TCFL 16 // Episode 2 Recap


EPISODE RECAP:
  • Chekov's Vegetable Garden? This has to come into play at some point and will be a detriment to any of the Chefs who have neglected to tend their garden, right? Right.
  • Michelle: "My grandmother was a shaman for the most violent tribe in Mexico." This is one hell of a flex.
  • Preface: I love Gail. I think she's a great judge and I'm sad she won't be around much this season. That makes me even more annoyed by this Quickfire. The behind-the-scenes logistics of it was weird and distracting. Most of the time, Mrs. Commish and I were discussing if Nilou really flew from Louisville to NYC so that she and Gail could cook these two dishes THEN come back for the Elimination Challenge. Multiple questions: What if the airline lost the ingredients boxes? What if Gail had severe morning sickness when they were supposed to film? Is Nilou as much of a stick-in-the-mud as she seems in her appearances?
  • What I did love about the Quickfire was the delayed result regarding immunity. I actually hope they continue to do this throughout the season. I really started to dislike how the Chefs would strategically use someone's immunity in team challenges (like sticking someone with shitty ingredients because "who cares, you have immunity.")
  • Brandon: "I think being hungry and pregnant is similar to working a 16-hour day and coming home..."
    Mrs. Commish: "Oh. Fuck. You. Dude... Incorrect."
  • BTW, Mrs. Commish's pregnancy cravings were pepperoni pizza (which is only weird because she doesn't like pepperoni) and ice cubes. Constantly chewing on ice cubes.
  • David: "I've had a crush on Gail for quite some time." Amen, brother.
  • Can't make fun of Dubuque this week. 27-week-old baby must be scary as shit.
  • I don't think I've ever seen Padma come out and hug someone in the middle of the competition, let alone a Quickfire.
  • Bourbon of the Night (Episode 2): In honor of the setting of the episode, Makers 46, one rock. Have a soft spot for Makers 46 after Dave and I spent a night drinking it after the rest of the bachelor party we were with (including the groom) went to bed ridiculously early. That night (and early morning), Dave learned how to play blackjack and with his "rookie" mistakes, made a bunch of gambling grandmas very angry with us.
  • Lisa R.: "That Kentucky broad is super annoying."
    It doesn't seem like this season has an out and out "villain" (Brandon is too dumb to be a villain). Tesar is a villain. Sara (the Kentucky broad) is more Robin. As in "get off my TV screen, please."
  • I've been watching this show for a long time. I can't remember a situation where the budget for shopping was such a factor in a challenge.
  • Speaking of shopping, Justin is wondering if anyone knows where to get the tote bag they were all using. It isn't on the Bravo shop. If anyone knows, help a brother out and hit the comments.
  • Classic Food Competition Show Trope Alert! Someone can't get a pressure cooker cover on properly!
  • Kelsey: "Black Team, turn your aprons around and clean up! Look like a bunch of hobos out there..."
  • Of the 15 previous Chefs who won the first Elimination Challenge, six went on to win the whole thing (Harold, Ilan, Stephanie, Paul, Mei, Jeremy). As far as I know, none have been eliminated the very next week.
SCORING RECAP:
  • We have our first standings of the season. The scoring sheet can be found HERE.
  • Team challenges make for big scoring. Everyone either earned or lost points this week. Nini (Elimination Win) and David (Quickfire Win and Elimination Top Performer) were the highest scoring Chefs with 10 points each.
  • Natalie "salvaged" her tough day on the main show (-5 combined) by advancing in LCK (+5) rewarding her 25 teams with a net zero.
  • Our first fully eliminated Chef is Jim, ending the season with a net zero. 
  • Early Top 5 is varied, including veteran Adrienne and Season 13 Champion Dan.
  • No surprise that Founding Father Rich is an early Bottom 3. Veteran players know that Rich is hilariously bad at this.

Finally, a special shout-out to my little brother Matt who turns 18 today. We finally got him into Top Chef this past summer and he then did what all these kiddos do: binge-watch multiple seasons (via Hulu). His favorite Seasons are 5 (Hosea), 6 (Voltaggio), 7 (Kevin), and 8 (Blais). He's a purist like his older bro. It's a shame that his first semester at college is interfering with his TCFL-ing because he currently sits alone in 22nd place. Happy Birthday Matt!

Enjoy tonight's episode everyone!

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