Season 15 Last Chance Kitchen

[biakbiak]

My OnDemand finally posted the second episode, I also think its going to be Claudette who returns.

[cooksdelight]

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

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.

Save me a glass.

[HunterHunted]

14 hours ago, biakbiak said:

My OnDemand finally posted the second episode, I also think its going to be Claudette who returns.

I think so too. Magical Elves loves a bait and switch. Tom's critique of Kwame's dish was completely nitpicky, that's usually an indication that someone else won.

[Qoass]

I think the reason Claudette is being rude (although personally I've heard much, much worse) is that the producers are encouraging her to talk smack to make the show more interesting to watch. Plus, I like as much diversity as possible so a Hispanic woman? Yes, please. On the other hand, I remember liking Kwame very much during his original season but now I'm not sure why because he is so very, very dull. I love Lee Anne but don't want to hear about the blessed event every 10 seconds as the editors are wont to exploit. 

Whatever. Last Chance Kitchen has absolutely nothing to do with merit.

[essexjan]

Tom loves Kwame, so I'm anticipating he returns. I think the producers all along have intended that a chef from a previous season will return, to throw a cat amongst the pigeons.

[Wings]

I just rewatched.  

Feedback from Tom:

Claudette- A little anchovy forward at first but as I ate, it worked.

Kwame- Liked it and commented that he did the hearts perfectly.  Dinged him on his penchant for using small bowls for serving. 

Lee Ann-  He said wow after he tasted it indicating he liked them.  Said her sauce was too think.  The only clear mistake he noticed on anyone's dish. 

 

I think it will be Kwame or Lee Ann.   Why bring back alums if you were not hoping one would make it back into the game is my thought.  

Edited January 3, 2018 by Wings

[cooksdelight]

34 minutes ago, Wings said:

I think it will be Kwame or Lee Ann.   Why bring back alums if you were not hoping one would make it back into the game is my thought. 

Exactly. Ever since Kristin crushed it and ended up winning, then Brooke “miraculously” won, Tom has been hoping for a repeat.

[Special K]

Agree about Kwame or Lee Ann making it back in.  And I think Claudette is doing well enough and making enough of an impression to be asked back at some point.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Special K

[Wings]

Just now, cooksdelight said:

Exactly. Ever since Kristin crushed it and ended up winning, then Brooke “miraculously” won, Tom has been hoping for a repeat.

It will be much more exciting to have an alum back.  I would prefer Lee Ann.  Kwame is a good guy but dull.  Claudette is snide and I hate that attitude. 

 I would rather see a positive, up beat chef any day.  Lee Ann is adorable and a bad ass chef.  

[cooksdelight]

I just wish they had an outsider who wasn’t a producer to judge this part of this show.

[Wings]

26 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I just wish they had an outsider who wasn’t a producer to judge this part of this show.

I am okay with Tom judging.  All reality shows are manipulated to some degree but I see Top Chef as one that still has integrity and the least amount of interference.  Tom would never give a bad dish the win.  Now he stands in front of 3 good dishes.  What does he do?  He will send the one back in that he prefers to be there.  That is fair.  

[Christina]

Ever since Tom made Wolfgang Puck change his vote back in Season 4(?), I haven't been able to take his sole vote as anything other than what he thinks is best for the show, as opposed to the meal he thinks is best. There have been several times after that where the outcome seems obvious, like Brooke last year, but the editing takes some blame there, too. 

At this point, if they wanted to keep it a sole vote to return to the show, I'd need it to be a blind tasting before I could believe it wasn't fixed or at minimum, not made for any reason other than the food.

[Wings]

All reality shows are manipulated to some degree.  I accept that and enjoy this one anyway, it is my favorite.  The food is real.  :) 

[Jesse]

I would guess Tom would send Claudette back in because she was so unimpressive in her short time on the big show, but I think Tom has really loved most of what she's done on LCK.  Of course, she'll probably get back to the main show just in time for a smorgasbord episode or some shit and still be unable to make her Mexican food.

