Top Chef Canada - General Discussion

[hula-la]

Not sure how I feel about this “X” system. And I will continue to shout it from the rooftops—have the show travel around the country! There are so many cultural traditions in Canada that deserve to be highlighted. 

[LakeGal]

I am OK with the X idea.  Often chefs land in the bottom 3 several times but keep getting saved by always having at least one chef cooking worse that week.  This way they will have to redeem themselves.

I agree that I wish they would move around Canada.  This is Top Chef Canada not Top Chef Toronto.  Mark probably wants them to stay in Toronto so they have to use his grocery stores every time.

Vish seems to be strong from the start.  

[xfuse]

On 9/27/2022 at 9:22 PM, LakeGal said:

I agree that I wish they would move around Canada.  This is Top Chef Canada not Top Chef Toronto.

Maybe if they move there will be more than one chef from the eastern Canada or one chef from the prairies. There is more to Canada than Ontario, Quebec and BC.

I would love to see the food scene in different provinces.

[LakeGal]

I wish we didn't lose the one and only chef from the east coast so early.  But she was the right choice to leave.  She just did not have enough experience.  

They sure are throwing out those Xs.  It is tough when they receive an X when they are on a losing team in the quick challenge.  Will they give the entire losing team in restaurant wars an X?

[Pepper the Cat]

She was the right one to go. She was bottom 3 last week too.

I am always surprised at the suggestion/plan to use cilantro in their recipes. Cilantro tastes like soap to some people. Maybe all the judges can taste it.

[hula-la]

How did the restaurant with hair in the food win? Either that duck was really bad, or they really wanted Joachim gone. 

[LakeGal]

The duck must have really been bad.  I would rather eat average duck than find hair in my food.  I was surprised with the decision.  The judges liked everything but the duck on the one team.  But they had several dishes that were not that great on the other team.  They really wanted Joachim gone.  I felt bad for Tre.  It was his team but the others took over and the duck was a bad idea.  

[TVbitch]

Finally caught up. Oof, rawish meat gel. But I've never heard of that cut either. 

Is it my TV or has Eden picked a rather unflattering shade for her hair this season? ...Um, if that is just her natural hair, my apologies. : D

[Pepper the Cat]

I love all the Kitchen Aid appliances and their wonderful colours. It would be so much fun to have one in every colour. But I would need a much bigger kitchen!😀

[hula-la]

9 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Finally caught up. Oof, rawish meat gel. But I've never heard of that cut either. 

I had never heard of that cut, either. Apparently, it’s the same as kalbi, which I kept saying to my tv “that looks like kalbi beef, I wonder if they’re similar”. 

[TVbitch]

The X's thing was a big fail for me. All that giving out of X's this whole time and it only amounted to ONE cook off. And so many people had three X's at the end of the quick fire, they had to subjectively pick the 2nd person who would be in the cook off. They should have made them all be in it. Then they gave the winner of the cook off $3K. Why are they rewarding the people in the cook off?! That seems unfair to those who did not do as poorly. Hope they don't do that again. 

[Pepper the Cat]

OMG. 
The dishes from Mondays episode looked incredible. Camillo’s steak, I just want to crawl into my tv screen and eat it. Ditto for Diserris fish.

Random thoughts. I could not eat 5 dishes in one sitting. Do these people starve themselves for a week before tasting?

and I think first person to be judged has an advantage over last because first is on an empty tummy, last is on an almost full.

[Ciarrai]

I still can't stand Mijune. She gave Vish the vaguest request and then complained that it wasn't enough.

I think it's Camilo's to win now.

[DEL901]

8 hours ago, Ciarrai said:

I still can't stand Mijune. She gave Vish the vaguest request and then complained that it wasn't enough.

I think it's Camilo's to win now.

Yes.  They acted like “create a showstopper…chef’s choice” was a good thing, but it was really a trap.   The others had a focus when they designed their dishes.  

[Taeolas]

It was a trap, but he also picked on the wrong important element for the dish. He saw the "Chefs Choice" and saw the blank slate.

