Special Contestants: All Stars and Firefighters and Lunch Ladies, Oh My!

[Julia]

Mary Sue was a finalist in the third season of Top Chef Masters. The finale cookoff ( the whole thing is on Hulu now) is a good introduction to her. She and her partner used to have a FN show back when they still had shows about cooking.

[GaT]

Glad to see Marcel eliminated first, but I don't like Michael Psilakis, so I'm sad he won. 

[Apocalypse Cow]

I can't believe Art won and Madison was chopped 2nd. I was stunned by that.  That being said, I got why Madison was chopped. He made a surprising number of mistakes for him. I'm not usually pro-Art, but my heart may have grown 3 sizes when he mentioned his husband suggesting they have kids and just go out and adopt 4 kids (who apparently were out of foster care and are siblings which is even a bigger deal because sibling groups don't often get adopted together). 

 

 

 

I was absolutely shocked when Madison went out (because he's Chopped poster boy star, imo) and then I figured that Greenspan would win because dear Art NEVER wins. But I was tickled that he did win. Art always makes food that I would want to eat, and he always comes across as a doll on these shows.  He may be a beast in real life, but he is just one of my most favorite competing chefs.  

 

And I was SHOCKED when Hung lost--- I had pegged him for the tournament winner, tbh.  Anne does well on these competition shows, but usually falls short. I had pegged her going out round 2.  I love Mary Sue Milkin and she probably makes food that is delish, but her presentation was all sorts of wrong on both dishes, imo. Dale Talde I figured was going to be out first. IMO, he's not as known as the other 3 chefs.  I like Anne alot. I've cooked some of her recipes, and they've all turned out well. I think she is also a good teacher (ymmv, of course) and she really does seem to give tips/hints that help an amateur.  I'm fine with her winning, but dang... she beat HUNG??? omg.

 

I was devastated when Marcel went out first. I have grown to love him, but he's totally the Charlie Brown of cooking competitions.  It's never going to happen, Marcel. Sorry. I don't like Michael Psilakis at all. He's so smug and just gross to me.  I love, love, love Antonia and was really not happy she didn't advance. Cat Cora is so bland to me that I couldn't even remember she was on the show... and I just watched it last night.  No big loss there.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Apocalypse Cow

[mlp]

I love Marcel but I knew he'd be first out when I saw what he was making.  I was sort of shocked to see that he has some grey in his beard!  I've never cared for Cat Cora and I don't like Michael Psilakis for some reason I can never put my finger on.  I was hoping Antonia would win.

 

Next week will be tough for me.  I like Rocco and Fabio both but I'd really like to see Jet Tila win.  I get a kick out of his personality and sense of humor plus he's a respected chef.  I'll be very happy if he or Art Smith wins the whole thing although I won't hate it if Rocco or Fabio wins.  

[Bastet]

Damn, I forgot to watch.  I really enjoyed Antonia on Top Chef, so it would be nice to see her again.  I cannot stand Marcel, so I'm glad to know that when I catch a repeat, I won't have to endure him for long.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Bastet

[nitrofishblue]

Marcel's dish looked ugh. I knew after seeing it that he would be the first to go. I wanted Antonia to win so there would be at least one woman in the finale. So far I don't like any of the ones that have advanced.

[NikSac]

I only even know Antonia from Cutthroat Kitchen. I don't know if I just keep missing Top Chef or if we don't get it. I always love her comments on Cutthroat Kitchen though, and from those I feel like she's a good chef. I was bummed she didn't move on to the finals.

[jcbrown]

I was hoping for Antonia to win, as well. I don't mind Michael P, he seems like a good chef, but I find Antonia much more telegenic and enjoyable to watch.

[grisgris]

Marcel's dish looked ugh. I knew after seeing it that he would be the first to go. I wanted Antonia to win so there would be at least one woman in the finale. So far I don't like any of the ones that have advanced.

 

Anne Burrell is in the finale. I liked Antonia, too. I had only seen her on CK and didn't care for her, but seeing her in a different context changed my mind. I'm not that familiar with the guy who won. I couldn't stand listening to his voice.

 

Marcel seems like such an ADD scatterbrain. I'm surprised that he successfully has his own restaurants.

[cooksdelight]

Marcel doesn't own any restaurants. He does pop-ups, consulting, private chef gigs, and special events.

[phoenix780]

Marcel doesn't own any restaurants. He does pop-ups, consulting, private chef gigs, and special events.

I thought the intro for him said he just opened his first one?

