S21.E13: Set Sail

[ProudMary]

Airdate: Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Synopsis:

For the Quickfire Challenge, the the final four chefs must create a dish highlighting fish and cheese to impress Kristen, Tom, Gail and local guest judge Helmi Smeulders. The chefs then set sail on Holland America Line's Eurodam where they enjoy a meal prepared by Chef Morimoto.

Please refrain from posting in this thread until after the episode has finished airing. The Live Chat thread, which is pinned to the top of the main forum page, is open for commenting while the episode is running.

Thanks. 

[bravofan27]

A cruise ship! I actually had my supervisor say something today that made me laugh--> cruises are for the newlywed, overfed, and almost dead. LOL.

All this food is RIGHT up my alley. The restaurant with the fancy chef and all the rolls looked AMAZING. I wanted all of it. Yum! Already better than Wisconsin. I do think the lackluster food thus far has something to do with the food they wanted to highlight in WI-- cheese, boiled whitefish, beer, cranberries, and weird challenges.

Dan's edit this episode is already better. They have edited out anything that is negative and just shows him being happy. YAY! Maybe be he started out the day with a cocktail. 

I liked the ship's balconies, but the decor--> UGH. It was like Love Boat furnished. 

Very smart of Danny to use the smoke technique!

Of COURSE Laura wants grouper and snapper! Everyone else was playing nice and purposely taking a less popular choice. She seems greedy. Greedy people can't help but think of themselves first. 

 

 

[Bastet]

Boy, these folks lost a step during the break, especially Savannah and Laura.  With them being my top two, it was a huge bummer to know one of them was not going to be moving on.  I’d have been ever more bummed had it been Savannah, but I’m disappointed about Laura.  Savannah, get your A-game back in a hurry, please!

On the whole, I wanted to eat the QF dishes more than the EC offerings in this episode.  Nothing wowed me, not even Danny’s dish that gave him the win.

I truly LOL at their faces when they walked up and found Morimoto waiting to serve them.

And Tom’s laugh when Dan said making them breakdown the lionfish would be one way to eliminate someone was so genuine it made me crack up in turn.

[Souris]

Have there ever been this many technical issues in the penultimate episode? Yikes. That was disappointing.

Disappointing level of cheftestants this season IMO. I wonder if something changed in casting. I do think Kristen has done a fantastic job. I honestly haven't missed Padma at all, and that surprised me.

Glad N.C. homegirl Savannah made it through. The break didn't do her any favors, unfortunately -- it got her out of her groove. Hope she can get it back together for the finale.

Good thing nobody was seasick. I was queasy the whole first day, day and a half on the cruise I took. Which, by the way, included Half Moon Cay -- but it was with Carnival, not Holland America. 

Edited June 13 by Souris

[rlc]

Ultimately, I believe the right people went through, but I don’t agree with the order. Savannah should have been the winner or at least second- while perhaps boring, there were no extreme mistakes or negatives with her food. Dan and Danny each had one dish with major flaws. 

[bravofan27]

Ed Lee and Dan have the same voices. I couldn't tell who was talking when I wasn't watching the screen.

Ironic that Ed Lee is on this episode, given in his season he laughed out loud at one of the contestants when she said she was a chef on a cruise ship. I remember reading an article about it way back when, making fun of him for making fun of the female chef-- calling him sexist and bourbon drinking douche-- because he scoffed and chuckled at her when she made a comment about how she wish she had an apron. It was  the first episode of season 9 when there were a ton of chefs competing for an apron. Ed didn't make the first cut, had to try again, and was in the room with the cruise ship female chef waiting to find out if they would be moving on. Maybe this is redemption for him. LOL.

He's cute though and I'm glad he was there with his funky blazer and cool hair.

I was surprised how badly in general the chefs did at cooking their fish. I was hoping that once they were out of Wisconsin they could show more, but it seems like it got harder for them. 

Edited June 13 by bravofan27

[Ancaster]

2 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

 

Dan's edit this episode is already better. They have edited out anything that is negative and just shows him being happy. YAY! Maybe be he started out the day with a cocktail. 

Of COURSE Laura wants grouper and snapper! Everyone else was playing nice and purposely taking a less popular choice. She seems greedy. Greedy people can't help but think of themselves first. 

