S13.E12: Wok This Way

[biakbiak]

That chicken Pio thing was on "Looking" last season. And I guess Kwame's seen "Mildred Pierce."

The chicken restaurant on Looking was piri piri which is a Portuguese dish.

[Primetimer]

Phillip returns, frozen waffles are served, lobsters are torn in two!

Read the story

[pawsodoom]

As soon as I heard Kwame utter the words "frozen waffles" I turned off the TV because I knew he was going home. What a shame to go home for something so stupid.

 

I'm okay with anyone left winning the whole thing, except Jeremy. I find him extremely unlikable. Not in a villainous sort of way. He just seems ... unpleasant.

[candall]

This is the second time I thought awarding Marjorie second place ("First Loser!") was for the sake of maintaining a more even keel among the cheftestants as they sail into the finale.

 

I'm giving Phillip another shoutout because he did a good job for Kwame--and also because my laptop would now be in flames from the outrage if he'd been responsible for tanking the dish.  He told Kwame he thought frozen waffles were a mistake and offered a recipe, but then he kept his place and didn't try to strongarm the boss.  Deference is a refreshing look on you, Bunny.

 

It was amusing when Kwame and Tom both cited "Takeaway for 40" as the standard for why the mini-waffle concept was perfect AND ridiculous.

[TiffanyNichelle]

As soon as Kwame said he was going to use frozen miniwaffles, "organic" or not,  I knew he was done. It was really disappointing because I thought for sure he was on a fast track for a win but ever since the flashback episode he's been floundering. But really, if Marjorie could figure out how to make fresh pasta, Kwame could have made his own waffles and made them bigger than what he bought.

 

How is Jeremy still there??

[MaggieG]

I'm sorry, probably get heat for this, but I just don't like Marjorie. This is my personal opinion, but did she really have to try and sabotage the other chefs by pairing them with sous chefs they didn't get along with? When she said "I'm going to send someone home tomorrow" I thought, well someone is already going home and you're not sending them anywhere, the judges are. I feel like on a competition like Top Chef, it should be about your cooking, not about trying to sabotage another chef. All the sous chefs at that point had been kicked off, they had no stake in the game. As we saw, everyone got along and the sous chefs followed the orders of the chefs so her strategy didn't really work. And she did really well, they loved her food so what was even the point? Idk, again this is my personal opinion, but if I was even on a show like this I'd want my cooking to get me to the top, not me messing around with other contestants. It just makes me dislike her. At this point, I'd want Carl, Amar or Isaac to win

[jimene79]

As soon as Kwame said he was going to use frozen miniwaffles, "organic" or not,  I knew he was done. It was really disappointing because I thought for sure he was on a fast track for a win but ever since the flashback episode he's been floundering. But really, if Marjorie could figure out how to make fresh pasta, Kwame could have made his own waffles and made them bigger than what he bought.

 

How is Jeremy still there??

Jeremy's cooking seems completely uninspired to me.  I can't remember a single one of his dishes.  I don't think i can say that about anyone else - they've all made something that's piqued my interest.  Jeremy reminds me of CJ - hovering in the middle and avoiding being sent home for that.  I hope he goes next.

[Julia]

I'm guessing Marjorie had a long talk with Mike Isabella, because she's working right out of his playbook. She's confrontational, she's picked the contestant she's most threatened by and she picks on him, and she thinks it's charming winner behavior to sabotage the other contestants. I suppose it's a smart strategy for a chef who's never going to be fan favorite, but it's just as tiresome in a woman.

 

I don't understand the Angelina love, but oddly-placed loyalties should be the worst thing a contestant on this show asks to be admired for.

[hendersonrocks]

Jeremy, Success Academy is on the line.  They would not only like to offer your daughter a place at your local Success school, but to make you lifetime president of its PTA.

 

Education shade + Top Chef shade = an unexpected chortle. Well done!

 

We have an amazing (AMAZING) fast casual restaurant in the Twin Cities that seems very similar to what Amar was going for. Ours is called Brasa and if you're ever here, do yourself a big favor and go. I was recently at a fast casual chain in DC that also seems strikingly similar to Carl's concept - Roti. It was fine, but neither that place nor Carl's made me as intrigued as Marjorie's pasta concept or Kwame's chicken and waffles concept. I'm bummed Kwame bungled the execution of his so badly.

