# Top Chef Season 7 discussion \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029 "2010-07-08T23:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**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:** [September 9, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/201 "2010-09-09T20:29:17Z")
I like Ed too. Kelly was my favorite. Now it’s Ed for the win. He’s earned his place in the final with several impressive EC wins. He proved a lot by winning the QF and EC in the semifinal. He whipped the so called Asian cooks rear end at his own game and on his home court. Sending Angelo to Singapore should have been an overwhelming advantage. By his own admission, Angelo’s creative passion is Asian style cooking. That’s what he obsessively studies and loves. I figured this was going to be a huge home run for Angelo. Then Ed comes along and makes it a horse race. I’m glad we aren’t getting a boring finale. I think all three chefs will be neck and neck in a photo finish. A month ago I couldn’t imagine getting this excited by TC. I didn’t respect the talent at all. But, slowly we got the best of the bunch and they are rising to the occasion. No one messed up in the semi-final. Their food was very good. The judges had a tough time picking anyone to go home. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/202 "2010-09-09T22:12:10Z")
> [@TheFifthYear](#): > > … > I’m not a big fan of Ed, … That’s okay. He’s his own biggest fan. I was hoping Kelly would win the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/203 "2010-09-09T22:34:28Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > …Outside of Top Chef Masters, have the judges ever before had so little negative to say? I got the sense of creative editing a bit. I’ll have to watch it again to be sure, But I got the impression at the eating that negative remarks were all cut to make it look like there was nothing wrong with anything. Just from some of the tonality of the comments I got the feeling the tasters had a “but” or an “except” in the sentence, but they cut away before or after. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/204 "2010-09-09T23:59:30Z")
Is anyone else very surprised that Kevin didn’t practice at all with a wok before going to Singapore? His excuse of not having a burner big enough was lame - I’m sure he could’ve asked a local Asian restaurant for some pointers and practice time. I’m not as fond of Ed as everyone else. I thought to plan (and buy for) a second dish was downright sneaky. His food sure seemed to win the day, though. I think Angelo is his own biggest enemy. He’s just too emotional and seems too fragile to come out on top. Kelly was just a little sloppy. I think it was just too close, with small errors on everyone’s part. I’m looking forward to next week’s ep. StG ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/205 "2010-09-10T00:46:30Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I’m not as fond of Ed as everyone else. I thought to plan (and buy for) a second dish was downright sneaky. His food sure seemed to win the day, though. But when you’re in a competition, another word for “sneaky” is _strategy_. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/206 "2010-09-10T04:01:24Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > But when you’re in a competition, another word for “sneaky” is _strategy_. Yeah, I freely admit my own error. I said early in the season he had no personality. I mistook an expert poker face for blandness. But so did everyone cooking in the season, go Ed. Oh yeah and I love the way he knows just how to get under Angelo’s skin, but doesn’t feel the need to brag about it, his eyes are only on the prize. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/207 "2010-09-10T12:46:15Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > But when you’re in a competition, another word for “sneaky” is _strategy_. Except there wasn’t any real strategy to it. If he hadn’t had immunity it would have been a way to get a leg up on his competitors, but as it was it didn’t really get him anything. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/208 "2010-09-10T14:05:39Z")
Right, I didn’t think it was strategy, just a dick move. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/209 "2010-09-10T16:00:05Z")
> [@jonesj2205](#): > > Except there wasn’t any real strategy to it. If he hadn’t had immunity it would have been a way to get a leg up on his competitors, but as it was it didn’t really get him anything. I think it gave him a real psychological advantage against his competition, and additional cred among the judges. If it comes down to a nailbiter, won’t the winner of the last two challenges have an implicit leg up? I think so, and so does Ed. My wife is mad that Ed lied to Tom about always planning on doing two dishes (I believe him when he said it only occurred to him while shopping, though he decided to keep it under his hat)–enough so that she doesn’t care how things resolve themselves now. I thought it was a little underhanded but no real Dealbreaker. Who knows? Maybe now that Tiffany is gone, Ed isn’t as distracted anymore. 😛 Still, I haven’t warmed up to Kevin at all, but I still like Angelo’s sincerity (even if he does get a little intense), so it will be really interesting to see how the finale plays out (especially if the previews for next week haven’t been overdramatized for effect). ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/210 "2010-09-10T18:02:04Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Is anyone else very surprised that Kevin didn’t practice at all with a wok before going to Singapore? His excuse of not having a burner big enough was lame - I’m sure he could’ve asked a local Asian restaurant for some pointers and practice time. Not really - to properly cook with a wok, you need a wok burner. Sure, people do it on normal burners, but we’re talking Top Chef here - practicing with a wok on a normal burner in a home kitchen wouldn’t help much when asked to cook with a wok on a real wok burner. That said, you can buy a gas-powered wok and burner for about $150. Or he could have found an Asian restaurant that would let him practice. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/211 "2010-09-12T00:13:13Z")
On Iron Chef America this evening there was an episode that first aired 9-5-10. Ed was sous chef for Cat Cora, along with I’m pretty sure Richard Blaise. I’m not sure when this episode was actually taped, or Top Chef for that matter, but a Top Chef winner as sous for Cat “Never Win” Cora? Nah… ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/212 "2010-09-12T23:00:13Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > I’m not sure when this episode was actually taped, or Top Chef for that matter, but a Top Chef winner as sous for Cat “Never Win” Cora? Nah… Someone on TWOP says that it was filmed last October. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/213 "2010-09-12T23:04:04Z")
Also, here’s a [recent](http://events.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/dining/reviews/25rest.html?ref=dining), rather painful review of Ed’s restaurant. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/214 "2010-09-16T12:34:08Z")
Eh, not much buzz on the finale. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/215 "2010-09-16T12:46:29Z")
How is it even remotely fair for one chef to get Ilan as his sous chef, and the other to get Michael Voltagio and Hung? Ilan’s career is nonexistent, while Voltagio is the winner of what was by far the best and the most competitive season of Top Chef ever. I’m not saying Kevin isn’t a decent chef or that Ed should have won, but that was a hugely influential knife pull. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/216 "2010-09-16T12:50:43Z")
I think Ed basically took himself out of the running by turning one course completely over to Ilan. His explanation at judges table made no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/217 "2010-09-16T14:36:54Z")
I know that pastry is considered so difficult/complicated, but how can any Top Chef finalist not come prepared with at least one dessert ready to go? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/218 "2010-09-16T14:40:15Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Also, here’s a [recent](http://events.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/dining/reviews/25rest.html?ref=dining), rather painful review of Ed’s restaurant. Ouch. That is about as ugly as reviews get. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/219 "2010-09-16T15:31:26Z")
Kevin did a nice job…it felt like he sort of came from nowhere in terms of the overall competition but as we neared the end of the season he kept putting out good dishes, and his final prep was the one I would have wanted to eat. Props as well for coming across as a good guy. Also: apparently he’s African-American. It surprised me when he identified himself as such. Not that I’d put a lot of thought into his heritage. This finale, however, felt lackluster to me. Too much non-cooking drama. Did the whole first half of the episode have to deal with Angelo’s health? Felt like the editors were trying to drum up phony tension, when the competition itself provides plenty of real drama. Come on, producers, trust the concept of the show. You don’t need to create or exaggerate story lines to make the show good tv. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029/220 "2010-09-16T16:09:36Z")
> [@sohvan](#): > > How is it even remotely fair for one chef to get Ilan as his sous chef, and the other to get Michael Voltagio and Hung? Ilan’s career is nonexistent, while Voltagio is the winner of what was by far the best and the most competitive season of Top Chef ever. I’m not saying Kevin isn’t a decent chef or that Ed should have won, but that was a hugely influential knife pull. I felt the same way, but I also would have been hesitant to have MV as my sous chef. I think he’s probably the most talented and technically skilled contestant the show has ever had, but he could also be pretty arrogant, and I wondered how he would accept the sous chef role. As it turned out, he was great. Another thing about him was that he was always very professional, and in a kitchen that means accepting your place in the brigade. He was a huge asset to Kevin. That said, Kevin won it outright. If Ed’s dessert didn’t kill him, his comments about it at the Judges’ Table did. Angelo was off his game, but even at his best he could be inconsistent, so it’s hard to say how much the sickness had to do with it. That review of Ed’s restaurant is harsh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-chef-season-7-discussion-edited-title/546029.md?page=12)