Top Chef Power Rankings (02/23/11)

Well, my Power Rankings get rocked again. #1 from last week was sent packing. I was surprised he did so poorly in the challenge. When he choose Angelo I felt good for him since they basically cook the same food and Angelo would be a great chef to have since he is very quick at prep work. Alas, Dale got overwhelmed by the amount of people at the event and undercooked his potatoes while over seasoning his crouton. He was sent home and we have a new #1 this week.

Overall I didn’t think the challenge seemed too hard. The southern style might have thrown some people off, but I think it was the amount of food the chefs had to prepare in the short amount of time that really hurt them.


In the Finals


1. Richard Blais



Richard, who apparently reminds Fabio of his ex-wife, won the elimination challenge and conceptualized the quickfire’s winning dish. Based on his good performance, he has vaulted to the top spot. If I could gamble on this, I would put my money on him. If I could choose the field or him, I’m taking him. With Angelo and Dale knocked out in consecutive weeks, I see no real challenger to him. I am a little worried he is too intense and is going to over think one of his dishes these days. I also think he needs to lay off the liquid nitrogen a little bit to show he has a more rounded set of cooking techniques.


2. Antonia Lofaso



Anotnia had another top finish this week. She has been making good and simple dishes and is looking like a lock to make the finale. I think she’s the only person who has a shot to knock off Richard, but I don’t think it’s a very good one. I do think she’s a better chef then she gets credit for. She makes simple dishes that lack some of the pizzazz that the other chefs have. However, her simple dishes taste good and that’s the only thing that matters.


Pretty Sure they’ll make the Finals


3. Carla Hall



Carla had a 2nd bad week in a row including her performance in the quickfire challenge. I still think she has a good shot of making the finale, but she can’t keep making dumb mistakes. I think she was too worried this week that she was cooking southern food which is her comfort zone. She was worried that everyone was expecting her to knock it out of the park, and honestly, she should have. Maybe not a challenge win, but at least a good showing. If you can’t do well in your comfort zone, what are you going to do well in? I see her making the finale, but not a serious contender to win.


Might miss the Final


4. Mike Isabella



Congrats to Mike for winning his 3 competition ever in Top Chef history. All 3 have been quick fire challenges. the first quick fire he won was a cactus challenge, and he was the only chef to have worked with cactus before. This win, he was “inspired by” (blatantly stole) an idea that Richard had discussed with him that morning. I’m sorry, but Mike is no way clever enough of a chef to put the oyster part of a chicken in an oyster shell without being inspired by someone else. I’m glad all the other chefs know, I just wish Richard was man enough to call him out on it. On top of all that, Mike wouldn’t have won the quickfire if Antonia wasn’t an idiot and forgot to make a second plate. So this will go down as the lamest victory in Top Chef History (Is there a worse one?).Mike finished in the top for the 2nd time this season (lowest of the remaining 5 chefs and lower than 4 chefs who have been eliminated). He has cruised along only make mistakes twice to put him in the bottom. I see him having enough talent to outlast Tiffany, but not enough skill to beat any of the other 3 chefs in front of him.


5. Tiffany Derry



Tiffany was on the bottom again. She still hasn’t won and has been surprised the past two weeks when her name wasn’t called. She made it exactly this far last season, 1 episode short of the finale (and Singapore). I think this is where she stops again. I hope she makes it and Isabella doesn’t but not the way they have been performing.

Top Chef Power Rankings (09/16/11)

My How quickly things can change just that quickly. The Top 2 in my Power Rankings finished in the bottom last night and Angelo got sent home. Just like that, everyone moves to a different spot in the rankings.

The episode last night was pretty good. The Muppets doing the cookie challenge was a little too childish for me, but I’m sure some people got their kicks out of it. I thought the Target Challenge was a fantastic idea and a very demanding challenge. The strategy in it was compelling. Do you find food first and then go find the things you need to make the food, or buy as much cooking and chopping things as you can before figuring out what you can make. All the running seemed a tad unnecessary, but it looked like every minute counted.


