S16.E15: Finale

[MartyQui]

4 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

II have some of my grandmother's cookwear - baking items from the 1930s -, my great-aunt's 9 x 13 blue enameled baking pan. I think it's cool Kelsey brought her great-grandmother's tins.

One of my great regrets is the loss of my great grandmother’s cast iron skillet.  My aunt probably threw it away because it was old.

I would have happily eaten any of those meals...including Eric’s.  Worth a trip to DC to try his restaurant.

[Bucket]

Kelsey's menu is far more interesting than Sarah's.  I am glad she won.  And no where does she use the hackneyed 'farm to table' claim.   

https://www.eatkbc.com/menu

[Chit Chat]

42 minutes ago, tpplay said:

I'm flabbergasted by this.  She was maybe my least favorite, or at least in the bottom 3.

The local news has been following her journey on TC, so I'm sure that garnered her a lot of viewers in this area.  I quit watching TC years ago, and when I read that someone local was competing, well, I was all in! 

So, the possibilities for fan favorite could be:  a) A strong voting bloc in this and the surrounding areas; b) other chefs not getting much exposure in their home towns; c) most viewers liked her!   Could be a combination of all of those things.  I was just happy to see that she is a genuinely nice person.  There have been some mighty big egos on TC over the years!  She helped make the local finale party last night a chance to focus on our local animal shelters.  They asked for donations of money or food for the shelters.  From the pictures in the paper, there was a big turnout.  

 I hope the other chefs had similar positive experience in their communities.  I hope they all have lots of hungry diners knocking on their restaurant doors too!  

Edited March 16, 2019 by ChitChat

[whinewithwine]

4 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

She helped make the local finale party last night a chance to focus on our local animal shelters. 

That sealed the deal for me, although I I would have been happy either way.  

I love oysters any kind of way...anybody see her recipe for those at the final table?

[jaybird2]

12 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I’ve been friends with Kelsey for a while, so I am super happy she won. I told her going into this that all she needed to do was cook from her heart.

Since moving and having cable instead of satellite, I don’t have Bravo and have to watch online. But reading the weekly comments I don’t think I missed much.

hey cooksdelight!  good seeing you again!  I really enjoyed this season.  the chefs were very pleasant to each for the most part and i appreciated that.  in the  past there has always been several jerks and it was nice that there weren't any real jerks.  I also enjoyed the fact that southern cuisine shined.  especially boiled peanuts!!

[Mountainair]

I was hoping for an Eric win but I guess Kelsey was the next best thing. I didn't mind Sarah but I thought that of the two Kelsey had better food all season. 

I'm from the south and used to love, love, love boiled peanuts until I mysteriously developed a raw peanut allergy. I can eat processed peanuts all day long but peanuts straight from the shell do bad things to me. I've never been a fan of cornbread though. 

[theatremouse]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

When the three of them went out to get some "egg tarts"--  as soon as I saw them I had a flash back to another reality show fave of mine-- the Great British Baking Show where they did Pastéis de Nata -- which are of course Portuguese. 

The pastry for the tart shell is slightly different for Pasteis de Nata and Chinese egg tarts. I prefer the latter but they're both damn good. When I saw the three of them getting egg tarts it made me want to go out and get a bunch this weekend.

[dgpolo]

27 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

So, the possibilities for fan favorite could be:  a) A strong voting bloc in this and the surrounding areas; b) other chefs not getting much exposure in their home towns; c) most viewers liked her!   Could be a combination of all of those things. 

Or, it could be there were 2 very strong contenders that split the vote and made way for a third party to win.

[Ashforth]

3 hours ago, Kaiju Ballet said:

Give Eric his own restaurant

Who should "give" Eric a restaurant? He has his own catering business, and is no slouch when it comes to self-promotion (his wife seems to be a great publicist). You don't make People magazine's "Sexiest whatever" by sitting on your hands.

I expected to like him based on pre-show publicity and wanted to love him and his food, but I didn't. By the time of his final talking head after his elimination, I felt pretty insulted at the repeated insistence that we rubes need to be educated about West African food. Despite the quote from the Washington Post that was posted above, to me it did feel preachy. As many posters have pointed out during this season, American southern food and various Caribbean cuisines are very heavily influenced by African food culture and are known and loved by the uneducated North American masses. Gumbo, anyone?

Don't start your crusade by condescending and telling your audience that they are ignorant.

