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Top Chef Season 6 - Page 2

post #51 of 190
10/6/09 at 5:14pm
No new episode last week, right? My DVR didn't record anything last Wednesday (and I just noticed today), so I'm hoping they just decided to skip a week.
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post #52 of 190
10/6/09 at 5:46pm
Oh man! You mean you missed it????? HUGE episode last week.

SPOILER:

Just kidding.
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post #53 of 190
10/8/09 at 8:26am
Eli needs to get the fuck out. Douchebag cant seem to do anything right.

Also, Kevin continues cleaning shit up. Good for him.
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post #54 of 190
10/8/09 at 8:49am
Mike V. is quite the sore loser, eh? And what was with Ash's gush fest over Mike. If I were the judges, I would have definitely put him on the chopping block for doing nothing.

I continue to love Kevin, Bryan, and Jen*.

Mike I. is growing on me. He's a douche, but he does seem to be able to make good food.

Sad to see Ashley go. The only reason why she cooked the shrimp was because Eli knew he'd fuck them up. Way to pass the buck guy. She was actually doing well for awhile, but as I said from the get go, anyone who isn't the Fab Four is just collateral. They may go now or later, but they are going.

*i understand that sometimes people have to cook while sick, but it skeeved me out that she was touching food. Then when she won, she kissed the judges. I would be like, get your germ infested face away from me!
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post #55 of 190
10/8/09 at 12:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
Mike V. is quite the sore loser, eh? And what was with Ash's gush fest over Mike. If I were the judges, I would have definitely put him on the chopping block for doing nothing.
YES! I was shocked that Ash was allowed to continue after conceding that he didn't do anything. Unbelievable.

Ash, Eli and Robin are all cannon fodder. The next three weeks could be pretty dull.
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post #56 of 190
10/8/09 at 12:20pm
The two brothers, Jen and Kevin seem like the final four. I agree that Ash should've gone but that'll be soon enough. Ashley has been pretty terrible too.
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post #57 of 190
10/8/09 at 12:32pm
While Ash should have been gone, I think as far as the judges are concerned, it was a 50-50 shot between him and Ashley. One of the things they always harp about is a cheftestant sending out a dish they know is bad (which, if I recall, there have been very few times a cheftestant never sent anything out because it was bad), which Ashley did. The other sin is a chef who does nothing in a team challenge and lets their partner do all the work, which Ash did. I don't think Ash is long for this competition, but last night, both offenses were probably about equal to the judges from what I could see. It truly seemed like a toss up.

That much being said, I think Ashley was starting to come into her own, while Ash has been sucking wind for quite a while now, and worse yet, he doesn't seem to care. It's a shame - if both offenses were about equal, send home the guy who thinks he can coast on charm but isn't willing to give his all in the competition. Don't send home the girl who's starting to do a bit better, loves what she does, but got stuck with a shitty partner (the equally offensive Eli) last night.
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post #58 of 190
10/8/09 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaNY View Post
That much being said, I think Ashley was starting to come into her own, while Ash has been sucking wind for quite a while now, and worse yet, he doesn't seem to care.
That's what I didn't get. Ashley has been improving, and it's clear that she gives a crap. My memory is weak, but has Ash even won any of the challenges?
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post #59 of 190
10/8/09 at 3:09pm
Gotta agree. Ash was in the bottom last week, Ashley almost won. For that alone, I think Ashley deserved another chance. I think she was also the only one left with dark horse potential. With her out of the running, a Jen, V Brothers, Kevin F4 seems even more obvious. I'm really hoping the judges don't try to spice things up by pulling a "shocking" elimination and sending one of them out over Eli, Robin, or Ash. Even if it's predictable, I do still think those four deserve to go the furthest.
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post #60 of 190
10/8/09 at 3:19pm
I think the "shocker" will be if Mike I. makes it to the finale, and one of the Fab Four flounders. I love Bryan, but he's been missing from the top lately. I hope he steps up his game again.

Lisa, in terms of our earlier converstaion of how close the bros are, Bryan seemed really protective of his younger bro during judging. He looked like he was going to murder Kevin if he kept trying to dissect Mike's dish.
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post #61 of 190
10/8/09 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
Lisa, in terms of our earlier converstaion of how close the bros are, Bryan seemed really protective of his younger bro during judging. He looked like he was going to murder Kevin if he kept trying to dissect Mike's dish.
Yeah, I caught that too. For a couple of guys who didn't seem that close, it was nice to see Bryan protecting him - even though I don't think Kevin really meant any harm, it seemed like some fairly innocent questions. But the way the two bros sat down together in the stew room and kind of went over what went wrong together was a first that I noticed.
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post #62 of 190
10/8/09 at 7:06pm
I think it should have been between Ash and Eli. Eli has shown nothing to justify his huge ego, the only two times he finished near the top he was carried in a team challenge. Not only did he defer on the prawns but he fucked up the gnocchi. Ash may have been weak-willed but at least he didn't overtly fuck any thing up. On another note, Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger had an interview with Ashley Merriman a few weeks back and she actually said Mike Isabella is actually a really nice guy and is being edited to maginfy the relatively few dickish things he does.
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post #63 of 190
10/8/09 at 8:28pm
I get the feeling that this is a pretty low-key group, so the editors are having to use any drama they can find. Mike I. is probably the type of guy we wouldn't even notice anything dickish about in previous seasons, but with this group, he's as bad as they come.

Ashley screwed herself over in front of the judges. There's taking responsibility for your mistakes, and then there's completely saving your teammate. I think a well-placed, "Eli wasn't comfortable cooking the prawns, so I had to do that and let him finish off my gnocchi" might have saved her.
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post #64 of 190
10/8/09 at 8:37pm
Well as Tom mentioned the last time Ashley was in the bottom, she has a hard time taking criticism. You could see that she wanted to defend herself, but I don't know if she was too emotional or caught up in the moment, but whenever she tries to justify something she stammers, agrees with the judges criticism, and then shuts down. If you can't give the judges something to work with, they won't keep you around. At least with Ash, after gushing about Michael he said, " I want to stay. Keep me around so I can show you what I can do." The desire to stay in the competition goes along way with the judges.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaNY View Post
... even though I don't think Kevin really meant any harm, it seemed like some fairly innocent questions.
Oh for sure. It seemed like that's how the non-judged contestants pass the time. They probably go through everyones dishes and talk about what worked/what didn't.
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post #65 of 190
10/10/09 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Kevin, I love you, but boy that was stupid. Brian looked like he wanted to relieve your neck of the burden of your skull. Shop talk dishes all you want but family runs a lot deeper than professional courtesy in a competition. TL;DR version, don't give the big brother reason to stand up for his little brother, ever.

I'm glad to see Jen C. win, especially after her disappointment in her Quickfire performance. She and Kevin make a devastating team.

Ashley shouldn't have gone, and I agree that she probably wouldn't have if she'd just pointed out how Eli let the dish down instead of taking the whole failure herself. Isn't it obvious to the judges that she clearly has more that she wants to say and is blatantly holding herself back?
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post #66 of 190
10/10/09 at 2:08pm
That was Ashley's problem with Mattin. She wouldn't say she suggested an asparagus veloute and that he shot her down. It is almost as if she was killed by her unwillingness to throw her partner under the bus, which is admirable in a way.
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post #67 of 190
10/15/09 at 12:07am
The two spiky haired assholes make it a lot more difficult to hate on old chatty. It's really obvious who the top four chefs are.
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post #68 of 190
10/15/09 at 10:48am
The Fab Four! As I've been saying since day 1, there's really no question who's making the finals.

And fuck Mike V. What is his deal? I'm a competitive person, but man is he arrogant and cocky. If you are a good cook, people will notice. You don't have to lord it over everybody. And leave your brother alone, man!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post
The two spiky haired assholes...
Mike I. and Eli?
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post #69 of 190
10/15/09 at 10:53am
Thread Starter 
With how badly Laurine screwed up making her rillette, I was actually expecting her to go home; I guess the other components of her dish saved her. I can see why Ash was asked to leave, though, and I'm going to miss him. He really should have just done "his" food instead of listening to Mike Isabella.

At this point it's clear that there is a top, and a bottom, and no middle. People like Eli and Mike I. should realize that they are the best of the worst, and not the other way around, and step up their game accordingly or go home empty-handed.

I loved the peak into the Pork and Pinot festival, something which I hope to someday experience for myself God willing; Palmer is a quiet and intense force, and a very iconic figure in the cooking world. The challenge was really on for the Brothers V; I think they obviously rose to the occasion, but of course Kevin is a cyborg designed for culinary domination and he cannot be stopped by any technology the contestants currently possess. Perhaps the other chefs will stumble across the weapon that they need to defeat him before the end, but that won't happen, so they're all basically in some deep shit.

