Top Chef Masters Episode 2 - Postmortem

Of course they brought back the vending machine.

Correct me if I'm wrong, though, but I don't remember the pantry being at the chefs' disposal the last time around. Could GEB have possibly gotten anything more squarely in his wheelhouse? Would've been nice to see GEB advance, strictly from the standpoint of blatant homerism. S'ok. Bayless is up next week.

Where the hell was Jay Rayner when they were looking for a British critic for Top Chef?!?

And is anybody else amused that the silhouettes of the "final round" chefs are all Hubert Keller, flowing mane and all?

Talk amongst yourselves...

Comments

[babyarm]

WD hammering the bulk food bin at Whole Foods was the best part.

Give the people a proper kitchen and things become much more competitive. Next week looks tricked up again.

Maybe I'm ignorant, but I've never heard of the chef that won. She looked extremely strong to me despite getting the "boring" edit. 2 hours is a super short timeframe to pull off what she did. That maybe why she won over WD and others because they really didn't put much together really.

[SorchaRei]

The website of the winner's restaurant in LA: http://www.thejar.com/

She's won a bunch of awards including being one of the Food & Wine Best New Chefs in 2002.

The restaurant was awesomely good the one time I ate there. I like Wylie very much, but I was glad to see her win, just because I loved her food so much.

That said, I was very impressed with how Wylie "converted" Oseland to his style of food. How awesome was the playing around in the store between him and GEB? ((Answer: awesome enough that I'd sign up to watch a 10-episode series of the two of them shopping in various venues and then cooking up whatever they bought.))

And I, too, wish that Rayner were sitting in the Toby Young slot on (regular) Top Chef.

Overall, this show continues to be very very good.

[momjamin]

Quick comments: Yes, I noticed the Hubert Keller silhouettes and was amused.

And yes, I'll take Jay over Toby any day.

[canasian]

I accidentally stumbled across the winner, so the show's kind of ruined for me now. Stay away from YumSugar and LA Eater, people.

Anyway, I enjoyed the episode. I really wanted Graham to win, but I was fine with anyone. How great would it have been if there was foie in the pantry so Graham could make pop rock foielipops as an amuse?

I like Elizabeth, and I'm sure she's a good cook in real life, but she needs to stay away from tv. She always chokes. I was surprised that Wylie didn't do better, though.

[Dave_P]

Dom, thanks so much for letting us gather here again!

I was rooting for Wylie, but he couldn't overcome his QF jitters. After ep 1, I thought the QF was lightly weighted enough to be surmountable, but I'm getting the feeling that that first 20% of your total might be more decisive than we thought, esp at this level of competition.

Re: Elizabeth, I chucked a bit when she went for the liquid nitrogen before Wylie. Wonder if he raised an eyebrow at that. :) I really wanna try his slow-poached eggs though--wonder what the temperature & times are?

Little side note about TC5, since Dom brought up Jay Rayner: I had no idea who Toby Young was when they brought him in for TC5. I also had no idea he'd had a movie made loosely about him when I rented How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (which I watched for Simon Pegg), so I was rather shocked when I realized (slowly--they changed his name to "Sydney Young") that Pegg was portraying our least favorite TC judge!

--
Dave

[Lon]

Thanks for making his comments area available. I always enjoy the comments here and echo almost all of them on TC Masters.

I love this series. Most of all, I like the low-key approach the chefs take, at least through the first two episodes. Maybe that's because they aren't competing for the money for themselves.

But we are seeing a side of the chefs we would not see in any other venue and that's great.

[anon man]

"That said, I was very impressed with how Wylie "converted" Oseland to his style of food. How awesome was the playing around in the store between him and GEB? ((Answer: awesome enough that I'd sign up to watch a 10-episode series of the two of them shopping in various venues and then cooking up whatever they bought.))"

Right on. Completely agree. That was a blast. The fact that they are clearly friends and very imaginative cooks was good watching.

