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S01.E07: Nyesha Arrington vs. Jen Carroll

FormerMod-a1

By FormerMod-a1
in Top Chef Duels [V]

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susannot

susannot

I hated the Mean Girls in the Texas season but liked Nyesha,Grayson, Chris, Ed Lee and the wonderful winner Paul Qie who quickly made his mark in the culinary world. Jen Carroll was a good cook in the Voltaggio Season 6, but her embittered meltdown in All-Stars, possibly fueled by deprivation of alcohol that night, caused her reputation to decline.

 

Good match-up.  Nyesha has won Knife Fight, FWIW.

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Lamb18

Lamb18

I'm trying to remember Nyesha but I get an image of Tiffany in my mind instead.  I think it's because Nyesha reminded me of Tiffany as far as niceness and ability goes, but I just can't remember her face.  Well, I'll see her tonight!

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The Solution

The Solution

So Jen wins with a seafood dish that I believe is on the menu at Olive Garden, and a steak dish where by all accounts the protein was poorly cooked.

 

Add Jen to the list of three-day-old fish that Bravo insists on trying to make happen, along with Richard Blais and CJ.

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FormerMod-a1

FormerMod-a1

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I don't think Jen's steak was poorly cooked, just not "perfection".  

 

Going into this, I was pulling for Nyesha, but I was happy with the Jen win.  She does seem happier now, she's not so "pinched", for lack of a better word.  I thought she was looking good and seems to have redeemed herself from her last showing and meltdown.  

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HappyDancex2

HappyDancex2

I love new schtuffs....when I couldn't figure out Ny's "ash krispies" she had me LOL. Jen still seems unglued and her intro voiceover from Curtis was generous IMO.

Not sure about favorites per se....Takashi and David could have gone either way....they have similar TV exposure and both are highly respected industry wise...maybe even David a bit moreso? And I'm not sure Antonia was favored over her cousin. She's on TV more because of Chopped but he has the bigger culinary reputation? At least I don't have to listen to Mike laugh.

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LotusFlower

LotusFlower

Add Jen to the list of three-day-old fish that Bravo insists on trying to make happen, along with Richard Blais and CJ.

Man, I so agree. Esp. re: Richard. Did you hear he's going to be a JUDGE on the next Top Chef? Ugh. Now I don't want to watch.

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pennben

pennben

Wow! I really liked Jen first time around, didn't like her on All-Stars, didn't like her here (although I wish her mother well). Really liked Nyesha both times.

 

As for the food, I understand a Nyesha loss as much as I understand a Jen win: tuna and blue cheese, I can't see working well; and why play with and cover the featured course in the second round rather than accentuate and highlight it?  As for dessert, I don't like it being in these games, that's not what they are trained to do.

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Julia

Julia

I had to laugh when they said Jen is getting ready to open her fabulous new restaurant. She's been doing that for how many years now?

 

Just call her plasterboard blonde.

 

Be brutally honest, Gail. Which did you enjoy more - the insulting temper tantrum or the runny eggs?

 

I guess if this franchise has to compete with the lifestyle celebrities on The Food Network they're going to need people who aren't afraid to be horrible jackasses on the air. 

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JTMacc99

JTMacc99

(edited)

I liked the Brooklyn Nine Nine group. They were funny, willing to express their opinions, and willing to listen to other people's opinions.  In many ways, they were what I would hope I would be in their positions.  Of course, for TV purposes I also really enjoy the Rob Zombies of the world, who was kind of the dark side of James Oseland. And I also enjoyed the foraging girl, in that she annoyed the crap out of me.  So I guess I'm easy to please.

 

The only thing I remember about Nyesha was that she was eliminated in a stupid way and that it was disappointing because there were SO MANY other people that season I wanted to go home ASAP.  Other than that, she was just another good and likeable chef on Top Chef.  Jen was on my favorite season, so I remember her a lot better, and not from that melt down on All-Stars.  The challenges on All-Stars were often beyond idiotic, so I don't blame her at all for losing her mind.

 

Jen is fascinating to watch. When she's off and cooking, she's so confident and happy. When she's talking about her food, she's proud of what she did, but a little tentative.  When she's listening to people talk about her food, she's remarkably sensitive to both praise and criticism.

