S13.E07: Back In The Day

[FormerMod-a1]

The Chefs arrive back in Los Angeles to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Top Chef. First they compete in a Quickfire limiting them to 10 ingredients they all must share. In the Elimination Challenge, the Chefs must transport themselves back in time and create a dish that tells the story of who they were 10 years ago. Top Chef alums Michael Voltaggio, Antonia Lofaso and Mei Lin Hua join Nancy Silverton and the rest of the judges to decide which Chef should be eliminated from the competition.

[Julia]

The look on Tom's face when Philip said he couldn't cook his own (clearly awesome) food because he had to pander to the prejudices of the judges?

I don't think he's going to get past his first round of LCK.

[Major Bigtime]

Blais said something was "excellently". Branching out there with the big words, Richard. What's next?

[Squirrely]

I was sweating bullets for my sweet Kwame! I go back and forth on loving/hating these personal story challenges, and tonight I was on the hate train! Poor guy just couldn't pull it together, and who could blame him? Loved the QF challenge though.

Can we please replace Blais with Michael V? And I don't even dislike Blais.

[Constantinople]

I was disappointed that no one picked carrots for one of the ten Quickfire ingredients.

 

I guess Kwame should have focused on creating high school cafeteria food rather than something that related to his father.  Thank the cooking gods that he wasn't booted.

[avecsans]

Under seasoning gets them every time. And Kwame is lucky because that broccoli dish was straight up one of the worst things I've ever seen on Top Chef. Jerk broccoli on a bed of some kind of beige vomitous substance was not appetizing at all. Kwame, if your memory from 10 years ago wasn't good, just make something up, buddy. And did he bleed into it? Gross.

Man bun is this season's Lisa Fernandes. He's consistently bad, but there's always someone worse. Has Tom ever openly disliked another cheftestant as much? Not that I can remember.

Obviously his camera time was limited, but Michael Voltaggio seems much less intense and surly. Definitely a change for the better. And I am always glad to see Antonia.

It bothered me that Jeremy kept referring to his mother's birth mother as her "real" mother. Her real mother is the woman who raised her and was there for her. Off my soapbox now.

Edited January 22, 2016 by avecsans

[Nidratime]

When will Man Bun ever go?! I live for that day.

[SFoster21]

Antonia! After Stephanie, my favorite! Did not know she was in LA. Thought she was East Coast.

This episode brought home the notion that great cooking is tied to state of mind. Folks used to laugh at Carla with her "love" but it's a real thing. No joy, no passion, no great food.

[Bastet]

"Real mother" set my teeth to grinding, too.

 

Wow, is Kwame lucky.  That was one of the worst-looking plates of food I've ever seen on this show.  Without being able to taste any of the three bad dishes, I was hoping Philip would go home because he was the only one who didn't acknowledge he'd put out a bad dish.  But I figured the under-seasoning kiss of death would strike.

 

Carl's impersonation of Tom cracked me up.

 

Marjorie's dish sounded good - on its own and as a way of meeting the "tell us something about you ten years ago" challenge - from the moment she described it, and then I got nervous with the lack of lemongrass until she adjusted, so I was happy to see her win.

[phoenix780]

I skipped a couple episodes (forgot it was on, to be honest) so maybe I'm missing a connection to these people but...this was a little too Food Network for my taste.  If we're acknowledging 10 years of Top Chef, let's talk Top Chef and drop the cheftestant stories about their past (maybe in an interview, not as a basis for a challenge).  I'm glad the winning dish at least put a spin on things, added some depth.  

 

And of all the times not to have a catering challenge...why not bring a bunch of past people back and throw a party?  

 

I like the way Antonia judges food, would enjoy seeing more of her.  I would have liked hearing more from Mei, too.  She said about 7 words, it was a little weird.

 

I hope this isn't the start of redemption for Phillip.  He grates, and I don't think I'd believe in some kind of transformation from him, especially if it's driven by some kind of return to his true style of cooking, or whatever all that nonsense was.

