Episode 8: "Common Threads" Options

[Bed & Breakfast]

One more quick post; this one about the winners. Bravo for Nikki. I'm really glad she got in there with a top dish. However, I don't expect this to be a turning point for her; I still think she is gone soon. For both women this challenge was a dream; it fit right in their comfort zone; a family-friendly meal on a tight budget.

The chef that really surprised me was Andrew. When the concept of the challenge was laid out, I really didn't expect much from him, especially with the addition of the child sous-chef. He really turned out a superb plate, in a genre that I didn't think he had much chance in. I may have to take another look at him as a possible finalist. Bravo, Andrew.

[SecondTry]

Don't ask me why I did this, but......I just spent the last few days watching all 13 episodes from season 2 (I came in about 2/3 of the way through when they were first aired, and missed the first two episodes when Dan & his boyfriend watched them).


Of course, doing so, I had to keep score. So, for comparison to this year's standings (see my sig), here are the final points for the S2 chefs:

Ilan +16
Sam +13
Marcel +9
Betty +8
Cliff +2
Elia -1
Frank -2
Josie -2
Emily -4
Mia -5
Suyai -5
Otto -7
Michael -9
Carlos -11
Marisa -11


Sam and Betty were pretty much splitting the top spot early, until Betty had her bad run starting with Episode 5. From there, Sam was running away with it until he was eliminated--even Restaurant Wars didn't hurt him much, since he'd built up so much of a lead until then.

One thing that struck me was Marcel's repeated line, "I'm not here to make friends; I'm here to win." Did he really think the others were there to lose? Sam and Betty and Ilan were kicking his ass throughout most of the competition, and none of them had anywhere near the personality conflicts he had.

This post has been edited by SecondTry: May 5, 2008 - 12:29 AM

[Darth Pervertus]

Greetings to all of you in Top Chef land! I'm a newbie here but I did try to catch up on all the posts. First off I have to say I really love Top Chef. I'm a self/ semi professionally trained cook, (Not a chef. But what the hell. I'm easy. I like learning new things. Especially when it comes to food.) Although in all candor there are some delicacies have not tried yet. I've never had sushi-I'm a bit of a germaphobe and the idea of raw fish- eeck! That gives me the willies. Nor have I ever had crab brains or goose liver. But, I do cook a lot of "comfort" foods. And I do love Italian, Mexican and Chinese foods. And with every episode of TC I learn a little more and a little more. I got hooked on this show because my wife loves Project Runway. And when TC first started it was right after it. I really like Tom. He is a fair judge and does add an air of integrity to things. Gail and Ted are always insightful. Padama, while she's easy one the eyes she always looks like she just smoked a hottie and is zoning a bit. Maybe that explains why she eats so much when tasting. All that aside I'm sure the elves manipulate things via editing but the show doesn't come off as completely staged. But I'll get to that later.

What a cast this time. Interesting and diverse. If you'll bear with me I'd like to off a few thoughts on the past and current cheftestants. I promise I won't take long.

Naima- Well, she shot herself in the foot by trying to "hide" from the cameras on the first day! And she wasn't a good cook. She had problems with, of all things, salt. That's a basic, man. Oh, and that runny eye cauliflower thing. Barf.

Valerie- Doesn't ring a bell anymore....

Erik- Believe it or not this dude looks just like one of my brother-in-laws! Just with less piercings. Good chef, got nailed on a no brainer.

Ryan- This metrosexual ass was better at his personal hygiene than was his cooking. I have family, and was born in, the Midwest. I know tailgate food. And fine dining isn't one of it's attributes. And I must add that as a now long time resident of CA he gives the rest of us Californians pallets a bad name. Good riddance.

Zoi- Her of the Marty Feldman eyes. Sorry Jen, but apparently your girl has the cooking capacity of a Denny's line cook. That doesn't mean she's a bad cook. It just means she was in over her head.

Manuel- Another good chef who went before his time. He should have been more assertive and told Spike where he could put his hat and spring roll. That would have made for some good reality TV.

Jen- She did it for Zoi...

Mark- AKA Hyde from That 70's Show. I like Mark. He's cool people. He looks like he'd be fun to have at a barbecue with all the Bud you could drink, (and smoke!). But Mark, like Zoi, was out of his depth. Mark on TC is like a video gamer who's incredibly gifted when it comes to playing Super Mario Bros. and then he gets thrown into a Resident Evil competition. He just couldn't keep up.

