S13.E05: Big Gay Wedding

[biakbiak]

Actually Chrissy writes a food blog sodelushious. http://sodelushious.com/ Shehas also appeared quite a few times on The Cooking Channel and judges a food show somewhere.If anyone is interested I'll find it.

 

The most interesting thing about Chrissy was adorable Kwame's reaction to her.  Poor guy could hardly get words to come out of his mouth while speaking to her.I was really worried that he was going to actually faint from the wacky stew of hormones she was causing.

She also has a cookbook coming out next month, when they filmed this they must not have had a release date because I was surprised they didn't mention it. She also is actually good friends with Padma so the most shocking thing to me is that she hasn't been on before.

[Calamity Jane]

I still haven't figured out this season yet. The contestants. It's not good enough for me to pay closer attention and usually by this point I have more of a grasp on names, faces, and personalities. So far I have Grayson (who's gone) and manbun.  I even tried rewatching the last one before the new one and it didn't help.

I know!  At the beginning I almost thought there were some new chefs added in because I absolutely had no recollection of a bunch of them.  The sad part is that most of those seem to be doing quite well; it's the bottom-of-the-pile ones I remember best.

Anyone catch the subtle shade Philip threw at Kwame? It was when they were serving the judges, Gail remarked that Kwame had worked on two sauces, to which Philip replied, "Yeah, a saucier in Top Chef." 

Just nasty.

Hmmmm - wonder if that's part of why they chose Kwame as the winner? Smackdown.

[Shibori]

Are you allowed to bring your own cutlery and just start chowing down on stone fruit in the produce section at Whole Foods?

[RCharter]

Are you allowed to bring your own cutlery and just start chowing down on stone fruit in the produce section at Whole Foods?

I feel like Whole Foods would be the sort of place where you could get away with that.  I feel like I was either in a Gelsons or a Whole Foods and I was wandering around trying to find the biggest and tastiest Pink Lady apple and some employee came over and actually cut me slices of what he thought would be a good apple. He was right, and so I asked him to pick me a few more since my method of "squeeze, squeeze, pass" may do more harm than good. I feel like my local Ralphs would take a dim view, but these high end places seem okay with it.

[Maysie]

I'm another one who doesn't get the hotness of Chrissy Teigen. I mean, she's far from ugly, but I don't get what all the fuss is about. But I'm not in her target demographic, so whatever. The fact that she writes a food blog kind of makes that whole giggly, jiggly, "did you do it"-innuendo driven shtick even more annoying for me. But yeah, Kwame's reaction was kinda sweet.

 

I feel like if/when Wesley gets the boot, he'll be sad but I sense that he's actually gaining a lot from his experience. He's one that would be an interesting return because I sense that there are some scales falling off his eyes and that's so, so refreshing, especially compared to Man Bun and Jason. And though I haven't liked Man Bun I have to say I'm glad it was Giselle that left. Part of that is because I felt like she earned it (Gail put it best: it sent a message you can just coast your way through) and partly because I bet Man Bun's presence is going to drive Jason nuts. Because after this episode, I hate Jason.

 

I don't have anything to add to the discussion about how/why he felt the need to interject himself into that mess at the judges table (which really, is one of the most uncomfortable things I've watched on reality tv in a while. The other cheftestants looked hella uncomfortable.). I will say this: Man Bun owned his gluey mess, that he meant for it to be that way (and I agree, if that's what his vision and talent is for this particular venue, then he does need to get the boot, sooner rather than later). However, Jason showed himself to be a dick when he was admonishing Angelina for referring to his dish as dolma. Yeah, she fought back on it, but he just had to be right, he had to have the last word, and his talking head didn't help (don't tell me what my dish is!!! Shit, he had everything but the finger wag in there.). I wonder if he's super insecure (pouting over the pool party and talking about now that he won a quickfire he's shown them he has the chops to be there) or if he just likes to lord it over people. I can't get a read on him, but it doesn't matter; I don't like him. I think he's a whiny little bitch, frankly, and I'll take Man Bun's pretentiousness over that right now.

 

I've got a grip on most of the cheftestants, though guys such as Carl (really, a date milkshake??? Are you kidding? Talk about phoning it in!), Chad and the other guy that worked on the pork belly are still blending into the woodwork for me. I'm liking Pink Hair and Marjorie, as well as Isaac, Kwame and Jeremy.

 

 

Hmmmm - wonder if that's part of why they chose Kwame as the winner? Smackdown.

 

Between that and the judges table, I do wonder how much more goes into the decision beyond the food. So were the judges taking note of the fact that Kwame let his food speak for him and that Wesley gave props to Kwame for a large portion of their dish's success? What did they think of Jason inserting himself into the whole discussion? And Giselle trying to throw Man Bun under the bus? And Pink Hair admitting she made most of the dish? There was an awful lot of WTFery going on at that table; if I had been sitting there, I'd have definitely been mentally filing that stuff away for later.

[windfall]

I feel like this challenge would've gone better if Angelina and Giselle had switched places. Giselle went way overboard trying to defer to the other chef and Angelina tried to take a more ownership of the dish. Jason would've gotten Giselle allowing him to control the dish and Karen (is that her name, there are seriously too many contestants) would've had Angelina take some steps to cook the food independently.

 

This panel of judges just seems to be so fickle when it comes to judging. One day they'll be describing something as the gravest of sins and another it's not so bad when they find something different to harp about. Philip made something bad, told them that he intended it to be that way, and didn't show any sign of changing in the future. How is he still on this show?