[pinguina]

Man Bun (maybe he will switch to Man Braid like Jared Leto!) really put his foot in his mouth!  The expression on Tom's face when M.B. said that he felt he made delicious food but had to adjust and cook to the judges tastes. Then he seemed to try to backtrack but really couldn't pull it off.

I felt bad for Kwame - why pick such a sad memory? :(    I thought for sure he was gone.

[bravofan27]

Marjorie seems like she is ripe for the win. It almost seems like she knows she is going to win. I sort of feel that she thinks she is a little TOO good to be on this show or with the other chefs, the way she snarks on them in the interviews. I was actually pretty annoyed at some of her comments that seemed really snobby and she is sort of a clique person which is annoying as well. It really bothered me that she talked about how "stupid" Gisele was, when she was loving all over someone that was too dumb to remember to put the food on plates that were right in front of her face. How Marjorie is going to explain that, IDK. I think she supports who she likes, and picks apart the people she doesn't regardless of their talent. Now she is hating on Issac, who is another nice person. She really hates nice people, and loves the bitchy ones.

 

Anyhoo, enough on Marjorie's fake-ness. She is a great chef and she probably is the best one there, so if she can run the show, then she can run it. 

 

I didn't like Phillip AT ALL until I read an interview he did awhile back. He apparently dropped out of HS, AND dropped out of culinary school after 3 months.. So methinks his problem getting the hang of Top Chef is due more to the fact he just isn't that bright. He will be gone soon. He's so intent on proving his gummy potatoes really are good (and the judges just didn't like them) that he wasting all his time and energy on this, where maybe he should instead be studying for his GED or something. Does he think being a HS dropout makes him cool? He's super delusional. 

 

Other than Marjorie, the other stand-out is Amar, who is adorable in a reforming thug type of way. He seems really chill, and maybe a little immature, but he still is cool to me. He hasn't been an outright bitch yet (except he did call out the red-haired lady right away as one of the first to go). Jason was miserably depressed and also needed to go and spend some time writing poems and drawing sad clowns till the depression breaks.

 

I think the ultimate chef here is Kwame. I love him and I hope he and his dad make up and are able to have a healthy relationship some day. 

Edited January 22, 2016 by bravofan27

[GaT]

I am just not connecting to any of these people this season, I don't know why, but this show is turning into background noise.

[Moncheechee]

[snip]

Can we please replace Blais with Michael V? And I don't even dislike Blais.

 

Seriously, can we?  Maybe I'm biased because Blais has rubbed me wrong ever since the finale of his first appearance on TC when he was all, "Ugh, I beat myself," about his loss with no acknowledgement that Stephanie -- who won just as many challenges as he did throughout the season -- maaaaybe was just better than him.  So yeah, I'd prefer M. Volt and his, "Bruh, what were thinking about this lack of seasoning?" vs Richard's, "When I ate your food, I felt like I was back on a train speeding through the Swiss Alps that was about to derail into a giant salt mountain, but then it just turned out to be snow and ice.  We derailed all the same, but the snow and ice was so under seasoned and that bummed me out more than having to cannibalize the flesh of my fellow survivors -- which, by the way, was also under-seasoned -- while awaiting rescue."

 

[snip]

Man bun is this season's Lisa Fernandes. He's consistently bad, but there's always someone worse. Has Tom ever openly disliked another cheftestant as much? Not that I can remember.

[snip]

It bothered me that Jeremy kept referring to his mother's birth mother as her "real" mother. Her real mother is the woman who raised her and was there for her. Off my soapbox now.

 

I'd compare Man Bun to Josie, actually, because he's not only the second worst every week, but he also spends his on camera time lamenting the terrible taste of the panel of seasoned food tasters.  I mean, anyone who's all like, "I MEANT my potatoes to be gummy and NO ONE ELSE KNOWS MY PAIN," should immediately be sent packing [his knives].  I'm at a loss as to how he continues to survive.

