Top Chef - S6E9 Postmortem

Okay, Tom, that was just mean.

I had Jen's departure notes half written. She's got another life and she'd better use it.

So why's Kevin angry? Because he screwed up the lamb? Because he feels guilty over having contributed to Laurine being sent home? Because he feels Laurine got a raw deal (no pun intended) and it should have been Jen? I doubt that last one. The first two seem more in character for him. But you wonder.

I'll let you guys take over tonight. Still digesting (the episode, not dinner. Well, both, but... nevermind.)

Oh, and what a brutal editing hit piece on Mike V., making no comment as to whether or not he deserved it. And interesting that Tom's blog for the same episode praised his kitchen demeanor.

The Four Horsemen of the Chefpocalypse still ride. Breathe easy, folks.

UPDATE : Some semi-related happy news. Top Chef Masters has been picked up for a second season and all judges are returning. Thanks for the heads-up, jh!

Comments

[Esther]

For me, the surprise wasn't Laurine; she got overwhelmed and was out of her league. She stayed classy, and I respect her.

The surprise also wasn't Kevin; even a supposedly terrible night for him put out one good dish. (I'm honestly not sure what to do with the lamb thing; was it equipment, Kevin, Laurine. . . ?)

What worried me was Jen. Her comment at the end about being "broken" wasn't just her usual self-deprecation; she really screwed up. Although I'm glad they kept her, because I think she has more to show, that trout dish was just worrying for someone from Le Bernadin. She's losing confidence fast.

If she can make it to the finals, I can believe that she'll use the break to regain her confidence and come back kicking ass again. But tonight definitely made her drop to the bottom of the top four in my mind for now.

(What about top? Hm. I want to let Kevin keep it, but it's hard to do so, after Michael V. did well and Kevin put out that "jello" lamb.)

At least another week of Robin-bashing to come. Sigh.

[KinderJ]

Cripes, when Mike I is the most consistent and least objectionable chef in a kitchen... Just brutal.

I'll start the blame ball rolling- my money is on lack of organization and leadership. We needed Jen of the Air Force episode, not everyone going along to get along. Anyone remember Chef Tom acting as an expediter a couple of seasons ago? Laurine could have taken a shot at that, might have made things run a bit better.

Interesting codicil- Jen pointed out, repeatedly, that anyone who did dessert on Restaurant wars got sent home, or at least their team lost. I immediately thought of Stefan last year, who rocked a dessert course. Thoughts, comments, how do you think they should have played it?

[Anne]

Tom totally did that on purpose.

And, VEGETARIAN CHALLENGE! I've been waiting six seasons for this. (Maybe even...VEGAN?)

[doktarr]

So, we will not get the superduper 4 horsemen finale, because Padma dropped the bomb: only 3 in the final.

[Steve]

Big relief tonight. Jen was definitely going to go if Laurine didn't. I agree with Dom though. Jen doesn't really have a personal and impressive vision for her food. But certainly she deserved to hang on until at least the final four.

Real glad Mike V. has gotten the recognition that has slipped through his fingers too many times. Previous to this, he had been in the top of the elimination challenges nine times, but only won once. This was well deserved, especially since he was acting as executive chef for all intents and purposes.

Can't wait to see how next week's twist throw our chefs off. Hopefully it will be Mike I., Eli or Robin that goes home.

[Esther]

doktarr, that threw me too. After I thought about it, though, I decided that maybe she meant "final episode" by "finale" (whereas we usually mean "final two episodes"). Otherwise, we'd have to have a double elimination very soon, right?

[KinderJ]

Esther- I second your sigh, with an added drooped shoulders.

Anne- Last season I would have been making rude gestures at your comment, relishing the comparative anonymity of the internet. Now, post Masters, my views have completely changed. I am quite curious to see what they put out, what sort of innovation they show, how Kevin, King of All Pork, adapts.

You know, I left it out of my last post, but despite it's goofy name, Revolt was 'easily the best restaurant in six years.' Ok, probably goofed the quote, but still...

[Jim D.]

Gee, Dom - thanks for jinxing Kevin with the 'never been on the bottom' line.

