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The Chefs/Cheftestants of Top Chef

Veruca Assault

By Veruca Assault
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biakbiak

biakbiak

2 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

He was on Season 5 in NY and Season 10 in Seattle but I don't remember him being Kristen's "boyfriend".  Did I forget something?

Yes during the Seattle season there was an ongoing storyline that he was in love with her, it was played for laughs between the two of them and he wasn't serious but they played it up on their LCK battle and because he was Brooke's sous for the finale of Season 10. It mirrored his relationship with Jaime , also a lesbian, on season 5. I actually don't think Kristen was "out" for the audience. Not that she wasn't in just that it didn't come up until the airing of the show or right after.

  • Love 3
Ellee

Ellee

(edited)

Lol, I'm suddenly obsessed with The James Beard House.  Well, and how Sheldon did, too.  This is from Vulture.  Old picture or does it look like Sheldon slimmed down some.  No biggie.  He's a cutie.

http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/top-chef-sheldon-simeon-dinner-with-gail-simmons.html?mid=twitter_vulture

ETA:  Tried to do a search for Brooke/Shirley articles but apparently too soon to seen them.  Yeah, I am.  I'm trying to avoid work.  I do that.  Quite frequently.  Shhhh...don't tell anyone.  :D

Edited by Ellee
chiaros

chiaros

A few Top Chef alums have been announced to be part of the new Iron Chef America – Top Chef mashup.

http://www.eater.com/2017/3/2/14791028/iron-chef-america-returns-gauntlet

Chefs competing to face the ICs:

• Nyesha Arrington, Los Angeles 
• Jason Dady, of Tre Trattoria in San Antonio 
• Sarah Grueneberg, of Monteverde in Chicago
• Michael Gulotta, of MOFO in New Orleans
• Stephanie Izard, of Girl & the Goat in Chicago 
• Shota Nakajima, of Adana in Seattle 
• Jonathon Sawyer, of the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland

The "returning" ICs will be:

Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Symon, and Bobby Flay.

  • Love 1
dleighg

dleighg

(edited)
5 minutes ago, chiaros said:

few Top Chef alums have been announced to be part of the new Iron Chef America – Top Chef mashup.

 

I have *so missed* ICA since it disappeared a couple of years ago. Totally psyched!  Are all of the challengers TC alum? I don't recognize Shota and Jonathon and Jason (I recognize Nyesha but not sure she was ever on TC; I know her certainly from some other things)

ETA Michael Gulotta from NO is not who I thought he was, either :)

Edited by dleighg
chiaros

chiaros

(edited)
1 hour ago, dleighg said:

I have *so missed* ICA since it disappeared a couple of years ago. Totally psyched!  Are all of the challengers TC alum? I don't recognize Shota and Jonathon and Jason (I recognize Nyesha but not sure she was ever on TC; I know her certainly from some other things)

ETA Michael Gulotta from NO is not who I thought he was, either :)

No, just three are Top Chef alums – Nyesha Arrington (Season 9; TC Texas), Sarah Grueneberg (Season 9; TC Texas) and Stephanie Izard (Season 4; TC Chicago).

Here's a list of all Top Chef contestants through Season 12: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Top_Chef_contestants

Season 13 contestants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef_(season_13)#Contestants

Season 14 contestants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef_(season_14)#Contestants

I myself have not been *that* keen on ICA. I much preferred the original IC Japan. Bobby Flay, in particular, was such an a**hole in the beginning of ICA although he became less so with time. IMO Morimoto really underpinned ICA†† and Symon was also a worthy later addition to the roster,†† again IMO, although many folks hated him.

†† Although the stats show that Morimoto lost quite a number of contests but IMO was nevertheless still the person who underpinned the sensibilities of the show. Symon was the best-performing ICA. See here. Wolfgang Puck doesn't count - he was a flash in the pan, there for just 1 episode in the very beginning and then he bailed out.

Edited by chiaros
ProudMary

ProudMary

Sorry to read this today.

http://www.postandcourier.com/charleston_sc/top-chef-contestant-jamie-lynch-arrested-in-charleston-on-public/article_3b70973e-0027-11e7-97c3-2b95c278547b.html

Quote

One night before the finale of "Top Chef's" Charleston season aired, former contestant Jamie Lynch was arrested on a charge of public intoxication.

