Top Chef 15 - Colorado

The guy with the moustache is cute.

If I'm not mistaken, he won his episode of Chopped when he appeared on that show.

Why are the bringing back Marcel again? He's not even that good TV, he's just an overgrown brat.

But I am glad that Jen Carroll is being given another shot at it. She was screwed over on Top Chef: All-Stars.

I love Marcel. He's good tv.

I'm sure he has matured, as well. He was only in his 20's when he first appeared on the show, and now he's 37.

I think that he has humbled himself over the years, not to mention that he has a ton more experience than when he started out.

[quote]I'm sure he has matured, as well.

Well, he didn't mature at all from Season 2 to Season 8—so I don't hold out on his having matured much from Season 8 to Season 15. But I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

Is Marcel gay? I always thought he might be.

He's also besties with Hung, who actually is gay.

Oh, I didn't realize that the first episode of Last Chance Kitchen is already online and that

*SPOILER* *SPOILER* *SPOILER* *SPOILER*

Jen Carroll has already been eliminated. Too bad. :(

Joe Sasto is the mustachioed chef.

Marcel still looks good.

I had a bit of a crush on Brother Luck when he appeared on Chopped.

He's a cutie, although there aren't many good looking guys this season.

Here's the listing of this year's chef-testants...

Anyone watching the premiere?

Wow, no one??

I am cable-less, but I will watch it when it appears on Amazon streaming tomorrow.

I watched it. I thought it was so great that the Pakistani woman did so well because she grew up idolizing Padma.

This season on Top Chef, we have assembled the most unattractive cooks in America.............................

It was a great premiere. The potluck was a great way to introduce the chefs- much better than talking head interviews.

It seems like there's a lot of talent this season. We don't have a Brooke type who will steamroll the competition.

I wonder why they don't do any sweeping mid-level close-up shots of Tom Collichio's ass like the cameraman does for Padma when she first comes out on this episode.

Brooke didn't "steamroll" the competition, R16.

She was the decided winner from the beginning.

For some reason, Tom Colicchio has a major hardon for her, as do the producers.

I don't get it, because she's a basket case, and her cooking doesn't seem all that great.

Then again, the same could be said for Michael Voltaggio.

The whole show is rigged anyway, so it doesn't matter. It's really just the palates of two or three people, that decide who the "best chef" really is. That's hardly un-biased.

Has a black chef ever won Top Chef??? I stopped watching after Richard Blais won.

Well, Graham Elliot has really porked up. More proof that the long term results of weight-loss surgery is iffy in many cases.

I've never seen this show. Is it like Chopped - you know where the judges always want more salt on the food and the contestant always under cook the risotto?

This is the first season that I can remember where there isn't an openly gay male chef.

R21, no.

Mustachioed Joe is very cute, even if the facial hair is a bit in the fetish territory. It makes him almost cartoonish in his cuteness. For something completely different, I do like Brother Luck.

I like that a lot of TC contestants are former Chopped contestants, because I feel like I already know some of them and their personalities.

Brother Luck was very nice on Chopped, as was Joe Sasto. I always got a gay vibe from Joe, but not sure if he is or not.

What happened to Gail Simmons’ face?

It's sad that Top Chef is the last reality competition show left on Bravo. There used to be so many, like SJP's artist competition show, Top Design, and the hairstylists show with Jaclyn Smith. I wish they'd drop some of the insipid reality dramas and replace them with more competition shows.

I miss Tabatha Coffey.

Tabatha has a new show on Bravo premiering in January. I saw a commercial for it during Top Chef. She goes around counseling struggling businesses.

Andy Cohen must love her, because her shows keep getting cancelled, yet she returns with the same type of show under a different title.

This time the spin is family businesses and it's called [italic]Relative Success.[/italic]

I love Tabatha, so I'm happy to see her in anything.

Bravo used to be so good...MY LIFE ON THE D-LIST, QUEER EYE, MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL, PROJECT RUNWAY, SHEAR GENIUS, WORK OF ART, TOP DESIGN...