 

I would kill for them to say the words "Top Chef" on this show.  They must really be pissed that none of their shows have really generated new celebrity chefs, even though they have a series dedicated to finding a fresh new fabulous food personality.

[cooksdelight]

Not exactly. He's got this thing, where he goes to special events around the country, sets up a temporary pop-up, and does food. I've heard him saying he's going to open a place for a while now, but so far it's not happened.

http://www.beefsteakrestaurant.com/locations/

[Bastet]

I thought the intro for him said he just opened his first one?

 

Yeah, a place on Melrose in West Hollywood; Eater called it one of LA's 20 most-anticipated openings of 2015.  I'm not sure if it has fully opened yet, but this article makes it sound like it has.

[cooksdelight]

Thanks, I stand corrected. :) I was going by what's on his Facebook page and the Beefsteak website.

[anonymiss]

I, for one, was disappointed Marcel didn't advance. I think he said he has a vegan gf which maybe has influenced him negatively for his competitive cooking. I can't help but wonder if they only invited the Top Chefs to bring in viewers.

Edited May 19, 2015 by anonymiss

[cooksdelight]

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Not my sweet Fabio! Gone! NOOO!!! I so wanted him to win the whole thing. :(

Jet's cookie dough balls were HUGE. What was he thinking? His appetizer was huge. He must serve big portions wherever he goes. I was hoping Rocco could pull it out, because he seems pretty humble (now, he wasn't always).

Why can't they just say pop rocks? Wonder how many retakes they had to do when they forgot to say carbonated crystals?

[joanne3482]

Cooks, don't forget the "fish shaped pretzels" AKA goldfish. It amuses me whenever they use a product that they haven't received money for so they won't mention. I didn't even realize they were basically pop rocks until Jet said something about them being flavored. I thought they were something from the molecular gastronomy world.

[AndreaK1041]

Rocco DiSpirito has a James Beard award? His personality is so awful I had written him off as a famewhore hack. He will never redeem himself from The Restaurant in my eyes.

[GaT]

Why can't they just say pop rocks? Wonder how many retakes they had to do when they forgot to say carbonated crystals?

They do that all the time, they call Spam canned spiced ham.

[cooksdelight]

Oh, I know, but I think the whole thing is silly. I understand why (ad dollars) but they could learn from the Bravo guys about how to pimp out a product by showing the label a hundred times in exchange for using it. The dippin' dots exchange is my favorite.... colored ice spheres, or whatever they call them.

[ZoqFotPik]

The problem is that many times the chefs talk about how, at best, a product is inferior and, at worst, how much they hate it. Companies probably don't want their product shown on screen then have it trashed by the contestant a few seconds later. 

[cooksdelight]

I hadn't thought about that, but you're absolutely right. Especially when they have to use Cheese-Whiz.

[anonymiss]

JET TILA! Yay! Finally someone I can root for. 

 

Not a fan of Fabio as a chef. Doing front of house, yes, but his schtick of being unapologetically ignorant to anything non-Italian is tiresome.

[NikSac]

Carbonated crystals - haha!  That may be on my top 5 list of goofy things they call the basket items. Fish shaped pretzels was pretty funny, too. Why not just call them pretzels?  Who cares what shape they are?

 

I was very excited for Jet's win, and I like his charity a lot also. I agree his gigantic cookie things were a bad idea, but I was glad he thought of an alternative option quickly. Hope he does well in the finale.

[joanne3482]

Carbonated crystals - haha!  That may be on my top 5 list of goofy things they call the basket items. Fish shaped pretzels was pretty funny, too. Why not just call them pretzels?  Who cares what shape they are?

 

I was very excited for Jet's win, and I like his charity a lot also. I agree his gigantic cookie things were a bad idea, but I was glad he thought of an alternative option quickly. Hope he does well in the finale.

I wonder if the cookies were baked through at least and he could have cut them down into a smaller size. 

[NikSac]

I wonder if the cookies were baked through at least and he could have cut them down into a smaller size. 

 

I was wondering about this too. Even part way through the baking time I was thinking he could've cut them in half horizontally to allow them to bake in time, but I'm not sure how that would've worked texture wise. Seemed like it would be worth a shot.

[cattykit]

I loved Fabio on TC, on TCAS, and I wanted him to win here.  At least I'm consistent. 

 

 

I would kill for them to say the words "Top Chef" on this show.  They must really be pissed that none of their shows have really generated new celebrity chefs, even though they have a series dedicated to finding a fresh new fabulous food personality.

