S15.E09: Bronco Brouhaha

[Mudra]

Quote

Cooking for Michelin-starred chef David Kinch adds pressure to an already stressful Sudden Death Quickfire based on edible flowers; the chefs host the ultimate tailgate party at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, the home of the Denver Broncos.

[MJS]

Hey, he’s an Eagles fan and won SB tix! That’s cool

[LeighLeigh]

Spirit noodle. Lol. Love me that Bruce.

Fancy toast! There it is!

[HappyDancex2]

I loved that Tom was crabby this episode.  It's been building!   That tailgate food looked so sad.  As someone who tailgates, tailgating (can be) so high end and impressive nowadays.  I'm trying to figure out if actually being a sports fan has anything to do with it?

I really don't care for flowers in cooking.   Stop trying to make lavender happen.   They are putting it in craft beer now and it tastes like soapy beer.  Stop. It.

What a coup that the eagles fan won the super bowl tickets.  Like WHAT?!

[LeighLeigh]

Not risotto! Joe, no!

[HappyDancex2]

Padma and her meat hating carb hating self is now crabbing about Bruce's pasta.  CUE EYE ROLL   So the fans in Denver don't get to taste the deliciousness of Bruce's pasta because Padma is sick of it?   She could take a couple of episodes off during the season and I wouldn't mind.  And when she makes food if she could not make indian food all the time that would be great too.

Carrie is impressing me.  She makes food people want to eat, with just a twist of interest.  Good for her.  Her food looks delicious.

I think mustache Joe should have gone home for his botched mushy buffalo cauliflower, which is a pretty popular dish.  He strikes me as someone who doesn't seem to understand the science behind some details in cooking....like the "smoking" of the cauliflower actually cooked it....like that's weird he wouldn't know it.   Last episode he put rhubarb in kombucha to pickle it but he roasted it in the oven, and was very surprised when it became mushy.   That was strange too.   He went to culinary school?

[LeighLeigh]

What super bowl tickets? I'm in Canada. We didn't see that part.

[susannot]

Happy for Chris!  I hope he has fun at the Super Bowl and his team wins.

[MerBearHou]

2 minutes ago, LeighLeigh said:

What super bowl tickets? I'm in Canada. We didn't see that part.

I am thrilled to say that Carrie and Philly chef Chris won the challenge — the prize was tickets to this Super Bowl.  Who knew months ago when they filmed TC that Philadelphia would be going to the Super Bowl?  It’s just super cool that Chris, of all chefs, won.

[AttackTurtle]

I was really excited to see what they would come up with for tailgating food and was pretty disappointed.   I really thought mustache Joe was a goner though.  I thought Bruce’s steak looked tasty.

I like Chris, but I’m really starting to root for Carrie.  She won me over when she baked the cake in a hole.  

 And now I’m totally rooting for Joe F. in LCK.  

While it’s really cool that Eagle’s fan Chris won tickets to the Super Bowl, it’s unfortunate that they have to face my Pats:)

[HunterHunted]

11 minutes ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I think mustache Joe should have gone home for his botched mushy buffalo cauliflower, which is a pretty popular dish.  He strikes me as someone who doesn't seem to understand the science behind some details in cooking....like the "smoking" of the cauliflower actually cooked it....like that's weird he wouldn't know it.   Last episode he put rhubarb in kombucha to pickle it but he roasted it in the oven, and was very surprised when it became mushy.   That was strange too.   He went to culinary school?

I think you're right about Joe not understanding the fundamentals. If Joe wanted to smoke the cauliflower, he needed to cold smoke it. I don't know if they have a smoking gun in the kitchen. Same thing with the rhubarb. It was bad technique. Tonight was bad technique too. One of the key tricks to making fried mac and cheese is that it's cold before you put it in the fryer. You need to keep it in the fridge overnight to set up. I also like to stick a little extra cheese in the center.

[HappyDancex2]

I was also shocked that Carrie picked Chris as her partner.  She really is clicking on all cylinders isn't she?!   That was a great decision on her part.  I thought she'd take Bruce again.  I would have taken Bruce!   I would have asked him to make a fried ravioli and I would have made an accompanying dipping sauce and sprinkle salad LOL

Fati and Bruce talking about her never going to a football stadium except for a Taylor Swift concert was cute!  They both seem very affable.

[LizDC]

Did Joestachio not bread the deep fried Mac & Cheese? That seems to be a basic thing to do to make them crispy. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by LizDC

[hendersonrocks]

I hope Chris and Carrie are having fun here in Minneapolis, where I plan to not leave my neighborhood until the chaos ends on Monday. He must be losing his mind with the Eagles in the game! Their dish seemed heads & shoulders above the other two - I’d order that from a menu right now.

