Top Chef - S6E4 Postmortem

Guess we have our first bummer of the season.

I have to say, as freaked out as I was about this quickfire, that turned out pretty darn well. I'm done doubting this crew. That whole thing about a chuckwagon in the desert heat and sand next week? *pfffffffffffft* They'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. (maybe)

Definitely bummed to see Hector go. He's by far the most interesting Latin chef we've seen on the show, and I was really hoping he'd go deep. But you butcher beef like that in any season, much less this one, and you're done. And like they said, it doesn't help that in chateaubriand he essentially got the belt high fastball down the heart of the plate and still blew it.

I'm a little surprised the producers brought such a murderer's row of chefs this early in the season. I mean, how the hell do you raise the bar on Boulud, Joho, Keller, Tourondel and Robuchon?

Season six continues to be awesome. Here's hoping they don't blow the streak with what looks like a really stupid challenge next week.

Discuss!

Comments

[babyarm]

Wow, our "buddy" Tim Love gets another screwy episode to be a part of. He told us he'd be doing an episode this season, but didn't say it was a super tricked up one.

Funny that bacon wins again this time out. And damn near lost it for someone else.

We are treated to a TomC spitting out of food next week. Should be fun.

Not sure these guys really did very well this week as a whole. Of the 6 dishes really only 2 were good. It wasn't clear why the frog legs team didn't go up either that looked and was described as god awful.

Agree that if you can't cook a chateau in 2? hours you don't deserve to stay on. The guy was too rustic to make it deep anyways. The Howie stuff won't fly this season.

[Anne]

Like I said, re: the quickfire. Bacon.

[Skillet Doux]

Good call, Anne :-)

[Bart]

A lot to absorb in this episode.

1. Very disappointed (but not surprised) to see Jesse go. I really think there's a lot of untapped potential there, and like a few of the other chefs we've seen recently (Art Smith, Arianne, Antonia), her restaurant probably serves memorable, phenomenal food...but couldn't translate that into the competition. Cooking in a kitchen and cooking for Top Chef are completely different things.

2. I was so stoked (and found it really hilarious) that Erica (Erica!), the grand poobah of pasta, made a return appearance.

3. Dang. Very disappointed to see Hector go. I kept thinking it'd be Ashley. Ash, on the other hand, clearly seemed to be the safest of the bottom four. I don't think he was too seriously considered for elimination.

4. When Jennifer, Isabella and the Voltaggio brothers all teamed up, I knew those would be the winning teams. Those four, plus Kevin, could easily have been finalists on any other season...perhaps even outright winners. It'll be very interesting to see how the final three comes down to. And whoever wins this season will undoubtedly be recognized as the real deal.

5. How cool is Robuchon? He's only the chef of the century. No pressure. I bet even Gail, Tom and Padma were nervous to meet him.

[Independent George]

I was nervous about the elimination QF, but they did it right - they increased the stakes, but the chefs all had two opportunities to save themselves. It was fair - which is the main criterion by which I judge these challenges.

It's a shame about Hector, but I really can't complain about the outcome. If there's one cardinal sin for Colicchio, it's "Don't screw up the meat." (I guess #2 would be, "Don't under-season."

I always wondered why, when roasting, the chefs don't 'cheat' by sticking an extra piece to the oven that they can slice open towards the end to check on the progress. Sure, it's not something you think a pro would need, but when you're working in an unfamiliar kitchen with such high stakes, it seems like a good insurance policy.

The hardest thing about Hector's elimination is that they evidently didn't need to leave the meat in the oven so long; the thermometer was appeared to read low, and the meat was overcooked as a result. It's a good idea to rely on the thermometer when you don't know how hot an oven really runs, but this time, it seems to have backfired.

[KinderJ]

4x4 and then a bolt from the blue with Hector. Damn shame, I liked him and wanted to see him for a good long while. That being said... whew! That's one episode I am going to have to download and watch a few times to pick up on everything. Everything I said about snail innovation? They nailed it. A bunch of the Cheftestants were locked into the butter and garlic mindset (though the tried to jazz it up) but those three top dishes were... just staggering. Very, very creative and well done. And it looks like Mike I was very close to the win there.

