S20.E06: Top Chef Is No Picnic

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The chefs take a trip to Highclere Castle for the Elimination Challenge, where they must work together to create and serve an elevated picnic basket.

Original air date: April 13, 2023

[Bastet]

That was a pretty epic flame-out by Begoña in the QF, which was a bummer as I was rooting for her.  (It took me a moment to remember who Dale was.)  I wasn’t excited by anything either of them made, so was happy to move on to the shopping trip at Fortnum & Mason, which was fabulous; I could have watched even more of that.

It was interesting the difference in budgeting strategy, where one team gave every chef the same amount and the other allowed someone making a seafood dish to spend more than one making a vegetarian dish.  Two valid ideas, but Tom went crazy in both stores.

(Judge) Tom’s reaction to salmon niçoise in his sniff ‘n’ sneer was funny, while overblown, as was him trying to work out exactly what Sylwia was making, which was completely deserved.  My favorite comes from later, though, contestant Tom’s impression of judge Tom’s typical reaction.

The blue team was the clear winner as a team.  Good for Nicole proving Tom wrong.  Sara’s dish is the one I’d have been all over, but that’s simply because I hate beans.

For the yellow team, Ali’s dish looked a little difficult to eat (Padma’s “That’s okay, I have a big mouth” was great) but utterly delicious.  No surprise he was one of the favorites on that team.  Amar’s flan wasn’t particularly to my tastes, but I thought it a really wise choice for a picnic.  They were clearly safe from elimination. 

Gabri’s required way too much work on the diner’s part for a picnic, but Sylwia and Tom’s mistakes were on another level.  Sylwia’s was quite odd and Tom wasted incredible ingredients.  I’m not going to watch LCK right now to find out which one wins the cook-off as I have to go feed a friend's cat, but nice job, TC, forcing me to watch something I don’t normally watch when I get home.

[hendersonrocks]

I would like that footage of Ali leaping over the table on loop, please and thank you.

(Fun episode, and I like that we're getting a mother$*#&ing cookoff instead of someone being eliminated for a picnic basket that sat overnight. Even though both dishes sounded iffy at best regardless.)

[blixie]

This episode SUCKED. I don't even know what happened to Tom. I'm convinced Gabri is this seasons Antonia aka The Black Hammer. 

It started bad with Douche Dale getting back in over Begona, and who was praised for putting caviar on an egg, which is one step above Sara's idea of plopping a jar of honey in the basket as a dish.

But for sure they dishes sounded appetizing and convenient as picnic food, Buddha was right on about canapes/mezze strategy. Ali is still killing it at least. 

[catrice2]

That was a picnic? No blanket and no picnic tables😃

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

It started bad with Douche Dale getting back in over Begona, and who was praised for putting caviar on an egg, which is one step above Sara's idea of plopping a jar of honey in the basket as a dish.

I thought Dale's job in this challenge was 1) to spend as little money as possible on a dish that wasn't a total embarrassment; 2) help his team with their dishes; 3) try and re-integrate himself into the competition, relationship wise. Whether or not you think he's a douche I think he succeeded on all three fronts.

I loved Begona but she absolutely bombed the Quickfire; she lost it as much as Dale won it.
 

 

[catrice2]

I do not understand on team challenges they dont taste each others food and avoid some of these critiques.  No way after all that money none of them tasted Tom's dish to say it lacked acid. And why was the critique better for Budda in his face than it was when they discussed it alone?

[saracen7]

15 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

I loved Begona but she absolutely bombed the Quickfire; she lost it as much as Dale won it.
 

 

His talking head about being so happy the judges voted for him was so strange to me. I get the emotions, but also he had to know from the moment he found out Begoña didn’t plate everything that he was as good as back in.

Edited April 14, 2023 by saracen7

[Ms Blue Jay]

Gabri congratulating Nicole, even though his team was on the bottom, was so sweet!  He has an amazing attitude.

I loved Nicole saying outright that she's just interested in the money, but my excitement was dampened when I realized the editors simply inserted that statement to telegraph the ending.

Ali jumping over tables.  Calm down dude LOL this is cooking

Edited April 14, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[blixie]

Quote

Whether or not you think he's a douche I think he succeeded on all three fronts.

