Season 21: Last Chance Kitchen

[CrazyInAlabama]

I suspect the NDA for TC is airtight.  However, I'm betting someone will eventually tell what happened who doesn't have an NDA.      

I really enjoyed Soo and Valentine competing.   

Edited March 31 by CrazyInAlabama

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Wouldn't he have an NDA that prohibits him from discussing such behind the scenes scenarios? 

I'll quote what @AnnaBaptist posted here in the thread on Thursday:

On 3/28/2024 at 10:42 PM, AnnaBaptist said:

On his Instagram, David Murphy said "I wasn't allowed to participate, beyond that I can't say anything else...NDAs"

He is doublefastdave

So we know there's an NDA in place, but he did open the door by stating that he "wasn't allowed to participate." Then Tom tweeted only "He opted out."

One of these things is not like the other.

[Salacious Kitty]

4 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

I'll quote what @AnnaBaptist posted here in the thread on Thursday:

So we know there's an NDA in place, but he did open the door by stating that he "wasn't allowed to participate." Then Tom tweeted only "He opted out."

One of these things is not like the other.

Very interesting. Truth is probably somewhere in the middle. 

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Wouldn't he have an NDA that prohibits him from discussing such behind the scenes scenarios? 

Of course, that was already discussed above, that he's not saying much because of NDAs.  All he said was he wasn't allowed to compete and we're wondering why or if that's even the truth.  It would have to be the show itself or Bravo that explains why but only if it wants to.

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I suspect the NDA for TC is airtight.  However, I'm betting someone will eventually tell what happened who doesn't have an NDA.      

Or that would work too!

[snarktini]

On 3/30/2024 at 1:06 PM, Bastet said:

Yes, in the Colorado season Marcel, Kwame, Jenn, and Lee Anne competed in LCK and Lee Anne wound up joining the regular competition.  I remember it happening, but not any details; according to what I read in a brief internet search, the timing - of how many LCK competitions before joining the main competition in progress - seems to have been the same as what's going to happen this season.

To me the strongest theory is it's a variant on Colorado, making it possible to enter partway through via LCK as a wild card -- Lee Ann and Brother entered new seasons that way. (And they were not very welcome. The remaining chefs were pissed.) Whether or not David participated, I am sure Soo was already on deck. They wanted a surprise 16th.

They said a few times in the beginning that this season will have different rules -- like no immunity for QF wins, etc. They did the same in Vegas adding new high stakes game play, and later with sudden death QFs. I believe they're just trying to switch it up and add new twists.

[CrazyInAlabama]

LCK is up on the Bravo site.   

[ProudMary]

I flipped over to Peacock right after the TC episode ended and LCK Ep. 2 wasn't up yet. 🤷‍♀️  I checked YouTube and they had it up already. Go figure. Here's the YT version for anyone who needs it.

 

Edited April 4 by ProudMary
Spelling error

[Salacious Kitty]

I watched it on Bravo's site.

[ProudMary]

Soo seems to be a nice enough guy and a skilled chef, but I'm still having a difficult time not seeing him as some kind of ringer that Top Chef has decided will make it into the competition. 

Of course, Kenny was no help in quelling my doubts. Runny eggs aren't gonna cut it!

[Salacious Kitty]

I don't know why Kenny thought that he needed the eggs in the first place. 

[mlp]

8 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I watched it on Bravo's site.

When I went to Bravo, it wasn't there.  Neither was Dish With Kish.  So I left, did something else and then went back.  Neither seemed to be there but I refreshed the page and they both came right up.  I don't know what that was all about.  

I'll be very surprised if Soo gets eliminated in LCK but he has had the better dish so far IMO.  Limburger pizza with runny egg sounded ghastly.

 

 

[Bastet]

"A pungent, ghastly, stinky piece of cheese" as said in the Travelocity gnome's voice is all I can hear whenever anyone talks about something like Limburger. 

With that personal oddity out of the way, I'd rather have pizza than eggplant parm, regardless of cheese, as I don't much care for eggplant.  But it seems Soo made better use of the cheese.  And Tom said Kenny's egg not only didn't set, but was still cold -- how, in that oven??

[mlp]

17 minutes ago, Bastet said:

And Tom said Kenny's egg not only didn't set, but was still cold -- how, in that oven??

It looked to me like he took the metal pan out of the oven with his bare hand.  If I saw that correctly, he didn't leave it in there long enough for the pan to heat up or the egg white to cook.

[dleighg]

14 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Soo seems to be a nice enough guy and a skilled chef, but I'm still having a difficult time not seeing him as some kind of ringer that Top Chef has decided will make it into the competition.