This tourney was full of TC alumni and it is just ridiculous that they pretend otherwise.  Chefs like LeeAnne, Fabio and Hung wouldn't even have been considered FN All-Stars but for the fame they achieved on TC.  I think once, maybe once, might have been when Blais competed, the words "Top Chef" were heard on the air.

[mindymessina]

I think this competition has been rigged. All the finalists are FN sweethearts, even if they aren't all over the network all the time (Anne).

 

Watch for Art's new show in the fall (mark my words).

[Bella]

I think this competition has been rigged. All the finalists are FN sweethearts, even if they aren't all over the network all the time (Anne).

 

Watch for Art's new show in the fall (mark my words).

 

And this is exactly how they do it. They eased Valerie Bertinelli in by making her a judge here and there, and a celebrity competitor, then a co-host on those short "baking championships," and now she's a network regular. Art's on the track, as is Jet Tila.

[Totale]

Oh, I know, but I think the whole thing is silly. I understand why (ad dollars) but they could learn from the Bravo guys about how to pimp out a product by showing the label a hundred times in exchange for using it.

 

I'm sure they desperately want someone to pay them money to pimp out their product, money just like the Bravo guys get.  But so far nobody's paying.

[cooksdelight]

As a poster noted, the chefs tend to make fun of some of the products they are forced to use. Imagine the Frito-Lay people's reaction if someone said their corn chips tasted like cow dung.

[Hero]

I am glad that Jet won. There is something about him that I really like. I have a little crush on him.

[Maverick]

Most of these chefs eat junk food. I think it was Jet on Cutthroat Kitchen andthat chefs pretend they don't but they really do. I don't miss nd the ones who say they've ate an ingredient but would never cook a "real" meal with it but hate the ones that act like an Oreo or potato chip is so beneath them that it can't be in the same room as them.

[anonymiss]

And this is exactly how they do it. They eased Valerie Bertinelli in by making her a judge here and there, and a celebrity competitor, then a co-host on those short "baking championships," and now she's a network regular. Art's on the track, as is Jet Tila.

This is why I imagined Elizabeth Falkner being asked back this season but saying, "Screw that." She knows the score by now.

[BW Manilowe]

I only even know Antonia from Cutthroat Kitchen. I don't know if I just keep missing Top Chef or if we don't get it. I always love her comments on Cutthroat Kitchen though, and from those I feel like she's a good chef. I was bummed she didn't move on to the finals.

Do you have Bravo in your Cable/Satellite TV channel package? That's the channel which airs Top Chef. The most recent Season was Season 12 which, I think, ended in, like, February this year--earlier this year, anyway. It's been renewed for Season 13, but I'm not sure when that starts airing, nor am I sure if Bravo is currently airing repeats of Season 12 or earlier seasons. To be honest, pretty much the only thing I ever watched Bravo for was repeats of The West Wing, which they stopped airing a few years ago.

Now on to other stuff...

I have to say, I was also bummed when Madison was chopped in his competition. But I appreciate both that he realized, during cooking, that things went south on him badly enough that he probably would get chopped & he took it very graciously, & I also appreciate the equally gracious (& rather disappointed, since they knew Madison was much better than that dish showed) way in which he was dismissed by the Judges & Ted.

I saw the finale episode from the 2012 All-Stars competition a couple of hours ago now, I think. That's the ep where that twit, Penny Davidi, from Food Network Star...

1. Ungraciously gloated about surviving the Appetizer round over Iron Chef Michael Symon after he inadvertently left a basket ingredient out of his Appetizer, &

2. When she was subsequently chopped, for being heavy-handed with saffron in her dish, she dared to ask in her "Walk of Shame", post-chopping, Talking Head who knew more about saffron--her, supposedly because she's of Middle Eastern descent & it's a spice used a great deal in that cuisine, or non-Middle Eastern, longtime professional chef Amanda Freitag, who *dared* to be most critical of her saffron usage?

I get that Penny *now* apparently is a "big deal" chef at a new restaurant/club owned by 1 of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but *back 3 years ago* I think she was still just a "wannabe" in the culinary world & I don't think she had *any* business questioning whether she, or her "professional elders", if you will, knew how best to use a spice/herb/

seasoning in a dish. Her attitude in that damn Talking Head burns me up every time I see it!

Bella: Valerie Bertinelli was only on the Kids' Baking Championship, which aired last Summer/Fall; she wasn't on the Holiday Baking Championship, which aired over the Winter, & isn't on the Spring Baking Championship, which is currently airing. Duff (Goldman), her Co-Host on the Kids' show, was/is a Judge on the Holiday & Spring Championships though.

