Did anyone else watch? Want to talk about it?
I’ll say this about the first elimination. Yea! I’m impressed that they eliminated the “drama” character right off the bat. It seems this show may really be looking at skills for the winner.
Did anyone else watch? Want to talk about it?
I’ll say this about the first elimination. Yea! I’m impressed that they eliminated the “drama” character right off the bat. It seems this show may really be looking at skills for the winner.
With Project runway over, I am so happy this show is on. Mrs. Billy Joel is an ok host even if her voice is a bit irritating.
The pumpkin dish looked yummy. I wish there was a way for them to judge the food without knowing who prepared it.
I was glad to see the idiot Irish camera whore get sent packing. I liked it, I’ll keep watching.
He’s lucky the other chefs in the kitchen didn’t beat him with a sauce pan. All the whooping and banging pans and other noises was awful. I’m sure he thought he was messing with their minds and trying to throw them off their game. Trash talk is one thing but that was unprofessional and idiotic. If he did that in a real kitchen the Chef would throw him out faster than Chef Keller did during the quickfire challenge.
I’ve not chosen a favorite to win yet. Tiffini’s* pumpkin lasagne looked wonderful and makes her an early front runner, IMHO. I’m crushing a little on Dave and his enchilada dish made me hungry. I hope he does well.
On the flip side, there are several who I’ll be happy to see go. Cynthia is a loose cannon. Stephen the Sommelier is annoying as hell. Lisa seems nice enough but she’s way out of her league here.
The recipe for the winning dish is on the bravotv website. I wonder if the winning dish will always be made available like that.
I was a fan of Project Runway even though I don’t sew. I’m even more excited about this show because I love to cook. I’m hoping to learn something by watching.
*It’s odd that her bio on the show’s website notes she’s bisexual. I’d already picked her out as one of the gay folks on the show. She’s bi in theory but I bet she’s not been with a man instead of a woman in years.
That’s what I thought too, I wonder if his dish really sucked or if they were just sick of him?
Also, could someone explain what was wrong with that one woman’s shoes? They looked like something you could stand in for hours - which makes sense for the “line.” What should she have been wearing?
One thing I realized this doesn’t have going for it is that I can’t taste the food. With Runway, I could see “that’s ugly” or “that’s not sewn well.” For this - I can see the presentation, but that’s it.
They were porous sneakers with fabic on the toe. Chef shoes should have a fully enclosed reinforced toe and be waterproof with skid-resistent sole.
Thanks, that makes sense. Did they explain that on camera and I was just out of it or?
I can sooo picture Cynthia standing over the stove cooking, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.
Is there a place to get the recipes other than the Bravo site? I can no longer access the site, since they have the mandatory flash upgrade that I can’t do from this computer. I think their site is unreachable to Mac users, too, judging from complaints on other boards. Thanks!
I can’t watch the videos from my Mac; but I can access the rest of the stuff.
Harold’s Steamed Thai Snapper
INGREDIENTS
Meat
1 piece Red Snapper
Sauce
1 butternut squash
2 piece garlic
2 shallots
2 oz. butter
Vegetables
3 oz. brussel sprout leaves
1 oz. rock Shrimp
1 oz. chanterelles
1 teaspoon chives 1 teaspoon parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Roast butternut squash for 15 minutes at 375°. Sweat garlic and shallots. Add squash meat. Cover with chicken stock and simmer 10 minutes. Blend and add butter.
Sweat brussel leaves till golden brown, add shrimp and chanterelles. Cook 2 minutes. Add parsley and chives.
Steam snapper for 5 minutes.
I’m the same way. I loved Project Runway, even though I’m not into Fashion at all. There’s something about watching people who are passionate about what they’re doing, and doing real-world type things, that is fascinating. I’m disappointed that Top Chef didn’t show more actual cooking, but maybe that’s just the first episode. I want to see how this will stack up against Hell’s Kitchen.
I’m also glad they got rid of Kenneth right away. I was afraid he was going to this show’s Santino.
Yeah, i quite enjoyed it.
When that guy started questioning the chef, the first thing i thought was, “This guy is trying to position himself as the dramatic, oppositional character who everyone loves to hate.” For that reason i was, like you, sort of glad that he got the boot.
Having said that, he was sort of right about the finger in the sauce thing. In my previous life as a waiter, i served food on three continents, and in places that ranged from humble cafes through to really high class restaurants. And in every single place, the executive chef would sometimes put a finger in the sauce to taste it.
Unhygenic? Sure. But i’ll bet it goes on in virtually every restaurant kitchen.
One thing about this show that, for me, makes it less interesting than Project Runway is the fact that we, as an audience, don’t get to spend as much time with the contestants while they are actually working. The scenes in the kitchen aren’t very long, and involve a lot of jumping around. There’s not enough time spent, in my opinion, actually following the cooking techniques.
I generally avoid reality shows like the plague. The thing that made Project Runway an exception is that all the contestants are just so talented, and that we got to see quite a lot of their creative process. If Top Chef begins to show more of the cooking, i’ll stick with it. Otherwise, i might have to ditch it.
Also, it makes me hungry.
Regarding Kenneth. I wasn’t bothered by him tasting the sauce with his finger, I’ve seen plenty of chefs do the same thing. I was bothered by his assholishness afterward.
Spoken like someone who’s never worked in a commercial kitchen.
Chefs, especially executive chefs, are assholes. It is a job requirement, and a trait in which they seem to take special pride.