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stewedsquash

stewedsquash

On 2/7/2024 at 11:30 AM, LizDC said:

 

Okay Hello Gail’s breasts, lol. Also, Padma who? Not that I am diminishing her fabulous role in shaping the show, which in my opinion helped the show have its staying power, but when viewing the trailer I did not think of her one time. It seems to be Kristen’s show now and it felt good seeing her take the hosting reins. 
There was (is still? Not sure since last season) a poster who did in depth viewing on a thread dedicated to predicting who is leaving and staying. That trailer above seems to have a lot of, if not spoilers then at least some clues for that poster. Apologies for not remembering your screen name. 

 

On 2/8/2024 at 3:33 PM, ProudMary said:

This article from Food and Wine gives more in-depth information on each of the S21 cheftestants. It also gives the location of the finale, a quote from which I will spoiler tag here.

  Reveal spoiler

The cheftestants that make it through to the finale will then hop on a flight to board a Holland America cruise ship for an epic high-seas finale, which includes a surprise visit  from Holland America’s Fresh Fish Program Ambassador, chef Masaharu Morimoto, before having to prepare an eight-course fish-tasting menu for the penultimate episode (no pressure, right?). And, for the final meal, the remaining chefs are tasked with the “best four-course meal of their lives” to take home the $250,000, along with our favorite prize, a feature in Food & Wine and an appearance at the 41st annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.  

 

'Top Chef' Is Back for Season 21 — Here's Your First Look at the Contestants

 

I hope the PR/DR chef sticks around long enough to showcase those cuisines. No offense but I am all Mexican cuisine’d out on this show. Also, the crew seems heavily Texas’d, Austin in particular. I am also bbq pit masters’d out. 
From the bios above there seems to be a lot of chefs who have worked under very esteemed chefs and at legendary restaurants. I hope this season brings out a lot more technical work for the chefs. Sometimes I just dislike winging it challenges. I still remember being so disappointed in Jaimie(sp) when the revered chef was showing and explaining how to precisely cut the potatoes into strips for the challenge when she was murdering the potatoes and her talking head was “it doesn’t matter how the potato is cut”  along with “I can cut a potato”. Nah, Jaimie, you learned nothing.

 

Very excited for Kristen and this season. 
Don’t laugh, but I wonder if they will have  The Young And The Restless episode? It is a decades old soap opera set in Wisconsin. 

 

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susannot
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Re Mike Isabella: anyone who invested in his restaurant empire should have watched Top Chef.  It is 100% obvious that he is a gross sexist pig and probable sexual harasser.  I can't count the number o

akr
akr

Re podcasts vs synopses:  I'm always going to prefer a 3-minute read to a 45-minute listen, but I've pretty much given up on anybody putting such things in writing anymore.  Podcasts are easier for th

Rambler
Rambler

There was a reddit thread the other day titled “People that have been on a cooking show, what does the viewer not see? Are the time limits legit? Does the food go straight to the judges? Any behind th

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Bastet

Bastet

Interesting changes, that immunity will now come via winning the elimination challenge, not the quickfire, and both QF and EC performance will be discussed in deciding who goes home.  My gut reaction is both are good ideas, especially the latter; it brings in a dose of cumulative performance consideration without abandoning the "a diner doesn't care why you had a bad night, if they don't have good food, they're not coming back" foundation entirely.

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CrazyInAlabama

CrazyInAlabama

45 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

The change I don't like is that according to my DVR, they've moved the show to Wednesdays.  It's going against Survivor and The Amazing Race.  Smart move, Bravo.  Well, I guess that's what the DVR is for. 

And it will soon be opposite My 600 lb Life too.     I don't understand why they changed the broadcast day.     I refuse to pay Spectrum any more for service, so I don't have recording capabilities anyway.   

Yeah No

Yeah No

11 hours ago, dleighg said:

If you get a streaming device (I have an AppleTV device which is pricey, but Amazon Firestick is pretty inexpensive) you can watch using the Bravo app. That's what I do.

I have Roku, and that's not so expensive either, although I watch most shows on cable.

7 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I hope the show makes a stop at Penzey's Spices in Madison.

Oh, I love Penzey's!  I just went to my local store 2 days ago for my twice yearly stock up.

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Ancaster

Ancaster

(edited)
On 3/9/2024 at 11:53 PM, NowVoyager said:

 

 

 

On 3/10/2024 at 1:26 PM, Bastet said:

Interesting changes, that immunity will now come via winning the elimination challenge, not the quickfire, and both QF and EC performance will be discussed in deciding who goes home.  My gut reaction is both are good ideas, especially the latter; it brings in a dose of cumulative performance consideration without abandoning the "a diner doesn't care why you had a bad night, if they don't have good food, they're not coming back" foundation entirely.

I just hope it doesn't get stupid, like some other cooking shows, such as Masterchef (US version).  For example, why are the judges standing in a vat of something (cranberries I think)?  I don't need that.

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tv echo

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Go behind the scenes of 'Top Chef' ahead of its Season 21 premiere
By Joy Summers    March 14, 2024
https://www.startribune.com/go-behind-the-scenes-of-top-chef-wisconsin-ahead-of-its-season-21-premiere/600350997/ 

Quote

Despite the promise of an upscale setting, we were standing in an open-air parking lot in Madison, Wis., lining up to sign paperwork and surrender our phones to ensure confidentiality. We were here to get a sneak peek behind the culinary competition "Top Chef" as it heads into its 21st season with a new crop of cheftestants, a new host and a mid-America location that is notably not Minnesota.

A few weeks earlier, I'd been contacted with the tantalizing offer to be a background diner in an episode. Details were sparse, which is how I found myself in this holding pen that, after a cursory glance around, was nowhere near a restaurant. My new stranger-friends seemed equally baffled. But like a good Minnesotan, I wasn't going to ask anyone if they knew what we were supposed to be doing.

