Top Chef - S6E5 Postmortem

I would like to state for the record that I do NOT have the Magical Elves editing bay bugged.

(*razzafrazza* double elimination messin' up my streak!)

Apparently the kiss of death this season is making a mediocre dish and having absolutely no clue it's mediocre.

Like the cactus challenge, not so keen on the chuckwagon. Not because they were roughing it and cooking over an open flame. Because they had to plan and shop BEFORE finding out what their facilities were going to be like. Of all the BS twists Top Chef has pulled over the years, that -- for me -- is the big enchilada. "Plan to serve us high-end cuisine, but for all you know your tools are going to be a rock and a bic lighter!" I don't believe they'd done it since the beach challenge in season... two? And I can't say I'm very excited to see it return. When it comes to goofy challenges, there's goofy, and there's just plain stupid.

And yet, most everybody handles the situation with aplomb. Bravo, season six contestants!

After a couple of boring weeks for the rankings, next week should be interesting. Mike I. shows strong again. The Ashley some of us knew was in there finally makes an appearance. Bryan pulls down two eliminations in a row.

Hey, look! Laurine!!!

Discuss!

Comments

[babyarm]

Was I the only one wondering where's the beef?

The season of ceviche on top chef.

[KinderJ]

Double elimination does not count! So say we all.

But now comes the real challenge- what do we call this strange phenomenon? The curse of the skillet? The coming of the Grim Donster? Suggestions people- the man is on one hell of a roll.

Actually I thought this was a pretty good ep, goofy heat source aside. They showed some real creativity (some of them) and everyone seemed to have a fairly good sense of humor about the whole thing (Michael V aside). Good to see Mike I moving up, as I have actually kind of liked the guy. Aside from the, you know, whole Jersey thing. But he could move! It could all be ok, right? Still, while it sounded like a nice gyro, interesting play and all that... Really? A gyro? You are going with Gyro, thats your final answer? Wow. Yeah. Talk about playing it safe. A Greek Cypriot from Jersey makes a Gyro. I was really stoked after his Quick Fire win, and then... Gyro. Well, at least it's not shrimp salad.

As for the winning dish- pork, polenta and was it rutabaga? Yes. I want that dish. The wife wants to make that dish. Simple, clean and flavorful. It really is win on a plate.

[KinderJ]

Stooopid trying to type in the dark. Grim DOMster, swapped an m for an n there.

Also considering the Doux Goat, the Holy Hand Grenade of the Internets, and the Pasta Salad Award for Excellence in Television.

[Bart]

KinderJ - Hey! What's with the Jersey hate?

Our state is fantastic. It's really like a microcosm of America. We have the best tomatoes and corn in the country; we've got mountains in the north, farms to the south, densely populated urban areas in northeast, Jersey City and Hoboken are unofficial boroughs of New York City, we have the whole Jersey Shore, America's first boardwalk in Atlantic City, the ecological rarity that is the Pine Barrens... and on and on and on.

It's a good state, darn it! I bet most people who don't like it are the ones who have only driven on the Turnpike, lol.

Anyhoo, I'm not sure I liked the elimination challenge, but I certainly like the way the contestants responded to it. I think this episode is notable if only because Jen came off as unremarkable in this one.

Anyone else notice that Michael said that Bryan and Mike Isabella were the strongest? No mention of Jen and Kevin?

Yeah...

[KinderJ]

Bart- I'm from Boston. I (and this sounds crazy, but I swear this is true and I have witnesses for this) break out in an honest to god allergic reaction whenever I travel south of Rhode Island. I have actually been through central Jersey, and yeah, it's called the garden state for a pretty good reason. Princeton and Trenton are pretty. And you could not get me out of Boston with a big stick.

I did catch that thing about Jen and Kevin, but had forgotten until you mentioned it. Very, very interesting, especially since Mike V worked with Jen, and Kevin has been a player. I am really curious as to why he would rate Mike I over either of them. There must be something, Mike V is certainly not stupid. What does he know that we don't? Watch what happens I guess...

[MiniMonkey]

Does anyone else find it weird/funny that Mike I. butchered the pronunciation of Gyro and Tsatsiki?