1. Dale Talde



How can Dale jump three spots and become number 1? Yes I know the two previous weeks he finished on the bottom and very easily could have been sent packing on the Jimmy Fallon challenge. The reason I have him number 1 is for his wins. He swept the show last night winning both the quickfire and the elimination challenge, the first time it has happened this season. He has three elimination challenge wins which is tied for the most with Carla. He has won 3 of the past 4 quickfire challenges and has another team challenge win. That’s 6 individual wins and 1 team win. The next closest competitor is Richard with 5 wins (2 elimination, 1 individual qucikfire and 2 team quickfires).


2. Richard Blais



Richard moves up a spot based on a strong performance from him and a poor performance from Carla. I do think Richard tried to take a short cut on his Ice Cream “Cookies” and glad the Muppets called him out on that. Initially I thought Dale was going to win the elimination challenge, but after hearing judges table, I started thinking they were going to pick Richard because he was the only chef to get two proteins done, both of which tasted well.


3. Antonia Lofaso



This was the hardest choice of the power rankings. Should I have Antonia or Carla in the three spot? Carla was on a tear with 3 wins and 2 other top finishes the previous 6 weeks, but had an awful week this week. Antonia the past three weeks finished with a win and two top finishes. Based on the logic of what have you done for me lately, I put Antonia over Carla. Antonia has had a crazy season and has only had to not face the judges 1 time, week 1. Every week since then, she has either been in the top (5 times with a 1 win) or the bottom (4 times). If she can avoid the faults that put her in the bottom, she could move on to the finale.


4. Carla Hall



As discussed before, I was really tempted to leave Carla in the top 3. She is tied for the most elimination wins, but seemed so out of wack yesterday. I don’t understand why she spent so long shopping for stuff to make her table display pretty. The judges were served at a completely different table. She lost focus and wasted most of her night and was unable to get flavors to develop. Had she started cooking 45 min to and hour earlier like the other chefs, the food could have come out better. I never felt like she was in danger of going home, but if she loses her focus by that much again, she could be going home.


Chopping Block


5. Mike Isabella



Mike continues to cruise in the middle. Nothing to great, nothing too bad. If he wants to make the final, he’s going to have to start cooking better than just OK food. I don’t see the other 5 chefs making large enough mistakes to allow him to sneak in. He does need to stop acting shocked in the stew room at every announcement. Clearly you opinion is nothing like the judges so stop overreacting. Him still being alive shocks me, I expected him to be long gone.


6. Tiffany Derry



When Tiffany burst into tears at the judges table, I thought for sure she was going to be sent home. When she’s cooking she doesn’t seem to be emotionally worn down, but as soon as the confessional hits, you can see the back to back seasons are starting to take their toll on her. Angelo mentioned that as he was leaving, he’s done 40 some challenges all close together now, and it was taking it’s toll on him. I don’t see Tiffany lasting much longer for this very same reason. If she can somehow make it the next two challenges and make the finals. Some time off may help her regroup before the finale and my thoughts on her chances to win might change, until then, I have strong doubts.

TOP CHEF POWER RANKINGS (02/09/11)

I know I know, I suck at life and haven’t written any power rankings since the first week. Ryan has been giving me extra crap for it. Time to turn it on for the final run.

Last week’s episode featured Jimmy Fallon as the special guest host/judge. I personally am not a fan of his but he did bring some interesting food choices for the Chefs to make. Fabio made a meatball hamburger that apparently tasted like meatloaf. His last second cheese addition put him over the top as the chef to go home. There are only 7 chefs left.

Topic for discussion. Any ideas on where the finalist will be headed? I’m guessing since this is All-Stars, and they’ve already shown that the show will go to international locations, I’m guessing they are going to Paris or Rome.


Top Shelf


1. Carla Hall



Carla won her 3rd challenge of the season. Over the past 6 weeks, she has been on an impressive run. All three of her wins have come, she’s had 2 other top finishes. The only blemish on her record over this stretch was 1 low finish. I am not sure if she has enough to bring home the crown, but if she keeps cooking the way she is, it’ll be hard to beat her.