Soon everyone had paperwork settled, shuffled and signed. We were ushered across four lanes of traffic, midblock (without the benefit of a crosswalk) by people radioing back-and-forth with the set crew: maws were on the way for feeding. It wasn't long before we were murmuring culinary assessments to be cut and spliced into an episode where one chef would be crowned the winner and another sent to pack their knives.
*  *  *
Back on set, we are shuffled through a side patio of the restaurant into a room brimming with production equipment and people in headsets intensely watching monitors. Directors are feeding instructions to those who are with the chefs in another room. "Ask him ... Get a shot of that ... Move in ..." The restaurant crackles with energy as the cheftestants cook and we background eaters shuffle in.
*  *  *
Eaters are corralled into a hushed dining room setting and seated; we mutter excitedly to our seatmates. There's a rumor that the flowers on the table are bugged, and that's how they'll hear our reactions to the food. Eyeing the centerpiece, I'm pretty sure it's just a grocery store mum.

Suddenly, we're called to attention and given the heads-up that the chefs are ready and the food is coming. They stand at the front, but we can't hear everything that's being said. It's for the benefit of the camera and the judges' table, which is in another room. The first round of food comes and we all do our best to eat intelligently, delivering hopeful bon mots to the mums and each other like this is all totally normal.

We chat with the table next to us between courses; it turns out they're family of the people who run the venue where this episode is being filmed. They were bursting with pride over the spotlight the show is bringing to the local dining scene.

Other diners are media, influencers and hospitality folk. Cameras swirl the room, stopping to focus intently on tables with great lighting — not mine. There was a lot of food to sample.
*  *  *
On my way out I could see Kish on the monitor delivering her line, "So, tell us what you've prepared for us tonight." A faceless chef described a dish and gave context we wouldn't get with our bites. It was all part of the big show, and to find out what happens next, we'll have to tune in.

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‘Top Chef’ Without Padma
 March 25, 2024  Neal Pollack
https://bookandfilmglobe.com/television/top-chef-without-padma/ 

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In Kish’s debut episode, she presented herself as she truly is, or as close to a TV personality on a highly-produced reality show can: As a former champion who brings deep knowledge of the game, and maybe a little PTSD. While Kish is the nominal “host,” in reality the show is using her in a kind of hosting triumvirate with head judge Chef Tom Colicchio and food critic Gail Simmons, both of whom have been with the show since the beginning and therefore provide the kind of continuity Top Chef needs to survive without its biggest star. For the opening challenge, Kish, Colicchio, and Simmons all asked the contestants to make a simple dish, either soup, roast chicken, or stuffed pasta. Kish approached her duties with a simplicity to match the challenge, and she was neither wooden nor distracting. Transition successful.
*  *  *
I’ve come to appreciate that Top Chef contestants are not celebrities, at least not yet. Other televised cooking competitions are either sad displays of third-tier sous chefs cooking in an Arizona parking lot, or highly overproduced concepts featuring the same 25 cooks competing against one another in an increasingly baroque series of formats. Bobby Flay now presides over a “Triple Threat” of three former Top Chef winners or near-winners, who do his cooking for him, and former Top Chef contestants have to do things like host a game that takes place at “midnight” with “wild cards” or highly-artificial beach-boardwalk showdowns. It all has a very meet-the-devil-at-the-culinary-crossroads vibe.

tv echo

tv echo

Interesting - "popularity" appears to be based on the number of Instagram followers...

Every 'Top Chef' Winner, Ranked From Lowest to Highest Popularity
BY JJ STAFF   MAR 13, 2024
https://www.justjared.com/2024/03/13/every-top-chef-winner-ranked-from-lowest-to-highest-popularity/2/

19. Kevin Sbraga (Season 7)
8.8k followers

18. Hosea Rosenberg (Season 5)
9k followers

17. Harold Dieterle (Season 1)
9.3k followers

16. Nicholas Elmi (Season 11)
14.4k followers

15. Ilan Hall (Season 2)
20.1k followers

14. Gabe Erales (Season 18)
26.2k followers

13. Paul Qui (Season 9)
30.2k followers

12. Jeremy Ford (Season 13)
50.4k followers

11. Joseph Flamm (Season 15)
66.3 followers

10. Hung Huynh (Season 3)
77.2k followers

9. Kelsey Barnard Clark (Season 16)
94.2k followers

8. Buddha Lo (Season 19, Season 20)
180k followers

7. Mei Lin (Season 12)
196k followers

6. Stephanie Izard (Season 4)
218k followers

5. Melissa King (Season 17)
241k followers

4. Michael Voltaggio (Season 6)
327k followers

3. Brooke Williamson (Season 14)
353k followers

2. Richard Blais (Season 8)
517k followers

1. Kristen Kish (Season 10)
535k followers

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'Top Chef: Wisconsin's Valentine Howell Jr. Was Surprised By His Elimination
MIKE BLOOM   MARCH 30, 2024
https://parade.com/tv/top-chef-wisconsin-21-valentine-howell-jr 

Quote

How did you get onto Top Chef, and what was your preparation to get on, if any?
I was contacted about joining the competition. It was definitely on my bucket list of things to do in my career. I have been watching the show since it began. Regarding preparation for the show, I honestly didn't get much time. I was running the restaurant, working full time. I didn't really get the luxury of dedicating much time to preparing for the show or support from them as a whole. But I did my research on the great state of Wisconsin and all the culinary delights it has to offer. On my off-time, I would make a recipe or time myself for a Quickfire or do a longer challenge. So, I did do my due diligence.
*  *  *
Talk about how you conceived your beer and corn soup idea. Do you feel, as the judges said, that you shied away from the ingredient you were supposed to highlight?
I have never worked with using corn nuts in any of my cooking. The most experience I have had with them is eating them at a bar. My mind immediately went to soup for some reason, and I just went with it. I talked to the team, and they thought it made sense since there is usually a soup course as part of a progressive meal. I thought the combination of fresh corn for its sweetness and the toasted flavor of the nuts would work in addition to the Miller High Life, which I believe gave another dimension of flavor to it, and finished with crushed ones to add some texture for an elevated gastropub fare.  