During the Kids' Championship, I remember them plugging a new show with her in it, which hasn't started airing yet but I think is supposed to start sometime this Summer, if I remember right.

I don't remember Valerie being on any other Food Network shows recently, unless it was as a Judge, like maybe on Duff 'til Dawn--which she might've done since they did the kids' baking thing together. But if she was on any other Food Network shows since her show was announced (or before), I'm not sure I see anything wrong with it.

Edited May 24, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[anonymiss]

I get that Penny *now* apparently is a "big deal" chef at a new restaurant/club owned by 1 of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but *back 3 years ago* I think she was still just a "wannabe" in the culinary world & I don't think she had *any* business questioning whether she, or her "professional elders", if you will, knew how best to use a spice/herb/

seasoning in a dish. Her attitude in that damn Talking Head burns me up every time I see it!

Penny is the kind of villain I can love to hate, or maybe just love. She's audacious but competent--her food was always praised. I liked that she wasn't a Pollyanna with that fake cloying attitude and voice like many of the women on the show are expected to have. (I laughed at her unapologetic villainy like when she said with a shit-eating grin when asked back to help her competition, "Am I working at a leisurely pace? I'm just methodical.") So I wasn't disappointed Symon's mistake forced the Chopped producers/judges to deviate from the script--if only for a moment. 

Edited May 24, 2015 by anonymiss

[Bastet]

I had never seen Penny before watching the all-stars championship episode she was in that just re-aired the other night (I take it she came from FN's "next star" competition show, which I don't watch), and I could not for the life of me decide how I felt about her.  One minute I was thinking, "This is just an awful person" and the next I was thinking, "Good for her."  I think the former was more frequent - or at least more pronounced - but she didn't strike me as a cartoon villain.  It was weird, and I figured she was playing a role ... although I'm not entirely sure at what points, or why. 

 

I found it amusing how the judges, in explaining their decision to chop Michael Symon, pretty much came out and said, "We looked for reasons to chop someone else, but couldn't justify it."  I wonder who would have been chopped in that first round had he remembered the okra.

 

The guy who lost in the final round (no idea who he is, either) generally made the food I most wanted to eat.  His dessert didn't appeal to me at all, and his first two dishes were the least visually appealing of those rounds, but they nevertheless sounded like they'd taste the best. 

 

My random takeaway from the episode: Marcus sweats a lot while cooking. 

[beeblebrox]

In that rerun of the All Stars competition, I found Anne Burrell's place as a judge hilarious. She seemed like she was trying too hard to measure up to the much more nuanced judges and their criticisms. I hate that she's the only female competitor in the one airing on Tuesday. She just rubs me the wrong way in general. I can't put my finger on it, but she's annoying and try hard on these.

[BW Manilowe]

I had never seen Penny before watching the all-stars championship episode she was in that just re-aired the other night (I take it she came from FN's "next star" competition show, which I don't watch), and I could not for the life of me decide how I felt about her. One minute I was thinking, "This is just an awful person" and the next I was thinking, "Good for her." I think the former was more frequent - or at least more pronounced - but she didn't strike me as a cartoon villain. It was weird, and I figured she was playing a role ... although I'm not entirely sure at what points, or why.

I found it amusing how the judges, in explaining their decision to chop Michael Symon, pretty much came out and said, "We looked for reasons to chop someone else, but couldn't justify it." I wonder who would have been chopped in that first round had he remembered the okra.

The guy who lost in the final round (no idea who he is, either) generally made the food I most wanted to eat. His dessert didn't appeal to me at all, and his first two dishes were the least visually appealing of those rounds, but they nevertheless sounded like they'd taste the best.

My random takeaway from the episode: Marcus sweats a lot while cooking.

That was Jeffrey Saad who was the runner-up in that Chopped episode. He was also the runner-up in Season 5 of what was then called The Next Food Network Star. He ended up having his own show on Cooking Channel for awhile after he lost TNFNS.

Penny Davidi, the original chef I was talking about, placed 7th (of 15 contestants) in Season 7 of what started out as The Next Food Network Star, which dropped the "The" from the title as of the 2nd episode that season.

[cooksdelight]

I think after Penny's season on FNS, they stopped showing the contestants in the house where they keep them until the show's over. She was so absolutely mean to that one woman who she made cry, it was hard to watch.

[mlp]

I wasn't crazy about Penny when she was on NFNS.  I didn't like her much but she definitely could cook.  I didn't really detest her until Chopped when she claimed bragging rights for beating Michael Symon and it was clear to anyone watching that he beat himself by forgetting an ingredient.  Her exit comments about Amanda were the last straw for me.