Now it's all trashy reality people. Who cares??? At this point, I'd even welcome back those terrible GALLERY GIRLS over another show of "rich" people yelling at each other.

Agree. Liked Bravo of ten years ago. Project Runway, Sheer Genius, Top Design, Top Chef. They even tried a dance one. Remember this one?

poor Padma couldn't fit all of Joe Sasto's meat in her mouth

Jen Carroll looks like Phyllis Diller now. Sheesh.

rofl R34.

You're terrible!

Hope Kwame and Marcel get back into the competition.

Jen Carroll could take the hair dye down a shade. It's making her skin tone look very pink

Graham brings nothing to the judges' table except his big belly (and his signature white glasses are ridiculous).

The chef turned cheesemaker on Episode 2 was cute in a hipster kind of way.

Not only does stupid Graham have his trademark "glasses" on all the time, he actually has little glasses stitched into his chef coat like a logo trademark and I just can't with that bullshit.

That Graham cracker.

Joe Moustache is getting the asshole edit.

The talented asshole edit

I knew the Alaskan Chef would be gone first because she was getting weepy about her son.

Thankfully Logan Paul wasn't in the episode too much; Padma looked done with him.

The standouts so far are Tyler and moustache guy. Overall, a weak season.

I'm in love with Brother Love. He's hot.

I agree with you R43. Logan Paul was WAY too much. I can see why Padme was annoyed. He wouldn't shut the fuck up... especially about the waffles.

Brother Love's biblical passage tattoo suggests he's not too down with the homosexual lifestyle.

He used to be a gang banger R46, and a lot of ex-cons and gang guys have those types of tattoos.

It doesn't mean he hates gay people.

Annoyed with the "bears" already.

Damn, I liked the Mexican guy. Barely got to know him.

Latinos don't make it very far on this show.

Bummer.

I don't know, R49, didn't that freaky Katsuji Tanabe place fairly high?

r29 and r30 thanks for Tabatha news - love her. Bravo really was much better before that Housewives VanDershit.

Enjoying this season of Top Chef so far. Looking forward to more bears being left in the woods.

I'm rooting for Carrie--that was pretty awesome, baking a cake in a snow oven!

I am so sad Kwame didn't make it. Tom is a punk. Hate the fatso eye glasses chick.

I would have given Carrie the win just on ingenuity alone. He rolled his pasta on a mandolin; big whoop! She built a snow oven and baked individual cakes in tin cups!!

I think that Carrie didn't win because she made a dessert, versus the big guy's pasta dish.

A main course always wins.

Who went home last week?

Last week? Tui. This week? Brother.

Is this a season where its impossible to predict the winner?

My favorites are Fatima and Adrienne. I'm rooting for them. They seem the nicest and most unique—and they also have really pleasant speaking voices.

Wow, just saw that Fatima just underwent surgery for cancer. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!

Yay, my mustachioed boyfriend won the gold medal!

He's so cute. I loved when he said that the only award he ever won was a "participation" medal.. lol.

I don't know what it is about Bruce, but he's very off-putting to me. They're trying to portray him as the cute teddy bear daddy with the new baby, but he just seems smarmy somehow. Very low charisma.

Adrienne needs to go next. How many times has she been on the bottom in both Quickfires and EC's?

The Olympic challenge was confusing and there were too many people everywhere.

It's never a good episode when there are crowds in bleachers cheering them on like they're at a football game.

I agree, R62. I hate Bruce. And he's getting the Brooke Williamson-winner edit. I bet he's going to win, mark my words. Blech. The only person I dislike more than him is Claudette.

I thought this was best episode so far, the Olympic theme was fun and it was good to see the blue team win. And how cute was John Daly and Gus.

It was ironic that Tania wants to be an 'example to others' after being a complete ass on a team challenge. Mind you, working with Claudette would make me a bitch too!

