Bad Chefs: The worst of Top Chef

[Lillybee]

Were you equally offended when Richard announced on his original season that he was going home to make babies, or pretty much tried to crawl inside his pregnant wife on Ellis Island during All Stars? Because, again, nothing says "We are totally doing the deed" louder than pregnancy. Personally, my spotlight couple for the inappropriate overshare was the usual, Hosea and Leah.

 

Actually, I think Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier on TCM were the only couple who've pulled off a real life relationship gracefully so far. 

 

 

I wasn't offended by Blais wanting to make babies with his wife. He had just finished the challenge of cooking with kids and he mentioned Antonia's relationship with her daughter. I thought that he has an epiphany on wanting children. I will give him a break on that remark.

[wallflower75]

I wasn't offended by Blais wanting to make babies with his wife. He had just finished the challenge of cooking with kids and he mentioned Antonia's relationship with her daughter. I thought that he has an epiphany on wanting children. I will give him a break on that remark.

My favorite bad chef is that putz who mangled the side of beef On "Texas" and didn't even make it to the first round. Hee!

 

Yes!  Tyler Stone.  I think this thread should be renamed in his honor because he was that big an idiot.

 

As for Blais, I agree that the "little Blaises" comment was inspired by working with kids.

Edited December 7, 2014 by wallflower75

[cattykit]

I can't imagine a list of bad TC entrants without Mike Isabella.  Pretty good chef, pretty abominable human being.

[Bastet]

Ugh, he was awful.  And such a sexist.  I had to question my respect for Jen Carroll upon learning they are friends.

[Lura]

Mike had a cute sense of humor, but he took it too far.  A little bit of Mike Isabella went a long way.

[Lillybee]

Now I don't hate hipsters, my son is a hipster, but Spike with all his hats I thought gave hipsters a bad rap. He was so negative about all his fellow chief's dishes.

[Lura]

Actually, I think Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier on TCM were the only couple who've pulled off a real life relationship gracefully so far.

 

Sorry, but partially because my eyes are not working well today, I can't seem to find Julia's post, which contains the quote above.  In any case, Julia, I liked your post, and I completely agree with you.  Clark and Mark set a new high standard, I thought, for the way two chefs who are also longtime sexual partners, should behave.  There was a great deal of love and respect shown by both for each other, yet each of them maintained a separation between their real lives and their individualism as competitors.  It was a class act.  Also, I liked them as people so much that I wished I could dine at either of their restaurants, but I'm a continent away from them!  They're in Maine, I think, and I'm in CA.

[AnotherCastle]

I'd like to add Eli from the Las Vegas season, immature and full of himself.

[larapu2000]

I always hated Howie and Joey from Miami.  They got paired together on a team challenge at some point, and for some reason, decided they were the arbiters of taste when in reality, neither appeared to be a very good chef.  Howie also had an extra large hard on for Hung, he was clearly jealous and intimidated.  The two of them were always bitching and whining and sweating.

[snakenax]

 

The best knock down on Season 1 was when Dave told Tiffany that "I am not your bitch, bitch".

That line, like most of Dave's lines, made me kind of uncomfortable because the way he behaved so often came off as mentally unhinged to me. The editing definitely seemed to want me to see him as good and Tiffany as bad, but what they actually offered me was a running plotline of a calm collected woman who never did anything to, and mostly tried to ignore,  a shouting sweaty crazy man obsessed with attacking her over perceived slights.

 

Worst overall to me has to be Heather. The only dishes she got praise on was another contestant's recipe, her own food was a mess, her behavior was awful and racist and she's continued to be so afterwards. Though most of season 2, Hosea, the d-bag who treats his wait staff like crap and beat Nina last season come close behind. Though for 'worst contestant in a combination of skill, personality and how far they got despite those' I think no one will top Lisa, who is about as lameduck a final three contender as you can get in all ways.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I'd like to add Eli from the Las Vegas season, immature and full of himself.

