Season 15 Last Chance Kitchen

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

Laura had the easiest basket. Most of us eat something sweet with most proteins. Garlic is a slam dunk on almost everything.  

Really? I thought Rogelio's was the easiest. Next was Claudette's. I think I'm more inclined to use strawberry with chicken or maybe rabbit. I think black garlic has a tendency to overpower lots of proteins. After that, I thought it was Kwame. Finally, Laura and Lee Ann.

[Wings]

48 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Really? I thought Rogelio's was the easiest. Next was Claudette's. I think I'm more inclined to use strawberry with chicken or maybe rabbit. I think black garlic has a tendency to overpower lots of proteins. After that, I thought it was Kwame. Finally, Laura and Lee Ann.

I didn't know it was black garlic.  I watched on my phone so details are lost.  I have forgotten what the others got.  

[Wings]

13 hours ago, Christina said:

On this LCK, the chefs had to make a dish pairing two ingredients that don't go together. There were seven baskets to choose from and five chefs cooking with two being eliminated. Their choices were:

Lee Ann: Vanilla Bean and pickles

Claudette: Bonito Flakes and Chocolate

Kwame: Capers and Bananas

Rogelio: Gochujang and Sour Candies

Laura: Garlic and Strawberries

The options not chosen were Licorice and Peanut Butter and Coffee and Anchovy Paste.

 

I agree that Kwame got a better basket than Laura since she had black garlic.  I would not want Rogelio's basket because gummy candies are difficult.  Hell no on Claudette.  I don't like chocolate in savory food. 

[PepperMonkey]

Hey guys, can someone post who's left in LCK up to now? I don't want to have to watch it and can't figure it out from comments above!! Thanks much! :)

[NowVoyager]

Lee Ann, Claudette & Kwame are left.

[PepperMonkey]

Thank you, NowVoyager!~

Go Kwame and Lee Ann!!!!

[freespeech]

I can't stream this online. I don't have any problems with Netflix or Amazon. Or any other streaming service.

Bravo's site keeps pausing and freezing. And, Top Chef On Demand from my provider is like 2 weeks ago. I'm in Austin TX with Direct TV.

I would like to watch it! Is it available elsewhere?

[RealityCheck]

S15E01 : Catch Me Up ... Quick

S15E02 : All Of A Spudden

S15E03 : Miss Muffet's Favorite

S15E04 : Two Wrongs

FYI freespeech, Bravo is posting the full episodes of Last Chance Kitchen on YOUTUBE.

[Skyfall]

18 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Goodbye to Laura and Rogelio. I guess they didn't even really make it into the competition. Rogelio is not suited for this competition. No one in their right mind would think it's a good idea to deep fry sour gummy candy. That was a big old durrrr. Unpleasant Claudette wins by doing a mole as is her right. I just don't like her. 

Rogelio should talk to Food Network ?

[biakbiak]

To me black garlic is pretty mellow and has a sweetness that should have worked well. I was so happy ro see Marcel gone, I forgot that I would have to listen to him natter on from the sidelines.

Edited December 23, 2017 by biakbiak

[meowmommy]

I know it would bring less of a viewer draw than the well-recognized faces they chose, but if they were going to bring back aufed cheftestants, I'd like to see them bring back the people who were aufed first or second in their season, especially from the early seasons before the introduction of LCK.  Marcel and Jen have both been on All-Stars and Kwame had his shot at LCK already.

[biakbiak]

48 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I know it would bring less of a viewer draw than the well-recognized faces they chose, but if they were going to bring back aufed cheftestants, I'd like to see them bring back the people who were aufed first or second in their season, especially from the early seasons before the introduction of LCK.  Marcel and Jen have both been on All-Stars and Kwame had his shot at LCK already.

Most of them would likely just be cannon fodder, also a lot of the people eliminated early in early seasons are no longer working as chefs.

[meowmommy]

9 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Most of them would likely just be cannon fodder, also a lot of the people eliminated early in early seasons are no longer working as chefs.

Maybe, but I think LCK should be just that--a last chance.  Not, much as we might like these folks, recycling the same people over and over and over...

