I was amazed, and disappointed, by how totally graceless the other women were about Bev’s win. Grayson gave her a hug, but Lindsey and Sara didn’t even clap for her. And then Sara gave the Lindsey should have won speech.
I do suspect some of it has to do with the chronic lack of sleep that has been inflected on them. Results in less creative dishes and more irritable chefs I’d say.
I haven’t been watching the show. But if they’re concentrating too much on Texas, it may be because the show was paid by the State. (Thanks, Ricky! Glad to know we have money to throw around.)
And we have more varied cuisines here in Houston. But the Convention & Visitors Council did NOT pay the show–so they skipped the city. The other Texas towns also have more to offer than The Usual Texas Suspects–but they don’t fit “the image” that somebody wanted to display…
Also–last summer was record breaking in heat & drought. Worse than a normal Texas Summer–which makes strong Texans plan for vacations in Maine. Or Alaska. Or anywhere else…
Both Top Chef and Project Runway seem to be losing their way by producing endurance and time limitation challenges, instead of just providing creative limits to better assess who is the best and most versatile.
Hear me producers: we don’t actually enjoy watching exhausted grumpy people be mean to each other. We want to see them shine at what they do best, and we want to root for who shines brightest.
I want Nyesha to come back with a vengeance and wreak havoc. She surely didn’t deserve to get eliminated, and isn’t that kinda what LCK is for?
Grayson has a nice personality but I don’t think she has the cooking chops to go all the way. Hoping for a Paul, Ed, Nyesha finals.
This is a good point. Some books about creativity (which I am familiar with, but sadly have not yet read) say that the best way to encourage creativity is to set some limits. You don’t give someone a totally open-ended challenge, but give them restraints which they have to work around. So none of this “cook us the best dish you can,” because you’re going to end up with Beverly cooking some asian-style short rib again.
The sleep deprivation seems to be a function of budget (shorter filming time = less overhead) and perhaps a desire to punch up the drama with grouchy, irritable contestants. I do agree that these chefs should be in full command of their faculties when they do the challenges, it’s not like an actual restaurant chef would be expected to work the day after pulling an all-nighter at their restaurant, or have to come up with an entire restaurant in 5 hours.
Still watching so I won’t say anything more than I am enjoying this episode more than most so far this season.
What a meal! Charlize Theron is so beautiful.
Nice twist on Snow White!
The right person got chosen, but they were all awesome today.
I don’t want to ruin it for anyone recording or watching later but,
I can’t say that was such a surprising result given the drama of the last few episodes. Of course, it wouldn’t have been a big shock if they had pulled the ol’ “we can’t pick a loser this week, so double elimination next week” trick. Having said that I guess I can see how a sticky or overly thick sauce would be unappealing. And as much as I’m sure Beverly is a lovely person, I don’t think I will really miss her. This episode is proof these are all great chefs when they are allowed to cook their own food rather than having to deal with insane situations no chef would face in real life.
Last Chance Kitchen
[spoiler] Wow, this show is just shitting all over Nyesha. First, she gets eliminated due to her partner’s screwup, something completely out of her control, and then in LCK she has to give up her ingredients to Bev and use Bev’s typical Asian fare. It’s been a complete hose job for Nyesha, and I think the judges just want to wring the last bit of drama out of Bev because this season has been so bad.
Nyesha should be asked back for next season, because she did nothing but excel on this one. [/spoiler]
On a positive note, tonights EC had the best and most creative food this season. Some of the judges said it was right up there with the best Top Chef has ever produced. Very high praise.
Last Chance Kitchen totally hosed that poor chef. How in the hell did she have any chance cooking exclusively with ingredients selected by such a pathetic piss poor chef? That is just so wrong. It’s yet another reminder of what a farce Top Chef really is.
That’s like asking me to make you a nice diamond brooch and then I get hosed with 14 karat gold and a cubic zirconia stone. While my opponent uses the high quality 18 karat gold and 50 point diamond I selected. How can anyone hope to win with a fake diamond and a ring that will turn your shirt green within a week?
They got their cheap drama and sent the superior chef away. I guess that’s what we should expect from this show. At least there’s still some good talent left in the remaining six chefs.
Tom really praised all the chefs for this episodes dinner. They had to create a dish for an evil queen and it really got their creativity going. That black chicken leg with the claw/foot on it was really disgusting and exactly what an evil queen would want. 
All the judges seemed so impressed.
what the hell do you have against Beverly? “really weak”? “such a pathetic piss poor chef”? the girl can cook
I’m going by what they’ve shown in all the episodes so far. I was really influenced by all Beverly’s peers that watched her cook in Last Chance Kitchen. Every one of them were commenting on mistakes she made. Especially when she flung hot grease out of the skillet and onto the grill (causing a flash fire). Some of those chefs were eliminated early and didn’t have time to develop any strong feelings about her. I haven’t seen a single chef say anything positive about her skills.
Maybe it’s all editing and she’s some kind of terrific chef. If so then TC owes her a big apology.
I have to agree. I have 20+ years working in restaurants and that was very sloppy if not outright dangerous. Not something an experienced professional should ever do.
I do regret my earlier harsh comments about Beverly. She is a carefully edited Reality Show character. I got really upset because Nyesha has overcome so much and beaten a whole string of good chefs in Last Chance Kitchen. It took a underhanded gimmick by the TC challenge to trip her up.
I can’t beat you with a hamburger dish when you got a T-bone steak. Nyesha had some really good ingredients for a great dish selected and she had to use the uninspiring stuff Beverly picked.
Anyhow, its another reminder that I absolutely can’t take this show seriously. I have to keep a certain objectivity or it will just frustrate me too much to watch.
Yeah, it almost makes me not want to watch anymore. I think a chef should be chosen Top because they cooked the best, not because there were idiotic components to overcome while others have been railroaded. If I was Nyesha, I’d be pissed forever. Buncha jerk producers or whoever orchestrated those ridiculous obstacles. This may be my last season, I’m so fed up on her behalf.
OTOH Nyesha’s cockiness at the very beginning of LCK was also her downfall. Her voiceover clearly said she’s have no problem taking down Beverly. Moral: The mightier you are, the farther you fall.
The bitchy part of me would love Beverly to walk away with all this – it’d be the metaphorical kick in the teeth to all the Mean Girls and Boys this season.
She can cook, btw. She’s not flashy, but she knows what she’s doing.
(BTW, I was a diehard Nyesha fan until the cockiness got the better of her. I still am. I think she’s amazing.)
I am currently unable to view video over the web, so I haven’t seen LCK. I always look forward to hearing you all give your reactions to it. That said, you’re reminding me of the old saw (Said, I think, of Bear Bryant?) “He can beat your’n with his’n and he can beat his’n with your’n.” That is what I expect of a Top Chef. Again, I haven’t seen the video though. . . and I was really rooting for Nyesha. I feel like Bev got more than a fair shake ont he regular show, but Nyesha didn’t.
I was really hoping Lindsay got the PKAG though.
I loved this challenge, the most enjoyable episode I’ve seen in ages! The final dishes were all so creatively icky. I just wish the evil queen had thought to sit and pick her teeth with that black chicken claw! Muwwwahahahaha!
If Bev could only have mustered an evil grin and said “Yes, it was sticky like blood!!” I think she would have stayed. Can’t believe someone oversalted something and didn’t get kicked off for it. Maybe Chef Colicchio is learning to let go a bit. 
And Beverly would have won immunity had she not had time management issues (not for the first time IIRC) with the quickfire.