Top Chef Portland

[Nicole44 22059]

3 minutes ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Scratch that, it will be more Amateurs shit. 

Damn. This season already felt short regardless…gotta promote the new show. Damnit.

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Hahaha, Dawn. 

[Deej 76756]

Like fucking clockwork. 

[Radical Larry 28566]

JFC, Dawn.

[Nicole44 22059]

If you had to choose Byron, Maria or Jamie to help you serve which one would you choose? It sounds weird but I’d pick Maria. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Sure sounds like Gabe, but that usually means otherwise. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Welp, see you kids on the flip side. 

[Deej 76756]

"I didn't leave anything on the table."

Um, yeah you did, Dawn. On the prep table, week after week. 

[The Ace of Aces 5175]

Sad the piece of shit won. TC will regret this shortly. 

[TonyTexas 10508]

55 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Sad the piece of shit won. TC will regret this shortly. 

Yeah. 2 Austin winners. Which is cool. Too bad neither of them could take advantage because they’re scumbags. 

Edited July 2, 2021 by TonyTexas

[Nicole44 22059]

Holy shit this is illuminating. “Watch what happens live” with Andy Cohen. No question it was between Shota and Gabe. But Gabe was always the front runner. They were all pissed at Dawn but she was never that close. 

[Nicole44 22059]

Of the three first food that blew you away: Tom and Padma say Gabe. Gail said Dawn. Byron had best all over plating according to Padma. Tom said no one this season was that inovating. Shota came close. 

[GabrielsHorn 2183]

It’s a shame that Gabe is (allegedly) a piece of shit as it was great to see Latino food get its due on the show. 
 

Seeing where he took tamal, cochinita pibil, and mole was great considering how Hispanic cooking is generally not considered high class food. That squash desert brought me back to my childhood in a way I thought I’d never see on top chef. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Now we know Gabe's handle! 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6559]

So what is the supposed deal with why Gabe was fired or that he is a scumbag (based on the comment above)?  I read sexual harassment but that type of claim can be quite broad.  

[someguy 1508]

Gabe has been my favorite since early in the season.  I'm glad he won.  I noticed he has a bachelors and masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from UT.  Especially nice to see a longhorn win.  If you know that Tom's opinion is the only one that matters, and if you know Tom's facial cues (he doesn't exactly have a great poker face), this one wasn't really a mystery.  Gabe won comfortably.  Odd choice for Shota to take it in a comfort food direction.  He's at his best with subtlety and finesse.  Dawn just flat out didn't belong.

I've been down on Maria as a top half worthy top chef contestant, but she was an awesome sous chef and - for obvious reasons - a particularly good match with Gabe.  It did make me chuckle when she advocated against deep frying the head cheese only to have the judges end up saying it wasn't crispy enough.  Still, she was clearly a strong net positive for Gabe, as Byron was for Shota.  Dawn just doesn't work well giving direction and limited what Jamie could do.  I remember reading a post upthread a few days ago that pretty much nailed the sous chef breakdown - prescient.  

I was worried for Padma.  She is getting older, and I thought she might throw out her back carrying Dawn all episode.  It really felt like they were searching for ways to find nice things to say to maintain some sense of balance.  Again, if you key in on Tom he was not impressed - probably wishing Sara had made it through.

Overall not the best season, but any Top Chef is always enjoyable for me.  I'm already ready for the next season.

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Yeah, Tom’s distaste for Dawn’s seafood in the green gumbo dish was fucking great. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Just because they’re all gonna be commenting now. 

 

And here’s some long-ass shit on Gregory’s Insta if you care. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQyteHVh0vw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[KingBobo81 535]

