Skillet Doux

Range Rage

It's Bolognese Sunday... the best kind of Sunday™. Which is always great. Especially when it's the inaugural Bolognese Sunday of a new home. But as I start encircling the new range with bowls, bottles and cans of mise, I'm forced to ask a question:

Who the hell designed this?

I'd like to know so I can "thank" him.

Really, what kind of designer, when given a 30x22" space in which to work, says to himself, "I know, self... rather than running the knobs up the length of the cooktop, let's stack them side-by-side to take up as much real estate as possible, and then cram all four burners into an 18" square so that using a plain old pot or 12" fry pan on the big burner knocks all of the others out of commission."

I mean, at the VERY least, wouldn't you shift the big burner an inch or two the right and, you know, actually utilize some of that vast region of unexplored space in the upper right corner so maybe you only lose that little simmer burner, leaving just enough room for another medium-sized pan on the bottom left and maybe a little one on the top left? And what's with all of the dead space, anyway? Is it being reserved for future burner expansion? Because I'm pretty sure this thing isn't modular. Or is that where they put the bud vase in the promotional photos?

Ahhh... I see Whirlpool was founded in 1911. I guess these are the kinds of little kinks it takes a company a century to iron out.

Top Chef - Season 6 Postmortem

Well, that was one for the ages.

Though it ended -- again -- in less than satisfying fashion (the structure, not the result), season six was still a barnburner, and I feel pretty comfortable calling it my favorite of the series thus far. A big jump in collective talent paired with a good deal of restraint when it came to wacky challenges fulfilled the food nerds' wishes... up until the finale.

Because I'd like to finish with the positive, let's get this out of the way. I thought the finale was a clunker. Once upon a time, the finalists were set loose to cook "the meal of their lives." It was a great sentiment. You've survived a full season of tough competition and wacky challenges, now give us your no-holds-barred best shot. Go! But as the series has gone on, the (in)famous Top Chef "twists" have slowly worked their way into the last episode, until you're left with the modern three ring circus Top Chef Finale. Random sous chef assignment from a broad range of talents (and lack thereof)! Mystery box of ingredients! Mom's on your doorstep! Surprise course with a theme! You must make dessert! Individually, they range from largely innocuous to potentially unbalancing, but when all thrown into the same four course meal, they pretty much make the old mandate -- the meal of the chef's lives -- an exercise in futility. Even if they successfully navigate all of the roadblocks and turn out good dishes, how can they be expected to produce any kind of a cohesive menu from such chaos?

What made it especially galling this season, and the reasons I reacted so strongly a few days ago, are twofold. First, the sous chef knife block draw. I don't mean to suggest that what transpired in any way delegitimizes the results. Absolutely not. BUT, the fact is that they were subjected to a process that could have -- and may have! -- immediately put one of them at a very significant disadvantage or advantage. As terrible as pulling the sous chefs without notice was in season four, at least that disadvantage was evenly applied. And though we've had sous chef selections before, those involved a narrower range of talent and some level of selection on the part of the chefs. And again, if the shenanigans end there, it's largely a non-issue. But as a contributing factor, it struck me as especially ridiculous. Second, and I think this is why the finale really got my goat, was the issue of potential. Here you had an incredible collection of talent -- three guys who, if totally cut loose, could have produced three incredible menus of wildly disparate yet mature styles. Do we know for certain that this would have happened in a completely open format? Of course not. But it sure seems a lot more likely, doesn't it? As anybody who watched the Top Chef Masters finale can attest, there's nothing more exciting than watching great chefs express their vision with no holds barred. The Top Chef Masters finale was one of the best in the history of the Top Chef franchise. Maybe THE best. That's what we could have and should have gotten. Instead, we got an episode that, to me, barely ranks in the top third of season six alone.

My conclusion? If this is how the finale is going to be (it wasn't always this way), they need to drop this pretense of it being a "show us your best" ultimate challenge. It's not the big kahuna. It's not an opportunity for them to express their vision. It's not their best shot. It's two episodes -- quickfires and eliminations -- crammed into one with a little extra pomp and circumstance. Nothing more. Of course, my preference would be a return to the purer finale format (it was never totally pure, but it started out a heckuva lot closer). It seems to me that despite the claims that they have to make interesting television, the more compelling material has always come from the chefs themselves, not from whatever goofy situations they were put in. And though it's been a long time since I've seen some of them, I think my favorite finale is still season one where, after some sous chef selection shenanigans, Harold and Tiffani really and truly were set loose to make the best meal they could. And it resulted in a beautiful and illuminating contrast of their styles and talents -- far more interesting, in a finale context, than what they might do with a mystery box or how they might react when their moms show up. And it's doubly disappointing for me because it means that Lee Anne -- whose tenure as culinary director coincided, not accidentally I think, with a marked improvement in the quality of the challenges -- having defended the format of the finale, leaves on a sour note.

Setting that aside, however, since it seems to have been the grand exception for somebody who has always championed food before reality, I'm still incredibly sad to see Lee Anne go. As just mentioned, it appears that she's had a very positive impact on the past few seasons -- potentially a very, very significant one -- and historically speaking, I've always looked to her blog as one of the most illuminating. You can't pull a chef out of the kitchen for too long, however, and her recent writings seem to suggest that one of her culinary team protégés has been groomed as her successor, so hopefully we'll continue to see mostly smart, compelling challenges and a stunning selection of tools and raw materials as we go to season seven.