2. Angelo Sosa



Angelo had another strong week, I actually was expecting his name to be called as the winner. Angelo has had 4 high finishes since winning the first 2, but has always been missing something to get him that elusive third win. I do think Angelo has what it takes to win the title. Last season, you could see Angelo showing signs of physical and mental fatigue. If he didn’t get sick in the finale, he could have won. This season, he is showing no signs of slowing down at all.


3. Richard Blais



Richard has been very hard on himself all season. He wants and expects to win every week. He has won twice with two other top finishes. His loan bottom finish was a team challenge where he worked with Fabio and Marcel on a meal that Marcel conceptualized. If I had to gamble money on the winner, I would still put it on Richard followed closely by Angelo.


Middle of the Pack


4. Dale Talde



Dale gets the 4 spot of Antonio because he has two challenge wins, two solo quickfire wins and one team quickfire win compared to Antonia’s one challenge win and one team quickfire win. I know Dale has had two back to back bottom finishes, but he is trying to avoid repeating his mistakes. He went from no taste or seasoning to over seasoning his Philly Cheese steak. I also think he has a better chance to win over Anotnia, but another bottom finish this week could send him packing.


5. Antonia Lofaso



Antonia followed up her 3 straight bottom finishes (one of which wasn’t her fault, but her teams) with a win and a top finish. She has been cooking very strong as of late, but as discussed before, doesn’t have as many wins as Dale so she is sitting at 5. I could easily see her jumping Dale and even Richard with another strong performance this week.


Chopping Block


6. Tiffany Derry



I do find it interesting that the two contestants from season 7 have made it to the top 7. I was expecting both the chefs to be worn down from the quick turnaround of the two seasons. However, maybe they were more prepared for this season then the other chefs. Tiffany is starting to doubt herself, which obviously is never a good thing. She’s been very up and down this season with 3 top finishes and 3 bottom finishes over the past 6 weeks. If she can get her confidence back I can see her making the finale, but if she can’t, I can easily see her being sent packing this week.


7. Mike Isabella



Mike has been a pretty consistent performer all season. He has been safely in all but 3 weeks with 1 high finish that was followed up by back to back low finishes. He has won 1 quickfire this season. I can’t say he’s really done anything bad to be placed on the bottom, but everyone else is performing better.

Top Chef All-Stars Power Rankings

Welcome back to the Power Rankings. It looks like I have an excuse to write again, compared to doing nothing like I have for most of the fall. As you know, I normally wait a week or two to start the rankings and get a feeling of who is doing well. Since we already know everyone, I am going to start before the season and move onward. This first installment isn’t as much a power rankings as it is how I think the Chefs will finish. In case you were wondering, this season was taped in New York City.


Top Shelf


1. Richard Blais (Season 4 Chicago)



I actually didn’t like Blais for most of season 4 and found him annoying. As I look back on those shows though, it was clear he was one of the best chefs of all time. For any of his returns on the show, as a guest su-chef or a reunion special, he always talks about how excited he is to get back in the competition. We know he has the talent, and with that drive, I see him winning the Top-Chef All-Star title.


2. Marcel Vigneron (Season 2 Los Angeles)



Marcel, the man everyone loves to hate. I think he is one of the top talents the show has scene and has all the things needed to win this competition. I think, just like season 2, he will finish as runner-up.


3. Dale Levitski (Season 3 Miami)



Dale is my favorite Chef of all time. So I am openly rooting for him. I see him making a strong run in this competition, but ultimately will fall short of winning Top Chef again.


4. Tiffani Faison (Season 1 San Francisco)



Tiffani is the last chef in the finale. Tiffani had the misfortune of being in the same competition as Harold who was the clear front runner for day 1. I see her having another strong competition and finishing as the highest female chef.

Top Chef Thoughts

Congrats to Kevin on Winning Top Chef Washington D.C. I know I had him ranked low, and then “could go either way,” but he said so himself, he was up and down. He found his rhythm when it mattered most and won.

Now I have two purposes for this post.

1. Discuss Top Chef All-Stars
2. Discuss Next Top Chef Filming Locations

Top Chef All-Stars

We all knew it was only a matter of time before they did a full all out All-Star competition, not just a special show. The show is already done filming in New York and will start airing December 1st. I have not heard the line-up, so if it’s been announced, this post is kind of pointless but I am going to guess who are 18 contestant who are going to participate on the show. My only criteria is winner’s are not allowed back.

