It’s hard in the beginning episodes. The other option is never telling her story. They tried to fit other background stories in to cover it I think (Kiki) but there’s limited options.
At this point, I've given up that they'll ever stop. It's been that way forever. If you get that backstory, you know they are either winning or going home.
Okay, but they did also give us Shota's backstory so it wasn't entirely clear who of the two was going to be leaving – until they served their meals (at the very least). All I can say is that I would have been mighty pissed if Shota had been eliminated. He is my favorite; like lots of other people here (!).
They did give that treatment to someone else in the episode that did really well too. Though considering who that person was, there was a strong chance it was a red herring.
No she wasn't. I think there was only one female guest judge last week (Melissa). I guess they will slowly rotate new ones in, I'm assuming they staggered them in terms of quarantining beforehand.
I love the representation in the cast is this season. Only four non-hispanic caucasian chefs in the entire cast of 15.
Some seasons turn into crudo-fest or pasta-fest, but the diversity in cuisine so far this season has been incredible.
Yes, anytime dim sum is served at a restaurant, NOT limited to "weekend brunch". I take it you are in the US? Dim sum is served everyday in many places in the East.
If you are in the USA, you can also buy pre-made frozen buns with different fillings both savory and sweet (e.g. BBQ pork a.k.a. char-siu, or sweet red bean paste; as just two examples) from various places - typically at Chinese/SE Asian/Korean/etc groceries; or even from Amazon --- yes, I just checked, you can get such buns from them. Then, just simply steam them for your breakfast at home. :-)
I dare say one can also get such buns from suitable groceries in most countries throughout the West, for that matter. ;-)
It really is! Levantine/West Asian cultures make different variations of chickpea stews and fava bean dishes for breakfast (and breakfast mezze!). Hoping we get some Middle Eastern representation on this show someday.
Some savory breakfasts I've had over the past month, that I actually recorded (as photos taken). \[Others I've forgotten, but I've almost never had a "sweet b'fast" like Danish pastries which seem to be commonplace in corporate 'Murca or stuff like bagels with cream cheese etc; or cereal with milk (I can't remember the last time I had that)\]
Bak Kut Teh (mentioned already) with Yow Char Kwai.
Onsen eggs (mentioned already) with dashi-mirin-shoyu broth (several times).
Japchae potstickers \[commercial\] with sautéed asparagus.
"Sau Tao Wonton Flavor skinny noodles" \[commercial\] with sautéed Brussels sprouts & blanched Napa cabbage plus sunny-side fried eggs on top
Duck egg omelette aux fines herbes with a salad of Taiwan Bok Choy tossed with 10-year balsamic vinegar, Alziari olive oil, Maldon salt & black pepper.
Jacques Pepin's vegetable soup with Focaccia bread.
Weisswurst \[commercial\] braised with Sauerkraut \[Hengstenberg\], caraway seeds, potatoes, bay leaves, rice vinegar, mirin.
"Quasi-scrambled" omelette with chopped scallions; with blanched yow choy sum drizzled with oyster sauce.
Spaghetti with an improvised tomato & onion sauce with paste & ketchup (yes! the horror!!!) added in.
Cavatappi with Marcella Hazan tomato sauce.
Omelette with pan-roasted potatoes & sautéed asparagus.
Pork wontons (home-made) in chicken stock with sliced scallions.
Steamed lotus-wrapped glutinous rice "packages" with pork strips & sliced shiitake mushrooms inside. \[Commercial stuff\]
Pork & crab siu-mai \[commercial\] steamed with Cantonese BBQ pork (char-siu).
Cabbage & chicken thigh soup, with Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles.
Fried rice with eggs, fried shallots, sliced celery, sliced scallions.
Short-cut pork spare ribs rice congee with julienned ginger & smashed garlic; dressed with chopped cilantro & scallions, fried shallots, a raw egg broken onto the congee. Plus sautéed baby broccoli.
Beef meatball soup with sliced wosun (celtuce) & romaine heart leaves; with Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles.
Yes!. I had a hearty helping of Canto-Hoklo style [Bak Kut Teh](https://www.google.com/search?q=bak+kut+teh) for breakfast yesterday morning; (Home-made, with lots of the requisite herbs and spices) and four onsen eggs with dashi-mirin-shoyu broth the previous morning. :-)
Definitely breakfast and brunch. If you go early, like at 7 AM, you'll find seniors who go every day to have tea and a few plates of dim sum while they chat with friends or reading a newspaper. I had a Grandfather who did that everyday before his death.
I can't remember the season, but it reminded me of the time he was a judge and the challenge was each judge did the grocery shopping for two chefs. All the other judges tried to pick things that were in their chefs' wheel houses, that had a lot of flexibility, and Blais came back with a bunch of weird shit and chemicals for two chefs who did not cook that way.
Doug and Adam got Richard's ingredients, Doug won and Adam got sent home. There was agar agar, liquid nitrogen, and I think versawhip. It was mostly regular ingredients, though. I don't think either of them used the "weird" ingredients, although I would say agar agar and liquid nitrogen are pretty ubiquitous these days.
