By The Wiz
You know, if I ever wanted to use this blog as a tool for posterity, them looking back on a bunch of Top Chef and Project Runway reviews might be a tad…useless. But hey! There is a show to discuss.
First of all, did anyone know if Eli was a sous chef for Richard Blaise? I saw them on Iron Chef America (thanks for the tip! It was awesome) and why would Blaise have Eli there otherwise? I looked up his bio on bravotv.com, and yes, he worked for him. It doesn’t seem like their styles are similar (I don’t see Eli breaking out the molecular gastronomy so much), but anyway, it makes Eli more interesting to watch, for me - not that he did a whole lot this episode.
Pigs and Pinot - well, knowing NOTHING about wine, and not really having any interest in knowing anything about wine, it’s that whole “Mormon” thing, did not make me like this challenge any less. Wine is a big component of fine dining, and hey, a chef should know about pairings. But it makes me wonder if there are any Mormon/Muslim/alcoholic/non-drinkers-for-whatever-reason chefs out there, and what they do as a workaround. I suppose just hire a really good somellier. (Did I spell that right?)
All that pork looked delish. Especially Michael’s. I thought for sure he would win, but Kevin is “the pig guy” after all, and well, he rocked it out. His shopping for all kinds of pig fat and the way he worked it all showed he knew exactly what he was doing, whereas I thought for sure Laurine would go home the second she said “I’ve never made a rillette before”. Um, PEOPLE! Do NOT do something you haven’t done before, especially this late in the season. I was really surprised she wasn’t sent PYKAG, but Ash’s dish must have been baaaad.
According to Colicchio’s blog, it was just that. Badly cooked, badly seasoned, just bad. It didn’t look all that special, either, frankly. (Funnily enough, I did watch a video of Ashley last week, and she was talking about habing to hang out in a Vegas hotel waiting until filming was over, and she hoped Ash would be eliminated next so she could hang out with him. Granted!)
And when the top 4 walked in - Kevin, Jen, Michael and Bryan, it was just so obvious that these were the finalists, and everyone waiting in the stew room would just be picked off one by one. It’s just a question of order at this point. It should be a fascinating finals, though, because they’re all exceptional, and watching one of them get eliminated so the finals will only have 3 will be painful.
What was with telling Jen that her pork belly was like a hairy armpit and meaning it as a compliment? Wha?
Next to go: Robin (and can they drop that drama already!!!) or Laurine, then Eli and Mike will battle it out.
Also - RESTAURANT WARS! Can’t wait.
Mike I. cannot be eliminated fast enough for me. Grudgingly admits Jen has talent but disses every other woman, and is openly hostile to Robin. Granted, she’s obnoxious.
I liked Ash, but he was like this puppy dog who was worshipping all the other chefs. He got lost. Poor guy.
Toby Young was comparing the earthiness of European wines to hairy armpits, not Jen’s pork belly.
Were I an LDS chef, I would probably just taste the wines and spit them out into the spit buckets they always have on hand for tastings. Unless I was planning to cook in exclusively LDS areas, I would need to know how wines taste and how they work with meats and spices. Of course, I’m one of those people who believes the ban on alcohol is not about alcohol but about humans’ horrific abuse of it.
Bryan and Michael V. fascinate me. Intellectually, I like Bryan because he appears kind, quiet, thoughtful, thorough, talented, and a tad safe. But I’m totally drawn to Michael because he is none of those things, except talented. He’s a punk. Things to ponder about myself.
Comment #1 by KermitOctober 15th, 2009 at 12:15 pmI agree. Mike I bugs. And I did think of the whole tasting thing, I think that would work out. Of course, you’d have to have a spittoon in your kitchen, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
Comment #2 by The WizOctober 15th, 2009 at 1:23 pmMy DH has been very interested lately in non-alcoholic culinary beverages. The idea of trying to match what you’re eating with what you’re drinking so they complement and play off of each other really appeals to him. I think I shall have to make him watch this episode.
I’m looking forward to getting down to the final four. That will be intense.
Restaurant Wars should be very exciting next week.
Comment #3 by kaduseyOctober 15th, 2009 at 2:45 pmThat’s exactly what I thought when the top four walked in : there are our finalists!
Comment #4 by wbprawOctober 15th, 2009 at 8:08 pmI’ve been inhabiting the outer darkness for a few weeks now, and have missed all the last shows- thanks for the write-up, per normal!
Comment #5 by Tracy MOctober 16th, 2009 at 10:30 amGlad you got to see the Iron Chef episode. I loved it also. Loved Richard and am still a bit sad he didn’t win. But it looks like he is surviving. Sam is my other favorite non winner. He was on Housewives of New York City once and that was fun to see him.
I totally agree with the final 4, I wonder if they would make an exception like they sometimes do on Project Runway? And hooray for Restaurant Wars.
Comment #6 by PatOctober 16th, 2009 at 12:29 pm