The judges said your dish's viscosity was off, even saying it was more of a sauce than a soup. How did that issue end up happening?
I didn't think that the viscosity was off. I thought I took great care in making sure it wasn't thick or gloopy because I know corn can be very starchy and get to that point. Up until plating, I was making sure I had tasted it and got second opinions. Maybe if I had worded it differently, they would have had a different perception of the dish. I was still happy with the dish I put out and how it looked and tasted.

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Happy April Fool's Day...

"Top Chef" preview: The chefs must catch and cook the Brewers' racing sausages
By Matt Mueller   Apr 1, 2024
https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/top-chef-racing-sausages-aprilfools

Quote

"During this compétition ultime, you will be split into five teams," Kish explains, "Each team will pull a knife from the block. There's nothing written on the knife; instead you'll just be using it to butcher whichever racing sausage you're able to catch."
*  *  *
"I came in for a normal shift: play the racing sausage, throw around some thumbs up, maybe a little running," said shellshocked 19-year-old Brew Crew member Evan Tolleson. "I had no idea I'd be in for a literal 'Hunger Games.' I'm just glad I chose being the Bratwurst rather than the Chorizo. That sombrero really kills your aerodynamics."

While hometown contestant Dan Jacobs can be seen in the preview clip trying to explain to "Top Chef" producers, judges and guest judge Randall Simon that the sausages are not, in fact, giant meat links that have learned how to run but actually human beings, his words seem to have little impact. A good portion of the clip shows chefs clumsily sprinting after the sausages with knives out like Wile E. Coyote.
*  *  *
Shocked by the news, OnMilwaukee followed up with Bravo. A quick response came from a seemingly relieved HR spokesperson. He stated that, after four hours of circling bases, not one of the chef-testants succeeded in catching and butchering a single racing sausage. In turn, the producers shifted to a potentially easier challenge: hunting and cooking Bango.

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I was at the ‘Top Chef: Wisconsin’ cheese festival. Here’s a peek behind the scenes
Rachel Bernhard Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   April 4, 2024
https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/04/04/a-peek-behind-the-scenes-at-the-top-chef-wisconsin-cheese-festival/73136520007/  

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I have a full recap of the episode if you’d like an overview, but I have so much more to spill beyond what you see on the show. I was one of the 100 guests at the cheese festival, I tasted (almost) every dish and I was right there feeling the heat of the competition (and the summer sun) throughout the daylong shoot in the countryside. 
*  *  *
The crew explained the events of the day, telling us they might pull us to the side to talk about the dishes for the camera (there were hidden microphones in the little floral arrangements on some of the tables — that's how the show picks up those “candid” conversations between diners). I was pulled once to stand in the background of the judges deliberating while I shared my thoughts with new friends I’d made in the sign-in line earlier in the day.  
*  *  *
In fact, the excitement began before the competition did. Michelle was whooping it up at her station, having a blast and encouraging the guests to cheer and get loud for the festival ahead. She seems just as kind and bubbly as she appears on the show. 

We were also told we could interact with any of the judges while they weren’t on camera. Most folks kept their distance, but I was pleasantly surprised with how gracious the judges were with guests, taking time to shake hands and say “hello” during the downtime when diner votes were tallied.

And, yes, all the judges are absolutely stunning in real life. Major kudos go out to the hair and makeup team working that day, because not a hair was out of place or a bead of sweat visible. And they were outside in the sun just as much as the rest of us.

Maybe it helped that judge Tom Colicchio was going barefoot for some of the day — but I don’t blame him. We were all trying to find ways to beat the heat. 
*  *  *
I could only make it through nine of the 13 dishes. I feel bad for not making it to every station, but the extreme heat paired with the heavy cheese and fried preparation for most of the dishes was a recipe for disaster, even though I really enjoyed most of the dishes I tried.

I feel bad for the chefs who made some version of croquettes. I’m sure they’d be lovely on a cooler day, but many of us in the crowd were completely done with eating fried cheese at that point, so those who brought brightness to their dishes were so welcome at the end of the day. 
*  *  *
The top three chefs at the challenge were Kaleena, Michelle and Dan, and they all received top scores from me, too.

Kaleena’s mac and cheese, using Sartori’s BellaVitano Merlot cheese, was surprisingly light, and I was wild for the sauce she made using the cheese’s merlot-washed brine. It’s one of my favorite cheeses, so I was happy to see she pulled it off in her dish. It was such a smart representation of the variety of cheese.

Michelle, who won the challenge, made a beautiful potato and Pleasant Ridge Reserve fritter, but she really impressed me with her collard greens, so vibrant-tasting with a garlicky twang. Hers was the first station I visited and, throughout that whole day, I kept thinking back to how much I liked her dish. 

And of course I was going to go for Dan’s gnocchi (labeled as potato dumplings on our score cards). But I promise I wasn’t being a homer — even folks I talked to who weren’t aware of him from his Milwaukee restaurants loved his dish. That frothy sauce using Door Artisan Cheese Company’s Sancho Cruz Mexican-Style Manchego was so airy and and light. The olive tapenade added a note of saltiness that balanced the dish well. 

They weren’t the top vote-getters, but I also really liked Rasika’s Dunbarton Blue cheese rice cake dish with chicken curry (so different, and the hazelnuts added a nice crunch) and Savannah’s Oaxaca cheese quesadilla (the whipped avocado and fresh corn salsa were much appreciated on the hot day). 

