Author Topic: Top Chef Season 3  (Read 26477 times)

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Offline TexasLady

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Top Chef Season 3
« on: June 06, 2007, 05:34:56 PM »
Season 3 begins next week.

Also, on June 6th, there will be a grudge match between Season 1 and Season 2 chefs. Season 1 chefs: Harold Dieterle, Stephen Asprinio, Tiffani Faison, and Dave Martin) and Season 2 chefs (Ilan Hall, Sam Talbot, Elia Aboumrad, and Marcel Vigneron.

I can't wait to see Stephan and Marcel interact. :angel:

More details here: http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/index.php   :wohoo:
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Offline puddin

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2007, 06:01:46 PM »
I have Bravo but watch nothing on it so tell me TL, is it good? I'll try to watch if you remind me when its on  :snicker:


Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2007, 06:11:58 PM »
I have Bravo but watch nothing on it so tell me TL, is it good? I'll try to watch if you remind me when its on  :snicker:

Heh heh.. well tonight would be a good start, it will show the grudge match between the 2 seasons and repeats the next hour as well. 10/9 PM ET/CT and 11/10 PM ET/CT.

I'll try to remember to remind you next week... if I don't experience any senior moments.  ;)
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Offline Kilarney

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2007, 09:41:24 AM »
Top Chef is well worth watching.  It's a basically a high-brow version of Hell's Kitchen.  If you've ever watched the Food Channel, then you would like this show.  Last season had a real "villain" which made for some good television.

Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2007, 10:17:07 AM »
For an afficiando of seasons 1 and 2, it was a hoot watching the grudge match of 1 vs. 2. It was too bad that the more talented LeeAnne was not on the 1 team, which made room for Dave. The show started with a Quick-Fire with 10 minutes to cook the best dish involving 2 eggs with one hand behind your back. It was interesting to see them overcome this handicap. The result was the selection of team captains, Stephen for 1 and Marcel for 2. Stephen was declared the overall winner with the perfect omelet, which gave 1 an extra $100 for supplies in the EliminationChallenge. Guess what Stephen spent the money on? Anybody who watched season 1 knows that the answer is WINE. Chief Judge Tom Colicchio came by during the cooking and slyly pointed out to Stephen that since the wine was being served with head-to-head dishes, there were no guarantees that the wines he had selected weren't going to pair as well or better with the season 2 dishes.

The pairings of chefs with courses were:
Scallops - Dave vs. Elia (sporting white hair, maybe the result of shaving her head at the end of season 2)
Lobster - Stephen vs. Marcel
Duck - Harold (#1 winner) vs. Ilan (#2 winner) in the battle of champions
Kobe Beef - Tiffani vs. Sam

The judges were the ususal Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Padma Laksmi, and Ted Allen (of Queer Eye fame). The other 16 diners were the contestants for Top Chef 3, to be held in Miami as this contest was. The prize was $20,000 for charity. Stephen selected the Margaret Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Marcel selected something I don't remember.

There was lots of controversy on every course as to who was the winner. The only clearcut winner was Harold over Ilan by default. They both apparently had the worst dishes of their teams, but Harold's was edible and Ilan's was not. Elia won a close victory over Dave in spite of some dislike for putting endive into the dish. Marcel did his signature foam, for the first time I can remember on Top Chef served tableside. He had a really good dish, but Stephen's was judged just a little better. Tiffani and Sam both had different garnishes for Kobe beef. Tiffani got the slight edge on flavor. With 3 wins to 1, the team victory and bragging went to team 1. I saw this more than anything as a vindication for Stephen and an indication of how putting Ilan in a non-Spanish environment would lead to his downfall by showing the narrowness of his cooking range. Marcel was his normal outspoken, taunting self. Tiffani was surprisingly low-key and did not get many sound bites.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2007, 03:30:21 PM by apskip »


Offline puddin

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2007, 10:33:14 AM »
Sounds good! *makes mental note to self*

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2007, 05:38:10 PM »
OK Ms. Puddin, the new season begins tonight, 10 PM EDT/9 PM Central. (Y'all in Mountain and Pacific time.. you are on your own.)  :kissy:

There will be reruns of the last week's challenge before the new season begins if you missed it. It was quite entertaining to see the 2 season's cooks and I do believe after watching it that Marcel was the better chef last season than Ilan and as Kilarney points out, the lack of skills was very evident when he couldn't cook the lamb because all he really knows is how to cook Spanish food. I didn't see any evidence of it, but Marcel really put his rival in a tough place because of his lack of knowledge. (I loved it!)

I also loved the return of Stephen, he wasn't quite as in love with beverages and explaining them but he still was true to form and that is a fun thing to watch.

Enjoy the new season!
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Offline puddin

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2007, 05:41:22 PM »
Thank You TL! now to decide ...Rescue me or the Chefs  :groan:?

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2007, 06:31:22 PM »
Thank You TL! now to decide ...Rescue me or the Chefs  :groan:?

NOOOOOOOO Problem!! Watch Rescue me and the opener at 11, it repeats!  :hearts: Get in shape for BB late night happenins! :hearts:
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Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2007, 04:08:43 PM »
Episode 1

Top chef 3 started out with a typical Tom Colicchio catch-them-off-guard move. At an opening reception with copious very interesting munching choices available, he and Padma arrived and announcecd that a Quickfire was about to begin. The 15 contestants had 10 minutes to use any ingredients left over (and there was plenty to choose from) and available utensils and plates only to create an amuse bouche. They went right at it, with a wide variety of approaches. The two judged by Tom to be non-starters were the dishes from Tre and Clay, both of whom were pissed. Clay had not done an amuse bouche but a fruit cup. Tre had poor flavor results. The winner was Micah, who got immunity from the Elimination Challenge which was the next day.

Knives were drawn for the order of picking from a table of unusual entree ingredients to make a surf and turf. It was announced that the Guest Judge was Anthony Bourdain and that the more adventurous would be likely to be favored by him. There was enough for 2 people to choose the same ingredient. The #1 person chose and so on. They then had $30 and 30 minutes to shop at the local Fresh Market store in Miami Beach for other ingredients. Afterward, the first 8 numbers had 2 hours to cook and present. After they were judged, the last 7 numbers had 2 hours to cook and present. The cooking went along, but right at the end Howie failed to get his frog legs on the plate in time and could only present one of two planned dishes. Clay's dishes had problems and so did several others by male contestants (it should be noted that the bottom 4 and top 2 contestants in the judging were all male; the females were all in that safe middle). The top 2 were Hung and Tre. Hung was given a reference in the Season 1 vs. 2 contest by Marcel, who works at the same restaurant Guy Savoy in Las Vegas. Hung has the same insouciance that Marcel does. Tre obviously took his low standing in the Quickfire to heart and won the contest presenting antelope steaks with abalone sauce. Gail Simmons stated that in the previous seasons the winner of the first Elimination Challenge ended up winning the season. The lowest four were Howie, Clay, Dale, and Brian. Howie entertained the judges by answering a question from Anthony Bourdain by quoting from Bourdain's book as to why he overreached. It was really between Howie and Clay as to who would be eliminated. Howie had made a major mistake, but his sea urchin risotto dish was regarded highly by the judges and they though he had good potential, so he was saved. Clay was judged as immature and not worth saving, so he packed his knives.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2007, 04:49:00 PM by apskip »


Offline shadia

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2007, 07:25:36 PM »
Love the show, but there is no eye candy this season <pouts>  :(

Offline TPorter2

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2007, 09:28:54 PM »
Nice recap, apskip.  I am new to this show but it has some really devoted fans.  I have a lot to learn.

Offline BballKates

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #12 on: June 16, 2007, 02:48:26 PM »
Just downloaded the first episode. I think I may have caught the season finale of season 2 and was very interested in the show. I look forward to watching the first episode.

Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #13 on: June 21, 2007, 08:43:24 AM »
Episode 2

Guest judge is Howard Van Aken, noted chef/resaturant owner from south Florida. Where is ted Allen when we need him?

Quickfire is to incorporate citrus in 10 minutes. Everyone does something unique and different. Losers are Micah with an avocado soup(and she's really pissed to be in the bottom 3), Sandee, and Sarah. Winners are Hung with slow roasted(in 10 minutes?) salmon w/watercress salad, CJ and Tre. Hung is given the win and immunity. Hung snuck in a zinger at Micah for complaining about problems her daughter was having. Hung said that you have to focus and not let other things distract you from what you have to do in this competition.

Elimination Challenge is Elegant Gourmet Barbecue for a Miami socialite's party. They have $200 each for 30 minutes shopping, then 2 hours prep time. When they get to the mansion, by the ocean are set up 14 outdoor grills similar to what you or I own. They have bags of Kingsford charcoal and mesquite chips and too much lighter fluid. 

Tom comes to check on the contestants. Brian won't tell him what he's doing; that's not a good sign for Brian's future as Tom always wants to know what's going on and part of the judging is on the contestant's ability to explain it. Tom states "Howie is already in trouble at the beginning becuase he is grilling his pork too soon", prophetic words as you will see. Barbecuing continues without mishap. There are no plating problems.
Here are the comments made at the first round of Judges Table:

Hung - served the simplest food(not a negative comment)
Tre - some felt too salty, others underseasoned; all thought it lacked acidity; Tre's in trouble
Sandee - her poached lobster violated the rules of barbecue
Brian - his seafood sausage met the high end BBQ concept
Sarah - her vietnamesse beef BBQ was very tasty
Micah - her lamb with pomegranate was very tasty
others - no comments at this time

Joey was very argumentative with others after the finish of cooking and upcoming. He accused Hung of stealing his watermelon shooter concept as a drink served with the meal; one of the women called him a fool for thinking that he patented a simple drink like that.

The losers group included Joey, Howie, Tre and Sandee.
Howie - his pork did indeed dry out because he sliced it too early; he stepped up and took responsibility for this mistake
Joey - his jerk chicken was "what he would serve in his backyard" and no way upscale
Tre - although he was in this group, his sins were minor becuase his flavors were really OK
Sandee - her lack of comprehension of barbecue put her in real jeopardy

While waiting, Joey and Howie got into a verbal joust. Howie accused Joey correctly of backbiting and Joey was growling back.The judges likened their decision to a contest between getting rid of someone who didn't understand barbecue vs. someone who wasn't upscale. It was pretty clear that Tre and Howie were going to survive and the choice of who to drop was between Joey and Sandee. Sandee got the nod, but I don't see Joey or Howie lasting long on this show.