Tanya was kind of a whiny bitch, too. I mean, she seems like she would be cool off of the show, but all she did was complain about everything and everyone. Didn't she know what she was signing up for?

They had Gus Kenworthy as a judge and didn’t get him naked? What a waste. You know he would have done it.

Tanya didn't stand a chance after telling Gail not to project onto her. It immediately became three against one. Tom and Padma were not going to let her stick around after that.

Jen Carroll was eliminated when she insulted the judges also, saying "you're judges, you should be able to figure it out."

Tanya acted like she was so above it all. Why did she compete in the first place?

Too bad I actually liked Tanya. Some chefs are not up to these challenges and pressure, still she did act like a bitch. However that Claudette chick is a cunt. Claudette also threw Adrienne under the bus.

Did anyone catch Brother saying his mom and dad were both exotic dancers in Thailand? His dad's name was Mandingo.

Something is up with Jen Carroll. She can't seem to open a restaurant on her own and she is always down here in DC doing a pop up or transition chefing at a Mike Isabella venture, then there is some drama and poof she is gone.

She'd be a nightmare to work with, I expect, R71.

Which one?

I feel bad for Jen Carroll. She can't seem to fulfill on her promise.

I really took a disliking Claudette this episode. Tonya was a lot, but I think it was partly editing and even if not I do sympathize with her. She hints at the ways the intersection of sexism and racism have hindered her career, and so I imagine the INCREDIBLY ANNOYING bears just got to her. I hope none the bears win. Enough already.

Also, this was the episode that John Besh was edited out of, hence the weird editing and voiceovers. Over on Reddit, some sleuths have screenshots where you can catch glimpses of him.

R74 - I wondered why there were only 3 judges shown in the final judging.

I really hope Bruce doesn't win. Something about him puts me off, but he's getting a really favorable edit.

Also, I've soured on Brooke ever since hearing the rumor that she was promised the win last season prior to signing on. It really should have been Shirley's season. The worst win since Nicholas beat Nina, which was the worst win since Hosea beat Stefan.

My F3 prediction based on editing:

Amish-soul Chris, Fatima, Mustache Joe

I'm rooting for Fatima! Her personality is so infectious. I can see her having a great TV career a la Carla Hall.

Fatima and Bruce seem be doing the best in the social media follower gain. Fatima has 27.7k Instagram followers, while Bruce has 15k. Chris is only at 5k, while Mustache Joe is surprisingly lagging at less than 4k. A good barometer of fan support. One of my faves, Adrienne, is only at 2k.

Is Fatima gay? She seems to be in love with Padma..which is totally understandable even if she is straight.

Mustache Joe may be the hottest contestant ever on Top Chef. It’s very distract whenever he’s on screen.

Joe, your ridiculous mustache is not hot R81

R82, was that supposed to be your counter-example of hot? Brian is indeed hot, but he looks like David Thewlis in that pic.

[quote] Brian is indeed hot, but he looks like David Thewlis in that pic

That's Michael Voltaggio, not Brian R83.

Looks like the battle for the top is between the boys (Carrie has an outside chance of making it to the finals I think).

Bye Claudette, we're not going to miss you.

Bye. She was one of the most disagreeable cheftestant yet.

I would be fine with Bigger Joe winning, as he was very charming this episode. I still get an odd feeling with Bruce, and Moustache Joe is off-putting as well. Moustache Joe really should have gone this episode, based on the food critiques. He dodged a bullet.

Fatima is still my favorite, though this wasn't her strongest episode. I'm hoping she steps up her game.

[quote]Fatima has 27.7k Instagram followers, while Bruce has 15k.

Fatima is already up to 34k! That's a 6k follower spike in a week. Fans love her.

Fatima was a terrible restaurant host in this episode and has she won an elimination challenge yet? So not sure where her new fans are coming from R88

[quote]So not sure where her new fans are coming from [R88]

Her personality—which is fun, genuine and infectious.

But this is not a personality contest.

I am rooting for Carrie and Big Joe. Bruce annoyed me less this week. The soul food chef is a wimp.