I DO think he's a douche at least a recovering one. And I also think that I'm not really watching Top Chef to see crudites, broccoli salad, and a deviled egg.  I was knocking the challenge not Dale's performance. I'm glad Dale made up for being such a jerkass of a team mate to May by being good team mate here. And I honestly think he's great chef. He was in my top three before the Scotch Egg incident. 

Anyway I think Ali had the best dish of the day and the one I wanted to eat.

[Panda Bear]

I found that LCK Quickfire so frustrating to watch. It seemed way more about time management than making interesting food. And I understand that's an important part of Top Chef, but for something kind of big like the chance to get back into the main competition, I wish it had been more about the ideas behind the food, I guess. Give them another thirty minutes to make all those little tea items! 

I didn't really love the main segment either. To me a picnic means sitting on a blanket and mostly eating with your hands. And you don't have to have made the food the night before? I don't know. It just seemed like they started with the visual of eating in front of that castle and built a dumb challenge around it. 

[buttersister]

I went looking for LCK on Peacock and YT and neither is posted yet. So if you're going to end TC by saying go look at LCK and you can't--WTF? Mostly, I like Sylwia a lot and am rooting for her, even though I'll miss Tom's snark.

If I was making picnic food the day before, even though it was kept in a chiller, seafood salad might not occur to me. And that tomato stuff is super bland, so nice topping!

I caught the end of last week's ep beforehand and I swear they deleted Sara's comment about Buddha's fish being under seasoned. At least they mentioned his banana thingy being too sweet, although not to the extent they did earlier. Nobody wants to see a pouty Buddha?

Congrats, Nicole!

  

[Salacious Kitty]

I watch LCK on Bravotv.com. It was up quickly after the show wrapped.

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, buttersister said:

I caught the end of last week's ep beforehand and I swear they deleted Sara's comment about Buddha's fish being under seasoned.

The original airings are 15 minutes longer than the next week's repeat of that episode, so they delete a fair bit of stuff.

[Msample]

Tom is an epic douche. Stick to your budget you selfish bastard .

[Fukui San]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

(Judge) Tom’s reaction to salmon niçoise in his sniff ‘n’ sneer was funny, while overblown, as was him trying to work out exactly what Sylwia was making, which was completely deserved.  My favorite comes from later, though, contestant Tom’s impression of judge Tom’s typical reaction.

I'm sure it must have happened before, but I can't remember another instance of Tom C doing the dubious about your idea Sniff 'n' Sneer and then admitting he was proven wrong afterward. Usually it's 100% foreshadowing. 

Poor Sylwia. A picnic challenge and she doesn't do potato salad. 

We've seen a lot of proper British Food challenges. How about a challenge about all of the places the British colonized? Which is practically every other country in the World.

A theme is building this season. Trying to accommodate teammates gets punished. May with Tom's inflexibility in that challenge. Begonia getting shortchanged on time when someone else is slower than expected. And now Sylwia ending up on the bottom when Tom hogs the budget for the team and then doesn't deliver a great dish. In each case a female chef is the one that pays. At the very least it doesn't pay to be a team player in Top Chef. The judges just judge the end result and don't care about root causes. I don't necessarily think that's wrong, but this season it's been pronounced.

[Vermicious Knid]

That quickfire should have been 1.5-2 hours. Very unfair to both of them. 

The one and only time I've been to England my friend and I really wanted afternoon Tea and wound up at the cafè in Fortnum & Mason. We liked it so much we went back the next day. Real scones and clotted cream, mmm. Later we were in Bath and had to go to the Pump Room, of course. 

I only watched Downton Abbey sporadically, Highclere Castle to me has a completely different association. It's the home of the Earls of Carnarvon, and the Fifth Earl was the sponsor of Howard Carter when he discovered King Tut's tomb. His death a year later contributed to the myth of the Mummy's Curse. 

