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Top Chef Portland

Biff Tannen

By Biff Tannen
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Biff Tannen
Biff Tannen

The past four or so seasons have been very nice to watch because the chefs mostly stopped the bullshit drama and gamesmanship.  They all help each other and know that they have to out-chef the other p

DanRydell
DanRydell

If a component is left off any plate, every judge should have to remove that component so the dish can be fairly judged without it. If Dawn still had a better dish than Jaime without that component, f

kevwun
kevwun

It is usually closer than that.  I don't really remember one where you knew the other team didn't have a chance before they even served their first course.

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Nicole44

Nicole44 22197

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Spoiler

Penny was such a cluster. Sara even said that concept never works. No one spoke up and everyone was kinda in their own dish so much so that it was uncomfortable to watch. 

Definitely one of my favorite episodes so far because you can see the strengths in some of the chefs (stepping up) that you had not seen and also the glaring weaknesses in some chefs that you hadn’t seen up until now. I’m always jealous when I see a dish like the Pot and can’t have a bite along with the judges. 

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Nicole44

Nicole44 22197

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15 minutes ago, kevwun said:

It is usually closer than that.  I don't really remember one where you knew the other team didn't have a chance before they even served their first course.

Yep. This. From the concept to the name  it was just done. I admit I was a bit surprised at how inept (not with most of the dishes) the other team was during the service. Like they were freaked out and annoyed the judges were even there. Bizarre. 
 

Spoiler

Dawn had two amazing dishes but I thought did the team a disservice (Ha) by being literally unable to let any of the chefs know what the dishes would be so they could better plan a progression or a flavor profile. Gabe gave me a weird vibe during RW and maybe I am just projecting the rumors about sexual harassment being why he was fired but he did sort of take the helm for most of the ideas and insisted that they not really interact with the judges as to be respectful. It was Sara’s idea for the seaweed in the dessert and had Chris not made that I think he’d have gone home for the pasta. All of them were in their own bubble during the service and it was weird to watch. Jmo.

 

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idigTexas

idigTexas 2297

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22 hours ago, Nicole44 said:
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Penny was such a cluster. Sara even said that concept never works. No one spoke up and everyone was kinda in their own dish so much so that it was uncomfortable to watch. 

Definitely one of my favorite episodes so far because you can see the strengths in some of the chefs (stepping up) that you had not seen and also the glaring weaknesses in some chefs that you hadn’t seen up until now. I’m always jealous when I see a dish like the Pot and can’t have a bite along with the judges. 

I completely agree.  I knew which team was going to win as soon as they were determined.  David always beats Goliath in these things.  As much as I like Gabe, Sara, and Dawn, that was really fun to watch a true team effort take out a bunch of strong individuals with no game plan.  I was a bit surprised that Gabe did not take charge.

Based on editing before the dishes were served, I thought it was going to be Dawn going home, but once they tasted, she was obviously safe.  An argument could have been made for any of the other three, so I was hopeful that it would come down to body of work and that Chris would finally be shown the door.  Booooo.  Ultimately, Sara's "strong dish" was probably the weakest, and her "weak dish" likely was as well.  I haven't watched LCK yet, but I'll be pulling for her. 

It was nice to see Good Shota this week, and I was happy Maria brought it.  We'll see if she has truly turned a corner.  I prefer to see everyone do well, and have people go home for cooking really good food that was beaten by even better food.  That becomes more likely as the number of chefs dwindle.   

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Nicole44

Nicole44 22197

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11 minutes ago, DanRydell said:

It perpetually annoys me that Top Chef forces people to work as teams/duos but always rewards the best individual performance, even if you fuck over your teammates/partner.

Yep. I feel the same way. That’s great Dawn made two excellent dishes. The show is about the food after all. But no one in her team had the opportunity to plan a good progression for their dishes or to even tweak or change their dishes in terms of flavor profile because no one knew what she was making up until go time and no one had the opportunity to taste her dishes. I think Sara just made a bad dish BUT I feel confident if she had a fucking clue what Dawn was doing for her first dish Sara would have altered her own in some way or even scrapped that idea and maybe gone with a different approach to the halibut 

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idigTexas

idigTexas 2297

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9 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

All three should have gone home, but it was WAY past his turn. 

