Top Chef 22: Canada

What happened with Mossimo while he was presenting his dish? Was he unzipped and his dick came out? Did he get an erection? That was a curious unexplained moment.

He was just loud. Took everyone by surprise.

I realize it's early, but seems like there might be some good talent this season. Maybe a little light on eye candy.

This thread may be a non-starter, but just in case it takes off, I'll add that I just watched LCK and found it hilarious that Mimi LaButch was so aggressively anti-eggplant. She knew what she was saying; made me like her more.

Mimi LaButch was like a Paula Pell character, or Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids. “My partner took all the pots and pans!”

Canada is too big and varied a location. Top Chief usually focuses on a single city. Then they did Wisconsin. Now an entire nation? What’s next—Top Chef Europe?

R5, it started with Top Chef: Texas, in which they graveled to several cities in the state. That was the season than many would like to forget, because of the outright bullying and despicable behavior of fat Heather and fat Sarah.

r4 Mimi was hilariously inept during the main challenge & her pork looked grey and disgusting. Fantastic casting for reality TV. Last Chance Kitchen was also pretty entertaining, link below. The new guy is quite handsome.

Poutine?

Tourtiere?

Smoked meat?

Hoping for Nainamo Bars!

Agreed with R2: Very short on the eye candy this season. Yes, I realize it's cooking show, not a beauty pageant.

This seems like a pretty strong group. Bailey was obvious filler casting but, overall, there seem to be fewer chefs who are clearly out of their depth.

Russian woman: I will make traditional Russian dish. Repeat every week.

Is that Vernon Wang in the middle, OP?

R11, I have to say, I was intrigued by her pine cone jelly.

Kristen Kish is gorgeous, I marvel at her beauty every time I see her (and I’m a gay man).

Plus she seems to be owning her place on the show this season, appears more relaxed and confident.

I find Master Chef more entertaining than Top Chef.

Master Chef Canada has more interesting judges and contestants.

R14, I love that Kristen isn't trying to be Padma V 2.0.

She is bringing her own personality and vibe to the show and it all feels so seamless.

At this point I could do without Tom and Gail.

Relieved Massimo didn't go; he's as close as we get to eye candy this season. (I know!)

There seem to be quite a few really strong chefs this season, and I'm enjoying how they all have each others' backs in the kitchen. The show got so much better in my eyes once they stopped trying to create villain story lines after the first few seasons. (Yes, there have been villains since, but less obviously of production's making.)

#1 villain. All the fat must make one evil.

Kristen Kish really shines during judges' table. She very effectively communicates what works/what doesn't and why.

All American contestants have $200 to spend at Wholefoods, including a 50% tariff.

Well, at least we know that Massimo rarely has performance issues.

Have you noticed that when they call out the top 3 favorites they always make a big show of being relieved when they are told they are in the top even though the first trio is ALWAYS the top three?

I wonder if they mix up the order so they don’t know. Then edit to always put the top three first.

Years ago, when there was the stew room, the worst chefs were sometimes called out first.

While Tom seems engaged and focused in Last Chance Kitchen, during the competition itself he seems grouchy and completely over it this season.

I agree Tom seems a little off -- especially in shots where he's in the background while other people are talking -- but he was certainly gung-ho about Tristen's dish and talent overall. He said "yum," fer chrissakes!

I miss the stew room.

We still get a bit of stew room after they announce the bottom three.

I'm really starting to think Tristen might be Paul Qui-level dominant this season.

I missed her intro so I took a while to recognize Sarah Bradley. Actually, it was her voice that first sounded familiar, and I was like, "Wait, is that...?"

Girl got herself a glow-up!

At least Massimo apologized for being an asshole, lmao.

I didn't expect Bailey to be the one to come back from LCK. I thought it would be the Russian lady.

I'd take Mossimo's loads.

Are they quick fires?

R33, he claimed he has never had performance issues!

Suser Lee's son is a hottie.

How do they make cooking so miserable?

Shocked that Katianna went home. I thought it was going to be Vinny, based on the editing, but then he wound up on the winning team.

Such a great bunch of cheftestants! Decent, talented human beings -- Tom called out the overall high quality of the cooking -- and I'm happy to have the drama coming from somewhere other than inter-personal conflict.

I really hope Katianna makes it back; I like her and she seems like she's in the top tier despite the bad call on the tofu.

Tristen is a low-key beast.

I wept for Henry. That was heartbreaking.

I really like Katianna, hope she makes it back.

The team challenge rules really screwed them this time. Best dishes on the losing team, worst on the winning team.