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What Padma Lakshmi Wants
STORY BY THESSALY LA FORCE   APR 11, 2024
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/a60456147/padma-lakshmi-interview-april-2024/ 

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According to Padma Lakshmi, there are several reasons she left Top Chef.
*  *  *
“It was really taking a toll on me physically to digest that much food in a day,” Lakshmi explains in that unmistakable voice, low and mellifluous, like honey sliding down a spoon. After 19 seasons, she had reached her limit. Each year, she gained 10 to 15 pounds within six weeks. She started taping the show in 2006, when she was 35. Now she is 53. (“Nobody tells you that about perimenopause,” she says. “Your tits get huge.”) Her metabolism isn’t what it used to be. “I live in the fucking gym,” she says. Making Top Chef meant weeks at a time away from home. She had spent every birthday in recent memory on set. Lakshmi also has a 14-year-old daughter, Krishna, or #LittleHands, as she affectionately calls her on Instagram, and is acutely aware that she will soon, in the not-so-distant future, become an empty nester. And so, while taping in London the summer before last, she made the call.

“I think I knew by a very precise moment,” she says.
*  *  *
But with the commitment of taping both shows, it seemed, the center would not hold. In June of last year, Lakshmi announced she was stepping down from Top Chef. ....

There is another reason, of course, why Lakshmi wanted to stop hosting Top Chef. And that involves her personal life, a topic that has been a source of endless tabloid speculation, especially after Lakshmi became pregnant with Krishna in 2009 and chose not to name the father—bringing a level of scrutiny that she found both sexist and invasive. “You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at once,” she says. “I didn’t have a lot of time for a social life. When was I going to find somebody I wanted to hang out with?”
*  *  *
The longevity and success of Top Chef, however, seems to have focused something for Lakshmi over the years. If there is a through line in her remarkably varied career, it is her ability to use her love for food as a portal into better understanding the world. When we first met, Lakshmi had expressed hope she might finally win an Emmy for Top Chef. When we next speak, she has lost once again. She is disappointed. “How many Emmys does RuPaul need?” she jokes. Taste the Nation also failed to win. “But that’s okay,” she says. “I made the best show I could possibly make with my crew.”

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'Top Chef: Wisconsin's Alisha Elenz and Kaleena Bliss Recap Their Team Challenge Conflict
MIKE BLOOM    APRIL 16, 2024
https://parade.com/tv/top-chef-wisconsin-21-alisha-elenz-kaleena-bliss-interview 

Quote

Alisha, in the cheese challenge, you were excited to be able to represent your coastal Spanish cuisine in a croqueta, only to find out that many of your fellow chefs were doing the same. How tough was that for you?
Alisha: When I was studying for the show, I kind of knew there was going to be a challenge based around cheese. And one of the dishes I really wanted to do was a croqueta. I knew it would be difficult to showcase Spanish food in every challenge, but I felt that it would be a good one to do it. I think all of us were shocked when we realized most of us were doing a croquette or just a fried cheese dish in general. I remember feeling a little defeated by it at first because this was something I knew I could do very well. I would be able to showcase my cooking style/flavors to them for the first time, but then it just got overlooked completely. That's the name of the game, though, and although it was difficult it was also really cool to see everyone else's spin on croquettes, we all approached it so differently. But I don't think we realized the backlash we were going to get from the general public for it. 
*  *  *
It was clear from the beginning that the two of you weren't syncing together. What do you think was the biggest difference that led to this lack of harmony?
Alisha: I think people saw the worst of what happened that day. We had a really great time collaborating together and working through our dishes. We both felt very inspired by the challenge and were just excited to get in the kitchen. It doesn't look that way when you watch it, and people have even commented on our energy as a whole. We were just starting to get to know each other and were incredibly stressed.
Kaleena: I think it was a lot of things. We actually worked really well together. When we conceptualized and came up with our ideas, despite how they looked on the show, we were both really excited and inspired. In Madison, we stayed up in Alisha's room that night and talked about our ideas and the challenge as a whole, and we just bonded as chefs and humans. But I do also think that in the kitchen, we work differently. If I'm moving fast, it's because I know that I need to. Going into the challenge, I think we had a clear vision, but neither of us executed it quite the way we had discussed before. That and the overall stress of the competition, it's easier than people watching at home think to kinda lose your cool for a second.
Alisha: I think what it came down to that day was we were under a lot of pressure, and things weren't going as we planned. I think her response was to zero in and focus on what she was doing to avoid any further mistakes, and my response was to try to get back on the same page so we could fix it together. I remember just wanting her to know I was there to help because we win together or we lose together. I don't think either way is necessarily wrong. It's just how we approach conflict, and it's probably a result of coming from different kitchen backgrounds. 
*  *  *
Clearly, the kitchen was a stressful situation for you both. Talk me through how the tension built throughout the day.
Alisha: Again, we really didn't have tension throughout the day. We had a great morning together, and we went over our plan one last time. Things didn't start to break down until about an hour in. Tensions really started to build then because the communication was completely lost. I was trying to slow down for a second to get our thoughts together and stop the train from going off the tracks, but Kaleena was trying to push through and wasn't in a place to slow down and talk it through. We were both frustrated by the other's approach, and I think deep down, we knew it was going to be the end for us. Unfortunately, there's a certain point in the competition where there's no going back.
Kaleena: The cook was very stressful for us both. I was having complications with my dish, which had me quite stressed and running around. To be fair, if I could do this challenge again, I would have nixed my idea and did something less time-consuming. I would have had more time to work as a team with Alisha. But woulda, coulda, shoulda, right? We didn't see eye to eye on our dishes conceptually once the cook started. But you also have to factor in that we just work and think differently, and that's ok. My dish ended up with a couple of big technical errors, as did Alisha's, and we both nearly ran out of time plating. They didn't show me jumping from my dish to hers at the end, helping her finish plating to the last second, which I wish they would have. It showed us stressed but assisting each other til the end regardless. We both made errors in different ways and let each other down at the end of the day. 

