I was impressed with just about all of them. Most of the food looked really good. Kudos to Keller for his creativity and wit.
Keller is adorable, I was rooting for him. I wanted to try that dessert.
Also, I may have to kill my co-workers. If it’s slow we always try to watch Top Chef when it’s on so I was excited we had a new one to watch and it was slow so I got to see most of it but they kept talking loudly during the show (not during the commercials) I kept moving closer and closer to the TV but I still barely heard half of it.
I really like the system of using stars to score the food. Sure, it’s all completely arbitrary still, but at least there’s something more concrete than Padme and Tom randomly yelling at the cooks. I wonder if they’ll adopt that system for the regular Top Chef series? I mean, I wish I could have seen that Hosea only beat Stefan by 1/2 star or something last season.
I think it would be tough to do because while they sometimes claim that that week’s performance determines who gets ousted, if they want to factor in past performance, it’d be harder to do usng the star system.
As for tonight–Whoop! Go San Francisco! 
I loved Keller too. Fun concept, and I’m looking forward to seeing more episodes.
I liked the show well enough but they need another name for it. It just doesn’t seem like Top Chef to me. Plus, I want my Padma.
Don’t like Keller that much at first but he won me over. Really liked all of the chefs actually. They just seemed to be more relaxed and respectful toward each other.
I liked these chefs. It’s obvious that they want to win, but it’s not live-or-die, and they enjoy each other and the competition. In fact, I think they liked seeing the Girl Scouts tasting their foods, not know who they are or caring. I bet a lot of those guys don’t get truly honest opinions often.
I really think the tasting by the judges needs to be blind. I think knowing who cooked each dish influences them, even if they don’t mean to be.
StG
I liked Keller, but man, I hated the competitions. You get 4 great chefs on the show, then make them cook for children? Kids are cute, but they don’t have great palates. I think Keller won that one because the kids liked the cute swan & mouse, not the taste.
Same thing with the elimination challenge. I want to see these guys COOK, not figure out how to use a microwave.
Overall it seemed far too dumbed-down. Top Chef the Original has been getting better with every season and the last season pretty much eschewed the stupid challenges - they never once had to cook from a vending machine, or pick all their ingredients from one aisle in the grocery store.
Unless they get rid of the gimmicks, I won’t be continuing to watch.
Someone remarked in a discussion on Top Chef that it’s really more Top Meal, it’s probably better for one’s sanity to look at it that way. In the case of the Masters, it really is more of a game and they seem to be having fun with it. These guys are already Top Chefs, so this is just throwing them into odd situations and seeing how they cope. I think the odd situations make more sense for these established chefs than for the up and comers. It’s like taking some famous artists and giving them construction paper, macaroni and glue and seeing what they make of it. No, it’s not going to be their usual masterpieces but it will be fun and interesting.
There was little interpersonal drama, the only drama was when things went wrong and it was great seeing that even the master chefs can have things go wrong. They also seemed to respect each other and have fun with it, which often doesn’t happen in the regular Top Chef series.
In conclusion, Hubert Keller is one sexy older guy.
I liked it.
However, the macaroni in the shower made me cringe. I remember my dorm’s shower. The idea of eating food that had been within 30 feet of it makes me shudder. Good thinking on his feet - but… eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeww
I liked seeing the chefs having to cook outside their normal realms. It can never hurt to bring them down to earth once in a while. I think one of them mentioned he hadn’t cooked a pork chop in years.
I liked it, it was fun to see real pros go at it. I don’t mind the gimmicks, I figure if you want to see the best they can do under optimal circumstances you can just go to their restaurants. It’s fun to see them thinking on their feet (and laugh at them for not knowing how to use a microwave.)
It was interesting how out of touch with a supermarket they were, too. They were obviously used to just placing an order for whatever they wanted and it would magically appear.
StG
I liked it. But I hated the host. Hate, hate, hate. I am not a huge Padme-fan, but man, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I enjoyed it as well, though I too was wondering where The Usual Suspects had wandered off to. I had wondered if Tom would be one of the actual cheftestants!
I have no problem with having them mix it up a little bit with challenges rather than straightforward cooking. It the contest were just “let’s see who can cook the best meal,” well, maybe they should just stack Michelin stars and James Beard awards on top of each other and whosever pile is highest is declared the winner. Would that make for interesting television?
It’s a game first and foremost and I think the chefs not only understood that, but enjoyed the challenge.
I had a blast with the show. I think they did, too! It is definitely a game. We know they can cook, let’s throw 'em a few curve balls! I loved the pisole Love made, after he froze all his stuff.
I’m a fan.
Yes, you can definitely tell the difference between contestants from Top Chef and Top Chef Masters. You don’t get the angst and confidence issues with these guys who know that they’re world class chefs and have very little at stake professionally. The difference was especially apparent at the judges’ table where one chef said something like, “Yes, I tasted it. It was seasoned perfectly.”
Some people may like the drama of Top Chef better, but I enjoyed this incarnation more.
I thought he came back well too, but I can’t figure out how a person can confuse a freezer with a refrigerator. When you open a freezer it is much colder than when you open a fridge. I understand it was a new kitchen to him, but still…seems like a pretty stupid mistake, especially for a pro.
I agree. Also, it looked like the left side was a freezer, and the right side was a fridge. Fairly typical set-up.
I wonder if this will have an effect on how the world class chefs judge Top Chef-normal, now that they’ve gone through the gauntlet.
Will they be more sympathetic to the chefs? Will they think “I made a 3 course meal with a hot plate, this is the best you can do?” or will they think “making a 3 course meal with a hot plate was a bitch. This isn’t that bad considering they had to use plastic utensils to cook this meal.”