 

It doesn't look like it is easy being Jen.

 

Be brutally honest, Gail. Which did you enjoy more - the insulting temper tantrum or the runny eggs?

On the topic of Gail being honest, I had to rewind the part when they started talking about the Tuna and Blue Cheese and Gail said, "I was just being polite!" because she hated it. Heh.

Edited by JTMacc99
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jette

jette

Wolfgang Puck is an ass. (I actually typed wolfgag - ha!) You can tell by the way he talks to the cheftestants right out of the gate that he's already picked his winner, taste be damned. Plus, it bothered me way too much that he was rude to the lovely Daniel Boulud. And if I hadn't already thought that the Last Chance Kitchen/Knockout concept was fixed, I loathe it with him at the helm.

But I like watching the show, lol...

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Lamb18

Lamb18

I kept thinking the announcer guy was saying "Top Chef Tools" during the commercial breaks.

 

I'm glad Jen won. I liked her in season 6 and actually met her in ther restaurant she was working in at the time.  I got to go back into the kitchen to meet her and she was very pleasant.  This was a close contest. I guess blue cheese doesn't work with tuna although I think it might be kind of good in a tuna salad sandwich if it was more of a hint than a dominant ingredient.

 

I'm looking forward to Stephanie vs. Kristen.  Go Stephanie! (then beat Blaise again!!)

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AriAu

AriAu

It doesn't look like it is easy being Jen.

 

 

AMEN to that. I loved Jen during Season 6 and she seemed like a talented and even keel person so when she kinda lost it on All Stars I took her side and assumed that it was a result of the shock of losing, believing in her dish and the BS of the entire challenge, including being up all night in the museum. That stupid show featuring her, Blais, Spike and Fabio made them all look bad and Jen in particular, even with the loving and compassionate care she gave her mother. I think she came off a lot better here, but still not as good as in Las Vegas-how often does it happen that someone looks their best in Vegas!

Nyesha got totally screwed when she got eliminated-her teammate (totally forgettable cheftestant with LOTS of ink and a goth look that I think went out next) screwed up the dish and the team went home even tho Nyesha's was well received.

 

In this one, I think the powers that be wanted Jen to win, but Nyesha helped them by;(I) doing the tuna/blue cheese thing (I trust Boulud's palate over almost anyone, especially after seeing his great show a few years back "After Hours with Daniel"); and (ii) serving that disgusting looking ash thing.

 

By the way, no one said that Jen's steak was badly prepared only that Nyesha's was prepared better and that everything else on Jen's plate was better than the steak.

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hammaboo

hammaboo

The ash thing on Nyesha's steak bugged me.  It didn't seem edible - it seems like the judges (historically) harp on the fact that everything on the plate should have a reason for being on the plate - like no random garnish.  This one, though it was a "stake out", seemed a bit too random.

 

That said, I liked Nyesha's response to Curtis's question about what she was making "Fish and cheese."  HA!

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Wings

Wings

(edited)

I like Wolfgang as a judge. A show tanks when the judges have no edge or strong point of view.  AI with Stephan, JLo and Randy is a good example of what can happen.  Curtis is a snooze for me, the least interesting chef on TV.  

 

I watch to see good food prepared.  I love to cook and learn a lot from Top Chef.  I also want to be entertained by their personalities.   Nyesha may be a sweet woman, I don't remember her, but added nothing to my viewing pleasure!  Paint drying.  I was rooting for Jen and glad she won..

Edited by wings707
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Totale

Totale

(edited)

I thought Gail's comment that she liked to be yelled at sometimes was approximately 0% sincere.  I've never felt badly about Jenn, I liked her in her own season not least for the shallowest of reasons, and thought the All-Stars breakdown was largely fatigue with maybe a bit of the bottle thrown in and felt bad for her for it. But she seemed kind of shrill last night, again she brings up her mentor as if she's not even trying to escape his shadow, and I was pulling for Nyesha by halfway through.  I still don't get why fish and cheese is such an insurmountable burden, though.  One of them said the flavor of cheese would always overwhelm the fish, but I've tasted lots of cheeses without a strong flavoring and it seems like one could be worked in as more of a textural element in a sauce or chowder base or something.  I've never seem B99 but maybe I'll go back and catch up now that I know Chelsea Perretti's on it, she rings my bell.

