"Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak" - Reality TV World Message Board Forums

Reality TV World Message Board Forums PLEASE NOTE: The Reality TV World Message Boards are filled with desperate attention-seekers pretending to be one big happy PG/PG13-rated family. Don't be fooled. Trying to get everyone to agree with you is like herding cats, but intolerance for other viewpoints is NOT welcome and respect for other posters IS required at all times. Jump in and play, and you'll soon find out how easy it is to fit in, but save your drama for your mama. All members are encouraged to read the complete guidelines. As entertainment critic Roger Ebert once said, "If you disagree with something I write, tell me so, argue with me, correct me--but don't tell me to shut up. That's not the American way."

"Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Conferences Top Chef Forum (Protected)
Email this topic to a friend Printer-friendly version of this topic Bookmark this topic (Registered users only)		Previous Topic \| Next Topic
Original message

txriverwillow 262 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Network TV Show Guest Star"	05-29-08, 12:16 PM (EST)
"Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"
This week's episode was all about the meat, specifically the steak. First, the chefs had to butcher their own Tomahawk chop to create a dish for famed Chicago chef Rick Tramonto. Spike went to town, quickly butchering up a beautiful specimen, while everyone else just butchered theirs. Spike won and got the advantage in the elimination round. The elimination round was being put in charge of Tramonto's Steak and Seafood for the evening, with each chef being responsible for an appetizer and an entree. The judges included previous TC winners. Spike's advantage was getting first selection out of the pantry. Showing no imagination, he selected the Tomahawk chop and frozen scallops. Lisa's appetizer of cold shrimp left the judges cold and congealed. Her entree of NY strip was good, although they commented that her technique needs improving. She surprised them with mashed potatoes with peanut butter, something no one wanted to like but most were surprised. However at the judge's table, she admitted it was not something new but something she had worked with at a previous job, so she doesn't get points for imagination. Spike's appetizer of pan seared scallops just disgusted the judges since the scallops had been frozen, mangled and saturated with water. His chop was adequate but he was really taken to task for using the scallops. He also smarted off to Rick Tramato for having them in the first place. After the time at the judge's table, he regretted his outburst. Richard's sweetbreads appetizer was the favorite appetizer of the night. His filet was good, but as was mentioned the sum of the parts did not match the whole. Stephanie's sweetbreads were well received and her tenderloin entree was also steadily good. She received comments that she hit the mark for what is expected in a steakhouse perfectly. Antonia's appetizer is forgotten right now but her bone in rib eye and gratin was a big hit, with it being declared the best entree. Stephanie won for her overall combination, rock steadiness and probably for cuteness. Richard and Antonia make it to the final 4 for their appetizer and entree respectively. It then came down to which one was the worse offender of the night, Lisa or Spike. Both have been consistently in the loser group throughout the season. According to Tom, Lisa lacks technique but has passion. Spike failed to capitalize on his advantages and should have known better than to use frozen scallops. Spike was sent to pack his knives and Lisa promises to bring her stuff to PR.
Alert	Edit \| Reply \| Reply With Quote \| Top

Table of Contents

Lobby | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic

Messages in this topic

DebCapsFan 2747 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Survivor-themed Cruise Spokesperson"
05-29-08, 01:02 PM (EST)

1. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

All of the food looked incredibly tasty. I was so hungry by the end of the episode!

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

jbug 16685 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 01:25 PM (EST)

2. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Good summary Willow. I'm glad I didn't forget it was on last nite!
I love a good steak! Just as long as there is no red stuff on the plate. ewwwww
Poor Spike - did it not occur to him to put the scallops back and go with something else? That maybe 'frozen' scallops were put in the walk-in as a test? to see if anyone would use them?
I really wanted Lisa gone. Oh well, we'll have to put up with her in PR. Too bad the oven behind her didn't burn her up

Every day is Spring with Agman

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

txriverwillow 262 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Network TV Show Guest Star"
05-29-08, 02:12 PM (EST)

8. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Lisa only survived because there was no rice to mess with her.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

jbug 16685 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 09:49 PM (EST)

14. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

*snort* how right you are

If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the bug's kitchen!
Agman? It's getting hot in here!!!!

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

dabo 25344 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 01:30 PM (EST)

3. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Thank you. Haven't seen this episode yet so I'll reserve other comments for later, but it sounds like Spike finally got caught for playing the game the way he did.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Snidget 43862 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 01:36 PM (EST)

4. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

I may not remember right, but isn't this the second time Spike screwed himself over by getting a chance to pick first, and seemed to be picking more to screw other people over than to make sure he looked good...or was that one of the other chefs that did that.
If it is I think the not learning your lesson the first time around is worth getting the chop, IMO.
I'm all for making choices that make it harder for the other chefs, but you have to choose stuff that make you look good even when you have expected ingredients.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

txriverwillow 262 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Network TV Show Guest Star"
05-29-08, 02:00 PM (EST)

5. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

You are remembering right, he blocked the bread, lettuce, tomato and chicken during the Protect and Serve episode and then just threw the lettuce and tomato on the food, like an afterthought.
He was playing not to lose and didn't do that well enough.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

aquariaqueen 2616 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Survivor-themed Cruise Spokesperson"
05-29-08, 02:05 PM (EST)

6. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

I was surprised at the comment about "putting the frozen scallops back and choosing something else". I figured once he made his decision, it was final, that way others could make their choices.
And I did kinda like Spike calling out the owner saying "they were in your freezer".

