S22.E03: Best Served Cold

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, jpgr said:

I'm with you on Massimo, I don't like him. He's chaotic in the kitchen

Yeah, didn't he splash half his food all over the bench and disturbingly close to his neighbor's almost finished dishes? Obnoxious.

[rhofmovalley]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

Yeah, didn't he splash half his food all over the bench and disturbingly close to his neighbor's almost finished dishes? Obnoxious.

He doesn't seem at all mindful that others are in that kitchen with him, trying to work.  That's just inconsiderate and IMO his "exuberant" personality doesn't make up for his lack of social awareness. 

[seltzer3]

Did anyone find the challenge to be really uneven?

I'm glad neither of the licorice knob people (and Katianna) won didn't get eliminated.  Because that seemed way difficult especially as a cold dish.  I mean eggs, biscuits, grapefruit, apples, and peanut butter seemed so much easier.  

For Anya, I feel for her (which is why desserts are so hard) since you can't really check cakes till the end.   I am wondering what the heck that special ingredient she put in.   I'm guessing its like an-anti baking powder properties, since it looked like it took away any lift or rise from the cake?

I do wonder if Anya didn't decide to refluff her ice cream, if it had saved her over Massimo.

[Mountainair]

Massimo looks like a low rent Jon Hamm to me but in a good way so I’d like him to stay. He really needs to get his kitchen energy in check though. Isn’t he the yogi from a previous episode? 

[carrps]

15 hours ago, jpgr said:

He's chaotic in the kitchen - was it Henry who shared a bench and commented that he's like a hurricane?

Yes! I forgot to mention him breaking the glass all over Henry's station.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Mountainair said:

Massimo looks like a low rent Jon Hamm to me but in a good way so I’d like him to stay. He really needs to get his kitchen energy in check though. 

I agree, I like him although for me it's not just based on looks. He seems like a decent guy, but a bit of a goof and maybe a little disorganized when he's challenged.

This is not directed at you of course, but I don't know if it's fair to dislike Massimo based on being a mess. Sure, it's technically inconsiderate to leave a mess for someone else to deal with, but I got the feeling he was struggling with the challenge and/or having a bad day - he was in the bottom in the quickfire too. I think he was putting too much pressure on himself and got too careless and in the weeds to go back and clean up. I think his comments were masking his being embarrassed and disappointed in himself more than anything else. I didn't sense any entitlement or malice in any of it.

I agree with @seltzer3 that the challenges were uneven but I don't think getting a biscuit was all that easy under the circumstances. In fact, it was arguably one of the hardest choices there. Biscuits are meant to be eaten warm or at room temp. and this was a frozen challenge.

[Bastet]

17 hours ago, jpgr said:

He's chaotic in the kitchen - was it Henry who shared a bench and commented that he's like a hurricane?

I think it was earthquake, but, yeah.  Although, in fairness, that particular incident with stuff flying everywhere was because Massimo tripped as he approached their station.  He didn't seem to be running any faster than most of them do at the time.  Between that and the booming voice, he seems like he might be a lot, but thus far they all seem to joke about it in a good natured way.

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I agree with @seltzer3 that the challenges were uneven but I don't think getting a biscuit was all that easy under the circumstances. In fact, it was arguably one of the hardest choices there. Biscuits are meant to be eaten warm or at room temp. and this was a frozen challenge.

I think any challenge where they pick or are given a specific ingredient are always uneven, it's nothing new. And I agree that the biscuits, and I'll throw in the muffins, were harder than the licorice. At least licorice has a strong flavor and can be used in cold recipes, but what does a plain biscuit or muffin taste like? It seems to me that they are more heavily influence by what else you actually put in them? how do you translate a warm buttery biscuit into something cold? What flavor is your muffin? is it just a sweetish bread? do you add cinnamon? blueberries? to me they don't really have a 'taste' of their own. But maybe I'm not familiar with what a Michelin Star biscuit or muffin tastes like.

[gorgy]

some of these challenges are veering into Chopped territory. Here's some pizza - now add it to your already conceived dish. You - go make a cold dish out of baked goods. Like it's always been a thing, but lately it feels like they're playing into it. The first few episodes are always sort of knockout rounds, so maybe that's what's currently happening. 

Edited March 30 by gorgy

[ProudMary]

6 hours ago, Mountainair said:

Massimo looks like a low rent Jon Hamm to me but in a good way so I’d like him to stay. He really needs to get his kitchen energy in check though. Isn’t he the yogi from a previous episode? 

Yes.

[seltzer3]

I do want to say that while I found the challenge a bit uneven, the challenges so far are way better than last year's trainwreck ("Chaos Cuisine", and that awful fishboil).

