Bravo, Manuel. That was BY FAR the most respectful, intelligent, polite, insightful and honorable departure for any chef - all seasons combined.

True, there is much that we don't get to see and hear that may have factored into the elimination decision. On the other hand, surely Manuel has seen other seasons - and may have suspected that "going along with" another chef's decisions might put him on the chopping block. Kudos to Manny for being who he is - a nice guy, skilled chef, a team player who honors learning and training. Thanks for putting the real back into "reality show."

does a pointer mean a woinger? if you're gettin' it in the wishbone italian dressing bottle . . . hmm! My tape measure is at the ready! Can you get it IN or can you get it OUT?

just react! or respond.

well, then we know where the patriots are.

Alert the media... ...

I'm talking in general because this season isn't even half over yet. In the past there are always times when someone has lead and someone is forced into a supporting role. (front of the house, being a prep workhorse, or like tonight when someone obviously picks a direction).
If you pick the direction becuase its what you are supposed to do well and your team goes along with it and what you do well sucks how is that anyone elses fault?

Hey, daverocks, good to see you. I was away for a simmer . . . back now. You've always had good food things to say. Let's go!

no coat your taste buds on a flagpole . . . or what about the leg lamp? That could have been a leg of lamb.

The breakdown of episodes is vicarious . . . then with the OT . . . where does one go for comfort?

you'd know if it were a man!

You say PYKAG

Any lady can represent herself, just as a man can. I represent myself in my profession. I don't hold out hopes for a vicarious representative. I hold my own.

Woooooooooooohoooooooooo

Jim would like to thank all the little peeps who
got him here....Oh LAWD...... I AM pushy

We shall hash out Casey tomox...lol
You forget .....we got tapes. Ok Jim just Jim...Good night peeps. You are enablers for my addiction......Thanks ALOT

So, he wears a not-nice hat. Maybe there's lice or something in there that could add extra protein to a dish. Unfair advantage??

Say it sistah girl!!!

I hear whistling lol

Nite toots.

And yet, he's still here. What does that say? And what does that say about us who continue to watch?

Accent is good, but Walter Brennen . . . to die for. Oh, whoops, he is dead.

what a ridiculous thing to say!

Quick hits:

Apparently, Ryan has worked for 3 days in every famous chef's kitchen. However, this is NOT an advantage, because the 4th day is HELL.

"I can touch her". 'nuff said.

Damn French and their weird consonant ways. Danyell Bolewww. Hey pal, you're in America now. When someone puts a "D" on the end of their name, we expect them to pronounce it.

Erik doesn't know who Danyell Bolewww is so his exit last week was a tender mercy.

OK Ms. I-Don't-Believe-In-Classical-Techniques-Because-I-Like-To-Do-My-Own-Thing. Better read my primer about how to succeed on Top Chef (soon to be imported from the Episode 2/3 thread). Guess Danyell just bitchslapped you into tomorrow.

Yuzu. This year's foam. Next year's pork bellies.

Hey Spike, looking like a drunken 65 year old golfer doesn't do a lot for you. Or maybe it does. Chickies? Weigh in?

Not being a parent, I have a hard time understanding how you can miss your kids after a week or two (I can understand it as the weeks drag on, but Manuel, GET A GRIP). Most parents I know would DIE for that.

OBOY! Cooking on site! Break out the Fry Daddy, babee...

How do I make a course inspired by my favorite movie, Wings of Desire? Wienerschnizel? Bratwurst? A scale model of the Berlin Wall made out of Yuzu? I'll bet those damned angels are vegetarian...ps, RIP Solveig Dommartin. I miss you.

Is yuzu the only exotic ingredient that LeeAnn has inserted into the kitchen or something? Oh wait, there's that ras el hanout. Maybe we could do a ras el hanout-scented yuzu pickle.

Who knew that poached eggs would be a technique that a couple of the chefs would go for? Who knew that I said that poached eggs is something that you might want to know (see my primer on winning Top Chef, soon to come to a thread near you).