[Brody]

stab at rankings

1. Bryan
2. Michael
3. Jennifer
4. Kevin
5. Mike
6. Ashley
7. Eli
8. Laurine
9. Ash
10. Robin
11. Ron

[Independent George]

Now that I think about it, I think the Curse of Dom is a bit of a misnomer. A real curse would be if Dom's #1 was eliminated five weeks in a row.

Anyway, I think Rule #1 of Top Chef should be, "Don't half-ass an extra dish you don't have to make." Ron makes a totally superfluous drink because "[he] didn't want the coconut to go to waste", and nearly pays the price. Mattin tries to dazzle with three ceviche dishes instead of one good one, and then gets the boot.

[j]

i think it's about time you move bryan up a bit on the rankings - 3 out of 5 elimination challenge wins. Only brother mike and kevin have won an EC and they've only won 1 each.

At this point the chefs should really wisen up - if you're brought to judges table among the losers, just admit/lie you know your dish was messed up.

[Esther]

With all respect (I'm so impressed by your continued predictive powers!), I'd personally reverse your rankings of the quickfire vs. elimination. Last week, they pre-cooked the snails, so it wasn't a question of "do you know how to cook this exotic ingredient?", it was a matter of how they combined them with interesting flavors. This week, chefs had to cook an ingredient where knowing correct preparation has a huge impact, and -- surprise, surprise! -- the one guy who seemed to have extensive experience with the ingredient was the winner. I'm not saying that Mike didn't deserve the win, just that the concept of the challenge annoyed me.

Whereas with the campfire cooking, it was clear that some of the chefs were thinking smart -- get a fish that's more flexible for cooking, don't assume any specific pieces of equipment, etc. They had knives and prep areas, pots and pans; I think it's telling that the problems with all three of the worst dishes had nothing to do with the setting.

Also note Tom's blog: And while the idea of cooking over an open flame was nice in the abstract, in actuality the “fire pits” were propane, so they were no big deal to cook on.

By the way, I know that high-end restaurants tend to serve pork shy of the well-done that the USDA recommends, but Bryan's pork looked awfully rare to me -- especially considering the sketchy refrigeration and cooking conditions. The judges loved it, though, so what do I know.

[Esther]

Also a bit sad that Jen and Kevin didn't get mentions in either challenge, given that they made some really good-looking dishes. I was particularly surprised that Kevin's Elimination dish wasn't even in the top four -- it looked flavorful, refreshing, and interesting. Shame that Tom doesn't really comment on either of them for this episode; I'm curious about where they'll go in the rankings.

[Dreamboat]

I know that these chefs had to buy the food without knowing their cooking theatre. But at some point you would have thought that one of the bottom 3 would have said "gee, my seafood has been in a cooler in a hot environment overnight...maybe I should determine if I should really serve it because it may have turned..." And 2 of the 3 make ceviche ANYWAY?? That is just a bad decision! First, it is made with day-old seafood (in the best of conditions). Next it has been out of your sight in in a cooler for who knows how long (even if the producers were supposed to put it into a fridge overnight...). Gee, no thanks! No wonder Tom spit some out.

[Dave_P]

Worst episode so far this season. By far.

I'm almost tempted to just give this episode a pass. The EC was so damn gimmicky that if the bottom hadn't been so consistant, I'd just give everyone a mulligan. Even the QF was a bit gimmicky w/an ingredient few have worked with. Mike I was the only one really proficient with it (Mattin looked like he lucked into the top) and deservedly won, and a first for a MOTP'er to win something. Playing it super safe w/his bland gyro for the EC. Not exactly admirable, but really not a bad play w/the crappy conditions they were in--someone was bound to mess up and badly. He can console himself w/the $15K, I'm sure, but it would've been more interesting if they'd offered him immunity for the $15K.

For the EC, the top 4 seemed to do well, even if Jen & Kevin didn't make the top, and Ashley finally broke out and performed. Not reading too much into Laurine's success though. Bryan's looking a bit stronger than his brother, at least with consistancy. I think Mike V's more prone to the odd stumble (twice on QF bottoms, iirc).

Bottom 3 (interesting only 3, though I thought maybe they'd only call in Robin & Mattin) were expected. Ron was never in much trouble, and bad and ignorant will get you sent home before bad and self-aware. I wonder if the shrimp went bad in the cooler--they mentioned bad smelling seafood in the stew room. What do you do in that situation, in the middle of a desert w/rotten proteins and no pantry? Just serve romaine?

