S14.E10: Shrimp Boats and Hat Ladies

[Court]

Quote

 

It has been said in the past by Tom or another judge that the producers do play a part in the elimination. I'm positive Brooke stayed because they want to give her the win because of how she lost in her season.

I'm actively rooting for her to go home now.

[meep.meep]

On February 5, 2017 at 2:43 PM, DarkRaichu said:

It was just Tom.  Padma and Gail criticized Brooke's lack of concept.  Any long time TC viewer knows Tom has the last word

Tom may have the last word, but Sylva did not serve 20 diners.  If they were tied for worst, that should have sent him home.

Why were there so many tables of people without hats?  Why were some of the Hat Ladies men?

Why were they supposed to mash up breakfast and lunch in a tribute to the guy who invented the cronut?  It combines two breakfast foods.  Why was he so obsessed with the matcha in Brooke's dish?  She looked ready to wop him upside the head.

[Nordly Beaumont]

2 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Tom may have the last word, but Sylva did not serve 20 diners.  If they were tied for worst, that should have sent him home.

Exactly. We didn't see them discuss it, but it had to figure in.

3 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Why were they supposed to mash up breakfast and lunch in a tribute to the guy who invented the cronut?  It combines two breakfast foods.  Why was he so obsessed with the matcha in Brooke's dish?  She looked ready to wop him upside the head.

And obsessed with creativity. Take a drink everytime Chef Cronut said creativity. As if Padma usually gives them challenges and then tells them to make it something they've seen a thousand times before.

[Jextella]

I've watched Top Chef (and Project Runway) since the beginning but I missed two or three seasons prior to this one.  Thanks for letting me know about the blogs.  Bravo has grown.  They were a homey touch back in the day.

[cooksdelight]

6 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Why were there so many tables of people without hats?  Why were some of the Hat Ladies men?

Last-minute paid extras is my guess. Had to fill out all the tables. Lady in Yellow wins my vote for most interesting hat lady.

[chiaros]

18 hours ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

Even Sheldon's chicken is not that unique, google "waffle battered chicken".

Yes. In the same post from which you quoted me (regarding Shirley bullshitting the judges) I also wrote this:

On 2/3/2017 at 8:02 PM, chiaros said:

Even Sheldon's dish has similarities (as others have also said) with existing concoctions - including Chicken Waffle Tenders.

The two answer sets overlap.

ETA: Yes, Sheldon bullshits too, as do basically all of them to a greater or lesser extent. But IMO Shirley simpers shamelessly when she does it to the judges, and that moves her into egregious territory. She did the same sort of thing in her original season, when she sucked up to Tom C at every chance she got.

Edited February 7, 2017 by chiaros

[DarkRaichu]

11 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Tom may have the last word, but Sylva did not serve 20 diners.  If they were tied for worst, that should have sent him home.

 If it was an important criteria for elimination, they should have taken 3 seconds to explain that to the bottom 3 and viewers at home:  "Both of your dishes suck. But since you did not serve all of the guests, Sylva you're owt... " :D :D :D

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, DarkRaichu said:

 If it was an important criteria for elimination, they should have taken 3 seconds to explain that to the bottom 3 and viewers at home:  "Both of your dishes suck. But since you did not serve all of the guests, Sylva you're owt... " :D :D :D

I found that fairly obvious and didn't need it explained.

[DarkRaichu]

4 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I found that fairly obvious and didn't need it explained.

Did the judges even mention that when they questioned the bottom 3 or during deliberation ?  This was the same show that harped on Jamie for missing a plate during EC tasting.

[cooksdelight]

Not that I remember. It would have gone a long way in explaining why they kept Brooke with her runny non-conformatitive-to-the-challenge mess.

[Jextella]

13 hours ago, sourpickles said:

How long have you watched TC though?  I watch PR too, and I do find some of the judging stratagies the same.  But we're getting down to the end here, with only so many.......I think ppl. here have said that there are no more blogs for Tom and others.

I've watched both since the very beginning but missed that last two seasons of Top Chef.

My sense is that there is some wiggle room for production value with contestants on both shows where judges/Tim Gun/Tom C may think they've seen all they can from contestants but keep them on for an additional episode or two for entertainment value.  But that can't/doesn't last long.  

Maybe Sylva's dish was better than Brooke's but they kept Brooke because they "want to see more from her" and Sylva may have run his course. 

Spoiler

The fact that he lost Last Chance Kitchen may indicate as much.  This wouldn't surprise me, I suppose.

Maybe a better way to say it is that when faced with a fine-line, the judges reward skill combined with "the ability to deliver more" in their decision-making - and not just the dish in front of them.

[Court]

No, it was never mentioned. 

Brooke was saved because they prefer her storyline of redemption. It had nothing do with either dish. It's what production and likely Tom wanted. 

[chiaros]

On 2/6/2017 at 11:10 PM, Court said:

It has been said in the past by Tom or another judge that the producers do play a part in the elimination.

