Maybe we should get LT to be a guest on the show. 
Finally watched all the episodes that have aired so far (so I felt safe opening this thread!).
Like others have said, except for Mei and Gregory, whatever other contenders may be in the room haven’t revealed themselves yet.
Aaron obviously wasn’t long for the show ---- one could see that coming from a mile away ---- but I didn’t think he was nearly as big of an a-hole as so many here are making him out to be. Honestly, I think Katsuji is worse than Aaron (attitude-wise), and - until she apologized on camera for being wrong about Katsuji - I thought the same about Mei. Actually, I might still think that about Mei … obviously, she can cook, but a little (or a lot) humility wouldn’t hurt her (see: Gregory).
I don’t mind Richard as a judge. I prefer the likes of Emeril, Bourdain, or Acheson, but I don’t think Richard is bad.
It’s still too early for me to tell which chefs’ styles appeal to me most, but I figure that should start to sort itself out over the next few weeks.
Thanks for starting the thread, Michael! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Biggest surprise this week was Gregory’s stumble. He tried to take a risk though and it helped him. This episode reminded me that this is Tom’s show, first and foremost. When he sees a clear talent in a contestant pool he will cut them some breaks to keep them on if it is at all possible. So Gregory probably did the worst but he was saved.
Personally, I think that challenge was too gimmicky for being this late in the season. I don’t like to see chefs go home late in the game because they had to cook in the dirt.
And who in the world was that guest who kept extolling the virtues of this uber-rustic cooking? He said a lot of chefs are “going back to this.” Really? I can see using a lot of open fire, I can’t see sitting on the ground to cook over a campfire.
I think Hugh deserves his own show. The guy is a crack up, and a crack wit.
Anyone else finding this season to just plain suck? This week we get the cranberry bog race. ugh.
It is one of the worst seasons with the most boring chefs
Only a couple of interesting people, Gregory and Mai the rest are sous chefs and private chefs
Mai is a sous chef too if you are deciding to single out sous chefs
It isn’t the most interesting season though I much prefer a sous chef to an executive chef. Tonight is Restaurant Wars which is generally fun.
And generally features an epic meltdown.
What is the issue with sous-chefs? Haven’t many of the best contestants been sous-chefs? I do tend to dislike the private chefs as they seem less talented. And in some other seasons, seem to be more about self promotion (I’ve cooked for insert D list star, D list star, C lister, D list star).
Katsuji is a weasel! (“It wasn’t my decision, it wasn’t my decision…” Grow a pair dude.)
Gregory also clearly kept his head down by not choosing to be executive chef (as that is usually how one of the top competitors ends up going home, e.g. Tre Wilcox, Kristen Kish etc.). I guess it was a smart move, but as a guy who seems most likely to win, I would have liked to have seen him make a bolder decision. Then again, coming off his near disaster with the goose in the prior challenge, I can understand why he might make a conservative call.
Regardless, the right person obviously went home.
Well, in all fairness it didn’t appear to have been his decision. I wouldn’t want to go home for her decision either. I agree that it didn’t exactly make him look very good either. However, if there was any doubt about the game he’s playing, he was quite clear. Good move on his part I think. I don’t see him as having the skills to win outright. Other chefs have won by sitting back and letting everyone else implode. That is probably the best move for a weaker chef (I’m thinking Ed, Josiah, and Stephanie)
Clearly Tom was disappointed to see Gregory not take the lead. I was too. While Gregory’s cooking skills are not in doubt, his ability to lead may lack somewhat. I’m sure he just needed a week to recoup after last week’s near-dismissal. In any case, Gregory or Katsuji could have probably done a good job, but they let Katie handle it and they were doomed. Magellan? Talk about a place I have no interest in eating. It’s like: we couldn’t decide on a theme. At all.
I’m not sure that the right person went home though. I think that Katie has been one of the weakest chefs throughout. Tonight her dishes were weak, her leadership was weak, and the choice she made w/r/t the crepe dish was a bad one. She needs to go home too.
Point of clarity. For us viewers it is a week (two in this case). For the contestants, I think it was a 1 or 2 day layoff. This is filmed very quickly over the course of a few week I am sure the battles scars were quite fresh.
Im not sure I would describe Stephanie Izard as weak if that is who you are referring to.
To open a kick ass restaurant in Chicago and keep it full for year after year is no easy thing, lots of very famous chefs have failed at that.
I agree that she is not weak, but during that season she appeared to be far weaker than Richard.
She was a weak winner. Seemed much weaker than Richard and only won by default when he fell on his face during the finale. There are chefs who were weak contestants who have found lots of success in the industry. There are chefs who looked very talented on the show who struggle(d) with opening restaurants.
Yes, good point. When I say “last week” I mean “last episode.” You could tell he was quite hesitant. He had such a raft of confidence going before. It is a shame, I’d have like to seen him take the lead. I expect he’ll bounce back and win no problem.
So by that logic, being a good chef is not really attached to opening a restaurant ?
I eat at Girl and Goat regularly and I must disagree totally, the food is outstanding and this does not happen with an average chef
What are you disagreeing with exactly? No one said Girl and Goat wasn’t good or that she was an average chef. I think most would agree that she was not that strong of a contestant. To me there is really no question. That season was Richard’s to win. The second runner up - Lisa - was truly terrible (obnoxious as well; if people think Katsuji was a weasel, I’d suggest they revisit Lisa’s performance. Makes him look a hell of a guy), and even so there was a moment where I wondered who would take it.
But that has absolutely nothing to do with how Stephanie is as a chef now or how her restaurant is. Wiki tells me she was 30 when that show was on. Many great professionals are not great at 30. She may have grown tremendously since then. Her food at the time of the show always looked workmanlike. Richard had the flair but he blew it.
But you may also want to work on what you call “logic,” because no one suggested that cooking talent wasn’t important in opening a restaurant. However, many chefs have talent but not the business acumen, people skills, leadership, connections, monetary resources or other elements necessary to open a successful restaurant. All too many have those other things but not the talent as well.
I’m glad you’re a fan and all, but that doesn’t take away from my point that she was a weak contestant who got lucky when Richard tanked it. If she has grown since then and runs an awesome restaurant, kudos to her. I’d expect that with the exposure, money, and connections that the win afforded her and by making some good choices, taken together with several years to grow her craft, she should be doing well, and by all accounts she is.
Probably not a thing to take too personally.