S19.E13: Cactus Makes Perfect

[Gracie123]

Ugh, Sara.  You need to learn new words.  LCK was not "brutality".  It is a competition.  I don't like the way she appears to be feeling so entitled to the win.  

Anyone but Sara FTW!

[bravofan27]

Has anyone noticed, but when Tom compliments Buddha, Buddha says, "Thanks, Tom."

Not "Thank  you Chef"

and not, "Thank you" like he says to anyone else. However, when Daniel Bouloud (sp) complemented his dish, Buddha did say, "Thank you, chef." (it was kind  of quiet though). 

It's weird. Is he trying to make them seem like bros or something? 

I'm really liking this final round of chefs overall, besides Sarah, whose personality grates me (but Tom seems to think she is hysterical) although, she is making some pretty cool stuff and I emotions aside, she could be deserving of the win. I think it's going to come down to Evelyn and Buddha though. 

Edited May 28, 2022 by bravofan27

[Heathrowe]

Oh, Damarr. Sad to see him go but this challenge and the last he seemed a little wiped out. Someone mentioned that he does a thing where he looks down and up and now I can't unsee it. He does that and clasps his hands in front and it's such a humble posture - like a little boy. It makes me want to hug him and tell him to straighten up and be confident. That is the mom in me. 

Buddha stumbled. Agree with everyone's thoughts that he is technically proficient. I had him pegged as the winner but am not so sure now. Evelyn's food this week was the caliber of what she should have made Eric Ripert last week. I'm glad she pulled it together. Sara's food is the food I most want to eat, to be honest, but I like that local, hipster food scene that she seems to represent. Anyway, I thought this was Buddha's to lose but now I am not so sure and that might just be good, tricky editing on the producers part to keep me interested? 

And lastly - Evelyn has the sweetest face. She could be a character in a children's book.

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I was hoping against hope all four would somehow get to move on, as wildly unrealistic as it was. What a fantastic final four, as chefs and as people.

Project Runway always does it.  LOL.  It's such a cheat.  Too bad Top Chef doesn't! 

[theatremouse]

20 hours ago, meep.meep said:

This is being filmed at the Marriott Star Pass Resort but they must have pulled out as a sponsor since it was never mentioned.  I was lucky enough to go to a meeting there years ago just after it opened.  The building is so massive that we kept getting lost.  It was beautiful and well air conditioned.  Wonder why they ate outside?

I've been there too and recognized the place right away. My money says: they ate outside so they could show the cactusey hillside in the background.

[The Solution]

1 hour ago, Heathrowe said:

Evelyn's food this week was the caliber of what she should have made Eric Ripert last week

It was Daniel Boulud who ate her taco last week.😋

[bravofan27]

1 hour ago, The Solution said:

It was Daniel Boulud who ate her taco last week.😋

Phew. I was like, Erik Ripert was on? Where? When? How did I miss that?

I like this picture because it really captures the personalities of the chefs. We have Sarah who looks like she is going to Journey concernt, Buddha who looks like a traveler that could be from anywhere (man boobs though?), Evelyn who looks approachable, sweet, and engaged. And then Damarr with his "humble" dubious and skeptical posture. Damarr has a habit of always hanging his head and looking docile and submissive. Maybe that's how he avoided spankings as a kid (reaching, I know). 

Edited May 28, 2022 by bravofan27

[Miss chi chi]

I just made a reservation to take Mr. Chi Chi to Damarr’s restaurant Virtue for Father’s Day! Anyone but Sarah for the win now!

[pasdetrois]

I am in mourning for Damarr.

[carrps]

14 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Project Runway always does it.  LOL.  It's such a cheat.  Too bad Top Chef doesn't! 

Yeah, but Project Runway always* has a two hour finale with the 4th designer eliminated before the "show."

*Well, almost always.

[Morrissey]

I'm thrilled for Evelyn and sad for Damarr. 

Sarah annoys me to no end. I can't even enjoy her dishes which are clearly executed to perfection. As soon as she opens her mouth, I want to press the mute button.  

[LBS]

8 hours ago, Miss chi chi said:

I just made a reservation to take Mr. Chi Chi to Damarr’s restaurant Virtue for Father’s Day! Anyone but Sarah for the win now!

Me and Mr. LBS are going on June 24th! I’m so excited!  I don’t mind Sarah but since I don’t watch LCK I’m not as invested.  My preference is a Buddha/Evelyn final with Buddha winning.  He did his homework and I love how stunning his food looks.  

Edited May 28, 2022 by LBS

[JD5166]

4 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I am in mourning for Damarr.

