Top Chef Review: Losing A Great Contestant

I sure hope I’m not the only one with parents that were born in the ’70s and has no idea what nudism and fondue have in common, otherwise most of the jokes inspired by the fondue Quickfire challenge missed their mark.

The catch of this challenge is they have to judge each other, making everyone worry about friends voting for friends, or everyone voting off the least likely to win. Dale in particular is a total jerk with his vote. As much fun as it is to watch fights break out on the show, there is absolutely no reason to be super critical while casting a vote, because all votes count the same no matter your reason. It’s different from what the judges do, which is discuss the elements of good cooking that each chef brings to the table.

Angelo feels as though he created total crap, but his peers love it. Dale (who ultimately won the Quickfire) and Antonia, two of the most obnoxious people on the show, are also voted to have the best fondue.

The contestants of Top Chef are then thrown on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where they flip out their cell phones to take pictures of the food flashing on the screen. Their next challenge: make a birthday lunch for Jimmy Fallon.

Since the challenge provides little to no conflict, it’s a little boring. The most interesting part is Antonia not knowing how to prepare the beef tongue she’s being forced to cook, at least until Richard comes to the rescue and tells her to use a pressure cooker. Mike gets mad at him for telling other people how they should cook their food because they always end up on top. It’s sweet of Richard to help other people out, although there is a slight possibility it could bite him in the ass later on.

Antonia does end up in the top, while Richard doesn’t. Overall, Richard has had a decent amount of success and other chefs tend to ask for his advice often, especially when they see his advice pay off for Antonia.

Mike is one of the most unlikable characters on the show. If other people are willing to help each other out, why should he care? Not all competition has to be hostile.

Fabio gets the easiest item to do well, but also the easiest to mess up: the cheeseburger. First of all, cheese goes on the burger, not on the side as a dipping sauce. I’m not a fan of the stuff, but that much is obvious, and the judges hate it.

The judges also hate Tiffany’s chicken and dumplings, and Dale’s Philly cheesesteak. Supposedly Tiffany’s dumplings are too flat and Dale’s steak too salty, but of course we’ll have to take the judges’ word.

In the end Fabio is kicked off, but I really wish Dale had been booted for being a jerk, or even Tiffany for consistently making horrible food (according to the judges). Since Jimmy Fallon had a big hand at the judges’ table, I blame him for not keeping Fabio on the show. He’s a sweet guy with an accent that could diffuse any situation.

Back in the winner’s circle, they praise Angelo for his pork sandwich, but it’s Carla who takes home the win for her chicken pot pie.

Notice how Mike and Richard hover in the middle, not bad enough to kick out, but not good enough to win?  Richard had to make a meal out of Ramen…just add hot water and it’s delicious already.

Mike, on the other hand, serves up peppers and sausage, which just sounds gross. Then again, I don’t like peppers and I don’t eat sausage.

Overall, the episode was of average quality, maybe even slightly boring at times due to the lack of conflict between the characters. The challenges are starting to get boring too. Jimmy Fallon seems like a funny guy, but he really doesn’t make up for what’s lacking.
I mean, they did take out all the interesting characters – Marcel, Tre, Fabio, which likeable contestant is next? Carla? Richard?

We’ll know next week!

Season 8, Episode 9: Feeding Fallon (original air date February 9, 2011)

Top Chef: All-Stars airs Wednesday 10/9c on Bravo.

Images courtesy of David Giesbrecht and Bravo.