Top Chef Miami

Tre returns for Top Chef Holiday Special

I think this is actual breaking Top Chef news. A Bravo spokeswoman confirmed to me today that Top Chef filmed a holiday special to air sometime in December.

This hasn't been announced, but South Florida chef Norm Van Aken let the secret slip (actually, shared it willingly) during an interview about Tavern N Town, his new Key West restaurant. Van Aken, a guest judge during Season 3, got the call to return as a judge in this holiday showdown.

Even though Van Aken appeared on Top Chef, he said he's not a fan. At least, he doesn't watch. Of the contestants on hand for the holiday special, he only recognized Tre. And he did say Hung wasn't there. Bravo, naturally, wouldn't cough up any details today.

Van Aken said the prize money was $20,000-- which probably would go to a favorite charity, like the last Top Chef alum smackdown. He was most amused by the setting. The special was filmed in Chicago, site of Top Chef's Season Four, a couple of weeks ago. But Top Chef imported as much of a December feel as possible: Christmas trees and holiday decorations, Van Aken said.

"It was kind of like shooting 'It's a Wonderful Life,'" he said.

Check out the Top Chef reunion special tonight  at 10-- maybe they'll announce more details. Should we expect a sing-along by a piano? Cardigan sweaters? Guest appearances by college football All-Americans? Stay tuned... 

Michy

You guys are right - Michelle Bernstein was "a little jealous" of Hung, not Casey. Does anyone remember the dish she was talking about?

I think I knew Hung was going to win when he came up with the Smirf Village. That guy's brain is whacked.

PS: Did anyone see "Better Half" immediately following TC? I thought it was awful and will  never tune in again. I'll just await Top Chef 4 - rumored to be in Chicago.

Volume problems

I've gotten a few emails today from viewers who had no sound last night and could watch the finale only with captions - lame. Is it a Bravo problem or Comcast problem?

Maybe it's a power outage thing? My Internet crashed last nite too. Let me know if you had issues - I am curious now.

Tom resurfaces

‘Top Chef’ Judge Tom Colicchio stopped by Martha Stewart’s New York studio for a taping of ‘The Martha Stewart Show’ – show airs Tuesday, Oct. 9. Colicchio and Stewart prepared Stuffed Cornish Game Hens with Leek Stew.

It will be interesting to see the two - cool as cucumbers - chat like old friends.

Anders Krusberg/The Martha Stewart Show

Technique over verve

Well.... Hung finally pulled it out. After endless weeks of cocky posturing - will anyone ever forget when he bypassed the tasting in a taste test and got it wrong!!? - he nabbed the big prize. If only he hadn't been so confident in that smug Marcel kind of way. Wonder if those will go out for an apertif now that it's all done. I'm not sure I agree with the decision but I haven't throughout this whole thing - since wins were based on what was cooked on that particular episode, never cumulative. Don't these people keep a score card? Hung crapped out so many times. Though I had to admit I felt slightly emotional when I saw his family embracing him at the live finale. Was that his boyfriend hugging him at the end?

It was hard not to root for Dale - the guy has zero ego and obviously serious talent. How could he have flubbed up lobster, though? Tom said it was "terrible,'' which is the second I knew he had lost the whole thing. Gross out Padma, give Gail raw chicken, send Ted to retch - no worries. Just don't piss off Tom with poor food, or you're done. He has no mercy, this Crafty guy. I ate at Craft in New York a few years ago, if I recall it was pork and it was delicious. But the atmosphere, so modern and cold, it gave me the creeps. That's Tom I think - an emotionally detached genius. Give this guy a happy pill or something.

In the end, Dale and Hung were so close it was almost like a popularity contest. Hung will do well in  future appearances with his knife skills and culinary hyperactivity. A natural TV star. And I'm sure they'll trot out runner up Dale whenever they do one of these neverending reunion/outtake/roundtable Bravo shows. Both of them are set - and probably Casey is too. Her looks won't go to waste. Speaking of which, what happened to her? She melted down under the pressure. I liked seeing her and Michelle Bernstein in the kitchen. Michy was really wanting her to win and even said "I'm a little jealous" of her talent. At least she has an iMac and a free first business class trip to anywhere to look forward to.

