Top Chef Masters

[telophase]

Enjoyed it a lot, and I tell you I was rooting for my man Tim Love, as he's a local and I've actually eaten at one of his restaurants. Not the one he mentioned in the show, Lonesome Dove, but a quirky little burger joint called the Love Shack. It's a mostly-outdoor partially roofed narrow space between two buildings. There's a stage at one end which usually has someone on it or occasionally a kid-friendly movie, a roofed-over space at the other end where you can site if it's raining, and an open-to-the sky bit in the middle.

He's putting in another one in a retail development going in closer to where I live, but I suspect it won't have quite the charm of the original, although we'll eat there more in order to avoid parking in the Stockyards area.

Back to the show: you know what was refreshing to see? Professional chefs working. Not the drama queens we tend to get on TC (well, ok, it makes for better ratings when there's drama). These chefs took it with a grain of salt, and when they got thrown a curveball, intentionally or unintentionally (hello frozen food!), instead of whining and bitching about it, or going on about how Real Chefs Don't Do That or This Isn't Real Cooking, they just got down to business and cooked. Hopefully future TC contestants will watch this and get some ideas.

Comments

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

I have to say I was rooting for Tim Love as well. Based on nothing more than his personality, but I was.

I think one of the big drama breeding grounds for the regular show is the long term isolation. They're going through weeks of challenges while living in a fishbowl and they've got nobody to talk to but their fellow competitors because they're only allowed limited contact with family, etc.

So, yes, I agree that the attitudes are refreshing, but they're not being pushed to their last nerve first, either.

[melster.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't know this even existed. Heh. I assume the first episode aired tonight? I'll be checking the bravo website to see if the episode's on there soon...

Anyway, I am a top chef watcher as well, and my favorites are always the people who put the cooking first -- Richard Blais from season 4, for instance. :D

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Most likely right. And they're not getting the prize money themselves, it's going to a charity, so I suspect that blunts the competitive edge a wee bit, as they see each other more as colleagues than rivals.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

And it's not like Bravo's not going to rerun it to death over the next few weeks. :D

I think you'll love this one, then - they *all* put the cooking first.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I had wondered if you had eaten at that restaurant! How were the burgers.

I enjoyed the show quite a bit, but ironically, despite all my bitching about the OMG drama! I did find it less compelling than Top Chef, I think precisely because there was less at stake.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Pretty good. Not the best I've eaten in town, but I'm willing to go back. :)

I liked this just as much, but I primarily watch these to see creativity under pressure, so seeing what highly-experienced pros do to recover from curve balls is fascinating. :D