Season 1: San Francisco

Tiffani Faison
Lee Anne Wong


Season 2: Los Angeles

Michael Midgley
Marcel Vineron


Season 3: Miami

Dale Levitski
Casey Thompson
Howie Kleinberg


Season 4: Chicago

Richard Blais
Spike Mendelshon
Andrew “Tweak” D’Ambrosi


Season 5: New York

Stefan Richter
Fabio Viviani
Carla Hall


Season 6: Las Vegas

Bryan Voltaggio
Kevin “Red Beard” Gillespie


Season 7: Washington DC

Kenny Gilbert
Ed Cotton
Angelo Sosa


This was actually harder than I expected. 18 leaves 2-3 chefs per season and some season defiantly warnted more. Some choices like Marcel, Blais, and Fabio were easy, but finding the last one to cut, Lisa Fernades, cut was hard.

2. Next Top Chef Filming Locations


These are my guesses at filming (in reverse order) of where the next regular season of Top Chef will take place.

4. Hawai’i

Hawai’i would offer a bunch of unique challenges included a luau, seafood and tropical themes.

3. Seattle Washington

Seattle has the world famous fish market, Coffee, Boeing (think airline food) which could produce some good challenges

2. Austin Texas

Really, this is just Top Chef Texas. You could pick Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio or any other numbers of cities. I went with Austin because it is known for having a ton of small but excellent resteraunts. Steak, Rodeo’s and all things Texas will be Featured

1. Atlanta Georgia

The ATL has been represented by a lot of different Chefs. This can feature all the good things when thinking Southern food, spicy, bbq, and deliciousness.

Top Chef Power Rankings

Top Chef Power Rankings

We are down to the final 4 as the cheftestants move on to Singapore. I do have to say, this season of Top Chef has had the best prizes thanks to Hilton being the major sponsor. They are getting trips all over the place, and probably have the coolest final location to date. I think it will be a very interesting last two shows.

Last week Tiffany just missed the cut. I was personally surprised she was sent home as this was her first time with a bottom dish. The judges always claim the decisions are made on a round by round basis, but we know that is crap. The one question I have left is, will the other cheftestants be brought to Singapore to help. I say yes, but I won’t do a breakdown of who could help the most until next week. On to the power rankings


1. Angelo Sosa


How did he jump all the way back to 1st your asking. No, it isn’t because he won last week, even though that helps, it’s because I think he has the best chance to win. As the season went on, you could tell Angelo was starting to get tired and stressed and it showed. Taking the break from Washington DC to Singapore should give him the time off he needs to win this competition. The other reason I think he is going to win is because the location of the finals. All season long Angelo has used Asian influences on his food. Now they are in Asia where he will have all the ingredients he needs at his fingertips.


2. Ed Cotton


Ed was my sleeper pick in the beginning of the season, and remains so now. I think he might be the most well rounded chef this season, with the ability to go a bunch of different ways. His problem that could cost him the title is when he tries to do too much or doesn’t get focused. When he is running around the kitchen frantically trying to finish his dish is when he makes mistakes. If he can avoid this situation, he has the ability to win it all.


3. Kelly Liken


Kelly could win this competition but I don’t have as much faith in her as the two above her. She has been a very consistent performer, but hasn’t been finishing on top as Ed or Angelo. I think she will make a good run for the title, but ultimately fall short.


4. Kevin Sbarga


I am glad to see Kevin has made the finals. He started off a little up and down, but has always stuck with what he likes for cooking. Kevin could win the competition, but I am worried that something he likes, the judges won’t and that they’ll send him packing back to the States.

Top Chef Power Rankings

Then there were Four. After two weeks in a row with the bottom two Alex and Amanada getting voted off the show heads into the last episode in DC. The power rankings are taking a major turn this week as we head to the finals.

