Episode 8: "Common Threads" Options

[SimonBao]

Simon

Name once instance when Marcel did that??
Please someone tell me when he did half of what you all think he did?????

They hated the kid from day one.
They would come out of those confessionals and tell him they just trashed him and say....hey it's part of the game.......dude.

How would you react??

Kristl, if you are asking me that question honestly, despite having watched what I watched, then I do not believe that 16 hours of footage of Marcel being contemptuous and disdainful will convince you...

From my point of view, Marcel was disgusting. That shouldn't be taken to exonerate anyone else for bad behavior. That was the Season of Bad Behavior. But Marcel? No....... he was Puck.

[SecondTry]

LOL

Well....they probably were ....They goad those confessionals....You know that.

Joel Roubochon ain't no slouch.
Sous chef Marcel.....Line cook Ilan???
Marcel teacher at the CIA???
It's a competiton.... You psych out your competitors......no???
Hung did it too......They all do it.
Tre bragged a lot... So did Brian and many others....Even my beloved Dale last season.
We just remember every infraction made by Marcel....Why??..GAWD only knows.

BTW ....we were in live chat with Otto one night
on Kani's BLOG .....and Otto loved him.
Otto is a spicy little devil..lol

We remember all of Marcel's infractions because there were so many to choose from. As for Otto--Otto was a thief and a liar. Plain and simple. If that's the best Marcel can come up with for support, that's real telling.

[SecondTry]

LOL

Well....they probably were ....They goad those confessionals....You know that.

Joel Roubochon ain't no slouch.
Sous chef Marcel.....Line cook Ilan???
Marcel teacher at the CIA???
It's a competiton.... You psych out your competitors......no???

As for this question, there are two ways of winning any competition:

1) Do something extraordinary.

2) Hope your opponent(s) screw up.


I prefer to do the former. Sam in particular struck me as the same.

[teleburst]

The place crawls with wildlife but no one down there eats it, despite my own temptations. I kept offering to get the car keys and go get some local deer.

I wouldn't give you the keys to my car either until you promised to pay for the damage after you hit the deer.

I might suggest to my fellow server (he's Romainian) that there might be some extra money in doing the occasional capon, although it might be offset by the added cost of feed over the extended lifetime of the bird.

One day I'm going to buy one of his lambs for $100.

[Kristlkrost]

Kristl, if you are asking me that question honestly, despite having watched what I watched, then I do not believe that 16 hours of footage of Marcel being contemptuous and disdainful will convince you...

From my point of view, Marcel was disgusting. That shouldn't be taken to exonerate anyone else for bad behavior. That was the Season of Bad Behavior. But Marcel? No....... he was Puck.

Disgusting???
Oh so Frank wasn't?????
Have you seen his audition tape???
Mikey????
Mikey wasn't disgusting??

Marcel was always polite..I am in shock.
I can't believe you said that..Seriously.
He may have been annnoying and obnoxious.
(And I never saw that)
But disgusting???

But I guess I am outnumbered here today

Running and ducking for cover...Heeeeeeeelp

This post has been edited by Kristlkrost: May 5, 2008 - 02:37 PM

[Kristlkrost]

I wouldn't give you the keys to my car either until you promised to pay for the damage after you hit the deer.

I might suggest to my fellow server (he's Romainian) that there might be some extra money in doing the occasional capon, although it might be offset by the added cost of feed over the extended lifetime of the bird.

One day I'm going to buy one of his lambs for $100.

Wait for me ....I'll have him down to $50.

I'm a NY-awker..... We haggle
And I'm a woman...Those Romanians like us

[Kristlkrost]

We remember all of Marcel's infractions because there were so many to choose from. As for Otto--Otto was a thief and a liar. Plain and simple. If that's the best Marcel can come up with for support, that's real telling.

GOOOOOOOOOO
OO YANKEEEEEEEES!
Oh Lawd .....Angry mob a comin
Holster..... heeeeeeeelp!
Sigh......... I miss that guy.

[notevayas]

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. Padma, 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.

Nimma- 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...

Stephanie- 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.

Hey Darth Pervertus,

In return for borrowing your graphics for a post, I made your virgin post a bit easier to read. Red lettering is hard on the eyes.

I don't agree with everything you said, but it's clear that you tried (maybe a bit too hard) to be entertaining, and that should be flattering to everyone on this board.