[quote]She was one of the most disagreeable cheftestant yet.

Yes. I wiuld NEVER eat her food. What a cunt.

Mustache Joe just keeps getting hotter and hotter as the show goes on. I would love to see a finale with him, Carrie and other Joe.

Mustache Joe made 3 bad dishes, he overstayed his welcome.

There are so many humorless women like Claudette in Southern California.

I love Claudette's final speech about Top Chef only wanting boring food. It had nothing to do with boring food; it had to do with her being the executive chef not tasting the food. That's pretty damn basic.

[quote]But this is not a personality contest.

It doesn't mean she should win, just that she's the most popular.

Are mustache Joe R93 and Fatima R90 posting here? (that could also be Padma as she has a hard on for Fatima too).

I dont know if you noticed, R97, but R93 (me) was critical of Mustache Joe. I cannot stand him.

I don't get the appeal of mustache Joe. He is a very basic look almost like one of the mastersons. And Fred Goldman has had that mustache for decades. All of that long facial hair is embedded with E coli and mad cow disease.

Mustache joe is the definition of dreamy. He’s not only hot, but husband material too.

R100 - just as long as he doesn't make you dumplings.

R100 straight outta 1955 wearing a poodle skirt and mary janes

I agree R100.

There is something very sexy about Joe Sasto, and I think he might be gay.

Anyone know?

Sexy Joe!

Joe's hairy nipple! With tragic ink.

this thread is highjacked by a couple of swooning fangirls.

I like Fatima, but she uses a jarring amount of vocal fry.

Tanya was a cunt and this interview confirmed it. What did she think she signed up for?

Bye, bith. You can take your bald ass home.

Wow, she's a bitter raisin, isn't she R108?

Somebody should let Tanya know that she isn't Edna Lewis and that she should get the fuck over herself.

She seemed to be over it before it even started.

She's awfully pretentious for a chicken-and-waffles cook.

Mustache Joe is into crystals. Um, OK.

Toast!? TOAST?

Why do they keep saving mustache Joe when he has made the worst dish, three weeks in a row????

Also, WHY THE FUCK is this threas greyed and striked out???

It was sad to see big Joe go.

But thank you Top Chef for bringing Brandon Mcmanus to my attention (no sniggering at the back please).

Moostash Joe not going home was an abomination. He's clearly in the producers' pocket for some reason. I'm thinking runner up for him.

The crystals have been kept Joe in the show R118 (their positive energy to be exact).

Why the hell is Adrienne(?) still on the show? Has she made one single dish that anybody has liked?!

SPOILERS (don't know if they are reliable) SPOILERS SPOILERS

Apparently, Adrienne is one of the top 3.

I loved the Stanley House quickfire challenge. That hotel was very creepy and cool. I'd love to stay there.

Craig's dish was the clear winner. I loved his story with the hiker falling off the cliff onto the rocks, with the green splatter. His story made me laugh out loud, as it did for Padme. That was hilarious. What a weirdo.

Glad to see Joe Sasto win the elimination challenge. He called it correctly that he and Adrienne were trying too hard to "show off" all of their skills in one dish, rather than just highlighting the one or two necessary skills for the challenge.

I honestly thought that Bruce was going to be the eventual winner. The show really seemed to be pushing for him, but now I'm thinking that Carrie is the golden child, sort of like Brooke last season.

Personally, I'd love to see either Adrienne or Joe Sasto win the whole thing. They're my favorites, at this point.

Has anyone determined yet if Joe Sasto is gay?

Joe mentioned his girlfriend during last week's episode R123 and also crystals, which helped him win this week's elimination challenge (obviously).

I thought Bruce would make it to the finals too R122

Wtf? Adrienne has to be one of the most underperforming, underwhelming chefs to make it this far.

Adrienne just made it through by being the least worst. I like her and she definitely brought it up a notch this episode. I like Carrie and hope she wins. She was such a dork with the Governor. It was cute.