[cee]

Kwame is my favorite, but I'm also rooting for Marjorie. Romance isn't in the cards, she stonily admits, but she's good at cooking. Yeah, Marjorie for representing regular women.

Phillip's role is a drama unto itself. He's battling to claim James Beard glory and TV fame. Will he be able to start a sentence that doesn't begin with: "my restaurant" or "my girlfriend?" Will he ever talk intelligently about ingredients and the craft of cooking?

There's a contract with Food Network on the line (I'm guessing) if he can establish himself as a food authority.

If Manbun can stay in the competition to the number 4 or 5 slot, he's clinched the deal.

[hula-la]

DVR ALERT!

Tonight's episode is supersized running from 10:00 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. Eastern.

I'm Canadian, so we only get an 1-hour episode. Our dollar is running at $0.70 to the US dollar, so I guess it's the same episode, once you factor in the exchange rate. 

[candall]

Well, apparently I need to watch this again.  I thought Giselle's step-by-step confirmations were perfectly appropriate for executing someone else's "vision."  The trouble always comes from forging ahead without a solid idea of what the originator had in mind.  In fact, during the show, I wondered why [can't remember who] was so pissy about being micro-consulted when usually any of the chefs would be thrilled to have a teammate willing to execute exactly to his own specifications.

 

So I didn't have a problem with Giselle and didn't think she was the right boot.  She has about a zillion predecessors who've had to scuff their toes in the dirt and admit they didn't contribute much more than an assist, who survived.  See, Restaurant Wars, any.

 

But I don't have a problem with Phillip either--it's amusing to me that he has this giant ego and he's always profoundly confused and crestfallen when his dish sucks.  He was so proud of his sad little potato puddle!

 

I could only gape at Chrissy Teigen during that bit of fuckery.  How long before one of those cheekbones suffers a blowout?

 

 

[snarktini]

However, Jason showed himself to be a dick when he was admonishing Angelina for referring to his dish as dolma. Yeah, she fought back on it, but he just had to be right, he had to have the last word, and his talking head didn't help (don't tell me what my dish is!!! Shit, he had everything but the finger wag in there.). 

I read that so differently! I thought he was being very smart there. The point I heard him making was the judges often come down on chefs that mis-name their dish. We've seen that happen a number of times. I remember at least one coq au vin incident -- the chef got lambasted for calling it coq au vin but making it with chicken. Tom said she should have just called it braised chicken. It's just semantics, but the judges sometimes get their britches in a twist.

 

If it wasn't technically dolmas but they claimed it was, the judges would call them on it. It's better to call it by its ingredients than use a name that's inaccurate.

Edited January 9, 2016 by snarktini

[Empress1]

Actually Chrissy writes a food blog sodelushious. http://sodelushious.com/ Shehas also appeared quite a few times on The Cooking Channel and judges a food show somewhere.If anyone is interested I'll find it.

The most interesting thing about Chrissy was adorable Kwame's reaction to her. Poor guy could hardly get words to come out of his mouth while speaking to her.I was really worried that he was going to actually faint from the wacky stew of hormones she was causing.

I stand corrected!

[awaken]

Is there some secret syndicate for the promotion of carrots sponsoring Top Chef this season?  Art Smith's lapel pin looked like a carrot with wings.  Weird.

 

So weird!  I think it's surpassed Top Carrot at this point!  There has to be major money coming in from the Carrot Board or something! In regular life, while I use carrots many times a week, I barely think of it as a "dish", usually an ingredient (my mis en place, might I say?)

 

That guy with the serial killer eyes told two different stories about his "date" night milkshake. First it was because his tonsils were removed. He changed it to wisdom teeth when he spoke to the judges. Never happened, I bet. And the "wife" is a plastic inflatable, obviously.

 

I picked up on that, too!  First it was tonsils, then wisdom teeth!!  Loved Angelina's reaction....she was like..."weirdo".  I have a feeling he had that milkshake idea up his sleeve coming in, and made up the story to fit the challenge.

 

The thing I remember most from this episode is being continually revolted by the one dude's enormous gross beard because I am sure it ends up in all of his food.

 

Ugh, so gross. I noticed that on big-beard-guy with daughters, and on Manbun- the food falling into their beards- puke.  I'm sick of seeing these beards hanging over the food with no "beard-nets" on.  

 

Also, I thought it was really funny that the bearded-dad-guy talked about the best dates being the ones with his daughters, which inspired him to make....halibut :)

Of course, ManBun can't be trying to do just regular, but delicious mashed potatoes!  Who are you talking about?  Not the same guy with a giant lifesized poster of himself  in the front of a restaurant.  That is not the guy who is trying to do something simple and delicious.  I think everyone was just lucky there wasn't dirty rocks around or some desert tumbleweed he could put into the potatoes.

 

I almost threw up because ManBun got some of those gummy disgusting potatoes stuck in his hipster beard and it looked awful.  There were bits of it on the top and it was running through the bottom.  Ugh....just ugh.

 

[ProudMary]

I haven't seen that many people get married simultaneously since the last Moonie wedding that was in the news.

That was my first thought too!

 

Anyone catch the subtle shade Philip threw at Kwame? It was when they were serving the judges, Gail remarked that Kwame had worked on two sauces, to which Philip replied, "Yeah, a saucier in Top Chef." 

Just nasty.

Wow, I didn't catch that.  He should be bowing at Kwame's feet.  Were it not for his sauce, the dish would have been a complete failure.

 

At least Giselle didn't complain that the judges' palates are too unrefined to understand or appreciate her food. She did keep whining that the other chefs didn't like her, but she didn't try to at tell us that this is because they're all threatened by her obviously superior skills.  I'm so tired of hearing those messages in exit interviews that I could puke, so I'll give her props for that. But yeah, how did she get on this show in the first place?

