# Top Chef - 8/22 (Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2007, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598 "2007-08-23T04:00:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/1 "2007-08-23T04:00:35Z")
Timber… One of the big trees (or Tres) fall Farewell Tre. I thought you would be here till the end. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/2 "2007-08-23T04:04:52Z")
I was kind of surprised and disappointed. It should have been CJ. He’s been getting more and more smug every week. I started off pretty neutral on him then went to mild annoyance but he really lost me tonight with his self-congratulatory speech about “beating” testicular cancer. (FYI, dude, medical science and your physicians got rid of your cancer. You had nothing to do with it). Unfortunately, he also appears to be getting a winner’s edit. He’ll probably be in the finals. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/3 "2007-08-23T04:12:08Z")
After I think about it, I’m not that surprised. Both of the last two weeks Tre created dishes that caused the judges to retch. A good chef might get the overlook on one dish, but not two in a row. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/4 "2007-08-23T04:27:56Z")
[QUOTE=flickster] After I think about it, I’m not that surprised. Both of the last two weeks Tre created dishes that caused the judges to retch. A good chef might get the overlook on one dish, but not two in a row. [/QUOTE] I have to agree. I thought tre was the one to beat. Tre? smoked potatoes can be good, what were you thinking? I think the judges gave him a pass last week because of his strong record. He screwed up two weeks in a row, not good. Casey and Sarah did well in this challenge, Sarah has been underrated. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/5 "2007-08-23T04:48:09Z")
Tre was doing so well too. You can’t really argue with the decision. The dessert was uninspired, and if the fish dish was half as bad as the judges said he just had to go. I think Howie, Hung, and Brian are the remaining contenders. I like Casey a lot, but she just hasn’t done as well as everyone else. Sara did well this round but she has been very weak. Dale has done ok, and I’d say he’s the best of the rest, but he hasn’t wowed me. CJ has just been kind of surviving, but not winning. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/6 "2007-08-23T06:42:35Z")
Tre was the most well rounded of all of the Top Chef contestants- he was very skilled, he was a leader with presence, and he took calculated risks that paid off. Well, at least he was all of this until the past two weeks. He screwed up badly with his cooking and he decided to take a laid back approach as a leader. His team was uninspired. The edits seemed to show that the reason that Sara’s team won was because she was very tough and demanding. I don’t think we have seen a female chef take command like that. The short bald headed guy didn’t act like an ass, which helped the team not shoot itself. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/7 "2007-08-23T11:07:04Z")
One criticism I have of this show (and most others as well) is that I wish they would dispense with the loser first, and end the show with the winner. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/8 "2007-08-23T12:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=gravitycrash] Casey and Sarah did well in this challenge. [/QUOTE] What exactly did Casey do again? She blew the quickfire for her team. I couldn’t believe what she was doing with those onions - I can finely dice an onion quicker than she did! And she blew her dish during the elimination challenge. She even admitted it was overdone. I understand why Tre was booted, but I was really hoping they’d boot Casey. She’s a big bleah for me. Never does anything outstanding at all. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/9 "2007-08-23T13:29:23Z")
Not to mention that Brian did NOTHING in this episode. I thought Tre would be a finalist, but producing dishes that were awful two weeks running made it easy for the judges. I think Howie is the front runner, assuming he decides to make something other than braised pork. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/10 "2007-08-23T15:03:18Z")
[QUOTE=Mesquite-oh] He screwed up badly with his cooking and he decided to take a laid back approach as a leader. His team was uninspired. [/QUOTE] I think his eavesdropping on the other team when they were planning their menu contributed to that. His attitude seemed to be that he was expecting Sarah’s team to lose based on their menu. When rabbit wasn’t available, the other team easily changed to another dish on the fly and pulled it off. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/11 "2007-08-23T15:24:06Z")
[QUOTE=Athena] What exactly did Casey do again? She blew the quickfire for her team. I couldn’t believe what she was doing with those onions - I can finely dice an onion quicker than she did! And she blew her dish during the elimination challenge. She even admitted it was overdone. I understand why Tre was booted, but I was really hoping they’d boot Casey. She’s a big bleah for me. Never does anything outstanding at all. [/QUOTE] Ok, I do agree that Casey needs knife lessons in a big way. Heck, I can dice an onion faster than that also. It is looking like sweating Howie may be the front runner now. I still can’t believe Tre is gone, did he just have a couple of bad days ? Maybe I’m defending Casey because of the eye candy factor. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/12 "2007-08-23T17:17:26Z")
