So who caught this last night? The top four of Season One (with Stephen instead of Leanne) vs. the top four of Season Two.
Stephen insisted on spending money on wine and loves him some wide ties!
Marcel made a foam and looks like Lion-O!
Dave nearly had a breakdown!
Tiffani bossed Dave around!
Elia’s hair still looked like crap!
Good times, good times.
Season Three next week. Can’t wait for them to get their smackdown after their judging.
And…Marcel has disciples?
I happened to catch the Season 1 Finale beforehand. I only started watching last season, so I had no idea about Harold, Tiffani, etc.
I couldn’t stop laughing at either Ilan or Marcel. Nice to see that fame hasn’t softened their inherent arrogance. At least Marcel admits it, along with the tableside lobster foam (that *#^@%!$@ foam!)
And WTF was that design Ilan had buzz-cut into his hair? And speaking of hair, Elia looks horrible as a bleached blonde.
I couldn’t get over how low-key Season 1 seemed as opposed to Season 2. Well, OK, except for Tiffani’s bossiness and Dave trying not to have a nervous breakdown. I liked all of them. And yeah, I’d rather cook with them than with Season 2 because, as so many bloggers have said, Season 1 was more about the food.
I also couldn’t stop laughing at Ilan trying to figure out what to do with the duck. How embarrassing it must be to film the simple fact that you really don’t know any other cuisine except what you did at the Spanish restaurant. However, Marcel’s “saffron” dig at him during the Quickfire was uncalled for. Um, and yeah, I think Ilan did spill Marcel’s mango on purpose, even though he said he didn’t. Really grown-up, guys :rolleyes:
I loved that the “special guests” were the Season 3 contestants evil grin
And yay for Ted Allen!
I didn’t know this was happening. Is this a one-off thing? Why no Leeann?
No interesting Stephen/Marcel interactions? When does the new season start?
Yes, it was a one time thing for charity.
Leeann was introduced. She’s working behind the scenes at Top Chef as a producer.
I thought this episode was a lot of fun. The show highlighted yet again just how much better the cast of season I was compared to season II. From Harold to Tiffany they came across as mature adults who appeared to have learned something from their experiences. I even liked Stephen much better this time. His arrogance appears tempered into quiet confidence.
The season II finalists just looked like adolescents. Ilan appeared utterly out of his element. Elia looked ridiculous with that stupid died hair of hers. Marcel was as clownish and unpleasant as ever.
Does ANYONE want to eat foam? It would have taken 5 figures for me to choke down some saffron egg foam. I even liked Marcel a little - up until he began RAPPING.
I’ve never had it, but from what I understand it can add a subtle flavor to the dish. Making it the backbone of one’s repertoire, though, is another story :rolleyes:
Some sort of culinary function; I can’t recall if it’s a producer, though, but you could be right. During Season Two she blogged and made videos for each episode, showing the recipes for the winning dish and high-rated dishes. She had a lot of behind the scenes info, which was pretty cool.
Personally, I’m glad that had Stephen there instead of her, because I think he did a fantastic job this time.
I do hope that Dave got paid at least something, though. I had forgotten how down on his luck he had gotten there until I rewatched the Season 1 finale! I know that he was doing some blogging for some gay culture website, discussing food.
And Ted Allen crushing on Sam…that was hilarious.
Tiffini showed up with Sam’s hair style. And Sam, in response, chose an especially weird looking one.
And Stephen should pay Marcel to be around him. Because as much as I didn’t like Stephen during season one, you put them together and compare the two, and Stephen comes across as an absolutely wonderful human being.
During the previews, it looked like season 3 is going to be about the conflicts between the people again (which was the problem with season 2) and not about the food. That does not bode well.
Saffrom foam was just beautiful. More so because it beat Ilan. Bravo, Marcel!
Other than that, the season II crew are a bunch of dysfunctional children. The whole lot of them. What an embarrassment. Season I looked like a bunch of nobodies. They did get the job done, though.
Will see about season 3. Didn’t get much love for them in this preview.
Did anyone notice that big burn on Padma’s right arm? I didn’t until the judging but it looked pretty fresh then. I wonder what happened? In the preview for the new season it’s faint but still there. Kudos to her for continuing to wear her traditional sleeveless dresses instead of trying to cover it up.
Kudos, too, to Steven for appearing to have reigned in his arrogance. Marcel looked like he was trying but wasn’t quite as successful.
I know there aren’t many Tiffani fans here but I was glad to see her again.
Car accident about 15 years ago.
After Googling some photos of Padma, I see that it is indeed a scar of some vintage. As someone who has a few large scars on her legs from childhood surgeries, it’s nice to see a star who isn’t afraid to let hers show. Wish I could look that sexy while showing mine.
Marcel started out immediately with his push-me/pull-you passive-aggressive bullshit. Why his ass has not been stomped into the dirt is a mystery. I was so glad the dickhead sommelier beat him.
What’s embarrassing is the fact that Ilan WON season 2? I watched the whole season and I still can’t believe he won. This just confirmed it that he is not nearly the quality chef that the other three from Season 2 were and everyone on Season 2 is miles behind Harold and Tiffany.