S20.E09: Restaurant Wars

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

The chefs split into two teams of four and are tasked with creating a restaurant concept and tasting menu; to add to the pressure, they must debut their restaurants at three Michelin-starred Core by Clare Smyth and the judges.

Original air date: May 4, 2023

[Bastet]

It was so much better to have Restaurant Wars in an established restaurant, with proper staff, instead of the usual stupid stuff about decorating and training inept servers.  I also liked embedding a food critic at one of the regular tables.

That must have been a trip for the guest judge to watch random people in her kitchen from the chef’s table. 

United Kitchen’s concept had me a little nervous as it could either be a runaway success due to its cohesion or fall on its face with a British audience if the dishes didn't evoke those they were inspired by.  I’m glad it went so well; they gave the staff great information to work with, delivered on what they promised, and nailed the win. 

Buddha’s English breakfast isn’t really my thing, but I think it came out well.  His dessert was much more interesting to me – I’d have loved that.  Amar’s scallop tartare made me want to reach through the TV and eat it.  Same with Sara’s fish (and I love her killing it after being picked last; I wish she’d won).  Ali’s lamb dish looked too spare; I’d have liked it, I’m sure, it just wasn’t as stellar as the rest of his team’s dishes.  

I thought Root's concept was rather vague, and the judges seemed to agree, and they were too hit and miss to be contenders.  Tom’s leek dish looked and sounded fantastic.  Victoire’s tiramisu wasn’t as appealing visually as the restaurant called for, but it sounded really tasty.  Nicole’s pasta took too long to come out, and I agree with the criticisms of it, but I’d have probably licked the bowl clean.  Gabri’s fish didn’t appeal to me and I agree with the judges there was way too much sauce.  (I thought his palate cleanser sorbet was a great idea, though.)  I’d have given him the boot if I was making the rules, but I knew they’d go with her.  (Yes, I get the whole it’s not cumulative thing that's been the deal since day one, but she’d never been on the bottom before and he’s been there more than anyone, and sometimes it rankles).

[FormerMod-a1]

At this point I'm bummed at anyone going home.  Of what was said, it makes sense for Nicole to go home, but I liked her.  Sad to see her go.

[Ms.Lulu]

Tom is such a louse. Whether it is spending the team's money on an overthought dish or forgetting ingredients for another member of his team. Add to that he took no ownership of his poor decision in flow of customers.

I think he needs to go soon.

[catrice2]

It was obvious who was going to be the winner.  They are all good chefs, but I continue to say that these challenges, shopping, etc. that they don't do on the international versions give the people who have done them an edge.  They should have put more thought into the international version.  You have three people on a team that have done Restaurant Wars and you don't expect them to win? And one worked for one of the judges?  I find it hard to believe the chef world is so small they could not have found judges that never worked with contestants before. 

Honestly, half the time I cannot tell when they are complimenting a dish or nitpicking.  Diners were literally loving the Tiramasu and they made it sound like it was average, but strawberries and cream was out of this world! 

My service went out, so I missed the beginning to see how the teams were formed.  Is it just me, or tonight should Ali be glad he was on the winning team?  If so, great because I can't stand to lose him and Charbel!

And Victoire, stop saying it is "about the food,"  it is a competition so it will always be about more than just the food.....

Edited May 5, 2023 by catrice2

[bosawks]

I’ll give it to the editors, they really tried to elicit doubt but it was pretty clear who was going to win.

For all of his drama I should really dislike Tom more than I do. 

And I would think that someone who frenched a rack of lamb in 10 seconds with their bare hands should never have been picked last!

[catrice2]

someone was going to be picked last.  It really meant nothing.  I am sure someone else did something impressive.  Why should that have figured into a decision on Restaurant Wars....unless they were cooking lamb?  I actually don't think she has won an EC or QF this season ....which means nothing, but why such an emphasis on her doing that well? 

She performed well for her team, and for herself, and as a competitor and professional I'm sure she would have done so picked first or last.   Just goes to show how much left over trauma people have from elementary school gym class.....