Edited February 26, 2016 by hendersonrocks

[AriAu]

Good and interesting episode, but I am a little torn about the challenge itself. Coming up with a fast casual idea and a name and then executing within less than 24 hours without knowing the equipment or cooking conditions seems a little unfair or unrealistic. Maybe they let them think about it first, but seemed an unfair and unrealistic set of parameters. Not "stay up all night to make BBQ" unfair, but tough this late in the game. Also, when did they conceptualize the other dishes that were not "sampled" and have the signage prepared?

Marjorie played it right and did give herself the best chance to win-she picked who she wanted and then created what the producers had t figure was reality TV gold by pairing him with Philip-pairing him with anyone had a good chance for BS, but the producers had footage of this combo. And what a coincidence that they picked the 6 most abrasive/controversial of the eliminated cheftestants, altho surprised that we did not see Grayson again!

 

Blais was not that annoying last night but at the Bravo site, his arrogance was in full bloom

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-13/blogs/richard-blais/richard-the-classiest-moment-in-top-chef-history?cid=soc_dg_fb_TopChef

But can we talk about Kwame's exit? It may be the classiest moment in Top Chef history.

Okay close, I did give away a prize to a Stefanie in season four's wedding challenge ;).

What. A. Gentlemen.

 

It was very classy and very touching (and very NOT unexpected by Kwame himself), but why did Blais have to ruin it by bringing up himself!

Edited February 26, 2016 by AriAu

[avecsans]

Jeremy is such an ass. Who on earth besides Donald Trump tells his child that coming in second only makes her First Loser??? And his concept is to have "hot chicks" serve his food? Pig. It really bothers me when fathers talk like that. Way to bring up the next generation, douchebag. It was too much to hope that he would be pykag'd because as everyone has mentioned, Kwame made a fatal unforced error. Too bad.

[rainsmom]

"If you're second, you're the first loser" - what a horrible message to teach your daughter, Jeremy. That couldn't possibly backfire and cause self-esteem issues.

Yes, thank you. I screamed "LOSER!" at Jeremy every time he failed to win last night. Douche.

[gus]

 

When she said "I'm going to send someone home tomorrow" I thought, well someone is already going home and you're not sending them anywhere, the judges are. I feel like on a competition like Top Chef, it should be about your cooking, not about trying to sabotage another chef.

 

Top Chef has never been just about the cooking - maybe it should be, but it isn't.  That wasn't sabotage, it was the advantage that the show set up for the Quickfire winner.  You work within the rules of your environment.

[tvsoothesthespirit]

I thought Marjorie's doling out of sous chefs was pretty fair.  In the end, someone had to take Phillip. I think I would have taken it as an indication that she was nervous about me.  In the end, it didn't matter anyway.  Frozen waffles and the like = going home. Isn't it ok for Marjorie to talk a little smack about her fellow chefs? Although I agree. She seems to have an elitist edge in her thinking about being a chef and food. IIRC, she hasn't exactly done that great working outside her comfort zone.

 

I completely agree with the poster above who said Kwame didn't recover from the "memory" challenge.

 

I cringed at Jeremy's convo. with his daughter and the talking head afterward as well. The problem with trying to get people like him to realize that's not an effective motivational tool is that they attribute their own success to that attitude.

[chiaros]

Chicken & Waffles has been around for a long time. Not a new concept. Nope.

 

As for Kwame using frozen waffles - he said he LIKES frozen waffles - so he was following his tastes. Unfortunately the TC judges have opinions about frozen/pre-made stuff. Nevertheless, he should have known better; and yes, his mini-waffles (whether frozen or even if they were freshly made) were just too small. Soggy, too, from the footage of what the judges said as presented on the episode.

 

A shout-out to all who have said Marjorie is unlikeable (as edited, of course), disses Isaac without any persuasive justification and in this episode was scheming against her rivals etc. I agree.  However, I don't go along with the hatred for Mike Isabella associated with her and her behavior. I never thought Mike I. was the sort of evil person some folks here proclaim him to be.

 

Jeremy started strong but has looked (on the show, as edited) as an a***ole objectionable bro-type.