On the elimination... I have the recipe book of sauces, but mostly it's just been sitting there. I now feel almost compelled to start making a Bernaise. And Veloute and all the rest of them (except maybe the sauce American, as I am not much into sea food). Just amazing to see the execution and technical skill put forward by the chefs, and especially the Voltaggio brothers. Mike I did good, no question, but I would say that 80-90% of the intellectual leg work on that dish was Brian. The rabbit looked gorgeous, and I am sure the sauce was excellent, but it was the butchering of the lamb that grabbed my attention, and the mustard noodles that rocked the judges. The Voltaggios are really making a name for themselves by pairing classic techniques and flavors with understated MG techniques. Have a look at Chef Tom's blog over at Bravo for more on that. Very interesting stuff. I am reminded of something Blais wrote a while back- that MG is not a cooking style per se but a way of improving already good things. He also stressed the need for a solid classical background, to allow the chef to really make use of modern technology and technique. I think a good example of this would be Marcel from a few seasons back. Show of hands who thinks he could beat either of the Voltaggios head to head. Anyone? Aaaaanyone? Me either.

All in all a damn fine episode, and one I look forward to watching again.

[KinderJ]

and by lamb I meant rabbit. Because they look damn near identical and all. Clearly I have mad cow.

[KinderJ]

Independent George- yeah, screwing up the meat is a real fast track to the door with Colicchio. The second I saw him start to carve, the second I realized he was leaving it in so long, my heart just dropped. It was like he smacked into a blood piniata when he tried to carve that thing. Just tragic. And so avoidable. I am sad to see Hector go, but it was clearly the worst error of the evening.

It also really underscored something Colichio has said again and again- the chefs are judged solely on the dish the present that day. Not past performance or future expectations, just that dish. Its tough, but very fair.

[Independent George]

How happy did Kevin look to be seated at that table? How awesome must it feel to be praised by those chefs, as this week's top four were?

Anybody else enjoy watching Jennifer horsing around with Mike I. while shopping? I called shenanigans on the editors from the beginning, and I'm now more convinced than ever that the 'I'm not getting beat by a girl' and 'That's favoritism' lines were taken completely out of context.

I also have to give props to Colicchio for writing this in his blog:

Ashley had a solid idea to flavor the classic volute with asparagus but was shot down by Mattin and, unfortunately, deferred to him. If done properly, this would have been entirely acceptable. I will note that I respect Ashley for not throwing Mattin under the bus when he lied about this at the Judge’s Table … and I think viewers will lose respect for Mattin for lying.

[gilmore]

What a great episode.

Not surprised to see Jesse go. She was continually in the bottom.

Sad to see Hector go, but not surprised as said earlier, he had the easiest component. This was also the second piece of beef he did not cook well. I had hoped for him to stay on longer so as to see more of his Latin style.

Matin got off lucky. What should have been a breeze was a thud.

[Mann of Sandd]

Best. Season. Ever.

And I say that despite my bitter disappointment at Hector's dismissal, as I was rooting for him. His restaurant in Atlanta is one of the city's best, and I hoped he'd stay on longer. Not to say Atlanta isn't being repped just fine right now. As disappointed as I am, I echo the sentiments of everyone else....he deserved to go based on what he made this episode. If it wasn't such a strong field this year, I may be more ticked they didn't take overall potential into the mix, but it's hard to argue against the formula this year.

[Cousin Sam]

It's funny to me that they ask questions of the top chefs and then announce the winner right away, while with the bottom chefs they have that deliberation in between with the chefs going back to the stew room. Do you think it's just a trick of editing and they deliberate for the winning spot as well, or that they already have a winner picked?

[garik16]

Awesome show, though i'd hoped that Jen and Mike would win.

The quickfire showcased the best thing about top chef...it is a meritocracy. Even when there's a double elimination, the chefs eliminated DESERVE to go home. And no one can deny that about Jesse.

Aside: Was Mike seriously flirting with Jen during the elimination challenge? Or was he just being courteous to her? Because of its the former, while its better than Hosea+Lea, it should stay out of this show, thanks.

[Lon]

Very few surprises in this episode, at least for chef's performances. The top stayed the top and the bottom stayed the bottom, except for Hector who fell hard.

Right now I'm rooting for Kevin. He spent some time in Portland, Ore., my hometown. He seems to pull out victories with very unusual mixtures and tastes with classical techniques. I think it's very easy to underestimate him.

[Skillet Doux]

"I was nervous about the elimination QF, but they did it right - they increased the stakes, but the chefs all had two opportunities to save themselves. It was fair - which is the main criterion by which I judge these challenges."