[apollonia666]

9 hours ago, Wings said:

I agree that Kwame got a better basket than Laura since she had black garlic.  I would not want Rogelio's basket because gummy candies are difficult.  Hell no on Claudette.  I don't like chocolate in savory food. 

Mole is freaking GOOD, though I can understand it sounding weird if you've never had it. Please try it sometime! The chocolate is one of many ingredients and doesn't overpower or make it sweet when it's done right. 

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, apollonia666 said:

Mole is freaking GOOD, though I can understand it sounding weird if you've never had it. Please try it sometime! The chocolate is one of many ingredients and doesn't overpower or make it sweet when it's done right. 

It is good. I feel like once you have a good one, you're a friend for life. My first was in Old Town San Diego. It was fantastic. Dark chocolate is also great in chili.

[Wings]

4 hours ago, apollonia666 said:

Mole is freaking GOOD, though I can understand it sounding weird if you've never had it. Please try it sometime! The chocolate is one of many ingredients and doesn't overpower or make it sweet when it's done right. 

I have had it.  I didn't think it was all that fabulous and would not order it again.  And I eat everything. This seems to be the only dish where chocolate is used. I have watched chefs struggle to use it in savory baskets on Chopped.  Mole takes a long time to cook and they only have 20 minutes in LCK.  

[apollonia666]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

I have had it.  I didn't think it was all that fabulous and would not order it again.  And I eat everything. This seems to be the only dish where chocolate is used. I have watched chefs struggle to use it in savory baskets on Chopped.  Mole takes a long time to cook and they only have 20 minutes in LCK.  

Fair enough! The way you said "I don't like chocolate in savory food" sounded to me like you'd never had mole. Now I just think you haven't had *good* mole. :)  

[Wings]

22 minutes ago, apollonia666 said:

Fair enough! The way you said "I don't like chocolate in savory food" sounded to me like you'd never had mole. Now I just think you haven't had *good* mole. :)  

True and very likely! 

[FormerMod-a1]

I agree that what a lot of places call Mole really isn't, or if it is it's bad.  As I always say, throwing some chocolate into chili does not a mole make!  That said, I'm not going to push food on anyone.  I hate coffee and lots of people think that means I'd still like their coffee or their favorite or coffee in chocolate, etc.  They are wrong.  So I know what it's like to have to keep dealing with that kind of thing.

[Norma Desmond]

Now that was a nice challenge. I love Kwame and hope he earns a spot in the finale. It's still a long way to go but he has the chops to make it.

[raven]

4 hours ago, Norma Desmond said:

I love Kwame and hope he earns a spot in the finale. It's still a long way to go but he has the chops to make it.

I really like Lee Anne as well but I was dying to try the stew that Kwame made this week, plus it looked so pretty in the little bowls.

[RemoteControlFreak]

Every season of Top Chef has a few contestants that have titles like "executive chef" but are lacking in basic cooking skills.  This season has more than its share, but Rogelio gets the grand prize.

You have to wonder what he was expecting to get by putting jelly beans in a deep fat fryer.  Did he think they would come out crispy or something?

[cooksdelight]

5 hours ago, RemoteControlFreak said:

You have to wonder what he was expecting to get by putting jelly beans in a deep fat fryer.  Did he think they would come out crispy or something?

No idea, but there’s that little itchy part of me that wants to fry gummi bears just to see if they explode.

[Nordly Beaumont]

Maybe Rogelio was thinking of the fried ice cream or fried candy bars they sell at state and county fairs. He just didn't know those are either battered or super frozen.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Maybe Rogelio was thinking of the fried ice cream or fried candy bars they sell at state and county fairs. He just didn't know those are either battered or super frozen.

Thats what I was thinking, I wonder if the kitchen has a blast chiller. I mean they even deep fry butter.

[Crucial]

I'm hoping it's Kwame that wins it all.  I like his style of cooking and hope he makes it to the end.   Claudette, her food must have really tasted good but the last two dishes, for me, looked awful.  The color of those dishes didn't look appetizing at all.  Not a fan of hers so I hope she doesn't make it much farther.

