View All PostsBurning Questions
Eli Explains his Cancer Comment
Eli elaborates on his relationship with Robin.
September 23, 2009Bravotv.com: First the Quickfire, What wast the inspiration behind your dish?
It was a play on the juxtaposition between healthy and simple food and layered, complex fatty foods. Trying to really show the marked difference between the two as well as the fact that they're both enjoyable.
Bravotv.com: You make a comment that you think Robin got the win because Chef Bernstein felt sympathy about her cancer ... Care to elaborate?
Yes, even though I was in the top three in the Quickfire I didn't think I should have won and I want to make sure that's clear. The dish that should have won was Michael V. Everyone in the room saw how elaborate his work was, the level of execution, and were just stunned. It was brilliant. He integrated two dishes, as opposed to a duo, while showing multiple techniques and philosophies.
Robin's dish was weak. Little technical work or conceptualization went into it. I also thought the two dishes she presented didn't work together in concept. She presented two dishes with a loose tie (if any), and with little philosophy behind it. During her explanation to the judges she talked about "when she had cancer" no less than three times. It was disgraceful.
I've had significant personal experience with cancer, and I'm not discounting the huge impact living through that disease must have had on Robin. Both of my grandmothers, my aunt, and my cousin all died of cancer. It affects me and my family everyday. I don't have an issue with her becoming a stronger person because of her struggle, but being part of a family who has been through a similar struggle she made it appear cheap and as a grab for attention. It seemed clear to me as well as everyone else in the room that her explanation was not about her food but an attempt to pull on heart strings.
Bravotv.com: It kinda seemed like everyone was just so against Robin at this point. What was it like in the house? Was everyone just against her? Or just resentful that she was still there and won immunity?
I'm not going to lie and say that Robin and I are great friends or that people weren't upset that she stayed on beyond some other chefs who were highly regarded in the house. I do respect the judges and their opinions, but I also believe that often times she turned out to be the "lesser of two evils" type of chef. I never really saw her style — there didn't seem to be a vision behind much of her cooking. I'll say that her attitude isn't the best and I found her tactics off-putting, and I think many of my castmates would agree.
Bravotv.com: Onto the Elimination, you had to deconstruct sweet and sour pork. What was your thought process on this?
I wanted to take the traditional dish and break it down to its elemental components and traditional garnishes and make it a white table cloth dish. Depending on where you're dining, sweet and sour pork has many different garnishes. But the true style is tempura pork with a sweet and sour sauce. One of the things I try to do is have a fresh, herbaceous salad on many of my dishes, so I took a traditional American-Chinese side of broccoli and broke it
down into several forms.
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Why do we change foriegn place names to other than the real name? Example being Munchen or Munich?
This show shows everyone that you'd better have discipline and think before you say or do things. Otherwise there is a price to pay. Great show. Great blog. All the best.
I do believe that Robin was just stating a fact and not playing the sympathy card.
People say all the time things like: when I got engaged, when I got married, when I graduated college... Hopefully, they are not looking for sympathy
I have lost both my parents, and three of my grandparents..to cancer, I have no immediate family at the age of 25... I wasnt offended by his comment really. I just felt he was being honest. I agree with Eli, that it came off as attention seeking. No one can state that I am densensitized to someone who has struggled with cancer, but what does that have to due with her food. It could have been simply implied that her inspiration was from when she strived to be more healthy when overcoming an illness. She was so specific and matter a fact about it, it suggested that she needed it to carry her dish. However, I think that he should have been critiquing his own food rather than finding fault in Robin's - his food isn't much more inspiring. In fact, we already know who the hard hitters are and he certainly isnt one of them.
I agree with Eli. Her dish looked really weak, as most of hers are anyways. I have no idea why she is still there.
OMG! Really people its a comment get over it. I'm sure everyone has said something mean or disrespectful some point in there life. Eli said what most people were probably thinking at that time.
I agree with Eli. Robin was absolutely using her sob story to get an emotional response from a judge and it worked. I even turned to my wife when she said it and made a comment about her cheesy tactics. Congratulations to Eli for having the balls to call it like it is.
I was steamed when I heard his comment and his explanation just made it worse. He should apologize to every cancer survivor on the planet, as well as the quickfire judge.
I have to agree with the people who stated that they felt Eli exploited his family members' cancer diagnoses to save face in the wake of his insensitive and offensive comments. Sorry, but your relatives' unfortunate and sad cancer-related departures from this world do NOT excuse your behavior or explain it adequately. Most of the chefs this season happen to be jerks though, so at least you're not alone like Robin was in that house with a bunch of inconsiderate blowhards.
