# Top Chef 10/7 - Spoilers expected **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070 "2009-10-08T17:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/1 "2009-10-08T17:14:50Z")
What, no thread on this episode yet? Anybody else watch it? So, whaddaya think? Personally, I think the wrong one went home, but I liked the winner. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/2 "2009-10-08T18:25:17Z")
Yeah, I was surprised she hadn’t won an elimination yet, but was glad to see her do so (though w/a partner like Kevin, that’s as powerhouse a combo as you can get)! I think Ashley got hosed by Eli–she may have made some mistakes, but it sounds like he compounded them without actually doing anything very helpful. Bummer that she was on such a high, too, after her last few performances. He won’t be around much longer, though, IMHO. Really getting tired of AssMike, though it sounds like he did what he needed to do to save his butt (though it means keeping Robin around longer, too). This was the first time I felt a real brotherly bond between Brian & Michael. Processing the latter’s meal together afterwards, and then the former wanting to nip the speculation in the bud while his bro was in front of the judges showed a personal connection that’s largely been missing between the two thus far. Nice (and I’m glad Michael didn’t get a premature boot as well). ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/3 "2009-10-08T18:32:14Z")
I heart Kevin! I’m rooting for him to win. I would love to see the last three to be Kevin, Jennifer and one of the brothers. I was surprised that Mike/Robin did well- they just weren’t working together and Mike’s attitude was just crap. Robin does seem kind of annoying, but don’t see how she deserves the outright contempt Mike expressed. I felt bad for Ashley, but it’s a recurring theme that if a chef says they are really good at one component and they let the other person do it, it’s just asking for a disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/4 "2009-10-08T18:37:21Z")
Well, we got a sort of a fakeout, what with Michael being put on the chopping block. We all think we know who the top 4 will be, so I think they tried to psych us out. Though I don’t think anyone watching really believed that Michael would be going home. I was surprised to see Mike and Robin not end up in the bottom four, especially since Mike was getting the ironic loser edit during the prep sections. Other than that it was a really boring episode in my opinion. Probably my least favorite so far this season. Also that green thing Padma was wearing was incredibly unflattering. And for something to be unflattering on that body, it has to be baaad. She looked like a tweaked out overused stripper on a Boone’s run to Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/5 "2009-10-08T18:39:53Z")
One thing I noticed in this episode was how often they edited in contestants saying ‘One mistake can send you home’, and it may be true that they’re feeling that way, but right now, it’s pretty clear that the bottom tier contestants are still making more than one mistake at a time, so one mistake – unless it’s one hell of a mistake – isn’t going to send anyone home. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/6 "2009-10-08T18:45:10Z")
I thought Eli should have gone home for over-salting the gnocchi (if it was really him) and being awfully weaselly at judges table. You could tell that he couldn’t quite figure out what the judges hated, so he tried to be very vague about what was wrong with the dish. As for Mike Voltaggio, the dude has so much credit built up in the judges’ bank, that he could literally serve up a ravioli filled with liquid shit and still probably live to see another day. It also sounded like Ash would jump in front of a bullet for him, which was nice, but a little disconcerting on a show that’s supposed to have fairly evenly matched competitors. This is what happens when you have a handful of contestants that are way out of the league of the other cheftestants. Mike V., Kevin, and Jen are the Manchester U., Chelsea, and Liverpool of the show. The rest are just marking time till they get the axe. I also thought it was bullshit to call Mike V. out on the overcooked fish when the power kept tripping. Yeah, sure, no excuses yadda, yadda, yadda, but the show put the chefs in an unnatural and insufficient kitchen, and then complain when the food isn’t up to restaurant standards. In a restaurant, he’d have a real kitchen, not cooking on a dining room table with an electric griddle. Also, he’d have more product to cook if the first was ruined. The obstacles are part of the fun of the show, but it’s silly to put them in impossible situations and then complain that they didn’t make gold thread out of straw. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/7 "2009-10-08T18:47:38Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > She looked like a tweaked out overused stripper on a Boone’s run to Walmart. And that’s unflattering how exactly? > [@](#): > > One thing I noticed in this episode was how often they edited in contestants saying ‘One mistake can send you home’, and it may be true that they’re feeling that way, but right now, it’s pretty clear that the bottom tier contestants are still making more than one mistake at a time, so one mistake – unless it’s one hell of a mistake – isn’t going to send anyone home. Yeah, especially since it seemed clear that (a) Michael’s excuse about the electricity wasn’t an excuse–it sounded completely legit given his track record, and thus utterly reasonable under the circumstances, and (b) they weren’t about to kick out Ash, who did nothing wrong except maybe fall too much in love with his partner ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/8 "2009-10-08T18:50:09Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > This is what happens when you have a handful of contestants that are way out of the league of the other cheftestants. Mike V., Kevin, and Jen are the Manchester U., Chelsea, and Liverpool of the show. I know this is probably supposed to be an impressive soccer (rugby?) analogy, but since I only know those cities from having visited them, the effect may not exactly be what you had in mind. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/9 "2009-10-08T18:51:01Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > I was surprised to see Mike and Robin not end up in the bottom four, especially since Mike was getting the ironic loser edit during the prep sections. I think Top Chef’s editing is sufficiently sophisticated that when you see a contestant getting the loser edit (like Mike I. this week) you can be almost certain that they will NOT go home. Which was disappointing, because I really want Mike I. gone. > [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > Also that green thing Padma was wearing was incredibly unflattering. And for something to be unflattering on that body, it has to be baaad. She looked like a tweaked out overused stripper on a Boone’s run to Walmart. Hilarious! When I first saw that monstrosity from the back, I actually paused the TiVo because I didn’t think I was seeing right. That outfit was just so wrong on every level. She must have smoked up her stylist that day. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/10 "2009-10-08T18:51:54Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I also thought it was bullshit to call Mike V. out on the overcooked fish when the power kept tripping. Yeah, sure, no excuses yadda, yadda, yadda, but the show put the chefs in an unnatural and insufficient kitchen, and then complain when the food isn’t up to restaurant standards. In a restaurant, he’d have a real kitchen, not cooking on a dining room table with an electric griddle. Also, he’d have more product to cook if the first was ruined. The obstacles are part of the fun of the show, but it’s silly to put them in impossible situations and then complain that they didn’t make gold thread out of straw. I figured it was his version of a “loser edit”. Yeah, the dish sucked. It wasn’t anything he could have conceivably avoided, and they forced the situation by making a ton of people cook in a home kitchen area. Even in these “home dinner” cooking situations, you wouldn’t be overloading fuses like that unless you really went overboard. So they had to justify putting him up there for making bad food even though it wasn’t really his fault. They did have some good points (fish choice for the particular dish) but not otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/11 "2009-10-08T18:55:25Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > IThis is what happens when you have a handful of contestants that are way out of the league of the other cheftestants. Mike V., Kevin, and Jen are the Manchester U., Chelsea, and Liverpool of the show. The rest are just marking time till they get the axe. So who is Brian then? Arsenal? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/12 "2009-10-08T18:58:42Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I know this is probably supposed to be an impressive soccer (rugby?) analogy, but since I only know those cities from having visited them, the effect may not exactly be what you had in mind. 😉 Trust me, in the Game Room, the comment would have killed. 🙂 Look at it this way: in English soccer, Man U., Chelsea, and Liverpool are like Mike V., Kevin, and Jen. Robin is Portsmouth. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/13 "2009-10-08T19:02:29Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > So who is Brian then? Arsenal? Exactly! Streaky; sometimes sublime, sometimes unreliable, but usually in the top 4. I wonder if the reason the breakers were tripping was because of all the extra lights and camera equipment that they had to set up to film the dinner and the preparations. If there are huge television lights plugged in all over the house, I’ll bet that’s going to be a problem. That would make their criticism of Mike even more unfair, if true. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/14 "2009-10-08T19:05:50Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Robin is Portsmouth. Um… muddling through, not always entirely sure of what’s going on? Manages to hang on because others screw up more spectacularly? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/15 "2009-10-08T22:06:31Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I think Ashley got hosed by Eli–she may have made some mistakes, but it sounds like he compounded them without actually doing anything very helpful. Bummer that she was on such a high, too, after her last few performances. He won’t be around much longer, though, IMHO. > > Really getting tired of AssMike, though it sounds like he did what he needed to do to save his butt (though it means keeping Robin around longer, too). > > This was the first time I felt a real brotherly bond between Brian & Michael. Processing the latter’s meal together afterwards, and then the former wanting to nip the speculation in the bud while his bro was in front of the judges showed a personal connection that’s largely been missing between the two thus far. Nice (and I’m glad Michael didn’t get a premature boot as well). I think they dumped Ashley instead of Eli because they deemed the ruining of the prawns to be a greater crime than the ruining of the gnocchi. Agree about Mike I. Still uncertain about Robin; I certainly don’t trust sexist Mike I’s opinions, and his dumping on her makes her more sympathetic to me. I don’t know how common it is for the contestants in the waiting room to talk about the dishes of the ones before the judges. If it’s not done, then I guess I’m OK with Brian shutting the other guy down. Otherwise, it came across to me as arrogant to say “don’t talk about my brother.” > [@Erdosain](#): > > I also thought it was bullshit to call Mike V. out on the overcooked fish when the power kept tripping. Yeah, sure, no excuses yadda, yadda, yadda, but the show put the chefs in an unnatural and insufficient kitchen, and then complain when the food isn’t up to restaurant standards. In a restaurant, he’d have a real kitchen, not cooking on a dining room table with an electric griddle. Also, he’d have more product to cook if the first was ruined. The obstacles are part of the fun of the show, but it’s silly to put them in impossible situations and then complain that they didn’t make gold thread out of straw. I think the lesson is the same one as the desert challenge. Don’t make food choices that require more delicacy than the setting can reasonably provide. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/16 "2009-10-08T22:50:27Z")
I was annoyed by the judges’ comments that the electricity going out is not excuse, that if you’re catering a party for someone who’s paying for it, you can’t use such excuses. That’s true to a point, but if the electricity goes out when you’re catering a party, or running a restaurant, you can tell the patrons that you’re sorry and there will be about a ten minute delay. Or whatever. The patrons don’t yell, “Time! Hands up!” The judges have said that before, about other screw-ups (when the freezer went out, for instance, or some cooker didn’t heat.) The thing is that the competition is time-based where real life situations aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/17 "2009-10-08T22:58:59Z")
Unless I missed it, not a ceviche to be had. After wondering if the the show I’d been watching had secretly been renamed “Top Ceviche”, it was a pleasant change of pace. Not hatin’ on the ceviche, it just seemed like various versions of the dish were fairly prevalent this season. When Ashley and Eli were getting hammered for serving heavy gnocchi at a summer dinner party, I was saying to myself, “Should have made a ceviche”! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/18 "2009-10-08T23:01:58Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > Unless I missed it… (snip) You missed it 🙂 Eli(?) made a ‘mushroom ceviche’ in the Quickfire. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/19 "2009-10-09T03:18:46Z")
Yeah, I did miss the Quickfires. Damn. Well, at least there wasn’t a slew of ceviches in the elimination. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070/20 "2009-10-09T03:31:09Z")
However, the curse of the shrimp/prawn did strike again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-10-7-spoilers-expected/513070.md?page=2)