S14.E08: Restaurant Wars

[Court]

I'm surprised John is getting so much credit. To me he's still the same asshole, he just got better at hiding it. Or manipulating the situation. He lied at the JT about the executive chef. No one made him take that position. It was offered to Sheldon. Sheldon said sure then John said no and insisted that it was important he do it.

He also needled Katsuji in the stew room and during prep. Let's not forget John did exactly what Katsuji did to him to Emily last week. He made her grab his stuff and prepare his lobsters.

Yes, Katsuji is also an asshole but so is John.

[FormerMod-a1]

3 minutes ago, Court said:

Let's not forget John did exactly what Katsuji did to him to Emily last week.

And John said "Yes, I'll help you after I finish this."  Which is exactly what Emily could have said but didn't and then griped only later or in THs.  And I don't hate Emily.  I don't think she up to par compared to the rest, but she as person seems fine.  But saying they did the same is kind of "So what?" to me.   Yep. And the recipients handled it different too.  

[ratgirlagogo]

On 1/20/2017 at 0:07 AM, chiaros said:

On 1/19/2017 at 11:50 PM, Thumper said:

Beef tongue???  Beef tongue??  At a restaurant?  ACK!  I grew up with the occasional beef tongue served at dinner and it was awful!!  Not to mention that it looked disgusting.  No. no. no.

Heh. I LOVE beef tongue. Ditto pork tongue. Such luxurious, textured meats, when done well.

I love tongue also, but then I grew up in California eating it in Mexican cooking - lengua.  Don't BTW ever go to a taco truck that doesn't have lengua.   And  New York Jewish-deli tongue sandwiches are plenty yummy as well - Chinese style tongue too.

Quote

  ON 1/20/2017 AT 11:03 AM, BITCHIN CAMARO SAID:

MVP of the episode was the kitchen worker in the background who was giving the stink eye to everything the blue team did. I hope he wasn't the one stuck cleaning up their ridiculous mess.

essexjan:  He was awesome. The grossed-out look on his face at the sight of those tongues was priceless.

I guess he never had tongue before.  Which is kind of another helpful hint that he was a professional actor rather than a professional server - which is always one of the unstated Restaurant Wars hurdles.    And tongue does have a history in Southern cooking as a soul food ingredient - but Katsuji did it in  Mexican style which the judges seemed to enjoy, even though it had little to do with Charleston cooking.

Quote

leighdear: [Tesar} also seems SO desperate for a legit bad-boy rep like Anthony Bourdain or Marco Pierre White.  Badly behaved yet brilliant in the kitchen, they both eventually sought and received redemption because they were that good.  World class, with savvy & magnetic personalities

Well, he and AB have a history of course.

http://www.mediaite.com/food/john-tesar-interview-part-one/

Edited January 21, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[essexjan]

Quote

leighdear: [Tesar} also seems SO desperate for a legit bad-boy rep like Anthony Bourdain or Marco Pierre White.  Badly behaved yet brilliant in the kitchen, they both eventually sought and received redemption because they were that good.  World class, with savvy & magnetic personalities

Bourdain will be the first to admit that he was just a competent chef, never a good one. But he's a good writer and an excellent presenter, I really enjoy his shows. John Tesar appeared in "Kitchen Confidential" as "Jimmy Sears". I must re-read that book, it's been a while.

Don't get me started on Marco Pierre White. I once saw him berating a saleswoman on the costume jewellery counter in Fenwicks in Bond Street because she told him that the earrings he was looking at were synthetic resin, not real amber. He lectured her on how they were amber because [bullshit reasons he made up], and threw them at her.  They were cheap-ish earrings on a little card. She put them back on the rack. I looked at them - and on the back of the card it said, quite clearly, 'Synthetic Amber'.  I also know a few people who've worked for him, both front and back of house, and nobody had anything good to say about him.

Edited January 21, 2017 by essexjan

[Quilt Fairy]

Isn't Marco Pierre White the one who supposedly made Gordon Ramsey cry when Ramsey was a sous-chef at his restaurant? 

[ratgirlagogo]

14 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

 

Isn't Marco Pierre White the one who supposedly made Gordon Ramsey cry when Ramsey was a sous-chef at his restaurant? 

 

Yes.