[blixie]

I enjoy Tom a lot but that was a tough ep, forgetting the cauliflower which did indeed drag down Gabri's dish, not owning his being essentially the exec chef. But overall I think I can say I kind of hate this season, they have done so fucking many team challenges and I hate team challenges, and this one didn't even designate a exec chef just pulling knives. Lame and crazy that with first pick Victoire didn't go with the MENA chef who has been killing it all season, and instead go with the delightful but devastating black hammer Gabri.

Anyway team challenges suck and I don't want Tom's mistake to fuck up Gabri's dish, I want his dish to live and die on it's own. I do think Tom warned Nicole about doing a pasta, and while he suggested the concept they all went along with it, as did Buddha's team who didn't seem super thrilled with UK as one, but at least his was more cohesive. I feel like very recently someone did almost the exact same concept for RW, regarding "roots" and they had the same disconnection problem.

It is always rough at this stage to see people go home for such small errors, like Nicole's slightly too thick and basic pasta. I'd like to see her get back in.

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

I actually don't think she has won an EC or QF this season

I couldn't remember, so looked it up -- Sara and Dale won a QF together in the first episode.  She has not won an EC (she has been in the top three times, and the only time she was on the bottom was last week's episode where her team lost, but she was told she had a great dish and was not actually up for elimination).

[BlackberryJam]

And I remember why I’m not a fan of Restaurant Wars…

[catrice2]

19 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I couldn't remember, so looked it up -- Sara and Dale won a QF together in the first episode.  She has not won an EC (she has been in the top three times, and the only time she was on the bottom was last week's episode where her team lost, but she was told she had a great dish and was not actually up for elimination).

Like I said which means nothing. They can all go home at any time regardless of how many challenges they've won or didn't win, or praise from the judges. Just like being picked last meant nothing. 

[Bastet]

Just now, catrice2 said:

Like I said which means nothing. They can all go home at any time regardless of how many challenges they've won or didn't win, or praise from the judges. Just like being picked last meant nothing. 

Okay.  I simply filled in the information your comment got me curious about, since I couldn't recall, in case anyone else was also spurred to wonder.

[The Solution]

Hard to see anyone from this group go at this point, but agree that Nicole was the right choice tonight. I thought the Root concept could have been the better of the two, but the English breakfast concept was better-executed and it was nice to see Buddha win for that.

Also liked that they got rid of most of the extraneous bullshit from Restaurant Wars and added the secret hidden judge.

[Thumper]

For a season that has seemed to be one in which the chefs help each other out, I was surprised that the one team didn’t call the other team to let them know they forgot their food at the store.  

I felt bad for Gabri but he didn’t complain at the judge’s table.  The judges said his dish needed another texture — would the missing cauliflower have done that?

 

 

[buttersister]

Thankful I didn't have to watch inept servers sabotage a kitchen. 

Tom can fuck all the way off. Way too full of himself by far--you ain't that cute, dude. I got excited when the judges first said it was going to be about the concept (bye, Tom), but clearly, it's always about the food. But since the missing bag didn't have any major Tom ingredients (heh), it didn't occur to him to take responsibility for counting the damn bags at some point (at the register). He can't go soon enough for me.

Not sure that Gabri's cauliflower would have saved him because he mentioned a puree and the judges wanted a different texture. Still. having to punt clearly put him off.

ETA: Tom was responsible for the pacing, which was also not good.

Edited May 5, 2023 by buttersister

[cinsbythesea]

So over Tom.  Week after week...he's too ME oriented... from blowing a budget on an expensive bottle of alcohol to leaving behind a basket of needed ingredients... and never owning up to anything.  I hoped it would be him packing his knives tonight

[MerBearHou]

I’m re-watching (2nd time in one night - what am I doing??!) and it’s cool to watch the UK team in the kitchen working so, so well together.  They are smooth and helpful to each other and communicative — it’s something to see.  No big egos shown in the UK kitchen tonight.

[mlp]

Nicole was my favorite of the remaining women but I can't argue with the judges' decision.  She was having difficulties right from the start and she knew she wasn't sending out her best work.  Sorry to see her go though - as I will be most of the rest of them.

Loved the guest critic.

I hope they're done with team challenges now.

I think (hope) this comes down to Ali and Buddha.

