By Popular Demand

No, no power rankings for Top Chef Masters, sorry :-)

Despite numerous requests, between the move, the new baby, the new business and flying out to California every month (for two really, really exciting projects), I just don't have it in me at the moment to write with any regularity (or at all, really, but I hope to change that shortly). However, some folks have requested a place to congregate and discuss the new show, so here it is! Even if I don't have anything particularly interesting to add, I'll try to get a post up for you guys to banter. Once we get into next season and things have settled down a bit, maybe I'll do something with Masters. But for now, I'm keeping it loose.

I have to say, I like the format. This could be a fun show. But one thing struck me as particularly notable. For all of the grief restaurant reviewers get, this was a rather amiable bunch, don't you think? Smart, constructive criticism that wasn't over the top and respected the work the chefs were doing. Heck, the night's harshest critic was the befreckled Girl Scout.

Anyway, looking forward to next week... and thanks for all of the well-wishes on all fronts!

Comments

[Bart]

Glad to hear things are going well with you so far. Have you moved to Boston yet? If so, hope you're enjoying it. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll provide us with some excellent reviews!

Hope the baby isn't keeping you and the wife *too* wide awake ;)

The one thing I really liked about Masters is the level of respect they all had for each other, and for the art of cooking. Tim Love, who had no formal culinary training, was treated with the same respect by his peers that they did with, say, Christopher Lee (I avoid mentioning Hubert Keller because he's just on a completely different plane)

Also, even though they clearly never used microwaves, there wasn't too much pouting. On a regular season of Top Chef, the contestant without formal training would have been looked down upon by some; and there would have been a whole lot more whining about the microwaves.

A friend of mine, a chef, said that with the masters, it really isn't about who trained you, but what you've accomplished. Clearly, that's how the first four masters felt.

This'll be a fun season to watch.

[Naomi]

Dom, many thanks for posting so we can discuss. And many congrats on the new baby :-)

[Omelet]

Thanks for creating this place for us to discuss! Glad that you (and hopefully your family) are able to find the time to watch in spite of your busy schedule.

The show was a pleasure to watch because of the caliber and grace of the chefs. It was interesting to read on the Bravo site that the judges did not know the conditions under which the chefs had prepared their meals until after they had tasted them (although they began to suspect the conditions might have been unusual... ). Look forward to the remaining episodes!

[Gilmore]

A lot of fun to watch. Awesome skills. Keller's creativity on the dessert was fantastic. The judges comments were a little inconsistent in relation to their scoring, but overall, it was good. Tim Love overcoming the frozen food was amazing. The chef's camaraderie was great to see.

I look forward to the rest of the season.

Thanks for posting Dom. Congrats on the baby.

UG

[Weirdsmobile]

Hey Dom, glad to hear about all the neat stuff going on in your life. Congratulations!

I was a little skeptical about TPM, but really enjoyed the first episode. It's fun to watch true Top Chefs at work, and those screwball challenges (dorm room cooking!) actually work pretty well in this context -- I enjoy seeing how these eminent pros handle the stuff that gets thrown their way. (I'm guessing that most of these chefs who end up as guest judges on regular Top Chef will have a little more sympathy for the cheftestants)

One thing I'm not sure about, though, is letting the judges know who cooked what during the tastings. Since these guys have reputations and histories in the food world, I'm not sure how objective the judges can be, no matter their best intentions.

All in all, though, a fun episode. Really looking forward to this series.

[AdamBormann]

I just ate at Fleur de Lys (for my 12th wedding anniversary) and loved it, so i was really happy to see Hubert Keller do some amazing work (a swan and a mouse??!). I thought it was great to see that the things that make my wife and I crazy about the regular TCs were still true on Masters ("I don't know how to make dessert" and "I've never tried this before but...")

Adam

[SorchaRei]

What was most interesting to me was that despite having some of the same reservations as the regular TC players, these guys were all "Dessert is my weakness" and then they just jumped right in and did it. It's not surprising that it's their weakness, since that is how the chef profession rolls, but it sure was nice that their comments about what they do and don't know how to do easily all seemed to have a second half of "but, hey, I'm going to do it anyway!"