Here is what Statesman article said

Spoiler

Chef' winner admits to cutting Comedor employee's hours after sexual relationship
Matthew Odam
Austin American-Statesman
Former Comedor executive chef Gabe Erales won the 18th season of Bravo’s “Top Chef” on Thursday night, a crowning honor from television’s preeminent cooking competition show.
As Erales’ star ascended, details emerged that the star chef was fired in 2020 from the modern Mexican restaurant for violation of the restaurant's policies on harassment and discrimination. Although members of the "Top Chef" production team knew details about the firing, both from conversations with restaurant management and Erales, Bravo continued to air the season featuring a winner who was terminated just weeks after the show finished filming.
In December 2020, Erales did not respond to an inquiry from the American-Statesman regarding the dismissal, but the El Paso native, who helped land the sophisticated, downtown restaurant a spot in the Austin360 Dining Guide Top 10 in 2019, as well as honors from Texas Monthly and Esquire magazine, confirmed details of his firing with the American-Statesman this week. 
Erales admitted to having a consensual sexual relationship with a female member of his kitchen staff in the summer of 2020 -- and then cutting her hours in November after he returned from taping the culinary king-making show in Portland in September and October. Erales said he cut the hours of the woman based on her performance, though Comedor chef-partner Philip Speer told the American-Statesman he did not deem the woman's work as sufficient reason for hours being cut.
At the time of the chef’s departure in December, Comedor's owners said that Erales was let go “due to violation of our policies and for behavior in conflict with our values.” In June, Speer clarified to the Statesman that Erales was fired for repeated violations of the company's ethics policy as it relates to harassment of women. 
“After I returned from ‘Top Chef,’ I made some business decisions as a manager that affected this employee and were found to be discriminatory and I realized that those were bad decisions,” Erales told the Statesman this week. “I’ve spent the last six months really reflecting on these mistakes and taking the necessary steps to be a better husband, a father, a chef and a leader, through therapy, through spirituality.”
Erales told the American-Statesman that though his physical relationship ended with the female kitchen employee when he returned from Portland, he continued communicating with her in an unprofessional manner. 
The Statesman is not naming the employee due to the nature of the allegations. She declined to comment for this story.
A spokeswoman for "Top Chef" declined to comment for this story. However, a source close to "Top Chef," who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told the American-Statesman that the show learned from Comedor in December that Erales was fired for violations of the restaurant’s harassment policy but said the restaurant did not provide further details about the firing. 
The source said Erales told the production team he’d had a consensual relationship with a member of his kitchen staff, a relationship Erales told them ended in August, and that Erales said he later curtailed the employee’s hours. The source said that in addition to a background check before casting, the company looked into Erales’s behavior on the set of “Top Chef,” found no problematic behavior and decided to continue airing the show as planned.
There was no consideration given to recutting the season, according to the source, who added that scrapping the entire season would not be fair to the other 14 chef contestants and a production team that endured the challenges of the pandemic to produce the show. 
Asked about the details behind the show’s discovery of the information about Erales’ firing and why the season of “Top Chef” was allowed to air in the spring despite the knowledge of his termination, a Bravo spokesperson said the network had no comment. 
The revelations come amid a national reckoning over sexual harassment of female employees in various industries. A recent survey of women who work as servers, bartenders or in other food industry roles found 70% reporting being sexually harassed by their employers, coworkers or customers, according to a CBS News story.
Erales, who is planning to open Yucatan-inspired restaurant Bacalar on Rainey Street in fall 2022, says he believes that manager-employee relations “are very detrimental to a work environment and definitely impact the success of a business, especially a kitchen," adding that “moving forward, my position in a restaurant as an authority figure is an important one and I know that in order to improve our industry, creating a positive non-toxic work environment begins with a plan of checks and balances that need to be in place before the doors open.”
The recently gilded TV star, whose only previous work as an executive chef came during a short stint at Dai Due Taqueria at Fareground, says he has never had a sexual relationship with any other employees who reported directly to him at Comedor or any other restaurant. He says that his firing has served as a moment of growth for him to focus on his responsibilities as “an honest husband and a focused leader.”
“I’m even more thankful for the management team for enforcing their core values in an effort to keep a safe work environment because I would not not have been able to face my personal challenges had this not happened," Erales said.
The “Top Chef” winner receives $250,000 from sponsor S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, a feature in "Food & Wine" magazine and an appearance at the "Food & Wine" Classic in Aspen.

