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I too am sorry to see him go. He was one of my favorites. He seems like a nice, affable, young man with a lot of talent. He isn't an egomaniac, nor temperamental like some of the others. He is likeable and probably a very good chef. Too bad he had to take the responsibility for the failure of the team.
I'm wondering who you believe should have taken responsibility for the failure of the team? Casey? Her decorating and carrot soup were not bad. Her Monkfish dish received a tepid review.Originally Posted by aname;2547826;
CJ? He selected the team. Does that make him team leader? Was his salty lobster salad what contributed most to the team's failure?
Brian? The sweaty greeter who didn't cook anything? Was his failure to cook a dish and keep cool the greatest contributing factor?
Tre bravely asserted himself and took the role as head chef. He was confident in his abilities ("I can make bread pudding in my sleep") yet produced one of the worst dishes Ted Allen has ever tasted (stomach turning flavor combinations not seen since gorgonzola watermelon brulee, YUCK Sam) and a universally panned bread pudding, a dessert which is pretty much as simple as you can get. Instead of focusing on improving their menu, he was overly confident, dismissive of the other team and generally lacking in focus.
I see the affability, I see the quiet manner and how the good looks make him an appealing package. However, I strongly feel that his likability and flashes of talent have led to him being overpraised. Is his attention to detail equal to Harold? No. Are his plating skills equal to Marcel? No. Are his knife skills even close to Hung? No. Is he as inventive as Tiffani or Marcel? No. He's quiet and exudes confidence, has muscles and a colgate smile. That does not make him a top chef, he has a ways to go and everyone seems to be putting the cart before the horse, stumbling over themselves to laud him.
Of all the remaining chefs, though, Tre seemed to be the most talented. He did very well in quickfires and elimination challenges. Howie and Sara M. had bombed worse or just as bad as him (and in the first challenge Howie even left off a part of the dish) yet they were all allowed to stay after numerous mistakes. And most of judging is about personal taste. I thought that Tre's salmon dish, which all the judges seemed to hate, sounded pretty good.
I agree that Tre may not have been the most skilled one ever on the show. But skills don’t necessarily make someone a Top anything. Take the top 5% in medical school, who presumably have the most knowledge and skills. Are they all going to be in the top 5% of the great doctors? No.
There is always that “it” factor that makes someone stand out, and Tre is certainly one of those people who have “it.” He can improve on his knife skills, presentation, flavor combination, etc. later with more education. But the remaining chefs on the show can never learn to have what he already has.
Ive only seen 1 episode and it just so happened to be the one of Tre's departure, and I was shocked actually. Tre did seem to have that "it" factor, and although I know it's quality and not quantity that count in this matter, I feel Tre got a raw deal. The other guy on his team (not CJ) was a complete wreck last time (OK so I caught the end of the last episode too) and I don't recall him adding anything this time around either besides having the jitters and sweating profusely. Tre did have at least 1 good meal and had the formal skill of seasoning the food for the guests on the table (I know surgar isn't seasoning but whatever). If tre had only cooked his 1 good meal and let someone else do more than 1 meal he'd still be in the competition. I expected Tre to be put on the spot but ultimately have someone else either CJ or the other guy eliminated.
This season has been difficult because there hasn't been a standout. I was really sad to see Tre go. I did think he had the most potential.
What it comes right down to is Tre accepted responsibility for what he did. I think he was the only one on the team doing that.
For me though, I had the most issue with CJ and Casey in this challenge. What did they do? Where was their presence? What did they own and contribute? In this case, I think CJ is the weakest link. How did his performance support that he has what it takes to be Top Chef?
Poor Tre, he was robbed.
I get what you're saying...but the thing I find most interesting about your post is that of all of the chefs you compared him to, only one of them are from this season, and in that category you only praised the knife skills. Tre has a long way to go, but of this weak bunch, he deserved the chance to move forward more than some of the others who have been sliding by. If Tre had been eliminated closer to the end, after the field has been narrowed a bit, I think it would have been more tolerable for some. Basically they're eliminating the cream of a very sorry crop far too soon.
Sarah finally showed something, but halfway through the competition is this the beginning of showing us what she has to offer or will it be her only flash of brilliance? Hung and Dale stand out the most to me right now, but only time will tell if someone will step up and produce anything worthy of a Top Chef. At this juncture in the competition they took away one of the more interesting competitors to watch. I don't know if he had what it would have taken to win the whole season against this group, but he certainly showed more than a few of those we're left to watch.
Casey offered to do the bread pudding but Tre was so confident that he could include it with his other two dishes - "I can make bread pudding in my sleep." - as in BBQ? Casey's soup got a thumb's up which almost canceled out her bad monkfish dish.
From Ted Allen's Blog:
"It’s been two weeks and I’m still bummed about voting off Tre -- all of the judges thought he was a strong contender to win the whole gonza magilla. (Although I just got some exciting news about Tre today that I can’t publish; just know that good things continue for Chef Wilcox -- I’ll share the news when I can.)"
Can't wait to find out what Tre is up to!!!
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