Top Chef Starts Tonight!

[skilletlicker]

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They purposefully pick personalities that will differ and clash.

Without doubt that is true. The initial selection also is deliberately intended to represent different levels of training, sophistication, experience, and age. The idea is clearly to give as many people as possible at least one contestant with whom they can easily identify.

And I believe they have a pretty good idea who will win very early on.

I think they know from the beginning which ones have the best chance due to their skills, training, and experience.

But they have to maintain certain flashy/contentious personalities for as long as they can, otherwise no one will watch. Pare away all but the quiet folks and there are no ratings.

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But I think the person who walks is chosen partly because of his/her performance but more importantly who will not disturb the ratings too much.

They have to maintain a tension there or else the theater part of the show is lost.
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The implication is that the game is fixed and, while I wouldn't bet life on it, I very seriously doubt that is the case.

 

[jkath]

Ted Allen had a good point at the judges' table. He said that while watching Betty and Ilan pick on Marcel, it did make for interesting entertainment, but he specifically said that it in no way had anything to do with the actual judging of the chefs. The food itself was judged.


Stinemates, I also didn't care for Steven in last year's competition, that is, until I saw the show where they all got together, just before the finale. They let their guards down and just talked, frankly. Steven publicly apologized for being such a snot, and he earned my respect in that moment.
I can't see Marcel doing the same thing, but stranger things have happened.

Ironchef - long time no chat! I knew I'd see you here, tho. Good point on reading the blogs - you really get a great insight when you can see other people's points of view.

Have you all voted for your fan favorite and entered the "top chef dinnner" yet?

 

[ChefJune]

For a better insight and for more interesting info on the show, go to the website and read the blogs. They have blogs for all of the judges plus Harold and Lee Anne.

plus Harold and Lee Anne hmmmm wonder whatever happened to Tiffani!

Marcel is the "Stephen" of this version..... He'll be bone very soon.

My prediction for top 3 are Sam, Elia and Cliff. I like Ilan, too, but somehow I see him not there....

 

[jennyema]

Also, don't forget that this format where the camera basically runs constanly allows the producers to "paint" whatever picture they care to via the editing process. They can create drama, spin themes and almost create personalities by showing us only what they want us to see. I am sure that 99% of what actually goes on is never shown.

Example: Elia's "meltdown" when they didn't like her quickfire dish. It just seemed so contrived, and even more so when she won the elimination challenge. Another example: Cliff said Marcel helped him pick out food during the color challenge because Cliff is color blind. That would have been interesting to see, but that would, perhaps, have detracted from the "Marcel-is-a-jerk" theme of the day.

Just my 2 cents on a show I really like for the food.

 

[aguynamedrobert]

You know, I used to like Top Chef but does anyone notice that it is getting more and more filled with not so good of things. I mean the cooking is second now. It all comes down to gossip, slander, hate, pride, arogance, lust, etc....I mean since when are those the types of things that we ENJOY to watch? I am kind of tired of all the filth that they show and promote on the show so I am going to have to say that I am no longer watching the show....does anyone else feel the same way?

Have a good one,
Robert
Chocolate Guild :: learn about chocolate, talk about chocolate

 

[Corinne]

Here's the answer to where Padma got that scar:
BRAVOtv.com : Blogs : The Dish

 

[jennyema]

Adios Michael ....

 

[buckytom]

yup, mikey's gone. that was a given, before hawaii anyway.

marcel might be a pita, but he is talented. i still wanna ignite his cartoonish hair with all of that gel in it, though.

elia really takes the judgements hard. she looked terrified as they dismissed her.
i'm smitten, and she's growing on me...

i'm not sure if i like ilan anymore. he takes cheap shots, only some of which i respect.

 

[jpinmaryland]

I just saw the show where Michael gets axed, and I dont know if it's the most recent or what. Somethings I found wrong with this episode:

The contestants were asked to do too many things: concept, then design the thing, then set it up w/ service, then greet then cook. How are the judges supposed to know who is doing what throughout this endeavor, and it puts such a premium on so many different skill sets there is no way to tell why one group or chef was better than another. It looked like Elia's group was more technically proficient but who knows?

When it came time to the dinner they had all the guests fill out little cards, about the food. But that wasnt what the entire contest was about. There was more too it than that. If any thing the guests should have had to score them on design concept, decor, service, food, creativity, etc. It wasnt about just the food and this leads to problems in scoring it and tyring to figure out why one team came out better or worse.

The outcome seeed too influenced by outside factors. It seemed Michael's group was messed up by the designer who arrived with only two hours to spare and this put a premium on how much time they had for the food. I guess both sides labored under this but if one of designers doesnt perform this messes up one side more than the rest. This is not a fair way to run a contest.

Again, how is the judging supposed to work? It was to be based on carrying out all these functions and yet how are the judges supposed to know who did what job? They bagged Michael for not pulling his load in terms of having money left over etc. But when it came to Marcel, well, his chicken wings were raw, but the tempura made up for it. Hello? They are judging him on taste, but Michael on purchases and food prep. What if they were to judge Marcel on his team play?

