Top Chef All Stars - Season 8

Yay!!!

I’m happy for Richard.

I was impressed at how much Spike helped him during the challenge. At first it seemed like Spike didn’t want to be chosen and would have rather been on the beach, but I have to say, once he was on board he was really on board and I was really impressed at the way he talked Richard through the challenge. He knew all the right things to say, reassuring him about the judges loving his dishes and then giving him a heads up about the ice cream (and doing it in a way that didn’t greak Richard out) and helping him adjust it. He was a great teammate in that challenge. He could have walked through it, but went above and beyond.

I have to admit, though, pepperoni sauce sounds pretty good. So does cap’n Crunch ice cream, for that matter.

Carla Hall won fan favorite.

I wish there was a 2nd place prize. Richard gets 200 grand. Mike gets zip. That sucks consindering the millions Bravo probably made off this show.

Richard lucked out with better sous chefs. Mike got Carla (no restaurant experience) and Jaime both pretty slow on the line. But, it is what it is.

How many times did Gail say “pepperoni sauce?” I think I counted at least 5.

Yeah! I’m so glad Richard won. I also love how Spike came thru for him.
I hope Richard will start to believe in himself now. Didn’t he say he would give Mike some of his winnings? I wonder if he did…

He did win $15,000 and a Prius from Quickfire Challenges. I don’t know what he won (if anything) from his Elimination wins.

They talked about this during the “Watch What Happens.” They were talking about him investing in the new restaurant (and apparently they had this discussion multiple times during the season), but all the investor slots filled up.

Maybe it was the editing. I’ve never seen Restaurant Wars execute this perfectly and drama free. The lines seemed to be cranking out perfect food for both teams. Nothing was coming back. I’d swear they’d been cooking together for months. A lot of RW’s wind up as total meltdowns. Amazing they pulled this off so well.

I guess that proves these chefs can really cook together when they aren’t playing the top chef game.

They gave an idea of a restaurant, but I wouldn’t really call this a restaurant wars challenge. I don’t think the front house people had to do nearly as much work, and the chef came out to personally introduce the dish. Not as many diners either.

I would love to have the chance to eat either of those meals but I am so happy Blaise won. YAY!

I love that he sent Spike out to spy for him. That was great.

And so happy that Blaise won. I kept thinking that they were giving Mike the redemption edit, the edit where they swear he’s not a total ass and so people won’t be too angry if he wins.
But yay!

Which chefs do you think improved their reputation the best and the worst out of this season? Who were the winners and losers in terms of improving their reputation? For me it would be something like this:

Opinion improved
Dale T - He came out looking great both cooking skill wise and personality wise. Definitely one of the big winners this season.
Mike Isabella - This might be a surprising pick. I already knew he was an asshole, so it’s not like my opinion of him worsened during this season. I did come out with more respect for his cooking skills, though. That doesn’t mean I have to like him, though.
Antonia - Though she didn’t quite make it to the finale, she did very well.
Richard - I already thought he was a great chef from before, and he always had some issues with being too arrogant at times, and being too paranoid about his own food at other times. Hopefully the win will give him a little more confidence.

Pretty much the same as before
Carla - Liked her before, and still like her
Fabio - He came out as mostly charming and sometimes annoying as before. He also showed both really good dishes and bad ones.
Spike
Marcel
Tre
Tiffany
Angelo
Tiffani
Stephen - While he was eliminated early, he took it very graciously.

Opinion worsened:
Jaime - I was fairly neutral toward her in her original season, and consider her one of the worst contestants ever now.
Jen - While I still respect her as a chef, that meltdown sure didn’t do her any favours.
Elia - Came off as childish, petulant, and a poor chef. The post-elimination interviews were painful to read.
Dale L - A very early elimination for someone who was in the finale in his season. He suffered a lot less than some of the others though, as he seemed to part on good terms.
Casey - Another early elimination

This and none of the other contestants were competing anymore. They just had to do what Mike and Richard told them.

Richard is going to die an early death. On that Andy Cohen show immediately following he looked even worse. Brilliant food, excessive fondness for bone marrow, but sooooooooo freaking tortured. Manic depression city.

Also, I already hate the new host of Masters.

And although fond of females on occasion, I have never had such a juvenile urge to motorboat some tittays as I do with Padma. That should be embarrassing, but c’mon, y’all agree.

Oh, thanks. I didn’t watch that show. I hope the restaurant is a success.
I want to be a judge on Top Chef. Dream Job!

I think he’s extremely hot, though. Does anyone remember him from that show where he would surprise women in the grocery store, and they would take him home where he would teach them to cook dinner? He’s on a commercial for kitchen cabinets, too - the cool ones that close slowly, and are specialized for pots and pans and spices and such.

:goes off to look for links:

ETA: Curtis Stone

I don’t normally watch Watch what Happens, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen another production where everyone from the host and guests down to the best boy and key grip were so completely sloshed out of their gourds.

Yeah, I don’t remember the exact name of the show, but my wife and I just called MILF Hunter because he’d always zero in on the suburban hotties.

Then you clearlly never saw the after-show special following the series finale of Cheers.

Ha! Actually I had. And I was thinking of that when watching last night. But even though only the host thought to bring a drink on camera, I’m pretty sure the amount consumed topped the Cheers’ finale.