Who knew that frisee was a technique?

Ladies and gentlemen, marvel at Spike's magnificant Magical Chiffinading Pump Action Vegetable Splitter (MCPAVS as the Marines know it).

Note my emphasis on knife skills in my award-winning primer on winning Top Chef, posted only this morning and soon to be reproduced for your amusement here in Episode 4 discussion.

Quenelle - the technigue to fall back on when you don't have a lot of technique. All you need is two spoons and a semi-solid. I'll be impressed when you can stand that quenelle on one of its two ends.

Padma - must you ALWAYS smoke Thai Stick before a Quickfire?

I'm thinking, the way that Padma likes to eat, it must be worms.

Apparently Danyell feels the same way I do about taking time before a QF to actually think. In my soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picture primer on winning Top Chef, screenwritten this very morning, I said the exact same thing. Except I only allow 3 minutes, not 5 minutes as Chef Bolewww does.

OK, I've only watched the part up to where they start the EC. Time to go check it out. I'm sure that the quick hits will continue in about an hour.

hearty congratulations! A 100th post is a legitimally measurable measure, It's not like . . . see, this is eight inches . . .

so where would you post challenge ideas? I have a great challenge.

I am on a lifestyle change plan called Michael Thurmonds 6 week body makeover. Nutritionaly speaking, it is sound. BUT it is restrictive-- I think it would be a great challenge to have the chefs create a dish or dinner meal for each of the body types. There are 5.

This plan has restrictions-- no dairy, no salt, or added salt in the spices you use, body types can have different things, I am a type A, so it is mostly lean meats like fish and chicken, where a body type E would have mostly beef or pork.
Lots of veggie type dishes,
no sugar

I think it would be a real challenge to create a meal using the body type guidlines. Recipes are always hard for the people on this plan-- can bravo help us out? I am sure Providia life sciences would send you a kit with the guidlines if you wanted to make this a challenge!
www.providia.com, or www.mybodymakeover.com

Love this show, focus on us that want to eat healthy, and have realy tasty choices to help us stay on plan!

if they did, they wouldn't be right. I quit on the BRAVO recipes. They're unreliable, from all that I can discern, i.e., omitting (not intentionally, mind you), ingredients and then with obscure preparation, so I have just given it the ditch.

Nite to you, Kristlkrost. Sweet dreams, as all mankind should be able to experience. Pull those lips together and whistle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you can do more than whistle . . . more power to you!

8" that's all you got... ...Sorry I couldn't resist...

Straight 10"=6"

Gay 8"=6"

... ...

...Ok if i do my math right...I'm 157, in gay years... ...

Ok several "Alpha" men, and women, no AC; and (IMHO) probably 18 hour working day;( much spent in the product placement room-with no AC)and beer...I'm amazed next weeks show edited or not, is that tame...Michelobe the unspoken sponsor...

More quick hits:

Box of popcorn - $4.50. Movie ticket $9. Ryan - Dumb and Dumber. Priceless.

I hope that Ryan's knives are sharper than he is. I suspect that the spoons in his drawer are sharper than he is.

"The lamb was cooked perfectly". But you suck.

Chocolate and wasabi trumps Siracha and ice cream every time.

Il Postino. Apparently, it should have been Ill Postino (The Sick Postman).

Frankly, the cultural state of our young people must have disappointed Richard Roeper.

Aisha Tyler. Goddess. Tall Goddess.

Putting Ted between two women is like making a sandwich from two slices of white bread and another slice of white bread.
Chef Tom wants a narrative on a plate. You'd better deliver.

The Editing Fairies are getting smarter and more devious each season.

Oh Manuel, I guess you're going to see the kids after all. However, getting screwed doesn't make it any easier. At least, it wasn't your teammate that screwed you. Not really, although, if I were using Good Morning Vietnam, I would have made corn.