[Daisychain]

So I watched that Netflix show - the Final Table.  There are duo-teams of chefs who have to do challenges for the country-of-the-week.  And Clare Smyth was the chef/judge for UK week.  Very, very, interesting and tremendously accomplished.  For us US people, the chef/judge was Grant Achatz, of Chicago where I now live. Going to Alinea is one thing I've knocked off my bucket list, and I couldn't be happier about that.  I do recommend that show if you want a really good cooking show.

Anyhoo, happy for Buddha.  On the losing team, I actually had been hopeful that the roasted onion puree (rather than cauliflower) was going to help Gabri.  And Victoire's tiramisu with African flavors reminded me of Melissa King's tiramisu with Hong Kong tea, which made the Italian butcher, Dario, cry with happiness. Not as successful unforch.  

There were decent fake-outs in the "on next episode," but the Buddha/Ali/Amar/Sara team (cannot remember the name) seemed to gel very well.  Buddha never lost it, and I'm very happy he did well with cooking in front of a mentor.  Sorry about Ali being double focused with his dish and the pastys.  Pasties?  Sara picked last . . . ok.  This is my last defense of Sara, because she doesn't need it.  She was extremely successful on her season, a strong 2nd.  Started strong, had the normal mid-season tentative cooking, and finished strong.  Kelsey Clark finished stronger because she was better able to translate her food through local Macaon (sp?) food of Macao ingredients.  But Sara did great.  At this point all the current contestants have a different food experience from each other.  She did great again tonight.  She listened to seasoning advice from I think Ali?  Ok night all.

 

[violet and green]

Tom wasn't alone in the shop when that basket of ingredients got left behind. So I'm not sure why he is getting all the blame.

I like him very much, he at least put forward a concept for the restaurant, and his dishes are usually complex and in this case very good.

Very sad to see Nicole leave, and how upset their whole team was at losing and then losing her. Everyone did their best, it just wasn't very well thought through. And someone (possibly Tom?) did question the wisdom of doing a pasta dish, and Nicole acknowledged on arrival in Claire's restaurant that she hadn't thought through the preparation of her pasta well.

Muddy concept, and muddled cooking, and fairly poor team work. I thought it was nice, actually, that Tom didn't say he was head chef/holding the whole thing together. At any point, someone else could have spoken up and said, hang on, our concept for the restaurant isn't clear enough, or pointed out that the service plan was poorly considered and come up with a better one. But they didn't. Someone had to steer.

[Daisychain]

12 minutes ago, violet and green said:

Muddy concept, and muddled cooking, and fairly poor team work. I thought it was nice, actually, that Tom didn't say he was head chef/holding the whole thing together. At any point, someone else could have spoken up and said, hang on, our concept for the restaurant isn't clear enough, or pointed out that the service plan was poorly considered and come up with a better one. But they didn't. Someone had to steer

You're not wrong @violet and green.  It reminded me of a US season with Restaurant Wars, in which the chefs said, we're all from different places so let's call ourselves "Magellan."  The United Kitchen (now recall the name) had the same concept -- we're all from different places -- but anchored themselves to twists on traditional British dishes.  That turned out to be very smart.

[Fukui San]

Last weeks preview editors outdid themselves with the misdirection. It looked like Buddha’s team was doing so badly that Tom had to go chew them out, lol. Instead they do about as well as possible and Tom’s just peeping at the sauce distribution. Well played, editors. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

4 hours ago, Ms.Lulu said:

Tom is such a louse. Whether it is spending the team's money on an overthought dish or forgetting ingredients for another member of his team. Add to that he took no ownership of his poor decision in flow of customers.

I think he needs to go soon.

I thought Tom needed to go weeks ago, when he used so much of his team's money for a failed dish.   I still don't understand how Tom C. could say a dish with caviar wasn't enough salt, isn't caviar salty?    Tom isn't enough of a team player for this show, but he keeps squeaking by.      

I'm really wondering if Tom is having too many 'accidents' like Veggie gate on this episode?    He certainly is full of excuses, but always manages to be the one who makes it through.  

I'm guessing that Tom C. went to the kitchen to see if Ali was putting more sauce on other diner's dishes?   And that's why he went to the kitchen.     

[caitmcg]

4 hours ago, buttersister said:

Not sure that Gabri's cauliflower would have saved him because he mentioned a puree and the judges wanted a different texture. Still. having to punt clearly put him off.

He mentioned both a purée and a garnish, so perhaps the latter would have added some textural contrast.

