Yeah; not something I would have thought of, but that seems like a pretty bad idea.
Lots of Bourdain in these early seasons!
Nothing is supposed to interfere with the food. So flowers on tables should not be fragrant and servers, etc should not wear fragrance.
I loved Bourdain as a judge - he made me laugh. And I used to love to read his judge blogs when they used to have them on the Bravo Top Chef site.
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shrinkrap
Tom said…“16 restaurant wars; this one the most…difficult.
(not sure why quote didn’t work)
This was the most cryptic statement that I can’t believe the producers didn’t make him elaborate on.
What does that mean?
Difficult for the chefs? (because there were 3 restaurants so reduced staff)
Difficult for the judges? (because it was all horrible - or all good - or too many variables)
Difficult for production? (because they had to film and track 3 restaurants)
Difficult for the diners? (because they had to wait so long for tables)
What does that mean Tom?
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My answer is YES.
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I agree it was probably some of all of that - but the ambiguity and lack of follow-up makes me wonder if it was as much a dig at production (if not more at production) as it was as the contestants - thus the edit.
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I think he might have said it more than once. I guess nobody blogs on the Bravo site anymore. Tom’s last was four years ago.
Here is the Eater recap
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Yep, I stream it on Amazon, finally was able to watch it this afternoon. Had to avoid this thread all weekend for fear of spoilers!
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Babette - is it available on amazon prime streaming, or , I hope you don’t mind my asking, but do you have to pay for it? I’d love to see old episodes again. I used to have Hulu who has all season, but I gave that up. Thanks!
I don’t have Prime, I paid $27.50 for the season.
Thanks!
I never watched LCK last week, so I didn’t realize that they were close to bringing someone back mid-season. A mini-RW duel between the last two in LCK, with the current cheftestants coming in to be their prep cooks for a QF challenge. Interestingly, the schoolyard “We don’t like the new kid and want to stick with our team” attitude prevails into adulthood from several of the season’s cheftestants.
Loved the idea of a Prohibition-themed EC using 1920s-era cocktails (Gin Rickey, Southside Fizz, Old Fashioned, The Last Word, Whiskey Sour, and the 12 Mile Limit to choose from). The drinks are to inspire them to create a canape (serving 100 guests) that pairs well with their chosen cocktail. The location for the competition is the gorgeous Seelbach Hotel. Padma went full flapper route with a short bob wig and even showed off her flapper dress fringe to another guest by doing the hip-twisty-standing-in-place “dance” just like kids do. LOL Ken Oringer (Boston-based, now also in New York, Bangkok & Dubai) definitely wasn’t dressed for the role, whereas Tom wore a slick 1930s ganster fedora well.
The winner nailed the theme of the EC, pairing their chosen Prohibition drink perfectly with the canape.
And since the losing chef enters LCK, I’m assuming there’s another chance for a winning LCK chef to get back into the competition closer to the endof the show.
Warning - spoilers here as to who wins LCK and this ep of TC:
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Another recap from F&W:
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Oh and we get a mini-recap from Linda (giggles)
Spoilers
I don’t typically watch LCK, so I was surprised to see someone come back in and then hear that the person leaving would be back in LCK. Maybe they explained all this on LCK but since I don’t watch, it was a strange twist.
I have to say, this was the first time I thought all the dishes sounded good (since I can’t eat them that is all I have to go on and many times I hear the description and think - I wouldn’t order that).
I was so happy that - the guy who spent all that money on lamb, don’t remember his name - did well. I think he needs a serious confidence enema and hopefully this props him up a little.
I’ve always been neutral on Brother - and I thought it was weird he brought up his exotic dancer parents again - and was surprised that the judges reacted so strangely to his dish. I can, at least mentally, see how a cocktail with lime and mint could inspire you to think bahn mi or at leasts southeast asian. They specifically said (if I remember correctly) at the start of the challenge that it was all about inspiration, not having to pair exactly to the drink or era . . . . so I thought he got a little set up in that regard. But maybe his dish was bad too . . . . The judges table comments made me want to go back and listen to the instructions again - but I didn’t.
Anyway - I liked this episode. But I was a little over the attitude of the Kentucky (?) woman - we get it, you like to make biscuits and your friend didn’t make it back into the competition. With all these reality shows, I’m over the “you sent my friend home” mind set - unless the person sabotaged them, they sent themselves home. No fault of the person remaining.
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@LindaWhit thanks for the write up! Loved it!
I was annoyed because I have been watching LCK and the first 10ish minutes of this episode, I already saw on LCK! They cut off right before announcing the winner.
YES. My husband and I both were like, uh hold up, did he just say his exotic dancer parents as if they are accountants!? LOL. But honestly, what a kick in the pants for him. I’m getting whiplash over here. He is in, he is out. Was he even in the house one night?? Jeeze. How exhausting.
Totally agree with your sentiments on Kelsey (I think?) our southern belle who will cut you with her southern drawl and smother you with those perfect biscuits.
I found this challenge to be interesting. I love how well married the location and theme went together and a drink/food challenge. I bet a future quick fire (or LCK) will be a cocktail in this season.
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:::::snort laughing:::::: at the “serious confidence enema”. That’s Eddie.
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Oh - one other thing that struck me as strange and made me think about production . . . .
Spoilers
When Brother said “I just need a break” when we was told to PYKAG - it made me wonder how LCK is filmed. I wonder if all the episodes were filmed on one day - back to back - then the re-do of restaurant wars the next, immediately followed by the other challenges. It is the only way that that comment makes sense to me. Otherwise there would be a few days between each filming of LCK, so he wouldn’t need a break. I can see how, for production purposes, that schedule makes sense.
Anyway - if that’s the case, surviving LCK and going right into filming and challenges would be a huge mental hurdle that we as viewers don’t really consider.
Anyone who follows the rumors and machinations of the show know?
The entire season takes about 6 weeks to shoot, but some days for the cheftestants, judges, and production crew can be 16-18 hours for one episode. I don’t think LCK is done back-to-back-to-back, but based on below, it’s possible they do LCK before the finale episodes, which are always 4-6 weeks after the last episode. However, this year, with someone coming back in midway through the regular season, maybe they’re doing both at the same time?
Here’s some background info from a previous season:
Here’s a short Reddit thread that seems to claim LCK is done between regular season and Finale episodes. But again - not sure how that could have happened this season in KY.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TopChef/comments/42o1hv/last_chance_kitchen_filming_schedule/
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This coupled with Brother’s comment makes me wonder if they did the first 1/2 of LCK all in one day - they couldn’t wait until the end to have them come back 1/2 way through the season. I know they keep the contestants for the whole shoot, but I wonder with bringing back old contestants with the possibility of re-entering the competition 1/2 way - it makes more sense to say “hey, come back for 2 days of shooting for LCK and if you win, you’re back in - if not, we’ll fly you home.” Since he didn’t stay in, I wonder if he gets to go home until the break between last episode and finale to film the second 1/2 of LCK.
Anyway - it was an unusual comment (and an unusual twist) that made me wonder if they were doing things differently this time.
Thanks for the links.
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Not only the woman, but the chefs talking about how they didn’t want brother back in the competition right I front of him. Get over it.
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