I told myself I wasn't going to let the season postmortem be dominated by the finale, and it looks like it's a little too late for that. but it's also important to talk about how much went right this season. The problem is, we've said so much of it already. This was an incredible collection of talent that was a joy to watch in the kitchen. The challenges allowed them to flex their muscles and diminished the chances of ridiculous, freak eliminations. The judges -- THE JUDGES -- how better to put the focus on the food than having panels like those in the French standards episode, or the Bocuse d'Or challenge? The Robin drama was unfortunate -- did anybody really consider that compelling television? -- but I found the camaraderie and (mostly) support of this season's cast far more enjoyable to watch than the constant backbiting and high school antics of some seasons past. This is a food blog. You guys are reading a food blog. Maybe we're in the minority, I don't know. But really, if any magical elves are reading, more of this, please. To think... with an elegant coda, season six could have -- no, no... not going back there.

And with that, we'll wrap up season six here at Skillet Doux. From the look of things, season seven is going to be hot on season six's heels, with more Masters crammed in between. But it'll be back to business as usual around these parts, at least for a little while.

Once again, thanks to everybody for participating. I continue to try to make this a place for smart discussion of a show with which we're all embarrassingly obsessed, and that's as much if not more a factor of the nature of your participation than it is the result of my setup. Hope you all stick around in the "offseason," but if not, I look forward to season seven!

Top Chef - S6E13 Power Rankings

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
There's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself... thanks!

And so, it comes down to three. The right three, no less. This is the culmination of what it's hard to refute is, culinarily speaking, the strongest season to date. The contestant just eliminated, according to Gail, was the strongest female chef the series has seen.

So the question becomes, who has the edge in the freeform "give us your best shot" finale?

The recipe for Top Chef success has, to my mind, remained fairly constant since the show's inception. Over the course of the season, the game changes a little bit -- morphs slowly, as it were -- especially so as we head into the finals. In the early stages, it's all about technique. Who can cook a piece of beef, who can make a simple sauce, who can season their food, and who can't? In the early running, it doesn't really matter what you make. As long as you make it well, you'll stick around. Then, as the folks who are lacking in the skills department are slowly picked off, creativity comes more into play. Who can do interesting things with their skills? Who can combine flavors and textures to make their food notable and compelling? Who can surprise and delight the judges? The contestants who have a hard time using their creativity to adapt to the challenge at hand, or those who find themselves mimicing those around them are usually the next to go. But now, we're at the very end. At this point, it should be established that everybody who's still standing can do interesting things and do them well (if, sometimes, with varying degrees of consistency). So in a season when the finale is chock-full of creative, talented chefs, how do you distinguish between them? Perhaps more than in any previous season, I'd have thought we'd hear talk of the final element -- that thing that puts a winner over the top. And that is, which chef is executing a mature, personal style? For those who see artistry in cooking rather than simply a highly-honed craft (though we won't start that old debate right now), the question becomes which chefs sometimes produce art, and which are artists, with a strong and clearly-defined voice? It's no longer enough to make a great dish. Everybody will (should) be making great dishes. It has to be a great Kevin dish, or a great Michael dish, and the judges will want to feel as though they could recognize it anywhere. In the finale, they're going to be looking to name a winner who isn't just good, but who is also unique.

At least that's how it's always been.

But something this past week made me wonder. The judges were incredibly picky. Exceedingly picky. With such a strong field, it's almost as though they raised the bar so high that even the tiniest misstep could simply take you out of contention. So will the winner be the one who manages not to make even the tiniest mistake? Will the title go to the master technician rather than the master visionary? I'm really not sure. Before this past episode, I would have called it effectively a two-horse race with a potential spoiler. Bryan makes great food, yes, but Kevin and Michael have been the ones with a clear voice, an identifiable style, and the wow factor. This week, Mike put out two dishes that twisted and thrilled the judges' brains. Kevin blew them away by doing so much with so little in his vegetarian dish. But who won? The guy whose work was seemingly less interesting, but closer to flawless. And to me, that throws everything into question.

It also makes the finale a whole lot harder to handicap. But let's do this. Let's presume, for a moment, that all three bring their A game tonight, and let's look at what they've done over the course of the season to wow the judges:

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Kevin Quickfires 4 7 0 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 5 9 1 Kevin announced himself early, winning the inaugural elimination challenge with his oil-poached arctic char with turnip salsa verde. To go with his escargot, he made a candied bacon jam that Tom set upon reverse-engineering the moment he returned home. After a small stumble with mole, he took the bull by the horns and won with a deconstructed version of the one of the world's most complex sauces. Late in the season, he went on a tear, bringing out simple flavors left and right, winning with his pork pate and vegetarian dish. And in the Bocuse d'Or challenge, though his dish wasn't the most interesting, he won for executing it perfectly (sense a theme, here?). Kevin makes food that plays simple and rustic but has a lot going on under the hood, and simply tastes great. It's a style that might be called conservative when compared to previous winners, but it's also a style that, in terms of culinary trends, is approaching or at its apex of popularity, and we've never had anybody execute it at this level.