Ed Cotton

Ed had another win and is riding a hot streak towards the finish. Another elimination challenge win and another fancy trip for Ed. I don't see how Ed doesn't make it through to the finals

Tiffany Derry

Just like Ed, Tiffany has really started to shine down the stretch. She doesn't get involved in politics and never seems to doubt herself. She continues to cook well and remains the only chef never to finish on the bottom. I see her easily making it through to the finals.

Kelly Liken

Everyone thinks Kelly is playing the game the best right now. I see her standing up for her dishes, and not doing anything that hurts her. Call it being sly or tricky, but it's working for her.

Angelo Sosa

Angelo is really starting to get into his head. He needs to get to this break more then anyone else. If he can make it to the break, get refreshed, I think he could easily win it (and bring his Russian bride over. Seriously, Russian Bride?)

Kevin Sbarga

Kevin is the odd man out, but I could easily see him getting through. He was very up and down all season but seems to have hit his rhythm coming down the stretch. Even if he does get left out, he easily wins the angriest contestant of the year.

Top Chef Power Rankings 08/11/10

Restaurant Wars is normally one of my favorite episodes. It was originally a task given to the team to transform a room into a restaurant concept basically over night. This season, (and last) the refs were given a restaurant and basically had to cook food that loosely tied together. The judges even commented about the restaurants concepts sounding nice, but then receiving something completely different.

Bravo gave us the old switcheroo (I actually called this) and showed us how much the red team was struggling to get along and how there was no way they could win not working together, while the blue team worked hormonally together and with their staff on a way to what looked like an easy victory. Well, not so fast my friends. The red team ended up winning and tempers flared.

Everybody hates Alex. The red team was trying to hide him by giving him mundane tasks, like chopping meat and they didn’t even like that, then sending him to the front of the house so he couldn’t screw up the food. The blue team called him out for not creating a dish, a requirement of the challenge. I honestly can’t say I blame them.

In the end, Kenny was sent home. I can’t say that I blame the judges for this decision. He has been up and down all season and his mistakes on his dishes were the same he always has done. He tried to show off everything he knew, and ending producing too much on one plate that didn’t go together. I personally would have voted Amanda off, but I didn’t eat the food.

On to the power rankings. Not too much movement this week cause no chefs really shined.


1. Angelo Sosa (last week #1)

Angelo looked flustered for the first time this season. He was almost clueless on what to do as the anchor in the quick fire. He also was going crazy at seeing what Alex was doing. In the end he still produced some good food, but nothing special.


2. Kelly Like (last week #2)

Kelly is still in prime position to pass Angelo. She finished the dish in the winning quickfire and her chocolate dessert was one of the judges favorites. She did this on top of doing a decent job as front of the house, even though I have no idea what she was wearing. Saying all that, her corn soup apparently was not so good. She’s still right there ready to pass Angelo, she just needs to take the next step.


3. Tiffany Derry (last week #3)

After going two for two last week, Tiffany had a pretty quiet week. Her food came out good, but nothing spectacular. I think she could very easily win this competition. I think she is one of the most calm chefs in the kitchen, always a good thing, and stays composed in tough situations. She we’ll need to put out some great dishes compared to her normal good dishes to win though.


4. Ed Cotton (last week #5)

Ed gets the win on what looked like a good dish. That win is enough to put him into the top shelf group, but not good enough to pass up Tiffany. I am not really sure what Ed did in the quickfire, so that doesn’t hurt or help him. Right now I have him as a finalist and I think he makes the finals. It wouldn't suprise me to see him move up these rankings more as the season winds down.

Middle of the Pack


5. Kevin Sbraga (last week #6)

Kevin finally seems to have figured the competition out. He has been cooking a lot more consistent these past couple weeks and probably would have won his second elimination challenge in a row if the blue team would have won. The judges loved his fish dish, even though they were a little disappointed he only attempted one dish. I think now the Kenny is gone, Kevin defiantly has a shot to make it to the finals. He is not that far behind Ed in my mind.


