I feel bad for NoNita having so much crappy luck, she seems really talented... I must note, she was a challenger on Iron Chef America and beat Mario Batali (who is by far the baddest of the Iron Chefs, he's got an 82.6% win rate). I wish she had also chopped off that stupid ponytail of his and then set fire to those goddamned orange Crocs.

Speaking of badasses who have beat Mario Batali (and his fugly shoes) on Iron Chef America, in comes New Orleans resident John Besh, who owns several restaurants there (including August, Lüke, Domenica, La Provence and Besh Steak). I have to admit, at first I thought he said his name was John Tesh, which would have been extremely unfortunate...

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...John Tesh < John Besh...

NerdMosexual's back to his old sssssppssssippsy tricksiesss again as he calls John a "real Cajun boy" and hisses that "He bringssss a lot of that great kinda ssssnazzssssy Cajun flair to hissss very fine classssssssical French cooking." Gee thanks, NerdMo'... now the inside of my TV's picture tube is all spitty. Blech. I hope he never has to say words like "Mississippi", "supercilious" and "semi-sleeplessness" or everyone in the room will undoubtedly drown.

Yayyy, here's a rather shiny Gail Simmons back again to tell us that CaJohn Boy won a James Beard Best Chef Southeast award for 2006 as well as Food & Wiyeen's Best New Chef of 1999...

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...Hmmm, looks like Gail could use some powder. And a nice big boner. ...

Besh is proud to be representing his Cajun style of cooking, and my BF just told me that he was almost chosen as The Next Iron Chef, but lost to that cueball with a big SSP™ (Stupid Soul Patch) Michael Symon.

The last Master to join the other three tonight is Mark Peel from Los Angeles, where he's chef/owner of Campanile (pronounced Cam-pa-KNEE-lay) which is right around the corner from where I used to live in West Hollywood. I never ate there because my favorite restuarant was much closer... oh, and was a zillion times cheaper (I've never been a fan of any place that served $8 mashed taters)...

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..."What? I'm saving up for a double Ear Reduction surgery!"...

Daddy Tom says Marky Doody here got his start working in one of Wolfgang Puck's kitchens, Gail says he's also a F&W Best New Chef and a multiple James Beard award winner, while NerdMosexual just creams in his Jockeys and says Campanile is literally one of the best restaurants in L.A. For $8 those mashed taters better make my shorts a mess, too.

Bok Choi makes her first appearance and introduces herself. Everyone looks puzzled by her presence so she has to explain who she is. Unfortunately the Masters still look blankly expectant...

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..."Sooooooooooo, where's Padma?"...

Poor Bokky will never match the recognition factor of Scar. Anyhow, it's time for the Recycled Quickfire Challenge™ and she says this one was inspired by Auguste Escoffier (the "Father of French Cuisine") who thought you could test any chef's skill using one basic ingredient...

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...this isn't it...

Although, wouldn't that be a fabulous challenge? No, actually the Masters turn to a cheery gingham-covered basket on each of their tables and pull back the cloth to reveal a bunch of.... eggs. Marky Doody reminds us that eggs are extremely hard to cook well, the difference between perfect and overdone is mere seconds. Drama queen. Ahh, but the twist is from the All-Stars challenge in Top Chef Season 3... they have to cook their eggs with one hand behind their back...

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...NoNita Mann ain't worried, 'cuz she can think of lots of things you can do one-handed...

Me, too. Anyways. the last time they pulled this stunt on the chefs it wound up being that buttwad Steven The Aspiring Sommelier who won with what Bok Choi calls "a perfect omelet". Hopefully these Masters can beat that with something a little more refined. Oh, and by the way, just so the pressure is that much higher, guess who's judging the Quickfire today?...

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..."No more burnt charred rubbery eeeeeggs!"...

Or wire hangers. Bokky claims that Gail's "been known to cry when her eggs are not cooked properly!" Yeah, and behead people. Next to Gailzilla is a guy named Terry Reish who runs Chino Valley Egg Ranch...

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...and can probably never get the smell of chicken shit out of his hair...