IG... I hope I didn't lend the wrong impression. I was never concerned about fairness in the challenge. Everybody's in the same boat. It just seemed like the type that could trip up a favorite, and that's what had me nervous. Thrilled to see they all rose to the challenge.

[Skillet Doux]

"It's funny to me that they ask questions of the top chefs and then announce the winner right away, while with the bottom chefs they have that deliberation in between with the chefs going back to the stew room. Do you think it's just a trick of editing and they deliberate for the winning spot as well, or that they already have a winner picked?"

I'm thinking it has to be the former. I don't know if that's an impression borne of actual evidence or just a hunch, but I can't believe they've predetermined the winner before they even talk to anybody.

[anon man]

Bummer, but how cool was it that Hector just turned and walked out. Much better than the whiney "thank you thank you" we usually get.

[Independent George]

IG... I hope I didn't lend the wrong impression. I was never concerned about fairness in the challenge. Everybody's in the same boat. It just seemed like the type that could trip up a favorite, and that's what had me nervous. Thrilled to see they all rose to the challenge.

That wasn't in reference to anything you said, but my own observations on TC. What I mean by 'unfair' would be like TCM challenge where they moved everybody right during the middle of prep, and then changed the venue again afterwards. Sure, everybody was in the same boat, but depending on their menus, not everyone was affected the same way, and there was no way to plan for that sort of thing.

[garik16]

Anyone ever seen something like this group dominance before?

4 Eliminations

Michael V:
3/4 Tops, and that one was because he was in the same group as Kevin.

Kevin:
2/3 Tops (wasn't eligible this time around)

Jen: 2/3 (Wasn't really eligible due to the exec chef duty last week)

Bryan V: 2/4

And even Jerk Mike I is 2/4.

I mean literally if you take out those 5, thats almost all of the top spots in elimination challenges. That's PURE domination...it's like having 5 times Stephs' performance in early season 4.

[Cousin Sam]

It seems odd they would predetermine the winner to me too, and yet they never show that, except maybe in the finale.

Ok, next question - what does it mean to stodge in someone's kitchen? And which do you think is the bigger prize - Kevin having the opportunity to eat with those chefs (and yet only being able to impress one chef with his cooking), or Bryan's win?

Also interesting to read on Tom's blog that Bryan's technique with the trout was a sous-vide, when sous-vides (?) never seem to come off very well. (Not that I would know a sous-vide from Uncle Ben's boil-in-a-bag rice, I'm just sayin'.)

[Lou_NJ]

These chefs are phenomenal but some are getting really irritating -
Ron is taking subtle pot shots and just flying under the radar by not doing anything special.
Mike I. seems very competent and did well in the QF but time and again seems dependent on one the V. brothers to get especially creative. I recognize he has talent but he has more mouth and ego.
Mattin should have gone (Tom's blog defines why very well) he was lucky that Hector did something worse. I would have preferred Hector stay but he really committed the worse sin of the two.

[Independent George]

garik - actually, that is very reminiscent of S4. Richard won 4 eliminations, Steph won 4, Dale T won 3 (including one shared with Richard), and Antonia won 1, and Lisa won 1. That's 12 of 13 (Andrew won the remaining one) - the four finalists accounted for 10 of the 13 EC wins (9 of 12 if you eliminate the EC in Puerto Rico, where one of the four finalists had to win). (And then just imagine the alternate-universe where Lisa was eliminated in RW and Dale wound up going to Puerto Rico).

[Nsam]

Anon Man, how is the usual "thank you thank you" when getting PPYKAGged considered "whiney"? Seriously? Wouldn't a better description be that's it's an attempt at a graceful exit under painful or disappointing circumstances? And do you seriously think that Hector's borderline contemptuous behavior was "cool"?

TC isn't (and I hope never will be) some bare-knuckled, anything goes deathmatch. This French-themed episode, in fact, reminds us that the profession of chef is rooted in cultural traditions of which civility is no small part. I can empathize with Hector's hurt feelings, but he behaved badly. I'm afraid that I don't agree with you about this at all.

[kit]

Cousin Sam says: "Ok, next question - what does it mean to stodge in someone's kitchen?"

I figured he meant "stage", but was pronouncing it all frenchified. I think it's when someone goes and works in some amazing kitchen, as a learning experience. One of the chefs who visits this site probably has a better idea than me though...

[zsparks]

Unbelievable! Instead of Power Rankings, you might have to start calling it the Skillet Doux Curse. (Okay, you missed Hector, but jeez.)