« Last Edit: June 27, 2007, 04:15:26 PM by apskip »

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2007, 08:39:15 AM »
Thanks for the recaps. :) You do a great job!  :tup:

The personalities are becoming clearer now. I agree Howie and Joey won't last much longer. I see Tre and Hung as top contenders but both got slapped down a bit this time and that is a good thing. They will have to step it up a bit.
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Offline Maros1

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2007, 09:32:05 AM »
I love this show! The season looks like it's going to be good. I'm bummed out that Birdsong left! Howie got lucky, I think he should have gone! Hung is the guy I love to hate! Something about him is very interesting to me, he's going to go far I hope in this show. Tre, he seems to be too arrogant. My favorite has to be Hung at this point, I'm not fully sure why but it is!

Looking forward to tonight's episode!

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #16 on: June 27, 2007, 10:24:28 AM »
I love this show! The season looks like it's going to be good. I'm bummed out that Birdsong left! Howie got lucky, I think he should have gone! Hung is the guy I love to hate! Something about him is very interesting to me, he's going to go far I hope in this show. Tre, he seems to be too arrogant. My favorite has to be Hung at this point, I'm not fully sure why but it is!

Looking forward to tonight's episode!

Welcome to RFF Maros!  :welcome2: :welcome: :welcome2:

I think it is pretty clear that Hung is very talented. Marcel saw him at the Season 1 and 2 challenge and remarked that since he knew him personally that it would be a high quality battle this year. What I like about Top Chef is they actually compete by having to create dishes whereas my other favorite, Hell's Kitchen is hell on earth with the best manager/chef emerging who can command a kitchen.
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Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #17 on: June 27, 2007, 10:52:54 PM »
Episode 3
The Guest Judge is Alfred Portale chef/owner of Gotham Bar and Grill in Manhattan. Ted Allen is back and Gail Simmons is missing.

The Quickfire is to use a net for 30 seconds to catch as much shellfish as possible, then for 30 minutes create and cook a new dish utilizing that shellfish. Hung and Brian both state that there will have to be conch in everyone's catch and that conch is difficult to clean in a short period of time. Micah states that she loves conch. Portale states that those using conch are probably making a mistake. The Quickfire winners are Howie, Brian and CJ. Howie has a traditional ceviche which Portale acclaims as logical. CJ has a dish that was "surprising" in a positive way. However, Brian blows everyone away with his complex "3 Rivers" dish involving a range of fresh to cooked and using a wide range of flavors to complement the shellfish. He wins immunity for the Elimination Challenge and one of the others says that he can experiment and take risks the others can't when they see what he is buying. The losers group is Micah with conch salad, Camille with too much cheese, and Tre with proportions of croutons that Portale thought were "too big."

The Elimination Challenge is to take 13 dishes that are family favorites and update them into something new and different and much more healthy with lower cholesterol. They had 30 minutes and $75 to shop, then 1 hour to prep/pre-cook. The next day they have 1 hour to finish cooking and plate. The meal is for a group of relatives of a  Miami Elks Club Lodge and we see people of all ages come to dinner. The only contestant who really likes this is Dale, who predicts he will do really well because the concept is what he does every day with his cooking. Hung and Micah hate the concept.

Dale does chicken with potato dumplings.
Hung does a takeoff on fried chicken with macaroni and cheese.
Sara N. does fish and chips.
Lia does franks and beans and uses chicken sausage in beer with lentils that were undercooked. She is in trouble.
Brian has tuna casserole, which he turned into cabbage stuffed with lobster. He has forgotten that lobster is high in cholesterol.
Camille has beef and tuna tacos
CJ has tuna casserole with whole wheat casserole and flaxseed.
Sarah M. has chicken a la king, which is executed with mushroom puree in a fashion that has poor flavor. She is in trouble.
Micah has meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Hers are inedible and were hated by many who had to sample them. She is in trouble.
Casey has sloppy joes.
Joey has low cholesterol "vegetable" (with chicken and turkey) lasagna.
Tre has chicken cordon bleu.
Howie has roast pork and applesauce. He got it just right with no dryness this time and was given an excellent rating by the judges.

Dale and Howie are the two best and Howie wins. He gets 3 books by Portale plus an invite to spend a week in the Gotham Bar and Grill kitchen.

The 5 losers are Brian(he is surprised since he has immunity), CJ, Micah, Sara M. and Lia. Brian is dismissed after a brief discussion. CJ's flavors were good, so it is clear that he is not in trouble. Lia totally messed up because her final product had poor flavor and was judged very simple. Micah screwed up by not tasting her food before she served it and then serving inedible food. Sara had really low flavor chicken a la king. The judges decided to punish Micah. I would had let Lia go. Apparently the fact the Micah was a loser on both competitions was an important factor.




« Last Edit: June 28, 2007, 02:14:04 PM by apskip »

Offline TPorter2

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #18 on: June 28, 2007, 06:32:31 AM »
I think Lia had the Frank and Beans and did the chicken sausage and lentils instead.
Brian had the stuffed cabbage which he updated with the lobster.
Casey did the Sloppy Joe.
Did Sara do the Fishsticks and French Fries update? 

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #19 on: June 28, 2007, 07:56:03 AM »
What do we think of Hung's actions last night, he plainly turned off the oven, is he beginning to seem a little underhanded?  ???
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Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #20 on: June 28, 2007, 08:48:52 AM »
I think Lia had the Frank and Beans and did the chicken sausage and lentils instead.
Brian had the stuffed cabbage which he updated with the lobster.
Casey did the Sloppy Joe.
Did Sara do the Fishsticks and French Fries update? 

I went back to my tape from last night's show to find out what happened in more detail. Taking accurate notes on the fly is quite difficult.
You are right that Lia had Franks and Beans, Casey did sloppy Joes, and Sara did Fish and Chips.
Also the person I was referring to as Chris is really CJ, the really tall guy.
I am going to go back and modify my original recap to incorporate your changes. Thanks.

I also discovered that Dale did Lithuanian pierogis.
Hung did pasta and vegetables to replace mac and cheese. A diner commented that the chicken did not remin her of her grandmother's fried chicken but wouldn't kill you either.
Lia had snapper and pine nuts.
Brian's dish was lobster and shrimp stuffed into cabbage and served on lobster sauce. His speech on how it's OK to have sime cholesterol went over like a lead balloon with the judges.
Sarah M.'s chicken a la king was combined with vegetables on skewers and served with couscous.
Camille's tacos were beef and chili salsa and tuna.
Joey's low cholesterol vegetable lasagna contained both chicken and turkey.




« Last Edit: June 28, 2007, 02:16:13 PM by apskip »

Offline TPorter2

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #21 on: June 28, 2007, 12:31:29 PM »
No problem, you do a great job on the recaps!   :hearts:

Offline reedthis

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #22 on: July 02, 2007, 10:58:47 AM »
What do we think of Hung's actions last night, he plainly turned off the oven, is he beginning to seem a little underhanded?  ???


Yeah I think he did that on purpose, he may be trouble in the future.  If he thinks he's so great he should not have to sabotage others peoples meals.
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Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #23 on: July 02, 2007, 04:00:13 PM »
What do we think of Hung's actions last night, he plainly turned off the oven, is he beginning to seem a little underhanded?  ???


Yeah I think he did that on purpose, he may be trouble in the future.  If he thinks he's so great he should not have to sabotage others peoples meals.

I agree, a great cook would not have to sabotage. I'm truly disappointed in him, I thought he was the real deal.
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Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #24 on: July 13, 2007, 10:45:33 AM »
EPISODE 4

If you missed the July 4th episode, you missed nothing because there was no new episode. Tonight the Guest Judge is Jamie Walker from Bombay Sapphire Gin. The Quickfire is to create a dish that pairs up with a randomly selected cocktail. those selections are by drawing knives. There is 30 minutes allotted for creating, cooking and plating. What I find unusual here is that the editors only show about half the contestants darwing knives and about half presenting their dishes and having them evaluated. They were:

Joey - sea scallops and risotto to pair with roasted pineapple and vanilla martini
Howie - scallops and salad to pair with chili martini
Hung - salmon and sauce to pair with raspberry mint martini
CJ - caramelized watermelon and soup with ?
Dale - seasoned foie gras to pair with a lemon blanc?
Tre - Seared halibut to pair with sapphire sherry
Casey - baguette and foie gras with ?

The losers are Joey and Hung. Hung is getting predicatable. Whenever a Guest Judge criticizes anything about one of his Quickfire Creations, he immediately responds on camera that the Guest Judge just doesn't "get" his concept. Hung has obviously not read "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and this tactic will catch up with him eventually in this competition.
The winners are Dale, Tre and Casey, with Casey being selected as the overall winner with immunity for the Elimination Challenge. This immediately becomes a problem when that is a competition of 4 teams of 3.

The Elimination Challenge is to use a trio of the same ingredients as one course of four at a special meal at Barton G's for 10 local Miami Chaines des Rotisseurs. Teams go through some redistribution. Howie and Joey are not pleased to end up with Casey who has elimination and they feel will be unmotivated to go for a team victory. Ingredient shopping bduget is $150 per team to feed 14 people; 30 minutes is allowed for shopping. The choices of ingredient are:

Hung, Brian, Lia - they go for Scallops initially but find them insufficient in either supply or price at the market and have to switch to Pink Shrimp

Howie, Joey, Casey - they plan on Duck but at the market they have to switch to Tuna

CJ, Tre, Sara N. - Beef with Truffles

Camille, Dale, Sara M. - Pineapple; Dale pretty much forces them to do a dessert for the last course even though this is risky with limited dessert experience for all of them.

During the cooking,Team 2 soy sauce becomes an issue twice. Howie apparently used too much, leaving Casey with not enough to properly season her dish. Tom comes by and comments to Howie that he is asking for trouble with the amount if soy in his dish.
Team 4's Sara had huge problems with a powder gel on her dish; she had to switch to what she called a semi-fredo, but that was not accepted by Tom as such.

The dishes were:
Trio of Shrimp- with Key West peach; olive oil poached with salad; with corn pudding
Trio of Tuna- tartare; served coriander crusted; cilantro salad and confit
Trio of Filet Mignon and Truffles - carpaccio with vianaigrette; butter braised tenderloin; black pepper braised tenderloin
Trio of Pineapple - upside down cake with ginger sabayon; tart; semifredo with blueberry sauce;

At Judges Table, there is an easy decision that Team 1 was the Winner. The individual winner was much more difficult, but it went to Lia. She was invited to the Hamptons to be a Guest chef for a charity event.

