S12: Last Chance Kitchen

[cooksdelight]

LCK has always bothered me, that Tom is the deciding judge. And only him. He can pick whoever he wants to let back in the game. Have years of playing it straight, the right way (with anyone who loses, leaving, and whoever wins, wins) really bothered Tom & Co. so badly that they had to invent all these "twists"?

[GaT]

I always think it should be blind tasting, he shouldn't know who made what.

[cooksdelight]

And because it isn't blind tasting, I will always be suspect that he's doing this just to let someone he favors back in. Kristin was a prime example, he was really upset by her not speaking up during judges' table, and finding out after the fact what had happened.

[Julia]

I think they were unhappy about the backlash more than they were about sending the wrong person home, honestly. Padma was particularly bitchy about it, but both Tom and Gail put the blame squarely on Kristen for not magically fixing Josie and for not speaking up, and I don't know that she deserved that.

 

They knew Kristen's cooking and they knew Josie's. Josie's story was seriously improbable, and even if Kristen was refusing to answer their questions, there were two other people on the team who saw what happened and nobody spoke to them. Although, my UO about that is that Brooke, at least, wasn't too conflicted about Kristen going home and leaving Josie for her to compete with, whatever she interviewed afterwards. I think Lizzie would have spoken up if she'd been asked.

 

Anyway, the whole thing derailed yet another attempt to make CJ happen, so it's not like they didn't pay for the mistake.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Julia

[candall]

Agree that Tom can't be completely unbiased, no matter how hard he tries.  (And I question whether he really puts his heart into trying.)

 

If a description or an introduction of the dish is absolutely necessary, the obvious solution would be to have a judge for LCK who didn't know the contestants.

 

Even in tonight's TC episode, it made such a **clunk** when Padma's first question at the cookoff was "Now, who made what?"   Chowder Guy obviously didn't care who made what.   It's two plates of rabbit--just taste the damn food!

[Julia]

Oh, for the love of Pete. Yes, Keri Ann. Clearly if your team had served your cold, congealed, nut-studded "mousse" with cold day old crepes the way you intended they would have come out just like the à la minute hot crepe with room-temperature mousse-textured nut-free mousse you served here. They totally shanked you.

[cooksdelight]

I am uber-suspicious of the nomination of Mike Isabella's protege for coming back in to compete. Unless he totally won them all over during their sequester with his wonderful personality, I really have to wonder.

[ChelseaNH]

So who should they send?  They can't nominate themselves.

[hendersonrocks]

Unless he totally won them all over during their sequester with his wonderful personality, I really have to wonder.

 

Totally get why there's skepticism re: the Isabella connection, but I thought the argument a few of them shared in talking heads (the rest of us at least got the knife in an elimination challenge) was fairly solid. Whether that was spoonfed to them, who knows--but I understood the general motivation to give a shot to the guy who never really had a chance.

 

I still can't figure out if I think George is now at an advantage (not as tired, not used as many of his recipes/tricks, as Gregory noted) or disadvantage (not familiar or comfortable with the cadence of the production and timing constraints, an outsider to the remaining chefs). 

[biakbiak]

KeriAnn you did not go home because someone messed up your dish, you went home for doing a crappy job at front of house, poorly conceiving a dish and not bothering to check at the start of service how your dish was being plated.

 

What is up with the Last Chance set? It looks like they found some random basement and spent $500 making it over. 

 

Not sure that I like the twist where the second best dish also advances.

Edited December 11, 2014 by biakbiak

[Statman]

I am uber-suspicious of the nomination of Mike Isabella's protege for coming back in to compete. Unless he totally won them all over during their sequester with his wonderful personality, I really have to wonder.

I don't find it suspicious at all. He was eliminated on the first quick fire challenge and I don't think it's out of the ordinary that the other chefs thought that he had gotten a raw deal.

[cooksdelight]

I don't find it suspicious at all. He was eliminated on the first quick fire challenge and I don't think it's out of the ordinary that the other chefs thought that he had gotten a raw deal.