What a complete, utterly shocking disaster. Jen is seriously lucky to still be in this - had Laurine been even minimally competent in the front of the house, she would have gone home and rightfully so.

[Dawn]

I almost had a heart attack. Jen, Jen, Jen. Is she losing steam or what? I'm thankful for Tom's blog pointing out what's wrong with team Mission. Very bad planning, indeed.

In the back of my mind, I KNEW that out of the top four, Jen would be the one who most likely to get a suprise boot. I didn't say (or rather, write) it out loud, of course, since I'm rooting for her. But yes, my suspicion was true. In a twisted hero-worship context, I'm thoroughly disappointed cause she lets me down (though, honestly she doesn't owe me anything).

I'm glad you didn't have to use the departure notes, Dom. *Sigh*

[babyarm]

Yeah, appears to be a veg challenge next week at craft steak no less. Masters did one and it worked great.

No issue with how things went tonight. Jen may have skated, but wasn't the worst in her role.

[anon man]

In the end, an uneventful episode. 3 things that struck me, kind of random:

1. The discussion between the brothers about dessert and how Bryan's white and dark chocolate dessert bombed. Ironically, the Washington Post just had the annual dining guide and (for those of you who live elsewhere), VOLT's "Tasting of Chocolate" containing white, dark and milk chocolate, was voted one of the top 10 desserts in the area. (As an aside, they didn't do a top 50 this year, but a listing of the top 50 alphabetically, and then various top 10s - dessert, cocktail, table, etc.) It kind of cracked me up that he felt confident to do it again, with apparently good reason, even though it cratered.

2. They praised the chicken dish. Like most foodies, I can count on one hand the number times I order chicken at a high end restaurant. But every now and then you have one and go- WOW! This sounds like one of these.

3. Even before the Michael V. outtake, I was kind of like "Him? He curses like his sailor. If Bryan or Kevin demanded that kind of behavior it would have actual credibility."

[Bart]

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge sigh of relief. I kept thinking, "Oh, crap, it's Jennifer."

Not much to say on the Robin/Michael tiff, except that they both acted immaturely, and that Eli came across much better in this episode.

I did find it funny how Bravo juxtaposed Michael's qualities of a good chef with footage of him doing the exact opposite - and then him ending it with, "Yeah, I'm a good chef, God damn." (Ok, he didn't use those exact words, but you get the idea)

Robin's dessert looked tasty. I wonder how much of it was hers and how much of it was Michael's.

"Revolt"? Absolutely horrible name. Seriously.

Next week, I fully expect Jen to bounce back. I'm calling it - she's going to win the quickfire. EC? I dunno. But expect her to make a strong showing in the first half of the episode. She seems to perform best when there's less pressure.

[Stacy]

I think Kevin was disgusted with himself - I don't think he was upset for contributing to Laurine leaving. However, I think he will quickly bounce back. Jen received a gift tonight and I have a hard time believing that past performance, at least subconsciously, doesn't figure into the judges' decision, despite claims otherwise. As someone else said, Jen seems to be going down fast. I wonder if there is something going on behind the scenes that is contributing to this. Unlike Jen, Kevin, although he wasn't at his best, wasn't "broken."

[altoids]

Heh, I was crossing my fingers and chanting at the TV "Not Jen, not Jen." With Mike I. safe and Kevin putting out the only good dish, it was down to Jen and Laurine. Not great odds.

I think Kevin and Jennifer are both angry at letting the situation run away, and putting out food beneath their standards. I hope this setback doesn't rattle Jen too much, and she doesn't lose her confidence. The preview editing certainly makes her seem miserable, although she always has few moments of sheer panic and self-doubt in each episode.

This season's RW was a bit different in that the judges insisted that the FoH also take responsibility for dish, and there was no EC. For the V. Bros, this was no problem, they had both been successful leaders in team challenges, and their dominant, occasionally-dysfunctional oligarchy took responsibility for most of the menu, leaving Eli and Robin with a one first and last course. Eli read the tea leaves and stayed away from the Voltaggio steamroller, while Michael smartly suggested that Robin recreate her quickfire win, turning her dish into a known quantity. Good moves all around.

