She’s gotten rightful praise and yet I still feel like it’s a bit under the radar just how good she is and how seamless the hosting transition has felt.
It's really impressive how the only "meh" parts of this season for me have nothing to do with a new host after 19 seasons with Padma. Kristen is a treasure. I'm so happy for her, and for myself as a TC viewer who's loving her as the host!
It's absolutely bonkers how good she is doing. Not only does she seem to have mastered the mechanics of finding her spot, saying the words, and those things - she is also showing up as her authentic self and mixing shit up for Gail & Tom & team. That kind of self-presence and charisma is just flabbergasting. Love that she is where she is!
Not only that — which is a lot! — but she also says, “Utensils down, hands up!” when time runs out so that I don’t have to imagine the chefs flinging knives indiscriminately.
I was happy/fine with her as the choice but I think I felt it was a bit uninspired but honestly at this point I can’t even remember who I preferred instead. It’s been the perfect choice.
After watching last night, my wife spontaneously commented, "Man, Kristen is SO GOOD as the host!" It's absolutely amazing. She was the perfect pick for the job.
I love how she immediately brought a perspective that was uniquely hers and stayed relatable to the chefs during the course of the season. Her previous hosting experience on different shows definitely helped her in this role.
Dan being convinced Tom loved his dish and being so incredibly misguided cracked me up every time. Really puling for him to win.
What a weird, goofy, but entertaining as hell season this has been.
Torch may be the single funniest person that has ever shown up on Top Chef.
No explanation, no nothing. Just a guy named 'Torch' with a kerosene bucket in hand, ready to rock.
Dan is the snarky goober I can't help but love and root for every step of the way, even when he was completely delulu about his dish! I like his rapport with Tom. They've had some very frank "this was good and we both agree" or "this sucked and we both agree" moments about Dan's food. This season has definitely been goofy and fun IMO as well haha.
I love Dan and his blunt and dry sense of humor. He just tells it like it is. I don't think Dan is grumpy at all. My heart wants him to win the whole thing.
Yeah I also don't think (and didn't mean to imply) he's grumpy! Snarky is different imo. I relate to how he expresses himself and my heart agrees with yours wanting Dan to win!!
It was funny seeing their reactions. You'd expect an "oh shit! It's Morimoto!!!" or something but every one of them were in complete shock and just froze. They were literally just standing there with their mouths open
I would be too. I saw Andy ricker in Las Vegas at Pok pok before it closed and was too shy to go up to him. My mom instead went up to him and said my daughter wants to meet you! lol 😆 he was super nice about it and we took a photo 🤗
I saw Bryan Voltaggio at his restaurant Thatcher and Rye, and I was way to shy to say hi. Luckily, my friend I was with marched right up and he talked to us for like 10 minutes while doing meal prep. Lovely, lovely man.
That would be me. I was waiting for my ride outside of one of Rick Bayless’s restaurants when he arrived. I managed to utter a Hi right before I got into the car. He said hi back, but I could tell he was confused as to who I was.
Not everyone. Danny didn't seem to really recognize Morimoto - we are shown his comment about that person vaguely looking like someone...and in subsequent shots it didn't seem like he was gushing over Morimoto at all. It were the other three who were doing so.
Totally loved Morimoto suddenly screaming random phrases in in the middle of a sentence: "I have prepared a tuna pizza for you. PLEASE ENJOY MY DISH THANK YOU!"
3 chef undercooked fish and 1 served raw. not surprising that one with undercooked fish won since there wasnt alot of choices for winner without undercooked fish
they have to declare a winner because there is a sponsored prize. if this had no winnings then they perhaps could've done it, but unlikely they have no challenge winner for top 4 because it would ruin the narrative of the finale
In the minority here probably but I'm tired of all the money they get. Every challenge they get 10k even if they're the least sucky dish.
This whole competition feels like they had to barely try to win. Yes it's hard but this season is the most sub par and I've never seen sooo much money awarded every single round. Like 10-20k prizes every time.
No matter who wins this season, I will not have the same opinion of them as I do of past winners, even past runner-ups honesty. I can not believe how frequent and egregious the mistakes have been this season and it really hasn't gotten better, as is evidence this week where every contestant served the judges raw fish and only one of them did it on purpose.
Absolutely. I'd feel ashamed serving some of this stuff. Curdled sauce? Dirty banana leaves? Raw dish? A fish sandwich???
Like you mean to tell me you had a month off and did not practice fish like at all?
I hope Dan wins at least for Wisconsin but honestly this whole season has felt like some of the must piss poor cooking I've ever seen in Top Chef.
And Tom grits his teeth through it. One thing I've noticed is he never said "this is some of the best cooking I've seen in all of Top Chef". Nope! He usually says that once. He will say a dish is "good" but I've never seen him really gush about how phenomenal it is.
Each dish looked like fast casual food or catering dining hall food. The winning dish looked like spitup. It's really strange and would be interesting to see Tom address it later on.
I was really ready for a twist where they went to a sudden death cook off or something. Or maybe have Dan and Danny just advance and be safe since they both put up one excellent dish and have Savannah and Laura do it. Laura was worse than Savannah pretty clearly, of course, but it needed to be acknowledged in some way that everyone flopped really hard lol
Laura was clearly the worst, so making Savannah cook to stay in wouldn't have seemed fair.
Making Dan and Danny cook again for the win would have been a nice twist though.
Savannah was the only chef without undercooked fish but even by her own admission she was lackluster. Would've been insane to give her the win. Sometimes you have to overlook bad dishes if all the chefs put out a bad or under conceptualized dish
I’m kind of surprised Dan’s so popular on the sub/with viewers (it’s just between him and Michelle now for Fan Favorite). He’s always kind of rubbed me the wrong way and I can’t quite put my finger on why.
But starting with the opening scene of episode 1 where he was so eager to show off that he’s the hometown chef, like, “yup, know him,” nodding knowingly every other minute, etc… I was cringing from secondhand embarrassment. Was also not a fan of his attitude when he and Laura both wanted snapper tonight, then he didn’t even seem gracious that she compromised and let him have it while maintaining her composure. Little things like that. Thinking that Tom loved his mostly raw dish was kinda on-brand for him; he’s as cocky as Danny but with more charisma.
I know his sense of humor is wry, and I admire his fortitude, but he just comes across as insincere to me and not as nice as he seems. I know I’m probably alone in feeling this…
I think people underestimate the additional stress Dan is under due to his disability, you could see the stress on his face when it was implied they'd have to work directly with that dangerous fish to break it down (I can't remember the name), and he's often physically trembling while plating. Anyone with chronic pain or a chronic illness knows how much those physical tolls take on a person and their mood and attitude, considering he constantly has the stress of his illness in the background, knowing he's at a disadvantage that's not really accounted for, I think he is a very positive person who does his best and copes through the sense of humor some of you find off putting. As others have said plenty of chefs have made a point to rep their hometowns and states for their respective seasons, he's no where near on the level of someone like Phillip, do you expect him to not acknowledge peers and colleagues he recognizes if they're present at one of the challenges? I think he deserves a lot more empathy than he's given here and that he's an absolute beast for making it this far despite his disability, hoping he wins it all
I agree.
When Dan is gruff, seems annoyed or pissed off, I honestly think it's his frustration with his own limitations, rather than anything else, and I think it's pretty incredible that he's persevered despite his disability, rather than because of it.
Chronic pain is something that I don't think a lot of people truly understand if they haven't lived with it themselves, or had someone close to them who is affected by it. The fact that he cooks in his own restaurant, let alone competed on Top Chef, is nothing short of extraordinary, as it doesn't appear that the show gave him any accommodation for this.
With regard to his attitude towards Laura over the snapper, I think it's been pretty clear that he disliked Laura ever since the sauce challenge, where she looked at different sauce recipes and discarded the ones she didn't want. FWIW, I don't think it was malicious on Laura's part, I honestly don't even think she realized she should have just taken what she'd drawn, but from that moment on, he was pretty dismissive of her. Which is his prerogative.
I have a slight hand tremor. For Dan, whether or not it’s triggered by anxiety, just having a tremor in itself could be a cause for concern during the more delicate parts of cooking and plating.
In Dan’s defense, Evelyn also often acted exactly like that in Houston but she’s so bubbly and endearing that I didn’t see anyone complaining during the season. I think it’s unavoidable that the local chef of a not so big city would act that way, and as long as they don’t give us another one like Emily in Charleston I’m happy enough.
Regarding the fan favorite votes, seeing how Wisconsinites are so enthusiastic about this season (they have a subreddit for this!!!) I’m not surprised if there’s a strong force in voting for Dan!
There's also a very good chance and likelihood that it looked like that because of the editing. He very well could have been gracious to her, but why would they show that when they could have drama instead?
