Kish Me You Fool—Top Chef Announces New Host

And it’s Wisconsin!

Hope ya like cheese curds and brats!

Will they go to Monty's Blue Plate for the famous meatloaf? I couldn't be more excited about this.

Gail is SEETHING.

Gail isn’t exotic enough to be TC’s host.

I 10000% called that!

She's fantastic on her travel cooking show. A natural on screen.

I won't be watching.

Top Chef has become all orientals, all the time.

I'm sick of it and over it.

Orientals?

Pay it no mind R7. He's a weird Top Chef troll who hates Asians. Very strange. Even for DL.

Brave face from Gail.

Kirshten Kishhh

Will Gail even notice the difference?

I’ll miss Padma, but this is a good choice. I like Kish.

Love her! And glad they picked someone from the Top Chef family.

Her journey to being Top Chef.

Thanks to the producers for not choosing Tyra Banks.

She's doing a lovely job so far. I'm sure it will take her a few episodes to settle in.

They've gone back to picking some real characters after a few seasons of more high level contestants.

Has this actually started?

Haven't watched Top Chef in a long time, but I do love me some Gail.

Why have they never done a spin off called Bottom Chef? I’d watch that.

As a native Wisconsinite, I'm excited that they chose this for a season. I never would have expected it, but I suppose after twenty seasons they needed to dig deeper for locations. I'm disappointed they're based in Milwaukee, although with it being the biggest city in the state and close to Chicago, that was probably inevitable. Milwaukee certainly has culinary cred and history, but I would argue that Madison has a more significant food scene currently. Based on the season previews, they do go there eventually.

There are also plenty of rural towns in Wisconsin tied to its culinary and agricultural history. It will be interesting to see how much they explore of that. Maybe there will even be a challenge in honor of Datalounge's favorite missing Wisconsin boy.

Kish did a great job. I loves me some Padma, but Kish is a natural.

I thought she was great and natural.

Like Padma, Kristen is very warm and sincere with a nice sense of humor. Perfect casting.

[quote]Why have they never done a spin off called Bottom Chef?

That would be Ty-Lor Boring

I like the hunky Mexican chef who won the EC. Also, the French-Italian dude.

[quote]I like the hunky Mexican chef who won the EC

Oh Manny, hot Zaddy.

Sorry there was no Quickfire Challenge, but the pasta, soup, roast chicken challenge was a good one. The right chef went home (way to represent SF, dude…). So what’s next? Brats, cheese, dairy, foraging, beer and pork with frozen custard for dessert?

[quote]The right chef went home (way to represent SF, dude…)

He was pretty awful

So glad immunity is now given after the elimination challenge. Makes much more sense.

Fuck me Manny. Shoot streams of your hot jizz into my quivering asshole. He’s hot.

It scares me when I have a strange attraction to certain lesbians. Kristen is one of them. I find her gorgeous.

Winning the elimination challenge is its own reward. The immunity prize was to make the quickfire meaningful. Why have an immunity prize at all?

^though sometimes they too in case from a sponsor

^toss, dammit

Nothing could be more in character for Wisconsin than Charlie Berens heavily featured on the judging panel of a Miller High Life challenge. Bizarre for Top Chef, but they nailed the local color right out of the gate.

I'm happy to see that DL is still watching. I was just looking for a thread on this.

I like Kristen and the confessionals with Kristen and Gail.

I knew that chef was going home in the first episode. Tom doesn't have a poker face. He sat at the table with his head in his hand. I'm not surprised that Last Chance Kitchen starts AFTER that clown was eliminated. Did anyone catch the premise of LCK this season? Is the challenger someone who wasn't selected to be a primary chef?

I wonder how she lucked into that role because she was an awful actress.

It boggles my mind when people with limited talents decide to toss away an easy gig that pays buckets of money.

I don't know how Padma got the job on TC but she was one of the shows biggest assets. She and Tom balanced eachother nicely.

Did someone ask for Monty's meatloaf? That's Madison, not Milwaukee but close enough.

I noticed that, too, R38, about not including the first eliminated chef in Last Chance Kitchen. I think that's the first time that's happened. Did Tom hate him that much? Or maybe the chef threw a fit after being eliminated. The Bravo TV website has a preview for LCK that introduces the 16th chef twist but doesn't explain who he is, either. I assume he's a bottom rung choice who has to prove himself to get into the main competition.

The fellow who was sent home on Episode 1 had a restaurant that was devoted to reusing ugly produce and off cuts of meat and fish. Yet he complained about having to make a meal out of kitchen scraps. Loser.