On an entirely superficial note, I am lusting after Padma’s Quickfire earrings and already miss Big Joe and Fati.

[biakbiak]

45 minutes ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Padma and her meat hating carb hating self is now crabbing about Bruce's pasta.  CUE EYE ROLL  

Padma doesn't hate carbs, she eats a ton of carbs ie rice, lentils and beans are staples of her diet. She also doesn't hate meat she just a more plant based diet when not filming but she still eats meat during that time. She alluded on IG that she was sick for a good part of filming this season. Don't know if it was her endometriosis or something else.

Edited February 2, 2018 by biakbiak

[The Solution]

Blech. This is the worst season of Top Chef ever. Even worse than the one with Leah and Hosebag. I hate Shovelface with the burning white hot intensity of a thousand suns. At least Claudette hated all of them, and now she's gone. Can they all just pack their knives and go?

OF COURSE one of them is a Taylor Swift fan. I bet his food taste like ratface sounds.

[hendersonrocks]

8 minutes ago, The Solution said:

Blech. This is the worst season of Top Chef ever. Even worse than the one with Leah and Hosebag. I hate Shovelface with the burning white hot intensity of a thousand suns. At least Claudette hated all of them, and now she's gone. Can they all just pack their knives and go?

OF COURSE one of them is a Taylor Swift fan. I bet his food taste like ratface sounds.

Claudette, is that you?

[LeighLeigh]

Who is Shovelface?

[AttackTurtle]

6 minutes ago, LeighLeigh said:

Who is Shovelface?

Color me confused here too.   

Mustache Joe is my least favorite remaining, but I genuinely like all of the remaining chefs.  

Regardless of Padma’s Critique, Bruce’s pasta dishes look delicious.

[The Solution]

Carrie is Shovelface.

They are all too cutesy-wootsy for me. Fancy toast! DIAF

[rhys]

I'm headed to Denver tomorrow. I'm thinking about trying to go to Carrie's restaurant. Has anyone tried it? What did you order ? I'm so impressed with her too.

[avecsans]

Of course they boot the woman when it seemed like they hated mustache Joe’s Mac and cheese more. He really is such a wanker. I did not need to hear him make kissing noises to his girlfriend or to hear that he “forages “ illegally in a public park.  I didn’t mind Joe Flamm’s elimination but I thought it was so touching that Fatima and Adrienne were so upset.  Tom was grumpier than usual and I always miss Gail.  I hope Fatima nails it in LCK.

[biakbiak]

Fatima got great news today!

[Souris]

It was kind of a sad episode, with Joe F. and Fatima both going home. I hate Sudden Death Quickfires with the white-hot passion of a thousand burning suns. I just don't think a chef should be sent home for something they had to do in half an hour.

It is awesome that Chris won tickets to the Super Bowl AND his Eagles are in it. Now I have another reason to root against the Patriots!

I really appreciate that all the chefs (now that Claudette is gone) seem to really get along and support each other.

[Peace Please]

I think this is one of the classiest group of Top Chef-ers ever.  It makes it a delight to watch, honestly, and I wish more 'reality' shows would just let everyone be themselves without producer driven drama.  I adored Fatima...she just seems so cool, calm and collected and knowing that she had that bastard cancer probably growing inside her while she competed just makes her extra cool.  I truly don't care who wins the whole TACO...but I do have a soft spot for both Fatima and Chris.

6 minutes ago, Souris said:

It is awesome that Chris won tickets to the Super Bowl AND his Eagles are in it. Now I have another reason to root against the Patriots!

I really appreciate that all the chefs (now that Claudette is gone) seem to really get along and support each other.

Never, ever enough reasons to root AGAINST to Pats!!!  Go Eagles!!!

[cooksdelight]

2 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I also like to stick a little extra cheese in the center.

I use 2 whole pieces of cheese, thick ones. :)

[Cliodude]

Bruce is the worst. Guy couldn't even go home to see his new born son. Who does that? It's not like he's in the military defending our freedoms. He's a joke. All he can make is pasta. I have know idea how that guy has survived. Fatima blew it with nachos. Duh. But Joe should have gone home for the mac and cheese. Really ridiculous. If you can't make fried mac and cheese, you should go home. Case closed. But really Bruce is the joke overall. I would have gone home once the kid was born or if I knew the kid was going to be born when the show was happening I would have just bowed out. Chefs shouldn't have children. They work too many hours to care. Their love is their restaurants. And he's a spoiled, privileged white guy so don't give me the immigrant working 16 hours a day story. This guy COULD have been home for his kid's birth. Total loser. 