Kevin is like no other chef we've seen on the show before. I think that's fair to say. The guy just gets there day in and day out, and puts 100% of himself into his food no matter what the challenge. We're only 8 episodes in and he's already come close to meeting the 4-win record for elimination challenges held by Stefanie Izard, Richard Blais, and Stephan Richter; he will either join their ranks or surpass them by the season's end, easily.

All in all, great episode last night, though I've got to say that I'm sort of sick of seeing the other chefs rag on Robin, even if she is too chatty. Just another reason to like Kevin-- he stays away from that nonsense.

And yeah, what Diva said. The Fab Four stood together at judging tonight, and what a fantastic top 4 it is (because come on, we all know that it's the Voltaggios, Jennifer, and Kevin for top 4 unless Mike I. or Eli becomes possessed by the spirit of a much better chef).
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post #70 of 190
10/15/09 at 10:56am
I think Kevin's MIT mind helps him. He's like a robot who just knows what foods go with what to bring out the best flavors. And he can execute. He is literally a machine. Also, I think he's got the magic Carla "Hooty Hoo!" ingredient... LOVE! The V bros and Jen are too competitive. It never looks like they are enjoying what they are doing. They'll only be on Top Chef once. Experience it all and stop being so single-minded.
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post #71 of 190
10/15/09 at 11:01am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, the MIT thing probably helps a great deal. Good point, Diva.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
And fuck Mike V. What is his deal? I'm a competitive person, but man is he arrogant and cocky. If you are a good cook, people will notice. You don't have to lord it over everybody. And leave your brother alone, man!
Maybe I'm missing something but who did he lord his food over last night? Are you just referring to the interaction with Bryan or did I just go to the can at the wrong time?
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post #72 of 190
10/15/09 at 11:04am
In his interviews. He basically bags on everyone else, instead of talking about how good his food is. Everyone does it to some degree, except Ash who only talks about how good everyone else is, but Mike is especially bad. I take more risks, X person is safe and boring, etc. Coupled with everything else he does, it is just annoying. I did enjoy him teasing Eli about getting to second base with Robin while waiting in the holding room. So funny.
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post #73 of 190
10/15/09 at 11:07am
Well for that Jen girl, you can tell that's just who she is. She was that kid in school...

I wonder if only one of the brothers was in the competition if he'd be more mellow. They clearly want to go with the sibling rivalry angle so they're going to play it up. Personality-wise they sort of remind me of how I imagine a young Flay would've been like, whereas jolly beard sort of reminds me of a young Mario. Mario > Flay/2 = Kevin wins.

btw- I saw an old iron chef and that troll Eli was Faux hawk Blaise's sous chef. He seemed far less annoying. Maybe he hadn't been away from his mom for as long
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post #74 of 190
10/15/09 at 11:11am
I compare Kevin and Richard B alot. Richard dominated this show, but blew it in the end by overthinking it, which i cant see Kevin ever doing.

I hope Kevin wins, those two jerkoff brothers are total d-bags.
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post #75 of 190
10/15/09 at 11:14am
I didn't pay that close attention, but to me Kevin seems a notch above Richard.
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post #76 of 190
10/15/09 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
In his interviews. He basically bags on everyone else, instead of talking about how good his food is. Everyone does it to some degree, except Ash who only talks about how good everyone else is, but Mike is especially bad. I take more risks, X person is safe and boring, etc. Coupled with everything else he does, it is just annoying. I did enjoy him teasing Eli about getting to second base with Robin while waiting in the holding room. So funny.
I don't think that he's quite as bad as you're making him out to be. He's certainly not obnoxious about it; even if he shouldn't be bagging on the other chef's dishes (especially since Bryan defended him against Kevin by suggesting that since Kevin didn't try Mike's dish, he should shut up or be prepared to have his sternum forcibly removed), I get the feeling that he's saying those things out of honesty and not out of some petty competitive mean streak. I agree that he shouldn't be saying them at all but it certainly doesn't make me think of him as a bad guy, especially since-- as you point out-- everyone else does it, too (except for Ash, the anti-trash talk king).

Bailey-- I think that was battle Chickpea? I'll have to go back and watch it myself, that'd be pretty funny to see.
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post #77 of 190
10/15/09 at 12:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post
btw- I saw an old iron chef and that troll Eli was Faux hawk Blaise's sous chef. He seemed far less annoying. Maybe he hadn't been away from his mom for as long
Saw that too I thought it was funny the way they edited together Eli's comments about still living with his mom, the emotional homesick phone call to mom, and Eli shouting at Robin "You're not my mom!" Freud would have a field day with this kid.