Losers Group was between Tuna and Dessert(Pineapple). Ted said that Team 4 and specifically Dale had jumped on a big sword by choosing pineapple. Dale defended himself by stating that dessert was a serious risk but that chefs have to take risks. Tom criticized the effort to try new techniques for the first time, such as the powder gel. He then criticized Howie and Joey for allowing Casey's very poor tasting dish to go out without tasting it; if they had they would have tried to fix it. Casey admitted that she had known with 1 hour to go that there was a taste issue but she had lost sight of it by the end and forgotten to do anything about it. She almost got to the point of giving up her immunity to prevent Howie or Joey from going home as a result of her screw-up.

When all the Losers Group feedback is evaluated by me, I think Camille and Sara of the Dessert team are in trouble. I predict Camille will be going home. The final decision is prefaced by "Pastry teams chose to do something they did not know how to do. Dale started it and it was a bad idea." However, Camille is the one to go home. Dale says he feels responsible for her elimination.





« Last Edit: July 13, 2007, 02:18:57 PM by apskip »

Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #25 on: July 19, 2007, 08:17:14 AM »
There seems to be little interest in Top chef 3 commentary, but I will give this another week before I throw in the towel due to talking to myself.

EPISODE 5

Guest Judge is Maria Frumkin, owner/chef of French Bakery Cafe and Duo Restaurant.
Quickfire is to use Frozen Pie Crust in 90 minutes.

Hung makes a mousse of chocolate cream with bananas and spicy peanuts. When it is runny, he uses strawberries as a moat.
Joey does a trio of tarts: berry; roasted mango; warm apple compote
Lia does pork tenderloin plus aged gruyere salad
Howie does peach tart tatin with black pepper
Tre does fennel apple tart tatin
Dale does spinach and salmon en croute plus strawberry, pear and saffron tart
CJ does duck lollipop and duck tart
Brian does 4 tarts: vegetarian; seafood; chorizo; fruit with grand marnier
Sara M. does braised swiss chard and rabbit stew plus goat cheese, feta and fig tart
Casey and Sara N. are not mentioned.

Losers bracket is Lia, Dale(he is really surprised), and Hung(this time he keeps his mouth shut when criticized).
Winners bracket is Joey, Tre and Sara M. Immunity goes to Joey, who had the best flavors.

The Elimination Challenge is to cater a Latin Lunch for the cast and crew (20 people including the judges) on Star Island for Telemundo Telenovella "Dame Chocolate".
Contestants have $125 and 30 minutes to shop and 3 hours the next day to cook. Serving will be at the site buffet-style out of chafing dishes. Tom Colicchio comes in at the start of cooking time to throw in a pre-planned monkey wrench designed to test the nerves of the contestants - the lunch has been moved up by 1.5 hours and they now only have 1.5 hours to cook. Panic ensues and everyone starts moving in a much higher gear. Hung nearly whirls into Casey with a large knife. Tom talks to Howie about his pork(does Howie do anything else?) and tells the camera that if he were presented with this challenge he would switch from braising to roasting, which Howie is not doing. Dishes chosen were:

Joey - black bean stew with shrimp, lobster, chicken and chorizo
Lia - smoked rainbow trout plus polenta cakes
Howie - braised pork
Casey - mole-style coffe molasses sauce over chicken and rice; while cooking the rice she allowed it to boil over and she knew it was overcooked
Sara N. - avacado, shrimp, scallop ceviche
Hung - arroz con pollo
Dale - grilled poblano
Sara N. - Chilles rellenos
CJ - skirt steak, black beans, jicama
Tre - prawns with coconut sauce
Brian - don't know

At Judges Table Lia was criticized for not following a Latin theme. Also it was noted that her polenta was left on most plates.
Casey's overcooked rice was noted.
Joey's dish and Howie's excellent flavors were both singled out for praise. They end up in the Winner's Group. Howie wins a bottle of Argentinian wine form Frumkin and gives to to Joey, who stated that they would share it together that evening.
Loser's round composed of Lia and Casey was no surprise, but Hung was shocked to be there and Sara N. was the fourth. Casey's coffe flavor was judged as not Latin and tasting like cough syrup and her chicken was dry. Sara's fault was that the inclusion of scallops made in not a real ceviche. Note that Hung and Lia were double losers, so one of them was going to go home. I was rooting for this to be Hung, whose rice was dry and underseasoned, who was not safe with his knives, and who has been arrogant throughout, but he got lucky. Lia's failure to do Latin food and her poor polenta plus no doubt her poor Quickfire made her the eliminated contestant. Casey was upset because Lia and Casey had become close friends.







 
« Last Edit: August 16, 2007, 08:40:50 AM by apskip »

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #26 on: July 19, 2007, 09:41:41 AM »
There seems to be little interest in Top chef 3 commentary, but I will give this another week before I throw in the towel due to talking to myself.



Oh please don't stop. I'm reading!! I couldn't watch last night so I want to read your synopsis. You do a great job with the, I appreciate your perspective.
 :-*

ETA: See? Read 355 times! You are being read, we just don't post and say anything.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #27 on: July 19, 2007, 05:44:28 PM »
I watched this afternoon. Thanks for the great commentary. I was wondering if Howie knows how to make anything else other than pork myself. Hasn't he done this for every competition?

About Hung, from the first he has been arrogant, but he seemed to be so talented that he was in my top tier of chefs. He has steadily gone down and if he didn't cheat in the competition, with the oven being cooled down, it seemed to be pretty close.

Who would you rate as the top 3 most likely to be in the final competitions? I'm thinking Tre, Howie and possibly Joey.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #28 on: July 19, 2007, 10:12:40 PM »
I would agree with Howie, Tre and Joey as the final three based on what we have seen to date. They have the most consistency in creating and executing good flavor dishes. Hung has been poorly rated for the past several weeks in a row, so it's clear that his self-image is unjustifed by his cooking performance. The women (Casey, Sara N., Sara M.) have all been in trouble recently and none has been a consistent high performer. The other men (CJ, Brian, Dale) and Hung have each had their turn in the sunshine, but none has done so more than once; any of them could stage a comeback.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #29 on: July 25, 2007, 08:14:49 AM »
Hung has been a disappointment, he is arrogant and that has come to the judges attention and not in a good way. Marcel and Stephan have their character flaws, but both are excellent chefs, Hung seemed to heading down that path but he isn't up to their caliber but he thinks he is. Maybe if he calms down and concentrates, he can show us how good he really is.

None of the women have made much of an impression on me but we still have time to see if they can shine.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #30 on: July 26, 2007, 07:23:09 AM »
SPECIAL Q&A EPISODE

Participants were the Judges (Tom, Padma, Gail, and Ted) plus:
Season 1 - LeeAnne, Harold, Dave
Season 2 - Ilan, Sam, Cliff, Michael
Season 3 Already Eliminated contestants - Clay, Sandee, Micah, Camille, Lia

I have to say as an overview that this was an excellent show with more good insights that you would expect from this type of quasi-reunion.

First up was a nomination from the each judge of their favorite dish from the past. They were Tiffani's pork dish, Ilan's Spanish concoction, Harold's kobe beef, and Sam's ceviche/Howie's pork.

Next were famous lines from Top Chef. I missed the first one. Next was "Tom eats like it's Top Surgeon," referring to his method of cutting only a small piece for himself so that there would be plenty for other judges. "Gail shows her culinary knowledge" is often used because she does go out of her way to display what he knows. Tom is fond of saying "This is Top Chef," not top sous chef or top sommelier or whatever. "There's always a finger to be pointed." Examples were provided, but I find this one a little obscure.

Harold was cited by Tom as a chef's chef. His new restaurant Perilla was featured in a brief segment on this show. Harold was asked what type of competition he would like to participate in with any of the asssembled individuals. He said the only one that interests him would be a Smackdown against the Judges.

One of the questions was "Is Stephen for real?" Gail defended him and so did Harold, who proclaimed him to be a highly articulate chef.

There was a segment on the competition at the Aspen Food & Wine Challenge, where Ilan as the Season 2 winner was pitted against Jacques Pepin in a 20 minute Quickfire. Gail was Ilan's sous-chef. The audience voted strongly in favor of Jacques but Gail said Ilan had done really well.

Notable on-screen battles were briefly acknowledged:
Stephen vs. Candice
Howie vs. Joey
Miguel vs. Ilan
Marcel vs. Betty
Marcel vs. Sam
Marcel vs. Cliff
They also showed a brief clip of Cliff vs. Marcel, which got Cliff eliminated for his behavior. Cliff was asked to explain what had happened back then. Tom made the statement that "It was unfortunate because Cliff had a god shot at winning." I challenge that statement as pure rubbish, since Cliff's dish already partially reviewed at Judges' Table was certain to be worst and cause him to be eliminated the morning after the hazing incident did it to him first.

There was an incredibly funny parody done just before that incident happened. Ilia and Elia were playing the judges and Marcel, cliff and Sam were the contestants who cooked up a mock meal and were judged by the normal TopChef standards. You had to see this to believe it!

The comment was made by a questioner that TopChef contestants seem to drink a lot. Tom defended this because they are pretty much sequestered and do not have a lot of options.

There was a focus on Padma's dress segment. It's hard to criticize showing what you have when you are an actress with a body like that. Pamda defended herself by saying that on the show all she gets to do is think, speak, eat, and demonstrate the contents of her wardrobe.

One listener proclaimed Tom a member of the Bear community. Ted explained that this is for burly gay men. Tom stated that his wife and son might not appreciate this honor.

The least successful segment of the night utilized Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Drepression, Acceptance with examples from TopChef.

Contestants were asked how their fame had affected them. Michael answered that he had not had to buy a drink in over a year.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #31 on: July 26, 2007, 11:37:25 AM »
Thanks for the summary! I didn't get a chance to watch and wondered what I missed. Good job! I'll have to watch it sometime today.  :-*

I THINK that Rocco will be a guest judge for the next episode, that should be interesting.  :tup:
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #32 on: July 26, 2007, 01:00:07 PM »
They did announce that Rocco will be Guest Judge next week. That wasn't in my notes because it means nothing to me.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #33 on: July 26, 2007, 01:39:41 PM »
They did announce that Rocco will be Guest Judge next week. That wasn't in my notes because it means nothing to me.