 

[Stringer 1438]

I never understood y'alls hate for Dawn.  Maybe I was watching a different show.  She did kind of screw Sarah on the Restaurant Wars, but it wasn't on purpose and she admitted the next week that she should have handled things differently.  Beyond that, she seemed to be intense, but well liked by everyone around her.  Her inability to plate was frustrating.  I did read an interview with Tom and he said that contestants miss items on plates all the time.  The issue is, all of the guests this season were the ones being filmed, so it seemed like a much bigger issue than it normally is.  

As far as her abilities, I don't think she was that far behind Gabe and Shota at all.  In the elimination challenges (before the finale), this is how it looked (Win/Otherwise Top/Bottom):

Gabe: 3/3/2

Shota: 4/5/1

Dawn: 1/6/2

She also won 3 QF, compared to 1 for Shota and 1 for Gabe.  Overall, before the finale, she performed below Shota but about the same as Gabe, and maybe better if you include QF.

Anyway, I was rooting for Gabe (before the AAS story this morning), but would have been fine with Shota or Dawn.  I thought it was a really fun season overall, especially considering the limitations due to COVID.  I liked having the old contestants back to judge and I'm not sure you can do that in normal times.

 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

2 hours ago, Stringer said:

I never understood y'alls hate for Dawn.  Maybe I was watching a different show.  She did kind of screw Sarah on the Restaurant Wars, but it wasn't on purpose and she admitted the next week that she should have handled things differently.  Beyond that, she seemed to be intense, but well liked by everyone around her.  Her inability to plate was frustrating.  I did read an interview with Tom and he said that contestants miss items on plates all the time.  The issue is, all of the guests this season were the ones being filmed, so it seemed like a much bigger issue than it normally is.  

As far as her abilities, I don't think she was that far behind Gabe and Shota at all.  In the elimination challenges (before the finale), this is how it looked (Win/Otherwise Top/Bottom):

Gabe: 3/3/2

Shota: 4/5/1

Dawn: 1/6/2

She also won 3 QF, compared to 1 for Shota and 1 for Gabe.  Overall, before the finale, she performed below Shota but about the same as Gabe, and maybe better if you include QF.

Anyway, I was rooting for Gabe (before the AAS story this morning), but would have been fine with Shota or Dawn.  I thought it was a really fun season overall, especially considering the limitations due to COVID.  I liked having the old contestants back to judge and I'm not sure you can do that in normal times.

 

My problem with Dawn is that she was not held to the same standards as the other chefs when it came to the rules of the game. In a quick fire, if you don’t get three plates plated, you are automatically disqualified. If you leave elements off, you are pretty much so as well. Yet she kept skating week after week in elimination challenges. 
 

As to Gabe, after reading the statesman article, I’m still glad he won. Maybe he should have been fired. I am acquaintances, or used to be, with the guy that fired him, so I’ll defer. But honestly, I don’t think he deserves to be skewered and definitely not have his career ruined, a la Paul Qui, who I also think got fucked over. 
 

*ducks

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

We all know you should never bang the help, that’s just a firm rule. Banging the help whilst married is doubling down on stupid. 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

6 minutes ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

We all know you should never bang the help, that’s just a firm rule. Banging the help whilst married is doubling down on stupid. 

Oh it’s stupid for sure. And it happens all the time. 

[idigTexas 2284]

15 hours ago, Stringer said:

I never understood y'alls hate for Dawn.  Maybe I was watching a different show.  She did kind of screw Sarah on the Restaurant Wars, but it wasn't on purpose and she admitted the next week that she should have handled things differently.  Beyond that, she seemed to be intense, but well liked by everyone around her.  Her inability to plate was frustrating.  I did read an interview with Tom and he said that contestants miss items on plates all the time.  The issue is, all of the guests this season were the ones being filmed, so it seemed like a much bigger issue than it normally is.  

As far as her abilities, I don't think she was that far behind Gabe and Shota at all.  In the elimination challenges (before the finale), this is how it looked (Win/Otherwise Top/Bottom):

Gabe: 3/3/2

Shota: 4/5/1

Dawn: 1/6/2

She also won 3 QF, compared to 1 for Shota and 1 for Gabe.  Overall, before the finale, she performed below Shota but about the same as Gabe, and maybe better if you include QF.

Anyway, I was rooting for Gabe (before the AAS story this morning), but would have been fine with Shota or Dawn.  I thought it was a really fun season overall, especially considering the limitations due to COVID.  I liked having the old contestants back to judge and I'm not sure you can do that in normal times.

