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Rocco casts a chill over 'Top Chef'
Top Chef: Miami took a rather dangerous top into self-parody on Wednesday (Aug. 1) night.
One of the summer's most popular (and best) movies was the Pixar foodie comedy Ratatouille. In the flick, one of the major subplots is that after the chef of a top Paris restaurant dies, his predecessor decides to use the great chef's image to sell a line of cheaply-produced frozen entrees. The movie makes it clear that this sort of commercialized reproduction of fine dining is nothing short of an abomination, the ultimate cheapening of food by a gastronomically challenged hack.
Enter Wednesday's Top Chef, where the contestants were entrusted with following in the footsteps of featured sponsor Bertolli to produce knock-off frozen Italian/Mediterranean entrees under the guidance of Rocco Dispirito, whose claims to mainstream fame are his mother's meatballs and an increasingly awful reality show on which he came off as a tool of ginormous proportions.
Over the course of the episode, the chef-testants learned nothing about international cuisine or technique. Instead they learned that in frozen dishes everything has to undergo an Individual Quick Freeze (IQF) and that the best path to teamwork is to be bullying and belligerent if you think you're in the right.
Hung was able to easily figure out the first lesson, but his failure to understand the second almost got him eliminated in the special 75-minute Top Chef. Performing triage on a Bertolli package, Hung quickly diagnosed that the parts needed to be frozen quickly and separately, a fact he conveyed to Joey on several occasions that we saw on camera. Then he watched Joey pour their sauce all over the pasta before serving, all while biting his tongue. Do we criticize Joey for being a total dolt? Well sure. That's why he's going home, but for a chef as previously brash and arrogant as Hung to just sit back and let Joey ruin the task on several different levels was quite disappointing. It's not like Hung didn't care. When he realized how mushy the pasta turned out, you could almost hear him verging on tears. Maybe he felt so much shame after mouthing off and getting booted in the Culinary Bee Quickfire Challenge that he was skittish? Hung's fall from early favorite has been precipitous in recent weeks and I really hope he gets his mojo back.
Joey's tear-filled departure was so genuine that I wished the judges could go back and eliminate Sara M instead. Just as Joey's errors were directly responsible for most of his team's failings, Sara M made several key mistakes. And her partner, Howie, went out of his way not to blame her, but when Chef Tom put her contributions under the microscope, she didn't hesitate to throw him "over the bus" (to use Joey's malapropism from earlier in the episode).
Other thoughts from the episode:
If you hadn't told me that was Rocco DiSpirito, I might not have recognized him. He looks awfully different. He's still a doofus, though. What'd you think of this week's episode? Did the right person go home?
Hung, get your act together! You are dishonoring the family name.
Hanh | Aug 1, 2007 9:30:00 PM | #Casey didn't win the trip, it was CJ and Trey...
CH | Aug 2, 2007 12:03:49 AM | #I think it was a decent episode and I thought an original elimination test. I was very disappointed in the chefs though. I know from cooking at home that you don't freeze pasta and sauce together. I always freeze my spaghetti sauce separate. I am far from a Top Chef too. It was ridiculous only 2 teams knew that and only 1 followed through. I didn't want to see Joey go but he cooks sauce all the time, how could he not know that? Idiot.
I was happy to see Hung lose both challenges. His attitude really gets on my nerves and he needs brought down a few steps. This is the 4th challenge where he did not think he was responsible for losing.
Bobbie | Aug 2, 2007 4:11:51 AM | #rocco did look strange----he's either bloated in the face or had his eyes done---disgusting.
tim | Aug 2, 2007 6:07:22 AM | #CH- Whoops. You're totally right. Casey was with Dale. CJ was with Tre. I get CJ, Dale and Brian all mixed up...
It's fixed now...
Daniel
Daniel Fienberg | Aug 2, 2007 7:24:11 AM | #I disagree with you on all points about howie. He was passively bullying Sara around, whether she was trying to help or give suggestions, he overreacted in the judges table -the judges questioned her contribution and she stood up for herself, she didn't really say Howie had done anything wrong only that she had done specific things. CJ was right to call him out on being a complete jerk.
| Aug 2, 2007 7:57:49 AM | #Rocco looks like he lost weight. Must be eating less of Momma's meatballs. It was funny how the contestants have addressed every other guest judge as "chef", while they just called him "Rocco".
Dawn | Aug 2, 2007 8:33:30 AM | #Sara M is all opinion - no talent - she is just riding the wave for now - someone vote her off
Karen | Aug 2, 2007 9:28:22 AM | #Rocco is a loser. I lost a little respect for Top Chef last night for having him as their guest judge. I didn't like his
"before" on his own show and I didn't enjoy seeing his "after" on Top Chef last night. After a butt load of surgery and other odd alterations that is. What a douche!
Sara definitely shouldve gone him. She has consistently been in the bottom and has NEVER been in the top, whereas Joey has been in the top before. I just think they don't want to eliminate all the female chefs first, even though it has been clear that they are extremely lacking when compared to their male counterparts. I mean, you really think that either Sarah or Casey is gonna beat Tre, Howie, or Hung. Doubtful. If anything Lia should still be involved before either Sarah. Although I did enjoy Sara topless in the hot tub. Poor Joey, I liked him.
Robert | Aug 2, 2007 12:18:04 PM | #At last, more face time for Brian!! Wish he had been the one to win immunity. I agree that Rocco looks immensely different and artificial. He was always such a cutie on The Restaurant! Whatever he has done to alter his looks, he shouldn't have done!
Becky | Aug 2, 2007 2:27:03 PM | #Last night's episode was replaced by a Bertolli infomercial, it sucked. and to the anonymous commenter who said Howie was "passive bullying"... watch it again, he was pretty aggressive and justifiably so. Sara should have been sent packing... actually no one should have been it was a terrible challenge for everyone but Bertolli and DiSpirito.
Oceanguy | Aug 2, 2007 2:28:30 PM | #I will admit I never thought Joey was going to win, but to leave before Sarah?????????? When has she ever one a challenge? She has been on the bottom how many times? I don't think the judges are on the mark this season. Joey seeemed so passionate, about his food, not just becuase he could get loud every once in a while, but he had been getting along better with other contestants. Oh and last nights contest was dumb.
Deanna | Aug 2, 2007 7:06:35 PM | #Sara M has got to go. Seriously. SHe's like a bore. And the passive agressiveness is just grating.
Just terrible.
Francesca | Aug 2, 2007 8:20:44 PM | #Wednesday nights infomercial was it for me. Top Chef has finally reached a point where it's become unwatchable. Funny how as I started typing this a Rocco/Bertolli commercial came on. Bravo of course.
James | Aug 4, 2007 9:34:08 PM | #I'm kind of glad Hung is falling further and further. He was so arrogant in the beginning, and I think Top Chef is becoming a humbling experience for him. I'd like for him to admit that he doesn't know everything, and is sometimes wrong before I root for him though.
But yeah, Sara needs to go to. The number of likable contestants this time around is pretty low. I'm down to Brian, Dale and Casey...
Brian | Aug 6, 2007 10:36:19 AM | #inusha | Aug 12, 2007 12:23:37 AM | #
inusha | Aug 12, 2007 12:23:58 AM | #
xxx | Aug 13, 2007 9:35:11 PM | #
kim | Aug 14, 2007 7:29:07 AM | #
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