Kevin and Jen have developed a good rapport, and Jen and Mike I. are friends, so they perhaps didn't feel comfortable taking a leadership position among friends. I had expected Kevin and Jen to put their heads down and just put out good food - but I was surprised that Mike I. didn't step up when he saw the problem developing. Perhaps he knew it was a sinking ship, and smartly concentrated on saving himself.

[kit]

Did anyone else notice that after Jen & Mike V. drew the "choice" knives, the chefs were selected in the same order as Dom's Power Rankings? Go Dom!

Tom is downright evil. About midway through the episode I was Certain that Jen was going home. The outfit & hairstyle she was sporting in her interview changed, and for some reason my warped mind decided those wily elves had filmed an extra interview because they needed more footage for their "loser edit." I'm pretty sure I blacked out for huge portions of the rest of the episode.

I didn't think the Mike V. interlude was that bad for him, more just amusing. I'm sure he, and anyone who knows him, is aware that he can be prickly sometimes, and it would thus be inevitable that lots of prickly footage would accumulate, ripe for a snarky little edit.

Did anyone else love this quickfire? I'd love it if they made this one a recurring one as well. It's almost like each of them has to solve a little kitchen puzzle. Though I can imagine it must be very disorienting to spend 30 minutes blindfolded then have to suddenly bang out the end of a dish in 10 minutes, wow! (Of course, let's not get crazy here, nothing can top my affection for the mise en place relay race, heh.)

[Danielle]

I'm guessing that I'm not the only person who missed this damning Michael V. outtake because I was flipping back and forth to the Phillies game.

[Anne]

Rude gestures...but...but...I'm extremely nice, despite my lack of carnivore-ness!

I know we're going to see a lot of the typical foodie disdain for vegetarianism next week--Seriously, I actually do find it really unpleasant, because I don't begrudge anyone their choice to eat what they want, but I get a lot of crap for not eating meat from food-lovers, and I find it's those people who act sanctimonious (see: Anthony Bourdain) It bugs me, because I like good food, too, I never bother anyone else about what they eat, and I relish a chef that can have the vision to make a great vegetarian meal.

Now, vegans, man, that #@$#@ is crazy.

[Anne]

(That was a joke, by the way.)

[KinderJ]

altoids- I mostly agree with your analysis, but I don't think that's how it went with Mike I. He did the apps, one of which was mostly cold, so he was probably able to lend at least some help. I think it might have been more of an issue of not wanting to jog the elbows of chefs he respected. I do think he should have done something like starting to steam big batches of clams and mussles when he saw Jennifer in the weeds, but I don't really know what else he could have done to improve the situation. Taken over FOH? Dunno. A lot of bad planning went into that meal, I am sorry to say.

[KinderJ]

Joke? Joke, madam?! This is the Internet. Humor is utterly forbidden. As is smiling. These things are checked, you know.

Actually I sort of feel your pain from an odd direction, Anne. I hate fish. I mean really, really hate fish. I don't like the look, the smell, I have advanced the proposition, dismissed by the so called intellectuals and gray beards of academia, that all of human evolution is a determined effort to get away from sea food.

This, of course, is heresy to many people. Seemingly normal, wholesome people who will try and convince me that fish come in a wide range of flavors, textures, tastes, and that by ruling anything coming out of water is inedible, I am depriving my self of profound gastronomic joy. These people are, of course, wrong. So I kind of relate to the 'I don't eat meat' thing. Even though I eat meat. Because things with legs aren't weird like fish.

I tried to punch a fish once. Turns out water resistance kind of makes that impossible. Just, you know, FYI. In case someone else wanted to punch a fish...

[Dreamboat]

Anne,
How about vegans who also do not eat soy or wheat, ala Zooey Deschanel in TCM? YIKES!! Even with that, the Masters put out some serious food. That just goes to show that you do not need meat as a center piece to have great food. However, most "American" or "New American" food does center around meat or fish so it can be a challenge for those chefs. Chefs who are familiar with Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine (and I am sure other cuisines that I am not familiar with) will do well. OK, I am craving me some Indian Dal right now :)

[Nancy]

Okay, I admir it, the Elves got me. I thought Mike V. was a goner for sure. I am also a bit peeved at Tom's red herring in his last blog about a top contender possibly not surviving this week and the contention that this is a challenge-by-challenge elimination. Other FOH's have hid, recall sweating (and possibly smelly) Dale and were saved, but IIRC Dale also put out a servicable dish, which likely saved him.