If his food is that great, he would have done better in the competition. He's been on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and Top Chef and didn't win any of them. I have to think that speaks for his food.

Also, the notion that Kelsey won because she's pretty is extremely insulting to her. She won because her finale food was the best, that was obvious.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Ashforth

[heavysnaxx]

13 hours ago, Ellee said:

Well ... that was nice enough.  It’s all I got. 

Who fried whatever was burnt on Eric’s dish?  I’m kind of glad ‘they’ didn’t make a big deal of it.  Lol ... hope mentioning it doesn’t make me making a big deal of it.  Sounded to me like the judges were picking to be ‘picking’ on the food  

Yeah, I was strangely unexcited about the outcome.

Michelle fried the lotus root chips. And it Michelle who warned Eric that they have a tendency to burn fast and he shouldn't go with a thicker slice because they'd have to be in the oil that much longer. A warning that Eric ignored.

11 hours ago, AriAu said:

Is there a west African dish that is like tartare? Eric might have done better if he called it that since he was in trouble with an over-seasoned tartare since in that dish, the main protein is always supposed to be the star.

I'm not sure why but my first thought when they heard the assignment about cooking the meal of their lives was, "For gods sake, no crudos, no tartares." And the thought when we saw the minced tenderloin? "Oh Tom's gonna complain the spice overwhelms the beef flavor." TBH, tenderloin is awfully bland so while I get the choice, texture-wise, even I would question pairing jerk spices with it.

[gingerella]

Uch, I really have loathed Kelsey since the first episode, I cant believe she actually won. I feel that while Eric did make the mistake on insisting the lotus chips be thicker, he should have been in the finale. Kelsey just seems like the Tom favorite who can do no wrong, and I've been really put off by her cutsie demeanor. She strikes me as a woman who's gotten by on her looks most of her life. YMMV.

As for Padma and Tom, IMO they are stale as week old bread and need to be replaced. Bring back Gail as the lead judge to replace Tom, and get some new blood in there stat!

[janeyjay]

6 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Yikes, it's Eric that goes! That's too bad but I'm glad for Kelsey and Sarah. Alabama vs. Kentucky, sounds like football or basketball. I wonder if the schools are in the same conference.

They are indeed in the same conference -- the Southeastern Conference -- albeit in different divisions (Alabama is in the SEC West, Kentucky is in the SEC East.) And this was much like football, with Alabama winning. Had Sara won, then it would have been akin to basketball. 

[Chit Chat]

41 minutes ago, gingerella said:

Kelsey just seems like the Tom favorite who can do no wrong, and I've been really put off by her cutsie demeanor.

She had her share of criticism, as did the rest of them!  I would hardly say she could do no wrong in their eyes.  I remember one dish being likened to a salt lick.   What I did pick up from some of their favorable critique of her was that the skill she used in layering many of her dishes was apparently very good. That and the "thoughtfulness" in her meals.

46 minutes ago, gingerella said:

She strikes me as a woman who's gotten by on her looks most of her life.

Her Mom said that she's been cooking since she was very young and I believe she said that she catered a wedding at age 15.  She was also baking cakes for people too.   Good looks doesn't equate to great cooking skills.  She had to learn it and earn it.    She strikes me as woman who worked extremely hard at her craft and worked her way to the top.  

[whinewithwine]

8 hours ago, kicksave said:

Sara is a kick ass chef but isn't as personable and is frumpy

I totally disagree on the "frumpy" comment.  She cooked some great food, managed her garden better than the others, and was gracious to the end.  Props to both her and Kelsey.  I think what Tom said about them both at the judging table sums it up for me.  And I doubt we'll hear "I choked"...<Blais> from Sara.

Edited March 16, 2019 by whinewithwine
because I can't stand him

[Ashforth]

18 minutes ago, whinewithwine said:

I totally disagree on the "frumpy" comment.  She cooked some great food, managed her garden better than the others, and was gracious to the end.  Props to both her and Kelsey.  I think what Tom said about them both at the judging table sums it up for me.  

Exactly.What male chef on TC has been disparaged as "frumpy"? That's just sexist bullshit. 

Edited March 16, 2019 by Ashforth

[Yeah No]

Late to the party due to boiler issues - All toasty now, thankfully.  Some thoughts:

I was really tossed up over who I wanted to win as I liked all three of them.  I definitely think Sara got a much better edit as the season wore on and it looks like it was deserved given the abundant good will she shared with other contestants, and her heartwarming friendship with Kelsey.  I agree with the poster above that said it looked like Sara tried too hard in the finale.  But to the observation that Tom didn't say it was that close so that meant it wasn't, I disagree.  It looked like both Sara's and Kelsey's performance was pretty evenly matched and the decision was not all that easy to make.