[Christina]

When you have two chefs to choose from for eviction, and one has done well in the past and one has been struggling, keeping the chef that has shown he/she can compete but just had a bad cook, even if their meal was clearly the worst (for instance something burned that we viewers can see without having to taste it), makes sense to me and doesn't bother me.

When both have shown they could make it to the end, but just had a bad cook, they have to split hairs to decide which one goes, and sometimes it is a simple as calling the meal by a name that it doesn't match exactly, like a banh mi with a different bread. (Don't know why my computer is hassling me over the accent mark, but banh should have one and doesn't.) I get that, too.

There have been several times I've felt the decision didn't have anything to do with the food, but instead, with who the show wants in the finale. Brooke going to LCK only to return was one of them. Almost from the first episode forward it looked like Brooke was going to have that arc; LCK back to the comp and then win. A lot of that can be blamed on the editing because the storyboards are obvious making what are likely unscripted progressions come across as completely planned, but still, I can't hold Tom C. up as a beacon of integrity as a judge. I think that he would send a chef back to the competition, even with the worst dish, if he thought that chef was better for the show. 

This show has no where near the manipulations of Masterchef US, My Kitchen Rules, etc., but even Chopped doesn't come across as having a winner chosen before they enter the kitchen, and a lot of times, this show does whereas Masterchef US always does. It is part of the reason I disliked last season so much; I knew the winner from day one because the editing gave it away. It came across as unfair with the former competitors making up half the chefs, and the first time competitors leaving one after another. The skill level between the two groups seemed huge, when it was likely just the experience of the competition that made the former cheftestants come across as a cut above.

I think Tom and the other producers had an idea which of the past cheftestants they wanted to return to the competition and I think they have some idea of who they want to make it to the finale. I don't think they necessarily rig any challenges to make that happen on this show, but do think that the judging isn't based strictly on the dish in front of them. YMMV

It's still better than the other food competition shows, especially when the chefs thin and we get to see the food more. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

So, should I assume that Kwame is done and they're just waiting for a second PYKAG to go up against Tu for LCK Part Deux? (I'm a little overdue ... or overdeux ... having been out of town until yesterday so JUST watched last week's episode.)

Well, either way, I am looking forward to trying Kwame's new place (I'm a D.C. person). Maybe I'll get hubby to take me there for Valentine's Day dinner (which generally falls somewhere within the month of February since he works almost every night LOL). 

[April Bloodgate]

48 minutes ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

So, should I assume that Kwame is done and they're just waiting for a second PYKAG to go up against Tu for LCK Part Deux? (I'm a little overdue ... or overdeux ... having been out of town until yesterday so JUST watched last week's episode.)
 

Sadly, as I really liked Kwame, that is my assumption as well.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Thanks so much! I was definitely saddened by his departure (especially because I just cannot stand Claudette ... I like every other single cheftestant to one degree or another except her). 

[MerBearHou]

Realllly unhappy with one key detail about how tonight’s LCK went down.  Not cool whatsoever by Brother.  It’s not gamesmanship no matter how you rationalize it—it’s cheap.  This isn’t Survivor. I will now actively root against Brother who previously I had really liked.  I would have reacted exactly as Tu did and undoubtedly it hurt a little more, given how much Tu thought that Brother and he had really bonded right off the bat.  I also thought it was weird that Brother NEVER smiled in LCK when Tom was talking and kidding with them -- it's like he was trying extra-hard to be taken seriously and show his badassery.  None of this was necessary, Brother.

Edited January 12, 2018 by MerBearHou
Naming names

[hendersonrocks]

That plastic wrap situation was stone cold. It looked like Brother found it after Tu was looking for it, but still - it’s not a good look and I thought Tu’s interview comments were fair enough. Yeah, it’s a competition, but is that really how you want to win (and look)? It would have been real easy to give the man a heads up you found it. Especially when you keep talking about how much you respect him. 

[Blonde Gator]

32 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

That plastic wrap situation was stone cold. It looked like Brother found it after Tu was looking for it, but still - it’s not a good look and I thought Tu’s interview comments were fair enough. Yeah, it’s a competition, but is that really how you want to win (and look)? It would have been real easy to give the man a heads up you found it. Especially when you keep talking about how much you respect him. 

