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S22.E08: Restaurant Wars

ProudMary

By ProudMary
in Top Chef

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KenyaJ

KenyaJ

My dad passed away from complications after a stroke, so my heart ached for Tristan. I can't believe he was not only able to get through that service, but to also execute the way he did. His dad would be so proud of him. I'm rooting for him to go all the way.

I was so happy to see Nina again. She's such a badass. I love seeing her on any cooking show I watch.

Phlora + Phauna's performance was really impressive. I'm sure it's happened before, but I can't remember a previous RW where the judges had great things to say about every dish that was served. I even wanted to eat their food and I'm as carnivorous as they come.

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Jodithgrace

Jodithgrace

FOH is always such a thankless position. I knew Shui had blown it when the judges started wondering where he was, and I knew that Massimo had blown it by sucking up to the judges, as opposed to just giving everybody good service. Of course Massimo’s sin was the lessor. It’s always better to err on the side of overkill, than under. 
Poor Tristan. He handled himself with such grace and dignity and delivered good dishes as well. I’m sure his dad would have been proud. I’m happy that he was the winner along with his team, even though their name was silly.

Bailey and Paula really blew it for their team by taking so long at Whole Foods. They should have split up at the get go like the other team. Massimo made me laugh at Whole Foods, but he got all the shopping done. 

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NowVoyager

NowVoyager

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Tristan had immunity from a previous win. He had the concept for the restaurant. His dishes were delicious. He also had the wherewithal to pause & regroup multiple times when front of house/waitstaff made errors.

I've so far wept through half a box of tissues for his loss. Tom said little but looked particularly stricken.

Mom said: "Don't you dare leave." It is the opportunity of a lifetime & I hope he goes all the way.

I have admired his vast culinary knowledge & talent thus far. I saw him as a potential winner from the beginning.

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Bastet

Bastet

I know it's all about the food, but I just cannot believe the astounding stupidity of taking on the FOH role and then ignoring the judges of all people.  This wasn't on the level of that guy who'd lost his sense of taste to COVID (Jackson?), but Shuai was pretty damn bad at the job.

It was nice to see and hear about how much the losing team took up for Paula, far beyond what we were shown of her leadership as EC, down to saying they wouldn't even had opened if not for her.

Poor Tristen.  I love his mom telling him he dare not come home.

I was excited to see Nina in the preview last week, and she did not disappoint.  She's one of my favorites.

  • Like 20
ProudMary

ProudMary

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2 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Bailey and Paula really blew it for their team by taking so long at Whole Foods. They should have split up at the get go like the other team.

I think the bigger issue was that Bailey and Paula took half the food they had purchased at the markets with them to WF. Why wouldn't they have given all the food they'd already purchased, regardless of which chef would ultimately be using it, to Shuai and Cesar to take back to the kitchen? They spent all that time at WF while Shuai's seafood was left in the car? Do they have coolers in the BMWs?

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PhoneCop

PhoneCop

You raised a true winner, Papa Russell.

Knowing firsthand how shattering losing a parent can be, especially in a sudden and unexpected way, I hope Tristen was able to get some time to himself or whatever he needed in the moment. 

❤️ Nina. I know Nick Elmi's post-TC endeavors have been well-received, at least that I've seen, but I've never gotten over him besting Nina in their finale.

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dleighg

dleighg

(edited)
19 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Nina! It's always great to see her

I missed the name when she was being introduced and I honestly didn't recognize her! (It has been 12 years!)

 

10 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I think the bigger issue was that Bailey and Paula took half the food they had purchased at the markets with them to WF. Why wouldn't they have given all the food they'd already purchased, regardless of which chef would ultimately be using it

I think they just forgot that they had it. Or maybe they thought that they would get back to the kitchen first. I really felt for Shui (?) not having more time to clean his shrimp. That would be really frustrating. I was sure a judge was going to find an un-deveined shrimp, but apparently not.

It was interesting how Bailey stuck up for Paula (to no avail). I imagine Bailey sensed she herself was safe; and it was clear that they liked Vinny's dish quite a lot, so intentional or not she was throwing Shui under the bus.

ETA: Cesar, not Vinny, who was on the other team.

Edited by dleighg
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sugarbaker design

sugarbaker design

11 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I imagine Bailey sensed she herself was safe; and it was clear that they liked Vinny's dish quite a lot, so intentional or not she was throwing Shui under the bus.

It seemed intentional to me, and I'm 100% okay with that, Shui was awful at FOH.  I've always viewed the judges as job interviewers.  Can anyone imagine telling a job interviewer that one is tired???

