S16.E03: Naughty and Nice

[hkit]

I loved Blais on his season, became neutral on him once he started publicly stating he should have won over Stephanie, and grew to loathe him during the Vegas season when it was revealed that he was close with that little troll Eli. The company you keep says more about you than the character you try to play on a reality show. And you, sir, are not wanted on my TV. 

Brian was so obnoxious. I hope he goes soon. And his partner in hair products, Brendan, can follow. 

[Calamity Jane]

17 hours ago, biakbiak said:

This episode made me sad when I did the math and realized this was most likely filmed less than two weeks before Eric found Bourdain’s body. 

Yes, it was on my mind all the way through, very distracting and saddening.  

So far, this seems like quite a talented group, and there are no personalities that put my teeth on edge as there usually are.  Even Brandon, who would seem a likely candidate to be the "villain" this time, appears to have some self-awareness and sense of humor, which go a long ways to softening sharp edges for me.  

I can't remember the name of the guy who bought all the lamb in #2 (Eddie??), but he seems like a nervous wreck to me. I hope he finds his footing soon and calms down.  Although he seemed to settle a bit after he did well this time, his anxiety just reaches out at me from the TV screen and makes me very uneasy for him.  

[seltzer3]

Seemed like a lot of the desserts didn't really come together.    Not surprising, since sharing a small kitchen was probably a nightmare (and having only 2 ovens).  Anyone trying to make a souffle or a macaroon (good thing Kelsey had a plan b) was pretty much sunk.  I was surprised that no one had pudding that melted.  Probably why most  people didn't attempt to make ice cream or something cold.  I thought people would be constantly opening and closing freezer doors.  I guess Nini telling people she will murder them probably prevented that.

It also explains why a bunch of desserts looked interchangeable.  Some cream/sauce over biscuit or something crumbled on top.  Thought Brian should have gone home.   A vinegary dessert sounds a lot worse than a salty dessert.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I just wonder how much salt was in that dish for a confirmed salt-aholic like Tom C. to think it was too much?     

I can't wait for next week, but I've been looking forward to each episode so far.     I love the house the cheftestants are staying in.   

[cooksdelight]

Kelsey shared this, said it was horrifyingly accurate. You can see where some in last night’s episode didn’t read this list beforehand.

https://uproxx.com/life/10-commandments-of-top-chef/2/

[dleighg]

23 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Kelsey shared this, said it was horrifyingly accurate. You can see where some in last night’s episode didn’t read this list beforehand.

https://uproxx.com/life/10-commandments-of-top-chef/2/

very very true. I really resonated with the "healthy" one. Did any of the health gurus make it past the first couple of episodes? Live into butter and bacon and you will go far. 

[howiveaddict]

5 hours ago, rhys said:

Kelsey annoyed in that she wasn't making macaroons she was attempting to make macarons. Jeesch that grates. Similar to the chefs who mispronounced dacquoise. Yes you say the S. Come on, chefs.

I use Blais's recipe for slow roasted beef on pulled pork & it's divine so he doesn't annoy me! Stupid reason tho.

This is a pet peeve of mind.  The macaroon mistake is made on many cooking shows, by chefs who should know better.  Including Duff Goldman to name one that comes to mind.  I have never had a macaron, but I do know the difference.  You should hear me scream at the tv when the mistake is made.  If a known chef doesn't use the right name, then how is the public expected to know the correct name?

Did the guy who went home have a wife who was a pastry chef?  Seems a little would have rubbed off on him. I could be wrong though, as I have trouble telling the contestants apart this early in the competition.

[Sew Sumi]

I thought Brian, who didn't come prepared, had the pastry chef wife. But I have been wrong before...😁

[Impalace]

It was Eddie Money the lamb guy whose wife is a pastry chef. He couldn't articulate his dish in the kitchen.

[Ms Lark]

11 hours ago, BullInChina said:

I think you're thinking of Mike Isabella, not Richard Blais.

 

11 hours ago, rafibomb said:

Richard Blais? Um, no, not to my knowledge.

Maybe you're confusing him with Mike Isabella?

Never in a million years. I live in DC and have been boycotting Isabella's establishments since day 1. His downfall has been epic and exceedingly well-documented in our local media. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!

I may be confusing him with another Southern chef who has been cited. OK, just did some homework: it's John Besh who was in big trouble. 1,000 apologies to Blais. Still don't like the wanker.

[shksabelle]

I don’t think you are ever going to get anything made with pork fat on PASSOVER, Padma. 