 

 

Dan has never been my favourite, but he didn't really bother me.  This episode I'm finding him extremely annoying and kind of arrogant and entitled.  

Spoiler

I really wanted him to go home.

Spoiler

And they really telegraphed his Quickfire win.

Case in point - he acted all hurt just because Laura announced the two fish she wanted.  Why wouldn't she?  It's a competition.  (I thought she gave up the snapper too quickly.)

And then he had to sneer when she (or maybe Laura) was going to make blackened fish because "no-one makes it any more."  And then he made it.  Ugh.

Edited June 13 by Ancaster

[Ancaster]

What a disappointing final four after a disappointing and boring season.  So much criticism of the dishes.  And Tom made another comment about them not cooking well, "again."

[violet and green]

54 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

And then he had to sneer when she (or maybe Laura) was going to make blackened fish because "no-one makes it any more."  And then he made it.  Ugh.

He originally chose blackened as one of his two methods, thinking if he took a less popular one, he might then get his choice of fish, which was snapper.

[Fukui San]

Look, editor. I don't usually tell you how to do your job, but when Morimoto makes that masterpiece of a sushi roll linger on that thing for a while, OK? Don't you know top grade food porn when you see it? Sheesh.

I'm glad Morimoto came by, looking like he's ready to run a half-marathon right after filming, having everyone fanboy over him, and then jetting before the judging. I haven't seen him in a while but it's great to see him look happy and energetic.

With so many undercooked dishes, I wonder if the ovens weren't up to snuff? 

I haven't done the banana leaf dish, I don't think, but I had never heard that there was a cleaning process to it. I would have assumed you just wrap it unless I'm looking at a recipe.

A fried fish sandwich is always welcome, but when plated it seemed odd there wasn't a side to it, like a few fries or a cole slaw type of thing.

When everyone started making crudos in the Quickfire, I said I'd root for Danny if he were to actually cook the fish. And then he went to other cliche and made a croquette, lol. I give up.

The thing I'd want to do in this challenge would be to make a fish chowder, so I guess I'd want to get the poaching method. I'd also want to deep fry. The types of fish are less important to me than the methods. It would have been fun if the chefs arranged a draft amongst themselves, writing out all the methods and fish types and choosing them one by one. After Savannah takes hers first, of course. It also seemed odd to me that Atlantic Salmon was something she chose out of all her options since Pacific always strikes me as more highly regarded, but I guess that making sushi prompted her to make that choice.

[Irlandesa]

16 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

With so many undercooked dishes, I wonder if the ovens weren't up to snuff? 

That's what I was wondering.  Not that the ovens weren't up to snuff but that there maybe was something about the ovens that's a bit different than landlocked ovens. 

[dubstepford wife]

I feel like they're setting Dan up as the winner, which, meh.  He's fine I guess, but Savannah and Danny have both made dishes during the season that I thought looked amazing, while Dan has always been just sort of fine.  I couldn't help but laugh with how confident he was in his first dish and how cocky he was about Tom "lapping it up," only to get to judges' table and have Tom tell him it was gross.

Maybe I'm too much of a plebe but I thought Savannah's fried fish "sandwich" looked great.  Perhaps a bit safe, as Tom said, but it reminded me of an open faced po'boy.  They told her she should have nixed the bread but it would just be a hunk of fried fish without the bread.

I went to Morimoto's restaurant in Philadelphia to celebrate my college graduation.  It's as incredible as you think it's going to be.  They have a really cool bar too, so if anyone is thinking of going there, get there a little early and get a drink before your dinner.

[cameron]

So over Danny's over use of "sick and dope" words.   He needs a thesaurus.

[Tango64]

When Danny boasted “I’m turning this whole oven into a smoker!” I immediately thought about the cooks who have to use it the next day to feed thousands of people. They might not appreciate the lingering smoke flavor in their croissants or whatever, and I doubt the show scrubs ovens when they’re done. 

[Msample]

I thought Morimoto saying he had to leave was a fake out; IIRC Wolfgang Puck did that a few years ago or maybe it was Thomas Keller. 

 

That might have been the weakest group performance leading into a finale, ever. Not a single dish was a runaway hit with the judges . 

