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Archive through January 30, 2007

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2008 - 1: Top Chef - Prior Seasons: ARCHIVES: Archive through January 30, 2007 users admin

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Biginjapan
Member

07-23-2005

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 4:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Biginjapan a private message Print Post    
I was so excited to see Marcel make the finals...and then shocked when Sam did not get it. But i can see why they want Ilan in there as Marcel's nemesis and the ring leader of the mob.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 5:16 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
LOL Chy.

I don't think Marcel cheated. I do think he'd do things to sabotage others.

Cricket
Member

08-05-2002

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 7:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cricket a private message Print Post    
Thanks for the explanation, Chy. I actually went to the Bravo website and the posters there were furious at the 2 finalists. They don't like Tom as a judge this year. They disagreed with a lot of the statements he made and thought the other judges were pushing for Sam, but he nixed it.

Who was the judge last year?

Teach, I went to the link you provided, but couldn't find Sam's interview on the front page.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 8:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Both Tom and Gail were judges last year. They had a different host (for the life of me, cannot remember who). And, of course, they also had the guest judges.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 9:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Sorry about that Cricket - -Andy must change his blog frequently. I see if I can find it in archive.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 9:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Ok -- try this link for Sam's interview:
http://www.bravotv.com/blog/andysblog/2007/01/sam.php

Cricket
Member

08-05-2002

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 10:15 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cricket a private message Print Post    
Thanks so much for finding the interview, Teach. I really enjoyed reading it. So...it seems Marcel did try to cheat at least once outside the kitchen. I really wish his cheating had been brought up before the last challenge or at least before the judges had already made their decision. It just made Tom angry (he seemed very cranky this last episode) and made him want to get rid of Elia that much more. I would have like to have seen an Elan/Sam finale.

I understand exactly what Sam was talking about re Marcel. He's an instigator who plays the victim; acting very devious. Sounds like he really needs or wants attention.

Sle
Member

11-10-2003

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 7:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sle a private message Print Post    
Sorry I didn't post sooner but I was very pleased that Cliff was removed at the previous episode. Not because of Marcel (although that was clearly out of line and scary) but because he had been a bully during the whole show. Especially the way he treated earlier contestants and threw Mia "under the bus."

I wish that Mia made it further and didn't sacrifice herself for Elia. She would have never let Cliff pin Marcel down and would probably have tackled Cliff herself!

Maris
Member

03-28-2002

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 7:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
The problem with Elia and I have seen it throughout this competition is that she sometimes ignores the instructions and decides in her mind what the competition will be about. I personally think she should have been gone the week that Mia walked out and the judges should have let Mia walk but then said, Elia goes anyway. The competition where she decided at a big gala affair to only cook four things and then do it at the affair was a disaster and was a classic example of Elia doing things her way only.

I was sorry to see Sam go but I understood the reasoning for letting him go because he didnt actually cook anything, the judge was right, this is a cooking competition and not to cook a single thing, regardless of how tasty the food was, I think was a mistake.

I will be shocked if Marcel wins, he is immature and there were too many things wrong with his attitude and his inability to work and get along with others. You may be a head chef but all chefs need to get along with people in the kitchen and particularly in a restaurant, have the cooperation of all the chefs under you.

I think this is Ilan's competition to lose. The editing was pretty amazing in the last show, Ilan goaded Elia before the show to open her mouth and say something about Marcel and then when she did, Ilan left her out there to hang. If I were Elia, I would have been more furious with Ilan.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 7:55 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Maris, I agree about Elia, both is how she cooked and that she should shoot Ilan!

What did Marcel cook? I know he did the poi, which wasn't cooked, but I can't remember his other dish.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 8:20 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Maris, Sam *did* cook -- the salt sauce for his dessert. Marcel did NOT cook -- he used xanthan gum in his dessert. So the "cooking/not cooking" was just an excuse and not a valid one since it wasn't applied to both contestants. (Although, by that time, they'd already decided Marcel was staying and Elia was going, so it was a decision between Sam and Ilan.)