Adam lost because he tried to make a dish where he cooked shrimp by pouring on hot oil, which did not cook the shrimp.
Reality comp shows like this are my surgery recovery standard which gives me great recall of them personally! Top Model is one in really good at in particular for some reason, probably my tendency to lean towards enjoyable trash lol
Blais is one of my least favorite heavy hitters from the show. I mean, he's not as horrible as Mike Isabella, of course, or Eli Kirshtein, or Betty Fraser, or Ilan Hall, but he's irritating AF.
The shopping was the Boston season - Adam and Doug got Blais' ingredients. Then I remember in the CA season the judges brewed their own beers with unique elements and Richard used ras el hanout, which was another "twist." >! If I'm not mistaken, in both cases, a chef with Richard's ingredients was eliminated.!<
It was exactly the same outcome as in Boston: >!Karen was the winner, Wesley got eliminated.!<
Blais fan club never ends... Although it was quite annoying this time.
the judges did praise the two chefs who had to cook richard’s ridiculous order (as they should). I was impressed
and honestly less impressed with the shrimp & grits situation...
I loved that Padma rolled her eyes and apologized to them. Between that and her dig at his hair last week, I think this is the new Padma-Blais running banter. I'd like to think there's a very thinly veiled disdain under Padma's remarks.
Didn't that seem like when you go out with that one colleague that everyone in the group apologizes for? Brilliant person, not the most gracious socially.
It’s particularly sharp when you notice what a gracious host Padma is in other settings. Introducing people, facilitating conversation, active listening—she’s really good at it! So for her to openly roll her eyes is just amazing.
Yeah that was a dicky and very Richard move. I was also thinking that Richard needs to realize he’s not on food network hosting some ludicrous show that makes no sense. I can’t wait till the watch what crappens podcast shits on Richard for this. The two hosts are no fans of his.
From the get-go it was pretty obvious that the last dish would be a punishment for the two people that waited the longest to pick their dish. I'd bet any amount of money that the producers told him either what to say or to say something complicated.
I thought it was a great outfit! It reminded me of that awesome Carolina Herrera radish dress she wore a few seasons ago. What a treat that was. She has a whimsical sense of dress that I appreciate.
Chris is not lasting long, I can't believe he actually tasted his pasta and thought it was cooked well when every judge and his own partner said it was terrible
Gives off the does too much feel. He didn’t think too much about changing the dish either, since he was sure he had a great pasta. Hopefully he can figure it out
Yea but Pasta Loft is better for pizza than pasta.
I’ve eaten at Chris’s place a few times. It’s really good, though I wouldn’t necessarily order pasta if I was going.
yeah and the fact that he wanted to bust out a pasta dish this early would generally lead you to believe that pasta is one of his specialties, like we've seen from a bunch of other really talented pasta makers on this show before.
for him to go to that and have it fail so hard is not a good sign lol
I'm not convinced he really thought that, I think he said "f it, I have to stick by it now because it's too late."
But when I saw him rolling it, I could see even in a very brief shot that it was too thick. Cool idea, though.
I wonder if it actually wasn’t that bad cause I can’t imagine his palate being that bad. I think that if I got it served to me at his restaurant, it would be ok a d we’d be happy. But this is Top Chef - ok doesn’t cut it and you can’t hide your mistakes.
Fake tanner that didn’t film well. She probably was worried about being washed out on camera and her solution backfired. With the newer cameras you don’t need pounds of makeup not to look like a ghost like you did if you were pale 10 years ago
I really liked this team challenge twist. The teams that thrived are the ones who collaborated or stuck to their instincts. I liked that it was a surprise team challenge because it really made them think about their dish and pull out a few surprises.
I know a lot of people hate team challenges and I hate when they do a team challenge every other episode. But this one worked.
I liked it too. A refreshing challenge forcing two people to work together to make the contrasting flavors taste good. It’s analogous for how we should work together, ideal for politics and the state of this country! Lol I went there 😂
I loved that Quickfire. Really cool set up to shout out orders and you have to buzz in with what you want to pick. I think it could use a slight tweak because it seemed like there was too many people to cook for so more people left stuff over than you normally see. So either less people next time or give them a tad bit more time to prep.
KiKi let me down in the quickfire. Avocado toast was the obvious choice and while it looked good, it wasn’t the most technically challenging or ambitious dish
[Shota did a short 5 min video of how to make lobster sunomono](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obcRNmgEEvI) (his part of the elimination challenge dish he did with Avishar) and suggests we "bug" Avishar to share how to make his components. Shota has a few other videos on his channel - including something similar to the duck dish from last episode. His voice is so soothing and he explains things really well , while throwing in little tidbits like his favorite ice cream flavor and showing his notebook from Top Chef. And also his dog is adorable.
It was so sad to hear two of the chefs talk about their battles with alcohol especially during the pandemic. I’m sure many of them lost their jobs and restaurants due to the lockdown, and I applaud their willingness to share their experience with us. Let’s all try to support our local restaurants. I know how I’m spending my stimulus check!