 

I can live with Danny or Savannah winning; Dan is a pompous ass. 

[cameron]

47 minutes ago, Msample said:

I thought Morimoto saying he had to leave was a fake out; IIRC Wolfgang Puck did that a few years ago or maybe it was Thomas Keller. 

 

That might have been the weakest group performance leading into a finale, ever. Not a single dish was a runaway hit with the judges . 

 

I can live with Danny or Savannah winning; Dan is a pompous ass. 

You sure that you don't mean Danny.  He gets my vote.

[bosawks]

One of the reasons I like Savannah is how she bounces back from a below par dish.

I'm really hoping that is the case for next week.

[jackjill89]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

So over Danny's over use of "sick and dope" words.   He needs a thesaurus.

"Let's Go!!!!!!" 

I don't know who turned that into a comment for everything, but I'm so over it. You can't escape it, especially on cooking shows. 

[tvfanatic13]

12 hours ago, Ancaster said:

Dan has never been my favourite, but he didn't really bother me.  This episode I'm finding him extremely annoying and kind of arrogant and entitled.  

  Hide contents

I really wanted him to go home.

  Hide contents

And they really telegraphed his Quickfire win.

Case in point - he acted all hurt just because Laura announced the two fish she wanted.  Why wouldn't she?  It's a competition.  (I thought she gave up the snapper too quickly.)

And then he had to sneer when she (or maybe Laura) was going to make blackened fish because "no-one makes it any more."  And then he made it.  Ugh.

God, yes, he was incredibly annoying. I was ambivalent before but now I am actively rooting against him.

And no more Aguachile!!!

[desertflower]

I didn’t recognize Morimoto at first, I haven’t seen him in a while. 

Disappointed they didn’t perform better. I wonder if the hosts sometimes get embarrassed in front of the guests when the food isn’t good. Kristen was trying to tell the guests they all made some really good food previously, and I could just picture the guests thinking “Sure, Jan!” 😆

[meep.meep]

It looked like half of Morimoto.  Cool to see him and it was clearly a bucket list item for the cheftestants to have him cook for them!

Their food is not memorable though.

Wasn't Chef Tom from All Stars the culinary director of Holland America?  I was hoping to see him.  Ed Lee was great - he's had so much success since being on the show.  I think he was the one to leave at final 4.

[bravofan27]

Last Chance Kitchen was introduced in Ed Lee's season. He was salty because Beverly came back (they had no idea this new thing was happening), and the next challenge was Beverly, Sarah, Ed, Paul, and Lyndsay. He was the one to PKG right after that, so he was only top 4 for a second. 

Ed Lee has a really nice voice, is a good storyteller, and is good with language/words and expressing unique ideas and thoughts that are fun and interesting. I can see why he shows up on so many TV shows after Top Chef. So many contestants really struggle with personality and charisma. 

Richard Blaise is another one that had a good run on TV. He was a guest judge on everything for several years. Carla Hallj, Marcel, Kwame--- we see them a lot as well.

Edited June 13 by bravofan27

[CatWarmer]

5 hours ago, Tango64 said:

When Danny boasted “I’m turning this whole oven into a smoker!” I immediately thought about the cooks who have to use it the next day to feed thousands of people. They might not appreciate the lingering smoke flavor in their croissants or whatever, and I doubt the show scrubs ovens when they’re done. 

I'm pretty sure they were cooking in the Tamarind specialty restaurant kitchen rather than the main ship galley.

 

Not a fish eater so I wasn't that interested in the cooking (and good thing I didn't have to eat those dishes!).  But I did enjoy seeing Curacao and the Eurodam.  I've been to both Curacao and Half Moon Cay (on the Noordam) and sailed on the Eurodam out of San Diego, where I did dine at the Tamarind restaurant.  It was the only really good food I had on that ship.  Judges Table seemed to be filmed in the Tamarind bar, a beautiful venue.

It was fun trying to figure out the ship's route.  Apparently they filmed scenes out of sequence because you can't get from the ABC islands to the Bahamas (Half Moon Cay) overnight.  The Morimoto dinner seemed to be in the daytime, the elimination dinner also while they were docked at a small pier at an island, and the night scenes were at sea.  And there were no other passengers in most scenes!  Very rare in my experience on a cruise ship.