Me too, I am still teary about it...even tho I knew it was comIng. He is beautiful to look at and seems like a beautiful soul.....he will surely make appearances next season (I hope!!) I think Padma feels the same way lol 

[Tango64]

Why did most of the talking head interviews look so weird, like they were using bad lighting and 1980s technology to superimpose them on the fake background?  Very distracting. 

[Yeah No]

I don't know what's so bad about Sarah or Buddha.  Or so great about Jae or Damarr.   At least we all seem to agree on Evelyn! 

Damarr was OK but I didn't connect with him or his food so much.  He was a little too distant for me and I don't think I ever saw him crack a smile.

I am still pulling for Buddha although I would be equally as happy with a Sarah win.  I think both of them are interesting people and amazing chefs.  Lots of depth there and anything but boring.  I'm scratching my head about some of the negative reactions to them.  Not sure where all that is coming from because I just don't see it.  Perhaps Buddha seemed like a hardass to Jae because he is a better chef and has higher standards and is not one of those partners that doesn't speak up when they see something is really wrong.  So of course that person is going to see them as a hardass.  

I also wouldn't be upset with an Evelyn win but although she seems like a lovely person I agree with what was said above about her being handed the advantage many times during this competition in terms of cooking style and ingredients.  I get it that just because they are asked to cook something familiar doesn't mean they'll do it any better than the other chefs that aren't familiar with it, but it certainly doesn't hurt either, and that in and of itself can be an advantage.  

This finale looks like it'll be a don't-miss what with Eric Ripert in attendance.  I'm happy to see him back on TV competition judging panels (Just saw him on Tournament of Champions).  He was a little bit scarce for a while after Bourdain's death.  I'm hoping his presence lights the needed fire under Buddha's ass to inspire him to do better than he did this week.  Not that he didn't do well, I just know he can do better.

[emmawoodhouse]

I wonder if Sarah will go Jamaican? That would be a nice twist since I think only Tom knows that part of her background.

[Colorado David]

I will be happy with an Evelyn or Buddha win. Sarah seems very much like a Karen-type to me.

[Thumper]

13 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Why did most of the talking head interviews look so weird, like they were using bad lighting and 1980s technology to superimpose them on the fake background?  Very distracting. 

I noticed that too!  

[carrps]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

I noticed that too!  

Me, three.

[Souris]

16 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Why did most of the talking head interviews look so weird, like they were using bad lighting and 1980s technology to superimpose them on the fake background?  Very distracting. 

It really was strange. I could not figure out what that was about. It was definitely distracting.

I am sooooooo sad about Demarr, though it was obvious that was how it was going to go and seems like it was the correct decision. He started so strong and was a definite frontrunner, but he clearly tailed off over the past few weeks. I hope the competition gives him more confidence. I also hope he wins Fan Favorite.

I think any of the remaining three would be a worthy winner, though my money is on Buddha winning.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 5/27/2022 at 3:26 PM, dleighg said:

and his response was "use your intuition."

Knowing nothing at all about how much liquid nitrogen one uses to make ice cream, I'm not sure if 'use your intuition" is a helpful or unhelpful response, as well as if it really is the best Buddha could offer. 

Maybe Buddha doesn't have any better sense like "add a cup of liquid nitrogen for every couple gallons of ice cream you want to make." Maybe use your intuition is the best advice one can give because it really is a trial-and-error situation. 

Or maybe Buddha knew exactly how much liquid nitrogen one should add and was just blowing her off. 

[tljgator]

17 hours ago, Tango64 said:

Why did most of the talking head interviews look so weird, like they were using bad lighting and 1980s technology to superimpose them on the fake background?  Very distracting. 

It looked like a Zoom background to me and I wondered if they filmed all the talking heads after they went home, so they gave them all the same Zoom image to use to make it look uniform? (In the before times this would have been much less obvious, lol.)

[JD5166]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I don't know what's so bad about Sarah or Buddha.  Or so great about Jae or Damarr.   At least we all seem to agree on Evelyn! 

Damarr was OK but I didn't connect with him or his food so much.  He was a little too distant for me and I don't think I ever saw him crack a smile.

I am still pulling for Buddha although I would be equally as happy with a Sarah win.  I think both of them are interesting people and amazing chefs.  Lots of depth there and anything but boring.  I'm scratching my head about some of the negative reactions to them.  Not sure where all that is coming from because I just don't see it.  Perhaps Buddha seemed like a hardass to Jae because he is a better chef and has higher standards and is not one of those partners that doesn't speak up when they see something is really wrong.  So of course that person is going to see them as a hardass.  

I also wouldn't be upset with an Evelyn win but although she seems like a lovely person I agree with what was said above about her being handed the advantage many times during this competition in terms of cooking style and ingredients.  I get it that just because they are asked to cook something familiar doesn't mean they'll do it any better than the other chefs that aren't familiar with it, but it certainly doesn't hurt either, and that in and of itself can be an advantage.  