I know it’s a TV  show, and they want a Christmas episode, but didn’t they just all swoon from the heat last week?

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, shksabelle said:

don’t think you are ever going to get anything made with pork fat on PASSOVER, Padma. 

You would be surprised what shows up on a lot of Passover and Hanukah menus not everyone chooses to be kosher for those mealthe woman who made it was Jewish and agreed so it isn’t an issue for her either. 

[seltzer3]

Richard's Blais restaurant or show is called "Starving for Attention?"

How appropriate.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

Richard's Blais restaurant or show is called "Starving for Attention?"

How appropriate.

It’s his podcast and he clearly named it that intentionally.

[Lamb18]

Watching the episode now. The man crush on Blaise is nauseating.

[seltzer3]

1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

It’s his podcast and he clearly named it that intentionally.

I see.  I'm just saying how appropriate, since he's quite the media hog.

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, seltzer3 said:

I see.  I'm just saying how appropriate, since he's quite the media hog.

And he would agree with you which was my point the difference is he doesn’t view that as a negative.

Edited December 22, 2018 by biakbiak

[Lamb18]

Glad NeeNee is doing well. I like her pretty well. Funny mancrush David won the quickfire with Blaise as a judge.

I'd be pretty amazed if I came home in May/June and found my place decorated for Christmas.

[Rambler]

The biggest surprise of this episode was that I found out there is a chef named Michelle competing this season. She had a talking head pop up where she mentioned Eric Ripert had visited her restaurant and I was like "Who the hell is that??? I’ve never seen her before have I?" And then she promptly disappeared for the rest of the episode until the judges tasted her dish and proclaimed it to be "meh". OK Michelle, you are now my new favorite chef on this show. I have soft spot for the chefs who make the sacrifice to spend all that time away from their families only to have about 30 seconds of air time each week to show for it.

[Lamb18]

Cool! a dessert challenge!!

I can't imagine starting an elimination challenge at midnight.

I cringed after Kelsey says don't open the lower oven door, then someone opens it and puts something in. 

[Lamb18]

Brandon's dessert looked like something made in Home Ec class by a jock who needs a few more credits to graduate.

[Nordly Beaumont]

15 minutes ago, Rambler said:

The biggest surprise of this episode was that I found out there is a chef named Michelle competing this season. She had a talking head pop up where she mentioned Eric Ripert had visited her restaurant and I was like "Who the hell is that??? I’ve never seen her before have I?"

When they were planting their garden, I think she's the one who casually mentioned that her grandmother was a shaman for the most dangerous tribe in Mexico. A little follow up on that please!

[Lamb18]

Yay NeeNee! Glad she won. That is really sad about her brother.

I was hoping Brandon would be in the bottom 3.

I thought the other guy (not Pablo) was going to go. But the guy content to slide by in the first episode should be amongst the first to be eliminated.

[msmarjoribanks]

44 minutes ago, Rambler said:

The biggest surprise of this episode was that I found out there is a chef named Michelle competing this season. She had a talking head pop up where she mentioned Eric Ripert had visited her restaurant and I was like "Who the hell is that??? I’ve never seen her before have I?" And then she promptly disappeared for the rest of the episode until the judges tasted her dish and proclaimed it to be "meh". OK Michelle, you are now my new favorite chef on this show. I have soft spot for the chefs who make the sacrifice to spend all that time away from their families only to have about 30 seconds of air time each week to show for it.

She had like 30 seconds last time explaining her grandmother was a shaman for "the most violent tribe in Mexico."  My bet is that she becomes a bigger focus later, but so far she's weirdly absent.

[theatremouse]

9 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Thanks! That makes both more and less sense! I can see panicking and grabbing random ingredients but standing by the flours and grabbing lots of different ones.

He also said something about "having options" so I think part of the panic was not wanting to limit himself too much, so that started the grabbing multiple variations of the same thing and then he just caught himself in a loop, and then time was up.

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

Liked the guys consternation over the mysterious hair straightener appearing in their zone. 

No, they were assholes who were gender shaming whomever it belonged too. "What is this man doing with a woman's flat iron?!?" I want to slap the hell out of both of them.

Eddie I really want to describe as a schlemiel, which you may be familiar from Laverne & Shirley but is an actual Yiddish word. He redeemed himself a bit but I expect another faceplant soon.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Vermicious Knid

[Totale]

On 12/20/2018 at 10:02 PM, Bastet said:

And I wish they wouldn’t go so far in creating Christmas episodes to make people walk around saying “merry Christmas” to each other in the morning.  Create a holiday dish, fine.  But pretend it’s Christmas?  Come on.