Jen, as much as I adore her, knew she choked when this was a challenge she should have knocked out of the park. TO me, that's a worse sin than Laurine not being the best hostess (Radikha was far worse, completely flustered). Her dishes were universally acknowledged, even by Jen herself, as monumental failures. She should have walked and the fact she didn't proves once and for all that previous challenges ARE taken into account, especially when weighing cheftestants who are very close in skill, or as in this case, essentially top and bottom to date.

Congrats to Mike V., who wasn't THAT bad with Robin and his vision of her basic dessert was a winner. I would have eaten every dish REVOLT (wish they would have used a hyphen rather than the backwards "E" to make a better distinction of the concept (missed how well Eli actually explained it, but it seemed when the dishes came out, the judges got it). Can't wait to see how the guy with two killer dishes, and EC to boot (yes, they DID specify that there was going to be one), combined with Jen's failures, Kevin's hit and miss and Bryan's excellent dessert (but cold, but apparently otherwise successful main) will do to shake up the top 4?

God help us, does Mike I sneak in with his two mediocre dishes? Does Eli gain a spot for actually being a very pleasant, unflustered FOH? Robin can make pear desserts, but not much else. Keep her in the cellar. Hopefully after next week, the wine cellar.

[garik16]

Tom's blog makes it sound like we're suffering here from bad editing again.

For example, from his blog:

"Jennifer could have gone home for making the mistake of choosing to steam the clams and mussels to order, but we all liked the halibut."

LIKED THE HALIBUT? Yet they complained about the sauce being broken on air and seemed to hate the dish more than the Mussels and Clams! Clearly some editing was at work here.

This should be familiar btw from last year. Remember, last year Radhika's terrible FoHing was not really shown as much on camera and the focus more was on the terrible deserts.

While Jen's dishes may not have been up to her standards, the halibut can't have been as terrible as it seemed in editing and as such, she probably was in no danger of going home. Laurine was the only choice.

NOW Jen has to bounce back and come in the top of another challenge.

[Nancy]

Forgot to mention, Laurine's depature was telegraphed from scene 1. It was worse than America's Next "Top" Model. Usually the Elves are better than that. I wonder how many guys would have cried had they gotten only that one scene of Jen rocking her bikini, only to get the dreaded PYKAG. Poor, pathetic Laurene, who can't rock a swimsuit but can wade in the pool was TOO obvious.

[stevie]

This is the second week I was holding my breathe worrying over Jen (Last time was my own error, I turned on the 10pm airing early and saw Jen in tears hugging someone, though I ran hands-over-ears out of the room before I could identify who and was on seat's edge the entire episode). All I can say is 'whew!'

I am so freaking excited for a vegan challenge. I loved seeing what the Masters could come up with and this will be just as exciting. I usually can't get excited over American food because I can never eat it so doubly excited to see what the brothers whip up. That said, I think this will be Mike I's episode to shine. And gosh darn it, I just got worried for Jen and Kevin again.

[Joanna]

Gosh Bravo, way to TOTALLY rattle my nerves. It was obvious to me pretty early on which team won, because Kevin and Jen both looked a little teary-eyed in their interviews - but this also made me nervous that one of them would be going home. I feel bad for Laurine, because compared to Radhika's FOH last year, she seemed to have it somewhat more together, but I guess still not up to the standards that were expected of her.

Really, really hope Jen can pull herself together next week.

(Also, my favorite part of the episode? When Kevin said, "I think they all want me to poach the fish in this oil. But I don't want to, so I won't." Or something along those lines.)

[sprugman]

Personally, Mike V.'s "I'm not a prick" montage cracked me up. He may actually be a nice guy, with lots of heart, but clearly, he can be prickly at the very least.

I loved the blind relay QF. Reminded me of various improv games.

