I thought it was a really lame episode myself. First of all, I never like seeing families on the show. It’s sappy, cornball sentiment. Famlies should never be seen on the show. Secondly, the editing made it obvious from Jump Street that no one was going home. The fact that the families were there meant the judges weren’t going to say anything critical no matter how shitty the food was, so it was pretty clear they never intended to send anyone home in the firts place. It was just a filler episode. Bring in the families. let them cook smack within their confort zones, flatter everybody and send them all through. I thought the whole episode seemed phony and staged.
I’m starting to get a little tired of Carla, by the way. She’s just so precious all the time, and that wide-eyed look of surprise about every little compliment is starting to wear a little thin.
Mike’s an even bigger loser than I thought. Pretty sad when his SO has to be his mom at his age. Doesn’t he even have a girlfriend?
Man, Riichard procreates at the worst times. During his season finale he was distracted because his wife was days away from giving birth. So, now in All Stars his wife is ready for baby #2. The news reported Feb 5, that the baby girl was born.
That’s pretty close to when they filmed the All Stars finale. I “think” it was filmed in January. Eric Ripert tweeted a pic of him and Jenn in the surf about 5 weeks ago (I posted the link in this thread back then). So it’s Deja Vu all over again for Richard and the finale.
I think moms were the main choice from the producers - 3 moms vs 2 spouses (Richard mentioned in the voiceover his mom died 2 months previously, I don’t remember Carla mentioning her mom).
I really loved this episode. I had a strong feeling they were going to put them all through when it was obvious the food was so good across the board. Maybe Diogenes is right and the whole thing is phony but I don’t buy it. There was genuine emotion going on in this episode and the family members being there seemed to inspire each of the chefs. Gail Simmons says as much in her blog entry about this episode.
She also has some comments about Blais that may be telling about where things are going:
Also, I get the impression next week isn’t the Final episode. Isn’t the finale usually two episodes? So someone gets eliminated next week (maybe 2 since we have a Final 5) and then the following episode is the actual FINALE. Or have I misunderstood something?
Last season they had a two part finale in Singapore (one got eliminated and then 3 went to the final). I’m pretty sure they are doing a 2 part finale in the Bahamas for All Stars. Probably 2 eliminated in the semi and then 3 in the final.
The judges did a poor job of hiding the fact that no one was getting eliminated. As soon as Padma said, “I think we’ve made our decision,” they showed all the other judges and they were all smiling. That nailed it right there for me.
And Padma pulling the fake-out on Richard? Man, that was painful to watch. If the judges already know he’s mentally fragile (as Gail mentioned in her blog), then that was bordering on cruel. I was ready for Richard to just spout out a, “What the fuck, Padma?!?!”
Yeah, I’m going to call a double-elimination on next weeks show too.
Hehe. When he knew he’d been had, he did get out an under-his-breath "Why would you…’ before he simply said thank you and took his leave. Their was definitely potential for a rant there.
I enjoyed watching an episode where the contestants were able to cook food of their choosing without any silly constraints. It demonstrates what they are capable of. It also shows why they sometimes have those silly constraints. Without them, they would have a much more difficult time eliminating anyone.
[hijack] The wife and I ate at Casey Thompson’s restaraunt (Brownstone) in Fort Worth a few weeks ago. The food was suprisingly and enjoyable simple and very well prepared. We will definitely try it again. [\hijack]
The other thing about the fakeout on Richard, of course, is that it’s also a fakeout on Tiffany and Carla… who go from stressed to “oh thank God it’s not me” back to stressed… I really think that’s just mean.
But the episode as a whole was great fun, aside from the Quickfire, which was pretty lame.
But are they going this whole season without doing my absolute favorite Quickfire, the tag team cooking? Damn it!
The second time watching the previews I caught that there was more to the finals than Padma in a bikini. Not that there needs to be.
But there was a voice over that the chefs would be competing head to head against the winners of their season. Which seems to give Carla a huge leg up since middle of the road Hosea won her season. But…
Antonio and Richard were in the same season won by Stephanie. Wonder if that means one of them is eliminated before that competition.