In Season 2 (yes, that far back) after Marcel got wrestled to the floor and he was in danger of being shaved clean on his head --- Tom C was reported to have wanted to throw everyone off the show (which was everyone, including the FAVORITE of some here, Sam Talbot) and award the title of Top Chef to Marcel by default (because there would be no one left) but he was overruled by the producers.

ETA: A clarification, in case it was not obvious: Tom C wanted to throw everyone else off BESIDES Marcel Vigneron, the object of the pile-on by all the OTHER remaining cheftestants.

Edited February 8, 2017 by chiaros

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, chiaros said:

In Season 2 (yes, that far back) after Marcel got wrestled to the floor and he was in danger of being shaved clean on his head --- Tom C was reported to have wanted to throw everyone off the show (which was everyone, including the FAVORITE of some here, Sam Talbot) and award the title of Top Chef to Marcel by default (because there would be no one left) but he was overruled by the producers.

I'll always love Tom for how mad he got over that entire episode.

[snarktini]

1 hour ago, Court said:

Brooke was saved because they prefer her storyline of redemption. It had nothing do with either dish. It's what production and likely Tom wanted. 

While that is possible, we do not know that is the case.

[Bastet]

15 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Why were they supposed to mash up breakfast and lunch in a tribute to the guy who invented the cronut?  It combines two breakfast foods.  

I don't think they were supposed to mash up breakfast and lunch, I think they were supposed to mash up two foods in a creative way into something new, the end result being something appropriate to eat for brunch (e.g. the cronut). 

(Of course, brunch is a mix between breakfast and lunch, so the breakfast/lunch thing is in play that way, I just don't remember them specifically being told to combine a breakfast food and a lunch food.)

Edited February 7, 2017 by Bastet

[dleighg]

I know that when I first heard the "brief" I definitely thought it was "mix breakfast and lunch." I'm not saying they said that, I just know that's what I took away from it. I'm always thinking "what would *I* do with this challenge." 

And I had *nothing*.

ETA just rewatched that section: "We're not looking for breakfast OR lunch options. We're looking for you to create your own mashup that fuse both breakfast AND lunch together."..... and then they were also told to be creative.

Edited February 7, 2017 by dleighg

[spiderpig]

Anybody else think the producers/showrunners are overthinking things for their challenges in an effort to come up with a new gimmick?  Just make brunch, for Pete's sake, maybe including local ingredients.  But TC seems to be veering more than usual into Chopped territory, with timed competions under goofy circumstances.  

I've never had a cronut and don't want one.

[sourpickles]

Glad you commented on that.  Me, neither.  I have a huge issue with our national obsession with word smashing.  However, regardless of outcome and how frustrated we the viewership are, contracts are signed (someone posted the whole thing a few weeks ago), and we watch regardless...or hate watch.  God knows I wasn't thrilled seeing Jeremy in the last few weeks on that Patron commercial.  I think it is more like Top Chef:Survivor than anything else.  I look at it this way......at least TC is on, right?  And it seems like someone the majority of this forum likes will win.  And then we can all go back to pondering the WTF of the TC universe. ;)

[Court]

I'm disappointed that they're in South Carolina but haven't done a low country boil or a challenge based around that. Just thinking about one makes me hungry.

[meep.meep]

23 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

 

And obsessed with creativity. Take a drink everytime Chef Cronut said creativity. As if Padma usually gives them challenges and then tells them to make it something they've seen a thousand times before.

Every now and then, there's a challenge that just inspires everyone.  The best was the Evil Queen challenge from the Texas season.

This was just designed to wear people down on purpose.

[Sampson]

Sylva missed getting 20 plates out. There's no getting around that he didn't complete the challenge. Nothing Brooke did/didn't do missed the parameters of the challenge as much as that. Whether or not one was more creative than another is subjective. Diners eating/going without food is black and white

[DarkRaichu]

1 hour ago, Sampson said:

Sylva missed getting 20 plates out. There's no getting around that he didn't complete the challenge. Nothing Brooke did/didn't do missed the parameters of the challenge as much as that. Whether or not one was more creative than another is subjective. Diners eating/going without food is black and white

Again, if that was the reason for his elimination, why not mention it during PYKAG time???  It would have taken 3 seconds and gone a long way to shoot down any questions / complaints from viewers. 

It was not even mentioned in Sylva's LCK episode.

[theatremouse]

Devil's advocate: it could've been said but edited out and the producers could have intentionally left it that way. I don't know why they'd want the audience to sort of...continue hashing it out in their minds when, if a clear reason were chosen and discussed they could've aired it. But it also would not shock me were that the case. Maybe they wanted more ambiguity during the "deciding" part so they edited it out there, and then didn't have a clip in the "PYKAG"ing moment itself that mentioned that factor, so it just went away completely? My main point being, there's probably at least an hour of stuff we didn't see vis a vis the Brooke or Sylva judge discussion.

