Season 4 starts tonight. Hoping it will be a good season.
New host, Curtis Stone. Darn, I wanted him to be cooking. Why is a guy that trained under Marco Pierre White hosting?
Also a new judge, Ruth Reichl. Thank goodness James Oseland is back as judge.
Chefs - a few have been on before (Art Smith)
Krista Simmons
Francis Lam
Patricia Yeo
Takashi Yagihashi
Art Smith
Sue Torres
Thierry Rautureau
Missy Robbins
Kerry Heffernan
Debbie Gold
Lorena Garcia
Mark Gaier
Clark Frasier
Chris Cosentino
I thought they got off to a good start. It’s nice seeing some really serious cooking again. Vegas was the best season ever in regular Top Chef. I’m hoping they’ll be just as good in Masters. Art looks so strange skinny. Nice seeing Thierry Rautureau (the French guy in the straw hat) again. He got eliminated first the last time he was on.
Repeats at 10:30 Central and I’ll have more to say after seeing it again.
I am shocked they eliminated someone. I thought the lady that cut herself and left would count as this weeks elimination. Eliminating two people screws up their production schedule. Unless they were planning a double elimination sometime anyhow.
He ran one of Marco’s Michelin star restaurants for a few years. He took a break and did the tv thing in Australia. I guess the money is too good to ever stop and start cooking in a restaurant again.
He hasn’t cooked at a pro level in over five years. He may not be at Top Chef Masters level anymore. He’d need to jump back in the kitchen somewhere and cook for at least a year to get back his skills.
That was a bit bizarre - I got strong flashbacks to a couple of old movies. First, the Asian lady (Patricia) reminded me of Linda Hunt on “The Year of Living Dangerously” in both her androgynous look and her voice, which was a dead match.
The older blonde male couple looked like were both trying to imitateRocky Horror from the Picture Show, and were rather successful.
I really liked tonight’s episode. No weird tricks or stupid requirements. Just make a fabulous wedding for a wonderful couple. They had plenty of chefs and that made a big difference. As I recall top Chef S1 had to do a wedding with only six chefs.
I’m liking this group a lot already. There are some genuine personalities. One guy even lost his temper at Whole Foods. But, when Art got into trouble they busted their asses helping him. Really a nice group of professionals. I hope the attitude doesn’t change as the season rolls on.
[SPOILER]I am mystified by who went home. Serving raw meat has ALWAYS been the absolute unforgivable sin on Top Chef. I’m baffled why that guy didn’t go home with the raw salmon dish. That grilled cabbage must have really reeked to send the lady chef home.
I’m glad Art was ok. They’ve said many times that professional wedding cakes takes several days to make. Art had 12 hours. At least it tasted good.[/SPOILER]
Art was unusually obnoxious this episode-- I don’t know if he just got a bad edit, or what…
“I’ve made cakes for FAMOUS PEOPLE and my cakes are AWESOME and my wedding was full of AWESOME FAMOUS PEOPLE!”
Art boosted a lot the last season he was on. He does seem edgier and more quick tempered this season. Art got a much needed slice of humble pie after that cake fell. He looked mortified as he wheeled it out to the wedding guests.
It was nice not having a QF this episode.
Blogs for this episode. http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/season-4/blogs
Curtis describes the food. Makes me hungry. I’m impressed at how well these chefs did. Weddings are often not very successful on regular Top Chef.
When Art was gushing to the bride about how “I made a cake for LADY GAGA!!!”, all I was thinking was if I were the bride, I’d be a lot more repulsed by that fact than the bride on the show seemed to be.
I’ve just got to say that everyone needs to read Hugh Acheson’s blogs. He’s a hoot.
Art was insufferable, and I’m glad he got his comeuppance. I think the blond couple look like twins and that’s sort of icky.
I love TC Masters, because there’s usually so little boasting, and “my dish was clearly superior (when they haven’t even tasted the dish they’re comparing theirs to)”. I like it because the Masters are usually openly admiring and supportive of their opponents.
Art better get a mirror and check his ass for spur marks. Chris rode that dude like a first year sous chef.
Let’ ignore Chris. This group’s professionalism is how great cooking happens. These people have each others backs. They seem so happy for whoever wins.
Also, I like seeing these Masters get back into the grove of cooking. So many of them spend a lot of time running their businesses. They seem so excited to focus entirely on cooking for a change. I’ve always wondered if Masters sparks a new burst of creativity after the show is over? I can see some of these chefs getting back to experimenting & creating new dishes for their kitchens to serve.
[SPOILER]So long Mark. Top Chef’s scallop karma claims another victim. I just wonder if Clark can focus and continue without Mark.
There was a lesbian couple on TC awhile ago. The partner got eliminated and then the next episode the other one left. She seemed thrown off her game and worried about he SO.[/SPOILER]
It’s all about the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. Great scenery and perfect for high def. Didn’t know the B52’s were still touring.
The Indian tribe at the Grand Canyon is the one that built the Skywalk a few years ago. I’ve been wanting to visit for awhile. The chefs did a great job coping with unfamiliar ingredients. That banana yucca was a tough challenge. The prickly pear wasn’t easy either.
[SPOILER]I wanted to see Kerry leave. He went for fine dining when he knew the challenge was family style served outdoors at the canyon. That mismatch of style messed up Clark’s rustic corn dish.
So long Clark. I barely learned your name.
[/SPOILER]
As always with TCM, I was impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness the contestants brought to the challenge - you’re fire isn’t going well? Use mine.
I like watching them all hang out watching the judging remotely. It lets them really express themselves without having to worry about ticking off the judges.
Indigo Girls this week. Plus scrumptious Holly Madison. Fun episode. Pool parties are always fun. Looked like some really good food. Lorena continues to surprise me. I only knew her from the Taco Bell ads.
I liked Thierry Rautureau. Glad he did better than his last season.
I didn’t care much for tonights episode. Dita Von Teese’s sexy comments about food seemed too fake and forced. I could almost hear the director encouraging her to say more and more outrageous stuff.
Wow, Patricia has a temper. This was the most stressed I’ve seen the Masters. The challenge was so silly and impossible. Open a Restaurant in 8 hours and make Thai food. Something only Patricia had any experience with. I felt bad seeing these great chefs serve this bad food to an expert Thai chef. That had to be embarrassing.
According to James Oseland the food was pretty bad.
It’s best to forget this episode and hope next week is better.
So long Art. He’s a great southern cook. But he’s not really a Master chef. I’m surprised Art got this far in the competition.
I liked the new head to head cooking challenge. Especially because it took two lost challenges to go home. Thats more of a match style competition. I hope we see this EC on regular top chef.
Lorena has really surprised me this season. The master chefs are beginning to respect her skills. She can cook with the best of them.
Next week is the final 4. Where did this season go? It’s flew by quick.
I thought Takashi would win this season. Can’t believe he got out cooked tonight.
I was reading the bios for the final 4. I didn’t realize Kerry had worked for Tom Colicchio. Kerry hasn’t got a lot of screen time. He’s been in the middle most of the season. He may surprise us and come out strong in the finals.
Right now, Chris seems on track to win. But strange things happen on Top Chef.
I’m impressed at how well these chefs did. Weddings are often not very successful on regular Top Chef.