He did seem like a real mess, and not at all prepared for competition TV.

Yeah Tom clearly hated the first guy kicked off. I wouldn't be surprised if production wanted to keep hit for cringe value though.

Kristen can’t manage to inject emotion into “Pack your knives and go” like Padma could.

That’s because Padma always sounded like she was dismissing an incompetent domestic, r46. Tom seems to enjoy Kristen and so does Gail.

I miss Padma. She was always fun to watch.

I always thought Padma was on the verge of tears when she told the chef to pack up their knives. Kristen just blurts it out but that's ok. I think she's doing a great job.

Padma has historically had hate thrown her way on this board, but she was a great host. She was always refined but quite genuine and empathetic toward the chefs. And she was surprisingly grounded in her attitude toward food, appreciating homey takes as much as high end.

That said, Kristen is a great replacement. She's a natural TV personality, which she's already demonstrated on other shows. Restaurants At The End Of The World is fascinating, and Fast Foodies, with fellow Top Chef alums Jeremy Ford (an adorable lunkhead of a chef) and Justin Sutherland, is also fun, though they tended to choose some obnoxious celebrities for guests. It's also obvious that Tom has held Kristen in high regard ever since her original run on Top Chef.

What the hell was up with Gail at the Cheesefest? I don't think we saw her say a single word, she just nodded a lot. (That was at least the case toward the end; I didn't rewind.) Was she shitfaced? Heat stroke? I've read some articles by folks who were there and it was apparently BOILING.

She spoke a lot at the Cheesefest. You must have zoned out.

Tom is totally in the bag for the 16th chef in LCK. They must’ve really hated that 1st chef they sent home, he didn’t even get a last chance.

The 16th chef is a bit of an odd twist because what if he had lost his first challenge? It would seem like a waste had he been eliminated right away, but then is it fair to the other chefs if he's heavily favored to win LCK in order to enter the main competition as a surprise?

I really want Tom to hate fuck me.

R55, I second that. Tom has the most beautiful eyes.

I’ll always miss Padma, but Kish is doing great. I really like her…and oddly for a total homo like myself, I find her extremely sexy.

R57, you're turning straight. The horror.

Kristen Kish is Classy...

Papi is dreamy.

Manny is quite possibly the hottest chef ever to grace Bravo TV. It's not just his hunky body and gorgeous smile. It's also his sweet and funny personality. Power Bottoms indeed.

Let's have a tribute to the gay contestants over the years.

Way too much time spent this episode on bullshit. No quickfire and no chef’s table made for a dull 75 minutes.

Is the one who famously said: I'm not your bitch, bitch. amongst the gay contestants in the article?

I have to second the nomination of Manny as sexiest male Top Chef contestant. Sexual charisma for days, he’s like the hottest surviving Neaderthal Man I’ve ever seen. In the latest challenge I kept thinking “They can’t cut the two hottest chefs on the show this soon!” And thank god they didn’t.

I love Kish and think she’s stunningly beautiful but as a host she’s a bit bland and soft at this juncture. Obviously she’ll get better and more outgoing as she goes along. But Padma served steaming plates of cunt with impunity, and since that ‘s not Kirstin’s way (or Gael’s) Tom has had to step up and be meaner and tougher. But they ‘re all still finding their way with each other.

R71, I think Frenchie Kevin is sexier. You know he has a thick, uncut cock under that aprin.

It was quite the visual in the last episode with Kevin and Manny, both in shorts, discussing their dishes. It was the perfect opening for a porn scene.

^apron

The contestants aren't as good this season. The judges table was awkward because they were so excited but most of the food was not that good. Kristen is doing fine to me, dfferent energy than Padma but still a good host. But she is very technical in judging while Padma really prioritized the flavor of a dish, so I miss that voice.

I agree that Manny is very sexy, I was also hoping that the team with two hot guys wouldn't get sent home.

Raisaka and Michelle seem to be the two competent chefs that are a cut above the rest.

Kish is being Kish which is great. Notice how her voice cracked on 'please pack your knives...' this week? Love her.

Kristen is like a hot exotic alien supermodel. Love her on the show!

[quote]I agree that Manny is very sexy, I was also hoping that the team with two hot guys wouldn't get sent home.

Especially after Manny dubbed his team "The Power Bottoms".

Is Kevin gay? He gives me gay vibes and I assumed power bottoms was his idea.

R73, probably not. Just French. To quote Legally Blond: The Musical, "Is he gay or Europpean?"

Gay or European?

