S14.E12: Cooking Away In Margaritaville

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The finals kick off in Mexico with the chefs creating a meal using goat. Later, they must pair their own unique cocktail with a dish that incorporates the distinct taste of a margarita. Appearing: Richard Blais, Francisco Ruano and Ray Garcia.

[cooksdelight]

Blais..... give me strength....

[spiderpig]

If Blais says "Your goat-on-a-stick is not good..." (endless pause) "it's FANTASTIC!", Mr. pig will have to call 911.

[JeanneH]

Perhaps I'm late to the game, but this is not the final episode, and possibly may not even be the next-to-last episode. My channel guide lists a new episode for Feb 23, and the description mentions "the remaining chefs" and "the two chefs with the best dishes will compete in the finale."

[susannot]

On 2/15/2017 at 4:50 PM, spiderpig said:

If Blais says "Your goat-on-a-stick is not good..." (endless pause) "it's FANTASTIC!", Mr. pig will have to call 911.

And I will pause to remember, Blais, that the girl who beat you fair and square does wonders with goat in her successful Chicago restaurant empire.  My Navy son and I dined at Girl and The Goat and he said "she really knows what to do with goat."

[Pickles]

Gag. She's back.

[Jesse]

I would love to know how much money Patron put into this episode, that the whole hour is an ad for them AND they get ads in the ad breaks!

[Michichick]

Between Brooke and Casey, I'm glad it's Brooke who returned. That way the final four are actually the final four contestants who were left in the competition.

i was happy to see John go. He was the only one I really dislike out of the final four. Nice to see Katsuji is still a fucking asshole.

[rlc]

Tom's eyes nearly rolled out of his head everytime Blaise opened his mouth at Judge's Table.

[xaxat]

John and Katsuji got paired together. What a remarkable coincidence! Production couldn't have asked for a better match!

I'm adding "Did you play it safe?" to "It needs more seasoning." as phrases I desperately want to be retired.

I'm kind of disappointed we didn't get Drunk Padma.

[ProudMary]

Let me start by saying that up until tonight's episode, I disagreed with those who believed that the fix was in for Brooke but now I've joined forces with you all.

In past seasons, the chef returning via LCK had often been given a disadvantage they would have to overcome in order to win the first challenge.  Not tonight, not for Brooke.  Then she's chosen as the winner and gets the double advantage not only of first pick of sous chef but also gets to choose which sous chef works with each remaining cheftestant!  Yeah, I'm a believer and it's disappointing.

I found it amusing that Sheldon knew he overcooked his octopus but Blais said it was cooked perfectly.  

Well, at least Sheldon and Shirley are still standing.

[annewithaneee]

Tom was bringing fun, embarrassing dad energy at the very beginning and end of this episode. You could almost hear Sheldon go "daaaaaaaaad, staaaahp," when Tom did his "GOOOOOAL!" with flailing arms at the stadium, and his "tequila!" at the end was adorable.

[cooksdelight]

19 minutes ago, xaxat said:

I'm adding "Did you play it safe?" to "It needs more seasoning." as phrases I desperately want to be retired.

The guest judge in the second round used my least favorite, "take it to the next level." It's not an elevator. It's food.

14 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

In past seasons, the chef returning via LCK had often been given a disadvantage they would have to overcome in order to win the first challenge.  Not tonight, not for Brooke

Yes, I was waiting to see what she's have to do. Oh, but no.... it's Brooke. And she wins with a coconut soup. Anybody else would have been dinged for not using a protein.

[JeanneH]

Editing monkeys have a sense of humor - Shirley says the city is beautiful and they cut to a highway ramp.

Brooke setting John up with Katsuji - a wonderful attempt at sabotage.

Loved the one bit where Shirley's cooking, Sheldon's cooking, John's cooking, and Brooke and Casey are in the corner giggling about drinking tequila (this is before Brooke says she'd make a drink for her with a lot more tequila than the ones they're making for the competition). So I wonder how long it took her (and Casey?) to kill that prize bottle of Patron? (did it last through Judge's Table?)

RUDE judges @ Sheldon's station!

I wonder just how close Shirley was to getting chopped (so to speak). Tom didn't like her stuff at all. Of course, Tom didn't like John making "every day food" (my quotes) either, and then John argued about it. Perhaps it was more important to just be done with John, regardless what anyone else did.

