Well this is a surprise... Today's NY Post Page Six reports a few items. One, it was on the recommendations of Ming Tsai and Chef Colicchio that Lisa has replaced Spike as chef de cuisine at Mai House.

But the huge news is that in the 6 months since filming in Chicago ended, Lisa and Dale have been spending LOTS of time together, same social circles and chef circles... and at some point became an "item". Lisa is now carrying Dale's love child, and Lisa has agreed to convert to Filipinese in exchange for Dale agreeing to give up alcohol and stop going commando. Lisa has her ritual immersion in the mikveh bath scheduled for next weekend. Cool.

Tom actually posted a blog that said he asked the producers if he could keep howie even thought he didnt complete the challenge. They quickly nuked that blog, lied about it crashing and reposted a second blog minus that and other details.

Not sure many real people could agree with you there, Carrie.

The judges made it clear that while Lisa had a few errors in execution, Antonia committed errors of conception, execution, and plating.

It was, after all, a unanimous decision of the judges. They seem very consistent.

Rady, I think you mean to say that, for whatever ungodly purpose, Andy Cohen actually asks Tom Colicchio about his underwear, thongs and boxers and briefs... and clingy girls. Lord... make it stop....

No consistant rules. There are rules when they suit their purposes. Like getting rid of Dave or Andrew while Howie and Nikki get a pass.

And some rules get made up on the spot lol.

I also believe that the producers intentionally keep a "bad guy" to intensify the mix.

Gordon Ramsay would be blessed to have the amount of talent shown on TC this season.

My real comment, and thus question, pretains to the definition of TC. I thought that meant qualifying as a leader and being capable of running a large group of people. Would anyone in their right mind choose to work for or with Lisa?

Sorry NICI . . .

Right after s/he posted for the first time, porterpie pulled a psh and f-l-i-t !!!

To keep the finale interesting the judges have planned for one of the previous contestants to sneak into the cooking area with marshmallows on their shoes and beat Lisa's knuckles with a rolling pin. Ha Ha. Then they will show a close-up while Lisa clutches her bruised knuckles and yells, whyyyyyyy!

Well, yeah, I was trying to get KK going, but I knew you would just love Andy!!!

Hands Simon a beer!

Welcome to the Dark Side my friend! lol

the bonus video was awesome!!!!

Rady, hopefully you do not think I've been unfair to Andy Cohen. I think the man makes his own best case for moving BRAVO headquarters to that closet in Abkhazia.

MMMMMM Bikini BBQ

yeyyyyyy!!! i'm "cable ready"

exactly!

Lisa undercooked her beans in the Family episode and the Police episode.

If uncooked beans are a "fatal" flaw, pairing them with extremely undercooked brown rice and shrimp that were in Tom's own words "on the raw side" should have been as fatal as dropping a Piano on a Poodle.

If Richard goes home, it's because he won the car.

I'm afraid you're right about the show being killed and the inconsistent judging. I actually (and am probably the only one who does) like Lisa. She's not my favorite, but I haven't really had a favorite since season 2, the next two seasons have been all drama & very little else. I see Lisa as a very defensive person - don't know why that is so, but her body language suggests she is always waiting to get crapped on and just pulls into herself, expecting the worst from others, so she stays in battle mode all the time. Which is a pity (and must be extremely tiring) as she can be a kick a** cook at times. She also seems very socially inept - rather a lot of complaining and always saying the wrong or not-quite-right thing, example after Antonia was eliminated I think she was actually trying to reach out to the others, but botched it completely and, of course, probably alienated Steph and Blais even more by criticising them for not expressing joy she was still there. If she had paid Antonia a well-deserved compliment, it might have been a much smoother moment. Hopefully the others were compassionate enough to let it ride.

As for the inconsistent judging - I really think it has been. In season 1 there were a lot of lectures on the difference between a cook and a chef, leadership qualities, etc., but they have all fallen by the wayside and all we hear now is "we don't care what you do in the kitchen, all we care about is the food." Well, if I had the talent to be a cheftestant I would absolutely care about in-kitchen behavior. It's been pretty apparent in every season that at least one of the chefs has been less than ethical in their behavior. If I were to be eliminated I would want it to be because I prepared my dish with no interference and still ended up at the bottom of othe pile, not because some sleaze messed with it behind my back.

