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

[Independent George]

I think Tiffani is frequently underrated when comparing the different casts. S2 was such a trainwreck that I can't evaluate any of the chefs fairly; I prefer to pretend it didn't exist.

[Naomi]

Agree with everyone - fantastic episode.

And I too echo a lot of other comments regarding Hector; sad to see him go but sadly he deserved it most.

I thought it would have been cool in the QF if Tom had told the bottom 3 what he didn't like about their dishes and then given them a chance to fix the mistakes.

And Kevin's joy at being at that table was stinking adorable. I really dig that guy.

I'm with whoever said they'd rather watch Jen and Mike V.'s amazing teamwork than past season shenanigans any day!

[ally]

Dumb question -- how did Ron prepare the frog legs? On the episode it looked like he covered them in something green (the parsley oil?)during the dredging process (which maybe led to the over-battering?) The recipe on bravo's website just says dredge in flour. Anyway, in defense of Ron, I thought that the method of prep for the frog legs might have led, in part, to Hubert's comments about creativity?

With regard to Michael I -- I think he made a little miscalculation this week in creeping up to the line of claiming too much credit (without going over?) After that judge's table, I doubt that there will be a third week of his riding on a V-brother's coattails.

[Naomi]

Oh, also wanted to add that I had the impression from the beginning that Jesse was better than what she showed. When she said she hoped people know she doesn't suck as bad as it seemed, I really believed her and felt badly for her (moreso than when other, early leavers, have said similar things)

[SorchaRei]

Jesse strikes me as someone who doesn't do well in this particular kind of environment. Add to that the definite impression that the worse she did, the more freaked she became, which made her do worse, and she was in a vicious cycle she couldn't break out of.

She started out strong, even her worst performances had good ideas at the core of them, and I've heard great things about her work in a less artificial environment. I'm chalking her performance up to bad fit between Jesse and the competition. I just mostly hope it doesn't break her confidence.

[Independent George]

Jesse definitely seems like a case where she had the abilities, but her nerves got the better of her. I'd love to hear from anyone who's been to her restaurant.

Hector just seems like he had a bad day. When watching, I remember thinking that he was smart to use a thermometer for the meat since he didn't know how hot the ovens truly ran, and that it might have saved him from serving an undercooked roast. Unfortunately, that turned out to be what did him in; I suspect he probably got the original cooking time/temp right, but the thermometer wasn't placed correctly in the meat.

I couldn't tell whether he was using an analog thermometer or digital; in my experience, the analog thermometers tend to run 5-10 degrees cold. The end result was an overcooked roast, and a frantic hurry at the end.

[doktarr]

This is definitely the strongest season yet, but it's really just about the top four. It's hard to overstate the degree to which those four have really distanced themselves from the pack. Only Eli and Michael I. are even close, but both of them have ridden the coattails of the top 4 to a degree.

Any of the top 4 would be the absolute shark of any other season. To have all four is an embarrassment of riches. I've reached the point where I would be pretty disappointed if that's not the finale, even though I know the chances of all four of them making it through the 7, 6, and 5 chef stages is pretty low.

Incidentally, big kudos to Dom for nailing the top 4 in preseason. There's a reason this is the best independent Top Chef blog out there.

[aaalex]

ally: ron did dredge the frogs' legs in something green. not sure what it was. but every comment on the frogs' legs themselves was negative. even hubert keller said "well, cooking frogs' legs is difficult", as if to excuse the state of the legs themselves before he defended the originality of the dish. so, i'm thinking, though i could be wrong, it was the meuniere (robin) and the salad (which ron claimed had too much vinaigre) that made the dish interesting. in re-watching the show, i also caught how, before the judging, ron said he hoped he would be judged solely for the frogs' legs and nothing else on the plate. i think if he had been, he'd have been toast. of course, it could be i just didn't like how condescending he was with robin. he spoke as if he knew what he was doing and she didn't have a clue about french cooking. maybe true, but if i read the show right, it was lucky for him she did do things differently. it drew attention away from his over-battered and overcooked frogs' legs.