[BradandJanet]

Gabri's fish(?) was drowned in purees. To me, it didn't look like a dish a high-end restaurant would serve. I like Gabri and glad he got through, but that dish was conceptually a problem. 

 

[Tess23]

My one criticism of this season's Restaurant Wars was the non-delineation of exec chef, front of house, etc. from the chefs. It watered down the concept and turned it into basically another team challenge. Don't get me wrong - I didn't one bit miss the baloney of choosing flatware, wrestling tables, etc., but I do enjoy the dynamic created when each chef assumes an exact role in RW.

Mr. Tess23 and I are eating at Sara's Freight House restaurant next week on a road trip - cannot wait! Looking online at her menu, she's included (and marks specifically) dishes that she's cooked during her 2 seasons. Really hoping that the cover crops dish is available the night we're there - that looked and sounded delicious.

[dleighg]

Buddha certainly has a lot of good technique up his sleeves, doesn't he? 

Personally I would have most liked to eat Tom's leek dish, Sara's fish soup, and Amar's scallop dish.

Anyone know what "inverted meringue" is?

[bitchin camaro]

As soon as Nicole said "pasta" I knew she was a goner. 

Also, I suspect that as soon as Buddha found out they would be in London, he came up with "United Kitchen" as his restaurant name. (and possibly the whole concept too.) Dude could write a dissertation on how this show works. I thought the tomato tea looked a little odd being served in the same kind of glass as the wine, a tiny teacup might have fit the theme better but I would love to be able to taste that - and I don't even like tomatoes. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I watched part of the episode, with Cauliflower-gate, and Tom was responsible for it. He was talking about having to select Cauliflower for his teammate, and then the hand basket was left on the floor by the cashier's stand.    I only saw Victoire put her items on the stand for checkout, so I don't think she did it.  

[Ellee]

I didn’t get to watch this episode.  
 

Is anyone else beginning to think that Tom was actually recruited to provide negative storylines for the season?  
 

 

[estellasmum]

10 hours ago, cinsbythesea said:

So over Tom.  Week after week...he's too ME oriented... from blowing a budget on an expensive bottle of alcohol to leaving behind a basket of needed ingredients... and never owning up to anything.  I hoped it would be him packing his knives tonight

I started yelling at my TV when Victoire picked him first. Why on earth would anyone want him on their team, much less first when he has already shown that in a team challenge he has no problems whatsoever with screwing them over, by either taking all the money or forcing his way into doing what he wants to do at the expense of everyone else? That doesn't work for restaurant wars, and he is going to be the first to throw someone under the bus, which I think he did in a way by not owning up to basically taking over the team leader/executive chef role and then saying it was a group effort. 

[MerBearHou]

26 minutes ago, estellasmum said:

I started yelling at my TV when Victoire picked him first. Why on earth would anyone want him on their team, much less first when he has already shown that in a team challenge he has no problems whatsoever with screwing them over, by either taking all the money or forcing his way into doing what he wants to do at the expense of everyone else? That doesn't work for restaurant wars, and he is going to be the first to throw someone under the bus, which I think he did in a way by not owning up to basically taking over the team leader/executive chef role and then saying it was a group effort. 

And WHY would you pick the only other person besides yourself who has never done a TC Restaurant Wars?  And she picked Tom first, no less. 

I feel for Gabri -- man, he has been messed around at least 4 times I can think of -- in this episode, cauliflower-gate (the one ingredient Gabri had asked for and could have potentially given his dish texture and he wouldn't have had to pivot to the onion), Nicole telling him he couldn't use the equipment for at least 30 minutes and then she acted like a passive-aggressive baby when he didn't love her "you can't use it" and she said "are you yelling at me" which he wasn't, Tom forcing Gabri to do the lamb in the mise en place episode, and Tom asking Gabri if he really needed the items in the check-out line when Tom was using so much of the budget, and Gabri quietly said something to the effect of "I guess I don't" and gave in.  In the beginning of this TC All Stars, I was not keen on Gabri because he was so wound up, but he's really grown on me and I think he's a dear, so these instances make me sad for him.  He's being overpowered by stronger personalities.  I know -- he's a grown person who should be able to stand up for himself, but from what we've been shown, that hasn't happened.