I predict that when ManBun goes, he'll tell the camera that the judges aren't sophisticated enough to "get" his food.  

Yes, because grilling a steak and laying it atop gloppy mashed potatoes is super sophisticated. :/  Again, it was Kwame's sauce that gave that dish whatever degree of sophistication it may have had, not anything that Philip did.  Any home cook can prepare what Philip did and probably do a better job of it.  I think he should have gone home for a total lack of creativity as well as for gluey potatoes.  But, I think your prediction of Philip's ultimate exit TH is spot on.

 

It was just confusing because it was SO unnecessary.  I understand fighting if there is a chance of going home, but Jason wasn't going home, he had immunity.  I understand fighting if someone is throwing you under the bus in front of the judges, but ManBun wasn't doing that.  I even understand speaking up if maybe you saw someone else trying to steal credit, but everyone knew that Kwame made the sauce that tasted good and that ManBun made the potatoes.

 

And I might get a personality conflict, but then why was Marjorie in on it?  

 

I could totally understand standing up for a chef that is about to be wrongly sent home for someone else's mistake too, but they straight up said that Kwame wasn't going home.  

 

Maybe they will explain it at the reunion, because I'm thinking there might be a contingent that simply doesn't like him.  

We just see the version that the editors want us to see, but I think your last sentence sums it up; I don't think he's liked by several of the other contestants and they saw an opportunity to assist his trip out the door.  They just didn't get what they were hoping for.  I did get the impression that they were all working as one big team though, so perhaps other chefs felt more comfortable speaking out in that context.

 

Well, apparently I need to watch this again.  I thought Giselle's step-by-step confirmations were perfectly appropriate for executing someone else's "vision."  The trouble always comes from forging ahead without a solid idea of what the originator had in mind.  In fact, during the show, I wondered why [can't remember who] was so pissy about being micro-consulted when usually any of the chefs would be thrilled to have a teammate willing to execute exactly to his own specifications.

 

So I didn't have a problem with Giselle and didn't think she was the right boot.  She has about a zillion predecessors who've had to scuff their toes in the dirt and admit they didn't contribute much more than an assist, who survived.  See, Restaurant Wars, any.

This is the way I saw it too.  I think perhaps Karen just doesn't play well with others.  She's had an issue with Angelina already and now Giselle.  Also, it was sort of surprising for her to stand at JT and claim that she did most of the work.  You're up there on a losing dish.  If not for Gail voicing the opinion that Giselle was just unfairly skating by, it could very well have been Karen that was PYKAG'd for a dish the judges didn't care for.

 

I read that so differently! I thought he was being very smart there. The point I heard him making was the judges often come down on chefs that mis-name their dish. We've seen that happen a number of times. I remember at least one coq au vin incident -- the chef got lambasted for calling it coq au vin but making it with chicken. Tom said she should have just called it braised chicken. It's just semantics, but the judges sometimes get their britches in a twist.

 

If it wasn't technically dolmas but they claimed it was, the judges would call them on it. It's better to call it by its ingredients than use a name that's inaccurate.

I agree with what you've said here.  I also didn't think that Jason was nasty when he said it to Angelina.  He leaned in quietly to say it to her.  She didn't seem miffed by it at the time either.   

 

 

 

I like Kwame, Jeremy and Wesley but my favorite is definitely Isaac.  He seems to be consistently good and he seems to have a great personality.  Seeing him with the date machete had me laughing!

Edited January 9, 2016 by ProudMary

[windfall]

Well, apparently I need to watch this again.  I thought Giselle's step-by-step confirmations were perfectly appropriate for executing someone else's "vision."  The trouble always comes from forging ahead without a solid idea of what the originator had in mind.  In fact, during the show, I wondered why [can't remember who] was so pissy about being micro-consulted when usually any of the chefs would be thrilled to have a teammate willing to execute exactly to his own specifications.

 

So I didn't have a problem with Giselle and didn't think she was the right boot.  She has about a zillion predecessors who've had to scuff their toes in the dirt and admit they didn't contribute much more than an assist, who survived.  See, Restaurant Wars, any.

 

But I don't have a problem with Phillip either--it's amusing to me that he has this giant ego and he's always profoundly confused and crestfallen when his dish sucks.  He was so proud of his sad little potato puddle!

 

I could only gape at Chrissy Teigen during that bit of fuckery.  How long before one of those cheekbones suffers a blowout?

I would guess that Giselle was being extra cautious about the preparation because she wasn't clicking with the cast and tried to overcompensate for them not really liking her. It was puzzling that Karen seemed to be bothered by checking everything. Usually we hear talking heads complaining about partners that went off on their own.

 

I read that so differently! I thought he was being very smart there. The point I heard him making was the judges often come down on chefs that mis-name their dish. We've seen that happen a number of times. I remember at least one coq au vin incident -- the chef got lambasted for calling it coq au vin but making it with chicken. Tom said she should have just called it braised chicken. It's just semantics, but the judges sometimes get their britches in a twist.

 

If it wasn't technically dolmas but they claimed it was, the judges would call them on it. It's better to call it by its ingredients than use a name that's inaccurate.

I totally agree with this. You just never know how picky the judges will be on any given day. Naming a dish is often more trouble than it's worth. Simply describing the ingredients and how they were prepared sidesteps any issues that may come up.

[shksabelle]

Seriously, did the carrot growers' association pay for production or something this season?