[Cousin Sam]

"I figured he meant "stage", but was pronouncing it all frenchified."

He who - wasn't it Padma who said it? Where's the instant replay?! :)

[kit]

Cousin Sam points out my dementia: "He who - wasn't it Padma who said it? Where's the instant replay?! :)"

Um, somehow I turned Padma into Tom??? Obviously because they look so alike :)

[kit]

I just finished watching the exit interviews and those combined with some of the comments Ashley made during the episode, my heart really goes out to these chefs. They seem so sincere about the experience and what they had hoped it could do for their careers, but so crestfallen and concerned about how it's actually playing out. Hector worries that it will actually drive customers away. Ashley voices concerns about what this will do to her reputation. And Jesse even sounds like she's rethinking whether she should be a chef (though I hope that's just a transient reaction since I think they filmed the interview the morning after). I just want to tell Hector, Listen I know Mattin is cute and neckerchiefy, and may seem to have groupies, but honestly I would eat your food any day over Mattin's!

[Cousin Sam]

Kit, Tom's prevailing over the QF must have stuck with you. :) And speaking of which, the PPYKAL was much more harsh coming from him than Padma's PPYKAG.

[Cheryl]

On the Jennifer/Mike I playing around in the grocery store. Food critic at a local paper in DE checked out Jennifer's restaurant and got to talk with her. She asked Jennifer specifically about Mike I and if he was the big jerk he looks like on the show. Read on to see what Jennifer says:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090909/LIFE05/909090310&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Also note her restaurant has proteins other than fish on the menu, including rabbit. I need to talk the husband into a visit to Philly. We'll probably have to wait for reservations. I'm sure it was already a popular place and now people are going to see the celebrity chef.

[Esther]

Re: "stodge," that's how it was spelled on the TV's closed captioning. (Not that it's always right!)

Anyway, I continue to adore this season. I was so pleased with the quickfire challenge -- how, even with a very unusual protein, we still saw the same skill levels and styles that they've been putting out so consistently. (And goodness, I have never had a Top Chef crush as strong as my current one on Kevin. Loved the look of his dish, and his comment about owning all Robuchon's cookbooks, even the ones he can't read, was geekily adorable!)

I find myself wondering which Kevin would have picked, if they had offered him the choice between sitting with the culinary gods (an incredible prize) and cooking for them (a shot at an even more incredible one).

I've got to say, I'm not heartbroken to see Hector go. I mean, I would rather have had Mattin go, but Hector has never really impressed me -- at best, his dishes have looked like tasty features of a high-end Latin restaurant, but nothing I would really cherish as a food memory.

Wasn't it a treat to watch Jen and Bryan cooking together? The professionalism that the judges saw on the plate was really manifest in the kitchen. The contrast between their smooth efficiency, putting out several gorgeous and harmonious components, and the way that some of the other contestants were running around and freaking out over just a couple of simple dishes? Fascinating to watch.

I'm tentatively withdrawing my verdict on Mike I until I see more of his comments. I still think he's making jokes that are unfunny at best (and offensive at worst), but after seeing him horsing around with Jen, I'm more willing to believe that it's the villain edit that's really making him look like an ass. (It's a good note for future TC contestants: don't make offensive jokes, even in sarcasm, even if their target knows you mean no harm.)

[SorchaRei]

Wow, Mattin is a vile piece of work. I had no idea how strongly I had reacted to him until I woke up this morning, still steaming about his behavior. I haven't been particularly fond of his food, and now I can't wait for him to leave.

Jen's comment about Mike I in the interview linked above suggests that he's an actual bigot, but she likes him okay anyway. What I primarily noticed about his in this episode was that he had this idea about deconstructing the bernaise, but Bryan had to explain to him how to do it -- in other words, he had a great idea and carried it out well, but the part where the idea turns into a set of steps you can do to achieve your goal had to be done for him by someone else. This suggests to me that while he has good skills and interesting ideas, his skills are not quite up to his ideas. I place him, therefore, as by far the weakest of the top four tonight.

My sense is that both Jesse and Hector are chefs who are not at their best in this pressure-cooker environment, so while I would like to try their food, I'm not terribly sad to see them go.

And finally, even just watching that group of people eat together was amazing. How Kevin must treasure that experience!