Who knew that Spike is a Vietnamese expert? I'm sure that backreading this thread is going to amuse me when Simon weighs in. Especially when the "French thing" is discussed.

Ryan, Mark saved your bacon. Better learn where the hell he's from.

Tapioca cavier? What's next - snausages?

Bacon good. Caramel, even better.

Thank god nobody did Rainman. A plate of 20 goober peas lined up in a row wouldn't have gone over very well.

If Belewww hadn't mentioned Casablanca, surely, Andrew would have picked it just to be able to use ras el hanout. Or made a hill of beans, maybe.

Methinks that Richard should return his smoker to LL Bean.

Was Richard Roeper wearing contacts? He NEEDS the glasses. Without them, he looks like my accountant. With them, he looks all intellectual and stuff.

Damn, they sent a man home. I smell comspiracy!!!!!!

Smoking a block of wood. Please don't tell Padma.

OK Richard, the Glad Family Of Products smoky special effects thingy is done. Now if you can make foam spew from ras el hanout, you might be in business.

And here's the now famous Teleburst's primer on how to win Top Chef, posted yesterday afternoon (around 3:30 CST) before the current episode. Note how many points came into play in a single episode:

Cliff Notes for future Cheftestants:

When assembled for the first day, pay attention to your surroundings. Note the city and any food offered to you or set out on a table for munching, because it is surely a key to the challenge. Listen carefully when Padma and Tom offer the challenge. Listen for anything specific. This listening for specificity comes up later as well. Size up your competition but don't fixate on anything or anyone, because you've got plenty of time to worry about "the other guy".

When doing the quickfires, STOP. Take at least one minute to stand in place and think about the challenge. The longer you stand there, the more you will unnerve your competition and the better your plan of attack will come together. Plus, someone will be sure to be filmed talking about how unnerved you made them. However, don't spend too long thinking, or you won't be able to get any bacon (more about that later) or have time to follow through on your plan. The sweet spot is 1 - 3 minutes.

Have the following "in your pocket". Three entrees, two salads, two canapes, two appetizers, two desserts. These are dishes that you have actually practiced under time constraints. It's helpful if they can be adapted to various proteins and vegetables.

This next one is very important - DO NOT FRY ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ARE SERVING IT WITHIN 10 MINUTES. You wouldn't do this in a restaurant- what makes you think you can do it here? As part of this, realize that most of the challenges will negate any frying.

TASTE YOUR FOOD (when it's finished, not just as you prepare it, which means, make extra whenever possible). Have others taste your food if in a team challenge. A corollary to this is that it's impressive if you make a portion for yourself to taste with the judges, especially if you don't have to. Another corollary to this is, if another chef expresses doubt about your ability to produce your stated dish in a team challenge, don't get defensive. Be VERY sure you CAN produce it. It's possible that they know something you don't, or have failed at that exact dish in the past. However, if someone from the OTHER team expresses doubt that you can produce your stated dish, ignore it. They might just be playing you.

Practice your knife skills. Knife skills can save you if your bogus dish is up against another bogus dish, or it can set you apart when you're head to head with someone almost as brilliant as you. Don't discount the importance of a neatly chopped brunoise or perfectly sliced steak. This will hold you in good stead with the judges, plus it might get you more film time. A corollary to this is that it's helpful to know how to break down various meats from larger components.

Know your cooking methods. Know how roasting, braising, poaching, etc. affects the final product. You can't really braise very well if you have a time constraint. Roasting can dry out a product. And so on.

Do not serve anything with either raw onions or okra. Neither Padma nor Tom can abide raw onions. Tom HATES okra. It's slimy. so, when you're at the farmer's market and they have some beautiful okra on sale, fuggedaboutit. I don't care if your sainted Cajun granmother made the most delicious cornmeal-encrusted fried okra. NO OKRA OR RAW ONIONS! Got it?

Know how to poach an egg. Know how to make French-styled scrambled eggs. Know how to make a French-styled omelet.

