I hate to badmouth a person - because not everyone is for everyone . . . .
That said, i don’t think she is really doing herself any favors by being everything on this show. I’ve always thought these competition shows do themselves a disservice when the host is also a judge. Those two roles are different and playing both roles just doesn’t play well in my opinions.
So being the creator, the executive producer, the host, and the main judge (by her own editing) is a lot to take on in one show. I think all those roles being blended skew the viewer’s perception of the person in all those roles . . . and not in a good way - for me.
But good for her for taking this swing on herself. I hope it works out for her.
Saw Tom on Top Chef the other night. He’s lost a lot of weight and looks kind of gaunt like many celebrities these days. The chef teams’ challenge was to make a seven course meal with increasingly spicy dishes, and Tom did not look happy after the first few courses!
I like Padma and I think she has a good palate. I just find everything about this boring. Even the guest judges
I agree with you. I think she does has a strong palate and can give meaningful feedback. In fact, hearing more of her judging and feedback, and why she says yay/nay in this show has been a nice plus to her credibility. I don’t think Top Chef was purposely doing her a disservice, but much of her feedback was often edited out and distilled sometimes down to one sentence or phrase. She gets to share more here on the why.
I think why she comes across flat sometimes because of her delivery - she clearly can play it cool and always presents this image of being put together and delivering in a calm, even-keeled demeanor. That works against her, IMO, because so many of the chefs are very passionate about their food and how they cook. When Tom or Kristen delivers feedback, you pick up on those notes of how they felt about the food and techniques. Padma’s delivery feels like she wrote her notes down on the feedback and it’s being read back to the audience.
Last night’s episode was probably my last. They pulled a tired “reality show” trope that just cheapened an already shaky show for me. The whole “who will win / who should be eliminated” vote crap. Nothing but a ploy to create drama between contestants because nothing else exciting is going on . . . really left “a bad taste in my mouth” (hahaha)
Eh, I will still watch because I really don’t like much else on tv these days. The cooking and the conceptualization part of the competition is still interesting, even if it’s staid and somewhat monotonous. I guess that voting thing was an attempt to add drama? Or maybe playing the theme of good and evil. I wish again people would have been more out there. I applaud Padma for trying to get into character, but her delivery was still stiff and cringey. I think she sometimes tosses out a few good zingers, and I wish she would let that side out a lot more.
I didn’t understand the last challenge; I understand more points for more techniques, but I didn’t understand what happened if they felt there was a problem with execution or taste or texture.
I didn’t get it either - and the judges “suggestions” to competitors was “you could have added whipped cream, a foam, and gotten more points” . . . not that it needed it, just to get more points. It was a strange challenge.
I wasn’t going to watch it anymore, but I was outvoted last night hahaha
I did think of one thing that I DO like about the show . . . I LOVE the use of the old fashioned train station “split-flap” board for the points/results of the challenges (had to look up that word for what to call them). I miss them in train stations. There is something about the sound of them when they update that I truly miss. (showing my age I guess)
I liked it though I felt very stressed for the contestants with the time constraints. I’m also a fan (or fascinated with) molecular gastronomy, so for me it was fun to see them put those ideas into action. Yes, it can be gimmicky, but when it works, it also is a lot of fun.
The number of techniques set the maximum point value per plate. I’m forgetting the actual value, but let’s just say it was 10 points per technique. If someone only used 2 techniques, then the max value is 20 and they are still judged on the actual delivery of the results. If someone used 5 techniques, their max value was 50, etc. We definitely saw some high point totals, but not anyone who hit it at that max value across the board. I didn’t really understand the first and last half split though, or maybe I didn’t listen close enough.. I was very lost on what Beverly’s game plan was.
hahaha
