S16.E13: Holy Macau!

[TipseyGirl]

22 hours ago, kicksave said:

Turns out Mike Isabella really was a villain...his restaurants in D.C. are closed and he's up to his eyeballs in legal woes stemming from sexual harassment lawsuits.

Gross.

[Brookside]

Anyone else notice the mysterious disappearing umbrellas at the beginning?

And what the hell was with Padma's awful hair piece?  Donald Trump would have been embarrassed.

[Irlandesa]

19 hours ago, ChitChat said:

  I've seen some pictures of Justin, Sara and Kelsey doing some cooking together (I think it was at Justin's restaurant in St. Paul,) but I'm not sure what the occasion was.

He had a biscuit demo and later a pop-up dinner at his restaurant.   Earlier, he had Brian as well.

[AnnA]

Although I've been watching TC since the beginning it's obvious from reading this forum that I don't pay as much attention to all the details as most of you.   That said, I'm not enjoying TC this season.    I can't recall if they always started off with as many cheftestants (15) as they had this season or not.   If they did, they were more interesting than this group.   If not, we got to know them better and were able to see more of their interaction than we do now.   What I do know for sure is that I used to care more about them than I do now.    I do like Eric but he's really the only one.   Aside from not getting a good feel for the chefs, I'm not liking the judges' table much.  Padma's curry comments were so ridiculous that she had to walk them back.    I'm sick to death of hearing that a dish or ingredient is "forward" enough or not and Tom seems to have lost interest.  He often has such an obnoxious superior attitude that he's become unlikeable.  Once upon a time, he was extremely likeable and more like a mentor.  

Edited March 3, 2019 by AnnA

[gingerella]

4 hours ago, Bucket said:

Lychee's flavor is VERY subtle and would be overwhelmed with almost anything.  I used to eat them at a Chinese restaurant I went to as a child.  That practice is long gone!  Too bad.

it depends on whether we're talking fresh or canned lychee. I have eaten lychee's in Viet Nam during lychee season and they are not as subtle as perhaps canned lychee's might be. I assume they were using fresh since they're in Asia but perhaps I am mistaken. If fresh, they could have indeed been made into a wonderful sweet n sour sauce that would have been perfumed with that light fruity rose scent that fresh lychee's have. I think it would have been lovely and delicious and shown a connection to local cuisine.

1 hour ago, AnnA said:

Although I've been watching TC since the beginning it's obvious from reading this forum that I don't pay as much attention to all the details as most of you.   That said, I'm not enjoying TC this season.    I can't recall if they always started off with as many cheftestants (15) as they had this season or not.   If they did, they were more interesting than this group.   If not, we got to know them better and were able to see more of their interaction than we do now.   What I do know for sure is that I used to care more about them than I do now.    I do like Eric but he's really the only one.   Aside from not getting a good feel for the chefs, I'm not liking the judges' table much.  Padma's curry comments were so ridiculous that she had to walk them back.    I'm sick to death of hearing that a dish or ingredient is "forward" enough or not and Tom seems to have lost interest.  He often has such an obnoxious superior attitude that he's become unlikeable.  Once upon a time, he was extremely likeable and more like a mentor.  

Re: bolded comments, yes, I completely agree with you, Tom's turned quite sour and dour the last few seasons. I think it's time for a reboot, get a different host, and keep Gail (who is always great IMO) and add David Chang, Eric Ripert (replacing Tom as the Grand Poobah), and anyone else for the fourth spot (or is that usually for a guest host?). Done! I think ultimately Padma and Tom need to go, they're just phoning it in, and not doing a very good job of it either.

Edited March 3, 2019 by gingerella

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, gingerella said:

assume they were using fresh since they're in Asia but perhaps I am mistaken. If fresh, they could have indeed been made into a wonderful sweet n sour sauce that would have been perfumed with that light fruity rose scent that fresh lychee's have. I think it would have been lovely and

This was filmed in July so it would be the start of lychee season but given we never see any lychees on Eric’s station (we only saw them on the initial platter) I am guessing he used canned. He used it to make a glaze for his pork ear and peeling, pitting and cooking down enough lychees  to make a glaze for 200 would have been quite time consuming especially because they were using fresh water chestnuts which are also a bitch to peel. 