2 Michael V. Quickfires 2 4 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 3 9 1 Michael's history this season has been a mix of bold failures and mind-blowing successes, sometimes within the same dish. He rocked episode two, getting one win and a heap of raised eyebrows for his nitro gazpacho and his apple and goat cheese sorbets. For the Air Force challenge, he was operating on a different plane, turning out a dish far more sophisticated in appearance than the judges thought possible given the constraints. His mustard noodles wowed the French luminaries, his dashi with miso-cured black cod stood out on the ranch amid cowboy fare, and his deconstructed Caesar was praised for its incredible precision. He dominated restaurant wars, pulling off a pair of dishes that wowed the judges and anchored what Tom called the best RW showing to date. He did wild things with chicken wings, the right simple things with grape leaves and vines, and he produced a couple of near misses that still left the judges wide-eyed. Michael's the wild man who brings shock and awe and delights even the most jaded palates. He makes believers of judges who might ordinarily be suspicious of his style of cuisine. When he's on, he's ON.

3 Bryan Quickfires 0 3 3 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 4 8 0 Bryan, to me, is the enigma. There's no questioning his talent. But he started out with some Michael-esque wow factor before slowly drifting into a more quiet excellence. His early-season successes, like his sweet and sour guacamole macaroon and meat-glued trout with deconstructed Hollandaise had Tom swooning. Then, all of a sudden, it's like he switched gears, going more traditional and winning at the cowboy cookout before leaving the winner's circle for a long time, reemerging only this week with very straightforward dishes that were executed almost flawlessly. Which chef is he? Which one shows up in the finale? The reason I still can't put him above Michael is that I'm still not sure, and the "zany technique with traditional flavors" angle that he was rocking early in the season seems to have fallen by the wayside, and wins or no wins, the judges haven't seemed as excited about his food since episodes two and four. He hasn't showed that easily pigeonholed style in weeks. And yet, there he is, winning the first part of the finale if not on style, then on points. What to think?

4 Jennifer C. Quickfires 4 6 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 5 3 Wow, I can't remember the last time somebody seemed to devastated on their way out the door. I'm not talking simply a matter of water works, but the look of somebody who is really, truly struggling with the fact that she went home when she did. It's hard to watch. But it's also hard to argue that if one of the four horsemen had to be left out of the finale, it shouldn't have been her. That midseason lull was long and brutal, and she never quite seemed to hit the heights of the other three. But it's also amazing to consider that despite that, she might've been considered the favorite three or four out of six seasons. It only further illustrates the strength of this season's class. But that's the downside of having such a great collection of chefs. Except for one, all of them have to go home at some point.

No divining details from the previews this week. I just want to see this one play out. But I'm intensely curious about how it will. I feel like I don't know which angle the judges will take. If they take that route that they have so many times before -- which chef is articulating a mature, personal vision? -- then it's a close call between Kevin and Michael, with the edge going to Kevin because of his remarkable consistency and greater culinary trends, despite the understanding that small slip-ups by either could tilt the balance. But if they judge like they did last week, where simply not making those small errors can allow you to win a TKO on points, then suddenly Bryan is right in the mix. And then there's the wildcard scenario, where the very technique-forward early season Bryan suddenly reappears, in which case it's a total toss-up no matter how they judge. The only thing certain, I think, is that it truly is anybody's game, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see any of the three walking home with the title.

So in what is rapidly becoming traditional fashion, no rooting for any chef in particular. Here's simply hoping that everybody truly gets in their best shot, and let the chips fall where they may.

Discuss!!!

Top Chef - S6E13 Postmortem

Okay, I take it back. I dug that elimination just fine.

I'm sure there will be much gnashing of teeth from some quarters, but the three I wanted to see in the finale are in the finale. I love that the spunk returned in full force, but if I had to pick one of the four to axe before this challenge, I'd have picked Jennifer.

Did I just hear Michael Chiarello say that he'd never had chevre and basil together? I must've misheard.

In general, what a pleasure it is to see everybody rocking. I mean, the judges clearly got ultrapicky because they had to. But it also seems clear that there wasn't a clunker in the house. I imagine it makes for a tough decision, but it sure is fun to see.

Gotta scoot... you guys talk.

Discuss!

Top Chef - S6E12 Power Rankings

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
There's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself... thanks!

Holy cow, the Bocuse d'Or challenge seems like a lifetime ago!

Maybe it's just me, between the usual craziness, a holiday weekend and some big news (with blog implications -- more on this shortly), but I think I managed to have a week or so in there where Top Chef didn't even cross my mind. Crazy, I know. And don't worry, I won't let it happen again.

I don't know how anybody could have not loved this episode. Anybody who isn't a food geek, anyway. You've got a couple of highly sophisticated challenges, some killer guests (including THE killer guest), some incredibly smart commentary, and the weak link is the one who put out a pretty mean-looking Lamb with Piquillo Canapés, Yogurt Foam, Carrot Puree, Arugula Coulis, and Date & Truffle Jus.

Which leads to the big news, of course, that being that our (mostly) season-long top four have, in fact, all survived to make a murderer's row for the finals. Even Jen, who looked like she had mentally thrown in the towel, managed to get her groove back. The coolest part? I almost don't care who goes home tonight. Yeah, I'd be sad if Kevin got the axe. But even if he does? Still a spectacular trio for the finale. Basically, no matter who's cut before the big dinner, we're guaranteed an incredible lineup next week. And that's really exciting.