I think it was the very first challenge when Tu lent his PAN to a competitor (Mustache Joe?)....and (over) cooked his stew in the steamer tray as a result of his generosity.?

My mom would have called what happened tonight "dirty pool".  Particularly when one chef KNEW exactly where the wanted item was....all the while the other chef kept asking about it.  Not nice!  If I was that chef's mom, I'd be horrified at such skanky behavior.

Edited January 12, 2018 by Blonde Gator

[Bastet]

What did Brother do?

[hendersonrocks]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

What did Brother do?

Tu was looking for plastic wrap for a chicken preparation (roulade - is that right?). He kept asking if Brother knew where it was or if he’d seen it. Brother said no, but then ran to where it was in the kitchen and used it himself. He said something in the talking head about how Tu has two legs and can find it himself. Brother went on to make some gestures to the onlooking chefs about how he’d found the plastic wrap but didn’t say anything.

Tu found out Brother had the wrap during judging when Tom pointed it out. He looked genuinely upset, and then in his exit interview talked about integrity and how he’d lost respect for Brother (who up until now he really admired). 

That’s it in a nutshell, I think!

[Blonde Gator]

7 minutes ago, Bastet said:

What did Brother do?

Tu was trying to find the plastic wrap....Brother told him "it's by the rabbit".  Tu was running around the kitchen trying to find it.   He wanted to use it to make a roulade out of his chicken curry.  He never did find the plastic wrap, and tried to punt using an immersion bag, no dice....so he cooked his chicken on the grill, and the skin was fatty.

Meanwhile, Brother was cooking....and got the plastic wrap to mold his avocado.  He never told Tu where the wrap was, even after he used it, and just put it on the table right in front of the rest of his own station.  Then he smirked at the seated chefs, and made snotty faces as Tu struggled with Tom and the flabby chicken skin.  REALLY BAD SPORTSMANSHIP, particularly after Tu lent Joe Mustache (first challenge) his pan in the first challenge.  Just blew all of his credibility and good will right out the window.  I'd never go out of my way to eat at his restaurant.

Hope the spoiler tag worked....well crap, I tried.

Edited January 12, 2018 by Blonde Gator

[NowVoyager]

Damn, that was cold. Hope it was worth it, Brother, because that's going to be your TC legacy. 

Still, I don't understand how the roulade presentation would have made Tu's chicken skin crispier.

[Wings]

3 hours ago, NowVoyager said:

Damn, that was cold. Hope it was worth it, Brother, because that's going to be your TC legacy. 

Still, I don't understand how the roulade presentation would have made Tu's chicken skin crispier.

Good point on his legacy.  Nasty man.

He wouldn't have used the skin on the roulade.  I don't understand why his skin wasn't crispy.  It is not hard to do. 

[Darian]

Diiiiiiiiirtbag move, Brother. I am very forgiving of  contestants not helping others on reality shows, especially since sometimes it can hurt them (though I always think well of contestants who help). If a contestant who had help plating or doing some other task wins over a chef who didn't, I sometimes bristle. They all the same time and if someone else had the equivalent of extra minutes or seconds that the help represents, maybe they would have done better. But something like not telling where an ingredient or tool is? Outright lying about it? Dead to me. I may have to spoil myself on LCK from here on out, because I do not want to see Brother win again. 

[chiaros]

Even LCK seems to be in a state of "jumping the shark" whilst reinforcing the image of it being a reality teevee game show.

Sigh.

Edited January 12, 2018 by chiaros

[Ellee]

Regarding Wrapgate. Don’t know why but I’m thinking Brother was still stinging from being eliminated from the competition. 

Is LCK taped immediately after the show? The next day?  Just curious. 

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

Don’t know why but I’m thinking Brother was still stinging from being eliminated from the competition. 

Is LCK taped immediately after the show? The next day?  Just curious. 

I don't know if it was the same day, next day, or other but I DEFINITELY agree he was hella fired up. His interviews and reactions after winning LCK were all about how he shouldn't have gone and that he was going to decimate everyone in his path, essentially. I was already not feeling him because of the wrap situation, but his overall vibe was definitely off-putting. It's cool to be competitive, but he was coming off a little too strong for me.

