You may have a point there. It feels like she often gets by just by being not quite as awful as someone else.
He whispered “I love you” in her ear as she was leaving, and she looked a little shocked.
That episode pissed me off. The only thing I can figure is that Kristen has grown up watching reality TV and knows that it’s not going to further her fledgling career to be an asshole, and she assumed that it was better to just go home. Because when it comes down to it if her and Josie were ever going for the same job Kristen would get it.
Here’s something I’ve been wondering: do Top Chef chefs really benefit very much in the long run? How are contestants viewed in the culinary world? As far as I can tell it gets you a career shilling for Top Chef, whether it’s appearances in Food and Wine magazine, further appearances on the show, or on that Top Chef Cruise.
I don’t know about the others, but the season 4 (Chicago) winner, Stephanie Izard, owns and is the executive chef for two wildly successful restaurants here in Chicago.
I know from Life After Top Chef that Fabio and Spike and Richard Blais are doing well. Jen Carroll isn’t doing nearly as well and has been having trouble finding investors for her restaurant. She seems to be so wedded to doing everything her way that she turns off investors who want an input. I thin the Voltaggios are doing well.
StG
Has Kristen done anything to reciprocate? I remember Stefan constantly flirting with Jamie on his season, despite her repeatedly telling him that she’s a lesbian. So when he was flirting with Kristen, I just assumed it was more of Stefan being Stefan.
Paul Qui is doing pretty amazing in Austin. He’s opened at least one restaurant since Top Chef ended with plans for more.
They’re viewed pretty well, especially in the later seasons. As others have pointed out, many contestants - not just the winners - have gone on to open successful, well-reviewed restaurants. The competition is pretty much universally agreed on as being brutal and you don’t get through it if you don’t know your stuff. Sure, some of the contestants shill for Top Chef, but none of them do it exclusively from what I can tell.
Carla has some daytime TV talk show gig. I caught a glimpse of it around the holidays, but I don’t normally watch daytime TV.
There does seem to be a camaraderie amongst Top Chef survivors. Even the Masters talk about how things were on their challenges, how they got kicked out for this or that.
StG
I’m watching it now and only about 20 minutes in I have some observations:
Such a simple challenge yet these chefs are making me think they are going to screw it up big time.
Stefan is actually very amusing tonight.
Yukon Cornelius is annoying as hell.
I really am starting to have some serious Top Chef love for Sheldon.
And oh yeah - STFU Josie.
Huh. At Judge’s Table now and it seems from the facial reactions
Tom is wishing Josie would STFU as well. And as the debate goes on he is strongly advocating to give her the boot. Yet again Padma pushes for eliminating someone else! AIIIIGGH!
Any doubt those guest chefs got plastered on wine while eating that fried chicken? That’s the happiest I’ve seen those guest chefs. Some of those unguarded comments about the chicken were hilarious. Especially the comment about the Apprentice.
Don’t understand why some of the chefs refused to cook real fried chicken. Substituting cordon bleu just doesn’t make sense. I didn’t mind the fried boneless chicken breast filet. My local cafeteria serves something similar and I like it. It’s like a chicken fried steak made from chicken breast.
So next week they leave Seattle on a boat for Alaska? This season has gone by fast.
Did I correctly hear Stefon refer to Kristin as his ex-wife?
So it looked like the chicken was served outdoors, near the water, and (considering how the judges were dressed) on a somewhat cold day. With three dishes served at once, the last fried chicken to be tasted had to be out what, at least 8-10 minutes? Probably long enough to cool down considerably. While I don’t know if it had any effect on the outcome, it seemed a bit disrespectful to the chefs.
Ex or next? 
So happy with the result last night. And I hope Kristin makes it back in.
Dag Otto - They often stagger the presentation of the food. My guess is the timed “hands up, utensils down” bit is for the cameras, while they probably stagger start times in the food the judges eat. I think I read once that on Iron Chef they do like three versions of the same meal - on for the TV battle, one for the cameras to photograph and one for the tasting and judgement. They probably do the same thing here.
StG
Josie’s gone! Woohoo! Long overdue!!
Yeah, definitely. Plus, it helps the judges not have to eat so much all at once.
Drunk judges were hilarious judges.
I get why they were upset that not everyone did traditional Southern Fried Chicken, but I wonder if that’s what they wanted, did they specify it? I know chicken that’s fried is not the same thing, but I don’t think doing a twist on it is the end of the world if it was within the rules. (I personally prefer boneless, skinless breasts/tenders fried over anything thing else). And no one pan fried, which would have been my first idea given all the traditional deep fryer troubles.
I wonder how bad, really, the “bad” food is. Is it that it’s being judged by much higher standards? Would most of us really find Brooke’s chicken breasts to be unbearably dry or Josie’s chicken disgustingly greasy? Or does “on the dry side” = “inedible” in the top chef world?
Re: The sushi challenge.
(lining up Monty Python reference)
BBC newscaster: “Lemon Charcoal?”