 

I loved Jeremy's story, but I hated Jeremy's referring to his mother's birth mother as her "real" mother.  As far as I'm concerned, everyone's "real" mother is the mother that changed diapers, cleaned up baby vomit, comforted after scary dreams, went shopping for school supplies, kissed scraped knees, and made dinner and tucked her kids in every night.  DID YOUR "REAL" ITALIAN GRANDMOTHER DO ANY OF THAT, JEREMY?

[biakbiak]

Since we literally no nothing about Jeremy's mother's story including if her adoptive mother did any of the above or regularly beat the shit out of her or who his mom considers her "real" mother I am not going to judge him for it. Adoption is complicated and not everyone uses the same language based on their own personal experiences and feelings.

Edited January 22, 2016 by biakbiak

[In Pog Form]

Wait, they have to choose salt as an ingredient? That's just stupid.

If they had to actively choose salt, why not water? Or fire?

[holly4755]

I thought Phillip was just as insulting at the judges table as he was in the quick fire.  I felt badly about Kwame, it is interesting how his dark thoughts found their way into his food.

I always liked both Voltaggio brothers, I think they took the kitchen more seriously than the others in their year. I loved the videos not shown on TV, I loved it when they had that big chase after the last bag of potato chips. 

[RCharter]

I was sweating bullets for my sweet Kwame! I go back and forth on loving/hating these personal story challenges, and tonight I was on the hate train! Poor guy just couldn't pull it together, and who could blame him? Loved the QF challenge though.

Can we please replace Blais with Michael V? And I don't even dislike Blais.

Did I miss Michael V's personality when he was a contestant.  He seemed so much brighter than I remembered him!  I thought it was odd though, because chair seemed sort of squashed in at the end of judges table, like he was a last minute add on.  Maybe trouble in paradise with Richard?

 

So glad Kwame didn't go home.  Poor guy, I think 10 years ago for a lot of people was a tough memory, and Issac made it work, but it had to have been a pretty bad blowout for Kwame not to even talk to his dad for almost a decade.  I hope he took a few days and was able to reset himself, that seems like a tough emotional place he was at.

 

Bye Jason!  Goodness is he ever unlikable and sour.  Maybe he pissed off a producer or editor, but oh boy, he just looked absolutely joyless.  I get being yourself, and I think thats great, but you can't be aggressively yourself all the time and then be surprised when you don't fit in with "everyone else" that you don't want to be like.  And proudly talking about how he would "chew someone out" for this or that....ick.  I'll bet he has eaten his fair share of spit.  I think the flash of him going to LCK might have been the first time I've seen him smile at all.

Marjorie seems like she is ripe for the win. It almost seems like she knows she is going to win. I sort of feel that she thinks she is a little TOO good to be on this show or with the other chefs, the way she snarks on them in the interviews. I was actually pretty annoyed at some of her comments that seemed really snobby and she is sort of a clique person which is annoying as well. It really bothered me that she talked about how "stupid" Gisele was, when she was loving all over someone that was too dumb to remember to put the food on plates that were right in front of her face. How Marjorie is going to explain that, IDK. I think she supports who she likes, and picks apart the people she doesn't regardless of their talent. Now she is hating on Issac, who is another nice person. She really hates nice people, and loves the bitchy ones.

 

Anyhoo, enough on Marjorie's fake-ness. She is a great chef and she probably is the best one there, so if she can run the show, then she can run it. 

 

Other than Marjorie, the other stand-out is Amar, who is adorable in a reforming thug type of way. He seems really chill, and maybe a little immature, but he still is cool to me. He hasn't been an outright bitch yet (except he did call out the red-haired lady right away as one of the first to go). Jason was miserably depressed and also needed to go and spend some time writing poems and drawing sad clowns till the depression breaks.

 

I think the ultimate chef here is Kwame. I love him and I hope he and his dad make up and are able to have a healthy relationship some day. 

I'm whatever on Marjorie, because really, Issac may not have the chops, but Angelina is a "beast" in the kitchen?  Girl, bye.