[babyarm]

"I'll go ahead and disagree with those(Dave P, babyarm) who say that Blais couldn't hang with this crowd, "

That wasn't exactly what I meant. I just meant that if he did this season like the one he was on the salmon scale incident would most likely had sent him packing.

I don't recall exactly how they managed to keep him on for that disaster, but they did mainly due to the high number of non competitive chefs remaining.

It's more of a testament to the overall quality here. One technical screw up and you are toast.

That being said these chefs should invest in a thermapen. Hyper-accurate and the measuring device is in a tapered tip. Fans of America's Test Kitchen see this utilized in virtually every episode. I have one and love it. There is a smaller version of this designed for pro chefs as well. The meter he was using suffers from some of the same design problems that typically plague instruments of that type.

[Danny]

I hate to be a contrarian but I had problems with this episode. I hated hated hated that someone was eliminated in a Quickfire. The Quickfire has always been a bit of a stunt - extremely short time frame, no ability to shop, a set limited theme and frequently something wacky thrown in. I have no problem with them being the decider in immunity or a $15,000 chip (heck they gave one of those away solely based on luck) but I don't like it being used as a reason to send someone home.

Next the three, after hearing no reasons given for why their dishes were in the bottom 3, were told to make an Amuse Buche. As Tom put it, they were being judged by a single bite. Except Jesse was the only one who actually made an Amuse Buche. The other two made a cup of soup and an appetizer that was certainly more than one or two bites. Shouldn't some consideration be given to Jesse for the fact that she was the only one who actually did what they were asked to do? I know that Jesse had no chance of winning Top Chef but it just seemed unfair that she was the only one who performed as requested.

Next, there has been so much talk about how strong this season is. That being so, why was it 4 of the dishes were poorly done - bad frog legs, dry lobster, hacked up over-cooked meat and dry chicken. And, despite what the esteemed chefs said, none of the dishes seemed wildly creative - deconstructed Bernaise sauce - oy. Not saying it wasn't delicious, but in 2009 deconstructed anything just doesn't seem like thinking outside the box.

I just think that, given who they were cooking for, there should have been more successful dishes and some dishes that were as creative as the Guacamole and Chips interpretation from a few weeks back. Sorry about the rant.

[Skillet Doux]

"I hate to be a contrarian..."

Contrarianism is entirely welcome!

I still think you're wrong, though :-)

I agree, ideally I don't like a quickfire elimination, but they handled it about as well as they could have, I think. For starters, unless they cut the field down by one contestant (for which you could certainly make a good argument and I don't know that I'd disagree), presuming Bravo ordered the same number of episodes, they need to have a double elimination somewhere along the way. A 45 minute quickfire for Boulud with a pre-prepped protein and a second chance strikes me as a decent way to do it, even if I don't consider it ideal.

In terms of size of the amuses, you might sway me with Robin's tiny soup bowl, but Ashley's seemed awfully small to me. If it wasn't one bite, it couldn't have been more than two. And so long as they're very, very small and the spirit of amuse bouche is honored, I don't see how getting pedantic about it being "one bite and ONLY one bite" adds anything. One of the three might arguably have been a touch big, and Colicchio even commented on that.

Also, when you say four of the dishes were "poorly done", I think we're talking on a relative scale, here. It seems clear to me that the judges have adjusted to the field, at least to some degree, and they're really nit-picking to a degree that they haven't in seasons past. On the creativity end, I simply disagree -- I think there was some wonderfully creative stuff going on at that meal (not all of it whiz bang flashy creative, but some very nice little twists). Not only is expecting Bryan's guac and chips every week unrealistic, but I'm not even certain the judges would respond well to a constant barrage of that kind of insane creativity without some plain old wild creativity in between. Of course, that's a matter both of opinion and speculation. On quality, though, as mentioned, I think you're getting a skewed sense because the judges are being more critical.

