S20.E04: Spurred Lines

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The chefs are tasked with creating a beloved English classic: the biscuit; the chefs head to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a football-themed team challenge; the teams that succeed are safe while the rest are relegated and must compete again.

Original air date: March 30, 2023

[Bastet]

I enjoyed the dinner table conversation during their night off, especially Victoire’s story.  I’m glad she didn’t have to compete in the second round of the EC after getting stabbed with an epi pen!  LOL at “Finish your dish, and then you can die.”  She also made me laugh with “We. Don’t. Bake.” in the QF.

I don’t generally like crispy cookies, either, Tom, but you can’t make a cake for a biscuit challenge!  Ali’s flavors sounded so delicious, especially the savory, I’d have gotten past the texture.

I was relieved the EC format meant that in the final round it was an individual challenge.  It’s touching how much the green team all like each other and were so distraught at sending someone home.

I’m not a huge fan of peas, so didn’t crave any of those final three dishes, especially Begoña’s dish that didn’t have something else I did love in it, but I was seriously impressed with how many ways she used them and was going to be stunned if she didn't win.  I figured Luciana was going to go, that the only thing making it a discussion was her peas being the best cooked.

I like Wensleydale a lot more than I like Stilton, and I was indeed drooling over the winning Wensleydale dish, but the winning Stilton dish sounded really good, too.  That first round was great.

I wanted the losing apple dish a good deal more than the winning one in the second round, so the tart must have been seriously good.

[Quilt Fairy]

As long as Tom stays.............

[Tess23]

Such a fun season filled with lovely, talented people. I'm enjoying watching them bond more with each episode. 

[MerBearHou]

Buddha has good instincts.  The guys on the yellow team asked him at the very last second if he thought they should add some powdered sugar to the top of the apples.  He didn’t waver and said that no, the dish had enough as it was.  So many chefs would be tempted to add just one more thing.  And the judges liked that the apple was able to shine in the dish.  Like he knew last episode that those gooey mashed potatoes were not winners and Luciana and he needed to pivot — that, to me, helped their entire dish present as a winning dish.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

Obviously the show is highly edited, but I did notice Gail nicely asking if Victoire was okay, and then the cameras just showing a shot of Padma looking inconvenienced 😄

[HappyDancex2]

Tom had me seriously stressed for Buddha in the second cook just passing off dessert decisions and his “crumble?  What crumble?”  Although I just wondered if that was going to be Tom’s ticket out after just deciding to not do the biscuit challenge and not caring.  He and the French guy who got eliminated first don’t seem to quite get the American version of this show.  It’s a game show of challenges….you don’t get a choice to purely cook the food you know how to cook LOL.

[Quilt Fairy]

I kept getting confused because the aprons of the "green" team were not green!  I'd say it was my TV, but every other color was fine.  The apples and peas were green, but the aprons?  Aqua. 

[Andyourlittledog2]

I love this show and this season by far better than any season but the downside is that I don't want anyone to go home. I want to watch all of them week after week, no eliminations!  Unfortunately, that is not a show.

Ugh, peas.  I hate peas. I used to pick them out of the vegetable beef soup before I heated it up (canned soup, don't hurt me!) and didn't realize that my dog was watching me do this. His wet dog food had peas in it too and every time I fed him he vacuumed the food down fast and left a little mound of peas on the side. Every. Time. I never understood how he could eat that fast and still spit out a little mound of peas neatly on the side.  lol 

 So glad Buddha is still here, I thought he would be a goner. Love Victoire. 'We. Don't. Bake.'

[Vermicious Knid]

First time on Top Chef someone gets stabbed with an epi-pen? I was thinking Carla should have judged the final round. I remember in her finale she made what looked to be a simple dish of peas but it actually had something like 20 ingredients and the judges swooned. 

[Leeds]

3 minutes ago, Vermicious Knid said:

 

Epic!

[HappyDancex2]

Victoire’s story was touching and her English is amazing all things considered. When her voice was starting to rasp in between sneezes and she started pawing at her swollen face I seriously was wondering why she wasn’t yanked immediately.  That was some crazy stuff.  Would love to know the actual time lapse of chopped walnut dust to medical whisking her away to jam her with the epi pen!!  And then when she found out the team had won she wanted to run back in and the medic was like “um.  Yeah NO”.   Thought she was going to say NOOOOOOOOO and Sit ya ASS down in 8 different languages!
 

And Potato Chef is so nurturing…she has a lovely spirit to her.  Feisty, funny, competitive but still caring.

