In Colicchio’s blog he states outright that they would have sent Josie home if they knew what went on behind the scenes.
This
In Gail’s blog she said they were hours at Judge’s Table disputing who would go home.
StG
LV, thanks for the recap. What I’d still like to know is why Padma was so outspoken and insistent in favor of Kristen leaving. I’ve been watching Top Chef for probably seven seasons and I’ve never, to my knowledge, seen her react that strongly. It was weird.
I’m frustrated because Kristen was the only chef left that had much chance of beating CJ in LCK. CJ could have added so much by getting back into the competition. I was really looking forward to a CJ / Kristen match up in the final.
It’s ironic that the same thing happened in last season’s LCK. One chef beat a string of 4 or 5 chefs. Then got eliminated in the next to last LCK. Now the same thing happened to CJ.
Kristen only has to win one or two more LCK’s and she’ll be back in the competition. I’m not sure sure she can do it. Kristen isn’t good at the fast paced QF. She was a nervous wreck in LCK. She could easily get knocked out next week.
Kristin is young, and still needs to grow as a chef, to learn how to delegate and to take control of a group of people. But by taking full responsibility, she showed a maturity that will follow her wherever she goes. She will be trusted, she will rise to become a phenomenal chef in her own right.
Josie is a hardheaded moron, and cannot think beyond her own narrow viewpoint. She is stuck, forever. She is destined to crash and burn horribly: not only on this particular season of Top Chef, but in Real Life. She had better be satisfied with her own little world when she goes home, for nobody will ever hire her to do anything of import.
~VOW
I’m hoping will see her getting revenge on Josie next week.
I’m surprised no one’s commenting on Stefan’s performance in the dining room. I could just picture him ushering customers out the door while yelling “RAUS!! RAUS!!” like Sgt. Schultz used to do to the prisoners on Hogan’s Heroes.
I was actually STUNNED by Stefan’s dining room performance! The man owns a restaurant, and KNOWS how important the customers are! He can really turn on the charm when he wants to, and it was his season on Top Chef when Fabio essentially owned the dining room during Restaurant Wars and secured the win for his team.
In addition, Stefan has apparently had a major crush on Kristen, and I’m sure he’s not happy that she’s now gone.
~VOW
I was also appalled at Stefan’s behavior. I don’t like him anyway, but when he whinely told the judges, “I’m not a server, I’m a chef.,” I wanted to scream at the TV, “But you’ve certainly been a customer, asshole!” For a moment I was hoping they’d send him -and- Josie home.
As to what went down at judges’ table, I don’t understand why they don’t ever insist on someone explaining what happened, instead of always having to list the next day in their blogs why they couldn’t really judge the way they should have. Judging FAIL.
On Last Chance Kitchen last season they had the eliminated competitors eating the dishes. I liked hearing their comments. I miss that.
StG
DAMN IT TOP CHEF. I didn’t think there could be a more infuriating elimination than Nyesha last season, but there you have it.
I’m pretty sure it went much further than a crush. They seemed to be getting pretty hot and heavy over the course of the season.
I was really angry last night, but after reading Tom’s comments and thinking about it, I’m not mad at the judges (especially Padma) and Josie so much any more as I am mad at Kristen. She was in such a sucky position: all of the responsibility, but no real authority. She knew how terrible Josie is and she should have come up with a back up plan for when Josie undoubtedly failed. Or let Josie do her own thing entirely.
I wonder sometimes if Josie tanked on purpose.
While it was so noble of Josie, it was stupid noble. She didn’t have to be douche-stache Josh and throw Josie under the bus. She could have said “Yes, the broth was not correct. The instructions I gave were not carried out and we had to make do with what we had at the last minute. I am responsible for what was sent out there, but if the broth had been made when I asked, the finished dish would have been better.”
You know, I wondered during the previous episode why she even picked Josie to begin with. I thought that was a fatal flaw then. So sad.
Hindsight is 20/20. No doubt she probably kicked herself several times for not speaking up about that.
Josie was her last pick, when only Josie and Micah were left. (I’m pretty sure she said “Dammit!” when Stefan was picked, leaving her to choose between those two.) I think she would have picked Micah if not for the fact that she figured he was going home (correctly, as it turned out). In retrospect she probably should have picked him anyway and made do with one fewer chef.
Of course Josie tanked on purpose. Kristen was one of her biggest competitors, and based on pure talent, Kristen would beat Josie damned near every time. Either that, or Josie is equal parts passive-aggressive and overly confident, and fucked around because she wasn’t that invested in the challenge - as compared to it being an utterly intentional elimination gambit, that is.
The writing was on the wall when Kristen asked Josie if she was roasting the bones yet, and Josie said she wasn’t and wasn’t in any hurry to.
Right then and there Kristen should have went Gordon Ramsay on her ass and told her to roast the bones or get out. When she didn’t, she lost.
I’d be more inclined to believe that if I thought she were any good to begin with. So far she’s won one quickfire and nothing else. In ten elimination challenges she’s been in the bottom group 6 times without ever being in the top group. And she would have been eliminated in her second episode if not for the immunity from her lone quickfire win.
I guess I’m saying she seems perfectly capable of tanking without trying to.