It’s been a few days now, so anyone who wanted to see it has by now, speaking of Top Chef Masters. Different and interesting are the two words that come to mind to describe the premier episode. I wrote about the prospects of this seasons Top Chef two months ago here. So how do I think things played out……?
Triumph –vs- Failures: We will not see many failures this season. This falls in line with the wishy-washy judging that we will see as well. For example, over cooked risotto, at least it’s cheesy. Salty steak and kale dish, “salty, but we loved it.” Or the collapsed chocolate cake and liquid ice cream debacle….just aren’t gonna talk about that one!
Taking restaurant chefs out of the kitchen, Check. Overt product placement, Check. Which backfired since every chef complained the hot plate couldn't supply enough heat to sear a pork chop.
On the good side the chefs where portrayed as very humble, approachable, and emotional. This was more a part of the show than I expected. It worked well in my opinion.
Lastly, will we see something amazing from the chefs? This remains to be seen, but if the likes of Girl Scout judges and dorm room kitchens are the indicators, we will have to settle for untapped potential.
For another opinion of the Top Chef Masters I found this interesting from Christine Fu, of the National Examiner.
Triumph –vs- Failures: We will not see many failures this season. This falls in line with the wishy-washy judging that we will see as well. For example, over cooked risotto, at least it’s cheesy. Salty steak and kale dish, “salty, but we loved it.” Or the collapsed chocolate cake and liquid ice cream debacle….just aren’t gonna talk about that one!
Taking restaurant chefs out of the kitchen, Check. Overt product placement, Check. Which backfired since every chef complained the hot plate couldn't supply enough heat to sear a pork chop.
On the good side the chefs where portrayed as very humble, approachable, and emotional. This was more a part of the show than I expected. It worked well in my opinion.
Lastly, will we see something amazing from the chefs? This remains to be seen, but if the likes of Girl Scout judges and dorm room kitchens are the indicators, we will have to settle for untapped potential.
For another opinion of the Top Chef Masters I found this interesting from Christine Fu, of the National Examiner.
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5 comments:
These guys are held in high esteem by the judges. Its for charity. If they hope to do another one of these, I don't thinking destroying them on national television is going to be in their best interest.
It's pretty clear that this more a friendly competition than the backstabbing that takes place during the regular show.
I'll watch this any day of the week over the others because there's more cooking and less bullshit.
My hopes for the season is that all the lead-up to the big round of winners will all be silly cheesy challenges to give credo to the normal Top Chef's challenges. It highlights that even fantastic chefs have difficulties with the silly challenges on the show in general. I think that's the entertainment factor and it allows us to love the chefs who humbly "put up with" the ridiculousness. But my hope is that the final round between the 6 winners will have some real cooking.
Dino-0, I say now, in retrospect, that if they are gonna get a free pass from real judgement, then let them cook in real kitchens where they can produce something amazing, something that most people will never see, something from their restaurants which again most of us will never see.
Rachel, I guess you are right. The silly challanges are entertainment. If I want to watch a cooking show try the Food Network.
The whole thing is a failed experiment. If they're not going to compete I'd rather watch the rookies.
So what did you think of round 2 last night? I think I have a chef-crush on Graham Elliot Bowles. He's so cool!
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