Edited February 17, 2017 by JeanneH

[Wings]

2 hours ago, susannot said:

And I will pause to remember, Blais, that the girl who beat you fair and square does wonders with goat in her successful Chicago restaurant empire.  My Navy son and I dined at Girl and The Goat and he said "she really knows what to do with goat."

Yes she does. She out cooked him on everything.  I adore this woman.

[avecsans]

When John said at the end that other chefs his age just "kiss babies" but he cooks, was that a shot at Tom Colicchio?  I thought it was.

I never like product placement challenges on Top Chef but they really bug me at this point in the competition. Let's shoehorn tequila in wherever possible instead of actually showing them cooking. And does it necessarily follow that a chef can make a good cocktail?

 I flashed back to Carla when Brooke chose Casey as her sous chef and I was worried the outcome would be the same.  But I guess they wouldn't let the LCK winner go that quickly.  I hope that Brooke's wins tonight were her consolation prize, because I am firmly on Team Sheldon.

 I can't remember the name of the guest judge in the quickfire, but he can get it.

[racked]

Blais is really the worst. World class chefs are guests on this show and they never act as self important as he does. But I guess that's because they have nothing to prove. I loved Tom's reactions to his comments at JT. 

Im starting to feel like maybe you were all right about the fix being in for Brooke! I really want Sheldon to pull it off though. 

I didn't like John but I felt for him having to use up his prep time talking things out with Katsuji. 

[Randomosity]

Ahaha, Sheldon made me actually laugh out loud with his 'tequila allergy'. And "Ole!" I love him. He must win.

Also, I also snickered at the tequila, tequila, tequila, oh now let's go plan the dishes while buzzed. Made me wish they were more drunk, just to see if there were any iffy repercussions from less than careful planning.

Not sad to see Tesar go. Brooke can also leave; Shirley can win if Sheldon doesn't.

[cooksdelight]

Emily still doesn't look happy. I wonder if the 8 newcomers wished they'd applied for a different season?

[susannot]

I didn't like John but felt that he redeemed himself and did extremely well on the show.  I want Sheldon to win.

[dbell1]

If this is John after years of working on his anger issues, I'd hate to see the younger John, because he's still an entitled ass. Glad he and Katsuji take each other down. 

I wanted anyone but Casey to come back, happy she didn't talk too much. Maybe they planned the episode around Patron to keep her drunk and happy? I want to try Brooke's drink, it looked fabulous.

Sheldon is my favorite chef left. Guess that means he automatically loses to the returnee. 

[HunterHunted]

When I have tequila, I break out...I break out in dance.

--Sheldon

[snarktini]

So glad John didn't listen to the brief. Really glad to see the back of him.

Maybe the fix is in for Brooke, or maybe she's just that good. She almost won before and I have little problem believing she has honestly earned her spot at the top. Often they ding for lack of protein but there have been occasions when vegetarian fare has won, and the chew of the coconut and the fat of the avocado sound plausible to me as one of those times. 

I wholeheartedly like all three of the remaining chefs and will be happy with any of them. I don't think Shirley is fake/simpering. I don't think Brooke is entitled/superior. They all seem like great chefs and people I'd like IRL. Sheldon's my fav, though. I feel like his personality and POV are less common among Top Chefs.

[mlp]

Quote

If Blais says "Your goat-on-a-stick is not good..." (endless pause) "it's FANTASTIC!", Mr. pig will have to call 911.

I read that comment hours ago and I'm still laughing.

It looked to me like John had the worst cocktail but Shirley had the weakest dish so I was a bit surprised by the decision.  Maybe her food was better than they made it sound during the critiques.  Maybe they just wanted to get rid John.  I felt a bit sorry for him having to contend with Katsuji at a time like that but he made the decisions that cost him so ................

I'm braced for a Brooke win next week but I'm not going to like it.  Everything crossed for Sheldon.

[AttackTurtle]

Blais is s first class dick.  The fact that he's never given Stephanie credit for her win and further success has always annoyed me.  She kicked ass her whole season and he acted like her win was due to his choking

The way he spoke to Brooke about her soup was further evidence of what an asshat he is.  

Id really like him gone.  

[Blonde Gator]

2 hours ago, Michichick said:

Between Brooke and Casey, I'm glad it's Brooke who returned. That way the final four are actually the final four contestants who were left in the competition.

i was happy to see John go. He was the only one I really dislike out of the final four. Nice to see Katsuji is still a fucking asshole.