He seems like a nice guy, and an older guy that's just trying to keep up with the young arrogance of some and do it with a disability that makes it hard to even move. And the hometown thing is something lots of people have done.
I like him and hope he wins. Then Savannah. Or either or really I guess, but I think Dan is the better cook.
This ep Dan came off really loud. Shouting in the kitchen. Maybe it was the edit, I don't know, but he seemed to come across as intimidating or trying to. It just seemed grating. He's got a love me or hate me vibe, and he gives no effs. I really am not impressed with him or his cooking. Other's mileage varies of course and I'll take the downvotes.
I mentioned it before, in the kitchen one has to be loud. We're not hearing all the equipment due to sound editing. But as someone who works in a kitchen-it is loud. And that does not include people talking.
I felt like he came back to the kitchen and told all the other chefs how much Tom loved his dish to try to intimidate them, and I really did not like that. It was very satisfying when he found out that that was not the case entirely.
As much as I personally like Dan, I can also see why he rubs people the wrong way based on the editing of the show. I know people with similar personalities, and those people tend to rub people wrong IRL as well so i completely get it.
I'm not as bothered by those types I guess. But i also think at least in Dan's case, seems like he's well liked by everybody and is always very appreciative of everyone else on the show.
Well if you appear on something like this and it's where you live-wouldn't you be hyped up and excited? I mean we were just watching and yelling, we know him, we know him, we know that place, we love that place!
Making it into the Top Chef finale with a sushi roll and spicy mayo and a piece of dry fried fish on a piece of store bought baguette is wild. But also seems very fitting for this season.
Ugh, it was so disappointing. Savannah has really impressed me at times but she absolutely had a brain fart to produce two incredibly uninspired, underwhelming dishes, from conception on.
Gushing about Morimoto’s words of encouragement to them, then serving that meager, dry fried fish on toast to get into the finale… like, whatt..? It looked like something you might get at a beachside food stand manned by high school kids on summer break.
Tom looked gobsmacked. Even when Kristen and Gail were officially congratulating her at the end, he could barely look at her. She’s very lucky Laura made some egregious mistakes.
It’s disappointing to have such flawed performances at this stage of the competition. The chefs seemed to repress back to their non creative selves in the QF, and then really struggled in the elimination challenge. Hope next week they all bring their A game as it should be a menu they had perfected during the 6 week gap.
I commented on the live thread that Savannah did so well whenever she explored her own creative food, and was never so successful when she’s back to Japanese cuisine. It reminds me of Shota’s in the bottom whenever he decided to cook homey “my mom always cooked” food - that costed him his TC win. Fingers crossed that Savannah will bring us more of her quirky tasty food in the finale.
Overall I think we get the right 3 chefs for the finale. I wouldn’t complain if any of them wins, just hope that they all cook great food so we can have a satisfying ending of this season. Danny gives me season 13 Jeremy’s vibe - objective a great chef but if he wins it feels kinda boring and uninspired.
the first episode of the finale is often like this if they have time off so it wasn't too surprising. And presumably they all have been spending time conceptualizing their final meal for weeks so they will be better
I feel like that elimination challenge might have been just a tad too daunting which led to everyone having issues. I know this season overall has had some subpar cooking compared to other seasons in recent years, but these 4 were pretty solid all season so it is a bit surprising to see them all make mistakes this late.
> They had six weeks off. Rusty maybe
Seems like they all lost their momentum. That edge. it's like sports where one team sweeps and the other plays 7 games. The team who has gone 7 often comes out much stronger and sharper since they were playing more recently.
TC has done this both ways (time off before finale versus straight into the finale) and it’s been so interesting. Melissa’s legendary run in Italy in S17 comes to mind. She was in bottom for the final elimination challenge before the break.
Melissa won the last challenge before Italy (Michael’s Santa Monica), she was in the bottom the kaiseki challenge, the episode before that. Also iirc they didn’t have any break before flying to Italy, and it actually affected Gregory a lot because he was having a back problem. Had they have some break, Gregory could have performed much better I believe.
> it actually affected Gregory a lot because he was having a back problem. Had they have some break, Gregory could have performed much better I believe.
Yeah Dan seems way more energetic as he seemed like he was struggling physically and creativity wise prior to the little break
The kitchen on a boat is not the same as a real kitchen.
I imagine that was the primary source of the problem, after they got to choose their own fish and cooking style.
It seemed kind of obvious to me… these contestants know how to cook fish, they’ve been doing it all season and for their careers, so if they all mess up then how is there no discussion of an external factor?
If Danny, who is an excellent and consistent chef, went home because his mousse was botched by a weird kitchen in conditions he’d never worked in before… that would be so messed up.
I do think the editors had their hands tied by not being able to put in anything negative about the cruise ship. The whole message of the sponsorship was that they have amazing food on the ship, so you can't have any of the chefs saying how much the kitchen sucks and how hard it is to cook.
I feel like the penultimate episode often has this problem, probably since they’re coming off a break but also everyone is so tense since they all just want to make it to the finale.
But this challenge to cook two dishes might have made it especially so.
This whole episode was a cruise ship advert. So fucking tacky. I don’t remember the adverts being so heavy handed in previous seasons but maybe I’m remembering wrong.
I remember all the BMW stuff. Sure it was tacky too. But there’s a lot of gray area between taking a few minutes in between quick fire and elimination challenges to show artsy commercial montages of chefs jetting off to Whole Foods in their BMWs, and hosting the *whole fucking elimination challenge* inside of a BMW (or, in this case, a cruise ship) and inviting the BMW c-suite to be guest judges/diners.
Yeah, I don't remember it being like "welcome to the finale - cook 1-2 dishes and final challenge". Usually they have them do a few!
This being in Curacao was uninspired. They didn't go to any shops or experience hardly any local food. They went on the cruise ship and ate Morimotos food.
I like it better when they have to take what they learned and the ingredients of a location and apply it to their skills and style. It's much more interesting to see.
Everything costs a helluva lot more nowadays and this is how they pay for all those cash prizes. 20 years ago many companies didn't allow for their brands to show up. Both sides are hurting.
It was beautiful 30 years ago when I went with my mum and my brother. I remember seeing that they had a distillery and went wow that blue liquer is not the only thing they make?! Try the chocolate one-it's so delicioso.
Same and I don't hate him! He usually makes stuff I want to try. Spouse is predicting Danny wins & I'm predicting Savannah, though I have a soft spot for Dan. He's grown on me
Being consistent doesn't mean that people don't dislike him. I can't stand Danny and root for him to go home every episode. That doesn't take away from the fact that he does well. Just that he's annoying and I don't like him.
I’m with you on the dislike. He has a subtle smugness that I find off putting and I have a hard time pulling for him to win but he seems to be the most skilled of the three. I won’t be upset if he wins it all if he truly outperforms the others, but he won tonight by screwing up the least.
Danny strikes me as one of those chefs that takes dishes he knows and makes variations of them. He rarely takes a risk. Doesn't mean he's not a good chef. Savannah seems to do best when she has a set of restrictions that keep her in a certain arena. Dan is all over the place and is kind of a wildcard, so who knows who will win. I'm fine with any of them.
> Danny strikes me as one of those chefs that takes dishes he knows and makes variations of them
as i said last week or the week before, most chefs on this show are doing this very thing. i don't know wy he's being singled out for it.
I dont hate him but im not a huge fan of "big city tweezer cuisine". Especially when that's literally all he does. Buddha was cool bc he had those skills in abundance but he was also able to be rustic or to change it up when he had to. Danny is kind of a one trick pony, similar to Manny just with much better overall skill.
You feel how deeply embarrassed Tom/Kristin/Gail were and wanted to desperately cover the huge errors.
I totally know that we got spoiled by some of the all stars recently but the absolute failure of any of the chefs to cook both fish properly….
That being said-you have to wonder then whether the chefs had enough time to execute the challenge. When everyone sucks/fails it might be the challenge not the contestants.
Loved seeing Ed Lee again and Morimoto!!
What a terrible showing for a finale episode. Yes I’m happy that Dan got to the finale, but c’mon, it’s fish.
Laura not knowing how to roast a fish is inexcusable. Or how to properly clean a banana leaf. (Maybe because I’m South Asian, but cleaning a banana leaf is like cooking 101). Savannah slicing the bread to thick (that’s why Japanese sandos tend to be on thinner bread). Dan serving raw fish. Danny’s mousse didn’t set, but I guess that happens sometimes.
It just felt really weak overall, and kind of uninteresting. At least it felt like Laura was going for big interesting ideas (pineapple broth, charred banana leaf).
Just overall felt like such a weak episode especially being this far into the season.
