S13.E03: Spines And Vines

[Browncoat]

Perhaps bullied was too strong a word for the team of Frances and whats-his-name, but my point remains that she had plenty of chances to cook her own food, and still blew it while complaining that she didn't get a chance to cook her own food.

[Crucial]

Still cannot wait for Grayson and Man Bun to go home.  I Just need to add Angelina to that list too.  She's been in the bottom every time hasn't she?  And her comment the bitch beat her again and I immediately thought it's not like you are top dog in this competition - you've been on the bottom the whole time so most chefs (if not all) can probably beat you.  I wish Francis would have stayed instead of Angelina. 

[RCharter]

Still cannot wait for Grayson and Man Bun to go home.  I Just need to add Angelina to that list too.  She's been in the bottom every time hasn't she?  And her comment the bitch beat her again and I immediately thought it's not like you are top dog in this competition - you've been on the bottom the whole time so most chefs (if not all) can probably beat you.  I wish Francis would have stayed instead of Angelina. 

LMAO, I was thinking the exact same thing when she said that.

 

She somehow thought it was an epic battle of the Titans.  It was just a matter of who made the slightly less shitty dish.

 

But Angelina always seems to talk a big game "My age says nothing, I'll let my food speak for me" and then the food is awful.  I think Tom likes her swagger, but swagger that can't be backed up by results is just pathetic.

[MissEwa]

True.  There's probably a double-standard when it comes to women sneering.

I made the original comment about giving the dish to anyone but Padma. And everyone's right - Tom would have been worse, possibly the Animal guys would have been worse. I just watched it happen and my thought was 'No! Don't give it to Padma! She'll be awful!' but it would have been bad whoever it went to. It was more a snap reaction to the way it played out than a considered position. It's not because she's a woman, but more about her overall attitude to the cheftestants sometimes (which I think comes down to insecurity about being the least qualified of all the judges, not gender).

[rozen]

Still cannot wait for Grayson and Man Bun to go home.  I Just need to add Angelina to that list too.  She's been in the bottom every time hasn't she?  And her comment the bitch beat her again and I immediately thought it's not like you are top dog in this competition - you've been on the bottom the whole time so most chefs (if not all) can probably beat you.  I wish Francis would have stayed instead of Angelina. 

 

I dunno, I couldn't get that mad because Angelina's main issues (imho) appear to be A) not moderating herself for the camera and B) not having the mouthy fire power to deal with someone like Giselle. I was fairly irritated with Giselle just listening to her snide talking heads about Angelina during the quickfire, and her stupid pleased smirky face when the critics weren't happy with Angelina's dish during the main challenge. 

 

Dude, Blais can stfu with his "2 hrs is forever on Top Chef" critique. He complained every time and always looked like he'd stuck his finger in an electrical socket, no matter how much time he had.

 

Omg, Wesley is just foul on every level. Watching those people have to eat his food after watching him spit bits everywhere, wipe implements on his filthy chef's jacket, etc etc is just too much.

[carrps]

I really hate it when the eliminated cheftestants complain that they never got to cook their own food.  For the first elimination challenge (or was it the second?), they were told they could cook whatever they wanted, as long as they could feed 200 people.  Great chance to cook your own food!  Why didn't you, Frances?  And in this episode, Frances bullied her teammate (whose name escapes me) into doing Thai even though he is an Italian chef, so how did she not get to cook her own food this time?

 

Shut up Frances.  Not sorry to see you go.

Pretty much what I wanted to say. Maybe "bully" is too strong a word, but she certainly pressured him. "Oh, nos. Italian? I can't do THAT."  I LOL'd when she lost to him. Hoist on her own Thai petard. She hasn't impressed me as that strong a cook, so I won't miss her.

 

Pig Man? Urgh. Hope he's gone soon. Those fiddly stencils were a surprise from him, of all people. I'd prefer decent hygiene to lame stencils any day.

 

For some reason, Karen reminds me of Toni Collette.

 

And, yeah, La Super Rica is awesome. It was also Julia Child's fav Mexican place, so that's part of the reason it's become such a foodie Mecca.

[Julia]

Dude, Blais can stfu with his "2 hrs is forever on Top Chef" critique. He complained every time and always looked like he'd stuck his finger in an electrical socket, no matter how much time he had.

Well, Blais can stfu on general principle, but here, yeah, I don't really need to hear you pontificate about how hard it is to win the prize you were handed on a plate. Especially once I've watched you put on the same exaggerated pouty face of intense laserlike focus for the culinary minstrel shows on TFN.

