# Top Chef 12/13 (Possible spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124 "2006-12-14T14:26:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/1 "2006-12-14T14:26:10Z")
So, who did the judges **actually** pick? ---
**Author:** ![Southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@Southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southpaw)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/2 "2006-12-14T15:27:27Z")
I have a feeling they picked Mia anyway. The judges seem to take past performance into account and since Elia has won two challenges I doubt they were going to let her go. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/3 "2006-12-14T16:11:46Z")
According to Tom Colicchio’s Blog on [BravoTV.com](http://BravoTV.com), they were going to send Elia home. I think that would have been a mistake, and I’m glad Mia decided to eliminate herself. ---
**Author:** ![Southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@Southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southpaw)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/4 "2006-12-14T16:21:34Z")
[QUOTE=Athena] According to Tom Colicchio’s Blog on [BravoTV.com](http://BravoTV.com), they were going to send Elia home. I think that would have been a mistake, and I’m glad Mia decided to eliminate herself. [/QUOTE] Really? :dubious: Good thing Mia threw herself under the bus. Although I don’t care much for Elia’s personality, I think she’s the most talented of the female contestants and could hold her own against the apparent front-runners, Sam and Ilan. Now if Michael and Betty can get themselves eliminated, we’ll actually have people who can cook on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/5 "2006-12-14T19:59:42Z")
Heck, I should have checked the Bravo blog! D’oh! I think it must have taken some serious cojones to throw yourself under the bus before the judges made their call. Or was it just the magic of editing? As for Micheal, funny how sitting in the middle and keeping your head down works for so long. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/6 "2006-12-14T21:53:04Z")
The judging on this show has been really screwy this season. Two people have quit and once the judges couldn’t even come to a decision. They need to revamp it. That said I’m glad Mia’s gone. Her sob stories were getting on my nerves. If she wants to be a real profession should ought to rethink the public tantrums. I would not be proud if a family member used that kind of langauge anywhere let alone on national television. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/7 "2006-12-14T23:03:22Z")
[QUOTE=Terrorcotta] As for Micheal, funny how sitting in the middle and keeping your head down works for so long. [/QUOTE] The biggest problem with this show is that there’s no incentive for contestants to take risks to win the main challenge. They get immunity from the Quickfire Challenge, so they try some interesting things there. But the main event? Far better to do something reliable and avoid attracting attention. I didn’t want to see Mia go, but I’d rather lose her than lose Elia. I was impressed by how Mia handled her disagreements in the challenge – she spoke up but then did her part for the team. It was during the judging that she went off the rails a bit, but I can understand why she did it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/8 "2006-12-14T23:27:54Z")
I hated the way she failed to express herself during the challenge. She did throw out a suggestion, and the others did say “no.” After that, it was a lot of martyrdom. Mia: “We should have gorgonzola” “Some people don’t like gorgonzola” Mia: (whining) “No one’s listening to me… I’m the caterer and no one’s listening to me.” “Do you have another suggestion? What do you want us to do?” Mia: _sigh_ “I just wanted to be listened to. But no, it doesn’t matter. Go ahead, I’ll just go along with the team.” _really overdramatic sigh_ I hate that. Glad to see her go. BTW, what’s with the holiday themed episodes? It was filmed during summer. I don’t need them to pretend they’re celebrating Thanksgiving or December holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/9 "2006-12-15T03:13:19Z")
[QUOTE=Clark K] The biggest problem with this show is that there’s no incentive for contestants to take risks to win the main challenge. They get immunity from the Quickfire Challenge, so they try some interesting things there. But the main event? Far better to do something reliable and avoid attracting attention. [/QUOTE] Yes, thank you. The same problem cropped up on ‘Project Runway’. Maybe it’s time to re-think the premise of these shows to limit ‘safe’ as a viable strategy. Or we could just let it devolve into the cat fights they have on America’s Next Top Model. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/10 "2006-12-15T05:38:31Z")
> [@](#): > > The same problem cropped up on ‘Project Runway’. Well, there’s always some temptation to play it safe, but at least on Project Runway they were competing _for_ something – immunity in the next challenge. On Top Chef, they’re just fighting against elimination. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/11 "2006-12-15T06:18:48Z")
Other than the safety of “playing the middle,” another issue is that those who get elected “team leaders” are really sticking their necks out and have a greater chance of getting eliminated if their team loses. Those who chose to be the sous chefs really have to screw up big time in order to get eliminated while everything else falls on the team leader’s shoulders. Elia was the most talented on her team, but because she was team leader, she had to roll the dice and make the big decisions. She screwed up by deciding to do a few difficult items that had a lot of on site prep time. She made the call, she deserved to go. Not all that fair when all Michael did was run back and forth with trays. ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/12 "2006-12-15T15:46:26Z")