Nikki- There's something about Nikki I like. She's got a warm aura about her. She did deserve to be spanked for her own sausage-gate. You can make hand made lasanga noddles, Nikki? But not hand made sausage? Time was a factor, but sausage making ain't that hard.

Spike- The K-Fed of TC. Well, he looks like him to me. Spikes a good chef, but I get the feeling very soon he will be handed his hat by the judges.

Antonia- The first half of Sausage-Gate 2008! Do I believe her and her wildebeest of a partner played it fast and loose with the "rules" of the Improv challenge? Absolutely. But they odviously presented a dish that tasted a helluva lot better than the asparagus with erectile dysfunction that Jen and Steph hashed out. And her stir-fry looks yummy, but as Bed & Breakfast said- it was a challenge in her comfort zone.

Andrew- Yikes! Somebody flush this dude's secret stash of Black Beauties down the toilet. And after he said "culinary boner" I lost use of my libido for a good day and a half. My poor Joanne didn't know what was up. Or rather what wasn't. Andrew and the elves-keeping doing that voodoo that you do so well. Just lay off the boner talk. I don't want to have to call security.

Lisa- AKA Shrek Goes Fourth. Sweet Jebus. How did this troglodyte get cast for this show? Wait, stupid question. The "Darth Sideous" of Sausage-Gate. It was beneath her to cook a Pole Dog, huh?

Dale- He's holding up and flex his wings. But, I'm going to go against the grain here and say I don't think he'll make to the finals. Dale has anger issues in the face of adversity. This may be his eventual down fall...

Stephenie- Another of my personal favorites. Steph is competent, creative and cute to boot. But I think her nerves are starting to get the better of her, sadly. Hang in there Steph! But I have to ask, what the hell was in her head when it came to her last dish? The "Comman Threads" one? I can think of just one thing...

Richard- A professional and a gentleman. I am rooting for Richard. I'm smitten with the Blais charm I suppose. Richard reminds me of my brother in his sense of humor. They both will think of a joke, which in reality would make Henny Youngman blush with it's corniness, and upon deliver think they've uttered the best quip since Groucho Marx. And you gotta kind love that level of dopey enthusiasm.

I've heard a lot about how a few people think this is totally fixed. Are all reality shows honest? Well, no. You would have to be living in the proverbal cave to think that. At best I think it would be fair to say that during their off time the chefs are given suggestions about certain dramatic aspects. Think of the "suggestions" the actors in the first Blair Witch were given. Little ideas here and there. But I can't buy the whole thing is rigged. When the elves reveal themselves to be members of the Illuminati by asking the chefs to make a tasty meal out of the alien carcasses from Roswell, then I might.

Until then, don't bother passing the tin foil hat.

Well, it's late. I'm sure I'll see you all out on the boards. Nice to be here. And again a warm hello.

This post has been edited by Darth Pervertus: May 5, 2008 - 04:18 AM

[Kristlkrost]

Well, it's late. I'm sure I'll see you all out on the boards. Nice to be here. And again a warm hello.

Edited for brevity....Something I know SO much about.
Warm welcome back to you.


Are you sure you aren't WAJ's good twin???
Love your name... profile pic and your post.
I heart it.
Where do you work??....What kind of restaurant??


I hope you don't mind if I say Happy Cinco De Mayo here
to the masses.

Mucho caliente in the Mehico' desert ya know??
Hiccup!!!
If I'm gonna celebrate all things Mexican...well.....

Joann might like a peek

Pero...mi casa su casa Meeeeester Sexy Spanish man.
Siesta is just a word

[SimonBao]

The discussion as I recall was that Rocco said you could find them in Italy which we know you can.
BUT Tom was being very specific saying that truffles are not USUALLY used in Southern Italian cooking and they aren't.
That is what Mediterranean food is there in Italy...Southern.
And that point I keep forgetting to mention to you that they were saying two different things.
bah fongul (I hope no one knows Italian here )

So see again we didn't see the rest of that conversation as it was kinda weird....They were saying different things really at the same time if you watch again.

No mention of truffles here.

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/italian
-regional-food-South.asp

Kristl, it's still the same issue, hasn't changed... "Mediterranean Style Cooking" isn't a cuisine. It IS a marketing term, used by food manufacturers and restaurants, to mean something nebulous and evocative. And a term that will inevitably be used in a challenge underwritten by Bertolli, one of the manufacturers that market something nebulous and evocative using that term.

But again, to say that "Mediterranean cuisine" means southern Italy is exactly like saying "Caribbean cuisine" means eastern Cuba.