I still feel there's more there than we know. The fact George cooked a very simple dish for the elimination challenge and got rave reviews really made my eyebrows go up. Meatballs on a stick with a yogurt sauce? Couldn't taste it for myself, of course, but it's like Katsuji making a taco or Greg making something with curry. Again.

[AmandaPanda]

I still feel there's more there than we know. The fact George cooked a very simple dish for the elimination challenge and got rave reviews really made my eyebrows go up. Meatballs on a stick with a yogurt sauce? Couldn't taste it for myself, of course, but it's like Katsuji making a taco or Greg making something with curry. Again.

 

I don't know if they were trying to throw him a bone since it was his first elimination challenge or if it really was the most incredible meatball ever created. Regardless, it's incredibly fishy.

 

I really think all of Top Chef should be blind judging. Have all of the chefs come out for judges table. Workshop the dishes that went well and those that didn't. Then don't find out who cooked what until the judges have already said which dish wins and loses. The only way this would be different is on a team challenge like Restaurant Wars where there are factors besides cooking that come into play. Personally, I've always believed that Tom judges the female chefs far more harshly than he does the male chefs, which is inherently unfair.

[turbogirlnyc]

I don't know if they were trying to throw him a bone since it was his first elimination challenge or if it really was the most incredible meatball ever created. Regardless, it's incredibly fishy.

 

I really think all of Top Chef should be blind judging. Have all of the chefs come out for judges table. Workshop the dishes that went well and those that didn't. Then don't find out who cooked what until the judges have already said which dish wins and loses. The only way this would be different is on a team challenge like Restaurant Wars where there are factors besides cooking that come into play. Personally, I've always believed that Tom judges the female chefs far more harshly than he does the male chefs, which is inherently unfair.

 

If they started the seasons with blind judging it might work. When I read "blind judging" it makes me think of the FN show Beat Bobby Flay. It's so obvious that every single judge on that show knows which dish is Bobby's due to aesthetic, taste, etc. I don't see how it would be any different on Top Chef unless Tom & co. don't know anything about the contestants and their cooking styles. As far as LCK goes, it's probably not difficult for Tom to figure out if he's tasting a dish Katsuji made vs. a dish Katie made.

[cooksdelight]

The Taste does blind tasting, and it seems to work really well. As evidenced by the fact Nigella can never keep a team. I don't know if Tom would go for giving up that much control.

[Lura]

Congratulations to Bravo, to Tom and to Padma..  Top Chef has hit a new low.  To have allowed Melissa to pull off her clam heist, then brag about it by saying "No more nice girl" as if she'd been one all along, and not to have interfered by lowering the boom on Melissa, you have managed to show that Top Chef condones stealing, cheating and any other manner of behavior that will satisfy individual greed and self-serving goals.

 

And what do you care?  You have already skewered the show around in so many ways to wind up with the winner of your choice that a little thing like cheating doesn't faze you.  Last Chance Kitchen is the most obvious way you can determine that your winner winds up on top.  George, supposedly a miracle chef, had the misfortune of losing his first time out.  Did you cry yourselves to sleep?  Was George your intended winner?  By golly, you would devise another way of getting him back with the supposed blessings of the other losers.  Don't be mistaken.  George seems like a very nice guy.  It's your tactics that reek of dishonesty. For another year, you have used LCK as a method of cheating.  No wonder you didn't call on Melissa for her low behavior!

 

What boggles my brain the most is that other viewers and I tune in to watch a cooking battle, and the result is yours to determine. 

 

 

                                                                                                              

[biakbiak]

Last Chance Kitchen is the most obvious way you can determine that your winner winds up on top.

 

Given that we never taste the food and even if we did taste is subjective, I think the most obvious way for them to determine that who they want to win wins would be for them to not eliminate them.

Edited December 12, 2014 by biakbiak

[Lura]

LOL  Well, yes, biakbiak, that, too!  I've even wondered occasionally whether so-and-so's food doesn't taste so good since they want that person to go home.  For instance, and not that this was the case, but just saying -- Suppose they didn't want George to have to turn around and go home, so they wanted his version of rabbit to win.  So Gail comes out with "I thought I detected a strange bitter taste.  Don't know what it was."  No other judge concurs, but the gentle negative has been put out there, and bye, bye, Katie.  As you said, we can't taste it, so what are we to know?

