Possums, we just hate it when others are bitchier than we; it makes us feel like we’re not living up to our name. But when Tom Colicchio does it, it doesn’t bother us at all, especially when it seems he is reading our mind:
The only thing I didn't like about this challenge was the voting power invested in the young culinary students, who, I'm afraid, tended to vote personality over palate….Also -- Top Chef All-Stars? It might be a stretch to say so: Some didn't make it more than half-way through their season's competition. Andrea was eliminated not once but twice, and not one of the members of the “All-Star” team made it to their season's finale....
Exactly, possums. Still, who knew bears could meow?
16 comments:
Observations:
1. Spike and Andrew were obnoxious, 24 carat a$$hat jerks. Their behavior was completely unprofessional, over-the-top, and childish. I won't eat at Spike's "Good Stuff Eatery" or Andrew's restaurant - ever.
2. It is beyond ridiculous that Leah can pan sear a steak and get to stay on the show, while Jeff's dish got him kicked off the show.
3. While it may have looked like Stefan really messed up, he was only at Judges Table on the block by the thinnest of margins. The judges themselves were tied, and the students didn't like him and broke the tie - giving the whole shebang to Veggie Grrl. The same can be said for Jeff and Fabio. We had the strongest chef's at Judges Table - while weaker chefs like Carla and Leah were safe. What does that tell you?
4. It was a stupid challenge. All of the past season's standards of hours of deliberation by the judges, and grandious statements such as "It's all about the food" have about as much appeal now as room temperature mayonaise. The student's being allowed to hold up their little oversized foam fingers to determine the chef's overall fate was a Greek tragedy.
It's good to know that Tom felt the way that probably most of the viewers did about the "All-Stars." Now if only he had more say on the show than the producers or Bravo... I do wonder if the "All-Stars" selected were because Bravo just couldn't get anyone else or given the mediocre talent this season, they thought having people on like Harold, Hung, and so on would lead to the season 5 team being crushed completely.
Although, previous anon., I think referring to anything on this episode as a "Greek tragedy" is an overexaggeration. I mean, have you read one of those? This isn't the first time the contestants have won/been eliminated by something other than the food, so, uh, put the smelling salts away.
Am I the only one who can't see Tom's blog? Has it been taken down?
Didn't realize those clowns were "culinary students". Now, I have to re-evaluate my opinion of this episode. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Re-evaluation complete...
IT STILL SUCKED BADLY!
Carla won for gumbo cooked in 20 minutes. Served on top of grits? Do any of them (Carla, judges, students) even know what gumbo is?
Spike, for all of his antics, actually put out a pretty solid looking dish. One of few that didn't look like slop on a plate.
Gumbo usually has rice, but grits is at least southern, so half credit for a rational short cut. It wasn't like she used Uncle Ben's (tm) 90 second micrwave rice.
You know, they weren't all-stars, but they also seemed to have a lot of fun. I think Camile was tickling Tom trying to get him to vote for her, which failed, but got a big hug. I think Andrea got a high 5 from Tom. These people can actually be interactice with the judges because they aren't playing for anything anymore. But, on the other hand, the happy-go-lucky attitude was kind of dickish when they should know all too well what the stakes are for those competing "for real".
The point is that you can't cook gumbo in 20 minutes. Anything you cook in 20 minutes is not gumbo. Gumbo has to cook for hours. Also, the dish Carla made didn't look like it had any liquid in it. Gumbo is a soup (some people may say it's a stew, but it's actually a thick soup). It's the same point they made about ceviche or a number of other dishes (remember Tom making a big deal about Casey Thompson's coq au vin being made from chicken instead of an older bird?). Carla's dish may have been tasty, but it was not gumbo.
Oooh, Colicchio, you tell it like it is. Though I found this episode amusing, it was a popularity contest. All stars? I gag.
As for Andrew, what an ass hat. No one. No ONE. NO ONE should ever disrespect a live creature and make fun of it before it is sacrificed for sustenance. Those crayfish should have been treated with respect. The American Indian had it right - thanking an animal before it was sacrificed.
Hear me Andrew? You are a scumbag.
have you guys read jeff's harsh comments on tom colicchio?
they're here:
http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/01/29/top-chefs-jeff-the-show-used-me-as-a-sex-object/
I did think that Jeff was a vapid pretty boy - typical Miami type. But I didn't think that he'd go home before Leah by any stretch. Maybe the Rahdika boinking was part of the issue because Tom really didn't like him, that was obvious. I also think that Stephan losing was a prank pulled by the producers to build up some suspense that maybe it isn't a shoe in. I adore Fabio and Carla's personalities but don't think that they have the chops to win. Just give it to Stephan, give Fabio and Carla shows in Food Network and entertain up with guest judges and soft core Jeff/Radihka Leah/Hosea porn.
Yep, read the people.com article. I agree totally with Jeff. My top chef party group (30yr old women) noticed the shirtless shots right away, as did many blog sites. Even With the editing it was obvious to me that Tom did not like Jeff's style of cooking. I'm sure there was much more said than we actually got to see. Jeff needed to bring a pre-fab personality with him to help get him noticed by producers. In an interview post Project Runway, Jeffery Sebilia said that he planned to act nasty to help stay on the show longer..looks like it worked. It's entertainment after all. Why do you think Leah is still there? Fabio has undercooked beef as well as Lamb, but that accent (exaggerated a bit) and that charm has kept him away from the swoop of Padma's knife.
jeff realizes that he was on a tv show, right? because the last time i watched reality tv, i'm pretty sure they cast people for some sort of entertainment value and it just so happens that jeff fit the role of the pretty boy. if that shocked him, well, i dunno. maybe he should work on being a little uglier next time. as for him saying that colicchio's food is boring-- well, that's all relative. some people are from the school of thought of "keep it simple, stupid" and others are from the school of thought where it is assumed that the use of a million ingredients for one plate automatically qualifies it as good.
less is more, jeff and have a little humility for the judge with a restaurant in nyc. where's yours?
"It's entertainment after all. Why do you think Leah is still there?" There are people who are actually entertained by Leah? And don't just use her as a sleep aid?
"jeff and have a little humility for the judge with a restaurant in nyc. where's yours?"
Just because Jeff doesn't have a restaurant in NYC, he can't criticize Colicchio's? NYC restaurant snobbery? Give me an break. The rest of the country does have good chefs, believe it or not.
Christina,
For some reason, Firefox doesn't show the blog, just the comments.
But it seems to work fine in IE.
jeff is the "pretty boy"? really? my definition of "pretty" must be pretty deranged by my old age.
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