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snarts

snarts

Shui should've been sent packing over Paula IMHO.

By comparison, Massimo was also responsible for FOH yet he had a dish the judges loved while Shui seemingly bombed the FOH duties, prepared half the frutti de mare, shirked the rest, laying blame at Paula's feet for the lack of seasoning. So because she stepped up as EC to help, she gets screwed?

I have a mad crush on Tristen. The way he handled himself was so impressive, I was sobbing on the couch for him.

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Tango64

Tango64

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

I've always viewed the judges as job interviewers.  Can anyone imagine telling a job interviewer that one is tired???

He made the mistake of feeling too comfortable with people he knew, which made him answer honestly instead of appropriately. I once was being interviewed for a job and they took me to lunch. I had previously worked with these people during an internship so I was comfortable and we were chatting easily. They asked me what I thought of my current job and I said, "Oh, a trained monkey could do my job." 

Did not get hired. I knew the moment the words left my mouth what I had done. I was very young and it was a major life lesson.

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dleighg

dleighg

So Grandma's restaurant was apparently running out of food at the end, but I think the judges weren't aware of it?

I think the problem was that they didn't tell diners that each dish was intended for two people, so people were double ordering. And Shui just said "make it happen" or something like that. You can't make it happen if you don't have enough food in the kitchen.

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Bastet

Bastet

6 hours ago, dleighg said:

It was interesting how Bailey stuck up for Paula (to no avail). I imagine Bailey sensed she herself was safe; and it was clear that they liked Vinny's dish quite a lot, so intentional or not she was throwing Shui under the bus.

Kristen said at JT that "they" made clear how crucial Paula was to the team, so while Bailey was the only one we saw answer the "Is there anything you want us to know" question, it seems she was not the only one who said it.  So I don't think there was any extra motivation beyond singing Paula's praises.  (But, yeah, she had to know she was safe since they loved one of her dishes and only took one issue with the other.)

  • Like 6
The Solution

The Solution

Again, with one exception, such a talented and likeable group of chefs. Felt terrible for Tristan's loss and doubly happy for his win in light of that and the way he handled it.

I have to vent a little bit and say that I find Bailey to be incredibly self-absorbed, almost to the point of being psychopathic. Paula was punished unfairly for falling on her sword, although Shuai was horrible as FOH. You NEVER say something like "I'm tired" in a public-facing position like FOH. I really think both of those poor performances can be tied back to Bailey and her time management and other flaws. 

To end on a positive note, Massimo HAD me as soon as he referenced Goodfellas and Karen and Henry Hill. I thought kneeling at the tables was a nice touch too and would have loved that, bougie judge be damned. 😊

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marke34

marke34

(edited)
5 hours ago, snarts said:

Shui should've been sent packing over Paula IMHO.

As soon as the judges realized that Paula had a hand in almost every flaw Nonna Pipón got dinged for when it comes to the food, Paula was done, if it wasn't for that, Shuai would most likely have gone home instead.

Edited by marke34
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seltzer3

seltzer3

I'm really confused with the whole kneeling criticism.  Because the judges in the past praised past FOH for doing kneeling or having eye level with their customer.  Travis from New Orleans is the one that came to mind.  I think Fabio also did that as well?

Like I felt like the other part of Massimo's service should have been more rightly criticized.  Specifically, when was clearly snooping and trying to eavesdrop on the judges, or when he only was giving drinks to the judges and not the rest of the customers.  So it was weird that the kneeling thing was the item criticized.

I like Shuai, but really felt he should have gone home.  Running away from the judges and not explaining dishes is kind of a cardinal sin for FOH.

 

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IdEatThat

IdEatThat

(edited)

I abhor servers who kneel at the table or scooch in to sit in the booth.  I don’t care what kind of restaurant or what level of service.  I find it wildly inappropriate and would have PYKAG’d Massimo for that alone had they lost.  And I’m beginning to think this is “top aguachile”.   Where did that come from anyway? It seems to have become ubiquitous these last few years.  

Edited by IdEatThat
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bravofan27

bravofan27

This was such a great episode. My heart really broke for Tristen, and to see him push through was so sweet and lovely. I think all the chefs had their hearts toward him throughout. I'm hoping he doesn't regret not going home to be with his family, though. He has immunity, so this may be the universe's way of taking care of him. Although I knew Tristen would not falter and would show up 100% for his team. 

Maximo in the bathroom doing the hairspray was so Maximo. He's a lot of things, but lacking personality is not one of them.

I really liked how they prepared, and the usage of the word cute was cute. 