Edited by Totale
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FormerMod-a1

FormerMod-a1

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I don't know about the fish & cheese thing either.  Yes, there are some strong cheese out there, but they all aren't.  And I think it's a matter of proportions, too.  I know I've had some wonderful lobster grilled cheese sandwiches, where you could taste both the lobster and the cheese.   I've also made some really good snacks of a homemade cheese spread with smoked fish on crackers.  I'm not saying it was gourmet or anything, but smoked fish is a stronger flavor and it paired quite well together.  We did this at a wine tasting/picnic.  Yum!

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cooksdelight

cooksdelight

 

again she brings up her mentor as if she's not even trying to escape his shadow

 

I think that's part of her plan to appeal to investors in her restaurant. What I want to know is.... if Eric Ripert is her mentor, why isn't he fronting some of the money for her? Or at least asking people he knows to help her? I often think the reason she has no restaurant is because she'd be hard to work with. Or depend on. JMO

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Wings

Wings

Fish and cheese no but blue cheese?  Huge mistake.  I am surprised they were not more harsh with that one.   Lobster mac and cheese is showing up on menus everywhere.  What a waste of lobster say nothing for tainting mac and cheese!  

 

The second course of steak was boring.  Steak is so easy to cook at home.  It is a quick 'go to' dinner for many, I never like seeing top chefs cook it. 

 

I would rather they skip dessert but it was refreshing to see that neither brought a pastry chef with them.

 

Donuts for dessert, nope.  I get the cop theme though so that was cute.    

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shelley1234

shelley1234

I had a hard time remembering who Nyesha was.  I thought she was nice and her food looked yummy, but she sure doesn't have the name recognition that Jen Carroll does.  

 

I like Jen.  She's snarky and sometimes mean, but I like her attitude and I also am won over with the love and sense of service she has to her mom.  There is a heart of gold there, even if it is prickly around the edges.  

 

I love the Brooklyn Nine Nine folks, so once I heard they were the guest judges I was on Cloud Nine.  I swear their comic timing is gold.  

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msblossom

msblossom

Wait, a regular judge or just a guest/one-off?

 

Dude really needs to be locked in a room without cameras or television for a year. God, I cannot stand that little spike-headed, scallop-obsessed turd.

Please -- NO!! This just seems wrong. I suppose guest judging one episode could be tolerated, but I'm crossing my fingers that he won't be on more than once. I don't even care for Marcel, but I was hoping he would win and knock out RB and keep him off our tv screen at the end of the season episodes.

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Babalu

Babalu

I enjoyed this episode. I think I'm even finally ready to try uni, although I'm kind of scared about the texture.

When Curtis asked Jen how she was going to use the $10,000, and she said "rehab for my mom," I thought her mother had been begging her to go into an alcohol treatment program and thought that was a brave thing to admit. (I've always suspected, uncharitably and probably incorrectly that Jen might be a bit too fond of the bottle.) Sorry about her mother's health problems, though, and I hope she improves.

This may seem strange, but Nyesha had a strong resemblance to Tatiana Maslany to me - especially when she smiled. I don't know what it was - I think the shape of her mouth, combined with a really natural blend of humility and confidence.

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anonymiss

anonymiss

(edited)

Curtis being a blundering idiot again: "Jen did you make this dish before? It's so well prepared. It almost seems like... Gail: "---like she knows how to cook?"

 

Congrats Jen! I felt for her and got a kick out of her letting go of propriety and telling the judges off. After endless hours of sleep deprivation and waiting in the stew room with nothing but booze, yeah, I'd snap, too. And she's revealed she's just not that prim and proper in general which is a girl after my own heart.

 

The news about Blais thrills me as I'm one of his remaining fans. 

Edited by anonymiss
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Kromm

Kromm

(edited)

Jen still Cray Cray. It just didn't come out because she won.

We did see her outright lie about how happy she's been lately. I call B.S. on that, because aside from how publicly embarrassed she continued to be in the wake of All-Stars, she's also had her restaurant opening fall to pieces over and over and over again during the past few years. A more stable person than Jen wouldn't be happy in that circumstance, and this is her we're talking about.