[JES004]

Marjorie used her advantage wisely - you should try to take at one of the stronger competitors.  Someone was going to get Phillip.  I heard a lot of the other chefs say hoping she wouldn't pair them.  Turns out Marjorie didn't need the advantage.  Kwame sunk himself.  The minute frozen waffles left his mouth, I said goodbye Kwame, good luck in LCK. I don't know why she is all fired up about Angelina, but apparently it worked for Marjorie.

 

I'm guessing Marjorie had a long talk with Mike Isabella, because she's working right out of his playbook. She's confrontational, she's picked the contestant she's most threatened by and she picks on him, and she thinks it's charming winner behavior to sabotage the other contestants. I suppose it's a smart strategy for a chef who's never going to be fan favorite, but it's just as tiresome in a woman.

But okay for a man, I guess????  

[In Pog Form]

As soon as Kwame said he was going to use frozen miniwaffles, "organic" or not,  I knew he was done.

 

I think the "organic" comment was a sarcastic call-back to the chef who got eliminate earlier in the season when she used canned chick peas(?) and justified them by saying they were "organic." I don't think Kwame was seriously suggesting that being organic made them good (it might not have even been written on the package).

 

Chicken & Waffles has been around for a long time. Not a new concept. Nope.

I don't recall them being asked to come up with a new food concept or cuisine. It's almost impossible to come up with a totally original concept in food. They aren't going to come up with six in short notice.

And whose concept was original? Tacos? No. Gumbo? No. Pasta? No. Mediterranean? No. Chicken and Waffles have been around for a lot shorter time than any of those foods.

ETA:

Padma's instructions: "We want you to think of a fast casual concept that can work in any city in America."

Guest Adam Fleischman: "It's really important to pick a concept that's broad enough for mass appeal, but also driven by your own personality..."

Note that Fleischman's own "innovative" concept for fast casual is... a burger joint. Also given as an example of successful innnovation by Padma is Shake Shack... a burger joint.

Edited February 26, 2016 by In Pog Form

[bunnywithanaxe]

"If you're second, you're the first loser" - what a horrible message to teach your daughter, Jeremy. That couldn't possibly backfire and cause self-esteem issues.

Yeah, the teacher in me started waving around the axe in my moniker when I heard that. Hope he's keeping the poor kid well stocked in Tums, otherwise she'll have an ulcer by the time she's 22.

[cooksdelight]

It was very classy and very touching (and very NOT unexpected by Kwame himself), but why did Blais have to ruin it by bringing up himself

I don't think Blais can utter a sentence without bringing himself into it.

[Julia]

But okay for a man, I guess????  

 

I believe you may be grasping a non-standard usage for the phrase "just as tiresome."

Edited February 26, 2016 by Julia

[bunnywithanaxe]

Speaking of teachers,and just to be positive, I love how Martin Yan didn't just dismiss his bottom three quickfire contestants with a recitation of the flaws in their cooking, but used each critique as a teachable moment. To me it would almost be worth it to get panned by Yan if he gave me a bunch of good tips while doing it.
Just love Yan, really. He seems like such good people.

[locomoco]

FROZEN waffles?  That's it for Kwami.

Let it go...

[bunnywithanaxe]

Phillip tells Kwame, "I have a waffle recipe." and Kwame responds that he is going to buy them, because they are "his jam." He lost that one all on his own. smh

Good grief, a simple pancacke/ waffle recipe is one of life's easier things. And I'm sure he could have asked the producers for a waffle iron.

[meep.meep]

I'm sure Kwame knows how to make waffles. And I doubt the producers would have gotten him a waffle iron - he would have had to buy one out of his food money at Whole Foods.

 

The frozen ones would have been OK if he had toasted them in the oven.  But it looked like he fried them in a pan, so they weren't even waffley  and crisp.

[carrps]

Someone needs to quickly sign up Isaac for his own show. That man can cook and he has one of the best personalities to come along in ages. I get the hugest kick out of his humor and his dead-pan expressions. And whoever runs Isaac's show better not change one bit of his Isaac-ness.