It was fun to see the other superchefs - Todd English helping Dale and Rocco di Spirito with Hung - in such inferior roles, chopping garlic, taking orders. Ha. Then came Howie, Sara and CJ - nice work if you can get it --free trip to Aspen, dudes. Howie made Casey's only decent dish - she admitted tearfully at judge's table - a Colorado lamb drenched with wine, I believe. The altitude may have messed up her brain but why did she insist on putting roe on not one but TWO dishes? Sure she learned her lesson that one.

So what lessons have *we* learned? 1 Bravado works on Bravo. 2. Do whatever you can to get on Tom's good side. 4\3. Slide by under the radar until the very end, then bring out your best stuff. 4. Give a sob story at the end - drudge up your parents' divorce, your big brother beating on you, getting fired from your first lifeguard job, anything to show you have soul and heart.

And finally, 5. Don't get obsessed with a reality show unless you know how many weeks it will last. It could rule your life.

Doug's Odds

Who will be Season Three's Top Chef? Here's how I see it.

Hung (2 to 1): For the first half of the show, I'd say even odds between him and Tre winning. Then Tre gets bumped -- shocker. How can Hung lose? Why watch? Then, suddenly, Casey starts coming on strong, winning quickfires, eliminations, I-Macs! Judging from momentum alone, you'd still have to give her the edge.

But did you notice in the last episode how Casey described her cooking style as pan-Asian? And how she brought all of those Asian noodles? Do we think she can beat Hung in an Asian-off?

Actually, the answer is: who knows. But certainly, growing up with Vietnamese parents, working in a Vietnamese restaurant, Hung knows how to cook Asian. My hunch is his will be better than hers.

Casey (3 to 1): Such a close call. This is why I don't think has the edge right now: The judges love her. She keeps handing in strong performances. They already think she cooks with "heart" or "soul" or whatever self-important term they use to describe dishes that aren't overloaded with elements or scream "classically-trained."

Those last too knocks sort of define Hung's cooking so far. This gives him an advantage in the finale. He can come in there, bare his soul with some Vietnamese dishes, reveal this earthy, warm side to his cooking and them -- BAM! -- he's really "shown us something" while Casey "played it safe."

Well, no, she's just done what she's been doing the other time. But I think she peaked two episodes ago. Hung probably has some altitude left in his Top Chef climb.

Dale (6 to 1): Before I say why I don't think Dale will win, let me say this: I think he's done himself the most favors by being on this show.

He's in the top three, so he's a legit chef. He's come across as a nice, fun chef with a point of view. He's got personality.  He probably won't have the burden and slightly tacky taint of the title "Bravo TV's Top Chef." But since he's not a favorite for the finale, so a loss won't seem like much of a defeat.

Anyway, even though Dale came on strong in the previous episode (I missed a golden opportunity there to use the word "penultimate")  I don't think he can keep it together enough to prepare the full menu of dishes required for the finale.

Then again... with both Casey and Hung cooking Asian, that will means Dale's dishes will stand-out from the start. Should the Asian taste not live up to expectations -- and wouldn't the judges LOVE to tell Hung he doesn't know how to cook Asian -- Dale will be looking extremely good.

OK, well that's it until the finale. If these predictions prove embarrassingly wrong, don't be surprised if they magically vanish in a horrible Typepad.com blog meltdown.

Gorgonzola or roquefort?

Note to self: If I am ever in a cooking competition, never give a judge - especially one that is well respected chef/restaurateur such as Eric Ripert - a choice of cheese. Pick one and then serve it, god darn it.

Brian seemed a little shaky from the get go with the quickfire's bland salad and his trout (which isn't even considered seafood, according to him) that fell to the grass during prep. There was just way too much going on in his dish during the elimination. It's like he knew his food lacked so he tried to overcompensate by confusing people with a multitude of ingredients. Still I was sad to see him go as he is always high on energy and big on smiles. Claims he misses his wife and kid (s?). I didn't take him for a family man but now I see a totally different side to him.