No problem! Supposedly he is a brilliant chef when he wants to be and according to the blog at Bravo, Hung should be very careful, if Rocco tells him his Arroz Con Pollo sucks, he better take a long look in the cold cruel merciless mirror. 
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #34 on: August 01, 2007, 07:12:49 PM »
apskip: It's a good thing you posted the Q&A session, the DVR did not catch it!!  (:;) I hope they replay it.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #35 on: August 01, 2007, 11:17:00 PM »
EPISODE 6 starting with 10 contestants

Guest Judge is Rocco Dispirito, who shows up on Bertoli commercials during the show.

Quickfire is really interesting. It is a Culinary Bee. Items are presented to each contestant in turn. They have to look, taste, or touch it to identify the item. They have a nominal 5 seconds (really more like 10 seconds) to decide, but whatever they first say is their answer. The first round eliminates all but Howie, Brian, Hung and Casey. Hung goes out on 2nd round, Brian goes out on 4th round. Howie last to the 5th round but eggplant does him in. Casey wins by identifying roasted red bell pepper. She gets immunity for the Elimination Challenge.

The Elimination Challenge is comceptually simple but could prove difficult in execution. Bertoli frozen meal in the bag that are cookable in 10 minutes are the target. Create the equivalent Mediterranean dish by buying ingredients, cooking for 2 hours, then assembling for 1 hour, then heating at a remote location for 10 minutes. 15 meals are to be prepared and most will be offered as takeaway meals(although the contestants don't know this) after shoppers sample them. Knives are drawn to get 5 two-person teams:
Dale/Casey
Joey/Hung
Sarah M./Dale
Tre/CJ
Sara N./Brian

Dale/Casey choose meatballs as their protein, orechiette as their pasta, and add pesto and artichokes.
Joey/Hung go with tri-colored fusilli(Hung wanted penne), chicken, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.
Sara M./Howie elect shrimp with a pasta sauce created from scratch by that master of Italian cuisine Howie.
Sara N./Brian do chicken with rigatoni, olives and peppers.
Tre/CJ do chicken, black truffles and linguini.

At the final 2 minutes, Casey/Dale had time available and helped Sara N./Brian finish on time.
The prep was marked by dissention between Joey and Hung. Hung wanted to do a number of things, including Individual Quick Freezing, that would have led to an improved dish. Joey just ignored him because, as another master of Italian cuisine no upstart was going to teach him anything. The result was a dish that had mushy pasta because the sauce was absorbed into the pasta before freezing.
Similar dissention happened between Sara M. and Howie. Sara doesn't work very hard or fast and Howie had little respect for her efforts, so he pretty much ignored her.
The only team that did use the IQF technique was Tre/CJ, who explained that the one hour assembly time gave them the opportunity to do so by allowing time to unfreeze.
Casey/Dale sold their boxes first. Sara N./Brian were a close second.
Hung/Joey and Howie/Sara M. were the teams clearly in trouble. My fearless prediction at this point was that Sara M. would go home.

Padma noted during the serving period that Howie/Sara M. had two large blocks of not-unfrozen stuff in their cooker.

The competition for best was between Dale/Casey and Tre/CJ. CJ noted that he had not won anything yet. That changed tonight as Tre/CJ were the winners of an expenses paid trip for 2 each to Italy (coutesy of Bertoli).
Brian/Sara N. were noted to have a good dish.
The losers bracket was between Hung/Joey and Howie/Sara M. as both had terrible flavors for their dishes. Rocco referred to both as "depressingly bad."
Hung tried defended himself in a way that clearly marked Joey as a jerk. Tom was not happy about that.
Howie was asked why fusilli when Sara said she had wanted a different pasta but deferred for the first of many times to Howie. Howie answered that it had a shape that catches sauce.
Tom asked Sara what she contributed. She said she wanted a mirapois and tomato paste added. Howie said her real contributions were fennel. Tom's summary was that Sara's contributions were practically nonexistent.
Padma said that neither team could sell free food.
Joey was identified as difficult and bull-headed.

The big moment came and I was pretty sure from the editing that it would be Sara to go as she had the biggest negatives and no positives while tom's summary comments about Joey were mild. However, the decision surprised me as it was Joey selected to go home. He was very emotional on departure.

 

 
« Last Edit: November 10, 2010, 04:53:49 PM by apskip »

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #36 on: August 02, 2007, 11:57:25 AM »
Thanks again for another excellent recap!  :tup:

I was surprised at their decision, I thought it would be Sara, they even went to her before Padma announced the decision. She has never impressed me and Joey has done well in the past.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #37 on: August 08, 2007, 10:32:45 PM »
EPISODE 7

Guest Judge is Govind Armstrong, a chef/owner of the Table8 restaurants in Miami and Los Angeles and author of the book "Small Knives, Big Nights."

An ice cream cart is on display to start the Quickfire, which is to create in 45 minutes a new flavor of ice cream. Govind cautions the contestants to "Keep it Simple." Based on what happens, he forgot to add the Stupid to the end.

As has become the editors' practice, only 4 out of 9 were shown here. Dale had flambeed peach with pecans and a topping. Howie had marinated mixed berries. Both of them were in the winners circle. Dale wins and discovers later that he gets a bye on the Elimination Challenge plus a meal at Table8 with Govind.

Casey had siracha sauce and poblano, a very strange set of ingredients. Hung had 7 different flavors in his. Govind found both to have violated his "simple" rule and classified them as Worst.

The producers of TopChef3, who I believe are Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, pull a nasty stunt next. They fake the entire group of contestants except for Dale into believing they are going to Miami Beach in the limo to have a night of downtime. When they arrive who do they find but Padma and Govind waiting for them. The Elimination Challenge starts immediately with most of the contestants dressed for a night out. This was definitely not appreciated. Knives are drawn for two teams:

Orange is CJ, Casey, Sara N. and Howie
Black is Tre, Hung, Sara M. and Brian

Teams have 15 minutes to plan, 30 minutes and $300 to shop, then 1.5 hours to cook before their mobile kitchen unit starts serving late night bar food at 146am. Menus are chosen as follows:

Orange Menu
Cuban Pork Sandwich with Plaintain Chips
Beef Sliders with Caramelized Onions
Quesadillas with Salsa
Spicy Ceviche Taco with Shrimp and Scallops
Milkshakes
Cafe con Leche

Black Menu
Teriyaki chicken Wings
Onion Rings
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Cheese Grits
Oysters on the Half Shell
Ceviche

CJ made the claim that he was a professional volleyball player for 3 years and that it ought to be possible to get similar teanwork among chef contestants. However, his team had an ongoing feud between Howie and Sara N. that he did nothing to solve and Casey appeared to stick her head in the sand about it. The end result was that Sara N. ignored advice from Howie that putting ice cubes in milkshakes was a terrible idea and complaints from Howie that her productivity on beef sliders was too low to allow them to keep up with the notoriously fickle late night bar crowd demand. In addition, both dishes had serious flavor issues. Casey had excellent flavor on the quesadillas.

The Black team had higher producitivity and better overall flavors and they won the competition. Tre was the winner of the Elimination Challenge with his cheese grits and bacon-wrapped shrimp. He won the above-mentioned book.

The Orange team was the losers. Casey and Sara N. both complained about being forced to compete in going-out attire.  The judges had some nasty comments for each of its members. Sara's burgers had insufficient salt. CJ failed to lead. Casey stayed in the corner and let others deal with the conflict when she might have been able to help solve the grill productivity problem if she had exposed herself to what was going on more. Howie was responsible for a lack of communication not just with Sara N. but with everyone who has been on a team with him. Sara claimed a personality conflict with Howie.

Tom summarized the situation by saying that both of Howie and Sara N. could not remain and the choice had to go to the one least endowed with skills for future tests. That was clearly Sara, who was eliminated.  


« Last Edit: November 10, 2010, 04:53:10 PM by apskip »

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #38 on: August 16, 2007, 08:19:00 AM »
EPISODE 8
Guest chef is acclaimed French chef/owner Daniel Boulud, who was written the book "Letters to a Chef" in addition to running multiple restaurants in the U.S.
Quickfire is to be inspired by the Red Robin Adventuresome Buger menu and create a burger recipe that is worthy of being on it. Contestants have 30 minutes.
Burger creations are:

Howie - black truffle with taleggio cheese
Sara M. - crab with citrus remoulade, orange and endive salad
Casey - patty melt with port-salut cheese and onions (she tried to be very basic)
Hung - shrimp with tempura flakes and shiitake bacon
Brian - shrimp, scallops, sea bass with sweet chili glaze
Tre - Surf and Turf Ciabatta Burger with horseradish sour cream
Dale - tuna and asparagus with fried egg, using soy aioli
CJ - scallop mousse and shrimp with tangerine

Losers are Sara and Tre.
Winners are Howie, CJ, Dale, and Hung. CJ is chosen as the best. However, Padma had announced before the quickfire that there would be no immunity for the entire reminder of the competition. Despite that, she tells CJ that he will get a valuable advantage. The Elimination Challenge will involve teams of 4 and he gets to pick his own team. He picks Tre, Brian and Casey (probably the best 3 available). That leaves Sara, Hung, Howie, and Dale for the other team.

Elimination Challenge - Restaurant War
Teams have 24 hours to get a new restaurant started from bare wood(they do have the kitchen equipment in place). They have to name their restaurants and state a concept. They have to choose a General Manager/Front of House, Head Chef, and 2 Sous Chefs. They have to choose decor and spend $2500 in 45 minutes to obtain it, then install whatever is needed. They have to train a wait staff that will arrive slightly before the diners. They have to plan a menu, order food for 30 diners with $700 at Fresh Market, and cook it to impress the judges.

CJ's team chooses Restaurant April and concept New American Contemporary. They elect Brian as GM, Tre as Head Chef and that leaves Casey and CJ as Sous Chefs. Their menu is:

Oyster with granita as amuse bouche
Corn and truffle custard with seared sea scallop
Grouper and shellfish with artichoke hearts
Wild Mushroom Gorgonzola with Crusted Beef Tenderloin and Smoked Potatoes
Mango lemongrass and sake sorbet
Apple tart tatin with brandy sauce and creme anglaise

The other team chooses The Garage and concept Contemporary American Bistro(sound about the same?). Dale has the most out front experience so he appoints himself GM. Sara appoints herself Head Chef, no doubt wanting it to not go to Howie. That leaves Hung and Howie as Sous Chefs. their menu is:

Tuna Tartare with egg vinaigrette
Wild mushroom risotto with foie gras and black truffles
Braised Lamb Shank with Potatoes
Crepe with dark chocolate and Grand Marnier sauce

Judges Table opened with the revelation that there was a secret blogger who attended both restaurants and who feedback was going to be important in addition to the judges. Decor went to Restaurant April, who had light airy choices(mostly thank you to Casey). Dale had chosen black tablecloths and walls and heavily scented candles for the tables. Those decisions were heavily criticized. On service, Brian had totally failed to perform for the first half of the meal. He asked for help and Casey was dispatched to help him out front, which calmed things down. Dale's service was OK. Food was generally unremarkable except for 3 dishes:

Hung's Tuna Tartare got rave reviews.
Tre's smoked potatoes were rated as "inedible". Tre admitted that the smoker got away from him.
Howie's risotto "tasted like mac and cheese" as he had added to the arborio rice. Howie said that he does a version of risotto different from anyone else's and does not depend solely on the creaminess coming from cooking the rice.