[potatoradio]

11 hours ago, Thumper said:

I felt bad for Gabri but he didn’t complain at the judge’s table.  The judges said his dish needed another texture — would the missing cauliflower have done that?

I wondered that, too, and also give Gabri HUGE respect and props for not pointing out to the judges that one of his key ingredients was missing through no fault of his own. 

Sorry to see Nicole leave, too. She has a direct and no nonsense personality and an organic toughness she didn't need to brag about. I don't care if tortellini is a little less than perfect. If you're pairing it with lobster and it's fresh? Give me fork. Now. 

Was Gail wearing anything under what looked like a coat? Or was she rocking the flasher look? 

Must now go look up "coddled" eggs - I can fry, poach or bake an egg, but am curious to see if coddling is something I might try. Can also do hard boiled, but can never peel them without losing all the white, so I don't. 

[Suzn]

I don't understand tomato tea.  It looked the color of white wine and I don't know how red tomato juice can be made to look like that.

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, Suzn said:

I don't understand tomato tea.  It looked the color of white wine and I don't know how red tomato juice can be made to look like that.

If you squeeze the tomatoes and strain out the liquid through cheesecloth or a very fine strainer like a chinoise (versus puréing them) you end up with tomato water — clear like that, but with some tomato flavor. Buddha then steeped it with lemongrass, it sounded like from the description.

[Suzn]

28 minutes ago, caitmcg said:

If you squeeze the tomatoes and strain out the liquid through cheesecloth or a very fine strainer like a chinoise (versus puréing them) you end up with tomato water — clear like that, but with some tomato flavor. Buddha then steeped it with lemongrass, it sounded like from the description.

Very interesting!  Thanks for explaining that.  😊

[blixie]

Quote

Anyone know what "inverted meringue" is?

I think typically in dessert application meringues are like a dish at the bottom, pavlova is big meringue-y thing full of whipped cream and berries, and so he inverted it by just crumbling it on top instead. I was confused by his breakfast dish too it looked one way in the kitchen and completely different in front of the judges. I thought Sara's dish looked delicious but I also love leeks big time that's why Tom/Sara's were my faves.

Tom quite obviously didn't leave the cauliflower on purpose and felt badly about it, then offered to help Gabri with whatever he could. Y'all reaching for a villain but IMO Gabri should have been gone already he's often in the bottom and "skates" by with mid food. Tom's dish was the best on his team, I don't want people cooking the best food to leave. I hope to fuck this is the last team challenge.

Edited May 5, 2023 by blixie

[catrice2]

26 minutes ago, blixie said:

I think typically in dessert application meringues are like dish at the bottom, pavlova is big meringue-y thign full of whipped cream and berries, and so he inverted it by just crumbling it on top instead. I was confused by his breakfast dish too it looked one way in the kitchen and completely different in front of the judges. I thought Sara's dish looked delicious but I also love leeks big time that's why Tom/Sara's were my faves.

Tom quite obviously didn't leave the cauliflower on purpose and felt badly about it, then offered to help Gabri with whatever he could. Y'all reaching for a villain but IMO Gabri should have been gone already he's often in the bottom and "skates" by with mid food. Tom's dish was the best on his team, I don't want people cooking the best food to leave. I hope to fuck this is the last team challenge.

This! These people clearly bond and make friendships or not but they respect each other and move on.  I dont know why the viewing audience gets so upset over things the chefs think nothing about. It is a competition and I am sure very hectic behind the scenes. At the end of the day Gabri is still here and Sylvia didnt make good dishes so she is gone regardless of the money spent

I want a Charbel, Ali ,Sara final and if 4 Tom.  I could swap Budda for Sara

I hope next week is a double elimination.

[catrice2]

17 hours ago, Thumper said:

For a season that has seemed to be one in which the chefs help each other out, I was surprised that the one team didn’t call the other team to let them know they forgot their food at the store.  

I felt bad for Gabri but he didn’t complain at the judge’s table.  The judges said his dish needed another texture — would the missing cauliflower have done that?