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, archer1267 said:

Many years ago I had a friend who was a waitress. The manager/owner never had his waitstaff's back, and if there was a ever a complaint, he would say "not my fault" and try to palm it off on the servers.

After this last episode and watching Katsuji, it struck me that he probably runs his restaurant the same way.

My impression from this episode is that both John and Katsuji, at least in this challenge, were both doing that.

I appreciate the apparent difference in John vis a vis anger issues, but I also thought he was fairly passive in this episode. Given that he took on the EC role, he appeared to either be flummoxed or just not give a shit or a little of both. I think some of his attempts at avoiding conflict were a little over-corrected and made the situation worse. It sort of seemed like a lot of the people on the team wanted to say they had things under control but nobody was actually taking control of anything. And it showed. Expediting doesn't happen magically on its own. They were both communicating poorly. Katsuji took on too much and executed poorly as a result. John took on the EC role but didn't seem to actually do what that job entails.

Casey's bugged me plenty in previous team challenges, but in the moment during judging when she said something to the effect of "I went back there, tickets were everywhere, and he says I need 17 desserts, so I plated them, I mean you have to right?" and Collichio basically agreed. And I was with her in that moment. And I think in nearly any other RW sitch, there would've been automatic pushback from the judges table on that sort of choice. Either to try to feel the situation out more, or did she abandon her post, is she throwing the rest under the bus, are they all just bickering, etc. It's unlike the judges to accept that statement. (I realize there is editing involved here, but hear me out). I think in this one by that point it was probably already clear her description was pretty straightforward and she wasn't making excuses, and she basically had no good choices but it was enough of a clusterfuck she had to do SOMETHING. And she wasn't even so much trying to excuse herself but no matter what stuff was getting neglected, so...

[spiderpig]

43 minutes ago, essexjan said:

Don't get me started on Marco Pierre White. I once saw him berating a saleswoman on the costume jewellery counter in Fenwicks in Bond Street because she told him that the earrings he was looking at were synthetic resin, not real amber. He lectured her on how they were amber because [bullshit reasons he made up], and threw them at her.  They were cheap-ish earrings on a little card. She put them back on the rack. I looked at them - and on the back of the card it said, quite clearly, 'Synthetic Amber'.  I also know a few people who've worked for him, both front and back of house, and nobody had anything good to say about him.

Didn't MPW have a series that lasted about a fifth of a second on US network TV?  

[Lura]

Purely a personal observation:

On John Tesar's two previous Top Chef seasons, I could barely stand him because of his attitude.  To say that he was rude would be an understatement.  I felt compassion for him because he talked about his alcoholism, but beyond that, I found him hard to take.  In the meantime, I have a friend on the board who apparently knows John personally, who insisted that John is not only a highly talented chef but a very nice person as well.  I found these claims to be nearly unbelievable at the time.

This season, I have finally seen what my friend was talking about.  John is entirely different from his first two outings.  Yes, he wants to win as much as anyone does, but he seems determined to do so in a civilized manner.  Katsuji, a favorite of mine from his season, seemed to be determined to worm his way under John's skin.  I found him to be an obnoxious egomaniac.  When he singlehandedly applauded John in his sarcastic way, I thought that I would lose it!

If John doesn't win Top Chef -- and he has stiff competition -- at least I feel that he has won his own battle with his anger and his other demons, and I give him great credit for coming back and proving it so far.  I hope that his future is far happier than his past.  After coming back a third time to prove his redemption, IMHO he deserves it.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Lura
typo

[Quilt Fairy]

2 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

she wasn't making excuses, and she basically had no good choices but it was enough of a clusterfuck she had to do SOMETHING. And she wasn't even so much trying to excuse herself but no matter what stuff was getting neglected, so...

But if she did originally tell the servers that only she could seat patrons, before she went to the kitchen to plate the desserts she should have designated someone to watch the FOH. 

3 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Didn't MPW have a series that lasted about a fifth of a second on US network TV?  

Yes. It was some restaurant startup competition reality show, and I remember enjoying it.

[theatremouse]

1 minute ago, Quilt Fairy said:

But if she did originally tell the servers that only she could seat patrons, before she went to the kitchen to plate the desserts she should have designated someone to watch the FOH. 

