Top Chef All Stars starts 12/1/10! No ADVANCE Spoilers!

[woodkins]

I am a TC fan and I missed the last episode so I checked the thread to see who was eliminated and I was thinking..."culinary turrets" hmmm...did they have to build something out of food & then it came together for me The only reason why I know the correct spelling is that my dh and dd both have Tourettes!

 

[Lanshark]

I didn't care for this challenge. The premise that everyone will help out those working the front is contradictory to the idea of competing. If Angelo, Richard or Dale had been working the front I believe there are others who would have sabotaged them because they are considered front runners. If someone had to work the front it should have been picked randomly by the judges. Casey and Carla put themselves at risk and gave the others scapegoats.

 

[Imzadi]

I didn't care for this challenge. The premise that everyone will help out those working the front is contradictory to the idea of competing. If Angelo, Richard or Dale had been working the front I believe there are others who would have sabotaged them because they are considered front runners. If someone had to work the front it should have been picked randomly by the judges. Casey and Carla put themselves at risk and gave the others scapegoats.

Yes, Mike Isabella, the only one with immunity, should have been the only one at the front of house. He actually didn't need to make a dish at all. Not quite sure why they even needed an expediter. The Dim Sum places I've gone to in Chinatown, it's just the people who push the carts, load the carts as the food is ready & off they go. That should have been Mike's job, loading the carts, not talking on the phone, saying to send up more food. That part should have been constant.

I'm also not sure WHY the chefs were only making 25 dishes at a time thinking that was enough? Haven't any of them been to a Dim Sum restaurant? (They are Top Chefs, so I think they should have been familiar with one. I can understand that [general] you may not have been to one.) At the end of a meal, our table alone would have 15 - 20 dishes, plates & steamers, (depending on how many people at the table.) The waiter has to count up all the empty dishes to figure out what to charge us. (Each size/color of dish is priced a certain amount. Like all the dumpling dishes might be $4, bamboo steamers may be $6, oval dishes a third price, etc.)

All the tables had about 8 -10 people. So each table needed enough of each dish to feed every one at ONE table. Carla placed 3 spring rolls on one plate, that meant one table needed 3 plates all by itself. Plus, (in reality,) who eats ONE spring roll?

Some other dishes, I noticed only had one single item on each plate. One chicken foot is not going to feed 8 people, even if they were eating them. Since a chef was only preparing 25 dishes with a single item. That meant only 3 tables got served before the carts ran out of that dish.

No wonder why "Daddy," as Carla called Tom, had to go into the kitchen and yell at everyone - not that it seemed to have helped.

I loved seeing him make his own dish at the quick fire. It was great to see he really IS a Top Chef Master in his own right. I'd love to go his steak restaurant, but I'm no longer eating beef because of my hypothyroidism.


Also, the literal translation of "Dim Sum" is "A little bit of heart." When Susur said to Carla that she spent too much time and attention to how her spring rolls looked, but seemed to lack focus of the heart in the taste, that really hit poor Carla where she lives. In her season, the one thing she wanted to be known for, even if she got sent home, was how much love & heart energy she puts into her food. Then to fail at a Dim Sum/"A little bit of heart," challenge and told it didn't have heart, OUCH!

 

[Mkrop]

I think it was totally unfair that Casey got eliminnated. She had no control over her own dish. I like Antonia but she seemed too all over the place to be concentrating on Casey's dish.

 

[ppony]

I'm watching Dim Dum Lose Sum again. I can watch top chef all day long and not be bored. Of course, I'm painting hroses as I'm listening/watching but I love it.

Fabio: "These guys, is cutting turtle to make turtle soup. That's mean!" I liked him showing his pet turtle "princess" on a little leash.

I like the Fabio-isms. The "It's Top Chef, not Top Scallop" was well worth the rerun!

 

[ppony]

Yeah, watching it again, Casey should have not gone home. Chefs going home for dish they didn't cook isn't right. Antonia didn't follow her directions for cooking the feet. They really need to rethink these challenges where other chefs have to cook their competitors food. It's not right. The show made this challenge very VERY unfair.

Has anyone been reading Tom Collicio's (sp?) blog? I haven't read it since "pea-gate" but I'm wondering what he says now watching the episodes.

 

[Nohal]

I just read Toms blog and the reason Casey went home is because her food was inedible. Jamies food and the rest of those in the bottom had food that while it was not good was still edible. Even the people who were in the restaurant and used to eating chicken feet wouldn't eat it. I liked Casey and feel that she went to far out on a limb to cook these. Also leaving the cooking to someone else was really her downfall.