[susannot]

Well, Blais can stfu on general principle, but here, yeah, I don't really need to hear you pontificate about how hard it is to win the prize you were handed on a plate. Especially once I've watched you put on the same exaggerated pouty face of intense laserlike focus for the culinary minstrel shows on TFN.

Yeah, I'm still bitter about All-stars.  As I said at the time on TWOP, the whole season was edited as a redemption arc for Richard. The "redemption" was for the indignity of losing to an icky girl.

 

Back OT, I'm watching Philip ("Manbun") on Guy's Grocery Games.  It is a tournament of champions so Philip has already won once.  Normally I loathe Guy Fieri shows, but interested to see what Philip does.  And of course who would show up as a judge but Blais.

Edited December 14, 2015 by susannot

[Julia]

Yeah, I'm still bitter about All-stars.  As I said at the time on TWOP, the whole season was edited as a redemption arc for Richard. The "redemption" was for the indignity of losing to an icky girl.

Who won because he 'lost his focus.' Which is undoubtedly why she runs two wildly-popular restaurants in a hot market and he franchises hamburger concepts and participates in activities based on the culinary authority of Guy Ferry, more successful reality construct.

[novhappy]

I thougt Messy Wesley was foolish for whipping out his stencils this early in the game. The judges are only going to be impressed by them once. I would have saved them for a challenge where plating was a more major part of the challenge. But he couldn't wait to use them and screwed it up. He knew his food was bad. And the stencils didn't make up for it of course so he wasted them. Messy, impetuous Wesley

"Your food utterly sucked but I love your art, dude!" -said Tom Colichio never

Edited December 14, 2015 by novhappy

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Madeline, OTOH, is the little girl with the two rows of kids and the nun, so also french ;)

Not quite on topic but food-related - Ludwig Bemelmans, the author of the Madeline books, spent much of his youth working in his uncle's hotel kitchen. His family sent him there when he got into teenage hijinks that resulted in him being thrown out of a few different schools  and  of course it wasn't a glamor job back in those days.  He wrote a wonderful book about his experiences called Hotel Bemelmans (the current Vintage edition of it has an intro by Anthony Bourdain, one of the book's biggest fans).  By the way, Mr. Bemelmans' wife's name was - Madeline.

[Julia]

Not quite on topic but food-related - Ludwig Bemelmans, the author of the Madeline books, spent much of his youth working in his uncle's hotel kitchen. His family sent him there when he got into teenage hijinks that resulted in him being thrown out of a few different schools  and  of course it wasn't a glamor job back in those days.  He wrote a wonderful book about his experiences called Hotel Bemelmans (the current Vintage edition of it has an intro by Anthony Bourdain, one of the book's biggest fans).  By the way, Mr. Bemelmans' wife's name was - Madeline.

I'm embarrassed to say I've never been there, but there's a bar at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan he painted the murals for. Someday I want to be a terrible tourist and go. And yes, Madeline is on the walls.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Julia

[susannot]

Philip won!  I was impressed with his dishes.

Edited December 14, 2015 by susannot

[some1105]

Philip lost.  He wasn't in the top 3 for the Quickfire, and he lost in his head to head.  He was in the middle (his dish was good enough to keep him out of the bottom), though, and his dish was well-received.

 

Also, while I don't necessarily quibble with Frances going home, she said she doesn't specialize in Thai food.  She wanted to go some kind of Asian, which is in her wheelhouse, and characterized Thai as "meeting half way" to Italian from what she usually does.  Her competitor, I thought reasonably, saw Thai as nowhere near "halfway", but Asian cuisine isn't monolithic, and Thai doesn't seem to have been her main focus.  I think the closest she came to cooking what she would have considered "her" food was the bitter melon soup at the fakey fake food festival in the first episode.

Edited December 14, 2015 by some1105

[Lamb18]

Yeah, I'm still bitter about All-stars.  As I said at the time on TWOP, the whole season was edited as a redemption arc for Richard. The "redemption" was for the indignity of losing to an icky girl.

 

Back OT, I'm watching Philip ("Manbun") on Guy's Grocery Games.  It is a tournament of champions so Philip has already won once.  Normally I loathe Guy Fieri shows, but interested to see what Philip does.  And of course who would show up as a judge but Blais.

