Iron Chef Gauntlet: Gladiators Ready!

[Lura]

Did Scott move to Phoenix because of his restaurant, or did he move there and then start one?  That's a big change!  Hope he's happy there.  I've always liked him.

[Wings]

On 4/28/2018 at 1:35 PM, Lura said:

Did Scott move to Phoenix because of his restaurant, or did he move there and then start one?  That's a big change!  Hope he's happy there.  I've always liked him.

 He wanted to get out of the rat race in NYC and have more of a life with his family. He and his partner decided on Phoenix but I did not read why. 

 The wait staff clearly has had a lot of contact with him.  Our server asked for feedback for every dish and recommended a couple of things that were her favorites and popular.  She knew the menu well.  She was interested in what we had to say about each dish.  I sensed they Scott and partner requested this level of seeking feedback.  

When you order a drink on the rocks you get one huge cube so it dilutes the alcohol less and it is a 2oz shot.  The decor is sophisticated casual. You can sit at the bar and eat too.  Lots of windows there.  

I love the place.  It is a reasonable Uber ride away so I can have 2 drinks!  grin

[Wings]

Not surprised with the outcome, I expected it.  Very odd Gnomes paired lamb with chorizo.  Of course that sausage would over power the lamb.  I wanted to eat her last dish in the worst way.  I love everything  schnitzel.  But Lefavre had the best meal hands down. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Wings

[spiderpig]

I was happy with the results too.  I thought he explained his choices very well, highlighted the secret ingredient, and although his three dishes were different, they linked together in showcasing distinct international flavors.

Remind me to stick a tomahawk steak in the freezer to keep onhand for a home defense situation.

[Wings]

3 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I was happy with the results too.  I thought he explained his choices very well, highlighted the secret ingredient, and although his three dishes were different, they linked together in showcasing distinct international flavors.

Remind me to stick a tomahawk steak in the freezer to keep onhand for a home defense situation.

That is very Alfred Hitchcock.

[Ellee]

Ok ... not sure I’m going to say this very well but here goes. 

Does anyone else miss the length of the previous NIC competition?  For me it seemed that we got to know the competitors, understand their views a little better and could appreciate their journey more. 

I’m happy Steph became an IC.  I liked the cheftestants this time around but do they really get a fair shake at being IC worthy? 

[rab01]

2 hours ago, Ellee said:

Does anyone else miss the length of the previous NIC competition?  For me it seemed that we got to know the competitors, understand their views a little better and could appreciate their journey more.  

It's an interesting question. I think I prefer this format because the cooking required is always closer to Iron Chef cooking.  NIC used to have Top Chef rip-offs like tailgating and State Fair cooking competitions that were sometimes fun and sometimes really corny. 

What is really amazing in retrospect is how badly NIC showed off some amazing competitors from its early seasons.  For example, I didn't understand why the other competitors were so very respectful of Dominique Crenn's cooking when, to a home viewer, it never seemed any better than any of theirs.  It wasn't until seeing her Chef's Table episode that I got any sense of why she's so respected.  Unfortunately, I still haven't made it to the bay area to try her food. 

As long as we're on NIC, I need to admit that I was a John Besh fan during his season and am now so glad that they dodged a bullet in not naming him the winner.

[Cajungirl64]

I would have been happy with Gomes or LeFavre. Now that we know it's LeFavre, BRING ON THE GAUNTLET. I have a feeling he'll "up" his game to compete with the higher level of competitors. I hope he becomes an Iron Chef. I LIKE that he isn't an arrogant, smack-talking a-hole. He's like the male version of Stephanie, whom I've adored since her first appearance on Top Chef. This past (and possibly last ?) season of Project Runway All-Stars was proof that reality competition shows are so much more enjoyable when the focus is on the talent and the contestants have real, unforced comradrie and respect for each other. I've noticed the last couple seasons of Top Chef are going that route, as well. The last season was by far my favorite: no drama, great cheftastants (hope Fati is still cancer free), and mad cooking skills. Anyway, Alex G. brings enough swagger as an IC to make up for the lack of swag from Stephanie and LeFavre. Should be a great competition. 

[mlp]

I liked Chef Gomes but David LeFevre was my favorite from the start so I was delighted that he was victorious.  I thought his dishes looked better overall and he seemed a lot more serious about wanting the title than she did.  I'll be holding my breath next week.