 

Ugh. Nope. I don't find Isaac as charming as he obviously thinks he is. The way he looks down and then up through his eyelashes when he says something "cute?" Again, ugh. I think he could easily become Guy Fieri Mark II.

 

I definitely saw tears shining in Tom's eyes when Kwame said he worked in Craft. Aw. 

 

I would definitely eat at Carl's place -- that's the kind of food that I really crave at lunch. I'm also a pasta addict, but I really hate tuna with spaghetti. I know it's one of the traditional preparations, but I don't like it. At. All.

 

Jeremy's inner douche was certainly showing its outer manifestation in this ep.

[savingsanta]

Does the episode description really call Martin Yan a "foodie"??? He's been cooking and publishing cookbooks longer than some of these cheftestants have been alive. Or producers, for that matter. SMH.

[LennieBriscoe]

Go for the short-cut, get cut short. No quarter for both idiocy and sloth.

[Ellee]

snip

 

I definitely saw tears shining in Tom's eyes when Kwame said he worked in Craft. Aw. 

 

 

And, as far as we know, Kwame never brought it up until after he was eliminated.

 

Does anyone think that some of Kwame's outside responsibilities may have something to do with him not bouncing back after the 'memory' episode?   It might be that the kid had too much on his plate (competition and outside real world) and was ready to go......

Ok....one more..... What has happened to Tom?   He seems more relaxed and involved.  Maybe even emotional.  Especially with LCK.

 

Lol, I kind of like the look!  IMO he wears it well.

[biakbiak]

And, as far as we know, Kwame never brought it up until after he was eliminated.

He definitely mentioned it before, I thought it was not just in a TH but I could be wrong. That said I imagine they have to disclose such information so Tom would be aware.

[swanjun]

"If you're second, you're the first loser" - what a horrible message to teach your daughter, Jeremy. That couldn't possibly backfire and cause self-esteem issues.

Isn't this what Jennifer Carroll said her dad told her after her post-exist flameout on Season 8?

Also, I would also give a kidney to see Carla and Isaac together.

[Julia]

Isn't this what Jennifer Carroll said her dad told her after her post-exist flameout on Season 8?

 

So apparently being a really bad father means your kid turns out to be Jen Carroll.

[Bastet]

Isn't this what Jennifer Carroll said her dad told her after her post-exist flameout on Season 8?

 

Yes, I thought of Jen immediately when Jeremy made that comment.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Bastet

[HawaiiTVGuy]

 

And Kwame begins to doubt his frozen waffle decision, but then tries to make himself feel better by saying to Phillip, "It says organic on the box, so you know it's good." Well…it also says "frozen" on the box, doesn't it?

The funny/sad thing about it was that Phillip started to laugh, thinking Kwame was making a joke, but then saw he was being serious and had to stifle himself.  

I'm sure Kwame knows how to make waffles. And I doubt the producers would have gotten him a waffle iron - he would have had to buy one out of his food money at Whole Foods.

 

The frozen ones would have been OK if he had toasted them in the oven.  But it looked like he fried them in a pan, so they weren't even waffley  and crisp.

How much would a waffle iron have set him back though?  And considering the savings from going with ingredients over the frozen pre-made ones?  At first I thought it was a time element issue, but the fact they were pan frying the orders in butter, I don't think he saved much time having the frozen ones.

[biakbiak]

WF at least that WF doesn't sell waffle irons, maybe they have more extensive cooking supplies at other locations but other than some Le Creuset pots and pans, a prep knife or two, cutting boards and a colander they don't sell cooking appliances at the ones in SF.

[LotusFlower]

Blais was not that annoying last night but at the Bravo site, his arrogance was in full bloom

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-13/blogs/richard-blais/richard-the-classiest-moment-in-top-chef-history?cid=soc_dg_fb_TopChef

Thank you for this! Now when someone says they don't understand all the Richard hate, I can point to this. What. A. Douche.

[some1105]

We have an amazing (AMAZING) fast casual restaurant in the Twin Cities that seems very similar to what Amar was going for. Ours is called Brasa and if you're ever here, do yourself a big favor and go.

 

Although I no longer live in Minnesota, hendersonrocks, frequent visits allow me to stay stocked with bottles of Brasa's hot vinegar, which I put on everything.  I would have put it on anything that was served in last night's episode.