Also I don't think all the cheftestants were that excited to be swimming with the rays.

[EastCoast4Life]

14 hours ago, Souris said:

Disappointing level of cheftestants this season IMO. I wonder if something changed in casting. I do think Kristen has done a fantastic job. I honestly haven't missed Padma at all, and that surprised me.

No comment about the level of the cheftestants, as I think up until this point, they were doing pretty well. I do like Kristen, and I'm kind of shocked I like her as much as I do! She has also thrown down some damn outfits this season!

[meep.meep]

I almost forgot my pet peeve:  the cheese is pronounced howda

[violet and green]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

I almost forgot my pet peeve:  the cheese is pronounced howda

In Dutch.

[I Want My MBTV]

I don't have strong feelings about Dan one way or the other but I must say I'm very surprised to see him in the final two for fan favorite!  

[kirklandia]

1 hour ago, I Want My MBTV said:

I don't have strong feelings about Dan one way or the other but I must say I'm very surprised to see him in the final two for fan favorite!  

Perhaps Wisconsin had a big get-out-the-vote campaign? A consolation prize for not winning the James Beard award for Best Chef Midwest on Monday.

Edited June 14 by kirklandia

[bravofan27]

I'm sure the entire state of WI banded together to get Dan favorited. That's fair, it is a popularity contest. Maybe because Manny is now out of the running, Dan feels a little more vindicated. I didn't notice him being extra arrogant, just not as whiney. Having Manny around may have been a little emasculating-- this big, strong, abled guy-- winning or beating him might have upped his ego a bit. Guessing. Who knows. 

[jcbrown]

On 6/13/2024 at 12:14 PM, EastCoast4Life said:

No comment about the level of the cheftestants, as I think up until this point, they were doing pretty well. I do like Kristen, and I'm kind of shocked I like her as much as I do! She has also thrown down some damn outfits this season!

Same. I like these cheftestants. I'm glad Laura was the one to PYKAG. I hope Dan or Savannah wins. Not crazy about Danny but I have nothing against him.

And daaaaamn, that ecru halter suit Kristin was wearing in the Quickfire was spectacular on her.

Edited June 16 by jcbrown

[margol29]

I was kind of disappointed to see that Gail Simmons beautiful blue feather tattoo was fake. It looked gorgeous with her blue dress in the last episode.

[gorgy]

The highlight of the episode for me was Ed Lee. He can replace any of the permanent judges/hosts and I'd be happy. Kristen is okay, but doesn't really add much to my understanding of what they're eating as a viewer. Padma started off pretty stilted, but she definitely expressed some point for good or for bad. Also, Kristen curses too much. Tom seems checked out or really underwhelmed, and I got no issues with Gayle, but some new blood in judging instead of increase game-showification of challenges would help. I haven't seen all the seasons. I watched the first 8 up to All-Stars 1 and took a long break until Covid lockdown and after watching last year's World All-Stars, this year's crop haven't met the bar for me.

The fact that Kristen Kish more or less apologized to the guests for their meal sums up this challenge. I don't dislike the chefs but I don't particularly like them, either. There's always next year

[Daisychain]

Good golly what an embarrassment.  Basically 6 of the 8 dishes either sucked eggs or were boring.  Painful to watch.  This season will not go down in Top Chef History in the top half.  

I was listening to the PYK podcast and they also discussed the question of defective ovens since the fish was almost universally undercooked.  Or as @Irlandesa said, maybe there was some feature or quality they didn't know about.  I do recall they had cooking challenges on that Alaska cruise in the Seattle season -- the cruise with Brooke, Sheldon and Stefan.  I don't remember oven problems but I could be wrong.

I don't mind Dan.  He's going through a lot so I suppose he might puff up his chest from time to time.

The best dish of the day was that sushi by Morimoto - I saw an Iron Chef episode in which he produced a really large square roll that became known as "stained-glass."  He spent a huge amount of time on it and you didn't see the complexity until it was cut. 

[Rai]

Morimoto looked great! How fun for him to zoom through and give these poor shlubs the meal of their lives. I kid, they're fine. But going from Morimoto sushi extravaganza to their meal is a difference in quality, probably.