Kaleena, things got to a boiling point where you say Alisha is stressing you out as you attempt to fix the issues with your cheesecake. How difficult was it to navigate between the mounting stress from you and your partner not being on the same wavelength while also trying to make your dish work?
Kaleena: I was stressed about timing for my own dish as well as hers. I needed to focus on plating mine, but I also had to jump in at the last few minutes and help Alisha finish. There's nothing like knowing your dish isn't coming out right in real life, but especially in the Top Chef kitchen. I was also frustrated and upset with myself, but I didn't have time to process any of that until after the cook, when I just broke down and started crying. We're human, it happens. It's much more stressful to struggle in a Top Chef challenge than in your kitchen. No stress can compare to that feeling. Even when you mess up in your own kitchen, you still feel a sense of control and that you can fix the situation. It's not like that in the Top Chef kitchen.
*  *  *
Finally, I know you both are currently based out of Chicago. What's your relationship now after working and getting eliminated together?
Alisha: We have grown so close since being back in Chicago. We talk often and have even gone out to dinner together. People think, when they watch 30 minutes of a bad day we had, that it means we must hate each other. But if anything, I think that experience brought us closer. Sometimes, we have bad days in the kitchen, and sometimes, we have words with each other in those moments. But we are trained not to take it personally. Every day is a new day and a new opportunity to be better. 
Kaleena: Alisha and I have become close since that challenge. We trauma bonded for sure. No one else can ever relate to how we felt in that moment and during that cook. At the end of the day, we're chefs. Things got a little stressful, and it showed. But that doesn't mean that we're not mature enough to come out of it on the other side and say, "Hey, we both messed up. I'm sorry." Which is exactly what we did. We've hung out since then and reminisced about that challenge. But Alisha is such a cool human and such an incredibly talented chef. We don't have time to dwell on the past. It's about supporting each other and lifting each other up. We're in a good place and I really admire her accomplishments and appreciate her friendship. 

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This article was long and I wanted to quote too much, so I'm posting the link for you to read the entire thing if you're interested - among other things, the author (a food editor) writes about being a media guest during a rooftop challenge and being a volunteer dishwasher in the kitchen during the Frank Lloyd Wright challenge......

A peek behind the scenes on ‘Top Chef Wisconsin’
By Lindsay Christians   Apr 15, 2024
https://captimes.com/food-drink/a-peek-behind-the-scenes-on-top-chef-wisconsin/article_3332dd3e-f9d5-11ee-b02d-6bb612b3ca9c.htm 

Quote

During the course of filming in Wisconsin, I made it on set a half dozen times. I was a diner at a cheese festival and a supper club challenge (coming Wednesday, April 17 at Harvey House). You might see me on an upcoming Milwaukee episode, and I got a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a couple Quickfires, including this one in Madison. 

Every “official” time, I was joined by other members of Wisconsin food media, as well as journalists with trips paid for by Travel Wisconsin.

Except once. For one challenge, I got a view from the dish pit.


661aed3ff3271.image.jpg

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Sneak peek at tonight's episode...

Exclusive Clip: Top Chef Contestants Clash During Out-Of-Control Grocery Shop
BY A RIDDELL    APRIL 16, 2024
https://www.mashed.com/1563051/top-chef-budget-grocery-shop-exclusive/

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An exclusive preview from tomorrow's "Top Chef" reveals that even the best of the best have trouble budgeting. In the episode, the Cheftestants must whip up a relish tray for a Wisconsin supper club on a grocery budget of $1,000. This may seem more than enough, but trouble quickly arises as the teams realize their imaginations have outgrown their funds.

 

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‘Top Chef’ 21 episode 5 recap: In ‘Supper Club,’ one budget-busting chef risked bringing down their entire team
Daniel Montgomery   April 17, 2024
https://www.goldderby.com/article/2024/top-chef-21-episode-5-recap-supper-club/

'Top Chef' companion podcast: Supper club style
By Lindsay Christians   April 18, 2024
https://captimes.com/food-drink/top-chef-companion-podcast-supper-club-style/article_41b0649e-fc0f-11ee-8327-ff5be4a8f405.html

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Padma Lakshmi Walks Into a Bar
Since leaving “Top Chef,” Lakshmi has found herself in a period of professional uncertainty. What better time to try standup comedy?
By Helen Rosner   April 23, 2024
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/profiles/padma-lakshmi-walks-into-a-bar

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When Lakshmi was approached about “Top Chef,” by the TV production company Magical Elves, she had just been cast in a British period piece, as a scheming Indian concubine, and couldn’t make the shooting schedule work. “Top Chef” ’s first season featured Katie Lee, at the time the wife of the musician Billy Joel, as the host; after the season ended, Bravo announced that Lakshmi would replace her as the host and would also serve as a judge. As with “Project Runway,” another Magical Elves production that had become a huge hit, the fun in watching “Top Chef” lay only partly in the drama of creative combat. Equally important were the show’s recurring personalities: Tom Colicchio, a chef’s chef who ran some of New York City’s sharpest restaurants, was the gruff, no-nonsense industry veteran; Gail Simmons, from the magazine Food & Wine, was the polished, critically insightful diner. In the opening credits of the second season, Lakshmi greets viewers in a body-skimming, off-the-shoulder cocktail dress. She was perhaps initially intended to be little more than an m.c., timekeeping challenges and telling losing contestants to “pack your knives and go.” Frank Bruni, then the Times’ restaurant critic, wrote that her “epicurean musings” were “less riveting than her sluggish, mouth-full-of-molasses style of speech and strenuously come-hither poses.” But it became evident within a few episodes that Lakshmi was a bankable personality in her own right. (Lakshmi told me that, years later, Bruni interviewed her onstage at a live event: “When he entered the room, I said, ‘I am the mouthful of molasses, Padma Lakshmi. Nice to meet you.’ He turned beet-red and said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ ”)

 

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(edited)

You may wish to read the rest of the article as well - very interesting...