[AmandaPanda]

 

I like Kwame, Jeremy and Wesley but my favorite is definitely Isaac.  He seems to be consistently good and he seems to have a great personality.  Seeing him with the date machete had me laughing!

 

HIs joy at the date machete had me both terrified and tickled. Plus, when he was talking about how he's ordained. "I can marry you in a dark alley. I'll bring the shotgun." He has an edge of psychosis that I find delightful.

 

I didn't understand the signs for the food. I get that they were supposed to be the stages of a relationship. I just didn't understand how "For the Family" and "Bought a Station Wagon" corresponded with that food at all. Plus, it was just cheesy as hell. 

 

Philip is damn lucky that Giselle basically did nothing. I thought he should have been sent home for his godawful potatoes, but definitely agreed with the point Gail made about Giselle not really contributing much of anything. 

 

I guess carrots are the trendy new food item? I mean, I'd rather have a good carrot dish than kale or something else, so I'm cool with this development, but it just seems kind of random. Does California have the best carrots in the world or something? So many carrot-related questions.

[Riagut]

Remember Top Chef Peas? What season was that?<br />

[Lillybee]

Padma's blog is up. She talks about Sandee getting married to her gf of 20 years.

 

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-13/blogs/padma-lakshmi/padma-the-day-could-not-have-been-more-perfect

 

 

Now I am going to be a bit mean. I noticed that the usually perfect Padma had a bit of a muffin top above her pant waistline.

[windfall]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't carrots a fall vegetable? This was filmed back in late spring early summer around May-June so shouldn't there be plenty of other in season items that they could use? Or does the availability of fresh carrots year round through the importance of seasonality out the window?

[biakbiak]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't carrots a fall vegetable? This was filmed back in late spring early summer around May-June so shouldn't there be plenty of other in season items that they could use? Or does the availability of fresh carrots year round through the importance of seasonality out the window?

Because of the climate in California they are actually planted and harvested year round.

[Texasmom1970]

Other than Kwame, love him my favorite part of the episode wasn't cooking it was seeing all the happy couples!

Cookbook or not I cannot take Chrissy as a food authority. To me all I think of is her constantly going out half dressed and telling the entire world she never wears underwear. Information I do not need thank you. She probably wouldn't be on anyones radar if she had not married John Legend.

Lawn chair yoga now there is an exercise plan I can stick to!

[biakbiak]

Other than Kwame, love him my favorite part of the episode wasn't cooking it was seeing all the happy couples!

Cookbook or not I cannot take Chrissy as a food authority. To me all I think of is her constantly going out half dressed and telling the entire world she never wears underwear. Information I do not need thank you. She probably wouldn't be on anyones radar if she had not married John Legend.

Lawn chair yoga now there is an exercise plan I can stick to!

Don't think anyone was suggesting that she is a food authority, hardly a requirement to be a judge on the show, just people pointing out that she has been connected to food and that she had a lot of followers before she married John.

[RCharter]

HIs joy at the date machete had me both terrified and tickled. Plus, when he was talking about how he's ordained. "I can marry you in a dark alley. I'll bring the shotgun." He has an edge of psychosis that I find delightful.

 

I didn't understand the signs for the food. I get that they were supposed to be the stages of a relationship. I just didn't understand how "For the Family" and "Bought a Station Wagon" corresponded with that food at all. Plus, it was just cheesy as hell. 

 

Philip is damn lucky that Giselle basically did nothing. I thought he should have been sent home for his godawful potatoes, but definitely agreed with the point Gail made about Giselle not really contributing much of anything. 

 

I guess carrots are the trendy new food item? I mean, I'd rather have a good carrot dish than kale or something else, so I'm cool with this development, but it just seems kind of random. Does California have the best carrots in the world or something? So many carrot-related questions.

It was cheesy as hell.  I hate gimmicks, just make delicious food and stop trying to be cute.  Its not going to make your food taste any better.  And how do you know everyone wants the same things out of marriage.  Maybe not everyone wants a station wagon and a house in the burbs.....you don't know.

 

I think Issac is funny too, it wouldn't work with a lot of people, but it works for him.

 

I hate carrots :(

 

 

Padma's blog is up. She talks about Sandee getting married to her gf of 20 years.

 

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-13/blogs/padma-lakshmi/padma-the-day-could-not-have-been-more-perfect

 

 

Now I am going to be a bit mean. I noticed that the usually perfect Padma had a bit of a muffin top above her pant waistline.

I noticed that too, I think the vest was a smidge too tight, she may have had it made just for her and gained a few pounds.  Poor Padma, its hard being beautiful....

 

 

Other than Kwame, love him my favorite part of the episode wasn't cooking it was seeing all the happy couples!

Cookbook or not I cannot take Chrissy as a food authority. To me all I think of is her constantly going out half dressed and telling the entire world she never wears underwear. Information I do not need thank you. She probably wouldn't be on anyones radar if she had not married John Legend.

Lawn chair yoga now there is an exercise plan I can stick to!

Chrissy T seems like one of those girls that is like "tee hee, I like eating fatty and crappy food, but luckily I have great genes....see I'm just like you, I like to eat, but I can stay beautiful."  Those sorts of girls annoy the snot out of me.  No, you are not just like me, I'm not lucky enough to have perfect genes to be able to eat whatever I want and stay thin.  Padma doesn't annoy me because I've heard she is constantly working out on set so at least she has to put some effort into staying slim.