I have also heard Chef Tom berate cheftestants for NOT pushing their viewpoints strongly enough - most recently this season when he asked team Earth why they let the member with immunity dictate the dish. But on the Fire team, it was Lisa's obstinance/stubborness/bitchiness (pick one, they all equally apply) that steered the team from deviled eggs (which she did compliment as a good concept, but just not as a complete enough dish to wow the judges) to the end result which got them the win (all three dishes, not just her bacon), including a very impressed Ming Tsai. So, if the judges are going to chastise one chef for rolling over and letting someone else make decisions they should not also chastise a pushy chef for strongly advocating for their own point of view. This is why I feel the judging is inconsistent.

Granted, Lisa has not wowed the panel anywhere near as often as Blais or Stephanie and is by far less popular than Tiffany or Marcel ever were, but I would dearly love to see a woman win (admittedly I'm gender biased and I happen to think Blais is one of the nicest guys to ever compete and richly deserves full praise) and would welcome her in the Top Chef spat as much as I would Stephanie.

Preach on!!! LOL

SIMON ROCKS . . .


.

I don't think you've been unfair at all......I was trying to supply you with more material. I thought the Lost Boys was amazing but Andy on his own (clueless) can outdo you!

Tom,
While I truly get the "what have you cooked for me lately" aspect of TC, what if, and this is a big if, Richard went for something spectacular, but missed, and (god forbid) Steph had a single day meltdown. How could you live with the fact that Lisa ends of the Top Chef? Seven or eight (I lose track) times in the bottom group? Top Chef indeed. Now, we know that you already kinow who won, and judging by the fact you haven't quit and are still here blogging, that didn't happen ( I truly trust YOUR integrity, as I noticed you kept quiet about "using choriso, not polish"), but it COULD have, and that's the shame. Somehow, some way, you're going to have to find a way to keep someone, who (come on, we ALL know it) shouldn't even have a snowballs chance in hell of taking this prize home.

Love this post on Toms blog.

Bravomaven I have been saying this for years. These things are TV shows first and competitions second. If there are no ratings there is now show. Drama and conflict drive ratings and web hits. It's that simple.

Wow! What a post!

Even survivor is rigged. The Producers went to contestants and asked them to keep Rudy in the first season.

Awesome!

By the way, Bravol, if you don't want us to push using past performance as a judging criteria, you might want to NOT have "scorecards" for each Chef with their wins and losses on your splash page for TC.

Toad, consider what that person is asking Tom Colicchio to do... at some point in the middle of the sequence of competitions, be able to tell the future and be able to somehow know that this Chef Lisa will turn out to not be a fan favorite, will turn out to not seem to be qualified for the finals, and vote to eliminate her at that point... despite the fact that some other chef's failure in that individual competition is more egregious.

That's a hell of a stunt to ask Colicchio to perform.

Does BRAVO have a WayBack Machine that we don't know about?

Colicchio: I'm ready for my trip back to the Four Elements challenge, Mr. Peabody.

Mr. Peabody: Very well Sherman... I mean, Chef Tom... let's begin...

Cole Slaw and Corn Bread! Boston Baked beans aint BBQ! Their hot dog condiments!

Agree with their decision to send Antonia home this episode vs. Lisa.

Disagree, however, the judges are consistent. This episode was judged by their usual criteria (as seen in past seasons). Previous episodes this season, however, have certainly veered from the judges' usual standards.

Bygones.

Folks its official! We've got a place to tell Lisa just how we feel about her. I thought this was a gas! Check it out: tell lisa what you think now

Aahh... Andy Cohen. I just want to ask him "To what does your wandering eye appear...?"

Is it just me?

And your "rub" of choice?

A piano on a poodle??????? Our wizard of wit is at it again folks!

lisa was upset because the other chefs acted like they didn't want her there, and they didn't. it's that simple. i was just responding to all of the others who said that her attitude was uncalled for and i don't think it was.

and richard didn't forget to congratulate her, her never planned on in the first place. i thought what he said about the bronze medal was funny, but the fact is that he didn't think she deserved to be there, and that's why lisa was upset. i think that's a reasonable thing to be upset about.

a congrats would have been given to antonia. i'm not saying lisa handled herself in a the right way, but if i was her and i got into the final three and the other chefs just sat there looking down, i'd be hurt. even ilan made friends with marcel, who he hated, and congratulated him.