Is the team competition element really necessary? Why not just reward the best and eliminate the worst?

Pickles seems more like a Quickfire Challenge than an Elimination Challenge to me. And are pickles particularly Canadian? (Yes, I realize not every challenge has to be Canada-themed, but this just seemed random.) I'm trying to ignore the grievous paid product placement of this week's Quickfire. Not new on TC by any means, of course, but still.

Chipotle has been getting themed quickfires for years and years.

Your challenge is to make a Chipotle inspired dish, which unlike a real Chipotle dish, doesn’t give the judges extreme diarrhea within 30 minutes.

Your time starts now!

Massimo is a bull in a china shop!

Is that an Asian guy in a dress or an Asian woman with no tits?

At this point, it would be a shock if Tristen doesn't win the whole thing. I remember Tom saying they had to try to edit around Paul Qui's dominance in his season and they don't seem to making any such effort this time around. (Hmm.... or is that a sign that he DOESN'T win?)

My DVR also recorded the post-episode WWHL with the judges and they quickly danced around Andy's question about Tristen looking like a front-runner (again making me think he wins). Tom confirmed that this season's contestants are exceptional, saying 10 of them could have won. I sorta wish Bravo's marketing/PR around this season leaned into that angle a little bit more; it might lure back some viewers who have drifted away over the years. I'm always worried the show's gonna get canceled. (I mean, I bet there are maybe a half-dozen DLers engaged in this thread, max.)

The Martha Stewart/Jose Andres show “Yes, Chef!” seems to have some of the old Top Chef mojo.

Damn! Spike became a silver daddy overnight and is only a few years older than me. He's still hot, though.

I like Lana's vibe and energy but wish she would do better in the challenges. She's strictly middle-of-the-pack.

Tristan, César, Vinnie, all ping to me.

Henry already outed himself.

R50, didn't Henry call himself a "bottom queen?"

I can't wait to see Massimo as front of the house next week on Restaurant Wars!

R47, I'll be checking out Yes, Chef this week. It will probably lean too much into bad behavior, like Hell's Kitchen, which I detest, but watching Martha Stewart berate others for their poor attitudes will likely provide some entertainment for a while, at least.

[quote] didn't Henry call himself a "bottom queen?"

She most certainly did.

Last season and this I’ve noticed a call and response affectation of the cheftestants saying “heard” all the time - much like those cunts on The Bear.

r49, I like middle-of-the-pack for her.

Kristen always looks hot as fuck. Whoever dies her styling nails it every episode. I much prefer her to Padme who got really boring really fast.

That's been used in restaurants for decades, R54.

I worded in restaurants for 25 years, and I still think it's stupid to yell out "heard."

Yes r57 I am aware, however I’ve never noticed it as obviously or prolifically since The Bear started showing so I’m blaming it on that insufferable pretentious alleged comedy.

I want Spike inside me quite deeply

R56 = Salman Rushdie.

I didn’t care for “Yes, Chef.” Too manipulated, and not enough cooking. Martha is not up to the challenge. Too old.

I don't think "Yes, Chef," will make it as a long term cooking show, but I'll stick with it for now. Martha was fine, but it was disappointing to see José Andrés deferring to her at every moment. And I don't know that we really need a reminder of how terrible a person Katsuji Tanabe is.

Yes, Chef is the most contrived piece of shit disguised as a cooking show. You have a cookoff between the chef who won the challenge and the one that chef wants to face in the cookoff. The winner gets to choose the type of cuisine to be cooked ( in this case, Greek), but the loser gets to choose the ingredients ( Mexican). Why? Huge advantage to the loser. Both prepared Mexican dishes, not a hint of Greek. I won't watch another episode. Just let the winner choose the cuisine that both will have to cook.

R58, is it any worse than everybody calling each other 'chef?'

Has anybody ever checked out Tournament of Champions? Yes, it's hosted by Guy Fieri of all people, but the level of chef talent -- which includes many past Top Chef winners and contestants -- is top-notch. It's basically two chefs going head-to-head in 30-minute Quickfire challenges.

Tournament of Champions is in certain ways a modern take on Iron Chef, with the chefs often competing to prove their pedigree against "giants" in the field, the reporters on either side, the out of left field criteria/ingredients for each challenge, etc. Guy Fieri really fouls the proceedings, as usual, especially with his favoritism of some of his own pets from his other shows (Britt Rescigno worst of all). But there are so many chefs I enjoy seeing that I end up watching anyway.

Tom is so fkin hot.