 

And I also get annoyed when people like her try to sell themselves as some great food authority.  I can write a food blog too, it would be called "look at me, I like delicious food" but its not going to mean I know any more about food than anyone else.  Since when did blogging make people an expert on things?  I noticed this on Project Runway too, suddenly guest judges are "fashion bloggers."  WTF?  At least with someone like Rob G. (the football player) he knew he wasn't an expert and embraced that he was just a common person eating food.  Same for a lot of the celebrity judges.  But she strikes me as one of those people who is famous for being famous.

[Lillybee]

Crissy T reminds me of Katie Lee, people who are famous for who they married;

[snarktini]

Crissy T reminds me of Katie Lee, people who are famous for who they married;

 

Do you mean Kathy Lee?

[biakbiak]

Do you mean Kathy Lee?

Most likely she meant Katie Lee, the host of the first season of Top Chef, who at the time was married to Billy Joel. Though she is still working long after their divorce.

[kitten59]

Every time I see Chrissy I am reminded of a Pekingnese.

[RCharter]

Every time I see Chrissy I am reminded of a Pekingnese.

You are so wrong for that, but now that you said it, I can't unsee it :)

[Lassus]

ManBun's problem is the same problem that IMO, various chefs have had on the show.  He just can't do anything without some sort of gimmick to it.  It couldn't just be mashed potatoes....which might have been nice if they were creamy, delicious and mashed well.  He had to put them in a cannister and pulverize them and make them gummy and do all sorts of stuff.

 

As much as I'm sure I would have hated Hipster Mashed Potatoes' hipster mashed potatoes, it is Top Chef after all.  I can't get on him too much for wanting to try something different.  The concept seemed worthy, the execution just sucked.

[RCharter]

As much as I'm sure I would have hated Hipster Mashed Potatoes' hipster mashed potatoes, it is Top Chef after all.  I can't get on him too much for wanting to try something different.  The concept seemed worthy, the execution just sucked.

I think its cool to try something different, but to me, and just to me, there is a time and a place for all of that.  Gummied mashed potatoes?  with a bit of steak on top? To me, that does not sound delicious.  I know there have been things the chefs have done with unique or cutting edge techniques that sounded absolutely delicious. Gummy fruit sounds tasty....gummy mashed potatoes?  I don't know......

[elzin]

I have learned to let it go when "regular" people call mascarpone "marscapone," but I will never accept it in professional chefs. 

 

I was thinking about this. I never noticed how I said it, if I even said it at all, but I thought the mas was right. Usually I'm good at pronouncing Italian words so I'm thinking I never saw it written and just heard it. Those of us from the Northeast US (excluding VT) drop our Rs like mad so there are some words I legit don't know how to spell because of that. So sometimes when we lose our accents we add the R where it doesn't belong thinking it goes there. I'm thinking it's an accent thing, not an ignorance thing.

 

That part of your car? The alternator? Until a couple years ago I thought it was altenator, despite working at a parts store for a while just because of the dropped R thing.

[stillshimpy]

Well, I'm willing to grant that Chrissy Teigan is likely quite the hot ticket, even if I'm not the audience for her.  I can appreciate female beauty though and Padma was smoking hot in her finger-wave-faux-bob.   I actually sort of like Chrissy Teigan though.  I like sunny people, I just do.  That said?  Dear Padma and Chrissy: Sticky is not synonymous with sexy.  No seriously, it's not.  I submit to you that sticky for many people is the antithesis of sexy.  

 

I didn't mind that the guy with the date-shake changed his story from tonsils to wisdom teeth, he may have just misspoke the first time, but more to the point:  I'm a happily married woman who dated a fair amount as an adult and if you asked me for a memorable date story not one of them would legitimately involve dates.  Or really food for that matter.  So poetic license to them all, I say, wax lyrical, make stuff up.  If people want a story with their food, fine, get fictional, I don't mind. I like dates and if you told me to come up with a date story that could be related to the fruit dates?  Yeah here's what my expression would look like *                  *  and then I'd make something the hell up if it was a pressing matter, because none of my date stories have diddly over squat to do with the fruit. 

 

Moving on.  

 

Oh Phillip.  Dude, cease and desist.  Just like the word sticky is not sexy, the word gummy has no relationship to appetizing.  Also, here's a tip: if you set out to make gummy potatoes, your approach is flawed and you're making them wrong.  It's that simple.  

 

 

 

Whether or not ManBun described it as mashed potato sauce or mashed potatoes it was a total failure and he was getting rightfully dinged for it.  So why did that guy have to interject?  ManBun wasn't trying to blame Kwame for the gummy potatoes, or at least I don't think that was where he was going with it.

 

I think Jason just didn't appreciate Phillip being sort of a twerp about Kwame's contribution, which was the only saving grace in the dish.  Kwame is clearly well liked, and for good reason, he's helpful to other chefs, supportive of fellow contestants and he's got the culinary goods too.  So pleasant, helpful and talented tends to be a popular combination.  Phillip was confronted with the "dude, yuck what the hell were you thinking?"  and rather than add up the simple math to: Own your failure, mea culpa like a madman and you will get out of this, because your beef was cooked correctly and the vegetable dish was undercooked AND under-seasoned.  

 

But he didn't get the "gracefully accept your error" memo, and dug in on what was an awful dish and worse, was kind of roping in everyone around him by putting it forth as if everyone in there had signed off on Potato Glop: the Vitamix Years.   So I understood why Jason stuck his oar in.  Phillip refusing to own his failure is his choice, implying that everyone else thought that wrongheaded "Seriously? You fucked up potatoes?  Housewives everywhere stared in horror as you heaved them into a Vitamix and you're a trained professional" notion. 