This finale looks like it'll be a don't-miss what with Eric Ripert in attendance.  I'm happy to see him back on TV competition judging panels (Just saw him on Tournament of Champions).  He was a little bit scarce for a while after Bourdain's death.  I'm hoping his presence lights the needed fire under Buddha's ass to inspire him to do better than he did this week.  Not that he didn't do well, I just know he can do better.

For me, it was Demarr’s story about his mom and aunt. That and he’s just super handsome and seems so shy, he’s just very endearing o me. 

There was absolutely nobody this season that was off putting, so refreshing. I was a little annoyed by Evelyn’s clear advantage, but she seems very sweet and genuine, I don’t even care who wins...but yay, Ripert visit! 

[marybennet]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:17 PM, The Solution said:

I don't remember another season catering to someone's wheelhouse as much as this season has catered to Evelyn.

I thought Evelyn’s wheelhouse—what she cooks professionally—is South Asian food. 

[hula-la]

On 5/26/2022 at 9:00 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

Noooooooooooo!

Before the episode I was looking to see if there was going to be a viewing party or something at Virtue, and when I didn't see anything, I had a bad feeling about it.

I guess it's time to figure out how to vote for Damarr for Fan Favorite. 

I can’t vote, as I’m in Canada, so please include some votes for me! And thanks to @HurricaneVal for mentioning the bean purée. We get a shorter length show up here, so that part was edited out. I was wondering why the judges never mentioned his beans. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by hula-la
Added the thanks.

[Leeds]

On 5/29/2022 at 11:02 AM, Souris said:

I am sooooooo sad about Demarr, though it was obvious that was how it was going to go and seems like it was the correct decision. He started so strong and was a definite frontrunner, but he clearly tailed off over the past few weeks. I hope the competition gives him more confidence. I also hope he wins Fan Favorite.

When I try to vote for fan favorite, why are Damarr (eliminated) and Evelyn (still in) the only two options?

And why do you get more than one vote?  What kind of voting system allows you to split a bunch of votes between different people?

(Not that I'm inclined to go back to the page, since whichever intern had the job of writing it says, "The original fifteen (15) Top Chef contestants casted for Season 18 prior to the Top Chef premiere are eligible to win the Prize.")

Edited May 31, 2022 by Leeds

[Chicago Redshirt]

10 minutes ago, Leeds said:

When I try to vote for fan favorite, why are Damarr (eliminated) and Evelyn (still in) the only two options?

And why do you get more than one vote?  What kind of voting system allows you to split a bunch of votes between different people?

(Not that I'm inclined to go back to the page, since whichever intern had the job of writing it says, "The original fifteen (15) Top Chef contestants casted for Season 18 prior to the Top Chef premiere are eligible to win the Prize.")

I'm assuming that it used to be that you could spread your vote amongst various candidates early on, but that gradually people were eliminated to the point where now only two people can win, Evelyn and Damarr.

Splitting votes made more sense when there were 10 candidates, say, and you really wanted Damarr, Buddha and Evelyn to be in contention. Give 30 votes to one, 10 to the other two or whatever. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Yes, they eliminate the lowest vote getter each week leading up to the announcement during the finale. I'm not surprised that Evelyn and Demarr are the last two standing.

[Sd601]

While *this* particular challenge did seem to favor Evelyn because of experience working and eating these ingredients, I am assuming it was just lucky coincidence. She’s a local favorite in Houston obviously, but Top Chef has always had local chefs in various seasons. I think she was really lucky, and she still pushed herself. Seriously, all these chefs are great. Still pulling for Buddha. I’ve been rewatching the older episodes, and that first challenge, he just killed it—beef fat dessert, the “spotted dick.” But all are deserving. Tom seems to really appreciate Sarah’s food, as well. 

On an Instagram post from Bravo, the main judges were asked to describe the final 4 in one word on a quick interview. Did Tom give a hint? I can’t remember it all, but Sarah was “quirky” & “mystery.” Damarr was “flavor” and “thoughtful.” Buddha was “cerebral” & “precision.” Evelyn was “bubbly,” “exuberant”, and then Tom said “extraordinary!”  Hmm…

Edited May 31, 2022 by Sd601

[Rai]

9 hours ago, Sd601 said:

While *this* particular challenge did seem to favor Evelyn because of experience working and eating these ingredients, I am assuming it was just lucky coincidence. She’s a local favorite in Houston obviously, but Top Chef has always had local chefs in various seasons. I think she was really lucky, and she still pushed herself.