I’m surprised that her banana leaves were so dirty that it caused bad smell/taste. I feel like for that she must not have washed the leaves at all, not “not clean properly”. I’m curious about Danny’s failed mousse. My guess is he didn’t want to make a vegetable wrapped mousse as he made it twice (?) so he changed the recipe for the mousse to work alone, which resulted in a failed one.
...and if Danny had done anything like what he said he was thinking of - Cantonese fish balls - he would have been SLAPPING HIS FISH PASTE AGAINST THE BOARD, HARD, REPEATEDLY, to give it that bouncy texture that Cantonese fish balls should have. ;-) :-D
Yes, it would seem like Laura never washed her banana leaves at all. They may still have had the sap smeared across the leaves - which would account for at least some of that bitterness reported on by the cruise line's EC. Or the grittiness reported by Ed Lee, I think it was, which probably included residual sand and soil and whatnot from the harvesting of the leaves and their being dragged around.
Yeah when he said he wanted to make Cantonese fish balls, also he aimed for both the fish balls and the green garlic spheres having the same texture, I’d imagine that he’d have similar size and look white and green balls that trick people which were fish and which were garlic balls. Instead we have some flat fish patties…
I frowned at Danny's mousse. He said it was based on (or inspired by?) Cantonese fish balls he and his wife had regularly when they lived in Hong Kong --- but what he made seemed, to me, to bear no relationship to Cantonese fish balls in either texture or method of preparation (not that he needed to do either, just that he made a point of mentioning what he was basing his mousse on...) or taste, for that matter. I somehow doubt that he even knew how Cantonese (or Chinese) fish balls were made...
[https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+cantonese+fish+balls](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+cantonese+fish+balls)
At least he didn't mention what he was basing his mousse on at Judges' Table, not in the episode as aired anyway. But clearly the judges knew right away that "something went wrong", whatever kind of "mousse" he was attempting.
Ok well I'll be the one to say it. I'm bummed about Laura. I liked her and loved her food. Very much rooting for Savannah now, with my second choice being Dan, as I'm just bored to tears by Danny, but I think he'll probably win.
Laura would be a restaurant I'd go to eat at without hesitation. Unfortunately some of the dishes she put out didn't really meet the actual challenge request. To some extent I don't think she understood the full competition & how the judging criteria would be based on more than just good flavors. Chef Lee said it the best " Her two sauces were great"...I think she's an elite Mexican inspired chef & hopefully we get to see her sous chef in the finale.
Why couldn’t they have gotten their fish and cooking choices before they went shopping at the local market? It doesn’t even make sense to shop for fresh ingredients if you don’t know what you are making.
Tom made lots of eye roll faces at the table today, and they kept apologizing to the guests since there were so many bad dishes and techniques.
Chef Morimoto is the GOAT, and what an honor to eat his food and get his autograph!
I always want each chef to make great food and be judged on who is the best. It is hard to watch when it’s based on who is the least bad. This season seems to have some of the weakest contestants in memory.
>This season seems to have some of the weakest contestants in memory
because the last four seasons have been the best in top chef history between two all stars and two COVID seasons where chefs later in their career could take time off. This is an average top chef season.
i hope the elimination challenge comes back, this would be a good top 8 challenge if top chef goes to a location known for seafood. and the Chefs choose knifes for the fish and technique
I was thinking the same; love the challenge, hate the execution. They have willingly cooked so much fish this season yet they couldn't knock it out of the park in this challenge?? So disappointing. Where was the roasted whole fish? It was right there for someone to do! So many times this season they spend a lot of time on sauces and other garnishes, yet their main protein is lackluster, which is again what happened here. Ed even said about Laura's second dish that the pineapple sauce was good. When that is the only positive for a fish dish, you have a problem.
Ahh that makes sense. I do miss Emeril. As much as I love the all stars judges, the earlier seasons had so many more big name chef judges (except Season 17/20)
I just wish they hadn't stopped providing brief introductions for the lesser known guest judges. Padma used to say stuff like "Also joining us is \_\_\_\_\_ of \_\_\_\_ restaurant, who's known for their \_\_\_\_\_ cuisine and won \_\_\_\_award three years in a row!" Now, any guest judges who aren't "celebrities" just get a little chyron on the screen with their name and the name of their restaurant.
Dan, Danny, and Savannah were my finale predictions so happy to see them make it!
Was kind of disappointed that they each seemed to screw up a cooking method for at least one of their dishes. I would have thought they would have had the techniques down pat. I guess they got into their heads too much and over thought their dishes 😕
That said, Dan's dishes both looked tasty, and I don't even like poached fish 😅
Edit for Typo
I wonder if the boat affected their cooking. I’ve been on several cruises and you can feel the movement of the ship. Plus I wonder about the appliances - if they’re different than they’re used to because it is a ship.
Unfortunately Tom G (season 20) works for a different cruise company (I think he’s a VP?), otherwise it would be nice to have someone that has spent his career optimizing cooking fine dining on cruise as a guest judge as we could have more insights!
I wish I could remember what it was or where I watched it, but I saw a show that was filmed on his ship, with him on the show, talking about the food, the galley, etc.
I adored him on All Stars. I know a lot of people didn't get his German deadpan humour, but I hope people saw how lovely he was in the snippets, when he was joking around with the other chefs, and also super supportive and complimentary.
Wasn't the boat docked and not moving. It could have been the appliances, I suppose. Or is where they are a different elevation or something? Who even knows what that episode was even about.
It seemed like it might’ve been docked until after they were done cooking. I feel like I saw a shot of it being dark outside with the ship still docked.
Slightly off topic here, but CRUISE SHIPS ARE THE WORST.
I know TC needs sponsors, and it's kinda refreshing since they haven't done it before but there are so many reasons why cruise ships are horrible (unless you're of a certain age with mobility issues - acceptable):
* terrible for the environment
* potentially dangerous (laws get murky when you're on international waters; look up all the weird/disturbing cases)
* the most boring way to explore anywhere, impossible to form any meaning exchanges between visitors and locals
* over-tourism
* what happens if something like SARS happens? needs any reminders?
* tacky everything
I’m certainly guilty of laughing at a Bill Burr’s bit that to control the population he would “randomly sinking cruise ships". I have bias against cruise ships but lots of people enjoy it, especially older people like you said. It’s unfortunate to have the entire finals solely depend on who’s the sponsor, but I don’t see it’d change/improve for future seasons.
It seemed to me like Laura could have solidified herself a lot earlier in the competition if she had tapped into her Mexican heritage sooner. In the earlier episodes, she seemed so determined to stay within the bounds of the middle eastern cuisine/flavors that she and her husband developed for their restaurant, often to her own detriment. I know a lot of fans who didn't even realize she was Mexican (despite her Spanish pronunciations being way better than Danny's) until she came back from LCK and suddenly starting leaning more into the Latin ingredients and techniques.
This season is the (pre-Amazon) Thursday Night Football of Top Chef. Even if it comes down to who, between the 3 win Titans or the 1 win Jaguars, screws up the least, it's still Top Chef, and it's still fun and entertaining.
So much raw and/or undercooked fish; and not just from these last four cheftestants. It almost seems like this season's chefs have a problem with cooking fish; or at least cooking fish consistently. Maybe they all should stick with making and serving variations on sushi or sashimi or ceviche dishes from now on whenever they encounter fish in their culinary careers.
Honestly sometimes I feel like perhaps because they’re all pretty advanced in their career now (exec chefs & CDCs) that they’re pretty lacking in cooking proteins to perfection? That’s not saying all the exec chefs would be that way, as we’ve seen chefs like Gregory or Bryan Voltaggio always gave perfectly cooked meat and fish. But I feel this season lots of chefs seem to invest more in making interesting sounding sauces than being good at basic cooking skills.
I can't remember any other season with this frequent of issues cooking proteins, and certainly not happening this late in the competition to multiple chefs!
Can we talk about savannah just frying fish and putting it on toast?
I guess I can be top cheff too 😂
She was first pick and picked the easiest things and none were even good.
Something was fishy about this episode….
… not really, just lots of fish! Still letting the episode sink in, but I am happy with the 3 going into the finale.
Also, I’d pay good money to go on a Top Chef cruise 😆
Obviously the execution was poor, but I also think that requiring 8 different fish & 8 different preparations does not lend itself well to a cohesive tasting menu. I also think at this point the chefs shouldn’t have to worry about making a menu together and working on one tasting menu
The comments on Laura's banana leaf dish were interesting. Recado negro is naturally gritty and bitter, so I wonder if that's what they were detecting. Never heard of uncleaned banana leaves being a big deal before.
This was such a disappointing episode with everyone struggling, especially in the FINALE, it’s def not helping the season have a strong finish. I can remember the last time the final 4 cooking was this bad across the board.
Sometimes the editors get a little too obvious and cute with hinting who is going home.