 

What this doesn't capture is that while Gabe only won one QF, he was top two at least half the time.  Dude was one of the best QF performers of all time.    

[Herpa Derpa 6124]

19 minutes ago, idigTexas said:

What this doesn't capture is that while Gabe only won one QF, he was top two at least half the time.  Dude was one of the best QF performers of all time.    

Wholeheartedly disagree. He was close to being one of the best QF performers of all time. One win doesn't even get you in the conversation, I don't care how many 2nd place finishes you get.

[TonyTexas 10508]

12 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

Wholeheartedly disagree. He was close to being one of the best QF performers of all time. One win doesn't even get you in the conversation, I don't care how many 2nd place finishes you get.

Yeah Sam (LA), Antonia(Chicago) and Brooke (Charleston) each won 5 QFs during those seasons. 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6559]

We all know you should never bang the help, that’s just a firm rule. Banging the help whilst married is doubling down on stupid. 

I get what he did was wrong (sleeping with a employee and cheating on his wife)but I also agree that it shouldn’t be a death sentence for his career.

As far as Dawn, my biggest problem with her was that her food always seemed very basic. It may taste great but stuff like steamed crabs is not what I want to see from a Top Chef.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TonyTexas 10508]

30 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

I get what he did was wrong (sleeping with a employee and cheating on his wife)but I also agree that it shouldn’t be a death sentence for his career.

It won’t kill his cooking career but will probably kill his TV career. See Paul Qui   Or actually, don’t see him. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by TonyTexas

[Biff Tannen 45667]

2 hours ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

As far as Dawn, my biggest problem with her was that her food always seemed very basic. It may taste great but stuff like steamed crabs is not what I want to see from a Top Chef.

I’m ok with simple food if it’s done well. And by all accounts, she did it well. But she didn’t adhere to the same standards that all the other chefs had to on multiple occasions. That is disqualifying for a top chef, in my eyes. 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

Also, who was the Asian guy with long hair at the dining table?  They never introduced him, unless I missed it. 

[immamac 42838]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

It won’t kill his cooking career but will probably kill his TV career. See Paul Qui   Or actually, don’t see him. 

Uh dude Paul Qui got turbo fucked and doesnt have a restaurant outside of east side kings now. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

3 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Also, who was the Asian guy with long hair at the dining table?  They never introduced him, unless I missed it. 

Think he was owner or head chef of the location they were using. 

[NoName 16351]

On 7/2/2021 at 7:02 PM, shadow_operative2.0 said:

We all know you should never bang the help, that’s just a firm rule. Banging the help whilst married is doubling down on stupid. 

banging the help is dumb.

continuing inappropriate messages after it is over is dumb.

cutting her hours after the relationship is over is stupid and illegal.

this isn't rocket science.

[UncleSonny 6570]

https://uproxx.com/life/tom-colicchio-interview-top-chef-18/

Pretty good interview with Tom about the season. Touches on Dawn missing elements off several plates and some behind the scenes stuff. Looks like the interviews was before Gabe's troubles started to circulate more so there is no mention of that. 

I liked the answer on his favorite dish of the season because I really wanted to try that hotpot: 

Quote

Finale excluded, what do you think was the single best dish that you had this season?

My favorite was the hotpot rice dish that Shota made, with the help of everybody, for the Restaurant Wars episode. That was so good. In fact, I remember my 12-year-old asking me, “Which dish was your favorite, Dad?” And I was like, “I can’t tell you, but if we watch it, I’ll let you know,” because I don’t tell my family anything when I come home. This was the first year that my kids watched the show. And when they were watching Restaurant Wars, I told them, “That’s my favorite dish.”

That was stunning.

 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

^ That’s a good read for anyone that hasn’t yet. 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

1 hour ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

^ That’s a good read for anyone that hasn’t yet. 

Halfway through and I wanted to not forget this:

Quote

One issue that’s come up the last couple of episodes was Dawn leaving food off of plates, and why she was allowed to go through. This typically happens, only we don’t see it, and the audience really doesn’t see it, because a lot of times they’re not left off the judges’ plates. But because you’re actually getting comments from every diner, I think it showed up a little more.