--
Dave

[garik16]

Dave_P, BRYAN was the voltaggio that previously had stumbled during quickfire.

This was Michael's first bottom of anything.

[Mann of Sandd]

Just a few quick points before bed, hope to discuss more on the morrow....

Who knows who Mike V may have mentioned in the strongest chefs statement....could have very easily been edited. I can't imagine he didn't feel Jen was strong competition.

I think Hector could have rocked this challenge. Really wish he'd have stuck around. Darn.

Not my favorite ep of the season, but did contain my favorite moment. At judges table when Tim Love just goes "Mattin.....this guy". Had me rolling.

[Mann of Sandd]

Esther, it also depends on the kind of pork and whether it's been brined. At the restaurant I work in we use Berkshire pork and it often looks pink even when cooked close to well done.

[Rabrab]

I have to say that I was astonished that two of them chose to go the ceviche route for outdoor prep in desert heat with fish that had been kept in unknown conditions for at least 12 hours. That, to me, smacks of simply not thinking.

[lamelama22]

Re: The Mike V strongest chefs statement, from what was said in the first episode, Mike V and Mike I both worked together and Isabella helped him open a restaurant, so there is probably a little bit of a personal preference there just because of familiarity.

Also concerning Mike V, was it just me or did he seem to turn into a total ass once he wasn't sitting pretty at the top? I mean, maybe it was the cut, but he complained/talked down both the challenge and his competitors/excused his performance in every comment they aired.

Minimonkey: Isabella mispronouncing something? Must be that heavy freaking North Jersey accent. :P Oh btw, am I the only one to notice Jen butchering the pronunciation of "ceviche" practically every show (I'm assuming Wikipedia and every other contestant/judge on Top Chef pronounces it correctly?)? lol.

I should stop in her restaurant on Friday, since I'll be visiting Philly for a day... though not sure a lunch would be worth that much $ to me.

It was also nice to see Bryan get a tiny tiny bit of emotion in an interview laughing about dominating his brother in elimination wins. And for all those people hating on Bryan's interviews - stop complaining, you must love Mike I's promos then! :P

I was actually disappointed with this episode, though the breakfast fire pit at the beach episode in Season 2 was one of my favorites. I'm no chef or food critic, so as just a fan of the show I do enjoy a little bit of them doing something outside of the kitchen or being forced to adapt or maybe be put in a situation I could see myself cooking in (a fire pit, not the middle of the desert). I think the beach one was better because it just had a different feel - they were relatively happy to be there and not outright suffering like they seemed to be out in the wilderness/blistering heat.

I was so surprised that no one cooked steak. I mean, if I was in their shoes (and could cook), and they told me I was going out into the f*ing desert, I would immediately think I'd be cooking on a grill, a fire pit, or a damn campfire. I'd bring steak or chops or ribs or whatever standard grille faire, and some other stuff to throw into a pot in case it was a bowl over a campfire. I mean, common sense. Actually... I was shocked and kinda mad even. It pained me to watch like a third of them try to hand out raw food in a grilling challenge.

One thing I wanted to make a comment about was Mike I's "biggot" thing - a comment saying he didn't want to lose to a girl makes a person a biggot? What is this, the super duper PC era of 1995? Please. Every, and I mean almost EVERY (not gay) guy I've met in my entire life, even if they wouldn't necessarily say it on national television, would feel a little emasculated and/or embarrassed or put down by losing to a girl. It's not being sexist or a biggot, it's not that the ladies can't perform (cook) better than the men (case in point: Jen; or my ex, who cooked waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than me and kicked my ass in bowling too), it's just a natural reaction that guys get. It comes with having balls and testosterone. The difference is Mike I. just says what's on his mind. People calling him a biggot are overreacting and probably should try to remember what it was like back in middle school.

Jersey Shore ftw! <3 the beach!

[peli grietzer]

My problem with the episodes is that the judges gave us no descriptions of the food at all. The whole point of filming judges table is to impart some sense of what the food was like, and we got nothing but generic yummy/yucky responses.

[Dan_boston]

In middle school, You are a kid: short sighted, emotional, and completely bigoted in any number of ways, all of which is excused to one degree or another because you are a kid in middle school...

