TCFL 17 All-Stars // Episode 3 Recap

Hey all you cool Cats and Kittens. Congratulations on (almost) getting through another week in quarantine. Hope you are all enjoying the season so far. There was a lot of scoring in this episode, so let's get to it:

Episode Recap:

  • "Once you plant the seed, it grows quickly."
    The lady pow-wow to start the show was a bit disconcerting to anyone who may have picked Nini, Karen, or Stephanie. It was a little surprising seeing this much mental doubt already. Nini and Stephanie both started the season strong and Karen is the most recent James Beard winner of the whole group.
  • Did Nini really fart?! For the record, I don't care that she farted. I care that it was the weirdest sounding fart I've ever heard. It was like a honk or a duck quack. I can't process it in my brain. I rewound my DVR at least four times trying to figure it out.
  • I enjoy both Randall Park and Ali Wong. If you haven't already, do check out Always Be My Maybe on Netflix, a) because it's a solid movie, and b) because of the Keanu cameo.
  • I enjoy Quickfires like the Fried Rice challenge, but dislike when they decide to put jelly beans, red hots, and other weird stuff on the ingredient table. Give me one gimmick, but don't smoosh another gimmick onto it.
  • I guess we needed one more "Jamie gives up immunity" flashback before he was eliminated.
  • I love that Ali and Randall walked around on their own, without Padma. I can't remember this happening with other guests. We also need more of this type of word-less shade:

  • Did Padma do "jazz hands." What is happening?

  • Of all the people to sort-of-not-listen to the challenge, I didn't think it would be Voltaggio.
  • A night-visit to Whole Foods! And they're still using the elusive Top Chef totes, which are still NOT available at the Bravo shop. By all means, keep showing me BMW X7s, but also make the damn tote available for purchase.

  • For the purposes of TCFL, I love when they group Chefs -- not to be a team, but to compete against each other. It means way more scoring, both positive and negative. The theme (the art in this case) is fine, but doesn't matter to me as much.
Baroque
Voltaggio (Top), Lisa (Safe), Jamie (Bottom)
Neo-classicism
Eric (Top), Jen (Safe), Kevin (Safe), Karen (Bottom)
Renaissance
Malarkey (Top), Nini (Safe), Lee Anne (Bottom)
Rococo
Melissa (Win), Gregory (Safe), Stephanie (Bottom)
  • Ludo! Man, I think my brain erased The Taste from my memory. I gave it a shot because I have a crush on Nigella and don't get me started on Bourdain or I'll start crying. But it was not a good show.
  • Wherever it is that they set up the dining table in the Getty was gorgeous and I'd visit the museum just for that room.
  • At this point, can't be surprised that Melissa put out the Michelin-caliber (in Ludo's opinion) dish. She is looking strong and is rewarding those that picked her.
Scoring Summary:
  • As always, the Scoreboard can be found HERE.
  • Jamie managed to pull off the episode trifecta with a bottom in the Quickfire (-2), a bottom in the Elimination (-3), and an elimination in LCK (-1), rewarding his six teams with a -6 for the season. 
  • Let's pour one out for A Nonessential Essential as the only team with a cumulative minus for the season (-8 overall). Top performers include Nini (+3), Gregory (0), and Lisa (0). I think everyone is looking for some life out of Gregory, and soon.
  • Taking over 1st overall this week? Team Kari Bear! For those who don't know, Kara was "Ms. Irrelevant" last season. What a great turnaround this would be.
  • Congrats to those who guessed Episode 4 for Kelly Clarkson's appearance. With how bunched scoring is, these Tiebreakers may come into play in the end (but probably not for A Nonessential Essential).
Enjoy Episode 4 everyone! See you next week!

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