The actual competition, clearly the blue team had won even before they got to JT. Only very mild criticism while they ripped into several of the yellow dishes. Lemon curd on top of chicken? Uh, no. And Gabri had to give them step-by-step instructions on how to assemble his. That kind of defeats the purpose of a picnic I think. Plus it explodes when you bite. That's why I only get soft tacos nowadays. Really, I think Tom should have gotten the chop because he monopolized so much of the team's resources and didn't even produce a good dish, ultimately a complete waste. But that's not enough drama so cookoff. 

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

How can Tom C., who loves super salty foods, claim the salty caviar didn't have a taste on Tom's seafood? (I hope it was Tom, or I'm getting two chefs mixed up again)     Or is some caviar not salty? 

Also, the crispy tostado that the judges had to assemble, and then broke when the judges were eating it, didn't look like a winning dish to me.   I'm not even sure if that was on the winning or losing team, but it didn't look appetizing at all, and I can imagine trying to eat it and ending up with pieces falling everywhere.  

Edited April 14, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[dleighg]

5 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Lemon curd on top of chicken? Uh, no.

that makes no sense at all. She started by telling Tom that part of her dish was a traditional dessert, and then she mentioned "chicken." Weird.

I was just happy that Padma correctly called it afternoon tea, and not high tea. I'm so tired of hearing it called that (including to a political fundraiser I was just at).

How on earth does Sara have time to pump milk? Amazing.

Edited April 14, 2023 by dleighg

[Daisychain]

9 hours ago, Panda Bear said:

I found that LCK Quickfire so frustrating to watch. It seemed way more about time management than making interesting food. And I understand that's an important part of Top Chef, but for something kind of big like the chance to get back into the main competition, I wish it had been more about the ideas behind the food, I guess. Give them another thirty minutes to make all those little tea items! 

I really thought that tea challenge was B-S.  It's simply too little time and none of the items other than maybe the sandwich looked finished and appetizing.  The eclairs that didn't make the plate looked a mess too.  And I thought Begona was limping when she entered and exited the judging area, so she probably twisted her ankle when she fell, because of ridiculous time pressure to complete an XL challenge.

[dubstepford wife]

This ep legit made me a little angry.  The quickfire was way, way too short for that volume of food.  They don't tell viewers who got eliminated because they want to force LCK on everyone.  And for a show that has been accused of sexism in the past, they seem like they went out of their way to ensure that Tom would continue.  He takes a huge chunk of his team's budget and yet makes a bad dish, but is still given a chance to survive?  Sylwia's lemon curd dessert chicken sounded nasty, don't get me wrong, but I think bad dish made with tons of money should get eliminated over bad dish made with not very much money.

I am looking forward to the Watch What Crappens take on this episode though.  There is so much material here that I know they're going to make fun of.

[dleighg]

wow just from looking there was no competition between the teams. The blue team's meal looked so yummy and elegant. 

[dleighg]

I can't even remember- what did Tom buy that used up so much of the budget? I also thought that the caviar on Dale's eggs cost quite a bit?

[bosawks]

I'm a little ashamed to admit this but after Tom wasn't cleanly eliminated, even with using up all that money to make a crappy dish, my first thought was, "Now we know why your parents like your brother best."

[meep.meep]

I cracked up at Sara's comment about being willing and happy to judge anyone anytime.  Me too.

Poor Begona - you can't make eclairs in that amount of time.  They have to bake slowly, then cool, then get filled, then get glazed.  At least an hour and a half.

The picnic sandwiches reminded me of Angel Strawbridge and her maniacal insistence that they be made properly.  She does a lot of tea parties.

[Corgi-ears]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

She started by telling Tom that part of her dish was a traditional dessert, and then she mentioned "chicken." Weird.

Maybe she glued two pages of her recipe book together. It tastes like feet!

[Mellowyellow]

Yaaaaay happy that Dale is back! I thought it was so cute that he got a hug from Padma and was just as pleased about it as getting immunity. I would be too! That tea challenge was ridiculous though! Now I want an egg sandwich........

Oh Contestant Tom I was a fan but after this episode I'm side eyeing you. On one hand I'm baffled that they didn't rein him in, on the other it seemed like everyone got what they needed to make their dishes and just made bad dishes (with the exception of the bros) so that's why they lost, not necessarily because he spent so much money.