Memories of that seem like a pretty silly way to set a standard for behavior....if you lose to a 'girl' in something and you feel extra bad because it was a girl, and you aren't still 12 years old than I'm sorry... you are a bigot. The solution is just to get over it. Of course, I'm probably only saying this because I'm a homo with no balls or testosterone...seriously can some of you please just think before you post and leave this crap out from now on? I come here to enjoy the food commentary, not to react to borderline and not so borderline homophobia/sexism.

[Skillet Doux]

"The season of ceviche on top chef."

Seriously. People are going to start getting dinged for it. Perhaps not overtly, but it's going to start getting tiresome.

"Still, while it sounded like a nice gyro, interesting play and all that... Really? A gyro? You are going with Gyro, thats your final answer? Wow. Yeah. Talk about playing it safe. A Greek Cypriot from Jersey makes a Gyro. I was really stoked after his Quick Fire win, and then... Gyro."

I found the pronunciation far more offensive than the dish selection, personally. I'm not somebody who suddenly morphs into a person of another nationality when pronouncing foreign words, but... c'mon.

"I wonder if the shrimp went bad in the cooler--they mentioned bad smelling seafood in the stew room. What do you do in that situation, in the middle of a desert w/rotten proteins and no pantry? Just serve romaine?"

She still had the chicken sausage. She wasn't just stuck with lettuce. The issue was, as she mentioned (it was quick and easy to miss), that she didn't taste it before serving. When she finally did, she realized the blunder.

"I think Hector could have rocked this challenge."

I thought the same. Until I realized that for a cookout, he'd probably do a steak :-)

"I have to say that I was astonished that two of them chose to go the ceviche route for outdoor prep in desert heat with fish that had been kept in unknown conditions for at least 12 hours. That, to me, smacks of simply not thinking."

Overthinking, rather. Not knowing what the facilities would be like, I imagine they were trying to pick something that they could make with a knife and a bowl that wasn't a salad.

"Re: The Mike V strongest chefs statement, from what was said in the first episode, Mike V and Mike I both worked together and Isabella helped him open a restaurant, so there is probably a little bit of a personal preference there just because of familiarity."

It definitely seems clear that there's a lot of mutual respect because of their time working together, yeah.

"Also concerning Mike V, was it just me or did he seem to turn into a total ass once he wasn't sitting pretty at the top? I mean, maybe it was the cut, but he complained/talked down both the challenge and his competitors/excused his performance in every comment they aired."

I don't think it was a matter of not being on top, I think it was frustration with the challenge. He's outed himself as somebody with little patience for the goofier ones. Still came off very badly though, I agree.

"I was so surprised that no one cooked steak. I mean, if I was in their shoes (and could cook), and they told me I was going out into the f*ing desert, I would immediately think I'd be cooking on a grill, a fire pit, or a damn campfire. I'd bring steak or chops or ribs or whatever standard grille faire, and some other stuff to throw into a pot in case it was a bowl over a campfire. I mean, common sense. Actually... I was shocked and kinda mad even. It pained me to watch like a third of them try to hand out raw food in a grilling challenge."

I think everybody avoided it because they were afraid everybody else would be doing that (some said so outright), but then nobody actually did. The entire field was too smart for its own good :-)

[Shelly]

@Bart, Sorry for the Jersey comments. My ex b-i-l is from there and it colors my perception. In support of Jersey, I have to say that my favorite childhood author of the Lad books, Albert Payson Terhune, lived there on a lovely estate with his collies, and he's why I have two collies today.

About this elimination challenge, Tom pretty much expressed all the things I disliked about it. Except that what I disliked most was not telling the contestants there would be no refrigeration (that's what I gathered from reading Tom's blog). That's ignoring food safety issues, and I have a big problem with that.

I thought the QF was fair. They often test the breadth of knowledge of the chefs, like in sauce production or use of game, snails, etc, so use of a southwestern ingredient is fair game as far as I'm concerned.

[Esther]

lamelama:

So just to clarify your comment, you're saying that:

1) It's natural for men to be embarrassed when women beat them, but women naturally just accept their position when they lose.

2) Gay men have no "balls and testosterone."

Statement (1) perpetrates the legacy of a culture where women have been so often considered inferior that it's their "normal" state of affairs, which they should just accept, while men are "normally" superior, so it's embarrassing for them to lose that status. I know that you're not saying that women actually are inferior, but if men are on par with women and therefore lose to them about half the time, then there should be no special embarrassment involved -- beyond the embarrassment that anyone might feel about losing to anyone, of course. As for statement (2), I hope I don't have to explain how it's bigoted.