[Lura]

I would be very disappointed if LeFevre didn't make it all the way.  I've liked him from the start.  If he has an ego, he keeps it well hidden, and his cooking seems as Iron Chef worthy as Steph's did.  I like Gomes very much, but I'd hate to see her knock LeFevre out of the race.

[nitrofishblue]

To be honest I was hoping no one won. I didn't find any of the candidates interesting. I hope he doesn't win the gauntlet. If they add another Iron Chef each year they will be diluting the quality of the brand. I feel that Stephanie was an honest good winner. The network needs to revise what they are doing. If they plan on adding an Iron Chef every year, they need to retire one for each one added. As it is right now you barely see an Iron Chef competitions except as reruns. I saw just one of Stephanie after she won. After that NONE. Are they going to start having weekly Iron Chef shows? Or are they just going to have yearly "Gauntlet" shows to add another Iron Chef?

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, nitrofishblue said:

To be honest I was hoping no one won. I didn't find any of the candidates interesting. I hope he doesn't win the gauntlet. If they add another Iron Chef each year they will be diluting the quality of the brand. I feel that Stephanie was an honest good winner. The network needs to revise what they are doing. If they plan on adding an Iron Chef every year, they need to retire one for each one addedth. As it is right now you barely see an Iron Chef competitions except as reruns. I saw just one of Stephanie after she won. After that NONE. Are they going to start having weekly Iron Chef shows? Or are they just going to have yearly "Gauntlet" shows to add another Iron Chef?

I read that the original Iron Chef America is coming back.

ETA: May 16th.

Edited May 4, 2018 by chessiegal

[Wings]

So David will be up against one of the iron chefs and will win.  I know Bobby quit iron chef and Batali won't be back either.  There are probably more.  I am happy to hear they will be in kitchen stadium.  

[spiderpig]

Lazy slob checking in here.  Does the challenger have to beat all three Iron Chefs or just two?  I can't remember.

[Westiepeach]

20 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

Lazy slob checking in here.  Does the challenger have to beat all three Iron Chefs or just two?  I can't remember.

I believe all three. 

[jcbrown]

I think the challenger has to have a higher cumulative score than the cumulative score of all three Iron Chefs, so they do not necessarily have to beat all of them individually if their scores are high enough. Hope that makes sense.

[CaptainCranky]

6 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I think the challenger has to have a higher cumulative score than the cumulative score of all three Iron Chefs, so they do not necessarily have to beat all of them individually if their scores are high enough. Hope that makes sense.

You are correct.

David is a winner I like. Can he beat the 3 IC's, maybe but it will be interesting to watch.

Edited May 5, 2018 by CaptainCranky

[spiderpig]

Thanks for the info, guys.  I hope David wins.  I like him.

[MajorWoody]

On 5/3/2018 at 12:07 AM, Wings said:

Not surprised with the outcome, I expected it.  Very odd Gnomes paired lamb with chorizo.  Of course that sausage would over power the lamb.  I wanted to eat her last dish in the worst way.  I love everything  schnitzel.  But Lefavre had the best meal hands down. 

My thoughts exactly. Not only is chorizo a very strong sausage to combine wit lamb, she glued on a huge slab of it.

Her pork chop, on the other hand, was the best looking dish I have seen in a while, and one I am going to try at home. 

[Lura]

Although I wanted David to win, I was impressed by Gomes' cooking.  And who has ever seen a more generous, gracious defeated chef than she was?  I think that I will remember her as much for her attitude as I will for her cooking skills.

[riprock]

Having Alton as a surprise 3rd judge is almost certainly what cost Lefevre the title. It made the last dish worth 50% more points, and assuming similar judges, magnifies the margin of victory or defeat. The margin was only 2 points!

That said, I guess I was never really behind Lefevre, you know? He isn't the most natural person to root for or empathize with.

Guarnaschelli is so smarmy about the title that she worked so long for. Iron Chef is the only title that matters? Like someone said upthread, Top Chef is the real prize.

[Irlandesa]

I felt they would have tried to stack the deck in favor of him getting in so I was surprised when he lost.

I preferred the format last year where there were three ingredients and the Stephanie had to choose which ingredient she'd prepare against the chef she  was facing.