Colicchio's objection was to finding the black truffles in a Tuscan Italian chicken and pasta dish - despite the fact that truffles come from Tuscany and are used in Tuscan cooking. (Actually, Tuscany isn't even near southern Italy; it is, however, Mediterranean.)

Chefs cook and speak at their peril when they do so in absolute ALWAYS or NEVER, black & white terms.

[SimonBao]

Fascinatingly mischevious!!

Now, after they've had a chance to swap knives to get a "known" cuisine, do they get to swap again to get the course they want?

Who could get the short end of that stick . . . er, knife?

Yes Helen, that would be the idea. Lots of "knife-swapping" to get the cuisine they want or rid themselves of a cuisine they've no clue about. Then more "knife-swapping" to try to get the course they're more comfortable with. Could get quite silly, but they'd all end up in the Confessional whining about who wouldn't swap with them. Yeah, good TV.

[Kristlkrost]

Kristl, it's still the same issue, hasn't changed... "Mediterranean Style Cooking" isn't a cuisine. It IS a marketing term, used by food manufacturers and restaurants, to mean something nebulous and evocative. And a term that will inevitably be used in a challenge underwritten by Bertolli, one of the manufacturers that market something nebulous and evocative using that term.

But again, to say that "Mediterranean cuisine" means southern Italy is exactly like saying "Caribbean cuisine" means eastern Cuba.

Colicchio's objection was to finding the black truffles in a Tuscan Italian chicken and pasta dish - despite the fact that truffles come from Tuscany and are used in Tuscan cooking. (Actually, Tuscany isn't even near southern Italy; it is, however, Mediterranean.)

Chefs cook and speak at their peril when they do so in absolute ALWAYS or NEVER, black & white terms.

Good morning kind sir and........ NO!!

I shall have the research done by tomox......I say nay.

Well I say nay sort of!!!
Tis done but is not the norm.
I gowontee.

[SimonBao]

As one of the three dishes was not distinctly worse than the others, the judges (as I've always maintained they do when there is not a clear "worst" dish), went to the next level of criteria; execution of the concept. As this was supposed to be a "family friendly" dish that people could replicate easily at home, Mark's dish was clearly the loser among the three. While you do not have to serve meat at every meal, a truly "family friendly", healthy meal does have to have protein. Mark was evidently oblivious to that fact, or that he could have a vegetarian dish that could supply the daily requirement of protein by adding things like beans, nuts or soy products. The other two dishes, though flawed, did provide at least some semblance of vitamins and proteins. His did not, thus he was eliminated, and it was for the food he prepared.

B&B, I have to agree about Mark's failure at the challenge itself. One, that was not a healthy nutritious meal for a family of four, and it's just not possible to redefine healthy or nutritious or meal in a way that it could get a passing grade. "Family of four," it's reasonable to expect a kid, if not two or three. Or two kids, grandma, and a single working mother. And implicitly if not explicitly, Americans living in Chicago. And a chef is going to give them a plate of curried veggies, as a meal. PYKAG.

We don't know that Mark said he wanted to produce a vegetarian meal, but if he had, I'd have eliminated him with even greater enthusiasm. I know many vegetarians who produce dreadful food, but they all understand the core concepts of complex carbs, complete proteins, healthy vegetable fats, legume/grain combos, etc. Were I to find out a chef attempted a coup by offering a vegetarian meal, without knowledge of what underlies vegetarian cooking, PYKAG.

I don't recall Colicchio ever wanting to eliminate anyone over the mis-labeling of a dish or meal, but I think it's likely someone at that table also complained about the name of the dish - Red Curry. "Red curry," in a culinary context, doesn't mean "Oh look, it's a curry... and it's red." Along with a Yellow Curry and a Green Curry (which Dale made the episode previous), Red Curry is one of 3 basic curry types found in Thailand and SE Asia. The 3 types have very different flavor profiles and lists of basic ingredients. Mark's "Red Curry" doesn't even approximate a Red Curry; if I am at Judges Table, Mark will be scolded for some egregious misnaming. If I found out he misappropriated the name without knowing anything about "Red Curry" means, it might also be PYKAG.

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 5, 2008 - 07:25 AM

[Kristlkrost]

Kristl, it's still the same issue, hasn't changed... "Mediterranean Style Cooking" isn't a cuisine. It IS a marketing term, used by food manufacturers and restaurants, to mean something nebulous and evocative. And a term that will inevitably be used in a challenge underwritten by Bertolli, one of the manufacturers that market something nebulous and evocative using that term.

But again, to say that "Mediterranean cuisine" means southern Italy is exactly like saying "Caribbean cuisine" means eastern Cuba.