I don't disagree, but I also think it's fair if when she went back there, she wasn't expecting to stay back there she wouldn't have already done so, and once she did find herself doing that plating...the chaos of the thing...yeah the next time a server walked in she could've stopped and said it then, but I think by then they're all bailing water anyway. I'm not saying she made the best choices or even especially good choices, but she made the least bad choices. By comparison. My real point there was not that she's blameless for not having designated someone, but that even Tom seemed to be like "yeah that was bad but it was already fucked by then, so pass". In other RW we've seen people reamed for that sort of thing. My impression here wasn't "hey why are they letting that slide" but rather "when that's the smallest sin, this thing's a trainwreck".

[ratgirlagogo]

1 hour ago, spiderpig said:

Didn't MPW have a series that lasted about a fifth of a second on US network TV?  

Yes.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204888/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_13

[spiderpig]

32 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Yes.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204888/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_13

That's it!  I wondered if I'd hallucinated.  Maybe I did.  I clicked on the links to the eps and they're all dead-end.

MPW must be spitting nails at Gordon's success.  (A lot of people don't like him, but I find GR's sharpei face adorable.  Mr. pig and I have taken to calling each other "you donkey!" and "you donut!" when we're annoyed with one another.)

ETA: wonder why MPW has never been consulted on TC.  Or anywhere else.

To keep on topic, I still think Tesar's reincarnation as Mr. Nice Guy is purely strategic. His performance at the pass revealed his true self (blaming others) lurking underneath.

Edited January 22, 2017 by spiderpig

[DarkRaichu]

4 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I don't disagree, but I also think it's fair if when she went back there, she wasn't expecting to stay back there she wouldn't have already done so, and once she did find herself doing that plating...the chaos of the thing...yeah the next time a server walked in she could've stopped and said it then, but I think by then they're all bailing water anyway. I'm not saying she made the best choices or even especially good choices, but she made the least bad choices. By comparison. My real point there was not that she's blameless for not having designated someone, but that even Tom seemed to be like "yeah that was bad but it was already fucked by then, so pass". In other RW we've seen people reamed for that sort of thing. My impression here wasn't "hey why are they letting that slide" but rather "when that's the smallest sin, this thing's a trainwreck".

Agree.  And IMHO John should have been the one PYKAG-ed precisely because he was the Exec Chef and allowed the chaos in the kitchen.  He should have been the one to control the menu and fight Katsuji on how many dishes Katsuji could make for the RW.  His inability to reign his teammates were the main reason they lost.  He never had any control over the kitchen (the constant bickering) and the messy ticket expedition process added to the chaos.  

Edited January 22, 2017 by DarkRaichu

[Nordly Beaumont]

11 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

He should have been the one to control the menu and fight Katsuji on how many dishes Katsuji could make

And why was Katsuji making meringue for Casey? And Casey was showing Katsuji how to plate her dessert. He's already depending on the team to help him, but he's going to help Casey? John definitely should have reeled him in on the number of dishes and/or made a better plan for finishing Casey's dish. She ended up plating it herself  because there wasn't a solid plan in place for it. Sheldon made one dish so it seems like he should have been the one to help Casey if Katsuji was going to "insist" on making three + roasted nuts (which... roasted nuts? why?)

Edited January 22, 2017 by Nordly Beaumont

[bravofan27]

Katsuji is constantly panning to the camera and it's annoying. He says something obnoxious, smirks, and then makes sure that the camera is on him. It's a glance, but it's pretty obvious. He is the only one that does it that I have picked up on. When Katsuji clapped as John was spilling his guts, it reminded of me of dumb shit I did when I was 16 to my parents, to piss them off. Katsuji is his own worst enemy, he's talented but really immature. He seems like someone that had to raise himself and never had guidance, so he adopted the cocky attitude to protect himself. Whatever the reason, he is successful now and can learn some grown up manners. His failure to improve his social skills is just him being a stubborn idiot. 

[Bastet]

This is an episode where I really miss having blogs from the judges.  I know we see only a small percentage of Judges' Table questioning and deliberations, which go on for hours and get quite detailed, and the judges don't see the footage of the rest until they screen the episode -- which has led to "had I but known" rumination in the past.  So I'd really love some insight into how they chose which of the challenge's two inveterate assholes would go out.  Because based on the food presented and the bits of Judges' Table we saw, it probably should have been John.  But the one judge told Katsuji it seems clear he was only out for himself, not the team, so - even without seeing the kitchen shenanigans beyond what Tom and the guest judges walked in on and without seeing Katsuji's odious Stew Room antics - that was obvious to the judges.  How much did they know? 