 

I actually like Art Smith just fine.  It was fun to see him here and he so clearly loves his husband.  All gripes about food aside, I loved the episode and a couple of the people getting married, were very clearly incredibly moved by it all.   For people who waited so long to be married, in many instances, I can completely understand why they chose a ceremony that would literally have an audience of millions to share in their joy. 

 

And I liked Art Smith even more for making sure that they'd all have a good cake to go along with that day. 

 

ETA: Oh, I completely forgot about Giselle (very telling, I suppose).  She abdicated all responsibility for the dish's composition and tried to ride that to being spared in elimination.   I was glad that it didn't work out for her because if you want to be a sous chef, go work as one.  If you want to compete for a winning position as a chef?  Bring something of your own to the table.  Also, by the time she was shooting down Wesley's attempts to actually help her scattered brain, the writing was on the wall:  not only could she not make up her own mind, she's the kind of dithering neurotic who can't let someone else do it for her, until it's crunch time.  Then she was all about the "I'll do whatever you tell me too."  

 

I'm willing to buy that she is actually a super nice human being.  She managed not to rip Angelina's face off on two separate occasions when she really deserved it (in fact, multiple people are being very patient with her) but she was in over her head in every other capacity. 

Edited January 9, 2016 by stillshimpy

[Lassus]

 

But Jason is just so angry and ornery.  

 

Yes.  This is really starting to irritate me, and drop him into Hipster Mashed Potatoes' level.

 

I also feel guilty this is what I'm judging, but I can't eat anyone's food, so oh well.

[susannot]

http://www.amazon.com/Cravings-Recipes-All-Food-Want/dp/1101903910

 

Chrissy's upcoming cookbook.  FWIW.

[Happytobehere]

I think Phillip DID mean to make "mashed potato sauce," because he was talking about the ingredients and then said it will taste LIKE mashed potatoes. I guess I salute him for saying it's what he meant to do, since I believe it IS what he meant to do, but he should have also added, "of course, I didn't mean for them to be gluey and taste free!"  At any rate, I've kind of taken up for him since show one and I, for some reason, have a hard time figuring out why everyone seems to hate him to the max. I think he's a little full of himself - he's a CHEF - and he can be annoying, but his attitude and demeanor are friendly and non-offensive. And honestly, he's so clue-free sometimes that I think he meant it as a compliment when he called Kwame a saucier. He did say "He's THE Top Chef Saucier", not something like being a saucier on Top Chef. Phillip is an idiot if he tries to denigrate Kwame in any way because Kwame is at the top of the field on the show right now and everyone knows it.

 .

Thanks for this. It think this sums up what happened. As I watched, I was confused about what Philip was making. When he first described it, I, like the other contestants thought he was making mashed potatoes. Then he said it was like MP and I was left wondering what he thought he was making because it clearly wasn't what anyone else got when they listened to what he said. I think it was poor communication on his part. He should have said a potato purée, and not mashed potatoes and I think people would have gotten a better sense of where he was coming from.

As was previously noted, I think that during the judging we did not see, Philip tried to explain what his intention was but again failed to comprehend that he did not do so clearly. I think this is where Jason and Gisselle went on the attack and why Kwame look pissed at Philip even though by that time, he knew there was no way in hell he was going home. This makes me think the other chefs felt Philip was trying to throw them under the bus.

[stillshimpy]

Phillip used a really ill-advised technique for making that potato puree and I agree, he truly thought he had conveyed what he was doing to everyone else and that they had approved it.  However, Kwame told him that the end result was gummy and that appeared to be Phillip's test batch.  Kwame even said "Pulse it just once, because it's getting gummy" and at that point, Phillip would have been well advised to try something a bit different.  The potatoes weren't all pureed at that point:  get a food mill on chinois and process them less. 

 

He had a failure of language in being an under-communicator.  He had a blazing failure of technique because gluey potatoes are a rookie mistake.  HIs only real sin at Judge's Table -- at least to my eye -- was not understanding that the dish had failed because the potatoes were not good.  That aside from Kwame's contribution (and in fairness: beef that had been cooked properly) it was not a good dish.  

 

That honestly seems to really tweak the judges more than anything else: when someone makes a dish that fails and then either feigns incredulity (which they don't like) or much worse, genuinely doesn't get that something was a failure and why. 

 

But unfortunately for Phillip, that last seems to be the actual case.  He was grooving on that potato ....stuff....even as he was having Kwame taste it.  It was already gluey and gummy by then and Phillip just didn't get it.  

 

I can't say I enjoy Jason's personality but I was impressed that he managed to not shove Angelina into the walk-in and leave her there until he could complete the dish and honestly, I think his patience was just gone by the time he was at Judge's Table, because he had almost bodily carried a grousing Angelina through to one of the more successful dishes of the night.   Then he was confronted with Phillip's inability to understand that his dish was not good, and then Phillip -- who honestly seemed to think he had adequately described his dish to everyone -- proceed to cast a net over all of them and drag them into the notion that everyone thought it was a splendid idea.  Everyone thought mashed potatoes with meat sounded -- to be clear -- adequate at best.  There were no rousing cheers for "you're doing meat...and ...potatoes?  Is this secretly a big gay wedding for cattle ranchers?" 

 

That whole moment came off worse than I think anyone intended it to be.  I think Jason had just freaking had it on a lot of levels, but then he'd been working with dead-weight-Angelina on the challenge as it was and just didn't want his and everyone else's palate impugned.  Phillip thought he was speaking truthfully too, but the larger issue is that Phillip didn't get that the dish tasted ...bad.  Jason didn't want to keep company with him on that one.  