Sara was criticized for the heaviness of 2 of the dishes on the Garage menu. She and Howie defended those choices, but you could tell that the Judges did not agree with their judgment.

Neither team won, but I thought they would select Hung as the individual winner. He actually deserved it.
The loser's group was a fake-out. They called back Dale and Brian but they told them they were not being fired.
The entire 24 hour competition was going to be redone to get a more definitive result.
I think this was a predmeditated stunt by the producers. The reason I say that is that Daniel Boulud had 8 copies of his book ready for all contestants. Traditionally the Guest Judge only brings something for the one Winner.




« Last Edit: November 10, 2010, 04:55:01 PM by apskip »

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #39 on: August 17, 2007, 11:13:38 AM »
I just discovered that Anthony Bourdain, host of one of my favorite travel/food shows, is blogging for TopChef 3. He has a few pithy things to say about some of the remaining contestants. He thinks, as I do, that Hung was robbed of a deserved victory in Episode 7. He also predicts that Hung is the chef to beat, which I don't. He has nice things to say about CJ and Casey from Episode 6. He really rips into Tre for his menu item of Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Smoked Potatoes, indicating that is is wrong conceptually in several different ways and then poorly executed. He thinks Sara M. did a poor Head Chef job in allowing the menu choices that she did.

However, the main commentary is reserved for Howie's risotto after knocking the fundamental decision to use cream and cheese when none is called for:
 You shouldn't put cream in risotto, says Tom Collichio (correctly, BTW) but here, too, Howie Knows Best. He has come to learn, he suggests, since "becoming an executive chef" that risotto is better with cream. It's not. Of course, observant viewers and horrified Italians could CLEARLY see that Howie's risotto was sitting up like day old spackle. And while dumping on Howie, I should point out that anytime you see a cook loading up something as potentially simple and beautiful as risotto with too many "money" ingredients like black truffles AND foie gras AND wild mushrooms, you're seeing an insecure cook, temporarily bereft of ideas. Howie's dish was unimaginative (he's done risotto before), over-killed with the garnishes (pick one, numbnuts), completely inappropriate to the climate, location, season and the progression of the rest of the meal. It was also badly executed. His "defense" of eating heavy braised and stewed dishes out of season (cause he likes to) --particularly considering WHO he was talking to -- bordered on the unhinged.

« Last Edit: August 22, 2007, 07:25:22 AM by apskip »

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #40 on: August 21, 2007, 06:46:11 PM »
Again, we did get to see this episode while on vacation. Very interesting comment that Hung deserved to win Episode 7. I thought he would be the chef to beat and he still is head and shoulders above most of those left in the competition. Doesn't it seem that Hung is learning to keep his thoughts to himself as we get further in the competition? Perhaps he can still pull out a win. No one left really shines for me other than Hung, and that makes it tough for me to see who might end up in the final two.

I can't wait to see if they improve with the 2nd go round for their restaurants.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #41 on: August 22, 2007, 10:14:13 PM »
EPISODE 8 Restaurant Wars continued

My wife predicted last week after seeing the brief trailer for this week episode that someone really talented was likely to get the boot. Let's see how close she is.
The Quickfire this week uses Tom Colicchio, I guess because of its nature. It is a Relay Race competition between the teams, with a reward to the winner. They have to select one member for each of schucking 15 oysters, dicing 5 large onions, cutting up 4 chickens, and beating 4 egg whites to foam. Brian (an expert in this) starts oysters against Howie and finishes with Howie still having 5 (1/3 of them) to do. Casey starts onions and is super-slow. When Sarah M. gets underway, she decimates Casey and leaves her in the dust. She turns it over to Hung, who completes all chickens before Tre even gets a chance to start them. Dale finishes the eggs quickly and it's over. Team Quatre(renamed from The Garage) has won a boost from $300 to $500 in wine spending plus the services of a sommelier. That sommelier turned out to be Stephen from Season 1 and Dale later had to ask him to tone it down because his explanations of the wines were running way too long. Casey and Brian have to pick wines for their team and Brian as Maitre D' will serve them.

The comments from the blogger and from the judges on decor were considered by each team. they get a consult with Christopher Ciccone, who was one of the diners the prior evening, about what to fix. He tells Quatre that they need the white tablecloths and some commissioned art on the wall. He tells April that they need something on the wall.

There will be two choices on each menu for each course. The menu for Quatre is:

Tuna Tartare with Egg Vinaigrette
Poussin w/ Gnocchi and Pea Puree

Lamb w/ White Beans and Haricots Verts
Beef Tenderloin

Halibut w/ Grapes and Braised Leeks

Crepes with Orange Grand Marnier Sauce
Pannacotta with Fresh Berries

The menu for April is:

Seared Sea Scallop on Corn Truffle
Wild King Salmon w/ Pesto, nuts and cheese

Chilled Carrot and Ginger Soup
Lobster Salad w/ Arugula and Caramelized Cauliflower

Beef Tenderloin w/ smoked Potatoes
Monkfish

Apple and Bread Pudding w/ Cinnamon and Creme Anglaise


Tom Colicchio took the unprecedented step of being in the kitchen for the entirety of the final food preparation. The Guest Judge is Geoffrey Zakarian of Town and Country Restaurant in New York. I have to say that his incisive comments were the best from any Guest Judge I have ever heard on any Top Chef season.  During the serving, several nasty comments are made by the judges. The tuna(Hung) was overcooked and the lamb(Howie) was not done right. The harshest comments were for the salmon and the apples in the April dessert(both Tre).  My wife and I both predicted at this point that Quatre was going to win and that Tre would be going home. Guests in the restaurants included Lia, Camille, Joey, and Sara N. They could be involved in some Elimination Challenge coming up.

The winning team is Quatre and the individual winner, based on being the key decision maker in her risky role as Executive chef, is Sarah M. Dale was not told that his attire as Maitre D' was considered low-life. April is called in and their faults are enumerated. Tre was told that his salmon was really bad and his apples were also badly done. CJ was asked why he hadn't done anything to help Tre out on the dessert since he was the only one with actual pastry experience. He was also told his lobster dish was marginal because it was too salty. Casey was told she overcooked her monkfish. Brian showed minimal leadership and didn't contribute any help to the other 3 (unlike Dale who did contribute one recipe). The main theme of what was lacking was leadership. We all know what that means. The Executive Chef is going to walk the plank. Tre is indeed selected to go home.


 
« Last Edit: August 22, 2007, 10:52:57 PM by apskip »

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #42 on: August 23, 2007, 08:55:06 AM »
 :'( I missed it because of doing live feeds last night, I have it DVR'd and will watch it shortly. I cannot understand Tre going home when Brian is pretty much of a nothing. I'll write more when I get a chance to view it but I'm bummed that Tre is gone!

Thanks again for your excellent recaps of the episode! (And congrats to your wife for being right with her prediction.)
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #43 on: August 23, 2007, 07:02:13 PM »
Brian was in the front of the house and did a competent job there. He was criticized at Judges Table for not providing any assistance to his colleagues in the kitchen with a recipe for one of the menu items. However, he was never in any danger because he hadn't cooked anything badly and he had done his function OK. Brian was in the lowest risk position on the team.

Tre was in the highest risk position on the team, as all mistakes of his sous chefs flowed through him for final approval before they go out to the diners. But what really killed him was that his own creations were poorly executed and tasted bad.

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #44 on: August 23, 2007, 10:11:22 PM »
Brian was in the front of the house and did a competent job there. He was criticized at Judges Table for not providing any assistance to his colleagues in the kitchen with a recipe for one of the menu items. However, he was never in any danger because he hadn't cooked anything badly and he had done his function OK. Brian was in the lowest risk position on the team.

Tre was in the highest risk position on the team, as all mistakes of his sous chefs flowed through him for final approval before they go out to the diners. But what really killed him was that his own creations were poorly executed and tasted bad.

They had a repeat showing tonight so I got to watch it. I was very impressed with Sarah. She did a great job as Executive Chef, but unlike Bonnie in Hell's Kitchen, she did it effectively and it showed. The one I don't get is CJ. He does only as much as he needs to do and no more, he's been lucky so far.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #45 on: August 30, 2007, 09:44:12 AM »
WHY are they dragging this show out?  ??? Get on with it!  (:;)
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #46 on: September 05, 2007, 10:48:31 PM »
EPISODE 9
Guest Judges are Dana Corwin (Editor-in-Chief of Food and Wine Magazine, replacing Gail Simmons this week) for the Elimination Challenge only and Michael Schwartz of Michael's Food and Drink for both.
Quickfire is The Aisle Trial. Knives are drawn with numbers 1 to 7, each corresonding to an aisle at Fresh Market. Each chef has 10 minutes and $10 to get ingredients for a creation. A limited number of items from the TopChef kitchen are available.

Sarah  does ravioli with white beans.
Howie tried two different things, but both failed to meet his standards, so he presented nothing.
CJ did potato risotto with bitter orange marmalade.
Casey did pudding with ginger snaps.
Hung did eggs with leeks and potatoes plus a chocolate drink. He was all over the map on this.
Brian did spam hash with fried egg in a really interesting presentation.
Dale did ramen noodles with hominy and queso.

Losers are Howie(no-brainer) and CJ.
Winner is Brian, who gets to decide on the team leader in the Elimination Challenge. He picks himself.

The Elimination Challenge is to cater a party for 60 guests of Esteban Cortazar who are Miami's fashion elite. The total for all 7 chefs is $350 food budget ($50 each) with 30 minutes to spend it. Brian has to carefully manage anyone who wants to use more than their share. It ends up with everyone getting approximately $50. Howie had wanted to spend $100 but was cut back. The party turns out to be on one of the Lady yachts, a real party boat that does not have  ideal kitchen facilities.

Brian allows the chefs to team up into this configuration:
Dale and Hung working together
Sarah and Casey working together
Howie, Brian and CJ all working by themselves, although CJ also has to oversee everyone else.