It was weird to see Phillip and Blais on Thursday night, then see them again on Sunday on Guy's Grocery Games.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Lamb18

[Wings]

It was weird to see Phillip and Blais on Thursday night, then see them again on Sunday on Guy's Grocery Games.

 

I watched that last night, too.  GGG really brought to light how talented Phillip really is.  I haven't paid close attention to what he has done here other than the vegan fiasco.  I think he could go far. 

Edited December 14, 2015 by wings707

[Julia]

I watched that last night, too.  GGG really brought to light how talented Phillip really is.  I haven't paid close attention to what he has done here other than the vegan fiasco.  I think he could go far.

The weird thing is, the menu in his vegan restaurant looks really good.

Is it weird, do you think, for Blais to be judging someone he's already voted a win to elsewhere/who his new home, TFN, has given multiple appearances to?

Edited December 14, 2015 by Julia

[mlp]

GGG really brought to light how talented Phillip really is.

 

Agreed.  I had seen him three times on FN shows before Top Chef and liked him every time.  He has an open smile and seems like a nice guy to me.  I think he signed up for Top Chef both to compete and to publicize his restaurants and is just trying too hard.  I don't hold the "manbun" against him either.  He has really long hair and he keeps it tied back when he's cooking.  Some others should do the same.

[FineWashables]

Regarding the beard net controversy:  Put on the beard nets, please, and put on hair nets while you're at it.  Am I the only viewer who gets totally grossed out watching Guy Fieri's big rings and sausage fingers and Giada's fingernails squeezing the food they're preparing? Personally, I wear latex gloves at home because it's raw food.

 

I think Philip is a tool (I don't need a plan! I'm just going to make yummy food!) but having said that, I thought that it made senses for him to make contact with the seafood suppliers in his area, especially since these suppliers are good enough to be showcased on Top Chef. 

 

Frances seems like she'd be fun to hang out with but she's disorganized, and I'm not all that surprised she was eliminated early. 

 

I have to confess: I've never hated Richard Blais, and I don't really hate Mike Isabella either. I mean, I wouldn't want to date either of them, but otherwise, their chef egos just don't bother me for some reason.

[Wings]

The weird thing is, the menu in his vegan restaurant looks really good.

Is it weird, do you think, for Blais to be judging someone he's already voted a win to elsewhere/who his new home, TFN, has given multiple appearances to?

 

I think all the judges do really focus on the food.  They do that with each other and themselves.   I trust Blaise to be fair.   He has a reputation to uphold, as well. 

 

I like men in long hair and like a man bun, too.  You cannot complain about a man bun and at the same time criticize others who don't tie their hair back!  LOL!  

[Julia]

I have to confess: I've never hated Richard Blais, and I don't really hate Mike Isabella either. I mean, I wouldn't want to date either of them, but otherwise, their chef egos just don't bother me for some reason.

Blais' ego doesn't bother me. His constant humblebragging bothers me, along with the way he kisses up to the judges and kicks down at the contestants. He's like Uriah Heep as a chef. If he owned his constant attention whoring and how magnificent he clearly thinks he is, he wouldn't bug me nearly as much.

[RCharter]

 

I think all the judges do really focus on the food.  They do that with each other and themselves.   I trust Blaise to be fair.   He has a reputation to uphold, as well. 

 

I like men in long hair and like a man bun, too.  You cannot complain about a man bun and at the same time criticize others who don't tie their hair back!  LOL!  

its rare I agree with long hair on a man, but I was watching season 2 of TC Canada and there is a chef named Susur Lee.  He has long hair and it really works for him.  But he is the exception that proves my personal rule.  He also doesn't seem like a man-bun kinda guy.  Maybe I just watched too much Mortal Kombat as a child, but I think long hair works for him.

[Wings]

its rare I agree with long hair on a man, but I was watching season 2 of TC Canada and there is a chef named Susur Lee.  He has long hair and it really works for him.  But he is the exception that proves my personal rule.  He also doesn't seem like a man-bun kinda guy.  Maybe I just watched too much Mortal Kombat as a child, but I think long hair works for him.

 

 

Yes, I watch that too.  I was part of the 60's that sported long hair on both men and women,  so it is like home to me.  

 

ETA: It is Masterchef Canada I watch.  I could not remember this guy, no wonder.  I will add Top Chef Canada to my list.  

Edited December 14, 2015 by wings707

[Kromm]

I think all the judges do really focus on the food.  They do that with each other and themselves.   I trust Blaise to be fair.   He has a reputation to uphold, as well. 