[Bastet]

14 hours ago, Blonde Gator said:

Hope the spoiler tag worked....well crap, I tried.

Don't worry about it, because it wasn't supposed to be behind spoiler tags anyway, since it had already "aired."  Thank you and others for the recap!

What an ass.  He was a clear-cut choice for elimination in the German food challenge - seeing as he, you know, didn't actually make German food - so what he was all righteously indignant about to begin with, I do not know, and even well-founded emotions over losing shouldn't turn you into a petty twit towards someone who had nothing to do with that.

[limecoke]

Not the first time crap like this has happened.  That big honking box of wrap is pretty hard to miss and pretty hard to hide.  Not sure of the sequence of events but I’d only get indignant if Brother actually hid it from sight and it didn’t appear he did.  Don’t know.  Bottom line, the chef that goes back into the competition is the chef Tom WANTS back in the competition.  That won’t be Brother...I’d bet on that.   Tom controls LCK regardless of the dishes cooked.  That much is obvious and has been since it started.

[essexjan]

From what I saw, Brother took the roll of wrap to his station, so to say he didn't know where it was was an out-and-out lie. Tom made a point of showing Tu that it was on Brother's station when he was judging.

I'd liked Brother up to this point but, yeah, he'll forever be known in TC history as the guy who made the dick move in order to win.

[cooksdelight]

Well, damnnnnnnn..... I just posted in the episode thread that I liked Brother. Shit.... time to edit.....

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

Well, damnnnnnnn..... I just posted in the episode thread that I liked Brother. Shit.... time to edit.....

It’s funny, cooksdelight — I saw your episode thread post first and totally anticipated this follow-up LCK post from you!  I too was bummed when Brother was eliminated — I mistakenly thought he was kind of a zen, gentle soul — and then wow, after LCK, that impression sure changed.  Against Tu, Brother either showed very poor judgment or his true colors.

Edited January 13, 2018 by MerBearHou

[mlp]

I liked Brother too until LCK.  I've seen chefs on Chopped who grew up in slums and did time in prison and now work in food trucks be better sports than that.  Tu should have come up with a better Plan B but I did feel bad for him when I saw him in tears.

[spiderpig]

I officially have my Top Chef villain for this season.  What a jerk.  And I'm not talking about Tu.

[cooksdelight]

I hope the next person who comes in totally burns his ass.

[holly4755]

I can't believe that people cook with plastic wrap on food,  Plastic wrap is pretty much not good for you if it is used on hot materials.  You need special cooking plastic for sous vie so looking for plastic wrap seems so weird. 

[dleighg]

the peanut gallery sure shrunk. All the veterans are gone; is that all that's missing?

[whydoiwatchtv]

I can’t stand Brother either now. What a dick. Early on, while Tu was looking for the wrap, I think I heard Brother say “It’s behind the rabbit” while smirking at the reason Tu lost to be in LCK, as well. Not a good look at all. 

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, whydoiwatchtv said:

I can’t stand Brother either now. What a dick. Early on, while Tu was looking for the wrap, I think I heard Brother say “It’s behind the rabbit” while smirking at the reason Tu lost to be in LCK, as well. Not a good look at all. 

It wasn't a good look, but Tu would likely have lost anyway even with the plastic wrap. He was making a roulade that he seemed to want to cook sous vide, so the skin would have ended up flabby anyway. Tu seems to have serious technique issues. That doesn't make Brother any less of a jerk. 

[rho]

5 hours ago, holly4755 said:

I can't believe that people cook with plastic wrap on food,  Plastic wrap is pretty much not good for you if it is used on hot materials.  You need special cooking plastic for sous vie so looking for plastic wrap seems so weird. 

I'm pretty sure he was only using the plastic to give the chicken its shape but he would remove it before cooking. That said, I totally agree. I can't stand plastic wrap and maybe I'm imagining but I swear it leaves an artificial taste on the food. Not sure why he didn't go with twine or skewers instead. The sous vide bag was a mess. Still not excusing Brother though. He's shady af and I think I dislike him even more than Philip from a few seasons back. Not even hate watchable :/

[LeighLeigh]

According to their social media, Tu has said that he and Brother are still 'homies'. He also said that he is not sure that he would have won even if he had the plastic wrap.  

