TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . DONATE . CONTACT . CHAT  
 Wikia  Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Archive through January 25, 2007

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2008 - 1: Top Chef - Prior Seasons: ARCHIVES: Archive through January 25, 2007 users admin

Author Message
Kappy
Member

06-29-2002

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 10:16 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Kappy a private message Print Post    
This reminds me of last season where they know who they want to win and put them up against someone who is weak and not well-liked in order to make the other person's win that much easier.

Sam really should have been final two with Ilan. How disappointing.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 10:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
"only friend????!!!!" With a friend like that, who needs an enemy, Elia?

So very very very disappointed in Elia (and Sam and Ilan) for that last ditch effort to discredit Marcel.

And in one of the clips from next week you once again have someone whining about MArcel. Ilan said something like "I cook with my soul more than MArcel does." What a baby!

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 10:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
I wish I didn't see that (spoiler?) article about Ilan. Guess it really doesn't prove anything though, but it does seem spoilerish.

Ilan, dang, he did act like a total weasel. Pushing Elia to say something and then just letting her twist in the wind. Good for Tom saying what he did!!

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 10:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
I am very happy that the finale has the 2 in it that it does. I so hope Marcel prevails. Seems like he is very passionate and "lives" his food. I just do not see the arrogance that the other 3 talk about. GO MARCEL!!!

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 10:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Marcel has irritated me to no end with his continual use of 'foams' on everything and his attitude, etcetera. But the chefs were right -- it's about food, not what goes on in the kitchen. Sam, Elia, and Ilan came across as whiners. Suck it up and deal.

I was pulling for Sam, but oh well. I don't really care who wins now, but I'm leaning towards Marcel just because he IS creative and although he's irritating as all get out, at least he's paid attention to the important thing -- the cooking.

Jhezzie
Member

07-05-2001

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 11:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jhezzie a private message Print Post    
Hmm. I just didn't enjoy this season. These people annoyed me. It just seemed like a lesser bunch, compared to last year. Dunno. Don't care who wins now, either, lol.:-)

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 5:13 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
sorry, i didn't even think of that article as being spoiling!!!

i haven't really cared much for the contestants this season either. Marcel and his attitude has annoyed me.Elan is the worst kind of bully..he gets other people to do his dirty work! I think Sam has been the most consistant of all the chefs.

Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 7:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
I was rooting for Sam. Now I don't care who wins. I don't like either one.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 7:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
My guess, the mean three could tell from the judges discussion, that Marcel did hit that homerun. So they huddled together and pulled that childish last ditch effort to get Marcel disqualified.

(Side note, when Elia's pan totally caught on fire, I thought Marcel's comment was funny. I did not see it as mean to Elia. When he said something about her using that dish in the flambay(sp) challenge.. If it happened to me, I think I could have easily taken that comment.)

Watching the three conspire (I am watching the repeat right now) makes me really uncomfortable. It's like bullies making a plan...

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
What did Elia do?????

And damn, I'm sad to hear Sam left. I really thought he'd be in the finale. And I'm not happy that it's Ilan and Marcel (b*tchfest? oh definitely!).

Seems this show is no longer about the food.

And I'll have to pay attention when I watch the recording... whether Tom and Gail are as over Padma as *I* am! :-)

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
While the chefs were waiting as the judges were deliberating, Elan kept saying to Elia 'if you are going to say something now is the time to do it. You need to say something...ect'
As they were lined up in front of the judges, Elan kept giving Elia 'come on do it looks' especially after Marcel was announced a finalist. Elia fumbled talked about cheating but was never very coherant, talked about behavior in the kitchen, again not making much sense. Elan just sort of stood there and let her talk, nodding every once in a while. Sam says 'why don't we just see what the decision is' and ended the conversation.
I frankly think that they have decided that Marcel should win it all because of what Cliff did.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Costa, after the judges talked to the contestants about their dishes, S/E/I were all talking together. Ilan was really the "instigator" and they were talking about disrepect. But you couldn't really tell what exactly they were talking about.

I thought they were going to talk to Marcel.

Then they come back to the judges table. They were just at the point where the judges were gonna say who was going & who was staying. Then Ilan said something like "we were talking" or "Elia has something to say" (can't remeber the exact words.) So Elia says something like "well, I am not sure it is even worth bringing up..." anyways, she says that some people disrespect the kitchen. Marcel says, come on, we all know you are not talking about "some people" just say it's me and say whatever it is you are trying to say..."

So Elia goes on about how Marcel has cheated. The judges ask for specifics, she can only come up with one half lame thing (that Marcel removed her pot from a burner) and Marcel said he asked and looked before he moved it. The judges asked if that affected her dish. She said no.

So really looked rather foolish (IMO) and Tom totally called all of them on it. He said something like it is about the food, not about what happens in the kitchen.