[natmicstef]

Bryan won a position as Stagiaire; kitchen brigade positions are briefly touched upon in Richard Blais' blog on Bravo but the definition I pulled up is :

"A person attached to a group of professional workers for a fixed period in order to gain experience in their specialist field"

[Independent George]

I actually kind of enjoy the idea of having 'stodge' as a verb - as in, the act of being obstinate, cranky, and cantankerous.

[paula]

That episode was awesome. And Tom's blog on Bravo was very enlightening--how they could tell that the Bryan/Mike dish was much more of a "Bryan dish" all the way around, the details on how Bryan prepared the trout, and the fact that the chefs all got precooked snails in the QF--they just had to "flavor" them.

Ashley's getting petulant and frustrated, and I think it may end up being her undoing. Ron, Robin and Mattin (yikes) are sinking quickly to the bottom. Ash--you gotta love that guy's attitude, but at the same time, I feel like, does he even care? He's having a great time and will ride it out as long as he can, but it's not going to bust him up when he gets sent home. Mike I. has promise but when he doesn't have a co-chef to bring out the best in him, I think he's just not going to have the chops. Laurine is coasting; Eli might be this season's Dale T.; and the V Bros, Kevin and her Royal Badassery, Jennifer Norris, are just thrilling to watch. The last few episodes of the season are going to be edge-of-your-seat watching.

[Amanda P.]

The one thing that stuck with me last night is that Ashley needs to find a place between "throw Mattin under the bus" (which would have been justified, but maybe not a good idea) and "complete shutdown" (as noted by the judges). There is a middle where you don't come off as whiny and defensive or obnoxious and "not a team player".

Otherwise, I was trying to come up with a non-chef comparison of what Kevin got to experience, and I couldn't come up with a good example. I bet it was amazing, though!

I'm not sad to see Jessie go.

Finally, it seems like they're grooming Eli with the villain edit after some of his comments last week and this. However, Eli's broadcast comments were about the product, while Mike I's comments are about the person, so I find Eli more entertaining.

[paula]

Amanda: That middle ground exists; Carla nailed it last season. (Can I get a "Hootie-HOO"?)

[Dave_P]

This season is just getting better all the time. Another amazing episode, despite all the misgivings about the QF elimination. Random thoughts to follow:

I was sorry to see it, but Jesse needed to go. Too many failures in execution and too many times on the bottom. Bit of a peeve w/the final QF tho--that soup Robin made wasn't really an amuse, I don't think.

They bought Kevin a suit (read the blogs, esp Tom's this week--lots of good insight)! Nice prize to go along w/that awesome dinner. Wonder if he'd rather be cooking for those chefs instead though... or do both.

Speaking of Kevin, bacon jelly? Isn't that just cheating (see Tom's blog for more on this)? :) Can bacon do any wrong on this show? Oh wait... et tu, bacon? Nah, I'll just blame Mateen (more below on him).

Bryan & Mike I make a really strong team, but it's very clear who's the leader of that duo. That team & Mike V + Jen w/Kevin out of the running and... well, that's just not fair, is it? Bryan also mentions some of the other chefs wanting to team up w/the stronger chefs regardless of the pairings. Wonder who was asking for the V-bros & Jen the most?

Hector... that's just a damn shame, but he deserved to be cut, no doubt. I would've brought the meat out w/enough time to rest, carve & plate regardless of temperature (to a point, mind you). Prolly a greater sin to have the juices leak and butcher (figuratively) the cuts than to serve it a bit underdone. And it really was the easiest chore of the evening, all things considered. Good exit though.

Mateen, you little weasel, you're next though. I'm pissed at Hector for being worse than Mateen this week and letting him survive. Still, if he can't shine in this challenge which should be firmly in his wheelhouse, he's toast sooner than later. Seriously, how does anyone screw up bacon on TC? Props to Ashley for not throwing him under the bus, though she seemed closer to just giving up at that point (frustration? Nerves?).

Even the judges flat out acknowledge this is the best season ever. To paraphrase Gail (I think), there's no way any other season could've prepared that meal at this stage. In fact, I don't know who else can hang w/the top 4 from any of the seasons except maybe Hung at this point. I thought Blais could, but consider his failure at his poached (sous-vide) salmon vs. Bryan's trout last night. Even putting aside scale-gate, the salmon was mushy (sous-vide salmon, seriously?), a problem solved by Bryan by curing the trout first to firm up the texture & inject more flavors, then poaching it (sous-vide trout, wow!). And again, no out & out failures by any of the top 4. Early yet, I know, but still.

