One thing you have to admit about Bravo … their reality competition shows are generally a notch up.
I <3 Top Chef… even before I got with Chief. Sooo much better then Hell’s Kitchen because the judges are actually constructive in their criticism and the chef’s are actually.. well, chefs.
Sorry.. but if you really think that a short order cook can POSSIBLY win the opportunity to head a Gordon Ramsey restaurant at the Borgata then well.. you need to dip into the Crack Whore’s zip lock bag of pills.
Anyway… as with my previous post on the new season of Project Runway, I’ll just give a list of the contestants and my initial impressions.
NOTE: I do NOT watch this with Chief. I tried once but he just got SO fucking annoying with his color commentating that I threw him out of the bedroom. Don’t get me wrong, Chief is an AMAZING chef and we would be probably living large if he would just succumb to MY desire to have him audition for one of these shows. He’d be brilliant on Top Chief but I would actually love for him to go knife to knife with Ramsey… OMG, Gordon would have SO met his match but yknow.. he won’t do it. At any rate, sometimes I just want to be entertained so he’s not allowed to watch it with me!
Okay.. so this season the gang is in Vegas and they’re throwing in some twists and stuff that is going to make things a little bit interesting. So we’ll see..
At any rate, here’s the scoop:
Ash Fulk
To be completely honest with you, I can’t remember one thing that dude did on this episode other then saying that he was the only one of the chef’s with a boyfriend.
I can’t remember what team of four he was for the quick fire OR what he cooked during the main challenge that was based on each chef’s vice.
Not sure not being remembered is a good thing but with 16 chefs.. and it being episode 1.. it’s not unusual to forget someone here and there!
Dig the bow tie though!
Ashley Merriman
She’s another one that didn’t leave any kind of impression.
I’m not even sure that they spent time on her during the initial part of the show when everyone meets everyone else for the first time.
I could go back and watch it On Demand but yknow, I kind of think that would be cheating in away. If she didn’t do anything to stand out then.. well.. she didn’t do anything to stand out.
Bryan Vottaggio
The slightly geeky.. non-tattooed.. not as cool Vottagio brother!
This season includes brothers. Each successful in their own right and living on opposite coasts I think.
This must add another level of intensity during challenges because of the whole sibling rivalry thing going on… not sure if their cooking styles are different but in the coming weeks, we should see that coming into play more especially when the chefs cook individually as opposed to in a team.
Eli Kirshtein
Eli may not look it.. but he has a long resume behind him with some serious background!
Very impressive.
Okay.. I cheated. I looked at his bio on Bravo’s website because I’m starting to feel like I’m not remembering ANYTHING from this episode.. but I guess that’s the point, right?
Heh.
Eve Aronoff
Poor Eve!
I think she was seriously affected by a case of the butterflies!
It seems like every season there is one chef that you think “.. omg, she is SO out of her league!” and Eve would be THAT chef THIS season especially because she is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan and not some culinary hotspot.
But let me tell you… this chick is not some fly by night lets-open-a-restaurant little rascal. The girl got some chops and a more then impressive resume. Hopefully, she’ll get down to do what she does best instead of over thinking what the judges might want.
That could be her downfall.
Hector Santiago
Hector is just badass.
Come on.. can you just picture him in cut-off leather cruising around on a motorcycle loud enough to loosen your fillings?
And who else looks like they have the balls enough to throw a steak in the deep fryer of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant?
Well, ok.. Chief would.
Side Note: Chief actually cooked along side Wolfgang Puck a few years ago during a local Pro-Am competition for charity and Chief can’t stand him. He said he was the most arrogant mother fucker who wouldn’t say anything good about ANYONE else’s dishes regardless of how good they were. If there’s one thing that Chief is cocky about, it’s his ability in the kitchen so… yknow.. there it is.
Anyway.. back to Hector.
Hector is from Puerto Rico so his dishes are going to have that PR-island flair to them.
Jen Zavala
Jen was the first chef eliminated.. and even I knew that she was going to be.
Her breaded vegan something or other not only looked like crap but anyone who ever tried to bread something could see that it wasn’t breaded properly.
I think she tried to hard.. and I think she just had a bad case of the butterflies too. I got the impression that she wanted to win this SO much that it became a mental thing for her and instead of just doing what she does best, she took an unnecessary risk and it bit her in the ass.
Basically, she just tried to hard.
