Happy Season 20, TCFL! I understand that there may have been some concern out there, but no need to worry: TCFL is alive for World All-Stars. We are officially in the pre-season and are less than a week away from Episode 1 of Top Chef Season 20 in London. That means we are less than two weeks away from the start of TCFL.
Important note: Even though we are familiar with 25% of the Chefs (more on them later), we will treat this like a regular season and that means that Episode 1 is NOT scored for TCFL. We will all get to watch Episode 1 for a chance to evaluate the Chefs before choosing 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.
Our Top Chef Google Space is still active. Feel free to come hang out if you are one of the psychos that still watches TV (other than sports) live. Some stray thoughts coming off the trailer:
00:01 - Was London the best choice? The safest choice? Maybe the only choice? I was surprised to see that none of the sixteens Chefs are from Top Chef UK (and thus implying some sort of home field advantage). That is, until I did some Wikipedia-ing and found out that among the 22 International versions of Top Chef, there is none for the UK. These two clowns must have some sort of handshake agreement/alliance to not let it happen:
00:13 - If we find out before the end of the Draft who does this splatter plating, they won't be on my team.
00:18 - Sixteen Chefs. Ten are former winners and six are former finalists. Of the six who are "merely" former finalists, three are from our U.S. Top Chef. I must say, I am a bit disappointed in the contingent we are sending over there. Amar (Season 13, lost to Jeremy), Sara (S16, Kelsey), and Dawn (S18, Gabe) are B-team material. Could we really not get will-go-on-any-show Blais or Michael Voltaggio to sign up for this? No Brooke or Kish? It feels like we got quantity over quality here. Imagine if we got Melissa to go and pair up with...
00:42 - ...our defending champion Buddha? Is it possible to go back-to-back? Will competition fatigue mean an early exit? If he makes another run (and let's say makes it to Paris), does he automatically enter the Top Chef G.O.A.T. conversation?
01:12 - I will take this as confirmation that Padma makes a cameo appearance in Fast X. Food (and illegal street racing turned global crime fighting) after all is all about family.
01:26 - While it's awesome that we get representative Chefs from the International versions of the show, it's also awesome that we'll get some of their hosts and judges too. Though be prepared for a very lengthy and very annoyed post if any of these people try to out-Padma Padma in her house.
01:29 - If there are castles and various Downton Abbey-y type stuff coming, we can pencil this in as Mrs. Commish's favorite season ever.
01:50 - If we find out before the end of the Draft who breaks the Colicchio risotto curse, they will be on my team.
02:04 - Has anyone else ever gone from contestant to recurring judge and back to contestant? I barely remember Amar as a contestant, but do remember him being an awesome judge during the Alumni rotation in Season 18. And as far as Dawn goes... she was a finalist on Season 18, she made multiple appearances as a guest judge on Season 19, and now she's competing again on Season 20. Take a break, Dawn. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
02:07 - Now this is a (presumably for) Restaurant Wars tweak I can get behind. I don't care about what this collection of talent thinks about decor and vibes. Let them cook.
02:09 - Now this absolutely makes sense for the Finale. And we'll be in Paris before we know it.
That's all for now! Enjoy Episode 1!
RULES RECAP
*Draft & Entry Fee*
Each entrant drafts six (6) Chefs to be on their team for the season. The entry fee is $10.00 per team. The draft is *live* after the first episode airs and ends when the second episode begins. This gives everyone a chance to make snap judgements about the Cheftestants and see how everyone is performing before assembling your team. Instructions on how to draft and how to submit your entry fee will be sent after Episode 1 airs.
*Scoring*
Each Chef accumulates points per episode and throughout the season. The team that accumulates the most points through the entire season wins. This is how Chefs accumulate points:
Top Performer (Quickfire): +2 points
Bottom Performer (Quickfire): -2 points
Quickfire Winner: +5 points
Top Performer (Elimination Challenge): +5 points
Bottom Performer (Elimination Challenge): -3 points
Elimination Challenge Winner: +10 points
Advance one round in Last Chance Kitchen: +1 point
Eliminated in Last Chance Kitchen: -1 point
Advance out of Last Chance Kitchen back to Main Competition: +10 points
Eliminated Chef returns to help in an Elimination Challenge and is...
On a winning team: +2 points
On an eliminated team: -2 points
Win "Fan Favorite" Vote: +10 points
Advance to the Finale (Last) Challenge: +20 Points
Win Top Chef: +30 Points
*Prizes*
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: $200.00, 2nd: $50.00, 3rd: $30.00, 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.
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: $200.00, 2nd: $50.00, 3rd: $30.00, 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.
TCFL 17 Champion Jon
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.
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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