I will note, however, that I do think some are selling some of the better chefs from seasons past awfully short. So far, it appears that this season is notable for having multiple worldbeaters and an unusually strong middle of the pack, but I think the best from just about all of the previous seasons would be in competiton here. Tiffani, Hung, Stephanie, Blais, Dale T... maybe Harold, Dale L., Lee Anne, Sam, Antonia, Stefan, Jamie... they'd all be in contention here, I think. I'm not saying I'm betting against Season Six in any forthcoming special season vs. season battles :-) But while I agree that this season seems exceptional both in terms of its peaks and its depth, I think the latter is actually more of a departure than the former.

[doktarr]

Next, there has been so much talk about how strong this season is. That being so, why was it 4 of the dishes were poorly done - bad frog legs, dry lobster, hacked up over-cooked meat and dry chicken.

I agree that 4 of the dishes ranged from bad to OK but not great. As I said, though, the reason this season is so exceptional is that there are FOUR chefs (Jennifer, Kevin, and the brothers) who are as talented as anyone who has been on the show in the last five seasons. One of those four sat out the elimination challenge, and the other three were on the teams that produced the two exceptional dishes.

So, this being the strongest season ever does not conflict with only two of six dishes hitting the bullseye.

And, despite what the esteemed chefs said, none of the dishes seemed wildly creative - deconstructed Bernaise sauce - oy. Not saying it wasn't delicious, but in 2009 deconstructed anything just doesn't seem like thinking outside the box.

You're ignoring the preparation of the fish, which was the real exceptional part of the dish. Read Tom's blog.

[doktarr]

But while I agree that this season seems exceptional both in terms of its peaks and its depth, I think the latter is actually more of a departure than the former.

Really? I think the opposite is true. You implicitly make a case for season 4, which is reasonable, but if I had to pick a winner in a restaurant-wars-esqe challenge between Stephanie/Dale/Richard and any three of MikeV/BryanV/Jennifer/Kevin, I'd be inclined to pick the latter. But aside from Michael I. and Eli, I'm not blown away by this year's MOTPers. Are they really so much better than, say, uh... Spike?

OK, maybe I just proved your point.

[Danny]

Dom and doktarr, I appreciate your comments. Still have no idea how to copy them, but I still appreciate them. But I do think that four of the dishes had problems that if they showed up to me at a restaurant would leave me dissatisfied and possibly willing to send it back. The frog legs looked tragic in the brief glimpses we got of them, dry lobster is as bad to me as mushy lobster - they are both unacceptable, and the whole challenge of poussin is to stop it from being dry. Nuf said about the meat.

I just watched it again and Tom did not talk about the size of the Amuse Bouches. He said that the proportions were off in the soup because it needed more crab just as he said that Jesse's proportions were off.

I agree that the preparation was great - but much of the praise was for the deconstructed Bernaise although it seemed that Tom wasn't so impressed when he said that if we mix it all together we will have a Bernaise.

But Dom, your last paragraph was actually much what I was saying. There are some very strong competitors this season but somehow that has turned into dismissing most of the other chefs in the other seasons and I just don't think that this is fair to those other chefs. Apparently many of them don't suck since they've gone on to launch successful restaurants and have successful careers. Do I think that S2 Mike is probably working at the Redondo Beach TGIF - yep - but I think that we have short memories and we forget how strongly we championed chefs when they were on the current seasons we were watching as we now summarily dismiss them.

[Skillet Doux]

"OK, maybe I just proved your point."

Heh :-)

First, consider the top tier:

Jennifer C.
Kevin
Brothers V.

vs.

Hosea
Stefan
Carla
Fabio

vs.

Blais
Stephanie
Antonia
Dale T.

vs.

Hung
Dale L.
Casey
???

vs.

Ilan
Marcel
Sam
Elia

vs.

Harold
Tiffani
Dave
Lee Anne

(Almost) every season has a couple of people who are top notch, but who rounds out a fop four like season six?

And the MOTP'ers:

Michael I.
Ashley
Eli
Robin

vs.

Jeff
Leah
Jamie
Radhika

vs.

Spike
Lisa
Andrew
Nikki

vs.

Brian
Sara M.
CJ
Howie

vs.

Cliff
Michael
Betty
Mia

vs.

