S14.E06: A Southern Legend

[lightbeam]

6 hours ago, meowmommy said:

The PR brand definitely did NOT improve by its move to Lifetime.  And I can only imagine the horror that Food Network would impart to the TC franchise.  They are so overwhelmed by TC they can't even admit anyone on their network has ever heard of it, much less competed on it.

  From what I've heard about what they do to the beauty plate to make it beautiful, I don't think anyone would want to eat anything on it.

 

Yikes...what do they do to the plate of food? I've never heard anything about this.

[essexjan]

5 hours ago, lightbeam said:

 

Yikes...what do they do to the plate of food? I've never heard anything about this.

Here's an article from 2012 explaining how they do it.

https://www.fastcocreate.com/1681880/creating-food-porn-how-top-chef-makes-viewers-love-food-they-cant-taste

[rose711]

8 hours ago, chiaros said:

In what way?

It seems to me that the responses here (and the fact that the original post about Jim being thought to be a gay person has got 60+ "likes") demonstrate that the stereotype of how gays are "supposed to be" were being exposed for what it is - a false stereotype. In this instance I think Bravo (surprise, surprise) took a worthy strike at that notion.

It's ugly of the show to be disrespectful of the chef and his  wife to use him as a "gotcha" moment, stereotyping viewers or not. The could easily have shown his wife from day one instead of using her to bring some dramatics several episodes later.I'm sure they both are not excited that his portrayal was used to show "hey this guy who has certain mannerisms isn't gay (or at least has a wife) unlike almost all the stereotypical guys with these mannerisms on fictional tv shows." 

i find it a very bad way to  treat a person.

i guess I shouldn't expect more given their heavy handed  use of everything they touch.

Edited January 8, 2017 by rose711

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, rose711 said:

It's ugly of the show to be disrespectful of the chef and his  wife to use him as a "gotcha" moment, stereotyping viewers or not. The could easily have shown his wife from day one instead of using her.

I guess I'm the only one who never gave a second's thought to Jim being gay, and didn't wonder why we hadn't heard about his home life, and wasn't surprised to see his wife. It's not unusual to not get back stories until a few episodes in. I just don't see a conspiracy here.

[Mabinogia]

I pay more attention to the food, but have we seen the spouse of all the other contestants? I don't get why this one was such a big deal. Did I think Jim was gay? Didn't give it much thought. Wouldn't have been surprised, but not that surprised he's married, either. Then again, I would say that about any of them. I enjoy watching Jim on the show, which is more than I can say for half these people, so I hope he makes it far, and was happy to see a more personal side of him.

[nitrofishblue]

My latest issue of Cook's Country magazine had an interesting article. The article was about creating Chicken and Pastry. On page 15 there was a piece about Edna Lewis and her influence on the chicken recipe. It really isn't pastry as we tend to think of it but a flour based rolled dumpling that is cut into triangles. The recipe sound yummy. I did like the piece about Edna. After all my years of cooking (I am 73) I had never heard her name. You learn something new every day.

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, Canada said:

The amount of food that grocery stores throw away and waste is disgusting!!  And they lock up their garbage areas so that people can't come and take it, including homeless people.

OT for a second, but the notorious bomber/murderer Eric Rudolph was captured here when he was dumpster-diving for food behind the grocery store. He knew how much stuff gets thrown away daily.

Back to the show, was there any explanation for why Emily didn't pan fry her livers? Time factor?

[GoGamecox]

Anyone else think the Quickfire tastings in the kitchen are more bitchy than they used to be? It seems that they used to have a more positive vibe overall. I can't decide whether it's because Tom Colicchio isn't there as much and/or Padma's trying so hard to have a poker face about it or what. It's gotten to the point where my beau (who kind of halfheartedly watches with me here and there -- he isn't really that into the show) commented during the tasting how much he dislikes her and finds her to be condescending to the contestants. (He pointed out that one scene during the biscuit challenge where she makes a "yuck" face with her tongue out when Brooke adds the cornichons to her blender, for example.)  Add that to things like her "you're dismissed" lines, which my beau also called out, and I can see it now. Has she always been like this, and I just didn't see it?