 

I like men in long hair and like a man bun, too.  You cannot complain about a man bun and at the same time criticize others who don't tie their hair back!  LOL!

Here's the thing. I strongly believe in the right to self-expression and that includes picking a hairstyle. That said, when you choose a job that includes hygienic requirements at it's core, there's a good argument that "get a haircut!" then becomes a more reasonable response than it might yelled at any random person in another field.

True, the manbun is a solution too, but it IS somewhat of an imperfect one. It would be more convincing that he really was going for self-expression if we saw him wear his hair un-man-bunned during the non-cooking parts of the show. Instead, the manbun seems to just be a constant, and while opinions will differ, I don't think it's unfair to think it's a fairly ugly style.

[Wings]

The man bun will catch more falling hair in the elastic that holds it than a shorter cut, you know.  ;>)

[RCharter]

Yes, I watch that too.  I was part of the 60's that sported long hair on both men and women,  so it is like home to me.  

 

ETA: It is Masterchef Canada I watch.  I could not remember this guy, no wonder.  I will add Top Chef Canada to my list.  

He was a guest judge....sorry, I should have been more clear.  Maybe its because his hair looks so tidy, or maybe because he just has such beautiful hair.  But it works for him.

[Julia]

He was a guest judge....sorry, I should have been more clear.  Maybe its because his hair looks so tidy, or maybe because he just has such beautiful hair.  But it works for him.

Susur Lee was also a contestant on Top Chef Masters. He and Rick Moonen were runners up to Marcus Samuelsson.

[RCharter]

Susur Lee was also a contestant on Top Chef Masters. He and Rick Moonen were runners up to Marcus Samuelsson.

OK, I felt like I had seen the guy before in passing!  Is Marcus Samuelsson the one who does airline food for Delta?

[Julia]

OK, I felt like I had seen the guy before in passing!  Is Marcus Samuelsson the one who does airline food for Delta?

Wow, I haven't heard that. He's an swedish chef of ethiopian descent who got three stars for his first NY chef job from the NYT as a fetus and since has opened a restaurant in Harlem and cooked for the Obamas kind of a lot. He and his wife were on the Ethiopia episode of Anthony Bourdain's current show.

[RCharter]

Wow, I haven't heard that. He's an swedish chef of ethiopian descent who got three stars for his first NY chef job from the NYT as a fetus and since has opened a restaurant in Harlem and cooked for the Obamas kind of a lot. He and his wife were on the Ethiopia episode of Anthony Bourdain's current show.

I think its the same guy.  I remember taking a Delta or US Airways flight and thinking "I'm sure this guy is a great chef, but I'm not paying $15 for a sandwich he may or may not have designed"

 

Oops, my bad, turns out it was American Airlines

https://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/newsroom/fp_chefs.jsp?v_locale=en_US&v_mobileUAFlag=AA

[biakbiak]

The weird thing is, the menu in his vegan restaurant looks really good.Is it weird, do you think, for Blais to be judging someone he's already voted a win to elsewhere/who his new home, TFN, has given multiple appearances to?

Emeril is also a judge this season and Isaac worked for him for almost a decade which I would think is much more a conflict of interest.

[Lizzing]

The weird thing is, the menu in his vegan restaurant looks really good.

Is it weird, do you think, for Blais to be judging someone he's already voted a win to elsewhere/who his new home, TFN, has given multiple appearances to?

I don't think it's necessarily weird for Blais to judge Phillip on TC & GGG, but what I do think is weird is that it isn't disclosed on either show.  Yeah, Emeril and Isaac worked together, but Emeril was straight up about it, as was the Food & Wine woman about the guy who was on the cover of her magazine.  And I get that TFN and Bravo are different networks and don't want to plug each other's shows, but Blais could say something like, "I've met Phillip on several occasions previously and had his food" on either show.  And, to be fair, maybe it is said, just not on camera.  Given that Blais, Isabella, and so many other TC folks wind up on TFN, Bravo & TFN have to know that the viewership is going to overlap and we'll all be wondering why there wasn't a cursory nod to the prior relationship.

 

That said, the 2 things I took away from GGG about Phillip that made me like him better are that his restaurants are self funded (no outside investors) and he described his wife, not as the "actress/model" as on TC, but as the pastry chef for both his restaurants and credited her with the panna cotta recipe he used to win the final round.  We all can talk editing choices for days, but Bravo/ME picking "actress/model" out of a description of his wife, and leaving out any allusions to her competency in the kitchen, kinda makes me feel a bit more played on the hipster doofus edit Phillip's gotten thusfar.