[AnnA]

17 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

....pitting and cooking down enough lychees  to make a glaze for 200 would have been quite time consuming especially because they were using fresh water chestnuts which are also a bitch to peel. 

Speaking of 200 guests........why do they bother telling us how many guests are expected?   They don't show us the chefs shopping or cooking for that many.   Perhaps they should consider doing that.    I think it would be interesting to see and the show certainly needs something new.

Edited March 3, 2019 by AnnA

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, AnnA said:

Speaking of 200 guests........why do they bother telling us how many guests are expected?   They don't show us the chefs shopping or cooking for that many.   Perhaps they should should consider doing that.    I think that would be interesting to see and the show certainly needs something new.

We saw them cooking for that many and saw them partially shopping for that many and they tell us because that’s part of the challenge the dish you create for a group of 10 is different than one oundo to serve 200.

[AnnA]

2 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

We saw them cooking for that many and saw them partially shopping for that many and they tell us because that’s part of the challenge the dish you create for a group of 10 is different than one oundo to serve 200.

Yes it's very different.    I don't remember ever seeing the chefs shop, cook or serve that many guests.  Then again, my memory isn't what it used to be.  LOL

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, AnnA said:

Yes it's very different.    I don't remember ever seeing the chefs shop, cook or serve that many guests.  Then again, my memory isn't what it used to be.  LOL

This episode we saw Sara pick out that many shrimp etc and tons of huge pots of all cooking etc. 

Edited March 3, 2019 by biakbiak

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, AnnA said:

I don't remember ever seeing the chefs shop, cook or serve that many guests.

They only present to the judges, so, no, they don't serve the crowd, but we do see them shop and cook for that many, and it's a recurring issue with their planning, budget, prep time, plating, etc. 

[AnnA]

11 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

This episode we saw Sara pick out that many shrimp etc and tons of huge pots of all cooking etc. 

I could be wrong but I thought she said she needed 200 shrimp.   If that's true, the dish was one shrimp per person.

Edited March 3, 2019 by AnnA

[Bucket]

32 minutes ago, gingerella said:

it depends on whether we're talking fresh or canned lychee. I have eaten lychee's in Viet Nam during lychee season and they are not as subtle as perhaps canned lychee's might be.

I had fresh.  That soft shell and the tender white flesh around the smooth oval pit. YUM.  They brought a small bowl to the table. 

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, AnnA said:

I could be wrong but I hought she said she needed 200 shrimp.   If that's true, the dish was one shrimp per person.

She did serve one shrimp per person. These were apps/small plates not a full entree. Heck Adrienne served one tiny broccoli floret per person.

Edited March 3, 2019 by biakbiak

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, AnnA said:

I could be wrong but I hought she said she needed 200 shrimp.   If that's true, the dish was one shrimp per person.

I also remember Adrienne talking to her sous about how many "peach coins" (to be pickled) she could get from each peach. I think she said 10 (or 20) so either 20 (or 10) peaches. In either case I remember thinking that it's better to err on the side of not getting that many! And also, each person gets one "coin." 

[AnnA]

3 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

She did serve one shrimp per person. These were apps/small plates not a full entree. Heck Adrienne served one tiny broccoli floret per person.

1 minute ago, dleighg said:

I also remember Adrienne talking to her sous about how many "peach coins" (to be pickled) she could get from each peach. I think she said 10 (or 20) so either 20 (or 10) peaches. In either case I remember thinking that it's better to err on the side of not getting that many! And also, each person gets one "coin." 

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I also remember Adrienne talking to her sous about how many "peach coins" (to be pickled) she could get from each peach. I think she said 10 (or 20) so either 20 (or 10) peaches. In either case I remember thinking that it's better to err on the side of not getting that many! And also, each person gets one "coin." 