Stephen
Miguel
Andrea
Lisa

Atually, the middle of the pack was pretty deep last season, too, but I'm not convinced that even they match up. This season's crowd may be overshadowed by the top tier, but they look really solid to me.

I mean, again, we're four episodes in, here. But I think it's the depth that's really remarkable this season.

[The Last Stop]

"Tiffani, Hung, Stephanie, Blais, Dale T... maybe Harold, Dale L., Lee Anne, Sam, Antonia, Stefan, Jamie... they'd all be in contention here, I think."

If by "in contention" you mean better than this seasons 50th %ile, I'd probably agree with you. In my comment earlier, I was referring to being on par with the top 4 this season, and I stand by that - Hung, Blais, maybe Tiffani, Stefan, Dale T. Did you mean that you think Antonia, Sam, Harold are on par with Jen C and the Voltaggios? I'd be surprised if you meant that. But what the hell do I know? ;-)

[Skillet Doux]

"If by 'in contention' you mean better than this seasons 50th %ile, I'd probably agree with you. In my comment earlier, I was referring to being on par with the top 4 this season, and I stand by that - Hung, Blais, maybe Tiffani, Stefan, Dale T. Did you mean that you think Antonia, Sam, Harold are on par with Jen C and the Voltaggios? I'd be surprised if you meant that. But what the hell do I know? ;-)"

Ehhhh, I'm trying not to be that precise about it (in character, I know). It's not really fair to compare in that fashion so early in the season, I suppose. I'm just trying to think of people from previous seasons who I'd consider serious contenders for the finals this season. Point is, there are plenty.

[gilmore]

Tim Love, trail cooking.

Watch out for Kevin and his background (via his parents) in competitive barbecue cooking. Combined with his classical training, he is my pick for TC.

Is it me or the editing - there seems to be very little drinking by these chefs (despite there vices). They are focused on the competition.

[anon man]

Dom, one other thing on the legitimacy of the snail QF is that Tom makes clear that cooking with snails actually involves some time-consuing cleaning/purging process which they wouldn't be able to do, so they all got cleaned and cooked (I assume partially so - I've never worked with them.) to level the playing field. It wasn't like the S3 debacle where people were left trying to figure out how to unshell a conch for the first time in their lives with time ticking away.

[babyarm]

they took away hard liquor from the chefs this year. Only beer and wine.

[rab01]

"Actually, the middle of the pack was pretty deep last season, too"

That may be because the middle of the pack for that season compared favorably to the top 4. It's not clear who's better in a fight between:

Hosea
Stefan
Carla
Fabio

and

Jeff
Leah
Jamie
Radhika

Brian was in the top 4 of Season 3, which I think brings Tre into the the next group. Not sure that has much impact on a relative comparison of seasons, though.

[natmicstef]

Ashley looked exhausted during both the QF and Elimination. I know the schedule is rigorous but it's the same for all of the contestants; she looked wiped out which may have been one of the reasons for her going almost blank on several occasions. Not throwing Matin under the bus was admirable and I am happy that Tom at least seemed to know that Matin was lying. As for not having made veloute in a while..well really? is such a basic sauce something you could forget if you were a chef?, not to mention a French chef. He must be wishing now that had not made a point of introducing his dish to the venerable judges in French.

And one more thing...I can't stop writing...Jamie's blog criticizing the non personalities is poor form. Watching this group is so exciting - I am not missing any drama.

[doktarr]

Yeah, I think I take season 5 in a MOTP cook-off. I'm not particularly impressed by Robin and Ashley at this point.

Incidentally, I don't think it's an accident that the depth is better in the two most recent seasons. Better ratings = bigger applicant pool = better depth. Also, when Eric Ripert starts advising his top proteges to go on the show, that doesn't hurt either.

If this season is in the argument for best top 4 (and winning that argument in my mind) and best next four (and only barely losing in my mind), and no other season can say that, it definitely speaks to the talent of season six.

