Thursday, February 9, 2012
Food media 'Top Chef' season 9, episode 14
Posted by Debbie Michaud @DebsMichaud on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 12:38 PM
- Bravo TV/NBC Universal
- BEV? C'MAAAN!
As I predicted, Bev beat Grayson in LCK. Bev's thrilled to be back - look! she still has that sign she made for herself that says she wins $125,000! Sarah has murder in her eyes. "Bev's in her own little Bev world and I'm not buying a ticket to visit."
Padma and Tom get a real kick out of watching the cheftestants grope each other in the pantry during the Quickfire, in which they have 30 minutes to blindly grab ingredients and then cook. I very much enjoy the visible thrill Tom gets out of setting people up to fail. The winner of the Quickfire gets to choose his or her prize - immunity, and therefore a secured spot in the final four, or a new Prius. There's a lot of jawing, by Ed in particular (FORESHADOWING), about how if the winner chooses immunity they don't have the confidence in their cooking to win. PLEASE. This show's about a lot of things - eyebrows, barbecue, crying, Indian supermodels - the least of which is cooking ability. THAT'S WHY THEY BLINDFOLD YOU AND SEND YOU INTO PANTRIES TO MAKE FOOD OUT OF PAPER TOWELS AND PORK CASINGS. Sarah's corn/peach/mushroom soup wins and she chooses immunity. Smart gal.
For the elimination challenge, in walk the mentors of the five remaining contestants. Everyone bursts into tears, especially Paul (adorable!) but not Ed because he's soulless and "not a crier." (I think he fake cried a little so as not to look like an asshole.) The challenge: Cook something that doesn't embarrass your high-profile mentor on national television. Again, I very much enjoy the visible thrill Tom gets out of setting people up to fail.
Since Sarah chose immunity she gets to shoot tequila with Tony Mantuano. Here's a picture of Tony with Barack Obama. Paul makes cold veggie soup, Bev does a noodle dish to order in a wok, Lindsay does a seafood stew slathered in cream and Ed makes pork with pickled fruits and veggies slathered in canned, smoked oysters. Can you guess who went home?
This is where I get annoyed (but not really) that the decision that determines the final four isn't more cumulative. I think Ed's cooking has been superior/more interesting that Lindsay's throughout the entire season, but they send Ed home and award Paul a Prius for his soup.
Our final four are Lindsay, Bev, Sarah and Paul. Of the four, I'd like Paul to win, but it'd be pretty great to watch it come down to Bev and Sarah. Hey, did you guys see everyone's fancy finale haircuts in the previews for next week's episode? Sarah's got bangs. They look nice.
SCORE
IN:
JMF: Lindsay, Paul, Beverly
totm: Lindsay, Paul, Sarah
OUT: DRATL: Lindsay, Paul and Edward
mrmuffinman: Paul, Edward, Sarah
FuziOH: Paul, Edward, and Grayson
themartyparty: Beverly, Paul, and Ed
mrfood: Paul, Lindsay, Grayson
Winner and prize shall be revealed next week unless Top Chef throws us a curve ball.
Comments (5)
Showing 1-5 of 5
Dammit, I can't believe they kicked Ed out. He has far more class and talent than the evil stepsisters, Sarah and Lindsey. It would have been great to have an Asian-power finale. I still say Paul will be the winner. Beverly could be an upset, though, I won't count her completely out. There's just no way that pig, Sarah, or that weasel, Lindsey, can win. Please, no.
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OK, I'm REALLY bad at permutations and combinations, but I'm pretty sure there are no original finals trios left, so I am -- sadly -- out for good!
But I must say, Debbie, I have very much enjoyed your write-ups. They are hysterical and totally capture the action and what I'm thinking as I watch. Good times.
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