August 31, 2007
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All apologies...for my absence. I have been on vacation for the past two weeks in Mexico, without copies of Top Chef and limited access to E-mail. I’ll try and cover as much about the second half of Restaurant Wars as I can from memory.
OK, second half of Restaurant Wars (also known as “The Return of Top Sommelier”): I was actually really psyched to see Stephen again in Miami after seeing him briefly for the Smackdown Episode (I was not allowed to socialize with Season One and Season Two during that time). Those of you who are familiar with him from Season One probably have formed a few opinions, as did I at the time, but in getting to know him after the show, he has become a great friend. Stephen is extremely talented in the kitchen, but is more overly ambitious and gifted, and I am positive is well on his way to becoming a great restaurateur.
So, the question was whether the team who won the Quickfire benefit or be hindered by Stephen and his expertise. I thought it would be the former, granted the team’s front-of-the-house manager would know how to work with him. I will admit, I remember clearly (as if it were yesterday) going through Restaurant Wars with Stephen. Not so much fun. But he has matured in many ways since the airing of our episode, and this time around he had no other responsibility than to match and pour the wines.
Comments
FanFare wrote:
Hello Lee Anne,
Thank you for your incisive blog. I hope that your vacation was relaxing or playful (whichever you wanted)...
I agree with you on Chris's "contributions" to the decor of both restaurants. His taste is apparently all in his mouth (except for the rude verbiage that poured out). What a talentless hack!
I found his presence and Andrea Strong's to be superfluous to the show. Who cares what they think? They represent neither the average person nor have true star status. Hopefully, in future seasons, the TC casting producers will not foist any more faux celebrity wannabes on the TC viewing public.
The Restaurant Wars Episode is a favorite. In S-1, both teams had different yet cohesive menus and both menus were well rec'd. Your team failed in service (although Miguel got sent home for being a sous chef). In S-2, both teams suffered from service AND poor execution of the dishes. Sam, who was Exec. Chef of his team made Gail nauseous! Yet, again, the fat sous chef (Mike) got the heave-ho. This time around, "April" seemed to fair better in RW-1. "Better" does not mean it was a true draw. Therefore, the RW-2 was preplanned and therefore, a bit of a sham. For shame to whoever came up with that brilliant idea. That said, cool, calm Tre was dubbed Exec. Chef and took on the bulk of the work. When a few of his dishes failed, he got the axe. What happened to his sous chef (who contributed one lousy dish)? Nothing - It doesn't sit right due to the lack of consistency in the outcomes. Long story short - Neither subsequent season of cooks has surpassed S-1 in cooking ability. You all should feel prideful that you had much less resources and pulled off much higher caliber restaurants.
Glad to have you back in the blogging fold!
posted on September 7, 2007 at 8:41 AM