[rlc]

I’m just happy that the editing monkeys tricked me. When they focused so heavily on Victoire at the beginning of the episode, I thought she’d be eliminated. Not that I want any of the chefs to go home- they are all lovely and talented.

I’m enjoying Buddha much more on this season than on his. His cooking is confident rather than cocky. It reminds me more of when he cooked his wife’s favorite pasta instead of pulling every trick out of his (very large) bag of tricks. 

[bosawks]

5 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Victoire’s story was touching and her English is amazing all things considered. When her voice was starting to rasp in between sneezes and she started pawing at her swollen face I seriously was wondering why she wasn’t yanked immediately.  That was some crazy stuff.  Would love to know the actual time lapse of chopped walnut dust to medical whisking her away to jam her with the epi pen!!  And then when she found out the team had won she wanted to run back in and the medic was like “um.  Yeah NO”.   Thought she was going to say NOOOOOOOOO and Sit ya ASS down in 8 different languages!
 

And Potato Chef is so nurturing…she has a lovely spirit to her.  Feisty, funny, competitive but still caring.

After watching her I leave every episode wanting to eat more potatoes.

[dleighg]

I absolutely hate peas. I would hate to have to do that final. 

Could Victoire really learn to speak English that well in four months, grammar and all? As a language-challenged person (even after years of study, I never was able to think in a second language) I find that remarkable.

[seacliffsal]

I really enjoyed this episode.  Padma's red outfit at the quickfire is one of my most favorite ever of her outfits.  Just stunning.  And it brought such joy to my heart that Buddha used part of his winnings to get surgery for his dog who was losing his sight.  Alle's win after telling us he really didn't know how to make biscuits was everything (and even though Tom had not the best attitude about the quickfire, I still like him).  However, we saw the downside of having immunity in this episode when nobody really wanted to work with him in the elimination challenge.  So, I was very glad when his team won their immunity (I like all three of them).  Luciana wasn't my favorite so I was glad she was the one eliminated (out of the three). 

I am really enjoying this season.  I have many favorites so it will be hard to watch all but one eventually leave.

[JTMacc99]

This was a really fun episode. The quickfire was difficult but had an interesting judge and a great deal of creative dishes.

The night off was a great way for us to see them all interacting with each other, which had the effect of me liking them more. (Which in turn makes the stakes higher for me.)

And the Elimination Challenge was really well designed and executed. They got to choose their teams rather than forced collaborations. We got to see a whole bunch of creative dishes and a whole bunch of winners and losers. 

And, wow, I was really rooting for the green team the whole time because they were so good together. 

[Fukui San]

One minor enjoyment of this episode was the way the foreign chefs pronounced "biscuit".  It always brought a smile to my face.

I remember the Great British Bake Off doing a cookie challenge, and Paul Hollywood dinging bakers on making a gooey cookie rather than a rock hard cookie. Foo on that. Sometimes you want gooey goodness.

[Rai]

I was terrified that Begonia getting so much airtime meant she was about to exit. Whew! I mean, no offense, Luciana. You seem great too! It's going to be hard to lose anyone, of course. Begonia's one of my faves, that's all.

I enjoyed hearing more about Victoire's backstory. Seven languages! And only speaking English for four months! I took Spanish from elementary all the way through college and never got any degree of fluency (my accent is pretty good in Spain though). I was pretty terrified for her endangering her health to that degree though. That whole "play with pain" kitchen mentality still goes hard, I see.

I actually love fresh peas and thought Gabri's idea to combine them with mint was smart in a classical way. Begonia's dish looked amazing. I don't love the specific English dish of mushy peas, but raw ones? I'm very okay with. No one made a dish I wouldn't eat though. Talented crew.

The cookie judge made me laugh he was so campy. He seemed mortally offended by Tom's offering to the point that it looked like he was biting back pure rage. Maybe he wasn't! But it was still really funny to watch.

Another fun episode down!

[BlackberryJam]

I kind of love Tom for giving the finger to the biscuit challenge, because I had so many fights with a British ex about biscuits and cookies and ginger snaps and my ex was just fucking asshole about it.  Tom was in trouble for making cakes and yeah, he should have been. "Tom, your dish didn't meet parameters and I'm going to have to ask you to leave the forge..." Oh wait, wrong show.

I'm giving Tom my emotional pass on British biscuits though. 

I thought the judging was on point. Sorry to see Luciana go because I've been really into South American foods lately and want more of that. 

