They did use asparagus in the dish, and Tom asked if Mattin had shot that idea down. So using asparagus was a bad thing, and one of the reasons they were on the bottom along with the bacon taste. Tom’s point was that Mattin should have shot the idea down instead of going along with it. It was definitely not something the judges thought made the dish better.
What I don’t quite understand is what happened in between. Ashley wants to use green asparagus in the dish, and Mattin says you don’t put asparagus in a veloute. Ashley says she’s going along with Mattin, but then asparagus does end up on the plate somehow.
That experience must have been horribly bitter-sweet for Kevin. On the one hand, he got to have casual time with Joël Robuchon (for somebody of that caliber, they sure insisted on mispronouncing his name). On the other hand, he will never get to hear what Robuchon had to say about his food, knowing that he’s one of the top-tiers in the competition. It’s such a huge “what if?”-situation.
It seems I misunderstood what they were saying at the judges table at first. They were criticising putting the asparagus on the plate as it is, but thought that it would have been better to flavour the veloute with it instead. Ashley did have the right idea in that case for suggesting it, and Mattin was wrong in shooting the idea down. He didn’t own up to shooting the idea down in the judges table either.
I liked seeing the Jen-Mike V. super team. They were so focused, and so sympatico, they barely had to talk to each other, and you could tell they enjoyed the hell out of working together. Great chemistry there.
Mike I. once again latched onto a V. brother and rode Bryan’s coattails. Bryan told him how to make that deconstructed bearnaise sauce, then Mike V. took credit for it himself. That guy is starting to wear on my nerves. It bugged me last week when he said that Jen was winning challenges because of “favoritism” too. What a tool.
Agreed that the top 4 are highly predictable at this point.
It was kind of funny how Hector just turned and walked away after they told him to pack his knives instead of giving the ass-kissing thank you speech like they usually do. Still, cooking a tenderloin is something even amateurs can do. No excuse for screwing it up and not leaving himself time to let it rest.
To further explain what happened with Mattin, from Tom Colicchio’s blog on this episode:
(I’d bet money ‘volute’ is merely a Cupertino for velouté.)
I like Ashley, though it’s clear she’s outclassed by the top folks. I hope she manages to stay on a bit longer, though.
I wonder if the selection process intentionally picks some people who’ll be out quick. Even though anyone who makes it on the show is going to be a pretty competent chef, some of them just aren’t going to make it. Ashley expressed some fears about leaving early potentially hurting one’s career. I don’t know how true that is, but it may be that the early losers are there so that the rest don’t feel so bad leaving.
My feeling is that this was the last, or nearly the last, of the truly bottom-level contenders. I think that the judges may get harder on them from now on.
And I like Kelly Choi way better than Padma too, StmMaddie.
Brian’s big reward for winning was to get to cook for a week in Robuchon’s restaurant, but I could swear I heard Robuchon say that any of the “candidates” would be welcome to come cook for him. Correct me if you have Tivo.
Right now, it’s like a two-tiered contest- the Brothers V, Jen, and Kevin, and the rest of the pack.
When a beautifully Frenched rack of friggen Rabbit is still second best, you don’t want to be putting up over- breaded frog legs, dry raviolli, bloody tenderloin, or any of that stuff.
How long do you cook a Frenched rack of rabbit? 39 seconds? 42 seconds?
The rest of the season is going to be something, I bet.
I like Padma better and I think she’s gotten better as the seasons progressed. From what I understand, she was high pretty constantly in seasons 2 and 3. I mean, literally stoned as the cameras were rolling and taking smoke breaks in between shots. I don’t know if she’s laid off the marijuana but I’m fairly certain the producers had a come to Jesus moment with her and said “you’ll stop smoking while you’re working.” You can tell in the last few seasons she’s not as spacy, nor as prone to make non sequiturs.
Also, when she first started she’d make food critiques all the time. You could tell by the judges’ faces they were either thinking “Dude…shut the ef up. You’re the host, not the judge.” or perhaps “why the hell are we continuing to listen to a woman so stoned out of her goard, she’d chow down on cheetos and call it a delicacy.”
Either way, I’ve noticed that her comments in the past few seasons, if not valued, then at least not subjected to a set of rolled eyes.
Yup, he did say that. We paused at that point and yammered about how fook, that’s about all you want as a chef, game over! Then when the big prize was a stage at his restaurant we were all like “Waitaminute, didn’t he say they could all have JOBS there?”
Yeah, and I’ve probably eaten food prepared (or served) by someone who didn’t wash their hands after going to the baffroom. When it happens off-stage, behind the scenes, I don’t see it and it don’t bother me.
We were at an expensive Chicago restaurant, and we have a view of the kitchen. We watched the chefs use a stirring spoon to taste, and then put the spoon back in the pot to stir. We were appalled, and nauseated. We’d never go back to that restaurant. (We did find a way to mention it to the maitre d’ as we were leaving.)
But Brian already has his own restaurant (Volt). I doubt he’d be willing to give that up to go get a job in some other chef’s kitchen, even if it is Joel Robuchon. But I bet he’s pretty thrilled to go spend a week working with him, and then take what he learns back to his own restaurant.
You might want to look a little more carefully. Maybe it has happened UTR once or twice*, but more often they taste and then dispose of the spoon instead of putting it back into the food. This is something any judge on any cooking show would make a note of (in one season of Top Chef, the first person kicked off that season was kicked off for that exact reason).
*I’m speaking of the US version, though somehow I don’t see the original Japanese show practicing even worse hygiene than their American counterparts.
I’ve seen them bust contestants on Chopped (Food Network) for it as well. However, if it has snuck through on Iron Chef, it’s probably because (last I read about it) the speed-prepared food isn’t used for the judging table anyway.