 

Just for the record................. Valerie Bertinelli, in addition to the kids' baking show, appeared as a judge on one episode of Cutthroat Kitchen.  I haven't seen her since.

[Bastet]

I didn't really detest her until Chopped when she claimed bragging rights for beating Michael Symon and it was clear to anyone watching that he beat himself by forgetting an ingredient.

 

That's when she bugged me the most in the episode; she was gloating about beating an Iron Chef, when beating him would mean he put out his best dish, she put out hers, and she won.  That and saying she was cooking in between Michael Symon and Marcus Samuelsson ... and they must be nervous cooking against her.  That would have been quite an endearing, funny comment had she seemed to be joking.

 

But then in other talking heads, she (seemingly) genuinely marveled at competing against such credentialed members of the profession.  Thus my wondering what was her personality and what was an act.  (However, I don't much care whether someone acting like an ass is playing a role or just organically being an ass -- it's ... assy.)

[buttersister]

*Ding* That was Penny's 15 minutes running out. [/justice in TV universe]

[Gbb]

I think this competition has been rigged. All the finalists are FN sweethearts, even if they aren't all over the network all the time.

Yep. I finally conceded it was rigged when they praised Hung's dessert over Anne's then gave her the win. I didn't realize how much I'd accepted it as fact until I looked at the 4 contestants for last week and thought, "Jet Tila has the biggest Food Network presence, so he's winning this one." And damned if he didn't.

The fix is in :(

[cooksdelight]

Anne bitched her way to the win. And Alex probably fought for her during deliberations.

[Hero]

I hate that Anne won. I was rooting for Jet to win. Anne acts like such a horrible person. Her hissy fit was so annoying.

It was so obvious that Michael should have won.

[cooksdelight]

I wanted to eat Michael's dessert, and savor every single bite.

[NikSac]

Aww man, I really wanted Jet to win, but oh well.

 

Anne drove me nuts the whole show!  She's just assuming she can swap out ingredients with other chefs, take things off of other stations without asking, expand her work surface when the chef next to her gets voted off, and then worst of all her fit throwing that seafood thing. The producer sounded really irritated with her, and I feel bad for whoever had to clean up her messes.

 

I must ask, what in the heck was Art thinking with his first course? To me it looked like a fancy version of a typical greasy spoon breakfast (just make the potatoes purple and put some fancier than normal ham on it). I'm sure it tasted good, but it didn't seem like anything special.

 

I felt bad for Jet in the seafood tower round. I can see how he kinda fell apart.  I wonder if it would've worked better if he had gone lighter on the lemongrass, or if it was just too far off the mark.

 

I thought Michael should've won and I loved his super creative dessert. I have to agree about leaving the scallion off... but that was the kind of dessert you could just not eat it if you didn't like it, since that's kind of how it was set up ("choose your own" as Alex put it).  I was pleasantly surprised they didn't beat him up about the cinnamon stick since they usually get so bent out of shape if there's anything on the plate that's not edible.

 

Anne's dessert looked good too, but half of me wanted her Chopped right after her acting so entitled with others' ingredients, stations, etc. and then her hissy fit, so I was pretty biased against her at that point. I wonder if she still would've won if Alex wasn't on the panel.

 

I thought it was a fun episode and a lot of the food looked really tasty.

[GaT]

The reason Anne won is because Alex wasn't competing.

[Bastet]

I was rooting for Anne; I'm not familiar with any of the other chefs, I love the recipes I've made from her Secrets of a Restaurant Chef show, and she was the only woman, so ... Anne for the win.

 

Her entrée made me want to lick my TV screen.  I figured after that if she tied or won in the dessert round, she'd be the champion. 

 

Good food in this episode.  I don't like potatoes, so I wouldn't have eaten any of the appetizers, but they were so visually appealing I was bummed they had potatoes.  Both desserts looked tasty, and I think I'd have loved Anne's ice cream as much as Geoffrey did.

 

Jet was bugging me in the beginning, but as it went on I liked him.  I didn't dislike Art, but I didn't miss him.

 

Anne's frustration manifested itself in an embarrassingly ugly way in the second round, and I'm glad she called it what it was -- rude and disrespectful.  Knocking the seafood tray onto the floor because it was getting my station wet is the kind of thing I could see myself doing in the privacy of my own home under the wrong emotional circumstances - unfortunately, I throw the occasional hissy fit - but if I ever did that thing in front of anyone, let alone colleagues and never mind a camera, I'd want to crawl in a hole until someone invented a time machine.