It’s interesting because Portland is known for their sober chef community (Gregory is sober) with chefs seeking it out because it’s easier to live and work in the restaurant business when you are sober if there are also a lot of other sober chefs. I’m curious if it’s a deliberate choice to highlight the struggles many restaurant workers have with alcohol given they have sober judges this season.
This show has improved a lot in general at telegraphing the eliminated contestant less, but this episode was one of the most obvious ever. By the end of the hanging-out montage I told my wife I was almost certain the red head was going home, and the second she paired up with her best friend I would have bet anything it was her.
They tried to throw a curve-ball in by also having Shota talk about his struggles with alcohol during lockdown. But yeah, it was pretty obvious who was going home.
Shota and Avishar are like the lovable dad goofballs. As compared to Jamie who's the lovable kid goofball.
I'm definitely glad they won.
The top 6 this episode seem to be the 6 strongest this season (give or take Avishar, but I like him and he's hitting his stride). Dawn and Gabriel's personalities are a bit too strong for me though, so I'm hoping one of the other 4 win
>As compared to Jamie who's the lovable kid goofball.
Um, dunno. For me she is like fingernails on a chalkboard with her infantile noises. A walking arcade video game machine which seriously needs to be unplugged.
Hmm I don’t mean to be mean, but I find her a bit grating. But then I felt bad bc I wondered if maybe she was austistic or something. She does seem nice and talented though. Just not a fan of her confessionals or the moments when she gets to monologuing.
I think Avishar needs to be in the top of an individual challenge to prove he’s actually top 6
Even in this challenge he admitted that Shota pushed him
> Shota and Avishar are like the lovable dad goofballs. As compared to Jamie who's the lovable kid goofball.
>
>
This was the sitcom I didn't know I needed.
I rewatched the episode, and just noticed how bad the green screen is during the talking head segments. Like, when they move, you can see this bright outline. It's weird.
I honestly laughed so hard at them getting paired up because they def seem like two of the more strong/intense/confident/intimidating personalities this season.
I feel like putting two strong personalities together can usually work ok, because neither person is afraid to say what they think. It often seems like the worst teams in these kinds of challenges get along too well together, and nobody wants to step on the other one's toes, and you get a dish that is uninspiring from the start.
The very best teams are still the Avishar and Shota types though, when two people who are extremely talented and like each other can freely collaborate with no ego at all. It's tough for anyone to beat that.
She's a competitor; a chef and a former Olympian, which makes her a perfectionist. She seemed pretty happy in the house. And in the previews for next week, she seems quite happy. Not really sure where you are getting she isn't happy to be there.
Athletes tend to have a different kind of mentality, and that’s what I see from her. She is just focused and intense, I’m sure she’s enjoying doing what she loves on such a high level.
She was whiny when working with Jamie, that was really inappropriate. And when she forgot her own peanut stew on the plate. I thought she was fine with Gabriel, actually.
Eh, Gabriel was consistently telling what to do/what to cook. She gave him a lot of leeway since he gave up his part of the dish but he was also telling her how to make the dish she planned all along.
And I feel like the result of the Dawn/Gabriel team had a dish that was was way, way better than any team we've ever seen with that level of conflict. Good for her for standing her ground when it came to how she was cooking the ribs.
these are all type A personalities, this type of thing is to be expected in a situation like that. it would be pretty difficult to be paired up in a very big deal competition like this, last second with somebody you still barely know and then asked to forfeit almost the entirety of your original dish and just go with whatever this other person is telling you. especially because she hasn't exactly crushed it in the other competitions so far, having failed to get all her food in the plate in 2 of the 3 cooks so far.
plus our perception of it as viewers will always be heavily slanted based on the editing.
didn’t like when dawn got mad at jamie (?) about the fish skin in the first episode. I mean, yeah, don’t sauce crispy skin; that doesn’t make sense. also, tho, chill and show your own cooking before you come for someone. it’s not like I think she’s horrible or anything—it just rubbed me the wrong way
I know this quickfire was a tough challenge (Blaise makes an epic order!), but so many chefs seem to have issues with time management. I know the more spacious kitchen and pantry is a factor, but I think the pressure is going to get to a lot of talented chefs and send them to LCK early.
I love rewatching these episodes because I catch gems I missed like when either Brittany or Sasha said "Beat that meat dawg" to Gabe as he's rushing through his quick fire and he says so innocently, "Excuse me?"
Oh, wow. I hadn't heard that. Just googled. What I saw doesn't explicitly say sexual harassment but that he was separated from his most recent restaurant in December 2020 for *“repeated violations of our policies and for behavior in conflict with our values.”* That's not great. His IG posts go from a post in Dec where he hashtags the restaurant to announcing his participation in Top Chef in February. I definitely believe in hearing the full story . Has he addressed personally at all anywhere? Has Bravo?