Do not declare your dish "lovely", "delicious", "sexy", "perfectly cooked" or "sex on a plate" when Tom does his walk-through. Be very careful in using those terms when you present to the judges, because they'd better be exactly what you've promised.

NEVER tell a judge or a camera that you are an expert in making a certain dish (unless you ARE, of course). A corollary to this is that the quality of your favorite dish is inversely proportional to the amount of time that cameras are around to document the making of said dish (read - they're ALWAYS there!). You'd better be dead sure that you can produce. Which brings us to:

You can never be dead sure about how camera, time constraints, challenge parameters and Tom's walkthroughs will affect your ability to produce a dish.

If Tom tells you something during walkthrough, you'd better listen, even if it's "Hi Chef, how are you doing"? If he tilts his head and looks at you quizzically during such a benign statement, you need to look at what you're doing and figure out how it must be WHACK. And if he actually says something about food, he's likely trying to tell you something. So listen. Sometimes it's a riddle, a rebus without a picture, or an allegory, because he can't just tell you, "You know that you can't grill a souffle".

Padma likes breakfast. I'll just leave it at that.

Remember that when you're standing at judge's table, MAN UP (even if you're not...a man, that is). Don't question the judges' parentage or culinary abilities. But don't take the blame for something that's not your fault. Judges can smell blood in the water.

Learn about your location. If you're stuck in Miami, don't worry about borscht. If in LA, think fusion. If you're in Seattle, you'd better bone up on your Pacific seafood, not BBQ (except for the below).

BBQ is great when it's Asian-based. Unless you're stuck in Charleston, of course.

Bacon - good. Use it when possible. If you have accesss to smoked hog jowls - even better. Which brings us to:

If you have the choice of using an exotic ingredient instead of a conventional one, use it as much as possible, but make sure you know HOW to use it. An example is, if asked to choose between pork tenderloin and trotters, USE THE TROTTERS! Just make sure you know how to cook trotters.

Fish sauce (and things like spicy bean paste, Thai curry pastes, Sambal, Thai shrimp paste) can differentiate your dish from the common. Use fish sauce as you would salt. You might even hold that info back to spring on the judges when they wonder about the unusually unique flavor profile.

And now I have to go to work. Feel free to add to this, because I"ve just scratched the surface.

Way to go...Marmite...
nice to see you guys again I was on tour but back now

The catering was part of the challenge. I'm sure that all of these chefs can deliver the goods in a restaurant setting where the patrons get their orders a few minutes after plating or they wouldn't be holding positions of sous chefs and executive chefs in real life. It was mentioned in one of the blogs ( I forget whose) that most of these chefs have had at least one catering experience in their careers. You would think that Erik, at age 38, who comes from a restaurant family, would be among those who catered at one time or another.

It is true that Zoi probably deserved equally to go, but who knows what was said among the judges. Although Erik didn't tell Chef Bayless to "Go screw himself" to Bayless' face, perhaps his negative attitude towards the challenge was picked up by the judges and was critical in the decision as to who to send home.

As for Manuel, he just didn't sell himself enough. Back in the Stew Room he kept saying that he that should go home. He looked and acted like a loser in front of the judges.

COULDN'T PURGE THE URGE EH ACTOR



TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

NO CONCLUSIONS NO CRITIQUES ............YET

NOTICED ALOT OF CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE THOUGH

AND A QUIET EXIT OF A MOUSE

MAN THAT MANUEL IS A QUIET DUDE.........

ANOTHER WHICH I THOUGHT WOULD GET AXED EARLY ON

ONE POINT OF TOTAL ENJOYMENT

FOR ME ANYHOOS........................

THE GUESTS TELLING THEM "EXPERTS"

TO HOSE THIER NOSES

IT WAS PRICELESS

WHEN GAY GUY TRIED TO JUSTIFY

BAMMMMMMMM

GETS SHUT DOWN AGAIN

THAT WAS GREAT STUFF

WISH MORE OF THE GUESTS WOULD DO THAT

THE GUY IS A SNOT

OVERBEARING

AND A

BORE

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Hey sug,welcome back.