I had forgotten about him but yes, he was terrible.  Clearly Robin could be irritating, but Eli was genuinely brutal towards her and her comments about surviving cancer.

 

ETA: Someone else who I disliked from Season 2, but was reminded of recently was Marissa Churchill. She wasn't on very long but when she was, she accused Otto of stealing a flat of lychees when, IIRC, all he actually did was wonder if they had actually paid for the lychees.  It really annoyed me because I felt like Otto was doing the right thing by saying, "I think we didn't pay for the lychees" but she threw him under the bus when it was most likely just an oversight that the team as a whole should have been responsible for.  Otto ultimately voluntarily withdrew but the whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth. 

 

That season also produced Frank Terzoli, who was the original Marcel-bullier.  What a terrible bunch of people.

Edited January 20, 2015 by eleanorofaquitaine

[archer1267]

Ilan will always be the least deserving Top Chef to me…and I'm not crazy about how he described his restaurant as a "date rape" between Jewish and Scottish cooking. I don't think I would have liked Marcel's gastronomic misfires, but Ilan was just going through Mono's menu and co-opting Mario Batali's dishes, really. And when he came back on Top Chef: DC and Ed got him, I knew Ed was sunk. That dessert Ilan made for him looked like crap.

 

I didn't mind Ilan at first, but his Marcel dislike made him morph into a real asshole.

[Ubiquitous]

If you are talking about bad people (as opposed to people who couldn't cook), nothing (to me) tops the Season 2 triumvirate of Betty, Ilan, and Elia.  I know Marcel was irritating.  He did not deserve the bullying treatment he received from those three, and Elia just compounded her awfulness by returning for the All Star season and continuing to act like a brat.

I had forgotten how much I hated those three for what they did to Marcel and not getting removed from the show with Cliff until I caugh the second season marathon yesterday! I suspect Elia slipped into obscurity after the show but noticed Ilian is hosting a competitive cooking show on Esquire I refuse to watch.

P.S.

I seem to recall there was a big flap about the incident at the time and how everyone was scrambling to cover their asses, including retroactively claiming they had shaved their own heads first after the fact.

[NewDigs]

I think it was that incident that sent Tom C. complaining to the Bravo PTB about the caliber of that season's cheftestants. It was rumored that he wanted to shut the whole thing down.

Cliff was the only one disciplined and he was sent home. And like you I think others should have also been sent packing.

And they were all so smug with their shaved heads, especially Elia. Ugh. Bad times.

I hate even seeing a promo for Ilan. Ugh.

Edited March 12, 2016 by NewDigs

[pennben]

I had forgotten how much I hated those three for what they did to Marcel and not getting removed from the show with Cliff until I caugh the second season marathon yesterday! I suspect Elia slipped into obscurity after the show but noticed Ilian is hosting a competitive cooking show on Esquire I refuse to watch.

P.S.

I seem to recall there was a big flap about the incident at the time and how everyone was scrambling to cover their asses, including retroactively claiming they had shaved their own heads first after the fact.

 

I had forgotten about that, back then I was watching religiously, not just catching up when I can now. 

 

As for the ass-covering, you are absolutely right, a quick google took me to this article that refreshed everything about that whole mess and the ass-covering incident that I recall following quite closely at the time:

 

 

Careful viewers of Top Chef 2‘s Wednesday episode, in which Cliff was sent home for restraining Marcel, have noticed that the events may have been edited out of sequence. The effect of that editing seems to have minimized Elia’s role in the attempt to shave Marcel’s head.

Television Without Pity poster DjLexxy noticed something in the footage, writing that it “definitely exposes Elia as a liar” and “throws off the timeline that the editors presented us.” Specifically, Elia is visible–with her hair intact–as Marcel storms off; here’s one clear example. That, DjLexxy writes, “means that they shaved their heads after they tried to shave Marcel’s. So when Elia was making fun of Marcel, imitating his hair, its after she witnessed what had happened.”......