[akr]

I also just dislike the idea of someone who's never gotten very far on the regular show still having a chance at coming back - it's like they would have won an entirely different show if they won. The prior contestants and those who were kicked out halfway through or later have at least, in my mind, actually competed on Top Chef.

I was fine with Rogelio trying the little science experiment - would they melt, puff up, do nothing much of anything, or what? - but there was no need to put the results on the plate. Hadn't he melted some into the sauce, too, so that he'd already met the brief without throwing on the deep-fried ones?

Edited December 24, 2017 by akr
I type horribly on my phone

[Skyfall]

4 hours ago, Crucial said:

I'm hoping it's Kwame that wins it all.  I like his style of cooking and hope he makes it to the end.   Claudette, her food must have really tasted good but the last two dishes, for me, looked awful.  The color of those dishes didn't look appetizing at all.  Not a fan of hers so I hope she doesn't make it much farther.

If it was FNS and they were still guarenteed a S&S show Kwame would be a good pick.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 12/22/2017 at 8:45 PM, biakbiak said:

To me black garlic is pretty mellow and has a sweetness that should have worked well.

Yes, it's often used with fruit for that reason. 

 

On 12/23/2017 at 6:05 AM, Wings said:

On 12/23/2017 at 1:02 AM, apollonia666 said:

Mole is freaking GOOD, though I can understand it sounding weird if you've never had it. Please try it sometime! The chocolate is one of many ingredients and doesn't overpower or make it sweet when it's done right. 

I have had it.  I didn't think it was all that fabulous and would not order it again.  And I eat everything. This seems to be the only dish where chocolate is used. I have watched chefs struggle to use it in savory baskets on Chopped.  Mole takes a long time to cook and they only have 20 minutes in LCK.  

Mole is a general term for  a group of Mexican sauces and doesn't always involve chocolate (and never sweet chocolate as far as I know).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_sauce

You are dead right about the long cooking though.  That mole was never going to happen unless it came pre-made out of a jar.

[Qoass]

I'm not a fan of Marcel so was happy to see him eliminated. Little did I know he'd be even more annoying yukking it up in the peanut gallery. I'm sure Laura is a lovely person but I'm happy not to have to hear any more comments about the wilds of Alaska. I'm rooting for Lee Anne but Claudette intrigues me. It appears that she may be an example of a really good chef who had one bad day.

[Blonde Gator]

On 12/23/2017 at 1:02 AM, apollonia666 said:

Mole is freaking GOOD, though I can understand it sounding weird if you've never had it. Please try it sometime! The chocolate is one of many ingredients and doesn't overpower or make it sweet when it's done right. 

Totally agree!  Mole IS addictive, once you've had good mole.  And there are so many different kinds of mole (which means sauce)....chocolate is NOT required...there are green moles, yellow moles, red and black moles....hundreds of moles.

It's not an easy dish to just toss together rapido and expect a good result, so Claudette did well.  I cooked Rick Bayless' Mole Negro de Oaxaca (it was fantastic), the same dish he served at the White House, and won Top Chef Masters with.  In Mexico, mole is a community effort, one person does the chiles, one roast the nuts, etc.  I cooked it w/a friend, it took us two days the first time we made it. <--my blog of this recipe including pics.  I'm posting my blog because the Top Chef Masters link is gone, and so is the HuffPo link to Rick Bayless' recipe, but I copied his recipe (in italics) and made comments about each step.....so you'll have the right recipe if anyone wants to try it out.  It's not hard, it just takes lots and lots of time because there are so many steps.

[Jextella]

Do we know who made it back into the kitchen?

[hendersonrocks]

35 minutes ago, Jextella said:

Do we know who made it back into the kitchen?

Nope - it will be revealed at the beginning of the next episode. My guess is Claudette but I wouldn’t be surprised by any of them. I don’t love Claudette but I’ll be glad if her winning makes everyone else eat their snide remarks about her food. (I’m looking especially at you, Jen Carroll.)