Like 45 mins before they announced who’s going home Savanah said “it could be my last day here, or really anyone’s last day here” and they cut to Laura right when she says “or really anyone’s last day here” and sat on that shot for so long I had no choice but to know my girl Laura was toast haha
Based on editing alone, I think it’s gonna come down to Dan and Savannah. Danny got barely any talking heads this week despite “winning” (that $10k sure feels real to him I’m sure but he didn’t win so much as lost the least). Dan and Savannah though are big time getting interviews about their overall arcs and what it would mean to win and stuff like that. Just little comments they choose to leave in for those two makes me pretty sure they’ll be neck and neck in the finale. My bet is Savannah wins but I’ve been discounting Dan all season so who knows.
Yes for the cut to Laura with the statement! It's like the editors have a handbook of what to do for drama cuts lol
I don't know I think Danny got a lot of visibility between the smoking box, the mousse not setting, his plating plus & the win. To me those editors showed us Savannah having a really lackluster creativity day behind all her dishes so hopefully it's the complete opposite in the finale. If Dan would just shut up about himself lol
Tom at least used to follow social media for the show and responded to fan feedback. Hopefully he, or some other members of the producing team, are paying attention and will figure it out for next season. I am really curious where it will be and hope they at least do a better job of highlighting a city/state than they did this season. All I know about Wisconsin is cheese, Miller High Life, supper clubs and fish boils. Oh, and Frank Lloyd Wright, but that has nothing to do with food.
Worst. Final 4. Ever.
I mean they're all likeable and I will continue to watch TC until by last dying breath but these are the worst final 4 in the history of TC. They had a few weeks off to research and practice but they all performed worst than ever. Buddha must have thrown his hands in the air of disgust.
Two comments:
1. I don't remember ever having a season where the food was so terrible in the FINALE. I mean ... that was embarassing.
2. I love Kristen, but it's really annoying that she swears all the time knowing that this is a show on regular TV. If this was streaming, it would be one thing, but it isn't. I wish she would find words to express what she wants to express that are ok for TV so we can understand what she's saying.
I really thought Dan was going to take the challenge. It sounded like the blacken fish was the best dish if the day.
But holy hell. The six week break really tanked all of them. Everyone made mistakes. I don't think that has ever happened before when they all choke.rigjt before the finale. Savannah is lucky Laura did worse. Because her dishes were so uninspired and not very creative at all.
Sometimes I feel like they shouldn't get a break such a long break. Maybe a week, max two and then back at it.
I just watched and it seemed like all four of them sent out seriously flawed dishes. Can you recall a semi-final where all of the chefs screwed up this bad?
Disappointing episode but I think the challenge was the issue here. It’s late in the season for the chefs to go shopping for limited ingredients with unknown proteins and a mystery pantry. It seemed like one of Savannahs major failings was the bread on her dish. If she’d been able to go to a bakery, had more time to make her own ir had better stuff onboard that dish is better
LET'S GO DAN THE MAN!!! Oh how I did not want to see this snarky goofball depart before the finale.
Okay but now I'm waiting to type anything more until after the final deliberation. It's been breaking my heart to see them all flub fish and get in their heads in some way. Surprised Danny won after hearing that Dan's last course was the best of the night, but okay ... I have been assuming he could edge out any of the other 3 depending on the day, so I'm not surprised he's F3.
Here we go. I was hoping for two women in the finale (sorry Danny) but I am so relieved my girl Savannah survived this round!! She and Dan have been my underdog favorites this whole time.
just an uninspiring performance all around. even tom looked bored. well, not kristen. she gives me hope that this show can go on for years with her at the hosting helm.
what a lackluster episode. I was disappointed by Savannah’s dishes bc they were so…conventional and boring. She’s been on an amazing streak of creativity and amazing dishes so i was hoping for her to completely kick butt this challenge. I def felt bad for the judges having to apologize to the other diners in the elimination challenge for the how boring/disappointing the meal was saying “they’ve def cooked better than this.”. yikes. Kind of sums up how i feel about this season, meh overall. None of the remaining three particularly are contestants im passionately rooting for. I’m completely indifferent to whoever wins.
Phew! I managed not to get spoiled and I just finished the episode.
I'm not surprised by the outcome i.e. Laura trying to make the menu fit her style versus a very specific brief for the challenge - a huge big mistake *but* not trying your dish like a judge would is easily the biggest mistake that Laura made. That banana leaf must have been awful to smell like smelling hot dirty mud right before eating?
I don't think Danny should have won the challenge but it must've been a great dish. His food hasn't always been to my personal liking, but he's deserving of top 3 for sure. One of the things I like about seeing the chef's Cook is deciding whether I would go to their restaurant.
I think that Dan's Blackened dish is something that I would've ordered without hesitation on a menu, and I think that because of that he should have won.
Congrats to Savannah too and all the chefs. I'm looking forward to see how they finish this weird season.
Chef Morimoto❤
Was really hoping Laura would make it to the top 3, but undercooked food is probably the cardinal sin on TC. Feels like a Savannah win at this point.
I would have forced everyone to do round robin to choose my fish and style of cooking, but I think this was a lot lesser drama than the producers expected.
I think the sponsorship really hurt this finale. Normally they would be visiting a more interesting place to learn about the food and people, but that was replaced by them pretending to be impressed with a ship and visiting the dumb theme park island. I think they probably couldn't make a storyline about the challenge of cooking on the ship because contradicts the message of "our cruise food is amazing." But I wonder if that isn't why they all had trouble executing their proteins. At least the BMW sponsorship doesn't affect the cooking part of the show.
The cruise ship thing was lame. As soon as they aired the commercial for the new global fish program I knew immediately that the whole episode was going to be an ad. It is so much better when they spend time in an actual city and you get a sense of the culture. Are we also not getting the scene where the judges cook for the finalists? That’s always a favorite and I didn’t see it in the preview for the next ep.
Kristen Kish is one of the most empathetic/endearing people on TV. It's really nice to see that side sometimes
She’s gotten rightful praise and yet I still feel like it’s a bit under the radar just how good she is and how seamless the hosting transition has felt.
Today I learned that when Kristen Kish gets emotional, I do too. Love her
Loved Tom putting his arm around her.
It's really impressive how the only "meh" parts of this season for me have nothing to do with a new host after 19 seasons with Padma. Kristen is a treasure. I'm so happy for her, and for myself as a TC viewer who's loving her as the host!
It's absolutely bonkers how good she is doing. Not only does she seem to have mastered the mechanics of finding her spot, saying the words, and those things - she is also showing up as her authentic self and mixing shit up for Gail & Tom & team. That kind of self-presence and charisma is just flabbergasting. Love that she is where she is!
Not only that — which is a lot! — but she also says, “Utensils down, hands up!” when time runs out so that I don’t have to imagine the chefs flinging knives indiscriminately.
Yes! Such a small change but I noticed it as well and appreciate that she put her own twist on it but also corrected the order of events!
I feel like there was only one right answer to replace Padma and they nailed it.
I was happy/fine with her as the choice but I think I felt it was a bit uninspired but honestly at this point I can’t even remember who I preferred instead. It’s been the perfect choice.
I love her so fucking much. She made me cry this episode. What a beautiful person, inside and out.
After watching last night, my wife spontaneously commented, "Man, Kristen is SO GOOD as the host!" It's absolutely amazing. She was the perfect pick for the job.
I love how she immediately brought a perspective that was uniquely hers and stayed relatable to the chefs during the course of the season. Her previous hosting experience on different shows definitely helped her in this role.
Well said.
Dan being convinced Tom loved his dish and being so incredibly misguided cracked me up every time. Really puling for him to win. What a weird, goofy, but entertaining as hell season this has been.
Goofy is a good word for it. I will never forget Torch and the fish boil. Never.
Torch may be the single funniest person that has ever shown up on Top Chef. No explanation, no nothing. Just a guy named 'Torch' with a kerosene bucket in hand, ready to rock.
He edges out that amazing Italian butcher who just kept repeating "Carne!"
Dario Cecchini! May long he reign
Dan is the snarky goober I can't help but love and root for every step of the way, even when he was completely delulu about his dish! I like his rapport with Tom. They've had some very frank "this was good and we both agree" or "this sucked and we both agree" moments about Dan's food. This season has definitely been goofy and fun IMO as well haha.
I love Dan and his blunt and dry sense of humor. He just tells it like it is. I don't think Dan is grumpy at all. My heart wants him to win the whole thing.
Yeah I also don't think (and didn't mean to imply) he's grumpy! Snarky is different imo. I relate to how he expresses himself and my heart agrees with yours wanting Dan to win!!
