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S20.E06: Top Chef Is No Picnic


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2 hours ago, Suzn said:

But what was the point of going to Highclere Castle to do it?  There was absolutely no benefit of going there. 

Completely this. Padma mentioned the castle being a backdrop for the shots, but other than that, zero point in having to be there. I guess promoting London and England also for the tourism factor. I at least hope the chefs got a tour of the castle.

Chef Tom to me came off as entitled for spending more for his ingredients. I have no problem if other chefs VOLUNTEER to give you some extra off their budget, but its quite arrogant to just expect it - and especially when it fails. 

Amar, jolly as usual which I like. Ali with the good attitude as well. I have no issues with the show bringing up family things (babies, adopting, cooking for passed relatives.) It adds a human element which is kind of nice to hear nowadays. 

Judge Tom seems a little more snarky this season, or am I seeing that wrong? And we're getting a lot less Gail. Padma on form as usual.

As an old man of 58, I can see preferring tables to the actual ground. My bad knees yell at me anytime I have to sit on the ground, and plus if you are dressed up it isn't the most convenient position to have to sit in.  I do agree the checkered tablecloth is a nice aesthetic and more 'traditional', but the show is allowed to adapt. Interesting Padma mentioned cheese as a universal picnic component. I would agree and go with charcuterie with a nice mild wine, but then again other than slicing and choice of cheeses/meats, how would one elevate a typical charcuterie? Maybe a nice fancy bread, but other than that  I am stumped for sides to add.

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a la "Emma" on the trip to Box Hill, right?

 Mr. Knightley's picnic (the superior picnic in Emma) consists of eating strawberries in the garden but everything else from a table set in the dining room.  Everybody's crabbiness the next day at Box Hill might come partly from the discomfort of sitting on the ground.

I think there is a little history of the outdoor picnic at which your servants (ethnically, I'd probably have been one of them) served you on tables brought outside for the purpose.  The hunting party often included this, I think.

I keep thinking about Silvia's Italian potato salad in Top Chef season 14--it sounded so good to me but it got her kicked off because it wasn't the mayonnaise-y kind.

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10 minutes ago, marybennet said:

I think there is a little history of the outdoor picnic at which your servants (ethnically, I'd probably have been one of them) served you on tables brought outside for the purpose.  The hunting party often included this, I think.

Yes, and in fact, Downton Abbey frequently portrayed this.

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To me it made sense to have the picnic at the castle-- as picnics are about being somewhere pretty or scenic, and what a cool view! I personally love it. Yeah, a little disappointing that no one got to see shots of inside the castle, but looking at the website it seems like it's kind of a multi-use building, with tons of different things going on. Sort of like a convention center, British style, but people live there too? In any case, it's a busy place it seems. They offer tours, so who knows if the Top Chef cast went on one or not.

Now that I'm thinking about ground picnics vs. table picnics, ground picnics are maybe for couples so they can make out after eating and drinking wine. Roll around on some blankets. Zip up the sleeping bags. LOL. 

Also, I'm referring to US style picnics as I'm not British and have never watched Downtown Abbey or any England-based shows. I know many countries under British rule love the queen and were devastated when she passed, which I understand. But she never did shit for me. 

 

Edited by bravofan27
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12 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

Now that I'm thinking about ground picnics vs. table picnics, ground picnics are maybe for couples so they can make out after eating and drinking wine. Roll around on some blankets. Zip up the sleeping bags. LOL. 

I loved Sara's description of her dish as being something you'd eat on a picnic in Spain, and then make love on the blanket -- or the quilt, if you're in Paducah, Kentucky instead.

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On 4/14/2023 at 3:05 PM, ProudMary said:

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.

I agree now that I know who he is, but when someone said he was only 25 or 26 I was very surprised! 

1 hour ago, marybennet said:

 Mr. Knightley's picnic (the superior picnic in Emma) consists of eating strawberries in the garden but everything else from a table set in the dining room.  Everybody's crabbiness the next day at Box Hill might come partly from the discomfort of sitting on the ground.