It was Michelle and she said she could probably get 20 out of each peach but we didn’t see how many she finally bought so she could have bought a few extra. 

Sara bought 250 shrimp so she had some extra if there was an issue.

Edited March 3, 2019 by biakbiak

[AnnA]

Thanks for pointing out things I obviously missed.   I'm still having issues with the whole premise though. (As well as quoting posts)     I just don't see any of those kitchens large enough or equipped well enough for 15 chefs to each make 200 plates.    That's 3,000 dishes.    I'd bet real money they don't have that many plates in any of those kitchens. 

ETA:   I know there weren't 15 chefs in this episode but there were earlier in the season and the number of plates they had to allegedly serve was always more than I believe was possible.

Edited March 3, 2019 by AnnA

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, AnnA said:

Thanks for pointing out things I obviously missed.   I'm still having issues with the whole premise though. (As well as quoting posts)     I just don't see any of those kitchens large enough or equipped well enough for 15 chefs to each make 200 plates.    That's 3,000 dishes.    I'd bet real money they don't have that many plates in any of those kitchens. 

They were cooking at the MGM Macau kitchen which is a huge hotel, casino and event space that serves multiple restaurants, events and room service out of it daily this was a small event for what they usually do. 

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

He had a biscuit demo and later a pop-up dinner at his restaurant.   Earlier, he had Brian as well.

Thanks for the link and explanation!  Looking at Kelsey's menu from her restaurant, she has a Sunday brunch in which biscuits are a featured item.  I've only been for lunch, but from the pictures I've seen, I'd love to try the biscuits! 

2 hours ago, AnnA said:

That said, I'm not enjoying TC this season.    I can't recall if they always started off with as many cheftestants (15) as they had this season or not.   If they did, they were more interesting than this group.   If not, we got to know them better and were able to see more of their interaction than we do now.   What I do know for sure is that I used to care more about them than I do now.    I do like Eric but he's really the only one.   Aside from not getting a good feel for the chefs, I'm not liking the judges' table much.  Padma's curry comments were so ridiculous that she had to walk them back.    I'm sick to death of hearing that a dish or ingredient is "forward" enough or not and Tom seems to have lost interest.  He often has such an obnoxious superior attitude that he's become unlikeable.  Once upon a time, he was extremely likeable and more like a mentor.  

I used to enjoy TC, but the formula of it got tiresome to me, so this is the first season I've watched in a long time.  I'm just in it for my local gal, Kelsey, but I do like this group as a whole better than some I've watched.  I agree about hearing the word "forward" way too much!  It's a trend, I suppose, so until they think of something new to say, we're stuck with it!  I find the judges to be quite snooty about the food sometimes.  That's off-putting to me, hence one of the reasons I quit watching it.  One can be a superior chef without the attitude.  

[gingerella]

The best Southern biscuit recipe on planet earth is this one, bar none. Try it, I dare you to say it's not the best you've ever had...you can come back and thank me later.

The best Southern biscuit recipe ever!

[Chit Chat]

7 minutes ago, gingerella said:

The best Southern biscuit recipe on planet earth is this one, bar none. Try it, I dare you to say it's not the best you've ever had...you can come back and thank me later.

I've tried their recipe before, but for the life of me (and I've been trying for over 30 years) I just can't get it right when it comes to making a biscuit!  This is the first recipe I've seen though where they were specific with the number of times you mix it, so maybe that's where I've been going wrong.  I've used all of the correct ingredients in the past, but the biscuits never would rise!  I didn't fold it 4 times either, so I need to try again and see if I can get them to rise.  I think that I worried too much about overworking the dough, so maybe I haven't been doing quite enough.  I'll give it a whirl!  😉

[WendyM]

I've enjoyed this season in general but one thing I just realized is that in prior seasons, there were always the first few to be sent home--the cannon fodder contestants, maybe. As the talent has gotten better and better as the seasons progress, I find I miss them all pretty much. I enjoy LCK because I get to see them all again (even if they're just in the peanut gallery). But in past seasons we would have seen the excellent ones through to the finish, or closer to the finish. I don't think there were weak chefs this time around. YMMV, of course.