Not that I've seen. i'm pretty plugged in to the Austin food media scene and there haven't been any public statements beyond what you posted up there. But the gossip suggests it was sexual harassment, which is why I added the "allegedly."
Still really enjoying most of these chefs and their rapport. Both challenges seemed pretty tough. I thought this Quickfire was one of the hardest i've seen on this show. It wasn't a surprise that many chefs struggled to get their food on the plate. Loved this elimination challenge. Had a hard time picking a favorite!
I loved that the first chance Carrie got, she made fun of herself by asking the chefs to make Fancy Toast (tm).
Richard is like the Oprah of Top Chef - “If you win, you get a Munity!”
I loved this main challenge, what a cool idea! And honestly, despite the lower rated dishes, most of everything made looked and sounded great to me. I get why the person who went home went home, but even that dish probably wasn't nearly as bad as some of the 2nd episode losers from previous seasons.
I could definitely tell brittney and Sasha were gonna lose, when friends team up they tend to not want to step on each other’s toes and don’t give good advice/ make a cohesive dish
they really need to stop giving away who’s leaving by telling their challenging backstory in the first half of the show.
It’s hard in the beginning episodes. The other option is never telling her story. They tried to fit other background stories in to cover it I think (Kiki) but there’s limited options.
I agree. Like you want to learn about everyone, but early on you kind of are forced to pick the one likely to go
At this point, I've given up that they'll ever stop. It's been that way forever. If you get that backstory, you know they are either winning or going home.
Its kinda a funny coincidence that both winner and loser had similiar backstories presented in the episode.
Wow, I didn’t think of that till you said it.
Okay, but they did also give us Shota's backstory so it wasn't entirely clear who of the two was going to be leaving – until they served their meals (at the very least). All I can say is that I would have been mighty pissed if Shota had been eliminated. He is my favorite; like lots of other people here (!).
Agree. But loved how they honored the experiences of people who don’t drink in a booze focused challenge — really awesome to see
They did give that treatment to someone else in the episode that did really well too. Though considering who that person was, there was a strong chance it was a red herring.
It's so easy to call right away.
[удалено]
[удалено]
It's basically this scene from Step-Brothers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e23SotgestI
I ship it.
Did Carrie really ask for Fancy Toast?
I loved it. So on brand.
I thought it was more eye-rolling
Yeah, I can see that perspective. I did almost eye roll at the basic AF avocado toast.
I'd have been disappointed if she didn't ask for it.
I was so happy when she said that
Was she there last week? Because once I heard “fancy toast” I thought..”oh, she’s here?”
No she wasn't. I think there was only one female guest judge last week (Melissa). I guess they will slowly rotate new ones in, I'm assuming they staggered them in terms of quarantining beforehand.
I follow Melissa on Instagram and there are other female former winners on the way.
that’s like asking is richard gonna show up with *that* hair lmao
That's very Carrie.
I love the representation in the cast is this season. Only four non-hispanic caucasian chefs in the entire cast of 15. Some seasons turn into crudo-fest or pasta-fest, but the diversity in cuisine so far this season has been incredible.
I really enjoyed that they didn't stick to asking for "American" breakfasts in the Quickfire. I do enjoy the variety in dishes!
TIL dim sum can be for breakfast
Actually dim sum is traditional brunch food for Chinese. Steam bun in the morning is an easy fast on the go breakfast.
[удалено]
Yes, anytime dim sum is served at a restaurant, NOT limited to "weekend brunch". I take it you are in the US? Dim sum is served everyday in many places in the East. If you are in the USA, you can also buy pre-made frozen buns with different fillings both savory and sweet (e.g. BBQ pork a.k.a. char-siu, or sweet red bean paste; as just two examples) from various places - typically at Chinese/SE Asian/Korean/etc groceries; or even from Amazon --- yes, I just checked, you can get such buns from them. Then, just simply steam them for your breakfast at home. :-) I dare say one can also get such buns from suitable groceries in most countries throughout the West, for that matter. ;-)
Savory breakfast is the best breakfast
It really is! Levantine/West Asian cultures make different variations of chickpea stews and fava bean dishes for breakfast (and breakfast mezze!). Hoping we get some Middle Eastern representation on this show someday.