Lynch, 41, who was eliminated from the show earlier in the season in January after a self-sacrificing decision, spent Wednesday night in the Charleston County jail, according to jail records.

AriAu

AriAu

Quote

IMO, Brooke is UNLIKABLE and comes across as ENTITLED.

I have not seen a debate on like-a-bility like this since Hosea!

Personally, I have trouble saying I like or hate people when the only contact I have had with them is through a reality TV show that is highly edited to (i) create drama, even if it did not really exist; and (ii) create heroes and villains, with very little room in between. I have trouble saying that she "is UNLIKABLE" without, I don't know, actually meeting her.

To me Brooke came across as likeable and I did not really see her as entitled-a little whiny about losing to Kristen  especially the fact she came back from LCK, but not entitled. Did she skate by in the challenge where she did the awful looking yogurt parfait, sure, but we did not get to taste the food. I can see where people thought she acted entitled by asking Shirley for her back-up pork belly, but I think by then maybe she realized that she had ordered it and did think it would be fair to at least share.

Most importantly, at least to me, is that the other cheftestants in both seasons seemed to really like her and they got to live with her for extended periods. Sheldon seems to love her and he had to basically live with her for 10-12 weeks over the 2 seasons.  By the way, if you follow social media, Casey seems pretty beloved by all the cheftestants from this season-she is in lots of pictures etc with Emily, John, Sylvia and a whole group of others, as well as her buddy Brooke.

Last thing-I hope they give them some challenge in the Finale that requires them to show their skills and not just cook the 4 course meal they clearly planned out before they got there. I don't want some gimmick like cooking without tools, but maybe require them to work with a particular surprise ingredient-they did it in Napa for the Finale of Top Chef Las Vegas and it did help separate the 3 great chefs cooking that day.

  • Love 8
lololol

lololol

7 hours ago, AriAu said:

I have not seen a debate on like-a-bility like this since Hosea!

Personally, I have trouble saying I like or hate people when the only contact I have had with them is through a reality TV show that is highly edited to (i) create drama, even if it did not really exist; and (ii) create heroes and villains, with very little room in between. I have trouble saying that she "is UNLIKABLE" without, I don't know, actually meeting her.

To me Brooke came across as likeable and I did not really see her as entitled-a little whiny about losing to Kristen  especially the fact she came back from LCK, but not entitled. Did she skate by in the challenge where she did the awful looking yogurt parfait, sure, but we did not get to taste the food. I can see where people thought she acted entitled by asking Shirley for her back-up pork belly, but I think by then maybe she realized that she had ordered it and did think it would be fair to at least share.

Most importantly, at least to me, is that the other cheftestants in both seasons seemed to really like her and they got to live with her for extended periods. Sheldon seems to love her and he had to basically live with her for 10-12 weeks over the 2 seasons.  By the way, if you follow social media, Casey seems pretty beloved by all the cheftestants from this season-she is in lots of pictures etc with Emily, John, Sylvia and a whole group of others, as well as her buddy Brooke.

Last thing-I hope they give them some challenge in the Finale that requires them to show their skills and not just cook the 4 course meal they clearly planned out before they got there. I don't want some gimmick like cooking without tools, but maybe require them to work with a particular surprise ingredient-they did it in Napa for the Finale of Top Chef Las Vegas and it did help separate the 3 great chefs cooking that day.

Brooke - whiny and unlikeable and entitled and full of herself. Obvious by the way she acted.

  • Love 1
WearyTraveler

WearyTraveler

9 hours ago, jaync said:

True, but the chefs are still reality tv show personalities, so viewers are going to form some kind of judgement about them outside of their dishes. If some have a differing opinion of a contestant, then BFD.

I agree.  That said, I think what some here are trying to point out is that a subgroup of the viewers who don't like a contestant's personality states that said contestant is a bad chef, not as good as another chef in the competition, or not deserving of the win.  This is an impossible assertion to make because the people in that subgroup have not eaten any of the food prepared by any of the chefs in the competition.  So, their argument has no merit and it's not objective.

