September 5, 2007
OK, yacht episode. I wasn’t around for the Quickfire because I was setting up for the yacht, but Shannon and I scoped out the market for the challenge. “Aisle style” is always fun and challenging. (I forgot who even won.) Some of you have suggested ramen noodle challenges and such. This is as close as it gets. Gas stations, vending machines...some will cry foul, but this was not all that bad. There was a stunning amount of great, everyday foods to work with, and I think it was Dale who got lucky by finding some random ingredient in his aisle (again, I have no episode to reference right now as I am on a plane back from Mexico. Talladega Nights is on -- Ha!).
By the way, guest judge Chef Michael Schwartz was great to work with. If you are ever in Miami, head to his restaurant, Michael’s Genuine, for a great meal.
Comments
gary e. wrote:
You are the lady LeeAnne. I,m so happy you are back, we don,t see you in the back ground but just knowning that you are helps us first season fans get the real scoop on the show thanks .
posted on September 5, 2007 at 11:46 PM
john wrote:
Your stay in Mexico seems to have done you a world of good. I am trying to get a handle on how it is decided who packs their knives and goes home. Tre was lax in his duties as an executive chef and got the ax. Brian as an executive chef is as bad as Tre was and even attempts to avoid responsibility. Brian stays and Howie goes home. If Howie's food was not that bad, why did the judges pull the plug on him? Shades of Mia Gaines.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Monica Martinez wrote:
There needs to be a show where you have 2 chef's from each season and they become the judges and vice versa ( The Judges become the Top Chef. Just for fun.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Karin wrote:
I am one who will miss Howie so I agree whole heartedly with you Lee Ann! He has been an underdog from episode one and maybe not a "cheftestant" favorite, but he always spoke his mind and most times he was right on. As for the chefs that have dogged him (CJ, Sara, Joey, etc) they have already been given the boot or should be next as I am totally unimpressed with their offerings the last few weeks. Brian is barely hanging on and has actually managed to avoid cooking anything and CJ has actually thrown people under the bus the last two epidsodes Tre and before that Brian so I hope he is next to go. Anyway Lee Ann I always enjoy reading your blogs and am happy to see you looking so happy in your new job. Good Luck to you and Good Luck Howie - you will be missed.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 12:58 AM
Sheryll wrote:
Lee Ann,
You normally deserve lavish praise for the work that you do and the tremendous improvements that you have made on TC...BUT
the aisle challenge screamed "UNFAIR". There was no way to have parity between the cereal aisle and the canned meat aisle. This one was a loser, one of the few that have slid through during your tenure.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 1:04 AM
Lindsey wrote:
Leann,
As I read the blogs and hear the aisle-style challenge being compared to the convenience store and vending machine challenges from previous seasons it made me wonder what you'll do next year. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the show "Dinner: Impossible" on the Food Network, but they did a challenge where the chef had to elegantly cater an event using only the food in a baseball-park's storage (like frozen corn dogs, etc.) I thought it was a clever challenge- maybe something along those lines...?
posted on September 6, 2007 at 2:49 AM
Mark wrote:
Nice to have you back on the blogging scene. I especially appreciated your comments about Howie.
I don't know who to address my next comment to, so I'm posting it to your comment section as well as a couple of the others. (Sorry for the rant, Lee Anne.) Last week, Sam said in his blog that he thinks "something is missing" from this season's episodes. After watching tonight's episode, I noticed something that is really detracting from the show: the music soundtrack is way too loud. It drowns out everybody, including Chef Tom. It ruins the drama. I feel like I'm watching a music video or a TV commercial and I feel like changing the channel to a more serious program before I realize, "Wait, I'm watching Top Chef; what is wrong here?"
