your earlier series that won you your loyal following!

LOL.  I loved Next Level Chef, but I was one of a few.

[Cotypubby]

9 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I was the one who made the comment and I'm huge up there too.  But..... it's just something about this show where I find her cleavage distracting.  It if was Real Housewives I would love the outfit.  Here, I'm trying to think about the food.  I think she's trying to steal shine.  The show is really not about her but every 5 minutes I'm thinking, well there's Gail's breasts again.

I can’t remember ever even noticing what she’s wearing. 
🤷‍♀️

[bravofan27]

I sort of feel bad for Gail, in a first-world problem way, in that they always dress her in those stretchy dresses with elastic-y non defined waists, and that have plunging necklines with built in bras. Then they have Padma in these elegant, super fitted, form fitting gorgeous clothes, also a belted waist. That said, Padma's outfit was also plunging, she just doesn't have the same ampleness that Gail does-- It did appear that Padma was trying to play up her cleavage though. 

All the other women judges that join them appear to show up and film with whatever nice clothes they have in their closet, and are usually matronly-- don't want anyone to show up the stars! 

 

[sharifa70]

5 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

I can’t remember ever even noticing what she’s wearing. 
🤷‍♀️

I didn’t notice either. I remember the color but certainly not the cut so I didn’t find anything particularly appealing or offensive about it.

[Mellowyellow]

I don't care for Sam so I'm happy he's been eliminated. He looks like he'd be exhausting to deal with and made that weird comment at Damarr last week who is one of my favorites!

Love Jo! I find Jo very soothing and "just right." Great cook, not too peppy, not boring, not sour. She makes for very pleasant TV. 

She's a good cook (I would have loved to try her pork belly, what's with Tom saying everything is bland???) and I totally have a girl crush Monique who I think is absolutely gorgeous! So pretty 😍

[CrazyInAlabama]

3 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

I don't care for Sam so I'm happy he's been eliminated. He looks like he'd be exhausting to deal with and made that weird comment at Damarr last week who is one of my favorites!

Love Jo! I find Jo very soothing and "just right." Great cook, not too peppy, not boring, not sour. She makes for very pleasant TV. 

She's a good cook (I would have loved to try her pork belly, what's with Tom saying everything is bland???) and I totally have a girl crush Monique who I think is absolutely gorgeous! So pretty 😍

I think with Tom, everything has to have a ton of salt for it to be enough for him.    I think that's what he means by flavor.   

It was Sam's time to  go, I was tired of his endless excuses, and screw ups.  

[seltzer3]

Here is Jae's winning dish.  Kind of weird that Dale changed a lot of components.  I get the korean melon, but replacing the chinese sausage with ground pork, eh.
 

 

[SemiCharmedLife]

On 3/19/2022 at 12:37 PM, Rai said:

It's almost like women have unfairly high beauty expectations foisted upon them, right? Totally cool with having the men dress better and more flamboyantly too though. Let's make that happen.

 

I recall last season several of the recurring guests judges (male) really brought it with their fashion statements.   I wish I could remember who exactly- maybe Greg?

[Rai]

I know Kwame was something of a fashion plate. I totally ordered a couple of his nail polishes too!