Yep.  Dude has more lives than a cat.  I don't know who taught him to make pasta, but they are likely in the witness protection program now.  It wasn't really clear to me how the recipes were being judged.  Tom even said that the person going home was leaving for making a bad dish, not the recipe.  Obviously pasta boy's recipe was one of the worst, so I assume it factored in to some extent. 

I will probably give the Amateurs things a chance, but shows of this nature tend to be too much personal story for me.  Just cook, dammit.  The inclusions of Top Chef alums may help me power through the fluff. 

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TonyTexas

TonyTexas 10571

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14 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

This elimination challenge is pretty cool though. 

 

And nice dress, Ms. Padma. 

Agree on both counts. The chefs should have known that the recipe tester angle was coming and kept it simple. If these dishes couldn’t be pulled of by highly skilled chefs, what chance does a home cook have. Actually, I would have preferred  the recipe tester be an amateur. The producers really missed an opportunity to promote the new show in an interesting way. 

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idigTexas

idigTexas 2297

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Maybe it's because tofu isn't really something that excites me, but that episode was merely "okay" for me.  I'll spoiler the rest for those who haven't caught up on LCK.
 

Spoiler

 

I've always been a bit on the fence about LCK.  On the one hand, you lost...pack your knives.  On the other, sometimes the dynamics of team challenges or inconsistent judging criteria get you unfairly eliminated.  I did like the opportunity for the remaining chefs to keep the LCK winner from returning, but in comparison, Jamie had a much easier path, which is all the more interesting because she ended up being the person to send Byron home.

If you are going to allow eliminated chefs an opportunity to return, I'd like to see it done a little more evenhandedly.  It has always bothered me that if you get eliminated late, you are done, while lesser chefs may get multiple chances to get back in it. 

 

 

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Nicole44

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2 hours ago, idigTexas said:

Maybe it's because tofu isn't really something that excites me, but that episode was merely "okay" for me.  I'll spoiler the rest for those who haven't caught up on LCK.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I've always been a bit on the fence about LCK.  On the one hand, you lost...pack your knives.  On the other, sometimes the dynamics of team challenges or inconsistent judging criteria get you unfairly eliminated.  I did like the opportunity for the remaining chefs to keep the LCK winner from returning, but in comparison, Jamie had a much easier path, which is all the more interesting because she ended up being the person to send Byron home.

If you are going to allow eliminated chefs an opportunity to return, I'd like to see it done a little more evenhandedly.  It has always bothered me that if you get eliminated late, you are done, while lesser chefs may get multiple chances to get back in it. 

 

 

I enjoyed the tofu elimination challenge if only for one reason. Richard Blais (during his initial season) used tofu in a cool way in an elimination challenge. Also, it was a great way of making a vegan meal "taste like" something non-vegan. 

Spoiler

I was stunned Sara didn't make it back. Honestly. That Byron beat her out. Only to jump thru three more challenges right in a row essentially, to not make it back on the team. I really thought Sara would be back. I legit wanted to see her quirky cooking style more and feel confident she would outlast at least Maria/Jaime and make it to the final four. OH well. I think the final three will be Gabe, Dawn and Shota. And of the three I guess it would be cool if Shota won. Not sure how I feel about Gabe if the sexual harassment rumor stuff is true. Dawn pissed me off in the restaurant wars BUT she makes food the judges really love for the most part. 


 

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idigTexas

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14 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

I enjoyed the tofu elimination challenge if only for one reason. Richard Blais (during his initial season) used tofu in a cool way in an elimination challenge. Also, it was a great way of making a vegan meal "taste like" something non-vegan. 