I don't know if this is the same situation as Marcel though, as someone else mentioned here. Marcel was a snotty little prick himself who never really backed up his dismissive, superior attitude towards the other chefs. Robin is someone with an illness- the kind of person who on competitive reality shows frequently act as a lightning rod for other contestants' insecurities. Insecurity often breeds defensiveness, ad defensiveness often breeds jerkiness and selfishness, which typifies the behavior of the other chefs right now. None of them have cancer and so feel that cancer in Robin's case is some sort of advantage she can rely on when things aren't going her way. And none of them have such a backup when they don't get their way. Of course anyone who has ACTUALLY had cancer knows that it is not an advantage- it is a challenge to overcome that far outstrips the pretentious challenges these other chefs are whining about.
Tom Collichio says it many times each & every season as a judge, "It's about the food & the contestants ability to cook great food." It's not about the personalities, its not about the backstories, its not about how a chef looks ... it is about how well they cook.
eli's cancer comment was the sign of a poor loser, and his 'excuse' confirmed it. Top Chef has never been about anything else than a head-to-head cooking competition to find the best in the group, and that is what sets it apart from any other show. Top Chef judges & guest judges have NEVER shown any partiallity to a contestant because of a personal story, personality or anything outside of their ability to cook.
eli, it would have been better for you to have said that Robin got 'lucky' & made a dish that was what Michelle Berstein was looking for, rather than the immature whining that you did.
you obviously missed the entire point of the challenge! it wasn't just about the food but about the contrast. I completely got it and agreed with the judges!
Why the hell wasn't a new episode on tonight?!? What happened?! I'm completely agitated...
Seriously, Bravo. "Who's Side are You On?" In a headline. Really? That's pretty embarrassing. Somebody needs to invest in a good book on grammar and usage.
Anyone who knows Michelle Bernstein, also knows she likes simple, clean flavors. Simplicity played to Robin's favor. She took one core ingredient(apples), and made two polar opposite dishes. Imagine the contrast between an apple fennel salad and an apple crisp.
Frankly, anytime someone downs another during the course of a competition, it's usually to take the attention or lack of attention off themselves. Notice it's the cheftestants that haven't been on top that are complaining about Robin the most. Eli, Mike, and Ash. They could take a leaf out of Kevin's book.
"Wasn't Robin the one who just about made everyone sick at the "Camp-Out"? Her shrimp was so bad that Tom had to spit it out! Why is she still there?"
Did you even watch the show? That was Mattin's ceviche. Why is she still there? Why did Arianne last as long as she did? We're still in the "who sucks the least" portion of the competition.
Mattin didn't throw Ashley under the bus - and she didn't give him a toss either. He was responsible for the sauce - and bacon cream sauce just doesn't sound good to me, even though I love bacon!. He screwed up the sauce. For a "French" chef to go on and on about how the challenge was made for him and then screw up something as simple as a veloute is nearly reprehensible! Almost as bad as Eli's comments.
Eli's explanation still sounds like whining to me! Chef Bernstein should be offended by eli's comments, as others have said. Calling her character into question because the game didn't go your way? Wow! So what if someone had a more elaborate dish, is it not the final flavor that matters? If you are worried solely about presentation and how elaborate it is, go to a food styling competition, not a cooking competition.
As a fellow "fat kid" at heart, I was rooting for Eli. Now, well, not so much.
Tim D.
Eli was grossly immature and insulting to Robin, to Michelle Bernstein and to all cancer survivors in his ridiculous original comments and efforts here to defend those comments. I have no interest to see Eli in any context, and can't wait for him to be gone (as he soon will be).
Eli, there is a saying... "What Peter says about Paul says a lot about Peter." I don't recall you being up in arms when Ron described almost drowning on his way to America while presenting a dish earlier in the season. Also, your complaints come across more as a slam of the guest judge, who you evidently feel did not judge based on what she tasted.
I'm NOT a fan of Robin, nor most of her dishes, BUT I understand why she won this challenge. She was the only one that followed the instruction in the challenge. It was supposed to be two dishes that represent the polar opposites -- good and evil -- that influence you as a chef. This did NOT mean, spicy v. creamy, nor did it mean dark chocolate v. white desert, nor cheap thrills v. traditional. This was a personal question for each chef as to what those opposites were and Robin is the only one that explained them -- for her, the good side is simple and healthful organic ingredients (the salad) v. processed refined sugars and fatty ingredients in the desert (the apple crumble). For her she is tempted toward complex, fatty, sugary foods and her good side achives toward healthful, organic, simple foods. Well done and explained well.