Victoire's English is amazing. I'm wondering if being so multi-lingual, she's just found the best ways for her to learn. I need them to have a challenge that is in her wheelhouse instead of so far out of it.

 

[Tess23]

Wow, Padma in that red dress and boots. I've been trying to get my husband to watch Top Chef for years to no avail - planning to play that clip for him and I'm guessing he changes his tune.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 3/30/2023 at 10:54 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Obviously the show is highly edited, but I did notice Gail nicely asking if Victoire was okay, and then the cameras just showing a shot of Padma looking inconvenienced 😄

Maybe Padma couldn't believe that Victoire was in contact with something she knew could cause that reaction?  It wasn't as if she didn't know she was allergic.  I'm hoping from here on, that the other chefs or the pantry stockers don't have walnuts around.   

I'm just glad she was OK.  (Thanks for the correction, apparently I wasn't watching very closely, and Victoire was only near the Walnuts)  

Edited April 1, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[JTMacc99]

7 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

"Tom, your dish didn't meet parameters and I'm going to have to ask you to leave the forge..." Oh wait, wrong show.

Ha! The guest judge gave the exact same "this is not what you were supposed to do" look that David Baker gives after he pulls out the reading glasses and the tape measure.

[Rambler]

That was a strange elimination. Who was the winning chef? The way it was set up, there was no way to tell. This is a competition, so it was weird they didn't include a way to pick a winner. Then at judges table, they usually give feedback to the chefs on the bottom, but here it was like, "Luciana, your dish left us a little flat, so see ya."

At least the other chefs commenting from the sidelines ala Last Chance Kitchen was entertaining. It would probably get old really fast, but I wouldn't mind seeing it in a couple episodes per season.

[rhofmovalley]

Which chef said "they're probably going to be stopped up"? I found that hilarious. After eating all that cheese I would agree they're probably going to be all bound up. Maybe the fiber from the peas helped 😆

I like Gabri and was worried he'd be leaving. All three of the final chefs looked exhausted. I can imagine. 

So in the UK there's no such thing as a "chewy" or a "chunky" biscuit? I prefer my chocolate chip cookies chewy AND chunky.

I've never had to use my EpiPen but I have been close to experiencing anaphylaxis. It's terrifying to not be able to breathe properly. I can't imagine how frightening an asthma attack must be. Glad Victoire was OK. 

[tvfanatic13]

13 hours ago, Tess23 said:

Such a fun season filled with lovely, talented people. I'm enjoying watching them bond more with each episode. 

My sentiments exactly. I can't remember when I ever liked so many chefs in one season. 

Did they ever show the outcome with Victoire? I hope she is ok. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by tvfanatic13
Concern for Victoire

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Maybe Padma couldn't believe that Victoire ate something she knew could cause that reaction?  It wasn't as if she didn't know she was allergic.   I'm just glad she was OK. 

Victoire ate walnuts?  I thought she was just near them?  If I'm near a stove when pepper is in the pan, which is like every day, I sneeze too.

1 hour ago, Rambler said:

That was a strange elimination. Who was the winning chef?

LOL, THANK YOU!  I had the exact same thought.

[desertflower]

I don’t think she ate the walnuts, probably inhaled the dust or possibly touched some? 
 

I love Potato Chef too, she’s very sweet. 
 

Glad Ali had a good comeback from last week. He’s a cutie. 
 

I’m not rooting against anyone; even Sara who I didn’t like too much in her own season is coming across pretty likable here. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by desertflower

[Suzn]

34 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Victoire ate walnuts?  I thought she was just near them?  If I'm near a stove when pepper is in the pan, which is like every day, I sneeze too.

LOL, THANK YOU!  I had the exact same thought.

 

30 minutes ago, desertflower said:

I don’t think she ate the walnuts, probably inhaled the dust or possibly touched some? 
 

Yeah, I don't think she ate walnuts.  I realize they are competing, but I didn't see much concern for her.

[DEL901]

2 hours ago, Rambler said:

That was a strange elimination. Who was the winning chef? The way it was set up, there was no way to tell. This is a competition, so it was weird they didn't include a way to pick a winner. Then at judges table, they usually give feedback to the chefs on the bottom, but here it was like, "Luciana, your dish left us a little flat, so see ya."

At least the other chefs commenting from the sidelines ala Last Chance Kitchen was entertaining. It would probably get old really fast, but I wouldn't mind seeing it in a couple episodes per season.

I don’t think there was a winning chef.  The final 3 to compete were from the team that already lost twice, and the rest competed as teams.  