I also follow Tom and Padma on Instagram and they seem just as excited and enthusiastic as ever. I've posted ad nauseum in the LCK thread about this, but Tom is a hoot on LCK. I don't see either of them leaving anytime soon. However, Gail had better quit it with the baby-having because she was definitely missed this season. (But hey, at least we had Graham instead of Blais.)

[AttackTurtle]

2 hours ago, gingerella said:

it depends on whether we're talking fresh or canned lychee. I have eaten lychee's in Viet Nam during lychee season and they are not as subtle as perhaps canned lychee's might be. I assume they were using fresh since they're in Asia but perhaps I am mistaken. If fresh, they could have indeed been made into a wonderful sweet n sour sauce that would have been perfumed with that light fruity rose scent that fresh lychee's have. I think it would have been lovely and delicious and shown a connection to local cuisine.

Re: bolded comments, yes, I completely agree with you, Tom's turned quite sour and dour the last few seasons. I think it's time for a reboot, get a different host, and keep Gail (who is always great IMO) and add David Chang, Eric Ripert (replacing Tom as the Grand Poobah), and anyone else for the fourth spot (or is that usually for a guest host?). Done! I think ultimately Padma and Tom need to go, they're just phoning it in, and not doing a very good job of it either.

I adore Eric Ripert, but I don’t know if he could handle the “judging” full time.  As a mentor ala Tim Gunn...maybe.  Honestly, Emeril is always one of my favorite guest judges, which shocked me as I was fully prepared to not like him.  

But I love Tom and his lighter side comes out in LCK.  Plus I love his philanthropic work.

There was a bit more gamesmanship this season than in past seasons... which really doesn’t belong on this show.  I rewatched this episode and found myself really annoyed by Adrienne and thinking she knew exactly what she was doing when she dined our Sarah for the boxed waffle mix.  

I live in New England and the chefs from last season have quite a presence.  Some have gone into business together and I’m dying to try Chris (of biscuit fame) and Tyler’s places.  Fatima’s death clearly adds a dimension to last season, but they all seem like genuinely cool people (I’m not fully sold on Claudia). 

[gingerella]

2 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I've tried their recipe before, but for the life of me (and I've been trying for over 30 years) I just can't get it right when it comes to making a biscuit!  This is the first recipe I've seen though where they were specific with the number of times you mix it, so maybe that's where I've been going wrong.  I've used all of the correct ingredients in the past, but the biscuits never would rise!  I didn't fold it 4 times either, so I need to try again and see if I can get them to rise.  I think that I worried too much about overworking the dough, so maybe I haven't been doing quite enough.  I'll give it a whirl!  😉

2 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I've tried their recipe before, but for the life of me (and I've been trying for over 30 years) I just can't get it right when it comes to making a biscuit!  This is the first recipe I've seen though where they were specific with the number of times you mix it, so maybe that's where I've been going wrong.  I've used all of the correct ingredients in the past, but the biscuits never would rise!  I didn't fold it 4 times either, so I need to try again and see if I can get them to rise.  I think that I worried too much about overworking the dough, so maybe I haven't been doing quite enough.  I'll give it a whirl!  😉

The things that are key to that recipe are: grated frozen butter (for even fat distribution), folding and rolling, and placing the biscuits so they're touching each other (they help pull up one another and give you those delicious layers that a great biscuit always had). The exact stirring not as much, in fact I had to stir a little bit more and they still came out amazing!  I know biscuits have been made on TC before but I've never seen a cheftestant make them this way ever.

[Chit Chat]

1 minute ago, gingerella said:

I know biscuits have been made on TC before but I've never seen a cheftestant make them this way ever.

I think that one of the chefs raved about the biscuits Kelsey made for the group.  Wouldn't it be great to get to taste their food when they're not under pressure and in front of the cameras!  There's some fine dining going on behind the scenes!