I just watched the end of this ep again, and I think the reason Elia finally said something was cause this was the first time Marcel did something to HER. He'd been doing things to everyone else previously, but this was the first time that he did something TO her that could have affected the outcome.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 8:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Hmm... just read Sam's interview. And I think I called this way back when.. It seemed as if Marcel was always making snarky little comments. And that was what he'd done that day that Sam finally yelled at him. As Sam said... he'd been taking it and taking it and then finally just couldn't take it any more.

I think I agree with Sam's word: instigator. I think that's why Marcel should NOT be the winner. He may be a good chef, but he's not a leader and he doesn't know how to work with people. Or inspire them. And I think that's what a Top Chef should be about. Not just whether you can cook phenomenal food. Hell, *I* can cook phenomenal food. But I know I may not inspire others in the kitchen (although I do inspire them to eat!).

Ilan was not my first choice to win this, but now he's the only choice I have left!

Chy
Member

07-19-2003

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 9:15 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chy a private message Print Post    
What did Marcel do to Elia? He moved her steamer which was on a cold burner! He even asked before he'd move it. Chef Tom said somewhere, and I so agree, that "......there's no such thing as to reserve a burner in a busy kitchen...".

I'm not just a musician. I've worked in many restaurants during my student days in NYC. From China Town all the way to E.58th, E.72nd St. When I first moved to this town, my husband and I had a small operation of a Steak House as well. Although I personally have always worked at the front of the house or playing piano, I do know my way around the kitchen. You all know how Chinese restaurant is like. I used to call myself the fire & rescue person. You do whatever it's needed.

Chy
Member

07-19-2003

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 9:44 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chy a private message Print Post    
About the incident in the Fixture Store, they did show us a bunch of things. We heard the cashier offered Sam discount and Marcel started to say ....that's against the rule, we're not allow to take it....At the time I thought he was being nice or maybe a stickler to rules like myself. According to Sam, M had tried to get the discount himself before. So in my mind, I thought M might have been told by the producers, but there was no producers around when Sam was accepting the offer. It looked like M either did not want Sam to have the advantage He himself could not have, or M was trying to save Sam's butt.....

As for Sam calling Marcel "instigator", sorry, but Sam needs to look in the mirror first.
Remember the toothbrush and stuff with Frank? Sam was the one goaded Frank, we heard it on the show. (I can't remember the exact words now so I won't try.)
As for the "Man-handling" incident, where shall I start! We can pretend that Sam never said any thing to lead poor Cliff to think that, the minute Cliff has M "in position", Sam and Elia was gonna do the deed while Ilan would mind the camera...... but read his own words:

In watching the show when Tom called me out for not doing anything.. I mean... Cliff is not my co-worker or brother nor is Marcel. I am not related to them and they are grown adults. Every action has its consequence. I was sitting on the couch not doing anything. I didn't know that this was going into fruition. I was just sitting watching. Everybody was drinking and it got out of hand. When they showed me sitting on the couch saying "go in there" I was saying it because I thought he was going to come back with a bat or something. I thought he should go in to see if he was ok. If Cliff actually hurt him or a fight broke out I would've stepped in. At that moment I didn't feel like a babysitter. I didn't think he was in danger of bodily harm at that minute. At that point everybody was drinking and I wasn't in charge or the babysitter. Not to sound crass but that's how I saw it.

Basically, Sam thinks he was not accountable because he is not a brother, not a babysitter, not in charge, not any one's co-worker(???)....
Whatever, but isn't he still a human being just like Marcel or Cliff?

Judging from those two incidents, Sam has no rights to call anyone else "instigator", even if M is one! (I'm pretty sure I won't want to be in the same kitchen with either of them, but fair is fair, I don't want to take Sam's words.)

Gemma120in2002
Member

07-05-2003

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 2:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Gemma120in2002 a private message Print Post    
Chy, you are spot-on!

Marcel moved her steamer off a cold burner. How dare he want to cook something on her reserved burner?! Last week he needed to use the sink in the restaurant in San Francisco. How dare he want Ilan to move his produce from the sink?! Ilan was doing something else and he had put his produce in the sink. Marcel needed to use the sink to wash his produce but Marcel was the jerk in that circumstance according to the other contestants. Unbelievable! I guess that is an example of his being selfish.