I don't see anything wrong with Laura going for the fish she wants. It's a competition. I also don't think giving up the snapper hurt her. As Tom likes to say, it was the execution. Dan doesn't bug me in an arrogant way, but I'm not particularly rooting for him either. That said, if he chooses Amanda as his sous chef next episode, I'll root for him a lot because Danmanda was one of the funnier high points of the season, and I like having her on camera.

I'm rooting for Savannah by default, I feel, and she's nice and clearly talented. But she's admitted open-ended challenges and multiple options are her big challenges, and the final meal is exactly those two things. I think it's Danny's to lose, but of course, the best story to tell would be Dan winning. Still, good luck, Savannah!

[violet and green]

I figured it was Danny's to lose from the very first few episodes. I really like Dan, and would be happy if he won. Even happier for Savannah to win.

Wish more time was spent with Morimoto. He was so lovely and wise and kindly. The swim with the stingrays had to be the most unrelaxing thing ever seen on a TC episode - I kept thinking about the way Steve Irwin died.

It has been a strange, dull season.

[OlderThanDirt]

On WWHL Kristen was asked if she wears her own outfits, and she said, No with a laugh. They have a wardrobe person  who's doinng an amazing job.

 

[heatherchandler]

21 hours ago, jackjill89 said:

"Let's Go!!!!!!" 

I don't know who turned that into a comment for everything, but I'm so over it. You can't escape it, especially on cooking shows. 

It was big with the teenagers.  It’s seemingly been co-opted by the millennials, which means old people will start saying it soon.

I feel like it’s all over bravo shows.

[ZettaK]

A disappointing season. The dishes should be perfect, or about at this level of the competition (like in the past), and they are not. The judges commented on it. All four finalists had issues. I don't particularly like Dan, or Danny, so I would prefer Savannah to win. 

Edited June 14 by ZettaK

[IdEatThat]

21 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

And no more Aguachile!!!

I thought the same.  This isn’t Top Aguachile!  Oh, I long for the good old Fabio days.   

[joanne3482]

8 hours ago, OlderThanDirt said:

They have a wardrobe person  who's doinng an amazing job

Not for Gail. That pre-heat outfit was not flattering on her. 

I've never had lion fish, but would a lion fish mac & cheese worked do you think? Or would it be too overwhelming to "such a delicate" fish? As 3 of them were doing raw preps I kept thinking lion fish mac & cheese. 

[margol29]

Maybe I understood this wrong but does Chef Morimoto work on a cruise ship now? Or did they just bring him in for the dinner?

I love Kristen's outfits. I wish I was tall and sender to wear things like that.

I would love to be able to taste and be a judge on one of the challenges. They should do a contest for regular people like us to do that.

[joanne3482]

30 minutes ago, margol29 said:

Maybe I understood this wrong but does Chef Morimoto work on a cruise ship now? Or did they just bring him in for the dinner?

They brought him in to prepare him dinner. He's also Holland America's Fresh Fish Ambassador (whatever that means) and according to Google, he has a pop-up restaurant experience once per cruise on the fleet's other 10 ships. I'm going to assume those just bear his name and not his actual person, but I could be wrong. 

[ZettaK]

3 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

They brought him in to prepare him dinner. He's also Holland America's Fresh Fish Ambassador (whatever that means) and according to Google, he has a pop-up restaurant experience once per cruise on the fleet's other 10 ships. I'm going to assume those just bear his name and not his actual person, but I could be wrong. 

I doubt he would be on every cruise  of the company's 10 ship. 

4 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

Not for Gail. That pre-heat outfit was not flattering on her. 

I've never had lion fish, but would a lion fish mac & cheese worked do you think? Or would it be too overwhelming to "such a delicate" fish? As 3 of them were doing raw preps I kept thinking lion fish mac & cheese. 

Lobster which is "delicate" is mixed with macaroni and cheese. 

[surfgirl]

23 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I almost forgot my pet peeve:  the cheese is pronounced howda

Thank you. Tom ought to know this by now.

[jabRI]

I was shocked that Danny not Dan won the eliminatin challenge, I just remember both of his dishes looking like beige or green on a plate, and everyone saying Dan's blackened fish was their favorite.  Oh well.  And Tom's thing about Laura's 'its baked not roasted' could have also been a stove issue, for all we know? Or was it in her dish description?  Couldn't follow that very well but he was pretty adament.

