At the risk of sounding anal I must mention that Gail's pronunciation of bouillabaisse was not so good and kind grated against my nerves a little. I'm Frend and en Francais, two l's together is pronounced as a "yuh" sound. Therefore, it is correctly pronounced; boo-yuh-bahz. Not the way Gail said it; bool-eeah-base.

I mentioned this in another thread, but that cookie of Bryan's wasn't actually a macaroon - it was a meringue cookie. Big difference. I'm surprised that none of you caught that and that you are still calling it a macaroon in your recap.

I'm glad that someone else noticed it and mentioned it in the comments on his Q&A page. I just spotted it.

I guess if the judges don't know the difference, it won't really matter, but it certainly matter to Casey when she was docked for making a faux coq au vin, even though she called it her French grandmother's coq au vin, which automatically turns it into something that could possibly not be accurate, plus, she called it "her take on coq au vin", unless I'm misremebering. Since many, if not most modern French cooks also eschew using an old cock, I thought that Tom was way too hard on her. Perhaps Bryan should have been held to a similar standard - oh wait, you guys didn't seem to know the difference, so I guess that wasn't possible.

I want to know why Hector Santiago is not shown as the other chefs on the show opening? I also want to know why Hector Santiago dish during the quickfire challenge with Todd English was edited and never aired? This is the same thing that you did to Paloma in a past season. I am starting to believe that Top Chef is prejudice toward Hispanics.

Different folks will have different points of view.

The way I look at it is this: for chef's that have their own venue, the goals should include producing food that their particular customers enjoy, while satisfying their own muse. For chefs in a competition, where they are expected to show their qualifications as a chef able to cater to the sophisticated palate as well as the common man, the goals should include producing food that catches the imagination of experienced and talented chefs and satisfies the tastebuds of those same judges. That being said, there are times when 'simple' can trump 'sophisticated,' because it sometimes takes great vision or talent to make something simple and successful under the given parameters and constraints.

The show is Top Chef, not Top Comfort Food Slinger. Everything in its own time and place....

It is clear that Eve, and a couple of others, are not of a caliber that should have been selected in the first place. Why is there such disparate talent on Top Chef? By the end of the second episode, it's clear who will be in the top 3 or 4.

Gail,

I totally agree with you.

It's the judges palates are the ones that decide who's dishes are exceptional.

It's so refreshing to see that you're going to be a judge the whole season. At least I hope so.

Thank you for your comments.

Coaster..............Out!

I agree with the macaroon/meringue point....what i saw on the screen was not a "Macaroon"...which is a coconut cookie...that was clearly a meringue and i'm curious why no one pointed that out, unless Bryan never said the word "macaroon" in front of a judge...

Hi I like to voted top Chef,I am just starting read Chef blog.

I think people need to leave Ashley alone re: her opinion on this blog and Tom's blog. It was obvious that the editing team made sure this was "a very special dramarific moment," complete with musical score and probably some cutting and pasting of Ashley's words to make it seem as if she was talking about it ad nauseum. What I saw was a GLBT person talking to another GLBT person (Preeti) about her concerns, at home, well away from the work environment and most of the other contestants. She never said she wanted to be excused, and she put her all into her first watermelon dish (didn't seem like a "poor showing" to me), which the guest judge claimed to be one of the best of the day. Her only flaw -- serving the second dish -- was a result of her trying to give the groom's party some kind of desert, a part of the menu the women totally ignored as a team. Hardly a poor sport.

If you are a longtime fan of the show you will note that Hung in season 3 and Richard B. from season 4 both commented along the way that they didn't care what the guest thought. They were not cooking for the guest, they were cooking for the judges. It just doesn't matter what someone's opinion is unless that someone is a judge.
These are the only 2 cheftestants I can remember having this philosophy and I think the results speak for themselves.

Anyacat: Why should Ashley be excused? She made the choice to compete - the challenges are not contestants' choice. Probably there were a few contestants who didn't approve of the similar challenge (a few seasons ago) when the honored guests were two gay fellows - but they cooked anyway. That's what they are there for. It's a COOKING show!