[NowVoyager]

Just thinking about this new format for LCK:

Basically the folks that got cut early got one chance at redemption & the folks that lasted longer got better odds at continuing on in the competition.

Still not sure how fair it is, but it's nice to have if a cheftestant gets cut for a bogus reason.

[Calamity Jane]

Oh, for the love of Pete. Yes, Keri Ann. Clearly if your team had served your cold, congealed, nut-studded "mousse" with cold day old crepes the way you intended they would have come out just like the à la minute hot crepe with room-temperature mousse-textured nut-free mousse you served here. They totally shanked you.

Exactly the thoughts I was thinking and actually shouting at the dog as I watched.  That was just dumb.  I so wish they had just served the dish without trying to help.  Then she couldn't really say they "ruined" it.  At least it lost AGAIN. 

[Calamity Jane]

Well, we have to trust Tom's judgment, of course, but I felt good that the last two eliminated went forward.  It validates the progression of the season a lot more than allowing George back in, but as we know from the Kristen episode, sometimes a good chef leaves earlier than he/she should, really.  I'll be interested to see how the next episode goes!  

[backgroundnoise]

This is one reality show that I believe still has integrity (unlike Project Runway, which has become a travesty).  I still believe that Tom, etal., think the best interests of the show and their own reputations lies in letting the chefs cook and let cream rise to the top, pun intended.

 

The bring-back-George thing I just see as an attempt to keep the show fresh by adding new twists, like LCK was a few years ago.  I personally don't think it's necessary, as I would still enjoy the original format, but as long as I can believe the judging of LCK is not engineered to produce a desired result, I'm okay with it.

 

Look at the quality of guest judges they are still getting after all these seasons (as opposed to PR again!).  I think that reflects a general belief in the culinary community that the contest is still legit.

[cooksdelight]

but as long as I can believe the judging of LCK is not engineered to produce a desired result, I'm okay with it.

I have a hard time believing that because if it weren't an attempt to bring back a certain chef, why not do LCK as it's always been done? First man out challenged by second man out. And so on.

[ChelseaNH]

why not do LCK as it's always been done?

 

We can't have people knowing what to expect -- that would be boooooring...

[Lizzing]

Personally, I've always believed that Tom judges the female chefs far more harshly than he does the male chefs, which is inherently unfair.

I've always had that sense as well, with a very few exceptions (Kristen being one).  Tonight's LCK brought that feeling back for me.  Granted, Katie hasn't been the most stellar contestant ever, but between her actually cooking something that gave Tom no complaints, and Adam making ceviche, the bias argument was raised in my mind again.  Ceviche, like seared scallops, has long been a TC crutch contestants go to when they lack ideas. I swear there was one season in the middle years where a week didn't go by without a ceviche.  I actually like ceviche, but it isn't exactly cooking any more than making a really awesome salad....though not broccoli salad, Katie. ;)

[The Closer]

It's possible they switched up the format to make it fresh, but the format itself lends itself to biases that the judges might not even realize are present in their decision making. If you can out-cook people over and over as you advance through each round, you can feel satisfied with that person getting another shot since they managed to consistently perform at a high level. Even if you didn't think of them much before that point, at the end you might think that they had more going on than you realized. With the way LCK is this time around, I can imagine as a judge you'd start thinking about what you know of them as a chef from a holistic perspective and that you might give leeway to certain chefs without realizing the biases behind your decision-making. I have an easy time believing that, but I balk at the idea that they went into LCK with a specific outcome in mind and that the judges all got on board to ensure those results. That just doesn't ring true to me based on a history of TC, but obviously, YMMV.

[NurseGiGi]

I watched every season of Top Chef until they introduced "Redemption Island" and stopped watching after Kristen's season when I realized it wasn't just a one or two and done.  It really ruined the show for me.

