Top Chef Season 15 Denver

Last Chance Kitchen for this German episode was quite a watch …

I thought it was weird to lump avocado, kaffir lime, and curry, leaves, which are traditional in Mexican, Thai, and Indian cuisines, in with spruce and pine tips, which are indeed not conventionally eaten.

#PlasticWrap

Dude must have been embarrassed when he realized he jumped to a false conclusion.

While Lee Anne’s health and that of her baby are important, I wish the show would have worked with it. I was sad to see her go.

Can pine and spruce be used in a smoker? I’ve never seen it used before nor do I know if it emits any questionable fumes.

The potential liability probably was too significant, and probably outside of any viable waiver for BravoTV.

1 Like

Agree. Tu always went so far out of his way to help others that he often suffered.
Brother had no such qualms.

That’s not what I saw.

Tu went into the pantry, came out complaining that there was no plastic wrap, gave up on roulades, and started cooking the chicken some other way. Later on, Brother went into the pantry, found the plastic wrap, and brought it to his station.

2 Likes

Editing can shape the story, so I don’t feel confident that what we saw was the whole story.

However, from what I saw throughout the season, Tu would have immediately spoken up if he knew where the plastic wrap was. He would have spoken up if he subsequently found the plastic wrap. Tu’s problem is that he may have even stopped what he was doing to go help someone else find the plastic wrap.

I got the impression that Brother knew where the plastic wrap was the whole time and he certainly found the plastic wrap. The editing made it appear that Brother found the plastic wrap in time for Tu to still avail himself of it. The editing also made it appear that Brother made a conscious choice to not share any information about the plastic wrap with Tu. It was a tactic.

Personally, I think it’s fair game. But I also find it harder to root for Brother going forward. It was a bush league move.

If you have multiple paragraphs you have to apply the spoiler tag separately to each one.

They were cutting back and forth between the two stations so the sequence of events was clear. By the time Brother got the plastic wrap, I don’t believe there was enough time left for Tu to start over with roulades. Pointing out that he’d missed it would have been kind of insulting.

1 Like

Gotcha re: blurred text.

It’s pretty clear to me that Brother intentionally withheld information. Brother first misleads Tu. In the sequence of events, Brother obtains the plastic wrap before Tu abandons the sous vide bag. If Brother wasn’t trying to gain a tactical advantage, he would have shared the plastic wrap. I don’t find any evidence that Brother withheld that information out of courtesy to avoid insult, as you seem to be implying. Those in the room didn’t react that way either. Again, editing can affect how events are presented and therefore interpreted.

I actually happen to think that the chef with more talent overall won out anyway, and whether Brother should or should not help a competitor is a different thing entirely.

That said, I’m not pulling for the guy going forward.

1 Like

Maybe they were A-B testing two different edits.

Don’t know. I re-watched the relevant segment. I found no evidence to support your interpretation that Brother realized he would be too late in offering the plastic wrap and that would be tantamount to an insult. That’s an . . . imaginative interpretation.

Maybe I have a sensitive moral compass.

Brother knew exactly what he was doing, and doing to Tu.

But then I always feel like Top Chef encourages Machiavellian behavior.

1 Like

While Brother comes off looking like an asshole, the editing makes it seem like Tu couldn’t find the plastic wrap while Brother was able to. I’m still not entirely sure that Tu’s concept for the chicken was the only way the chicken could be prepared for his dish. I’m on the fence about the plastic wrap issue. But I think Brother is an asshole, and I hope someone kicks his ass in Last Chance Kitchen.

1 Like

Was it me? Or did Claudette think Tanya was her dedicated sous chef last night? This after saying that all she would need help with is plating. Then at judges’ table she wants to blame the fact that she failed because she did not have help. I also don’t understand how Chris, who was a member of their team, was absolved from helping either Tanya or Claudette during the Elimination Challenge. All the other teams seemed to figure out the teamwork part of the challenge so well in comparison.

My son has the same bear slippers the Bears have on the show…it was terribly amusing to see them run and frantically cook in them. The baby shower they threw for Bruce was also quite nice. I still miss Lee Anne.

1 Like

Yeah. That was a whole lot of ugliness.

Tanya needed to learn/apply the art of saying no. At multiple points in the competition. I was impressed with her for sure, but this competition didn’t play to her strengths.

2 Likes

I did respect Tanya a lot for not adding to the ugly and being drawn into Claudette’s drama. I’m not sure I would have refrained.

I also found it interesting how Mustache Joe made the side comment regarding how Claudette was just blaming her failure on her teammate…a la the first episode. Claudette’s lack of personal accountability and integrity has soured me against her…much like Brother’s assholery.

1 Like

Say what?

I thought it was deeply fucked-up that they put so many points on guessing temperature. One point per three degrees off didn’t sound like much, but it was actually six points, one per judge, so each three degrees off was a 10% drop in the potential maximum score. Ridiculous when the meat was cooked properly.

The last few episodes seem like an unfortunate regression to the generic reality-show bullshit “drama” of the first two seasons at the cost of serious competition.

2 Likes