[quote] The contestants aren't as good this season. The judges table was awkward because they were so excited but most of the food was not that good.

They even sent Kristen in to scold them: Step it Up!

R69: It’s true that the elimination challenge was a bust. But to be fair to the contestants, it was a stupid challenge. It makes sense to have Frank Lloyd Wright as a theme in a state he left a mark on, but honestly, what does his approach to architecture have to do with food? I’m not surprised that not all the chefs could translate that into great food.

Also, why not give them a little more time overall? The dishes might have been better across the board.

FLW was not the key to the challenge. It was “duality.” I guess that’s somewhat abstract, but “sea and land” (aka “surf and turf”) was just a bad application. “Tension and release” might have had promise, especially since it related to FLW, but they didn’t really know what to do with it. Something about “comfortable and uncomfortable “ using an unusual spice the chef hadn’t used before? No. Light and dark—not as applied literally. Rich and poor was a good idea. Chicken and egg? Just no.

And no matter what the theme, the real key is make good food. There were a lot of cooking errors in the last episode.

It was painful watching those two female chefs snipe at each other. I don't think I ever remember an episode where who was being to PYKAG was so telegraphed .

I'm surprised they haven't done a Top Chef Hawaii or Alaska yet.

I think there was a Top Chef in Hawaii.

Alaska? Do they have a culinary scene?

Hawaii would be expensive.

Top Chef only goes places that gives them financial incentives to go to.

R69, it's still early, but I agree that this season has had a minor dip in talent, or at least creativity. I became worried when like half of them were okay with doing a potato croquette in that EC.

I love Kish as the new host. At first I wanted her to have a unique delivery of the infamous "please pack your knives and go" but I'm now fine with her just saying it however it comes out. It's the new way. She's settling in quite well, especially with her critiques. Such a fun show still.

[quote] But Padma served steaming plates of cunt with impunity, and since that ‘s not Kirstin’s way (or Gael’s) Tom has had to step up and be meaner and tougher.

IMO, Padma said things that were warranted. Tom was more short-tempered and meaner, IMO (compared to Padma).

R82, the season finale of Season 2 was set in Hawaii, I believe.

New Mexico could also be potentially interesting.

Manny and Kevin were like Dumb and Dumberer. Their duality was “light/dark”? That was lame and so lamely executed. Manny’s pasta looked thick and inedible. He’s very sexy but his early win seems like a fluke.

I love Dan. What a sweetie.

Those two loser chefs got a real stealth edit up to a point and then it was so clear they were going home. I’m sure the reality of their partnership was even worse. Total self-sabotage. Kish kind of jumped the gun on their dismissal. She should’ve said, “You had our least favourite dishes,” let the panel talk and then said, “Please pack your knives and go.” It was awkward that she’d already said that and then Tom starts giving critique.

Loved the architectural tours.

Also, if you’re really interested in duality, I highly recommend Naomi Klein’s Doppelgänger. Great listen.

I like Kristen Kiss -- amazing to think that on her season she fell on her sword by taking responsibility for her team's failure (it was the no-talent Josie who messed things up). She fought her way back and won. She came this close to receding into oblivion.

I hate it when there's no Quickfire Challenge. I would be perfectly happy with a whole episode of QCs. Nice to see all the FLW buildings (they couldn't go to the SC Johnson HQ in Racine?), but that was a dumb challenge. Duality, sure, Duality + FLW, no.

I think if Manny had gone home last night I would have stopped watching.

As the poster at R73 when Kevin started talking about his girlfriend this ep I was surprised and sad.

This cast is too nice. Everyone was upset Laura spent 300 from the budget, but none of her teammates would actually confront her about it, they just let her do it.

All of the chefs know "how to be on TV" now. The Asian female who is now on Last Chance Kitchen is absolutely insufferable. I think #16 tanked the breakfast challenge to not make it look like a steamroll, but really what is the point of having this guy on if he isn't going to the main competition.

The chefs this season are all pretty mediocre I don't see anyone with mad skills and an intense personality like past seasons. I'm rooting for Manny only because he has a hot ass, but it looks like he may not be cooking forever.

Best episode yet! The elimination was a shocker. Manny and his BFF working out at the beginning of the episode made me as moist as a Betty Crocker Bundt cake.

The new Asian guy is pretty hot.

R97 Manny is a power bottom.

Kevin and Manny bringing back the Power Bottom talk while they get filmed working out. Those two know exactly what they are doing, but I am not mad about it.

I did like this episode. The judges were actually excited about the food which they hadn't been for the last few episodes, the top dishes were clearly actually good.