This is basically what I was coming in here to say, so I'm just going to amplify it. As noted above by @marybennet, Evelyn actually specializes in South Asian cuisine professionally, and while she has enjoyed demonstrating commonality between South Asian and the American Southwest, I don't take it for granted she'll be nailing every ingredient local to the area. By inference, Carrie Baird should've had an advantage with the Rocky Mountain oysters in her season, and though she knew enough to at least prep for a potential challenge with them, she still bombed the quickfire with them anyway. So I don't see Evelyn as having any special advantage, really.

Can't believe there's only one episode to go all of a sudden! Evelyn is my fave still. I could live with Sarah winning. I could live with Buddha winning, although he's my third fave in this fight. But they're all great. I was very sad to see Damarr go home. Once his beans got mushy, I was thinking he should make a crispy bean patty from them, but you know, armchair quarterbacking and all that. Really hope he comes back for an All-Stars.

(I love both Sarah's and Damarr's personalities too. People just are who they are.)

[bravofan27]

On 5/29/2022 at 11:31 AM, Colorado David said:

I will be happy with an Evelyn or Buddha win. Sarah seems very much like a Karen-type to me.

Very interesting observation/ connection. 

[Yeah No]

Why is it always with this show that I see big assumptions made about people based on so little?  I honestly don't see that on pretty much any other thread I frequent.

Damar is a "beautiful soul"????  Seriously, he's so quiet and reserved, what do we even know about him?  Just because he's good looking and has a certain look that some women go gaga for doesn't automatically make him a "beautiful soul".   I think at best that's wishful thinking.

And Sarah is a "Karen" type???  When have we seen her acting that way even once?  I haven't seen it.  She's got her quirks but again, I think that's an assumption made based purely on surface stuff. 

[dleighg]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

And Sarah is a "Karen" type???  When have we seen her acting that way even once?

That one really got me. Huh? I thought that "type" was very demanding and self-important. When have we seen that????? And I agree with you about Damarr. Seems like a nice guy is all I can say.

[MarylandGirl]

On 5/28/2022 at 6:03 PM, JD5166 said:

Me too, I am still teary about it...even tho I knew it was comIng. He is beautiful to look at and seems like a beautiful soul.....he will surely make appearances next season (I hope!!) I think Padma feels the same way lol 

I cried when he was eliminated, too. And rewound to watch the hugs again--Evelyn going in for the second hug. They all seem to really like and support each other. Then I cried again when Evelyn got the win! She just seems like such a sweet person (same with Damarr).

[snarktini]

I'm so happy I finally got to see this! I moved halfway through this season, and lost my Bravo access. Just now getting Peacock and catching up

Why do I care so much? Because I grew up in Tucson and wanted to see the chefs work with carne seca, of course. That is such a hyper-local food -- while it does show up in some Mexican/Central American cultures (Evelyn said she grew up with it) it really is quite localized. You can barely find it in Phoenix even. After they moved away, my parents used to drive to AZ and come back with coolers full of it. El Charro is legendary.

On 5/27/2022 at 9:18 AM, meep.meep said:

This is being filmed at the Marriott Star Pass Resort but they must have pulled out as a sponsor since it was never mentioned.

I'm so glad I didn't have to eat anything made out of nopales.  It squicks me out, just like okra.  I would have to be really hungry to go for slime.

I rewound searching for logos and when I didn't find any, looked up the location. It was built after my time and I didn't recognize it.

Yeah, I don't do nopales. Too slimy. I like the flavor of cactus like in a drink or jam, but that's usually prickly pear fruit.

On 5/27/2022 at 12:22 PM, meep.meep said:

Protocols in AZ were not "less restrictive" - I have employees there.  I have had to be on top of their protocols.

On 5/27/2022 at 7:42 PM, theatremouse said:

I've been there too and recognized the place right away. My money says: they ate outside so they could show the cactusey hillside in the background.

That's my vote too. You don't waste that kind of backdrop. I miss that scenery.

I was in Tucson right around the time this was filming, and most people were masked most places, which was surprising in the best way. But I doubt that drove the decision. (It never hurts though, right?)

On 5/30/2022 at 11:01 PM, Sd601 said:

While *this* particular challenge did seem to favor Evelyn because of experience working and eating these ingredients, I am assuming it was just lucky coincidence.

I was legit surprised she had experience with all the ingredients. I have never even heard of that pepper. Lucky for her! I like her a lot.

I also like Buddha, but they are so different. He reminds me of Hung more than Blaise -- cheffy, technical, focused, confident, doesn't go out of his way to be liked. (Blaise REALLY wanted approval.) When he said he quadrupled his friend group with the chefs in the room, that sounded right!