Tesar dodged a bullet. Glad that he remains to add some interesting drama,
Hilariously tall CJ hugging Kuniko made both the episode and LCK worth every minute.
I’m not such a philistine that I don’t see how salmon candy might have some appeal. I do have difficulty seeing how it could be easily incorporated into a dish you have little time to plan and virtually no time to tweak.
Very good point. I only ever eat it with crackers or a bagel.
Hated this episode. They presented a challenge that the chefs had almost zero chance of achieving in the limited time. Big surprise: the food sucked. The judges are angry. What the heck did they expect?
This is one of those times that they should make the judges try the challenge. See how impossible it is. Hugh was on TC Masters. He knows how ridiculous some of these challenges can be. Ask him sometime about the challenge of cooking in a RV racing down the freeway. TC at its worst.
Last Chance K was strange. CJ and Tyler competed as a team? How long will they be linked at the hip?
Who knows. Hopefully it will be a free for all on LCK next week.
I’ve seen some crappy challenges before, but this one felt more like something you’d see on Chopped than Top Chef. When the cheese curds and pickles were mentioned, I assumed that they were one person’s idea of tough cooking ingredients, and another person got downright sadistic with all the other items.
It’s shallow, but every time I see Chef Hugh I want to pin him down and tweeze out that unibrow. I think that’s the only time I’ve seen what appears to be an intentional, groomed unibrow. 
I absolutely love that the food was terrible and the judges were mortified. What a stupid challenge.
I’ve had that curry chocolate and it’s fantastic. It sat around for almost 6 months before I ate it though because it sounds so gross.
The one thing I liked about this ep is that the food was uniformly bad and they didn’t hesitate to say so. Sometimes when I 'm watching shows like “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”, I think they could serve Guy Fieri dog poop and he’d rave how great it tastes. And I think Gordon Ramsey takes fair to okay food and trashes it for effect. I think Top Chef is more honest.
Recipe for Rose Petal Jelly I’ve also had it in Turkish food.
StG
My own thought would have been to make a mole sauce. They’d have lots of freedom to come up with something to serve it over - maybe run with the idea of a Mexican/Indian fusion.
Someone else brought up the comparison to Chopped. I thought the chefs in this episode could have benefitted from some of the creativity the Chopped contestants often exhibit.
Good episode this week. Lots of really well cooked dishes. It seemed like Anna Faris and her hubby Chris Pratt were quite happy with their big family homecoming party.
I was a little surprised at how many wild game dishes were criticized. Searing meat is usually cooking 101. Seemed like most of the chefs in the bottom this time had meat issues. But overall, a huge improvement over last week’s culinary disaster.
The dude with the glasses on his forehead bugs the SHIT outta me!
Ben Franklin invented bifocals, a LONG time ago!
~VOW
I can’t recall ever actually seeing him use the glasses, that’s the weirdest part. But I sure wish I could taste that chowder he made.
Berries. What a simple and beautiful ingredient to work with. Why did so many of them mess it up? The majority seemed to think they should do a meat dish with some berries on the side, few seemed to do a berry dish.
But I wasn’t surprised at who lost. She’s been struggling for a while.
I kept waiting for a cobbler. You have these fresh from the fields berries. Eat a few handfuls raw until you’re full. Then, use the rest in a cobbler. It’s the 2nd best way to use them.
Stefan has GOT to be one of the most profane, vulgar individuals EVER on Top Chef. With the careful editing, his performances actually crack me up. Having it appear as though Padma walked in as Stefan was waggling his weenie at John was hilarious!
John’s soup looked revolting. But the “lunchmeat on stale bread” must have been truly horrible.
~VOW
Stefan definitely gets the major douche editing, but he seems to make friends on the show. I actually find myself liking him, and am glad to see him back.
I’d never even noticed her before! As soon as they began the episode with her talking to the camera, I knew she must be a goner…
Nah, Stefan isn’t a douche. He IS a sanctimonious son of a bitch, though, the kind you love to hate!
On his first season, he was infatuated with Jamie. She told him repeatedly that she was gay, but he still gave her silly little gifts and talked about her all the time.
This season, he seems to be attracted to Kristen. Wonder where that will go?
~VOW
When Josh was ripping apart Josie for her annoying laugh, I yelled at the tv “That’s what I think about you and your stupid mustache.”