[carrps]

11 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

First time on Top Chef someone gets stabbed with an epi-pen? I was thinking Carla should have judged the final round. I remember in her finale she made what looked to be a simple dish of peas but it actually had something like 20 ingredients and the judges swooned. 

As soon as Padma mentioned Wensleydale, said "Cheese, Gromit!"

 

1 hour ago, rhofmovalley said:

Which chef said "they're probably going to be stopped up"?

Sara. And, dammit, Sara, you're making me like you!

I did not like British Biscuit Boy. Bit of a twit. And I didn't appreciate Buddha saying American biscuits were scones. No, they're very much not. Sara needs to make him a real biscuit.

I was afraid for Tom. They did a good job of editing, because they made the yellow team seem in danger.

As with everyone else, I just like these people so much ... I don't want anyone to go home.

[catrice2]

Although I believe she only touched them while she was helping chop up something I was wondering why she couldn't have at least worn gloves?  I admit I am a horrible cook so would that have changed the way sheat could prep the food wearing gloves? Or would gloves even be enough of a barrier to protect her?

I like her but based on the edit that they are giving her I don't think she's long for this competition which makes me sad

[carrps]

1 minute ago, catrice2 said:

Although I believe she only touched them while she was helping chop up something I was wondering why she couldn't have at least worn gloves?  I admit I am a horrible cook so would that have changed the way sheat could prep the food wearing gloves? Or would gloves even be enough of a barrier to protect her?

I like her but based on the edit that they are giving her I don't think she's long for this competition which makes me sad

I think she was saying she inhaled the walnut dust/particles when they were being chopped.

[Colorado David]

Lol omg so much fire on terminology, cookies vs biscuits. I feel we here in America differentiate our biscuits as typically not being sweet unless you put jam on them, and definitely not crunchy like a cookie. More a scone as Buddha said - which is fine, scones probably came before southern style biscuits.

I feel for Victoroire - i am deathly allergic to pecans (they make my throat swell shut), but she should have been up front with the team mates on that allergy, honestly. Any food allergies, to be sure. Thank goodness the medical staff had epipens at the ready. (Fun fact, I grew up in Dallas TX. What's a hugely popular dessert in Dallas TX? Pecan pie. And MY GOSH Texans love putting pecans in brownies. I can't tell you how many dessert nightmares I had growing up way back when.)

Peas are so innocuous, I can't see them as a main without adding a protein of some sort. Potatoes yes I can see, but peas are so charming and simple a veg.

I am loving these contestants - there's no bad apples that I can see, everyone seems really supportive even in competition. Oh and Ali, nice save on those biscuits  - i saw that heading right for the kitchen floor when the oven door flipped them, and  you totally got there and saved em. Much faster hands than I would have.

[blixie]

Quote

I'm giving Tom my emotional pass on British biscuits though. 

Yeah I was super worried about him, but I think sometimes you just don't have something in your bag of tricks, all he had was fake cookie cakes, and I'm not sure what the whole harping on 'the brief' this year is about. Like I have seen these people say well it wasn't what we asked for but you win away many many many times. Even this very episode two people who undercooked peas, won over the person who cooked them well because their undercooked peas had better flavor/creativity. So like take it down a notch British cookie guy cause I like a cookie that is toothsome/softer/chewy. I think Tom was still pretty good natured about his inability/hatred to bake.

Having said all that I can't believe Sara's cookie sandwiches didn't win or even finish top three I wanted to gobble them up on sight.

I think the right Chef went home but only according to the overall looking at their record v. her dish this ep deserved to lose. One thing about this seasons is they are all cooking at a super high level out the gate, they seemed to like both green/yellow's dishes about equally, but yellow just managed the more apply point of the directive. Interesting we've had one Elimination with no out right winner now and one with no outright loser. I like to keep track of that over a season so it's messing with me.

[dleighg]

So I just figured out that the episode is called "Spurred Lines" because of the team that plays in that stadium. Now I have a barely passing knowledge of Premier League soccer, but Padma introduced them as if they are the likes of Man City or Liverpool or Arsenal. All of which I've heard of. Was she over-selling?

[The Solution]

I can't believe they only gave them 45 minutes to make biscuits, but Ali's biscuits looked amazing. I love za'atar, having some Lebanese in my background. Most of the biscuits looked pretty good given that they only had that amount of time to conceptualize and bake.

The elimination challenge was pretty good this week. They still had to feature English foods, but this week they were good foods - nice cheeses, apples and peas. I think the judges basically made the right decisions all the way through as well.