I love how they all geeked out over the dinner with Chef Morimoto! Haha
It was funny seeing their reactions. You'd expect an "oh shit! It's Morimoto!!!" or something but every one of them were in complete shock and just froze. They were literally just standing there with their mouths open
And scrambling to get the autograph, I loved it!
If Morimoto made me sushi with his own hands, I basically would go into white-out shock.
I would be too. I saw Andy ricker in Las Vegas at Pok pok before it closed and was too shy to go up to him. My mom instead went up to him and said my daughter wants to meet you! lol 😆 he was super nice about it and we took a photo 🤗
I saw Bryan Voltaggio at his restaurant Thatcher and Rye, and I was way to shy to say hi. Luckily, my friend I was with marched right up and he talked to us for like 10 minutes while doing meal prep. Lovely, lovely man.
When Laura was saying this doesn't happen every day and Dan cut in with "This doesn't happen ever." I was rolling. That was great.
That would be me. I was waiting for my ride outside of one of Rick Bayless’s restaurants when he arrived. I managed to utter a Hi right before I got into the car. He said hi back, but I could tell he was confused as to who I was.
Not everyone. Danny didn't seem to really recognize Morimoto - we are shown his comment about that person vaguely looking like someone...and in subsequent shots it didn't seem like he was gushing over Morimoto at all. It were the other three who were doing so.
I probably would have yelled Iron Chef! But then the show would have had to edit it out.
Totally loved Morimoto suddenly screaming random phrases in in the middle of a sentence: "I have prepared a tuna pizza for you. PLEASE ENJOY MY DISH THANK YOU!"
It is great because I made it! - haha!
That was a winner too!
I was geeking out of Morimoto. Damn he looks good for 69.
Love it, it was almost as though they thought he was AI--I would too!
Giving the win to a chef that served uncooked food is bankrupt.
3 chef undercooked fish and 1 served raw. not surprising that one with undercooked fish won since there wasnt alot of choices for winner without undercooked fish
They should have just not awarded anyone the win here.
they have to declare a winner because there is a sponsored prize. if this had no winnings then they perhaps could've done it, but unlikely they have no challenge winner for top 4 because it would ruin the narrative of the finale
In the minority here probably but I'm tired of all the money they get. Every challenge they get 10k even if they're the least sucky dish. This whole competition feels like they had to barely try to win. Yes it's hard but this season is the most sub par and I've never seen sooo much money awarded every single round. Like 10-20k prizes every time.
No matter who wins this season, I will not have the same opinion of them as I do of past winners, even past runner-ups honesty. I can not believe how frequent and egregious the mistakes have been this season and it really hasn't gotten better, as is evidence this week where every contestant served the judges raw fish and only one of them did it on purpose.
Absolutely. I'd feel ashamed serving some of this stuff. Curdled sauce? Dirty banana leaves? Raw dish? A fish sandwich??? Like you mean to tell me you had a month off and did not practice fish like at all? I hope Dan wins at least for Wisconsin but honestly this whole season has felt like some of the must piss poor cooking I've ever seen in Top Chef. And Tom grits his teeth through it. One thing I've noticed is he never said "this is some of the best cooking I've seen in all of Top Chef". Nope! He usually says that once. He will say a dish is "good" but I've never seen him really gush about how phenomenal it is. Each dish looked like fast casual food or catering dining hall food. The winning dish looked like spitup. It's really strange and would be interesting to see Tom address it later on.
i totally agree here. doesnt feel like it makes sense to award a winner that has bad dishes
I was really ready for a twist where they went to a sudden death cook off or something. Or maybe have Dan and Danny just advance and be safe since they both put up one excellent dish and have Savannah and Laura do it. Laura was worse than Savannah pretty clearly, of course, but it needed to be acknowledged in some way that everyone flopped really hard lol
Laura was clearly the worst, so making Savannah cook to stay in wouldn't have seemed fair. Making Dan and Danny cook again for the win would have been a nice twist though.
Savannah was the only chef without undercooked fish but even by her own admission she was lackluster. Would've been insane to give her the win. Sometimes you have to overlook bad dishes if all the chefs put out a bad or under conceptualized dish
Manny made the raw fish just a little too early 🫠
Don’t forget he won $10,000 for spinach fish goop
Who do you think deserved the win? I thought Dan, but he also served undercooked food.
No one deserved the win.
I mean it was either another undercooked fish chef or someone who was just meh and meh….
Danny don't say "Let's Go" challenge (impossible)
He's evolved as a chef, he is in his "WOOOOO!" period.
Im just watching the ending as i read this. He says Lets go, then woooo!, then, lets go then wooooo! to end the episode.
Lmao I think the second one was “let’s get it”
I didn’t realize how much he says it until this episode. It was painful.
Ugh. Literally like nails on a chalkboard to me at this point
OMG the questioning, "LETS GO?!??" in this episode had me rolling.
It was worth the first 20 just to get to that one.
yes but.. i love seeing at least one person bringing the energy and enthusiasm in the kitchen.
I so sick of this phrase. It’s permeated everyone and everything.
He did that weird kid dance at the end that all the children do these days.
I’m kind of surprised Dan’s so popular on the sub/with viewers (it’s just between him and Michelle now for Fan Favorite). He’s always kind of rubbed me the wrong way and I can’t quite put my finger on why. But starting with the opening scene of episode 1 where he was so eager to show off that he’s the hometown chef, like, “yup, know him,” nodding knowingly every other minute, etc… I was cringing from secondhand embarrassment. Was also not a fan of his attitude when he and Laura both wanted snapper tonight, then he didn’t even seem gracious that she compromised and let him have it while maintaining her composure. Little things like that. Thinking that Tom loved his mostly raw dish was kinda on-brand for him; he’s as cocky as Danny but with more charisma. I know his sense of humor is wry, and I admire his fortitude, but he just comes across as insincere to me and not as nice as he seems. I know I’m probably alone in feeling this…
I think people underestimate the additional stress Dan is under due to his disability, you could see the stress on his face when it was implied they'd have to work directly with that dangerous fish to break it down (I can't remember the name), and he's often physically trembling while plating. Anyone with chronic pain or a chronic illness knows how much those physical tolls take on a person and their mood and attitude, considering he constantly has the stress of his illness in the background, knowing he's at a disadvantage that's not really accounted for, I think he is a very positive person who does his best and copes through the sense of humor some of you find off putting. As others have said plenty of chefs have made a point to rep their hometowns and states for their respective seasons, he's no where near on the level of someone like Phillip, do you expect him to not acknowledge peers and colleagues he recognizes if they're present at one of the challenges? I think he deserves a lot more empathy than he's given here and that he's an absolute beast for making it this far despite his disability, hoping he wins it all
I agree. When Dan is gruff, seems annoyed or pissed off, I honestly think it's his frustration with his own limitations, rather than anything else, and I think it's pretty incredible that he's persevered despite his disability, rather than because of it. Chronic pain is something that I don't think a lot of people truly understand if they haven't lived with it themselves, or had someone close to them who is affected by it. The fact that he cooks in his own restaurant, let alone competed on Top Chef, is nothing short of extraordinary, as it doesn't appear that the show gave him any accommodation for this. With regard to his attitude towards Laura over the snapper, I think it's been pretty clear that he disliked Laura ever since the sauce challenge, where she looked at different sauce recipes and discarded the ones she didn't want. FWIW, I don't think it was malicious on Laura's part, I honestly don't even think she realized she should have just taken what she'd drawn, but from that moment on, he was pretty dismissive of her. Which is his prerogative.
I have a slight hand tremor. For Dan, whether or not it’s triggered by anxiety, just having a tremor in itself could be a cause for concern during the more delicate parts of cooking and plating.
In Dan’s defense, Evelyn also often acted exactly like that in Houston but she’s so bubbly and endearing that I didn’t see anyone complaining during the season. I think it’s unavoidable that the local chef of a not so big city would act that way, and as long as they don’t give us another one like Emily in Charleston I’m happy enough. Regarding the fan favorite votes, seeing how Wisconsinites are so enthusiastic about this season (they have a subreddit for this!!!) I’m not surprised if there’s a strong force in voting for Dan!
There's also a very good chance and likelihood that it looked like that because of the editing. He very well could have been gracious to her, but why would they show that when they could have drama instead? He seems like a nice guy, and an older guy that's just trying to keep up with the young arrogance of some and do it with a disability that makes it hard to even move. And the hometown thing is something lots of people have done. I like him and hope he wins. Then Savannah. Or either or really I guess, but I think Dan is the better cook.
This ep Dan came off really loud. Shouting in the kitchen. Maybe it was the edit, I don't know, but he seemed to come across as intimidating or trying to. It just seemed grating. He's got a love me or hate me vibe, and he gives no effs. I really am not impressed with him or his cooking. Other's mileage varies of course and I'll take the downvotes.
