Top Chef Forums

Please use this thread for all discussion of the episode, "Gail's Bridal Shower."


"Conversation is food for the soul." –Mexican Proverb

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Good episode I like the taste test quickfires and I disagree as far as I saw they displayed the dishes for us to see and Stephan taking them down was fun as was him losing. I agree with the elimination decision Daniel had all the command decisions and added an ingredient to a dish and didn't tell his chef his judgement warranted him going home.

Quickfire. I'm usually ok with their tasting quickfires. They've done enough in the past, but what's annoying is they don't show us the ingredients. Plus I don't like the format and the rules they had. They shouldn't be able to name ingredients like salt, and pepper, when there were as many as 30 ingredients in the sauce. I liked the end when they switched to a spelling bee-style format. That should have been done from the start.

Something Old. Stephan's getting a super ego. Although he was right about a sorbet. Sorbet for 40 is hard to do, because sorbet melts. Jeff was smart enough to pull it off, and offered it as a starter. It also helped that filming occurred during the summer. Shot glass on a plate. Stupid trend, works with desserts but seriously, 40 plates, if someone spills, 39 plates. One person doesn't eat.

Something New. Danny deserved to go home. They didn't make a composed dish, so for each person they have their own dish. Not only did he mess up Carla's salad, but he defended everything he did, when everyone else knew they were not proud of what they did. Gene made bad rice, and didn't redo it, but at least he knew that he screwed up. Daniel defended both the execution and the conception. Both Carla and Gene knew that execution and conception was screwed up. If I were doing new, I would probably do dishes made of new ingredients, like baby carrots, new potato, or do some trompe l'oeil which is a "new" trend.

Something Borrowed. Jamie's a good chef, but she's starting to turn into Tiffany. I think they won because they actually worked together, and made a composed dish.

Something Blue. Blueberries, Blue fin tuna, Blue crab, Blue shelled lobster, Blue footed chicken/rooster, Blue mussels, Blue corn grits, Black and blue steak, blue cheese, anything Asian that is green (there's no actual word for blue or green in Asian cultures, so they call things that are blue or green by the same name), etc... A really good dish could be made with one or more of those ingredients combined.

I've said it before, I'm from Long Island and I try to root for people who come from around me. I might not want them to win the whole thing, but I try to root for them. Sadly, I just couldn't do it this time with Daniel. Not only did the guy have a bad attitude, but it seemed like he couldn't even cook very well. Yes, Ilan was a "jack" but at least the guy could cook. Daniel being sent home was a plus for me, even if there was someone more deserving of the boot. And once again I say, not everyone from LI acts or talks like these people you've been seeing on the show.

Now on to the winner. I have to agree with BM, I really thought that Jeff was going to win this time. The judge said that his dish was so flavorful and then awarded the win to Ariane. I was a little confused. I wasn't totally disappointed, since I like her, but I'm not sure if the decision was correct.

Now that we've had a few weeks to get to know the Chefs here's my thoughts.
Ariane: I like her. I like that she's the "old chick" and is in there fighting with the "young bucks." I'm not sure she's the best, but she is likable.
Carla: She's like a hurricane. One minute she's calm and the next she's wild. I do like how she is supportive of the other Chefs and has yet to throw anyone under the bus, although someone really deserved it this week.
Fabio: He might be the one to beat. He's got ego, but he can take a "punch" unlike the other member of Team Europe.
Eugene: I like the fact that he worked his way up from a dishwasher, it shows he's got heart. That said, I'm not sure he'll go much further.
Hosea: I want to like him but this whole Leah thing is getting too much in the way for my taste.
Jamie: She can cook her butt off, it's easy to see, but she's reminding me of Tiffani- whose attitude turned me off so much. If she backs it down a bit I might like her more. I do think that she's a contender.
Jeff: I do think he's my favorite at this point. However, I think they are putting too much into his looks which is taking away from the fact he's a good chef. He does seem a bit uptight though, which could lead to his downfall.
Leah: I realize she can cook, but again this thing with Hosea is getting in the way. I still can't decide if I like her or not.
Melissa: She has got to go. I just don't find anything about her to be likable. As much as I would love to see a woman win (I'm a girl, I can't help but want to see another girl succeed) I wouldn't want it to be her.
Radhika: I think she was correct in saying she's in danger of the judges thinking she can only cook Indian food. Hopefully in her next team challenge, he co-chefs won't want to "borrow" anything else from her culture.
Stefan: I want so much to like this guy but I can't seem to commit. I know he can cook but he seems too arrogant for my taste. If he can keep the attitude in check he could make it very far.

Just my opinions, but I wanted to share them with you all.

***Edits*** I hate when it corrects my spacing for me.