Here's where I wrote a whole spiel on what puts a Top Chef winner over the... um... top. But somehow, it seemed that it would be more appropriate going into the finale. So let's do one more traditional Power Rankings before shifting gears a little bit for the final installment.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Kevin Quickfires 4 7 0 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 5 9 1 At one point in his blog this season, Blais had a good way of putting something I've tried to say before with a little less eloquence. Winning contestants on Top Chef are those who know how to mold the challenge to their style and skills (and even in paraphrasing him, I'm sure I've butchered the prose). This week couldn't have been a more perfect example. Working as somebody who produces simpler, at times rustic food in this crowd, surrounded by chefs who turn out highly refined and often flashy cuisine day in and day out, two challenges like these should have been his "oh s**t" moment -- a sharp stick aimed directly at the soft underbelly of an otherwise well-armored contestant. And yet he brought his skills and style to the table, and despite his shortcomings in an episode that challenged him, he made the elimination his and took home yet another win (not to mention some serious cash money). Bottom line, dude can't even screw up the stuff he's supposed to. No surprise here, number one again.

2 Michael V. Quickfires 1 3 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 3 9 1 Mike, on the other hand, managed to kind of screw up something he wasn't supposed to. Barring some quickfire intro footage we didn't get so see (read: my comment here is pretty much meaningless because of course there's critical information they're not showing us), I do kind of feel for Mike a bit on the quickfire. If he was going to be dinged for not producing a ballotine, he should have simply been told to make a ballotine. But it sounds like it was a solid dish. His performance in the elimination challenge was an interesting departure, not in terms of style, but in terms of quality. One of the big knocks on wild, flashy MG-influenced cuisine is that it's soulless and often lacking flavor. And while it's a lame generalization that doesn't apply to the mature practitioners of many of these new techniques, there's no denying that too many chefs get caught up in the style at the expense of substance. What has set Mike apart through much of this competition is that unlike previous MG-heavy chefs who have been magnets for that criticism, Mike's food has been not only flashy but delicious, regularly wowing the palates of judges who can see through the pizzazz. Perhaps he tried to do too much. Perhaps, for once, he got caught up in the flash. But this is the first time I can remember him being dinged for style over substance this season. A weakness going into the finals? Doubtful. Too strong of a track record. I'm keeping him at number two.

3 Bryan Quickfires 0 3 3 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 3 7 0 Why am I always at a loss for what to say about Bryan? Maybe because his techniques are grounded in such traditional flavors. I don't know. But after a few very conservative weeks, this episode seemed to mark the return of the wow, if only just a little bit of it. I still think he needs to recapture a little more of that early season playfulness if he wants to sneak past Mike and Kevin, but it's in there... and it would seem that the hiatus can only give him the opportunity to think a little more about bringing some really distinctive dishes to the table, and letting it all hang out in his final episode or two. Going forward, I bet we see more guacamole macaroon and deconstructed béarnaise, and fewer simple meats and purees. And I think it will serve him well.

4 Jennifer C. Quickfires 4 6 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 5 3 If she had another week of mojo-reclaiming before the finals, I might have had to consider her for number three. But after such a rough stretch, while I'm thrilled to see her back, all isn't forgiven just that quickly. What we've learned, though, is that our suspicions at the beginning of the season perhaps weren't so ridiculous. Of course, she can handle meat. She pulled down big props and nearly a win for her flat iron steak in the deconstruction challenge. But that's pretty much the extent of her meaty accolades. It took seafood to bring her back to the land of the living, and she came right out and said it herself. That's her strength. There are worse angles to take to the finals than seafood specialist, and it's looking like she shouldn't be afraid to ride it out. When she's working with anything briny, she's Jennifer Norris again. I say don't fight it. Embrace it.

5 Eli Quickfires 2 3 2 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 0 4 2 He had his smartass moments, but Eli left with class. Of course, losing out to competition like this makes it easy to be gracious, I suppose, but it's nice to see that the cocky punk can tone it down and get serious about the experience and the opportunity he had and the respect for his fellow contestants when the situation calls for it. Really, going into this episode, Eli had to hope for one of two things. He had to hope that somebody blew it, or he had to hope that Jen continued her nosedive. But there's no shame in making it this far, and he knows it. And though it gets lost sometimes, it's worth noting that he's a very, very young chef. Of course, Kevin only has a year on Eli, but they can't all be Kevin now, can they? In any case, point being, it was Eli's time and he knew it and he can and does hold his head high on his way out the door.

It's time for Napa and the finals, baby!!! Here's where we get to laugh about how everybody watched themselves on TV, then went out and got a haircut. Let's see what's on deck...

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE THIRTEEN SPOILERS AHEAD

UGGGH... freaking catering challenge. And it sounds like a big one. Quickfire sounds great. Grape theme, Napa Valley, wine train... perfect. But 300 portions of two dishes in five hours with some kind of ingredient limitation? Mike says it. This is setting them up for failure. And even though I stand by my assertion that the finale will be great no matter who goes home, you hate to see somebody come so close to the final meal and then go down the way I'm sure somebody will end up going down. Then again, my preview pessimism has turned out to be mostly overblown this season. Here's hoping that trend continues.

Discuss!!!

Top Chef - S6E12 Postmortem

The four horsemen ride!

I will give the Magical Elves editors this much... though the ensuing discussion narrowed the field a bit, they definitely sent us to JT with the impression that anybody could go home. I wonder how close this actually was. Looking forward to the blogs (when the Bravo site is back up, that is).

Jen definitely got exactly what she needed to break out of her slump. Kevin did his thing and knocked it out of the park (I know, I know, me of little faith). Unusual to see Bryan stumble on an EC like that. The fact that the judges found Mike's flat elements out of character for him says a lot, I think. And Eli...