I also didn't love the suggestion that Sara lost because she was frumpy.  I prefer to believe that this show does not choose its winners on personality or appearance but keeps it about the food, or we would have never had such personality duds as Ilan and Hosea.

Because I genuinely liked all three of them it was sad to see Eric eliminated first and not able to make the rest of his meal.  He is just about the only person ever on TV to actually make me want to learn more about African food, and convince me that I might actually like it.  I've had it in the Bronx because a friend used to take me to a restaurant there, but I admit I never developed a taste for it.  I think my experience with it was too limited because Eric's food looked much better than what I had.

I was tickled to see that the exciting looking market they shopped in was part of the Yaohan company.  I actually go way back with them over 30 years as they used to own a huge market in River Edge, NJ that my parents and I used to go to regularly for authentic Japanese food.  I learned so much about Japanese food from going to that place.  It was the first place I ever saw the little dried "fish snacks" with the eyes still in them, LOL.  And the food court had some good food at reasonable prices, too.  Going there felt like the next thing to actually being in Japan.  The market is still there but is now owned by Mitsuwa.

All told, this was a good season that I will remember in positive terms.  I hope that both Sara and Eric will be seen again on another "All Stars" season in the future.

[Yeah No]

I just read some of the later comments - Kelsey got by on her looks?  Sara looks like she fell out of bed?  Whuh??  I agree with @Ashforth, that's just sexist bullshit.  And I'm a woman that wouldn't be caught dead in public without mascara and lip gloss, too.  No one criticizes the male chefs for being frumpy or getting by on their looks.  Why is it that women always have to be judged for their appearance rather than their talent?  This is Top Chef, not "Top Fashionista". 

[Mellowyellow]

I may have gotten teary at the end!

Was happy with either lady winning. 

Sarah was so gracious and natural in her happiness for Kelsey. I also loved that despite not winning and probably feeling crushed, she took the time to urge Kelsey to go hug her family. The way she conducted herself, her confession about feeling disappointed really says a lot about her.

Going against the grain I really liked Tom and Padma in this episode. Both we very thoughtful in the way they addressed the contestants and Padma in particular said so many lovely things to the ladies. It all felt very supportive and positive.

My only gripe is that the elimination of Eric at that point in time seems unnecessarily cruel. Eliminate the third person earlier! No need to pull them and their team mid meal prep. It's mean.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Mellowyellow

[Giselle]

I wanted Kelsey to win. Her food sounded good to me. Glad she succeeded. 

When she said cornbread and clabber I was curious as how she was going to pull it off. With buttermilk always in my fridge it made me want to make a pan of cornbread and get my grandpa's big heavy goblet down that he always used to eat that in.

I must admit I have never liked Sara and while she had some occasional interesting dishes I was surprised she made it this far. I felt her "I use tamarind all the time" and "I grew up on Carolina Gold rice" to be as inflated as the first time she was on a team competition and then throughout this season. I've always felt she over promised and under performed and should have been eliminated back on that basketball court.

If you do research, Carolina Gold Rice foundation, Anson Mills, Serious Eats, they say Carolina Gold  was almost extinct. It wasn't brought back until 1986 and really wasn't sustainable until the late 90s. 

Sara made it sound like it was on the family table every night.

She was gracious at the end.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Giselle
Clarity

[Giselle]

On 3/14/2019 at 11:12 PM, biakbiak said:

That was certainly not worse than Sara saying to Eric and Kelsey “May the best lady win”, not that I had a problem with either.

I could have ate all six of those dan tat’s in under 5 minutes! I love them so, I think I will have to go to Golden Gate Bakery which is the best place closest to me tomorrow. 

I was rooting for Eric but was happy with all three and thought the food was strong across the board and looked great.

I've been there...on Grant. Yum! When ever I'm up there that place, the wok shop and the Golden Gate Cookie Co. on Ross for fortune cookies are always on the list of stops.

I would have been ok with Eric or Kelsey winning.

20 hours ago, LBS said:

What happened to Kelsey’s crawfish?  I can’t recall what happened to it.  