That, a poster named Rai points out, likely means that “they realized they’d probably get in trouble for attempting to shave Marcel’s head, so they shave their own to prove it’s no big deal.” In other words, the whole thing may have started as an attempt to just shave Marcel’s head.

 

Man, I hated that season......

Edited March 14, 2016 by pennben

[Christina]

Season 2 was the season I quit watching. Well, I finished that season, but hated everyone. I couldn't remember why, so I recently watched it on a binge-watch, and now remember. 

 

A link off of the one posted above talks about Tom wanting to disqualify all of them. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2007/01/top-chef-2-producers_vetoed_tom/ I don't think I knew about the head-shaving being after the fact, or that Tom wanted to give the win to Marcel by virtue of default based on the others' juvenile behavior. It's too bad he wasn't allowed to though. They were too old to act like that and get away with it. 

[Ubiquitous]

Now that you all reminded me, yes, Tom wanted to disqualify everyone except Marcel but was overridden. Man, I can feel the bile returning...

[Rai]

Off-topic:  I don't think it's a surprise to learn that I was that Rai quoted in the article, but I was surprised to learn just now that I'd ever been quoted!

 

Anyway, I have to admit my soft spot for Marcel has diminished with his subsequent appearances since that season, but nothing has ever made me stop loathing Ilan, Elia, or Sam.  I don't know why I'm more lenient with Cliff.  Possibly because he actually got punished and actually admitted his culpability.  ILAN.

 

I don't hate all hipsters, but the really obnoxious ones just all seem sprung from Ilan's loins.

[Special K]

Maybe about a year after Ilan's win, I found myself sitting opposite him on the Air-Train shuttle at JFK Airport.  If I didn't recognize him from Top Chef, I'd've thought he was just another stupid punk - some white guy dressing all "street."  Really, he looked like a fool.

[Julia]

His affectations don't bother me as much as, say, Josh Valentine-the-Dallas-pastry-chef's chuck wagon drag. What offends me a great deal is the concept of his restaurant, which is explicitly the kosher jewish food he grew up eating made with pork, also explicitly to get attention. Because, ha ha, jewish people can't eat that. Right. Asshole.

[bravofan27]

YES! on Brian Malarcky or whatever his name was. He is on TV shows now and he is really annoying (the Taste?) Also thought Heather and Sarah from Texas season were super mean to Beverly. That said, Beverly was made more tolerable by Heather and Sarah, because the "I'm so meek, I'm just a sweet lady" with timid smile, then the super fast, cut throat, "out of my way" way of cooking she did when the judges weren't watching was a hoot. And Bev was a jerk to everyone, but showed respect only to Edward Lee, a chef on Top Chef who she was stalking or something and he would be so uncomfortable around her. But he also laughed at someone in the face when she said she worked on a cruise ship, so he was a jerk too. I think the Texas season had the worst batch of chefs in terms of a conglomeration of personalities. I didn't like Aaron Grisom at all, and this current season I REALLY didn't like Philip. He was just the dumbest idiot ever on this show, and that's really saying a lot. Also, Grayson, who also bragged about not going to college (she could use a bit of an education), and Brian Husky who told a group of people including all the judges he was a chef and started partying a lot and got into drugs and was arrested (though he was raised with money and doting parents), was a really dumb move as well. 

 

There are some gems out there, but a lot of the chef's present themselves as grown up druggies, and it's pretty gross to think I'm giving money to people who just want to party and snort coke. 

 

I digress. 

[wallflower75]

 Also thought Heather and Sarah from Texas season were super mean to Beverly. That said, Beverly was made more tolerable by Heather and Sarah, because the "I'm so meek, I'm just a sweet lady" with timid smile, then the super fast, cut throat, "out of my way" way of cooking she did when the judges weren't watching was a hoot. And Bev was a jerk to everyone, but showed respect only to Edward Lee, a chef on Top Chef who she was stalking or something and he would be so uncomfortable around her. But he also laughed at someone in the face when she said she worked on a cruise ship, so he was a jerk too. I think the Texas season had the worst batch of chefs in terms of a conglomeration of personalities.

