Hello and Happy 2022, TCFL! We are officially in the pre-season and are less than a week away from Episode 1 of Top Chef Season 19 in Houston. That means we are less than two weeks away from the start of another Top Chef Fantasy League season.
Quick reminder: Episode 1 is NOT scored for TCFL. We all get to watch Episode 1 for a chance to make barely-informed snap judgements about the Chefs in order to pick our teams. If you are new, new-ish, or have a terrible memory, scroll down or click here for a refresher on the rules. As always, feel free to send any prospective players my way. You can send them this page or send me their email so I can put them on the distribution list.
Later in the week I'll send information for our Live Chat room that people can hang out in for the premiere. Until then, let's do a quick trailer deep dive to get in the spirit:
00:12 - I admittedly (wrongly) sort of disappeared after the Season 18 finale. I didn't do a Finale Recap or any of that other stuff that I usually do to end the season. A big part of that was Gabe. It didn't feel right celebrating the end of a TCFL season with all of what was going on around him and the Finale. With some time, I do feel like I should address it and plan to. And I do still owe our TCFL Season 18 Champ an interview.
But with that said, I'm very glad that the first non-Padma/Tom/Gail Top Chef personality we see is Shota. Every Top Chef season has one or two (or five or six) alums that you end up seeing around all the time. I hope Shota is one of them for Season 18.
00:13 - You better believe that one of the Tiebreaker questions this season will be "In what Episode does the Cheese Fountain appear?"
00:16 - Veterans of TCFL know that my favorite version of Padma is Champagne Padma. But one of my least favorites has got to be Bangs Padma.
00:33 - Important Mrs. Commish fact: she can't stand René Redzepi. Which will likely disqualify Noma Guy from her team automatically. Will we have to hear every other episode that he worked at Noma or will he be the "let the food do the talking" type?
00:49 - I was about to get behind the obvious-chip-on-his-shoulder Collards Guy. But look at his profile and see that even though hasn't worked in a three Michelin star restaurant as he says, he has worked in a one star place. False narrative!
01:07 - My goodness, so much going on in this screen grab and somehow Tom's hat is the least important. Next most important is that we are getting a visit from the Goat G.O.A.T., Stephanie Izard. But easily the most important development of this whole trailer is that we are getting the return of The Ripper.
01:12 - Did anyone else immediately notice that the alligator has gloves on?
01:17 - Very deadpan. Same blank stare. Self deprecating. She can try, but there will never be another Stephanie Cmar.
01:26 - First of all, I had no intention on writing about or acknowledging COVID this season but I have so many questions. Did this guy lose his sense of taste and smell because of COVID? Did it happen in between testing? Did he withhold that very relevant information in the middle of a challenge? Am I going to end up referring to him as Patient Zero? We might finally have a controversy that beats pea purée.
01:52 - If a NASA-themed challenge feels familiar to you, then congratulations: you've been watching Top Chef since at least 2010, when in Season 7 (D.C.), they went to Goddard to cook for (among others) Buzz Aldrin.
01:57 - One of the triumphs of Season 18 was having multiple Alums around all the time to judge. Even though I won't get my wish of having that be the format every season forever and ever, we will get an Alum per week and I'm glad that one of them will be one of the breakouts from last season, Kwame.
02:08 - It wouldn't be Top Chef without some forced, awkward integrated marketing! Get ready to see some footage of whatever number Jurassic Park movie we're up to now!
That's all for now! Stay tuned for the Live Chat link later in the week!
RULES RECAP
*Draft & Entry Fee*
So what are we all playing for? Well pride and bragging rights for one. More importantly, we are playing for cash. Payouts will be determined after all entries are received. Last season we paid out four spots (1st: $230.00, 2nd: $65.00, 3rd: $35.00, Mr./Ms. Irrelevant [Last Place]: $10.00, and a Midseason Leader: $15.00). Hopefully, with your help, the league will grow this year and our payouts will be even better.
And most importantly, we are playing for a trophy. The trophy for TCFL is a Top Chef cutting board. The league winner keeps the trophy for one year, or until the next TCFL Champion is crowned.
And that's the gist of it! If you are a returning player, welcome back. If you are new to all this, we hope you stick around and play. In either case, please spread the word to any other Top Chef fans you know. The more the merrier.
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