I agree. The whole setup is weird. I hope that someone spills the beans soon about what *really* happened here.

I was surprised that Soo could get the eggplant slices cooked in the time allowed. I guess I'm just a little more gentle when I'm cooking eggplant for parm.

[Straycat80]

I’m glad Soo and Kenny didn’t make a croquet. Kenny’s  pizza  seemed weird, plus it wasn’t quite cooked. I’m wondering if they are setting up Soo to be in the main competition too. 

[caitmcg]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

I agree. The whole setup is weird. I hope that someone spills the beans soon about what *really* happened here.

I honestly think there's no question that this was planned all along, and has nothing to do with David "Hat Guy" Murphy not appearing (whatever the true reason for that is). I do not believe at all this was a last-minute pivot. They're all about new twists this season.

[dleighg]

But if (given fair judging, which I want to believe for Tom) he had gotten beat by the first, second, third auf'd chef, all the drama would be lost. It seems they *really* want the remaining chefs to say "who the hell is that????" when Soo comes into the competition. If he doesn't survive, the only "twist" is for the couple of chefs in LCK who say that. It's just plain weird.

[mlp]

Obviously, this show is edited after it's filmed.  Maybe what we're seeing/thinking is somewhat manipulated by editing or our inability to know what actually happened.  

I think they always have alternates available in case a chef has to drop out at the last minute.  Perhaps Soo was an alternate and they brought him in after hat guy didn't do LCK for some reason so the next eliminated chef had someone to compete with.  If he got beat, no harm done.  Instead, he won 5 in a row and, boom, big shock all around - new competitor and good TV.  

I haven't the foggiest idea what really happened.  I'm just trying to think of an explanation that makes some sense.

[ProudMary]

On 3/30/2024 at 6:13 PM, ProudMary said:

Considering the checkered history of game shows in the US, dating back to the 1950s, this is NOT a good look. They absolutely need to come clean about what really happened here; the sooner the better.

I'm quoting myself here, because IMO, the LCK situation this season just doesn't seem to pass the smell test. Top Chef's producers are always claiming that everything's on the up and up but it sure doesn't feel like it here. TC may not be a traditional game show, but it is a competition with a $250,000 prize, not to mention the crown jewel of competitive cooking shows! Perhaps naively, I assumed that game shows were, as they had been in the past, regulated by the FCC. I did a perfunctory search to confirm this and discovered that while broadcast TV game shows are still subject to federal oversight, cable and Internet game shows are not. 

I think they're heading down a gray path here and they'd better come clean about this mess if Soo actually makes it into the main competition.

[SHERMDOG]

On 3/30/2024 at 1:39 PM, Yeah No said:

Something is indeed fishy here and I like your train of thought.  I think he may have been told he would be competing against Soo and would likely lose so he had the choice of whether to stay and lose or just leave of his own accord.  They may have even given him a bonus if he left.  In his mind he wasn't allowed to participate but in their minds they gave him a choice.  I don't really see that as much of a choice, though.  It's a typical way of strong-arming someone out of a contract or company. 

BTW, this is the way companies get rid of their older employees and get around being accused of "age discrimination".  They give them the option of staying or taking a rather large "buyout" package that would make staying stupid because it would be more money than they would make if they just stayed and worked till retirement age.

As to why this guy was strong-armed out, my guess is maybe he pissed off Tom, perhaps even worse off camera and he just wanted him gone.

About Valentine, yeah, he was stupid to do another too-thick corn purée but he also probably got screwed because if he had competed against David he might have had a chance.  I liked him and am sorry to see him go.

About Soo, I am not loving the concept of a 16th contestant fighting their way into the competition.  I agree with others that feel like this is some kind of gimmick and that he has the edge on getting back into the competition.  I don't like to think that way and prefer to believe this show is above those types of gimmicks, but it is hard not to wonder.

But here's another possible twist - If after whoever wins after the 5 competitions leaves LCK to go into the regular competition, will they bring in another "new" contestant who will compete against the next person eliminated or will they go back to the old format? Maybe they'll surprise us and bring David back then!  So that would explain why he said he wasn't allowed to compete.  They may have given him the choice to compete then against Soo or wait until the second part of LCK to come back and compete against whoever was eliminated next and that's why Tom said he "opted out".  Perhaps he did but only temporarily.  

Confused yet?  I suppose this is not any more confusing than it already was, LOL 🤪

HATE HATE HATE this aspect on Last Chance Kitchen. Shitty move. Don't care for it at all. He won thexladt challenge with a boring eggplant parm compared to a unique pizza even tho it gad a "soogy" egg. Boo

 Sorry...I cant root for Soo....JMO! 