Edited January 8, 2017 by GoGamecox
typos

[theatremouse]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Back to the show, was there any explanation for why Emily didn't pan fry her livers? Time factor?

Yeah, I don't have it recorded anymore to check, but my recollection is she said something to the effect of "oh crap there's no time, deep fryer it is or shit won't get done".

[Court]

Emily said oops,an hour goes quick and I have to deep fry them. You could tell she knew it was a bad idea. Then when I saw her plate with just livers and some sauce, I wondered what she did in that hour..

[Giselle]

13 minutes ago, Court said:

Emily said oops,an hour goes quick and I have to deep fry them. You could tell she knew it was a bad idea. Then when I saw her plate with just livers and some sauce, I wondered what she did in that hour..

Come up with a story for the judges?

[Giselle]

4 hours ago, GoGamecox said:

Anyone else think the Quickfire tastings in the kitchen are more bitchy than they used to be? It seems that they used to have a more positive vibe overall. I can't decide whether it's because Tom Colicchio isn't there as much and/or Padma's trying so hard to have a poker face about it or what. It's gotten to the point where my beau (who kind of halfheartedly watches with me here and there -- he isn't really that into the show) commented during the tasting how much he dislikes her and finds her to be condescending to the contestants. (He pointed out that one scene during the biscuit challenge where she makes a "yuck" face with her tongue out when Brooke adds the cornichons to her blender, for example.)  Add that to things like her "you're dismissed" lines, which my beau also called out, and I can see it now. Has she always been like this, and I just didn't see it?

I'd like to see how well Padma would do on a quick fire and elimination challenge. With out knowing what the ingredients and parameters of the challenges are.

I wish once that a contestant to whom she has been condescending would tell her to get her rear on the other side of the table and see if she can survive a blind tasting.

[Bees]

I really enjoyed this challenge. I loved how they showcased a chef that not many people have heard of. I hadn't even heard of her before the show. And I love how it's getting people to buy her cookbook. That's just wonderful. 

Man, I was so sure Jim was getting the loser edit. I mean showing his wife and getting so much screentime, I felt like he was doomed. Thank goodness he wasn't. He's my favorite of the newbies. While I am also surprised that he is in fact straight, I feel like a bit of a jerk for blindly stereotyping like that.

As for Emily, while I totally get the whole tears of frustration thing (most of the time I cry is because I'm frustrated), I also think that she's way too much of an asshole to me. And the arrogance, my god. Like, I appreciate confidence but not to the point of that. 

I'm surprised I didn't hear anybody call out Amanda for her portioning. That portioning was very large. 

[Court]

3 minutes ago, Bees said:

 

I'm surprised I didn't hear anybody call out Amanda for her portioning. That portioning was very large. 

They did. Someone asked her why her potatoes were cut so large. She said because she liked the height and the fork/knife aspect of the meal.

[Ellee]

I may be the only one that thinks this but I think Emily might be misunderstood.  Yes she is saying and doing the things we see but she is also being led by TPTB.  I don't know. 

Texas was the last time I let myself get caught up in behavior issues.  Then it was three or four against one. Bravo likes this kind of bs. Me not so much.  (The debate at Bravo was fun though.  :D )

If Emily is as uncomfortable about all of this as I think she is this experience is going to really hurt her.  Much like it did others who came back for a redemption tour. 

My posting abilities stink. Not the person to address this but I tried.  :D

Edited January 9, 2017 by Ellee

[Wings]

On 1/7/2017 at 8:51 AM, nitrofishblue said:

I watched the quickfire and started to wonder what happens to all the prepared food that is not eaten? They make two dishes and the judges take one bite out of each dish. Makes me a bit sad to think that all that extra food is just tossed in the trash.

The crew descends on all food, including partially eaten plates, and clean it up!  Nothing goes to waste.  

I was not drawn to buy Edna's cookbook.  Her emphasis was on seasonal, fresh simple dishes.  That is what is going on today.    

On 1/8/2017 at 8:12 AM, nitrofishblue said:

 The article was about creating Chicken and Pastry. On page 15 there was a piece about Edna Lewis and her influence on the chicken recipe. It really isn't pastry as we tend to think of it but a flour based rolled dumpling that is cut into triangles. The recipe sound yummy. 