I am kind of confused by what happens after that. Is LCK done for the season, or will it re-start? They were referring to this as the last challenge but I kind of find it hard to believe Bravo is going to give up the page views/ad revenue.

[Blonde Gator]

8 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

Nope - it will be revealed at the beginning of the next episode. My guess is Claudette but I wouldn’t be surprised by any of them. I don’t love Claudette but I’ll be glad if her winning makes everyone else eat their snide remarks about her food. (I’m looking especially at you, Jen Carroll.)

I am kind of confused by what happens after that. Is LCK done for the season, or will it re-start? They were referring to this as the last challenge but I kind of find it hard to believe Bravo is going to give up the page views/ad revenue.

I was really beginning to warm to Claudette, but her nasty comments at the end of the offal challenge were rather off-putting, and rude. 

Lee Ann Wong looks positively glowing in her TH segments, it's great to see her so happy about her pregnancy.  I love her and Kwame, so I have no favorites as to who comes back.  Claudette can flat out cook her food, and since I love what she's done in LCK, I'd be happy to watch her cook for the rest of the season, if she is kind of snotty....I still dig her food.

[HunterHunted]

Claudette has been snotty about Kwame for at least 2 or 3 episodes for reasons she has yet to really articulate. Meanwhile she's only made Mexican food, which is fine, but don't be bitchily dismissive of someone else's preferred cooking style.

[mlp]

Claudette can cook but she's obnoxious IMO.  I hope either Kwame or Lee Ann comes back.

I didn't understand why they had all the contestants come to LCK.  Maybe it was just to make everyone nervous.  There didn't seem to be any point to it.

[MerBearHou]

I feel  strongly about not rewarding obnoxiousness and snottiness toward others so despite the fact that Claudette can cook (though I think she tries to “snow” others a bit with her terminology that often only she understands), I sincerely hope that she does not advance out of LCK.  My preference is Kwame but I like Lee Ann too.

[Blonde Gator]

Seems as though we're all in agreement that Claudette is rather snotty, for no apparent reason.  Although TC has had some pretty good one-cuisine only chefs that have gotten far into the series, I don't recall any one of them that won it all....so someone with a more rounded perspective usually wins. 

Tom's comments to both Kwame & Lee Ann were kind of strange.  Who do we think will win?  I'm not sure, but I don't think it will be Lee Ann. 

Guesses?

[Christina]

On the fifth episode, the chefs had to cook a meal based on heads and they had 45 minutes. I couldn't see all of the choices, but here is what they chose:

Lee Ann - Halibut cheeks. Made braised fried halibut cheeks with fermented black bean and lamb sauce.

Kwame - Salmon head. Salmon head curry with flatbread.

Claudette - Pig tongues. Had trouble hearing her but I think she said pig tongue in mint sauce and it was served as a taco.

Tyler - Pig head with spaghetti squash puree.

This one also had sexual jokes, and Tom was laughing right along with the others. This was filmed before he wrote that open letter so I shouldn't consider him a hypocrite even though I kinda do.

Tom chose Kwame's dish as his favorite, Claudette in second, and Lee Ann narrowly beat out Tyler. Kwame, Claudette and Lee Ann are now in round two, which we see next week and it looks like the chefs walk into the TC kitchen to find the three cooking.

[Fiero425]

21 minutes ago, Christina said:

On the fifth episode, the chefs had to cook a meal based on heads and they had 45 minutes. I couldn't see all of the choices, but here is what they chose:

Lee Ann - Halibut cheeks. Made braised fried halibut cheeks with fermented black bean and lamb sauce.

Kwame - Salmon head. Salmon head curry with flatbread.

Claudette - Pig tongues. Had trouble hearing her but I think she said pig tongue in mint sauce and it was served as a taco.

Tyler - Pig head with spaghetti squash puree.

This one also had sexual jokes, and Tom was laughing right along with the others. This was filmed before he wrote that open letter so I shouldn't consider him a hypocrite even though I kinda do.

Tom chose Kwame's dish as his favorite, Claudette in second, and Lee Ann narrowly beat out Tyler. Kwame, Claudette and Lee Ann are now in round two, which we see next week and it looks like the chefs walk into the TC kitchen to find the three cooking.