I'm just glad Katsuji is gone, and wish only that John had somehow been sent packing along with him.  But I am curious about the judges' deliberations under the circumstances.

[ratgirlagogo]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

 

This is an episode where I really miss having blogs from the judges.

 

As I've said before this is how I have felt EVERY episode.  For all the reasons you gave in your post.

[Court]

Third on the Judge's blogs! I'd like to have seen one after Jamie gave up immunity as well.

Does anyone know why they stopped?

[Wings]

They probably stopped because they hated doing them!

[TaraS1]

I've never been in a physical fight in my entire life, but I think they would've had to peel me off Katsuji when he started that condescending slow clap bullshit. What an arrogant, immature prick.

This is so clearly not a case of someone who's just playing the part of a raging douchebag for the cameras. This is someone whose face changes literally the millisecond he doesn't get his way or get the praise he feels he deserves from the judges, and he shows his true asshole colors. 

I don't like John (and I even think he should've been the one to get booted), but if Katsuji had come up trying to hug me and tell me no hard feelings after that performance in the stew room? I think my response would've been, "Nah, bro. Fuck you."

In other news, the beef tongue song remains my single favorite moment in Top Chef history lol

[cooksdelight]

If Katsuji really wanted to be an even bigger ass, he could have told Tom and the other two guys that "John told me to do 3 dishes since he'll be so busy as EC"... same way John took credit for being EC as someone else's pushing him to do it. The whole thing was frought with misinformation to the judges.

And yeah, why was Katsuji making Casey's dish for her? Maybe he had it in his head he could handle three dishes with John's help, but John didn't help much.

Edited January 22, 2017 by cooksdelight

[Norma Desmond]

I know everybody hates Katsuji but the decision to send him home made no sense. He made the best protein of the night (per the judges and a lot of the guests), one bad dish and one meh. John made the worst dish of the night , was the executive chef and the failure of their team lies, in my opinion, solely on his shoulders. Unless Katsuji was sent home because of the things he said in front of the judges. He made a great tongue, but ended up going home because of his tongue.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Norma Desmond
typo

[chiaros]

19 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

As for John, never met him but have read both the good and the bad. Why he walked away from four restaurants in 2016 is anyone's guess. He closed up and moved on to open a new spot.

He didn't just "close up" and "move on to open a new spot" – he simply left the Apheleia Group to "get away" from working for multiple investors and to primarily concentrate on his own restaurant, Knife, and maybe expand that.

I posted this previously on the spoilers thread, but here it is again:

http://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/john-tesar-explains-why-he-walked-away-from-four-restaurants-this-year-8415874

There're also these two (there are others):

http://www.guidelive.com/food-and-drink/2016/04/27/chef-john-tesar-left-dallas-fine-dining-restaurant-oak

http://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/2016/04/john-tesar-leaves-apheleia-restaurant-group/

As for "open(ing) new spots" – Dallas Mag reports that, yes, there are two new opportunities, but he also plans to reopen Spoon, his former restaurant, not really a "new spot".

Edited January 22, 2017 by chiaros

[chiaros]

Here's a detailed analysis from one poster on another BB about this episode regarding the Tesar/Tanabe situation. Interesting reading, agree with it or not as you will.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TopChef/comments/5p0rl9/s14e08_restaurant_wars_discussion_thread/dco46un/?utm_content=permalink&utm_medium=front&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=TopChef

Edited January 22, 2017 by chiaros

[chiaros]

On 1/20/2017 at 8:26 PM, seltzer3 said:

Poor Sheldon. He looked so uncomfortable during judges table. At the end, you can clearly see him standing further away from John and Katsuji. With his red hat, he looked like a turtle wanting to hide inside his shell. Lol

 

On 1/19/2017 at 10:59 PM, HunterHunted said:

I did love that when John and Katsuji are going at each other in front of the judges, you can see Sheldon clearly take a step backwards.