Basically it goes something like this (hyperbole is intentional, just to emphasize the point):

  • I like Chef A = Chef A is the best chef evah!  Everything they do is perfect and all their decisions are right
  • I hate Chef B = Chef B doesn't even know how to boil water.  Everything they do is wrong and has an ulterior motive

The idea some of us are trying to get across is that one should separate personality from ability.  For example, I have a very intense dislike for a soccer player called Diego Maradona (he was at the top of his field in the 80s - yeah, I'm old). I despise his personality and I think he's a scumbag.  But, I would never say the guy was a horrible player.  He was the best during his years playing pro, and his skills brought the Argentinian soccer team victories they hadn't seen in ages.  One thing doesn't negate the other.

  • Love 12
Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

Speaking of Hosea, I don't even think the level of hate for him came through this strong.  Or even with Hung in his first season.  For Brooke it has a "mean girls" aspect to it.  Makes me think it's motivated by more than just being "unlikable".  Speaking of sexist, I will go to my grave believing that women are generally harder on other women than men, something a lot of the men in my life agree with!  I see this especially with high achieving women who seem to get noticed and rewarded for their abilities.  I see an aspect of wanting to delegitimize their achievements somehow.  I also saw this somewhat with Casey.  As I recall similar stuff was said about her too, which also left me scratching my head.  I don't care if they're on a "reality show".  They don't primarily exist to be appealing to other people.  Their talents as chefs are not tied to their appeal to us, nor should they be.  And a big YES to separating out their ability and talent from whatever personality they have.  I pretty much said the same thing upthread.  If I don't like a chef I can still admit they deserve to win.  I didn't especially love Sheldon (didn't hate him either) but could have seen him winning and would have supported that.

  • Love 10
Rachel RSL

Rachel RSL

It seems to me that the majority of posters here have simply said that they're not fond of Brooke and didn't want her to win, not that she's an untalented chef and didn't deserve to win. In fact, most people have acknowledged that she's very talented, but they simply weren't rooting for her.  As for the level of hate being so strong, I really haven't seen that either. People have posted that she seems smug or entitled or unlikeable but I really haven't seen much crazy over-the-top hate. (I reserve that for the likes of Ilan.) 

  • Love 1
Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

(edited)
43 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

It seems to me that the majority of posters here have simply said that they're not fond of Brooke and didn't want her to win, not that she's an untalented chef and didn't deserve to win. In fact, most people have acknowledged that she's very talented, but they simply weren't rooting for her.  As for the level of hate being so strong, I really haven't seen that either. People have posted that she seems smug or entitled or unlikeable but I really haven't seen much crazy over-the-top hate. (I reserve that for the likes of Ilan.) 

YMMV, but I saw far more posts putting down Brooke's food and her level of talent than acknowledging that but just not liking her.  Comments ranged from calling her food "bland" (as if they could assess that through the TV screen) and "uninspiring" to "not creative" and criticizing her for supposedly not having a clear POV or confidence in her food, to not having a cultural back story or being tied to a particularly strong ethnic food tradition.  Plus I can't forget the umpteen thousand comments claiming that she's Tom's favorite and no one else's and that he's the only one who likes her food, and that his opinion is crap.

Edited by Snarklepuss
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jaync

jaync

Quote

The idea some of us are trying to get across is that one should separate personality from ability.  

One "should"? One can form/frame their opinion any way one sees fit - it's not a wrong/right matter.

Quote

It seems to me that the majority of posters here have simply said that they're not fond of Brooke and didn't want her to win, not that she's an untalented chef and didn't deserve to win. In fact, most people have acknowledged that she's very talented, but they simply weren't rooting for her.

Agreed. There seems to be just as much or more animosity towards those posters than what has been shown towards Brooke herself.

  • Love 4
Rachel RSL

Rachel RSL

2 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

YMMV, but I saw far more posts putting down Brooke's food and her level of talent than acknowledging that but just not liking her.  Comments ranged from calling her food "bland" (as if they could assess that through the TV screen) and "uninspiring" to "not creative" and criticizing her for supposedly not having a clear POV or confidence in her food, to not having a cultural back story or being tied to a particularly strong ethnic food tradition.  Plus I can't forget the umpteen thousand comments claiming that she's Tom's favorite and no one else's and that he's the only one who likes her food, and that his opinion is crap.