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caitmcg

caitmcg

26 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

The kneeling by Massimo would have actually seemed more at home if he were on the Nona team. Family style homey vibe.  On the Flora team it was more of a classy fine dining vibe.  

Exactly, the criticism from the judges was that his service was too casual for the restaurant (although I also personally hate kneeling, squatting or sitting tableside by servers in any context).

  • Like 12
jackjill89

jackjill89

Tristen has been one of my faves, but after this heart wrenching week for him I absolutely want him to take this whole thing. How he powered through restaurant wars so amazingly after the death of his father I will never know. He is a talented chef, a great leader and he deserves the win. I hope he can keep it up til the end!

  • Like 9
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bravofan27

bravofan27

(edited)

Maximo was present for the judges. It was really smart of them to have the chefs present their dishes, but I saw Maximo in the background milling about. He was tracking. 

There was another chef one time during restaurant wars, I think Michelle, who was FOH, that was intimidated by the judges and kept a distance. Maximo definitely did not shy away from talking to the judges, and even though he kneeled down (not sure why he did that, it was weird), he was on top of things, IMO. The chefs presenting their dishes didn't kneel down.

Maybe because Maximo has young kids, he is trained to be at eye level? I'm reaching. He should have stood up-- it looked like he was trying to find a way to rest. 

It was nice of Bailey to give props to Paula, but IMO, she should have extended compliments to the entire team- it seemed like she was playing favorites. I felt bad for Cesar who worked his ass off as well that didn't get a nice parting comment for the judges to consider. 

Edited by bravofan27
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PhoneCop

PhoneCop

3 hours ago, Tango64 said:

When that judge was criticizing Massimo for kneeling, I was waiting for her to say, “This is not Applebees’s!”

The only time I've seen waitstaff get cozy with patrons like that was at Hooters, where the ladies are obviously buddying up to you for a reason. 

(FTR, I was working in a predominantly LGBT office at the time and there was a Hooters on the first floor of our building, so occasionally the guys would go there for wings and irony.)

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SemiCharmedLife

SemiCharmedLife

That was such an emotional episode!  I'm still wiping tears away.  I'm so glad Tristan won the challenge with his two dishes and executing the meals.  Paula really threw herself into the challenge and did a lot to help and support her team.  Her cake must have been pretty bad to have trumped all of that.  (I must admit that Tres Leches is not my favorite cake and it was the one my husband used to bring me every year on my birthday.  We now skip the cake altogether, for health reasons.)

  • Like 7
MerBearHou

MerBearHou

(edited)

So many time management errors made by the homey restaurant team, particularly in the pre-cook period with their shopping, first together (no need) and then Bailey and Paula peeling off and shopping, but leaving Shuai’s seafood in the car (yuck) while they were at the market.

Tristen’s sad, sad loss of his stepfather (who raised him as his own) was heartbreaking and I don’t know how he muscled through that, but wow, powerful.  Lana and Vinny were especially friends to him in those moments.  I read the obituary for Tristen’s dad — what a lovely man he must have been.

On a side note, Tristen was a guest chef along with Evelyn Garcia (Top Chef alum and Henry’s biz partner) and cooked for a Houston Zoo fundraiser last night.  I sent him a DM on Instagram about what he cooked and he replied “tiger nut soup” which is perfect for a zoo!  Though I had to look up tiger nut — had never heard of them :)

Edited by MerBearHou
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Rai

Rai

Oh man, I'm glad I read spoilers and knew what was going to happen with Tristen before I watched this episode because wow. Very heartbreaking, especially at Judges' Table. I hope they did a special memorial service for when Tristen got home because I assume he couldn't be there for the main funeral (just to be really sad about all this).

I hated the spelling of Phlora and Phauna to the Nth degree, but otherwise, great concept, and it sounded like they deserved the win. I personally don't love a server or wait staff getting too cozy with me and my dining party, so I got where they were going with the critique of Massimo. I would've definitely excused it for the other restaurant though. That's more where it belonged.

Shui honestly really failed as the FOH guy by not putting the menu into context for the diners. Whoever said he probably didn't explain the family-style concept and that's why the diners were ordering so much food nailed it (although also the portions looked a little small for family style?). His failure to explain Paula's dessert properly also helped tank her in the judges' eyes. I really would've advocated him to go home instead, but alas. No one has asked me to guest judge!

I am glad Bailey stuck up for Paula and wish we'd seen the whole team do so. To be honest, her cooking hasn't overwhelmed me, but I was still on board for her to stick around at least one more episode. I also hope Cesar can keep his focus since he's the one left who I think can still be competition for Tristen (unless Katianna comes back). I really do like that even though Tristen is running away with this competition, his team really rallied behind him and wanted him to succeed. Good cook, y'all.

