Episode 1 of Season 8 All Stars was insane. Contestants could hear Bourdain critiquing their work in Bourdain ways. Tense. Italian chef practically invited him to fist fight. I missed this season while in grad school.
I’ve only watched a handful of seasons but I can’t remember another instance of a team/chef putting literally nothing on the plate
it seemed like Luke was an early frontrunner, but he needs to dial it back a bit and not try so hard. Be himself. Sam Kang looks good too.
So glad that annoying girl from North Dakota is gone for good. She was by far my least favorite chef on the show this season.
Swing and a miss, Sam is gone. He was a fun character though. Loved watching him. Insane to try to grill raw potatoes.
I’m not sure why Sam didn’t just say “yeah, I forgot to pack the potatoes that I cooked last night.” I feel like his downfall was insisting that he did it on purpose. That may have been editing abs he was going home regardless but watching that was very frustrating
The last two eps have been awesome after a shaky start to the season with that football challenge. Jackson, Buddha, and Demarr seem to be rising above the rest. Evelyn has had a good couple weeks. I think Joe, Jae, and Monique can get there but haven’t showed it yet. I don’t think Luke or Nick will be around much longer.
Buddha seems like the class of the season. I wanted to eat his brisket dish so bad, and he dominated last week and dragged Jackson to a win. Demarr is a semi-close #2 for me right now, and I like Jackson as well.
I think Nick is solid, I don’t think he’ll win but he’ll be around for a little bit. I think Jo and Luke are on the outs for sure
I'm sure it was, but that challenge also was at least 50% conceptual and Buddha did basically all of that.
I didn’t think I was gonna like Buddha because of his crazy resume but he’s actually kind of hilarious.
We made a reservation at demarr’s restaurant in Chicago, couldn’t make it though and if he wins it’s gonna be hard to get another one
idk if any of you are interested but 'Pack Your Knives' is a pretty good podcast about Top Chef. Two NBA writers host it, and on occasion I will throw on their recaps while I'm running or whatever.
Was shocked Ashley went home. It seemed like they disliked the other dishes much more. agree with the thread. Demarr and Buddha seem to be rising above the bunch. Luke is like a top pitching prospect. High ceiling but also high floor
Someone is coming back from last chance kitchen next week, so that should be interesting Spoiler ashley coming right back into the competition. Will be interesting to see how she does upon her return. I was rooting for Leah to continue in her roll, but forgetting salt and pepper was impossible to come back from
The Pack Your Knives guys were talking about how top chef has gotten too nice and the culture around branding and insta chefs has gotten a little too bachelor-y. Not enough punishment for being a bad chef (see Ashleigh’s return and Nini being a judge even though she was never close to winning). I don’t necessarily disagree but it’s still the best show on non subscription television.
Wish they had not done the double elimination and that could’ve prevented Ashleigh coming back she has no chance to win or really progress much further
I think they can go ahead and fast forward to a Buddha, Jackson, Demarr final three and save us all some time
Yeah Evelyn is definitely in there at the top. I think it would be a surprise if those were not the final 4 though
The next level isn't bad though. Nick and Jae could take it on any given day too. We just need Ashleigh and Luke to go and we good.
Nicks steak looked so damn good. Not sure what happened to Jackson, he was completely lost. He can definitely get back in though.
Feel like Jackson thought he could wow the judges by showing he can run the entire floor not just the judges table. It was a little bizarre. But I was glad for Tom to be like fuck Luke does nothing and what he does sucks. Pretty insane considering where this show has been over the years we're down to just 1 white male and hes the worst one left.
Also I need a bottle of Nicks 32 spices edit - it’s 26 and here it is! https://nickwallaceculinary.com/shop-nick-wallace/nicks-26
Can’t believe Jackson lost. It was clear he was headed home, although Luke probably had the worst dish Spoiler: Lck spoiler and he’s totally done! I thought he was a final 4 lock, and he didn’t make it past week 8. Sarah continues to do really well. Don’t think she’ll make it all the way back, but I guess you never know