 

[Fukui San]

Even if it might seem otherwise, I think that David’s absence is separate and unrelated to the Soo twist. There is no logistical reason I can see that LCK couldn’t have started week 1 with David vs. Soo. Or on week 3 with the 2nd and 3rd eliminated chefs kicking things off if they had David fall through and no Soo at the ready. I think they planned the Soo thing before the season AND David got himself uninvited or whatever. Just my guess. 

[MsJamieDornan]

Maybe David just didnt want to compete with Soo.  Lets say the first comp was to be David and Soo and David smelled a set up and said no.

[CrazyInAlabama]

There is an article claiming to explain the Tom C. remark about David opting out.  It really doesn't explain anything, but simply says 'opted out' in a different way.    So, I'm guessing we'll never know the exact way it happened.   Tom did say that cheftestants are all offered the option of LCK, so I'm thinking it all happened the way we guessed, David refused to compete any more.    I think Soo would have easily beaten David anyway.   

Edited April 5 by CrazyInAlabama

[The Solution]

10 hours ago, SHERMDOG said:

HATE HATE HATE this aspect on Last Chance Kitchen. Shitty move. Don't care for it at all. He won thexladt challenge with a boring eggplant parm compared to a unique pizza even tho it gad a "soogy" egg. Boo

 Sorry...I cant root for Soo....JMO! 

 

Something isn't right here. You can't even do the prep work for eggplant in 20 minutes, let alone create an entire dish that tastes good enough to beat something else. Soo seems like a nice enough guy - it's not his fault - but there's some behind-the-scenes manipulation going on here.

I thought the Vietnamese pizza looked pretty interesting and I was way more into trying that than eggplant parm.

[BlackberryJam]

I don't care about David or why he's not there. I'm just thrilled he's the fuck off my TV.

I'm pretty excited about Soo. Valentine was totally out of his league on the show. He seems like a good chef, and a nice guy even though he has this perpetually confused/shocked look on his face, but the time/ingredient constraints are not a format where he was going to shine.

Kenny's egg pizza looked revolting, and I really like Limburger. I thought Soo's eggplant looked so amazing that I ordered eggplant parm for dinner last night. Too bad it didn't have that sharpness Limburger would have given it. 

I think Soo's real advantage is that he isn't coming off an exhausting QF and EC challenge and being thrown into something else, but that's always an advantage for the incumbent on LCK.

[caitmcg]

52 minutes ago, The Solution said:

Something isn't right here. You can't even do the prep work for eggplant in 20 minutes, let alone create an entire dish that tastes good enough to beat something else. Soo seems like a nice enough guy - it's not his fault - but there's some behind-the-scenes manipulation going on here.

We watched him do the work. He took a few whole tomatoes and roasted them fast at high heat, then puréed them in the powerful blender and seasoned them with yuzu and some umami-rich condiments to make the sauce. He sliced the eggplant fairly thinly and dropped in in the fryer, and melted the cheese in the high-heat wood burning oven before sliding it onto the dish and browning it with a torch. None of what he did was traditional for eggplant parm (no simmering tomato sauce, breading and pan-frying eggplant, or baking the assembled dish), but it was a strategy that allowed him to get it together quickly.

I do not see anything sketchy going on here in the actual competition that makes me want to reach for a tinfoil hat. Soo may seem like a ringer, but perhaps he's actually just a very talented chef. He did come into LCK with one major advantage over contestants newly arriving from the main show, which is that he hasn't just gone through the exhausting marathon of the QF and elimination challenges.

[carrps]

2 hours ago, The Solution said:

You can't even do the prep work for eggplant in 20 minutes

That was my question. If you don't do the salt thing with eggplant first, it really doesn't cook or taste right.

[Straycat80]

About hat guy David: I read somewhere where he was asked why he didn’t compete in LCK and he said he wasn’t asked to. Sounds like they’re setting up Soo to be in the main competition.  JMO. 

Edited April 5 by Straycat80

[HappyDancex2]

It’s hard for me to get behind a guy who gets in from LCK since he’s not subject to 5 weeks of the regular competition.  If he loses before that then the actual cheftestants will never know he existed which would seem odd.  They would be out plotting their own plot twist.  He’s schroedingers chef LOL.

I finally got caught up on LCK to come here to find out what happened with the initial Hat chef only to find out it’s still a mystery….so intriguing! 
 

kenny did teach me something….i didn’t realize you could grill those rice papers into pizza!  The whole concept seemed similar to a dosa with the egg spread…but  leaving the egg raw was another signature Kenny move of lack of attention to detail.  He could have torched it or griddled it instead of worrying about more toppings….raw egg on rice paper seems kind of another mushy gross mess.  He went from flexing about bodying up chefs and taking them down to…Meh, it was a great experience and I’m proud of myself.

