Top Chef Seven--May Contain Spoilers!

[Nik's Mom]

I was surprised Stephan or the girl forgot her name, but she annoys me)wasn't sent home. The judges really seemed to dislike their dishes more than the person they sent home.

 

[RUDisney]

I grew up on table food. Give me a shrimp to gnaw on and I was a happy baby!

My question is (I honestly don't know anyone who doesn't slip their baby table food): how in the heck do you develop kids' palates except by feeding them a wide variety of tastes when they're young? How do they learn about flavor profiles and such?

Not getting the shellfish thing either unless you're worried about allergies. I had many allergies as a kid; but that was related to living on top of a petrochemical company's landfill and drinking well water.

What's the rationale for this? The only thing I can think of is that you don't want to deal with delicate tummies, but isn't that a myth?

My kids would try anything and would typically like it when they were younger. Now that they're teenagers, they seem to hate everything they once liked. I think tastebuds change over time. My kids will hopefully learn to like everything they liked as children. They still humor me by trying everything, but immediately say they hate it after putting it in their mouths.

Anyway, I think the most important thing is offering variety. If they are not offered anything but pasta, or meat and potatoes, they will not learn to like a myriad of things.

 

[happygirl]

I think Ed is my favorite

 

[TwingleMum]

I don't care enough about this group to have a favorite. I feel like this is the "Summer school" Top Chef people. There are no super talented people like the V Bros or Kevin or Jen. Last season you had 4 amazing Chefs. Pretty disappointing.

 

[cristit14]

I like Kenny and Ed and I liked Tim too before he left. I can't stand Angelo. His attitude bugs me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't care enough about this group to have a favorite. I feel like this is the "Summer school" Top Chef people. There are no super talented people like the V Bros or Kevin or Jen. Last season you had 4 amazing Chefs. Pretty disappointing.

Totally agree. Heck even the previous season was awesome, even though some of the chefs were jerks to the max.

I wonder what the criteria is for getting on Top Chef?

Hopefully some of them step it UP!!!

 

[Pugsley]

Am I the only one who was bothered by the way they handled those live crabs? I mean, it's bad enough to throw them into a pot of boiling water, but at least that's a quick death. It just made me sick how they were chopping them up live and putting them in the oven live. That just seemed extra cruel.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Am I the only one who was bothered by the way they handled those live crabs? I mean, it's bad enough to throw them into a pot of boiling water, but at least that's a quick death. It just made me sick how they were chopping them up live and putting them in the oven live. That just seemed extra cruel.

Didn't bother me at all. Of course I've cooked a variety of live shellfish in all kinds of ways, so I expected it. It's one of those things that a lot of people never get to see. The journey from land & water to your dinner plate is not often the journey people think it is.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Am I the only one who was bothered by the way they handled those live crabs? I mean, it's bad enough to throw them into a pot of boiling water, but at least that's a quick death. It just made me sick how they were chopping them up live and putting them in the oven live. That just seemed extra cruel.

I don't enjoy watching them chop them up and throwing them in the oven live. At the same time I like to watch how they prepare it.

I take the frenzied pace of the show with a grain of salt since it is a "game show" and the people that make the show do it on purpose. Remember they are editing those pieces to create that intensity.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, I can live with that decision

 

[klacey1]

Am I the only one who was bothered by the way they handled those live crabs? I mean, it's bad enough to throw them into a pot of boiling water, but at least that's a quick death. It just made me sick how they were chopping them up live and putting them in the oven live. That just seemed extra cruel.

The seasoning them and then throwing them in the oven got to me!! Why did Bravo have to show the crabs still alive, waving their legs around in the oven??

I agree, no real favorite of mine this season. They lost me when Arnold got cut. I like Alex and Kenny, but nowhere near as much as Jenn from last season. And Carla from the season prior is probably my favorite reality show contestant of all time.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I still want to know why Carla wasn't at dinner last week (the week before last, really - the one where Mike, Spike, and Brian showed up).

 

[antmaril]

And Carla from the season prior is probably my favorite reality show contestant of all time.

I totally agree with you. Carla is my absolute favorite!!

 

[can84]

I still want to know why Carla wasn't at dinner last week (the week before last, really - the one where Mike, Spike, and Brian showed up).

Now that you mention it, I wonder why she wasn't there

There were some interesting dishes tonight

 

[Nik's Mom]

I still don't have a favorite on this show. There are people that I like (Stephen, Ed), and some that I don't (Angelo and I forgot her name, but she rubs everyone the wrong way). But no one is a favorite for me this season.

 

[Lanshark]

I still don't have a favorite on this show. There are people that I like (Stephen, Ed), and some that I don't (Angelo and I forgot her name, but she rubs everyone the wrong way). But no one is a favorite for me this season.

I think you're talking about Amanda. I don't like Angelo either. He is pretty slimy.

 

[RUDisney]

Has anyone ever played such a slimy and obvious mind game on this show before? Angelo's critiquing of everyone's dishes before sending them out, critiquing everyone's menu before they make it, and his outright bias against Kenny are so obvious. It seems that he's pretty transparent to many of the cheftestants, too.

Were any of us shocked that Kenny's dish was selected as the losing one? Amanda's dish definitely was the one that should have been sent to the loser's line. Not necessarily to go home. I think the scallops had that in the bag, but it's easy to control not having cartiledge in your chicken dish. Amanda is a big-talker with little substance.

 

[LexiC123]

Yeah, Angelo's schtick is wearing a bit thin. Slimy is the perfect description for him. And what's with referring to his dishes as 'sexy' every five minutes? I swear, it's like he's angling for his own Top Chef catch phrase t-shirt or something!

That quickfire was all sorts of nasty. Did you hear Ed talking about how he'd cooked duck testicles before? When he used to work for Todd English, and they had a "*ock and *alls" soup (edited for DIS compliance) on the menu. I looked at my husband and said "Maybe we should cancel that ADR at Blue Zoo!", LOL.

 

[mrsv98]

Were any of us shocked that Kenny's dish was selected as the losing one? Amanda's dish definitely was the one that should have been sent to the loser's line. Not necessarily to go home. I think the scallops had that in the bag, but it's easy to control not having cartiledge in your chicken dish. Amanda is a big-talker with little substance.

Interestingly, here is what Colicchio had to say about Amanda v. Kenny:

...most certainly correct about Kenny’s dish, which, despite his posturing, was the weakest in his group. And yes, it was weaker than Amanda’s cartilage-laced Chicken Gallantine. Please trust me on that.

I think Kenny is a good chef but the testosterone is too much for me.

I like Tiffany but really, this seems like a fairly weak group, especially following on the heels of last year's stellar group.

 

[anniemae]

I just don't have a favorite this season, they all just seem sort of amaturish. I can't stand Angelo when he says things like, "I really liked the salmon, I am going to make a very sexy dish, since this salmon is so sexy." I find him a bit creepy.

KEnny seems okay, but he seems to ALWAYS do things "2 ways" or "3 ways." "I'm doing a scallop 2 ways" or "I am doing beef 3 ways." It's like he is going for quantity over quality.

Again, nobody seems to really stand out.