Heya Note,

I probably will. I cant seem to get away from Bravo. well,except for that model show,

That we all are Bravos b!tch and he be pimpin us out!

HOW ABOUT THE STORY OF "O"

SOME MONKEY BRAIN TAR TAR

OR INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

CREEPY CRAWLER EN GLAZE

SO MANY FLICKS

SO LITTLE TIME

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

PROB WILL TAKE A WATCH AT THAT DANCE SHOW....

TRAILERS LOOK PRETTY GOOD

JUST WONDERING HOW THEY'RE GONNA

CHALLENGE THE PEEPS

TYPE OF MUSIC

"IN STEP "CHOREOGRAPHY

SHRUG

LIKED THE PROGRAM ON MTV

AS IT WAS TOTALLY LEFT TO THE CONTESTANTS

TO CREATE THIER OWN STEPS

WITH RESPECT TO THE ORIGINAL ARTIST/PROGRAM

SET FORTH

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Well,the judges [expletive deleted] it up this time.


Spike,how the hell did you not get the boot?

Manuel,you got screwed. I knew the judges would say you were the one to go because you didnt use your voice or some other lame sh!t. Good luck Manny.

Zoi,what a whiny b!tch youve become.

Lisa,nice movie choice. You go next.

Ryan,dude,youve worked for a lot of chefs. What happened,keep getting replaced by 11 year olds?

Mark,how would you have cooked for Once Were Warriers? It was all beer and ass kicking.

Steph,Im convinced you could put a turd on a plate and win this thing. You have the Midas touch or something. So far,I pick you to win it all.

Richard,you were almost human tonight. Almost.

Andrew,I for one would have loved to seen you serve the food as Oompa Loompas.

Dale,you were tolerable this week.

Jen,your bias is starting to show.

Nikki,whatever.


Aishia Tyler is one of the unfunniest women and worst actresses ever. Wish she hadnt been on the show.

The Roeper,please feel free to correct me,dude was great. I liked the fact that he would disagree with the judges.

WAIT

WHY AM I LAUGHING

DANG PIMP!!!!

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

BY GUM LADY BRILL

YOU SAID IT ALL

KNEW SOME ONE IN THE FRONT OF THE CLASS WOULD

I ESP AGREE WITH YA ON ROEPER AND THE GAL NEXT TO HIM

SHRUG

MADE THE SHOW FOR ME

TAKE CARE OVER THERE

ALOHA

HAVE FUN

Sweeney Todd
Silence of the Lambs
Soylent Green (personal fave. husband was looking for green crackers during this episode)
Motel Hell
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover

You get the drift....

OK, I'm PISSED!! Studmuffin Chef Erik Hopfinger was my personal fav this season -- and they had to go and send him home. At least Dale, my fav from Season 3, made it to the finals.

I'm going off to sulk today. LEAVE ME ALONE !!!!!

Teleburst, be kind about the cultural state of us here... I had and still have no idea who Richard Roeper or Aisha Tyler are.

I haven't seen this episode yet as I fell asleep and forgot to DVR it,but with what I"VE READ SO FAR< (s) Manuel was sent home because he was a "helper". I believe in Season 2 Ilia was the leader and because her team didn't do well, she was going to be sent home until the other girl (I forget her name for the moment) said she wanted to be sent home instead of Ilia. I believe the judges were going to send Ilia home just because she was the leader, so shouldn't that same decision process be used to send Spike home???? Just a thought.

Nikki could have chosen "Pink Flamingos" as her favorite movie and served those dog poo mushrooms!

Well, I think this episode was *lots* better than the last one. No catering, no mere appetizers or canapes for parties... an actual dinner, for real sit-down dinner guests, with real foods. Thanks TC, about time.