Jen: whew! That was lucky.

[Cousin Sam]

"LIKED THE HALIBUT? Yet they complained about the sauce being broken on air and seemed to hate the dish more than the Mussels and Clams! Clearly some editing was at work here."

IIRC it was her trout that had the broken sauce, not the halibut.

[rab01]

Mission's plan was admittedly bad but it sounded like the chaos in the FOH contributed a ton to their execution problems. Other than a lack of salt in one of Mike's apps and the monochrome color of one of Jen's dishes, all of the calamities sounded like the result of food sitting around too long before going out (like the sauce breaking) or being rushed out before it was finished (like the lamb not resting before it's cut).

[kit]

garik16 - According to Bravo's recipe finder, the halibut was the fish served in the same dish as the mussels and clams; while the disastrous dish, with the broken sauce, was a trout.

[Independent George]

I'm relieved that Jennifer stays, but I'm also disappointed.

I'm greedy. I don't just want our Top 4 to survive, I want them to thrive. I want to be blown away.

Interestingly, I think that for a lot of us here, it was the Air Force episode that really got us to love Jennifer - and what their team needed most was someone to organize the kitchen, set the menu, and expedite the dishes. Was it a case of too much respect, maybe? Early on, she had no problem asserting herself to make sure things moved smoothly; maybe because of how well she knew her team at this stage, she thought they could actually pull it off?

[jonathan]

I've been thinking for a few weeks now, after his dish on the "ranch" challenge, that MIchael was the biggest wild card in the season. If he makes it to the final, I think his ceiling is higher than anyone's except for maybe Kevin's. If those two are both on their game I don't think anyone beats them.

Also, did anyone else think part of the reason Bryan was pissed after his brother won was partly due to Rick Moonen saying the victory was going to the (I think I'm quoting correctly) "chef with the most promise." Not saying it was the whole reason, because I think he was genuinely upset with his brother's behavior, but that's a classic older sibling reaction. Kinda amusing if it's true.

[garik16]

Ah My bad. Still, they didn't seem to like the halibut on air.

[Nancy]

Sorry to keep bursting in here, but I had this thought during the episode and it just reoccurred...

Name your place "Mission" and pick the white tablecloth approach versus the simple, dare I say, almost MISSION style motif? The white tablecloths might have lowered the overall impression of a place called Revolt (irony the judges MIGHT have gotten, although they knew they were stuck with the motif), but not something most guests would connect.

Just a thought for your riffing pleasure... :)

[Cousin Sam]

yeah, what was that all about with Bryan being pissed off? As dickish as Mike was being during the challenge, it *was* pretty nice of him to offer to split the $ and Bryan just threw it back in his face.

[altoids]

@ KinderJ:

I dunno. Like you (and Tom's blog) said, Mike I. should have helped more after his appetizers were done, and maybe he did, we'll never know. He must have done something for the last 40 minutes of service.

There's no way he could have taken over FoH, that would have been disrespectful and been a big red light to the judges. But I expected him to start keeping track of tickets and start telling Laurine what to do, as he's the least shy about taking over when something isn't getting done. Jen develops tunnel-vision when she gets flustered - we've seen it before. In that state, she won't talk to anyone, not even Tom! Kevin hasn't shown the temperament to start ordering people around. So that leaves Mike I.

Tom slammed them for their menu creation, but I think that had a lot to do with team selection. Jen is the seafood chef, Kevin is the meat chef, Mike I. isn't as good as either of them, and they all knew it. Jen wanted to cook fish, Kevin wanted to cook pork, and there was no way the Rupert-trained Jen was going to cook a heavier dish than competition-BBQ Kevin. If they were each doing two dishes, Kevin's had to follow Jen's. With two fish and two meat dishes, Mike I. had to do appetizers. So lack of leadership hurt them from the very beginning. With everyone doing what they were most comfortable with, they naturally ended up with a Mike-Jen-Kevin sequence.

[Ryan]

Interesting episode, I thought surely Jen was heading home - fancy editing huh? As for the likely vegetarian challenge, that should be pretty interesting to see what people come up with. And to those who are worried about Kevin cooking veggies, he does a fantastic vegetarian tasting menu at his restaurant that is (in my opinion at least) on par with his meat based tasting menu.