[msburg]

Just watched it on Bravo.com since we're getting down to the end.  As a twist to Doug screwing up his foie gras, he, Adam and Katsuji needed to make a liver dish.

 

Doug had the best, and moves forward with Adam.  Katsuji had never cooked liver before and didn't clean or trim it properly, so he's out.

 

I'm wondering what format they'll use to decide who goes back to the finale? I don't think I like that it's just Tom making the decision.

 

Edited to remove spoiler tags -- obviously not necessary!

Edited January 8, 2015 by msburg

[HappyDancex2]

They could have given them all the same liver to start if goat is that much more sinewy and funky. I can't stand liver anyway.

[GaT]

Finally, Katsuji is gone, I never liked him.

[Wings]

They could have given them all the same liver to start if goat is that much more sinewy and funky. I can't stand liver anyway.

 

 

All liver is like that.  Katsuji didn't clean his properly and the others did.  It was not the goats fault. :>)

 

Yeah, Doug is still in the running!   I love liver.  

[Calamity Jane]

I liked Katsuji but never imagined he would make it to the end.  Very  happy to see Doug is still in the running!  My belief is that it will come down to Gregory and Mei, but who knows, maybe we'll get a surprise.  

[Latverian Diplomat]

All liver is like that.  Katsuji didn't clean his properly and the others did.  It was not the goats fault. :>)

 

Yeah, Doug is still in the running!   I love liver.  

Doug commented that goat liver is the most sinewy and hardest to clean. He said he would never want to use it for something like this. He also said it was the gamiest, so Katsuji should have got points for overcoming that issue, but I'm guessing the improperly cleaned meat was kinda gross.

 

I really wonder how they picked who got what. The show presented it as everyone got their first choice, but if not, if there was any luck of the draw element, then Katsuji got burned.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[Wings]

Thanks, I missed that about the goat liver. 

[Julia]

Just, I'm not sure how you can have a career cooking mexican street food and not ever have dealt with organ meats. Or was it just goat he's never worked with?

[Latverian Diplomat]

Just, I'm not sure how you can have a career cooking mexican street food and not ever have dealt with organ meats. Or was it just goat he's never worked with?

Katsuji said that he keeps a kosher kitchen in his restaurant, and liver is very difficult to handle in a kosher manner. I had never heard that before, but it seems to be true:

 

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/82815/jewish/Koshering-Liver.htm

 

So he just avoids it and has no professional experience with it. That's why he went back to his boyhood memories of an uncle who liked liver for inspiration.

[Julia]

Katsuji tells lots of stories about himself, but what they all seem to have in common is that he went to Le Cordon Bleu and worked at a number of non-kosher restaurants before he got his own place. I'm going to go with Katsuji's making excuses for himself over Katsuji has never cooked liver professionally.

[Kromm]

LCK has always bothered me, that Tom is the deciding judge. And only him. He can pick whoever he wants to let back in the game. Have years of playing it straight, the right way (with anyone who loses, leaving, and whoever wins, wins) really bothered Tom & Co. so badly that they had to invent all these "twists"?

The good news is that the lame boot of Douggie can at least be reversed.

[Azgard12]

I watched every season of Top Chef until they introduced "Redemption Island" and stopped watching after Kristen's season when I realized it wasn't just a one or two and done.  It really ruined the show for me.

 

It's generally disliked when these reality shows bring back contestants.  I know when Survivor does it, it annoys me...  

 

However, I kind of think on these talent competitions, it's necessary (to a degree).  On Top Chef, MasterChef, Project Runway, ect... the judges generally adopt the idea that contestants have to stand up each week and be judged on that week alone.  I think were there not the chance for people to have that second shot, we'd see more unfortunate situations.

 

I suppose I'd rather see a good chef be given a second chance than someone who always floats along make it to the end.  Everyone has a bad day in these talent-competitions.

 

I don't think it works in more of the gamey things like Survivor or Big Brother, though.  People are voted out for a reason.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Azgard12

[biakbiak]

Katsuji said that he keeps a kosher kitchen in his restaurant, and liver is very difficult to handle in a kosher manner. I had never heard that before, but it seems to be true:

Katsuji never said he keeps a kosher kitchen, just that he runs a Mexican kosher restaurant which given how he went out of his way to use pork and or shellfish in nearly every dish I have my doubts about how committed he is to it other than a trendy/cute name.