I am primarily a fan of Project Runway like your better half, but I am trying out Top Chef for a season. It would be fun to have a husband/wife team post on the Project Runway board this July! If the fashions don't interest you, you could do the model commentary..

[chucole]

Trying to sway KK with regard to McFoamy is like trying to sway Waj with regard to Tom. Ain't gonna happen. LOL

[Kristlkrost]

Trying to sway KK with regard to McFoamy is like trying to sway Waj with regard to Tom. Ain't gonna happen. LOL

You know.

Oh LAWD here I go...I know you and Simon and the rest aren't followers ....But let let me tell you something sistah girl....I watched on this very board peeps hate Marcel and Hung before the show started...BEFORE!!!

The very first night when Ilan said I can't stand him they all started like really hating on him....The very first night??? I watched it happen and I was shocked.
I wasn't here for the Tiffani hate fest.
But I was for the Jeffrey...I couldn't stand Jeffrey on PR till I saw him cry for his son and I think we need to remember that these peeps are not only who we see on that TV.....This is only an edited show...Marcel never did anything so terrible....He just didn't.....I mean what?????

I didn't NOT like Frank so much till I saw his audition tape........Oyyyyy
I'll take a Marcel over a Frank ANY day from what
I have seen....Mikey???? Oh please.....Mikey was..........
I hate to say it......but well.... need I???

For peeps to despise him so....I godda'
believe that some of it is what they told you.
They fed it to us every week...I saw it here with my very own eyes.

Not you per se...but the masses.
Because Dale has already done things way worse and none hate him that much...Simon..you used to despise Hung...I remember....You couldn't stand him it seems now you have lightened up.

I just do not get all the Marcel hate/dislike whatever....I don't get it and never will.
Stephen was the MOST pompous.
Wasn't he??.....Are we discussisng how bad he was????........NO!
If Marcel was disgusting...well he wouldn't
have been so gracious when all that happened..........And he was.

Tawk about disgusting........They were.

OK now ......THE END!!!!!

Ruuuuuuuuuuuunning!

This post has been edited by Kristlkrost: May 5, 2008 - 03:21 PM

[johnw]

Disgusting???
Oh so Frank wasn't?????
Have you seen his audition tape???
Mikey????
Mikey wasn't disgusting??

Marcel was always polite..I am in shock.
I can't believe you said that..Seriously.
He may have been annnoying and obnoxious.
(And I never saw that)
But disgusting???

But I guess I am outnumbered here today

Running and ducking for cover...Heeeeeeeelp

I liked Frank--at least when he was sober. I thought that he always accepted responsibility for his screwups at the JT such as his bad rice.

Mike Midgley was disgusting - no doubt about it. There was his "wiping his ass" demo on his audition tape --His cheeto/penis in the vending machine challenge - " I made Suzanne Goin eat it." -- and finally he had his wife's panties on display at Colicchio's Craftsteak grand opening.

Marcel was almost nearly polite and was pretty much a pacifist when taking abuse from the likes of Sam and Ilan. The only time he lost his cool was when he shoved the camera back in Ilan's face when he was trying to escape to the bedroom in the clippergate incident.

[johnw]

deleted by Johnw

This post has been edited by johnw: May 5, 2008 - 03:31 PM

[SecondTry]

You know.

Oh LAWD here I go...I know you and Simon and the rest aren't followers ....But let let me tell you something sistah girl....I watched on this very board peeps hate Marcel and Hung before the show started...BEFORE!!!

The very first night when Ilan said I can't stand him they all started like really hating on him....The very first night??? I watched it happen and I was shocked.
I wasn't here for the Tiffani hate fest.
But I was for the Jeffrey...I couldn't stand Jeffrey on PR till I saw him cry for his son and I think we need to remember that these peeps are not only who we see on that TV.....This is only an edited show...Marcel never did anything so terrible....He just didn't.....I mean what?????

I didn't NOT like Frank so much till I saw his audition tape........Oyyyyy
I'll take a Marcel over a Frank ANY day from what
I have seen....Mikey???? Oh please.....Mikey was..........
I hate to say it......but well.... need I???

For peeps to despise him so....I godda'
believe that some of it is what they told you.
They fed it to us every week...I saw it here with my very own eyes.