And our last judge is a rather pinched-looking woman named Monica May...

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...whose hair-colorist apparently also works one-handed...

Top Chef Masters: You Have To Believe We Are Maaaagic! Sections:  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9 

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Comments (16)

bluzgirl:

Excellent recap, J-MO! I agree that NPH was very bitchy and it looked like he was not at all excited to be there. I totally appreciated your shout out to Twin Peaks!!!

I do hope some more personality shows up for the champions round...

njgasmifan:

CONGRATS on entertaining us for the last year J-Mo!

For all of you who enjoyed Ludo-criss last week -just in case you missed this important news item I thought I would share:
Thu Jul 9, 6:06 am ET
PARIS (Reuters Life!) – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.

Anyway....LOVED having Daddy Tom and Gail. Hope we get to see more of both of them! (especially DT...sigh)

As for the bunny-in-the-hair(hare?) magic trick - I am betting that Mexi-Jay from the Fashion Show has animals and rodents in his hair, too.

No-Needa was amazingly lukewarm about the whole event. I do love John Besh, but he totally blew this time. And yes, Queen NPH was quite the bitch and not in an entertaining way.

J-Mo, you so do NOT look like the Michelin Man, we have seen you and your moves - total cutie. In fact, last week I dreamt that there was a gathering of all the recappers and posters, and I got to meet you in person! (I do realize that it says something about my quality of life when I am dreaming about people I don't know..but it was cool to meet everyone in dreamland).

As always, your recaps really crack me up - this week was no exception! Hugs xoxoxo

Rebecca1968:

CONGRATS on your anniversary! and thank you very much for continuing with your recaps! they are awesome! :)

it seems to be a pattern with the winers boy/girl hmm

ever since you mentioned that they dont let or care about bok choi's comments I cant help but pay more attention to this and you are so right - even camera cuts her out often!

Thanks again for making me laugh on such a shitty day :)

sillygrrl:

Slightly off topic, but what happens to the losers on Top Chef? Jeff, Carla & Fabio are making celebrity sundaes for Marble Slab! Go here (you can't post links but I think you can figure it out) ht tp://w ww. mar blesl ab. com (click on the "Celebrity Sundae" button). And that picture of Jeff - WHAT is in his sundae that's making his face go like that? He's clearly feeling no pain! I love Fabio but his sundae looks like...well, you can fill in the blank. 3 of my favorite chefs...humiliating. sigh.

juddfan:

It's only been a year . . . oh my . . . time usually flies in your 40's, but I guess all these savory recaps of your's have just made the time simmer!!!! Congrats baby!!! I concur, you are way to cute to compare to the Tire guy (can't spell . . . sigh) tho he's cute in his own way. I'd likely do Mr. Clean, but that's another topic . . .

DT is looking very hung over and sloppy on these . . . since it's just little blips of screen time, you'd think he could shine up a bit. Is he that desperate to shake us queeny fans that he's sabotaging it . . . I know, just me . . .

I was loving No-nitaman--too funny on the name there, J-mo!!! The top six on should be very good, with some formidable chefs . . . will it be one night, or six!? who knows . . .

njgasmifan, I'm with you, and often think of all you peeps and the things you think and say, whether during shows or sometimes just in life. I had SWAK running through my head for a whole weekend, before I figured out it meant Sealed With a Kiss . . . I know, so lame of I . . .

J-mo, you are getting sooo good at the screen caps. That Maxi pad was so subtle and the flames--amazing!!! Keep up the good work.

Next time you hit LA, lets at least do a west coast meeting (I know just the place) Or I suppose if ya all head east, NJ can be your host! (I assume what NJ means . . . )

Anyhoo, I'm sure Amy Winehouse got some ideas from that magic trick, and I'm sorry, but couldn't we all don a jesus wig with a compartment in the hairline . . .

SWAK ; )

arizonatom:

J-Mo, as always, another stellar recap!

I just loved the pic of you dancing with your blue scarf! (I've always heard of Michelin stars, but truly never thought about them being associated with butyl-donuts for the car).