[aaalex]

gilmore: i know this isn't quite related to your comment, but i found myself really wishing they would treat the wines more seriously on this show. i saw a gathering of some of the best chefs in the world. they were drinking a white wine and i desperately wanted to know what the wine was. if they're drinking fine wines (and i can't imagine otherwise at robuchon's restaurant), those wines will influence the dishes. so, it'd be nice to know what they're matching, say, the rabbit with. (i'm thinking it's not rabbit and "baby duck" ...)

[Dave_P]

Just to make it clear, I meant to say (and in fact did say, I think) that almost no one from S1-5 could hang w/the *top 4* of this season. The MotP is the MotP, and while this season seems deeper than most, it's not heads and shoulders above others

Again, it's early, and I may well be oversold on this season (90% probability that I am), but the creativity, execution and consistancy shown by the top 4 just seem to be ahead of what we've seen before. If I had to put all the top contestants in tiers, it'd look like:

T1 - V bros, Jen, Kevin, Hung
T1a - Blais
T2 - Harold, Dale L, Casey, Dale T, Steph
T3 - Stephan, Hosea, Tre, Ilan, Marcel, Lee Ann, maybe Sam

I put Blais as 1a, because I really do think he's a phenominally talented chef and he does belong right up there, but until I see the top 4 stumble at least a little, I'm gonna keep just a bit of separation bet them and the rest (again, excepting Hung). BTW, I only put Hung up there for what he accomplished very soon after his TC run, which is to say almost representing the US in the Bocuse d'Or competition.

This does not mean I think everyone else sucks or any such thing. Many of the past contestants would do themselves proud this season and last a long while, I'm sure. Steph, Tre, Lee Ann or Marcel may well be the #5 chef of S6 if they competed now, but I don't see any of them being favored (or even odds) to win over the current top 4. I only see Hung being able to do that, and maybe Blais. Everyone else who's ever competed in TC would be underdogs (and most by quite a bit). JMO and all that, of course, and everything subject to change from week to week. :)

--
Dave

[Independent George]

Dave_P: I have to disagree.

I think you're seriously undervaluing Tiffani and Steph from S1 and S4, and overrating the top-4 from this season. Based on what we've seen, I would absolutely put Richard, Steph, and Tiffani at the same level as this year's top-4; what makes this season stand out is that it's a four-way race at the top, not that this year's best is that much better than previous seasons.

[anon man]

On the personality issue: my wife calls this the V brothers and Jennifer the Lithium trio. All their interviews are so monotone and without any emotion at all. I'm all for professional detachment, but how about some sign of life other than Jennifer blue streak. They're all great chefs, clearly, but the interviews border on unwatchable.

[Skillet Doux]

Okay, okay!

It's been brought up before and I'm officially relenting!

At the conclusion of season six, we'll do an all-time Top Chef Power Rankings!!!

(Or at the very least, I'll kick it off and let you guys go to town :-)

[aaalex]

uhm, dominic, you sure about this all time ranking thing? do the phrases "free for all" or "blood in the streets" or, even, "bat shit crazy top chef fans descend on armato residence" have absolutely no meaning for you?

[Lou_NJ]

I'm find ing all this TC across the seasons comparisons a bit off putting. In each successive season the competition has had a chance to build on the earlier - both in talent and production. Each new season has had the opportunity to watch prior seasons and see the pit falls both to personality and talent that are inherent to the production to the talent and the competition. They know the series and could develop a strategy for some of the expected challenges (Q and/or EC). The producers have an expanded talent pool that have learned lessons on what to bring to the table and have an arsenal to tricks and recipes to pull out. By knowing the past and what to expect these guys could certainly come better prepared - especially since the prizes have been significantly jumped. If Blais or Steph or Harold (or ...) came to play today they would be better prepared for the competition. Many of the competitors from past season would be just as worthy in this round. What I see in past seasons and this season is that the top of the pack tends to be more gracious and certainly not snippy about the others. The lurid drama is mostly being provided lower end of the pack (there is a good chance to correlate bitching v performance).
One last point, Ash probably showed more class and understanding in his comment in the waiting room about the judges being spot on, balls to wall - hopefully that's the experience he needed. The leaders understand that but he articulated it best. He should move up because seems to deliver a good and consistent product and if he did a "wow" something he would get serious recognition.

