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Top Chef New York Season 5
TexasLady:
--- Quote from: apskip on January 22, 2009, 04:41:58 PM ---Texas Lady,
As a knowledgeable viewer I am offering my thuoghts on your top 5 question. I agree that it isn't Leah or Carla, both of whom should be elimnated soon. I think the top 5 are:
Stefan (who chose desserts so he could do his own thiing and not get into the bind Hosea predicted)
Fabio
Jaime (I picked her before Top Chef 5 based on her background)
Hosea
Jeff
--- End quote ---
Apskip: I always value your opinion because you are so knowledgeable. (And modest I might add.) I agree with your top five.
For me, Stefan has stood out from the first quickfire, which I believe he won. (3 Challenges, 2 Quickfires.) Fabio also is a standout. (Won 2 Challenges, no Quickfires.)
I think Jamie is a very good leader as well, she does it easily and her team mates don't even realize it. (3 Challenges, no Quickfires.) I can't say she stood out for me until the past few weeks though.
Hosea, 2 Challenges, 1 Quickfire and Jeff, no wins but still deserves to be in the top five.
marigold:
Ok Padma I have read endless articles suggesting she is a gold digger. Up until now I really thought it was frivolous.
What on earth at a vivacious 38 do you have in common with a man nearly 70 years of age.
An interesting article about the gold digger: http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/01/leggo_my_padma.html
marigold:
Your absolutely right TL I really enjoyed reading your post
Why did they choose Stefan last he works hard and is a great cook I think they feel threatened by him because they know he could win this. I don’t how much of it is a matter of Stefan being a jerk and difficult to work with Jamie did get him to work with her on the previous episode. I think Stefan’s assertiveness can be mistaken for being a jerk and hard to get along with but it can be a good quality to have or you end up walking around looking like Radhika where you can just see she lacks confidence.
At the same time honestly Stefan does need to tone it down a bit he can’t be as stubborn and unapproachable as he is. It’s ideal to enjoy the company of your team and co workers so I think he needs to work on that.
Fabio is soooo charming you can’t help but smile when you see him it’s a great quality to have and is something that Stefan really lacks that said both men are really good cooks.
As I previously stated I would like to see Leah and Carla go next and I would love to see the remainder as final 5 that would be a great group and I would love to see who comes out a winner.
I have no idea who will win it but I am really looking forward to see who does.
marigold:
An interesting article an interview with Radhika:
Top Chef Exit Interview: Episode Nine
Halfway through our hometown season of Top Chef, the producers turned up the heat and gave us Restaurant Wars. One team offered up great food, terrible desserts, and nonexistent service. The other offered bony, undercooked cod, nasty amuses-bouches, and coddling service from the likes of Fabio. This being Top Chef and ostensibly a cooking competition, the judges chose good service over good eats. Though Carla was to blame for not one, but two, awful desserts, the judges' ax fell on the head of team leader Radhika Desai, a devastating loss given that she had won the Quickfire. And even though she thinks food always trumps service, she didn't sound too sad on the phone today.
Watching the episode last night, what was your first thought?
I was just looking forward to winning the Quickfire.
Was it an accurate representation of what happened, do you think?
Yeah. I was definitely fragile and running around. I could have managed things better.
Were you overwhelmed?
I was completely overwhelmed. It was a lot of things to do in a little bit of time and it was a lot of pressure.
It’s interesting that you and Leah won, because you’re two of the younger contestants. Do you think if someone else had been running the show you wouldn’t have been eliminated?
In hindsight, I should have designated Jeff or Jamie, who are stronger personalities, in the front of the house. I would have rather been in the kitchen cooking. But it was my concept and they were a little hesitant to take that role, so I took it.
Do you have any front-of-house experience?
Very, very little. I worked in restaurants for a long time, but I’ve never been directly responsible for doing that, no.
When you heard some of the judges’ criticisms about how you should have been more present or at least been around to say good-bye, had those things even crossed your mind?
Not at that point. I did want to serve them good food and give them good service. I didn’t want to be all over them at the table. Maybe that came across as neglecting them, but that was not my intention at all.
It’s upsetting because your team had better food.
They preferred the service over the food. If they would rather be served raw fish with scales in it, I can’t help that.
Do you care more about service than food?
No, of course not. For me, food is number one.
Do you disagree with their decision?
Of course I would have wanted to stay on the show longer. But I was the leader. It was my responsibility to carry the team to win, and I didn’t do that. So if you look at it that way, I did deserve to go home.
So what did you learn on the show? Do you feel like you changed as a chef?
I’m trying to become a lion and not be a lamb.
What was your favorite challenge?
This was it. Even though I got eliminated, this was the most challenging and the most fun to watch. I was excited that I won the Quickfire and that I was able to have [the restaurant] be my concept.
You work and live in Chicago, which is another great foodie city. How do you think it stacks up next to New York?
The chef and food community is a little bit smaller [in Chicago], so it’s more friendly. In New York it’s so competitive and overwhelming, and I don’t feel like it’s that way here, even though there are so many great restaurants here too.
What about your opinions on the judges? Were there any that you really liked or disliked?
Some criticisms were better-taken and more constructive than others. Gail was only there for a few episodes, but she seemed more genuine than the other judges. And Tom is always honest. No bull****.
What about Toby Young? He seems kind of ridiculous.
I’m sure he has an awesome palate and he’s a great food critic, but for whatever reason he just made some really not — it didn’t seem constructive. It was a little bit insulting.
Do you have any advice, based on your experiences, for future contestants on the show?
Just work hard, be really confident. Be confident in yourself and your food. And don’t take **** from anybody.
Link to the article: http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/01/top_chef_exit_interview_episod_4.html
marigold:
An interview with Radhika:
Top Chef Elimination: Was It Fair?
It wasn't her cooking skills that got sweet-faced, soft-spoken Radhika booted from Top Chef last night. It was her management skills that left the judges unimpressed. "Rad" was told to pack her knives after she failed to lead her team, Sahana, to victory over Leah's Sunset Lounge during the all-important restaurant war.
But isn't Top Chef about cooking good food? So why on earth did Leah get to stay despite serving undercooked fish to the judges? Maybe it's because Leah makes better television—she and fellow cheftestant Hosea have been getting quite cozy even though they have significant others back at home.
I caught up with Radhika this morning from her home in Chicago, where she's executive chef at Between Boutique Café & Lounge, to dish on her elimination...
What happened last night? You so didn't deserve to go home.
I just didn't do a good job of managing my team, and they didn't like the fact that I didn't cook anything.
Yeah, but Leah served them undercooked fish! She could have poisoned the judges.
Bad service, undercooked fish and scales…But it's not just about cooking. It's managing the front of the house and everything else.
Do you think the producers kept Leah and Hosea because of the possible romance drama they're bringing to the show?
It's a TV show, right? I'm not gonna say one way or the other why, but it's a TV show.
Are they a couple now or are they still with their boyfriend and girlfriend back home?
I know they're good friends, but that's all I know so far.
Totally off the subject, but Oscar nominations were announced this morning. What's your favorite movie of the year?
Slumdog Millionaire! I'm going to try to get the cast here so I can cook for them [laughs]. It makes me feel like going back to India. My family lives in all those areas that they showed. It's inspired me to go back.
Link: http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/marc_malkin/b80294_top_chef_elimination_was_it_fair.html
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