This is a very interesting Final Four. I was really rooting for Takashi to win it all. Oh, well. As long as Chris doesn’t win, I’m ok with the result.
I was pulling for him the season he was on Next Iron Chef. That’s may be where I learned not to get my hopes up with regard to cooking competition shows.
Another big, big surprise elimination this week. Really sad because the eliminated chef failed to factor in what happens when food is refrigerated overnight and served cold. The winning chef did an excellent job designing a menu that could be refrigerated overnight and served cold.
I was disappointed with Kerry in the qf. It’s one of the few times on Masters when a chef choose game play over cooking. Master chefs should be above that type of selfish game play. Most of the time they have been very professional on Masters.
[SPOILER]Lorena survives another week. I thought it was ironic she outlasted Patricia. Patricia has been talking smack about Lorena for too long.
I think Chris and Kerry will be in the final. Making the final 3 is a big accomplishment for Lorena. She’s been a lot of fun to watch this season. [/SPOILER]
Kerry was disappointing. Even Patricia noted that Lorena was running for Kerry like a sous-chef, and yet he begrudged having to toss her food on the grill. Contrast that to the team of Chris/Patricia.
StG
That was very satisfying. I started out liking Patricia, but I really got disgusted with all her abuse of Lorena. I’ve really enjoyed hearing her brag for the past two episodes about her superior skills and intelligence, and then seeing her beaten by Lorena.
Listening to the diners, it seemed as if Lorena’s meal was very well received. I personally think I would have much preferred Lorena’s meal to Kerry’s, although that was one that the judges fawned over so much. I think his diners didn’t seem nearly as enthusiastic as the judges.
I’ve liked Chris’s personality from the first show, and he seems to be a damned talented chef. I’m hoping he takes it all.
Lorena has been driving me crazy these past few episodes, so of course she sails on through. With three more Latin American dishes. With oversweet chicken salad. Colicchio would have booted her for sure.
Kerry was really being a thoughtless jerk. He was all concerned about his dish, and gave Lorena’s barely an after-thought. He took off her rice with only a few seconds to go, not leaving her any time at all to plate. I really hope he doesn’t win.
I’m jealous of those lucky high school kids. Spending the day cooking with a Master chef is a dream come true. I hope they do this EC on regular Top Chef.
Lorena has been a lot of fun this season. But, I’m glad the best two remaining chefs are going to the final.
The semifinal was one of the best episodes of any Top Chef show ever, imho. The quickfire, with the judges behind the panels, was utterly hilarious, and it was absolutely great seeing the chefs teach their dishes to high school kids, on so many levels.
My only slight complaint there is that, much as I enjoyed that challenge, I think it would have been way better off in just about any other Top Chef context… like, with 7 competitors remaining in a normal TC season, as opposed to with 3 remaning in Masters. Lorena and Kerry and Chris are presumably SO close together in terms of talent at this point that throwing such a huge randomizing element in seems like it kind of makes the winner and loser of this episode somewhat of a crapshoot.
But still, very entertaining TV.
Is it just me, or does Kerry totally lack a personality? I just find him so bland and forgettable. I’m rooting for Chris, because at least I can remember who he is.
I agree. I like Chris a lot, so I’m hoping he wins.
He is a bit bland personality-wise, although that could be a bit due to the editing. I do wish that he would break out of the American-French-Italian food genre that he seems to always cook to.
I’ve loved Chris forever, so I obviously want him to win, but Kerry creeps me out and I can’t stand him (or his type of cooking) at all.
I’m very satisfied with the conclusion. A bit surprised, given the comments, but satisfied.
StG
I’m not sure what to think. The other guy should have won just based on a whole table full of comments. It seemed like a done deal.
Either that was some incredibly misleading editing or the judges totally ignored the comments of their peers.
I still need to read the Bravo blogs. Honestly, I’m not into offal. Heck, I rarely eat pork at all except for bacon and sausage for breakfast. I wouldn’t have eaten much of the winners food.
Ditto. I think he is quite a talented chef, but I wouldn’t eat anything he cooked, because who knows what strange shit he put in it.
I’m glad that this season was a good one. The challenges were reasonable and there was only one episode that I didn’t like. The high point had to be cooking and dining at the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Teaching the kids to cook is my 2nd favorite.
I nearly didn’t watch this season. I was so disgusted with the last one. Challenges like cooking in a RV racing down the road through traffic are the absolute worst of Top Chef. Season 3 had a bunch of really badly designed challenges. I felt so bad for the chefs. They weren’t allowed to use their talent and training.
Thank goodness they got it right Season 4. I’d say its a close tie between S1 and S4 for my favorite.
For the first half of the season I had no real awareness of Kerry. By the time I learned his name I was finding him rather off putting. I’ve liked Chris C since he appeared on Next Iron Chef a while ago. For that reason I was kind of hoping for a Cosentino win.
While I have no reason NOT to support Parkinson’s research, I have a family connection to City Harvest and would have been very happy for them to get the money. So a Kerry win wouldn’t have been bad.
Overall, I do agree that this season was an improvement over the last one. I’m glad I watched.
I’m torn about this finale. On the one hand, I’m glad Chris won because he was by far the most engaging, personable and exciting cook. On the other hand, from everyone’s comments, it seemed clear that Kerry cook a better finale dinner. So Kerry should have won, but I’m glad he didn’t.
Palo Verde - If you read the blogs, it seems like the judges thought Kerry sort of played it safe by serving them the equivalent of Haute Comfort Food. They found Chris’s food more cutting edge, more challenging.
StG