Top Chef - London

[Deej 76832]

Maybe if I hadn't had to hear about her pumping her breast milk.

[Texzilla58 4738]

You think it’s bad hearing about it. That poor kid is wishing he was a bucket baby. Her husband probably throws that frozen shit she ships home in the trash.

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Suni Lee was funny, at least. 

Now we watch the rest. 

[WBT 20618]

I'm surprised that for World All Stars we ended up with two Americans in the final.  Well, chefs from American seasons anyway.

Edited June 2, 2023 by WBT

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

“Don’t complete your dish, have no fear!” should be this season’s title for future streaming. 

Tom the cruiser must have REALLY hated to watch this one. 

[The Ace of Aces 5192]

Padma announced she’s leaving after this season. That’s brutal. 

And last night they eliminated the chef with the best chance to beat Buddha in the final. 

[TonyTexas 10517]

Hopefully Gail is her replacement 

[Texzilla58 4738]

Tom needs to leave as well. The show needs a tweak or two. I think on challenges like last night, instead of the dismissive “we need to get back to Judges Table” just have it right there.

A shitton of Michelin stars around the table and they eat comment go home. Change it to allow those diners to comment and vote, question the chefs, etc. it’s not blind judging but it’s just on that meal.

I think Sara is the best challenger to Buddha. Had she not teamed with Amar on the wellies she might have won that challenge. She knows how to develop flavors and she knows classic technique.
The Mexican chef is out of his element.

[Deej 76832]

They show so little of the actual cooking now. 

[Mittens 8286]

 

[TonyTexas 10517]

1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

A shitton of Michelin stars around the table and they eat comment go home. Change it to allow those diners to comment and vote, question the chefs, etc. it’s not blind judging but it’s just on that meal.

Judges’ table take hours. I’m sure those people have better things to do. 

[Texzilla58 4738]

They’re all on TV. They’ll make time. Especially in the finals. It really comes down to who Tom likes and who Padma is fucking.

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Wonder what a jar of Herdez costs in that dude’s little Mexican shop? 

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Raw liver in the finale, impressive. 

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Padma’s dress wins the episode in her swan song. 

[Texzilla58 4738]

That bag of beans he bought is $1.38 at WalMart.

I knew when Sara picked Amar for sous she was fucked.

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

If only Dawn would have come back from quintuple-chance LCK, she had it! 

 

Good attempt editors, but it wasn’t close. 

[Chips O'Toole 1326]

That was a seriously underwhelming finale.  Either they played down Buddha's dishes to make it seem closer, or he tried to choke it away but won a war of attrition because of raw liver and whatever Gabri decided to fuck up and burn because that's his favorite. 

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

2 minutes ago, Chips O'Toole said:

Either they played down Buddha's dishes to make it seem closer

Ding, ding, ding. He killed the whole season, this was just the cupcake. 

[kevwun 15798]

I knew Buddha was gonna win as soon as she found out her liver was raw.

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Jesus fuck, everyone with eyes & a brain knew that. Goddamn, son. 

[Deej 76832]

7 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

That bag of beans he bought is $1.38 at WalMart.

I knew when Sara picked Amar for sous she was fucked.

Between the two of them, how much sweat made it into those dishes?

[Texzilla58 4738]

For them to be planning their finale menu for a couple years that was some shit. Uhh can you first make a cohesive meal? That was the only charge.

Sara couldn’t fucking edit herself. I’m going to make a Kentucky/Jewish/Southern/French/Creole/Michelin star/down home menu. How bout fucking liver and onions so I can revel in my Paducah Jewishness. Burgoo. Uhhh she made a bowl of fucking beans and cornbread (something I love but…) Ppea cake? Still, would she have won had the liver been cooked? The highly edited discussion certainly played that story (goddammit that liver!)

Gabri showed why he skated by as the next to worst thru much of this. Many of the judges seemed to have little understanding of Mexican food, and the Mexican guest diner seemed amused or annoyed or disappointed by Gabri’s efforts. An homage to old traditional Mexican cuisine…I’ll take the basis of all Mexican food, masa, and instead make a shitty thick burned tortilla of grasshoppers. Burned beans out of a bag. Just a fucking mess.

[The Ace of Aces 5192]

Tom said on Twitter if Sara's liver was edible she'd have won. 

The comments didn't make it seem close - Buddha's criticisms were tiny nitpicks. 

Very good season. Sad Parma's leaving. 

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Well, if you didn’t serve a raw protein, you would have won. 

Funny how that works. 

[kevwun 15798]

I am guessing they don't allow them to use meat thermometers for how often it happens.  Still she could have sliced off an end earlier to check it so she had time to fix it.

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Based on the editing we were allowed to see, Amar specifically asked if she wanted to slice earlier. She said no. That is 1000% on tape. 

[kevwun 15798]

She was worried about it drying out, which is also a legit concern.  But a chunk off the end that you aren't serving anyway would have been ok.

[shadow_operative2.0 16006]

Dried raw liver is a bitch. A $250K bitch. 

The only real chef won, but we all know that. 

[WBT 20618]

They should have put Ali into the final just to maintain a tiny amount of suspense.  There's no way either or those two were going to beat Buddha.

[kevwun 15798]

There are a bunch of people who should have made it instead of Gabriel.  Amar was much better than him.

Edited June 9, 2023 by kevwun

[Texzilla58 4738]

Amar shit the bed in LCK.

Sara makes very interesting food at her place in Paducah. It sounds like a pretty big place. But like a lot of these chefs at a certain place how much daily cooking is she doing. Buddha is the chef in a 12 seat restaurant in the back of a caviar store in New York doing an 8 course tasting menu every night. Probably with just a sous and a line cook.