Sorry for the side tangent, Dom, but I'd rather have my food commentary without a side of sexism and homophobia.

[anon man]

As I said 2 episodes ago: "Its Top Chef, not Top Ceviche". I'm also wondering why there hasn't been a single scallop this season (unless I missed one...)

Other random thoughts:

I would have liked to have heard more about Kevin's duck. It looked stunning, but missed the top. I can't imagine it was less interesting than Ashley's Fish club sandwich (which looked great), or Laurine's homey meat and potato dish, but it received exactly 5 seconds of airtime.

While you may dislike the challenge, it could have been had. The edit of Bryan saying that he had stared at the pit for an hour figuring out how to place the food so that it cooked evenly in the time allowed was I think critical (as was Ashley's mention of using a cast iron skillet for even distribution). The challenge could be had if you thought through how use the resources you were given (which I note they had all night to do...)

[Jon Olsen]

Bart, I pity and admire you, man. I was born in South Dakota (in the home of the *corn palace*) and live in Minnesota, and I assure you, New Jersey cannot have the best corn in the country. I have tasted the best corns in the country my friend, and they came from Minnesota and from Wisconsin! I admire you for typing all those words while so deeply under the influence. Jersey. Best marijuana in the country, obviously! JERSEY!

I had no problem with this challenge. It's no different from any other challenges in my opinion: set high expectations for the chefs, give them a setback, and see where the cream rises. Not only that *Propane Campfires*. Seriously?? Cop out! Weak!

The inability of some chefs to plan—for to me this was a planning and preparedness flexibility challenge—is what put them in the bottom. Ron and Mattin(...this guy) should have retooled their dishes in their heads the moment those SUVs pulled up to camp. They stuck with their plan and it sucked. Did I understand there were Less than TWO hours to prep? Can ceviche even "cook" in two hours? I don't understand how ceviche works. Clearly it did not for the Basque. If he grew up on a farm, why didn't he adjust to the conditions? He didn't and THAT is why he went home.

Ron "I Don't Drink" Duprat offends the bartender in me (I resist "mixologist"). If you don't drink, don't touch the booze! You didn't want to waste the coconut? Make something non-alcoholic! There must be about a million non-alcoholic coconut drinks out there, and 2/3 of them must be available to a Haitian chef. Figure it out!!

Also, Jen made more fish. I'm just sayin'.

[Steve in NJ]

lamelama 22,
When you are in Philly Friday I strongly recommend lunch at Bistro La Minette. Great food at good prices with a friendly staff. My family and I love it there.

[Anne]

I truly don't want Dom's comments to devolve, so I just want to say thank you, Esther.

So, was there refrigeration? If not, ew.

[LynnO]

I thought the people that made ceviche or sandwiches for this challenge were pretty lame. How could they expect to win a grilling challenge with that?
Also, I've now decided Bryan is my favorite V brother, not only in performance but attitude. I think Mike V acts like he's in a boys club with Bryan and Mike I, so that's why he said they were the best. I was glad to see someone besides the top 5 get in the top this week -- it was getting boring!

[paula]

This ep bored me, although I did enjoy seeing Ashley rally and her back story touched me. My thoughts:

* I felt much better about my personal cactus fail after seeing that QF.
* No steak or beef for a cowboy challenge? Jeez, guys. Come on.
* Fish again from Jen.
* "Jie-roe" make me physically flinch.
* All the conversations with Mike V...they're setting us up for something here. Reminding us that this guy, for all his mad cooking skilz, is a bit of a douche like his BFF Mike I.
* Mattin..."this guy." Oh, that was funny.
* I honestly feel sad for lamelama that you think every guy feels emasculated if "bested" by a "girl." In all seriously, maybe it's time to meet some new people.

[Skillet Doux]

"Can ceviche even "cook" in two hours? I don't understand how ceviche works."

It can. It's all in the cutting. If you want it to cook quickly, you cut small or thin pieces. If you want it to cure longer, you cut larger pieces. One of the keys, which they touched on both on-air and in Tom's blog, is that the cut has to be CONSISTENT. Otherwise, some pieces cook while others are raw.

"I truly don't want Dom's comments to devolve, so I just want to say thank you, Esther."

