If you haven’t seen Episode 4 of Top Chef All Stars, read no further as this post contains spoilers. If you’re a fellow Top Chef fan, I’d love to hear what you think of this episode!
Random thoughts about the episode:
First of all, this is a super late entry on Episode 4. The Christmas and New Year preps took priority of course, and this entry was put aside. I’ll try to remember what I thought about the show!
Top of mind is Carla. “She manned up,” Dale Talde said. Carla cut her finger with a knife (with blood dripping and all). The show’s medics said she needed stitches, but she simply wrapped her finger with a gauze, slipped on some gloves and chopped away.
Take that two-stitches-I-don’t-have-a-dish-AGAIN-Jamie.
Before I go share my thoughts about Jamie, let me finish with my thoughts on Carla first. I was really happy she pulled through! The other chefs were saying she lacked a certain refinement when it comes to her dishes. Well, that’s not Carla. We saw how charming her dishes were during her season. We saw how she told Tom Colicchio that it was LOVE that made her dishes yummy. You could tell she put a lot of love into her dish, never mind the bloody finger. So GO CARLA HALL! HOOTIE HOOOOO!
Back to Jamie. She failed to produce a dish she was proud of — again. The elimination challenge was patterned after a tennis match. Chefs serve head to head, and the first team that reaches 40 points is the winner. The strategy of Jamie’s team was to serve their worst dishes first, as they were anticipating the other team would serve their best dishes first. So you know how that goes. It backfired anyway.
Jamie not only overcooked her beans, but she didn’t serve anything because her team lost before she could put her dish forward. Much to her relief.
Now I think Jamie’s pretty cool. I just miss her fighting spirit though, the one she had in her season. Maybe she didn’t want to be in Top Chef All Stars. Maybe it was just part of her contract. I don’t know. I only say that because she sure is acting like she doesn’t want to be there.
Let’s talk about Angelo. Sabotager or helper? I think Angelo should keep his fingers on his own food. Whether he’s motivated by genuine sincerity or not, I think he should just concentrate on his own food, on his own components. Marcel wasn’t too happy about it last episode even if their team won. Spike certainly wasn’t happy about it in this episode.
Oh Spike. I really hate that he got eliminated. No no no. I was sad to see him go.
Let’s talk about Fabio. Gnocchi again? Okay, it’s whole-wheat gnocchi but… dare I say it?
I’m still watching the rest of the season, definitely. I can’t help but feel like the chefs don’t want to be there though. Everyone seems to be low on energy, their eyes only lighting up at the mention of prize money. Maybe they’re tired of the competition already and just had to fulfill this obligation. I don’t know. It’s just a vibe I’m getting as a viewer.
I don’t even know who to root for! I’ve always liked Richard Blais so maybe I’ll stick by him. We’ll see.
What did you think of Advantage Chef?
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.