[garik16]

@Altoids, they still could have compensated:

For example, Jen does a Fish Appetizer and Fish Entree, Kevin does a Meat Appetizer and Meat Entree, Laurine and Mike I do Desserts.

I mean, Laurine was a caterer so she had to have some dessert credential and this way you stagger everyone else's dishes. Also with Mike doing just one dish, he could help the other two with their dishes, and Laurine could make sure that FoH would be going well before she really put together most of the effort in her dessert.

[Independent George]

Did any body else have a problem with Colicchio faulting Team Misssion for not doing a dessert, when, last season, he specifically praised Hosea for not doing a dessert in the finals?

On paper, their plan made perfect sense: dessert is typically the weakest link in Restaurant wars, so skipping it allowed their big guns to play to their strengths. Kevin gets to do two meat dishes, Jennifer gets to do two fish dishes, while Mike & Laurine just have to hold on. I actually thought they were going to win easily when they showed the planning stages.

It wasn't until I read Colicchio's blog that I realized how obvious the flaws were. If both fish courses and both meat courses have to go out at the same time, then of course they shouldn't both be prepared by the same chef. And if you skip dessert, of course you're going to be pressed for time, because you can't just prepare them and let them sit like you would a dessert.

I didn't pick up on it because I have no idea how a restaurant operates. I'm just so shocked that nobody on the team caught it - particularly Jennifer, who was so precise in the Air Force challenge.

[òste e còc]

Kev’lork of the Atlantaysian Clan may have lost 20 hit points after his failed RW cooking guild quest but hopefully he can pick up a dwarven executioner’s mace and leafweave leather cloak on the next mission. Jen’s chest-thumping quick-consommé (and cleaning/portioning trout) attempt might work in Terabithia’s solar system, but not in 3 pouting Earth hours. She must have been wearing those Bad Idea denim chef pants.

Kudos to MV for the cromesquis appellation, though it best be creamy inside.

[Shelly]

I have to say I was impressed with Mike V. It doesn't matter to me if he was aggressive and dominating and a bit of a dick, he was leading a team of forceful people and I think he did a good job, which showed in the results. What he did was what the other team needed.

Laurine has had a losing attitude for a while. In her exit interview she says she'd only have lasted a couple more episodes at most. Then she has the nerve to say Robin should have gone home before her. Whatever their cooking levels (and Laurine really shouldn't be dissing Robin's), Robin is at least still fighting. Laurine had already decided she was a loser. She got herself knocked off the show.

Now Jen has me very worried for similar reasons. Previews show that she still hasn't reclaimed her self-confidence. I know that these things can turn on a dime, and if she gets it back she'll be fine the rest of the competition. I just hope something turns around for her.

[jh]

Mike. Salt. Again.

[timothy]

So, I have a cooking question. What is the difference between poaching a fish in oil and frying? Is the oil poached fish at a lower temperature? That QF olive oil was up to a boiling point, so if Kevin dropped the sable fish in, why would that not have been frying? Just curious.

[Neil]

I think Mike V. has demonstrated he is one of the more dynamic contestants on the show. He seems to be a rising star in the culinary world as well, having worked in some impressive positions garnering great recognition at those places, including earning a Michelin star while serving as executive chef of Charlie Palmer's restaurant. I also saw somewhere that both Hung and Marcel, a former winner and former runner-up, have worked UNDER him in various places and were the ones who encouraged him to do the show. He's proven to exhibit the most range and the most creativity, yet still being French classically trained. The finals could provide him with a real stage to show off, as I think we saw with his two dishes this week. Also, I think his segment with the editing was actually sarcasm, even Ash points him out as being pretty humorous in his exit interview...I guess we just don't see it.

Kevin, even though he lost, still seems to be a real front-runner, putting out the best dish for his team. However, I have to wonder how far he can stretch his comfort zone, as I'm sure the path to the finals will require. Same goes for Jen who seems to be on a slippery slope. If she doesn't getting a handle on the mental aspect of the competition more than anything else, she could start a real downward slide.