The menu is:
Dale/Hung - caviar mousse on cucumber;  apple and chicken curry on crostini; yoghurt puffs with cream cheese filling
Sarah/Casey - beef carpaccio; tomato bread pudding with basil cream;  a chocolate mousse failed and was not served
Howie - mushroom duxelles on puff pastry; asparagus and prosciutto cigars
Brian - ahi poke with jicama
CJ - scallop and shrimp ssausage over brioche

Preliminary comments from the Judges Table were:
Tom - this was pretty ordinary; no Wow
Michael - uninspired, flat, no pop
Dana - 80% of the iteams came out on some type of bread
Tom - why didn't Brian oversee his colleagues more effectively? Why didn't he act like a Team Leader?

At Judges Table, these were the main comments:
Tom - Brian, you thought 2 dishes were a mistake for any individual, so why did you let them proceed?
Michael - there was little color and little presentation evident
Padma - how did you like your dishes?  Howie responds that his were good
Tom - they were not very good, particularly the mushroom duxelles
Padma - the yoghurt vegetable puff pastry was too runny;  Dale- if I had been allowd to buy goat cheese it wouldn't have been
Tom - evidence of the fact that a limited budget can lead to fine results are in Sarah's and Casey's dishes
Hung is criticized by Tom for "having better recipes that he elected not to use this week"
At this point, Howie sees which way the wind is blowing and volunteers to withdraw. Padma tells him that the judges will make the decision, thank you very much.

Winners are CJ, Casey and Sarah. Casey is the final winner and gets an Apple 17" Matchbook Pro laptop.
Least favorite dishes are both of Howie's and Dale's(although Dale's wasn't that bad). The handwriting is on the wall. It isn't going to be Dale and it isn't going to be Hung. Brian is slightly in jeopardy for poor leadership(although he thinks he did well), but his food was good enough. The victim is Howie, who certainly deserved it.



 




« Last Edit: September 07, 2007, 08:16:15 AM by apskip »

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #47 on: September 06, 2007, 11:11:19 AM »
Farewell Howie, it was time for you to go. Honestly no one in this bunch stands out as the one to beat. At least that is my perception.

Thanks as always for your excellent summation of the episode, I was involved again with Big Brother but have it saved on the DVR.  :-*
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #48 on: September 06, 2007, 02:30:30 PM »
Texas Lady, I agree with your overall assessment. Nobody stands out like Harold, Sam, Ilan and Marcel did in prior seasons. The one individual I thought was toast, Sarah, has made a strong comeback and is now in an even position with the rest. I give a slight edge to Hung but not much.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #49 on: September 06, 2007, 09:40:31 PM »
Texas Lady, I agree with your overall assessment. Nobody stands out like Harold, Sam, Ilan and Marcel did in prior seasons. The one individual I thought was toast, Sarah, has made a strong comeback and is now in an even position with the rest. I give a slight edge to Hung but not much.

Hung better bring his best game to the rest of the challenges. Sarah has made a good comeback. We watched last night's show today, and we could see how they could have done better. Make fewer selections and spend the money on better ingredients. I could see Casey coming close but not winning. I just don't have a good feeling for any of them, I don't see true leadership which a chef has to have. 
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #50 on: September 12, 2007, 10:47:27 PM »
EPISODE 10

This episode starts with the chefs being theoretically woken up by Padma (do you really believe that they weren't already awake and faking it for the camera?). She gets them to come to their suite kitchen, where 6 Breville blenders and butane burners (what, no product placement?) are waiting along with a cornupcopia of ingredients. It's a Quickfire and each chef has 20 minutes to create a delicious berakfast which Padma will sample and judge. Hung starts by knocking over a bottle of truffle oil onto the floor, spilling it and creating a mess that nobody hsa time to clean up. The creations are:

Brian - lobster and butter poached egg with blackberry/raspberry/banana smoothie

CJ - crepes with a shake of blueberry, dates and mascarpone

Hung - steak and eggs plus a smoothie comprised of papya, bananas and Grand Marnier

Sarah - multigrain French toast with eggs and prosciutto 

Dale - ham, apple, onion fritatta

Casey - French toast with salmon, sunnyside up eggs, spinach, salsa, grapefruit

Hung wins over Sarah because he "used his blender to hit all parts of Padma's palate." His immediate reward is an early copy of Padma's new book "Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet," but you know that a more substantive reward will be forthcoming.

Padma tells the chefs that they will leave Miami in the afternoon, so pack up. She gives Hung the tickets. When they open them, the destination is New York City.  Actually, not quite. It's Newark Airport after a flight on Continental Airlines. Padma meets the plane and announces that they will be staying near Newark Airport overnight and coming back to that airport the next day. The chefs are disappointed as they were looking forward to the Big Apple. They will have to survive an Elimination Challenge before they get there.

The Elimination Challenge is to create an entree with starch and vegetable on an airline tray that fits into the heating system on airplanes. Hung got the advantage of picking a protein which nobody else can pick. They will have 2 hours in the Continental kitchens to assemble and prep 18 trays for the judges plus other frequent travelers. The judges are Jimmy McLoughlin, executive chef of Continental Airlines, and Anthony Bourdain plus Tom and Padma. The frequent travelers turn out to be what looks like a total of 28 Continental Elite flight attendants. A plane inside a hangar is used for the final food prep and serving. It has both rear and front galleys, so 2 chefs will go simultaneously, with half of the flight attendants plus all of the judges getting the trays from each one.

Hung - Chilean sea bass with tomato sauce and onions

CJ - Halibut with broccolini and mint vinaigrette and toasted farro with mint oil (I'll have to find out what farro is, so pardon my ignorance)

Dale - Steak au Poivre with Mushroom DemiGlace and Leeks

Brian - NY strip steak and lobster and potato hash

Casey - Veal Medallions with Cauliflower gratin, crimini sauce and apple brandy

Sarah - Seared Salmon, leek fondue, spinach, fig couscous

Tom visits and states that there is a limited amount of space. He feels that meat is preferred over seafood.
Dale in plating from his trays micsounts and sends out 17 when 18 are needed. This is noted by the Judges Table, but doesn't burn him.
Brian's lobster was rubbery and his hash was "disgusting". He's in trouble.
Hung's dish was good all-around.
Casey's dish was "very sophisticated and creative." You know she is going to win tonight when they say that.
Sarah's salmon was "beyond overcooked" and totally dry; her couscous had no flavor. she's in trouble.
CJ's halibut was OK but his broccolini was "the worst single dish ever in 3 years of this competition." He's in trouble.

Casey was the winner over Hung and Dale(who was lucky to be in that group).
The loser's group was between Sarah, CJ and Dale. CJ was taken down by that "worst dish ever" tag. He should never have allowed that broccolini to go out, a point made by Anthony Bourdain.

I see the final 2 now as being Hung (predicted last week) and Casey (who has emerged from the pack).
« Last Edit: September 14, 2007, 12:23:31 PM by apskip »

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #51 on: September 14, 2007, 08:20:26 AM »
Thanks for the excellent summary. (As always!)  I was so involved with Big Brother I haven't had a chance to watch yet so this is much appreciated.

You're the best apskip!!  :tup:
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #52 on: September 20, 2007, 07:42:37 AM »
EPISODE 11 (5 chefs remaining)

This one had previewed last week as being at the French Culinary Institute. Who would you expect to excel at fine French cuisine? Sara, the cheese maker from Jamaica, Brian the fish guy, Dale the goodness knows what, Casey the Japnese restautant exec chef, or Hung, the sous chef at Guy Savoy one of the finest French restaurants in the world(I ate at the Paris original in 1983 and can personally attest to that). Not too difficult to make a good choice, was it?

The chefs have made it to the Big Apple and they are treated to something very special, a dish at Le Cirque(I also ate there in 1985), also one of the very best French restaurants in the world. Owner Sirio Maccione explains that it is White Sea Bass with Russet Potatoes, Leeks, and Sauce and that it is not on the regular menu at Le Cirque; it is reserved for VIPs only. The Quickfire Challenge is to most perfectly match the way in which the one they ate was created. They have 25 minutes to do so, one at a time. Sirio is the Judge, although Padma will eat with him. Sirio's comments on the results are:

Sara - fish not cooked in the middle(Note: due to pre problems, she was not able to get it on the pan in time to throughly cook it)
Dale - no seasoning
Casey - better than any of the others
Hung - fish perfect, potato wrapped correctly
Brian - no comment

Sara loses big. Hung wins a close one over Casey.

Chefs move on to the French Culinary Institute, where a team of distinguished faculty awaits to eat the food that these chefs will cook. The Elimination Challenge is to Create a Fabulous Meal Using Basic Ingedients of Yellow Onion, Chicken, Russet Potato.
Hung gets an extra 30 minutes to cook on top of the 2 hours that everyone else gets. All have $200 and 1 hour to shop at Green Market. Dish choices are:

Brian - peasant's pie with chicken, pheasant, sausage, potato and ramp(I'm going to find out what this is; NOTE added later- it is a wild leek) puree
Sara - fricasee chicken with potato and Israelo couscous risotto
Dale - duet of chicken with onions and potato puree, honey sauce and rosemary
Casey - Coq Au Vin(which she misprounces as Venn), whipped potatoes, sauteed ramp (there it is again), asparagus
Hung - Sous Vide Chicken, Crispy Chicken Skins, Potatoes Dauphines, Salad

At Judges Table the Guest Judge is the venerable Andre Soltner, retired chef of Lutece another of the world's geratest French restaurants(I ate there is 1985; it was a very good year). He takes the strongest role I have ever seen from a Guest Judge, which is not suprising since what does Tom Colicchio know about French cooking compared to him.

Soltner states that Hung's creation is excellent except for the potatoes, which are not dauphines.
Sara's dish is rated as too ambitious.
Dale's dish was rated as not having sufficient flavor. In his haste, Dale forgot to add a critical sauce.
Brian's dish drew several positive comments.
Casey's dish was rated as having a lot of flavor, being the most refined, and being the best dish (by Gale), but Soltner said is was not Coq Au Vin.

The winners choice was between Hung, Casey and Brian, but really between the first two. Gail had voted for Casey, Padma for Brian, Andre for Hung, so Tom decided it. The choice was on whether calling a chicken (not the old hen called for in coq au vin) dish by that label was agreater sin than having potatoes that were not dauphines. The nod went to Hung.
The losers choice was between bad concept(Dale) or bad execution (Sara). Sara was given the boot. Dale gets to move ahead.