Surprised to see Raisaka and Michelle as the bottom two, and Raisaka eliminated this early but that dish seemed terrible. Throwing some steamed eggplant and crab together with no real flavoring agents? What was she thinking.

I was surprised to find out that LCK is still going on. When the Black guy went home last week, Tom said he'd see him in LCK. Why bring the mystery guy in so soon?

I love Michelle. She seems like a genuinely nice, humble person. Sad to see Raisaka fumble after such a strong start but I have a feeling she'll be back.

There are two returns from Last Kitchen r101, one happens fairly early on and one close to the end. They have done it that way for the last few seasons.

Thanks, 103. I obviously have not been paying close attention to this show.

I was shocked that Rashika went home!

I do feel she is setting up for a Kristen-style return, though.

Savannah's dish sounded intriguing. I thought she would get the win.

Manny clearly likes his nips worked, going by their perkiness under his gym tshirt. My favorite dish!

I bet Manny is a hot fuck.

R107, let's ask Kevin.

Not that I'm complaining but has anyone else noticed that Manny gets a lot of screentime even when he's just standing there with his gorgeous smile. Tonite felt like the Manny show and I loved it but the elimination was sad. There have been a few dud episodes and challenges this season but I thought the last two episodes were great. I love Michelle!

Manny called Kevin his husband. Swoon.

^ And the other chefs referred to them as "The Boyfriends". There's also Manny calling Kevin a "hot Italian" - even though he's French.

I swear, if those two didn't fuck at some point, it was a crime against nature.

They're just gay baiting, knowing that we will keep watching.

Padma Lakshmi was the saving grace of the show. Although I haven't seen it for years, was it so many years that they ran out of places with some tiny pretension to being a "foodie town" or having some distinctive food ways?

Wisconsin? Fucking hell. Coupled with Lakshmi's departure, there could not have been a better sign than that it was time to mothball the series for five years or so before blowing the dust off and starting again - in a location that somebody, any body cares about.

Wisconsin as the setting is the the saddest thing I've heard in a while. Clearly the producers have given up.

I agree, R113. The show should be filmed in the only city anyone cares about.............the much neglected NYC. Producers deliberately neglect filming anything in New York, especially Food Network and, since it really is the only city that matters, all seasons should be filmed there.

Fuck me Manny and fill my quivering hole with your hot jizz.

This was a fun episode. They have done this type of one v one competition before in Top Chef and I always enjoy it. Though what was that random person from Pitch Perfect doing there?

Kevin and Manny were definitely trying to play up a bromance for screen time, though now Kevin is out. Not unexpected since he had landed in the bottom a few times already.

I'm shocked that Kevin beat Raisaka in last chance kitchen and she is now truly eliminated. That was quite a turn considering she was dominating the early part of the season.

Restaurant Wars next week!

I’ve spent a lot of time in Wisconsin, so it’s fun for me. I like the touring seasons. But I’d rather see them go back to culinary centers they’ve featured in the past than see Top Chef North Dakota next.

Why, R118, they're in a kitchen, so why does it matter where it is? Travel the country and sample all cuisine. We've had enough of New York, California, and Chicago on every other tv show about cooking. Top Chef is the only one which dares to expose the audience to something different. It's refreshing.

I said I like the touring seasons.

My point is that they don’t have to keep going someplace they’ve never been before until they run out of genuine culinary centers. I don’t want to see Top Chef Utah or Top Chef Arkansas.

Clearly they're run out of "genuine culinary centers" if they're in fucking Wisconsin.

Americans cling to a 1950s diner image of paper place mats to amuse the kids who emptied out of a giant wood-paneled station wagon.

"Identify all the 50 states! Even the boring square ones have capitals, giant balls of string, and 'genuine culinary centers!'"

"Ask your waitress for a crayon!"

All states do not have genuine culinary centers.

[quote]Though what was that random person from Pitch Perfect doing there?

It was a baseball theme. "Pitch." Get it?

I agree that Wisconsin is a weak choice for a cooking competition. The fact that challenges have been set around hops, cheese, and running sausages would seem to confirm that.

But where else might they go? What "culinary centers" have been neglected so far? Other than Philadelphia, nothing really jumps out. Maybe Memphis/Nashville, but the thought of all the C&W challenges makes me cringe.

That’s why they need to go back to places they haven’t been in a while.

Yeah, they should go back to New Orleans. I had to Google it, since I had totally forgot they did a season there.

I think its fun to see parts of the country I am less familiar with. Ultimately the host location just plays into some themes of the challenges, it doesn't really matter.