Adrienne sucks. The spoilers are terrible, I am not watching from the top 3 on.

Big Joe is back! Was not expecting Adrienne to make the final 4, but it looks like mustache Joe could be Top Chef.

I'd be very happy if Joe Sasto won.

Btw, who got the boot? I missed the ending.

I'm guessing it was Chris.

Yeah it was Chris. Everyone is so damn nice this season, it's hard to root against anyone.

I'm really starting to think that Carrie has this in the bag.

She seems to do no wrong in the eyes of the judges.

Unless she makes toast again R131

Toast for the win. Did anyone catch the British guest chef say he cooked at 18K feet in the Alps? There are no mountains let alone towns at 18K feet in the Alps.

Maybe he made a snow oven and slow cooked a Saint Bernard?

Carrie called Paul Liebrandt, the most famous British chef ever. I've never heard of him until this episode! Is he even well-known?

This is rigged for a Mustache Joe win. I will skip the finale.

I don't think it's rigged, R136.

When the season began, I was rooting for Joe Sasto because he was actually on "Chopped," before he was on Top Chef.

And he won his episode of Chopped, which means that he has to have some skills.

I wonder if the finale will be Joe versus Joe?

I can't imagine that either Adrienne or Carrie will win.

I think Carrie has the track record and every possibility to win. I'm not really into any of them. I liked Chris and don't mind the dumb moustache. Watching people taste food that takes two days to serve a one inch square of protein with some beets, barley risotto and ironic corn puff treat is getting very old. Panna Cotta. I love a tasting menu, french food, tapas or a nice crisp skin. But it doesn't translate well to Gail Simmons judging it. She sucked off every guy in my brother's band. Who tastes best?

Gail has nice tits. It's not surprising that guys want to have sex with her.

Lucky Gail.

They didn't want to have sex with her. Gail sucked a bunch of dudes off. She was famous for her head in Toronto and Montreal. She climbed any ladder in front of her while torturing her parents every day. Strange chick. She's nice and all but she really is a whore. People say shit about Padma licking her fingers and marrying Rushdie. Ask what Gail did on the bus of the Nine Inch Nails for a month? That's only one of her band adventures. She's got a refined palate for sure.

Omg are you serious R141??? She sounds horrible!

How did she "torture her parents?" I'm fascinated by this. She absolutely doesn't seem the type to do that.

I knew Carrie would end up going home. She was the weakest of the remaining four.

I was happy to see Adrienne win the challenge, but it looks like she messes up in the final three.

I guess it really will be a Joe versus Joe finale.

There all so nice, I care and don't care who wins. I like them all and they're all pretty talented.

R141 Gail's big tits grant her 24-hour access to any straight guy on the planet

Verificatia! Verificatia!

God, Joe Sasto just keeps getting hotter and hotter with each episode. And seeing him get emotional last night? I want him in me so very deeply.

R147 the world is aware you want to be pummeled very deeply. Your colon must be like a water slide.

Moustache Joe's father is inarticulate but sweet.

I hate weepy old men. The loss of testosterone does criminal damage to Italian men.

You are a cold hearted mfer R150. I was tearing up at this episode.

Nah, I am not cold hearted. But weepy old men are gross. Keep it off reality TV. We could see where super Mario got his delicate problems from. Loss of your mom is tough. For ANYONE & EVERYONE. Be a dude about it Joey. His dad had 7 years to cry over those pig feet. It was embarrassing.

These are 3 of the worst finalists ever.

OK bro @ r152

It was sad to see Carrie go, her snow oven was a highlight of the season.

The Voltaggio bros are still hot. Bryan has slimmed down since his appearance on Top Chef Masters, and Michael has even more tattoos (natch).

Michael Voltaggio's tattoos creeping up his neck onto his face look fucking ridiculous. What a freaky-looking older dude he's going to be.

Michael looked a bit death head meth head to me. They are creepy dudes those two bros.

Yeah, Michael lost a lot of weight. How is that possible, as a chef?