I think there is a little history of the outdoor picnic at which your servants (ethnically, I'd probably have been one of them) served you on tables brought outside for the purpose.  The hunting party often included this, I think.

I keep thinking about Silvia's Italian potato salad in Top Chef season 14--it sounded so good to me but it got her kicked off because it wasn't the mayonnaise-y kind.

Why can't people appreciate a good Mustard Potato salad? I hate mayo,  or really anything white and creamy.  I had a great recipe that was delicious. 

Hmm, there are two kinds of people I've found who can afford help...those who are happy to have minority servants because they feel they should serve them, and those who think minorities are not even good enough to serve them..... 

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1 hour ago, marybennet said:

I think there is a little history of the outdoor picnic at which your servants (ethnically, I'd probably have been one of them) served you on tables brought outside for the purpose.  The hunting party often included this, I think.

At the shooting party in Gosford Park, the uppers are served their luncheon in a folly-style pavilion on a table with china, silver, and crystal. Big faux pas when Tom Hollander accidentally makes Michael Gambon dropped his drinks glass on the stone, and it smashes. Of course, Alan Bates (the butler) had to sweep up the mess.

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6 hours ago, Suzn said:

But what was the point of going to Highclere Castle to do it?  There was absolutely no benefit of going there. 

Atmosphere I guess.  I was disappointed in Highclere Castle.  I never watched Downton Abbey so I was expecting a more typical country estate with mature trees and beautiful gardens.  Highclere seemed to be in the middle of a dry, empty field and I thought it looked stark and very odd.

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1 hour ago, mlp said:

Atmosphere I guess.  I was disappointed in Highclere Castle.  I never watched Downton Abbey so I was expecting a more typical country estate with mature trees and beautiful gardens.  Highclere seemed to be in the middle of a dry, empty field and I thought it looked stark and very odd.

I watched the entire series of Downton Abbey as well as the two movies and always thought that Highclere Castle was not an attractive or impressive castle/manor home compared to others that I have visited/seen or even others featured on the show, so I am there with you.  Ahem.  However, I think Highclere would be familiar to a lot of viewers so that's why they chose it.  And, they have experience with filming there so could probably easily accommodate the equipment/crews/etc.

I was not impressed with very many of the dishes.  Having been to a few afternoon teas in England and Scotland, I was not impressed with the quickfire "tea" and thought most of what was served looked unappetizing.  Was glad Dale won as I like him.

I think that because they were told to 'elevate' the picnic that maybe some of the chefs were hesitant to go with more traditional food.  However, Dale was told his hard boiled egg/caviar dish was good, so maybe the judges would have preferred more traditional foods.  Some of you have mentioned meat pies and I so agree with you.  And, someone mentioned potato chef should have made a potato salad and I was like "why didn't I think of that-it's in her wheelhouse and on theme."  Of course, the bigger question would be why didn't she think of that?  I also agree with those who mentioned spring rolls, etc.  There were so many options that would have been great choices.  And yet they chose what they chose...  I actually think the challenge and set-up was a bit of a failure.  

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So we have a picnic challenge that didn't feel so much like a picnic and half the food wasn't even picnic-friendly, and we had an afternoon tea that wasn't really a true afternoon tea.  I mean really, dunking a teabag on a string in a small teacup?  That's not what I expect from a supposedly real afternoon tea, especially in England!  @bravofan27 I too thought they all looked like a bunch of schlumps sitting in those not-tea party chairs.  I froze the fame and thought what a sorry sight they made, LOL.  Although I didn't use the word "schlump" it is definitely a word very much in my repertoire!

German Tom, wow, I'm usually the one that needs a solid reason to call a guy a dick but this guy seems to be the definition of the word.  Why the other chefs, especially Sylwia would practically turn herself inside out not to say anything negative about his spending most of their budget is beyond me.  Maybe their ethics and team spirit prohibit under-bus throwing but in this case I think he really would have deserved it.