I am not a fan of Marcel's, but as it turns out his food is beating the other chef's food.

People are getting upset over the fact that Sam has won so many challenges, and that now he is out. Each challenge starts everyone back at zero. Nobody has any advantage (except of course when they win immunity in the quickfire). Past wins don't mean anything if you can't hold your own in the present competition. If your food isn't better than someone else's, or it doesn't meet the guidelines of the challenge, you are out. It's a competition, not a popularity contest. If it were popularity, Sam would be the winner, and Marcel would have been gone very early in the show.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 3:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
I agree totally Chy and Gemma! I just don't get the incredible dislike of Marcel. We can't taste the food, so aren't the judges' opinions good enough?

Maris
Member

03-28-2002

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 4:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
I just think he is a brat but I dont have a problem with him in final two, I always thought he would be in final two. He is talented. I am not sure that he can win but as you say it all comes down to the challenge.

Elia shouldnt be such a sore loser because she would have been gone a long time ago if it hadn't been for Mia.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 5:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Methinks Elia has a short term memory problem... and had conveniently forgot about that!

Crazydog
Member

12-11-2006

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 12:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Crazydog a private message Print Post    
Chy, and Gemma, I agree. I mean, how does this make sense?

Marcel accused me of cheating and I told him that chefs get a 20 percent discount. I think Marcel tried to cheat and tried to get a discount.

And Elia thinks Marcel hired a hacker to drive up his numbers on a useless fan poll? I know (Bravo board aside) there are quite a few Marcel fans out there. And that's why she stopped wanting to hang out with Marcel? B/c she thinks he hacked a poll? None of her comments make sense.

Sam's already been caught lying (about when the head shaving took place) so IMO, between all of the post show interviews and blogs -- Sam is full of it, Elia is completely delusional, and Ilan...well, he's Ilan.

Trueheart
Member

09-12-2006

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 5:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Trueheart a private message Print Post    
Good to see so many Marcel fans!

Although I would have liked to see Sam in the finals over Ilan, my sister and I were so happy to see Marcel make it!!

We were like, "Take that, you guys!!" (I know....we are dorks)

I have never understood Marcel's sopposed "arrogance". (and I think I would have recognized it after having watched Stephen last year!) I agree that he is just "socially awkward". Unfortunately because of this, I doubt he will win.

Last year Harold won because he was a good leader. I think this is extremely important in a kitchen. What I can't figure out is if Marcel had a hard time working with these people in the kitchen because this was a competition? In real-life would he have an easier time commanding a kitchen?

Honestly, I would love to see Marcel win. If only to show all the other competitors that maybe they should have spent more time focused on themselves and their food than "slamming" or "hating on" Marcel!

I really liked how the judges had several times mentioned how "thoughtful" Marcel was about his dishes. They always looked beautiful, and the majority of the time tasted great (per judges). He seems to love cooking and really "thinks" about each dish. Ilan's statement for next episode that he "put's more soul into his food" or whatever...IS REDICULOUS!!! LOL

How can Ilan put soul into his food when he puts his whole soul into fighting and hating Marcel?? Uh...that just disgusts me.

Come on Marcel....WIN WIN WIN!

Lexie_girl
Member

07-30-2004

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 5:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lexie_girl a private message Print Post    
((Lexie sits next to Trueheart on the We Want Marcel to Win Couch...)))


Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 5:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
well, i don't want marcel to win, he's a sniveling little brat. he needles. like betty said "he's a little gnat"

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 6:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
I'm on that "Marcel to Win" couch too.

Webchiq
Member

07-11-2005

Monday, January 29, 2007 - 6:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Webchiq a private message Print Post    
My vote:

Marcel - No
Ilan - Yes
Harold - My Favorite! (oops, sorry for that momentary wandering)

Hukdonreality
Member

09-29-2003

Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 6:20 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hukdonreality a private message Print Post    
Skooch over True, Lexie, and Julie! Go Marcel! I never thought I would have gone over to his side, but as the season progressed I saw how gang mentality (for whatever reason) made the others so ugly. Marcel may have been irritating to some of them, but they were downright nasty, IMO.