[HunterHunted]

?

[Bastet]

Ugh, Graham Elliot again; at least he and his stupid glasses were minimally featured.

I was hoping Mustache Joe’s call home edit meant he was going to bite it, but, alas, it was a false alarm.  Close, but no cigar.  I fucking loved him being up for sudden death after the QF, especially for being pedestrian after shit-talking the basic nature of Carrie’s toast – which came out on top – though. 

It was interesting to see how two or three of the contestants seemed to be rooting for Other Joe in the sudden death round.  And that some of the judges seemed pained to have to let him go, too.  It was also interesting, given how popular it is to substitute cauliflower for a traditional ingredient, that all three dishes underwhelmed Tom.    

Padma grousing about pasta and polenta was my favorite part of the episode.

In honor of this year’s Super Bowl, we’re catering to a team that couldn’t get into the big game with a ticket.  I know, it was filmed in advance, but that just amused me.  (As did hearing Chris talk about the Eagles, whom he probably had little real hope then of representing the NFC.  I’m a Giants fan, so, boo – until they play the Patriots, and then I become a big fan for a day.  Go Philadelphia!)

I tripped on how large Carrie’s pot was; that was like a Scooby Doo witch’s cauldron.  Her and Chris’s poutine looked good, even though fries aren’t my thing.  They did seem to be the one team that remotely elevated typical tailgate food, so good for them.  And winning Super Bowl tickets?!  Hell, yeah!  For both, but especially, in hindsight, for the Eagles fan.

Fatima and Bruce’s paired dish didn’t seem a very good pair, and Fatima’s nachos on their own seemed like a blunder. 

Mustache Joe and Adrienne’s mac & cheese, ribs, and slaw, however, sounded like a nice mix in theory, but a soggy fried mac & cheese, and every other element also being less than it should be, although the ribs perhaps just a bit off?

It’s hard to pick between Fatima and Mustache Joe without tasting the food.  Personality, I’d save her every day and twice on Sunday.  But this is about food, and their failures seemed pretty even if going just by nachos versus mac & cheese.  Who, between Mustache Joe and Adrienne, did the slaw, or was at least primarily responsible for it?

Edited February 2, 2018 by Bastet

[Christina]

4 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I really don't care for flowers in cooking.   Stop trying to make lavender happen.   They are putting it in craft beer now and it tastes like soapy beer.  Stop. It.

All the flower extractions taste like soap to me. You always hear how too much tastes like soap, but when people are saying they can't taste the rose water or lavender I still taste soap! Yuk! Sometimes, they don't even warn you it has the plant extract and then get irritated and upset when I spit it out. 

I fully expect it to eventually come out that it is like cilantro and some people have a genetic predisposition to dislike it. I tried to pull the PubMed article that discussed the actual scientific study, but only the synopsis was free and it didn't actually say anything helpful.

[biakbiak]

Carla Hall recently  mentioned on The Chew that she won tickets to the Super Bowl on Top Chef and gave them to her husband and stepson. Matthew is huge Steelers fan and got to see them win. Hopefully,  that means the Eagles will win on Sunday.

Edited February 2, 2018 by biakbiak

[spiderpig]

I was royally bummed that two of my favorites got the boot in one episode.  Especially since Snidley Whiplash's performance wasn't any better, yet he stayed.

The competitions were underwhelming.  Aren't flowers very 90s?  Don't get me wrong - I love flowers in gardens and pots and vases - but the whole challenge screamed "Gimmick!  We're running out of ideas!"  And how creative can you  get with tailgating?  Escargots en croute?  Caviar on blini?

If I ever spot Joe S foraging in Golden Gate Park, I'm calling the Thought Police.

[Yeah No]

I'm not enjoying this season even though I like a lot of the chefs.  I'm not loving that so many excellent chefs have been sent home.  I found it hard to swallow that mustache Joe shouldn't have been the one sent packing over Fati given the criticism.  Didn't it come down to Padma?  She was really annoying me in this episode already and then that.  My two favorites were Joe F. and Fati.  Now who to root for?  Adrienne seems like a dark horse.  Maybe she's one to watch.  Bruce is OK but I'm not that crazy about him.  Although I didn't like Padma's criticism of his pasta.  She came off rather snotty about it.  She wouldn't criticize an Indian for always making rice and cooking in their "comfort zone".  At least I don't remember her ever doing that.  And anyway they always get on the chefs for not doing what they do best.  They're damned if they do and damned if they don't.  