BTW, Tom, Bryan & other comments at:

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-6/blogs

--
Dave

[aaalex]

i'm with everyone who thought this episode was awesome. i don't even like to use the word "awesome", but i can't think of any other superlative. i sat in front of my television as thrilled and almost as stressed as the contestants must have been. jamie lauren's blog entry denigrating this group of contestants was just so stupid. watching jen and michael working together was more thrilling than listening to stefan or fabio. (and i loved both of them) this season gets the balance between cooking and competition just right, for me. each episode has been better than the last. i'm with you, dominic, in wondering what comes next. ferran adria as a guest judge? the resurrected corpse of escoffier used in a soup?

amanda: i think the analogy, for those who write, would be a chance to spend an evening out with samuel beckett, dashiell hammett, harold pinter and thomas pynchon or the chance to have those writers read your work and see their reaction. i'd choose the evening out. i imagine kevin got a lot of time to talk with the chefs (time the editors had to cut) and just absorb the attitude. he got to feel what the energy of those people is like and he got to imagine himself in the highest company his profession has to offer. the best, obviously, would be to have robuchon eat your food and then talk to you about it, one on one. but that wasn't on offer. so, next best (for me) would be a few words with the man, over a drink.

re: ron ... the editors chose to give us the ron and robin show. ron was snarky and suggested he did not think he and robin made a good pair. (he plead the fifth.) he made robin seem scattered and too much of a handful. (he suggested the other chefs feel that way, too). the thing is: the contrast between ron/robin and mattin/ashley was instructive. though eli talked about the wilted greens going out, the only thing on the plate that ron did was the battered frogs legs. and the comment about them was that there was too much batter on them (over-caked was eli's description, "overcooked" was boulud's observation, and robuchon mentioned you couldn't taste the frog). the rest of the dish (lemon confit, mache and arugula salad and fried capers) was robin's doing. keller mentioned that there was creativity and originality in the dish, and the others agreed. the originality, then, must have come from robin, not ron. the fact they survived - the thoughtfulness and originality - was from the person who did NOT have the french background: robin. conversely, if ashley had gone with her instincts to make an asperagus veloute, the team would have been much better off. (mattin's outright lying at judge's table, his whining that he hadn't made a veloute in a while, was pretty much hateful. he's a weasely little guy who has played it safe until now and in the one challenge when he should have shined he was just awful and showed himself willing to take ashley down to save his own neckerchiefed skin, the bastard. ashley's reaction at judges table was one of outrage (at mattin's lie) and frustration with herself (she must have known she should have trusted her own instincts) i don't blame her for being speechless under the circumstances. it must have been a bitch to discover just what a jerk mattin really is.

anyway, my bet is that mattin goes very soon.

and, independent george: love the idea of stodge as a verb. love to see you use it in a sentence. may i suggest: "ron stodged robin into lettng him do the frogs' legs."

[babyarm]

Yeah, I'm not even sure Blais could have lasted if he pulled out his salmon dish versus this crew. It came at about this point in the competition too.

At some point you can start listing competitors that would last with this season to RW and the list is very small. I'm not sure any of Season 5 would make it, not even stefan. 4 maybe Blais and that's it.

3 I think Casey, Tre, and Hung could hang.

2 and 1, nobody really comes to mind.

Tim Love the judge next week if I remember right started out doing these gourmet chuck wagon events. He's got a background in cooking all sorts of crazy trail food. So he's perfect for this challenge next week. He competed on TCM and fared poorly due to freezing his groceries, but won on Iron Chef versus Morimoto.

[Brent]

Tim Love is a monster talent. Can't tell you how many times I've read a chef quoted as saying that as soon as they land in DFW, they head straight to Tim Love's place. But I think his "Mr. Texas" shtick sometimes gets in the way of greater appreciation of his talent. He apparently doesn't care about that, though, and always seems to be enjoying himself, so more power to him. Get on that cowboy hat and ride, Chef Love!

[Independent George]

I think Tiffani from S1, Hung and Tre from S3, Blais and Steph from S4 could have contended in this season. They all had their missteps, but I think the talent was definitely there.

[aaalex]

babyarm: not sure anyone from previous seasons could have lasted to the very END with the top four of this season. but to this point? blais, stefan, stephanie, hung, etc. were all better than ash, mattin, laurine, ron. the middle of the pack here is not at the highest level of previous years. i do wonder, though: if blais had been in this group and left scales in the sousvide salmon, would he have been gone? hector's mistake was pretty huge. hector might still have got the axe at this point. (obviously hard to compare such different circumstances.)