As far as making biscuits, I've tried all of the tricks in the book, but alas, even when they did rise a little bit, they were still not right!  I will try working the dough a little differently.  I think I've been too worried about a tough biscuit, so I didn't work the dough enough.  Thanks for your help!  I'm always curious as to what it is that I can't master with them. It's not for lack of trying though!  Funny thing is, I can make a loaf of bread with ease.  Biscuits are my nemesis!  😉

[jcbrown]

7 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

As far as making biscuits, I've tried all of the tricks in the book, but alas, even when they did rise a little bit, they were still not right!  I will try working the dough a little differently.  I think I've been too worried about a tough biscuit, so I didn't work the dough enough.  Thanks for your help!  I'm always curious as to what it is that I can't master with them. It's not for lack of trying though!  Funny thing is, I can make a loaf of bread with ease.  Biscuits are my nemesis!  😉

I have also spent years making biscuits that were only pretty good and wondering why they didn't come out right (and, like you, I can also get yeast doughs to do pretty much anything I want them to do). This recipe was a smashing success for me: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/08/the-food-lab-buttermilk-biscuits-recipe.html

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, ChitChat said:

Thanks for the link and explanation!  Looking at Kelsey's menu from her restaurant, she has a Sunday brunch in which biscuits are a featured item.  I've only been for lunch, but from the pictures I've seen, I'd love to try the biscuits! 

They were on a local television while they were here.  You can watch the segment where Kelsey and Sara demo their biscuit making technique.  I thought it was really interesting how the same recipe but two different techniques and bake temps produced two very different looking biscuits. Here's the video.  And here are their recipes.

[Chit Chat]

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 9:17 AM, seltzer3 said:

I do think Kelsey deserved to win, but I realized her basket ingredients were cashews, cabbage, and oranges.  To be honest, it didn't even look like she even higlighted them.

In the above video that Irlandesa posted, there's a clip of the latest show.  Kelsey was giving a description of what she was making, and she said that she was making a "sour citrusy chili sauce with cilantro and green onion."   I'm not sure where the cashews and cabbage were, but we do know that the orange was in there!  She might've substituted the cabbage for the traditional greens southerners typically use for their New Year's dinner. 

Thanks for that link, Irlandesa.   Kelsey mentioned in that video how the humidity here plays a role in how she does her biscuits, so I might need to take that into account too.  The humidity here can really be a bitch to deal with!  It's easy to forget how that can play a role (just like altitude does in other states) with certain recipes.  I appreciate everybody staging this biscuit intervention for me!  Lord knows I need it.  🙂 

[biakbiak]

Kelsey had cashews sprinkled on top of the dish and when they showed a close up of it at judges table you could see it had Bok Choy. When Padma talked about the challenge she just stated that they had to use all of the ingredients and couldn’t use any of the other chefs ingredients not that it had to be the star of the dish probably because some of the ingredients were a lot broader than others.  

When Adrienne was brainstorming the dish everything she said was a lot more interesting than what she ended up doing. 

Edited March 4, 2019 by biakbiak

[HappyDancex2]

I didn’t realize Sara made a ham hock broth.  They were complaining that it was salt forward.  Hee 

She’s going to her well for sure.  Guess next episode we recycle pot beans.

Agree with others that Tom seems muted and disinterested.  At least that’s how he’s being edited.  He doesn’t say anything with much passion.  He’s almost there for the snotty one liners.  And way too much Padma talking.  She’s the least qualified person there.   Maybe the show has run it’s course?   Or maybe they can sense they about to crown the essence of Hosea 2.0 as top chef and they are bummed?

[carrps]

18 hours ago, WendyM said:

 I don't think there were weak chefs this time around. YMMV, of course.

My MMV. I think this has been overall a weak crop of chefs. Very limited and always going to the same wheelhouse. A lot of the food seemed so familiar and over done. Maybe because this season was so Kentucky-centric and everything seemed to play to that. At least the Kentucky tourism board has gotten their money's worth!