[FormerMod-a1]

I see nothing wrong with lemon and chicken together.  There are lots of lemon and chicken recipes, and across cultures.  There are also many sweeter chicken recipes as chicken goes well with fruits and other sweet things.  BUT that was still a strange combo she put together.  Chicken roulade, stuffed with andouille and that all put into a muffin type thing (I know to make it handheld/easier to eat) and topped with lemon thing (posset?).  They said it tasted like lemon curd, but that's not what Sylvia called it.  I think even taking one component out would have been good.  Take out the muffin and you have chicken roulade with a lemon topping.  Take out the andoullie and have less of a clash of flavors, etc.  Still may not be great, but better. 

[90sfan]

Something I noticed last week and then this week again is that the chefs are not putting as much effort into making cohesive meals as they have in past seasons. They each just say what they want to make and for the most part everyone nods and they move forward. They don't talk about how the dishes will compliment each other and/or if the meal as a whole makes sense. The judges haven't said anything, so maybe it's just me.

[sugarbaker design]

35 minutes ago, 90sfan said:

They each just say what they want to make and for the most part everyone nods and they move forward.

When the yellow team was huddling Sylwia mentioned what she wanted to make and Amar just said cool.  The blue team made much more of a discussion about each member's contribution.

[catrice2]

Do they still do restaurant wars? 

Nicole's triumph was totally foretold along with who would be in trouble.  What was the reason Victoirie couldnt make what she wanted?  Two fish? Then how do you choose? 

So glad Sara got to use the regional black walnuts she was so worried about not using due to Vs allergy.  They must have gotten the go ahead. I am sure they made the total difference in her dish.

At this point I am rooting for Ali. I always forget the french chef is there. No one stands out to me not even Budda.  Love Gabri but I dont see "winner" there. 

Sylvia I thought had more to give but has disappointed. 

I did not want to eat one thing that was presented especially not at a picnic.  Elevated or basic. Maybe Nicoles dish?

 

[dleighg]

7 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

So glad Sara got to use the regional black walnuts she was so worried about not using due to Vs allergy.  They must have gotten the go ahead. I am sure they made the total difference in her dish

I missed that she was using black walnuts. My late father absolutely loved them (it's a rather strong flavor). I brought cookies with black walnuts to his memorial reception two years ago.

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

At this point I am rooting for Ali. I always forget the french chef is there. No one stands out to me not even Budda.  Love Gabri but I dont see "winner" there. 

Ali is my favorite too. I've always liked Amar and I hope he can stick around to be with his new bro for a long time, too. 🙂

I'm not sure who you're referring to as the "French chef." Samuel, who was the winner of Top Chef France, was eliminated in the first episode of the season.

[kirklandia]

Top Chef should do a Next Level Chef challenge. Make Tom cook in the basement.  Let's see what he can do with the "reject" ingredients.

[Tess23]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

 

I was just happy that Padma correctly called it afternoon tea, and not high tea. I'm so tired of hearing it called that (including to a political fundraiser I was just at).

 

AMEN about people saying high tea when it's afternoon tea. Drives me absolutely wild when I see this. AGH.

[carrps]

Dale exhausts me. I can't deal with hyper-competitive people. That scene from his earlier apperance was crazy. I hate people who scream and yell. And he said he's mellowed! 

That cook-off that started the episode was insane. I agree that at least an hour and a half was needed. And a lot of those dishes in the elimination challenge were weird for picnic food to me. Is that what English people eat at picnics? So many utensil-intensive dishes. I think of finger food for picnics. Maybe potato salad would be the only thing to eat with a fork? Elevating the picnic food made for some odd dishes.

 

[rhofmovalley]

I agree! Sandwiches, fried chicken, fruit, cookies or cupcakes, maybe a bottle of wine. Nothing that requires lugging along a bunch of utensils. Or anything that requires assembly.

Plenty of sandwiches can be "elevated". I used to order an amazing roast beef and herbed cream cheese sandwich on squaw bread from a little gourmet shop in my hometown. Yum. And the local cheese shop in my current city makes terrific gourmet sandwiches with small batch handmade cheeses, high quality meats and freshly baked bread. Sublime.