I’m bummed that Eric lost.  His story was a lot more interesting than the other two IMO

They went into the buttermilk soup.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Giselle

[LennieBriscoe]

biakbiak, You reminded me of the one Ethiopian restaurant I've ever been to,  decades ago in D. C. I loved my meal,  right down to eating the flatbread "plate"!

Ya know,  except for the "Eddie Money" episode, I've already forgotten this season.  

Yeah No, Like I said,  I've forgotten much already.  But as for people's never criticizing the physical or sartorial appearance of TC males: Just read this thread for comments on Graham! 

Edited March 16, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[Spaceman Spiff]

2 hours ago, Giselle said:

I must admit I have never liked Sara and while she had some occasional interesting dishes I was surprised she made it this far. I felt her "I use tamarind all the time" and "I grew up on Carolina Gold rice" to be as inflated as the first time she was on a team competition and then throughout this season. I've always felt she over promised and under performed and should have been eliminated back on that basketball court.

Sara did seem middle of the road for most of the competition, but did seem to start doing well toward the end. To me the telling part was when the chefs first sat down and watched the video's of their time on TC.

Each video ending with, "and the winner is Kelsey, and the winner is Kelsey, Kelsey, Kelsey, and the winner is Eric, Eric, Eric, Eric, and the winner is Sara. Her name was only shown being called once as the winner, so if she had won the finale it would have been a huge accomplishment, but I think I would have felt robbed that a chef who did better during the season didn't win.

[Chit Chat]

6 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

My only gripe is that the elimination of Eric at that point in time seems unnecessarily cruel. Eliminate the third person earlier! No need to pull them and their team mid meal prep. It's mean.

I agree.  I hated for that to happen to any of them.  IIRC, Eric, Sara & Kelsey were fairly consistent throughout the competition.  Not always on the top, but not always in the bottom 3, with a few wins here and there.  I guess a comparison of the tortoise and the hare saying of "slow and steady wins the race" might just apply to this type of competition.  Even if one person was winning the majority of the challenges, it really does come down to that final meal.  They've got to put everything they've learned throughout the competition into that final effort, and as Kelsey said, she knew she had to be perfect with that meal, but mistakes are going to happen and you just have to roll with it. 

As we say in life, shit happens.  No matter how good you are at something, you've either got Murphy's Law to deal with, or some other obstacle appears.  In everything one has to adapt.  I think it's very brave of all of the chefs to go on this show and put their reputation on the line.  It's a daunting task!  

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Yeah No, Like I said,  I've forgotten much already.  But as for people's never criticizing the physical or sartorial appearance of TC males: Just read this thread for comments on Graham! 

I've acknowledged and spoken out about the Graham criticism in the past, but what disturbed me about the recent comments about the women was that they were being made about contestants as if their appearance should or might have something to do with their winning or losing the entire competition.  Like I agreed, it's just sexist BS and I don't remember anyone ever insinuating that any of the male contestants' appearance should or might have anything to do with their success or lack thereof on this show.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

My only gripe is that the elimination of Eric at that point in time seems unnecessarily cruel. Eliminate the third person earlier! No need to pull them and their team mid meal prep. It's mean.

I agree, and I thought that myself.  Maybe I've forgotten, but I don't remember that being the way this show went down in the past.  Is that something new?  What really sucked about it is Eric would have had to plan and shop for the entire 3 courses plus his sous chefs would have had to do the prep, etc., only to find out mid stream that they weren't going to actually finish and serve them.  I agree that it's completely unnecessary and seems nasty.  Either eliminate the 3rd person in the previous episode or have them all serve all three courses, eliminate one, then perhaps have the final two make one dish head-to-head to decide between them.

[Norma Desmond]

By the judge's comments, it was obvious that Kelsey would win, and yes, she seemed to be Tom's favorite. I was rooting for Sara, but in all fairness, they all seemed to like Kelsey's menu better. IMO Sara made 3 strategic mistakes: Not having a dessert (Gregory lost to Mei in a similar fashion; she made a wonderful dessert and he had none, and when comparing menus, it is a big disadvantage), no sauce on the duck and having her first dish be a "punch them in the face with flavor!" thing. I think a progressive menu has to be like what one of the guest chefs on the table said: Start with a "knocking gently on the door" dish and from there you present dishes that are stronger and more "punch them in the face". Oh well. Congrats, Kelsey. I always knew she would be in the finale, I thought it would be her and Eddie because both got the "winner's edit" early on.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Norma Desmond

[Chit Chat]

4 minutes ago, Norma Desmond said:

I think a progressive menu has to be like what one of the guest chefs on the table said: Start with a "knocking gently on the door" dish and from there you present dishes that are stronger and more "punch them in the face".