Colicchio's objection was to finding the black truffles in a Tuscan Italian chicken and pasta dish - despite the fact that truffles come from Tuscany and are used in Tuscan cooking. (Actually, Tuscany isn't even near southern Italy; it is, however, Mediterranean.)

Chefs cook and speak at their peril when they do so in absolute ALWAYS or NEVER, black & white terms.

Bit of pre research.


I just wrote to a truffle specialst lol
No lie.

Here is where you and I will come to proverbial blows Mr. Bao.

Tuscany is way too far north to be
considered "Mediterranean style cooking"
I know you think it is just a catch phrase but it is
not...Just as "low country cooking" is not here.

It is light and southern and they have
done studies on that basin for heart health for years.
It is Greek and African even but it is NOT Tuscan.
Not by the the real defines of Med cooking.



http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/15390 efining and understanding the Mediterranean Nutrition and Diet is not easy because there are several countries that border the Mediterranean Basin. Still, the traditional diets from the people living in the 1960's in countries like Greece, and Southern Italy have been studied extensively over the past several years.

This post has been edited by Kristlkrost: May 5, 2008 - 07:42 AM

[SimonBao]

[/color][color="#800080"]

It is light and southern and they have done studies on that basin for heart health for years.
It is Greek and African even but it is NOT Tuscan
Not by the the real defines of Med cooking.

Kristl, you need to Google Mediterranean Diet.

You'll find that it has nothing to do with Italian cooking or diets, least of all Southern Italian. That "diet" does encompass Greek, and the coastal African, and indeed Tuscany. Which is right there on the Med sea, vast Med coastline. References to the Mediterranean Diet refer to the entire Med Basin.

Trust me, read and you'll learn for yourself.

The Mediterranean Diet is known to just about everyone who reads about diets and nutrition. (My fiance comes from a family where heart disease is inherited, nearly universal, and kills them all at young ages... I'm marrying into a family where both parents are already deceased. So I stay up on this stuff.)

The Mediterranean Diet refers to the traditional culinary and diet patterns found all around the Mediterranean. The dishes are wildly different from one another, as are ways of cooking and seasoning, but they have some fundamentals in common. And some of those fundamentals correspond to what scientists suspect about healthy eating anywhere. In general, not much red meat, or much animal fat, but lots of heart healthy olive oil and Omega-3 fats. Hence, not much dietary cholesterol. Heavy use of seafood/fish proteins. Dairy products, in limited amounts. But off-set by a heavy consumption of whole grains and legumes. Fava beans, lentils, chickpeas (garbanzos), lupin beans, peas... matched with whole grain wheat foods, barley... Lots and lots of unprocessed foods and fresh fruits and veggies.

Of course, there are some researchers who point out that folks following the traditional Mediterranean Diet are not chubby couch potatoes with a one hand on a remote and the other in a bag of Doritos. They don't need to join Bally's. They're physically active, far more so than Americans. They're the folks who walk, who work hard, who exert themselves day in and day out. The diet may not matter nearly as much as just walking.

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 5, 2008 - 08:08 AM

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

You're taking notes?! yipes!

Yeah... keeeeep wondering, babe.

HEY PG............411 ON TAKING NOTES ..............

DON'T REALLY HAVE TOO

IT'S ALL HERE IN THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVE WE CALL

BRAVO BOARDS

BUT REALLY LIFE IT TOO SHORT

WILL KEEP WONDERING THOUGH

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[Kristlkrost]

Kristl, you need to Google Mediterranean Diet.

You'll find that it has nothing to do with Italian cooking or diets, least of all Southern Italian. That "diet" does encompass Greek, and the coastal African, and indeed Tuscany. Which is right there on the Med sea, vast Med coastline. References to the Mediterranean Diet refer to the entire Med Basin.

Trust me, read and you'll learn for yourself.

The Mediterranean Diet is known to just about everyone who reads about diets and nutrition. (My fiance comes from a family where heart disease is inherited, nearly universal, and kills them all at young ages... I'm marrying into a family where both parents are already deceased. So I stay up on this stuff.)

The Mediterranean Diet refers to the traditional culinary and diet patterns found all around the Mediterranean. The dishes are wildly different from one another, as are ways of cooking and seasoning, but they have some fundamentals in common. And some of those fundamentals correspond to what scientists suspect about healthy eating anywhere. In general, not much red meat, or much animal fat, but lots of heart healthy olive oil and Omega-3 fats. Hence, not much dietary cholesterol. Heavy use of seafood proteins. Dairy products, in limited amounts. But off-set by a heavy consumption of whole grains and legumes. Fava beans, lentils, chickpeas (garbanzos), lupin beans, peas... matched with whole grain wheat foods, barley... Lots and lots of unprocessed foods and fresh fruits and veggies.