All they would have had to do is say "You were melting from the heat last week? Well guess what, to cool you off it's Christmas this week!" Then everybody could wake each other up with "Yeah, Merry fncking Christmas" and we could all have a good laugh.  Alex Trebek isn't scared to let on they film episodes ahead of time.

A slight detour to Top Chef:North Pole, as there was zero Kentucky content this week.  Wasn't even mentioned.  I think they were attempting to come up with a generic Xmas episode for rerun purposes.  Add Blais and desserts and still not knowing much about any of these people and I've already dropped it from my brainpan. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

11 hours ago, msmarjoribanks said:

The biggest surprise of this episode was that I found out there is a chef named Michelle competing this season. She had a talking head pop up where she mentioned Eric Ripert had visited her restaurant and I was like "Who the hell is that??? I’ve never seen her before have I?

BOTH Mr. Snappy and I said the exact same thing ... when we saw her face, we were both WHO IS THAT? Did they add a new cheftestant in the third episode? I vaguely remembered she had an M in her name but that was it.

[TipseyGirl]

16 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Kelsey shared this, said it was horrifyingly accurate. You can see where some in last night’s episode didn’t read this list beforehand.

https://uproxx.com/life/10-commandments-of-top-chef/2/

Great article! "salted caramel antelope confit" - LOL!

[seltzer3]

13 minutes ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

BOTH Mr. Snappy and I said the exact same thing ... when we saw her face, we were both WHO IS THAT? Did they add a new cheftestant in the third episode? I vaguely remembered she had an M in her name but that was it.

 

11 hours ago, msmarjoribanks said:

She had like 30 seconds last time explaining her grandmother was a shaman for "the most violent tribe in Mexico."  My bet is that she becomes a bigger focus later, but so far she's weirdly absent.

 

I would love it if Michelle makes it to the Finals, yet we would only see 10 seconds of her in each episode.  It would be like a where's waldo game.

[RebeccatheWriter]

That's one of the things I liked about the first season compared to later seasons of Top Chef...fewer contestants. You really got a sense of who each of them was versus this whole thing where I watch and go is that...hipster number 1 or number 2? 

I am a paranoid person by nature so I would probably be expecting challenges at every turn. It bothered me that they were so "shocked" that they would have to cook after the meal. You are competing on a cooking show, all the judges and guest judges are in the room with you. You're eating in front of the cameras. Hell yes you're going to have to cook. It reminds me of how annoyed I was in the Miami season where they cooked for the people coming out of the nightclubs. Some of the women were upset that they got all dressed up and had to cook. 

[desertflower]

On 12/21/2018 at 12:02 PM, Yeah No said:

ven't seen Eric anywhere since Bourdain's death but he has been in my thoughts often as I know they were the best of friends.

I saw him on the Today show just the other day. (It might've been Friday, after you posted this.) Anyway, they were celebrating that his restaurant was named best in the world (!!!) by a fancy list. Then they asked him about Bourdain and he was lovely and said very nice things. Then he cooked a fish dish and they said it was clear why he was the best.  

[kicksave]

On 12/20/2018 at 10:42 PM, avecsans said:

Why did they have to diminish the visit of my beloved Eric Ripert with perennial douche bag Richard Blais? Eric can carry the guest judging by himself, thanks. And while I don’t dislike Brooke Williamson per se, she didn’t add any interest. I think pretty much everything she said began with either “I’m a big fan of...,” or “I’m not a big fan  of...”

I was glad Nini won again. Her brother’s death was very sad.  Not a fan of Kelsey and her death threats. None of the desserts looked all that great to me.  I really was hoping Brian would be eliminated. It’s bad enough not to practice at least one dessert when you are chosen for Top Chef, but then to be so dismissive is just obnoxious.

I am so glad to see others have the same thoughts about Richard Blaise!!!! I loathe him...when he was competing on TC all he did was whine about the other chefs and make food with the vapor stuff...I can't remember what that's called. It was so pretentious and boring. My son lived in Atlanta when Richard was living there and had a few restaurants in Atlanta. My son and his wife went to one of them which was just a glorified burger joint...he was charging close to $30.00 for a burger and fries. My son said it was mediocre... nothing to spend that much money on...the rest of the menu was blah. Richard opened up an upscale place in Atlanta  called "The Spence"...it went out of business after only a few years I believe. Didn't get great reviews especially after Richard left Atlanta for California and put someone else in charge of The Spence... that didn't work too well. He's not all that successful and he clearly isn't a great manager. I guess he has a few places in SoCal now...more casual fare I believe. Have no idea if these places are doing well but I'm sure he's overcharging for stuff like avocado toast. For some reason TC is enamored with this guy. On another note...Richard was so dismissive of many of the female chefs when he competed...you could tell he had nothing but disdain for female chefs. Stephanie has probably been the most successful winner of TC. Her restaurant in Chicago is outstanding. My daughter lived in Chicago and the wait for a reservation is months in advance. She ate there last year and said it was probably the best food she's ever had. You go girl!