 

[bitchin camaro]

On 1/20/2017 at 11:52 PM, Corgi-ears said:

Thank you so much for capturing this. Priceless!

[Quilt Fairy]

33 minutes ago, bitchin camaro said:

Thank you so much for capturing this. Priceless!

I think this is a case of "You really don't want to know what went into the sausage".  I only had beef tongue once, many years ago, but I thought it tasted just like beef, which shouldn't be surprising because it's just another muscle from the cow and not an organ with a distinctly different taste. And don't forget that Rick Bayless made tongue tacos on his way to becoming a TC Master winner (I think they were actually part of his finale menu), and became so in demand that he put them on the menu at one of his restaurants in Chicago.

[xaxat]

On 1/19/2017 at 10:59 PM, HunterHunted said:

I did love that when John and Katsuji are going at each other in front of the judges, you can see Sheldon clearly take a step backwards.

Accompanied by Casey's massive "Oh Lord." eye roll. 

[EmpressElle]

17 hours ago, spiderpig said:

ETA: wonder why MPW has never been consulted on TC.  Or anywhere else.

He gets a week on MC Australia, and I think was the resident chef for their MC Pro.  They flove him and practically kiss his feet.  He'd be an interesting guest chef on this show because he doesn't put up with any excuses or back talk, but I doubt he'd have enough respect from, say Katsuji, to pull off his typical "Yes Marco!" style of mentorship.

 

I don't remember Katsuji being this much of an ass on his first season, but I remember that I didn't like him then either.  Good riddance!

[chiaros]

Beef tongue in african dishes (that black guy in the photo above, as someone else commented on, was probably a 'Murcan actor)

German pressed tongue.

Zungenwurst.

Beef tongue in Mexican dishes.

Beef tongue in Chinese dishes.

Beef tongue in Indian dishes.

And so on and so forth, etc etc.

[holly4755]

I don't think the issue is = is beef tongue food, but is it southern food. In the south they eat pig far more than beef, You don't see the big cattle ranches there. Basically, this was not southern food,. period, they agreed on a theme and then everyone ignored it. 

[chiaros]

28 minutes ago, holly4755 said:

I don't think the issue is = is beef tongue food, but is it southern food. In the south they eat pig far more than beef, You don't see the big cattle ranches there. Basically, this was not southern food,. period, they agreed on a theme and then everyone ignored it. 

Beef tongue in USA Low Country cuisine.

Beef tongue in Southern USA dishes.

But, as others have pointed out, "beef tongue" MEXICAN STYLE does not equal US Southern style.

Edited January 22, 2017 by chiaros

[bitchin camaro]

I'm still puzzled on the pimiento-cheese-style crab dip. I could eat pimiento cheese every single day, but what does replacing the cheese with crab (and canned crab at that!) accomplish? And since when does crab dip go on a fine-dining table? That sounds like something you'd get for happy hour at TGI Friday's. How about some fried mozzarella and stuffed mushrooms while you're at it. 

[RealReality]

22 hours ago, Court said:

I'm surprised John is getting so much credit. To me he's still the same asshole, he just got better at hiding it. Or manipulating the situation. He lied at the JT about the executive chef. No one made him take that position. It was offered to Sheldon. Sheldon said sure then John said no and insisted that it was important he do it.

He also needled Katsuji in the stew room and during prep. Let's not forget John did exactly what Katsuji did to him to Emily last week. He made her grab his stuff and prepare his lobsters.

Yes, Katsuji is also an asshole but so is John.

So much this!!

Although there was no excuse, IMO for that slow clap.  John was clearly at the end of his role when he said "fine if that's how you want to win"  and so it was just another instance of katsuji kicking someone when they are down.

It's just uneccesssary, spiteful and mean.  I don't think there is any noble, competitive intention behind it because he does it with people he doesn't really need to do it with.  You dont need to "knock Emily off her game"  she sucks.  You dont need to "knock John tesar off his game", the challenge is over and one of you is going home.

If you want to knock someone off their game, they have to have game first.  So why isn't he trying this shit with Brooke or Casey or Sylvia when they have been in the bottom?  

[holly4755]

I guess if they have dairy, they have gows, just not lots of ranches,. I do not believe it is a frequent dish though. And the southern is in the cooking, I don't understand why there was not yes and know approval on the dishes before they shopped. It is too ridiculous rto believe that only one person made a low country dish in a low country restaurant.  a myriad of bad decisions involving pretty much everyone.  