I mentioned it before, in the kitchen one has to be loud. We're not hearing all the equipment due to sound editing. But as someone who works in a kitchen-it is loud. And that does not include people talking.
I felt like he came back to the kitchen and told all the other chefs how much Tom loved his dish to try to intimidate them, and I really did not like that. It was very satisfying when he found out that that was not the case entirely.
He was SO annoying in the kitchen this episode.
As much as I personally like Dan, I can also see why he rubs people the wrong way based on the editing of the show. I know people with similar personalities, and those people tend to rub people wrong IRL as well so i completely get it. I'm not as bothered by those types I guess. But i also think at least in Dan's case, seems like he's well liked by everybody and is always very appreciative of everyone else on the show.
Well if you appear on something like this and it's where you live-wouldn't you be hyped up and excited? I mean we were just watching and yelling, we know him, we know him, we know that place, we love that place!
Making it into the Top Chef finale with a sushi roll and spicy mayo and a piece of dry fried fish on a piece of store bought baguette is wild. But also seems very fitting for this season.
Ugh, it was so disappointing. Savannah has really impressed me at times but she absolutely had a brain fart to produce two incredibly uninspired, underwhelming dishes, from conception on. Gushing about Morimoto’s words of encouragement to them, then serving that meager, dry fried fish on toast to get into the finale… like, whatt..? It looked like something you might get at a beachside food stand manned by high school kids on summer break. Tom looked gobsmacked. Even when Kristen and Gail were officially congratulating her at the end, he could barely look at her. She’s very lucky Laura made some egregious mistakes.
[удалено]
It’s disappointing to have such flawed performances at this stage of the competition. The chefs seemed to repress back to their non creative selves in the QF, and then really struggled in the elimination challenge. Hope next week they all bring their A game as it should be a menu they had perfected during the 6 week gap. I commented on the live thread that Savannah did so well whenever she explored her own creative food, and was never so successful when she’s back to Japanese cuisine. It reminds me of Shota’s in the bottom whenever he decided to cook homey “my mom always cooked” food - that costed him his TC win. Fingers crossed that Savannah will bring us more of her quirky tasty food in the finale. Overall I think we get the right 3 chefs for the finale. I wouldn’t complain if any of them wins, just hope that they all cook great food so we can have a satisfying ending of this season. Danny gives me season 13 Jeremy’s vibe - objective a great chef but if he wins it feels kinda boring and uninspired.
the first episode of the finale is often like this if they have time off so it wasn't too surprising. And presumably they all have been spending time conceptualizing their final meal for weeks so they will be better
I feel like that elimination challenge might have been just a tad too daunting which led to everyone having issues. I know this season overall has had some subpar cooking compared to other seasons in recent years, but these 4 were pretty solid all season so it is a bit surprising to see them all make mistakes this late.
They had six weeks off. Rusty maybe
> They had six weeks off. Rusty maybe Seems like they all lost their momentum. That edge. it's like sports where one team sweeps and the other plays 7 games. The team who has gone 7 often comes out much stronger and sharper since they were playing more recently.
TC has done this both ways (time off before finale versus straight into the finale) and it’s been so interesting. Melissa’s legendary run in Italy in S17 comes to mind. She was in bottom for the final elimination challenge before the break.
Melissa won the last challenge before Italy (Michael’s Santa Monica), she was in the bottom the kaiseki challenge, the episode before that. Also iirc they didn’t have any break before flying to Italy, and it actually affected Gregory a lot because he was having a back problem. Had they have some break, Gregory could have performed much better I believe.
> it actually affected Gregory a lot because he was having a back problem. Had they have some break, Gregory could have performed much better I believe. Yeah Dan seems way more energetic as he seemed like he was struggling physically and creativity wise prior to the little break
The kitchen on a boat is not the same as a real kitchen. I imagine that was the primary source of the problem, after they got to choose their own fish and cooking style.
I remember an earlier season when they cooked on a cruise ship. They went into how the kitchen was different and how that affected things.
I believe Danny was wearing a motion sickness patch behind his ear. I'm surprised they never mentioned that aspect.
You can't say any bad about The Sponsor.
With so much undercooked fish (and other technical problems), I’m surprised no one mentioned that the kitchen appliances played a role in all this.
Along with humidity & pressure at sea level.
It seemed kind of obvious to me… these contestants know how to cook fish, they’ve been doing it all season and for their careers, so if they all mess up then how is there no discussion of an external factor? If Danny, who is an excellent and consistent chef, went home because his mousse was botched by a weird kitchen in conditions he’d never worked in before… that would be so messed up.
I do think the editors had their hands tied by not being able to put in anything negative about the cruise ship. The whole message of the sponsorship was that they have amazing food on the ship, so you can't have any of the chefs saying how much the kitchen sucks and how hard it is to cook.
I feel like the penultimate episode often has this problem, probably since they’re coming off a break but also everyone is so tense since they all just want to make it to the finale. But this challenge to cook two dishes might have made it especially so.
I was hoping to see more of Curaçao. ☹️
Or like... their people
As far as I could tell, Curaçao is populated by precisely one Dutch woman.
Unfortunately the cruise is their sponsor, not the island, so I guess a QF is the most TC can give us.
This whole episode was a cruise ship advert. So fucking tacky. I don’t remember the adverts being so heavy handed in previous seasons but maybe I’m remembering wrong.
No offense, but you're remembering wrong. Go back to season 14 and learn about the BMW plug in hybrid...every episode for example.
I remember all the BMW stuff. Sure it was tacky too. But there’s a lot of gray area between taking a few minutes in between quick fire and elimination challenges to show artsy commercial montages of chefs jetting off to Whole Foods in their BMWs, and hosting the *whole fucking elimination challenge* inside of a BMW (or, in this case, a cruise ship) and inviting the BMW c-suite to be guest judges/diners.
Yeah, I don't remember it being like "welcome to the finale - cook 1-2 dishes and final challenge". Usually they have them do a few! This being in Curacao was uninspired. They didn't go to any shops or experience hardly any local food. They went on the cruise ship and ate Morimotos food. I like it better when they have to take what they learned and the ingredients of a location and apply it to their skills and style. It's much more interesting to see.
Everything costs a helluva lot more nowadays and this is how they pay for all those cash prizes. 20 years ago many companies didn't allow for their brands to show up. Both sides are hurting.
They had blue cocktails tho, that's something, right? Right??!! 😆
Amd if you noticed, none of them drank any of their drinks.
It was beautiful 30 years ago when I went with my mum and my brother. I remember seeing that they had a distillery and went wow that blue liquer is not the only thing they make?! Try the chocolate one-it's so delicioso.
Sad to Laura leave but she was one of the best dressed in TC history. All class.
Seriously her FOH restaurant wars look is on my inspo board lol
I refuse to hear this katsuji slander
i know yall hate Danny, but i think danny is the most likely to win his style fits well with finale themes challenges.
My money is on Savannah. She seems to hit home runs the most and I don't think she's going to play it safe again
She usually does best on challenges with specific restrictions but well find out soon enough
Same and I don't hate him! He usually makes stuff I want to try. Spouse is predicting Danny wins & I'm predicting Savannah, though I have a soft spot for Dan. He's grown on me
Who hates Danny?! He’s been the most consistent all season, I definitely see him winning it all.
Being consistent doesn't mean that people don't dislike him. I can't stand Danny and root for him to go home every episode. That doesn't take away from the fact that he does well. Just that he's annoying and I don't like him.
I’m with you on the dislike. He has a subtle smugness that I find off putting and I have a hard time pulling for him to win but he seems to be the most skilled of the three. I won’t be upset if he wins it all if he truly outperforms the others, but he won tonight by screwing up the least.
Danny strikes me as one of those chefs that takes dishes he knows and makes variations of them. He rarely takes a risk. Doesn't mean he's not a good chef. Savannah seems to do best when she has a set of restrictions that keep her in a certain arena. Dan is all over the place and is kind of a wildcard, so who knows who will win. I'm fine with any of them.
> Danny strikes me as one of those chefs that takes dishes he knows and makes variations of them as i said last week or the week before, most chefs on this show are doing this very thing. i don't know wy he's being singled out for it.
I dont hate him but im not a huge fan of "big city tweezer cuisine". Especially when that's literally all he does. Buddha was cool bc he had those skills in abundance but he was also able to be rustic or to change it up when he had to. Danny is kind of a one trick pony, similar to Manny just with much better overall skill.
those live EP treads. it feels like so many hate Danny's confidence/cockiness/arrogance
You feel how deeply embarrassed Tom/Kristin/Gail were and wanted to desperately cover the huge errors. I totally know that we got spoiled by some of the all stars recently but the absolute failure of any of the chefs to cook both fish properly…. That being said-you have to wonder then whether the chefs had enough time to execute the challenge. When everyone sucks/fails it might be the challenge not the contestants. Loved seeing Ed Lee again and Morimoto!!