Here's what it's like to be a 'Top Chef' judge, according to 5 Milwaukee chefs and celebs
RACHEL BERNHARD, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL     April 23, 2024 
https://www.aol.com/heres-top-chef-judge-according-100148550.html 

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Q: How were you asked to be a guest judge on “Top Chef”?
[Paul] Bartolotta: I’ve judged four or five seasons of the show, all the way back to 2009 when I judged a Quickfire challenge with Padma in Vegas. So I know these people. I took them around before the show came here and took them on a custard crawl.

I love it, I think it’s a lot of fun! So they called me to ask me to be a judge, and of course I’m gonna do it here in Milwaukee. They called me a few days ahead of the episode and asked if I’d be available.

Dane Baldwin: I was contacted a few weeks prior to taping, but I didn’t know what I’d be judging right away. There were a couple ideas thrown out there, but going into it, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and that was part of the excitement.

Omar Shaikh: When the show was here scouting they came into 3rd Street Market Hall, so I got to know them a little bit. They said, “Hey, do you want to come on the show as a special guest?” I said sure, but I didn’t really know what I was doing when I got there. I showed up and went through wardrobe and makeup and I really thought I’d just be in the background or would have one line.

Then it came time to sit down and I realized that I was a judge! And there I was, sitting next to Tom Colicchio!
*  *  *
[Gregory] León: In January of last year, VISIT Milwaukee reached out and said, “We need a huge favor. There’s a food show that might come to Milwaukee and, we can’t tell you what it is, but we want to show them the caliber of food in Milwaukee. It’s between us and another city.” So I did a dinner with a couple other chefs and then didn’t really hear anything else about it after that.

Later, I was at a motel in Viroqua after cooking at the Driftless Cafe, and, lo and behold, there was an email from the production team asking if I’d like to go on. I couldn’t answer that email fast enough. In the past 30 years I’ve been cooking professionally, I’m met some amazing people and done some amazing things, and this one was probably in the top five.

Charlie Berens: My manager at the time was a huge fan of “Top Chef,” and he saw very early on that they were going to be in Milwaukee, so he reached out, then they got in touch later.
*  *  *
Q: Did you follow certain criteria when judging the dishes?
Bartolotta: Having done this for a number of years and mentoring young chefs for a number of years, it’s important to give truthful feedback. Because if you genuinely care about your craft and about the person, you have a responsibility to be honest and truthful and give them feedback to help them be better.

Berens: The whole part of judging a dish made me a little nervous — I didn’t know what to say. I grew up one of 12 kids, and it would be very rare to go out to eat; and if we did, it was maybe at the Olive Garden. So there was a little concern I didn’t know what the heck I was talking about.

So if I tasted something interesting, or something I hadn’t tasted before, I just had to kind of trust my palate to know if it was good, bad or otherwise. So that’s what I tried to do.

Shaikh: I know food, but I’m not a chef. So I was listening to the other judges and they were articulating foods like I’d never heard in my life. I felt a little intimidated and I didn’t initially want to say anything, but, thankfully, the stuff they did take of me talking turned out great.

There was a budino that was served — and this didn’t make the show — but I’d never had budino before, and I said it was delicious. “Oh I could eat 10 of these,” I said. Then the rest of the judges basically said, “Oh, this is terrible.”

I asked why they didn’t like it, and Tom broke down how the dish should be. The flavor was fine but it was grainy, he said. So I appreciated that expertise.
*  *  *
Q: What are your honest opinions about the food you tried while judging on “Top Chef”?
Bartolotta: It’s been great to witness how the food has grown from (my first year judging) to today. It just continues to get better.

(On Episode 1), the decision was made relatively quickly. It was obvious who had the weakest performance and it was the person who did not respond to our feedback. I feel bad, because I want everyone to succeed, but you could tell he was joking a little more than he focused on his food. I felt like it was a defense mechanism for the fact that he was overwhelmed by the experience. And in the end, neither of his dishes was very good.

But Manny’s pozole, I could’ve bathed in that — it was so spot on. He was playing to his strengths, that was his culture’s food, so it was smart. But talk about a 10; it was amazing.

Berens: All the stuff was great, and that’s not just me being a people pleaser. The food was incredible. I can’t think of one dish I didn’t like. I’m a member of the Clean Plate Club.

I remember having one dish and saying, “It looked like a bluegill but felt like a bass,” because it didn’t look like much but, oh my gosh, was it good.

León: I’ve always wondered how amazing the food is on the show, and I was impressed with the kind of cooking they could do given the parameters and the things that are thrown at them. I left thinking, “These people are amazing.” There was one dish that had a chorizo sauce on it and I’m still trying to figure out how it was made — it was so incredible.

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caitmcg

caitmcg

6 hours ago, tv echo said:

(On Episode 1), the decision was made relatively quickly. It was obvious who had the weakest performance and it was the person who did not respond to our feedback. I feel bad, because I want everyone to succeed, but you could tell he was joking a little more than he focused on his food. I felt like it was a defense mechanism for the fact that he was overwhelmed by the experience. And in the end, neither of his dishes was very good.

That's pretty much how he (David "Hat Guy" Murphy) came across on the show.

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(edited)

Chaos reigns: 5 takeaways from a very weird episode of "Top Chef" in Wisconsin
By Matt Mueller   Apr 25, 2024
https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/top-chef-wisconsin-recap-chaos-cuisine 

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It seems very clear what happened with this week's episode: Bravo clearly told the show that, between his wild YouTube cooking videos and his role on the smash hit "The Bear," Matty Matheson needed to be on an episode. Doing what? For what? Uh ... we'll figure it out! And when we do, let's not tell Kristen Kish about it for some reason, I guess. 