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dleighg

dleighg

1 minute ago, Rai said:

Whoever said he probably didn't explain the family-style concept and that's why the diners were ordering so much food nailed it (although also the portions looked a little small for family style?).

(that was me). If it was *really* family style, they should have just brought out a platter of each dish, with enough in total to feed the table (plus some extra for people who have a big preference). That's how it works in a real family, right?

  • Like 14
Rai

Rai

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

(that was me). If it was *really* family style, they should have just brought out a platter of each dish, with enough in total to feed the table (plus some extra for people who have a big preference). That's how it works in a real family, right?

Agreed!

Quote

caitmcg: I don't think they thought through their family style concept very well. It was pointed out by the judges as they dined that the team didn't provide any serving utensils for the shared platters they were sending out.

Also agreed!

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jpgr

jpgr

I just got home from lunch with my in-laws at BJ's, and noticed a super tall waiter at the next table. He started by just leaning over, but he ended up kneeling just like Mossimo at the side of the table. In this case, I think he was so tall he couldn't hear his customers over the din of the restaurant. That may be the only instance of a server kneeling that I wouldn't object to. I strongly dislike servers who are overly buddy-buddy.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

39 minutes ago, jpgr said:

I think he was so tall he couldn't hear his customers over the din of the restaurant.

That's when I've seen it before.  When it's loud in a restaurant or when someone has a question about the item on the menu and they kneel down to take a look at what people are pointing at.

On 5/1/2025 at 9:50 PM, KenyaJ said:

I'm sure it's happened before, but I can't remember a previous RW where the judges had great things to say about every dish that was served.

If I Remember correcty, during COVID there was a RW with progression meals and one of those meals seemed to get zero complaints.  It's not the same thing since they didn't have to serve customers other than the judges.

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marke34

marke34

(edited)
On 5/1/2025 at 10:50 PM, KenyaJ said:

I'm sure it's happened before, but I can't remember a previous RW where the judges had great things to say about every dish that was served.

IIRC, in the S10 restaurant Sheldon had, the judges loved every dish in that restaurant, the problem with that restaurant was Stefan's FoH performance, and the closest thing to a criticism the judges ever had when it came to the food was that one dish didn't match the concept very well.

Edited by marke34
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Daisychain

Daisychain

Wow, this was an emotional episode (many Kleenex lost their lives), but the result was pretty certain.

A few times, IIRC, Tristen has referred to his dad in so many words as "my stepfather, but my father."  I didn't know the spoilers, but when he said that, it was like a tribute to the thousands and millions of families in which there are loving non-biological parents. Or other family members who step into the parental role.  I found that very moving.  

I was watching old Restaurant Wars this weekend with my sister, who doesn't follow Top Chef religiously (as I do :-)  ).  The contrast with Shuai ("Tired") was the great Brian Malarkey FOH episode when he was on the team with Gregory, Stephanie, and Lee Anne.  He was very explicit -- chaos in the back, comfort in the front, never let them see you sweat.  The judges asked him some question and he was like, "we're about to do to our first turn of tables so we are eager to see how that goes!" 

The other great FOH was of course Fabio.  Many years ago I was at a 7 am breakfast meeting and he was at the same place I think settling details on a banquet.  Finally, my senior partner asked me why I was staring at that man so I had to stop.  :-)

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carrps

carrps

3 hours ago, Daisychain said:

A few times, IIRC, Tristen has referred to his dad in so many words as "my stepfather, but my father."  I didn't know the spoilers, but when he said that, it was like a tribute to the thousands and millions of families in which there are loving non-biological parents. Or other family members who step into the parental role.  I found that very moving. 

Yes, I reacted very positively to this, as well. Just shows what a good person Tristen is and how well his dad raised him.

 

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CrazyInAlabama

CrazyInAlabama

(edited)
On 5/2/2025 at 8:28 PM, Tango64 said:

When that judge was criticizing Massimo for kneeling, I was waiting for her to say, “This is not Applebees’s!”

They'll never say that on camera.   They may need Applebee's to sponsor something some day.   

I thought Shuai's performance this episode was awful.   He blamed Paula for his dish not being edible, told the judges he was tired, and you never admit that to the customers.  I hated the 'family style' since the portions were so small that customers took more than the chefs intended.  You can't have family style sharing without serving utensils, and with tiny portions, without making the serving size clear to patrons.   

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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