The important part of the dish was the "Create a showstopper, something entertaining", and that was what the dish should have been. And a cloud of smoke doesn't come anywhere close to a showstopper. Usually these are deserts, like Baked Alaska, but I'm sure he could've come up with something flamboyant if he'd focused the right way. 

Tre was going to be in the Top 4 regardless, there was no way they weren't sending him to the Caribbean. Luckily Vish flubbed his dish so bad that it wasn't really a hard choice. 

[Bunnyette]

Top Chef was promoting judge David Zilber weeks before the show started the after 3 episodes poof he’s gone with Eden saying he’s not returning,   Anyone know what happened?

yes they need to travel around Canada more,

[Scarybuttercupp]

They said the new judge, David Zilber, was leaving the show because his partner was due to have a baby any day. I thought it was strange that they had him and his partner select their favourite dish, but they didn't show them eating any of the dishes, nor critiquing them. Why bother including them at all?

[Ciarrai]

On 11/7/2022 at 12:36 PM, Scarybuttercupp said:

They said the new judge, David Zilber, was leaving the show because his partner was due to have a baby any day. I thought it was strange that they had him and his partner select their favourite dish, but they didn't show them eating any of the dishes, nor critiquing them. Why bother including them at all?

Yeah they should have chosen a different judge for this; David is in Copehagen so there was no chance he was going to be able to try the dishes for him.

[TVbitch]

Hmm, not sure how I feel about the final three, but may the best chef win. 

[hula-la]

So happy for Tre. All his dishes sounded amazing (except the chicken breast), and I wish I was independently wealthy, so I could fund his restaurant. I appreciate the respect that the contestants had for each other. 
If only this show would travel to other parts of the country. 

[Mellowyellow]

1 hour ago, hula-la said:

So happy for Tre. All his dishes sounded amazing (except the chicken breast), and I wish I was independently wealthy, so I could fund his restaurant. I appreciate the respect that the contestants had for each other. 
If only this show would travel to other parts of the country. 

Did he win???

Omg wooooohoooooo!!! He was my favorite along with Vish!!!!! I was so sad when they were in the bottom together! 

He's so talented and seemed like such a focused, nice guy!!!!

[TVbitch]

I thought Tre was gonna have some kind of perfect meal the way that started out, but it ended up being pretty close. 

It was pretty brutal eliminating one after the quick fire. He must be gutted not to cook the meal he had planned.  

[BluBarbi98]

On 10/10/2022 at 11:31 PM, hula-la said:

How did the restaurant with hair in the food win? Either that duck was really bad, or they really wanted Joachim gone. 

Hello, I'm watching from the US and couldn't watch live so am just getting to this season now.

I'm completely confused that Hair Restaurant won over the other restaurant. The only thing I can think of is that the Hair Restaurant had more dishes to judge so that helped average out their experience vs Tre's restaurant which had one bad dish out of 4. 

[BluBarbi98]

I really like Tre's energy. He comes across as the baby brother of the group. I liked Martine as well and am sad she's gone (I just finished that episode) but the meat situation seemed really bad. 

My other favorites are Tanya, Vish, Monica, and Desiree. 

[Trey]

Top Chef Canada X

From reading above posts, it sounds like the same chefs are here again.

They sent the right person home.  That plate didn't look like anything resembling an etoufee, and mushy shrimp does not sound good at all.

Seemed odd seeing Dale there as a guest judge after watching him on Top Chef 20.

eta: I guess what they are showing now is just last year's competition, not new at all.

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Trey

[hula-la]

Just saw the ad that the new season begins Oct 14, Thanksgiving Monday. 

[LakeGal]

New season.  I was surprised they started with Restaurant Wars in the first episode.  It did give us a good idea what to expect from the chefs this season.  A couple of the chefs on the winning team got saved by being on the winning team.  I thought the time it took the losing team to get started probably hurt them.  They were so rushed near the end.  

[Trey]

The uncleaned soft shell crab was from the winning team yet the judges said nothing to the team about it.  I thought that would have been enough to make that team the losers.

That was a tough start for the competition, but it looked like both teams worked pretty well together with very little drama.

[LakeGal]

I was expecting the judges to say something to Alexander about his soft crab.  Maybe they did and it was edited out for time.  I thought Alexander looked sad in the room after they came back.  He should have been happy since they won.  So maybe they did tell him it was a fail.  