It figure we'll have to wait until next week to see who's allowed back in the competition this early in the season! They all got rave reviews so it can be anyone! Having the remaining chefs there made no sense to me unless it was to unnerve them in anticipation of a veteran like Lee Ann coming back! ;-)

[biakbiak]

8 minutes ago, Fiero425 said:

It figure we'll have to wait until next week to see who's allowed back in the competition this early in the season! They all got rave reviews so it can be anyone! Having the remaining chefs there made no sense to me unless it was to unnerve them in anticipation of a veteran like Lee Ann coming back! ;-)

They said this was two part challenge and they are making a new dish on the actual ep.

Edited December 29, 2017 by biakbiak

[spiderpig]

This is completely personal, but I just don't like Claudette.  She's rude and disrespects her fellow chefs.  I don't care how well she cooked whatever it was she made, but I can get great Mexican cuisine within a 10 minute drive of my house - and that's all she makes.  Kwame and Lee Ann are my favorites.  They put thought and love into their dishes.

Your mileage may vary, but if I see those leopard glasses reentering Top Chef Kitchen, I'm going to have to uncork a bottle of the good stuff.

[Wings]

The second challenge was guts (offal).

Lee Ann made beef liver dumplings.

Kwame, hearts. I assume chicken.

Claudette,  damn I forgot.  

I don't think Lee Ann will be the one who returns.  She said she makes hundreds of dumplings everyday so they had to be good but Tom said her sauce was too thick  it was made from pureed liver and it didn't look good.  Seems to me a light dipping sauce was called for as in Chinese dumplings.

I am going to guess either Claudette or Kwame comes back.

I agree @spiderpig.  I don't like Claudette and good Mexican food abounds so I don't get all that excited about it.  Half a mile from me one makes their tortillas. 

Edited December 29, 2017 by Wings

[biakbiak]

Since I can't eat the food I won't suggest Claudette isn't worthy just because she only cooks Mexican, I don't think anyone made that charge about Bayless when he won TCMasters. I don't like her personality but her food seems on point.

I am confused about what is or is not a spoiler but the preview for LC Kitchen on the TC episode you can see the three chefs cooking, the one chef eliminated sitting and that the three chefs appear to be cooking an entirely new dish. Given the fact that all the chefs are there it wouldn't surprise me if they taste the dishes. It also wont be a blind challenge because all of them are watching the three cook.

Edited December 29, 2017 by biakbiak

[dleighg]

Claudette's personality doesn't bug me, but her dark blue (?) lipstick does.

[talktalk]

I hope LeeAnn returns, but it is unlikely judging by Tom's comments, and the way the editing was building her up to fail. Of the other two, I hope Kwame returns. 

[raven]

On 12/29/2017 at 3:49 AM, spiderpig said:

This is completely personal, but I just don't like Claudette. 

Yeah I don't either.  She makes a diss towards Kwame and then we see him later saying whatever she's cooking smells delicious.   Tom seems to like her so I'm resigned to seeing her back in the competition, especially since we see a clip from one of the chefs still in saying he would rather have her back, he's more worried about Kwame and Lee Anne. 

To be fair, her comments have been mostly bravado and mild compared to other stuff we've heard, but I'm still not a fan.  I hope we get Kwame; he seems to be using slightly different flavors each time and making an effort to be creative and make an impression.  I like Lee Anne but I think the editing and some of her comments point towards it not being her.

I hope they don't do something like have the current competitors taste each dish and then vote on who re-enters.  As much as I think having just Tom judge LCK isn't the best idea, I would really dislike having the competitors vote. 

[talktalk]

Yeah, I think there should be at least 3 judges for the "re-entry" challenge to get a fair and unbiased decision. 

[RedSoxRock]

The re-entry challenge has already happened and was judged just by Tom. They just aren't telling the winner till next week.

[chiaros]

TC is certainly reconfirming that it is no more than a GAME SHOW.

Edited January 1, 2018 by chiaros