Christmas gifts that the cat peed on are the greatest! Well, almost ... the ones that have been puked upon are the absolute awesomest ones.

I can't believe that dork made the sternoconut bowls. You're right, it would smell nasty, and it is downright dangerous, as sometimes you can't even see the flames in a brightly lit room. What an asshat! Maybe the magicians should have made the flambe' disappear.

I didn't think the rabbit trick was all that bad, prolly 'cuz the bunny was so cute. But after Happy Bunny (TM) watered the Bok-Choy garden, I swear I heard him say "this has been fun but I have to barf now".

I agree that the en papillot pocket looked like a turd with diarrhea sauce. I don't know if I could even taste something that looked that "shitty". Ew!!

Great job, as ever. Many thanks for staying up to the crack of dawn (insert your own joke here) to give us such funny stuff to read - you are hilarious!

Lots O' Love.

natpatben:

Loved this recap for mention of Jamaican Patois.

pixiegal262:

I laughed until I cried the first time I read about Gail and her BURNT CHARRED RUBBERY EGGS!!! and I still laugh about them to this day. That woman is serious about her unfertilized chicken spawn.

I was weirded out by Miss Lezasian. She seemed completely bored to be there. Although, to be honest, she seems kinda beaten down. Like the jackassery that goes on with male chefs has just pissed her off to the point of numbness.

And NPH was being Queeny beyond Queenieness and I'm with you JMo...there was some furious, bitter masturbating going on that night.

theminx:

Just FYI - Kelly Choi is 5'10" and wears heels, and that's why she dwarfed Ming the Merciless, who's about Tom Cruise height.

PottyMouth:

J-Mo! Has it really only been a year that you've been recapping? It seems like so much longer - and I mean that in a really REALLY good way!

I was laughing my ass off yet again this week - your take on this show never fails to crack me up. It is legend.....wait for it.....dary.

Love love love you!

SWAK, PottyMouth

PS - You are FAR sexier than the Michelin man.

yeschef:

Yep Michelin Stars are awarded by the tire company since they started a travel guide in France (where the company started in 1888 since it is considered that the French in fact invented the automobile) that detailed restaurants and rated the food quality as well as detailed places where to get gas and maintain the auto. After a few years the Michelin Stared restrautants not only got other awards or already had them from food critics for food quality, presentation but also were considered extremely clean and saw a huge increase in customers willing to pay the high prices for the food.

So having the Tire Company travel guide say you worth the trip was a major award.

PottyMouth:

Oh juddfan! Sorry I stumped you on SWAK! It sucks when you get something in your head and can't figure it out - I've done that MANY times myself!

SWAKKK, PottyMouth

PottyMouth:

One last thing! That was Sealed with a Kiss Kiss Kiss - not sealed with the KKK. ;)

juddfan:

Thanks PottyMouth, literally all weekend it plagued me . . . until the epiphany, which I can at least say I puzzled out without google (rare, I know . . . ) I kept thinking it was a sound effect for a kiss . . . ya know, like smack, only swak . . . okay, I know it's whack!!!

but KKKK back at 'cha, and I added the 4th for the same reason you amended!

; )

njgasmifan:

juddfan:
Thanks for letting me know I am not alone (or crazy) in thinking of you all - I also think find myself thinking about how much fun we could have if we could all get together.

Also - you are spot on about travels - J-Mo darling, if you ever travel east we can have vodka martinis my me and maybe we can get Yenta to make brisket for us!!!

hugs xox

waffleboy09:

J-Mo,
NoNita Mann? Sheer. Fucking. Brilliance. I'm still laughing at that one.

Look I know those hats are Gramma's trademark, but someone needs to take her aside and gently explain that she's starting to look like Emmett Kelly. Does she carry all her belonging s tied up in a handkerchief on the end of a stick from location to location?

Actually I'm waiting for the episode where she has one too many gin Rickeys and takes out her teeth at the table. Now that has event television written all over it.

Anyway J-Mo a year of your writing is a banner year in anyone's book, congratulations and thank you.

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