Kelsey said she should've put the crab dish out earlier and then wowed them with the other entrees.  The crab dish was somewhat of a letdown for the judges compared to what she served before that, and she recognized her mistake after she did it.   Oh well, at least the other 3 plates she served were a big hit!

FWIW, I never disliked Sara.  I would've been fine with any of the top 3 winning TC.  They all seemed deserving of the title.  

Speaking of Eddie, poor guy, he rarely seems happy.  I wish him and the rest of them much success in the future.  

[Ashforth]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I agree, and I thought that myself.  Maybe I've forgotten, but I don't remember that being the way this show went down in the past.  Is that something new?  What really sucked about it is Eric would have had to plan and shop for the entire 3 courses plus his sous chefs would have had to do the prep, etc., only to find out mid stream that they weren't going to actually finish and serve them.  I agree that it's completely unnecessary and seems nasty.  Either eliminate the 3rd person in the previous episode or have them all serve all three courses, eliminate one, then perhaps have the final two make one dish head-to-head to decide between them.

And what happened to the food? Was it wasted, or was it cooked and eaten?

[Chit Chat]

34 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

And what happened to the food? Was it wasted, or was it cooked and eaten?

I sure hope they fed it to somebody!  If not, what a waste.  I felt bad for Eric and his sous chefs.  He walked back into the kitchen to tell them goodbye, and they had a WTH look.  Probably wondering what they were supposed to do next.  I hope they don't ever do another finale like that again.  

[All That Jazz]

15 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Also, the notion that Kelsey won because she's pretty is extremely insulting to her. She won because her finale food was the best, that was obvious.

Thank you. This notion that a "pretty" woman cannot excel and achieve great things by working her butt off at her passion is toxic. Also the notion that a woman who is not conventionally "pretty" is "frumpy" and therefore unlikable is equally offensive. It was obvious in the finale that Tom admired the two women as accomplished chefs and as human beings. And so do I.

[VintageJ]

I was kind of bummed that Eric didn’t make it to the finals because he was my Top Chef, but Kelsey was my second so I’m okay.  Also, I didn’t feel cheated when he was eliminated because I understood why he was eliminated.  He didn’t listen to one sous chef, Michelle, when she told him that the lotus chips needed to be cut thinner, and listened too much to his other sous chef, Justin, when he kept telling him that more spice in his dish was good.  

I’ve liked all three chefs from the beginning so once Eric was eliminated, I was full on Kelsey, but not mad at Sara.  The thing with Kelsey is that she seemed to be the best chef at thinking very strategically and thoughtfully about her dishes.  She picked her sous chefs based on their knowledge of the cuisine.  I believe she won the boat challenge because as a caterer, she understood that part of the challenge was based on the guests just having a good time.  Her puppy chow as a party favor definitely, in my eyes, helped her win that challenge.  Her dishes looked amazing.  

But I wasn’t mad that Sara made the finale.  She seemed to really grow once she went to Macau and seemed excited about cooking with those flavors.  I think it is one of the reasons she made the finale.  I have a feeling that she is now not only more open to other flavor profiles, but will now actively seek new experiences with food by way of travel.  

I enjoyed this season of Top Chef and am perfectly fine with the finale.  Glad to see such comraderie amongst the chefs.  

As far as the demeanor of the judges, I’m also thinking that Tony Bourdain’s death put a lot of things in perspective for them and that may have tempered the attitudes (not sure if that’s the right word for this but ...), along with the MeToo movement, it seemed that the judges were more mindful about how they came across.  You didn’t see as many (if any) sexual innuendos this season, unlike last season.  And for that I’m happy.

Overall, I’m going to miss my show.

I’m sure Eric will be just fine.  I’m near DC and after doing my Ancestry DNA, have about 23 or 24% Ghanaian (can’t remember the exact percentage) so I would love to check out the flavors.  I would love to do a Ancestry DNA eating/restaurant tour.

[Steph Sometimes]

I rarely notice this kind of thing, but I remember watching the premiere episode and thinking, "They are showing the blonde a lot." 

I was rooting for Kelsey, but would've been fine with any of them winning.