 

[ppony]

I just read Toms blog and the reason Casey went home is because her food was inedible. Jamies food and the rest of those in the bottom had food that while it was not good was still edible. Even the people who were in the restaurant and used to eating chicken feet wouldn't eat it. I liked Casey and feel that she went to far out on a limb to cook these. Also leaving the cooking to someone else was really her downfall.

SHE didn't cook them tho and while yes, leaving it to someone else was her downfall, SOMEONE had to leave it to someone else and therein lies the rub. The show expects the other chef to cook another chef's food and that's just setting someone up for a fall. She said to heat in a wok, they deep friend. No es bueno. How is she not a "Top Chef" because she stepped up to get stuff done and HAD to leave her food to someone else?

 

[anniemae]

I thought it was totally unfair. They need to run the challenge differently and not make it so someone has to leave their dish in someone elses hands.

She should have been judged on a dish that she thought up AND cooked. Not one that she thought up and someone else cooked. They should not have had to pick two people to do the serving in my opinion. Waiters should have been hired to serve, or it should have been set up where they each bring out thier own dish and serve it on their own cart.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

Yes, Mike Isabella, the only one with immunity, should have been the only one at the front of house. He actually didn't need to make a dish at all. Not quite sure why they even needed an expediter. The Dim Sum places I've gone to in Chinatown, it's just the people who push the carts, load the carts as the food is ready & off they go. That should have been Mike's job, loading the carts, not talking on the phone, saying to send up more food. That part should have been constant.

I'm also not sure WHY the chefs were only making 25 dishes at a time thinking that was enough? Haven't any of them been to a Dim Sum restaurant? (They are Top Chefs, so I think they should have been familiar with one. I can understand that [general] you may not have been to one.) At the end of a meal, our table alone would have 15 - 20 dishes, plates & steamers, (depending on how many people at the table.) The waiter has to count up all the empty dishes to figure out what to charge us. (Each size/color of dish is priced a certain amount. Like all the dumpling dishes might be $4, bamboo steamers may be $6, oval dishes a third price, etc.)

All the tables had about 8 -10 people. So each table needed enough of each dish to feed every one at ONE table. Carla placed 3 spring rolls on one plate, that meant one table needed 3 plates all by itself. Plus, (in reality,) who eats ONE spring roll?

Some other dishes, I noticed only had one single item on each plate. One chicken foot is not going to feed 8 people, even if they were eating them. Since a chef was only preparing 25 dishes with a single item. That meant only 3 tables got served before the carts ran out of that dish.

No wonder why "Daddy," as Carla called Tom, had to go into the kitchen and yell at everyone - not that it seemed to have helped.

I think when that much goes wrong, it's not the Chefs who failed. It was the challenge itself.

 

[snykymom]

She said to heat in a wok, they deep friend. No es bueno.

Actually, that would have been WORSE. The Asian judge said that chicken feet must be deep fried to break down the tendons.

 

[ppony]

Actually, that would have been WORSE. The Asian judge said that chicken feet must be deep fried to break down the tendons.

Maybe so, but then it would have at least been Casey's directions that did her in, not the other chefs deep frying and not paying attention to how long they were being fried.

 

[Imzadi]

Maybe so, but then it would have at least been Casey's directions that did her in, not the other chefs deep frying and not paying attention to how long they were being fried.

If she had been around to cook her own food, she would have been able to check on the quality. She would have known to change her methods. the fact was, she had to leave her food to people who simply did not CARE. They were her competition.

Who ended up cooking Mike Isabella's dish while he was upstairs? Didn't his work out? No one had anything to lose by cooking his properly.

Why did Antonia have to help Jamie anyway? Jamie chose to do two dishes. Casey had only one. If Antonia had only enough time and attention to really help one person, it should have been Casey who was upstairs, sacrificed to help everyone by pushing the cart.

Who pushed the cart when she came down? Or was there simply no food coming out at that point?

It was a badly designed challenge and the producers should have had a Do Over.

 

[ppony]

If she had been around to cook her own food, she would have been able to check on the quality. She would have known to change her methods. the fact was, she had to leave her food to people who simply did not CARE. They were her competition.

Who ended up cooking Mike Isabella's dish while he was upstairs? Didn't his work out? No one had anything to lose by cooking his properly.

Why did Antonia have to help Jamie anyway? Jamie chose to do two dishes. Casey had only one. If Antonia had only enough time and attention to really help one person, it should have been Casey who was upstairs, sacrificed to help everyone by pushing the cart.

Who pushed the cart when she came down? Or was there simply no food coming out at that point?

It was a badly designed challenge and the producers should have had a Do Over.