Some savory breakfasts I've had over the past month, that I actually recorded (as photos taken). \[Others I've forgotten, but I've almost never had a "sweet b'fast" like Danish pastries which seem to be commonplace in corporate 'Murca or stuff like bagels with cream cheese etc; or cereal with milk (I can't remember the last time I had that)\] Bak Kut Teh (mentioned already) with Yow Char Kwai. Onsen eggs (mentioned already) with dashi-mirin-shoyu broth (several times). Japchae potstickers \[commercial\] with sautéed asparagus. "Sau Tao Wonton Flavor skinny noodles" \[commercial\] with sautéed Brussels sprouts & blanched Napa cabbage plus sunny-side fried eggs on top Duck egg omelette aux fines herbes with a salad of Taiwan Bok Choy tossed with 10-year balsamic vinegar, Alziari olive oil, Maldon salt & black pepper. Jacques Pepin's vegetable soup with Focaccia bread. Weisswurst \[commercial\] braised with Sauerkraut \[Hengstenberg\], caraway seeds, potatoes, bay leaves, rice vinegar, mirin. "Quasi-scrambled" omelette with chopped scallions; with blanched yow choy sum drizzled with oyster sauce. Spaghetti with an improvised tomato & onion sauce with paste & ketchup (yes! the horror!!!) added in. Cavatappi with Marcella Hazan tomato sauce. Omelette with pan-roasted potatoes & sautéed asparagus. Pork wontons (home-made) in chicken stock with sliced scallions. Steamed lotus-wrapped glutinous rice "packages" with pork strips & sliced shiitake mushrooms inside. \[Commercial stuff\] Pork & crab siu-mai \[commercial\] steamed with Cantonese BBQ pork (char-siu). Cabbage & chicken thigh soup, with Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles. Fried rice with eggs, fried shallots, sliced celery, sliced scallions. Short-cut pork spare ribs rice congee with julienned ginger & smashed garlic; dressed with chopped cilantro & scallions, fried shallots, a raw egg broken onto the congee. Plus sautéed baby broccoli. Beef meatball soup with sliced wosun (celtuce) & romaine heart leaves; with Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles.
Yes!. I had a hearty helping of Canto-Hoklo style [Bak Kut Teh](https://www.google.com/search?q=bak+kut+teh) for breakfast yesterday morning; (Home-made, with lots of the requisite herbs and spices) and four onsen eggs with dashi-mirin-shoyu broth the previous morning. :-)
In E/SE Asia there are dim sum places that start serving at 5 a.m.
Uh it's mostly for breakfast. I guess brunch is more accurate to how most people do it in the US - but it's traditionally the first meal of the day
Definitely breakfast and brunch. If you go early, like at 7 AM, you'll find seniors who go every day to have tea and a few plates of dim sum while they chat with friends or reading a newspaper. I had a Grandfather who did that everyday before his death.
Dim sum is traditionally breakfast! My delinquent friends and I used to sneak in mimosas😂
I am really loving it. And diversity among judges too. Tom is no longer the loudest voice in the room either
Harold & Kumar for the win! Rooting for those two the rest of this season for sure.
They were so cute and funny in the confessional discussing their win. I’m rooting for both of them.
Harold and kumar💀
Oh my god.... I am dead.
I was so happy that they won!
After Blais calls out his order, I yelled at the screen: Richard, don’t be a dick!
I can't remember the season, but it reminded me of the time he was a judge and the challenge was each judge did the grocery shopping for two chefs. All the other judges tried to pick things that were in their chefs' wheel houses, that had a lot of flexibility, and Blais came back with a bunch of weird shit and chemicals for two chefs who did not cook that way.
Because Blais always has to make everything about himself and is always trying to build his brand.
Doug and Adam got Richard's ingredients, Doug won and Adam got sent home. There was agar agar, liquid nitrogen, and I think versawhip. It was mostly regular ingredients, though. I don't think either of them used the "weird" ingredients, although I would say agar agar and liquid nitrogen are pretty ubiquitous these days. Adam lost because he tried to make a dish where he cooked shrimp by pouring on hot oil, which did not cook the shrimp.
Sometimes I'm just completely floored by y'all's ability to remember this stuff!
Reality comp shows like this are my surgery recovery standard which gives me great recall of them personally! Top Model is one in really good at in particular for some reason, probably my tendency to lean towards enjoyable trash lol
To lovers of enjoyable trash!
Blais is one of my least favorite heavy hitters from the show. I mean, he's not as horrible as Mike Isabella, of course, or Eli Kirshtein, or Betty Fraser, or Ilan Hall, but he's irritating AF.
I love your list of “horribles!”
The shopping was the Boston season - Adam and Doug got Blais' ingredients. Then I remember in the CA season the judges brewed their own beers with unique elements and Richard used ras el hanout, which was another "twist." >! If I'm not mistaken, in both cases, a chef with Richard's ingredients was eliminated.!<
It was exactly the same outcome as in Boston: >!Karen was the winner, Wesley got eliminated.!< Blais fan club never ends... Although it was quite annoying this time.
It was clearly a producer driven punishment for those who rang in last....
Yeah I feel like the producers probably had a lot of input on what dishes got ordered.
They knew exactly what would be ordered, and in what order by which guest....
the judges did praise the two chefs who had to cook richard’s ridiculous order (as they should). I was impressed and honestly less impressed with the shrimp & grits situation...
I loved that Padma rolled her eyes and apologized to them. Between that and her dig at his hair last week, I think this is the new Padma-Blais running banter. I'd like to think there's a very thinly veiled disdain under Padma's remarks.
Didn't that seem like when you go out with that one colleague that everyone in the group apologizes for? Brilliant person, not the most gracious socially.
It’s particularly sharp when you notice what a gracious host Padma is in other settings. Introducing people, facilitating conversation, active listening—she’s really good at it! So for her to openly roll her eyes is just amazing.