[BlackberryJam]

On 4/7/2024 at 10:40 AM, HappyDancex2 said:

It’s hard for me to get behind a guy who gets in from LCK since he’s not subject to 5 weeks of the regular competition.  If he loses before that then the actual cheftestants will never know he existed which would seem odd.  They would be out plotting their own plot twist.  He’s schroedingers chef LOL.

 

If the first contestant eliminated made it all the way through LCK and got back into the show, then they would have only competed in one quick fire and one elimination challenge prior to coming back in. So he's not missing 5 weeks of competition, he's only missing one.

I understand feeling like he's a ringer which he might be. However, the person coming in isn't going to have participated in 5 elminations and 5 quick fires, unless the person that comes back in is the one most recently eliminated.

[Bastet]

I'm enjoying the confused looks everyone has when they spot Soo, but also like that after the hurry of the explanation, choosing vessels, and cooking was over, Alisha welcomed Soo.  And that while Kenny and Valentine were cheering on the two they'd been in this from the beginning with, they also congratulated Soo.

It was also nice to see Kaleena put a supportive rub on Alisha's back when Alisha was eliminated; their loss in the regular competition was very much a joint one, so it's nice to see they're not carrying around an unwarranted degree of bitterness towards each other.

Kaleena doing three different ribeye dishes in that short amount of time was crazy, and I love that it worked out for her.  I also like her saying she still wants to win, but at least now the last thing she did is not serving a bad cheesecake to Dominique Crenn.

Just looking at them, all three offerings were things I'd be happy to eat; I had no idea which way Tom's commentary was going to go (whereas sometimes it's clear something went wrong), but then it was clear Alisha's was the least good of three good dishes.

[Straycat80]

At some point they are going to have to have a double elimination.  I can’t imagine two chefs going back into regular competition. 
I was disappointed Alisha didn’t make it. Kaleena rubbed me the wrong way. 

[tv echo]

Can Some Fancy Plates Inspire Even Fancier Dishes? | Last Chance Kitchen (S21 E4) | Top Chef | Bravo
Bravo   Apr 11, 2024

[bosawks]

I was getting all set to take umbrage at Soo's introduction to the season but if the cooking doesn't pick up in both thought and execution his addition is going to be more like a salvation.

 

Edited April 12 by bosawks

[Ancaster]

On 4/5/2024 at 8:06 AM, caitmcg said:

 

I do not see anything sketchy going on here in the actual competition that makes me want to reach for a tinfoil hat. Soo may seem like a ringer, but perhaps he's actually just a very talented chef. He did come into LCK with one major advantage over contestants newly arriving from the main show, which is that he hasn't just gone through the exhausting marathon of the QF and elimination challenges.

From what I understand this isn't quite right because several LCKs are filmed back to back. 

[dleighg]

On 4/5/2024 at 11:06 AM, caitmcg said:

he hasn't just gone through the exhausting marathon of the QF and elimination challenges.

And I think they are all filmed just before the "return" of whomever back into the competition. It's not like they are spaced out.

[caitmcg]

38 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

From what I understand this isn't quite right because several LCKs are filmed back to back. 

Right, I understand that's how it works from a time perspective: Soo came in and started filming LCK, which is like doing a bunch of QFs in a row; whoever comes to LCK after being eliminated may or may not be doing it without much of a break, depending on how close to their elimination is to the filming of LCK. 

When I mentioned their exhaustion, I wasn't just thinking physical, but also mental/psychological. It's clearly a lot to go from challenge to challenge, always thinking on their feet.

[Ancaster]

On 4/13/2024 at 12:13 PM, caitmcg said:

Right, I understand that's how it works from a time perspective: Soo came in and started filming LCK, which is like doing a bunch of QFs in a row; whoever comes to LCK after being eliminated may or may not be doing it without much of a break, depending on how close to their elimination is to the filming of LCK. 

When I mentioned their exhaustion, I wasn't just thinking physical, but also mental/psychological. It's clearly a lot to go from challenge to challenge, always thinking on their feet.

But it could be argued that it's worse for Soo, because not only does he have back to back challenges,  but he has a 50% (33 1/3 this week) chance of going home - there's no  "playing it safe" and cooking to stay in the middle of the pack. 

Edited April 19 by Ancaster
Missing word

[HappyDancex2]

Kalina seemed like she was on the verge of a breakdown….her histrionic vibrations were not pleasant to watch.  I want to call her focused but I feel like her need to win…or maybe not lose, is unhealthy.  
 