 

That said, on the flip side her opponent's name should be "Nyesha Arrogant" rather than "Arrington".  Because a plank of ash and blue cheese dipping sauce for tuna?  Jen may be nutty as a person, but those combos are even nuttier.  And they must have both been rancid to be surpassed by a badly cooked steak.

Edited by Kromm
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Babalu

Babalu

I thought the rehab is for her mother? She's had a stroke and probably needs a lot of help getting around. And the charity she is playing for is some type of brain injury organization.

Yes, it is for her mother, and that was clear from her second sentence, but her first sentence was open to interpretation and made me jump to an inappropriate and mean-spirited conclusion.

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Kromm

Kromm

Wow, that season had an unpleasant group of contestants. Jen barely registers.

 

Go figure Eli trained under Blais...

This was before Jen and her life melted down somewhat.  She was kind of a put together person in her original season.

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stillshimpy

stillshimpy

I finally got around to watching this and it was about how I expected it to be. Although Nyesha seems like a nice person and I wish her well, she's primarily memorable for being taken out unfairly in the only season that truly competes with season two for suck. The Texas season was embarrassing and it finally seemed like she was lucky to get out of there with most of her dignity intact.

Unfortunately Nyesha seemed determined to pitch that by featuring something that looked inedible. That crisp was just foul looking. On the rare occasions the words "grease-trap" (part of older plumbing systems) are uttered, it turns out that's precisely what I picture and didn't realize it until Nyesha tried to serve it up as a garnish. I like the woman, but that was beyond ill-advised.

So Jen deserved the win and she remains one of the least comfortable to watch contestants as far as I'm concerned. Whereas her spectacular tantrum standouts, ill-mannered and profane is no way to be remembered for all time, her initial cracking under pressure in Las Vegas was hard to watch too. Her hair looks a ton better, so I'm glad she figured out good conditioning, but that poor woman. She's been trying to open the same darned restaurant (unless she finally moved on from The Concrete Blond concept) for years at this point.

I confess, I like her, but I do feel sorry for her because it always seems like she's sort of unwell and trying so hard to make other people believe she's got it together and is happy. There's something about Jen that always seems like she's in a really destructive form of denial about something in her life. I could be wrong and I hope I'm wrong, but she sort of clings to this image of herself as a badass who makes guys cry in her kitchen, while seeming oddly fragile and ready to crack.

Anyway, she's got real talent so I wish her well, but she might want to give up going on TV. She may just not have the type of personality that translates well on the screen, and that's okay. It's just if that's the case? Stop going on TV, Jen.

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paramitch

paramitch

I liked Nyesha so much in her Top Chef season, especially during her run on Last Chance Kitchen (competed five times, won four). Great to see her even if she didn't win. 

 

I liked her too, and remember how amazing her run in LCK was -- she really has obvious skills, and it was nice to see her back. She's obviously talented, and it's great that she's so calm, confident and lacking in drama.

 

Jen is fascinating to watch. When she's off and cooking, she's so confident and happy. When she's talking about her food, she's proud of what she did, but a little tentative.  When she's listening to people talk about her food, she's remarkably sensitive to both praise and criticism.

 

It doesn't look like it is easy being Jen.

 

I like Jen a lot, and have ever since her original appearance. She was one of the best expediters during RW in the Vegas season that I feel like we've ever seen on the show, and watching this strong woman just be so competent and commanding was beyond awesome. I didn't love the Top Chef reality series with Jen, Fabio and Richard, but I actually thought she came off really well there (along with, crazily enough, Spike), and I was touched by her relationship with her family.

 

I'm glad Jen won. I liked her in season 6 and actually met her in ther restaurant she was working in at the time.  I got to go back into the kitchen to meet her and she was very pleasant.  This was a close contest. I guess blue cheese doesn't work with tuna although I think it might be kind of good in a tuna salad sandwich if it was more of a hint than a dominant ingredient.

 

I'm looking forward to Stephanie vs. Kristen.  Go Stephanie! (then beat Blaise again!!)

 

That's really cool to hear. I have a few friends who have met a few TC alums (Harold, Michael V., Brian V., plus Gail and Tom), and the stories have been uniformly nice about how appreciative the chefs were.