I do that! It is a biscuit dough rolled and cut into triangles, basically.  

I like Padma, you either do or you don't and those who have an aversion to her find fault in all she does.  I get that because I do that with others on different shows!  When someone bugs you, they just do.  

If a chef comes up short a dish the person who was slighted always makes mention of it, it is part of the format to do so.  Padma got the med rare beef because that is her least favorite being a vegetarian when she is not on the show.  That made me wonder if they do that every time, never occurred to me until I saw the dish Padma missed.  

I am with everyone here when it comes to vegetarian challenges.  Just make a good plate without trying to make it replicate a meat dish. 

Edited January 9, 2017 by wings707

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Quote

Or....let's watch Sheldon fall.   I truly can't believe that they allowed Sheldon to participate.  With his bad back.  SMDH

And those evil bastards in the editing suite savored every minute of the fall.  They used slo-mo with sound effects!

And I just love me some Sheldon.  Such a cool, humble soul.

[DarkRaichu]

16 hours ago, Giselle said:

I'd like to see how well Padma would do on a quick fire and elimination challenge. With out knowing what the ingredients and parameters of the challenges are.

That would not be fair though since Padma is not a chef.  Now if there is a "Top Announcer" competition show with quick challanges,  I would like to see how Padma would do without instructions in an empty room with a box full of funny hats and 5 minutes on the clock :D 

[LucyHoneychrrch]

I always thought Katsuji was so nice; but this season, he's deeply unpleasant. What happened?

[DarkRaichu]

3 minutes ago, LucyHoneychrrch said:

I always thought Katsuji was so nice; but this season, he's deeply unpleasant. What happened?

I remember Katsuji trying to get on others' nerves in his original season too.  This time around he actually discussed this strategy openly with someone (Tesar?)

[meowmommy]

5 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

That would not be fair though since Padma is not a chef.  Now if there is a "Top Announcer" competition show with quick challanges,  I would like to see how Padma would do without instructions in an empty room with a box full of funny hats and 5 minutes on the clock :D 

She writes and sells cookbooks and describes herself on her own website as a food expert.  If she's not a chef, and therefore lacks the skills needed to perform a Top Chef challenge, then she has no business being rude and condescending to those who are.  If she is a chef, then she had better be able to back up her rudeness and condescension by having the skills to master any Top Chef challenge.

 

18 hours ago, Bees said:

Man, I was so sure Jim was getting the loser edit. I mean showing his wife and getting so much screentime, I felt like he was doomed. Thank goodness he wasn't. He's my favorite of the newbies. While I am also surprised that he is in fact straight, I feel like a bit of a jerk for blindly stereotyping like that.

I also thought it was a loser edit.  And I thought Jim was gay, but not in a way where I had any conscious thoughts about it prior to seeing the footage of his wife.  

[politichick]

There were many things in this challenge that I would like to taste. Do they post the recipes anywhere? I, too, had not heard of Edna Lewis, but I'm glad the show introduced us to her. 

I also thought that Jim was gay--not that there's anything wrong with that--and his dish is one of the ones that interested me. Don't know what I was doing when they showed his wife, but I missed that.

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, meowmommy said:

She writes and sells cookbooks and describes herself on her own website as a food expert.  If she's not a chef, and therefore lacks the skills needed to perform a Top Chef challenge, then she has no business being rude and condescending to those who are.

Food expert<>chef. Hell,  good cook<>chef. Being a chef requires more than just cooking skills. The challenges on the show are demanding in a time-management and think-on-your-feet sense that professional chefs ought to be able to deal with, but that plenty of people who might be really really good at cooking, cannot. The relays for one. Padma's ability to judge is not dependent on her ability to do, it's dependent on her ability to know what is required of the sort of person who applied to be on the show, because those people should be able to do. By the criteria you prescribe, they shouldn't have food critics judge the show.

