You want to start "dueling " stories ???Between my wife the laboe nurse(used to work med/surg also) and my days as an EMT/ Fireman I bet we could gross everybody out.

Kristl, if Erik were still around we might have Cool Hand Luke, and Erik forcing the judges compete in an egg eating contest.

Lol,would have been nice to have ya here when all the "bully gang" BS went down but I bet you had way more fun playing bingo.

S E R I O U S L Y!!! I cannot even believe how seriously some ppl take this show. I take it in as pure entertainment too.

But some ppl with their googling everything, phone calls to chefs at their places of business , and their posting on this board 24/7 has gots to make you wonder about the lack of some sort of personal life.

Youze guys can fight until the cows come home... it ain't going to change the way things unfold on the show. So you might as well save yourself a few points on the rising of your blood pressure.. and come over and watch Flavor Flav. Ten times the skanks with messed up teefs & hair weaves.. and I guarantee you that you won't even mind when any of them get eliminated.

Here's the problem with the whole incident. Top Chef lied to you. They tried to make you believe it happened one way when it actually happened another. We've never seen the whole tape, I doubt we ever will. I don't know who was holding the camera, only the people in the room know that. But they did lie about the sequence of events and once you've caught them in one lie you never know just how many other lies there are. People will do some manipulative things when big money is at stake. Did it really matter? Cliff took the fall, Top Chef got a gang busters finale and made a ton of money. The only thing I can see that might have happened as a result is that I think Tom and crew wanted more of a say in the type of chefs they brought onto the show. Which is why last season we seemed to get more "stable" group with a lot less drama.

I love the way you think. Outside the box. Looks like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one inspiration, not sure what the other one is.

Eating Raoul or Soylent Green.

Sweeney Todd?

And not only did they lie about the sequence of events but they had the contestants lie about the sequence of events in their "confessional" interviews. So it goes to wonder as Kani brought up just how many other things do we get lied to about in the interest of better tv?

Makes ya wonder.

And not only did they lie about the sequence of events but they had the contestants lie about the sequence of events in their "confessional" interviews. So it goes to wonder as Kani brought up just how many other things do we get lied to about in the interest of better tv?

Makes ya wonder.

Does anyone ever actually need Kevin Costner?

I did see that, Kani, and my immediate thought was "Hmm, dishes inspired by 'Fargo'? It could be done. It would be ugly, but it could done." Using drips of raspberry couli for the blood spatter patterns...

I did see that, Kani, and my immediate thought was "Hmm, dishes inspired by 'Fargo'? It could be done. It would be ugly, but it could done." Using drips of raspberry couli for the blood spatter patterns...

OK, guys.......it's time for me to take the First Step.


I admit that I am powerless over my addiction to Top Chef, and that it has caused me to spend all of today printing out every recipe still on the website from Seasons 3 and 4, plus CJ's and Tre's recipes from the holiday special.

OK, guys.......it's time for me to take the First Step.


I admit that I am powerless over my addiction to Top Chef, and that it has caused me to spend all of today printing out every recipe still on the website from Seasons 3 and 4, plus CJ's and Tre's recipes from the holiday special.

I should point out that a dish based on Fargo could just as easily be breakfast-related.

"Y'gotta eat a breakfast, Marge....."

Are you asking for an intervention?

I should point out that a dish based on Fargo could just as easily be breakfast-related.

"Y'gotta eat a breakfast, Marge....."

The threat of reading the Top Chef boards from Day One until he the day he joined. It will cure anyone of Top Chef Crack Monkeyitus

If you can get Erik to make his corn dogs and NOT let them sit for two hours, that might work.

Or if you can get Richard. No food required.

So the guest judge for this epi is Richard Roeper. I get that he's a movie guy but is he a food guy? I was hoping Roger Ebert would be well enough to be the guy but I don't think he's recovered enough to do public appearances nor do I think he has regained the ability to speak. Which is too bad, I'm trying to imagine how he would rake some of these guys over the coals for their movie inspired food offerings.

Girl, it's early yet. Floppy corn dogs are just an amuse bouche for the season. So much more to come.

But then you'd be Jennifer, or Sandee.

Hee hee heeee...don't matter, Richard's got better shoulders.

You are the Beast? Or just that your real name is Jennifer?

I'm surprised by the number of posts that defend the decision to make and serve deep-fried (pre-fried) corn dogs. Surprised by a focus on how "the flavor was still fine," or ideas that Erik's corn dogs were not as egregious or fundamental an error as salads from Zoi or Ryan.

Colicchio put it best when he said something to the effect, "That dish should never have been done." I think I can demonstrate that anyone here, if you've ever cooked at all, you already know instinctively that pre-fried, transported corn dogs will fail and shouldn't be tried. You already have that knowledge in your head.