[Deej 76832]

Sara's husband was probably sad to see it end. 

[Biff Tannen 45691]

3 hours ago, Deej said:

Sara's husband was probably sad to see it end. 

Dude, let it go. 

[idigTexas 2289]

It really felt like Buddha was competing against some of the amazing dishes he made all season more so than what Sara and Gabri were serving.  Had he been under performing throughout the competition, they would have given him more credit. 

Buddha put out delicious highly elevated food and didn't made any mistakes.  They asked for the chefs to cook their food, and that's what he did.  Kudos to Sara for giving them tasty dishes that they likely don't experience very often, but technique should count for something.  No one's technical skill comes close to Buddha's. 

It's easy for Tom to say after the fact that Sara would have won if she had properly cooked the liver, but I'm not sure I buy it.  We'll never know.  She made a rookie mistake that no Top Chef should make. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by idigTexas
OU sucks

[Biff Tannen 45691]

How long do we think this really lasts without Padma?  I can't see Tom sticking around too much longer either.

[TonyTexas 10517]

2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

How long do we think this really lasts without Padma?  I can't see Tom sticking around too much longer either.

Well, a lot of y’all have been asking for a reboot. Watch what you wish for. 

[Biff Tannen 45691]

1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

Well, a lot of y’all have been asking for a reboot. Watch what you wish for. 

Not I

[Herpa Derpa 6126]

2 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

How long do we think this really lasts without Padma?  I can't see Tom sticking around too much longer either.

That's what they said after Katie Lee.

Seriously though, maybe it's just time to end the run. TOC is the place to be for a cooking focused season long competition anyway. Expand that field and/or give more spots to GGG type qualifiers to get in the newcomers/unknowns.

We'll always have memories of Gail's gals to get us through the cold, lonely nights.

[NoName 16354]

On 6/9/2023 at 10:05 AM, The Ace of Aces said:

Tom said on Twitter if Sara's liver was edible she'd have won. 

The comments didn't make it seem close - Buddha's criticisms were tiny nitpicks. 

Very good season. Sad Parma's leaving. 

I don't believe that it was close, that's just Tom trying to make it seem closer/better and a Stinger foe the next time Sara is on the show they can say she was this close to winning.

[NoName 16354]

2 hours ago, Herpa Derpa said:

That's what they said after Katie Lee.

Seriously though, maybe it's just time to end the run. TOC is the place to be for a cooking focused season long competition anyway. Expand that field and/or give more spots to GGG type qualifiers to get in the newcomers/unknowns.

We'll always have memories of Gail's gals to get us through the cold, lonely nights.

It's not going anywhere. Bet they elevate Gail, which is great. Tweak the concept a little. Give it some time to try and find additional GOOD chefs. 

They should have done the TOC concept a long time ago btw.

[Biff Tannen 45691]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

It's not going anywhere. Bet they elevate Gail, which is great. Tweak the concept a little. Give it some time to try and find additional GOOD chefs. 

They should have done the TOC concept a long time ago btw.

What is this TOC you all keep mentioning?

[TonyTexas 10517]

4 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

What is this TOC you all keep mentioning?

Tournament of Champions. It’s a March Madness style cooking competition, hosted by Guy Fieri, on the Food Network. 

[Texzilla58 4738]

It's not going anywhere. Bet they elevate Gail, which is great. Tweak the concept a little. Give it some time to try and find additional GOOD chefs. 
They should have done the TOC concept a long time ago btw.

They might move Gail over. She has hosted other TC shows; I like her better as the critic than the host. I would like to see the now unemployed Rachel Bonnetta in the Padma role, regardless of whether she cooks or not. She is so fucking Funny and creative, nice to look at.

[Biff Tannen 45691]

3 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

They might move Gail over. She has hosted other TC shows; I like her better as the critic than the host. I would like to see the now unemployed Rachel Bonnetta in the Padma role, regardless of whether she cooks or not. She is so fucking Funny and creative, nice to look at.

Had to look her up. That’ll do. 
 

[TonyTexas 10517]

I think they might stay in the family to replace Padma. Both Brooke Williamson and Kristen Kish have done some hosting. A few other names that I’ve seen thrown out there are Nosrat Samin from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, Gigi Hadid and Chrissy Tiegen, who are foodie models with hosting experience.   

Edited June 10, 2023 by TonyTexas

[Texzilla58 4738]

Had to look her up. That’ll do. 
 

Watch some of her nfl network stuff. Rachel did all kinds of funny bits and ridiculous songs, and loved poking fun at nfl icons like Rodgers. She was great on the Sunday morning show with Eisen, and was offered Kay Adams slot on GMFB but wouldn’t move to NYC.

Brooke Williams seems entrenched at FN and is a pal of both Guy and Flay. And Kish has said she’s done with competition for a while to focus on her Bourdainy cheffy travelogue show. ( very good if you haven’t watched it). Stephanie Cmar currently works as the head chef for TC behind the scenes and has a solid personality.

I’d rather have new blood across the board. Tom seems bored with it too. I think Hugh Atcheson has the cooking chops as well an acerbic wit to take the main chair.

[The Ace of Aces 5192]

I’d put some money if I bet on Melissa King taking over for Padma. Padma’s end of season remarks kinda tipped that off. 

[bernorange 8362]

That season was boring and most of the food that was cooked didn't move the needle for me.  Getting too far into Chopped territory with challenges designed to trip up contestants rather than highlight their creativity and skill (ie. let them shine).  

[Deej 76832]

They need to cut out all the crap like showing them shopping and dedicate more screen time to actual cooking.