 

 

They do not have phones to call each other

 

[seacliffsal]

Victorie and Tom were at a distinct disadvantage from the get go in not really knowing about restaurant wars.  And, both of them were at the store with the forgotten ingredients.  I think she created a team with people with whom she felt comfortable and could work with in a (fairly) positive environment.  Gabri was going to make a puree from the cauliflowers, so perhaps Tom actually helped him.  They didn't really have a theme even though they said they would cook from their roots.  Nicole's explanation of her dish (from Canada, cook French style, focus on Italian...she could have done global all on her own) didn't match the concept, so they really didn't have a clear vision of what they were doing.  But, again, the show demonstrates that no matter what they say about the parameters of a challenge, it really is about the food. 

[PhoneCop]

9 hours ago, Ellee said:

I didn’t get to watch this episode.  
 

Is anyone else beginning to think that Tom was actually recruited to provide negative storylines for the season?  

No, but I'm wondering if his parents encouraged him to take part. "Now the world will see why we favor his brother."

[Fukui San]

I feel that every other season a team says “We’re all from different places. How about our theme is ‘around the world’?” And it never works. 

[buttersister]

I'm not rooting for Buddha to win. But the thing that could make that happen is his stone cold preparedness. Yes, he's a good chef for sure. But as he said in one of his US seasons, he'd studied the show for years, knew the moves, the patterns, the strategies--and it shows! 

[Steph Sometimes]

I came to the conclusion that I don't really like Buddha. Like I can (and do) respect and admire his talent and preparedness, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. 

I love all the Amar and Ali bestie scenes.

[Yeah No]

I love how Amar and Ali call each other "Papi" and "Habibi".   That cracks me up every time!  Both of them have grown on me this season and together they are just gold.

I've noticed how Buddha has let the competition get to him this time but it hasn't made me dislike him for it, just see him as human.  I've seen nothing so far to make me turn around on him like I have on Tom.  Tom is just unbelievable.  

Thanks to reading here that the chefs don't have phones on them and the other team was already gone before the bag of groceries was noticed I'm not going to think it was nasty that no one told them about it.   

"Me too" on as soon as Nicole said she was doing tortellini I knew she would be sent home.  It's too bad but from here on unless it's it's Tom going home these eliminations are going to hurt.  Even Sara has grown on me in the past two episodes.

 

[kirklandia]

About availability of phones - I thought I remembered the chefs checking in with each other from the different cars and different stores when they split up to go shopping.  

[dgpolo]

9 minutes ago, kirklandia said:

About availability of phones - I thought I remembered the chefs checking in with each other from the different cars and different stores when they split up to go shopping.

I thought I remembered someone in a car talking about calling/texting the others about what they would find while shopping, like 'let us know if....' ?

[Ellee]

Can it be set up that the phones can only call teammates?  Or could the shopping time have been over?  

[Mellowyellow]

Jimi!!!!!!

Jimi is one of my favorite food critics from UK MasterChef so I was absolutely delighted that he was the mystery diner!!!!!!

Buddha's methodical preparedness is amazing. I'm so glad team UK won and Ali survived! All my favorite people were on it! They were all so organized though. Sara with her notes and direction to the front, Amar at the pass. And there was no conflict (that we saw).

 

[Souris]

Whew, so glad Ali’s team won, because he clearly would have gone home otherwise. He definitely had a lot on his plate, rolling filo cigars AND doing a separate lamb dish. Though I can be ambivalent about Amar, I love the Ali/Amar bromance. “They come as a pair.” LOL.

I really, really wanted to try that dessert from the winning team. Basil ice cream and crumbles of whipped cream! I had a fabulous cullen skink when I visited Scotland, so I was intrigued by Sarah’s dish.

I don’t feel super warm toward Buddha (though I don’t dislike him or anything), but I respect the hell out of his skills, preparation and gamesmanship. He was clearly affected by getting the win in this challenge, so that was nice to see.

I am over cheftestant Tom, despite his ability to provide amusing talking heads. Spending all his team’s money, forgetting the basket of produce he had been sent to get and just paid for…. 

Victoire was so gutted at Nicole being eliminated, it made me sad, even though I wasn’t overly attached to Nicole. Pasta is up there with risotto as Dishes of Death. I thought Gabri’s dish looked a mess. I don’t think cauliflower would have saved it.

I really liked having the secret judge and eliminating the FOH responsibilities as well as having to plan the decor. FOH is such a thankless, sacrificial role (unless you have Fabio!).