The first episode filmed in the Bahamas. Pretty major clusterfuck all the way around for the production and the chefs. Tom had to pick a winner from dishes he obviously hated. It pisses me off that they bring the original TC season winners together and then waste their talents making them cook on hotplates.
The QF burner things they set up outside didn’t work. That pretty much screwed up all the chefs food. Then in the EC the restaurant had a defective fryer that overheated the oil until it caught fire. The chefs lost all their original food and had to start over and redo everything the same night. It’s not surprising the food was not very good.
Mike deserves a lot of credit for delivering a really good dish with many layers of flavor. He stayed focused in spite of all the production issues.
It’s a shame Carla let the QF mess up her confidence. I hate seeing anyone go when clearly the whole night was screwed up.
I agree this was a serious mess of an episode. But then Top Chef has become more about who can make good food while having poo flung at you than really about who can make a really amazing meal.
Last week pretty much showed us all of these people are incredibly talented and under normal working conditions can put together great food.
Yeah, I’m not a “Every challenge should just be cook good food” person, but this episode was pretty lame. I get the feeling that after last weeks episode and the upcoming finale, the producers decided just to completely put them in shitty conditions. Even before the fire that was a pretty crappy kitchen.
Also, sucks for Antonia to lose the Quickfire to Steph. Stephanie is a great chef but I remember always being horrible in the Quickfires in her season.
I’m trying to figure out if that was a set up or not. It first I figured the kitchen hood fire suppression system would activate. When it didn’t, I thought that maybe that kitchen didn’t have one. Then in the next shot where they zoom out a little, I see the nozzles of the kitchen hood fire suppression system.
Sometimes I get tired of the bullshit gimmicks the chefs have to deal with: Induction heaters that crap out, having to cook with equipment they in a Target store, cook a meal using nothing but sawdust, a styrofoam cup, and a candle, etc..
This really was a crappy episode, and it made me realize how disappointed I am in how this season has turned out. I believe that three or four of the strongest chefs this season didn’t make it to the final, and we’re left with a group of really mediocre finalists with maybe one or two exceptions. It doesn’t help that the two I think arguably deserve their spot in the finale (Richard, Antonia) each have a major flaw: Richard that he has the oddest and most annoying combination of enormous ego and self doubt Ive ever seen, and Antonia that her food is apprently very well executed, but it’s also very simple which doesn’t make for compelling tv. I’d love to eat her food, but unlike, say, Richard or Mike Voltaggio, there’s nothing interesting about just looking at it, which after all is all we can do as viewers.
Unlike past finales, i realized i didnt care who they sent home last night because there are still so many weak contestants. I cant remember a season where i felt like at least 3 of the finalists were much, much worse than multiple people who went home earlier. It made for great viewing when there was that feeling that anyone could go home anytime and we lost Jen, then Angelo, then Dale the downside to that excitement is that you get to the end and only mediocrity remains
I also thought they really wasted the season winners in that lake quickfire.
Eh, if Mopey McScallop was still around I’d be annoyed, but otherwise I think the only relative “mediocrity” ( an ugly word for someone who can no doubt outcook me 100x over ) in the final five, now four, is Tiffany.
Richard was the odds on favorite from day one, so he hardly falls into that category. And the other three have generally won me over with solid wins throughout the competition. As good as Dale? Not from what I saw. But better than mediocre.
I was rooting for Dale, but Angelo was always inconsistent and won’t be missed in my eyes. I don’t care for Mike personality-wise ( as massaged by the producers, anyway ) and you accurately summed up Richard, who swings from mildly endearing ( notice how consistently helpful he is to the other cooks, whatever his ego is ) to insufferable with every tick. But if Richard or Antonia win I won’t be disappointed.
Waaahhhh! Carla was the best thing about that show. I agree that raw pork is unforgivable, and it seems that the flavors were off as well, but I just love her.
During his season finale he was distracted because his wife was days away from giving birth. So, now in All Stars his wife is ready for baby