Of course, there are some researchers who point out that folks following the traditional Mediterranean Diet are not chubby couch potatoes with a one hand on a remote and the other in a bag of Doritos. They don't need to join Bally's. They're physically active, far more so than Americans. They're the folks who walk, who work hard, who exert themselves day in and day out. The diet may not matter nearly as much as just walking.

Simon....Tuscany is not part of the basin and the first sentence says :

The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional model originally inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean Basin.




Capish???????

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

Yes, dear. Ketchup when you can. When you've mustard enough energy and relish another throw down we'll be here. We did have fun.

WELL HOT DIGGIDY DOG

MUSTARDING UP ENERGY ISN'T THE PROB THOUGH PG

AND IT ISN'T THAT I WOULDN'T RELISH THE EXPERIENCE

IT'S MORE LIKE I GOTTA KEEP ON PEEPS BUNS

AS WELL AS MY OWN

SO KETCHUP DOESN'T BECOME

AN ISSUE

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[bJason]

No, no. I wasn't clear. I meant all dorks are lovable, not all Cheftestants. Dork, nerd, geek--three of my favorite people!

Oh, same here!! Add a pair of glasses and I am done for!

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

Apparently he was the younger brother of Confucious and only have as bright.

Yes... perky, perky, perky.

NOW THERES ANOTHER CAN OF WORMS PG

OR SHOULD I SAY

HIGHBEAMS OF INSPIRATION

WONDER IF CONFUCIOUS NOTICED

OR DID HE AND HIS BRO

JUST PONDER

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[SimonBao]

Simon....Tuscany is not part of the basin and the first sentence says :

The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional model originally inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean Basin.

Capish???????

Kristl, I'm very curious what specific definition of The Mediterranean Basin you're using. I need to know exactly how you exclude Tuscany from that region.

Like those researchers writing about the Mediterranean Diet, I'm using the term geographically. To mean, The Mediterrean Basin. How are you using that term? Sounds as if you're giving it The Bertolli.

Did you link to that Wikipedia definition of The Mediterranean Basin without even reading it? It absolutely and clearly and unequivocally includes Tuscany. Includes the entire Italian peninsula, from the Alps on down...

This post has been edited by SimonBao: May 5, 2008 - 08:28 AM

[Kristlkrost]

Oh, same here!! Add a pair of glasses and I am done for!

Hiya!!!

Me too... I loved the nerds carrying all the books and dropping papers down the halls....Brains are sexy.
Awwwwww
I mean come on.
Pocket protectors are tres chic and smart too

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

LSLIBAR (LAUGHIN SO LONG I BUST A RIB )

REALLY PG

I REVIEWED THE REPLIES ON SATURDAY NIGHT

WHEN I CAME TO THIS ONE

WELL..................................

I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD

IT CAUSED MAJOR BRAIN DAMAGE

HAD TO SIGN OUT

SOOOOOOOOOOOO HYPNOTIZING

TOO MUCH STYLE AND GRACE HE HE HE

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

[Kristlkrost]

Kristl, I'm very curious what specific definition of The Mediterranean Basin you're using. I need to know exactly how you exclude Tuscany from that region.

Like those researchers writing about the Mediterranean Diet, I'm using the term geographically. To mean, The Mediterrean Basin. How are you using that term? Sounds as if you're giving it The Bertolli.

LOL!!!!!!........You are good.
Oy ....I have met my match......Nearly!

We'll wait for Fungi mistress to answer and then we'll throw down like Bobby Flay with a few drinks in him.

Tuscany is not part of the basin where the researchers did those studies.....With any research a guideline must be set
as to where that research will be done.
I am assuming said researchers know what the basin is
that they want to study??
And where that kind of food is eaten and cooked that they consider Med.
So if you do research on a basin...that you deem the basin
to be as a researcher and basin research expert ;

(I dunno MoHob what to do there.. help.. full stop or yellow light )

Do you just throw Tuscany in the parameters of said study...'cause say..you don't want to be wrong on a TV board???

This post has been edited by Kristlkrost: May 5, 2008 - 08:35 AM

[ITSJUSTMEAOD]

HARD TO GET PAST

WITHOUT WONDERING ...................................

HOW SHE DO THAT ?????????

WHAT MUSCLE CONTROL

THANKS PG

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN