Top Chef - London

[thrillhammer 684]

some great chefs booted the last three weeks running.  my money is on congo or poland next.

[kevwun 15943]

Her obsession with potatoes is going to undo her at some point.

Edited April 10, 2023 by kevwun

[Nicole44 22197]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

Her obsession with potatoes is going to undo her at some point.

 

[Nicole44 22197]

Best result for the LCK contestant voted back in. I felt like this was very fair given how that one had to leave the competition. 
 

Also, two contestants cooking with walnuts in the elimination challenge? Like there is no other fucking NUT (fuck you autocorrect) that they can use? Do they want Victoire to die? Lulz. I kid but honestly since they found out she’s clearly allergic to walnuts people continue to cook with them. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Nicole44

[Texas St. Armadillos 1381]

What the fuck?

Go find it online?

[TonyTexas 10567]

7 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

Also, two contestants cooking with walnuts in the elimination challenge? Like there is no other fucking NUT (fuck you autocorrect) that they can use? Do they want Victoire to die? Lulz. I kid but honestly since they found out she’s clearly allergic to walnuts people continue to cook with them. 

IIRC Victoire herself cooked again with walnuts, even after her previous allergic reaction. 

[Nicole44 22197]

3 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

IIRC Victoire herself cooked again with walnuts, even after her previous allergic reaction. 

That was the tournament/soccer stadium where the audience finds out she’s allergic. The following week (family style dinner) it was just Buddha with walnuts. She had to wear a mask in the kitchen and said when asked why she was wearing a mask “because some chefs are cooking with walnuts.  This week two contestants. Nicole had to warn her in the car that two would be using them and she said that was ok she’d be fine but still…lol.  She hasn’t cooked with them since the stadium. 

[Texzilla58 4745]

I was hoping the rest of the team would have turned on asshat Tom a bit more over him taking their budget to deliver a tomato salad.

The showdown on LCK was a sandwich. Neither seemed to understand the actual concept of how one actually eats a sandwich. Both were in the showdown for over complicating a dish that were challenging to eat. And they did it again.

You can go watch it. I won’t spoil it.

I liked the Quickfire being the LCK playin. They should do this more like with restaurant wars doing front of house.

[Skipper 6296]

We caught up this past week.  Can't put finger on exactly why but this is probably the least interested I've been in a top chef season that I can recall.  Probably has a lot to do with British food just not moving the needle for the most part.  Will fight through it but boring season IMO.

[Nicole44 22197]

I think the whole London setting is sort of tongue in cheek funny. Like “hey guys…we KNOW British food sucks (mute point) but we are highlighting all the neat places to visit/shop/drink in London (so that makes up for their shitty food) BUT we want you to ELEVATE everything they typically eat while the local judges seem mostly perplexed by what you have made.” It’s hilarious! Every challenge is “make this like a traditional scone, biscuit, picnic basket of shit we all eat as Brits but make it much better and upscale just don’t overcomplicate the dish or try to elevate it too much…I mean deconstruct the dish but don’t feel you have to do that either.” Lulz. It’s cracking me the fuck up. But the whole competition is grueling and draining. I’m surprised someone hasn’t truly snapped. We are close though—to having someone just fucking snap. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Nicole44

[Nicole44 22197]

Also I think you are starting to see the ones that are doing their thing (their concept and spices) but trying to elevate the Brit dining experience. Ali is a clear favorite and his BFF. I know the judges told Victoire last week that they would love to taste more of her African influences/Congo. That is a warning. We want you to do more of that! There are all these hints and clues the judges drop. We get that pretty much everywhere the contestants are from they have better food than London. The trick is to not turn your nose down (Tom)  at their food and their customs (which aren’t changing) but to try and wow them with your flavors while respecting their process. You can see the ones that are starting to separate anyway. People just get lost in the weeds of the competition. As TomC said at the end of the promo for next week things are starting to heat up and get serious. Which is what I expect at this stage. I’m enjoying it. I think I will enjoy it a lot more after next week because the weaker ones are starting to fall apart/fall off. 

[Skipper 6296]

We are fighting through it hoping it gets better (at least for us we typically get more into as the season moves on and last episode was a bit more interesting) but without question have never scrolled my phone more during a season than this one.  Generally unappealing food (for us at least) and no chefs/personalities we either really like or dislike.

We are planning a summer trip to Charleston and actually tried to just turn this season off and watch that season last night but unfortunately couldn't find it on demand.

[TonyTexas 10567]

27 minutes ago, Skipper said:

We are planning a summer trip to Charleston and actually tried to just turn this season off and watch that season last night but unfortunately couldn't find it on demand.

Great season. The finalists are of 3 of my all time favorites. Peacock has all the seasons. Not commercial free but the breaks are short. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by TonyTexas

[Skipper 6296]

23 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Great season. The finalists are of 3 of my all time favorites. Peacock has all the seasons. Not commercial free but the breaks are short. 

Yeah, it was one of our favorite seasons as well.  Thanksf or the Peacock tip.  I somehow have 7 of the last 9 seasons available on YTTV but missing that one.

[Texzilla58 4745]

I think my issues with the season are manufactured by the show. London and England in general have enjoyed the same big upgrades in local foods as we have had here in the past 50 years. London has always been a global hub of ethnic cuisines because of the empire. And has fantastic small scale agriculture, great fisheries, and craft livestock.

I hate team challenges because in general. The picnic challenge yesterday would have been better as an individual challenge. Here’s your budget, make a picnic dish. The producers got hung up on the concept of a full picnic basket. Scrap that and make a judging point packaging and eatability.

They get too wrapped up on backdrops. It’s downtown abbey! Take them to an Indian market to make Indian foods. Chicken Tikka Masala is the number 1 dish in the UK. Go to the seafood market. Nose to tail started in London. Show Nigella’s tits. Sunday roasts. So much opportunities Ty is so far being ignored. They focus too much on scenery and games instead of food and cooking.

[Biff Tannen 45763]

Happy with the outcome.  I think Tom is a really good chef if he stays out of his own head.  Kind of a dick though, as others have noted.  

That challenge felt like a restaurant wars where one team just absolutely obliterated the other.  It was not close.

[closetohumping 17547]

10 hours ago, Skipper said:

We caught up this past week.  Can't put finger on exactly why but this is probably the least interested I've been in a top chef season that I can recall.  Probably has a lot to do with British food just not moving the needle for the most part.  Will fight through it but boring season IMO.

I’m with you.   While there’s some in likable characters there’s nobody to root against.  Or for?   Fat lady from kentucky is annoying.  
 

also contrived.   The holiday episode where the Hispanic guy takes a swig of wine 🙄

[Deej 77163]

Send them all home and have the remainder of the episodes show a three-way with Gail, Nigella, and Padma.

[shadow_operative2.0 16058]

Brit brunette judge in black dress was the episode highlight. Her Insta ain’t much though. 

https://www.instagram.com/harrietmansell/

[Texzilla58 4745]

The American contingent is weak, with Buddha the only champion amount them. I guess they had a hard time finding champs that would come back for that much time away that haven’t headed over to FN or elsewhere.

[Biff Tannen 45763]

2 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

The American contingent is weak, with Buddha the only champion amount them. I guess they had a hard time finding champs that would come back for that much time away that haven’t headed over to FN or elsewhere.

Yeah, I thought it was weird that any Top Chefs would come back, especially America where I'm assuming the cash is bigger, but certainly the notoriety.

[Texzilla58 4745]

The international winner pool is limited to those who speak English. It’s just overall a dull group. It’s just a grand idea for a big international season and it’s just flat. And Tom and crew seem bored and aren’t really interfacing with this gro yo p of English judges.

[Deej 77163]

I wouldn't want Sara or Amar cooking my food. Both look to have less personal hygiene than your average Burger King employee. 

[Texzilla58 4745]

You know Sara’s baby is telling dad back home to throw that shit out and get some fucking formula.

[NoName 16607]

On 4/14/2023 at 9:15 AM, Skipper said:

We caught up this past week.  Can't put finger on exactly why but this is probably the least interested I've been in a top chef season that I can recall.  Probably has a lot to do with British food just not moving the needle for the most part.  Will fight through it but boring season IMO.

i like the concept a ton but British food (real British food) just doesn't move the needle for me either. i assume they got PAID a ton to be there. just wish they were doing more interesting things.

[NoName 16607]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:43 PM, Texzilla58 said:

The American contingent is weak, with Buddha the only champion amount them. I guess they had a hard time finding champs that would come back for that much time away that haven’t headed over to FN or elsewhere.

They had to fill it out with people who would go and were finalists/runner ups.

the last handful of winners are spoiled below but in hindsight not shocked a ton of prior winners didn't want to go

 

• Spoiler

  • Buddha - not shocked he is there
  • Gabe Erales - lol
  • Melissa King won All Stars LA and has another show. limited upside to going.
  • Kelsey Barnard Clark - not shocked she is there either. i love KBC, but with kids and everything else she is busy.
  • Joe Flamm - not shocked he isn't there either
  • Brooke - of course she isn't there
  • Jeremy Ford - lol

  i thought that we would have someone like Shota, Nina, Damarr, etc from prior seasons. Damarr wasn't a finalist/runner up tough.

   

 

 

[TonyTexas 10567]

21 minutes ago, NoName said:

i like the concept a ton but British food (real British food) just doesn't move the needle for me either. i assume they got PAID a ton to be there. just wish they were doing more interesting things.

When initially announced, I thought the season would focus on Europe as a whole and not be so London-centric. However, the finale is in Paris so we should get a couple episodes highlighting French food. 

[Herpa Derpa 6158]

2 hours ago, NoName said:

i thought that we would have someone like Shota, Nina, Damarr, etc from prior seasons. Damarr wasn't a finalist/runner up tough.

Shota was on TOC so my have been a schedule thing.

[shadow_operative2.0 16058]

And this hopefully ends the early return from LCK. That shit’s stupid, bring one back, one time. 

[Texzilla58 4745]

I think they like the LCK and wouldn’t be surprised if they do another. I hate the concept of any 2nd chance shit on any of these shows. Out you’re out. Bye.