[Eulipian 5k]

So far we have Eric whose food is Ghanaian/West African, and Sara whose food is Kentucky/Southern; have the other finalists declared "their" food? The finals are usually "Cook your food".  What kind of place, cuisine, would these chefs open up if they win?

Is Kelsey's cuisine Southern? If the RW was during its regular time on the schedule I think her RW win and skills would have had a different impact than occurring so early in the season.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Eulipian 5k
fake news!

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, Eulipian 5k said:

think her RW win and skills would have had a different impact than occurring so early in the season.

Kelsey didn’t win RW. Her team (Nini, Justin, And David) was on the bottom. The winning team was Adrienne, Eric, Eddie and Brian with Brian winning.

Edited March 4, 2019 by biakbiak

[Lamb18]

On 2/28/2019 at 8:29 PM, zibnchy said:

Really dislike Kelsey but I know lots of people love her and she's probably going to win because she's blandly pretty, white, and young. And she can cook OK.

I'm trying to think of a Top Chef winner who fits into this category. Ilan? Kevin? Must be Blaise! I guess Brooke would be the closest.

[breezy424]

On 3/3/2019 at 7:58 PM, LucindaWalsh said:

Try this one, complete with pictures. It is how my southern friend makes hers and they are the best. I have even mastered them (a yankee!) although I use shortening instead of lard. I also do them the cutter size in the pictures (tea biscuits, for showers/parties) or a normal larger cutter size for meals/breakfasts. I also have mastered making the dough into a large log and pinching off the size I want and delicately shaping it into a ball, to be pressed down a bit in the pan. Also, a key trick is to take a block of time and just make a batch, then make another batch, and then another. It doesn't take long and biscuits are truly a thing you have to do often in order to get that "touch" mastered. Once you do, you don't mess them up.

http://www.tasteofsouthern.com/mini-biscuits-recipe/

Back on topic. I am not against Eric but ever since I read here that he has been on several (or at least one other) cooking show competitions I have been meh on him. I don't have much energy to give to reality show jumpers. I think that was my problem with Blaise. He seemed overall to want to be more a personality on tv than a chef with a business.

I hope it is a Kelsey and Michelle showdown. I think they both incorporated something common (lettuce wrap trend and then black eye peas for New Year's Day) into something for the theme/location of the challenge this episode. 

I liked Sarah's ingredients, just wish she had not equated it to shrimp and grits. I guess her dish needed some tweaking (several pounds of butter was a cute response) but I did get where she was going in her idea and wish it had worked. I love cauliflower and like that it is being used a lot more yet hate that it is being disguised as something else. On the discussion of Sarah and her appearance. I think she is one of those who can look like a slob and then do a turn around and look fantastic. She doesn't need a stitch of makeup in my opinion, she has flawless skin and a pretty face. Most of the others, male and female, have been shown with sweaty, greasy faces, which is more unappealing to me than not wearing makeup. I think her hair is her downfall, appearance wise. If she would pull it up neatly, in a tight bun or braid, with no whisps falling out, it would do wonders for keeping her from looking unkempt, which I don't think she is. She reminds me of Vivian Howard from A Chef's Life; she also struggles with her hair  has a tendency to look ragged after a hectic meal on her show :).  She looked lovely during the quickfire challenge. She also looked great during the meal they were treated to by white glasses guy. I had no issue with her manners at all, she was relaxed among her peers.  I also think the lash out during the wafflegate was a one off for her. I think she is probably a pretty nice person and it did catch her off guard at the time and hurt her. She did immediately apologize (though the show took that to the next episode) and that boosts my opinion that she isn't an overly sensitive twit. 

A thing I noticed that hasn't been discussed is that it was really weird how the judges reacted when Adrienne walked up to them after being eliminated. Padma and Tom were, I don't know, a bit off, flustered, something. The whole moment was odd.