[MerBearHou]

Why does Alex Guarnaschelli literally always have to win????  I yelled BULLSHIT at the TV when the final score was announced.  Made me feel like the entire season was a waste.  What other competitive show has no winner at the end of several weeks invested?   Yes, I realize that’s the concept of Iron Chef Gauntlet but now that David has lost by 2 points, I realize I hate this concept.  I felt very, very sorry for David.  I know, I know — it’s what he signed up for, but dang... and especially to Alex G. AGAIN.

[spiderpig]

This coming from someone who likes Alex.  EXCEPT for the smug way she references Iron Chef.  And why did Alton vote only in Round 3?  Either vote in all of them or none at all.  I just had a stinking feeling that the fix was in.

[bobbobbob199]

The fix was in from the start. The cast was a very weak one, chef LeFevre and Gomes really the only chefs with any sort of creativity...Food Network know that they are reviving Iron Chef and need to boost its reputation a little with bobby leaving, so let's put in a cast of sacrificial lambs to make our Iron chefs look good. But LeFevre is actually a very good chef...culinarily he had a chance, but the Food Network was not looking for an Iron Chef this season.

 

To be honest, Alex Guarnaschelli is one of the most overrated chefs on television. She has no culinary achievement whatsoever, no Michelin stars, no James beard awards--all of the other iron chefs (other than Cat Cora) have either won a James Beard Award or a Michelin star. She is executive chef of a middling midtown restaurant which has never received any recognition at all. All of Guarnaschelli's culinary merit comes from TV. Same goes for Anne Burrell, who has never been the chef of a restaurant until her short lived and poorly received restaurant which floundered recently. When judges rate their food, they are trying to protect the faux reputation of these chefs.

[Ellee]

Not to compare IC then and now .... but to compare .... :D

Then ... The abilities came first. The body language was a ‘quiet control and confidence’ and the personality of each IC seemed to be ‘this is who I am’. 

Now ...  it’s all body language and mouth saying I am great ... you want to be me .... SMH ... tone it down, Alex, tone it down. 

I think Steph fits in with my IC image ... Alex not so much. 

It appears that the FN wants Alex to be the foundation of the ICs and they are not disguising it at all.  

ETA:  It might be a personal thing with me. I hate when people start to believe their own press and that’s how I’m interpreting this.  

Edited May 10, 2018 by Ellee

[Wings]

I am an Alex fan yet I agree with the criticisms here.  She is mimicking Alton's dramatic stage presence.  I want to think this has been ordered by the producers to increase the drama.  Why Alton jumped in as the 3rd judge in the final round needs to be explained.  

We have so few food competitions that I will give this one a break and hope this isn't a reflection on the Iron Chef comeback.  

Izzard is going to give Alex a run for her reputation.  She is fabulous.  I want goat ice cream has been said by no one ever, before last night! 

Edited May 10, 2018 by Wings

[Rammchick]

Many of us said right from the beginning that no matter who ended up entering the Gauntlet, they were going to lose because Stephanie won last year.  Sure enough.  Food Network, you're so damn obvious, it's painful.  And of course, they had to make it look like he had it for a moment there when the judges weren't that crazy about Alex's soup, only to snatch it away at the last second.

People have remarked about Alex's swagger about being an Iron Chef, and also, that she has had little professional recognition.  Then doesn't the swagger over her television accomplishments make perfect sense?

[Ellee]

Ok, everyone, tell me if I’m being too hard I guess.  I can take swagger ... this to me is almost like .... ugh...don’t want to say the word but ...bullying ... I don’t know.  Help me out with a better word.  

[Wings]

Carla Hall, Ina Garten, Jamie Oliver and plenty more are TV chefs who don't own a restaurant.  For me that is not contingent on skill.   I think Alex has that in spades and worthy of praise.  

TV chef salary is probably pretty good with much less effort than running restaurants, too.  People like Ramsey have key people running their restaurants. 

 

6 minutes ago, Ellee said:

Ok, everyone, tell me if I’m being too hard I guess.  I can take swagger ... this to me is almost like .... ugh...don’t want to say the word but ...bullying ... I don’t know.  Help me out with a better word.  

Bullying is not it, I agree.   Intimidation seems more like it. 

[Ellee]

Thank you, Wings.  That is better.  :D

[Mockingbird]

I feel like Alex’s comments reeked of producers feeding her lines. I’m no Iron Chef expert, but she’s seemed a lot more fun and generous in regular battles that I’ve seen. She was probably just better able to scowl convincingly than Steph and Michael were. It was weird and over the top, though. As was throwing Alton in as a judge in the final round. 