I didn't vote, but as a fan my weird favorite was Eddie, just because he seemed on the verge of panic any time anyone even looked at him. I get really stressed out about things and if I were ever on a realty show, I would probably be reacting to things in a similar way. I empathized, but also found it weirdly amusing. Sorry Eddie.

[chabelisaywow]

Even they say it wasn’t missed,I still think Sara’s lack of a dessert course influenced the judging. 

Sara’s favorite course was the beef course and Eddie cooked that. 

I concur with the poster who said other than the “Eddie Money” episode - I’ve forgotten everything else. 

[dleighg]

9 minutes ago, chabelisaywow said:

Sara’s favorite course was the beef course and Eddie cooked that. 

yeah I wondered about that-- whether the judges knew it and whether that might influence them.

[Mmazeo]

18 hours ago, gingerella said:

Uch, I really have loathed Kelsey since the first episode, I cant believe she actually won. I feel that while Eric did make the mistake on insisting the lotus chips be thicker, he should have been in the finale. Kelsey just seems like the Tom favorite who can do no wrong, and I've been really put off by her cutsie demeanor. She strikes me as a woman who's gotten by on her looks most of her life. YMMV

Wow what could possibly lead you to loathe her from the first episode?  That’s disturbing because I can probably guess why. 

[WendyM]

This finale was refreshing for me because of the lack of past shenanigans: I was sure that when the final two showed up to cook the day of the final meal, their sous chefs would be missing. 

That being said, I didn't like the elimination after the first-course "audition." Just have three finalists.

A great season, IMO! I'll miss Top Chef but it's not the BIGGEST COOKING COMPETITION IN THE WORLD, aka MASTERCHEF JUNIOR! Off I go to snark...

[LeighLeigh]

Where was Pablo?

For those going into Top-Chef-withdrawal-syndrome, may I recommend Top Chef Canada? Season 7 starts April 1 on Food Network Canada. The host is a hoot. edeneats on instagram.

[LeighLeigh]

Anyone else feel that this season was not Top Scallop, but Top Broth?

[Ashforth]

3 minutes ago, LeighLeigh said:

Anyone else feel that this season was not Top Scallop, but Top Broth?

LOL, yes, also not Top Crudo or (sorry, Eric) Top Tartare.

[Chit Chat]

I remember in past TCs when many of them were making a "beautiful sorbet" in order to cleanse the palate. The judges would clap like trained seals when presented with the sorbet.  I haven't heard them mention that one time this season.  It was all about being vinegar/acid forward, or some other spice being either too forward or not forward enough.  All of the baking shows say the same thing too.  Blah, blah, blah forward...…….  

[seltzer3]

Interesting with the guest judges.  

Alvin is the head judge for Masterchef Canada.  The other asian guy, has been a guest judge for Masterchef Australia.  Really weird seeing both of them in a different setting.

Does anyone know what type of bacon that Sarah got instead?

I know that Sarah was a contestant that wasn't well liked for several posters. But she was really classy in her loss.  It was cute of her (when Kelsey was in shock) to tell Kelsey, don't just stand there hug your family.

Edited March 17, 2019 by seltzer3

[kicksave]

On 3/15/2019 at 10:46 PM, whinewithwine said:

I totally disagree on the "frumpy" comment.  She cooked some great food, managed her garden better than the others, and was gracious to the end.  Props to both her and Kelsey.  I think what Tom said about them both at the judging table sums it up for me.  And I doubt we'll hear "I choked"...<Blais> from Sara.

I was speaking in terms of "marketing" the winner...from a production point of view..not my point of view. 

[biakbiak]

20 minutes ago, kicksave said:

I was speaking in terms of "marketing" the winner...from a production point of view..not my point of view. 

Brooke is one of the only recent winners that is out there in ads and stuff and I think that mostly comes from her not the show and being in LA so I don’t think that it’s that big of a consideration. I mean Flamm has not done anything really in terms of marketing.

Edited March 17, 2019 by biakbiak

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

That being said, I didn't like the elimination after the first-course "audition."

Eric had to waste his time shopping and a waste of ingredients.

Quote

The other asian guy, has been a guest judge for Masterchef Australia. 

I did a double take at the bald, Asian judge with glasses (British accent?) - I thought Eddie Huang had lost a lot of weight and became eloquent at first glance.

[freespeech]

All three seemed amazing. 

Kelsey talked more about her background than Eric did, from viewing time.

