# Top Chef Season 10 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370 "2012-11-08T16:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/1 "2012-11-08T16:51:41Z")
Just caught the series premier last night, the start of the new season caught me by surprise. Too early to tell, all the chefs haven’t even been in the same room together yet. It seemed like the qualifying heats were pretty lopsided: Cook soup, cook an omelet, make a salad- or work a paying dinner service in Colicchio’s kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/2 "2012-11-08T17:16:35Z")
Wow, I hadn’t heard about a new season either. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll return after watching the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/3 "2012-11-08T17:19:35Z")
I agree that I’d rather be in any of the groups but Tom Colicchio’s. And he seemed a harder judge too, eliminating more people. But I love Top Chef, and I’m glad it’s back on. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/4 "2012-11-08T18:50:31Z")
I don’t like this preliminary rounds they’ve been doing. For pete’s sake people, vet the chefs before you put them on the show. Season 6 is the gold standard they keep failing to replicate. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/5 "2012-11-08T18:55:50Z")
I don’t mind this kind of show as the first episode of the season… gives us a bit of an idea of who all the players are, and does a filter to get rid of any clearly unfit contestants (although these days it seems like everyone is basically competent), without us having to pretend that we actually know or care anything about whoever gets first eliminated. If it was just “here are 12 people, now they compete, now one wins and one loses” we would have no idea who either the winner or loser was. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/6 "2012-11-09T04:21:47Z")
It looks like TC: Seattle may have some kind of ski slope hijinks, too. Bleah. I thought Wolfgang Puck was incredibly forgiving! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/7 "2012-11-09T04:28:58Z")
I wonder if some of the eliminated chefs were sent packing because of their obnoxious personalities as much as for their performance. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/8 "2012-11-09T04:33:35Z")
Padma is as lovely as always. ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/9 "2012-11-09T04:48:25Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I wonder if some of the eliminated chefs were sent packing because of their obnoxious personalities as much as for their performance. I thought that about the woman who was gone from the salad challenge, but I didn’t get that from anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/10 "2012-11-09T13:35:06Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I don’t like this preliminary rounds they’ve been doing. For pete’s sake people, vet the chefs before you put them on the show. Season 6 is the gold standard they keep failing to replicate. I loved this episode. I was prepared for the typical first Top Chef of the season show; instead they showed them being judged on actual cooking skills. Very happy! ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/11 "2012-11-09T13:54:44Z")
I liked this one as well - broken into small groups and interacting with the boss chefs made for more personalities showing so you actually cared who stayed and left. Greatly preferred compared to last year! ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/12 "2012-11-09T14:24:03Z")
There’s sure to be some drama as long as John Tesar is on the show. He’s a phenomenal cook (the term ‘chef’ deliberately not used). His food is amazing. But he didn’t get called ‘the most hated chef in Dallas’ for nothing. Details here: [http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D\_Magazine/2011/September/John\_Tesar\_The\_Most\_Hated\_Chef\_in\_Dallas.aspx](http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Magazine/2011/September/John_Tesar_The_Most_Hated_Chef_in_Dallas.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/13 "2012-11-09T14:40:37Z")
Yeah, John Tesar is my favorite so far. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/14 "2012-11-09T14:50:58Z")
I thought the omelets looked pretty bad, for the most part. Browned and ugly. The soups looked good, but soup is really all about the flavor. Salads? Meh. I liked Tom’s challenge the best, because it seemed to show whether the chefs could really work in a real kitchen. StG ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/15 "2012-11-09T15:03:32Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I thought the omelets looked pretty bad, for the most part. Browned and ugly. No kidding. I was taught that the first rule of a correctly-made omelet was “no browning.” From what I could tell, all but 2 of the omelets were browned on the outside. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/16 "2012-11-09T22:13:05Z")
The omelette was, I think, the most difficult; witness how badly all the chefs made theirs (except maybe for the “torta”). But Wolfgang Puck was the most forgiving since all but one made it through. Plus, in the end, he showed them how to make a proper omelette. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/18 "2012-11-10T20:57:46Z")
I made an omelet this morning that I think turned out pretty good. Roasted jalapenos, sauteed onions, and cubed and fried Spam (just for Hugh). Cooked the filling stuff then started off clean with just butter. Damn tasty and not brown. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/19 "2012-11-15T09:44:50Z")
First QF and regular episode tonight. Lots and lots of fish and shellfish plates. I guess that’s to be expected in Seattle. I’m not into fish at all. So its hard to appreciate whats being cooked. Geez that loud mouthed lady chef was running around like a crazed woman. She’s going to create warfare in the kitchen. There’s no escaping that voice and they have to subtitle her because the accent is so thick. There’s no way she has any legit line experience. You can’t be that loud and frantic in a professional kitchen. Then she slices open a finger reaching into her knife bag? I liked the twist of bringing back CJ, Josie, and Stefan. They really aren’t that good and I can’t see them having much of an advantage. Stefan comes from the weakest season ever and he still lost. CJ is a fun character and he can cook pretty good. But I don’t see him going very far in this group. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/20 "2012-11-15T10:16:04Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The omelette was, I think, the most difficult; witness how badly all the chefs made theirs (except maybe for the “torta”). But Wolfgang Puck was the most forgiving since all but one made it through. Plus, in the end, he showed them how to make a proper omelette. His omelet was brown too though. That surprised me. My omelets are never brown! I have been following Tom on twitter a little bit and I like him even more. Padma is quite lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370/21 "2012-11-15T14:59:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I liked the twist of bringing back CJ, Josie, and Stefan. They really aren’t that good and I can’t see them having much of an advantage. Stefan comes from the weakest season ever and he still lost. CJ is a fun character and he can cook pretty good. But I don’t see him going very far in this group. There’s a show Life After Top Chef that’s running in the slot before Top Chef. Last week some of the past chefs dropped in on Stefan’s restaurant. I think they just had drinks, but the guy has a place. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-10/640370.md?page=2)