 

Usually though it's just a bad idea for anyone in the peanut gallery to pipe up like that. 

Edited January 9, 2016 by stillshimpy

[RCharter]

 

Usually though it's just a bad idea for anyone in the peanut gallery to pipe up like that. 

^^this right here, pretty much sums it up.  Its a bad idea because it is so unnecessary and could easily go left.  And why risk making enemies?  I guess it wasn't going to go left for Jason since he had immunity, but really, why?  I get that Jason is upset that there is a bro-clique in the house, but ManBun can't be the biggest offender of the group.  And this isn't really going to help him make friends with the cool kids or whatever.  And why was Marjorie chiming in?  Her friend, Angelina wasn't up there....But again, I hope for an extended clip or a better explanation at the reunion.

[attica]

In my own (amateur) experience, it quite depends on the variety of potato you use. Red potatoes mash miserably; they're gluey just by looking at them (but make a fine potato salad) Russets are hit or miss; technique matters. Golds, on the other hand, mash perfectly well --no glue-- with my stick blender. According to Alton, it's because they each have slightly different starch compositions. And I believe Alton in all things food-chemistry-wise.

 

As a ladyperson who wears her hair shorter than shoulder length, the sight of CT's locks in her cleavage was kind of grossing me out. I guess some people find that hot, but the notion of pulling strands of hair covered in boob sweat has another effect on me altogether. Otherwise, I didn't mind her playing along here. She seems like she has a good sense of humor, if her twitter feed is to be believed.

[gryphon]

 

As for Chrissy "Whathername" I just needed her to dial it down about 5 notches.  I thought it was hilarious when Kwame only knew her as "John Legend's wife."  But nothing says "I'm serious about food" like asking people if they "did it"

Indeed.  I found her distasteful.   

Also, "My wife and I's" anniversary made me cringe a little.   The "I's" drive me nuts. 

 

Not a fan of Phillip but liking Isaac.  I still can't pick out a clear winner...probably because I still confuse all the other cheftestants. 

Edited January 9, 2016 by gryphon

[Maysie]

 

I can't say I enjoy Jason's personality but I was impressed that he managed to not shove Angelina into the walk-in and leave her there until he could complete the dish and honestly, I think his patience was just gone by the time he was at Judge's Table, because he had almost bodily carried a grousing Angelina through to one of the more successful dishes of the night.   Then he was confronted with Phillip's inability to understand that his dish was not good, and then Phillip -- who honestly seemed to think he had adequately described his dish to everyone -- proceed to cast a net over all of them and drag them into the notion that everyone thought it was a splendid idea.  Everyone thought mashed potatoes with meat sounded -- to be clear -- adequate at best.  There were no rousing cheers for "you're doing meat...and ...potatoes?  Is this secretly a big gay wedding for cattle ranchers?"

 

It's interesting how patient so many of the cheftestants are with Angelina, simply because she's young and inexperienced. I do think it's nice to be patient and gracious, however she also has quite an attitude that I don't find appealing. I don't know if it's part of being young and always right (because I remember those days!) or if it's just part of her personality that will stick with her as she matures. I think it was telling how teams collaborated on this challenge. Giselle quashed any potential input from Wesley and abdicated responsibility for just about everything, laying it at Pink Hair's feet. Man Bun was going to do steak and potatoes, because evidently, a wedding needs steak and potatoes. I think when Jason ended up with Angelina, he took over the menu plan and I don't think she had a problem with that, though I'd forgotten how pushy she was with making whatever it was they were making. So yeah, he does score points for not getting stabby with her. I think my issue with Jason is that I'm beginning to pick up some sort of air of superiority or something from him that's not sitting well with me. It's different from Man Bun's pretentiousness. I sometimes pick up a judgmental vibe from him.

 

I wonder if Jason had been stuck with Giselle, how the dish would have turned out; he seemed more willing to be firm with Angelina than Pink Hair was willing to be with Giselle, and maybe that made all the difference.

 

The other dishes seemed to be successful because they were collaborations. For me it signals an element of respect for your co-workers/co-cheftestants - willingness to listen, pitch in where needed, speak up when necessary, etc.

 

Whatever, I bet it was a bit awkward in that house that evening. . .

[rozen]

I felt bad for Karen. She seems like someone who is very systematic and needs to get "in the zone" when cooking, which is completely undone with Giselle yapping every two seconds "did I cut these too big, too small? Should I put more foil over the veggies?" She was clearly psyching herself out more and more every time Giselle did her passive aggressive "Well...ok. No no, it's fine." Probably even worse that she was surrounded by other chefs acting like adults, thoughtfully tasting and editing each other's dishes. And she's stuck with Chef Are These Diced Finely Enough Giselle. I would go nuts.

 

Kwame was so star struck, it's hilarious. So happy to see he's quite the prodigy, laughed at Art Smith dangling out that potential job opportunity. And Wes going "man, let me be Sous at least." Glad the other contestants spoke up as Philip was very much trying to shove Kwame under the bus, probably feeling ok with it because they certainly wouldn't eliminate the guy they just gave the win to? 

 

Chrissy (sp?) and Isaac seemed like a failed attempt at passing the snark ball. You know? Sometimes you think someone is of your snark tribe and you engage them too early, only to find out they thought you were insane and just answered honestly and you look like an asshole. I bet if you caught Isaac off camera and asked that you'd get an absolutely filthy and hilarious response, but he was too camera-aware to engage.