 

 

I liked Grayson in Texas. Not so much in California.

 

There were only four saving graces to Texas: Grayson, because you never knew what was going to come flying out of her mouth next; Chris Crary, because I'm shallow like that, Chris Jones because he made me laugh from the beginning with his Dazed and Confused reference and that hair, and of course, Paul, who rightfully deserved the win.  Did I read somewhere that Sarah honestly thought she should've won??  Puh-leeze.  She was nowhere near Paul's league.

Edited March 15, 2016 by wallflower75

[pennben]

Off-topic:  I don't think it's a surprise to learn that I was that Rai quoted in the article, but I was surprised to learn just now that I'd ever been quoted!

 

Ha! I wondered if anyone quoted in that article would also be here.  Once I saw the article, I just immediately flashed back to the zaprudering of that footage all over the TWOP discussion.....'back, and to the left....back and to the left'.  Fantastic!

Edited March 15, 2016 by pennben

[Rai]

Bless those Eagle-Eyed Forum Posters, in the words of the immortal Miss Alli!

[Randomosity]

My DVR caught the season 2 marathon and now I'm just getting to re-watching it. To me, Marcel comes off as a little self-centered, but Frank, Betty, Ilan, Cliff, Sam et al. come off as absolutely vile in the way they treat him. Even ignoring physical assault, the constant and random jabs about being a virgin? Sexual harassment. And childish. What are they, 14 year olds? One moment that made me laugh out loud was when Marcel was keeping his eggs warm in a pan for breakfast, and Ilan comes along and demands the pan for himself. Because he was still using it, Marcel said no. Ilan complains that Marcel is selfish. Uh, actually, demanding that someone just hand over something they were already using is way more selfish than expecting to be able to finish using said something.

Heather and Sarah (plus or minus Lindsay?) were also utterly horrible to Beverly.

[wallflower75]

Heather and Sarah (plus or minus Lindsay?) were also utterly horrible to Beverly.

 

I tend to lump Lindsay in with Heather and Sarah because she helped throw Keith under the bus in the first challenge because he bought flour tortillas instead of using corn ones--not to mention the pre-cooked shrimp thing.

[kermitmissesjim]

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/austin-top-chef-winner-restaurateur-paul-qui-charg/nqp7C/

However well he cooks, Paul Qui is struggling. That there was a young child there, subject to his rage, is appalling.

[FamilyVan]

My DVR caught the season 2 marathon and now I'm just getting to re-watching it. To me, Marcel comes off as a little self-centered, but Frank, Betty, Ilan, Cliff, Sam et al. come off as absolutely vile in the way they treat him. Even ignoring physical assault, the constant and random jabs about being a virgin? Sexual harassment. And childish. What are they, 14 year olds? One moment that made me laugh out loud was when Marcel was keeping his eggs warm in a pan for breakfast, and Ilan comes along and demands the pan for himself. Because he was still using it, Marcel said no. Ilan complains that Marcel is selfish. Uh, actually, demanding that someone just hand over something they were already using is way more selfish than expecting to be able to finish using said something.

 

 

Totally agree - i just watched the season 2 marathon last week also.  Seeing this now brings a different objectivity to it.  Wow that cast was all a bunch of a-holes! I really don't see what Marcel did to deserve all that beside maybe being a little arrogant and annoying.  But a lot of people on this show have been arrogant and annoying!  He an was easy target for them to pick on I suppose vs. someone like Stefan who was arrogant and annoying in a similar way.  I have to say also I do not like how on this season the judges played into the personality conflicts and indulged in this by having the sous chefs come out at the finale to comment on how things went in the kitchen. I don't ever remember seeing this tactic used in any other season.  Betty, Ilan, Cliff, Mia, even Sam, they were all shitty.  Betty was one of the absolute worst.  What a miserable person.  And I think Sam and Mikey tried to throw the finale personally.  Not cool.  