It matters if you think cheese and sausage challenges are unfortunate and episodes inspired by architecture are contrived.

I don’t mind them traveling to places that have a thriving restaurant culture. It’s become so difficult and expensive to open restaurants in places like NY and LA, etc. that a lot of young chefs get their training in world famous places and then go off on their own to open places that won’t break the bank and where they can experiment and build a local following.

I was recently visiting friends in Portland, Maine, which has a fantastic and lively restaurant culture. Scales is a great fish place that has become a local fixture there, and I ate an excellent dinner at Twelve, whose chef had trained at 11 Madison Park in NYC. So I’m good with the traveling. They’re not going to go to food deserts, they’re going to go where there are a number of good new restaurants that non-locals have never heard of.

It doesn’t really matter to me that there are good local restaurants. That supplies guest judges and perhaps challenge locales which I don’t care about. More interesting is a distinctive local cuisine and distinctive local ingredients.

Danny has been accused of dish plagiarism.

Since when does a dish on Top Chef have to be a unique idea they came up with themselves r130? If it was that Chef's idea first then Danny should have credited them in the episode, but he is still allowed to make it.

The issue with the Danny kerfuffle is that, according to what he said and how it was presented on the show, is that this dish was a unique creation for the Chaos challenge.

After being instructed to "dream your biggest dream" and to "use techniques you've never used before", we were shown a montage of Danny looking thoughtful, Danny closing his eyes, random shots of food, Danny cooking, things being blended, snapshots of Danny's family, Danny looking thoughtful some more, more random shots of food, Danny plating, Danny opening his eyes. (The whole thing was very staged and I found it the entire sequence to be really weird, honestly.)

The whole narrative is that this was a singularly inspired dish. Except it wasn't.

Memphis, for all its problems, has a lot of great restaurants—and all kinds of food. Barbecue, soul food, and also many long-running fine dining establishments. It would be a fun place for a season.

I don't think you could stay in Memphis for a whole season, but you can certainly do a Tennessee season.

Top Chef New Mexico would be interesting. (I believe someone else suggested this upthread.)

[quote]Danny has been accused of dish plagiarism.

Mike Isabella stole a dish from Richard Blais and won the quickfire. We also had the infamous pea puree incident.

Unfortunately, hunky Manny is engaged. I'm assuming to a woman.

Manny and Molly

R138 Spoil sport 🖕🏼

I've decided I'm rooting for Chef Amanda. I like her sense of humor and Daria vibes.

Plus I made this beet salad of hers, and it's really good.

She's so hot

Ty-lor Boring, contestant during the Texas season, poses full frontal naked.

I love Amanda too. Don’t think she’s going to win but she’s very fun.

I hope the Muslim guy loses next.

Chef Danny, R144? Fat chance. He appears to be one of the frontrunners.

Well, the Indian woman was a frontrunner but then she bit the dust.

I feel so bad for Rasika!

Laura seems like a really strong chef who maybe needs to edit just a hair. Maybe that's hubby's role.

Happy Michelle made it through; she's one of my faves. And Soo is just adorbs.

I wish I could say that food looked delicious.

I could understand highlighting indigenous ingredients, but exclusively?

R149 Indeed, the chefs were very limited.

The recipe for Michelle's sweet corn cake with basil whipped cream and raspberry compote is very good!

R149, Native American food looks gross. You would think that people descended from Asians would have better cooking skills.

R152, what do you have against acorn meal?

[quote] Native American food looks gross. You would think that people descended from Asians would have better cooking skills

I guess it would have been better had they descended from the Irish or British, given that their cuisine is so much better.

Loved seeing the judges on WWHL tonite. They all seem to genuinely like each other and Kish looked gorgeous.

KK did look amazing, r155! I was never really worried about her taking over for Padma -- the idea hadn't occurred to me, but when they announced her as the new host my reaction was basically "Oh! Duh!" -- but it's been fantastic to watch her slot in so seamlessly. The vibe of mutual respect at the judge's table is the show's secret sauce.

I always wondered if the contestants took Padma seriously, since she wasn't a chef.

Padma is not a professional chef, but she is a talented home cook and judged like 20 seasons of the show. She definitely knew her stuff.

Gail isn't a professional chef either, food critics normally aren't.

Sure Manny is nice to look at, but why is he still there? He has been in the bottom almost every single challenge. I am an surprised he is still there, I think he is surprised too they haven't eliminated him yet.

Was just watching the last chance kitchen finale and Kevin choose to wear pants that are very tight. Surprised to see it is Laura that ends up returning to the competition.