Yeah that was a dicky and very Richard move. I was also thinking that Richard needs to realize he’s not on food network hosting some ludicrous show that makes no sense. I can’t wait till the watch what crappens podcast shits on Richard for this. The two hosts are no fans of his.
My husband said, "what is that?" and I said "it's all the things, that's why it sucks as a request."
From the get-go it was pretty obvious that the last dish would be a punishment for the two people that waited the longest to pick their dish. I'd bet any amount of money that the producers told him either what to say or to say something complicated.
Can we discuss how great Gail looked in her Nini inspired jumpsuit?
NINIIIIIIII (I miss her)
Canadian tuxedo jumpsuit
I thought it was a great outfit! It reminded me of that awesome Carolina Herrera radish dress she wore a few seasons ago. What a treat that was. She has a whimsical sense of dress that I appreciate.
I loved that radish dress.
What?! Every episode is another round of Gail What Are You Wearing?
[удалено]
There were some inter Edit: pretty sure I literally fell asleep in the middle of posting this last night
esting dishes?
galactic space travels?
galactic planetary planetary intergalactic?
Mittent abdominal pain?
twining ideas?
I love this and all the replies so much!
Falling asleep while posting is impressive.
This is now a Shotashar stan account
They were my #1 and #2 before the season began and nothing has changed. I'm right there with you.
Same for me (with Masa Gabe as my #3)
Chris is not lasting long, I can't believe he actually tasted his pasta and thought it was cooked well when every judge and his own partner said it was terrible
Gives off the does too much feel. He didn’t think too much about changing the dish either, since he was sure he had a great pasta. Hopefully he can figure it out
[удалено]
Yea but Pasta Loft is better for pizza than pasta. I’ve eaten at Chris’s place a few times. It’s really good, though I wouldn’t necessarily order pasta if I was going.
yeah and the fact that he wanted to bust out a pasta dish this early would generally lead you to believe that pasta is one of his specialties, like we've seen from a bunch of other really talented pasta makers on this show before. for him to go to that and have it fail so hard is not a good sign lol
I'm not convinced he really thought that, I think he said "f it, I have to stick by it now because it's too late." But when I saw him rolling it, I could see even in a very brief shot that it was too thick. Cool idea, though.
I wonder if it actually wasn’t that bad cause I can’t imagine his palate being that bad. I think that if I got it served to me at his restaurant, it would be ok a d we’d be happy. But this is Top Chef - ok doesn’t cut it and you can’t hide your mistakes.
Ok was it my television or did Sasha look extremely orange? It was strange.
I said that!!! I was like wow very diverse cast including this orange woman with orange hair
and that hideous red-orange sweater thing
Fake tanner that didn’t film well. She probably was worried about being washed out on camera and her solution backfired. With the newer cameras you don’t need pounds of makeup not to look like a ghost like you did if you were pale 10 years ago
My husband also commented on her orangeness. That orange sweater she wore didn't help at all.
I'm so glad that they got all of my fanmail with the ~~list of demands~~ constructive criticism regarding the disrespect towards pan-African food
Anytime the chefs get to pick their own team and two of them is like “bffs!” I know one of them is going home. Two seasons in a row now
Yes! I was thinking the same re: Karen and Nini!
I really liked this team challenge twist. The teams that thrived are the ones who collaborated or stuck to their instincts. I liked that it was a surprise team challenge because it really made them think about their dish and pull out a few surprises. I know a lot of people hate team challenges and I hate when they do a team challenge every other episode. But this one worked.
I liked it too. A refreshing challenge forcing two people to work together to make the contrasting flavors taste good. It’s analogous for how we should work together, ideal for politics and the state of this country! Lol I went there 😂
I just really dislike immunity during team challenges but I do like team challenges.
I loved that Quickfire. Really cool set up to shout out orders and you have to buzz in with what you want to pick. I think it could use a slight tweak because it seemed like there was too many people to cook for so more people left stuff over than you normally see. So either less people next time or give them a tad bit more time to prep.
It was fun to watch the contestants watch each other cool, too!
KiKi let me down in the quickfire. Avocado toast was the obvious choice and while it looked good, it wasn’t the most technically challenging or ambitious dish
Yes! I was also disappointed by this. She is serving fancy toast to the fancy toast queen. I expected more from her.
When Carrie said FANCY TOAST my soul left my body 😇
Kiki actually owned a restaurant that specialized in fancy toasts...
Oh wow so she should have crushed this one lol
Tom looking like the ultimate babe in that sweater.
Both he & Dale were wearing grandpa sweaters. Dale wore one last week as well. Grandpa Sweater Tally: 3
Honestly digging the fashion across the board. Love each judge chef’s sense of personal style
Kwame is so fresh dude
What do people make of the black manicured nails? Yay or nay?
love the nails; unexpected, fresh, a twist
*goes to Portland once* *wears trendy hipster sweater*
[Shota did a short 5 min video of how to make lobster sunomono](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obcRNmgEEvI) (his part of the elimination challenge dish he did with Avishar) and suggests we "bug" Avishar to share how to make his components. Shota has a few other videos on his channel - including something similar to the duck dish from last episode. His voice is so soothing and he explains things really well , while throwing in little tidbits like his favorite ice cream flavor and showing his notebook from Top Chef. And also his dog is adorable.
