Top Chef Seattle 11/7 Premiere Show Discussion **Spoilers**

[MFWalkoff]

We've been told this season will be "back to basics" Top Chef -- I sure hope so!

The fact that they are starting with 21 chefs tells me maybe it's not entirely back to basics. Maybe tonight's show will be like last year, where it's a "semi-final"...we're waiting on starting chef bio threads to see how things shake out with the large cast.

Forum threads will open again after the show has aired on the west coast (11PM PT/2AM ET)

BTW, Padma is on WWHL, which airs a half-hour later tonight, right after the premiere of LOLwork.

Enjoy the new season!

[MFWalkoff]

It is a semi-final "earn your chef coat" episode, but I'm liking it so far. Tom and Emeril each take 5 chefs into one of their kitchens and gives them a challenge to see how they work and interact in a kitchen.

No crazy "reality TV" chefs out of the 10 I've seen so far...just two wacky handlebar mustaches.

[MFWalkoff]

New permajudge Wolfgang Puck has 6 chefs make him omelets. All but 1 make it through, and the 1 ousted chef sounded like he was already a big deal in his circles. He was angry.

Hugh is up next, and apparently one of the cheftestants is Belgian royalty?

[Arielflies]

Well, he has a couple of knighthoods from Belgium related to food - so not royalty and no sirs, please.

I was confused at first when they weren't in Seattle as advertised, but then it made sense and I loved seeing the kitchens of the four chef/judges. The coat awarding was anything but routine, which I also liked. I have never been able to fold an omlet. Maybe it does take 80 in a row like Wolfgang had to do to earn his first kitchen experience. What was interesting is that each judge had different criteria for moving on up to Seattle. Maybe a contestant who had to make a complex soup and failed, would have shone with an omlet or line service. Luck of the draw there.

Oh, Miss NY/New Jersey is going to get on my nerves really fast. There are a few other big egos headed north as well. The one I like from the first show is the curly haired redhead who was underestimated by the other contestants. I hope she isn't too nice.

This will be fun.

[Shoepie]

I loved this new start. I can make a perfect omelette, it took practice but not 80 times. I never order them because most places don't know how. It sure seemed an easy test. Puck has a reputation for loving eggs. He is crazy for them.

Miss NJ is going to drive us all nuts, Arielflies, and so is the cocky chef Tom put through first.

The soup Emeril feared would be cold must have been very good. 9 minutes early plating and the last to be tasted, it had to be cold. Or they allowed him to heat it.

I did not register on any personalities yet except for the two I mentioned. I am looking forward to this season!

[PhoneGrrrl]

I put off watching the premiere until just now because I was worried I'd have TC fatigue, but after reading the comments here I went ahead and played it. Wow, I loved the way they started it out with actual, real tests of cooking/kitchen skills and not with something like chopping ingredients out of an ice block. From the previews it looks like some of that madness will return, but hopefully by then I'll be invested in the characters of the chefs as well as their skills. The cast does look interesting.

[Arielflies]

When I saw the snow and ice in the preview, I thought, "Hey Paul won on these challenges, you can, too. Quit griping."


Out of 21, sixteen are making the trip to Seattle. They never said in the previews, so on second viewing I counted. They dropped only five and two of those were women in product development. Too bad the most hated Chef in Dallas squeaked through, yet the one from New York with the awards was let go. Yes, it is an interesting cast. I'm happy to see a Hawaiian in the hunt for the prize since I enjoyed (darn can't remember his name) on Next Food Network Star. This Hawaiian Chef seems to have the same sort of laid back attitude. The two chefs who worked together and are friends to the point of getting the same tattoo had a good story, but I'm happy only one made it through.

[xmaskat]

Wasn't that guy on Food Network Star named Eppy (or something close to that anyway .

I enjoyed this first episode! It seemed like the chefs being judged by Tom C. had to do more than the chefs in the other groups.

[Arielflies]

Wasn't that guy on Food Network Star named Eppy (or something close to that anyway .

I enjoyed this first episode! It seemed like the chefs being judged by Tom C. had to do more than the chefs in the other groups.

Yes, that was his name...thanks. Each explained that each had their own tests (explained by each of them) for spotting worthy chefs. For Tom it was on the line. To me, that seemed the most challenging, but then these are chefs used to working in those conditions. However, making a perfectly textured soup, salad or omelet could definitely be more challenging for them.

[Maybaybie]

I was surprised that so many of the omelet people made it through because I thought all but one of those omelets looked aweful! When I went to culinary school the first thing we were taught was how to make an omelet and we were told omelets should be 'colorless'- no brown at all. All but one of the ones shown were brown. The odd thing was that some looked horrible while they were being plated, but when Wolfie went to eat them they didn't look nearly as brown or as bad as when they were being plated so I'm wondering if they got a 'do-over' that wasn't shown. You have to love editing!