Most importantly, perhaps, how awesome to see Thomas Keller? With the finale in Napa, here's hoping we get to see some more of him.

I'm still annoyed by episodes 9-11 Jen, but I'm feeling a little better with her getting her groove back a bit. It'll be interesting to see who shows up at the finals. Could it come down to whether or not she can stay in her comfort zone?

In any case, I feel pretty comfortable saying that this looks like the strongest set of contestants for the finals we've seen, and no matter who gets the axe next episode, the remaining three will make one helluva finale.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, folks... and thanks to Kevin for not screwing it up :-)

Discuss!

Top Chef - S6E11 Power Rankings

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
There's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself... thanks!

Well, that's a load off.

No ill will, but I'm glad Robin's gone. No more distractions, no more drama, the least capable (IMHO) contestant gets the boot... no complaints.

Of course, it couldn't happen without minor controversy.

Like a lot of other people, I thought Eli was toast. But sometimes even I forget that that confusion is exactly what the editors are shooting for. If it isn't a close call, there's no suspense. If there's no suspense, the editors get fired. Robin returned to the stew room looking a lot more weepy than she did during the clips we were shown. She seemed to know it was coming. Anybody else wonder if she got a harsher grilling that didn't make the cut because they wanted us wondering who would get the axe? I've said it before, and I suppose I don't have any real reason to believe it other than the fact that I do, but I pretty much trust the Top Chef judges. The editors, however? Anytime something looks a little funny, I'm more inclined to believe it was the editors working the kind of misdirection that we know they do all the time rather than judging shenanigans. Can't prove it, won't try. That's just my gut after spending waaaaaaaaay too much time analyzing this show.

It's also worth noting that while Tom had some harsh words for Eli at JT, he actually seemed to find some positives in the dish. One thing I've noticed is that Tom tends to get harsher and a little hyperbolic if he feels like a contestant isn't taking the criticism. If he dislikes Chef A's dish more than Chef B's dish, but Chef A is deferential and accepting of his criticism while Chef B fights him on it a bit, he's going to say nastier things about Chef B's dish. And I suspect that might be what happened here.

Which reminds me, anytime you guys want to release the unedited JT footage on the website, Bravo, that'd be fine by me. (Hey, gotta have a dream, right?)

I'm a little disappointed by how timid the chefs were with the quickfire challenge. As Blais put it in his blog this week, it's almost the finals and those who have it are holding the ball a little closer, trying not to fumble. But still, it's a little annoying to see so many of them fall into basic breakfast standbys, especially since it was a staggered start and at least four -- if not all -- of them had plenty of time to think about what they were going to do.

I have a little less to say this week than usual. Partly, I think, because we know where everybody stands at this point and we're pretty much just running out the clock on the finals and waiting to see if somebody happens to stumble. Partly because Bravo didn't post the elimination recipes this week (annoying). And partly because I don't know thing one about Nigella Lawson.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Kevin Quickfires 4 7 0 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 4 8 1 What's to say? Kevin keeps rocking. Actually, what's notable is that two top finishes is looking like an off week for him at this point. His quickfire wasn't exactly inspired, but it certainly looked good and he did seem to pay particular care to his ingredients. A coffee dusting on a seared meat is something I've seen a number of times at dinner, but of course, breakfast is where it would seem to make the most sense, so that was nice to see. His elimination? Eh, sounds good. Hard to say. I'm a little surprised by how lost I feel without a recipe to look at. In any case, no reason to shuffle anything around.

2 Michael V. Quickfires 1 3 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 3 9 1 A quick note from the fun stats department: for those who feel that Kevin is so obviously the cream of the crop, let's note that if you're also in the camp that gives more weight to eliminations than to quickfires, Mike only has one fewer elimination win than Kevin, and he actually has one more appearance on the top. But as usual, numbers aside, these two are the only ones who it would devastate me to lose before the finale. If they're both at peak, I have no idea how the judges choose between them. They're just so incredibly different. It's clear to me that the quickfire isn't so much Mike's thing, and he shows it again this week. His "Huevos Cubana" struck me as kind of a dumbed-down Latin lite, which may have been due to pantry restraints, but I'm not impressed, nonetheless. His elimination looked awesome, though, even if his thematic explanation was a bit of a stretch. Heck, even he seemed to think so. "My inspiration was New York, New York. Chicken wings, New York, firefighters, it's probably something they like to eat." I'd say that "probably" pretty much closes the book on whether it was genuine inspiration or a stretch. No matter, though. Even if you have to shoehorn the theme a bit, cook good food. And he did. It's funny because right about this time last year, I had another upscale repackaging of buffalo wings with blue cheese that didn't impress me much. It was delicious and made with incredible care, but once you got it to your mouth, it played exactly like buffalo wings. My complaint at the time was that it didn't bring anything to the table other than an unusual level of refinement (though I must confess that the Budweiser foam was a nice touch). Mike's dish, however, between the braised-then-crisped chicken and the antigriddled blue cheese dressing, wasn't just elevating the familiar, but also taking it in a bit of a new direction. I'd love to taste this one. I'd also love everybody else to taste it just to prove that frozen blue cheese can be delicious. For an Iron Chef many years ago, I tried making a blue cheese sorbet that was absolutely fantastic coming out of the ice cream machine, but after sitting in the freezer for about 30 minutes -- for reasons I can't explain -- something happened and it turned foul. I've spent the last six and a half years insisting to dubious friends that it WAS delicious, if only for a little while.