[quote]Kish Me You Fool

My favorite shubtitle shaying by shilent shcreen temptressh Sheda Bara!

They wanted to do Minnesota, which has a high number of James Beard chefs, including the Native American chef who was on a few episodes ago. However, MN doesn't offer any tax breaks for production. WI does and actively courted the show.

I have to admit that nothing about this season has made me want to visit Wisconsin r162. But you are correct on the tax breaks, I mentioned that earlier, Top Chef doesn't go anywhere that isn't going to give them a financial incentive.

[quote] Surprised to see it is Laura that ends up returning to the competition.

I'm not! I've eaten at her (and Turkish husband's) restaurant in SF, Dalida. Really delicious food. I've never experienced her blend of cuisine (Turkish/mediterranean and Mexican).

In the back of Kevin's French/Italian mind: I can't believe these Americans beat me!

How do tax breaks for a show like TC work? Do they set up a Wisconsin company to produce the show for one year?

Wisconsin paid an estimated 1.3 million to bring Top Chef there. Which is less than Kentucky which I think is the most, Kentucky paid over 3 million.

And based on the Kentucky deal, I think they agree to reimburse money spent in the state during production r166.

[Quote]To accommodate "Top Chef," a Kentucky tourism board last year approved up to $3.5 million in production incentives for the show, promising to refund the production company a portion of any eligible costs it spent in the state

I don’t like how much Top Chef is for sale. One episode must have had a dozen close-ups of Morton salt. Do we really want to see the chefs climbing in and out of BMWs in every episode? What’s the point for the audience or BMW at this point? I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Cool-Whip Quickfire or Cheez-whiz Challenge.

They have a a “branded content and integrations producer.”

Well if you want to have a show with good production values that is able to give out generous cash prizes to the chefs then you have to be for sale r168. Capitalism makes the world go round.

Obviously, all entertainment is ultimately “for sale,” but they don’t have to be quite so blatant about it. I don’t mind being told who is sponsoring the cash prizes, but I don’t like products just showing up in the kitchen being used by the chefs, and I especially don’t like entire challenges being built around a sponsor’s ingredient.

I don't mind Wisconsin at all, but please, no more challenges involving boiled fish!

How much kerosene smoke did the judges and chefestants have to inhale? That can't be good for anyone.

I don't mind the promotions as cooking is inevitably tied to products.

I was disappointed when Manny selected the ribeye - he just does the same thing over and over. Plus he’s gaining weight.

I didn’t understand the elimination challenge. How can you judge food on a paper plate? Also, it’s always funny when they’re like, “That carrot salad was TO DIE FOR!” Really? A fuckin’ carrot salad? O-kay. lol

Was sorry to see Soo go. He’s a good sport. Cleans up nicely.

R175, I liked Soo, too. I wonder what the thought process was in making him the 16th cheftestant who had to battle through LCK instead of just, ya know, placing him with the other contestants from the get-go.

^and what a happy turn of events that he just happened to win LCK.

I think Soo's wedding overlapped with the start of the show which is why he had to start off in Last Chance Kitchen.

I still want Manny inside me quite deeply, but ENOUGH with the fucking steaks.

The guest judge tonite is smokin HOT! Elimination Challenge was really interesting and some of the chefs were very creative. And one was not.

Is the judge related to Sean Duffy, MAGA asshole Fox dude and former Real World guy?

Must be because " Duffy" is such an uncommon name.

He is very hot but he painted his nails black which makes me very grossed out.

I don’t trust that the tables are clean. 🤢🤮

Oh noooo. I didn’t want that chef to go home, but it was the worst dish.

That guest judge was HOT!

Michelle will win fan favorite. She got my vote.

Raisaka, Soo, Michelle. All the most interesting chefs to me this season have now been eliminated. I've realized I am not really invested in who wins.

Might as well give it to the dying guy.

Danny wants it sooooooo badly and was not happy that he lost the quick fire challenge. I'd like to see him win. His table looked gorgeous last night.

He's still hot, but I don't know how Manny is still there. Not complaining because the visuals are nice, but he *just* squeaked by on the flavor of his risotto, if not the consistency.

I discovered something I didn't know about myself -- I do not want to eat directly off the table, no matter how clean it is. Thanks, Top Chef!

table eating is gross.

Manny is so hot, and so out of his depth.

For some reason I thought Dan was gay this whole time. I love looking at Manny, but he’s been the weakest chef for weeks. He’s still there only because of other people’s mistakes, not his food.

And that guest judge made me feel things. Naughty things.