 

Oh and Frank also was a huge a-hole.  He was shitty toward Mikey I was so glad he was eliminated before Mikey was.  Was a bad bunch - they were all horrible.

[Major Bigtime]

Betty was bad during S2, but she seems to have mellowed out now and is having fun with life. She lost her husband about 10 years ago, I don't know the circumstances of why or how he died. That could have been the cause of a lot of her anger during that time.

[FamilyVan]

Oh sorry to hear.  Now I feel bad.

[Julia]

I don't think trauma turns you into a kiss up, kick down person. I think that's innate. Whether it would have been quite so blatantly on display, I couldn't say. Both she and her partner interviewed at the time that Betty's someone who just really likes to beef with people.

[Lura]

Upon reflection, I'm going to change my mind and nominate the worst Top Chefs of the entire run of the shows -- Michael Chiarello and Wolfgang Puck.  Neither was qualified even to appear before the cameras.

Michael's tirade against the mouthy-but-hard-working young chef (What was his name???) took top prize for ego, a childish display of no manners, and a poor example of what a chef should be.  My favorite line out of his mouth: "I used to eat young chefs like you for breakfast!"  I've hated the man ever since.  It delights me that the chef now has a well-regarded restaurant of his own in NYC -- and also that Chiarello is now facing a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by former employees for his treatment of them at his San Francisco hole in the wall.

Wolfgang Puck gets my other award for his insistence on showing Jill (I think that was her name) accompany him to the kitchen to learn how to make a decent risotto!   Even the other chefs at the table looked astounded by his ego.  Jill has said since that she fought back tears of embarrassment because she refused to let him see her cry, but she's said that she was angry over the humiliation.  She wasn't among the top of the cheftestants, but she was a nice girl who worked hard. 

Edited May 16, 2016 by Lura

[biakbiak]

53 minutes ago, Lura said:

Upon reflection, I'm going to change my mind and nominate the worst Top Chefs of the entire run of the shows -- Michael Chiarello and Wolfgang Puck.  Neither was qualified even to appear before the cameras.

Wolfgang Puck gets my other award for his insistence on showing Jill (I think that was her name) accompany him to the kitchen to learn how to make a decent risotto!   Even the other chefs at the table looked astounded by his ego.  Jill has said since that she fought back tears of embarrassment because she refused to let him see her cry, but she's said that she was angry over the humiliation.  She wasn't among the top of the cheftestants, but she was a nice girl who worked hard. 

That happened on Food Network Star not Top Chef.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 5/16/2016 at 2:52 PM, biakbiak said:

That happened on Food Network Star not Top Chef.

Thanks, I was really struggling to remember which season this was.  Always a triumph to realize my bargain basement brain didn't forget something.

t

[RealityCheck]

On 5/16/2016 at 1:58 PM, Lura said:

Michael's tirade against the mouthy-but-hard-working young chef (What was his name???) took top prize for ego, a childish display of no manners, and a poor example of what a chef should be.

I believe you're thinking of Top Chef Masters, season 1, episode 9, "Masters of Disaster" where each master chose three sous chefs from previous seasons' cheftestants.  Chiarello went head-to-head with Dale Talde, who subsequently opened Talde located in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

[Julia]

1 hour ago, RealityCheck said:

I believe you're thinking of Top Chef Masters, season 1, episode 9, "Masters of Disaster" where each master chose three sous chefs from previous seasons' cheftestants.  Chiarello went head-to-head with Dale Talde, who subsequently opened Talde located in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Which Talde has since acknowleged, I'm pretty sure, was one of the incidents where behaving badly on camera sent him to anger management. Chiarello did, yes, treat them like a brigade of unknown sous chefs auditioning for a job rather than the stars they felt they were - he was certainly far more respectful of his own sous' more proven skills - and it was probably a jolt for them. Dale got up in his face like a punk on the subway and all but challenged him to a fistfight. It was Chiarello who chose not to engage. 