3 Bryan Quickfires 0 3 3 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 3 7 0 Bryan's one of those guys who's been playing it a little close to the vest as we get down to the wire here, and I really hope he's planning on busting it all out in the next episode or two. I was a little surprised that Nigella was all over him for the vanilla. It isn't as though breakfast doesn't routinely have a dessert-like flair. Heck, go to most popular brunch places and at least three of the breakfast entrees ARE desserts. And I'm a savory breakfast guy. But even I think of vanilla as a good pairing for crab. Ah, well, didn't taste it. I'd love to know some of the details of his elimination dish, but... well... you know.

4 Eli Quickfires 2 3 2 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 0 4 2 I have to say, Eli's making me happy that I kicked him up to number four. First off, I love the quickfire. He pan-fried some rye bread in butter to substitute for the muffin, tossed some corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss under his egg, and hit his hollandaise with a little ketchup and sweet relish. It isn't rocket science, but it was smart and fun and looks like my kind of breakfast. The elimination looked... um... a little too fun. But I'm loving the effort at this point, and I can see how the judges reached their decision. I'd rather see somebody fall on their face trying to shoot the moon with a little wit and creativity and let them live to see another day than give a pass to somebody who botches something uninspired. I still don't think Eli has a prayer of winning this thing, but I like the fact that he's still around.

5 Jennifer C. Quickfires 3 5 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 5 3 What seemed completely unthinkable four or five weeks ago has finally come to pass. No, Jennifer hasn't been eliminated (yet), but perhaps more remarkably, I found myself not caring whether or not she survived. Of course, her survival was never in question. Her kinda-tough chunk of beef was going up against two train wrecks. For those wondering how she made the creamed chipped beef interesting? She didn't. Dried chipped beef in a bare bones bechamel of flour, butter and milk. The most interesting thing she did was put a tomato that had been roasted with Herbes de Provence on the side. Between that and the chunk of beef with red wine beurre monté... is she even trying, anymore? If she survives next week -- and she really doesn't deserve to at this point -- I sincerely hope she takes the break before the finals to get her head back in the game, so to speak, because she looks like she just doesn't care at this point and it's almost starting to get a little insulting. Have you ever played a casual pick-up game of some kind, where people have varying levels of ability, but everybody has a friendly competitive spirit and tries their best, except for the one killjoy who just kind of stands around, acts like he has better things to do and doesn't even bother trying? That's Jen right now. And I know that sounds a little harsh. I realize this show is some seriously grueling business. But still, watching Eli excitedly fail at his enthusiastic circus freak show while Jen sticks a toothpick in a chunk of beef only hammers home that it's no fun watching competitors who aren't especially interested in competing.

6 Robin Quickfires 1 1 5 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 0 1 4 At this point, I think we've said pretty much all we can say about Robin, probably ten times over. I don't want to come down too hard on Robin because she was very gracious in defeat, but contrary to what she seems to think, I don't think sabotaging herself and trying to do things that weren't in her comfort zone was her only problem. Take this week. For the elimination, sure, if panna cotta and sugar work isn't your thing, don't do panna cotta and sugar work (though I'm a little puzzled by her explanation that the reason her sugar glass failed was the humidity... in Vegas). The quickfire, however? She claimed it as one of her specialties and it still failed to impress. My sense is that Robin's probably a pretty good cook with a pretty narrow range, which works great when you're running a little restaurant of your own and not as great when you're routinely thrown into different situations in a cooking competition. In any case, if she had hung around one more episode it might've gotten even more ugly, and for that reason this week was a little sigh of relief.

That was a pain. Is this what it's always like for people who don't read the recipes?

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE TWELVE SPOILERS AHEAD

The quickfire, okay, protein inside a protein inside a protein. It's Thanksgiving. Turducken. It's a little fun. It looks like some of our chefs are going the ballotine route, which -- as noted -- is kind of a challenge in 90 minutes. So we'll see which strategies play out. Anybody betting against pork for Kevin?

If the editors are trying to scare the crap out of me with the preview, they're succeeding. The precise nature of the elimination challenge isn't exactly clear. But it's "based" on the Bocuse d'Or, and the guest judges are Jerome Bocuse and Thomas Keller, who... you know... isn't a stickler for perfection or anything. So I think it's safe to assume that this is going to be all about absolutely perfect, precise execution in the most classical sense. Which is scary for some people. I'm not too worried for Mike and Jen, not least of which because they rocked the French challenge together a while back. Bryan wouldn't worry me except that he's apparently attempting a ten hour braise in four hours, and Keller doesn't strike me as the type who's going to be too sympathetic for trying something he shouldn't have if it doesn't work out. It's scary for Eli since he hasn't been the most technically proficient of those remaining, and he couldn't even do a Sauce Américaine. But I'm scared out of my mind for Kevin. His flavors are sophisticated and carefully developed, sure, but classical technique, razor-sharp precision and a high level of refinement aren't exactly his hallmarks. Add to this that he picks NOW to break out the immersion circulator(!), and while I tell myself again and again not to let the magical elves edit me into a panic... well... I'm panicking.

Wednesday's my birthday. For my birthday this year, I'd like Kevin to survive.

Discuss!!!

Top Chef - S6E11 Postmortem

Yow... I figured Robin was one elimination away from the finals. I'm a little surprised. I'll be curious to see what the blogs have to say.

I like to see Mike hitting big on another wacky dish. Mike v. Kevin is what I'm most excited to see in the finale. There are some fun potential spoilers left, but for me, that's where it's at now.