 

I think Amar may be the sleeper, and that pains me because I really like Kwame.  But there he is, always the bridesmaid, always putting out tasty ("yummy") food

I was disappointed that no one picked carrots for one of the ten Quickfire ingredients.

 

I guess Kwame should have focused on creating high school cafeteria food rather than something that related to his father.  Thank the cooking gods that he wasn't booted.

I was looking for carrots too, and was so happy when they didn't make an appearance (I don't think on any dish in either of the challenges).  I hate carrots!!!!

 

It sounds like Kwame really did get in his own head.  Its possible his problems with his dad were the biggest and most looming issue in his life 10 years ago and he really wanted to try to pull something positive from it.  Maybe in the hopes that his father would reach out (I felt like he said something about "I wonder what my dad will think seeing this") but unfortunately that plate of food looked so sad (and featured broccoli.....almost as disgusting as carrots!  gross!) that I don't think anyone would be impressed with that.

 

But I'm glad he is still here and I hope this doesn't get into his head and he starts declining like Gregory did last season.

[biakbiak]

I have always loved both Volts but this episode with Mei sitting right next to him reminded me of two of my favorite Michael V. moments on TC were in Mei's season when he told her to go spend time with Bryan during the hiatus before the finale and when she called him after she won and she kept calling him Chef over and over again and he just responded "you're the Chef now!" and she burst into tears.

[In Pog Form]

I think they took pity on Kwame and judged him by his overall competence, rather than this specific dish, because I don't see how it wasn't the worst thing served tonight.

It's sad when the people who take these "emotional" challenges to heart lose to people who just make up some bullshit story, or ignore the spirit of the challenge altogether. Does anyone in the real world actually care about the chef's life story when they are eating dinner?

Oh, and now the Gummy Artisan is all about cooking with acid, man. Although I'm not sure what's so acidic about snot on a rock or gummy potatoes, other than the dose of LSD he must have taken before cooking them.

Or should I say, "Helmut Spargle's Essence of Pure Flavor"?

[forum4idiots]

I am just not connecting to any of these people this season, I don't know why, but this show is turning into background noise.

it clearly has gone downhill.....so i just look for who would look most sexy naked and who i would bed.......this season, it is clearly jeremy ;)

[yourmomiseasy]

Padma and Gail are beautiful women, but they were especially beautiful this episode.  I was actually distracted by them.

 

 

I was disappointed that no one picked carrots for one of the ten Quickfire ingredients.

 

I guess Kwame should have focused on creating high school cafeteria food rather than something that related to his father.  Thank the cooking gods that he wasn't booted.

 

Kwame probably should have gone with jerk carrots rather than jerk broccoli.  

[Rai]

I'm legit surprised Kwame wasn't sent home, although I'm glad he wasn't.  But that seemed like the worst dish for miles around.

 

That said, I don't dislike Jason, but damn, that's him a more relaxed, chill guy who doesn't yell at his chefs?  Not that I was a fan of Angelina, but I think she might disagree that you're all hang ten now, buddy.

 

I don't know why, but it bugged the hell out of me that it took so long for the judges/production to identify Mei and point out that she won the previous season.  I always liked her, and here, she was treated like a ride-along in a way.  OTOH, Nancy Silverton is terrific, and I loved hearing how she critiqued.  It was direct, but still so positive.

 

Also, watching Tom get a little choked up was surprising, but something I appreciated.  It's terrible to see someone you like and admire slip away.

[WearyTraveler]

The first ceviche I ever ate was in a fancy restaurant in Lima, Peru, a country I visited 2 times after that.  I also had the good fortune of not only getting to know Lima, but also the region of Cuzco and Macchu Picchu.  Needless to say, I had many ceviches, papas a la huancaina, chupes, ají de gallina, anticuchos, and many other, delicious Peruvian food while I was there.