Brother claims that he did not hide the plastic wrap and that it was in the same spot in the kitchen as it had been all season. 

Lee Ann also explains her side of the story and shows beautiful photos of her baby. 

 (All under Twitter #topchef or their individual Instagram accounts.)

[April Bloodgate]

I don't see what the big deal is. It doesn't look to me like Brother hid the plastic wrap. Tu couldn't find it for whatever reason. Later, when Brother needed it, he went and found it. 

Edited January 13, 2018 by April Bloodgate

[chiaros]

18 hours ago, April Bloodgate said:

I don't see what the big deal is. It doesn't look to me like Brother hid the plastic wrap. Tu couldn't find it for whatever reason. Later, when Brother needed it, he went and found it. 

See here for a commentary in this direction...

https://www.reddit.com/r/TopChef/comments/7pqn1w/s15e06_now_thats_a_lot_of_schnitzel_discussion/dsk8l6c/

But there's also this...

https://www.reddit.com/r/TopChef/comments/7q7jp3/last_chance_kitchen_episode_7_spoilers/

My own view, based on what the show chose to edit and broadcast? Brother seemed to "throw off" Tu when he was looking for the plastic wrap by saying some weird stuff to Tu (sounded like look for/(something) ..the rabbit..) but for whatever reason Tu didn't find it anyway; then Brother found it and brought it to his station (was it AFTER Tu was looking for it? It would seem so...). The "dick move" might perhaps be that Brother then DIDN'T tell Tu that he now had the plastic wrap, if Tu still needed it, especially when he KNEW that Tu had been looking for it. His "rubbing it in" afterwards at Tasting did not help.

Edited January 14, 2018 by chiaros

[7-Zark-7]

To me, the dick move was when Brother sent Tu on a wild goose chase by claiming the plastic wrap was somewhere it wasn't. (If indeed that was what he was doing, for all I know it could have been behind the rabbit). If he had just kept silent about it, that would be a neutral act. But, the smirking about how he found it easily was needless.

 Also, I'm not a chef but I knew putting that wet meat on the grill would kill the texture of that skin, so Tu definitely should have known this.

[raven]

My guess since I just watched it and the editing was wonky:

Tu is asking about the wrap and Brother says "it's by the rabbit".  Tu can't find it and improvises with the plastic bag.  Brother gets the wrap later and says that his legs work as well as Tu's, it was right where he said it was (paraphrasing).   It seems at this point that Tu has moved on to the plastic bag, the wrap is right on Brother's station so he's not hiding it.  It would have been nice to tell Tu, but it appeared Tu was going forward and Brother had his own dish to worry about. 

Tom is the one who makes a big deal out of it, by saying to Tu "there's your plastic wrap" which was right on Brother's station, so naturally Tu would think that Brother had it the whole time, hence his emotional comments at the end of the episode.

Since it seems they are still friends, to me the controversy is much ado about nothing.

Quote

the peanut gallery sure shrunk. All the veterans are gone; is that all that's missing?

Yes, just the vets are gone now.

[Special K]

The whole "it's by the rabbit" was clearly a cruel-ish snark on the rabbit dish for which Tu was eliminated.  Why not just win clean?  Especially since Brother should know that Tu has been uncommonly kind and helpful to the other chefs.  He could have stayed silent or just said, "it's where it always is."

I look forward to his downfall.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Special K

[cooksdelight]

@Figster, if you were in the competition.... looked for something and couldn’t find it... asked your comrade/competitor/friend where to find it, would you expect them to give you an honest answer or poke fun at your losing dish? If you were in Brother’s place, would you tell him it’s beside the rabbit, digging at his failed dish? Or would you say “It’s on the third shelf from the left, in the middle....” or wherever??

Brother relished in Tu not finding what he needed, he literally laughed at him behind his back. In my opinion. :)