Top Chef 7/28 Show Discussion **Spoilers**

[MFWalkoff]

Power-lunching at the Palm...it's like The West Wing never ended!

Please keep all discussion in this thread until 1AM ET / 10PM PT.

Enjoy the show!

[Bearcata]

Pea Gate.

Who stole, took, misplaced etc.... the pea puree? With all those cameras in place I hope we find out. What a scandal. Only right since this season is in DC.

[tears.and.rain]

Was it clear to anyone whether or not Alex actually stole the pea puree? If he did, that's "grimy" as Kevin put it.

Although, it might have worked out better for Ed, since didn't Gail say that the peas had no place in Ed's dish? So would a pea puree have been any better? It truly sucks though if the puree was what put Alex above Tiffany and Ed.

[watts]

Alex was not undecided on what he was cooking the night before and Kenny mentioned that Ed had pea puree, the next day he magically had pea puree. Kenny said they was no way he was able to create pea puree that day. It would have been OK had he not won the challenge. What a sheisty person.

Plus, when they showed Alex with his pea puree, it was already in a pan. And the pan came from a cooler. We didn't see him pureeing any peas in a blender or food processor (unless it was edited out). But still, he stole the idea of pea puree when Kenny told him what Ed was doing. And where did Ed's pea puree end up? It should be addressed in a future episode or in a reunion show for closure.

[ryanfan4vr]

I can't let the pea puree thing go!!!! I want to get to the bottom of it, either way! Since they didn't answer it in the episode, I was half expecting it to come up again in the previews for next week, but it didn't. So, are we going to have to wait until the reunion show to find out if he is a thief or not?

I gotta think that he didn't have time or take the time to wash out the blender/food processor before he had to serve his food, so I would have asked him what he pureed it in. Also, if Ed had forgotten it back at the Hilton kitchen, wouldn't they have cut to the scene of where he left it?

[Aceon6]

The pea puree will be this year's "who drew the mustache on the photo of Wendy Pepper's daughter?" As in that case, I suspect production may know much more than they're saying.

[Bearcata]

I read Tom C's Blog and he doesn't know. Interesting to note that he said we should just get past it.

[AZChristian]

I can't let the pea puree thing go!!!! I want to get to the bottom of it, either way! Since they didn't answer it in the episode, I was half expecting it to come up again in the previews for next week, but it didn't. So, are we going to have to wait until the reunion show to find out if he is a thief or not?

I gotta think that he didn't have time or take the time to wash out the blender/food processor before he had to serve his food, so I would have asked him what he pureed it in. Also, if Ed had forgotten it back at the Hilton kitchen, wouldn't they have cut to the scene of where he left it?

Because of watching in a later time zone, I kept an eye out for clues to the pea puree mystery.

1. Alex lied about not knowing that the other guy had pea puree. To quote Dr. Phil, "People who have nothing to hide, hide nothing."
   
2. There was a quick shot of a pan full of uncooked peas that was shown AFTER Alex was walking around stirring "his" puree. If he started his puree and got it to that point, whose uncooked peas were they?

I really dislike people who cheat. I think that's what happened here.

[ryanfan4vr]

Because of watching in a later time zone, I kept an eye out for clues to the pea puree mystery.

1. Alex lied about not knowing that the other guy had pea puree. To quote Dr. Phil, "People who have nothing to hide, hide nothing."
   
2. There was a quick shot of a pan full of uncooked peas that was shown AFTER Alex was walking around stirring "his" puree. If he started his puree and got it to that point, whose uncooked peas were they?

I really dislike people who cheat. I think that's what happened here.

Yes, I remember the shot of the peas in the pan of water, but I didn't know how editing played into that.

I think that he took them because every other time in Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, they have always given us the camera shot of the left item before the contestant even realizes it was left.

While I do think he took it, it is hard to imagine the kind of person who would actually knowingly take and use something that wasn't his. Not only because of using something else someone made, but also taking it away from the person who did make it.

All I know, is if that were me and I took it, the guilt would eat me alive, especially after winning and getting the comments from the judges about how good the pea puree was.

I wonder if things would have played out different if Ed was on the bottom.

[tvaholic]

I don't usually come to the Top Chef thread but this pea puree thing made me so mad that I had to see what you guys were saying about it. Stealing it not only would have been rotten but why would he do it and risk (possibly) getting thrown off the show? He mentioned that they thought that he stole it but he never, flat out, said that he didn't. I don't know why they didn't just point blank ask him. I was waiting for someone to mention it to the judges (who MUST have know about it) and then for them to call Alex back in and strip him of the win. Who knows, maybe stealing isn't against the show's rules. Maybe it was just all set up to give them something to talk about on the reunion show!