So likely I’m sure of it. The permissions needed to bring filming equipment into a shop in a city? Yep.
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Seems like knowing that would be a game play advantage. Or maybe the thing to know would be what is always available in any store in September/October in Paris. Like “mince”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
Gabri knew where to go to find his speciality ingredients; Sara could have done the same.
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I don’t think that’s the way it worked. Rather, production presumably asked what kinds of foods were on their shopping list, and lined up the Mexican market for Gabri and the Asian market for Buddha, whereas Sarah presumably figured she’d have no trouble getting sweetbreads between Galleries Lafayettes and the specialty meat market they went to. Indeed, she had no trouble getting the rest of her list, including rabbit and lamb kidneys for the components of her burgoo.
Anyone notice how, unlike in the previous Paris episode, we saw everyone asking the French shop clerks for what they needed in English with no apparent issues? I can only assume there was some off-camera translation help that was surgically edited out.
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I agree. There was no doubt from the beginning that he would win. I loved Sara and Gabri and I would be much more satisfied if one the the, won. It was a real anti-climax
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You might be surprised at how many younger people in Paris speak English.
Now that the show is accompli, I am a bit baffled that I have not seen any interviews with the finalists or the winner on other media or social sites. Has anyone?
Seen a lot on Instagram. Bhudda has 52,000 followers.
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No, not really, based on my experience as a tourist even 20 years ago. It was really the contrast between the shopping scenes in the finale (all of them shown speaking English and having no issues) and those in the prior episode (the same contestants not getting anywhere with English and only Gabri knowing enough French to effectively communicate) I was commenting on.
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I think I preferred Top Chef when the cheftestants were not so well established.
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I so agree. Remember those first few seasons when they were all line cooks? (Or sommeliers?)
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I was just (desperate enough to be) watching season 17 and husband mentioned Brook Williamson!
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That would make season 20 the last Top Chef Is watch. I can’t stand her.
Padma’s ideas for who should take over her job. I had to Google Melissa King-didn’t remember her. This from LA Times-
If Bravo recruits the next host from within the “Top Chef” family, who would you recommend?
I don’t want to piss anyone off. [Past contestants] are all like my children. There are a lot of great people, like Melissa King and Kristen Kish, who have other shows. Carla Hall would be fantastic. Either Gregory Gourdet or Kwame Onwuachi could do the job because they are the hottest chefs in the world right now, and we don’t see enough Black men in roles at the forefront of the professional food world, even though Black men and women have been making most of the food in this country historically. Kwame is charismatic and funny; Gregory is thoughtful and has a lot of empathy.
And I think Gail could be great too. We have grown up together on this show, and she certainly knows how to handle all the complexities that sit between us [at Judges’ Table]. Maybe the solution is to have Gail take my chair, and then you could have a permanent position that only alumni get to take.
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Love that idea. And I think Gregory would be great on the show. Carla may be interesting as well . . . I loved her on TC, but the few time I saw her on The Chew? Maybe it was just the show was too “cutesy?”
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The whole interview is great. There’s way too much I’d like to quote, but this is especially relevant:
Why are you leaving the series?
There were a whole lot of complex factors that went into this decision. The biggest one is “Taste the Nation,” which consumes me in the best way, intellectually, spiritually, creatively, and I just want to keep making it. Other than writing my memoir and editing the anthology [of travel essays], it has been the most gratifying work of my life. I love both shows for very different reasons, and I’m very, very lucky to have two hit shows on TV at the same time. That’s like lightning in a bottle — I felt like, how could I give that up? You know, because Hollywood likes to keep you nice and scared.
Last year, my grandmother died. She practically raised me. A week after, I had to go and film “Taste the Nation,” which was honestly the best thing because it kept my mind occupied. It’s OK because it’s one week out on the road and then one week off, where I’m working to set up the next week but at least I get to sleep at home with my kid. We went away for a week for spring break; we had two weeks away in August. And then, bang, I was on the set of “Top Chef” from mid-August until October. So I was on the road from February to October. And I was exhausted. I just want to enjoy my life a little bit.
That’s not to say I don’t want to do more projects. But I also don’t want to eat like I do on “Top Chef” anymore. I’m the only one on the show that eats every single thing. I did it for a long time, and I don’t think that is sustainable for me.
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She brings up the eating part of her job all the time. I mean it was bites of delicious food (99% of the time) made by experienced chefs. Kind of funny. I’ve also said before that I really enjoyed first season of Taste the Nation but have not gotten through even 2 episodes of the new third season. I do agree with her that if she continues the show she needs to go to other countries-feels like this country has been explored in every nook and cranny by lots of food shows.
PBS has a second season of a cooking show I liked-The Great American Recipe. Amateur cooks from all over the country making dishes that have been passed down in their families. It was a wonderful reflection of the diversity of this country.
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Thanks for the heads up!
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Wonder if Gail would think of it as a demotion or she would like the greater visibility? I mean Gail and Tom could do the quick fires and the main competition with guest judges and maybe get rid of the “host” job.
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