It was interesting that a couple cardinal rules were explored here.
(1) IF IT’S NOT GOOD, DON’T SERVE IT. Carla may have suffered from having a sparse dessert, but how many other contestants would’ve caved and tried to salvage the souffle instead of just jettisoning it altogther? It wasn’t the only thing she did poorly, but at least she stuck to her guns and refused to serve the centerpiece of that course, which the judges have often encouraged cheftestants to do but which actually doesn’t happen very often.
(2) FEW THINGS ARE MANDATORY. I think Carla & Stefan did desserts because they fundamentally thought they needed to, not only to have a “complete” meal, but also, subliminally, to win. How can you be a Top Chef and not have dessert? Hosea proved that if the food is strong enough, you can. Was it a chickenshit evasion? Perhaps. But it does prove that you can go off the reservation if you’ve got enough other things in your arsenal to back it up. And let’s be honest, I hate seeing Hosea (who strikes me as a bit of a douche) win, but Stefan threw in such an unambition final course for “the best meal you’ve ever cooked” that who can blame the judges for being overwhelmed? There are no brownie points for doing dessert, if it’s just going to be a pedestrian effort.
Sorry to see that Carla was so susceptible to persuasion (I mean Casey?!?!?); I think she could’ve easily taken it that night if she’d stayed true to herself.
To be fair to Carla, I’d do pretty much anything Casey told me to. Anything.
I thought the clip of Hosea saying “Richard helped me, but at least I cooked my own food.” towards Carla was unneccesarry assholery. I’m hoping it was taken way out of context and wasn’t as bad as it made him seem.
No, but Richard has one (he was just dedicated to supporting Hosea) and Gail has one that tries to justify the decision–but man, the feedback on the Bravo site is incendiary. They’re pissed about the Hosea win. A lot.
Outside the kitchen, maybe. Over the course of the third season, the only thing she pulled off that really set her apart was the smoked-tomato-butter accompaniment to (I think) the elk. Ripert gushed over it; I looked at her recipe and made it myself, and it’s darn good. Other than that, and aside from the fact that her opponents didn’t stumble themselves out of the competition, she was the Hosea of her year. I mean, her thumbless hacking-up of the onions in the speed challenge was simply an embarrassment; I’m an amateur and I can do that better than she did. But, yeah, she’s cute, I guess. And Carla’s acceptance of Casey’s suggestions was the torpedo that sank her hopes.
Weird, weird season. Not really sure what happened. But very weird.
I think the decision was the right one, and not just because I don’t like Stephan. I’d said for weeks when they were still in NYC that he was the strongest cook.
Unfortunately, since they left NY, his performance dropped dramatically. He should have been sent home two weeks ago. It was only his past successes that won him the benefit of the doubt and kept him in. It could easily be argued he should have been the one sent packing last week as well.
Carla still bugs the crap out me, personality-wise, but I’ve really come to respect her approach to cooking and her dedication to quality. She should not have won last night, but I’d be delighted to see her get fan favorite.
Hosea’s meal was significantly superior in the overall, and he closed on a higher note. Out of everything shown last night, I would have taken Stephan’s squab or his venison, and I certainly would have preferred to close the meal with the venison than a half-assed dessert.
While it’s true that Hosea never really led throughout the competition, cooking is as much about consistency and making the most of your strengths, and Hosea certainly had both of those going for him. I’m glad he won because he was the most “real-world” of the finalists, although I had she followed her own inspiration instead of following Casey’s lead, I’d have been happy to see her win, too. Stephan’s early performance justified his earlier successes, but his efforts the last three weeks were disappointing and not nearly good enough to justify a win.
Wow. Reading that sure makes my eyes hurt. Sure glad we don’t allow pictures here - plus the ridiculous fonts and colors! Yuck.
That whole thing reads like one of the “I hated High School” threads around here.
“Oh, no! The sensitive geeky girl was totally the best until the cheerleader showed up and bullied her into making mistakes!”
“Oh no! The smartest guy, who was just misunderstood and wasn’t really a jerk, lost out again! See, nice guys do finish last!”
“Oh no! The biggest and tallest guy wins again even though he is dumb as rocks and probably can’t even get into college!*”
I think they got it right. Carla melted down under pressure. Casey made some gentle suggestions, as she should have, and Carla should have kept to her plan, but wasn’t strong enough. She all but admitted it in her tearful ending. The judges dismissed her immediately, as they should have.