Right now the rankings appear to be:

Kevin
Bryan, Mike V, and Jen in no particular order

Eli and Mike I









Robin and Laurine
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post #78 of 190
10/15/09 at 1:10pm
Cant wait for restaurant wars next week.

And obviously Im happy to see Kevin continue his dominance.
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post #79 of 190
10/15/09 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Closer View Post
Cant wait for restaurant wars next week.

And obviously Im happy to see Kevin continue his dominance.
Has there ever been a more likable front-runner than Kevin?

From the preview, it looks like the brothers are together on one team (along with Robin) and Jen and Kevin are together on the other. So long as the brothers' team doesn't end up sandbagged with Laurine as well as Robin, it should be pretty even.
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post #80 of 190
10/15/09 at 2:01pm
I love Mike. He's great.
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post #81 of 190
10/15/09 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by agracru View Post
I don't think that he's quite as bad as you're making him out to be. He's certainly not obnoxious about it; even if he shouldn't be bagging on the other chef's dishes (especially since Bryan defended him against Kevin by suggesting that since Kevin didn't try Mike's dish, he should shut up or be prepared to have his sternum forcibly removed), I get the feeling that he's saying those things out of honesty and not out of some petty competitive mean streak. I agree that he shouldn't be saying them at all but it certainly doesn't make me think of him as a bad guy, especially since-- as you point out-- everyone else does it, too (except for Ash, the anti-trash talk king).

Bailey-- I think that was battle Chickpea? I'll have to go back and watch it myself, that'd be pretty funny to see.
I don't think Mike's mean-spirited. It's just annoying that everything that comes out of his mouth is about how great he is. Hung was the same way. Did they make great food? Sure. But let the food speak for itself. I guess I just like Kevin and Jen's way of "I'm going to make the best food I can and hope the judges get it" as opposed to Mike's "My food deserves to win and if you don't like it you don't get it".
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post #82 of 190
10/15/09 at 3:31pm
I just love Kevin - I get so happy to see him continually do well week after week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
And fuck Mike V. What is his deal? I'm a competitive person, but man is he arrogant and cocky. If you are a good cook, people will notice. You don't have to lord it over everybody. And leave your brother alone, man!
Diva, something that someone over at TWoP noticed is that the V bros are just really tightly wound. I don't know whether that's due to their family dynamic, their dynamic with each other, the competition, whatever it may be. But remember how I said there was just something kind of frosty about their relationship towards each other? I was willing to chalk it up to, Oh, well, that's just me - I'm close with my family, so I can't imagine not talking to them for so long. But that's what stands out to me about them, and I never could put my finger on it till I saw that post (which the poster wrapped up with, "Jeeze, who was their dad? The Great Santini?" LOL!).
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post #83 of 190
10/15/09 at 3:48pm
I still see their relationship differently than you. I don't think they are cold to each other. Mike pushing all his brothers buttons is a sign to me that he knows and loves him well enough to know what his buttons are. Plus, as I mentioned last week, Brian was really protective of Mike when Kevin was talking about his dish.

On the other hand, your "tightly wound" is my "highly competitive". So yeah, I agree. Just once I'd like to see them let loose and have fun.
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post #84 of 190
10/15/09 at 3:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
I still see their relationship differently than you. I don't think they are cold to each other. Mike pushing all his brothers buttons is a sign to me that he knows and loves him well enough to know what his buttons are. Plus, as I mentioned last week, Brian was really protective of Mike when Kevin was talking about his dish.

On the other hand, your "tightly wound" is my "highly competitive". So yeah, I agree. Just once I'd like to see them let loose and have fun.
No, see my point was that I took it wrong initially, too - to me it came across cold at first. But then when I saw the "tightly wound" post at TWoP, then it was sort of like, "Yeah, *that's* what it is". I do think "tightly wound", yes, but I agree with you on "highly competative" also. I think the two things together make for an interesting mix.
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post #85 of 190
10/15/09 at 3:54pm
Yup. They are interesting indeed. When Mike mentioned he had two kids, I was shocked a bit. He doesn't seem like a family man. I bet outside of this intense environment he's a little more mellow. But just a little. By all accounts of his bio and interviews, this guy is driven.
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post #86 of 190
10/22/09 at 12:31am
Yikes, what the hell happened to Jennifer and Kevin? That was horrible.
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post #87 of 190
10/22/09 at 1:17am
Seems like they didn't plan their time wisely... didn't feel like that big of a deal considering there's plenty of dead weight to get rid of still.

Surprised the one chef didn't even describe the dishes to the judges until prompted.

