I am so tired of buffet service and/or catering challenges. Let’s get on to some real cooking…
That said, I had a big smile on my face during the final judges table and knew that no matter what, at least one of my least favorite chefs were hitting the trail.
Yes, but I was still surprised Nikki went, given Dale’s meltdown and his whining in front of the judges. I understand the judges’ point – Italian food is her area of expertise, so she should have taken charge of things better. Still, I don’t think Dale or Lisa do particularly well when it comes to taking orders from other people, especially given the mood Dale was in.
The gentleman and I watched several episodes back-to-back last night since we’d missed a few. I still think Richard is the man to beat with Antonia a close second. Richard seems to be the sort of rare brilliant yet versatile person who can rise to any occaision, and I thought it was very cool that he wanted to give the award for best chef to the woman who made the bride’s cake. Despite the faux hawk, he seems like a class act at heart. Andrew may be almost as brilliant in the kitchen, but he’s not interested in charming people with his personality, just impressing them with his food. That’s certainly fair enough, and he is good, but we were amused when his team said they’d keep him in the kitchen. He was a wizard with the vegetable peeler on the asparagus. The gentleman wants him gone, but I have to admit he knows what he’s doing and he did better than I thought in the episode with the kids.
So, what happened in the wedding episode in the first season? They alluded to it, and someone said that at least there were no egg shells in the cake this time. Does anyone know?
There’s a lot that goes on at the Judges’ Table that we don’t see, so it’s hard to know for sure what was said, and how people really comported themselves in front of the judges.
That said, I completely agree with the decision to send Nikki home last night. I think she’s hung around much longer than her talent (or lack thereof) justifies, and it’s only been the larger flameouts of others around her that’s kept her out of the crosshairs of elimination. Catering an Italian wedding should have been her opportunity to step up and say, “This is what I’m all about; I’m going to take charge and we’re going to kick ass.” Instead, she started that way, especially with her interactions with the groom, but then completely failed to take on a leadership role. If I had been on her team, I would have been just as frustrated as Dale.
Dale is clearly intolerant of those he deems unworthy of his talents (which I suspect is most people), but he’s shown he can work with others in the right circumstances. He and Richard knocked it out of the park on the improv challenge, and to all appearances worked quite harmoniously together. How much of that is Richard’s personality is difficult to say, but the fact is that Dale can really cook. Nikki has just been so uninspired (and uninspiring) that she would never make it to the end.
Personally, I am a big fan of Richard. I like the fact that he’s into the molecular gastronomy stuff, but can just plain cook when that is what’s required. Notice that one of the most highly praised dishes last night was the braised brisket - no high tech devices (that we saw); just good Southern-style cooking. Unless he has a tragic crash-and-burn, my money’s on him.
Side-note: We ate at Richard’s new restaurant in Atlanta last week, Home, his take on Southern comfort food. It was quite good. The server said that they haven’t actually filmed the finale yet. I guess it’s a bit like Survivor where they pre-tape most of the season, and then come back and do the finale at a later date. She couldn’t tell us anything about the rest of the season (I’m sure the contestants are contractually obligated to keep their mouths shut), but did say that he’s a hell of a nice guy, and has so far been a joy to work with.
Dale certainly seemed to be in an extra bad mood for this episode, but getting stuck with both Nikki and Lisa on the same team could explain that.
Was it Lisa who said that half the house wouldn’t want to work with Dale? That means half would, whereas probably 3/4 wouldn’t want to work with her.
I think Richard deserved this win, in spite of the fact of him trying to give it to Stephanie. She didn’t even have the best cake, which highlights one of the problems with the team challenges.
I came in to say the exact same thing. Nikki deserved to go. I did not see the entire episode but I saw Nikki taking over the conversation with the groom and gushing because it was her area of expertise. I think everyone expected her to be the executive chef for that challenge and she started off that way but must have wimped out at some point when it became too much. Dale lost his temper when Nikki made the announcement that she was not the executive chef. Spike goaded him so Dale went after Spike, but I got the feeling it was Nikki he was most pissed at but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything because no one really seems to want to bad mouth Nikki, maybe she’s just too nice that no one really wants to say what they think?
But the other reason Nikki needed to go was her food was not that good and it is supposed to be her specialty.
I don’t know why but I actually like Dale. I think he’s a very dedicated chef and as carlb said he just doesn’t tolerate those who don’t seem to feel the same way. One would argue that they are all dedicated chefs but some of them clearly seem to be more about playing a game than impressing with their food coughSpikecough. Dale has worked well with Richard a couple times and Stephanie as well. He even worked with Andrew and that went well in spite of A’s tweakiness. My ideal top 3 would be Richard, Stephanie and Dale and I would be fine with any of them winning. By the way, I was really glad to see Stephanie in the top group again, I was getting worried for her.
Speaking of Andrew, is he getting a little less twitchy? Or does it just seem that way because he hasn’t had as much air time the last couple episodes?