WD choked hard in the QF, didn't he? His Tourette's syndrome, notwithstanding, that was hard to watch. I don't have all the stars in my head, but my sense is that he actually "won" the EC with the stars. Nice recovery, regardless.

I'm really digging this show.

[Azdahf]

This is indeed a really entertaining show. I'm glad I check this blog periodically or else I wouldn't even have known it existed! I watched the first two episodes for the first time last night so I'm going to comment on both.

First thing I noticed this week was how cool all the chefs were to each other on entering the kitchen (with the obvious exception of WD and GEB). The previous week, Keller was like a professional greeter, and everyone knew each other by name. In contrast, this week it seemed as though some of them actively disliked each other. Suzanne's curt "Wiley" greeting and his acknowledging nod gave me the feeling that they had once had a drunken college hookup that both deeply regretted. But I think now that they all just didn't know each other, and the genuine affection exhibited by the end was nice to see.

As for the competition, week 2 seemed a much closer contest then week 1, although I think the final point tallies were similar. In week 1 I had the feeling that Keller was Michael Jordan joining a corner pick-up game. Everyone competed earnestly, but it seemed like even they were saying 'holy shit that's Hubert Keller!'. We don't taste the dishes, but even if we don't consider the ingenuity of shower-rinsed pasta, other than his soup all the dishes floored the judges. And even the girl scouts, to whom the chefs names are meaningless, could clearly see that what he produced was a cut above his competitors. Really a dominating performance. If those four compete ten more times, the result is probably the same in each one.

This week, although in the end Suzanne dominated the points, seemed like it could have gone differently. Perhaps if Wylie keeps his head in the QF, or if Elizabeth gets to sauce her dish (although her Gerber's-style papaya probably doomed her anyway), or if Betty doesn't act like a four-year-old and refuse to eat horseradish ice cream, etc. My point is that if we repeat that foursome ten more times, we'd get a variety of results.

A final note: while it's always nice to see old contestants, I thought it was a poor decision on Midgely's part to show up so obviously stoned. I'm pretty sure he would have given the exact same "Dude, this is awesome!" reaction had they put a bowl of Captain Crunch in front of him.

[Azdahf]

Also, I wanted to put this out there: does anything remind you that your Tivo has a fast-forward button more quickly than hearing that Erica is the Grand Poobah of pasta? The only thing that makes me reach for the remote faster is a commercial for any show with the word "Housewives" in the title.

[rab01]

I enjoyed seeing the former contestants' honest amazement at how good the real professionals were at creating good food from a vending machine but Carlos should have been there instead of Betty, damn it! After all, he won that challenge.

I do think, however, that the TC Masters got an easier vending machine because the sandwiches are the key to doing the challenge and with only 4 chefs there was enough to go around.

I agree that this Round seemed closer than Round 1 but I think that was just because Suzanne Tracht isn't as famous as Keller (or Wylie Dufresne). Those challenges were really far outside her supposed wheelhouse and she still dominated. She was competing against two MG chefs who specialize in the science of turning unlikely things into components of high-brow food in challenges that featured vending machines and canned goods. I had never heard of her before but she was really really impressive.

[babyarm]

So do they cut this down from 6 to 1 or do they do it some other way?

[Gilmore]

- When they get to 6, they eliminate 1 each round then the final 3 go at it.

- I did not like Wylie from his time as a judge. I really like him now.

- I love the way these chefs interact and help each other.

[SorchaRei]

I very much wish that we'd ever see TC contestants go into the kitchen and make cookies during the stew room. That was just so unexpected and pleasant. The cookies looked good, too.

[Marya]

I totally agree I would watch a show with Wylie and Graham. They were both totally charming and fun.

It is too bad that Suzanne doesn't, apparently, have any personality, but her food did look great.

I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the new host's freaky delivery (welCOME to TOP chef! You will do a quickFIRE challenge from a vendING MACHine) but I love the judges. The guy from Saveur is just so excited and giddy, it's fun.

