First of all…HA! Marcel made the final 2. I was so happy that Colicchio shut down their whiny little, last ditch attempt to scumbag Marcel. It still irritates me that Ilan (or as I call him, Wormtongue) made it to the final 2. Sam probably deserved it more, but I guess they wanted more drama.
Elia lost me too with her pettiness over Marcel. I don’t think he intended for a second to sabotage anything she was cooking. He was a little oblivious, maybe, but I think he made an honest mistake.
I think it’s pretty much a mismatch next week. Marcel will be the next Top Chef and I’ll be happy when it happens just to see the look on Ilan’s face.
I was sorry to see Sam go, too. I was pulling for him sigh
In all honesty, both he and Ilan played it safe. The only difference was Ilan’s using the taro leaf. But I agree with Dio in that they probably chose Ilan for the drama factor.
I’m not a Marcel fan by any means, but I won’t be surprised if he’s named Top Chef next week.
I might’ve made fun of his hair at the beginning of the season, but I truly hope Marcel flambes Ilan next week.
It might just have been editing, but it sure looked like Elia wouldn’t have embarrassed herself with that pathetic crap at the end if Ilan hadn’t instigated.
Mrs. WeHaveCookies and I agree that Sam’s no-heat preparations were just as much “cooking” as everyone else’s work. Wasn’t there even a challenge at some point in this season or last where heat wasn’t allowed to be used? I may just have to start calling him Judge Chef Hypocrichio.
I don’t think I’m going to like the variety of drama that we’re going to get with Ilan involved. It would’ve been more intersting to see the Fan Favorite vs the molecular gastronomist that 79% of the voting viewers wanted to see eliminated.
That 79% figure blew my mind. What show have those people been watching? maybe I just have a knee-jerk impulse to stick up for someone who’s getting bullied but I still don’t get any kind of an asshole vibe from Marcel at all. The stuff they complain about always looks like nothing to me. Like when Elia was whinging on and on because Marcel had the audacity to explain his dishes to the tasters. So what?
I think Marcel is just really into his molecular gastronomy stuff and likes to talk about it. I think he’d probably be an interesting guy to talk to if given a chance. I bet you might even learn something about cooking. I could totally see him as being willing to answer a bunch of questions and explain the reasoning behind the weird kinds of things you see in that style of cooking.
I’m disappointed. I wanted to see Sam as one of the final two.
I used to think Marcel was picked on too, and what Cliff did to him was wrong but you have to wonder. Absolutely no one liked him. Read all the exit interviews. Not one person has liked him ever. I doubt if a whole group got together and decided to hate just one guy for no reason. They’re all living with him, there’s gotta be a reason.
Funny, in all the exit interviews none of the chef’s liked Padma either. Wonder why?
I’m done with reality shows. Like Project Runway, my least favorite person usually wins.
If there was a reason they hated Marcel, they never showed it to us on the show. I can think of several examples where they made phony or exaggerated accusations, though. I think it was just how the group dynamic played out. Any one of them individually might not have acted out that way but the mob mentality can be pretty powerful.
I do too because he was in the bottom a lot, especially in the beginning.
I was listening to the webcast and they said they didn’t take into consideration all of the other challenges in making the final decision and they should have. Sam and even Ilan won the most challenges overall.
I would have liked to see Sam & Elia the final two.
Marcel clearly performed better than Ilan on this challenge, so that makes no sense. They all said they thought Marcel “hit a homerun” this week and implied that he was the "winner’ of the challenge, so to speak. It also looked like they thought Elia was clearly the “loser,” but that they were on the fence between Sam and Ilan. I think Sam (while not my favorite person) had at least been a consistent performer in the kitchen and was maybe the only one who seemed to be able to lead a kitchen. I didn’t like him that much but I thought Sam had probably earned a spot in the F2. I don’t think that Ilan desereved to be there over either Marcel or Sam, and I say that just based on his cooking, not on his behavior.
Clearly Marcel was the favorite of this challenge, that’s for sure. There was no question with the judges that he was one of the winners, if was a matter of deciding who else was going on.
I meant about Marcel being around as long as he was. He didn’t do so well in the beginning and they kept him around or he started to do better. To be honest, I missed a couple shows because I couldn’t stand Betty and was sort of disgusted with the show when she wasn’t let go for cheating.
I liked last season better, it was more about the cooking.
The part I still find confusing is that when they were first discussing Marcel’s dishes they didn’t seem to be all that happy with the pineapple poi, then on the second go round it was a home-run. I just get the feel in between is when the producers came in and insisted on Marcel going on to the final.
Just my opinion, but I feel Ilan lived up best to the challenge concept tonight.
Personally, I don’t know that I like any of the four.
Also, I’m really glad they didn’t take a week out this time to have the group bitch session like they did last season.
Marcel comes across as cocky, but I always get the sense that he doesn’t take himself or anything else overly seriously, including his cockiness. I don’t think he’s truly pompous at the core of his being.
Some of the other folks though…while they may not have projected much condescention and displayed more refined manners, I think many of them were a bit pompous at their cores, including Elia and Ilan. Sam too, though not to as great of a degree. That whole comment about how his watermellon/blue cheese dish would’ve been “huge” if he’d been some famous A-list chef, when it was so obviously disliked by so many…that was pompous. But it was one of the few times he let it show.
I can’t believe they let Sam go, just because he marinated instead of cooking, for ONE DISH. Where as, Marcel has barely skated by on several challenges. Plus, that pineapple crap he made wasn’t cooked either. I don’t think Marcel tries to be an egotistical ass, it just happens. But, the “works well with others” thing, plays a big part in being a chef.
Big booo! for Elia. I can’t believe she was stupid enough to get suckered into trying to flame Marcel while the other two just stood there. I loved it when she finally realized what was happening and asked “Am I alone here?” and Sam just said “no, no, you go ahead, we are listening”.
And when they showed them sitting around brainstorming what could they accuse Marcel of. Please, how threatened must you feel to go to that extreme?
At any rate, Sam should have gone over Ilan, by far. Marcel had to continue and Elia had to go. They got that right.
You don’t have to wait - there won’t be one. I guess they realized what an unlikeable bunch they had, or nobody wants a ticket to an hour-long Marcel-bashing. What jealous, petty people…
This has been such an unlikable season. I miss Tim Gunn. I’ve said along that Top Chef needs a Tim Gunn, who can mentor, who really wants to teach and help and see all the chefs succeed.
Is anyone planning to watch the interior design show? I just can’t take too much more drama and egos.
I like watching this franchise (Top Chef, Project Runway) cause I like seeing what the contestants come up with. But I am really getting tired of the last episodes always including the worst performer throughout the competition just because they are the best shit stirrer. Marcel should have been gone about 5 or 6 times but the producers wouldn’t let them kick him off because he was the burr in everyone else’s knickers. Without his whiney, elitist tripe the entire season would have been just about cooking, and they couldn’t have that!