[JH]

I, for one, don't think that there is a lack of personality for the current season. First, I think that the professionalism of the cheftestants is higher this season which, for a few exceptions, leads the chefs to be much more reserved and aware of how their comments will come across to the public. I also think that some of these chefs aren't great on-camera personalities and tense up, hence, the nearly "unwatchable" interviews. Their personalities are evident when they're joking around around the house or their playfulness at Whole Foods or in the kitchen. For those familiar with the Next Food Network Star, there are many contestants there that are great off camera, but then completely suck once the red light turns on.

As a complete side note, and about a week late, Preeti works as a chef for Google. Having eaten at the Google campus (once), the food is way better than most cafeterias, but is no way as good as some of the amazing buffets you can find in Las Vegas. Though her pasta salad would seem like a decent fit for their menu.

[anon man]

Dom, I would look forward to an all-time ranking, and would even accept a tiered system. My only request, okay, lobbying, is please give Harold his due. His food is rustic, but the guy's got some chops. Would have he have beaten Stephanie or Hung or Hosea? Who knows. I reiterate that comparing Season 1 to Seasons 3-6 is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

More interesting would be this debate: Worst all-time? Ken (S1), Seitan (S6), Random culinary student (S5), other?

[mar]

Getting back to last night's episode... another comment on Michael I. riding the V. bros. coattails. Seriously, I was appalled at JT listening to him describe his contribution to the dish. I think he took a LOT more credit than he should have for the sauce - he may have managed the deconstruction well but without Bryan he wouldn't have even known how to make the sauce - at least that's how it appeared. And it seemed that Bryan was uncomfortable with Michael's words, too - granted, there was clearly a lot of editing and cutting during that scene, but still. Am I totally off-base on this? Because I can't imagine either V bro would want to work with someone who is regularly going to try to take credit where credit is not due. Fortunately the judges were able to see where the meat (er, fish :) of the dish came from.

How cool would it have been to have the V brothers pick a complementary protein/sauce and pair up? They'd either kick butt or crash and burn trying to work together.

[aaalex]

anon man: well, ken would be weirdest of all time, but preeti, from this season, would be near the bottom of my list. that pasta salad was really really amateur and right down there with the "oriental" dish from your random culinary student (patrick) from last year. also, though i know it's not her fault she had never shucked clams before, i think the single most painful moment i've seen, chef skill-wise, was watching preeti trying to open those clams. she managed, what, five by the end? jen z and eve were both unlucky to go before preeti, this year, i think. but if we're talking least likable tv personality, ilan or lisa would have to be neck and neck. so, what are your parameters: personality or cooking?

[Lon]

Does anyone else think TC is really working hard for an Emmy this year? The level of chef/judges in show #4 this year compare with the finals of Season 3.

With Project Runway gone, TC is Bravo's top show. Enough said there.

I'm looking forward to next week's show because the season 2 show on the beach in Los Angeles was one of my favorites. Brought back lots of memories of cooking out during camping.

If it is true that Judge/Chef Tom has more creative control, I think we're seeing the results of that. Plus, the five seasons of experience, results, attitude and reputations must play a factor as well. Many challenges from seasons 1, 2, & 3 would be the subject of ridicule now.

Those of you who are sports fans know the issues involved in trying to compare players in different generations. The game changes so much I don't think I would want to try, although it does make good debating. Same with Top Chef any season compared to another season.

[natmicstef]

Mar; I agree, it was embarrassing watching Michael I trying to claim more than his due for the elimination challenge, especially as it appeared more than obvious to Tom which chef was responsible for what. Really, how can he delude himself; the V brothers are several tiers above him and thinking it isn't so isn't going to make it so.

[Anne]

I am curious what makes for the difference in talent level from this season to last. The top 4 are just ridiculous, of course. But it does feel like the MOTPers are much stronger this time around, and people who will go in the next few episodes could have stayed to the end last time. Of course, the point above about comparing seasons is right--who knows what Stefan might have done with this crowd to challenge him.