[Bart]

Another excellent episode. I was hoping for Wylie to pull out the win, and he came pretty darn close - until Suzanne blew them all away with her final score.

My consolation? I will try to eat at WD-50 soon.

Like most of us, I never heard of Suzanne, but I was amazed by how much praise her food got. She must really be some chef.

Like last week, I love how the chefs all have a level of respect for each other, and how enthusiastic they were for the challenges (and, of course, how competitive they are).

This is great.

[Megan V]

Given how sweet and (relatively) animated Suzanne (was by the end (she actually sort of smiled a few times), we kind of concluded that she's a pretty shy person and was probably nervous as all get out at the start.

I really love the scoring on this TC! I was trying to figure out who won the EC.

Suzanne: 22.5 less 4.5 = 18
Graham: 20.5 less 4 = 16.5
Wylie: 20(?) less 3(?) = 17

From my figuring, looks like Suzanne won both (but Wylie's comeback was amazing!) Do I have this right??

[Hillary]

Haha - "flowing mane and all". I love it! I wanted GEB to win too - not just because he is a Chicagoan but his tuna trio dish looked awesome. Oh well, we have two more shots at a Chicago chef in the finale!

[Weirdsmobile]

Well, I figured TCM would have a much lower pottymouth quotient than regular TC, but I think Wylie made up all the lost ground from last season and then some!

[Lon]

Two additional comments. Despite the vocal issues, I like the new host better than Padma. More down to earth, less haute.

I have really been impressed with the high quality of the two performances so far. Yes, I know these are TC Masters. Now I can see WHY they are masters and the major differences between the Masters and the regular TC contestants. Sort of like between a high school athlete and a major leaguer.

[zsparks]

I know it's sick, but we LOVE "ERICAAAA!" at our house. She is our goddess.

(Yummmyyy!)

(CHILLY!)

[Danny]

Absolutely love the show. Watching Master Chefs cook, no drama and just great cooking. Wow! I enjoy every minute.

[Omelet]

We always record the show and watch it later (thankfully we fastforward through Erica) - but this time we were out of town and just watched last night. What a great show! The chefs do seem like masters personally and professionally (or is it the edit? either way, it's a pleasure to watch). To comment on posts above: we miss Padma; yes to critic Jay as a judge on TC; we enjoyed the WD/GEB exchanges but also appreciated Suzanne's calmness. And kudos to Elizabeth for the spontaneous backroom chocolate chip cookies.

[Megan H.]

After seeing Wylie as a judge so frequently on TC, it was great to see him as a contestant. I could not stop laughing when he went into *beep!* mode. In part, perhaps, because that is exactly the reaction I would have had as well. I wonder if he will return as a judge, and if so, how his experience would affect his judging.

Also, I know this won't happen, but how awesome would it be to see Tom compete?

[hayamyma]

Actually, the QF scores were Suzanne with 5 points and Graham Elliot with 4 1/2 and Wylie only scored 3. That means Suzanne only got 17 1/2 points for the Elimination Challenge, Graham received 16 points, and Wylie actually outscored him in this round with 17 points. This episode was so much fun to watch, even better than last week which surprised me. I actually checked out all of the chef's restaurants just because their performances were so impressive and enjoyable (along with their personalities, professionalism, and grace!).

[Mark Stickler]

I think Jay Rayner is a pretty good judge, but I'm 99% certain that I saw him on a TV show judging a British chef competition when I was in London in February of this year and he used the exact same line Toby Young used on "Top Chef". Namely, that he had "found the Weapons of Mass Destruction".

In addition, he has a new book named "The Man Who Ate the World". One of the greatest food critics, Jeffrey Steingarten wrote "The Man Who Ate Everything" about 15 years ago. Sounds like a rip-off to me.

I say get rid of ALL of the British critics, judges and hosts on American TV!!! Same with the Aussies for that matter.