Doing back flips seeing Tesar leave.  What a bloody whiner he is.  My goodness, Man UP, man!  And seriously, chicken soup?  Who does that?  I'm just sorry he didn't lose that very first sudden death quickfire, it would have saved us a whole season of his whining, and Katsuji trying to be cute and get his "goat".  And GOOD for Brooke for sticking those two together, she picked the sous chefs exactly as I'd have done. 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Blonde Gator
spelling

[twilightzone]

1 hour ago, dbell1 said:

If this is John after years of working on his anger issues, I'd hate to see the younger John, because he's still an entitled ass. Glad he and Katsuji take each other down. 

When someone claims they have changed (and John has said it on several occasions), the likelihood is they really haven't.  They just think the more they said it, the more people will believe it.  Actions speaks louder than words.

Edited February 17, 2017 by twilightzone

[Blonde Gator]

54 minutes ago, snarktini said:

So glad John didn't listen to the brief. Really glad to see the back of him.

Maybe the fix is in for Brooke, or maybe she's just that good. She almost won before and I have little problem believing she has honestly earned her spot at the top. Often they ding for lack of protein but there have been occasions when vegetarian fare has won, and the chew of the coconut and the fat of the avocado sound plausible to me as one of those times. 

I wholeheartedly like all three of the remaining chefs and will be happy with any of them. I don't think Shirley is fake/simpering. I don't think Brooke is entitled/superior. They all seem like great chefs and people I'd like IRL. Sheldon's my fav, though. I feel like his personality and POV are less common among Top Chefs.

I would imagine it was BLISTERING hot there when this was filmed, so I can absolutely see how Brooke not only got away with a cold soup, but one without a protein.  And remember, she was originally going to do it with some sushi-grade tuna, in a cold soup, but it looked iffy in the store, so she changed it up.  I totally get her fixation on the watermelon.  In Central America, even in the dive hotels, you get a beautiful selection of fresh fruit for breakfast (and usually eggs made to order, as long as they are scrambled, LOL....they don't refrigerate eggs there so there is NO such thing as over easy!).  So Brooke's dish was probably a really great counterpoint to the steak (Shirley), pulpa (Sheldon's Octopus) and Tesar's chicken soup.  I knew she was going to win that round. 

[NowVoyager]

Just home now & watching the repeat. Haven't read the comments yet because I don't want to be spoiled. Yea!!! Brooke survived LCK! I think she deserves it. That cliff hanger about killed me, although I should have seen it coming. Soo happy for her, although I lurve Sheldon as much as everybody else. Tequila makes him breakout--- in dance! Hee!

P.S. Padma looks really hot in the black top & white jeans. She's put on a little weight, as she does every season, but it's in all the right places. Girl crush!

Edited February 17, 2017 by NowVoyager

[English Teacher]

I like Sheldon but I'm totally team Brooke. I know many think the fix is in and she is undeserving, but I really think she is a great chef and has proven herself.  But I don't dislike any if the final 3.  Good luck to them all. 

[HappyDancex2]

The episode was very nippley, I mean nippy.  Tacky.

i was hoping that the acid in Sheldon's dish would help tighten up his protein.  Nothing you can do about mush though and we didn't get any more info on it so he must have figured something out.  His food always looks tasty.

i don't mind drama but katsuji and John are the worst kind.  Glad that neither make it to the final episode because enough is enough!  You could tell it was John going home because neither padma nor tom looked the least bit sad before they went to commercial.  And boy were all their eyes liquor shiny!!  

Watching them make the tequila was really cool.  Wish we could have seen just a bit more.

Emily looks perpetually uncomfortable and miserable.

[Court]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

The guest judge in the second round used my least favorite, "take it to the next level." It's not an elevator. It's food.

Yes, I was waiting to see what she's have to do. Oh, but no.... it's Brooke. And she wins with a coconut soup. Anybody else would have been dinged for not using a protein.

Agreed. In fact, I feel like Sheldon did get dinged for this at this point in his season? It all runs together for me but I know a chef did and was sent home for it. The fix is in, y'all.

Blais doesn't bother me like he does the others but that line to Brooke made me roll my eyes. 

[GaT]

John is finally gone, but they just had to bring Katsuji back, I hope he doesn't turn up again next week. I guess I'm rooting for Sheldon.