Edited January 10, 2017 by theatremouse

[meowmommy]

44 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

Food expert<>chef. Hell,  good cook<>chef. Being a chef requires more than just cooking skills. The challenges on the show are demanding in a time-management and think-on-your-feet sense that professional chefs ought to be able to deal with, but that plenty of people who might be really really good at cooking, cannot. The relays for one. Padma's ability to judge is not dependent on her ability to do, it's dependent on her ability to know what is required of the sort of person who applied to be on the show, because those people should be able to do. By the criteria you prescribe, they shouldn't have food critics judge the show.

I actually do think that food critics should not be judging the show, because it's not a straight-up cooking competition.  They throw in gimmicks and tricks and time elements that would not be part of the experience of stepping into a restaurant and ordering a meal and expecting a certain level of quality.  My issue is with Padma's arrogance and rudeness toward the cheftestants when she apparently possesses none of the experience or the skills required of successful TC competitors.  

I am happy to agree to disagree...

[StevieRocks]

On 1/6/2017 at 10:12 AM, chiaros said:

The issue really was the parameters of the QF challenge. They were tasked with creating a vegetarian version of many Western/European meat-focused dishes – like Beef Stroganoff and so on – but using vegetarian components. That implied their dishes also had to LOOK like the traditional dishes. Like how many "vegetarian-versions" of meat-based dishes are done in restaurants nowadays, exactly like what folks here complain about --- faux versions "looking like" and pretending to be what they are not.

Yes, it was a regrettable QF challenge. It would have been much better to challenge them to create vegetarian dishes with the NOTION of those meat-based dishes, avoiding even using the words "inspired by". But that also creates many problems too.

They should have simply asked them to make a vegetarian dish of their fancy, whatever they wished to - and let them go at it.**

But THAT removes the D-R-A-H-M-A-H that the show looks for now in its real character as a Reality TeeVee Show.

** And if they did do so, and the cheftestants had the imagination to move beyond the confines of Western cooking, there would have been SO MUCH to do in terms of vegetarian dishes in SO MANY non-Western global cuisines both Asian (that means East, Southeast, South (= Indian, Pakistani, etc), Middle-East (= West Asian) and African and South American cuisines.

YES! And I also love the quotes you compiled from this thread. I was thinking the same--I've been fascinated by "Forks over Knives" and plant-based food documentaries lately, and they do so much with whole grains and vegetables and focus very little with the (IMHO, disgusting) "Frankenfood" fake meat substitutes and gloppy fake cheeses we saw here. That stuff is always unappetizing to me.

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, StevieRocks said:

YES! And I also love the quotes you compiled from this thread. I was thinking the same--I've been fascinated by "Forks over Knives" and plant-based food documentaries lately, and they do so much with whole grains and vegetables and focus very little with the (IMHO, disgusting) "Frankenfood" fake meat substitutes and gloppy fake cheeses we saw here. That stuff is always unappetizing to me.

Who used fake cheese? It was a vegetarian challenge so most cheeses could be used and I doubt that most of these chefs would even think about rennet in some cheeses.

The only other things that were used in this challenge were tofu and seitan (which is just wheat gluten), tofu has been around for 2,000 years, seitan for 1,500 years neither are "frankenfoods."

Edited January 10, 2017 by biakbiak

[StevieRocks]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Who used fake cheese? It was a vegetarian challenge so most cheeses could be used and I doubt that most of these chefs would even think about rennet in some cheeses.

The only other things that were used in this challenge were tofu and seitan (which is just wheat gluten), tofu has been around for 2,000 years, seitan for 1,500 years neither are "frankenfoods."

I stand corrected about the cheese, biakbiak. I should have clarified. I meant that the vegetarian-focused segments often highlight food substitutes instead of expertly preparing a remarkable and delicious vegetable dish like something one would get from a fabulous restaurant. Mea culpa.

[TaraS1]

Man, I really, really can't stand Katsuji.  The way he changed from angry bitchface when that lady first said his dish could be seen as stereotypical to all cheery when she complimented it...I just can't with him.  He's a douche.

[Nutjob]

Jim is my favorite, and I hope he wins. His mannerisms never struck me as anything but "polite, precise nerd." I hadn't really pondered his sexuality either way. That said, I was terrified he was getting the family background edit of doom this episode, so I was just happy he didn't get sent packing.