It's been far too long since I visited Vegas. Which I realize was exactly the point. And I feel dirty for falling for it. But it's still been too long since I visited Vegas.

You guys take over... gotta scoot... rankings Monday, I hope.

Discuss!

Top Chef - S6E10 Power Rankings

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
There's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself... thanks!

We're getting down to the wire. Hard to believe, but two more eliminations and it's off to the finals. Of course, you'd feel better if everybody were performing a little better this close to the end, but hey, everybody has their off days.

I really found this episode kind of ehh. I'm sure I'm not alone. And I don't mean from a structural standpoint. A simple high-concept themed quickfire and a simple restriction elimination. No reason everybody shouldn't have rocked. But a certain collective malaise seemed to have overtaken the field. But hey, it's been a long haul, they've been sequestered for about three weeks at this point and they're probably all wrecked. But hopefully this is where the adrenaline of the final push the finals will take over and we'll see some great stuff in the next two episodes.

Much has been made, both here and in the judges' blogs, about the amount of surprise over the chefs' lackluster performance in the vegetarian challenge. I guess I'm surprised and I'm not. On one hand, it just seems odd that out of seven contestants, not a single one went the pasta route. But on the other hand, I wonder if the chefs almost thought that too obvious, as though they were concerned it might come across as too plain. Of course, if that's the case, in the process of pursuing flashy, some of them forgot good.

Oddly, I feel like I don't have much to add this week. At this point, it becomes a question of whether our top four(?) survive the next two episodes. Promises to be interesting.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Kevin Quickfires 4 6 0 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 4 7 1 We've been saying for a long time now that it's really a toss-up among the top crowd, but as this thing wears on, Kevin seems to actually be putting a little space between himself and the rest of the top group. This week, he pulls off the rare and coveted double win. His quickfire dish was pretty darn straightforward, with just a couple of subtle touches of class on a simple dinner that must've been perfectly executed. His meatballs were a beef/lamb/pork blend that was seasoned with fennel pollen and cinnamon. The tomato sauce was pretty straightforward, though beefed up with a good deal of veal glace. The polenta was cheesy (cream cheese and pecorino) and creamy, the cauliflower was roasted and simply seasoned with rosemary, chiles and lemon, and the pears -- the least conventional component -- were glazed with honey, amaretto, cream, basil and grapefruit zest. His elimination dish, much as I love him, is one of the worst-looking plates we've seen this season. But he nailed it where it counts, in the flavor department, and this one looks like another great example of how his rustic-looking dishes are deceptively complex and layered. Mushrooms, turnips and kale. Mike V. certainly wasn't impressed with how it looked on the surface. But there's a lot of interest here. For starters, the mushrooms are handled two ways, the morels braised with butter, cream and lemon juice, and the hen of the woods sautéed with butter, celery and lemon. The turnips were similarly treated two ways, both as a puree and as roasted chunks, to maintain some additional textural interest. The kale was smoked before being cooked in butter, the pistou was done with pistachio, parsley and tarragon, and the whole thing was topped with a garlic syrup that starts out as caramel before he adds vinegar and reduces it. Again, it plays simple, but it isn't. And that's why Kevin isn't getting himself into trouble for playing it too safe. The people judging him can tell that there's a lot of layering and developing of flavors going on.

2 Michael V. Quickfires 1 3 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 2 8 1 Because of this, I can't really call Mike V. the anti-Kevin. If Kevin were one of these "take three ingredients, barely season them and roast them together" kind of guys, then I could draw a sharper contrast. Of course, I also don't think Kevin would have gotten very far cooking like that. But where Kevin excels at taking the familiar and making it unusually compelling from a flavor standpoint, Mike is one of those chefs who's really challenging brains as well as palates, and it makes them a great contrast going into the final episodes. That said, his quickfire dinner was an unusual exercise in creative restraint for Mike. Chicken fingers, almond cream, tomato coulis, spaghetti with cheese and cream, a cherry puff pastry, and nary a thickener to be seen. It also may be why he received no mention up or down. His elimination, however, challenged people. I'm still trying to get my head around banana and polenta. And his asparagus tips were blanched (simple enough) before being glazed in a mustard and kappa-carrageenan mix that apparently created some kind of a gel coating, and the dish was topped with some simple shaved asparagus and tomato seeds -- topped with an arugula and tarragon puree thickened with low acyl gellan gum. Hey, it works. In fact, Tom mentions in his blog this week that he initially wanted to give the win to Mike, but let the others talk him out of it. Bottom like, like Kevin, Mike still seems to be cruising, he's thrilling diners, and it'd be a big shock if he blew it and didn't make the finals (or the finale, for that matter).

3 Bryan Quickfires 0 3 2 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 3 6 0 Bryan just keeps on keepin' on, punctuating solid dishes with the occasional showstopper and using his thickeners and binders in a much more restrained manner than his little brother. His quickfire was also a rather tame meat and potatoes fare (well, okay, a little active RM snuck into the meatloaf and there was a touch of mirin in the apple tarte tatin), and his elimination dish was a mix of fennel, squash, zucchini, tomatoes and stewed artichokes that -- like Jennifer -- caught flack for its lack of body. Sounds like the judges were hungry, and the first fellow who gave them something substantial (and delicious) took home the prize. In any case, it's interesting to note that Bryan has been getting more and more conservative as the competition goes on. It's been multiple episodes now since he's broken out one of his funkier creations. Maybe he's feeling more confident and doesn't feel as though he needs to reach. Maybe he's running out of ideas. Maybe he's saving a few silver bullets for when he really needs them. I'm not really sure. But against Kevin and his brother, I think he's going to have to reclaim a little bit of that earlier wow factor to have a shot at winning.