[Dionysus]

With regards to comparing seasons, y'all should check out Blais' blog entry on Bravo about the Kitchen itself. The Top Chef Kitchen for S6 is head and shoulders above previous kitchens in terms of equipment. He points out the 'available to everyone' tank of liquid Nitrogen, the "Tech Shelf" ie an array of MG stuff, and more were - in previous seasons - only available to chefs who brought it along as their secret ingredients.

That makes comparing seasons even harder. Not only can't we see how different casts would push certain chefs to new heights, but they aren't even using the same resources!

[Bart]

I think a lot of us prone to hyper-ventilating about the current season. Many of you are saying "OMG LOL THIS IS THE BEST SEASON EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!1one!!"

And last year some of you were saying "OMG THESE PEOPLE SUCK WORST SEASON EVER!!!!!!11!!!!!1!!!!!one!!!!!!!!two !!!!"

Look, while I generally agree with you (and the judges and everyone else) that the caliber of chefs this season is much higher than previous seasons; and that season 5 was disappointing in a number of ways; we still have to see how the rest of this season unfolds.

Each season has its own strength and each season has its own weakness. Yes, this season is awesome - and believe me - I'm not denying that. I'm just asking for a little bit of perspective.

I haven't seen anything that yet matches the way the judges orgasmed over Carla's dish in the next-to-last episode. And I think we can honestly say that we had an embarrassment of riches when it came to the personalities of the chefs (Carla, Fabio, Stefan - they all could host their own cooking show).

Is anyone going to forget the way Blais gave away the Restaurant Wars award? Or the way he impressed culinary legends in the kitchen? Or Stephanie's dazzling run in the beginning? (Ok, maybe I should have asked, "Is anyone who is a serious Top Chef fan going to forget all of that stuff?")

I don't need to go back to each season, but I think comparing one season to another is markedly unfair. I bet you if we got the contestants from the first season and put them through the meat grinder that is season 6 (or hell, even season 5), you'd see a much different result. The producers have had time to hone the show, find out what works and what doesn't. New challenges have emerged, old ones have been scrapped. New judges have come in, and serious chefs are guest judges.

Even the tools offered in the kitchen are different. Blais mentioned that the show stocks up on supplies that weren't available in the previous season (e.g. liquid nitrogen) after a chef uses it for a dish.

Someone mentioned comparing chefs from previous seasons would be like comparing Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds (or whoever) - season 6's contestants are most assuredly souped up on the culinary equivalent of steroids, when it comes to the equipment available in the kitchen.

Now, let's breathe a bit and see how this season unfolds. Remember, this time last season, Arianne was the worst of the bunch (before briefly becoming the best of the bunch) and Carla seemed destined to be a MOTPer, and Stefan hadn't emerged yet as the best chef of the season.

Before then, it seemed like the Stephanie/Blais/Dale juggernaut would take out everything in its path, and Dale turned out to be a MOTPer and Spike advanced far more deeply than anyone anticipated. And so on and so forth.

We got time, folks. Let's see how all of this unfolds before determining this the best season ever. While signs point to yes, I'm going to wait until the dust settles and the finale is over before making my final judgment.

[TxGriff]

Bart: I agree with you, comparing seasons is unfair as the competition is constantly evolving and each new batch of chefs has the benefit of learning from the last (in addition to the new equipment, perfected challenges, etc.) Comparing season 1 to 3 to 6 really is comparing apples to oranges in my opinion, although I can see why people would think it's fun. I just think had Harold or Tiffani had the benefit of five previous seasons of exposure, a renevoted and stocked kitchen full of expensive proteins and top-of-the-line equipment, and challenges that weren't in their beginning stages, I think we would see different chefs competing.

Just one counter to what you said: yes, Stephanie/Blais/Dale had an impressive run. However, ALL of them had fumbled by this point in their season, in a big way too. Out of the top tier this season, only Brian V. has been on the bottom, and it was for two quickfires (one of which Tom said he liked his dish and it was after he won the relay, so I don't even count that as a bottom) and neither time did you get the impression that his was the worst dish.