I’m not sure why this makes it better. Great, when chefs are cooking for 100+ people, a few plates may be misplated. But how many times did she leave major components off for less than,what, 15 plates?  She was bad at a simplified version of the game (in terms of volume) and should not have stuck around as long as she did. 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

Ok finished now. Great read. Really interesting to see Tom defend the non-blind tasting and judging concept. I don’t 100% believe him, but good enough. 
 

Also, gotta agree with ya here Tom:

Quote

But I don’t know if I have favorites. 

Aside from Charlize Theron. Yeah, and Natalie Portman.

 

[closetohumping 17437]

On 7/1/2021 at 8:00 PM, Nicole44 said:

Of the three first food that blew you away: Tom and Padma say Gabe. Gail said Dawn. Byron had best all over plating according to Padma. Tom said no one this season was that inovating. Shota came close. 

Telling.  I think Gabe deserved the W, execution wise, but yeah, nothing I saw at the final table told me they would win most of the other seasons.  But the right person won.

[closetohumping 17437]

On 7/3/2021 at 9:22 AM, Biff Tannen said:

Also, who was the Asian guy with long hair at the dining table?  They never introduced him, unless I missed it. 

I'm gonna have to rewatch but are you talking about Ed Lee?

On 7/3/2021 at 9:38 AM, immamac said:

Uh dude Paul Qui got turbo fucked and doesnt have a restaurant outside of east side kings now. 

Sounds like Qui screwed Qui.  Why is it the most talented ones seem a bit volatile, like isn't Mike Voltaggio crazyish? 

 

 

They have guys like Talde on as judges.  He was above average but there were quite a few chefs more deserving of the spot imo.

[Biff Tannen 45667]

7 hours ago, closetohumping said:

On 7/3/2021 at 11:22 AM, Biff Tannen said:

 

I'm gonna have to rewatch but are you talking about Ed Lee?

Haha no

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

On 7/3/2021 at 3:12 PM, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Think he was owner or head chef of the location they were using. 

As I was saying. 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

On 7/3/2021 at 11:38 AM, immamac said:

Uh dude Paul Qui got turbo fucked and doesnt have a restaurant outside of east side kings now. 

Opening a new one in Houston called Outpost in a couple of months. 

[TonyTexas 10508]

I’ve watched a few episodes of Top Chef Amateurs and it’s not very good. There is really no point to it. It’s not a tournament and, as far as I can tell, there’s no prize money involved. All alumni sous chefs and judges. The judging is very gentle. 

[shadow_operative2.0 15950]

Damn, figured they'd give away $5-10K or some shit. 

[Biff Tannen 45667]

44 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

I’ve watched a few episodes of Top Chef Amateurs and it’s not very good. There is really no point to it. It’s not a tournament and, as far as I can tell, there’s no prize money involved. All alumni sous chefs and judges. The judging is very gentle. 

It’s $5k

[closetohumping 17437]

2 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

I’ve watched a few episodes of Top Chef Amateurs and it’s not very good. There is really no point to it. It’s not a tournament and, as far as I can tell, there’s no prize money involved. All alumni sous chefs and judges. The judging is very gentle. 

If I wanted to watch amateurs I’ll just film myself making eggs

[Biff Tannen 45667]

Way too early rumors of Season 19 location: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa, and Oakland.  

Philly makes sense, as it's the last big east coast city they haven't done.  Atlanta makes sense.  Not so much the last two.

[TonyTexas 10508]

2 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Way too early rumors of Season 19 location: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa, and Oakland.  

Philly makes sense, as it's the last big east coast city they haven't done.  Atlanta makes sense.  Not so much the last two.

It needs to be Philly. The haven’t been to the East Coast since Boston. The South had been covered recently with Charleston and Kentucky. There have been 3 West Coast locations in the last 6 seasons. 

[The Ace of Aces 5175]

Philadelphia is one of the best food cities in the country. It need to be here. 

[closetohumping 17437]

17 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Philadelphia is one of the best food cities in the country. It need to be here. 

You live in Philly?  I may have to move up there next year