[JenMcSnark]

The blue team's kitchen looked like Golden Corral after dinner rush.  Disgusting. 

[ratgirlagogo]

7 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

don't forget that Rick Bayless made tongue tacos on his way to becoming a TC Master winner (I think they were actually part of his finale menu), and became so in demand that he put them on the menu at one of his restaurants in Chicago.

Tongue (lengua) tacos are made everywhere in Mexico (and former Mexico in the USA) where beef or pork is a standard  ingredient.  The only surprise for me would be if Bayless really had never served lengua tacos previously at his restaurant.

Edited January 23, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[HunterHunted]

On 1/21/2017 at 4:47 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

I love tongue also, but then I grew up in California eating it in Mexican cooking - lengua.  Don't BTW ever go to a taco truck that doesn't have lengua.   And  New York Jewish-deli tongue sandwiches are plenty yummy as well - Chinese style tongue too.

I guess he never had tongue before.  Which is kind of another helpful hint that he was a professional actor rather than a professional server - which is always one of the unstated Restaurant Wars hurdles.    And tongue does have a history in Southern cooking as a soul food ingredient - but Katsuji did it in  Mexican style which the judges seemed to enjoy, even though it had little to do with Charleston cooking.

Well, he and AB have a history of course.

http://www.mediaite.com/food/john-tesar-interview-part-one/

It is one of the constant problems in restaurant wars and they do often hire actors. However, I think you have to distinguish between servers in a fine dining or innovative restaurant and just servers in regular restaurants. Lots of servers in regular old restaurants might never have the opportunity to eat tongue. We've been joking on the Vanderpump Rules forum about the palates of the servers on Vanderpump Rules. The girls went to a clam bake and refused to eat the clams, mussels, and lobsters. They would later throw a bridal shower with a tower of Taco Bell tacos. Lisa Vanderpump's palaces of mediocrity (Villa Blanca, SUR, and Pump) where these girls work are priced like restaurants better than they are. Even if a server works at a fine dining or innovative restaurant, you can't force them to try dishes or eat family meal.

[RealReality]

I dont think that guy was a server.  I thought he was working the dishes/cleaning.  

[sourpickles]

Between the pimento crab dip, mac and cheese, and W(hatever)TF else he's old school made, I'm wanting John to hang around if only to see what he does with his next brilliant idea: LOAF.  Any kind.  If you don't know what that is, consult an old relative, or perhaps mid-PA.  We have loafs (or loaves, or both, depending on your meaning).  If he's going to be all 60's or so, he should go all the way.  I'm dragging out my vintage (read: old) cookbooks to see what else is next.  If I sound bitter, I've had a bad last few days, so laughing at this show keeps me somewhat sane.  And yes, Katsuji and John both acted like asshats, but at least one is gone.  I did appreciate John telling him to leave Emily alone.  I hope that kitchen guy googles himself, he's about a meme now, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.  He was pretty awesome, I mean, what do you SAY in that situation?  You just turn around, huddle over the dishes, and pray it's over soon.  And I will never, ever again be able to hear the words "beef tongue" without seeing and hearing Antonia and Carla's rendition on All Stars.  You just cannot match it. 

ugh.  HES.  Not He's.  Jesus.

[heatherchandler]

On 1/20/2017 at 8:02 AM, PreviouslyTV said:

Come for the food, stay for the epic battle of a-hole chefs!

View the full article

Will adds, "I think Shirley's snapper is nice." Which seems off-brand for him, to compliment a lady's snapper like that.

I was thinking the same thing about Will G.  But apparently Will is married...to a woman.  Didn't guess that.

[sportsgirl]

I loved that Brooke made a comment about how she trained the servers so well, Casey wouldn't have to, and then service fell apart. Hated, though, how John threw those same servers that Brooke praised under the bus because they couldn't figure out his crazy numbering system, which even he couldn't keep track of. Thought that was tacky and unnecessary, considering how deep in the weeds he was about everything.