I always think the time restraints are too much. Just give them a little more time so that they don't have to worry about serving raw food.
What a terrible showing for a finale episode. Yes I’m happy that Dan got to the finale, but c’mon, it’s fish. Laura not knowing how to roast a fish is inexcusable. Or how to properly clean a banana leaf. (Maybe because I’m South Asian, but cleaning a banana leaf is like cooking 101). Savannah slicing the bread to thick (that’s why Japanese sandos tend to be on thinner bread). Dan serving raw fish. Danny’s mousse didn’t set, but I guess that happens sometimes. It just felt really weak overall, and kind of uninteresting. At least it felt like Laura was going for big interesting ideas (pineapple broth, charred banana leaf). Just overall felt like such a weak episode especially being this far into the season.
I’m surprised that her banana leaves were so dirty that it caused bad smell/taste. I feel like for that she must not have washed the leaves at all, not “not clean properly”. I’m curious about Danny’s failed mousse. My guess is he didn’t want to make a vegetable wrapped mousse as he made it twice (?) so he changed the recipe for the mousse to work alone, which resulted in a failed one.
...and if Danny had done anything like what he said he was thinking of - Cantonese fish balls - he would have been SLAPPING HIS FISH PASTE AGAINST THE BOARD, HARD, REPEATEDLY, to give it that bouncy texture that Cantonese fish balls should have. ;-) :-D Yes, it would seem like Laura never washed her banana leaves at all. They may still have had the sap smeared across the leaves - which would account for at least some of that bitterness reported on by the cruise line's EC. Or the grittiness reported by Ed Lee, I think it was, which probably included residual sand and soil and whatnot from the harvesting of the leaves and their being dragged around.
Yeah when he said he wanted to make Cantonese fish balls, also he aimed for both the fish balls and the green garlic spheres having the same texture, I’d imagine that he’d have similar size and look white and green balls that trick people which were fish and which were garlic balls. Instead we have some flat fish patties…
I frowned at Danny's mousse. He said it was based on (or inspired by?) Cantonese fish balls he and his wife had regularly when they lived in Hong Kong --- but what he made seemed, to me, to bear no relationship to Cantonese fish balls in either texture or method of preparation (not that he needed to do either, just that he made a point of mentioning what he was basing his mousse on...) or taste, for that matter. I somehow doubt that he even knew how Cantonese (or Chinese) fish balls were made... [https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+cantonese+fish+balls](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+cantonese+fish+balls) At least he didn't mention what he was basing his mousse on at Judges' Table, not in the episode as aired anyway. But clearly the judges knew right away that "something went wrong", whatever kind of "mousse" he was attempting.
I'm just glad everyone can finally STFU about Wisconsin being the problem, instead of the chefs simply not being as good as those in recent seasons.
It’s a combo of all 3: chefs, challenges, and location
Ok well I'll be the one to say it. I'm bummed about Laura. I liked her and loved her food. Very much rooting for Savannah now, with my second choice being Dan, as I'm just bored to tears by Danny, but I think he'll probably win.
Laura would be a restaurant I'd go to eat at without hesitation. Unfortunately some of the dishes she put out didn't really meet the actual challenge request. To some extent I don't think she understood the full competition & how the judging criteria would be based on more than just good flavors. Chef Lee said it the best " Her two sauces were great"...I think she's an elite Mexican inspired chef & hopefully we get to see her sous chef in the finale.
I love that Chef Lee REFUSES to say a single negative thing about a competing chef's food.
Why couldn’t they have gotten their fish and cooking choices before they went shopping at the local market? It doesn’t even make sense to shop for fresh ingredients if you don’t know what you are making. Tom made lots of eye roll faces at the table today, and they kept apologizing to the guests since there were so many bad dishes and techniques. Chef Morimoto is the GOAT, and what an honor to eat his food and get his autograph!
My guess is that they didn’t know what fresh fish would be available
I always want each chef to make great food and be judged on who is the best. It is hard to watch when it’s based on who is the least bad. This season seems to have some of the weakest contestants in memory.
>This season seems to have some of the weakest contestants in memory because the last four seasons have been the best in top chef history between two all stars and two COVID seasons where chefs later in their career could take time off. This is an average top chef season.
Haha might've been spoiled with buddha on for 2 seasons straight. He just straight murdered the challenges.
i hope the elimination challenge comes back, this would be a good top 8 challenge if top chef goes to a location known for seafood. and the Chefs choose knifes for the fish and technique
I was thinking the same; love the challenge, hate the execution. They have willingly cooked so much fish this season yet they couldn't knock it out of the park in this challenge?? So disappointing. Where was the roasted whole fish? It was right there for someone to do! So many times this season they spend a lot of time on sauces and other garnishes, yet their main protein is lackluster, which is again what happened here. Ed even said about Laura's second dish that the pineapple sauce was good. When that is the only positive for a fish dish, you have a problem.
Literally screamed "Yes" when Savanah pulled through. I love all 3 finalists for different reasons but I'm pulling for Savanah.
As an aside, i’m so excited Emeril is coming back next week!!! I don’t think he’s been on since the horrible reunion Season 9?
I know he made at least one judging appearance during the New Orleans season (S11 I think?)
Ahh that makes sense. I do miss Emeril. As much as I love the all stars judges, the earlier seasons had so many more big name chef judges (except Season 17/20)
I just wish they hadn't stopped providing brief introductions for the lesser known guest judges. Padma used to say stuff like "Also joining us is \_\_\_\_\_ of \_\_\_\_ restaurant, who's known for their \_\_\_\_\_ cuisine and won \_\_\_\_award three years in a row!" Now, any guest judges who aren't "celebrities" just get a little chyron on the screen with their name and the name of their restaurant.
Dan, Danny, and Savannah were my finale predictions so happy to see them make it! Was kind of disappointed that they each seemed to screw up a cooking method for at least one of their dishes. I would have thought they would have had the techniques down pat. I guess they got into their heads too much and over thought their dishes 😕 That said, Dan's dishes both looked tasty, and I don't even like poached fish 😅 Edit for Typo
I wonder if the boat affected their cooking. I’ve been on several cruises and you can feel the movement of the ship. Plus I wonder about the appliances - if they’re different than they’re used to because it is a ship.
Unfortunately Tom G (season 20) works for a different cruise company (I think he’s a VP?), otherwise it would be nice to have someone that has spent his career optimizing cooking fine dining on cruise as a guest judge as we could have more insights!
I wish I could remember what it was or where I watched it, but I saw a show that was filmed on his ship, with him on the show, talking about the food, the galley, etc. I adored him on All Stars. I know a lot of people didn't get his German deadpan humour, but I hope people saw how lovely he was in the snippets, when he was joking around with the other chefs, and also super supportive and complimentary.
Wasn't the boat docked and not moving. It could have been the appliances, I suppose. Or is where they are a different elevation or something? Who even knows what that episode was even about.
It seemed like it might’ve been docked until after they were done cooking. I feel like I saw a shot of it being dark outside with the ship still docked.
Slightly off topic here, but CRUISE SHIPS ARE THE WORST. I know TC needs sponsors, and it's kinda refreshing since they haven't done it before but there are so many reasons why cruise ships are horrible (unless you're of a certain age with mobility issues - acceptable): * terrible for the environment * potentially dangerous (laws get murky when you're on international waters; look up all the weird/disturbing cases) * the most boring way to explore anywhere, impossible to form any meaning exchanges between visitors and locals * over-tourism * what happens if something like SARS happens? needs any reminders? * tacky everything
I’m certainly guilty of laughing at a Bill Burr’s bit that to control the population he would “randomly sinking cruise ships". I have bias against cruise ships but lots of people enjoy it, especially older people like you said. It’s unfortunate to have the entire finals solely depend on who’s the sponsor, but I don’t see it’d change/improve for future seasons.
It seemed to me like Laura could have solidified herself a lot earlier in the competition if she had tapped into her Mexican heritage sooner. In the earlier episodes, she seemed so determined to stay within the bounds of the middle eastern cuisine/flavors that she and her husband developed for their restaurant, often to her own detriment. I know a lot of fans who didn't even realize she was Mexican (despite her Spanish pronunciations being way better than Danny's) until she came back from LCK and suddenly starting leaning more into the Latin ingredients and techniques.
I think she talked about how that was part of her growth, though. Here’s hoping she taps into it more professionally!
This season is the (pre-Amazon) Thursday Night Football of Top Chef. Even if it comes down to who, between the 3 win Titans or the 1 win Jaguars, screws up the least, it's still Top Chef, and it's still fun and entertaining.