[Mountainair]

Besides the meat pies or (hand pies) I’m still not finding anything I want to make myself. Old Top Chef I used to watch with my grocery list but the past few years I’m just not interested in making or even trying anything they make and I am not a picky eater. The constraints of the new challenges leave them making very elevated albeit probably delicious food but most things are out of reach for the basic home cook with a family to feed. I’m not saying that’s bad but Top Chef used to be the “approachable” show for cooks like myself. 

[Norma Desmond]

I'm really upset that big tall russian lady was PYKAG'd. Was rooting for her.

[LBC Me]

On 3/29/2025 at 8:23 AM, bravofan27 said:

The thing is, for this challenge, every component was supposed to be egg focused (to win).

I don't remember hearing that said about any of the under-the-cloche ingredients and I don't think the other chefs did that with their dishes.  I could be wrong because I'm sick right now.

On 3/29/2025 at 4:32 PM, bravofan27 said:

7. Maximo --> also known as Massimo. Loud booming voice. Canada

His name is Massimo.  He's also known as Maximo.

[bravofan27]

On 4/5/2025 at 7:28 PM, LBC Me said:

 

His name is Massimo.  He's also known as Maximo.

Oh, @LBC Me you don't know my sense of humor yet. 

[SemiCharmedLife]

I'm really shocked that Anya remade her "cake" the next day, but apparently used the same sea buckwheat powder ingredient.  I would have chucked that idea when it didn't work the first time.  I hope she does well in LCK, so we can see her again.

[Ancaster]

Curried shrimp and banana?  Has anything ever sounded so disgusting?

[paramitch]

This was an interesting episode, although also one of the few that I found incredibly unappetizing. I don't remember a single thing in the entree round that I remotely wanted to taste.

And the "cold" twist to the main elimination challenge was just so bizarre to me, complete with all the "ice rink" references. I mean, I get it -- hockey, cold weather, Canada, etc. But who wants to eat something cold in a cold environment? Nobody. You'd want warm, comforting food. So the tie-in didn't work for me and actually made the food incredibly unappealing to me. Make cold food for the beach for God's sakes, not for the ice rink. (Yes, I am overthinking this.)

I was sad to see Anya go, but was frustrated that she doubled down on both mistakes. I really liked her, and wish her well -- it was nice to see a middle-aged woman compete here, as well -- kudos to her.

On 3/28/2025 at 5:56 PM, bravofan27 said:

I didn't really like this challenge. It was SO HARD. Maybe the hardest challenge ever.  A cold dish with muffins and biscuits as the main flavor? Cold entrees? That isn't going to be good. The chefs didn't even know what they were signing up for (sans Tristan).  It's telling that the chef from sunny warm LA won, and the chefs from cold Russia and Canada were on the bottom. 

Personally, I need food to be hot to feel like I've eaten. Cold food is appetizers/condiments and desserts. 

Thank you, this was exactly how I felt as well. I just made yucky faces at most of the dishes.

On 3/30/2025 at 11:44 AM, Yeah No said:

I agree, I like him although for me it's not just based on looks. He seems like a decent guy, but a bit of a goof and maybe a little disorganized when he's challenged.

I think Massimo is entertaining, handsome, and funny in ways that remind me of former TC contestant Fabio* in that at least some of that is performative, and that on a bad day (as with Fabio) Massimo has the real potential to be a tool who doesn't care about the fallout because he's so hyperfocused on himself. There are little hints of this potential here and there (and I think the messy/intrusive behavior at his station is a symptom of this -- ALSO something Fabio used to do) so while I like him, I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

(*Note: I don't know if any of you ever saw the Top Chef special where Fabio hosted a "dinner" for former contestants, but he was a massive ass in that and threw a temper tantrum when Marcel asked him to stop asking him to talk about season 2 (Fabio had already teamed the poor guy up with Ilan -- again -- and seemed to think he was Oprah going after a scoop). I still like Fabio but it definitely showcased his arrogant, douchey side. He even yelled at a cameraman at one point and told him to stop filming because it was making him look bad.)

On 3/31/2025 at 5:48 PM, Mountainair said:

Besides the meat pies or (hand pies) I’m still not finding anything I want to make myself. Old Top Chef I used to watch with my grocery list but the past few years I’m just not interested in making or even trying anything they make and I am not a picky eater. The constraints of the new challenges leave them making very elevated albeit probably delicious food but most things are out of reach for the basic home cook with a family to feed. I’m not saying that’s bad but Top Chef used to be the “approachable” show for cooks like myself. 

Yeah, this is my only issue with this season so far. The food doesn't look very yummy to me. It looks artful, but very few of the dishes make me hungry to try them. I think it's because we have so many contestants still, so maybe when we see more of the cooking process, that will change for me.