Thank you, Anne :-)

Indeed, I understand, I think the point has been made, no need to pile on. I don't mean to diminish the importance of such subjects, but help me keep us on topic, guys... thanks!

[Anne]

Mike V seemed like such a little brother in this episode--a bit petulant, a bit arrogant, a bit challenging. I wonder if the pressure and close quarters are starting to make him regress a bit.

I'm already excited for the rankings. Bryan at #1 now?

[Independent George]

I think the main reason everyone was doing fish last night was that you can prepare it much faster than beef or chicken. A cut of meat can take 12 hours or more to marinade, depending on the cut; flavor gets infused into fish much, much faster. The 'no refrigeration' is what got them - fish degrades much faster than terrestrial meats because the enzymes in fish are meant to work at much lower temperatures.

I'm very curious as to how the food was packed in the coolers. Fish is doable, but it's a much, much different preparation, particularly if you're anticipating a 6 hour car ride vs storing it outdoors in the desert for 24 hours. Ideally, you would lay fish flat between layers of ice & salt, with additional ice on top and bottom to account for melting. I can imagine the contestants just throwing their food into the cooler, expecting to put it into a real fridge once they arrived; ranches usually have basic, but industrial-scale amenities, so a walk-in fridge/freezer might have been expected. Brian strikes me as the type of person who would organize his cooler the same way for a 60-minute drive to Grandma's house as he would for a week-long camping trip. Jennifer, too, for that matter.

[paula]

A good-quality steak doesn't need to marinate to be delicious if you use a good rub and/or a kick-ass sauce or salsa.

Oh, and it was nice to see Laurine step out. She had a quiet confidence that was surprising.

[Independent George]

That's the rub (so to speak), though, isn't it? They had no idea what would be available to them for prep. A rub would be a great idea, but I'm not sure they knew what spices would be available to them in the 'pantry'. There are a lot of great sauce possibilities, but if you're limited in budget, the types of produce you need to make it depend on whether you'll have a food processor/blender available, or just your knife. A 'straight' steak with a simple rub would work, but you have to assume that it wouldn't win the challenge (particularly since Tim Love explicitly said it had to be a high-end affair).

So, that brings us to fish. It's very easy to infuse flavors, and can cook in minutes. The only problem is transport/storage - and that's only a problem if you made the reasonable assumption that the TC producers wouldn't put anyone's life in jeopardy by taking away refrigeration.

I don't have a problem with having the challenge outdoors at a ranch, but I have a big problem with the 'surprise!' element.

[paula]

Sorry, one more thing: Learning that those grills were propane after the fact--they deliberately misled the viewers in the episode--pisses me off. Now that challenge seems even stupider and more arbitrary.

[Independent George]

Just as an aside, does anyone else find it funny that Tim Love's hiccup in TCM came when he thought the freezer was a fridge, while his challenge in TC centered around the lack of refrigeration?

[paula]

George: Still not convinced, though. First, they could buy spices at Whole Foods just as easily as they bought produce. Second, just as an example, Tim Love himself had a recipe in F+W magazine for a cocoa-and-chile-rubbed grilled pork that's absolutely amazing. Sliced and served over polenta, maybe, and paired with a sophisticated veggie side, it would be perfectly high-end. No reason you couldn't do something similar with a steak. Man, now I'm hungry.

[Independent George]

I'm not saying you can't do it. I'm just saying that the contestants probably watched every episode of seasons 1-5, figured they'd have to build their own stove out of cow skulls and sawdust, and decided fish was probably the better option.

[Skillet Doux]

"I'm not saying you can't do it. I'm just saying that the contestants probably watched every episode of seasons 1-5, figured they'd have to build their own stove out of cow skulls and sawdust, and decided fish was probably the better option."

I mean to go back and crunch the actual numbers before Monday, but I don't think this is a phenomenon limited to the chuckwagon. My impression is that it's been a VERY seafood-heavy season. Even if you remove Jennifer from the equation :-)

[Jake]

I have little to add that hasn't already been said (unless anyone still wants to talk Jersey!), except for this:

Dom, I love that picture of Mattin up top. I'll miss the jaunty red scarfy-thing.

[Danny]

Although they didn't know the specifics of the challenge they knew enough that it surprised me the direction so many of them went in. Ceviche? Really?