Stephan, after being warned about being complacent last week, phoned in his dessert, the last thing the judges would taste from him. Huge mistake.
Hosea, after missing the boat on some of the concepts of the challenges (Last Supper), actually took his failures to heart and listened to the judges this time. He made some great dishes that reflected his style and finished on a high note when the others failed. The judges could not criticize him for not making dessert when they explicitly said that it was not necessary.
Hosea has a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Colorado.
Stefan must not have watched the previous seasons. Collichio thinks desserts are the realm of pastry chefs and are beneath actual chefs. Stefan should not have a dessert, if he had done a dish almost as good as the scallop dish Hosea did he would have won. It was unfair of the Judges to mark down Stefan’s fish dish because he froze it. The only way they knew that was because they saw it being prepared.
Not true. The judges don’t typically go into the kitchen. Fish, especially very fresh fish, changes texture and consistency when it’s frozen, and gives up water. Anyone with a smidgen of fine-dining experience can see this on the plate, before they even take a bite.
Like some others here, i was shouting at Carla not to listen to Casey’s advice, especially regarding the sous vide.
If you’re doing comfort food, and you’ve been doing awesome comfort food, and you’ve got to the final cooking that sort of thing, you don’t then turn around and listen to someone else’s advice to do a different style of cooking that you’ve never even tried before.
There’s little doubt in my mind that Stefan was the strongest chef in this competition, but if Carla had produced her best food in the finale i think she would have been a deserving winner. I’m not so sure about Hosea. He did great a few times, and it seemed reasonably clear to me that his was the best overall meal of the finale. But it just doesn’t quite feel right to have him as Top Chef.
I haven’t listened to it yet, but NPR’s Talk of the Nation had a short (~18 minute) segment with Carla yesterday. You can listen directly at their website or download the podcast.
I was rooting for Carla, and share everyone’s disappointment with her meltdown. But I’m OK with a Hosea win. I don’t understand all the Hosea hate, to tell the truth. Sure, he’s made some mistakes, but which chef hasn’t?
And I’m a bit biased because I’ve been at his restaurant, and it completely blew me away. I was NOT expecting it - Jax has always been a pretty good, but not great place - until I stumbled in there a couple years ago mainly for the martinis and ended up having the best meal I had in a week in Boulder. (and yes, that includes the one we had at Frasca. Jax was hands-down better.)
Aw, Carla! I felt so bad for her. It’s one thing to lose by being edged by the other people. But to have things go so badly on two courses that you know you’re not in the running, that just sucks. I would have liked to see her meal done as she would have envisioned. I swear if she’d seared the steaks in a normal fashion and gotten them cooked perfectly, and done her cheese tarts, she might have won. Her appetizer was just as good as the others’, and her red snapper evidently kicked the asses of the other two chefs. If only she’d stuck to her guns with Casey!
I don’t hate Hosea. The constant confessional bits talking about Stefan started to grate on me, until I realized that not only can they edit creatively, they could have the interviewer sitting there, listening to Hosea NOT talking about Stefan at all, and throwing in, “So how did you feel about Stefan doing X?” and there we have a thoroughly manufactured “obsession” with Stefan. (Though I do think the whole thing with Leah was douchey, it didn’t have anything to do with the actual contest.) I’m impressed that an apprentice-trained chef won. That is no mean feat.
I think some of the Casey hate is misplaced. Yes, her suggestion to do whatever the hell she did to the meat didn’t go well, but it wasn’t her suggestion for the souffle that screwed up the cheese dish, it was Carla not turning down the oven. For all we know, that dish would have been the hit of the evening had Carla not screwed it up. That one is not on Casey.
I actually think it might be to Carla and Stefan’s favour not to win. I know on Project Runway, winning the competition gives Bravo a stake in everything the designer produces for a time after the competition. If Top Chef is the same way, the runners up get the exposure and acclaim without selling their souls.
Over the course of the third season, the only thing she pulled off that really set her apart was the smoked-tomato-butter accompaniment to (I think) the elk. Ripert gushed over it; I looked at her recipe and made it myself, and it’s darn good. Other than that, and aside from the fact that her opponents didn’t stumble themselves out of the competition, she was the Hosea of her year. I mean, her thumbless hacking-up of the onions in the speed challenge was simply an embarrassment; I’m an amateur and I can do that better than she did. But, yeah, she’s cute, I guess. And Carla’s acceptance of Casey’s suggestions was the torpedo that sank her hopes.