One more thing, the issue of someone working well with others comes up a lot but I don’t think we can judge accurately by how well they work with their competition. If Dale were running a restaurant I think he would hire people that he could work well with and they wouldn’t be people like Spike, Lisa or Nikki, they’d be more like Richard and Stephanie.
I think Richard deserved to win in the context of the show, and I think Stephanie deserved to win in the context of the wedding. The cake is easily one of the most important visual aspects of a wedding. Pictures are taken of it, people remember it and her cake was remarkable given the amount of time she had. Ok, so it didn’t taste as good as the chocolate one (which I thought looked like crap), but it was still good and looked great.
Totally agree with Nikki getting the boot. Their whole problem was too many cooks and not enough generals ( if I may mix my metaphors), but it was clearly where she should have beenat the helm. Plus she had the worst entree. They liked the Sea Bass and they liked Dale’s Ragu so buh-bye Nikke.
I’m not sure if it was the first season or not, but the episode that they were alluding to was when they made the wedding cake using a boxed mix and several guests and/or judges found eggshells in their serving of cake. I can’t remember now who made the cake but they took a lot of crap for using a boxed mix. That’s really all that I do remember about that particular challenge, sorry I couldn’t be more specific.
Like flickster I am not enjoying challenges that don’t call on them to be chefs.
It’s unclear to me how much past performance weighs in these eliminations. On various Bravo blogs they say each challenge is judged individually, and really emphasize that the judges don’t know the chefs, or see any of the house or waiting room drama that we see, so they don’t vote people off based on personality. But, that doesn’t make it clear that the fact that Nikki has had a number of dishes that not only weren’t inspiring they were actual failures (her mac & cheese, her pepperless sausage heroes, here too floury pasta).
I think her food not being great coupled with her refusing to step into the leadership role were 2 marks against her that were more serious than Dale drying out the crostini, and overreacting. It’s not as if she was being modest and trying not to take all the credit. It sounded more like she was disowning the team and the menu to avoid blame. Frankly, I won’t miss her.
Is monkfish super expensive? Those are some big ugly fish to wrestle with over two scrawny filets. I liked the relay challenge. My arm got tired watching them make the mayonnaise.
The wedding challenge must’ve been in Season 1 because I haven’t seen that yet and never saw a wedding challenge on TC before last night.
Monkfish tastes good.
Tiffani made that cake. Overall, this season’s wedding challenge was more successful for the contestants than the one in S1. That was for a wedding for the two guys named Scott, and they were clearly disappointed that it wasn’t very good for their special day. It was a sad episode.
Monkfish tastes great, it’s called “poor man’s lobster.” But it’s kind of close to endangered, IIRC.
Good for Stephanie for coming back after two bad elimination contests in a row. Very classy of Richard giving her credit for the cake.
For some reason I’m liking Andrew more after each episode. He knows how to cook and maybe he is just calming down. I won’t call you mr. twitchy any more .
The Dale melt down was funny. I guess the lack of sleep really sent him over the edge.
Even though I admit that Lisa has talent, I just hate the whole attitude.
Richard is my choice as top chef.
Stephanie and Dale might still be there, as well as Andrew.
The problem with the S1 episode was the quickfire was “design an elaborate wedding proposal.” The most over-the-top one won. And then the elimination challenge was “now do it in 15 hours with only $___.” Which was idiotic and of course they failed.
This time, they knew they were planning a wedding, they knew how long they had to work and they could make the plans for the wedding realistically given the time and money constraints.
Lisa annoys me. She’s at a wedding…take off the do-rag. She seems good, but incredibly hard to work with. Richard seems to be the best all around - good food and good management skills.
I agreed with Nikki going, for the reasons which were given. Her refusal to lead was pretty hard to forgive.
I also agreed with Richard as the winner and (after initially not liking him), I’ve come to see him as the clear frontrunner and, contrary to some of my initial impressions, I think he’s coming off a pretty nice guy, a generous teammate and someone who clearly has skills and who the other contestants clearly respect. In the first couple of episodes, I thought he semed arrogant, but I no longer think he is. Confident maybe, but he also appears to go out of his way to include and compliment his teammates. After watching way too many reality shows, I’ve come to realize that my first impressions of cast members can often change radically over the course of a show.
At this point, the only Chetestant who really bugs me is Lisa.
I thought it was awesome of Richard to give his win to Stephanie. I kind of thought they might give it to her…if it wasn’t for her, I don’t think there would have been a cake at all. Which is not to say that Richard didn’t deserve it, too. They both handled that in a very nice and classy manner.
I do agree with the booting of Nikki. I had a feeling when she denied all responsibility that she was going to get it…no one wants to hear that the person who was most experienced in the task wasn’t willing to accept being a leader. Running a kitchen is part of a chef’s job, and she blew the perfect opportunity to show them she could do that. Not a good move on her part.