I wasn’t really invested in LeFevre winning until he was standing, waiting to hear the results. He really did have to fight hard to get there. I don’t feel like I’ve wasted my time watching Gauntlet, because I did enjoy it, but it seems like a lot of time and effort to say “SEE! THESE CHEFS REALLY ARE GOOD.” 

Edited May 10, 2018 by Mockingbird

[mlp]

I was very disappointed by and actually angry about the verdict.  David LeFevre did a great job throughout the competition plus I liked his personality and smile.  As soon as Alton said the Chairman told him to vote in the last round I knew David was doomed.  We all know the Chairman is an actor and doesn't have the authority to make those decisions so that was code for the producers/FN giving Alton a way to manipulate the scoring.  Alex's soup that none of the judges cared for should have brought her score down.  There's no way her uni toast was marvelous enough to overcome the soup and AND David's fine dining style dish even if the fish was very slightly overdone.  I'm still mad.

[chessiegal]

Someone tweeted to Alton saying they felt they wasted 6 weeks watching. His response was "It's a competition! The Gauntlet WON. If you want fake...sorry."
 

[chessiegal]

Someone tweeted to Alton saying they felt they wasted 6 weeks watching. His response was "It's a competition! The Gauntlet WON. If you want fake...sorry."
 

[nitrofishblue]

Honestly, I am glad he lost. I had no favorite from the very beginning. None of the competing chefs struck me as somebody special. As the competition progressed I started to get really turned off by the talking head segments. Everyone of them was "being an Iron Chef is the (insert phrase)". With every sentence they were stressing how important Iron Chef was blah blah blah blah. Over time it was becoming obnoxious. Yes, we know how wonderfully great being an Iron Chef is (note sarcasm) so please shove it into our face every five minutes. I was also turned off by all the side banter between chefs while cooking. The "how you doing" came off as a bit fakey. At times I muted the TV so I won't be bored to tears by the dialogue.

I hope that next year when they have another next Iron Chef competition they choose some better chefs and work on the scripted speeches.

[dleighg]

While I liked LeFevre and his food looked good I have to agree with the judges that he didn't do "out of the box" very well. While his plates were pretty, and I'm sure they tasted fantastic, he didn't seem to be particularly innovative. While innovative can certainly be overrated, it does seem to be a prerequisite for this particular competition format. 

[Wings]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Someone tweeted to Alton saying they felt they wasted 6 weeks watching. His response was "It's a competition! The Gauntlet WON. If you want fake...sorry."
 

What on earth does, "the gauntlet won" mean? 

[Crucial]

I liked how they did the finale last year where the finalist got to pick who they went up against.  It felt more of an Alex show and she going last and Alton is judging.  To make sure     Alex doesn't lose? I like Alex but she is too much as an Iron Chef.     It would have been great with Stephanie, Simon and Morimoto..

[dewelar]

Chef Lefevre should have won that battle, no question in my mind, even if he did deserve the dings on creativity. He beat Chef Izard with her signature ingredient, fercrissakes (although I think Stephanie phoned it in somewhat -- ice cream AGAIN? Really?). I also gave Chef Lefevre a little side-eye when he went against Chef Izard at her purported strength while going against Chef Symon at his purported weakness, wondering if there was a little sexism at work. I still would have preferred Chef Gomes, and think she might have had a better shot to pull it off, but Chef Lefevre acquitted himself very well.

9 hours ago, Rammchick said:

People have remarked about Alex's swagger about being an Iron Chef, and also, that she has had little professional recognition.  Then doesn't the swagger over her television accomplishments make perfect sense?

I'm one of those who said that -- that swagger was all Alex had in the way of Iron Chef-ness. Especially after last night, Mrs. Dewelar and I will keep right on calling her Paper Chef.  I think perhaps it's a touch of inferiority complex coming through -- that she thinks she has to over-swagger to make up for her lesser cooking chops.

14 hours ago, Ellee said:

Then ... The abilities came first. The body language was a ‘quiet control and confidence’ and the personality of each IC seemed to be ‘this is who I am’. 

Right. I kind of regret using the word "swagger", because what I really meant was that an Iron Chef should come into each battle exuding an attitude of "I'm going to win this, because I am just that good" -- while also having the ability to back it up. Michael Symon is the epitome of this. I will continue to say that Chef Lefevre had trouble with the first part, but Alex lacks the second part, no matter what AB tries to sell us.