[peli grietzer]

Re: Richard's salmon, do recall that it was a banquet catering sorta thing. So not really comparable to this particular challenge. I'd say Stephanie, Richard, Dale T could hang this season. Also maybe Jamie and Harold. I'd even bet Stefan would have been capable of stepping up his game sufficiently.

[anon man]

I was just reading Tom's blog, and he essentially said something that I sort of realized this morning in traffic: Michael I is a follower. (My words, not Tom's.) Its clear that he has some ideas, but he's riding Bryan's coat tails. Maybe its a regional thing, both being from around DC so they team up a lot, but it seems to me that he needs Bryan's help to stay in the top 3 (with the exception of the snails dish, which he apparently got right.) He's still MOTP, but he's not elite. This is fast turning into a 4 horse race, IMHO.

As for previous seasons, I think both Tiffany and Harold from S1 could have lasted awhile with this group. Yeah, in retrospect, some of their dishes were pretty boring, but you can only beat the people you're up against, and I don't think they had the tools they have now. I think at this point, comparing S1 to S3-S6 is a bit like compating Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds, they're too far apart in time to reliably compare.

[jojo]

Its kind of frustrating that there clearly are worse chefs in the field than Hector and we all know it. Ron is a one-note. Mattin can't even do french. Come on, these guys aren't lasting anyway. But rules are rules.

Mattin is pretty much a universal a-hole now; worse than Mike I, who simply just reeks of Jersey, no sin there.

[rab01]

Actually, I think there are a bunch who could've competed hard: Harold, Tiffani, Lee Anne, Hung, Tre, Stephanie, Richard, Dale T, Stefan, maybe Jaime, maybe Sam, maybe Marcel. Remember Marcel was hamstrung by not having any of the ingredients necessary for his style of cooking; although it's also true that there are people in this cast who are way more experienced at MG than he ever was. It is, however, a testament to this group that you'd need to draft the all-stars to find real competition for them.

The most interesting transplant would've been Stefan -- a chef good enough to (perhaps) out-do Rippert in Rippert's own kitchen but who lost his season due to boredom.

[peli grietzer]

'Lost his season due to boredom' = awesome phrasing. Also I think Stefan's big issue was his sense that he deserved the Top Chef title as a lifetime achievement award.

[suzanne]

I think Ashley's confidence was blown by how she finished in the QF. Had she done better there (or at least not come close to being eliminated), she may have been more assertive on the asparagus issue.

[The Last Stop]

Wow. It's not a stretch to say that this is a contender for best TC episode EVER for me. Right up there with the FCI ep from S3 and part 1 of S4 finale. Kevin and Brian's victories were truly thrilling.

As for chefs that could hang with the cream of S6, I'd put the list and no more than Hung, Blais, maybe Tiffani(Tom said that she was his favorite contestant in a recent interview) Dale, and Stefan.

I'll go ahead and disagree with those(Dave P, babyarm) who say that Blais couldn't hang with this crowd, though. - if he were cooking for Boloud and Robuchon, you can bet he'd be on his best behavior. In fact, he DID cook for Boloud and blew his mind with the chocolate-wasabi salmon. Even at the finale, which he blew, he came in "close second" to Stephanie at her best, according to Ted. The salmon was the only serious mistake he made all season. Bryan made a few so far, though the rest of the top 4 have been impeccable consistent. If Blais were cooking with S6, I'm sure he would step up his game accordingly. Although that would raise the chance of him being eliminated for something that was just TOO left field.

Blais and Hung have been the only contestants who've consistently come up with dishes universally praised as "genius.

I'm actually not sure about Tre: his dominance of season 3 definitely seems to be romanticized. He had a good run, and is probably the only one that stood a chance against Hung. But he was on the bottom of several qf's, and his restaurant wars dishes were just BAD on every level - poorly executed and uninventive. Hung's inconsistency seemed to be a result of a strategy based on attempting to cook dishes that weren't "him"- more or less treating the entire competition as a high level culinary school exam. I think this is different than "playing it safe". It was a questionable strategy but maybe it turned out to be the right one - he KNEW that he was head and shoulders above the rest of the cast and needed to make sure he made it through a series of unpredictable eliminations.