The 12 Days of Bitchmas -- Day Two: More Memoirs of a Gaysian?

Possums, it really is our fault.

Given our day job, we ought to have parsed the language more carefully before surrendering to despair.

The bit from AfterElton.com that caused all the gnashing of veneers says that “there are no openly gay men on this season….” (emphasis added). But of course!

Indeed, once Miss XaXa had a proper look at the picture of cheftestant Dale Talde that Bravo posted on its website, in which he exhibits a case of gayface so pronounced that it might as well appear in a medical textbook, she turned on one Louboutin heel and said, “Mmm-hmmm!”

Then, taking our hand and talking gently to us, as if we were a dimwitted child, she said, “His name is Dale. He’s from Chicago. Do the math.”

Then, on Eater.com, we found postings in which Dale Talde is described as “rude,” “evil,” “brilliant,” “temperamental,” “mean,” and “totally nuts.”

Ladies, gentlemen and possums, we have a winner.

And last season we were proven right about Hung Huynh in this respect, so you never know.

Still, isn’t it a tad lazy on Bravo’s part to give us another potentially Gaysian villain in the kitchen? If the judges or other contestants start talking about how Dale’s cooking is technically accomplished but lacks soul, we’re going to call for somebody to be given the Chinese water torture.

Oh, and confidential to Dale: Possum, we would be angry with Bravo not just for the gayface pic--and the belt buckle thing; remember this picture of Gaysian Top Design contestant Goil Amornvivat? Coincidence?--but also for this line in your profile: “A motto that drives Dale is ‘expect perfection ,[sic] because if you fall short your [sic] left with greatness.”

On second thought, by your logic, that sentence isn’t perfect, so it must be great.

The Bisexual Bitch Is Back: Amuse-Biatch and Gong Li Rejoice as Hung Huynh Unleashes His Inner Hatsuhomo

Possums, we have no idea what magical powers Nina Lalli of The Village Voice possesses, but damn, girl is fierce and always gets the goods.

Not content with obtaining flatulent confessions from Captain Sound Bite, she has now gone and gotten the deliciously bitchy and on-the-mark observations of Hung Huynh.

Herewith, our favorite bits:

* Hung said he would definitely be surprised if he didn't win, but "it's up to the judges, and Bravo. Mainly Bravo," he said, laughing.

[Clever chap, that one.]

* "I didn't know this was chef camp, where we all hold hands and walk into the rainbow together. I didn't know that's what competition was. If I had known, I would have done much better."

[A bisexual who doesn't want to walk into the rainbow? What else is new?]

* "When was the last time you walked out of a restaurant and said, 'that steak was so soulful, I'm definitely going back?' No. You say it was cooked perfectly, it was seasoned perfectly. The colors, the flavors, etc. Why am I getting dissed for having some technical skills? The word technique is related to the word craft, and guess who owns the restaurants called Craft?"

[We're thinking of a new restaurant called 'Bitchcraft, where the menu would include individually priced sides of "Meow" and "Aw, snap," because that's what Colicchio has rightfully been served.]

* I told Hung that Rocco DiSpirito had said he reminded him of himself, and Hung said the same about Rocco. "He's confident, he's cocky, he's good looking... his technique is on, his flavor profile is my kind of food. I respect him a lot."

[Uh, blind item or not, we're definitely not touching this one.]

* About the judge's complaints that his cooking isn't expressive enough, he said "What does that mean, when [Colicchio] says 'We don't see Hung.'? What should I do, make sweet and sour chicken and wontons? I'm trained in French food. I love French food. That is me."

[And this would be dessert at 'Bitchcraft, a tart skewering of patronizing, Orientalist, quasi-racist assumptions on the part of the judges that, because Hung is Asian, his "soul" must of necessity give off the scent of lemongrass. And even if you buy into the claptrap that ethnic origin is automatically "soul," let us not forget that Vietnam was once a French colony, and so, as Hung points out, for him, French food is as much a part of his "soul" as pho.]

What Would Gong Li Do: Hung Huynh and the Curse of the Overcooked Durum Flour

As you know, possums, we had high hopes for self-professed asshole Hung Huynh as the show's Great Gay Villain, subsequently downgraded (upgraded?) to Bisexual Villain, and then to merely Villain. Desirous of abetting his career in villainy, and hoping to have material for our blog, we counseled him to emulate the great Gong Li. All to no avail.

Following Wednesday's episode, we received an exclusive letter from Gong Li (which we wrote and sent to ourselves), asking us to cease and desist from devaluing her "brand" of sneering, heaving-breasted, Max Factor-caked villainy. Here is the relevant portion:

In my last film to be released in the U.S., Curse of the Golden Flower, I was the Empress of China and: (1) slept with my stepson; (2) had my stepson's mistress, who just happened to be his half-sister, exiled; (3) brought about my stepson's death; (4) wore corsets and long, gold fingernails; (5) made underlings quake and grovel in terror merely by waiving those fingernails; (6) survived poisoning; (7) conspired with my son; (8) raised an army of 100,000 soldiers for whom I personally embroidered gold-thread chrysanthemums for their uniforms; and (8) plotted and executed a coup d'etat against the Emperor, my husband.

What did Hung do? He (1) lost the "Culinary Bee" because he was too stupid to taste the ingredient he was supposed to identify; (2) cooked boring, mushy pasta; and (3) couldn't discipline that fat Italian boy who cried like a little girl. No tantrums, no bitchy comments, no incredulous delusions that his dish was both properly cooked and tasty. Nada (as I said when I played a Chinese-Cuban in Miami Vice).

And this is the poster-boy for Anything That Moves? This is my spiritual heir among culinary reality-tv contestants? I don't think so.

Hung is what you Americans call a pussy, and I could Individually Quick Freeze him just by looking at him. Please do not use my name again in connection with him until he is worthy of it.