13 minutes ago, Wings said:

What on earth does, "the gauntlet won" mean? 

It means that Chef Lefevre failed to defeat the gauntlet -- i.e., IT beat HIM.

Edited May 10, 2018 by dewelar
Grammar

[Wings]

1 minute ago, dewelar said:

14 minutes ago, Wings said:

What on earth does, "the gauntlet won" mean? 

It means that Chef Lefevre failed to defeat the gauntlet -- i.e., IT beat HIM.

Oh good god.  Thanks. 

[CaptainCranky]

Make no mistake this is made for television pure and simple. Fun to watch but in the end it doesn't matter in the real world. I do enjoy watching nonetheless but in reality it's what people will spend their cold hard earned cash for and not how food is judged.

[MajorWoody]

That finish was a big letdown. 

The whole thing was a sham, there is no way FN fave Alex beat LeFevre by 6 points, even with Alton being brought in for the fix.

This series was a bore, and a waste of time.

 

Goat ice cream? Really?

 

Other than Symon, there is no reason to watch IC anymore.

[Wings]

I love to cook and i am a foodie so I enjoy seeing skilled  chefs create unique dishes.  Of course they are all designed to entertain. Ok by me and better than Symon making ziti on The Chew or anything made on The kitchen.

Stephanie Izard is my all time favorite and one of the very best. 

Edited May 11, 2018 by Wings

[magdalene]

I think they just didn't believe this guy had the right chemistry to be in their Iron Chef clique.  So they fixed it so he wouldn't be.

You can't tell me this isn't all manipulated from the start.

[Wings]

5 minutes ago, magdalene said:

I think they just didn't believe this guy had the right chemistry to be in their Iron Chef clique.  So they fixed it so he wouldn't be.

You can't tell me this isn't all manipulated from the start.

Of course, all reality is manipulated.  I didn't think David had a compelling presence so I don't care that he didn’t make it.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, Wings said:

Of course, all reality is manipulated.  I didn't think David had a compelling presence so I don't care that he didn’t make it.

Of course David not being a compelling presence was part of the manipulation.  They chose him precisely because he wasn't compelling so that when he "lost" no one would really care and it would reinforce them shoving down our throats that Alex G. is really all that and that her insufferable arrogance (my word) over being an Iron Chef is justified.

Vomit.

We all knew going into this series that it was possible for the winner not to beat the three iron chefs but to see it play out like that was even more disappointing than it originally sounded like it would be.  The entire concept of this series blows.  Alton is pompous and insufferable plus him judging with the weak BS about being given "permission" from the Chairman feels overly contrived and really insults the audience's intelligence.  Do they really think we're not going to think his vote was the deciding one on purpose?

And I say both those things as someone that doesn't dislike Alex or Alton, just the way they're being portrayed here.  What happened to the funny, quirky, cuddly "mad food scientist" we came to know and love in Alton?  And yet I get the feeling the concept of this particular show and his role in it was his idea.

[Fukui San]

If everything is on the level and these chefs are the equals of existing Iron Chefs, a challenger would have a 1/8 chance of successfully running the gauntlet if each battle is a 50/50 proposition.

I love Iron Chef and like the "become an Iron Chef" competition shows in isolation, but the fact that the prize of those shows is actually to become an Iron Chef damages both franchises. It leaves us with unsuitable Iron Chefs, and suspicion about the whole process.

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, Fukui San said:

a challenger would have a 1/8 chance of successfully running the gauntlet if each battle is a 50/50 proposition.

not exactly as they don't have to beat all three. They simply need to have a better total score. So probably back to more like 50/50. Their average has to be better than the average of the three IC's.

[mlp]

Quote

Of course David not being a compelling presence was part of the manipulation.  They chose him precisely because he wasn't compelling so that when he "lost" no one would really care and it would reinforce them shoving down our throats that Alex G. is really all that and that her insufferable arrogance (my word) over being an Iron Chef is justified.

I thought he was a compelling presence - pleasant and confident without being obnoxious like Alex and her arrogance.  I liked him very much. 

If you think about it, every chef who competed this season has more professional accolades in the real world than Alex does.  Her reputation for being "a beast in the kitchen" seems to be largely confined to FN.  They let her win GGG by making a sandwich which was, apparently, the most magnificent sandwich ever created.  Bah.

Alton is a good example of someone who has let success go to his head.  He's definitely intelligent and knowledgeable but he's become almost insufferable.