Just imagine for a moment that you've been invited to a block party and asked to bring a dish you like. Is there anyone who cannot spot the obvious problem with any of these dishes? Spot it the day before, a week before, spot it just by picturing the result?

* You like french fries. You deep fry up a bunch, they're the best fries ever made. You pile them on top of one another into a disposable catering tray, cover the tray, load the tray into a steamy hotbox, transport it over to the party. You open that catering tray full of fries and set it over some Sterno, and begin to serve them 2 hours after they came out of the fryer.

* You love fish & chips. You mix up the best, tastiest batter in the world, batter and fry your fish and fry your potatoes, and it's the best fish & chips ever made. You pile them on top of one another into a disposable catering tray, cover the tray, load the tray into a steamy hotbox, transport it over to the party. You open that catering tray full of fried fish and potatoes and set it over some Sterno, and begin to serve them 2 hours after they came out of the fryer.

* You love Tater Tots. You fire up the oven, spread the Tots on a cookie sheet, and bake them till they're crisp and golden brown, the best Tater Tots ever made. You pile them on top of one another into a disposable catering tray, cover the tray, load the tray into a steamy hotbox, transport it over to the party. You open that catering tray full of Tater Tots and set it over some Sterno, and begin to serve them 2 hours after they came out of the oven.

* You're a lazy @ss. You drive over to KFC, buy several buckets of extra-crispy fried chicken. It's not the best fried chicken ever made but people will be drinking heavily and won't notice. You want everyone to think you made the chicken so you pile the pieces on top of one another into a disposable catering tray, cover the tray, load the tray into a steamy hotbox, transport it over to the party. You open that catering tray full of fried chicken and set it over some Sterno, and begin to serve it 2 hours after it came out of the fryer.

* You're the king of corn dogs....

Is there anyone here who really doesn't know ahead of time, instinctively, what will go terribly wrong with any of those dishes? One doesn't need catering experience or culinary academy certificates to know, it's the same thing in every case. As Nikki put it in the zoo challenge - in catering, "Fried Dies." So too does roasting or toasting, if you hope to produce a dish that's both kept hot in transit and yet still has a crispy exterior 2 hours later.

You are the Beast? Or just that your real name is Jennifer?

Ha.
Does anyone wonder if any of the chefs have ever posted comments on these boards?

Oh man the questions I have! If you only knew.

Oh man the questions I have! If you only knew.

Clever minx. Exactly what hair product do you use for your faux-hawk? Something from the Tresemme line?

That Pomade must be strong to hold up to Beach winds. I'll be looking for you on the cover of Surf Fishing Monthly with your faux hawk and some big a$$ed fish.

Which is what some of us have been saying for a week. If you can't find a way to fry it onsite, Make something else!

Like I said before, Eric's ego made him do it. He thought the flavors of his coating and the sauce were so wonderful that the judges wouldn't mind the soggy mess he put on the plate.

Of course they exploited it - the most financially astute way possible. It cost them nothing financially to auff Cliff. I contend they could have had bigger ratings if they had auffed all four and replaced them but it would have been cost prohibitive. They shoot these shows so tightly that there's no time for a massive disruption like that.
Not that any of it matters in the grand scheme of things. I think that whole season of Top Chef was cursed.

I love Fargo!!!

but my mind went straight to the buffet scene

sure there is some underlying meaning to it

Actually, one could plate some really horrifying looking dishes based on Fargo. Absolutely delicious, and very TC... but with a heavy dose of horror in them. I'm thinking of something "shredded", perhaps.

It's because,one last time, that was the nature of the challenge! It wasn't to just produce a good dish, it was to produce a good dish from found ingredients, to be pre-cooked, to be transported, then to be served and only then to be judged. All the steps had to be taken.

It has finally occurred to me why you so obstinately refuse to acknowledge the points anyone makes and continue to beat horses that others killed long ago. From your posts, and from the way you so doggedly hold position, it seems clear that, after 3+ seasons, you think this show is supposed to be about eliminating contestants in order to find the one among them that can consistently produce the best food, and deserve to be called a top chef. You are confusing the title of the show with the contest that is being played. As has been said before, if you want the title of the show to reflect the results each and every week, you need to rename it in your mind to something more like "Survivor - Bravo Kitchen"!

The ultimate winner is not ever likely to be the best chef. It will be the chef who can escape a weekly elimination based on whoever produced the worst dish that day, under stupid restrictions, with substandard equipment, in less than perfect locations and based on the opinions of 4 people whose commentary will be purged, selected and edited so that you hopefully won't be able to guess the outcome until they tell you.

The ultimate winner is not ever likely to be the best chef. It will be the chef who can escape a weekly elimination based on whoever produced the worst dish that day, under stupid restrictions, with substandard equipment, in less than perfect locations and based on the opinions of 4 people whose commentary will be purged, selected and edited so that you hopefully won't be able to guess the outcome until they tell you.