Forgot to mention Stephen’s guest appearance as the sommelier. Glad to see that he has toned down his personality somewhat. Even then, I think Dale kept him on a pretty tight rein. As for Casey, how is someone with those horrible knife skills even in this competition? ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/13 "2007-08-23T17:45:38Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I was kind of surprised and disappointed. It should have been CJ. He’s been getting more and more smug every week. I started off pretty neutral on him then went to mild annoyance but he really lost me tonight with his self-congratulatory speech about “beating” testicular cancer. (FYI, dude, medical science and your physicians got rid of your cancer. You had nothing to do with it). [/QUOTE] 😕 Really? I’m sorry, but that just seems to me like you’re \*looking \* for excuses not to like him. Of course, I’m not one to speak because I absolutely loathe Hung, and I know a good portion of that is showmanship and editting. His “who?” response to other cast members in the dining room…I’d like to say I was surprised, but I guess I wasn’t, coming from him. There’s something else he did earlier on that annoyed the hell out of me, too, but I can’t recall at the moment what it was. Might have been his reaction to Stephen. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/14 "2007-08-23T17:54:19Z")
I thought Hung’s “who are they?” moment was kind of funny but I think it was because he was focused on his work and the names just didn’t really register at first. I like Hung. I’m rooting for him at this point. I don’t see the arrogance that some others seem to see. I see _confidence_, but not arrogance. C.J. is the one who always seems like a self-satisfied jerk to me, and at least Hung can back it up. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/15 "2007-08-23T18:04:26Z")
I actually like everyone who’s left at this point, so I’m in that awkward position where I don’t really want to see anybody else go home. ---
**Author:** ![Flea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d78d45/32.png) [@Flea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flea)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/16 "2007-08-23T18:11:31Z")
Loved it. At the beginning,Howie acts all patronizing of Sara and says he’s just doing it to get by because it’s a team challenge. Then later on, when the lamb is underdone he almost yells at her that it’s because it just needed to ‘rest’ more, and Sara tells him in this deadly voice to put it back in the oven. He slams the door in a hissy, and later on the judges say the lamb was “cooked to perfection”. I was clapping my hands in glee. What an asshat that Howie is. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/17 "2007-08-23T18:19:56Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] I actually like everyone who’s left at this point, so I’m in that awkward position where I don’t really want to see anybody else go home. [/QUOTE] I have the reverse problem. I don’t really like anybody who is left. I think Howie should have been sent home at least four times now, and I’m baffled on why he gets to make crappy-ass risotto and braised pork every week, and yet, he stays. Hung’s “Who?” had me laughing out loud. I mean, why would he even give a fuck if they were out there? Are they judging? Are they going to throw on an apron and help with the service? No? Then leave Hung alone and let him work… ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/18 "2007-08-23T19:00:08Z")
I was impressed that Sara was able to assert herself with Howie and Hung and keep both of them in line. She took the responsibility of the quality of the food very seriously, and the results really seemed to show. I think Tre was the only choice to go. The other may not have contributed as much as they should have, but he was in charge _and_ the food he personally made sucked. You can dodge a bullet with one or the other, but both? And after being given a second chance? Nuh-uh. It was also nice to see Camille again, especially with her hair down, relaxed and smiling. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/19 "2007-08-23T21:03:19Z")
I love Tre, but I completely understand why he was sent home. In addition to his unsuccessful dishes, there was the issue of kitchen management. You don’t necessarily have to get into someone’s face a la Gordon Ramsay to maintain quality control. If Tre had been paying attention and saw how Casey’s monkfish came out, then he should’ve said something. Ditto CJ’s oversalted lobster salad. Hell, if I knew my own dishes were under par, _I_ would’ve done something to correct it. I never got that “sense of urgency” vibe from him. Nevertheless, Tre’s a class act. I was sorry to see him go. I would’ve pegged him to be in the final 3, if not 2. As for the others…at this point, I have absolutely no speculation as to who’ll be the finalists because it’s looking as though none of them – even Hung – is a sure bet. But I’m willing to speculate that either CJ or my beloved Brian will be the next to leave, barring Howie doing or saying anything more asshat-y than he’s done/said before. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598/20 "2007-08-23T23:38:40Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] I have the reverse problem. I don’t really like anybody who is left. I think Howie should have been sent home at least four times now, and I’m baffled on why he gets to make crappy-ass risotto and braised pork every week, and yet, he stays. [/QUOTE] Collichio just likes having someone else bald around? But generally, in a show like this, for me, liking someone=knowing their name. I’m not really pulling for anyone in particular, although, based on the edits, the final 2 will be CJ and Hung. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-8-22-spoilers/416598.md?page=2)