Edited February 26, 2016 by some1105

[cattykit]

Has absolutely nothing to do with this episode, but I realized that if I close my eyes, Carl sounds exactly like Richard Blais.  Probably never noticed before since Carl has flown under the radar oh, pretty much the entire season until now.

[Julia]

Thank you for this! Now when someone says they don't understand all the Richard hate, I can point to this. What. A. Douche.

Gee, I wonder if he bunted and gave Stephanie the James Beard award too.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

 Inasmuch as I love Cajun food, I don't see it being a huge seller outside the southern region.

 

Oddly near my office (not in the south) we have a cajun place across from a place with bowls/wraps that was similar to the winning idea.

 

The cajun place is still there and usually busy....the wrap place (which was my favorite) is closed.

Edited February 27, 2016 by SingleMaltBlonde

[Kromm]

I felt like they were grasping at straws to make it look like it wasn't a foregone conclusion that Kwame was a goner. If you think about it, Taco Dude didn't make his own tortillas and we would never have a problem with that, but there's something just different about calling yourself Waffle Me and not even making the damn waffles. Waffle House even makes them fresh, for chrissake.

Most tortillas aren't frozen.

 

Waffles get very mealy when you freeze and unfreeze them. Admittedly frying them does change the texture a second time, and I can see the thought process that it would fix the problem, but what it doesn't alter is the judge's knowledge that you used a frozen waffle. It may not seem fair they apply that knowledge to the challenge rather than some ultimate decision based on the result alone, but it's foolish for a contestant to not KNOW they're going to.  I mean every single one of us viewing the show likely groaned out loud at the EXACT same second when we heard him talk about using frozen waffles. I know most of us knew in that second he was going home... and that was mere minutes into the show.  So the question is.... why didn't HE know what we all knew--that the judges would use it a talking point/strike against him automatically?

[sofaslug]

Let it go...

Cripes! Now I've got that damn song stuck in my head!

[Kromm]

WF at least that WF doesn't sell waffle irons, maybe they have more extensive cooking supplies at other locations but other than some Le Creuset pots and pans, a prep knife or two, cutting boards and a colander they don't sell cooking appliances at the ones in SF.

I kept wondering if there would be a way to make the concept work with Pancakes, but then realized it cant. The reason people use Waffles is because a Waffle is inherently crispy along most of it's surface area (because each nook/cranny presents more edges for the heated surface to crisp up), and a Pancake never can do that.

 

So really... they needed to just go with a total other concept the moment they couldn't find a Waffle Iron.

[whirlingdervish]

I would have actually been pretty psyched to have Phillip as my sous chef in that challenge...all along, his issues have been in conceptualizing dishes, taking himself way too seriously, and talking with grown-ups who aren't his mom. When it comes down to executing someone else's work--like in the lunch shift in Restaurant Wars, he puts his head down and gets shit done.  Plus, you know that he's so particular about his own dishes and so self-serious that he's going to make it a point of personal pride to ride or die nailing every detail of your dish exactly the way you want.  I would definitely take him over someone as messy as Wesley. 

[sourpickles]

I'm beginning to wonder if Jeremy has to actually poison the judges to get kicked off this show. I'm beginning to dread he's another Nick who lands in the bottom two week after week and wins the damn thing over much more deserving chefs. Or just knocks off much more deserving chefs a la Lisa, Robin, and others. I don't care what kind of edit he's getting, anyone who says that to their kid like that is a first class asshat. Kwame leaving was a given, it's been coming for weeks, since that whole dinner he made around his story w/his dad. Just didn't get past that, though I am sad to see him go. And Carl irks me more week by week. I wasn't quite sure why but the sounding like Blais thing might be it. He does have a bit of that smug to him. I don't know what happened to Richard, I liked him on his previous seasons, but man does he come off like a prick now. I think what I like most about Issac is his attitude. I wouldn't mind seeing Issac, Amar, and Marjorie as top 3. I could live with that. But yeah, kiss of death is frozen anything. I just rewatched season 7 and frozen puff pastries were equal with doom.

[Happytobehere]

I stopped watching the minute Kwame said frozen waffles.