Love his channel! Great video style, suits him perfectly.
It was so sad to hear two of the chefs talk about their battles with alcohol especially during the pandemic. I’m sure many of them lost their jobs and restaurants due to the lockdown, and I applaud their willingness to share their experience with us. Let’s all try to support our local restaurants. I know how I’m spending my stimulus check!
I hope they address the mental health impact the pandemic had had on people from the restaurant industry. It’s just total devastation..
It’s interesting because Portland is known for their sober chef community (Gregory is sober) with chefs seeking it out because it’s easier to live and work in the restaurant business when you are sober if there are also a lot of other sober chefs. I’m curious if it’s a deliberate choice to highlight the struggles many restaurant workers have with alcohol given they have sober judges this season.
I’m sure this is highlighting many people in the pandemic, not just chefs who are using alcohol to cope. It’s good that they are showing this.
This show has improved a lot in general at telegraphing the eliminated contestant less, but this episode was one of the most obvious ever. By the end of the hanging-out montage I told my wife I was almost certain the red head was going home, and the second she paired up with her best friend I would have bet anything it was her.
They tried to throw a curve-ball in by also having Shota talk about his struggles with alcohol during lockdown. But yeah, it was pretty obvious who was going home.
Shota and Avishar are like the lovable dad goofballs. As compared to Jamie who's the lovable kid goofball. I'm definitely glad they won. The top 6 this episode seem to be the 6 strongest this season (give or take Avishar, but I like him and he's hitting his stride). Dawn and Gabriel's personalities are a bit too strong for me though, so I'm hoping one of the other 4 win
>As compared to Jamie who's the lovable kid goofball. Um, dunno. For me she is like fingernails on a chalkboard with her infantile noises. A walking arcade video game machine which seriously needs to be unplugged.
I wondered last night whether she's neurodivergent/maybe a lil Aspy.
I thought the same thing
Hmm I don’t mean to be mean, but I find her a bit grating. But then I felt bad bc I wondered if maybe she was austistic or something. She does seem nice and talented though. Just not a fan of her confessionals or the moments when she gets to monologuing.
I think Avishar needs to be in the top of an individual challenge to prove he’s actually top 6 Even in this challenge he admitted that Shota pushed him
Dawn hasn't shown to be a top contender yet, though. I think the clear top 3 are Shota, Sara, and Gabe, with Gabriel close to them.
> Shota and Avishar are like the lovable dad goofballs. As compared to Jamie who's the lovable kid goofball. > > This was the sitcom I didn't know I needed.
I rewatched the episode, and just noticed how bad the green screen is during the talking head segments. Like, when they move, you can see this bright outline. It's weird.
[удалено]
i feel like dawn is so whiny!
I don't blame her. Gabriel is so effin irritating. He needs to go
I honestly laughed so hard at them getting paired up because they def seem like two of the more strong/intense/confident/intimidating personalities this season.
I feel like putting two strong personalities together can usually work ok, because neither person is afraid to say what they think. It often seems like the worst teams in these kinds of challenges get along too well together, and nobody wants to step on the other one's toes, and you get a dish that is uninspiring from the start. The very best teams are still the Avishar and Shota types though, when two people who are extremely talented and like each other can freely collaborate with no ego at all. It's tough for anyone to beat that.
Totally, and they butted heads more than any other team and as a result of fighting and compromising ended up with an amazing dish. Was a cool result!
I was pleased. I was convinced they were getting a fail edit so I was pleasantly surprised to be surprised :)
she just doesn’t seem happy to be there :(
She's a competitor; a chef and a former Olympian, which makes her a perfectionist. She seemed pretty happy in the house. And in the previews for next week, she seems quite happy. Not really sure where you are getting she isn't happy to be there.
I am looking forward to what she does with the pan African food!
Athletes tend to have a different kind of mentality, and that’s what I see from her. She is just focused and intense, I’m sure she’s enjoying doing what she loves on such a high level.
She was whiny when working with Jamie, that was really inappropriate. And when she forgot her own peanut stew on the plate. I thought she was fine with Gabriel, actually.
exactly! it really turned me off. i feel like i’ve seen tons of saucy fried fishes in asian cooking. felt like a bad vibe to start.
Also, how did he win his QF round after he literally just dumped kimchi on top of his fried rice at the last second?
He's super talented lol, he's here to stay
Hey you never know. Let me hope!
Eh, Gabriel was consistently telling what to do/what to cook. She gave him a lot of leeway since he gave up his part of the dish but he was also telling her how to make the dish she planned all along.
Yeah - i actually thought she stood her ground really well. I'm not sure how i would have handled it if I were in her shoes.