Casey sums up the competition thus far by stating that she views her only real competition as Hung. I believe that she's right.





« Last Edit: September 20, 2007, 07:31:28 PM by apskip »

Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #53 on: September 26, 2007, 11:21:28 PM »
FIRST ROUND OF FINALS (4 contestants left)

Brian, Dale, Casey and Hung arrive in Aspen/Snowmass. They are taken to a hot air balloon and enjoy champagne, but this is TopChef so you know that it is not just a ride for the view. The balloonist sets them down by the Frying Pan River where a rudimentary outdoor kitchen has been set up. The Guest Judge is Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, a seafood expert. Each chef has a frying pan, camp stove, supply of trout, and supply of ingredients to create a dish. They have 20 minutes to do so. This is fraught with problems, as Brian loses an entire pan of fish that were not cooking right. The dishes presented are:

Brian - trout cooked in rendered fat, trout egg, red pepper, brown buter, salad
Casey - trout with grapes and corn
Dale - filet of trout with cayenne seasoning, bacon, apple, fennel and bourbon
Hung - filet of trout (supposed to be with lemon juice, but he is overcofident and forgets it) with sauteed mushrooms

Hung finished 7 minutes early. Hung states that his skillet techniques are "much more refined"  and that he wants to win for his father who brought him to the U.S. from VietNam.

Eric finds that Brian did not season his salad.
He decided that Cale's cayenne seasoning was not appopriate.
It's between very good dishes from Casey and Hung. Eric decides that Cacsey has "soul" and gives her the win. It soon turns out that this allows Casey to use some of her $200 worth of special ingredients if she chooses to. Casey elects to save them for the final Final round. Hung says "I tried Casey's dish. My dish was more refined." He doesn't get that he has no soul, which even Eric Ripert can see (or more likely has been told be Tom Colicchio).

The Chefs are staying at the Hotel Jerome. For those who have been to Aspen, you know that it is the most celebrated accomodations in town. I don't know precisely, but I guess $400 a night in the offseason. It also still (I think) hosts a musical review performance of the singing waiters, talented musicians who wait tables and perform so they can ski.

The chefs are taken to the Moon Run Ranch and told that they are catering a rodeo cookout for 45 cowboys and cowgirls plus the judges. They are taken to the Aspen Meadows Resort where they get 3 hours prep and cook time, but first they learn that their protein is elk meat. Viewers later learn that cauliflower and potatoes and corn are the vegetables available.

Brian - whiskey-braised elk shank, pancetta corn, asparagus relish, blackberry/huckleberry sauce, blackberry and sage butter, choice of Gorgonzola or Gruyere cheese
Dale - cauliflower and potatoes with dried cherry, herb salad, spice-rubbed seared elk loin
Casey - mushroom crusted loin of elk, smoked tomato butter, cauliflower duo, corn sprout, poached pear
Hung - seared elk loin, pommes boulongere, chocolate red wine sauce

Dale was forced to reformulate when his planned onion and goat cheese tart was not going well.
Hung finishes 12 minutes early. He deliberately does not offer to help any of the others, since he believes in survival of the fittest.
Gail states that Brian took 25 minutes to explain his dish to her. It is clearly no compliment.

At Judges Table, Eric summarizes overall by stating that the dishes were delicious.
Eric liked Dale's best with the huckleberry sauce. Dale tells him that it was a huckleberry/blackberry sauce.
Tom said that Hung's dish suffered from seasonal disorder.
Padma said Brian's shank was excellent and she liked the cheese choice.
Eric strongly disgreed, particularly on the cheese choice. He said that Brian should ahve made that decision for his guests and picked the better fit.
Eric used the words "black and blue"(meaning too rare) to refer to Casey's elk. He did state that her smoked tomato sauce was amazing.
Dale admitted to controlled chaos with many ingredients.
Tom said that Casey's chunks of cauliflower did not go well with her puree.
Hung thought he had given diners something different. Tom did not agree and said that he did not see anything of Hung in this food.
Brian was taken to task for his huge list of ingredients.

Dale was the consensus chocie as the winner. He gets to go to Grand Cayman with Eric and be part of a joint demo there.
It was a close and interesting choice on who would go home, as only one would. Instead of just 2 final Finalists, there will be 3 this year, due to the quality of the competition acording to Tom.
It could have been any of the other 3, but Brian was chosen for elimination. If 2 were eliminated I think Casey would also have been selected, as she was a little shaky on the Elimination Challenge. Her win in the Quickfire prevented her from going tonight. I have seen that several times in thsi competition. A person losing the Quickfire freqeuntly is the one chosen to be eliminated when there is a close vote.


 
« Last Edit: September 28, 2007, 09:28:32 PM by apskip »

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #54 on: September 27, 2007, 11:28:10 AM »
ANALYSIS of 3 FINAL FINALISTS

Dale - What is he doing here? He pulls out his first victory in the Elimination Challenge and makes it to the final competition. Can he do this twice in a row? I don't think so.

Hung - The master of technical chef skills reminds me of Marcel without Marcel's charm. Both work at Guy Savoy Restaurant in Las Vegas and both have been rightly viewed by all the other contestants as obnoxious. Hung has great talent but I do not like him. I hope he loses next week.

Casey - She is the darling of the competition. She is sound put not polished. She is going to have to be inspired and lucky to win. My guess is that she will be.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #55 on: September 29, 2007, 08:17:44 AM »
Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons are doing their contestants a big favor, planned am I sure, to acclimate them to Aspen during the finals of TopChef3 so that the winner will have less of a disadvantage against his/her competitors in the later Aspen Food and Wine Festival.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #56 on: September 29, 2007, 08:33:08 PM »
ANALYSIS of 3 FINAL FINALISTS

Dale - What is he doing here? He pulls out his first victory in the Elimination Challenge and makes it to the final competition. Can he do this twice in a row? I don't think so.

Hung - The master of technical chef skills reminds me of Marcel without Marcel's charm. Both work at Guy Savoy Restaurant in Las Vegas and both have been rightly viewed by all the other contestants as obnoxious. Hung has great talent but I do not like him. I hope he loses next week.

Casey - She is the darling of the competition. She is sound put not polished. She is going to have to be inspired and lucky to win. My guess is that she will be.


Couldn't of said it better myself.  :tup:

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #57 on: October 01, 2007, 11:55:56 AM »
I don't believe Dale belongs there and I question letting 3 people compete, a complete change for the other 2 seasons. It does seem to me that it has been set up for Casey to win, Hung as 2nd place.

I wonder how much we have not seen because of editing. I did get to see both of the last episodes while traveling, and I thought it was an unfair comment to tell Hung that he didn't have anything of himself in his elk dish. HUH?  ???

I believe Hung said he hadn't ever cooked elk while Casey was familiar with it and yet her meat was raw and not cooked properly where Hung's dish was. That was the main ingredient, I thought that should have been a black mark against her, but I also thought that it was fair for Brian to go and they kept 3 for finalists and she does belong there much more so than Dale.

I also (kinda) don't blame Hung for not helping the others, they have never helped him in the past when he could have used some assistance and even if he had helped them, would they have given him any appreciation? Doubt it.

In past seasons, the winner was outstanding from early on, can't say that this year. I'm pulling for Hung, but believe Casey will win.
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #58 on: October 01, 2007, 10:14:16 PM »
Texas Lady, you just made an argument for why Casey should not have been in the Final 2 if that existed. If there were only 2 chefs going forward to the Final Finals, then Casey would have bitten the dust and it would be Hung vs. Dale. In essence it would be a variation of what happened last year when Ilan snuck in and shouldn't have been there.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #59 on: October 01, 2007, 10:46:14 PM »
Texas Lady, you just made an argument for why Casey should not have been in the Final 2 if that existed. If there were only 2 chefs going forward to the Final Finals, then Casey would have bitten the dust and it would be Hung vs. Dale. In essence it would be a variation of what happened last year when Ilan snuck in and shouldn't have been there.

I agree that Ilan never should have been there, he was a one trick pony and his lack of skills showed this year in the season1 vs season 2 challenge.

I would NOT be happy to see Dale in a final 2, but he wouldn't be able to pull off a winning performance. I'm confident of that. I still am puzzled by having a final 3. (If I make no sense.. I'm just getting back from my trip and have jet lag.)  :wall:
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #60 on: October 03, 2007, 10:43:34 PM »
Top Chef3 has a winner. Unfortunately, Casey had a less than stellar performance so it was between Hung and Dale. The decision had to be very close, but they gave the title and the $100,000 to Hung. I will have more detail in the morning.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #61 on: October 03, 2007, 11:15:32 PM »
Top Chef3 has a winner. Unfortunately, Casey had a less than stellar performance so it was between Hung and Dale. The decision had to be very close, but they gave the title and the $100,000 to Hung. I will have more detail in the morning.

I'm sure it will be another beautifully written report and I will certainly appreciate it. Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't the 4th dish (Scallops) for Dale a collaboration 50/50 with CJ? That could have been a factor in their decision.

I must say that while I said I didn't think Dale should have been in the final 3, he did a great job. Casey had physical problems adjusting to the hight altitudes at Aspen, you could hear it in her sighing and breathing when she was prepping and I think it threw her off her game.

Loved the actual competition, hated the final reveal.
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Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #62 on: October 04, 2007, 07:56:27 AM »
Top Chef3 has a winner. Unfortunately, Casey had a less than stellar performance so it was between Hung and Dale. The decision had to be very close, but they gave the title and the $100,000 to Hung. I will have more detail in the morning.

I'm sure it will be another beautifully written report and I will certainly appreciate it. Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't the 4th dish (Scallops) for Dale a collaboration 50/50 with CJ? That could have been a factor in their decision.

I must say that while I said I didn't think Dale should have been in the final 3, he did a great job. Casey had physical problems adjusting to the hight altitudes at Aspen, you could hear it in her sighing and breathing when she was prepping and I think it threw her off her game.

Loved the actual competition, hated the final reveal.

Texas Lady, let me address your comments. Dale did "get his chef back" during the last few episodes. I do not think that he lost points for collaborating with CJ any more than Hung did for collaborating on the cake with Sara. I thought Dale was going to be the winner, but the judges had other ideas. I think that Hung's consistency throughout the competition was the tie-breaker between them. Casey did have problems with the altitude, but so did Dale. 11,200 feet is no joke. I think Casey's recipes had more problems adjusting to the elevation than she did, as it was apparent that she had to make adjustmentts that threw her off. Her major problem, however, was inattention (probably caused by having to deal with altitude adjustments on other things) on the pork bellies, which dried out. That was the dish that murdered her with the judges.

