Colicchio agreed with the nominations:
I’m a bit surprised.
More often than not I find myself thinking of judges and critics as self important wankers.
Tom is NOT one of them in my eyes. One of my very minor dreams is run across him in a plane or at a resort or something just so I can tell him how much I admire his judging style. He always appears be trying very hard to be fair, gives constructive criticism, finds the GOOD as well as the bad, does not get all drama queeny and make a minor problem into an OMG it was horrible moment, and finally seems to realize there IS some leeway regarding “how” something should be done/taste.
I agree. He started out as Mr. I’m Not Tim Gunn and frankly I didn’t like him very much. There was something very off putting about his manner when he toured the kitchens as the chefs were working.
In the years since I’ve come to respect him a lot. He does not let personality enter into his judgement. He’s all about the food and that’s it. That’s one of the cornerstones of the show’s credibility in my eyes. Listen to him and you can really get a sense of how the food tastes and why he believes it was done very well or exactly where it falters.
Nope. Although it’s been Gail that’s been cranking my Evinrude all season.
That was done all wrong, the tastings should have been blind. They should have been warned not to discuss their plans out loud and each group should have shopped and cooked separately. Then there would have been little chance for strategic eliminations or someone whining about one. I think it’s early enough in the competition that people can’t guess everyone else’s dishes just from the style.
What was it they kept saying about Tameisha’s dish having “long” peppers or was it “log”? So she had those and jalapenos and didn’t think it would be too spicy? I don’t think Angelo sabotaged her because they’re friends and I don’t think he saw her as much competition. I’m sure he’d rather she stuck around longer than Kenny.
Personally, I hope Kenny goes home soon. What has he ever done that’s impressed the judges? He’s been in the bottom more than once and he doesn’t seem to have the skills to back up all of his talk. I’m not sure why people are impressed with him in general, but given the talent shown in this batch of chefs, he’ll probably hang on for awhile yet.
Wait, what? I hadn’t watched this yet and was debating just deleting it off the DVR. What is all this about?
Well, he did win one elimination challenge, and was a finalist in the first episode, though he’s also been a cellar dweller quite a few times as well.
Apparently they know each other from college (cooking school?). Ed was talking to one of the females during the episode and mentioned that he had boned a girl Angelo was dating as well. Said it with a big smile on his face, Ed did.
Wow, surprised to read this. Kelly is one of the only contestants I really like this season. Of all the contestants, she’s the one I’d most like to have a drink with.
Kenny definitely has a disconnect between his actual performance and how well he thinks he did. I can’t see him making it.
I’m not enjoying this season as much as others over all, but I am glad that it hasn’t turned into a total Angelo sweep, which it looked like it might at the beginning. I’d still be on him winning, but there’s less separation between the contestants than I initially feared.
Yeah, its not how high you fly, its how low you go. If I was in there, I’d be way more freaked out by often being near the bottom than I would by not “winning” much.
Bravo is shooting themselves in the collective foot by running a marathon of Season Six before a marathon of Season Seven. It just highlights how weak this season’s crop of chefs is. Kenny wouldn’t even make it as Kevin’s sous-chef last season, much less work for Bryan or Michael. Busboy, maybe.
The only two who impress me with their chops this season are Angelo and Kelly.
Long pepper. It’s a piper, rather than a capsicum, so it at least gives a different type of heat than jalapenos do.
I’m not liking how this season seems to be move out-of-kitchen drama than I’d like. Sure, last year there was the Robin stuff, but it felt related to kitchen stuff and not overwhelming. I don’t want to watch a bunch of adults whining about each other in the confessional on a personal level.
Maybe objectively it’s no worse than other seasons, but it FEELS like it to me.
Tamesha standing there saying “I know my dish was good,” after being told repeatedly by the judges it wasn’t and knowing half of her competitors thought the same… Come on. It’s one thing to stand by your dish, but it’s another to sound ridiculous. She’s hardly the first to do this and probably won’t be the last this season, but it always cracks me up.
I think the quickfire challenge was too screwy when they switched meals, but otherwise it was a great concept. I don’t like cold food, but I think it also was a good challenge.
I think they didn’t present the food anonymously because they did do that one of the previous seasons (can’t remember which one) and the producers probably thought it didn’t bring out enough back-stabbing drama so made it different this time.
I concur.
I liked the QuickFire; I could see something like that happening in a kitchen where all of a sudden you are called on to finish a dish that someone else started (someone cuts themselves/quits/etc) so it at least had some bearing in the real world as opposed to the “two people one apron” challenge.
I also liked the idea of the elimination challenge. I’m a big fan of cold dishes and it was interesting to see what the chefs came up with. I was very surprised that Tamesha went home - when she was making her dish, we were like “wow, Yum!” but she obviously didn’t do it right.
But overall, I’m with everyone else who says that the chefs this season just aren’t all that interesting. For me, this is the first season that’s gotten this far without me picking a few favorites. I really don’t care for any of these people. I’m warming to Kelly, and Tamesha seems likable. But any other year at this point I’d have at least 2-3 people that I was really rooting for.
Edit: one thing I didn’t like about this episode was the judging. If it was true that Andrea/Michelle Bernstein had been rivals for several years, I don’t think it was fair to have her as a judge this season. And I didn’t like the contestants judging each other, though they did seem to be fair about it. It’s just too much of a mind fuck.
I remember when they had the cheftestants judge themselves in S5. It was a surprise and they didn’t have time for any elaborate strategy’s.
It did help in S5. The chefs were getting frustrated with the judging. Letting them try each others food helped them realize how bad it really was.
In some ways it worked as well in this season. There was one moment when everyone at the table reacted negatively to something they ate. Some looked like they wanted to spit it out. I think it was the scallop dish but I’m not sure. Anyway, the cheftestants know now that some of the food the judges get is almost inedible. Tom isn’t being a jerk. Some of their food deserves harsh criticism.
Yes. I am amazed at how often the contestants can not believe the judges when they sometimes think something is terrible. Not just not quit right, or poorly done, but downright B A D. Makes me wonder if they even sample their own food sometimes. Or are living WAY up on the river Denial. I guess its often a combo of both actually.
I am not a foodie, or a good chef, or even a professional so its not like I have high standards and its not that rare for me to see something and think “man, that looks and sounds pretty bad”.
I like the exotic ingredients. I like move one dish to the right. I don’t like them combined. I think it just adds too many complications.
Athena - I had to wonder if the “rivalry” was all in Andrea’s mind. It’s true they knew each other, but Andrea admitted that Michelle was on the culinary fast-track and she stayed home and did the mommy-track. I tend to think it’s like Kenny thinking he’s just so superior that every is out to get him.
StG