Not you per se...but the masses.
Because Dale has already done things way worse and none hate him that much...Simon..you used to despise Hung...I remember....You couldn't stand him it seems now you have lightened up.

I just do not get all the Marcel hate/dislike whatever....I don't get it and never will.
Stephen was the MOST pompous.
Wasn't he??.....Are we discussisng how bad he was????........NO!
If Marcel was disgusting...well he wouldn't
have been so gracious when all that happened..........And he was.

Tawk about disgusting........They were.

OK now ......THE END!!!!!

Ruuuuuuuuuuuunning!

1. Keep in mind that the interviews are filmed AFTER the challenges, so Ilan had plenty of exposure to Marcel's personality before he said that he couldn't stand Marcel.

2. Marcel tried to sabotage Betty during the comfort food challenge, tried to take credit for Sam's leadership during the Hollywood challenge, moved Elia's food during the semifinals, repeatedly had to be dragged kicking and screaming into working with the others during group and team challenges.....what else do you want? About the only conflict I AM willing to give him a pass on is his confrontation with Frank during the Thanksgiving challenge--Marcel was working under a time constraint and shouldn't have had to waste time hunting Frank down so Frank could move his stuff out of the cooking area.

3. To say that Marcel isn't as pompous as Stephen is like saying that a broken arm isn't as bad as a broken neck. Doesn't make me want to go out and break my arm.

[chucole]

Stephen was pompous, but it seemed to fit him. Not McFoamy. I did dislike Hung in the beginning but warmed up to him so the Hung hate faded. And his little monkey too. Marcel was a twit from the get go and continued to be so. Whah. I like Dale. Don't ask me why. At least he isn't a pretentious child.
Ok, off my soapbox.

[teleburst]

From Mark's Blog! I didn't even know he had one!

"An Entree for 4 people with a $10 budget--I actually asked if we could shop at a bodega as opposed to Wholefoods just to give us a fighting chance, but no luck. I suggest we rename Wholefoods- "Wholepaycheck"; simply because it's an expensive place to shop and unless I win the lottery, I will continue to shop at my local green market.

A vegetable curry is my go-to for a cheap and easy-to-make meal. I love that dish and stand by it. The judges commented on lack of protein, but the truth is the rice counteracts the lack of vegetable protein as it contains essential amino acids, and thereby creating a complete meal.
I tlooks to me like they deliberately left out the fact that Mark used rice to give formulate the protien argument.

I assume that you highlighted that for a reason. Well, here's a highlight:

But there’s a big problem with white rice. The majority of the nutrients in the rice kernel are in the layers that are removed. What’s left is mostly starch. As refined rice is 81%-83% carbohydrates, it’s considered a high energy food. But on the flip side of this, many of the nutrients needed for correct digestion of white rice were removed during the milling process which forces the body to 'steal' from it’s reserves to digest it. Compared to brown rice, white rice’s nutrients have been greatly reduced in fatty acids, fiber (which is already low in brown rice compared to some of the other grains), vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folacin, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper. The amino acids remain relatively unchanged.

http://waltonfeed.com/self/rice.html

Because of the importance of consuming proteins that provide all of the necessary amino acids, dietary proteins are considered to belong to two different groups, depending on the amino acids they provide. Complete proteins, which constitute the first group, contain ample amounts of all of the essential amino acids. These proteins are found in meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, and milk. Incomplete proteins, which constitute the second group, contain only some of the essential amino acids. These proteins are found in a variety of foods, including grains, legumes, and leafy green vegetables.

Although it is important to consume the full range of amino acids, both essential and nonessential, it is not necessary to get them from meat, fish, poultry, and other complete-protein foods. In fact, because of their high fat content-as well as the use of antibiotics and other chemicals in the raising of poultry and cattle-most of those foods should be eaten in moderation. Fortunately, the dietary strategy called mutual supplementation enables you to combine partial-protein foods to make complementary protein-proteins that supply adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids. For instance, although beans and brown rice are both quite rich in protein, each lacks one or more of the necessary amino acids. However, when you combine beans and brown rice with each other, or when you combine either one with any of a number of protein-rich foods, you form a complete protein that is a high-quality substitute for meat.

http://1stholistic.com/Nutrition/hol_nutr_protein.htm

So, once again, all he had to do was add a few beans and he would have been fine. He made up for some of the vitamins and minerals stripped from the rice by using sweet potatoes.