That woman in blue had great cleavage... and Portman next week!
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post #88 of 190
10/22/09 at 2:27am
Natalie Portman, Fuck Yea! This has been a good year so far. Jen really seemed upset about her performance this week. Even though the top runners are fairly obvious, this year has been a lot more interesting than last year. Oh and Jen looked great in a swimsuit!
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post #89 of 190
10/22/09 at 4:27am
Good stuff this week, as it was pretty surprising to see Kevin & Jen completely screw up like that. But my favorite part tonight was during the preview for next week - Portman walks in, and Mike I. turns into a goofy smiling mess. Can't blame him one bit.
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post #90 of 190
10/22/09 at 7:56am
Wow, that was rough seeing the wheels fall off the bike for Kevin and Jen like that. I just took a quick skim of the first couple of pages at the TWoP forums, and everyone over there nearly had a heart attack thinking that Jen might actually have gone home. Even though Top Chef judges based on challenge to challenge - so they say - this may have been the one time they very quietly and discreetly have taken prior performance into account, or Jen might have been gone. I think the only thing that saved her was that Laurine didn't send her lamb dishes back as she swore to Tom she would - so that made her as much to blame as Kevin as if she'd undercooked them herself. And she was shit as FOTH - to set down a plate, more than once, and not explain to the judges what they're eating? To just fucking walk away till Padma calls her back? Food aside, in Restaurant Wars, that's asking to be sent home.

The Volt bros continue to amaze me with their weird, tightly wound dynamic. That whole passive/agressive thing in the back room over the money was bizarre.
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post #91 of 190
10/22/09 at 8:25am
If you haven't figured out this show yet, the person they interview at the beginning and show the most throughout the show, it usually the one to go home. The second they interviewed her, i said, see ya. There was no way they were going to send one of the others home.
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post #92 of 190
10/22/09 at 9:29am
This episode made me respect Brian a lot more than Michael.
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post #93 of 190
10/22/09 at 9:34am
Jen got lucky. She put out TWO terrible dishes. She, for sure, got saved by her prior work.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jstraw80 View Post
If you haven't figured out this show yet, the person they interview at the beginning and show the most throughout the show, it usually the one to go home. The second they interviewed her, i said, see ya. There was no way they were going to send one of the others home.
Not necessarily. It's the person featured in the main storyline, which in several episodes was Robin as the pariah of the house.

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Closer View Post
This episode made me respect Brian a lot more than Michael.
I've felt that way for awhile now. When Brian said he was tired of Mike getting rewarded for his shitty behavior, I almost stood up and cheered. Also, the juxtaposition of Mike saying he's a teddy bear and the show cutting away to him screaming at people in the kitchen was priceless.
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post #94 of 190
10/22/09 at 9:49am
Yeah, but Michael won. You have to be a leader in the kitchen and sometimes being a leader is being a hard-ass. The blue team failed because they didn't have anyone in that role.
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post #95 of 190
10/22/09 at 9:52am
Laurine was just bad enough to give Jen an opening. Jen did a bad job, but Laurine didn't even do her job.
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post #96 of 190
10/22/09 at 11:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirby Drummond View Post
Yeah, but Michael won. You have to be a leader in the kitchen and sometimes being a leader is being a hard-ass. The blue team failed because they didn't have anyone in that role.
There's a difference between being a leader and being an asshole. There have been plenty of chefs over the years who were able to do that just fine.
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post #97 of 190
10/22/09 at 12:56pm
But a lot of leaders are assholes or at least perceived to be. Depends on the personality I guess. End of the day, getting shit done is getting shit done.
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post #98 of 190
10/22/09 at 12:57pm
The guy ran the best restaurant ever on the show so says the judges --- that's impressive. Plus Tom was stealing everyone's chicken --- I've never seen that before. Michael is the man.
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post #99 of 190
10/22/09 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva View Post
Also, the juxtaposition of Mike saying he's a teddy bear and the show cutting away to him screaming at people in the kitchen was priceless.
Totally! As was the fact that he yelled at Robin because she swore at him - not professional of her, of course, but - really, Mike? She swore at you, that's your beef? Every other word out of his mouth is bleeped, so, really? Pot, kettle - any of that ringing a bell?
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post #100 of 190
10/22/09 at 5:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirby Drummond View Post
The guy ran the best restaurant ever on the show so says the judges --- that's impressive. Plus Tom was stealing everyone's chicken --- I've never seen that before. Michael is the man.
Hey, no one's denying his talent. He can cook me chicken to his heart's delight. I just wouldn't want to be in the same room with him is all.
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