 

If the horror stories of how high-end kitchens run are true, I bet the older contestants tolerate Angelina because having that kind of bruiser personality may be what's necessary to stand up for herself in the kitchen. She can cook well, what she put out during the Quickfire was well-received. She doesn't have the repertoire and knowledge-base the other chefs do, that makes her less flexible and without a portfolio of dishes that have been worked on for years (if not decades). And John had his underpants all the way twisted round because he was high on his win and overcompensating. Angelina was just trying to engage the attendees and describe the food in a way they would understand and was fun. He could have communicated with her about not saying that when Tom showed up instead of being a total asshole about it.

[cattykit]

Crissy T reminds me of Katie Lee, people who are famous for who they married;

Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I had never heard of Chrissy or her husband before this show.  I'm only glad it wasn't an elimination QF because it would have been criminal to send someone home based on the judgment of that woman and Padma.

 

Wasn't there a Judges' Table last season where Gregory (I think) piped in from the sideline when no one asked him anything?  It was very awkward then, too, IIRC.

 

 

HIs joy at the date machete had me both terrified and tickled. Plus, when he was talking about how he's ordained. "I can marry you in a dark alley. I'll bring the shotgun." He has an edge of psychosis that I find delightful.

 

I don't get the psychosis vibe, but I loved Isaac's comment.  It nicely balanced the pretentiousness of Padma getting herself ordained for the occasion.  (Universal Life Church?)

 

I wasn't paying attention in the beginning.  Were they told to pair off?  Because some dishes were attributed to one person and others seemed to be singles or triples.  And those chef pairings included some odd couples, so to speak.

Edited January 10, 2016 by cattykit

[MissEwa]

I think the editors are getting a little bit smarter this season. In this episode we had Isaac featured so much I was sure he was either going or winning and then doing neither, and that scene of Jason and Angelina talking about the vinegar in their dish and the shot of Jason adding more after she walked away that I was sure (and kind of hoping) would result in an over-vinegared mess but instead led nowhere. They did kinda telegraph the Karen-Giselle ending but I was sure Karen would pay for it because that's usually what happens, so I was pleasantly surprised Giselle went - she's been hiding out near the bottom all season and clearly isn't thriving in this competition. 

 

And of course the potatoes. Since he mentions whipped cream I wonder if he was going for something I've seen described as whipped potatoes, but didn't know how to make them (a quick google suggests the potatoes are beaten like with a cake beater?) so put them in the blender which was never ever ever going to work. I know he said he was going for gummy but I don't think there's any way 'gummy' describing any sort of food is ever a good thing - it just makes me think of denture paste - and he should have started over as soon as Kwame called his potato-whatever that. 

 

That said, I don't get why Jason spoke up. Does it matter what a chef tells everyone else their vision is, really? It's not like they were threatening to send someone else home because Phillip stuffed up *their* dish. I could almost understand if it was a team challenge and you were fighting for your place in the game but it just seemed weird and unnecessary. And that shot after Judges Table of him swirling a glass of wine in exasperation with what looked like a bright yellow cravat poking out of his chef jacket, glowering at everyone? His edit this entire episode was just really unpleasant, especially given he won the Quickfire and his final dish was well-received.

 

Has... has there been a single challenge this season where someone hasn't served a carrot? This is getting ridiculous. 

[ProudMary]

While I've linked the full article over in the media thread, this little blurb definitely fits here in the episode thread. Isaac has been doing post-episode commentary for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Here are his comments on Phillip's potato disaster.

http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf/2016/01/top_chef_competitor_isaac_toup_1.html

Let's talk about those mashed potatoes. Phillip, one of the other cooks, used a whipped cream canister to make mashed potatoes for his steak. They looked runny and the judges said they tasted gummy. What was he thinking?

I did get to taste it at the event. Those were gummy as hell. I know he was defending himself. I defend him defending himself. Do whatever you can to not go home. But I don't defend those potatoes.

Edited January 9, 2016 by ProudMary

[biakbiak]

I found this interesting given people mentioning the tonsil/wisdom teeth thing:

And I've got a straight up legitimate story about me and my wife having this wonderful time in France.

I believe at least one chef in the past has admitted to making up stories about dishes which I actually don't really have problem with as long as they aren't egregious lies designed to get sympathy.

[Wings]

 

Marjorie seems extremely talented, BUT she's like an eeyore to me, and not in a "good Eeyore" way. Also, she's too fond of Angelina and thinks Angelina is talented and kick-ass, which makes me question her overall judgment.

 

 

Pepper Monkey,  I think Marjorie was asked, by a producer,  to say something about Angelina.  They were looking for a negative comment I am sure but she took the high road and dug deep for something positive.  I didn't believe her for a minute!  

[biakbiak]

Majorie has really only worked with Angelina once, the Persian challenge, in which she quickly adapted to not being able to get her choice of proteins and produced a well received dish. So I have no problem believing that she sees promise in her, helped by the fact that she hasn't had to work that closely with her.

[rose711]

I was happy Jason spoke up that they hadn't agreed to what Phillip made and presented. I would have a lot of trouble having to live wig and deal with Phillip so I sympathize. Phillip can't act so superior with the other chefs and not expect them to not have his back. He was rude about Kwame making the sauce, but that sauce saved his dish.<br />The end shot with him smelling the beer in one nostril seemed like it must have come from that episode of South Park where they all become hipsters.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Isaac has been doing post-episode commentary for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. 

Thanks, ProudMary.  I really like Isaac so far and I wouldn't have known about this.

[candall]

 Sometimes you think someone is of your snark tribe and you engage them too early, only to find out they thought you were insane and just answered honestly and you look like an asshole.

LOL, well said.  I sooooo recognize this.