[tenativelyyours]

^

Manbun's face ike some Joel Osteen bookcover leering out over the sidewalk and this being his third tv show run keeps me fully in him being the hipster doofus. 

[Bugfrey Von]

OMG, Padma. Shut the fuck up. What an asshole. She had a mean mug on her the entire damn episode. Did someone not complement her on her outfit or something? Richard Blais really needs to take a seat. He reminds me of the chicken hawk from the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons.

I am always surprised that there is room at the table with Tom Colicchio's ego taking up THE ENTIRE ROOM. For fuck sake, smile. Every time that he eats anything you think he was eating a big steaming turd. Any complement he gives sounds strained and disingenuous.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Bugfrey Von

[RCharter]

OMG, Padma. Shut the fuck up. What an asshole. She had a mean mug on her the entire damn episode. Did someone not complement her on her outfit or something? Richard Blais really needs to take a seat. He reminds me of the chicken hawk from the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons.

I am always surprised that there is room at the table with Tom Colicchio's ego taking up THE ENTIRE ROOM. For fuck sake, smile. Every time that he eats anything you think he was eating a big steaming turd. Any complement he gives sounds strained and disingenuous.

I was watching TC Canada the other day and I have to say that there is such a difference in the host.  She is beautiful, but she is so much more jovial and seems happy.  Her jokes are funny and she smiles.  Its such a difference from Padma.  But I think Padma is just mean to cover up the fact that she isn't as knowledgeable as the rest of the judges.

[Sandiscot]

 

Tom has been much worse and even Eric Ripert has been sneery when he was missing an element.

 

True, but I can easily excuse them because they both send out complete platefuls of food every night in their extremely successful restaurants. Whereas Padma.......eats? And sulks.

[Lura]

What's with this show???  Padma was in a sour mood again, just as she was in the last episode, and Frances went home -- only one of the nicest, most interesting contestants they had.  Leave it to Mr. CollEGO.  I was hoping they'd get rid of that sloppy, messy guy who stood in his own garbage to cook.  AAAGH!  Get him out of there!  Does Padma have a brand new attitude, or is it my imagination?  Dell hasn't filed another lawsuit against her, has he?

[Red Bridey]

If Marcus Samuelsson helped create new menus for American Airlines, then thank you very much.  I flew AA to and from Scotland and the meals they served were pretty damn good for airline food.  They had a Thai chicken dish that I regretted not taking because it was very tasty.  I had a chicken and pasta which was better than average. 

[innocuouspuff]

Also, while I don't necessarily quibble with Frances going home, she said she doesn't specialize in Thai food. She wanted to go some kind of Asian, which is in her wheelhouse, and characterized Thai as "meeting half way" to Italian from what she usually does.

Lol. Both cuisines involve noodles and basil, I guess? Frances is so funny, will miss her.

[TheProfitFan]

That said, I am also bothered by most cooking shows, including U.S. and British ones, where the contestants hair is not pulled back.  For all the concern Padma et. al have about tasting spoons etc., one would think they would just require proper kitchen hair hygiene.    

 

 

Regarding the beard net controversy:  Put on the beard nets, please, and put on hair nets while you're at it.  Am I the only viewer who gets totally grossed out watching Guy Fieri's big rings and sausage fingers and Giada's fingernails squeezing the food they're preparing? Personally, I wear latex gloves at home because it's raw food.

 

 

 

    Thank you, cover that shit up and keep it moving! At least Costco's ass does that.

 

Manbun and his actions continue to annoy me. Just stop already.

 

 

Manbun, you guys need to stop LMAO. He reminds me more of Stephen (first season)

[carrps]

its rare I agree with long hair on a man, but I was watching season 2 of TC Canada and there is a chef named Susur Lee.  He has long hair and it really works for him.  But he is the exception that proves my personal rule.  He also doesn't seem like a man-bun kinda guy.  Maybe I just watched too much Mortal Kombat as a child, but I think long hair works for him.

My contractor was a Vietnamese guy who was like a pocket Susur Lee. His hair was gorgeous. And he usually wore a low pontail, not a bun.

[RCharter]

My contractor was a Vietnamese guy who was like a pocket Susur Lee. His hair was gorgeous. And he usually wore a low pontail, not a bun.

It seems so sad to constrain such beautiful hair.  Because Susur Lee's hair is not just pretty, like you said, its gorgeous...