So, they called it family style, but then were still trying to correspond number of servings to the table, which is where I think their plating concept took a huge dive. I think that instead of preparing one plate of food and sending it to the table, as in traditional family style, they were taking orders and combining them onto one plate. So that's why they sent three plates of one dish to the judges table for five diners. It makes little sense, but it would explain a lot of the confusion, and why John kept shouting out numbers that the waitstaff couldn't follow. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I am with those who thought John should have gone home. It sounded like the judges were dinging Katsuji for not choosing the EC position. Just because he drew the knife that allowed him to pick the team, nothing was said he who drew the knife must be EC. Katsuji explained he let John do it because he ran so many restaurants. John failed at all levels. His dish sucked, he didn't manage the kitchen well as EC and had issues expediting. Kristen was PYKAG when she was EC and Josie failed with her dish, because Kristen didn't manage the kitchen well. Even Kristen admitted to that. John was being his old self and blaming others for his failure.

[LucyHoneychrrch]

I think Katsuji absolutely deserved to go home. I don't think the judges were singling Katsuji out for not choosing the EC position; they sort of sensed (and I did too) that Katsuji's "risk" was well-calculated and self-serving. He chose to make three dishes, he chose not to be EC. Because he knew historically that the EC ALWAYS goes down for their team in Restaurant Wars. This was the first time that didn't happen. He took a risk to try to win, but there wasn't, in his mind, much of a downside; because if his dishes failed, odds were that John would take the fall for the team's loss.

John's dish was the worst of the group, but I can see the judges' point: Is it worse to have one terrible dish, or two pretty bad dishes? Two bad dishes coupled with what they saw as Katsuji's dodge of responsibility, and I can understand why he went home over John.

[whydoiwatchtv]

While Katsuji is an ass, John is extremely passive aggressive and frankly, I'm sick of hearing about the "New John" and all he had to do to overcome being a complete dick. I give him credit for addressing his problems but just shut it already and let your actions speak for themselves.

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, whydoiwatchtv said:

While Katsuji is an ass, John is extremely passive aggressive and frankly, I'm sick of hearing about the "New John" and all he had to do to overcome being a complete dick. I give him credit for addressing his problems but just shut it already and let your actions speak for themselves.

I dont even think "new john" is really a thing.  I think "new john" is just a few coates of paint over "old john."

I think he feels like this should be his reputation redemption, so he is trying really hard to look different.  But deep down he is still that guy that has another chef do all his work, wants all the glory of being EC even when it is a terrible idea that will screw over the team, and blames the wait staff for a funky system.

[chiaros]

2 hours ago, whydoiwatchtv said:

While Katsuji is an ass, John is extremely passive aggressive and frankly, I'm sick of hearing about the "New John" and all he had to do to overcome being a complete dick. I give him credit for addressing his problems but just shut it already and let your actions speak for themselves.

Here's where I think the editors are playing games with us (amongst many other games they play).  Most of the"New John" blah-blah has been in "Talking Heads", I think, and I imagine these were recorded in one or two sessions separate from the show episodes as it progressed in real time. (If I am wrong about this, please correct me) Then...the editors sprinkle in snippets from these "Talking Heads" (as they do with all other cheftestants) into each episode as it suits their purposes.

[Princess Sparkle]

On 1/21/2017 at 4:35 PM, Court said:

I'm surprised John is getting so much credit. To me he's still the same asshole, he just got better at hiding it. Or manipulating the situation. He lied at the JT about the executive chef. No one made him take that position. It was offered to Sheldon. Sheldon said sure then John said no and insisted that it was important he do it.

He also needled Katsuji in the stew room and during prep. Let's not forget John did exactly what Katsuji did to him to Emily last week. He made her grab his stuff and prepare his lobsters.

Yes, Katsuji is also an asshole but so is John.

John is so incredibly lucky that Sheldon didn't appear to challenge or correct his [John's] story about how he came to be EC, especially after Tom questioned in passing why Sheldon wasn't EC.  And poor Sheldon had to be the only adult back there in the kitchen for a long time; I feel like he practically had to beg John and Katsuji to shut up and stop fighting.  I just wish that this could've been a double elimination and John could've been booted with Katsuji; his martyr act backstage coupled with his inability to see his own fuckups was nauseating. 

[lh25]

From the recap

Quote

"I like a woman in the front of the house," John says. "I do, and I'm not being sexist."

How is saying that you like a given gender in the front of the house not sexist?