Yes, those are all opinions but none of that constitutes over-the-top hate IMHO. They're simply opinions that you disagree with. (The comments about her food being bland, etc. come from comments the judges have made, not because people on the internet think they can magically taste food through their tv sets. I wish!)

  • Love 1
chiaros

chiaros

Nick Elmi is doing well and his food is much liked by his customers and the Philly restaurant critics. I read of no complaints about "underseasoning" for that matter.

Some info and articles, reaching from the present back a couple years:

http://philly.eater.com/2014/11/7/7167997/interview-laurel-restaurant-one-year-in-nicholas-elmi

http://philly.eater.com/2016/6/16/11955008/itv-nick-elmi-wine-bar-restaurant-east-passyunk-philly

http://howtofeedaloon.com/chef-nicholas-elmi-philadelphia/

http://howtofeedaloon.com/laurel-philadelphia/

http://www.phillymag.com/tag/nick-elmi/

http://www.passyunkpost.com/tag/nicholas-elmi/

Lots more out there.

ratgirlagogo

ratgirlagogo

On 10/31/2016 at 11:40 PM, ProudMary said:

Kwame's new restaurant opens tomorrow and it sounds like an amazing concept!

http://wtop.com/food/2016/10/top-chefs-highly-anticipated-restaurant-the-shaw-bijou-opens-its-doors-in-dc/slide/1/

Closed in January 2017.

https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/top-chef-shaw-bijou-closes

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/shaw-bijou-serves-a-few-delights-and-several-duds-is-that-worth-500-a-head

AriAu

AriAu

Quote

Blaise is probably crying in a corner somewhere...

You are probably assuming that Blais is crying since she beat him, hands down, fair and square and by a lot.....but what he should be crying about is that her restaurants not only turn out GREAT food, but are also ridiculously successful. The only thing harder to get than a 4 top on a weekend at Duck, Duck Goat is a 4 top on any night at Girl and a Goat and you have a solid 45 minute wait every lunch at Little Goat Diner. And, she is tight with her partners-how's The Spence doing Richard?

  • Love 4
chiaros

chiaros

(edited)
1 hour ago, AriAu said:

how's The Spence doing Richard?

Richard Blais has not had anything to do with The Spence for two years now. He left completely back in March 2015. And that after having reduced his presence there significantly after having moved full-time to San Diego a couple years before.  

http://atlanta.eater.com/2015/3/9/8177251/wesley-true-the-spence-executive-chef-richard-blais

When The Spence closed down in June 2016, Richard Blais had been long gone and had nothing to do with the place for quite a while.

I'm not sure what the point (or insinuation) is of your question......?

Edited by chiaros
AriAu

AriAu

Quote

I'm not sure what the point (or insinuation) is of your question......?

I had heard that one of the reasons he was not at the Spence was a falling out with his partners. If I heard wrong, then I was wrong to insinuate that he did not get along well with his partners, in contrast to Stephanie, who reportedly gets along well with hers as she has done 3 with the same group.

chiaros

chiaros

(edited)

Concentrics Restaurants (see here too) operated The Spence and apparently enjoyed their relationship with Blais.  Quote from the Eater article I posted previously:

Quote

"We couldn't be more excited to have Chef True at The Spence," Concentrics founder Bob Amick said in a prepared statement. "His talent, his accolades and his ease with running a restaurant is going to prove to be the perfect match. We are all very excited to enjoy his work. We have enjoyed our long term relationship with Chef Blais and look forward to working with him in the future."

When The Spence closed down it seems Concentrics were made an offer they couldn't refuse so they SOLD it - see here - so it would seem they owned The Spence.

Quote

“The Spence proved to be an exciting concept just as we had hoped. We weren’t actively looking for buyers but when we were approached the deal made a lot of sense. We are not at liberty to discuss who the buyers are at this time as it’s still confidential. However, we wish the new owners all the best as we look toward focusing on three new Atlanta concepts (NEXTO and two hotel properties with details to be announced soon) as well as several concepts across the country opening in 2016-2018.”