LCK gives the losers a big advantage. And it comes down to single judging by Tom who advances his favorites.

[Pig Bellmont 8746]

11 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

And this hopefully ends the early return from LCK. That shit’s stupid, bring one back, one time. 

“Cook anything you want that tells a story and eats without utensils” and Canadian guy cooks molé with chicken thighs he makes on the stovetop? 

[Biff Tannen 45763]

That was a wild challenge. 

[bernorange 8374]

That bell pepper dish looked amazing to me.  i would have loved to taste it.

I didn't understand the avacado dish, but the judges seemed to like it.

[Texzilla58 4745]

I always like the mise contest as it’s real cooking skills tested. Rather than the kick the plate type thing. They used to do the blindfold palate contest but dropped it long ago. I guess chefs didn’t like showing they couldn’t taste shit. Ramsay still does it on Hell’s Kitchen.

[TonyTexas 10567]

5 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

They used to do the blindfold palate contest but dropped it long ago.

They did it last year in LCK. The last main show taste test was season 17 in 2020. 

[shadow_operative2.0 16058]

This thread is a perfect microcosm for the season. Took a dude without access to TV to bump this week’s. 

We shall see about RW. 

[Deej 77163]

This season is underwhelming. 

[Texzilla58 4745]

I hope they retain this model for Restaurant Wars and permanently do away with front of house, space design, etc. as TC says when served a salad “it’s a cooking contest”.

Gotta say Buddha did a great job with his concept and overall management. Sara’s training of service staff of food and concept delivered the execution of their menu. It might have been a slight advantage having a long relationship with the guest host/judge.

I thought Tom the German dodged some responsibility with his passive aggressive leader/not the leader we’re a democracy position. They were a mess; albeit with the weakest chefs, and all four really cook only inside their genre.

[The Ace of Aces 5325]

The tweaks to RW are huge wins. The weakest chef got kicked. Buddha turned it up - he’s the perfect chef for this combination kf skills and game. 

[Nicole44 22197]

Enjoyed the tweaks to RW also. Made it far better and hope they keep the changes moving forward. The whole head of house but was awkward af and as been mentioned often kept the weakest chef from going home.

[Pig Bellmont 8746]

I completely agree that RW was better dropping them in an existing Michelin star restaurant with trained staff. Way more compelling this way, and one team still found a way to fuck up service. 
 

Tom was the reason Gabri was on the bottom- leaving all that cauliflower at the store was BS. Also total gamesmanship not alerting the other team when Sara found it. I don’t blame her for playing to win, but don’t you want to beat the team bc you’re better and not bc they are missing a bunch of produce?

[Deej 77163]

Gail needed more cleavage showing in that outfit. 

[Texzilla58 4745]

I completely agree that RW was better dropping them in an existing Michelin star restaurant with trained staff. Way more compelling this way, and one team still found a way to fuck up service. 
 
Tom was the reason Gabri was on the bottom- leaving all that cauliflower at the store was BS. Also total gamesmanship not alerting the other team when Sara found it. I don’t blame her for playing to win, but don’t you want to beat the team bc you’re better and not bc they are missing a bunch of produce?

The front of house position was a bad place to be. Most of the chefs aren’t front of house people, and they also had to cook a dish and it was often a miss because others assisted in prep or playing.

I don’t think the cauliflower would have helped Gabi’s dish much. That was just a mess on the plate. And isn’t cauliflower purée now a cliche overdone accoutrement?

[bernorange 8374]

Tom the German appears to cook good food, but he seems like a very selfish asshole.  Not a team player at all. 

[Deej 77163]

52 minutes ago, bernorange said:

Tom the German appears to cook good food, but he seems like a very selfish asshole.

He is German. 

[Biff Tannen 45763]

8 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

The tweaks to RW are huge wins. The weakest chef got kicked. Buddha turned it up - he’s the perfect chef for this combination kf skills and game. 

Buddha is my spot on favorite. I actually want Amar to win, or maybe Ali, but Buddha is like the modern Richard. He’s good and knows how to bend the game to his strengths, and the judges love him. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by Biff Tannen

[Biff Tannen 45763]

1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

The front of house position was a bad place to be. Most of the chefs aren’t front of house people, and they also had to cook a dish and it was often a miss because others assisted in prep or playing.

I don’t think the cauliflower would have helped Gabi’s dish much. That was just a mess on the plate. And isn’t cauliflower purée now a cliche overdone accoutrement?

But when you have someone like Fabio for front of the house, fuuuuuuuck. Huge part of the challenge already done. 

[Texzilla58 4745]

Fabio was a rare one that was a great cook and a really great host. I always hated the front of house part of RW and thru the years too many bad matre d’s have been sent home because it wasn’t their jam.

If you ever watch Selena + Chef the EP with Fabio is one of the best and he makes some killer stuff while charming the pants off Selena and her buds.

[shadow_operative2.0 16058]

Never ceases to amaze how badly one team smokes the other in RW. 

[Biff Tannen 45763]

8 hours ago, shadow_operative2.0 said:

Never ceases to amaze how badly one team smokes the other in RW. 

I actually don’t like RW that much for this very reason. It’s usually awkward as fuck.