Top Chef Masters

Without getting into too much here about Top Chef Masters which started off with a bang, but is ending with a thud, I found a few points noteworthy about last night’s cooking “contest” (which resembled more of a preteen girl powederpuff pillow fight).  In no particular order they are:

#1 – They mentioned Food + Wine magazine all over the place, but not once even muttered the word “Saveur” despite the fact that one of the season long judges is the Editor-in-Chief of Saveur. Dana Corwin must have pictures of Jeff Zucker and a goat, either that or Saveur musn’t have coughed up any bucks for Bravo.

Is that Captain or Tenille? Either way, I'm frightened.

#2 – Gael Greene is officially the creepiest person I have ever seen on Top Chef (and the cover of her book is even creepier, especially if that’s supposed to be an image of her).  Her unmitigated lovefest with Art Smith last night was beyond laughable.  Yep, no agenda there Gael, right?  Not trying to get in Oprah’s good graces are you, what by giving her personal chef the win with a 5 star review?  A fried chicken leg?  Really? I can imagine Greene chasing Art down the hallway at the end “You’ll tell Oprah about me . . . right?  I can come on her show whenever she needs me  .  .  . just call. . . .I’ll, I’ll be waiting. . . . tell her I gave you 5 stars for a fried chicken leg . . . I mean sure, it was the only perfect score I’ve given all year, but be sure you tell Oprah I said I’m hers. . . .”  It was pretty disgusting to watch, kind of like Happy Hour at Que Sera in the late 80’s.

#3 – I might just fly to LA specifically to eat at Michael Cimarusti’s restaurant.  That dude has some chops.

#4 – Roy Yamaguchi confirmed last night what I found out on my one and only visit to a Roy’s in 2001 (on a night when he was in the kitchen there): His food doesn’t translate very well when he’s under the constraint of time, be it a cooking show or a four top in his Buckhead store.  It was my experience that the restaurant was like Applebees and Morton’s of Chicago got together and had an illegitimate love child, drawing the worst of both into the partnership.  But something must be working, you can’t argue with the guy’s success (but it doesn’t make him a great “line of fire” chef).

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