Alisha was gone the second she made her losing dish again and it only slightly better.  Kaleena took a huge risk.  I would have plated one protein and two sauces on that dishware LOL

i visibly grimaced at the strawberry sauce.  Good for him for making that work.

[dleighg]

3 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Kaleena took a huge risk.  I would have plated one protein and two sauces on that dishware LOL

nice idea! Yeah, the duo or triple is usually the kiss of death.

[Bastet]

16 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Kalina seemed like she was on the verge of a breakdown….her histrionic vibrations were not pleasant to watch.

She has anxiety (she talked about it on her episode of Beat Bobby Flay), so that could have played a role.

[HappyDancex2]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

She has anxiety (she talked about it on her episode of Beat Bobby Flay), so that could have played a role.

I get it.  You can name your fear whatever you’d like but you are essentially choosing therapy in the form of highly pressured situations involving other people.  If she does well then she can be all smiles and gracious but when it goes wrong she is bursting into tears, telling someone to not touch her foot, leave her alone, shutting down etc. She’s electing to challenge her anxiety by food competitions which is fine but doesn’t excuse her behavior when it goes wrong imo.  Many people have fear of failure or not being enough.  And only one person is going to get the title of TC.

isn’t the opportunity to compete it’s own victory?  This is still a very prized show for chefs!

[TakomaSnark]

Well that is some major BS, in my opinion. Not once but twice Tom has the chance to pick someone over Soo and no, by golly, they are both so good they get to continue on - this time back (or introduced into, finally) the Top Chef Kitchen.

I generally avoid conspiracies but the sense that the fix was in to get Soo into the competition at all costs is just unshakeable for me.

[tv echo]

‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’ recap: Shocking twists and someone returns to competition in ‘Mid-Season Finale’ [WATCH]
Daniel Montgomery   April 17, 2024
https://www.goldderby.com/article/2024/top-chef-last-chance-kitchen-recap-mid-season-finale/ 
 

Whose "Breakfast Club" Sandwich Will Be The Winner? | Last Chance Kitchen S21 E5 | Top Chef | Bravo
Bravo   Apr 17, 2024

Is One Bite Of Food Enough To Earn a Spot Back on Top Chef? | Last Chance Kitchen (S21 E5) | Bravo
Bravo   Apr 17, 2024

ETA: Yesterday's Last Chance Kitchen was a two-parter.

Edited April 18 by tv echo

[rlc]

37 minutes ago, TakomaSnark said:

Well that is some major BS, in my opinion. Not once but twice Tom has the chance to pick someone over Soo and no, by golly, they are both so good they get to continue on - this time back (or introduced into, finally) the Top Chef Kitchen.

I generally avoid conspiracies but the sense that the fix was in to get Soo into the competition at all costs is just unshakeable for me.

I'm fine with it because I have a very strong dislike for Kaleena, and I like Soo (and his cooking) so far. Charly seems like a lovely person, but his cooking was underwhelming all season. I did not like the shade that Valentine was showing at Soo- way too much ego for someone who was the second contestant sent home.

[Rai]

I mean, this sounds similar to season 15 when both Lee Anne and Claudia got in/back in to the competition.

[Fukui San]

I'm mostly just feeling that having Soo in the main competition from the start could have made the episodes more interesting given what he's shown in LCK and the meh-ness of the contestant pool at times this season. Like maybe he wouldn’t have made a croquette. Or maybe he would have made an awesome croquette. We’ll never know!

Edited April 18 by Fukui San

[dleighg]

Did anyone see the look Tom gave Charly's pasta when it was sitting on his station? As soon as Tom said that there was one element he didn't like, I knew what it was.

Soo definitely has been very creative, so I guess I'm glad he's in. But I still have a bit of a tin foil hat on ...

[dleighg]

Does anyone remember a cooking competition show called "The Taste" where everything had to be presented on a spoon for blind judging? I think Nigella Lawson was one of the judges, and maybe Brian Malarky. It didn't last long LOL.

I think these should have been presented on a spoon, myself.

[Bastet]

Since I loathe egg yolk, I didn't want to eat anything in the first round, but just looking at the rest of the dishes and imagining not finding that one component vile, I thought I'd have liked Kaleena's and Charly's (until Tom said Charly made a mistake with the meat), but dismissed Soo's for having too much bread. 

For round two, I couldn't believe Charly made fresh pasta.  All three sounded pretty equally good if he'd managed to nail the pasta in that amount of time, but without that execution, obviously he's going home.