TV: Top Chef's Finale Part 1

Lots of good things about last night's second-to-last episode.  First of all, thank GOD Gail is BACK.  Goodbye Toby!  No one will miss you.  Please never come back.  

The come-back kid: Jeff won his way into the semi-finals.  I wish they would have had time to discuss the food from the quick-fire so I could know why Jeff beat my beloved Jamie, but I trust he provided a great meal.   Bringing back boosted contestants never settles very well with me, however, considering how this show operates on a case-by-case basis*, it seems okay that they would give these guys a chance to prove that their dismissal dish was a fluke.   That being said, I'm glad Jeff didn't win his way back in even if his presentation was better than Stefan and Fabio's because fair is fair and he was ousted. 

I think I should mention how much I love the new (?) shorties that Top Chef has thrown in the middle of the show.  Do you know what I mean?: the little minute long scenes they toss in during the middle of a commercial break.  In my favorite one we learned that Jeff was an incredible magician.  In this episode we learned Fabio likes to cross-dress for Halloween. 

I'm really sad to see Fabio go, but I think it's fair.  Actually, I would say that I'm surprised Jamie did not surpass him.   Fabio said the famous last words of a Top Chef contestant, "I'm going to put my own spin on it."  He may not have said that exactly, but his inability to produce a 100% completely Creole presentation got him.  Whenever a contestant abandons tradition for their own interpretation, it's an incredibly risky move.  See Hosea's shrimp scampi. 

So the final three are Carla, Hosea, and Stefan.  I like Hosea, despite his incomprehensible fling with Leah, but I don't think he stands a chance.  He hasn't performed all-that-strong in the past and he's up against a woman cooking up steam, and Stefan who has won the vast majority of the challenges.    Who will win? It's Soul vs. Sweden!  I'm praying for Carla who cooks with her heart and with a nod towards simplicity.  However, I bet she wins fan favorite and that making it to the finale is enough to let her feel like a winner.   

Read more!

TV: Top Chef's Toby Young

Top Chef is one of the best reality shows on television. Like Project Runway, it is a competition show based on talent. Alliances will get you nowhere, and there is little you can do to "strategize" beyond just cooking amazing food. Hopefully this show (and its beloved fashionista counterpart) will be on the air for MANY more seasons.

But please oh please let those future seasons be spared the idiot new judge Toby Young. Please have Gail return or at least replace her and her replacement with Ted from Queer Eye. Where is Ted this season?! He better have a good excuse!

I'm sure that Toby Young had every intention of being the Simon Cowell or Godon Ramsey of Top Chef, and wanted to be the judge viewers "loved to hate." Unfortunately, I think he thought that everyone would hate him because he was too harsh. This is not the case. I hate Toby Young because of his elaborate, often non-sensical, and totally useless metaphors. The guy will go on and on about how this dish was so bad it is actually one of the weapons of mass destruction the UN couldn't find. What?

Toby should take a cue from the other judges and give real criticisms, without concern for his own television persona.  These judges above any others on television competition shows to a fantastic job of providing helpful comments and valid critiques.  Sometimes they are harsh, but they are always keeping it real. 

Here's a link to an EW article that elaborates further on why Young sucks.

Read more!