I honestly wasn't turned on by any of the dishes except maybe Ali's. The rest were meh to me.

[catrice2]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

Ali is my favorite too. I've always liked Amar and I hope he can stick around to be with his new bro for a long time, too. 🙂

I'm not sure who you're referring to as the "French chef." Samuel, who was the winner of Top Chef France, was eliminated in the first episode of the season.

I stand corrected. Charbel?  I guess I confused him with Samuel

[carrps]

15 minutes ago, rhofmovalley said:

Sandwiches, fried chicken, fruit, cookies or cupcakes, maybe a bottle of wine.

Yes! Fried chicken and potato salad are the first things I think of when I hear "picnic." And on picnics the chicken is often cold, so you don't have the issue of keeping it crispy.

[ProudMary]

9 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

I stand corrected. Charbel?  I guess I confused him with Samuel

I think Charbel is a sleeper contender for the title. He does seem to stay under the radar, but is consistently putting out very good dishes. He, like Ali, is a prior winner of Top Chef MENA. (Middle East/North Africa) He is originally from Lebanon, but is now US based.

[meep.meep]

So there's more than one angry Dale?

[DEL901]

Regarding the menus for the picnic and suggestions about potato salad, fried chicken, etc., I’d expect that in an American or Canadian version. But the majority of the chefs are from outside North America and perhaps what the6 made is common for picnics in their part of the world….

[carrps]

8 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Regarding the menus for the picnic and suggestions about potato salad, fried chicken, etc., I’d expect that in an American or Canadian version. But the majority of the chefs are from outside North America and perhaps what the6 made is common for picnics in their part of the world….

Well, yeah, but I was surprised that so many required utensils.

[rhofmovalley]

Agreed. But I would think sandwiches would be universal. Or some sort of fried dumpling, filled pastry or egg/spring roll. Not something you have to put on a plate and assemble with multiple components and then pour a sauce over. Seems messy. 

And that's one thing I dislike about tostadas. Every single time, as soon as I take the first bite the fried tortilla falls apart and I end up eating it with a fork. Or dumping the contents on myself like Gail did 😆

[Leeds]

I don't particularly like Sara, but I despise the way the editors choose to show multiple shots of her hips, from many angles.

[dleighg]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

choose to show multiple shots of her hips

I noticed that as well. Kind of the opposite of showing the same shots of the nubile young yachties on Below Deck

Edited April 14, 2023 by dleighg

[catrice2]

4 hours ago, Leeds said:

I don't particularly like Sara, but I despise the way the editors choose to show multiple shots of her hips, from many angles.

I don't know why they are intent on the reminding us she's breastfeeding. Or why Amir thinks he is big papa at 40!!

Edited April 15, 2023 by catrice2

[Leeds]

Random thoughts (of which I have too many, but here I can burden strangers who can skip ahead, unlike my family):

Why are so many people suddenly cooking with walnuts?  It was never so prevalent before we learnt one of the contestants was allergic was it, Producers?

Here's a quick pronunciation lesson:  "Nicoise" not "Nicoi".  Similarly, it's Anglaise" not "Anglay."  I get that everyday non-native , non-professional speakers would Americanize it, but not professional chefs.

I liked Gail's dress (but without the bow).

Tom (the contestant, but possibly also the judge) is a dick.  So is Buddha.

Sara could have pumped and frozen a lot of milk before leaving home, alleviating the need to pump so much while abroad.

I usually hate the human interest stuff reality shows force down our necks, but Nicole's (?) story about how any prize money would be used made me a little teary.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Leeds

[carrps]

3 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Sara could have pumped and frozen a lot of milk before leaving home, alleviating the need to pump so much while abroad.

She must be spending a lot on shipping, too, since I doubt she's using bargain basement shipping companies.

[Leeds]

3 minutes ago, carrps said:

She must be spending a lot on shipping, too, since I doubt she's using bargain basement shipping companies.

I thought that too, but I assume it's part of her contract that the production company pays for shipping.  i.e. whichever unfortunate, ill-paid intern is going back to the States that day gets to schlep it in a cooler as hand-luggage.