Furthermore, the editing, while imaginative and clever at times, cuts from one scene to the next way too fast. That also detracts from the drama. I'd rather see lingering closeups with no soundtrack so that I can actually take in a scene before the camera jumps spastically to the next shot and the next and so forth. You can't have tension in a show if the editors keep breaking the viewers' concentration and losing their attention.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 5:32 AM
sz wrote:
Lee Ann - You look so beautiful. Any secrets to your pound shedding sin e season 1?
posted on September 6, 2007 at 8:50 AM
Art wrote:
Lee Anne does a reasonably good job with the kitchen stuff. But who is in charge of making Miami look like the ugliest city on Earth with the choices of outdoor location shots?
posted on September 6, 2007 at 11:14 AM
ollie wrote:
Hi Beautiful Lee Anne,
Suggest for TC4 that the judges' table be horseshoe-shaped. Padma (who shouldn't even be at the table), sits so far forward that the chefs on either side of her have to crane and stretch themselves to speak with one another.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 11:54 AM
Liz wrote:
Lee Ann
I usually have a lot of respect for you...but it's been slowly declining. You consistantly lable difficult challanges as simple, and berate the contestant for not doing as good a job as you could. It seems your ego is slightly out of control- even Harold acknowledged that this was a difficult challange and that the contestants had a reason for choosing to do a variety.
Please get off your pedastel and get back to being the old Lee Ann who used to be so cool!
posted on September 6, 2007 at 1:03 PM
bonnie wrote:
Did the cheftestants know how well the kitchen would be equipped?
With Top Chef's history, buying for a place with a deep fat fryer is different than buying for a place with a charcoal pit in the sand. But you know that.
posted on September 6, 2007 at 5:27 PM
FanFare wrote:
Dear Lee Anne,
It is interesting that you found the guest judge to be great to work with. The TC editors did not display anything but a crude, disrespectful, charm free moron. I can't imagine how he became a success...
The good news is that Howie is at long last outta there. He got too much airtime and it was undeserving since he wasn't pretty or all that talented (pork redux ala sweat drops). The viewers barely got to learn about many of the other chefs. btw: the attributes you liked in him, were also in Tiffany. Yet she was vilified for being overly competitive. At least she was hygenic and could repeatedly cook well. She was the most successful chef of S-1 and on the chopping block only once (i.e. kid / monkfish challenge).
What I like about S-3 cooks, is that they are very mature (except the H-Bomb). It appeared that he may have learned his lesson of "people need people" in the 11th hour. For that, good luck to him. The other thing I appreciate about the current crew is that they seem vey supportive of each other. It is actually nice to see their playful interaction and concentration on cooking. Hung's joy of chopping and cooking is infectious.
Great job on the challenges. They seem very challenging. Keep up the good work.
posted on September 7, 2007 at 9:02 AM
Morgaine Swann wrote:
Lee Anne- you look absolutely gorgeous! They need to show you on screen more.
I'm tired of these impossible challenges - vending machines, supermarket aisles, etc. but at least they're only quick fires. They should have been given a much bigger budget for the yacht party, though, so we could really see what they can do. Limitations like that in that circumstance just keep us from seeing the chefs at their best. I don't care if they can cook on my budget - I want to see them rock out some unique, high-quality stuff so we can tell who's an actual chef and who's just a cook. Let me point out that in your season, the best challenge y'all did was the truffle challenge in Napa. THAT was what I want to see a Top Chef doing!
posted on September 10, 2007 at 10:21 PM
emms wrote:
Lee-Anne,
It's just cool to see an asian woman representin'! I'm very happy for you and this new job. And I enjoy your perspective on things since you have insider information. I've liked you since Season 1-- best of luck to you! Top Chef has become addictive and kudos to the show for the emmy nomination.
posted on September 11, 2007 at 2:03 AM
Mike wrote:
Hi there,
I was wondering what chefs and others thought about the statement I am investigating that 'the most opportunity for flare and "showing off" in the kitchen comes when using the chopping board'. Any feedback would be great, cheers
posted on February 29, 2008 at 9:20 AM