Chopping Block


7. Amanda Baumgarten (last week #8)

Yes, there is no 6 this week, we have two sevens. These bottom two chefs shouldn’t be hear. I find it hard to believe that Andrea, Kenny and Arnold are all gone and these two are here. Amanda is our first seven because, even though she didn’t cook her steak well, at least she cooked. The biggest problem for Amanda, was trying to cook something she didn’t know. She was trying to use the wood burning stove, which is good, but she had no idea what to do. For a wood burning stove, you need to be cooking on only coals, and from what I saw, she was cooking on top of flames, which pass a lot of gases to the food. She was also cooking with grass fed beef. Grass fed beef is generally considered better tasting, but she had never cooked it before and it handles differently the corn fed beef.


7. Alex Reznik (last week #7)

I pretty much summed up Alex in the intro, but the Bravo cameras showed us how Alex prepared the staff and seemed to be an jerk for being a jerks sake. He was a very nervous front of the house and even screwed up the presentation to the judges. He didn’t make a dish, and survived. There is a huge gap between Kevin and these two chefs. I don’t see how he will make it to the finals.

Top Chef Power Rankings (08/03/10)

This was an interesting week. Lots of chefs were cooking out of their element. Only 3 of the 9 had any experience with Ethiopian food, and apparently only Angelo had any real experience. Then after the quickfire, a few judges did not get a good draw and had to cook more dishes they weren't experienced with. I thought the guest judge summed it up the best, I am summarizing what he said, "Just cause you are a good chef, doesn't mean you have traveled the world."

I felt kind of bad for Stephen, since he had last draw. Saying that, he has been on the bottom numerous times and he apparently butchered so I can't blame the judges for sending him packing.

Next week is my favorite episode, RESTAURANT WARS!

Top Shelf


1. Angelo Sosa


Angelo just barely hangs onto the top spot. Angelo continues to thrive in quickfires, and do good, but not finishing in the top, on the quickfires. Angelo hasn't finished on the top since week 3, so he better watch out or Kelly will pass him by.


2. Kelly Liken


I really was tempted to have herfinally unseated Angelo in the competition, but she just short. If Angelo doesn't finish in top of the quickfire I would have moved her to the top. Also her bottom finish last week did not help her either. Her dish was a huge hit with the judges, so much so, that I thought she was actually going to win. Another top finish and a medicore Angelo finish, and she's number 1.

3. Tiffany Derry



Tiffany swept the show for her first wins of the season. She has been risen into the top three. She is the only chef who has not been in the bottom (technically Angelo to, but he had immunity for the losing team). I think she is really starting to shine and could surprise some people.


4. Kenny Gilbert


Kenny continues to talk a big game, but finishing in the middle. I still think he is one of the top 4 chefs in the competition, but stop talking and start putting up stats. I think his biggest problem is he always tries to do too much. Every quickfire it seems like he's doing something two or three ways. He needs to focus on one piece and make that the best he can.


Best of the rest

I really think there is a distinct line between the top 4 and the next 4. I could see Ed sneaking into the top 4, but really, no one else.


5. Ed Cotton


Ed was still a little upset about the pea puree and did alright in the quickfire. He did not rise to the occasion on the elimination challenge. I think his dish might have been overall worse then Stephen's, but his better track record kept him alive.


Could go either way


6. Kevin Sbraga


Kevin still can't shake the title. He even said it last night that he has been on the top 4 times (with 1 win) and on the bottom three times. That's really crazy if you think about it, he's talked to the judges all but 1 episode this season. Kevin did very well for his first attempt at Indian inspired cuisine finishing in the top. When he picked India 6th and then said he never cooked Indian food, i as worried for him.



Back of the pack

7. Alex Reznik



As most of you know, I have defended Alex most this season. I am not sure if he stole the pea puree or not, but I think it's time for him to go. He's had a good season with a win and a couple top finishes. He was so thrilled to get Spain, but he fell flat on his face. He does seem like a spaz in the kitchen, which is never a good thing for the show. I think him and Ed not getting a long could keep him around longer, but, there's only 8 people left.


Chopping Block


8.Amanda Baumgarten


She is the lone member of the chopping block this week. I was tempted to have two on the chopping block given that Amanda could end up on the winning team of restaurant wars, but no one else truly seemed to warrant it. Maybe she's not as bad as I think,but I feel like she is the bottom of the group