If they wanted to find the most egregious mistake maybe they should have blamed Michaels two teammates who didnt get wine. That seemed the most glaring mistake.

But again they are putting the players into a team role, they are giving the team multiple tasks and then the team is influenced by external factors. Then are trying to find one loser in all that. It is complicated to try to figure out what went wrong (other than obviously over ambitious producers) much less who was the on culprit in all this.

Again the producers here were too ambitious, having these guys try too many things. Good creativite show, but lousy execution.

 

[jkath]

jp - read Chef Tom's blog - has a lot of insight: BRAVOtv.com : Blogs : Tom Colicchio's Blog

I knew Mikey would go, but I still love him anyway - what a sweet guy. Cliff surprised me with his temper, but I still think he's got great skills.
I wonder who will make it to Hawaii - hmmmmm.

 

[jennyema]

IMO, this highlights the caveat shown in the show's credits: that the producers also participate in the decision about who is axed.

This just seemed the most obvious example. They kept Mikey on for his oafish "charm" but they could only keep him on for so long. He had to go to make the show have any credibility in a serious culinary sense.

IMO they kept Betty on for longer than they should have to be Marcel's foil.

 

[ironchef]

Well, I for one am glad that Mikey is gone. From and industry standpoint it was almost painful to watch him work sometimes.

Betty was out of her league. BUT, she did have some nice concepts. Her execution and flavor profiles were just not there.

I think it will come down to Cliff vs. Marcel.

 

[jkath]

and who would you put as the third finalist?

 

[ironchef]

and who would you put as the third finalist?

Not sure, but don't think it will matter. I think Cliff and Marcel will be in the final two heads up battle...or did they change the format from last year?

 

[jkath]

Wasn't there three last year? Harold, Steven and Tiffani
Remember, Steven would have done better, but he didn't do enough dishes.

 

[ironchef]

Wasn't there three last year? Harold, Steven and Tiffani
Remember, Steven would have done better, but he didn't do enough dishes.

No, it was Harold, Dave, and Tiffani. But then Dave got eliminated and then Harold and Tiffani went head to head.

 

[jkath]

oh whoops! I said Steven!!! I meant Dave! I loved Dave!

 

[jennyema]

My prediction is still Sam, Elia and Ilan. Though after seeing the trailer for next week's show, I bet Ilan was involved is some hazing of Marcel.

So maybe Sam, Cliff and Elia.

Elia is the sleeper in the whole show. Ithink she could win.

 

[jpinmaryland]

Does anyone care to evaluate the remaining contestants in terms of skill sets? I.e. can you rate them in tems of personality, culinary skill, creativity, etc?

I will try to start but have only paid attention to the last three shows:

Elia: I think she's got a lot of technical skills, not sure how creative she is that is probably a weak pt. that will bring her down. Has some personality problems in terms of leadership but I think she is a good team player overall. Doesnt take critcism well probably not a big deal. I think she can get to the last 2 or 3 but unlikely to win if it comes down to creativity.

Marcel. Obviously has a lot of technical skills. Not sure of his creativity, on the one hand perhaps he relies on foam etc. too much but I think his choices for flavors and foods are probably right on. Obviously has personality issues, but if that is less of criterion he may have the best chance to win, could still be undone at the end if he happens to rely on foam or something.

Cliff. I think he's got pretty good technique, I think he's creative too. I have yet to see him really eff up a dish, not that I recall. Personality has some issues, probably wont catch up with him though as marcel and his foils are more likely to have problems. I think he has an outside shot as he has less chance of messing up and he's competent in most skill sets.

Ilan. I think thats his name. He can still make some mistakes. Not sure how creative he is, probably doesnt have the total skill set of Elia or Marcel. Personality clashes, w/ Marcel, doesnt seem that big a deal. I dont see how he wins this, as he doesnt seem to have any overpowering skill over the others whatever he does is likely to be overshadowed by someone else.

Sam. I guess he burned the bacon in the last episode so you have to wonder. Not sure about his creativity. Maybe others hvae a better feel.

OVerall I think Marcel may have the best chance, but could easily stumble. If Marcel doesnt mess up, and everything goes well, I think only Cliff might have an outside shot w/ something creative. If Marcel does mess up then I think Elia or Cliff, maybe Elia has a better chance w/ Marcel out.? I think what Im saying is Elia is more likely to stumble than Cliff and then take herself out. But if she doesnt stumble, she's competent enuf to put up a decent dish.

I would like to think what you all think about that.

 

[ironchef]

My prediction is still Sam, Elia and Ilan. Though after seeing the trailer for next week's show, I bet Ilan was involved is some hazing of Marcel.

So maybe Sam, Cliff and Elia.

Elia is the sleeper in the whole show. Ithink she could win.

I forgot about Sam...

Ok, Cliff vs. Sam then. But I think Marcel will be the third over Elia.