Well I guess I just went ahead and compared seasons there :). My main point is the top tier this season is astounding...it's very exciting to watch!

[Otter]

Not much to say except how do you top this? Amazing guests. Amazing dishes. Amazing season. I can't wait to see where it goes from here...very well played, Top Chef.

[Brent]

With regards to comparing seasons, y'all should check out Blais' blog entry on Bravo about the Kitchen itself. The Top Chef Kitchen for S6 is head and shoulders above previous kitchens in terms of equipment. He points out the 'available to everyone' tank of liquid Nitrogen, the "Tech Shelf" ie an array of MG stuff, and more were - in previous seasons - only available to chefs who brought it along as their secret ingredients.

One thing Blais pointed out in that post was that he only had access to liquid nitrogen because he brought some with him in a soup thermos.

[paula]

Until this season's chefs are forced to make a smurf village because they're given a budget of 30 cents and told to stick to the feminine hygeine products aisle at Walmart, I don't think we can fairly compare season-to-season chefs.

[Brent]

There's also the question of whether the cheftestants are being compares as chefs on Top Chef, or whether we are trying to rate them as real-world chefs. In the real world, Hung and Blais are head-and-shoulders above all other contestants from previous seasons. Hung was a semifinals to represent the US in the Bocuse d'Or, and earned Best Seafood Dish honors in the cook-off to choose the finalist. Blais' pre-Top Chef restaraunts were not financially successful, but he had already earned enough acclaim for his cooking that he had been invited on Iron Chef.

How they compare to the current cast, in real-world terms, is yet to be seen.

[Dave_P]

Worst TC contestant ever would be kinda fun (tho a bit cruel). My vote goes for Nimma. Clay was kinda bad too, but not awful-bad; that culinary student who mangled his "Chinese" dish last season was worse, even though he was technically the 2nd to get axed. I don't remember much about Ken--he was that kung fu guy, right?

Regarding better equipment, I remember Marcel mentioning that the Kenmore (?) equipment they used in S2 was complete trash and S3 got a huge upgrade w/the GE stuff. I also remember Hung doing his chicken sous-vide w/o an immersion circulator, eyeballing the temperature w/a thermostat.

Yeah, the chefs in each subsequent season have advantages, but they're also being drawn from bigger and more talented/experienced pools too. It *is* unfair comparing Eric Ripert's former sous (and hand-piced EC for his new restaurant) or a Michelin starred chef or a former ICA contestant w/the pool they had for seasons 1 & 2. Still, that's what we have for this season (and Blais from S4), and a big reason why some of us view this season a cut above. Hopefully, this trend continues (though I don't see how they can get much better w/o getting into near Masters territory) and we can spend some merry weeks during S7 debating how the V-bros wouldn't even crack the top 10 in the new lineup. :)

--
Dave

[Hillary]

I was so worried Ashley would be kicked off in BOTH rounds this episode. I think she has a lot of potential and wouldn't want to see her go so early. As for Hector, the beef incident was very unfortunate. It really shows that timing is IMPORTANT. No matter how much skill you have, if you run out of time once and screw up, it's over. I wish we could give him a second chance.

[Naomi]

paula:

Until this season's chefs are forced to make a smurf village because they're given a budget of 30 cents and told to stick to the feminine hygeine products aisle at Walmart, I don't think we can fairly compare season-to-season chefs.

Ba ha ha ha ha ha!

[Jon Olsen]

All time rankings! All time rankings! All time rankings!

No no wait I got it. LET'S do a March Madness-style bracket! Boom!

The streets will flow with the blood of the nonbelievers!!
mindless chant! mindless chant! mindless chant! mindless chant!

aaaaagggggghhhh!

[Kathy V.]

Jon Olsen --- no more espresso for you!!

[Bart]

Actually a bracket might be pretty cool, lol. We could rank them - good way to weed out the lower tiers (Jen "Norris" versus Nimma? Hung versus Random Culinary Student?) and see some real scrums among the MOTPers (Lisa's acerbicness against Leah's whininess)

Could be funny...