[Bill]

I agree that the chefs should have known what they were in for when planning but it seemed to me they showed a lot of disrespect towards Tim Love and his style of cooking. This is a guy who beat Morimoto in Iron Chef.
The way everyone raced for the fish counter I think they knew there wasn't a lot of steak going on. Was it beneath them to put out some great barbecue? To me, having the opportunity to do some cowboy cooking for Tim Love would be as exciting as the challenge for the French masters.
Also; what about those tortillas that Ash made? I make tortillas and I don't have a tortilla press. I press the dough between two cast iron pans and get a pretty good squeeze. His looked like two lumps of paste, how do you even call that a tortilla?

[Independent George]

Unofficial Rules For Surviving Top Chef:

1. Taste your food before serving it.
2. "The key is bending the challenge to meet your strengths. Don't play somebody else's game - play your game" - Richard Blais
3. Don't half-ass an extra dish you don't have to make just because you think the judges will be impressed by the extra half-assed effort. They won't.
4. Pasta Salad = Death.
5. Don't overcook your meat.
6. Don't underseason your food.
7. Don't disrespect the judges.
8. "Deconstructed" doesn't mean throwing a pile of crap all over the plate. A deconstructed anything is a carefully planned composition in and of itself.
9. It's not enough to simply admit a mistake at Judges Table; explain how to fix it.
10. Don't let the guy with immunity lead the elimination challenge.
11. Have 2 different dessert recipes memorized by heart, with substitutes for each ingredient.
12. Know what foods work when served out of a chafing dish.

That's all I can think of for now.

[dc]

The real challenge turned out to be lack of refrigeration. Not really brought up in the editing.

I was thinking it would be Robin with the bad shrimp going before Mattin. But her's was fully cooked at least. In Mattin's dish, oh my... Gail's blog explains clearly why Mattin had to go. Explains also why the judges got even more POd then usual when Mattin claimed he had tried his food before serving them. I feel for the poor judges -- and wonder how many of their rancher "customers" did too.

If the judges know they've eaten something really bad for their system, can they throw it up or eat some counteracting medication?

Mattin seems like Tintin. Clueless happy go lucky, jaunting through life, adventures, challenge and missteps. Funny character makes me smile. Tigger too.

[Naomi]

I really like Ashley and was thrilled to see her in the top but I really wish the editors had chosen
To show the judges telling us something other than this was the best dish she'd produced; both at judge's table and during tasting. What made it so strong? How did it edge out Kevin. I wanted details. Instead they almost made it seem she was in the top simply because she did better than last time which of course wasn't true.

[Danielle]

Agree with Paula: the propane fire pits were laaaaame. I wondered why they didn't give us a close-up view of how the different chefs managed the cooking itself. Perhaps it's because the propane took away the unpredictability.

Disappointed that Kevin's family background in competitive bbq didn't make an appearance.

[karenology]

Independent George: I would add "let your meat rest properly before cutting" somewhere in those rules, maybe in addition to #5?

[paula]

Great list, George. How about: "If you're at the bottom at JT, don't tell them you thought your dish rocked."

[paula]

dc: Hilarious observation about Mattin.

[Rabrab]

I see you're point about the chefs who picked ceviche overthinking in the direction of "simple prep/simple equipment, but I guess my personal experience at camp cooking is showing -- I'd be much less concerned with what utensils would be available (lots of things can be jury-rigged for camp cooking) and more concerned with food storage. I've run into far more problems because the ingredients went off or got waterlogged in the cooler than because I didn't have exactly the pan I wanted. And fish when camp cooking is strictly acquire-the-day-of -- especially fish in something like ceviche, where it has to be pristine. I guess that this episode was proof positive that it's possible to overthink and underthink the same thing at the same time.

On this:
"The only problem is transport/storage - and that's only a problem if you made the reasonable assumption that the TC producers wouldn't put anyone's life in jeopardy by taking away refrigeration"

Part of each challenge for the chefs is figuring out what will work and what won't under the circumstances as they know them. Ranch + campcooking + desert + Las Vegas adds up to don't count on using fragile ingredients. And don't count on the producers saving you from your own errors -- they haven't in the past. Leave an ingredient in the kitchen in a street-food challenge? Tough luck -- do without it. Pack a fridge so full that it doesn't close tight? So sorry -- make do with what didn't spoil. Leave a pork belly out on the counter overnight in Hawaii? Oh, well -- your problem.