Hello Gail. I believe you have transformed from past seasons into a fair minded judge and I couldn't agree with you more. As much as the public may like dishes, it does come down to the judges. What most don't realize that this is yours, and the others, jobs and therefore, since you are continually judging food, your pallets would be more sensitive to taste. The battle was fairly won in my opinion because the men got down to business. They had a job and they did it while certain women discussed all the reasons they disagreed with the challenge. It is competition and most of the men and few of the women came to compete.

I agree with Dan & Sleepdawg. If it is only the judges tastes and decisions, why waste the time to even have other people tasting. You could show more of the cooking techniques and the judging. More in line with another top cooking program where the time is focused on the competition.

Clearly the people at the party had totally different views of what they enjoy eating than that of the judges.

You stress to the contestants that they have to please the crowd and then back peddle and say it doesn't count when YOU don't like something.

I liked the voting on Top Chef Masters where part of the decision was given to the other tasters. Maybe that should be integrated into the final decisions on this show as well.

@CONFUSED: a macaroon in America IS a coconut cookie, but I think the term the judges were using is an American pronunciation of "macaron," the French term, which is a meringue cookie, usually made with almond flour and egg whites. They are notoriously difficult to make well, so kudos to Brian for executing it under pressure.

I liked Top Chef Masters because the diners' scores were included in the overall tally for the chefs. Perhaps they could this as well in regular Top Chef?

Ditto what Dan said. If it's only the judges that matter, then please dispense with the pretense that Top Chef is anything more than a game to be won. Not an education for future chef careers, etc.

On the other hand, perhaps the (admittedly jaded) judges should be paying a little more attention to what the crowd (ahem, future customers) likes? Maybe the judges are missing something? Just a thought.

As she left the arena of the show last night, Eve commented that now she could 'be herself.' Isn't the point of being on the show to present yourself as a Top Chef? Who was she trying to be?

As I watched the chefs prepare their food, I could not believe what I was seeing. The mens team,were more focused and clean.The womens team,looked like crap and an after thought. If I was the Groom-to-be in that format,I would have been very disappointed by the food. I think the women had better get organized or they will be gone for sure.
Good luck with the attitudes this season.

You have to excuse Ashley's poor showing. She cannot possibly be expected to turn out decent food for an event she finds objectionable and insulting.

Cheryl,
I have the same dress Gail wore tonight. It is from Anthropologie from late Spring/Early Summer collection. You can see if they still have it on-line, it may be on sale. Gail, if I am wrong, then where is the dress from?

Gail - I am very curious to understand how the men seem so much more qualified in their cooking skills. Who picks the contestants and why do the women so often seem so completely clueless? (except for Jennifer) Do they use the same criteria when picking the men and women? If the same criteria is used for both men and women, then I must conclude that men make much better chefs!!! Hands down. If there are great women chefs out there, please, please, please, find them next season!!!

Isn't there a difference between a MACAROON and a MERINGUE? It was driving me crazy last night that the chefs (and you) kept using these terms as if they are interchangeable. My understanding was that a "macaroon" was a dense cocoanut cookie, while a meringue is frothy, made from egg whites, and baked in a low-heat oven for a firm exterior.

Am I wrong? Please enlighten.

Gail,

Thanks for your detailed take on the challenge. Your description here is very tantalizing. So far, the "V" brothers are a force to be reckoned with.

As for the bottom group, I agree with your comments last night that although Jessie realizes her errors, should she be rewarded? For me, she is the new Ariane. As for Eve: if you looked up "clueless" in a thesaurus, her name would be there. She really didn't seem to understand what she was doing. How did they make it on to the show?

Gail, while I normally enjoy your comments I must take exception when you say they should not worry about the client's palate only the judges. If they had made something the client hated you would bring that up. You all have done so in seasons past.

Gail,
I loved your dress on tonights episode. Where is it from?