 

Never, not once, did I ever have a ceviche with sweet potato puree.  Man bun is definitely tripping.  Or trying to improve a dish that needs no improvement at all.  The sweet potato in a Peruvian ceviche is served diced (big or small chunks) and you eat it like another piece of fish/seafood.  A puree would absorb all the good juices of the ceviche, not to mention that an American sweet potato (which I've aso had) is very different from a Latin American sweet potato in texture, and in flavor (the American one being sweeter and more mushy).  If Man Bun is such a great chef, he would have known that.  Also, his dish was missing one the staples of any Peruvian ceviche: corn.  Peruvian corn is more starchy and less sweet than American corn, and each kernel is a lot larger (the size of a thumbnail, more or less).  They serve it with the ceviche on the cob (cut into smaller pieces) or they sprinkle whole kernels throughout.  And they also serve the corn as cancha, a preparation that takes dry kernels and toasts them; they taste like those half popped kernels you get in your popcorn, and they add crunch to a dish that is mainly mushy.

 

Either Man Bun forgot how to make this recipe or the grandmother played a trick on him.

[elzin]

 

 

And of all the times not to have a catering challenge...why not bring a bunch of past people back and throw a party? 

 

That would have been a nice idea. To me, this was the best episode of the season, but it doesn't mean it couldn't have been better.

[Lamb18]

Jason was miserably depressed and also needed to go and spend some time writing poems and drawing sad clowns till the depression breaks.

 

Ha! I can just picture him lying on his stomach on his bed in his old bedroom at his parents' house, busy scribbling away in a spiral college-ruled notebook looking pensive.

 

I am enjoying this season because there's a lot of chefs who can cook well. It's turning out to be a good competition. I enjoy seeing what they all come up with each week.

[The Solution]

When are they going to learn to make something good and then craft a story afterwards when the judges throw a stupid challenge like this at them? The story can be complete bullshit if the food is amazing. Nobody cares about the story.

 

That being said, I thought Kwame's dish looked good. I'm an adventurous eater.

 

I did think Jason should have gone home for those yellow pants alone, but how many more times can Manbun come in next-to-last?

[PepperMonkey]

I've been a Manbun apologist, but last night was just a bridge too far. And Tom's and Michael's looks, when he said he's basically had to dumb down his food to suit the judges, were hilarious. He needs to drink a big cup of STFU and just try cooking. He's a decent cook or he wouldn't have won so many challenges on Food Network, but I really do believe this competition is just not for him and I'm now ready for him to be put out of his misery. Although I don't know who to hate on when he leaves.

 

Marjorie may be a great chef but she bugs the shite out of me. Going back to her huge support for Angelina, which I could never figure out. She does seem sort of condescending to the other chefs. Isaac is not my personal favourite, but I don't really like the way she always calls his food unsophisticated. That's not her decision to make; it's the judges'.

 

I was so scared Kwame was a goner when I saw that dish. Not only did it sound bad, but it was just hideously ugly. I'm sorry that was his experience growing up. I just hope he gets it back together next week. He's still my favourite to win, although I do like Jeremy, as well.

 

Can't get behind Carl and Pink Hair, no matter what they do. I'm sure it's me, and not them.

[Wings]

Blais said something was "excellently". Branching out there with the big words, Richard. What's next?

 

 

I praised his grammar!. Adverbs are becoming a thing of the past and it bugs me.  Bravo Richard.  

[AriAu]

I'm legit surprised Kwame wasn't sent home, although I'm glad he wasn't.  But that seemed like the worst dish for miles around.

 

I gotta call "bull shit" on their usual trope that they judge based on the dish in front of them and not on overall performance and/or potential since Kwame's dish just looked awful and seemed to really confound the judges, while Jason's was, by one judges estimation, perfectly cooked just underseasoned and seemingly uninspired.

 

I am not unhappy to see Jason leave-his comments from the peanut gallery and pretend superiority really rubbed me the wrong way. The fact that Tom commented on his "tightness" and unhappiness, along with his talking head that he didn't feel like he fit in with the culture of the group, leads me to believe that he was not just edited that way. He was a real downer among a group that does not have that much personality.....other than Isaac.

