Top Chef Chicago: Week Five Reflections

Posted on April 11, 2008

Enough with the butternut squash soup! Dude, Spike, you aren’t too nice. You didn’t get screwed. Seriously. And Zoi? She disappoints me week after week . . . And, ha! Ha! Was anyone else silently gloating that Richard forgot to scale the fish? Perfection averted . . . oh, the joys!

But let’s back up.

This week’s guest judge was Ming Tsai, who is known for his East meets West cuisine. There was another blink-and-you-missed-it quick fire. This time, it involved blindfolded taste tests . . . very interesting, but the show missed the opportunity to discuss what to look for in 15 ingredients to ensure that you are getting something of quality. Time count? About 8 minutes from start to announcing that Antonia won . . . and that includes the recaps too. If this keeps up, the quick fire will be over in two minutes by finale time.

This week’s Elimination challenge involved the chefs cooking in teams for a Meal on Wheels Celebrity Chef Ball. But I’ve already said all I can about that above.

So, we’re now five weeks in. I find the quick fires too quick and the eliminations boring. Why? There is simply too much focus on the drama and not enough on the food. Sorry folks, but as entertaining as Marcel was a few seasons ago, I really do just watch for the food. Seriously. Call me crazy . . .

Is this show going to pick up or what?

  • Share/Bookmark

Comments

One Response to “Top Chef Chicago: Week Five Reflections”

  1. Virtual Frolic on April 11th, 2008 2:20 pm

    I was reading an interview of Zoi on NYMag and they pointed out what the problem was – other than the lame quick fires, all of the elimination challenges have been team based. There hasn’t been an opportunity to see each person by themselves doing what they do best. Yeah cooking is a team sport, but when do you see 3-5 top chefs working together!! I’ve been watching for 3-4 weeks and I still don’t know their names.

    As of now, I’m rooting for Dale =)

Leave a Reply