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New season premieres Thursday, March 3, 2022, on Bravo! Just announced today. It’s airing a month earlier than last season.
Updates to follow.
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ReplyI am Too lazy to copy and paste all the info. https://www.foodandwine.com/news/top-chef/top-chef-season-19-houston-chefs-cast-premiere-date I think I have eaten at Jae’s popup restaurant once.
ReplyCopy URLExcellent premiere. This is still the crown jewel of the reality landscape. No excessive drama, no crazy stunts, just top-tier cooking. The cast looks insanely talented, though I did laugh at the lauded Noma contestant (“the best restaurant in the world”) blanking on not plating anything for his team in the Quickfire. Arrogance won’t save you on this show. Houston will be a killer host city, and the previews to the season look thrilling and intense. I think if the judges went by individual prowess, the guy who made the ambitious beef dessert, Buddha, would have possibly won over Robert, who seemed to make the judges happiest by making beef that tasted like actual beef and quality gnocchis. I thought the one who made the North Korean-inspired dish that she never tasted before would be eliminated, but instead it was the lady who made the bad spring rolls that was sick the entire episode. Maybe the high fever kept her off her normal A-game? Never fear though, b/c there’s always “Last Chance Kitchen” once that gets under way. Regardless, welcome back!
ReplyCopy URLThey seem to be setting up Luke (the Noma guy) for the narrative of a highly lauded contestant coming on and being ultimately middling and underwhelming. Think Bruce in the Colorado season.
Overall love the chef-testants this season, and glad to see the show seemingly continuing to be largely free of reality antics and spectacle and just focusing on good cooking and competitors who are friendly without artificial personal drama. The show has been doing that for a while but I think really honing in on it is what helped last season be so successful. Not manufacturing overdone villain or rivalry storylines…just cooking.
Early faves are Buddha, Ashleigh and Jo. See them all going far this season.
And for anyone who hasn’t read them, Vince Mancini’s weekly power rankings are back and honestly reading them is just as enjoyable as the show itself, sometimes moreso.
ReplyCopy URLEpisode Title: “Friday Night Bites”
Synopsis: The remaining chefs are challenged in the Quickfire to put their own spin on the Tex-Mex classic queso; for the Elimination Challenge, the competition heads to the field of a high school football stadium; another contestant is eliminated from the compwtition.
Discuss.
ReplyCopy URLThe queso mini-challenge was fun. Damarr effortlessly nailing both the Quickfire and elimination challenges immediately places him into top-tier contender status in my book. The football challenge was odd in its execution and rules. Certainly a strategic misfire not to pit the two desserts against each other, and probably what cost the blue team a decisive victory. That smug-ass guy who can’t smell or taste due to covid really rubs me the wrong way. Too good to make a proper queso dish, which he decidedly lost for, and then being the saving grace for the red team…oh well. Bottom two felt right between Stephanie and Sarah, with Luke (“the Noma guy”) continuing to underwhelm. Padma wasn’t having it with Stephanie’s broken rice lmao! It also seemed odd to take the braising meats out of her dish, even with a carbs-forward presentation. Sarah was rightfully pissed off that her ode-to-chickpeas dish had no business going last. On the other hand, it really was just a glorified dip, so if that was worth its salt, it would have shined anywhere. Love that Dawn is getting such a prominent place in the season! I guess it’s a redemption of sorts for her after last season when she probably had more missing ingredients on her dishes than any chef I’ve seen on the show. It also allows the show to lowkey edit sketchy-ass winner Gabe out of the picture while making up for the sad fact that no black woman has won yet. First “LDK” was wild and gross. Exotic meats do absolutely nothing for me, and alligator and rattlesnake, cringe. Leia redeemed herself nicely though.
ReplyCopy URLEpisode Title: “Noodles & Rice & Everything Nice”
Synopsis: The remaining chefs are surprised in the kitchen by “Top Chef Miami” winner, Hung Huynh, and challenged to make a dish inspired by five of the larger Asian communities in Houston; along with Hung, the judges, and Kiran Verma, they’ll be serving 100 guests; another contestant is eliminated from the competition.
Discuss.
ReplyCopy URLOh Sam! I thought he would be at least a mid-tier contender who could made it halfway through the competition, but it wasn’t meant to be. Too bad. He’s one of those “I’m gonna reinvent the wheel with my cooking” kinda chefs, and Jeff Bezos is one of his idols? Yikes. Serving the judges raw grilled potatoes seemed to really irk Tom, so it was either him or Buddha having the nerve to serve Padma subpar Indian food. It was no way to really get around this elimination. The same hubris made Sam sink again with potatoes against Leia in “LDK,” so that’s truly that. There’s always an “All-Stars” edition lurking around the corner, so I’m sure we’ll see Sam again in the future. The camera loves the “Asian Jon Ossoff,” after all lol.
ReplyCopy URLEpisode Title: “Doppelgangers”
Stnopsis: The remaining chefs are joined by local chef Chris Williams in the Quickfire Challenge; He tasks the chefs to put their own twist on a biscuit dish in honor of his great grandmother, Lucille B. Smith; another contestant is eliminated from the competition.
Discuss.
ReplyCopy URLEpisode Title: “Texas Trailblaze-hers”
Synopsis: The remaining chefs must create salty-sweet desserts that will inspire a new flavor of Talenti gelato in the Quickfire challenge; for the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must draw inspiration from the lives of some of Texas’s most influential women; another contestant is eliminated from the competition.
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