I thought Dan was gay too! Maybe it’s the eyeglasses?

Bad eyesight is the first indication that someone is gay.

Danny the Puerto Rican Muslim?

R195 No. Dan, the one with the cane.

So no gay contestants this season? Another reason this season is a clunker!

No gays! Not a single gay! We're all straight, bro!

I could hear several of these “straight” chefs pinging even through my advanced tinnitus.

R198, they're just playing with us so we continue watching. Gay bait

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Casper this cranky. I hope he gets his shit together, but it’s kinda nice to see him ruffled. Etcheverry is a tenacious mofo.

Oops, got my threads confused. ;)

I'm very happy with the final four.

SPOILER

But I will miss that hot piece of ass

Manny was looking so fine tonight with that peek of chest hair showing. It's a shame we'll never see him shirtless or at least in a tank top. Truthfully, though, even had he made it to the finale, he would have been one of those contestants who skates through by never being the worst chef each week but is not a serious contender in the end.

I suppose there's always a chance he'll show up next week in some sluttier cruise wear as a potential sous-chef, at least.

Manny needs to join Below Deck pronto!

Gay baiting to the extreme - Manny and Kevin calling themselves the ‘Power Bottoms’ when they were in, well, the bottom.

Oh damn! Kish made me tear up when she choked up at the end.

Let's be Gail's tits!

Gail has an Executive Producer credit so can show her puppies as she wishes.

Just saw Episode 12, Goodbye, Wisconsin.

Kudos to Gail for showing up to the dinner table in lingerie like it was her honeymoon.

Shut up, Manny, and put your big thick dick inside me.

When Laura said that the lion fish was warm and cuddly with a spike in it - just like some of her competitors, that was the line of the season!

Gail saying, “Maybe you just don’t like…” and Kish joining in unison, “…THIS mousse!” was a close second.

Any of the final three could win. It should be an exciting finale ... Especially since MANNY IS BACK!

I can't recall any other season where the judges had to basically apologize to the other diners because the chefs sucked.

There have definitely been some poor services in other seasons that left the judges chagrined. I vaguely recall at least once when Tom scolded the chefs after a challenge, but I don't remember what season it was.

I don’t understand how they keep serving raw proteins. Unless it’s just Manny’s warm jizz on a plate. Or even a table.

Tom scolded them this season.

I wonder how Manny knew what a Power Bottom was? HMMM?

We never knew where the power bottoms moniker came from. Personally, I think it was Kevin angling for something with Manny.

This group was generally lackluster and though the top three seem nice not a one of them has the chops or charisma to be a cooking star.

This late in the season though r216? These are the four finalists and there were major cooking errors that every one of them made. I did feel bad at the judges having to make apologies about it.

The surprise Morimoto cameo was great though.

No, I agree with you, R222, I don't think there are any Top Chef superstars coming out of this season. My point was that's not unique. There have been other seasons that haven't produced any chefs of note, either. Manny could save this season's legacy by opening up an OF.

The standouts this season have been Gail’s outfits. She’s definitely been rocking a ‘wild cougar summer’ wardrobe.

Curacao looks nice. I wonder how much of a tax break they gave TC to film there. Also, you could not pay me to go on a cruise on one of those massive floating hotels, even if Morimoto made me nigiri every night.

Danny for the win, I guess.

All my faves are gone, so I guess out of this group, I want Savannah to win.

You know, I always liked Padma and would have been fine if she’d stayed with the show forever, but I like Kish so much that I don’t really miss Padma.

The show is better with Kirsten, Padma was getting tired and bored. Kirsten is excited by the contestants, the food, the challenges and has brought a good energy to the show.

Is that a good cruise line? Or are they all as tacky as Carnival cruises? Are there like elite, exclusive brands of cruise lines out of reach of the hoi polloi? Are is being trapped at sea with people sheets a nightmare?

* …with people ALWAYS a nightmare?

Interesting post I just ran across on the reddit

[Quote]I worked for Kevin for a little while as a barista at Foliepops in Bee Cave and he’s not only straight but incredibly homophobic. He’ll say anything to have people like him so I’m not surprised he would queerbait so hard as a conventionally attractive man.

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if it were true.

I cannot stand the sound of Dan’s voice. It is excruciating. I hope he loses, because of that voice and he’s acted like he was better than the rest of them the entire season. I like Savannah, if only because she’s got some humility.

If anyone acts like they're above the rest it's Danny. He's also visibly pissed when he loses a challenge. Dan seems very humble with a good sense of humor and the other chefs seem to genuinely like him.