[desertflower]

3 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

BOTH Mr. Snappy and I said the exact same thing ... when we saw her face, we were both WHO IS THAT? Did they add a new cheftestant in the third episode? I vaguely remembered she had an M in her name but that was it.

So funny that so many of us thought the same thing. I don't remember her, like at all. How weird. 

[kicksave]

16 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Watching the episode now. The man crush on Blaise is nauseating.

OMG!!!!! That was vomit worthy! 

[suebee12]

16 hours ago, Rambler said:

The biggest surprise of this episode was that I found out there is a chef named Michelle competing this season.

The funny thing is I remember her from some other food show...maybe Chopped....so I knew she is one of the cheftestants...Now I still get confused by some of the others!

[spiderpig]

23 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I just wonder how much salt was in that dish for a confirmed salt-aholic like Tom C. to think it was too much?     

I can't wait for next week, but I've been looking forward to each episode so far.     I love the house the cheftestants are staying in.   

Has anyone identified the place?  It looks like a mini White House.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The mansion they stayed at (actually called a mini Mansion) is the Avish:

https://mintjuleptours.com/2018/11/29/where-did-top-chef-go-in-kentucky-plan-your-tour-of-their-favorite-louisville-and-lexington-places/

Just scroll down to the bottom of the section about places seen on Top Chef.

The Avish is worth about $2.7 million, if you're in the market for a nice little country place.   

[carrps]

On 12/21/2018 at 5:00 AM, whinewithwine said:

Hey it could have been worse....Graham COULD have worn silly ripped skinny jeans like Richard's.  By the way, nobody over the age of 12 should wear ripped jeans unless you're dirt poor and don't have the money for new pants.

 

NObody should wear artificially ripped jeans. They should either be naturally worn or not all full of holes. Harrumph.

 

On 12/21/2018 at 5:00 AM, whinewithwine said:

 

Oops. Don't know what I was going to comment on here. :-)

 

On 12/21/2018 at 8:23 AM, Toothbrush said:

I thought the same thing. I wasn't paying the best attention, and was also too lazy/disinterested to rewind. Nini talking about cream cheese & pepper jelly made me smile. It is huge in NOLA not to mention delicious.

I was first introduced to this at a Christmas party like 35 years ago??? And it's so easy to make a decent version. You want you can go all out and be fancy schmancy but I'm fine with the block of cream cheese smothered in the contents of that little chili jar. Yum! Is he NOLA version made with pimento? 'Cause I really hate pimento cheese. :-(

[Toothbrush]

1 hour ago, carrps said:

I was first introduced to this at a Christmas party like 35 years ago??? And it's so easy to make a decent version. You want you can go all out and be fancy schmancy but I'm fine with the block of cream cheese smothered in the contents of that little chili jar. Yum! Is he NOLA version made with pimento? 'Cause I really hate pimento cheese. :-(

It's cream cheese all the way in NOLA, although I have tasted it over tofu when my aunt was in a non-dairy phase. Cream cheese is infinity times better. I'm sure there are fancy schmancy variations out there, but nothing beats the original IMO. 

[Rammchick]

On 12/20/2018 at 7:38 PM, biakbiak said:

This episode made me sad when I did the math and realized this was most likely filmed less than two weeks before Eric found Bourdain’s body. 

I was thinking the same thing :(

[Souris]

15 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

BOTH Mr. Snappy and I said the exact same thing ... when we saw her face, we were both WHO IS THAT? Did they add a new cheftestant in the third episode? I vaguely remembered she had an M in her name but that was it.

I'm another one who did a double-take and said "Who's that??" when she popped up, because I had zero recollection of her.

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The mansion they stayed at (actually called a mini Mansion) is the Avish:

The Avish is worth about $2.7 million, if you're in the market for a nice little country place.   

With some of the fugliest wallpaper I've ever seen in the foyer. WTF is that?