[Kaiju Ballet]

Like Padma, I also put my face in my hands when Fatima was PYKAG’d. Fatima was so adorably shocked when she was picked first in the Quickfire! And then devastated to see her favorite Joe go. But her fate was sealed when one of the judges asked if it was fair to single out Joestachio for the mac and cheese fail. I also thought that Fatima would be dinged for using ready made nacho chips.

 

It was really pleasant to see the chefs teasing Carrie for always winning with her unexpected flavor combinations. Joestachio started off the season the same way, but has been on a run of really disastrous results. Wished he had been sent home over Fatima.

 

Other Joe doesn’t seem to fare well in the other Quickfire Carrie won with toasted bread. Oatmeal, Risotto—not his forte when time’s of the essence. It's telling that all the chefs thought so highly of him. Only two bears left at this point?

[bobbobbob199]

It seems like familiarity with the judge is really important this season--Joe Sasto said David Kinch was one of the reasons he didn't make a risotto, then Joe Flamm gets kicked off for making one. And Bruce--of course he knows the judge. Adam Perry Lang even lists Bruce as one of his "chef friends". Was he ever in danger of going home?

[Ellee]

Nothing  important. here  :D

Names and faces anymore.  Acckkk. 

I think I’ll forever call Carrie Adrienne and Adrienne Carrie. SMDH.  

I guess I should be happy that I still think ‘Is that ..... ? or is that ..... ?’ first.   

ETA:  Tom and Padma should call in sick the next time they report to taping in the moods they were in. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Ellee

[LeighLeigh]

I love Carrie and Chris, but....

we invented poutine where I come from and if it doesn't have cheese curds, it is not poutine, but chilli cheese fries.

(Although, I am sure it was delicious.)

[LeighLeigh]

I agree that JoeStache staying is suspect. His three dishes at Restaurant Wars were panned, his zucchini flower and cauliflower dishes were disappointing. His Mac and cheese was also sub-par (as per the judges). 

Although I am a fan of his, I can't figure out how he keeps squeaking by.

[sugarbaker design]

9 hours ago, avecsans said:

I did not need to hear him make kissing noises to his girlfriend or to hear that he “forages “ illegally in a public park.  

Like the mustache and bad cooking aren't bad enough.  This fucking guy has got to go.

Edited February 2, 2018 by sugarbaker design

[cooksdelight]

7 hours ago, Cliodude said:

I have know idea how that guy has survived.

I’ve eaten at his restaurant several times, a couple of nights he fixed my meal. His food is damn delicious, is probably why.

[The Solution]

10 hours ago, avecsans said:

 Tom was grumpier than usual

He's pissed off because Shovelface keeps winning by making Girl Scout treats.

Fancy toast and cheese fries indeed.

Edited February 2, 2018 by The Solution
Good grammar, Solution. You're not in Jersey anymore.

[LeighLeigh]

Had Joe Flamm put his cauliflower through a ricer, he probably would be safe.

[dleighg]

I like Fatima, but her vocal fry (only in her talking heads, not in "real life" when cooking and talking with the other chefs) was driving me nuts. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by dleighg

[LeighLeigh]

Did we really need to see the chefs pretend to play football?

[Eulipian 5k]

Fancy Toast! That is soo Carrie. The fact that she won a Top Chef challenge with toast! must have been what set Tom's GPS awry. He must have had nightmares.

[dleighg]

so all of these superfans were tailgating before an empty stadium. Makes sense. What do you think they had to pay the real football players to come out and eat food?

[Eulipian 5k]

Are Adrienne and Snidely the youngest "kids" left on the chopping block? They should team up; the list of ingredients and techniques used would take them an hour to list. Katsuji style!

[LeighLeigh]

I wish that Gail would be on every episode. I can do without Mr. White Glasses.

[Blonde Gator]

7 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I was royally bummed that two of my favorites got the boot in one episode.  Especially since Snidley Whiplash's performance wasn't any better, yet he stayed.

The competitions were underwhelming.  Aren't flowers very 90s?  Don't get me wrong - I love flowers in gardens and pots and vases - but the whole challenge screamed "Gimmick!  We're running out of ideas!"  And how creative can you  get with tailgating?  Escargots en croute?  Caviar on blini?

If I ever spot Joe S foraging in Golden Gate Park, I'm calling the Thought Police.

Spidey, I grow orchids and it bugs me to death to think that someone would put my beauties on their plates.  Leave the flowers on the plants, please.

[LeighLeigh]

Padma looked particularly pretty for the flower quick fire. Her dress reminded me of flower petals. Lol.