On 4/15/2023 at 4:02 PM, bravofan27 said:

The team letting German Tom spend all the money was super smart. They knew his dish was going to be terrible and they could use it against him later, which they ALL did. The silence was very intentional when Padma asked them about the budget. No one defended Tom at all-- fall dude! Nicole Gomes was the most passive aggressive about it-- she also "innocently" calls out things and tattles. Like she was the one that made sure everyone knew there was no mango compote on her scone thing. Also bitchy-- just does it with a smile

I also considered it may have been a calculated move on their part.  A kind of passive under-bus throwing, knowing that even with the expensive ingredients his food was going to suck.  But how could they have been that confident in advance that his food was going to suck as to let him use so much of their budget?  Not sure I think that adds up.

Tom in this episode reminded me of a line from the movie "Casablanca", "I gave him the best seat in the house knowing he was German and would take it anyway!"  Dude, way to live up to a very bad stereotype....And it pains me to even think of it that way.  I liked him up until now.

If Amar already thinks he's the old man of a group at the age of 40 what is he going to think when he's 60?  Dude, I was already married when you were born, you are not an old man except in your head.  I find it interesting that so many people seem to have forgotten Amar.  He was one of the people I most remembered from his original season.  I enjoyed (and still enjoy) his personality and positive spirit.  Plus to me he has a memorable face.

I agree that the optics are not good at making Tom and Sylwia battle it out in the next episode.  If she gets eliminated under those circumstances I won't like it.  To me it was clear that he should have been the one sent packing.

I admit I was dragging my feet at catching up on Last Chance Kitchen but now I've had it spoiled up until this point.  Lesson learned.

I was looking forward to seeing the food hall at Fortnum and Mason again as I've been there twice and I have to say it looks pretty much the same as it did in 2005.  Which is a good thing as it should never change and always be that awesome!

On 4/15/2023 at 4:56 AM, dleighg said:

I guess I'm an outlier. So much of it looked liked packaged boxes and jars (very pretty). I know they had fresh stuff too, but that's not the overall emphasis that I could see. 

Oh they have plenty of fresh stuff and in Europe more than here in the U.S. those canned and packaged items can be pretty spectacular.

On 4/15/2023 at 12:28 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

It's funny to hear week after week that Dale is this horrible human being but to see no evidence of it.  I guess I missed the flashback to his first season, I don't remember it.

I missed it too but that's because he was on Top Chef Canada and I never watched that.  But I like it that they let him explain how much he's changed for the better since then.  He and the Dale from the U.S. Top Chef have that in common in addition to sharing the same first name.

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On 4/16/2023 at 4:27 PM, catrice2 said:

Why can't people appreciate a good Mustard Potato salad? I hate mayo,  or really anything white and creamy.  I had a great recipe that was delicious.

Coincidentally, one of my colleagues and I were working on Saturday and he abruptly left the office because it was hot like summer and he had gotten a yen for the mustard potato salad of his youth.  So he went home to make it and I was jealous.  

 

23 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I watched the entire series of Downton Abbey as well as the two movies and always thought that Highclere Castle was not an attractive or impressive castle/manor home compared to others that I have visited/seen or even others featured on the show, so I am there with you.  Ahem.  However, I think Highclere would be familiar to a lot of viewers so that's why they chose it.  And, they have experience with filming there so could probably easily accommodate the equipment/crews/etc.