 

I think we are getting a foreshadowing that Isaac is in trouble soon for not being "refined" enough. I could see him being the guy eliminated when making a good dish.By the way, there was NO CHANCE at all that Isaac was going home in this challenge since 10 years ago was Katrina and all he had to do was cook something in his cajun wheelhouse and he was safe. Wasn't going to win, but was safe.

 

I give Marjorie credit for coming up with a dish and then coming up with a story. That was good thinking....something that Kwame should have done. He was in High School-all he needed to do was an elevated high school cafeteria dish and he was home free. By the way, anytime Jeremy wants to actually cook a dish will be ok with me.

 

 

Can we please replace Blais with Michael V? And I don't even dislike Blais.

 

Michael V was able to explain things so much more clearly than Blais...I was actually embarrassed for Richard, especially when Tom took Michael on his sniff and sneer walk thru. I was also impressed with Antonio's verbal skills, something we rarely saw during her appearances. And I am not shocked that Mei was virtually silent-its not like she was all that talkative in her season and you just knew that she would defer to her mentor and to Tom.

[Primetimer]

Some chefs remember who they were ten years ago; some forget how to cook.

Read the story

[Wings]

I am glad Tom addressed Jason's sour personality and I believe that tipped the scales to him going vs Kwame who displayed emotion.  When will they every learn to make a good dish then create a story around that?  So simple.  

 

Phillip.  Oh good god.  He is a marked man; one slip and he is gone.   Insulting the judges is never the way to go you idiot.

 

As for Marjorie and her somewhat cutting THs, I see her as answering the producers questions honestly.  I like her and she has mad skills.  

 

I like Jeremy and forgive him using the term "real mother."   He is not well read on that topic, otherwise he would have used the correct term, biological.  

 

I like Carl, Jeremy, Marjorie and Kwame and I like this season.  I like it a lot.  

[Thumper]

I have not cared for Jason in other episodes, but I felt sorry for him in this one. He might say he's fine with not fitting in, but I bet it bothered him. Watching him stand off to the side while the others all laughed and talked at the table broke my heart. I thought he was going to cry at the judge's table. I am glad Tom caught on and mentioned how tightly wound he seemed. I think Jason is suffering from some type of depression, and I hope he gets better so he can find joy in life.

With Kwame's story and dish, I too thought of Carla and "cooking with Love."

[cpcathy]

So NOW what night/time is this on? Went to watch it and,ok, not there!

[attica]

Can we please replace Blais with Michael V? And I don't even dislike Blais.

 

i'm guessing Voltaggio has better things to do. Blais maybe not so much.

 

What did Voltaggio have in his right ear? Hearing aid? Producer's bug? (Or was I seeing things?)

 

For all Kwame's 'I don't like talking about it', OMG, he never shut up about it! Every clip of him speaking was of him 'talking about it'! I think he's adorable, but in this ep, my, he grated.

 

I fully enjoyed watching Tom's face as he puzzled over Kwame's dish. It was the loudest WTF expression.

[Julia]

Oh, and now the Gummy Artisan is all about cooking with acid, man.

Oh, better. He was the most "acidic" chef there.

He's a decent cook or he wouldn't have won so many challenges on Food Network

Sadly, I no longer believe that's true. I guess I've watched too many seasons of Next Iron Chef (especially, oh god, the last) to think their contests aren't fixed even when Guy Fieri isn't involved.

And honestly, if he's been competing repeatedly on the opposite coast, fundraising for outside projects, and running two restaurants at the same time I don't see how he's spending all that much time in the kitchen. I'm getting a bit of a Bobby Flay vibe here. He may be passionate about restaurants, but I suspect he's way more passionate about building his brand than he is about cooking food.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Julia

[Seelouis]

I was holding my breath but deep down I knew they could never eliminate sweet, talented Kwame when the other choices were Debbie Downer and man bun. The 10 year thing was probably harder for Kwame even without the back story with his dad. As one of the younger contestants, his "10 years ago" was high school while many of the other chefs had "here's what I was cooking professionally then" stories.