ITA! Casey shouldn't have to have been anywhere but with her food. How often do these challenges ever go well for the person walking away from being w/ their own food? rarely. None of then ever want to do front of the house, but the show forces it on someone. It's a design flaw in the show and one I wish they wouldn't keep using.

 

[TwingleMum]

I am so over Jamie and her sliding every freak'n week. Its 3 weeks in a row now. She reminds me of Marsha Brady (O'h my nose!! drama queen) she cuts her finger and leaves???? Carla cut her finger much worse and sucked it up and kept cooking. Then last week she cooks a totally gross dish and refuses to compete and the judges don't haul her butt in for that!!!!! This is 3 weeks in a row Come on Tom this is ridunkulous. Richard Blaise totally has her number and seems pretty pissed Jamie is playing games. Whats worse is she is smirking all the time.

 

[Pastamom]

If I remember correctly....Casey knew she was going to be in front when they decided what to cook. Why didn't she choose something that only needed to be plated like a salad or dessert instead of relying on someone to execute her entire (or at least most of it) plate?

I agree this challenge was poorly designed - too much for them to do. Apparently many did not know/understand the dim sum concept - I'm guessing the producers assumed they had. BUT it seemed like we did see them standing around a lot in the kitchen complaining about how everyone else wasn't working fast enough....wondering if that was editing Did anyone have their food ready to go as needed - they didn't mention that either....

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I haven't had a chance to re-watch the episode yet, but I thought I remember Casey saying the chicken feet had to be "heated" up. If this is the case, had she already cooked them, and only wanted the wok to be used to warm them back up?

I was a little confused about it, because either she cooked them (badly) and Antonia screwed up the heating process. Or she left her dish completely in the hands of Antonia, letting her do all of the cooking.

 

[TheDisneyGirl]

I am so over Jamie and her sliding every freak'n week. Its 3 weeks in a row now. She reminds me of Marsha Brady (O'h my nose!! drama queen) she cuts her finger and leaves???? Carla cut her finger much worse and sucked it up and kept cooking. Then last week she cooks a totally gross dish and refuses to compete and the judges don't haul her butt in for that!!!!! This is 3 weeks in a row Come on Tom this is ridunkulous. Richard Blaise totally has her number and seems pretty pissed Jamie is playing games. Whats worse is she is smirking all the time.

ITA!! What has been bothering me is her complaining but yet doing nothing.
Carla is the bomb. Luv her! She may not be (imo) the best chef on the show but her positive attitude is fun to watch. Whooty whooo (she hasn't done that a lot this season )

Blais is really adament about her and her lack of bringing it. If she cooks another scallop dish I am going to freak out!! STOP THE SCALLOPS GIRL, JUST STOP. LOL

Also, didn't the critiquing chef, his name is escaping me, say that chicken feet have to be fried or cooked at extremely high temps because their joints/tendons and whatever else (gross btw!!) have to pop to cook and make it tender? She didn't seem to do that. Did she deserve to go home? NO, not imo.

Another point, if you join in Top Chef shouldn't you know all types of food and service? I am not a chef, but I know dim sum and what that means.

 

[Imzadi]

I agree this challenge was poorly designed - too much for them to do. Apparently many did not know/understand the dim sum concept - I'm guessing the producers assumed they had. BUT it seemed like we did see them standing around a lot in the kitchen complaining about how everyone else wasn't working fast enough....wondering if that was editing Did anyone have their food ready to go as needed - they didn't mention that either....

Another point, if you join in Top Chef shouldn't you know all types of food and service? I am not a chef, but I know dim sum and what that means.

I said that on an earier post that I would have thought a Top Chef, or any chef who went to culinary school would know what & how Dim Sum works.

The producers should have at least taken them to the restaurant to eat the nite before. They have done that in the past, taken them to the Top Chef Master's restaurant, whose food they want them to emulate or be inspired by. They even did that during the finals, last season, in Thailand.

I'm shocked that they do not know the Dim Sum concept. Also, the fact that they cannot continually produce mass quantities of one item, also shows they have a lack of catering knowledge & experience. When the company I worked for had to sweep the floor with 300 plated dinners at once, so the entire room was plated & fed in 10 minutes, there is a special system for that, especially for the hot foods, so the last dish isn't going out cold or frozen, while the first dish is overcooked, or visa versa.

These chefs each only had ONE dish. There shouldn't have been that log jam. Even if you go to McDonald's and see a tourist bus pull in and suddenly there is a need for 300 cheeseburgers, they are experienced in how to handle that. And McDonald's employees aren't exactly Top Chef material.

 

[ppony]

I love when they run TC all day long.
Ready guys???


OMG. this episode is HILARIOUS!!!!