[spankydoll]

This season is making me fall out of love with the show. Bringing back the veterans isn't fair play. The returnees have a clear advantage over the newbies as they are familiar with the day to day setup, the rules, how to navigate the various challenges, etc. Sick of seeing the new kids get picked off.

[John M]

On 2/2/2017 at 11:35 PM, chiaros said:

I thought John T's dish looked fine. Ditto the plating, and apparently all the components were cooked well and the whole thing tasted just fine. Octopus for brunch/breakfast? Sure, why not?

There was a story about Jeff Bezos a while back after buying a company that is based in Dallas, where John is based:

"Rutledge flew in from Dallas Sunday night to go out to breakfast with Bezos Monday morning. He had signed a contract to stay with Amazon for the next three years and thought the meeting was going to be an important way for Bezos to bring him into his inner ranks. Instead, the meeting ended up being awkward; Bezos didn't seem to have any real agenda, even though Rutledge had traveled so far to meet with him. 

Bezos had ordered an exotic meal: Mediterranean octopus prepared with potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt, and a poached egg. When Rutledge asked Bezos why he had decided to buy Woot, Bezos paused for "several painful seconds" before answering. 

"You’re the octopus that I’m having for breakfast," Bezos said. "When I look at the menu, you’re the thing I don’t understand, the thing I’ve never had. I must have the breakfast octopus.""

I'm sure breakfast octopus is a think at high level dining establishments and John was familiar with the idea but I couldn't help but wonder if he had heard the Bezos story.

[chiaros]

3 hours ago, John M said:

There was a story about Jeff Bezos a while back after buying a company that is based in Dallas, where John is based:

"Rutledge flew in from Dallas Sunday night to go out to breakfast with Bezos Monday morning. He had signed a contract to stay with Amazon for the next three years and thought the meeting was going to be an important way for Bezos to bring him into his inner ranks. Instead, the meeting ended up being awkward; Bezos didn't seem to have any real agenda, even though Rutledge had traveled so far to meet with him. 

Bezos had ordered an exotic meal: Mediterranean octopus prepared with potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt, and a poached egg. When Rutledge asked Bezos why he had decided to buy Woot, Bezos paused for "several painful seconds" before answering. 

"You’re the octopus that I’m having for breakfast," Bezos said. "When I look at the menu, you’re the thing I don’t understand, the thing I’ve never had. I must have the breakfast octopus.""

I'm sure breakfast octopus is a think at high level dining establishments and John was familiar with the idea but I couldn't help but wonder if he had heard the Bezos story.

Are you the same John M as on Chowhound?

As for octopus & eggs – your speculation is interesting; but I didn't get the sense that John Tesar had this particular incident in mind. Perhaps we will find out one day, though.

[Toothbrush]

4 hours ago, John M said:

Bezos had ordered an exotic meal: Mediterranean octopus prepared with potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt, and a poached egg.

I have never eaten octopus, but this sounds incredibly delicious to me. 

I agree about the vets vs rookies. It didn't bother me before since in the past there were fewer vets and the ones who participated were not top tier (with the possible exception of Stefan), so the majority were eliminated fairly early. This season reads like an All-Star version, except for Amanda & John. 

[ratgirlagogo]

9 hours ago, chiaros said:

Are you the same John M as on Chowhound?

You're on Chowhound?  Under this screenname?  Don't recognize either of you although it's obviously none of my business.   I'm easy to find there  as I use this screenname.  There aren't many people left on Chowhound these days for better or worse outside of the Home Cooking board.  The site redesign drove away a lot of people, and while I think plenty of people enjoy participating in long-form discussion boards like this one there are fewer entities interested in paying for them.  

Our DVR fucked up so we just saw this episode today.  Not one of my favorites - everyone seemed overwhelmed and exhausted and I don't give a shit about brunch - or the Cronut, perhaps in keeping with that prejudice.  Brunch people don't want "creative" dishes, they want ostensible "hangover"  (translation: drunk) food they're going to have with free alcohol.  Not an inspiring challenge, especially so late in the season.

Edited February 10, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[spiderpig]

On 2/9/2017 at 11:54 AM, Toothbrush said:

I have never eaten octopus, but this sounds incredibly delicious to me. 

I agree about the vets vs rookies. It didn't bother me before since in the past there were fewer vets and the ones who participated were not top tier (with the possible exception of Stefan), so the majority were eliminated fairly early. This season reads like an All-Star version, except for Amanda & John. 

Maybe this is slightly off-topic, but Mr. pig and I like to sit at the counter of our favorite sushi bars and watch the preparation going on.  We've contemplated octopus, but it makes us think of a Science Channel documentary about a pregnant octopus looking for a niche to give birth, knowing that she would die there so she could provide nourishment for her offspring.

Mr. (Marine) pig and I were in tears.  Over an octopus!

That said, we're well aware of the food chain and circle of life, so we will definitely put octopus on our bucket list.  (although I'd be daunted about cooking it at home, because it seems the line between raw and rubbery is narrower than lobster)