Blais opened Juniper & Ivy after being wooed by Mike Rosen, both of whom discussed in a Feb 2014 article the whys and wherefores of the place. However, Concentrics Restaurants is also involved in Juniper & Ivy and would seem to also be a "partner", as reported in the same Restaurant Hospitality article I linked to above, in the "Upcoming projects" section:

Quote

Upcoming projects:
Another partnership with Richard Blais, and Michael Rosen of Juniper Hospitality, will bring a yet-to-be-named restaurant to a warehouse outside Little Italy in San Diego later this year.

...and Juniper & Ivy is certainly currently listed on the Concentrics Restaurant website.

So it would seem that Blais and Concentrics Restaurants have enjoyed good relations for years.

However, Blais' replacement at The Spence, chef Wesley True (see again the Eater article above) ran afoul of Concentrics Restaurants and was dismissed after just a few months - see here. Quote from this link:

Quote

“Concentrics has decided to part ways with Chef Wesley True of The Spence. Unfortunately, it was not a great fit and we had to make the hard decision to move forward. We were huge fans and very supportive of Wesley from day one but, unfortunately, we did not get the same in return.”

I wonder if it was Wesley True that was the subject of the "falling out" reports, rather than Blais? One of the "discussion points" was how he was ABSENT from his duties as the new chef at The Spence so as to compete on Top Chef...

Edited by chiaros
  • Love 1
chiaros

chiaros

(edited)

After Wesley True was dismissed from The Spence after just some 3 months or so (during which time he was largely away from the restaurant, because he was competing in Top Chef during when it was being filmed) he took up the EC position at The Optimist after just a few days. This Eater article reported on this issue as follows:

Quote

A tipster in tune with the situation tells Eater Atlanta that True's dismissal from The Spence was related to his potential move to The Optimist. Concentrics Restaurants, parent company of The Spence, responded to that possibility by saying, "We don't want to comment further on a previous employee."

Well, he then fell out with Ford Fry (the owner/restaurateur of the group that owned The Optimist) who, it was said, relieved True of his duties after just over a year. See this article. Quote from there:

Quote

“Wesley True has moved on from The Optimist; he is an incredibly talented chef and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” a representative for Ford Fry Restaurants tells Eater Atlanta. Further details surrounding True’s departure were unavailable, but multiple tipsters indicated Fry relieved the chef of his duties.

That same article also contained this:

Quote

True first came to Atlanta in March 2015, when he was hired by Concentrics Restaurants to take over the kitchen at The Spence. That gig didn’t list long, and Concentrics “decided to part ways” with the chef the following July. He was officially announced as The Optimist’s replacement for chef Adam Evans a few days later.

A Zagat article dated 11-29-2016 reported that he then headed down to Fort Lauderdale to join Geoffrey Zakarian's new restaurant Point Royal, but a look at the website for this place does not show his name*** as EC or as part of the senior staff...and neither the corresponding FB page nor a recent local write-up of the place from a few days ago mentions True's name. In the meanwhile, Wesley True's own FB page still lists him as EC at The Optimist so it has not been updated. Hmm.

...

*** ETA: Either I missed it or they just revised the Point Royal webpage - but today I saw their "Meet our EC" link on their page, which shows True as their EC; with a Concentrics photo of him, heh.

ETA2: In thinking about it again, I have a recollection that when I first looked at the Port Royal website it did NOT have the link to their EC, only the link to Chef Zakarian; which was why I said they did not mention Chef True.

Edited by chiaros
  • Love 1
AriAu

AriAu

(edited)
Quote

Blais opened Juniper & Ivy after being wooed by Mike Rosen, both of whom discussed in a Feb 2014 article the whys and wherefores of the place. However, Concentrics Restaurants is also involved in Juniper & Ivy and would seem to also be a "partner", as reported in the same Restaurant Hospitality article I linked to above, in the "Upcoming projects" section:

I apologize to Chef Blais-I guess I heard wrong and should have spent a few minutes double checking.

I actually think he is a very talented chef and cheftestant on the show. I do think his "I choked" lines regarding the TC Chicago finale (something he repeated for a while), while very self-aware, did not seem to give Stephanie enough credit for doing well- the fact is taht the actual result it was "she won" as much or more than "he lost". Didn't keep me from rooting for him in All Stars since I like redemption stories when genuine. That being said, I do NOT enjoy him as a judge-YMMV

Edited by AriAu
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