In fairness, I was able to find a producer of white rice that claims that rice has all 8 essential amino acids. Which is fine except that there are, for all practical purposes 10 (two have been added to the list of necessary amino acids, one of which is considered "essential" for children). And rice is seriously lacking in at least two of the "classical 8") amino acids. Remember that you have to not only have the amino acids present, but you have to have sufficient quantities to be useful.

That's why you add legumes or meat proteins to "round out" the protein in rice, and why you need a source of vitamins and minerals (like the sweet potato) to fill in what milling takes away in the case of white rice.

Finally, the percentage is protein vs. caloric content of white rice is far lower than for most beans. So, while there's protein present, it's not of the quantity that you'll find in other forms of protein. That's why you find in rice eating cultures that they combine rice with meat or bean proteins. They don't generally just eat rice with veggies. India is a good example. They have their share of vegetarians, and they don't put beans in their curries generally. But they serve their lentils and such as a side dish. And beans by themselves aren't "a complete meal" either, even when combined with something as "nutritious" as sweet potatoes or other veggies. It's only nutritious up to a point.

Just having all 8 "classically essential" amino acids doesn't make a food a complete meal either. Milk has all 8 of them as well (as does a nice thick ribeye steak). But no one says that a glass of milk is a "nutritious meal", even though it's chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals as well. The key word is "balanced".

[Kristlkrost]

I liked Frank--at least when he was sober. I thought that he always accepted responsibility for his screwups at the JT such as his bad rice.

Mike Midgley was disgusting - no doubt about it. There was his "wiping his ass" demo on his audition tape --His cheeto/penis in the vending machine challenge - " I made Suzanne Goin eat it." -- and finally he had his wife's panties on display at Colicchio's Craftsteak grand opening.

Marcel was almost nearly polite and was pretty much a pacifist when taking abuse from the likes of Sam and Ilan. The only time he lost his cool was when he shoved the camera back in Ilan's face when he was trying to escape to the bedroom in the clippergate incident.

Ah .....A non angry mobber.....I love you

I will send you Frank's audition tape John.

And then you tell me what you think....Oyyyyyy
I was shocked.

[Kristlkrost]

1. Keep in mind that the interviews are filmed AFTER the challenges, so Ilan had plenty of exposure to Marcel's personality before he said that he couldn't stand Marcel.

2. Marcel tried to sabotage Betty during the comfort food challenge, tried to take credit for Sam's leadership during the Hollywood challenge, moved Elia's food during the semifinals, repeatedly had to be dragged kicking and screaming into working with the others during group and team challenges.....what else do you want? About the only conflict I AM willing to give him a pass on is his confrontation with Frank during the Thanksgiving challenge--Marcel was working under a time constraint and shouldn't have had to waste time hunting Frank down so Frank could move his stuff out of the cooking area.

3. To say that Marcel isn't as pompous as Stephen is like saying that a broken arm isn't as bad as a broken neck. Doesn't make me want to go out and break my arm.

I could argue every single one of those points in a totally different light....but why bother.
We ain't getting nowhere

(How you can trust the drunks
I'll never know )

(Marcel worked his asrse off.. Sam slept
he said lol Got one in)

Let's tawk about Richard

[SivartAlappes]

Ah .....A non angry mobber.....I love you

I will send you Frank's audition tape John.

And then you tell me what you think....Oyyyyyy
I was shocked.

I wanna see it! I've been looking for audition tapes from current and past cheftestants and have come up short so far. All I've seen are other hopefuls that never got picked, and I sadly discovered who wins this season (they opened their restraunt last week! Which is crap! Why would they be allowed to open before we, the people, see who wins?!)

[chucole]

Ah .....A non angry mobber.....I love you

I will send you Frank's audition tape John.

And then you tell me what you think....Oyyyyyy
I was shocked.

Send me the tape too KK. Send you a foamy kiss and hug.

[SecondTry]

Kristl, I love ya like a sister, but I can give you one incontrovertible reason why I'm a better judge of Marcel than you are.


I'm a gay man, and I know an a*****e when I see one.

This post has been edited by SecondTry: May 5, 2008 - 03:55 PM