Edited January 9, 2015 by biakbiak

[WearyTraveler]

Glad to read that Doug is still kicking.

 

I can't watch LCK because I'm outside the US and the Bravo site doesn't allow foreign IPs to watch.  I'd appreciate it if someone in this thread would post a short summary of the LCK episodes for those of us who follow the show from abroad.  Or if someone knows of a way to watch LCK and he/she would PM me that would be even better.

[GaT]

When did cooking a steak medium become overcooking it? 

 

Interesting that they decided to put what everyone said on the screen all of a sudden, I guess people have been having problems hearing what was said? I've never had any problem with it.

 

I'm confused about how Doug is going to go to Mexico if he still has one more challenge to win before he's back in the main competition, is the last LCK happening in Mexico?

[Lizzing]

WearyTraveler, here's what happened last night on LCK: It was a heads up challenge between Adam and Doug.  The winner will move on the the last LCK in Mexico.  The challenge was to cook a dish, in 30 minutes, with Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (liquid or the packets) and vegetables from a standard crudite platter (basic Walmart crudite prepackaged level shit too...tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery sticks, carrots...nothing exciting, just probably fresher).  They could use other spices and proteins from the pantry.

 

Adam took his inspiration from people who dip pizza crusts in ranch dressing, so he made an Italian style crepe (didn't quite catch the name of it, surely someone can add, but like a crepe manicotti) filled with mascarpone, ricotta, parm, some ranch dressing, and vegetables.  He topped it with some kind of raisin deal.  Doug made a steak and overcooked it, so he trashed it and seared pork loin medallions, dusted with the ranch dressing packet stuff, on the flattop with 3 minutes left.  It was paired with a roasted red pepper/ranch sauce, some quick pickled vegetables, and seared cauliflower.

 

Doug won, despite the f'ed up steak.  He goes to Mexico to, apparently...the rules aren't 100% clear...to do a last LCK with whomever is knocked out in the last Boston based round.

 

And I'm left shaking my head that talented chefs had to use processed ranch dressing and act like it was the cat's pajamas. 

[cooksdelight]

Last season, the winner of LCK showed up in Hawaii to compete with the three who were selected to be there. They had no idea if it was going to be Louis or the other guy. But, I think I heard Padma say that only two would advance to Mexico. They may or may not let them know Doug is going too, might leave it as a surprise when they get there.

[Bastet]

When did cooking a steak medium become overcooking it?

 

I consider any steak done over medium-rare overcooked. 

[Uncle Benzene]

I consider any steak done over medium-rare overcooked. 

 

Somewhere, a TWoP mod's head just exploded.

[Bastet]

That went over my head.

 

But what I mean is this: If someone ordered a steak medium, and it was served that way, then it's fine.  But - aside from my personal preference - in any cooking competition or instruction I have ever watched, the standard for steak is medium rare.  So if Doug cooked his steak to medium, in a do or die competition in which Tom is the judge, I think tossing it and moving on to Plan B was a smart move.  Overcooked protein is the kiss of death on this show.

[cooksdelight]

Or undercooked, as Doug proved with the fois gras. I hope he can get his head together before Mexico or he's doomed.

[Julia]

Somewhere, a TWoP mod's head just exploded.

That went over my head.

There were arguments. Long, long arguments. It became one of the dizzying array of things you weren't allowed to discuss on TWOP, especially on fora associated with NBCU.

[FormerMod-a1]

Well, it derailed that particular thread for dozens of pages over at least a couple of weeks.  It was insane how much people argued over steak and would not let it go, imo.  And as far as I know it was only banned in that thread, not elsewhere.  (Masterchef, fyi - and it was a single thread show, didn't have a full forum so it made any other talk very difficult).  That said, I wasn't a mod there and I didn't report it, I just stopped reading that thread for a while.  

 

Anyway...  I'm glad Doug has made it this far.