4 Eli Quickfires 1 2 2 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 0 4 1 Wahey, what's this? There's an intruder in the top four! I'll elaborate on the reasons Jen's not here in a moment, but I want to take Eli's space to give him what I think is a well-deserved shout out for hanging in there against tough competition. Do I consider him a real contender? No, I don't. But I also don't want to take away the fact that even though he isn't pulling down wins, the judges have had some very nice things to say about his food. And this week was a great example. It might be tempting to write off his top elimination appearance this week as temporarily slipping past some stumbling competitors, and that's not entirely without merit, but that also overlooks the fact that it looks like a great dish that the judges seemed to view very favorably. My point is, just because he's now getting near the bottom, I don't want to seize that as an opportunity to smack him around for it. Fact is, it seems like the guy can cook some pretty good food. And with a little luck, he still might stick around for a while.

5 Jennifer C. Quickfires 3 5 3 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 1 5 2 I had to do it. I had to! Read the green italicized text right above Kevin's photo. She's not awesome right now, and she hasn't been for weeks. Since knocking out a nice broth in her joint dish with Kevin four episodes back, she snuck into the top on her pork belly and the rest has been bottom, bottom, bottom. In fact, at this point the only person who's been on the bottom more than her is Robin. Seriously! Even Eli has made two fewer bottom appearances! If we were to jumble up the episodes and ignore when she did what, I'd put Jen above Eli. In a competition like this, I'll almost always take peaks and valleys over steady competence. And I don't really think Eli is the chef Jen is (based on the limited window we get into their talents here). But for the Power Rankings, it's not enough to have done well weeks ago. Past performance will buoy you for a while, but after bottoming out three straight and four of the last five individual challenges (excluding the blindfold relay), I have to ding her. It wouldn't take much for her to reclaim that number four spot -- just a sign that she's getting her feet back under herself. But while I expected that rebound a couple of weeks ago, now I'm not so sure it's coming. I hate to say it, but as talented as she is, Jen looks so fried right now that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we end up sticking a fork in her before the finals.

6 Robin Quickfires 1 1 4 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 0 1 3 I touched on this in the postmortem comments a week and a half ago, but I want to go over it in an official capacity. I've drawn the Lisa comparison with Robin on a couple of occasions, but I don't mean it as a direct analogy. Perhaps evoking Lisa is too prejudicial of an action in this context and I just shouldn't go there. But allow me to explain. Despite the difficulty she seems to have with pulling tight, cohesive dishes together at times, I think Robin is a talented cook, and I think anybody who says otherwise either isn't paying attention or is getting caught up in hyperbole. She had a restaurant in Seattle that people loved, and the judges have -- on occasion -- had some very, very nice things to say about some of her dishes. When I draw the Lisa comparison, I simply mean that she's clearly outclassed, and while her skill has helped, it's also taken an awful lot of luck for her to get to this stage of the competition. As I said before, the difference between me and some of her fellow contestants is that I don't see this as a reason to make her an object of scorn. She's just trying to win like everybody else. But while she deserves a little respect for having survived so long, let's be realistic. She hasn't given us any reason to think she'll be around much longer.

7 Mike I. Quickfires 2 4 0 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 0 2 3 Aside from the fact that he clearly doesn't get along with Robin and isn't prepared to accept the possibility that her dish was better than his, Mike's exit interview was actually one of the more easygoing and humble ones we've seen. He knows that he screwed up his dish, he seems to know that he wasn't going all the way against this crowd anyway, and that if he didn't go home now, he would have gone home soon. And I have to say, on the recipe end his dish does look really flat, which is surprising given his background. It does seem like his problem may have been one of hubris, both this week and with his Greek salad back in episode three. Whatever, whatever, Robin won't make a better dish than me. It is what it is, Mike's handling the pork belly for us and I'll just throw together this stupid Greek salad on the side. But even that might be getting too deep into the armchair psychologist role. Bottom line is that he screwed up, and when you screw up, being allowed to stick around is a gift.

And looking forward to next week...

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE ELEVEN SPOILERS AHEAD

What is it about late-season breakfast challenges? Not that I'm complaining. So we have breakfast in bed for Padma and Nigella Lawson, a very short timeline, and a messy kitchen that gives everybody else one more reason (legitimate or not) to be annoyed by Robin.

The elimination looks like it's pretty much going to set the chefs loose -- after a Vegas travelogue, that is. Each dish is supposed to be inspired by a different casino, but it doesn't appear that they're putting any other restrictions on the chefs. And you know what that means. No excuses, and nobody but yourself to blame if you get sent home. With a challenge like this, I'd say it's finally Robin's time. But who knows...

Discuss!!!

Top Chef All Stars Dinner - Postmortem

Okay, I forgot how much I miss Stefan.

About 20 minutes in, I figured I'd probably better get a postmortem up on this one or there'd be reunion comments scattered all over the place :-)

Nothing like a little reminder of how tame the whole Robin vs. Everybody thing is in comparison to previous seasons.

This one's a little... uh... drama-centric, so I'm going to let you guys have at it.

Oh, and Fabio? The camera's never off.

Discuss!