Apparently they landed on "chaos cuisine" – which, if you follow Matheson's YouTube persona or general cooking aesthetic, is a fair enough match but pretty vague. And it only got more vague when it came time for Matheson to explain to the chefs what that meant for the elimination challenge, saying a bunch of enthusiastic nonsense about throwing new techniques around and maybe throwing literal food around and breaking things and ... here's some footage of some messy food and sausages on a plate that isn't particularly helpful either? Kish seemed no less confused by the challenge concept. Was it supposed to be messy plates? Or was it supposed to be fusion-focused? Maybe mashing up unexpected flavors? Or all of the above? I don't know: All I know for sure is that the general theme was "ChAoS" and that if you took a drink every time someone used that word, you'd be reading this article from a hospital bed after being treated for extreme alcohol poisoning. 
*  *  *
Anyways, after having an epiphany sequence like a deleted scene from the BBC's "Sherlock," Danny was the one who claimed victory and immunity – his second of the season – with a take on a classic chou farci but with scallops and Asian inspirations that, frankly, looked to fancy and sophisticated to win a chaos-focused challenge. But it must've tasted good – and I guess, in the end, the judges took a "legal definition of obscenity" approach to what they wanted from chaos: They'll know it when they eat it. Makes about as much sense as anything else in this bizonkers episode. 
*  *  *
The actually surprising reveal on Wednesday, though, was that Soo wasn't alone when he walked through the chef-testants' door. Kaleena – last seen making a cheesecake crust so hard, it's currently being tested by the U.S. military as new bullet-proof tank material – apparently earned a second chance at the "Top Chef" title, too. Before the episode, I assumed that, if they were adding a previously eliminated chef, someone was dropping out to balance things out – mayhaps Amanda who ended last week's episode too sick to attend the judges' table. But no, Amanda was totally fine Wednesday night, and nobody spoke of that loose thread ever again because ... I don't know, chaos. That's the answer for everything this week.
*  *  *
Yes, after blowing out her team's budget last week on a dumb dessert that was doomed to fail, Laura was back to her modestly devious chef-nanigans in this week's Quickfire Challenge. The early challenge tasked the contestants with making a dairy-centric dessert – fair enough – and Dan was on the hunt for some dark chocolate for his pudding recipe. Just one problem: Laura hoarded all of it at her station ... and then didn't bother to say anything while Dan spent time searching for the ingredient and loudly asking the rest of the chefs if they knew what happened to them. Maybe we'd be more generous toward the situation and think she was just locked in and didn't hear him ... if she hadn't put herself above others similarly last week. Instead it's another kinda shady villain move from Laura this season, though still pretty tame. (We're VERY far from the dramatic heyday of "Who stole my pea puree?!")


The Corner Table: Top Chef Wisconsin
Lindsay Christians   Apr 25, 2024
https://captimes.com/the-corner-table-top-chef-wisconsin/html_484acda2-01b0-11ef-bff6-abacec1dfac4.html 

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On Episode 6 of our 'Top Chef Wisconsin' podcast, Tory Miller of L'Etoile and Graze goes inside the judges' conversations during the Madison episode. 

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From Kristen Kish's April 24th Instagram post....

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6JkIDROjS2/ 

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kristenlkish Tonight’s quickfire is straightforward and delicious however, I am confused as we head into the elimination challenge (but clearly VERY comfortable). Perhaps I’m past the age of knowing all of the latest trending culinary terms. Back in the day we called it “fusion”. Now I just call it “a chef cooking their food”. Whichever way you look at it, it is a melding of cuisines & cultures and/or techniques and/or personal storytelling into one harmonious and thoughtful dish - with maybe a little less indescribable control. Maybe I should have said that…
Hindsight (8 months later) is always clearer.

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(edited)

After 'Top Chef' episode aired, orders for a prized Wisconsin cheese were up 3,792%
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal    April 28, 2024
https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/top-chef-wisconsin-episode-uplands-cheese/article_650895e6-fe45-11ee-8d99-3fb88fc0f534.html 

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In the three weeks since Wisconsin cheesemaker Andy Hatch appeared on the April 3 episode of “Top Chef,” his website sales have been up 3,792%.
*  *  *
Hatch, co-owner and head cheesemaker at Uplands Cheese, near Dodgeville, introduced his flagship cheese, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, to which host Kristen Kish said: “That cheese, I hear, happens to be the most awarded cheese in American history.”
*  *  *
Hatch called the filming of “Top Chef” last summer “a trip.”

He said the production was huge, sophisticated and impressive. Before heading out to the photogenic Cupola Barn, a rustic event venue in Oconomowoc where they held the cheese festival, they first filmed the quickfire challenge in what Hatch described as an enormous warehouse near Milwaukee with about 100 production assistants running around.
*  *  *
“It was bustling,” Hatch said. “But everybody was friendly and positive and welcoming.”

Hatch said he gives the crew, producers and judges a lot of credit for being easy to work with. “I can’t say what it’s like for the chefs. It’s pretty intense, I think. But for me, it was pretty easy.”

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This is a video interview with Omar Shaikh...

