And I personally am a bit preoccupied, because my DVD player seems to have died and trapped the final disc of season 3 of Coupling in its entrails. How am I going to live if I can't see Patrick tell "a clever lie" and Jeff do the Spiderman dance he invented any time I want?
But that said, it is Monday. Time to look at the competition in this week's Top Chef: Masters.
We begin with. . . .Cindy Pawlcyn.You may know her from: Being a "pioneer" of wine country and farm-to-table cooking; being executive chef/owner of Backstreet Kitchen, Mustard's Grill and Go Fish; writing a boatload of cookbooks.
In her favor: She's a veteran with extensive experience, but at the same time, the philosophies behind her cooking are really back in vogue now.
Against her: There's already one woman in the Champions' round.
Verdict: Unlikely. She looks like a very sweet lady. We don't want to OD on very sweet ladies in the final round. Very sweet ladies make for boring reality TV.
And next we have. . . .Wilo Benet!
You May Know Him from: Being the Tom Colicchio look-alike who helped judge Part One of
the Season 4 finale in Puerto Rico; being the chef behind Pikayo, Paya, and Varita restaurants in Puerto Rico.In His Favor: Knows the Top Chef game from the judges' perspective; his cuisine may translate well to the "street food" challenge that constitutes this week's elimination.
Against Him: If Andy the famewhoring douchewocket Cohen has taught us anything, it's that there can be only one bald god of Top Chef. Also, the "judges' advantage" has not proven to be much of an advantage--only one of the three has been able to profit from it so far. And that one just happened to be Hubert-effing-Keller.
Verdict: Strong Possible. This is a tough week--I don't really have a personal favorite, and that makes it hard for me to rule anyone out.
And then there's. . . Ludovic Lefebvre!You May Know Him From: Being the swearing Frenchman in last week's preview; his cookbook Crave: The Feast of the Five Senses; creating the menu for Las Vegas's LAVO; the "guerilla restaurant" Ludo Bites (now serving in Los Angeles).
In His Favor: He's a young buck with a "guerilla restaurant" and multiple tattoos. Clearly this is the chance for new style "bistronomy" to overthrow some staid old masters. Also, I'd guess he's meant to be some sort of eye candy, if you like that unwashed, molestery look.
Against Him: The previews show him making quesadillas. You can't win with quesadillas.
Verdict: Probably Not. . .but Maybe? Frankly, I hope he's one-and-done, but I can see how they might want to keep him around, for the young factor and the rebel factor and the accent factor and the people who like the unwashed, molestory look factor.
And then finally there's. . . .Rick Bayless!
You May Know Him From: Judging the insufferable block party episode in Season 4; his PBS cooking show; restaurants Frontera and Topolobampo; a couple of Beard awards; being one of the President's favorite cooks. Oh, and he apparently singlehandedly introduced Mexican food to the US in the '80's, something I thought that actual Mexicans had done a couple hundred years earlier.
In His Favor: He's Rick effing Bayless. And beyond that, he's in the same boat as Benet in terms of the elimination challenge really speaking to the strengths of his cuisine. I mean, the preview videos show him making tacos. Would you really want to compete against Rick Bayless making tacos?
Against Him: He's the obvious favorite, right? Maybe a little too obvious? I think there's a good chance of this being another "upset" week where the best known chef gets taken out. Also, I personally find him creepy.
Verdict: Strong Possible. I'm torn between saying "I see an upset," and thinking they wouldn't schedule upsets two weeks in a row. . . or would they?
9 comments:
I still think it is Bayless. But, imagine the drama of having him cook Mexican in a challenge and losing anyway. Pardon my conspiracy theory self.
I'm rolling with Wilo. I ate at one of his restaurants back when he used to have hair.
In the fall my dvd player died with a Season Three West Wing dvd trapped inside. Undaunted, I started to dismantle the dvd player...until I got to the big yellow sticker that said "CAUTION: Radiation!" Um, radiation?!?!?!! in my DVD player?!?!?! Yikes! Needless to say, I quickly reassembled the dvd player and said goodbye to the West Wing dvd. I was a little sad about it.
I have to go with Pawlcyn, only because a few years ago I took a trip to Napa with the Culinary Institute, and we ate at Mustards. It was a very NOMMY meal! (The main thing I remember is a honking big, perfectly cooked pork chop. Mmmmmm......) I highly recommend it if you're ever out there.
rob: yeah, I don't know if they'd be able to resist the drama of that.
Schotzie: I love that his hair is a part of the memory.
CG: see, if it was part of season 4, I could let it go. But this is the last disc of season 3. Radiation be damned.
Yeah, the season finale disc would kind of hurt.
I voted for Bayliss, but then again, I voted for Wylie last week.
i'm rooting for ludo, mainly because he cooked an amazing meal that reawakened my dead and jaded palate. also, ludo bites closed suddenly one weekend because he was "retooling the menu", they said. but possibly because he advanced into the next round?? he's live twittering the episode tomorrow which should be fun--he's predicting it will be a rated R, profanity-laced session.
cg: even another seasonn's finale, I might be ok saying goodbye to. But not season 3.
cube: that's how I feel--I'm reluctant to say anything this week since I was SO WRONG last time.
santos: I'm glad that everyone's being represented here.
I'm going to go with Bayless - I loved his PBS show and I think the first challenge is street food (hence the taco) - he should nail it.
As a owner of the first three seasons of Coupling I say beat the DVD player until it surrenders! Of course I have broken two DVD players in the last year - probably not the best person to give advice (I tend to leave them on and forget about them - they don't like that).
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