I have to agree with you. The public voted 58% for Casey to win and that's what I wanted. The fact that she didn't was a disappointment. Nobody can say that Hung didn't earn it, but he does not inspire confidence as a human being and leader.
« Last Edit: October 04, 2007, 09:00:50 AM by apskip »

Offline apskip

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #63 on: October 04, 2007, 09:44:06 AM »
FINAL FINALE

Casey, Hung and Dale go up the chairlift at Aspen to the Aspen Mountain cClub at 11,200 feet and find that their final competition is simply to make the best possible 3 course meal with the ingredients(which are diverse and copious) in front of them plus their special ingredients brought from home. They have 35 minutes to plan a menu and turn it in to Tom. Once he has that, knives are drawn to determine who is going to be their sous chef for 3 hours. They are expecting eliminated contestants, but Top Chef has a huge surprise for them. Stepping out of the first gondola (and thereby assigned to Hung) is Rocco Dispirito. Out of the second (and assigned to Casey) is Michelle Bernstein. Out of the third (and assigned to Dale) is Todd English.  These celebrities can only chop and prep; they cannot offer any advice on the menu or seasoning even though they clearly had some which was captured on voiceovers later. For example Michelle had serious reservations about the complexity of Casey's menu, particularly the pork bellies. Todd was worried about the complexity of Dale's recipes. The menus are:

Hung - raw sliced hamchi with tomato vinaigrette
          shrimp with caramelized tamarind sauce and coconut foam
          Duck Sous Vide with truffle sauce and chanterelles

Casey - Foie Gras, cinnamon scented scallops, and apple
          Prawns with lobster and mushroom broth
          Pork Bellies with peach

Dale  - Foie Gras with peaches and arugula
          Lobster with Gnocchi with mushrooms
          Colorado Lamb

The cooking was split over 2 days, the prep day and the finshing day. With one hour left to go in the cooking on the finishing day, Tom Colicchio comes to throw his ususal curveball. He offers the option of adding a fourth course, plus the availability of a sous chef for that hour. Knives are drawn.

Hung gets Sara and chooses Chocolate Cake with Raspberries   
Casey gets Howie and chooses Beef with Cabernet Sauce
Dale gets CJ and chooses Scallops

Judges Table has the celebrity chefs plus the unusual addition of Brian, the 4th place chef, who mentions eating his $100,000 meal (that's a good one, Brian). Two early comments were that Casey's dishes had "too much stuff" and Dale's scallops dish was exceptionally good. Tom referred to Dale's lobster as "inedible" although others did not agree with him. A lot of minor comments followed. It was clear that Casey was not going to be Top Chef, but it was a tossup between Dale and Hung at that point.

The final round of discussion was:
Gail got to conclude that Hung's first course was best and Casey's the worst
Dale's Scallops won the extra course honors.
Both Hung's Duck and Dale's Colorado Lamb were rated superb. Todd English called Hung's dish "3 Star Michelin".
Tom referred to Dale's lobster as "inedible" although others did not agree with him.

Gail made the statement that Dale's Colorado lamb was the best of the 4th courses, but that cannot be true since my notes clearly identify that as a 3rd course.
The Aspen part of the competition was concluded with the chefs left in suspense. Months later, live from Chicago, the final decision is announced at the end of this show: Hung wins. I believe that it was a tiebreaker between he and Dale decided by his consistency throughout the entiere season, which is a no contest nod to Hung. Marcel is shown congratulating Hung(both work at Guy Savoy in Las Vegas and note that Hung used a foam in his shrimp dish). Casey is a gracious loser, having known back from the comments back in Aspen that she didn't do well to win.

I think the "live finale" concept is ridiculous and Top Chef ought to get rid of it ASAP. It make them look stupid. This is not Survivor. This is a serious show.

Offline marigold

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #64 on: October 09, 2007, 01:00:23 AM »

An interesting article on Tom Colicchio vs. Gordon Ramsay:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071008/en_nm/michelin_newyork_dc




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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #65 on: October 09, 2007, 08:23:08 AM »
Thank you for bringing a very interesting article to our attention. I guess that the time Tom Colicchio has spent becoming a TV star has not been covered by someone in the Craft kitchen while Ramsay's kitchen must have real depth.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #66 on: October 11, 2007, 09:20:35 AM »
They had the Top Chef3 Reunion show last night. It was not as cheesy as most reality TV reunion shows, but it was way below the content of a regular episode. The great suspense of the evening, hyped up by the announcer, was for who was going to win a $10,000 prize as Fan's Favorite. Now anyone with half a brain knew it was going to be Casey, so they carefully had that presentation at the end of the show so they didn't lose any audience. The one creative part of the show was a vignette on the one love affair caught on camera - between Howie and Joey. This was cute. The rest of it was all routine schlock.

Congratulations to Casey! I wish you had cooked well enough to have won the big title.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #67 on: December 18, 2007, 02:29:37 PM »
Top Chef held a Holiday Special competition in Chicago, the site of TopChef4. The show opened with the introduction of contestants:

Season 1 - Stephen, Tiffani
Season 2 - Marcel, Betty, Josie
Season 3 - Tre, CJ, Sandee

In the Quickfire the chefs were greeted by Padma and a mystery Santa, who turned out to be noted restauranteur/chef Eric Ripert. The chefs had to create a dish from one gifted ingredient, which was chosen through a game of "Dirty Santa" where each succeeding picker had the chocie of any previous gift or any remaining one under the tree.  Ultimately CJ won the Quickfire, which gave him a limited advantage in the Elimination Challenge. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to create a a three-course meal. Every course would be judged head-to-head, with two chefs eliminated each round. Because CJ won the Quickfire, he could get a free pass in any of the courses, except the last. The advisory judges were Ripert and 4 notable U.S. chefs who appeared on one of the first 3 Top Chefs. The final judges were Tom, Padma, Gail, and Ted. The first round saw the elimination of Stephen and Sandee. The second round eliminated Betty and Josie, although Marcel was very close to going. The third round took out Marcel and CJ. Tiffani and Tre are left trying decide which to congratulate, but that Tom Colicchio twist was about to hit. It was one more surprise course using anything left in the kitchen, including leftovers not served previously, in 30 minutes.

Tiffani wisely snapped up Stephen for her team and also added Josie and Sandee because she thought they were for her. Stephen's unserved lamb dish plus puff pastry was the basis of their final dish. Tre was more constrained, as he did not have any protein to access. Betty's unserved dessert did give him the basis for a dessert and he gave it his all with Betty, CJ and Marcel. It sounded like a very close decision, but the votes from the advisory judges sounded decisive in favor of Tiffani. She won the $20,000 which was going to her Los Angeles restaurant startup. Tre won redemption plus a pile of books, no doubt including Padma's.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2007, 06:01:17 PM by apskip »

Offline marigold

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #68 on: December 19, 2007, 01:45:12 AM »
Top Chef held a Holiday Special competition in Chicago, the site of TopChef4. The show opened with the introduction of contestants:

Season 1 - Stephen, Tiffani
Season 2 - Marcel, Betty, Josie
Season 3 - Tre, CJ, Sandee

In the Quickfire the chefs were greeted by Padma and a mystery Santa, who turned out to be noted restauranteur/chef Eric Ripert. The chefs had to create a dish from one gifted ingredient, which was chosen through a game of "Dirty Santa" where each succeeding picker had the chocie of any previous gift or any remaining one under the tree.  Ultimately CJ won the Quickfire, which gave him a limited advantage in the Elimination Challenge. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to create a a three-course meal. Every course would be judged head-to-head, with two chefs eliminated each round. Because CJ won the Quickfire, he could get a free pass in any of the courses, except the last. The advisory judges were Ripert and 4 notable U.S. chefs who appeared on one of the first 3 Top Chefs. The final judges were Tom, Padma, Gail, and Ted. The first round saw the elimination of Stephen and Sandee. The second round eliminated Betty and Josie, although Marcel was very close to going. The third round took out Marcel and CJ. Tiffani and Tre are left trying decide which to congratulate, but that Tom Colicchio twist was about to hit. It was one more surprise course using anything left in the kitchen, including leftovers not served previously, in 30 minutes.

Tiffani wisely snapped up Stephen for her team and also added Josie and Sandee because she thought they were for her. Stephen's unserved lamb dish plus puff pastry was the basis of their final dish. Tre was more constrained, as he did not have any protein to access. Betty's unserved dessert did give him the basis for a dessert and he gave it his all with Betty, CJ and Marcel. It sounded like a very close decision, but the votes from the advisory judges sounded decisive in favor of Tiffani. She won the $20,000 which was going to her Los Angeles restaurant startup. Tre won redemption plus a pile of books, no doubt including Padma's.

I can't get enough of Top Chef and was lucky enough to watch the Holiday Special competition that just re-aired tonight.
It was a great idea bringing them back for this one time competition.
I certainly hope they do something like this again.
Luckily I stopped reading after your first paragraph apskip, left me surprised for the twist at the end.
Loved it!!

« Last Edit: December 19, 2007, 01:50:36 AM by ca bb fan »

Offline BballKates

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #69 on: December 30, 2007, 10:54:44 AM »
Anyone know anything about a fourth season?

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #70 on: December 30, 2007, 01:31:49 PM »
Sure, it's filming already in Chicago. When BRAVO is going to start broadcasting it is unknown, but my guess is February for sweeps month.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #71 on: January 24, 2008, 10:58:32 PM »
The new season will begin on March 19th. The contestants are listed now on Bravo's website.

http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/4/about/index.php

Whoohoo! I can't wait!  :jumpy:
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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #72 on: January 25, 2008, 07:39:51 AM »
Texas Lady, there actually has been a separate thread, When Does Top Chef Chicago Start?, running for almost a month. There are interesting items there.

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #73 on: January 25, 2008, 11:47:38 AM »
Texas Lady, there actually has been a separate thread, When Does Top Chef Chicago Start?, running for almost a month. There are interesting items there.

I am SO behind, thanks for letting me know!
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Offline marigold

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Re: Top Chef Season 3
« Reply #74 on: January 25, 2008, 11:52:36 AM »
Texas Lady, there actually has been a separate thread, When Does Top Chef Chicago Start?, running for almost a month. There are interesting items there.

I am SO behind, thanks for letting me know!

Maybe be can have the topic title changed to Top Chef Chicago instead of a form of question.
Or I guess just start a new thread maybe?