Local restaurateur and developer joins TMJ4 to discuss and recap ‘Top Chef’
TMJ4 News    April 25, 2024
https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/local-restaurateur-and-developer-joins-tmj4-to-discuss-and-recap-top-chef 
 

"Top Chef" makes the case for cabbage
The verdict is clear: Cabbage is a winner.
By MICHAEL LA CORTE   APRIL 28, 2024
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/28/top-chef-makes-the-case-for-cabbage/ 

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Yes, you read that currently. Danny’s winning dish, scallop chou farci-stuffed boiled cabbage with yuzu kosho foam, elicited some of the highest praise I’ve heard from Tom Collichio in 21 seasons of “Top Chef.” I also loved how Tom described the dish: “chaos under water,” comparing the initially calm aesthetic of Danny’s boiled, wrapped cabbage sitting serenely atop the calm white foam, yet containing a whole bunch of unexpected flavor once the diner dove beneath the surface. Kish was also visibly enamored by the dish, offering arguably her most outright positive feedback as a judge/host so far. 

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'Top Chef: Wisconsin's Rasika Venkatesa Was "Gutted" By Her Surprise Elimination
MIKE BLOOM  APRIL 29, 2024
https://parade.com/tv/top-chef-wisconsin-21-rasika-venkatesa-interview  

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That being said, considering that mindset, what was your thinking going into the "chaos" challenge?
Well, the first time I had actually heard of "Chaos Cuisine" was on the day of the Elimination Challenge when it was announced. I didn't know what to make of it because it seemed to have very wide parameters of what we had to do to hit the challenge. It was pretty confusing because we did not know the judges' expectations other than that the food obviously had to be delicious. When I thought of chaos, it immediately made me think of how I usually cook "out of the box and risky" and tried to build on what exactly is risky enough to fit the challenge.

Talk to me about your approach to this week's dish. Were you surprised when the judges said you had a lack of flavor and a "sluglike" texture?
It's really disappointing to have your food described in that way. I'm not going to lie. I had also tasted one of the roulades before putting it on the plate to make sure it was worthy of being on there and trusted that all of the roulades would be consistent. But clearly they were not. Considering the fact that I had made this dish before (it's been on the menu of a restaurant and has gotten great feedback on the same dish), I was gutted to know that I didn't execute it the way it should've been done. There were moments when I should've pivoted and turned the dish on its head. But you're so in the moment with a one-track mind, thinking it will all work out. It's all a mental game.

Were you surprised to be eliminated over Michelle?
I'm not surprised to be eliminated over Michelle. We were both some of the top contenders at the start of the season, and for both of us to have performed badly was hard. Not only for us, but also for the judges to make a decision as well. Top Chef has always been cutthroat in that aspect. None of your past challenge wins matter. It's all about what you make now and how you perform that week. I think either way it went, both of us would've been shocked to see the other go. I really adore Michelle. Her food is delicious, and personality infectious. I'm honored to have gotten eliminated standing by her side.

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There's a podcast link in this article to listen to the entire interview...

'Top Chef' companion podcast: What chaos means to me
By Lindsay Christians   May 2, 2024
https://captimes.com/food-drink/top-chef-companion-podcast-what-chaos-means-to-me/article_b1a04870-03f1-11ef-9985-838f25dc60d0.html

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"When I heard 'chaos cuisine' I was like, what the hell does that mean?" Bartolotta said on this week's "Top Chef" companion podcast. "Everyone interpreted it different, right? Someone like Danny has highly developed technique, and you saw that come through. Dan's dish was kind of all over the place ... you could clearly see that it was pretty chaotic. 

"That's what they liked about it." 

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Kristen Kish Pulls Back The Curtain On Top Chef Season 21
by Sam Ramsden   May 3, 2024
https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/top-chef-host-kristen-kish-season-21

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Do contestants and judges interact in ways viewers don’t see?
You only interact with them when you’re competing. It’s not a personality contest, so if a contestant were to hang out with the judges too much during filming, it might skew their judgment. They’re only with competitors in the moments you see on TV.

We were even separated by producers backstage. If you tried to walk down the hallway at the same time as the judges, you’d be moved somewhere else so you didn’t cross paths. It’s all by design to ensure the ultimate fairness.

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 I don't know if y'all have seen this, but it's interesting. Chef Victoria Blamey, a former boss of Danny's from the restaurant Mena, is claiming he stole one of her recipes for his recent Elimination Challenge win:

https://ny.eater.com/2024/5/3/24148009/top-chef-victoria-blamey-danny-garcia-stealing-a-dish

My take on this is that she's really being pretty crappy, and so far Danny's case is much better than hers.

Thus far, I don't really blame Danny:

First off, the article itself quotes the chef herself from a previous article in which she admitted the variations on creating the recipe were created by Danny in collaboration with her (and the ideas that made it unique were his) -- see farther down for a partial quote here..
 

Secondly, it's not exactly unusual for chefs to come into "Top Chef" armed with a pocketful of their favorite recipes.

At least Danny seems to have created the one in question (or worst case, collaborated on it):

Quote

 

While Blamey notes that the dish is hers, in a 2022 interview about Mena on Resy that discusses the chou farci, she specifically points to the collaborative process in creating the dish, and that it’s not entirely an invention, but rather a take on a classic chou farci, which traditionally is made with pork or duck, and in the Mena version, swaps in seafood and seaweed instead.

In the Resy piece, Blamey uses “we” rather than “I” in discussing the creation of the dish, and cites Garcia’s role in helping create it: “This one is funny. We were working on a monkfish for the longest time, wrapped in seaweed with this scallop mousse. We kept going back thinking that we liked it, but we were not extremely happy with it. So, I said ‘You know what? What if we start working on the mousse itself?’ Our executive sous chef Daniel Garcia has this really good recipe, so I said, ‘What if we make it around the mousse?’

 

 

I really feel like Blamey (unfortunate name) is making a mountain out of a molehill. Danny by her own account spent a ton of time helping to create and refine that dish. I don't have a problem with his using that recipe (or a variation) on "Top Chef."

Unlike Ilan Hall, whose S2 finale menu was evidently a carbon copy of dishes from Casa Mono, where he was a sous chef (including the Fideos & Clams dish that tipped the judges into giving him the win).

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