[Trey]

I guess Alex just isn't all that good with fish and seafood.  If the fish smells a little "off" - don't use it! Fish is always iffy enough without it actually smelling off. 

[xfuse]

It's the only time I have liked Restaurant Wars. Almost every other time I have ff the ep.

[Trey]

Where was Mark McEwan? I thought he was top judge.

[xfuse]

Anyone else didn't get ep 2. I had to go to Rogers ondemand. Ep 1 wasn't listed as 1. Two was listed as 1 and 3 is called 2.

 

[DEL901]

Yeah, it is all messed up   I had o manually set the first episode to record   Remy has been on borrowed time since the first episode  

And has there ever been such a dominant chef so early in the competition?

[hula-la]

I’m worried that he’s going to peak too early. And I will continue to shout it from the rooftops—this show needs to travel across the country. 

[LakeGal]

I finally got to watch eps 2 & 3.  Haan is really leading the pack.  I do wonder about him peaking too soon.  

I do wish they would move out of Toronto.  

[DEL901]

1. Isn’t Han the one who said in episode that he quit cheffing for an office job but was wondering if he should try again.  regardless if he wins in the end,  i think he has already demonstrated he is good enough. 

[Trey]

I'm glad they sent Miriam home instead of Shane even if the judges liked her dish better.  She did not meet the challenge and was then full of excuses about why she didn't make 225 plates.  I thought she was kind of contemptuous toward the judges and Top Chef Canada.

I wish I could have tasted Moira's lamb dish.

[Trey]

Good episode.

I like both Chanty and Christina so was sorry they were both in the bottom three.  But I think the right person was sent home.

[Pepper the Cat]

Yes, right person went home.

Im in love with Moira so am glad she stayed.

Sorry, not liking Shane, I do feel sorry for him, it sounds like he’s had a rough time but he just seems so needy.

[Trey]

I agree with your opinion about Shane. I do like all the chefs in this competition but probably Shane the least.

I am going with Haan for the win.

[Pepper the Cat]

Right person went home. Shane missed the point of the challenge. I think Lisa will be next.

i am hoping Moira wins but suspect it will be Haan

[Trey]

The way the judges were talking at the end I thought Lisa was going home so I was surprised that Shane went home.  But, I agree, the right person went home and Lisa will probably be next unless she steps it up.

I am enjoying this competition and find the cheftestants to be a very likeable group.

[Taeolas]

From their initial tastes of the dishes, I was pretty sure Shane was going home. 

 

They liked Lisa's dish, said they would even like having it for lunch daily. They just found it a bit 'plain' for a Top Chef dish. 

 

Shane on the other hand, missed the point of the challenge, which was sustainability. And they didn't seem overly thrilled wiht his dish either even after acounting for the tropical elements. So him going was basically writ in stone from the begining. 

[Trey]

Once again they sent the right person home but I was sad to see Lisa go.

On  Haan's part I thought that was a prettty desperate move, and not a good idea, to mention to the judges all the challenges he's won when everyone knows that everything rests on your last dish. I liked his Lady and the Tramp concept but he just didn't pull it off too well.

[Pepper the Cat]

I agree.

Right person left. I’m glad Haan made it to the final.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

Once again they sent the right person home but I was sad to see Lisa go.

On  Haan's part I thought that was a prettty desperate move, and not a good idea, to mention to the judges all the challenges he's won when everyone knows that everything rests on your last dish. I liked his Lady and the Tramp concept but he just didn't pull it off too well.

Yeah, I wish he hadn’t said that, especially since Lisa got such a bad critique and hasn’t won much/anything.   I guess his nerves kicked in…but better to get it out of the way now.     And I wasn’t super worried about him going home….he does those demos every week.   I knew he would make it to the end when I realized he was the only one doing them.  

[xfuse]

5 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I knew he would make it to the end when I realized he was the only one doing them.  

He's not the only one doing them. I have seen quite a few of them doing them.

[DEL901]

10 minutes ago, xfuse said:

He's not the only one doing them. I have seen quite a few of them doing them.

Really?   I don’t know why I have only noticed Haan.