You gotta hand it to Dale - he gets funnier every episode. Definitely entertaining and I would imagine very likeable. "I don't know how to make food for cowboys...I've slept with some though." Ba dum bump. And he's a very capable chef, especially with the sauces. They must have interviewed him after he won (well, of course they did). He seemed very pleased with himself. Didn't know he had such hardships before he came on Top Chef. Dumped, restaurant closed, jeez. I'm kind of rooting for him right now.

Casey is very controlled and just seems to keep her head about her and cook good food. Though I wouldn't put that elk sushi past these lips. As Ripert said it was "black and blue." Gnarly. In next week's preview, she looked a little scattered. We shall see. This show seems to go on endlessly (this coming from a big fan).

Oh, Hung. Where werethe violins? This is the first we've heard of your hardships of sleeping on the floors of kitchens and your dad fleeing Vietnam. It would have been nice to see this humanity oh maybe 12 episodes ago. Amazing Tom said: "We don't see you in food." I don't know if I agree with that. Hung knows what he is doing in the kitchen. Though forgetting lemon juice in the quickfire so he could finish early and get everyone nervous was just plain immature and DUMB.

As for the judges, Tom seemed to have grown a heart in this episode, even smiling a few times. Ripert, with all due respect, has some weird table manners. Twice I saw him lick his knife. Not that I wouldn't eat at Le Bernardin in 5 minutes if I won an instant $500 scratch card or something.

Damp eyes... A-HA!

Ok, it's 14 minutes into this episode. I notice Hung's eyes are damp in the debriefing interview. In past episodes, this has usually been a reliable clue that the person will be eliminated that night. (Because they interview them about that episode after they get the ax.)

But he WAS relating the sacrifices of his parents as they fled Vietnam, so maybe we shouldn't read too much into it. (Well, of COURSE we shouldn't; just wait 46 minutes and find out what happened. But this is a TV blog and we do silly, obsessive things.) Or are they tears of joy?....

Fab 4? Not really

Can't believe it's down to Casey, Hung, Dale and Brian. I get the feeling there was a lot of talent from other chefs that got booted before their time to shine. Somehow through attrition and luck, these four are in the finals. They were all the very bottom at some point, as Casey noted. I really wish I could understand the judges' thinking sometimes. Personally I think Colicchio has a little crush on Casey. Her awful rice at the Latin challenge should have been her ticket home.

Cutting Sara loose was no big shocker. She's been skating through this whole competition - except when she kicked butt as exec chef in the Restaurant Wars. Maybe that's where she belongs, in a more executive role. Her food never looked too appealing to me. Couscous is cool but with every dish? And she always says how she is from Jamaica, blah, but every time she puts out one of her "national dishes" they fall flat. Jerk, fricasee, whatev. But the worst faux pas of all was the undercooked chicken. I wonder if Gail was barfing after that. Gordon Ramsay would have hit the wall.

Was it Dale who forgot to put out one meal for the airline executives the other week? Now he forgot his sauce? What is up with this guy... Is he so flustered? If so, could he handle being a "top chef?"

Hung really is talented as hell. His knifework is out of this world and he managed to impress that hoity toity panel with his classic preparation. He seem so immature to handle the title but again Ian Hall took it sooo....he was a big baby. I heard he blew all his money on "research travel."

Brian came out of his seafood shell. But the challenge called for a dish made w/chicken, potatoes and onions. He decided to throw in sausage. Looked gross but apparently tasted great. No one else added another protein. Why was this allowed?

Top Chef texts

Hung compliments himself, Brian gets big chef pants in the latest Top Chef text messages.

At 10:06 p.m., Hung wrote that "Sirio's dish was really good. I made one like it when I was 9 or 10 years old. I watching cooking shows instead of cartoons. That's how obsessive I am!"

At 10:59 p.m., Brian wrote "I love Sara but it was time for her to go. I wasn't impressed with a dish from her in a long time. Dale went for it, you gotta give him points for that."

(I wrote this post too early in the morning and originally had Dale writing that snide text message about Sara. Now it's corrected. Dale wouldn't say such a thing!)