Top Chef: Episode 3 simulblog

The third episode of Top Chef is currently airing on Bravo. I’ll run a classic simulblog on this site (latest posts at the bottom) starting now, with my best efforts to insert some accurate time stamps as the show progresses.

9:04 – Octopus is the Quickfire ingredient. Not a pretty site – literally. I’m an adventurous chef, but I stay clear of shell fish, so I have no idea how to treat this one. Will be interesting to see which of the contestants can distract from the disturbing site of the ingredient the best.

9:10 – Tiffani Faison finally wins a challenge. She has been a finalist a few times now and is clearly one of the most talented chefs in the group, it is nice to see her finally get some recognition. As for her dish, it looked appetizing though her choice of a long pasta surprised me only because it bears a freaky resemblance to the squid, which is not a quality one would want to play up here.

9:12 – The chefs have to serve monk fish (a solid, cheap alternative to lobster) to a group of children! This should be interesting – gourmet food for the PB&J crowd…

9:16 – Trying to depart from simple summary here (watch the show, people!), I am curious to see what type of dichotomy this show can reveal. There is a definite “Emperor’s New Clothes” quality at play. Can a bunch of culinary school graduates come down to the lunchbox level? And, if not, what does that say of gourmet chefs?

9:20 – Good for Cynthia Sestito for leaving to tend to her dying father. Family ought to always come first; I was surprised she didn’t leave last week, to be honest.

9:23 – I went to bat for Stephen Asprinio a couple of weeks back. I, too, am a fan of wine. But he is making a fool of himself here – the man really doesn’t understand that kids are looking for something different on their plates. (His attitude is terrible, too.)

9:26 – You need to be watching, so I won’t give it away, but the show just pulled off a very cool surprise and, suffice it to say, our guest chef is a welcome addition to my screen. Seriously, I am grinning!

9:37 – I’m giving my best attitude award to Brian Hill. “The Boys and Girls Club, that’s where I started,” he says, showing wild enthusiasm. Kudos for not trying to pull the gourmet routine on a bunch of kids – he actually looks like he is having fun with this, and that is pretty darn cool.

9:41 – This episode is definitely interesting insofar as I have done a complete retake on most of the contestants. The people I really admired last week – Ms. Faison, Mr. Asprinio and a couple others – have come forward with truly lousy attitudes, and some of the more anonymous chefs are winning me over with their ability to relate to an adorable group of kids. This is the beauty of the show, trying to take a gourmet competition out of the fine kitchen and into sex shops and kids’ groups. I am extremely curious to see where this goes next, because I don’t suspect it will be a fine French restaurant at this pace and that is fine by me.

9:54 – It’s almost a pity that Ms. Faison has immunity because she took the octopus challenge. This is certainly the first time that I have thought the Quickfire winner may be deserving of elimination, after a completely abhorrent performance in front of the judges. This is almost embarrassing to watch, and I say that of someone I was really liking up until 54 minutes ago!

9:58 – Really sad ending. I did not want to see that contestant go; he was just starting to grow on me!

(So who did get sent home? If you’re watching, you know. And if not, wait until the show is on iTunes and please download it – once again, this is the most download-worthy show on television.)