Marjorie was the smartest though. Make a tasty dish and then create a matching story and you won't be sent home when there are still several cannon fodder contestants left. And her skills really shone through with her ability to adapt to the lack of a key ingredient. I can't imagine Philip being so adaptable. He'd probably blame Whole Foods for not understanding his special snowflake ingredient needs.

[In Pog Form]

The sweet potato in a Peruvian ceviche is served diced (big or small chunks) and you eat it like another piece of fish/seafood.  A puree would absorb all the good juices of the ceviche...

But to the Gummy Artisan, solid food just won't do! He's never met a type of potato he didn't want to puree, gooify, obliterate, blend, extrude, or cream.

[FineWashables]

I was fascinated to discover that excellent chefs who are reliving negative experiences produced bad, depressing food. I never realized how strong the connection is between what you feel and what your food tastes like. Perhaps in the future I will not roll my eyes when people say the secret ingredient is love.

 

All the chefs say what a learning experience it is to compete on Top Chef. Snot on a Rock clearly hasn't figured out what it is he's supposed to learn from the judges' critiques, and --  much as I hate his arrogance --  just maybe that isn't all completely his fault. It doesn't seem like he has a clue what he's doing wrong. I wish all judges were as constructive and instructive as last night's Nancy Silverton, who really took the time to suggest improvements to many of the dishes she tasted.

[Wings]

I enjoyed seeing Antonia; she is one of my favorites.  She owns 2 restaurants, on Restaurant Start Up, and often a judge on Cutthroat kitchen.  She is very busy and I would like to see her more front and center on this show and other better shows.  I adore that woman. She is articulate and knows food.  She would be good on Masterchef replacing Tosi.  

 

Phillip wants to be a TV star chef and I sense has little interest in owning restaurants beyond them being a stepping stone to notoriety.

 

 

 

For all Kwame's 'I don't like talking about it', OMG, he never shut up about it! Every clip of him speaking was of him 'talking about it'! I think he's adorable, but in this ep, my, he grated.

 

 

YES!  That was bugging me, too.  Just make something you know and say it was your favorite food in high school and one of the first things you made.  No need to even mention dad. 

[swanjun]

I didn't like Phillip AT ALL until I read an interview he did awhile back. He apparently dropped out of HS, AND dropped out of culinary school after 3 months..

I bet he struggled to adapt his yummy food to his instructors' baffling palates!

[Tarasme]

I've been a Manbun apologist, but last night was just a bridge too far. And Tom's and Michael's looks, when he said he's basically had to dumb down his food to suit the judges, were hilarious. He needs to drink a big cup of STFU and just try cooking. ... I really do believe this competition is just not for him and I'm now ready for him to be put out of his misery. Although I don't know who to hate on when he leaves.

 

Marjorie may be a great chef but she bugs the shite out of me. Going back to her huge support for Angelina, which I could never figure out. She does seem sort of condescending to the other chefs. Isaac is not my personal favourite, but I don't really like the way she always calls his food unsophisticated. That's not her decision to make; it's the judges'.

 

I was so scared Kwame was a goner when I saw that dish. Not only did it sound bad, but it was just hideously ugly. I'm sorry that was his experience growing up. I just hope he gets it back together next week. He's still my favourite to win, although I do like Jeremy, as well.

 

Can't get behind Carl and Pink Hair, no matter what they do. I'm sure it's me, and not them.

ITA paragraph 1 wholeheartedly. Philip's ridiculousness last night removed all sympathy I had for him. 

 

Marjorie also grates but not significantly. My internal jury is still out on whether the comments in her interview are truly snippy or just saying something in order to say *something.* I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt because of the kitchen competence displayed thus far.

 

Why so many tomatoes Carl? Sheesh.

 

I'm not sure what to make of Jeremy. I'm afraid he might just be getting lucky.

 

Kwame- either Jason's food was seriously wrecked or the whole "PYKAG is based on each EC" is a complete fraud.

 

Michael! So glad to see you back on my screen you beautiful creature! Please come back soon! And bring your brother!

