Thursday, November 3, 2011

Reactions to Top Chef Texas Episode 1

Yay! Top Chef: The Mothership is back! This time, Tom, Padma, Gail and the gang are in the great state of Texas. Joining them are new permanent judges Emeril Lagasse and Hugh Acheson, plus twenty-nine hopefuls who think they are battling for the title of Top Chef.

In reality, they're competing for the ability to battle for the title of Top Chef.

In this episode, we see that the twenty-nine will eventually become 16 via a series of heats in which they compete head-to-head. Heats 1 and 2 gave us most of the chefs who continue in the competition, plus four chefs considered to be "on the bubble" because their dishes didn't quite measure up to the judges' exacting standards.

Next week, we'll get Heat 3 plus the bubble challenge. And presumably we'll get to the nitty-gritty in the weeks to come.

So what did you think of this rather grand format change? We'd love to read your opinions in a comment.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

3 comments:

the dogs' mother said...

Felt a bit sorry for the chefs who were excused. The smiles of the chefs who got coats when they came thru the doors was priceless.

Marsha said...

Loved it! More cheftestants = more cooking, and that's what it's all about. While it was sad to see some dismissed before their food even got to the table, I liked that the judges added another decision-making tool. All in all, great start to the Texas season!!

Tina said...

Agree with Marsha. Thought this was an excellent variation to the usual ho-hum, and it's exactly what the show needs (especially since all the Top Chef spinoffs use the same formula of Quickfire + Elimination challenge). I would have liked though to have a better understanding of who grouped the contestants and for what reason. With only 5 spots left and 10 contestants left to compete (plus those on the bubble) I will assume that many in this last group are considered among the weaker potential competitors. Otherwise, I thought it was a terrific first episode. It could have been 2 hours instead of splitting it up into two parts, but not complaining too much.