Admittedly, I don’t like Danny either. It’s Dan’s voice, which I understand is a petty and ridiculous reason not to like him but it is what it is. And he’s not that humble. Wouldn’t kill me if he wins, but I’m not tuning in anywhere to listen to that nasal Wis-Kahn-sin accent.

[quote] He's also visibly pissed when he loses a challenge.

Danny has high standards for himself. He’s pissed at a loss because he knows he can do better, not because he thinks he deserves to win.

It's a competition. People should want to win.

God, what has happened to the world that people get upset at any sign of competitiveness in a competition. You would hate the early era of Top Chef where people were brutally competitive with each other and that was expected.

Savannah for the win.

Manny for the win! He should be able to come back and win,.

^ only if he shows up naked

Tom looked really hot in this old video. I love the scruffy look on him.

For the finale, each chef must prepare a buffet to be eaten off Manny's pecs.

The winner made no sense if you listened to the criticisms of their dishes.

Surprised the hell out of me. Maybe the originality was the thing that decided it.

Why oh why did Danny pick Manny. Any of those other chefs would have been a better choice.

I wanna suck on Manny’s titties.

Boooooooo

Could have done with less of Gail's boobs, Kristen's F bombs, the plugs for the cruise line, and the need of chefs to tell their personal stories through food. I don't give a fuck what the other kids said about your brown bag lunches and what your grandmother cooked for you. I am a diner, not your therapist.

So ‘aguachile’ seems to be the hip thing now? Every episode at least one chef says they will do a dish in this way, usually two.

It's too bad Soo ended up being mostly a footnote this season. They never explained the reasoning for placing him as a dark horse in Last Chance Kitchen, and it didn't pan out once he made it into the main competition. I like him, but his presence is ultimately confounding. Maybe they hoped he would be a more a dominant force?

Of all the contestants this season, I think we're most likely to see Savannah or Rasika again.

Danny is a douche. He told Andy Cohen he was not surprised he won. I was.

Savannah was in over her head and treated Michelle as a collaborator rather than an assistant. Big mistake.

No one trusted Laura enough to pick her as an assistant.

Tom had dismissed Gregory Gourdet's West African cuisine several seasons back, and I think they wanted to show greater respect for non-European flavors this season. Gourdet just won a Beard award/

Yeah the editing of the episode made you think Dan was going to win. He made the fewest mistakes in his meal.

But Danny's food was more creative and more modern. Think the judges wanted to support that. Dan's menu was fairly simple and straight forward.

Danny was the obvious winner. More creative.

I was also surprised that Danny picked Manny r243, but as he said Manny was "his boy" and he wanted to "party with him" after they were done. Which seems silly for a reason, but whatever. Predictably Manny did make mistakes but I guess Danny still won so it worked out.

Omg the scene where they revealed the winner, Manny is standing there in tight linen pants and you can see his massive dong stuffed to the right. Holy shit.

If Manny was my sous chef, when they cut to the back seat of the car I would’ve been slobbering all over his hard knob. Which was about all he was good for!

Gail: “I had a hard time figuring out how to eat Danny’s second course, how to get it on my fork and then over my tits and into my mouth.”

I thought Dan had it in the bag. There was nothing on Danny’s menu that sounded interesting to me.

No shade but I knew when Savannah & Michelle were like “Corn meal! Plantains!,” Savannah was going to lose. Also when she suggested to Michelle she should stop kneading the pasta dough already - they should’ve made that pasta dough on. the. day. Everyone knows that.

If Danny had just put Manny on a lazy Susan and called it four courses he probably still would’ve won.

Especially on a cruise ship.

Tom made several comments on Twitter this morning to the effect that the editing was poor and that Danny was the clear winner.

Kristin is up for an Emmy for Outstanding host. I hope she gets it, up against all the old guys- RuPaul, Probst, and Cumming. Although I bet Cumming wins.

I knew Dan wasn't going to win based on the comments he received. There was no criticism or glowing praise for anything he did. It was fairly middle of the road. He made good food but it wasn't memorable. Maybe it was the editing.

We have the location for next season, they are going to Canada.

Canada is a big country, I wonder if they are actually going to travel around to all the different regions or is it going to be mainly Toronto.

Poutine for everyone!!!

I'd love to see Kish win but Alan Cumming is such a force on The Traitors. I'd give it to Alan.

Danny's win made me realize I hate fine dining. I can understand why he won but I found Dan's food more appealing. Still, the program is very educational. I now know what agradolce and chermoula are.

That is, agrodolce.