 

Was anyone else disappointed that a ten years of Top Chef challenge was so lackluster? I have no real constructive criticism expect to say there could be "wow" involved in such a celebration people.

 

But thanks for bringing Michael. Maybe an entire Michael episode (in his cute little skinny fit chef's jacket) would have been wow enough.

[carrps]

So NOW what night/time is this on? Went to watch it and,ok, not there!

Seriously! Our dvr was set to record the 10:00 show specifically, and luckily we noticed earlier in the evening that Top Chef was not set to record. We had to go in and change our dvr settings for the show. WTF, Bravo?

[RemoteControlFreak]

I am glad Tom addressed Jason's sour personality and I believe that tipped the scales to him going vs Kwame who displayed emotion.  When will they every learn to make a good dish then create a story around that?  So simple.  

I don't think that's it.  Tom and the judges have very consistently over 10 years sent people home who had the worst food, regardless of pleasant or unpleasant personalities.  

 

Jason went home because his food was apparently completely lacking in seasoning so it tasted worst.

Edited January 22, 2016 by RemoteControlFreak

[Calamity Jane]

Oh, Phillip, Phillip, Phillip.  I'm trying to remember when I have ever seen someone on his own aim such a bazooka at his own foot.  And then insert the other foot in his mouth at Judge's Table.  The looks on Tom's and Michael V's faces were priceless. Whether he is just overall stupid or merely socially clueless, that was almost unbelievable, both sad and funny all at once.  There's a food critic at the New York Times who is all about mocking pretentiousness in restaurant food and concept - I'd love to see his take on this guy. 

[MaggieG]

I have a ridiculous crush on Michael V so when he appeared, I squeeled!!

Really tired of Man Bun

Tom's facial reactions where on point this episode

I'm starting to really like Carl and Amar, both their dished looked delicious. Isaac continues to make me laugh. That's all I really got.

[Charlesman]

Well, if Man Bun is surviving this far, I hope he lasts one more week so I can witness him in Restaurant Wars. Keeping him this long will be worth it to see him flame out there.

He's going to put himself at Front of House, isn't he? It'll be awesome.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

My heart was just breaking for my sweet Kwame (glad I am not the only person on this usually snarky safe-place that is just all squeeeeeee-love over a cheftestant) and his deep-seated (seeded? never sure) sadness over his dad.  I would have been broken-hearted if this had sent him home, especially over bitchy-plaidjacket and insufferable-manbun. I am SO excited about the imminent arrival of Shaw Bijou. That goes right to the top of our restaurant bucket list!

 

Like MaggieG said, Isaac always makes me laugh. I'd love to hang out with him and eat his spicy Cajun food.

 

And Mr. Snap and I have been loving Amar sightings since Week One and still have him pegged as our stealth threat.

 

So my three faves all managed to pull through another week! 

 

I would like to be a bigger fan of Marjorie's since she's the other "local" restauranteur but her personality just bugs me. 

[Pepper Mostly]

I skipped a couple episodes (forgot it was on, to be honest) so maybe I'm missing a connection to these people but...this was a little too Food Network for my taste.  If we're acknowledging 10 years of Top Chef, let's talk Top Chef and drop the cheftestant stories about their past (maybe in an interview, not as a basis for a challenge).  I'm glad the winning dish at least put a spin on things, added some depth.  

 

And of all the times not to have a catering challenge...why not bring a bunch of past people back and throw a party?  

I hate the stories. anyone with a lick of sense surely knows to make something up, right? It would have been fun to have them do a challenge from the first season. I would have enjoyed that.

 

Speaking of season one, Philip reminds me strongly of Stephen, who also thought he was above it all.

[Calamity Jane]

Well, if Man Bun is surviving this far, I hope he lasts one more week so I can witness him in Restaurant Wars. Keeping him this long will be worth it to see him flame out there.

He's going to put himself at Front of House, isn't he? It'll be awesome.

Maybe he'll make more of his yummy gummy potatoes to help his team along.