It didn't really look like Pemberley, right?  My strongest memories are (i) the giant priceless Van Dyke in the dining room and (ii) Lady Mary, Lady Crawley (Cora?) and Anna dragging Mr. Pamuk's body down that endless hallway :-)

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On 4/15/2023 at 11:19 AM, Daisychain said:

For the life of me I couldn't recall his season.  So Google sent me to Season 13, and I'm still not sure it was his one and only season - it feels like competitors repeat a lot now on TC US.  However season 13 was that wackadoodle California season.  I only watched the first episode; Grayson from the putrid Texas season melted down over making an average meatball with red sauce (that I could also cook with a jar of Rao's), there was the massively messy chef who left piles of garbage and dirty pans down on the floor of his workspace.  Also, Amar dissed this woman chef from Kansas who had silly flirty branding, ugh, but was the first to finish the mise-en-place race and was on the immunity-winning team.  And Amar did in fact retract his previous comment to his credit.  There was that I don't know what Philip Frankland Lee.  That guy.  It's all coming back to me now - the Palm Springs thing when he plated under a tablecloth?  BUT, good times - Karen Akunowicz (sp?) and Isaac Toups.  Such lovely chefs.

Oh sorry, and I think the other woman badass chef was Marjorie Meek ____? She was christened Top Baker IIRC.  She was associated with Mike Isabella unforch but hopefully has landed on her feet.  She had very positive energy.

 

I’m glad you looked it up.  I only have a vague recollection of them as well, even as you describe some of the events!  That season is a serious blind spot although I have the sneaking suspicion I am enjoying this iteration of Amar than his OG debut.

Have you tried Raos sensitive marinara?  It doesn’t have onions or garlic, but I swear, tastes like it has onions and garlic.  Hidden gem.

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On 4/16/2023 at 3:20 PM, Colorado David said:

 

Chef Tom to me came off as entitled for spending more for his ingredients. I have no problem if other chefs VOLUNTEER to give you some extra off their budget, but its quite arrogant to just expect it - and especially when it fails. 

Amar, jolly as usual which I like. Ali with the good attitude as well. I have no issues with the show bringing up family things (babies, adopting, cooking for passed relatives.) It adds a human element which is kind of nice to hear nowadays. 

This.

And his editing isn’t helping him but he’s so dismissive.  Like Eh the other guy is making a veggie plate so everything should be fine.  Everything is ok.  Everything in my cart looks great.  Eh I won’t look at pricing.  It will be ok.  Hey you put this back and get it at Whole Foods.  Etc etc

His terse affect doesn’t leave much room for kind negotiation.  He’s steamrolling over people.  Kind of interesting that even the guys don’t offer some more blowback.  And kicking the basket is very childish.

But casting knew this…..LOL

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22 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Have you tried Raos sensitive marinara?  It doesn’t have onions or garlic, but I swear, tastes like it has onions and garlic.  Hidden gem.

One of my sibs is sensitive to garlic so I should.  For myself, (this is many years ago but still holds true) my original boss looked at my food and said "after observation, I think your 4 food groups are salt, garlic, onions, and Skilttles."  He wasn't wrong :-)

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I would absolutely take (and have taken) a niçoise salad on a picnic and I wouldn't take fried chicken or potato salad. I'm more of a Barefoot Contessa Hamptons picnic type vs a down-home one. My go-to picnic contribution is a tomato tart.

And when the cues are Highclere Castle and Fortnam & Mason (as noted, the Queen's store), the fancy bites were the right thinking. They understood the brief even if they missed on execution. They only had an hour and a half to prep then it had to sit all night, which could explain some of their choices.

There's been no insistence on cohesive meals -- even when they were told to be cohesive in the family meal, it was 6 mains 2 salads and 1 side I think with no comment -- so there's also no incentive for anyone to take on something like a potato salad or to make their dishes work together as a main with sides.

On 4/16/2023 at 2:27 PM, catrice2 said:

Why can't people appreciate a good Mustard Potato salad? I hate mayo,  or really anything white and creamy.  I had a great recipe that was delicious.

If potato salad has yellow mustard (or egg) I am not touching it!

My preference is vinegar-based potato salads. For a picnic, the french type -- potatoes soaked in vinaigrette with dill and green onions. Or german, a warm salad with salty/sweet/vinegar dressing with bacon.

 

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