Really enjoying the competitors this season. Victoire is fast becoming my favorite, man she's all in! Nice attitude too. Not to mention speaking English that well after only 4 months. Liking Ali a lot too. Both of them have such nice flavor profiles and great personalities. The only one I could do with less of is probably Amar (and maybe some of the judges, LOL).

Edited March 31, 2023 by The Solution
NICE cheeses, not MICE cheeses

[carrps]

5 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Padma introduced them as if they are the likes of Man City or Liverpool or Arsenal. All of which I've heard of. Was she over-selling?

I know nothing, nuzzink, about pro soccer, but I heard someone in another UK show refer to Totenham as a joke team. Are there more than one team in Totenham?

5 minutes ago, The Solution said:

mice cheeses

Assuming this a typo? Unless you have special cheeses just for mice. 😉

[The Solution]

7 minutes ago, carrps said:

Assuming this a typo? Unless you have special cheeses just for mice. 😉

I knew someone would catch that! LOL!

[dgpolo]

31 minutes ago, dleighg said:

So I just figured out that the episode is called "Spurred Lines" because of the team that plays in that stadium

I told my daughter the same thing, that I couldn't figure out what the title was supposed to mean until Padma said the name of the team. And I also mentioned to her that this ep was backwards, that they were working toward a loser rather than a winner.

I liked when Buddha said he was more stressed for -one of the other contestants never made biscuit (sorry can't remember the name, not Tom I don't think) than he was for himself.

[Lamb18]

I'm watching this now. I really like Padma's Quickfire dress.

I think the chefs should have had sample biscuits to try. Most are guessing on what the biscuits should be like. Kimchi, celery and tomato biscuits?

I'm more familiar with French biscuits as opposed to English. Like Petit Ecolier (yum).

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

I'm watching this now. I really like Padma's Quickfire dress.

She always looks great. I noticed this outfit in a good way, and I'm a straight woman.

[Fukui San]

1 hour ago, carrps said:

I know nothing, nuzzink, about pro soccer, but I heard someone in another UK show refer to Totenham as a joke team. Are there more than one team in Totenham?

Assuming this a typo? Unless you have special cheeses just for mice. 😉

From what I know: Tottenham are like the 4th to 6th best team in the 20 team Premier League. They haven’t been able to win either a season, a Champions League (international) tournament, or one of the many other tournaments that exist only to confuse me in a long time. Thus the disdain. It’s like the Atlanta Braves of a while back if they had never won their one World Series.

England’s best player Harry Kane plays there, but he’s never won a trophy.

But they do have a nice shiny stadium, so it makes sense that they filmed there. Manchester United is a bigger name as a franchise, but their place is a dump that is falling apart, apparently. Don’t know about Man City or Liverpool, the two recently dominant teams of the Premier League. 

[Lamb18]

The elimination challenge reminds me of a season Jamie was on a long time ago. Not her first season (5), but a later one--the first All Stars?? Anyhow they had a challenge in a stadium and were in teams, and somehow Jamie maneuvered herself so she ended up not cooking anything and was still safe. All I can remember is that someone was shooting something out of something like the things that shoot out socks at a sports game.

[Lamb18]

Sylwia in her sunglasses looks like Tiffani Faison.

Yay, Sylwia and Sarah's team won!!

Also glad Victoire's team was safe. Too bad about her allergic reaction to walnuts. Do epipens really have to be pounded into someone? (I think that's what was happening.)

[catrice2]

2 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Sylwia in her sunglasses looks like Tiffani Faison.

Yay, Sylwia and Sarah's team won!!

Also glad Victoire's team was safe. Too bad about her allergic reaction to walnuts. Do epipens really have to be pounded into someone? (I think that's what was happening.)

Yes

[Lamb18]

I wonder if someone will make mushy peas.

Or pea puree?? And then it will get lost--misplaced or stolen.

[dleighg]

18 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

The elimination challenge reminds me of a season Jamie was on a long time ago. Not her first season (5), but a later one--the first All Stars??

but no one was able to hide the way she did

[Norma Desmond]

I am so happy Luciana is gone. She was totally out of her league. Haven't liked her from her Top Chef Brasil season and haven't liked her here. Good riddance.

I wanted to eat Amar, Victoire and Nicole's dish, and also Buddha's apple pie. I love him, hope he goes far.

[mlp]

8 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

Did they ever show the outcome with Victoire? I hope she is ok. 

I don't think they said this episode but I saw her briefly in the previews for next week so I assume she recovered.