I frankly don't care too much about the departure of Antonia. She wasn't going to be Top Chef. Of course, it is a crime that Lisa is still in the competition, but the real havoc was wreaked weeks ago when they sent Dale packing.

To clarify, the only two contestants of this entire season that deserved to face off in Puerto Rico in the final were Dale and Blais.
I love Stephanie. She is a great chef who definitely deserves to be in the top three, but Dale and Blais cook on a different level.

No surprise, Tom defends not using past performance at judge's table. To some degree, I understand his logic. But I truly and honestly feel that when it comes to the final judgement, overall performance should be taken into consideration. Is he really going to tell me that if Richard AND Stephanie somehow managed to screw up, they will triumphantly annoint Lisa Top Chef? I understand what he's saying about judging each week for itself, but I think for the final challenge, past performance has to play into the final judgement.

When did Ilan congratulate Marcel?

Down here in the heart of real BBQ country, baked beans are de regueur for BBQ.

But if you only want cole slaw and cornbread, hopefully she can come up with enough to be sides for a side of WAJ. Do you prefer your ribs to be dry-rubbed? Or are you ticklish?

defiently not a dry rub. I'll chafe.

Carrie, I don't see it that way. And the judgment in every episode all season has been hashed, rehashed, and turned into microwave Hash Hot Pockets here on these boards.

When one considers the basic rubric that's been in use through all four seasons of Top Chef, no... there's no veering this season. Every elimination decision was pretty clearly called for. The only decisions one can plausibly argue with are those where both chefs equally deserved to be the one eliminated.

One can make an argument that the one oddest decision, eliminating Manuel while keeping Spike, appears to veer from the judges' common practice.

But it really doesn't. Not when one remembers what was just pointed out here a few messages back. Colicchio just HATES it when a chef rolls over and plays dead. "Not pushing their viewpoints strongly enough." When a chef won't step up, won't assert himself or herself, won't demonstrate some ambition or leadership or the Drive of a Chef.

That, I think, is why Manuel went home, despite everything wrong with that dish being entirely the fault of Spike. Manuel truly rolled over and played dead. And that's a "scoring dimension" that usually doesn't enter into judges' deliberations about mandates, conception, execution....

Not sure Colicchio could have persuaded me to vote to eliminate Manuel. I surely know better than Colicchio just how Xtremely wrong were all the things that Spike did.

I think you are going to be sorely disappointed for the Final. Steph's taking this puppy all the way. Dale is not cooking on the same level as Steph and Blais. His performance in Rest. Wars illustrated that clearly. His leaving out the pork bellies again almost torpedoed Steph. She told him that just doing two dishes wouldn't work. He's a decent guy but he's not the Top Chef.

Which is why I didn't want BOSTON baked beans. BBQ baked beans are an entirely different story!

Not ticklish and no dry rubs. Chaffing stinks.

I so agree, no class at all!!! I just sign up as I couldn't stand it any more ... I swear if Lisa slims her way into winning, this will be my last Top Chef I ever watch!!!! Steph or Richard deserve this, Lisa deserves a swift kick in the A$$ right out the door!!

Maybe it's just me but I don't get it about Dale. I thought his attitude was awful throughout the entire show. I would quit if he yelled the way he yelled "get the food out" and when he punched the locker. Even though lisa looked like she could spit glass at the judges table, Dale's attitude was too much.

Simon,
I think they meant in the future, not this season, or that's how I read it.

There were 3 lesbos on this season so you know they wanted 1 in the Final. Plus Lisa adds drama with her terrible disposition and filthy mouth. When 2 people are close in this challenge you have to give the nod to the better cook who has performed better week after week. They didnt so thats why you know its rigged. Who wants to look at Lisa nasty puss for another week, too bad.

I do wish that the BRAVO home page would STOP showing a photograph of Antonia inside a box with a caption directly next to it that reads "This Little Piggy Went Home," and "That'll Do, Pig."

I agree. Even though it refers to the challenge it's like adding insult to injury.

Dale gets a pass, however, because he was eliminated while partnered with the Hunchback of You're-To-Blame and the Scaradouche.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man's bad attitude is overlooked.