In trying to be clever almost every other chef completely missed the point of the exercise. I mean really white lychee desert v. dark chocolate? (talk about missing the point).
eli, i'm with you...i think mike v should have won as well, but then i've never been that big a fan of michelle bernstein's....yes cj talked about his cancer--in the private interviews, but did he do it to the judges as they tasted his food? no...what robin did was, i felt, in poor taste...why do i think that? because my husband does the same thing about his open heart surgery and frankly it's annoying...he uses his open heart surgery as an excuse for everything and for sympathy for everything and it's so obviously shameless...did he almost die? yes twice on the table...but now he refuses to take his meds and he refuses to eat properly and he refuses to see a dr...so why am i supposed to feel sorry for him? ok off topic, but still...robin took the subject away from her food and put it on her cancer--and that was just wrong...i'm sorry but did you SEE the group shot when robin's name was announced?? every single chef there was stunned...they've all tasted her food and they know her and are living with her--we don't and aren't....she isn't top chef material she's a caterer who talks way too much....eli just said what everyone else was feeling and what i was feeling too...so there
Robin has been at the bottom several times and her catch phrase is "I forgot to taste it". The other competitors are pissed because she would have gone home long ago except other chefs messed up a little worse than she did. Martin deserved to go home as did Ron, but so does she because her food is bad. That is not my opinon, but the opinion of the several guest judges & the regulars. I also felt that her mentioning that she had cancer in front of the judge was cheap.
Since were are all bringing up who we have lost to cancer as if that gives us all some kind of authority on the subject: I have lost both my Grandfathers and one cousin to cancer. Does that make my comment any more or less valid? No it does not.
The real issue is that Robin keeps making food that the judges hate just a little less than other peoples food (that will soon stop). Does anyone posting think she has the slightest chance of winning this thing?
I know lots of people are really hating on Eli but I think everyone is overreacting. Yes what Eli said was out of line but I think he just badly worded what a lot of the contestants and viewers were thinking.
How is Robin still in this competition?
I mean she says she makes simple food, but so far, simplicity hasn't gotten her anywhere except with this QF win. Also, she doesn't seem to have a culinary point of view except this simple food idea. I know some people will say that is a culinary point of view but I personally don't think it's enough to carry you through this season. Look at what happened to Preeti and the pasta salad. And from what the judges were saying at the last EC, she probably would have been in the bottom had it not been for her QF. Someone said that she has reminded them of Marcel as that sort of underdog. But at least Marcel showed he could cook! So far, Robin has failed to impress me in any sort of way.
Eli, your comments towards Robin in this week's show were offensive and insulting on so many levels and to so many people. Your comments in this interview do nothing to improve your image. Take responsibility and apologize for your behavior. Grow up!
Eli should be ashamed of himself.
Firstly, because he has no right to compare himself to a cancer surviver. We've all had family members who have had cancer. But until you've faced it yourself you have no right to judge others and how it would affect their creativity and outlook.
Secondy, Eli has acted like a middle schooler ganging up on someone. Eli looks like someone who was picked on at school, so maybe he should have more compassion.
Eli should be tossed off of the show for saying something so disgusting. He has made a mockery of the entire Top Chef series and the integrity of the judges.
Actually the person who should be insulted by Eli's asinine comment is the guest judge. Apparently she is so easily swayed and impressionable as to allow sympathy to set aside all professional standards. If Robin tried to gain an edge in the competition good for her. She acknowledges that she's from the professional "poor side of town" (metaphorically) against the classically trained cooking elite. Eli may dislike the play but the person he insulted (and IMO rather profoundly) was the guest judge.
I'm not impressed with Eli. YMMV
It's really sad that a contestant on Top Chef as to resort to sour grapes to get some airtime. This is not your trashy reality shows that gives the most attention to the most obnoxious and controversial person. Eli should shut his mouth and make something outstanding. He is insulting Michelle Bernstein and the entire chef community by thinking that someone will win because they mentioned they had cancer. I wonder if Michelle has heard your comments about Robin and how she feels?
Eli, you need to shut your mouth and cook - cook something memorable and great - not spew trash from your mouth. Right now you are like a spoiled, petulant brat who's not good enough to be the best, but not bad enough to be the worst. You are a total ass.
Rick Evans
The truth hurts, Eli just said what people were thinking when it was announced the Robin won. Robin should have been gone after the first challenge but got the lucky coin. She will be gone soon, the level of chiefs this season is outstanding!
Lucky chip or no, Robin's first Elimination dish was well received, even though time constraints prevented her from getting her gastrique on the plate. Furthermore, Robin was one of the few who understood the definition of vice.
As to Eli's comment: Robin's mention of her battle with cancer was not a sympathy ploy. Rather, it was an explanation of how the cancer played a part in her life and how it helped define her "devil" and "angel."
According to the edits, Robin only mentioned the lymphoma ONCE while explaining to Michelle Bernstein. Her dish was simple and clear: my angel is the healthy good foods and my devil would be the foods that would clearly put my diet and health at risk. Food isn't about being so focused on being elaborate. If it is done right, and tastes good, and it fits the challenge the best way the Judge feels then so be it. I don't see how that can't be a winning dish.
Past cheftestants have mentioned their health conditions (testicular cancer and diabetes anyone?) but I don't remember one of their current castmates say that they thought it was to play a pity card.
I would probably have disliked living with Robin, but the comment of her using the cancer to win the challenge was uncalled for. It feels like you insulted Chef Bernstein as well, saying instead that she has no integrity pitying Robin for her talking about her cancer.
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