This applied to dessert, shopping, changing the menu in response to the store not having ground pork, cooking in a dorm room with no running water handy, and recovering from having frozen all the ingredients. That to me was the biggest difference. The TC chefs are often stymied or stalled by these things, and the TCMs just noted their inexperience, discomfort, or uncertainty . . . and then proceeded to produce good food anyway.

[ArC]

Wow, I came to this blog a while back for TC talk; I had no idea you were also the voice of Guybrush! Awesome. MI3 is one of my favorite adventure games ever.

[babyarm]

Liked the first episode. Not a huge fan of letting the charities run the narrative for each chef. A few mentions is fine, but it seemed to be the editing focus in the lack of a side-story. Would have liked to see how each of them prepped their courses a bit more. I don't really recall even seeing 30 seconds on a few of the chef's courses.

Thought they really missed out not using the toaster broiler for searing. Toaster broilers can get super hot. Much hotter than heating a pan on a hot plate.

[Elise]

Congrats on the new baby! And thank you so much for giving us a place to chat. I was feeling a horrible void at the idea of TCM and no place to go for intelligent adult discussion about it.

First off, I really, really like this way of assessing the contestants. The point (star) system is clear and easy to see who thought what, and why. Much better than the random PYKAG from TC. I can't imagine we'll have too much conspiracy chat on this season.

Second of all. I felt bad for the other chefs when they went up against Keller. Meringue swans, chocolate mousse, whipped cream mouse, all in less than two hours? For a guy who's not a pastry chef? Short of his food bursting into flame due to some sort of freak dorm room accident you knew he had this episode won.

Third off: Loved the judges. I like a little snark now and then, but it was quite nice to see the judges be respectful and still do a good job.

So the show was low on 'drama' but I'm not interested in 'drama' I want to see great chefs make great food. Very satisfying indeed.

[Bob]

I may be in the minority here. I was not that thrilled with Top Chef Masters. I didn't like the star system - seems like Dancing with the Stars to me. It would work if we didn't hear each judge give the stars orally (did they consult first?). But ok. I loved the challenges, but not crazy about the charity angle. The stakes are too low. Everybody seems very laid back.

I would like a little more tension between the chefs. This is probably a good summer show, but not memorable in the way Top Chef is. I don't see anyone remembering who won a few months from now.

[Shelly]

Thanks for setting this up for us Dom! Are those your picks for the finalists in the header? ;)

I really loved watching TCM, because of the lessons it taught about how a professional chef handles difficulties. No excuses. They just do what it takes to get the best food on the table. It didn't always work, but their creativity and effort was inspiring.

Except maybe for Keller's shower use. Don't get me wrong, it was a great idea, in theory. But I think maybe he never lived in a dorm. When I saw that, I gagged.

[KinderJ]

I agree that Masters feels more lightweight than regular TC, but I don't feel that's necessarily a bad thing. The strict time limits imposed by the chef's schedules means that the contestants don't really have time to develop rivalries or cliques. They are well established and respected, so they lack the insecurity of a lot of the contestants on TC. Under those circumstances, it makes sense to try and generate drama through frequent reference to the charities. And I am ok with that, they sound like worthy charities and if nothing else the free press will do them good.

I am a little irritated by the star system. Its a bit twee, given how much of these guy's lives revolve around securing those stars in real life. It is doubly grating due to the NY Times critic on the panel. Not anything she did personally, but if her paper gives your restaurant three stars, you are a very happy restaurateur. If it gets four, you are ecstatic. If it gets fifteen, you start hunting the copy editor that let the typo through.

Leaving that aside, I was extremely impressed by the friendly, professional nature of all the chefs. There was a distinct lack of game playing or one-upping each other. Much as I distrust the 'like to have a beer with' test, I reckon any of these guys would be pleasant barroom companions.

I do wish they would spend a little more time on the food, though.

Dom- Congratulations once again on the birth of your child. I look forward to hearing more games from you (if that makes sense...)

[Weirdsmobile]

I don't mind the star system only because I kind of expect Masters to be more like a game show than a reality series like Top Chef. If you guys have seen the Masterchef series from the UK, you know what I mean (TCM seems very much patterned after that show).