[rho]

3 hours ago, rlc said:

Tom's eyes nearly rolled out of his head everytime Blaise opened his mouth at Judge's Table.

Mine too! I swear, my head hurts from rolling my eyes so hard. The editors need to slow it down when it comes to Blais. I wasn't even done rolling my eyes before he'd say the next eye-roll inducing garbage. Yech!

Sheldon continues to crack me up! I hope h wins, mostly so we can get him back on future seasons as a guest judge. His commentary is priceless!

[jackjill89]

2 hours ago, snarktini said:

So glad John didn't listen to the brief. Really glad to see the back of him.

Maybe the fix is in for Brooke, or maybe she's just that good. She almost won before and I have little problem believing she has honestly earned her spot at the top. Often they ding for lack of protein but there have been occasions when vegetarian fare has won, and the chew of the coconut and the fat of the avocado sound plausible to me as one of those times. 

I wholeheartedly like all three of the remaining chefs and will be happy with any of them. I don't think Shirley is fake/simpering. I don't think Brooke is entitled/superior. They all seem like great chefs and people I'd like IRL. Sheldon's my fav, though. I feel like his personality and POV are less common among Top Chefs.

John did listen to the brief...but chose to ignore it and do what he wanted to do. He thinks he's better than the rules. 

Brooke is a talented chef, and when she's on, she's on. Really good decision making tonight. However, there is something so off-putting about her that I really don't want her to win. I fear we'll have a mini Blaise on our hands if she wins this time. Team Sheldon FTW. 

[Jextella]

I read the posts here before tuning in.  Glad I did.  I like John because he is such a fallible clueless character.  I find him kind of interesting that way.  But, I couldn't watch restaurant wars and I couldn't watch the end of tonight's episode because he drama would be too much.  A for effort perhaps but apparently there's much work to be done in the anger management area.

[bluepiano]

5 hours ago, Jesse said:

I would love to know how much money Patron put into this episode, that the whole hour is an ad for them AND they get ads in the ad breaks!

Patron's been an off-and-on sponsor this season, but I agree that this show was way too much of a commercial. (And I love tequila). This late in the season, the sudden emphasis on making a cocktail felt really strange. It's Top Chef, not Top Bartender.

I didn't understand Tom's comment about the excessive alcohol in John's drink destroying the taste of the food. Any strong drink (and a real margarita should be strong) is going to impact your taste buds. Were the other drinks that much weaker? I think they just wanted to get rid of John.

The final three seem to me to have been predetermined long ago. I remember rooting for Brooke in her first season. Now I'm for anyone but Brooke.

The concept of half-newbies, half-veterans was an epic fail. They never have to try that again. I guess having been on the show before is a big advantage.

The guest judge seemed like a tool. I looked up his L.A. restaurant online. I've been to some highly regarded "high end" Mexican and Mexican-fusion restaurants, but none with prices that even approach what this dude is charging. Forty dollars entrees??? Even worse, most of the reviews on Yelp said the food was terrible, and that you'd be better off eating at a neighborhood Mexican joint for a fraction of the cost. Still, it's L.A., so at long as it's considered trendy I'm sure the place will be packed with rich foodies.

Edited February 17, 2017 by bluepiano

[spiderpig]

Brooke pops a $7500 bottle of Patron and chugs away.  (She did take the top off, didn't she, or was she faking it?)  Along with assigning Katsuji to John, I'm beginning to warm up to Brooke a bit.  Still want Sheldon for the win.

We saw more of Guadalajara in one hour than we saw of Charleston in all the previous episodes.

I have to balk at the idea of eating goat, though.  I live in a canyon that's covered with brush in the summer, and the city brings in herds of goats to graze and reduce the fire hazard.  They're so cute.  I know, I know...but I couldn't eat an animal that works for its food!!!  It would be like grocery shopping at a petting zoo.

Things were looking iffy for Sheldon and Shirley, so I was extra glad to see the last of John.

[vb68]

I was super happy to see Brooke back.  I like how she's very low key on the drama and just does what she does with utmost skill and  competency. I still contend it was the wall of exhaustion that took her out more than anything .  She was back in her element here now that she was well-rested.

Having said that, it was way too obvious she won just from the comments before they got to Judges' Table.   

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Brooke setting John up with Katsuji - a wonderful attempt at sabotage.