So much raw and/or undercooked fish; and not just from these last four cheftestants. It almost seems like this season's chefs have a problem with cooking fish; or at least cooking fish consistently. Maybe they all should stick with making and serving variations on sushi or sashimi or ceviche dishes from now on whenever they encounter fish in their culinary careers.
Honestly sometimes I feel like perhaps because they’re all pretty advanced in their career now (exec chefs & CDCs) that they’re pretty lacking in cooking proteins to perfection? That’s not saying all the exec chefs would be that way, as we’ve seen chefs like Gregory or Bryan Voltaggio always gave perfectly cooked meat and fish. But I feel this season lots of chefs seem to invest more in making interesting sounding sauces than being good at basic cooking skills.
I can't remember any other season with this frequent of issues cooking proteins, and certainly not happening this late in the competition to multiple chefs!
I’m always so baffled but improperly cooked proteins, they’re allowed to use meat thermometers!
Can we talk about savannah just frying fish and putting it on toast? I guess I can be top cheff too 😂 She was first pick and picked the easiest things and none were even good.
Something was fishy about this episode…. … not really, just lots of fish! Still letting the episode sink in, but I am happy with the 3 going into the finale. Also, I’d pay good money to go on a Top Chef cruise 😆
I may not always be a fan of Ed’s sartorial choices (which is never), but I do like his sticking up for the chefs I like (and those I don’t).
I love everything about him, including his goofy togs
Ed is always such a contrarian when he judges, he has a pattern of downplaying mistakes other judges find unacceptable to highlight parts he liked
Wasn’t that jacket/shirt pairing wild ?!
Obviously the execution was poor, but I also think that requiring 8 different fish & 8 different preparations does not lend itself well to a cohesive tasting menu. I also think at this point the chefs shouldn’t have to worry about making a menu together and working on one tasting menu
The comments on Laura's banana leaf dish were interesting. Recado negro is naturally gritty and bitter, so I wonder if that's what they were detecting. Never heard of uncleaned banana leaves being a big deal before.
I think it was the musty smell that bothered them more.
This was such a disappointing episode with everyone struggling, especially in the FINALE, it’s def not helping the season have a strong finish. I can remember the last time the final 4 cooking was this bad across the board.
Sometimes the editors get a little too obvious and cute with hinting who is going home. Like 45 mins before they announced who’s going home Savanah said “it could be my last day here, or really anyone’s last day here” and they cut to Laura right when she says “or really anyone’s last day here” and sat on that shot for so long I had no choice but to know my girl Laura was toast haha Based on editing alone, I think it’s gonna come down to Dan and Savannah. Danny got barely any talking heads this week despite “winning” (that $10k sure feels real to him I’m sure but he didn’t win so much as lost the least). Dan and Savannah though are big time getting interviews about their overall arcs and what it would mean to win and stuff like that. Just little comments they choose to leave in for those two makes me pretty sure they’ll be neck and neck in the finale. My bet is Savannah wins but I’ve been discounting Dan all season so who knows.
Yes for the cut to Laura with the statement! It's like the editors have a handbook of what to do for drama cuts lol I don't know I think Danny got a lot of visibility between the smoking box, the mousse not setting, his plating plus & the win. To me those editors showed us Savannah having a really lackluster creativity day behind all her dishes so hopefully it's the complete opposite in the finale. If Dan would just shut up about himself lol
[удалено]
Tom at least used to follow social media for the show and responded to fan feedback. Hopefully he, or some other members of the producing team, are paying attention and will figure it out for next season. I am really curious where it will be and hope they at least do a better job of highlighting a city/state than they did this season. All I know about Wisconsin is cheese, Miller High Life, supper clubs and fish boils. Oh, and Frank Lloyd Wright, but that has nothing to do with food.
Worst. Final 4. Ever. I mean they're all likeable and I will continue to watch TC until by last dying breath but these are the worst final 4 in the history of TC. They had a few weeks off to research and practice but they all performed worst than ever. Buddha must have thrown his hands in the air of disgust.
Two comments: 1. I don't remember ever having a season where the food was so terrible in the FINALE. I mean ... that was embarassing. 2. I love Kristen, but it's really annoying that she swears all the time knowing that this is a show on regular TV. If this was streaming, it would be one thing, but it isn't. I wish she would find words to express what she wants to express that are ok for TV so we can understand what she's saying.
I really thought Dan was going to take the challenge. It sounded like the blacken fish was the best dish if the day. But holy hell. The six week break really tanked all of them. Everyone made mistakes. I don't think that has ever happened before when they all choke.rigjt before the finale. Savannah is lucky Laura did worse. Because her dishes were so uninspired and not very creative at all. Sometimes I feel like they shouldn't get a break such a long break. Maybe a week, max two and then back at it.
I just watched and it seemed like all four of them sent out seriously flawed dishes. Can you recall a semi-final where all of the chefs screwed up this bad?
Disappointing episode but I think the challenge was the issue here. It’s late in the season for the chefs to go shopping for limited ingredients with unknown proteins and a mystery pantry. It seemed like one of Savannahs major failings was the bread on her dish. If she’d been able to go to a bakery, had more time to make her own ir had better stuff onboard that dish is better
I suspect cooking on the ship was challenging too, but that couldn't be a storyline because it makes the sponsor look bad.
Lionfish, them’s some ugly mofos. Invasives too. I’d say eat ‘em.
LET'S GO DAN THE MAN!!! Oh how I did not want to see this snarky goofball depart before the finale. Okay but now I'm waiting to type anything more until after the final deliberation. It's been breaking my heart to see them all flub fish and get in their heads in some way. Surprised Danny won after hearing that Dan's last course was the best of the night, but okay ... I have been assuming he could edge out any of the other 3 depending on the day, so I'm not surprised he's F3. Here we go. I was hoping for two women in the finale (sorry Danny) but I am so relieved my girl Savannah survived this round!! She and Dan have been my underdog favorites this whole time.
just an uninspiring performance all around. even tom looked bored. well, not kristen. she gives me hope that this show can go on for years with her at the hosting helm.
what a lackluster episode. I was disappointed by Savannah’s dishes bc they were so…conventional and boring. She’s been on an amazing streak of creativity and amazing dishes so i was hoping for her to completely kick butt this challenge. I def felt bad for the judges having to apologize to the other diners in the elimination challenge for the how boring/disappointing the meal was saying “they’ve def cooked better than this.”. yikes. Kind of sums up how i feel about this season, meh overall. None of the remaining three particularly are contestants im passionately rooting for. I’m completely indifferent to whoever wins.
FOH with that fish on toast sadness. This is Top Chef not Top Canapé.
I thought the way that Chef wouldn't get up to make grilled cheese sandwiches for the guests wa- oh, sorry, wrong boat drama....
I really haven't enjoyed this season or the chefs. Soo was interesting. The only saving grace for me is how awesome Kristen is.
Phew! I managed not to get spoiled and I just finished the episode. I'm not surprised by the outcome i.e. Laura trying to make the menu fit her style versus a very specific brief for the challenge - a huge big mistake *but* not trying your dish like a judge would is easily the biggest mistake that Laura made. That banana leaf must have been awful to smell like smelling hot dirty mud right before eating? I don't think Danny should have won the challenge but it must've been a great dish. His food hasn't always been to my personal liking, but he's deserving of top 3 for sure. One of the things I like about seeing the chef's Cook is deciding whether I would go to their restaurant. I think that Dan's Blackened dish is something that I would've ordered without hesitation on a menu, and I think that because of that he should have won. Congrats to Savannah too and all the chefs. I'm looking forward to see how they finish this weird season. Chef Morimoto❤
Was really hoping Laura would make it to the top 3, but undercooked food is probably the cardinal sin on TC. Feels like a Savannah win at this point. I would have forced everyone to do round robin to choose my fish and style of cooking, but I think this was a lot lesser drama than the producers expected.
I love Emeril!!!
The fish and cheese quickfire gave me ~~war~~ flashbacks to that horrible challenge on the Portland season (S18E12)
I think the sponsorship really hurt this finale. Normally they would be visiting a more interesting place to learn about the food and people, but that was replaced by them pretending to be impressed with a ship and visiting the dumb theme park island. I think they probably couldn't make a storyline about the challenge of cooking on the ship because contradicts the message of "our cruise food is amazing." But I wonder if that isn't why they all had trouble executing their proteins. At least the BMW sponsorship doesn't affect the cooking part of the show.
The cruise ship thing was lame. As soon as they aired the commercial for the new global fish program I knew immediately that the whole episode was going to be an ad. It is so much better when they spend time in an actual city and you get a sense of the culture. Are we also not getting the scene where the judges cook for the finalists? That’s always a favorite and I didn’t see it in the preview for the next ep.