[RCharter]

I'm sorry, probably get heat for this, but I just don't like Marjorie. This is my personal opinion, but did she really have to try and sabotage the other chefs by pairing them with sous chefs they didn't get along with? When she said "I'm going to send someone home tomorrow" I thought, well someone is already going home and you're not sending them anywhere, the judges are. I feel like on a competition like Top Chef, it should be about your cooking, not about trying to sabotage another chef. All the sous chefs at that point had been kicked off, they had no stake in the game. As we saw, everyone got along and the sous chefs followed the orders of the chefs so her strategy didn't really work. And she did really well, they loved her food so what was even the point? Idk, again this is my personal opinion, but if I was even on a show like this I'd want my cooking to get me to the top, not me messing around with other contestants. It just makes me dislike her. At this point, I'd want Carl, Amar or Isaac to win

You won't get any argument from me, I don't like Marjorie.

 

Jeremy is such an ass. Who on earth besides Donald Trump tells his child that coming in second only makes her First Loser??? And his concept is to have "hot chicks" serve his food? Pig. It really bothers me when fathers talk like that. Way to bring up the next generation, douchebag. It was too much to hope that he would be pykag'd because as everyone has mentioned, Kwame made a fatal unforced error. Too bad.

You know, everytime I think of the economic meltdown, I feel like it was basically a bunch of guys that were told it was some great sin to ever fail, so they covered up failure or even any indication that there might be failure.  Sometimes shit goes sideways and you can't win.  You can't control every single factor, and I think its much more important to just raise a child that is happy.  

 

Oddly near my office (not in the south) we have a cajun place across from a place with bowls/wraps that was similar to the winning idea.

 

The cajun place is still there and usually busy....the wrap place (which was my favorite) is closed.

 

I would love to have a cajun place nearby.  It will never be as popular as burgers or tacos but its such a rarity in my area (as far as I know) that I think it would do a good business because it wouldn't have much competition.

 

I stopped watching the minute Kwame said frozen waffles.

me too, I came straight to this page -- saw he was eliminated and just watched Project Runway.

 

Gregory 2.0 :(

[bravofan27]

I am almost positive Marjorie got her pasta idea (at least the part of the woman in the window making fresh pasta) from Filamena. It's a popular restaurant in Georgetown in DC that isn't fast casual, but is famous for having a real life woman in a little window as you walk in, smiling and making fresh pasta. I wondered if she would cop to it at the end when they asked her where she got her idea, but she didn't. Oh well, it is a cute idea, and I thought it was clever of her to use it Marjorie does like a lot like the ladies they hire to make pasta in the window. 

[chiaros]

I don't recall them being asked to come up with a new food concept or cuisine. It's almost impossible to come up with a totally original concept in food. They aren't going to come up with six in short notice.

And whose concept was original? Tacos? No. Gumbo? No. Pasta? No. Mediterranean? No. Chicken and Waffles have been around for a lot shorter time than any of those foods.

 

 

But of course. What I had in mind was that I got a sense from a few of the comments that chicken and (small) waffles in this context ("fast casual") was a new concept. But I'm sure I was mistaken on re-reading through again.

[Hero]

It's suspicious that Carl has a story for every challenge. I'm pretty sure that he pulls it out of his ass. All of his stories coincide with nature of the challenge perfectly.

I love, love, love Isaac! His food always looks good and he just has a great attitude.

[Madding crowd]

I don't like Marjorie at all and I wasn't impressed by the pasta concept even if she could have a woman in the window making pasta all day. I'm hoping Jeremy's comment was a joke, but I didn't mind him up until then. I didn't mind his concept either. I would have no problem eating tacos on a rooftop while drinking beer. He shouldn't have mentioned 'gastropub' though. Tom annoyed me when he said Jeremy should have made a beach fish taco place-if he had, the judges would have said that wasn't original and could be found on every other block in LA.

 

I really don't understand Kwame or his decision regarding the chicken and waffles. He had a sous chef, so why not try to do something that was actually a two person job? Phillip even looked alarmed and surprised, that frozen waffles were even being considered. All in all, I think it was a pretty limited concept, even if you change the flavor of the waffle, it's always chicken and waffles. I like all of the remaining chefs beside Marjorie, so I'm find with any of them winning (think it will be her though).