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I was stunned Sara didn't make it back. Honestly. That Byron beat her out. Only to jump thru three more challenges right in a row essentially, to not make it back on the team. I really thought Sara would be back. I legit wanted to see her quirky cooking style more and feel confident she would outlast at least Maria/Jaime and make it to the final four. OH well. I think the final three will be Gabe, Dawn and Shota. And of the three I guess it would be cool if Shota won. Not sure how I feel about Gabe if the sexual harassment rumor stuff is true. Dawn pissed me off in the restaurant wars BUT she makes food the judges really love for the most part. 


 

I agree with everything you spoilered. 

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someguy

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40 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

I enjoyed the tofu elimination challenge if only for one reason. Richard Blais (during his initial season) used tofu in a cool way in an elimination challenge. Also, it was a great way of making a vegan meal "taste like" something non-vegan. 

  Hide contents

I was stunned Sara didn't make it back. Honestly. That Byron beat her out. Only to jump thru three more challenges right in a row essentially, to not make it back on the team. I really thought Sara would be back. I legit wanted to see her quirky cooking style more and feel confident she would outlast at least Maria/Jaime and make it to the final four. OH well. I think the final three will be Gabe, Dawn and Shota. And of the three I guess it would be cool if Shota won. Not sure how I feel about Gabe if the sexual harassment rumor stuff is true. Dawn pissed me off in the restaurant wars BUT she makes food the judges really love for the most part. 


 

Spoiler

I agree with the spoiler and was extremely disappointed Sara didn't make it back.  I love the weird, quirky style and readily accept that she makes unconventional things work.  That being said, when she decided to put green tea into her dish of cooked rice, I cringed.  I hoped it was one of those things that sounds off but actually worked, but the idea of rice green tea soup sounded awful.  I think Tom was willing to put this thumb on the scale for Sara a bit, but that green tea/rice combo made it impossible.  She was always going to walk that tightrope with her quirkiness, but I really wanted to see what she would put out in a finale.

I'm getting irrationally angry that Maria is still in the competition.  Not that I think she doesn't make tasty food - it sure seems like the does - but she has one lane that she shoehorns everything into, and even at that one lane she is tops out at average compared to the other chefs.  I think she's like the 10th best chef this season and has had a ton of fortune in avoiding elimination.  I know I'm probably in the distinct minority on this, but I think she should be have been one of the first 5 chefs eliminated.

Shoda, Gabe, and Dawn have clearly separated themselves and, hopefully, will be the finale.  My personal order is Shoda, Gabe, Dawn, but my gut feeling is that Dawn is the eventual winner.  It took her a while to find her footing, but once she did she has been coming on like a freight train.  We have no way of knowing, but I'd have loved to hear the judges' feedback on her fried tofu dish that was DQ'ed for not having enough plates.  I think that might have been the best overall tofu dish and why I was absolutely sure Byron was going home when the desserts were essentially even.

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Deej

Deej 77182

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10 minutes ago, someguy said:
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I agree with the spoiler and was extremely disappointed Sara didn't make it back.  I love the weird, quirky style and readily accept that she makes unconventional things work.  That being said, when she decided to put green tea into her dish of cooked rice, I cringed.  I hoped it was one of those things that sounds off but actually worked, but the idea of rice green tea soup sounded awful.  I think Tom was willing to put this thumb on the scale for Sara a bit, but that green tea/rice combo made it impossible.  She was always going to walk that tightrope with her quirkiness, but I really wanted to see what she would put out in a finale.

I'm getting irrationally angry that Maria is still in the competition.  Not that I think she doesn't make tasty food - it sure seems like the does - but she has one lane that she shoehorns everything into, and even at that one lane she is tops out at average compared to the other chefs.  I think she's like the 10th best chef this season and has had a ton of fortune in avoiding elimination.  I know I'm probably in the distinct minority on this, but I think she should be have been one of the first 5 chefs eliminated.

 

In case you didn't know it, Maria cooks Mexican cuisine. 

Tell us one more fucking time, please. 

She needs to go. 

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