Edited May 23, 2016 by Julia

[Lura]

Ahhh, thanks to you fellow posters for getting my brain train back on its tracks!  And yes, Dale Talde is the chef I was searching my head for the name of.  I think the only remedy is for me to stop watching so many cooking shows that one runs into the others sometimes.  Sorry about that.

Julia, I do agree with you to some extent, but I don't consider Chiarello any kind of hero for avoiding fisticuffs.  Granted, Dale was NOT on his best behavior, but Chiarello is older, wiser, and more experienced than Dale was.  He should have known better.  The stunned, disbelieving reactions of the other chefs, demonstrated how far off Chiarello was, IMHO.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Lura said:

Ahhh, thanks to you fellow posters for getting my brain train back on its tracks!  And yes, Dale Talde is the chef I was searching my head for the name of.  I think the only remedy is for me to stop watching so many cooking shows that one runs into the others sometimes.  Sorry about that.

Julia, I do agree with you to some extent, but I don't consider Chiarello any kind of hero for avoiding fisticuffs.  Granted, Dale was NOT on his best behavior, but Chiarello is older, wiser, and more experienced than Dale was.  He should have known better.  The stunned, disbelieving reactions of the other chefs, demonstrated how far off Chiarello was, IMHO.

It was Dale who was completely agressive and got into Chiarello's face and followed him around the kitchen asking "what you goin' to do about it," and Chiarello refusing to engage. In my opiniom it was Dle was the agressor and the douche in that one on ome interaction. 

Some of the chefs didn't like Chiarello's interview style which was to see them do knife cuts and they felt it was demeaning even though it seemed smart to me because he could evaluate some actual skills and it's not an uncommon interview tactic in actual restaurant jobs. He also asked them all to say his name but explained that it was just a quick way to see if they were familiar with him and Italian food because if they couldn't pronounce it they probably weren't that familiar with him and his food.

Edited May 24, 2016 by biakbiak

[chiaros]

On 5/24/2016 at 8:42 PM, biakbiak said:

It was Dale who was completely agressive and got into Chiarello's face and followed him around the kitchen asking "what you goin' to do about it," and Chiarello refusing to engage. In my opiniom it was Dle was the agressor and the douche in that one on ome interaction. 

Some of the chefs didn't like Chiarello's interview style which was to see them do knife cuts and they felt it was demeaning even though it seemed smart to me because he could evaluate some actual skills and it's not an uncommon interview tactic in actual restaurant jobs. He also asked them all to say his name but explained that it was just a quick way to see if they were familiar with him and Italian food because if they couldn't pronounce it they probably weren't that familiar with him and his food.

In total agreement. Dale Talde was way over the line. The other chefs deserved to be taken down a peg or two too.

Here's what Michael Chiarello himself had to say about that episode: http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/season-1/blogs/michael-chiarello-reacting-to-curveballs 

I don't think Chiarello is a villain, either in that episode or in general. He has a sort of brashness and attitude but it doesn't offend me.

Edited May 25, 2016 by chiaros

[spiderpig]

Phillip "Snot on a Rock" Frankland Lee just popped up as a judge on Guy's Grocery Games.

That is all.

[susannot]

Hello all!  Phillip "Manbun"Lee is now competing on Chopped, right now, this minute.  It is a chocolate challenge.  Someone on the show actually uttered the words "this chocolate martini is godawful."

Of course,in a chocolate challenge, Manbun is making an eggplant dish.  He is throwing chocolate into the sauce.  Gag.

Edited February 8, 2017 by susannot

[spiderpig]

On 2/7/2017 at 5:09 PM, susannot said:

Hello all!  Phillip "Manbun"Lee is now competing on Chopped, right now, this minute.  It is a chocolate challenge.  Someone on the show actually uttered the words "this chocolate martini is godawful."