 

I like Jen.  She's snarky and sometimes mean, but I like her attitude and I also am won over with the love and sense of service she has to her mom.  There is a heart of gold there, even if it is prickly around the edges.  

 

I love the Brooklyn Nine Nine folks, so once I heard they were the guest judges I was on Cloud Nine.  I swear their comic timing is gold.  

 

I think that's a great description of Jen. Meanwhile, I was guardedly worried about the Brooklyn Nine Nine guests, simply because although I love the show, a little Andy Samberg goes a very long way for me. Luckily, he surprised me by being pretty low-key and thoughtful here. I thought they were all great and had interesting things to say about the food.

 

This may seem strange, but Nyesha had a strong resemblance to Tatiana Maslany to me - especially when she smiled. I don't know what it was - I think the shape of her mouth, combined with a really natural blend of humility and confidence.

 

I think Nyesha is absolutely gorgeous. She's one of those who lights up when they smile -- it takes her from "pretty" to "knockout."

 

We did see her outright lie about how happy she's been lately. I call B.S. on that, because aside from how publicly embarrassed she continued to be in the wake of All-Stars, she's also had her restaurant opening fall to pieces over and over and over again during the past few years. A more stable person than Jen wouldn't be happy in that circumstance, and this is her we're talking about.

 

I think it's possible to be happy even if you aren't the success you want to be (yet). It seemed like Jen put the TC elimination behind her pretty well years ago. While it wasn't her finest hour, I don't have trouble believing she's happier now. Life can be tough, and watching her mother go through what she has over the past several years may also have had something to do with it. I went through something similar, and big life events really put things into perspective. Watching her mother struggle to think, walk and talk certainly makes her minor tantrum on exiting Top Chef look silly and unimportant. I hope it's true and that she's moved onward and upward.

 

Unfortunately Nyesha seemed determined to pitch that by featuring something that looked inedible. That crisp was just foul looking. On the rare occasions the words "grease-trap" (part of older plumbing systems) are uttered, it turns out that's precisely what I picture and didn't realize it until Nyesha tried to serve it up as a garnish. I like the woman, but that was beyond ill-advised.

So Jen deserved the win and she remains one of the least comfortable to watch contestants as far as I'm concerned. Whereas her spectacular tantrum standouts, ill-mannered and profane is no way to be remembered for all time, her initial cracking under pressure in Las Vegas was hard to watch too. Her hair looks a ton better, so I'm glad she figured out good conditioning, but that poor woman. She's been trying to open the same darned restaurant (unless she finally moved on from The Concrete Blond concept) for years at this point.

I confess, I like her, but I do feel sorry for her because it always seems like she's sort of unwell and trying so hard to make other people believe she's got it together and is happy. There's something about Jen that always seems like she's in a really destructive form of denial about something in her life. I could be wrong and I hope I'm wrong, but she sort of clings to this image of herself as a badass who makes guys cry in her kitchen, while seeming oddly fragile and ready to crack.

Anyway, she's got real talent so I wish her well, but she might want to give up going on TV. She may just not have the type of personality that translates well on the screen, and that's okay. It's just if that's the case? Stop going on TV, Jen.

 

Oh, me too. That foul-looking blackened oily wafer of ash that Nyesha put on top of the steak was one of the biggest WTF moments I've ever had watching TC. I love Nyesha, but when she did that, there was no way for me that she was going to win. That was one of the nastiest looking things I have ever seen on a plate on food television.

 

I found Jen uncomfortable to watch on All-Stars, but that's the only time. Otherwise, I enjoy watching her -- she strikes me as this kind of messy free spirit who tends to get in her own way, but I think she's probably a pretty nice person day to day. She has this scrappy combination of ambition, toughness, humor and vulnerability that I like. I wish her well.

 

I do suspect that it's easier said than done for her to simply "not be on TV." For good or ill, she has at least some coinage there now, and as she's had trouble getting her restaurant going, it's certainly one opportunity for income that I think would be really hard to turn away from. Also, I did think she appeared to have won a nice balance on this return -- she was still a blunt and confident person, but the cockiness of her All-Stars persona seemed much diminished. She seemed genuinely peaceful and like she was having fun. And I thought her food looked gorgeous.

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