[QUOTE=Clark K] Well, there’s always some temptation to play it safe, but at least on Project Runway they were competing _for_ something – immunity in the next challenge. On Top Chef, they’re just fighting against elimination. [/QUOTE] I think they changed that up some last season and immunity wasn’t always the prize, the challenge win prizes got better, like photo spreads and the Macy’s challenge. I may be wrong, but I remember less immunity over the course of the show. As a creative person by profession, ‘Just Not Losing’ isn’t the best motivator. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/13 "2006-12-15T15:59:59Z")
[QUOTE=Terrorcotta] As for Micheal, funny how sitting in the middle and keeping your head down works for so long. [/QUOTE] Isn’t there a novel where a mentally challenged gardener gets elected president of the country just by shutting up and not saying anything? Good luck with that final two challenge, though. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/14 "2006-12-15T16:15:17Z")
I fail to see how Elia has proven herself to be a better chef than some of the others. She’s been crying in every episode. The first episode she tried to make a flambe with red wine! She only won the thanksgiving challenge with mushroom soup by default because everyone else was bad. She was team leader and had them make 4 dishes? None prepared beforehand and they weren’t that good. She should have gone home. She might be able to cook but she’s not ready to be a top chef. Neither Michael or Mia should have gone home. If your serving and cooking someone has to be the back and front. You can’t fault them for doing what they had to do. Betty and the kid had the same role on the other team. I don’t think Mia is the best, but she’s good. She didn’t get flustered and everyone always liked the way her food tasted. I think she quit because she was burnt out. I think her sob story had to do with editing. They always have a lot of screen time for the person that’s going to go. You can almost tell who’s leaving by watching the beginning of the show. Betty should have been kicked off for cheating during the weight loss challenge. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/15 "2006-12-16T03:16:20Z")
I don’t remember the judging being as horrible last season. Between no decisions and letting contestants walk instead of making your choice known, I feel myself losing interest. Maybe it’s the chefs or maybe its the challenges coming in a close second to the lame ass judging. or Maybe there just weren’t enough shots of Padma this eppy 😛 ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/16 "2006-12-16T03:25:17Z")
Forgot to add I thought a lot of Cliff - until this episode. There was no excuse for him throwing Mia under the bus. He had immunity and should have just kept his mouth shut. Also lost some respect for Mia as well. She didn’t need to start playing the race card (she wasn’t using it to try to save herself, but to somehow degrade herself & Cliff - IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/17 "2006-12-16T20:53:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] Isn’t there a novel where a mentally challenged gardener gets elected president of the country just by shutting up and not saying anything? [/QUOTE] [_Being There_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_There), a novel by Jerzy Kosinski, also made into an excellent [movie](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0078841/) starring Peter Sellers. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/18 "2006-12-17T00:00:35Z")
[QUOTE=flickster] Forgot to add I thought a lot of Cliff - until this episode. There was no excuse for him throwing Mia under the bus. He had immunity and should have just kept his mouth shut. Also lost some respect for Mia as well. She didn’t need to start playing the race card (she wasn’t using it to try to save herself, but to somehow degrade herself & Cliff - IMHO). [/QUOTE] I don’t want to argue, but how was Mia playing the race card? She talked about being homeless and a single mother raising kids. What was racial about that?Especially when she was arguing with a man that happened to be A.A. too? If you read Tom’s blog he never mentioned Cliff. He blamed Elia for the whole fiasco and sided with Mia. Elia should have left and rightly so. The did ignore Mia when she said they should do more. Cliff has a very condensending attitude (which he admits in his bio) and I think it pissed her off and she was sick of the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/19 "2006-12-17T05:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] I don’t want to argue, but how was Mia playing the race card? She talked about being homeless and a single mother raising kids. What was racial about that?Especially when she was arguing with a man that happened to be A.A. too? If you read Tom’s blog he never mentioned Cliff. He blamed Elia for the whole fiasco and sided with Mia. Elia should have left and rightly so. The did ignore Mia when she said they should do more. Cliff has a very condensending attitude (which he admits in his bio) and I think it pissed her off and she was sick of the whole thing. [/QUOTE] I have no problem with her references of her difficult past and admire her for what she has been able to accomplish. I just had a problem with her emotional outburst where she was using terms such as “My black ass”. I can’t quote all of the things she did say in her rant, but there were multiple black this and black that in reference to her & Cliff. In the context she was using those descriptors, it was like she was using them in an attempt to degrade both Cliff & herself - that’s what bothered me. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-12-13-possible-spoilers/384124/20 "2006-12-17T16:35:25Z")
[QUOTE=JeffB] [_Being There_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_There), a novel by Jerzy Kosinski, also made into an excellent [movie](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0078841/) starring Peter Sellers. [/QUOTE] That’s the one, thanks. I read it in spanish and had no idea what the title would be in english.