Top Chef

[indygirl]

kafka said:

Marcel is like Wolverine turned ugly. Who has hair like that these days?

This guy!

[kafka]

indygirl said:

kafka said:

Marcel is like Wolverine turned ugly. Who has hair like that these days?

This guy!

Are you trying to traumatise me, IndyGirl, or simply give me ideas for Halloween??

I like Betty more and more as the new "Harold," although the previews for next week make me think she's not perfect. I'm chalking that up to editing and going to stick with my early-season prediction that Betty is one who will get very far.

[scarlet]

I like Betty, too. She showed great p.r. skills tonight that really impressed (and I wanted to taste that drink she made--not to mention the spring rolls!).

[Deleted]

I can't remember all the names right now, but who was all indignant over Otto's free lychee fruit find? Because really, her latent moral outrage grated. If she heard him say "I just think we got these lychees for free," at the store, why not just stop him right then and there instead of waiting till they got back to the studio and even then, not saying anything to HIM, but to Colicchio? And had it not been for her crappy pannacotta (sp?), her team would have won.

I do think Otto did the right thing by excusing himself from the show however. He seems like a decent fellow.

I also like Betty. She has the same sort of spunk I liked from the contestant in S1 who left early on because of her father's illness.

[FiggyPudding]

That's Marisa. She claims on her blog that she spoke to the producers about lychee-gate immediately at the store, but they made her go back to the kitchen to bring it up on camera because it would make good tv. Which does not explain why the footage shows Otto saying "I think we got those lychees for free" and then Marisa climbing into the van. Unless those diabolical producers altered or manipulated film footage to screw with the timeline or forced them all to re-enact the scene. Or perhaps Otto just likes to make repeated statements about stolen lychee, even after the cat is out of the bag. It would be extremely DUMB to risk the show's credibility like that when they know Marisa could just blow the whistle.

I hear the website does show bonus footage where Ilan asks first to show his knives, not Marcel, which points to the editors playing up Marcel as a "character", but that doesn't seem as serious as theft. Still, Marisa grates.

Also, her audition video is the one about the merits of using her alleged sexuality to get ahead. I think not. Exhibit A.

[bklynred]

Ho-ly F*CK. Do they really give that much of a crap about lychees, stolen or not? Even if it was just clever editing, I almost burst a vessel out of sheer annoyance, just seeing those women react indignantly over and over. I'd take Dave and Tiffani over this pettiness any day.

[FiggyPudding]

I know, I miss the good old days of Dave crying and Miguel hissing like a snake. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Bottom line, if I have to see Marisa's bitchface of moral indignation one more time, I might puke.

[Deleted]

Marissa was so intent on dogging Otto that she screwed up her dessert. Serves her right!

People who rat out others are generally people that you want to avoid. Let's see how many of the chefs give her a wide berth after this.

[Deleted]

I actually would have been okay with Marisa's ratting out Otto (the guy did make a huge mistake, and should have been called out for it), but what really made me hate her was the way she immediately went off on anyone who even indirectly criticised her in front of the judges. The worst was the whole thing with Elia; throughout the challenge, Elia had stuck by her and had acted like a teammate. Then, when she went in front of the judges and said she didn't like gelatin desserts (which I think was actually a very nice thing for her to do...she could easily have said "Yes, it was way too tough, I thought it was horrible", but instead she did not direct any criticism directly at Marisa), Marisa immediately got incredibly defensive and turned on her. She just wouldn't shut her mouth.

Marisa really needs to learn how to pull a Harold. Harold, if you watch the episodes from last season, managed to defend himself without sounding like he was defending himself. He took responsibility for his mistakes, but at the same time stood behind his food. He also NEVER pointed the finger at other people, which is a surprisingly good form of self-defense. The judges like to see people take responsibility for their own actions, and if they had the choice between booting someone who was defensive and indignant versus someone who was humble and agreeable, they'll boot the defensive person every single time.

Oh, and I need to add here, Frank is kind of leaving a bad taste in my mouth, to use a pun. He seemed really confrontational at the judges' table, and I hated the way he was more interested in getting drunk than he was in planning the menu. Time will tell, maybe he'll turn into this season's Dave, but so far, it doesn't look like that will happen. Dave was fun while still being sweet; Frank seems to try way too hard, and he comes off as obnoxious.

[bklynred]

I liked the way Frank criticized everyone for not helping him out of his mess. "You gotta back up your teeeaaam!" And how no one seemed to react. They're already used to his tirades.