He totally does look like a meth head. Ugly as fuck.

He probably is. Normal people don't have those tattoos. And chefs are some of the most fucked up on drugs people on the planet.

Final three tonight.

I'm guessing it's bye bye Adrienne!

I can't believe that they sent Joe Sasto home. He looked so sad :o(

Looks like this will be the 3rd Top Chef winner from Last Chance Kitchen.

Kristen, Brooke, and now Joe.

Adrienne doesn't stand a chance.

Yeah I agree, the other Joe is getting the winner edit. Adrienne made a nice comeback but she never won an elimination challenge. She really doesn't deserve it.

Adrienne managed to get to the final 2 by being marginally less awful than somebody else. If she wins, it's gonna be a travesty.

Joe Flamm is no prize either. Ugh. Worst season ever.

R162, Adrienne won one challenge.

It was the one where the families came to visit them in Telluride. She won that one.

Yes, she won one challenge over the course of the season. Hardly top two material.

Colorado is pretty.

Poor mustache Joe, his crystals failed him...

This season has been unpredictable, big Joe for the win then?

Padma reminds me of Ivanka Trump. She's just there to show off her boobs and her outfit, and acts as if the whole room should be in awe of her sexy presence.

I am in awe of her sexy presence, and I'm a gay man. I also think she's extremely knowledgeable about food and I respect her opinion.

Padma's main criticism about food is that it needs more salt.

Gail know much more about food, and actually provides valid comments.

Padma has presence. Ivanka does not.

Wait, what?

This discussion has lost me.

I wanted Joe Sasto to win.

It doesn't bode well for Adrienne that people thought that she was the helper and not the chef. The judges and producers want a winner with charisma and commands attention. There have been other female contestants who obviously were the lead chef.

R170, Padma know good grammar.

Plus Padma is on the right side of history. Her image is a lot about being gorgeous, check out her Insta, but she tempers it with being more of an earth mother. I do agree that Gail knows a lot more about food. So the person that was saying Gail was a big slut upthread. Where are you? Was that a joke? She seems very un-slutty to me.

I wonder if Tom jerks off thinking more about Gail's boobs or Padma's.

I think it might be Gail.

From the rumors on previous Top Chef threads R176, I'm guessing that Tom jerks off thinking about Hugh Acheson.

That is, according to the rumors.

This would be quite the foursome!

Can I join in the fun?

Oh Richard, you have chronic halitosis! Definitely not!

I think that Adrienne might win.

Something that stood out to me from the very first episode of TC Colorado was when she was introducing herself, and she mentioned that there has never been an African American female winner of Top Chef, and I thought to myself, "hmmm... that sounds like a narrative."

I wasn't sure if she'd make it all the way, but here she is in the top two.

One more step, and she's the first AA female Top Chef ever. I guess we'll see.

Tonight's the finale!

The finales are always anti-climactic. The scenes are shot differently outside of their usual setting, and there's a loud, live audience cheering them on.

That was only for one season, R183. Seasons after that weren't held in that format.

In fact, the previews for tonight's finale looked really subdued, with celebrity guest judges sitting around a very quiet table, speaking softly.

Also, Tom challenges to just cook their best food ever, so there are no silly parameters. Just do what they do best.

I waited all week to watch the finale, and I ended up going out, and missed the finale and all re-runs.

Who won???

Joe Flamm won.

I love how Bravo makes him shill for Hidden Valley Ranch now. Gross.

I really thought Padma was going to say 'Joe.... you are not Top Chef', as she was half shaking her head while speaking. Nice bluff I guess.

Congrats to Big Joe, and commiserations to Adrienne, someone else will become the first female African-American Top Chef.

Someone with actual talent, I hope.

That was some amazing food in that finale. Maybe the best ever. And both of them seem like awesome, nice, big hearted people. How often does that happen in the slurry pond of reality tv? This show is great.

My mouth was really watering with the final presentation from the reign chefs.

Really high quality eats...!