Terolyn
Member

05-06-2004

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:44 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Terolyn a private message Print Post    
My take on Marcel is that he is socially awkward and therefore did not become part of the crowd initially. So the crowd began to pick him apart, bit by bit. I honestly think that on several occasions if Sam or Ilan or Cliff had said the same thing or done the same thing it would have been ok. Just like the "Flambe" comment, I personally think that the others could have said that remark and been fine.

T

Twinkie
Member

09-24-2002

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Twinkie a private message Print Post    
It seemed to me like the judges were basing their decision solely on the last challenge instead of the whole competition and that's just not right. I think if you looked at the whole show from first episode to last, Sam was the best of all of them.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:52 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Thanks guys! I'm starting to watch the show now.

And... OK, put your snark vests on (or stop reading if you don't want snarky)...

<snark>
Um, Korbel champagne? Yuck! And Marcel says "really good champagne"? Sorry, but Korbel is like, seriously, the worst. It's good only if you are gonna add to it (bellinis, mimosas). It's the cheapest champagne and tastes like it. Honestly, could Top Chef not provide a really classy champagne? Oh, I guess not. Korbel probably PAID for that product placement (didya notice how the label was prominently displayed while they poured it?). Yuck, yuck, and yuck again. I'd really question anyone's palate if they claim Korbel is good!
</snark>

Sorry... hadda do it. I'm not a snob, but I haven't had Korbel since my very early 20's, which was quite some time ago. If I want to buy a less expensive champagne, there are plenty others that won't curl your tongue!

Product placement indeed. Sheesh!

:-)

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Cost, I thought the same thing when they were raving about the Korbel! LOL


I just don't think Marcel is such the innocent victim. There were just too many incidents to make me think that he wasn't constantly making comments like Sam and others have said.
Again, you gotta wonder if the editing has been tilted to make us like him and feel sorry for him.

are they doing a reunion show?

Lexie_girl
Member

07-30-2004

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Lexie_girl a private message Print Post    
My TV Guide shows next week as the finale, which surprised me since the reunion show is usually the week between the final four and the final two.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:24 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
another hmmmmmmmmmmm

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Oh, I would SO LOVE to see a reunion show. I haven't heard, but I'm not even halfway thru this episode yet.

I'm glad you thought the same thing, Tex. And I noticed, they did include a commercial for Korbel. We have wineries not too far from here, and Thornton winery produces a champagne. No matter how many times I go there, and go for their tastings, I don't really like Thorton's champagne. But I like it better than Korbel. <grin>

I'm still thinking Marcel isn't such an innocent victim either. Moving someone's pot or turning down the flame (Elia's steam basket, and Ilan's pot)? Twice he moves someone outta the way so he can move in? Yeah, I'd be mad, too.

I still don't like Marcel. And I think if he'd been less snarky in that interview (it was totally uncalled for, his comments on Ilan) I might've had more respect for him.

I'm not all that enthralled with Ilan. But between the two finalists, I'm picking Ilan. Although I think he's acted very childish, I do like his Spanish take on things. Of course, I'm not yet at the point where they are serving food at the luau, so I guess I'd better go finish watching.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
LOL. Maybe they did a reunion show, and decided it was just too nasty to put on the air? <evil grin>

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:31 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
LOL Cost!
I truly don't care who wins. I am not exactly thrilled with Elan either.

Ecoop
Member

07-07-2005

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Ecoop a private message Print Post    
I read on one of the Bravo blogs (Andy's I think), that there will be no reunion show.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 9:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
http://community.tvguide.com/forum.jspa?forumID=700010003

Top Chef
by Bettina Charles
January 24, 2007: Finale, Part One
Disappointed, much? I kinda am. Thankfully, the competition did become more about the cooking, but I was still disappointed the chefs just couldn't make it an entire episode without trying to sell Marcel out. And I was disappointed that Marcel's behavior all season long was validated with a spot in the Final 2. I know, this is a show about cooking and not about personality, but I still feel that you can have a winner that's talented and somewhat pleasant to be around; I guess I just shouldn't expect that from anybody in Season 2. And as much as I liked Ilan at first, his unrelenting focus on Marcel totally turned me off. But, the two stepped things up in the first part of the Hawaii challenge, so they're the guys who'll be going for the gold in next week's finale. It's been two months since the contestants last saw each other and not much seems to have changed — except for the fact that Elia's hair is growing in, while Sam got a haircut. Plus, Elia's now being more vocal about her Marcel annoyance. Let's break this down Final 4-style:

Marcel:
Even before hitting Hawaii, we got a little peek into the lives of the Final 4 at work and at home. If it had been anyone else I probably would have thought Marcel's whole culinary-geek thing that he had going on during the brief visit to Las Vegas was cute. I mean, I do appreciate his passion for studying and researching the science of food and experimenting with different ways of adding flavor and spice to dishes as well as relating his excitement to diners. But at times, it seems like he almost takes the fun out of cooking, with his over-thinking and his deconstructing and his hey, hey, hey. However, poor Marcel can't get away from Ilan — he had to sit next to the guy on the plane to Hawaii. Of course, they were in first class at the time, so who really cares who you're sitting next to as long as you're in first class, know what I mean? Ilan thought he had gotten past all his resentments against Marcel, but no go, so you knew we were going to be in for Marcel vs. the World: Take 6. Down in Hawaii, he did take risks with his dish, adding things that I can't spell or pronounce in order to increase the quality of the dining experience. And his presentation of the food was just plain pretty. It all paid off for Marcel. His Hamachi Poke with pineapple poi especially wowed the judges. I can't believe the judges didn't say anything about his creating another foam, but oh, well. They all mentioned how Elia relied too much on her Mediterranean influences and Ilan fell back on his Spanish-style cooking (he's a line cook for a Spanish restaurant). After hearing the words "tomato" and "foam" together, a groan at the very least would have sufficed. That's what I did, when I heard those words. Padma tried to throw everything off by complaining that his poi was too runny, but I knew pretty much right away that Marcel would be moving on to next week.

Sam:
I still can't believe Sam didn't make it to the finals. Even though the guy has tool-like tendencies, he seemed to be the most consistent all season long. Although, I never realized that while Sam won the most quickfire challenges, Ilan won the most elimination challenges. Where have I been? I really thought Sam was a shoo-in for next week, and he was my pick for champion. I should have known better, because I almost never pick the winner. In Hawaii, it seemed Sam had three things working against him: 1) Tom Colicchio felt he was playing it safe with his dishes (Opakapaka Poke with seabeans and his mascarpone mousse). Playing it safe certainly didn't work for Cliff — this was a time to take risks; 2) Neither of his dishes was cooked. Major points off; and 3) America voted him fan favorite. Sure, Sam's 10,000 bucks richer, but it was a consolation prize. I guess there was no way he was going to be a fan favorite and a finalist. Plus, in my book he got more points off when he and Ilan tried to talk to Elia about ratting out Marcel and his questionable behavior. Of course, I had hoped she wouldn't take the bait and make herself look stupid. Boy, was I wrong.

Elia:
Wow, was there ever a more overly confident person? Where does she get all that cockiness from, huh? Her food looked great, and I'm sure it tasted great, but she went way overboard with the whole "spin on a Hawaiian dish" mandate. She completely disregarded the fact that the meal should still maintain some sort of traditional Hawaiian influence. And why is it only now that she's letting Marcel get to her? Again, with the way things were edited, she seemed to overreact a little bit with Marcel. I still feel like we're not getting the entire picture, because these chefs go ballistic on and about Marcel, but sometimes it doesn't seem warranted. There has to be something we're not seeing. Elia was probably going to go home anyway, but the minute she uttered, "I didn't want it to taste Hawaiian," she was a goner. Don't pass go and don't collect $200. To let herself be manipulated into that last-ditch Marcel-bashing was just sad, even if some of what she said was true.

Ilan:
Again, I have to express my disappointment with Ilan, because all he needed to do was focus on himself and his food. But any chance he got, he tried to needle Marcel. He did impress me — out of all the chefs' dishes, I wanted to snag a sample of his the most. Using the taro leaves was a brave choice — a risk that paid off, despite Padma's "scratching" on the back of her throat. And his version of the Haupia dessert looked awesome. Don't know how the saffron would have translated for me personally, but the dish looked all sorts of fried goodness. When Padma compared it to the funnel cake, I was sold. But, Ilan, please stop the trash-talking. Please stop the instigating. Please stop looking like a punk. It's not cool. And I don't know what purpose it served to push Elia to whine about Marcel. It just made you look desperate and sad, and again made Marcel look like the better man.

Other thoughts:
— I loved how nice Guest Chef Wong was. It was like a refreshing sorbet that cleansed the palate of all the bitterness and smirks and general badness that went on this season.
— When Marcel went on and on about his dish explaining everything to the diners, he so reminded me of our favorite sommelier (Stephen) from Season 1.
— I kind of loved the fact that Sam was afraid of the helicopter ride. So cute.
— At the end there, Tom was very positive with the chefs. It was nice to hear.

Did you think Marcel and Ilan would be standing at the very end? I have to say that I didn't. My guesses were Sam and Elia, so I was pretty much 0 for 2. Next week, it's a battle for the ages — two season-long enemies looking to take the other down and snag themselves the title of Top Chef. See you then.


Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 10:02 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Sam was voted fan favorite??? when did they announce that?
i think that post pretty much sums up my feelings too, Julie

Marameko
Member

07-15-2002

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 10:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Marameko a private message Print Post    
The announcement of Sam's winning the Fans Fav came during a commercial close to the end of the show.