To me, Emily seems... spoiled. Talking about getting fired for her attitude makes me think that she has thrown more than one fit when she hasn't gotten her way, and now that she's in a situation where she's under more of a microscope, she's crying and cracking under the pressure. No thanks.

I'm also finding Katsuji a lot more exhausting than I did the first time around. I just don't have the patience.

[John M]

On 1/6/2017 at 2:03 PM, spankydoll said:

My MIL who knows exactly ZERO gay people said the same thing. Why did you think that? Because he is slight? Or dresses like a Southern gentleman?

I say this as a gay man, gaydar is real and it is not just stereotypes, I remember coming out to my mom in my early twenties after having girlfriends and sexual relationships with women and her telling me that she knew since I was 4 that I was gay. And I'm a pretty straight acting guy, my boss was teasing me the other day about what a bad gay I am.

Yeah I could point to stereotypes that he fits into but it's not that, it's just an intangible thing that you can pick up on when you spend a lot of time around gay men, it's really not stereotypes, it's just a je ne sais quoi that you just know.

I would bet my dog that the man is at least open to hooking up with another dude, I've made bets on guys that I was less sure about and been in bed with them shortly thereafter.

I mean I don't know for sure but early twenty year old me kind of feels bad for him, deep south southern chef, clearly not a part of a progressive education community which tends to stomp out accents like his pretty quickly, working for a conservative government and the kind of connections you need to make that happen, it reminds me of my, well, high school, college and early twenties when I was convinced that I just needed to find the right girl and everything would be alright.

[JES004]

On 1/7/2017 at 6:09 AM, essexjan said:

 

Did I imagine it, or when John was talking about his mother marching on Selma and they showed a picture of her - was she African-American? I'd looked away from my laptop (I have to stream TC through Couchtuner) and just caught a glimpse. (Trying to rewind when you're streaming is a nightmare, as you end up re-triggering the millions of adverts they try to make you watch, notwithstanding AdBlock Plus! - so I couldn't go back to re-watch.) 

She was on the far right. Brunette, and I think she was wearing glasses.  Not sure if it was sunglasses or regular.

[Lura]

I have always liked Padma and have never had one complaint about her.  However, there is something about her this season that I decidedly dislike about her.  It's an ego problem.  She behaves as if she's vastly superior to the contestants.  She borders on rude by questioning contestants about their preparations and the taste of their dishes.  Padma has assumed Tom's former role, and it doesn't flt her.  Even Gail has defended people from her comments!

Some of these problems may be the result of the somewhat new formatting of the show.  Tom used to be the revered chef who entered the kitchen and made the cheftestants tremble.  Now, we barely see Tom except when he's eating.  It falls on Padma to run the show, and she's doing so with a rather haughty attitude.  A rather minor complaint is that I hate her clothes this year.  She, and others before her, have always dressed in classy fashions, and they've added to the entertainment value.  I wish that Padma would return to her former fun self, and I wish that Tom would step forward and reassume his role as feared but benevolent leader.

[Archery]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 8:17 PM, Giselle said:

I wish once that a contestant to whom she has been condescending would tell her to get her rear on the other side of the table and see if she can survive a blind tasting.

She probably could.  Padma reportedly has a super-palate. 

[JeanneH]

I've been reading Judith Jones's book "The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food". Boy was I surprised when Edna Lewis turned up partway through! The book talked about Edna trying to write her first cookbook back in 1972. It sounds as if Edna was more of a story TELLER rather than a story WRITER, because things came out flat when she wrote them out. The trick, they found, was for Edna to verbally tell the story she wanted to tell, and then write it out as if she were speaking - and the written form would come out even better than the spoken version. There were several stories about Edna. Like nearly all the Cheftestants, I had never heard of her either, but from reading her mentions in this book, I gather she truly was an unassuming person who was a very big deal in her field.
(Judith Jones = book and cookbook editor, responsible for editing both "The Diary of Anne Frank" (rescued from the reject pile) and "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". There are some really simple and neat recipies at the end of this book)

Edited January 20, 2017 by JeanneH