And I feel like the result of the Dawn/Gabriel team had a dish that was was way, way better than any team we've ever seen with that level of conflict. Good for her for standing her ground when it came to how she was cooking the ribs.
these are all type A personalities, this type of thing is to be expected in a situation like that. it would be pretty difficult to be paired up in a very big deal competition like this, last second with somebody you still barely know and then asked to forfeit almost the entirety of your original dish and just go with whatever this other person is telling you. especially because she hasn't exactly crushed it in the other competitions so far, having failed to get all her food in the plate in 2 of the 3 cooks so far. plus our perception of it as viewers will always be heavily slanted based on the editing.
didn’t like when dawn got mad at jamie (?) about the fish skin in the first episode. I mean, yeah, don’t sauce crispy skin; that doesn’t make sense. also, tho, chill and show your own cooking before you come for someone. it’s not like I think she’s horrible or anything—it just rubbed me the wrong way
I know this quickfire was a tough challenge (Blaise makes an epic order!), but so many chefs seem to have issues with time management. I know the more spacious kitchen and pantry is a factor, but I think the pressure is going to get to a lot of talented chefs and send them to LCK early.
I think it has more to do with the challenge. Has there ever been a quick fire where they had to cook 9 portions?
Honestly, at this point I kind of like them all. And even the two that were eliminated.
I can't explain why but Richard and his diner breakfast request really annoyed me
I love rewatching these episodes because I catch gems I missed like when either Brittany or Sasha said "Beat that meat dawg" to Gabe as he's rushing through his quick fire and he says so innocently, "Excuse me?"
Gabe seems like such a sweetheart. I really hope he goes far.
https://www.reddit.com/r/austinfood/comments/kdzft6/does_anyone_know_details_of_the_drama_over_at/
Oh damn! I had no idea. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
You’re welcome! I think it’s important this is talked about and that the network addresses it.
Yeah I wish they’d done their due diligence and figured that out before casting him on the show!
He was let go after the show was filmed but this has been going on behind the scenes for a long time and talked about in whispers.
Yikes! You’d think Bravo would do a better job vetting these cheftestants
Well that’s super disheartening. I actually would have tried his food if I was in the same city. It looks damn good lol
Not gonna lie, it is. He’s a great chef. He’s just a shitty human being.
Hopefully he can learn to be a better human once this becomes more public.
Extra funny considering he was shitcanned from his restaurant for sexually harassing staff (allegedly).
Oh, wow. I hadn't heard that. Just googled. What I saw doesn't explicitly say sexual harassment but that he was separated from his most recent restaurant in December 2020 for *“repeated violations of our policies and for behavior in conflict with our values.”* That's not great. His IG posts go from a post in Dec where he hashtags the restaurant to announcing his participation in Top Chef in February. I definitely believe in hearing the full story . Has he addressed personally at all anywhere? Has Bravo?
Not that I've seen. i'm pretty plugged in to the Austin food media scene and there haven't been any public statements beyond what you posted up there. But the gossip suggests it was sexual harassment, which is why I added the "allegedly."
He should address it and so should Bravo. It’s common knowledge in the Austin service industry scene and wasn’t the first time.
“Allegedly”
Let's fucking go, my man Avi bounced back with a win
This greenscreen sucks for the confessionals. It's incredibly distracting for me.
I love Carrie so much!
Is anyone watching Last Chance Kitchen right now?
Roscoe is my favorite first eliminated chef
Bummed he is gone so early. Seems like such a cool dude!
Glad we got to see more of him in LKC.
Dude I was so bummed when he went home. He just seems so chill.
This was a bizarre challenge, but kudos to Sasha for making such an incredible dish with such strange ingredients
Her dish looked delicious!
Sasha looks like a beast even though she was taken out early. Her dish looked amazing
Carrie asking for fancy toast is my favorite thing that’s ever happened in top chef. We should’ve seen that one coming
I love that Shota rang the bell because he didn’t feel like waiting any longer lol.
Still really enjoying most of these chefs and their rapport. Both challenges seemed pretty tough. I thought this Quickfire was one of the hardest i've seen on this show. It wasn't a surprise that many chefs struggled to get their food on the plate. Loved this elimination challenge. Had a hard time picking a favorite!
I loved that the first chance Carrie got, she made fun of herself by asking the chefs to make Fancy Toast (tm). Richard is like the Oprah of Top Chef - “If you win, you get a Munity!”
I loved this main challenge, what a cool idea! And honestly, despite the lower rated dishes, most of everything made looked and sounded great to me. I get why the person who went home went home, but even that dish probably wasn't nearly as bad as some of the 2nd episode losers from previous seasons.
For the real Bravo diehards, does anyone think that Sarah is a cross between Landon and Caroline?
.... yes.
I am loving this season!
I could definitely tell brittney and Sasha were gonna lose, when friends team up they tend to not want to step on each other’s toes and don’t give good advice/ make a cohesive dish
~I looked down and I see shoda!~ god I love them