Of course,in a chocolate challenge, Manbun is making an eggplant dish.  He is throwing chocolate into the sauce.  Gag.

Some people never disappoint.  (running off to clear some of my Chopped DVR backlog).

Is he still sporting The Bun?

[Jamie Satyr]

On ‎2‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 7:09 PM, susannot said:

Hello all!  Phillip "Manbun"Lee is now competing on Chopped, right now, this minute.  It is a chocolate challenge.  Someone on the show actually uttered the words "this chocolate martini is godawful."

Of course,in a chocolate challenge, Manbun is making an eggplant dish.  He is throwing chocolate into the sauce.  Gag.

I saw it and posted to IMDb! He's still out there talking people's heads off! lol! ;-)

Edited February 11, 2017 by Jamie Satyr
Spelling

[cooksdelight]

Thank you so much for the photo as I had forgotten who Phillip was. He'll probably hate me for that.... that he wasn't so memorable. :)

[spiderpig]

12 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Thank you so much for the photo as I had forgotten who Phillip was. He'll probably hate me for that.... that he wasn't so memorable. :)

If this will help - he's Phil Silvers' grandson.

[biakbiak]

Wow I wish I could forget Phillip and Phillip's wife.

[Blonde Gator]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Thank you so much for the photo as I had forgotten who Phillip was. He'll probably hate me for that.... that he wasn't so memorable. :)

All I can think of (besides "snot on a rock", which still makes me snort!) was Gail & Emeril walking away (remember, this was the episode where he "smoked" part of his dish, using grass he'd foraged in the park, with Marjorie looking on in horror going "there are DOGS running all over here!").....and Gail saying to Emeril "Yes, he's absolutely SO California chefy, with his man bun, and his white teeth, and his puffed amaranth". 

That guy was all hair and no forehead, for sure.  I'd put him up there as one of the worst, if only for his overblown sense of self importance and never being to cash the checks that his mouth was writing.

[Raspberry Streusel]

On 12/1/2014 at 9:51 AM, eleanorofaquitaine said:

If you are talking about bad people (as opposed to people who couldn't cook), nothing (to me) tops the Season 2 triumvirate of Betty, Ilan, and Elia.  I know Marcel was irritating.  He did not deserve the bullying treatment he received from those three, and Elia just compounded her awfulness by returning for the All Star season and continuing to act like a brat.

 

I also really disliked Spike because I thought he looked at Top Chef, as Top Chef: Survivor. 

Ilan, Betty and Elia were 3 bullies waiting to happen. They ticked each others buttons to push the boundary further. I didn't see Marcel being any worse than other people on the show. Many of the cheftestants had something irritating or off about their behavior. It was a shame to see Ilan win that season, especially after the sabotage done to Marcel in the finale. I'm glad Marcel keeps getting up, dusting himself off, and going forward for another day. 

Dale Talde was another hothead I didn't like. Dale had a bad attitude several times. He was so disrespectful to Michael Chiarello. It was one challenge so suck it up and do what Michael asked. Dale was inappropriate, IMO. 

[Mrs. DuRona]

On 12/2/2014 at 4:39 AM, cooksdelight said:

Watched the very end of the finale of Texas, reaffirming for me how horrible and mean Sarah was. Constantly talking down to Tyler, calling him one of the girls. Then when she loses, she pulls a Blais "I should have won!! I deserve to be Top Chef!" while bawling. I don't think gracious is part of her vocabulary.

I'm rewatching on Hulu, and I had forgotten that she chose a guaranteed spot in the top 4 over a car when she won the quickfire.  The ONLY reason she was in Canada was because she took the super easy road.  She really gave off a sense of "They're just going to give it to me" entitlement.  UGH.  

[cooksdelight]

At one time, I was friends with Sarah on Facebook. But then I reached a point where her posts were offensive and demeaning, and I blocked her.