Jennifer Carroll
I’VE MADE MEN CRY IN THE KITCHEN
I loved that line.. Jen is a total bad ass!
But in full disclosure, I’m rooting for her because Chief actually knows her. Well.. ok.. not like “.. let’s get together for some drinks” but he’s been around her at various events over the years and he said that she can cook her ass off so that’s good enough for me.
And cook she did.
She won the Quick Fire challenge and came in a close second in the Elimination challenge so she will be a force. Definitely TEAM JEN!
Jesse Sandlin
Two things came to mind when I was watching Jesse. One, she looked like an emo Rosie the Riveter when cooking.. and Two, she looked like she should be on Hell’s Kitchen.
Boy was I wrong.
She had a strong showing in the Quick Fire.. even though she had never cooked with prawns before.. and although she came in on the bottom after the elimination, the judges recognized that Jesse knew exactly why she was there from the get go. It’s one thing to crash on a dish but the important thing is that she knew exactly what she did wrong and that gave her props from the judges. Rightfully so. Jesse is also an early favorite.
Kevin Gillespie
Kevin won the Elimination Challenge .. narrowly beating Jennifer.. so we’ll be seeing more of him.
Interesting thing about Kevin is that he had a scholarship to M.I.T. that he just chucked away to go into culinary.
Could you imagine that conversation with his parents?
OMG.. my dad would have killed me!
Laurine Wickett
I have absolutely nothing to say about Laurine…
I honestly don’t remember her…
She may have been the chef to pick the golden chip at the beginning of the episode :: which meant she didn’t have to compete and would have immunity for the elimination :: but I’m not sure.. I checked all over Bravo’s website and couldn’t find anything to click on a memory so I’ll have to leave it at that
Mattin Noblia
Funky accent..
So obviously French..
Loved the little sailor neckerchief and striped shirt.
That’s all I really remember about him.
Michael Isabella
Boy.. did he start off on the wrong foot!
Mike is one of those guys that you really just want to punch in the mouth. He’s a loud mouth, cocky son of a bitch that should piss off every Italian American male in Jersey for his over the top stereotyping.
I’m sure he can cook as well as he says he can but he also made a remark when Jennifer was neck and neck with him shucking clams that “… a girl shouldn’t be at the same level as I am”
WTF dude!
Honestly, I hope he tanks.
Michael Vottaggio
The more tattooed of the Voggattio brothers, Michael I believe is on the west side of the country.
Not to sure what he did… or didn’t do this episode. But do remember either him or his brother saying that no one wants to see the other exceed more except when competing head to head.
Ok.. so.. we’ll see
Preet Mistry
Sorry.. but I really have to say this..
Preet resembles the gay girl in Miami that Brooke Hogan was set up with by her gay friend.
Real quick.. Brooke’s roommate is gay and not having any luck in the dating field. Having once been engaged to a woman, Brooke thinks that maybe he really isn’t gay. To prove that one knows one’s sexuality, he sets her up on a blind date with a girl. A girl that looks just like Preet.
I know that really has not place here and I’m truly not being disrespectful to Preet. It’s just an observation. And honestly, considering that Preet’s responsibility during Quick Fire was to shuck clams that she never shucked before and was STILL shucking after all the other teams had completed the ENTIRE challenge, I think she’d rather be remembered as the girl who looks like the girl that gave Brooke Hogan her first lesbian kiss!
Robin Leventhal
ROBIN WAS THE CHEF THAT PICKED THE GOLD COIN!
Woosh!
I was positive it wasn’t Laurine but yknow.. my mind doesn’t operate on full capacity this early in the morning!!
Other then that.. nothing really too spectacular to point out about Robin.
Maybe next episode
Ron Duprat
What a story Ron has!
Originally from Haiti.. Ron traveled to the US as a refugee on a little boat that took 27 days and a few lives.
I’m positive that that was an experience that shows up all over the place.. especially in the dish that he made during the elimination challenge. How could it not be in every aspect of your life?
At any rate.. his dish did receive good reviews from the judges and I expect that Ron’s island upbringing will play a big part in future episodes.
Well… there you have it.
It’s a lot for one episode so just bear with me. I promise my recaps will get much better as we go on.
In fact, I may even employ Chief and his color commentating. He’s going to loathe sitting in front of the tv watching a reality show but I’ll guilt him into it!! LOL!
LIVING ME 101 