Michelle was on Guy's Grocery Games a couple of times:

https://www.michelleminori.com/about-1

Sorry.  Just an FYI.  I do like her but Kelsey seems to be the best overall to me.  It's so frustrating not being able to actually taste the food on these shows.  But who knows there may be some future technology....

[JTMacc99]

13 hours ago, LucindaWalsh said:

eta I do give Michelle the side eye for the grocery game though! 

It actually slightly changes my perception of her... in a positive way. Going on these shows, any of these shows, requires quite a bit of self confidence. Do I think she wants to be a TV chef? No. Do I think she wants to challenge herself in a way that might be outside of her comfort zone? Yes.

But I could totally be wrong about that. We'll see in a few years if she's somehow all over my TV screen.

[Rai]

I mean, Fatima was on Chopped (and won and was endearing there too). It's not automatically a sin to have been in more than one culinary competition. 

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, Rai said:

I mean, Fatima was on Chopped (and won and was endearing there too). It's not automatically a sin to have been in more than one culinary competition. 

It’s also filmed in Santa Rosa so a lot of Bay Area chefs end up doing it because unlike most other shows they don’t have to go anywhere so the time commitment is just a day.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, LucindaWalsh said:

television personalities. 

All of those shows you mentioned are chefs being interested in being television personalities for a variety of reasons many to help them build their brand to help their restaurants succeed on increasingly narrow margins of trying to provide better wages and benefits etc. David Chang has touched on it in various episodes of his podcast.

[Rai]

I've seen chefs from Top Chef and related competitive shows also be on Mind of a Chef, Bourdain's shows, etc. I guess I just find it a case by case basis. Someone like Phillip from season 13 does come off as a publicity whore, eager to shove his face out there for praise and to be a personality, but someone like Stephanie Izard who has now won both Top Chef and the Next Iron Chef AND was on an episode or two of Bourdain's Chicago shows -- she's doing the TV thing for publicity, sure, but her restaurant empire is steadily growing with real acclaim.

But ya know, IMO, YMMV, yaddayaddayadda, blahblahblahcompetitioncakes. I wouldn't have guessed Eric had been on other shows nor Michelle because they don't give off thirsty vibes. So I'm for them getting theirs.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Rai

[Macbeth]

On 3/4/2019 at 11:30 AM, carrps said:

My MMV. I think this has been overall a weak crop of chefs. Very limited and always going to the same wheelhouse. A lot of the food seemed so familiar and over done. 

I agree.  I haven't watched for a couple of years.  The last season I watched the finale was in Mexico.  And it seemed the chefs boned up on the local cuisine.  Knew what type of food was served and put it in their wheelhouse.  

This season - they go into a local market and point at food and the exchange is "What's that?"  "I don't know." "How about that?"  "I don't know."

And that is the reason why salty shrimp and grits got served.  And the fact that it didn't eliminate Sarah shows how extremely low the standards are.

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, Macbeth said:

I agree.  I haven't watched for a couple of years.  The last season I watched the finale was in Mexico.  And it seemed the chefs boned up on the local cuisine.  Knew what type of food was served and put it in their wheelhouse.  

This season - they go into a local market and point at food and the exchange is "What's that?"  "I don't know." "How about that?"  "I don't know."

If you are referring to the season with Mei and Geoffrey as the final two, they had a lot more time between the end of the regular season and when they went to Mexico. Mei even went and spent a few weeks with Bryan Voltaggio to get some knew skills under their belt. This season it was only two weeks between the end of filming in Kentucky and the finale. Add in the fact that often things aren’t marked at all in the market of course there was more confusion.

The judges have said the quality of the food is extremely high and they are nitpicking in order to eliminate people so I will go with them since they are the ones tasting the food.

Edited March 7, 2019 by biakbiak

[carrps]

24 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

The judges have said the quality of the food is extremely high and they are nitpicking in order to eliminate people so I will go with them since they are the ones tasting the food.

Just playing devil's advocate...of course, the judges say that. They always do. It's their job to boost the show. But, as you said, we can't truly know.