I had a suspicion that Spike and Manuel were lost in the dark together when they were in the supermarket. I didn't yet understand what Vietnamese dish they were really making, but Spike wanted to use Tilapia. Manuel wanted to use Chilean Sea Bass.

That stumped me. In what dish might a person use *either* Tilapia *or* Chilean Sea Bass?

That's the equivalent of two guys planning a dish together, and one of them sees the dish being made with poached, boneless, unseasoned skinless chicken breasts, and the other thinks the dish needs air-dryed, long-hung, well-aged gamy moose.

Tilapia is a lean freshwater fish, just notoriously "mild," some would say flavor-free -- by comparison to other fish, it's so lacking in flavor that many chefs won't go near it. (Though that lack of fishy flavor is exactly why many Americans like it.)

Chilean Sea Bass is as opposite as a fish can be without turning into a quail. It has a very high fat content, almost buttery, it's a saltwater fish and tastes like one, it has a rich "fish" flavor.

As it turned out, in their hands and under Spike's misguidance, it wouldn't matter which fish they put into those summer rolls....

Agreed. He acted like a jerk this episode when talking about Mark: "Where's he from? New Zealand or New England"? What an idiot.

Ack! Ted Allen is no snob! I became a fan of his when he was on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and he was very patient trying to teach some straight guys how to cook dinner for their girlfriends. He even had to teach one guy how to make sandwiches for his poker buddies!

I am quiet like Manuel. I would probably make a silent ghost. It's interesting how the wind can whistle through an old house, through the rocks or trees, over tall grasses and across the water. No wonder some people swear they hear music. It's like fairy music lol!

Here are my thoughts about this episode:

I actually enjoyed this episode, although I have only seen two of the six movies they represented.

I was glad that Daniel (sp? I didn't take French in HS) stated up front that Ryan and Richard had worked for him before. Unlike last week we didn't find out about Ryan working for Rick Bayless until the QF judging had started. Congrats to Dale for winning the QF.

Has anyone else noticed that the music before the challenges sounds alot like the music from the Hawaii episodes of the Brady Bunch when something was about to go wrong, just revamped a little? Just an observation.

I liked this elimination challenge but wish it was done later in the season with less chefs and no teams. All the ECs so far (except Epi 1) have been team challenges and after last night's preview it could be another team challenge next week.

Congrats to Richard and his team. They really did use their imaginations to come up with their dish and the improvisation when his smoker malfunctioned was good. I still don't really care for Richard that much.

Good job to Stephanie and Lisa. Even though they had the 6th course, I'm glad they went with what they knew instead of trying something they were not comfortable with. How many times in the last 3 seasons did someone do a dessert they were not familiar with and then fail? Steph and Lisa thought it through and it paid off.

Ryan and Mark stayed in the middle. Good thing for Ryan. He is a few clowns short of a circus. Good back up to use the quail when they couldn't get a duck.

Jennifer and Nikki should have been called out even if the guests did like their dish. The judges didn't. Didn't they tell Red team last week that they needed to impress the judges first then the customer? That may be why they called Zoi and Antonia in.

As far as Zoi and Antonia being on the bottom two, the judges liked their food better than Jen and Nikki. But because they didn't explain their dish clearly they were dinged. Good for them for being safe. I thought Zoi was very whiny this episode, too. Her comments about Richard's dish were uncalled for unless she had tasted it, which I don't believe she did.

Now for Spike and Manuel. Sorry to see Manuel go for being a follower. But glad Spike didn't throw him under the bus. Manuel was truly a nice guy and his speech at the end was very heartfelt. At one point, I thought they were going to send both of them home.

When it gets down to it, if it were "about the food" then Spike should have gone home. But, since we know it is "about the ratings", Manuel gets the boot for being too nice.

Of course this is all JMO!

Well that person has some serious "skills" and knows how to use them! Just imagine what can happen with a little one....now think what can happen on the flipside?!