Well, she's not an idiot. That was the way that had to go assuming John wasn't going to win the quickfire.

Happy that John left too. Don't care for him, and hopefully that's the last time I ever have to listen to Katsuji.

Quote

The concept of half-newbies, half-veterans was an epic fail. They never have to try that again. I guess having been on the show before is a big advantage.

Such a reality show staple.  The concept reminded me so much of Survivor, which has repeatedly showed the same exact thing. Vets always have the advantage.

Team Brooke for the win! 

[Jextella]

With Brooke and Sheldon coming in so strong, odds are Shirley wins!

I recall her season.  She was very highly regarded.  Probably more than Brooke and Sheldon on their season. But the latter two have matured and are coming on much stronger this time around.

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

half-newbies, half-veterans was an epic fail

It's not the first time they have had veterans among the newbies (Seattle), although admittedly not as high as 50% like this in this season. I think the caliber of the veterans this time just overwhelmed the newbies.

[RealReality]

Ugh, Brooke is back.  I guess the fix really is in.  

Sorry Sheldon, you're very likely a better chef, but apparently someone decided that Brooke really needs to win, because?

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but this really feels like a cheesy set up.

[Randomosity]

5 hours ago, Blonde Gator said:

In Central America, even in the dive hotels, you get a beautiful selection of fresh fruit for breakfast (and usually eggs made to order, as long as they are scrambled, LOL....they don't refrigerate eggs there so there is NO such thing as over easy!).

And they also don't refrigerate eggs in the UK and other places in Europe/the world. It has to do with the treatment of the eggs before they get to the consumer. In the USA (and Canada, Japan, etc.), they are washed/cleaned to removed things like salmonella (which is not nearly as common as many people think anyway) such that a natural protective coating on the eggshell gets removed, thus leaving the egg more vulnerable to bacteria. So they need to be refrigerated. In other countries, they vaccinate the hens against diseases or simply just wash the egg themselves before use. The protective coating stays on. It saves money/energy to not have to refrigerate all the time.

It's not like Central America is being icky or dirty with their eggs; it's a different approach to the same issue (the not-all-that-common-anyway bacteria removal). If you'll eat an over-easy in London, you can do it Guadalajara.

You have to be more careful about the fresh fruit most places in Central America than the eggs - if a fruit/vegetable was washed in water that has tropical/other bacteria that your gut isn't used to and then not cooked, then you can be in trouble. Best to stick to things that have the outsides removed - orange/melons/banana/pineapple - than things that don't - lettuce/tomatoes/strawberries/etc.

[RealReality]

Wow, John with the "well, I don't want to lose because I'll let Katsuji down."  Really?

Oh and Richard Blais is looking old.

Okay, I'm going to need to see receipts for the local that allegedly took time out of his day to thank John for basically not doing any work as a sign of "respect."

Because that sounds like an outright, baldfaced lie.

Also, I guess its strategy, but it seems wrong that Katsuji was basically the one who came up with the idea for, and executed the only thing that worked for John's dish....and John didn't give him a little credit.  I get that John is fighting for his life here, but still.

Edited February 17, 2017 by RealReality

[dleighg]

I think it's hilarious that they let Blais go first (I actually don't hate him, but he was pretty arrogant in this episode) to bash Brooke and then she wins the challenge.

[Primetimer]

In Guadalajara, the final three become four, drink a ton of tequila, then become three again.

View the full article

[susannot]

That looked like a really great party at the Patron Hacienda. I wanted to be there!

[RHOSingapore]

Just watching the penultimate now....That pairing of the guest judge with Blais was a perfect storm of nasty attitudes....They're like brothers!

[ProudMary]

8 hours ago, English Teacher said:

I like Sheldon but I'm totally team Brooke. I know many think the fix is in and she is undeserving, but I really think she is a great chef and has proven herself.  But I don't dislike any if the final 3.  Good luck to them all. 

I don't in any way think that Brooke is undeserving, I think she's a great chef but this episode proved to me that the producers want a Brooke victory.  I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.  I actually like her but my first choice to win would be Sheldon, followed by Shirley.

[Ellee]

Regarding Brooke coming back...I think we just saw her realize that getting eliminated was not the end of the world. Also that she should get out of her own way and just cook.  I was happy for her. 

Still rooting for Sheldon for the win!  :D