“I love Jesus but I drink a little”. Gladys Hardy

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

txriverwillow 262 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Network TV Show Guest Star"
05-29-08, 02:08 PM (EST)

7. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

LAST EDITED ON 05-29-08 AT 02:10 PM (EST)
I think more than anything he should never have selected them in the first place.
Over on the Bravo blog's, it is explained that the supplier brought extra items in for the competition and that the frozen scallops are not normally in the Tramato kitchens.
Here's the quote...
No, didn’t know there were frozen scallops in there. We never ever purchase frozen seafood, so it isn’t anything that’s kept in my coolers normally. In the real world, when you’re a chef, you may get something you didn’t order from the purveyor, or there are other people there accepting your product and it does make it into your cooler, but you as a chef need to know when there is an inferior product, and you need to be able to say no. As a top chef, your quality conscience needs to be at a top level. Spike failed that test.
ETA from Tom's blog another interesting quote on the subject...
Rick Tramonto took Spike to task over this, which brought on Spike’s feisty reply, “With all due respect, the scallops were in your walk-in.” My heart sunk when I heard this because I’ve known Rick for years and can say with certainty he doesn’t use frozen seafood in his restaurant. Along with the high-end steaks they had provided for the show, Allen Bros. had included a variety of other products to round out the restaurant’s existing stock, including frozen scallops, which is how they came to be in Tramonto’s walk-in. I learned later that Rick knew this when we taped the show, but chose not to make a federal case out of it. But as a colleague and fan of Rick’s, I feel it’s important to set the record straight.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Snidget 43862 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 02:13 PM (EST)

9. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

I'm not sure what the rules were, so not sure if he had to use them for this challenge.
Even if you had to use them, it could have been chopped up in a sauce for something else where you could minimize the damage.
That and everyone else seemed to know it wasn't a good idea when they saw him with the bag, you'd think when he first picked it up he'd have been able to figure that out.
I think his need to pull on over on the other people is stronger than his drive to do the best possible job.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

jbug 16685 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 04:37 PM (EST)

10. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

I think once Spike made his choice, the others could not use those ingredients.
But I don't think it was said that any of the others could not use any other duplicate items.
Richard & Steph both used the sweetbreads.
So I would think Spike could have put the scallops back and picked something else.

Every day is Spring with Agman

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

cipher5150 166 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Blistex Spokesperson"
05-29-08, 05:05 PM (EST)

12. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Either Lisa or Antonia said in a confessional that winning was a double edged sword as once you picked something you were stuck with it…still not clear as to whether he could have picked some other protein as long as none of the others were using it. It wasn’t clear to me whether the judges were chastising him for not getting rid of the scallops and finding something else or for choosing them in the first place. Either way, they were apparently unforgiving of this mistake. (I also wondered if they were put there on purpose as a test to see who would be stupid enough to use them).
Hmmm steak…now I’ll have to stop at the grocery on the way home and fire up the grill.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

arkiegrl 9421 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 04:40 PM (EST)

11. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Antonia's appetizer was a salad with poached egg.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

aquariaqueen 2616 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Survivor-themed Cruise Spokesperson"
05-29-08, 05:57 PM (EST)

13. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

That doesn't even sound good to me....blechy.

“I love Jesus but I drink a little”. Gladys Hardy

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

jbug 16685 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-29-08, 09:50 PM (EST)

15. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

Definitely a blechy.

If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the bug's kitchen!
Agman? It's getting hot in here!!!!

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

dabo 25344 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
05-30-08, 01:40 AM (EST)

16. "RE: Season 4 Episode 12: So Much At Steak"

LAST EDITED ON 05-30-08 AT 01:43 AM (EST)
I gotta say, it is kind of dear how Stephanie always looks like the kid called to the principal's office when she's at judges table.
Spike missed his calling, he should have followed gramps into butchery, he is excellent with a blade. All of the quickfire steaks looked excellent to me, so having the decision based on who did the best cutting seemed a reasonable fallback.
I have to wonder, though, if any of the others would have selected those scallops had they gotten first grab; I kind of doubt it, he may have wound up with them anyway.
Richard's appetizer, big hit that it was, seemed overly complicated to me, despite trying to keep to the "steakhouse" motif he just couldn't help himself but it paid off. Antonia went with a high degree of difficulty as well, poaching the eggs for her appetizer, very critical timing.
Stephanie scoring a whole new kitchen to go along with her trip to Spain, does she have the instinct for the best time to put together a win or what!
I do have to give Lisa some credit, even though she clearly doesn't like it she has learned to take the criticism that comes her way rather than sloughing it off as she did for so long. And so long, Spike, it was fun watching you play, too bad you couldn't put more of that attention on the plate where it belonged.

Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Lock | Archive | Remove

Lobby | Topics | Previous Topic | Next Topic

p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e - p l a c e h o l d e r t e x t g o e s h e r e -

about this site • advertise on this site • contact us • privacy policy •