I think Lisa seems like a really strange person. What is with that pose when they are lined up in front of the judges…arms folded, head back, eyes half closed. She looks like she’s getting ready to get into a gang fight.
Lisa’s attitude and body language are irritating. She’s begging for a fight. Nikki’s rufusal to take the lead doesn’t spell much success as a chef. A chef has to run a kitchen, plan menus, assign tasks and take ownership for the product that goes out of the kitchen. She doesn’t seem to want to do that. Dale is an annoying little git. Stephanie continues to be steady and consistant. Richard just seems to smile and keep going. Spike was a non-entity in this challenge.
I’m ready for the team challenges to stop.
StG
They also did a plated dinner, which Harold complained on his blog this week was a lot more work than doing everything buffet style like they did it this season.
What I remember from the original wedding challenge was Chef Tom asking the two Scotts what they had liked best about the dinner, and both of them just kind of hesitating . . .
I just have to say how much my hubby and I love this show. Glad Richard’s from Atlanta - makes us proud!
Yes, Lisa gives me the willies and Dale is just a pain in the ass.
Go Richard!
I think it was really nice of Richard to share the glory with Stephanie, but if her cake wasn’t as good as the other team’s, I don’t think she really deserved it. I understand that a wedding cake in that kind of time crunch without experience is extraordinary, but they’re supposed to be the cream of the crop anyway.
The quickfire prize was just stupid, if they didn’t even know what kind of food the bride and groom wanted yet. And Richard’s reason for choosing the bride was dumb, too; unless he was translating “It’s all about the bride” to “we’ll automatically win because no one will give a crap what the other team does,” I don’t see how it helps. Kudos to the team, anyway, though (but star anise spinach? Gross!).
I still like Dale, though the locker punch was uncalled for. I’ve known people who’d do the same thing and worse under such circumstances, it’s not really bizarre to me. It was hilarious that they didn’t bleep it, though. Spike, however, is just a class-A-asshole. At least he didn’t beat around the bush, I guess - just made it patently obvious what kind of competition he’s making it. Seeing your team at a disadvantage? Grab someone else’s dish, not to share/balance the load or to make sure the client gets what they want, but to give yourself a lifesaver as your team fails. Gossip like a fishwife about one team member spreading himself too thin, without lifting a finger to help or advise or pull your team together - instead, make sure all the rest of the team is poisoned against him with the same story. When said team member’s about to blow his stack? Goad him and call him a bitch, then try to sidestep and admonish him to make yourself look good (luckily it didn’t work). Lots of other contestants may possibly get a pass for what they say being out of context or edited in/repeated from a different time (for instance, I highly doubt it was actually Jen’s idea to make “doing it for Zoi” her mantra, and I think people who viewed Dale’s earlier crotch grab as a direct misogynist statement of hateful violence really need to get out more), but what Spike was saying and doing there didn’t leave much room for reinterpretation.
This is why I hate the team challenges (unless each team member has one specific dish to be responsible for) - then little weasel-y parlor tricks like Spike’s have a better chance to affect the outcome and take the focus away from the food (I hardly even got to see the food this episode!). Well, I also hate team challenges because they don’t make any sense. If you try to satisfy your teammates by compromising, or if you simply aren’t interested in spending all your time arguing with them, you’re not top chef material because you can’t handle leadership. If you fight for a dominant role to fix a problem, you’re not a team player. The person with immunity must be shunted off and ignored. A lead chef in real life doesn’t figure out how to deal with subordinates that suck, he just doesn’t hire them. And not everyone can lead at the same time.
Still, Nikki was clearly the loser here. It was her time to shine and she just whined and divorced herself from everything, and made purportedly crappy pasta. The mayonnaise whining made me roll my eyes, too.
I thought that the cake issue was sort of a draw. Stephanie’s looked prettier, the other one tasted better. I would be inclined to award that part of the challenge to Stephanie; as long as it doesn’t taste awful, does anyone really, really care what a wedding cake tastes like? I think it’s more about the appearance than anything else, and given the time constraints I thought she turned out a great looking cake. Remember, too, that even “cream of the crop” chefs rarely dabble in pastries/desserts/cakes. It really is a fairly specialized area of expertise.
As for Richard choosing the bride’s side, I interpreted that as a bit of…I don’t know…bravado? But in a good way. I thought it was a way of essentially telling the judges, “I’m confident enough in me and my team that I’m going to pick the person who’s likely to be pickier, more demanding, and more likely to be problematic. And we’re going to kick ass.” Reading even more into things that are not in evidence, it is possible he thought that in some ways cooking for the bride might be easier. She would probably have a more definite vision of what she wanted, giving his team more specific direction in how to work. He might have thought that the groom would be too lackadaisical, resulting in a vague and unspecific direction for the team to head. I don’t know that it actually worked out that way, but it could have informed his decision.