I think Tom and Padma just went with what they liked. 

If Anthony Bourdain had been there, Eric would have been more in the foreground. 

[nutella fitzgerald]

On 3/16/2019 at 2:05 AM, Yeah No said:

I also didn't love the suggestion that Sara lost because she was frumpy.  I prefer to believe that this show does not choose its winners on personality or appearance but keeps it about the food, or we would have never had such personality duds as Ilan and Hosea.

Honestly, one of the most infuriating things about the discussion of the women’s looks is the fact that it’s made Hosea at all relevant to a discussion taking place in 2019 (I did say one of the most - I can’t call it the worst offender until there’s hand-wringing over Eric making it to the final 3 because of his “sexiest chef” title).

[Totale]

On 3/16/2019 at 8:48 PM, seltzer3 said:

Alvin is the head judge for Masterchef Canada.  The other asian guy, has been a guest judge for Masterchef Australia.  Really weird seeing both of them in a different setting.

Like most sane people I FF through TV commercials, but I could have sworn I saw a flash of Christina Tosi in the first break, too.  And the Web page for Ed Lee's flagship doesn't mention TC, but does mention that he is currently a guest judge on Masterchef.  Perhaps they are all blending into one.

[Yeah No]

On 3/16/2019 at 5:58 PM, LeighLeigh said:

Anyone else feel that this season was not Top Scallop, but Top Broth?

I thought it was Top Fufu.  😉

[Dance4Life]

On 3/15/2019 at 8:12 PM, Ashforth said:

Who should "give" Eric a restaurant? He has his own catering business, and is no slouch when it comes to self-promotion (his wife seems to be a great publicist). You don't make People magazine's "Sexiest whatever" by sitting on your hands.

I expected to like him based on pre-show publicity and wanted to love him and his food, but I didn't. By the time of his final talking head after his elimination, I felt pretty insulted at the repeated insistence that we rubes need to be educated about West African food. Despite the quote from the Washington Post that was posted above, to me it did feel preachy. As many posters have pointed out during this season, American southern food and various Caribbean cuisines are very heavily influenced by African food culture and are known and loved by the uneducated North American masses. Gumbo, anyone?

Don't start your crusade by condescending and telling your audience that they are ignorant.

If his food is that great, he would have done better in the competition. He's been on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and Top Chef and didn't win any of them. I have to think that speaks for his food.

Also, the notion that Kelsey won because she's pretty is extremely insulting to her. She won because her finale food was the best, that was obvious.

We cannot help it! We are not trying to be preachy.

We are not very heavily influenced by African cuisine.

We are West Africans! Yes, folks! We are West Africans! Even if we are white.  We are STILL West Africans! Preachy enough? 😂

The entire culture in the Caribbean is West African which includes our music, religion, language and food. 

(I think what throws people off is that in USA they call themselves African-Americans.  I think they should call themselves West African-American. It would give them a stronger identity.)

You cannot say his food sucks just because he has never won a TV competition.  

There was a Top Chef one season with professional chefs. Was it called Top Chef Masters...???  Cannot remember the name.

But, all those professional chefs were choking left and right.

I knew a bunch of them and their food.

Maybe Eric is bad at cooking completions. Maybe he chokes.

Don’t insult his cooking if you have never had his food in your mouth.

We saw Michelle choke...in Macau. That was really sad to watch.

I was cheering for her.

[Rai]

Having now actually watched the episode, I'm glad that they've gone back to the super early format of one meal, then the next, as opposed to side-by-side tastings. I've long thought that eating two meals at once is a little unfair to the finalists, since how a competitor's dish tastes may not be complimentary to another's. I hope they retain that going forward.

I do agree with the comments that Sara's smooching on the lips was inappropriate, particularly in this era of chef scrutiny. However, all comments on appearances, especially insinuating that Kelsey's looks were the only reason she won, that Sara a. looks frumpy, and b. that's why she didn't win, or the idea that Eric should somehow be more humble/less preachy about his cuisine -- miss me with those. Not here for them. I do not care how a female chef looks, and I think someone who is passionate about their cuisine, especially when it's a relatively unfamiliar one in this competition setting, is going to express oneself firmly. 

(I have never snarked on Graham's body or fashion choices, either, but of the two, I lean toward critiquing his fashion choices since he's there to present himself as an authority, not to do any cooking work, and because you don't need to snark on someone's body when discussing their fashion. Call it the TLo approach.)