[caitmcg]

4 hours ago, jabRI said:

And Tom's thing about Laura's 'its baked not roasted' could have also been a stove issue, for all we know? Or was it in her dish description?  Couldn't follow that very well but he was pretty adament.

The "roasted" part was one of their required preparation techniques (the other one Laura did was steamed). I think that the "baked vs. roasted" bit had to do with the oven temperature (too low), which they asked her about, and her choice of glaze, which didn't help, so her fish didn't get any of the browning or caramelization associated with roasting. They also didn't think it was cooked well or evenly.

[MamaGee]

On 6/12/2024 at 9:19 PM, bravofan27 said:

Dan's edit this episode is already better. They have edited out anything that is negative and just shows him being happy. YAY! Maybe be he started out the day with a cocktail.

Oh I disagree. His smugness that Tom had cleaned his plate after his first dish was at best delusional, at worst a straight up lie. It made me sad because Dan had really grown on me. This episode reminded me of the "I know him" Dan from the first episodes.

[Duke Silver]

Coming into the 2 part finale, Savannah was my pick with a bullet.  Buuuut, something seems amiss.  That 6-week layoff (with wedding engagement to boot) seems to have taken away her edge. She kinda shit talked on the low, and I liked it.  She seems way to happy now, LOL.  Wouldn't be the only time a competitor might be happier in life, but worse off "on the field of play" once off the field happiness is attained, LMAO.

[snarktini]

On 6/13/2024 at 9:44 AM, jackjill89 said:

"Let's Go!!!!!!" 

I don't know who turned that into a comment for everything, but I'm so over it. You can't escape it, especially on cooking shows. 

Or in my company's Slack channels! It's constant and I hate it.

On 6/13/2024 at 5:37 PM, gorgy said:

The highlight of the episode for me was Ed Lee. He can replace any of the permanent judges/hosts and I'd be happy. Kristen is okay, but doesn't really add much to my understanding of what they're eating as a viewer. Padma started off pretty stilted, but she definitely expressed some point for good or for bad. Also, Kristen curses too much.

Ha, I never noticed Kristen swears, but that's probably because I swear like a sailor. I like her well enough.

I have wondered how/when Ed Lee elevated from normal cheftestant -- who did very well but wasn't a total rockstar -- to an esteemed guest judge. I don't know how to explain this, exactly: Lots of TC folks come back but they seem (to me) to be presented as "former TC contestant returning" and he seems more like an independently famous chef. Maybe because he was older and has a certain gravitas? Maybe just because he's done well on TV. I don't know. Anywho, I dig his fashion sense and appreciate how he strongly he goes against the grain of the judging at times. He is often a BIG outlier (which TPTB probably wouldn't want in a permanent judge)

On 6/13/2024 at 7:39 AM, Msample said:

I thought Morimoto saying he had to leave was a fake out; IIRC Wolfgang Puck did that a few years ago or maybe it was Thomas Keller.

There was a fakeout with Alain Ducasse, I think. They cooked on his boat.

10 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

They brought him in to prepare him dinner. He's also Holland America's Fresh Fish Ambassador (whatever that means) and according to Google, he has a pop-up restaurant experience once per cruise on the fleet's other 10 ships. I'm going to assume those just bear his name and not his actual person, but I could be wrong. 

I also expected him to show up at judging, and was surprised he didn't. Combine that with the trivia of how many chefs are on board, and it makes me think a big reason he was there was to be good publicity for the cruise line. Cruises want to be associated with great food, and Morimoto is one of the best.

[buttersister]

The cruise line spent $$$ signing Morimoto to their brand. He’s a good sport, but told them outright he had to skip. Ha. Hai.

Like other longtime viewers, I don’t recall a penultimate dinner at which half the dishes were at this level. I imagine next week will show a more impressive performance—something justifies the emotion Kristen showed when announcing to Savannah (hope, not spoiler), you’re top chef! Unless she was holding back laughter, but I doubt that. I think they’ll raise their games.

It occurs to me now that I’m rooting for Savannah in part because (many) top chefs return and she’s the only one of the three I care to see again.