[Dawn]

"Did any body else have a problem with Colicchio faulting Team Misssion for not doing a dessert, when, last season, he specifically praised Hosea for not doing a dessert in the finals?"

Having recently watched that episode, it befuddled me how different Tom's stance on the subject was then & now. It shows how fickle the judges could be. While I personally don't like when an individual/a team decides to skip dessert, I wouldn't fault them for doing so seeing as how desserts on Top Chef have fared in the past.

"I don't just want our Top 4 to survive, I want them to thrive. I want to be blown away."

Oh, I agree. Whole-heartedly. Might make for a predictable & boring season, but the pay-off would be an awesome, drool-worthy top four finale. I want them to dominate & crush their competitors. I want them to be the AWESOME FOURSOME; complete with capes & golden cooking utensils.

"Interestingly, I think that for a lot of us here, it was the Air Force episode that really got us to love Jennifer - and what their team needed most was someone to organize the kitchen, set the menu, and expedite the dishes. Was it a case of too much respect, maybe?"

It was for me. She gained SO MUCH of my respect from that episode and others here as well, I'm sure. I mean, someone created the Jennifer Norris meme, forgodsakes!!! I remember specifically almost EVERYONE thought that she'll kick ass in Restaurant Wars, or at least has the potential to be. Never has a build-up for such greatness resulted in such failure. *Le sigh*

You know, a couple of episode back, I think starting with the Penn & Teller episode, I kind of enjoyed seeing Jen frazzled. It humanizes her & shows some of her vulnerabilities. Not to mention, she's rather adorable while being insecure, i.e running from Tom. Something I appreciate being shown as many people 'complained' that she's too robotic/ lacked emotions etc. But now, I just wish she could bounce back & be the badass chef she was at the start of the competition. I missed that Jennifer.

[babyarm]

I wasn't going to be the one to mention it first, but it's obvious they have shot the finale. Lisagate taught me enough to be able to spot those clues. It's not certain anymore that just making final 8 gets you a trip to the final destination, but it's at least worth monitoring.

Anyone else find it endearing that they make a breakfast for eachother every day. Better than watching Arianne slurp down oatmeal.

It's also funny they haven't released any episode details since dumping out 4 of them a month and a half ago.

[natmicstef]

I didn't see anything from Michael V that should have made Bryan so ticked off at the end; throwing the money back, figuratively, was mean; but they are brothers and according to Kevin, bicker non stop so I guess we shouldn't be surprised. I really felt that Laurine was a victim of cumulative judging; they just couldn't bear to throw off a superior chef for one less so.

Robin tried really hard to create some camaraderie at Restaurant Depot when she jokingly pushed around Laurine..unfortunately it didn't work but it was nice to see Robin and Eli put their feelings aside and work for the team.

I too, would like to know how poaching fish in oil would work.

[Karen]

Wow, Bryan really acted like a brat last night. Guess he REALLY hates having his little brother beat him. Hasn't he realized yet that the judges don't know or care about their kitchen behavior as long as great food is presented?

[suzanne]

I didn't find Tom's comments about the lack of dessert surprising at all.

I think there is a difference between skipping dessert at the finale vs. skipping it for a "restaurant opening." In the former, you're serving judges, and the focus is on making "the meal of your life." At the latter, you're also serving "patrons," the focus is on pleasing both them and the judges, and many customers expect dessert.

[EdT.]

Dom - I think Kevin's "anger" was a mixture of emotions: anger at himself for screwing up, guilt that his screwing up may have been partially responsible for Laurine's being sent home, shame for failing his team (in various ways, including failing to take leadership action when it was needed), as well as empathy for Jennifer (who I thought was going to have a nervous breakdown.) Kevin's "I don't want to talk about it" was a great line, though.

As far as Michael V's edit, was that him, or Bryan? I got the feeling that Bryan was being the pushy one (the one that Robin pushed back on), and certainly in the Stew Room he got the a-hole edit.

BTW, I was *so* glad to see the RvE drama die off, and to see Robin standing up to herself. I still don't see her winning (or even making the finals), but seriously if Ash had showed the cojones she displayed, he might have still been around.

~EdT.