[essexjan]

On 12/21/2018 at 4:53 PM, rafibomb said:

 

I just don't think there's any way to fix an over-salted dish. I did it to mashed potatoes one time, and my solution was to make an entire new batch of potatoes and titrate in the salted ones. 

The fix for an over-salted stew or soup is to add a large potato to it (which you later remove) as the potato, being starchy, will absorb salt. But you can't add a potato to mashed potato!

[dleighg]

7 minutes ago, essexjan said:

The fix for an over-salted stew or soup is to add a large potato to it (which you later remove) as the potato, being starchy, will absorb salt. But you can't add a potato to mashed potato!

that is an old-wives tail that simply does not work. https://www.thespruceeats.com/fixing-oversalted-food-does-the-potato-trick-really-work-4142283

[essexjan]

1 minute ago, dleighg said:

that is an old-wives tail that simply does not work. https://www.thespruceeats.com/fixing-oversalted-food-does-the-potato-trick-really-work-4142283

Huh. I've tried it and it worked.

[dleighg]

15 minutes ago, essexjan said:

Huh. I've tried it and it worked.

It may have "worked" if you then added some plain water to replace the broth sucked up by the potato. The same effect can be achieved by scooping out a ladle of salted broth and replacing it with plain water.

[rafibomb]

19 hours ago, kicksave said:

I am so glad to see others have the same thoughts about Richard Blaise!!!! I loathe him...when he was competing on TC all he did was whine about the other chefs and make food with the vapor stuff...I can't remember what that's called. It was so pretentious and boring. My son lived in Atlanta when Richard was living there and had a few restaurants in Atlanta. My son and his wife went to one of them which was just a glorified burger joint...he was charging close to $30.00 for a burger and fries. My son said it was mediocre... nothing to spend that much money on...the rest of the menu was blah. Richard opened up an upscale place in Atlanta  called "The Spence"...it went out of business after only a few years I believe. Didn't get great reviews especially after Richard left Atlanta for California and put someone else in charge of The Spence... that didn't work too well. He's not all that successful and he clearly isn't a great manager. I guess he has a few places in SoCal now...more casual fare I believe. Have no idea if these places are doing well but I'm sure he's overcharging for stuff like avocado toast. For some reason TC is enamored with this guy. On another note...Richard was so dismissive of many of the female chefs when he competed...you could tell he had nothing but disdain for female chefs. Stephanie has probably been the most successful winner of TC. Her restaurant in Chicago is outstanding. My daughter lived in Chicago and the wait for a reservation is months in advance. She ate there last year and said it was probably the best food she's ever had. You go girl!

Juniper and Ivy, his restaurant in San Diego, is very well-reviewed; my best friend (and fellow Top Chef fan) went there and thought it was wonderful. We also went to Stephanie's restaurant in Chicago together, and it was outstanding. They're both great chefs and I see no need to pit them against each other outside of the show. 

[Yeah No]

19 hours ago, desertflower said:

I saw him on the Today show just the other day. (It might've been Friday, after you posted this.) Anyway, they were celebrating that his restaurant was named best in the world (!!!) by a fancy list. Then they asked him about Bourdain and he was lovely and said very nice things. Then he cooked a fish dish and they said it was clear why he was the best.  

Thank you.  I watched the Today segment on their website.  I ate the best meal of my life at Le Bernardin a few years ago.  The tasting menu with wine pairings was almost an out-of-body food experience.

[raven]

On 12/21/2018 at 1:53 AM, MerBearHou said:

Same here. Apparently we’re in a very small club, but I like him too. Always have. 

So do I. 

I really liked this episode.  I thought the QF switch was a fun adapt on the fly challenge.   I also liked the dessert challenge - never get relaxed on TC, be prepared for anything, always have a dessert - these are basic rules of the show by now.    I liked the look of all 3 top desserts - guy who got sent to LCK should have paid more attention to Kelcey, whose first idea didn't work and so came up with something else.  

So far no one is acting like an ass, which I appreciate.

[kicksave]

4 hours ago, rafibomb said:

Juniper and Ivy, his restaurant in San Diego, is very well-reviewed; my best friend (and fellow Top Chef fan) went there and thought it was wonderful. We also went to Stephanie's restaurant in Chicago together, and it was outstanding. They're both great chefs and I see no need to pit them against each other outside of the show. 

No one is pitting them against each other...when Richard was on Top Chef and Stephanie won he was a sore loser...that's all. Go back and check out the tape...he was very condescending towards her. And isn't that the point of the show? To "pit" chefs against each other to see who will win each competition and ultimately win Top Chef? 

Edited December 23, 2018 by kicksave