Stefan was too damn arrogant for me but is that the show or was his
tenderness towards Carla the show.

I thought Hosea played to win rather than to create, which had that
reality show feel. He and Leah really threw Ariane under the bus for
the lamb. Hosea should have butchered the lamb but must have thought
it was a way to get rid of Ariane who was a tough comparison for him.
Leah tied the lamb and she never owned up. She should have been gone
much earlier.

Fabio was no great shakes to me. He was funny but he was no great
chef. Many of the dishes he thought were incredible turned out to be
least favorites and for good reason. His big win was for roast
chicken and potatoes. That's ridiculous, even if it was Linda's
request.

I think the one thing that always came through is make what tastes
great and that is a pretty good message. I'd rather have a cheese
Danish for dessert than some of the fancier and more colorful desserts
made by the masters.

Hosea made some good things but I was really impressed when he beat
Stefan in the guess the ingredients competition. The problem is, we
can't these dishes so it's hard to tell how good they were. It seemed
like Carla had the some of the two best dishes served all year when
won in New Orleans.

On Thu, 5 Mar 2009 09:51:45 -0800 (PST), Nancy2
> wrote:

>On Mar 4, 8:55*pm, Alan Calan > wrote:
>> I am so surprised that there isn't more talk here about Top Chef.
>> These people who compete are so incredibly creative and competent it's
>> amazing.
>>
>> Did Arianne get thrown under the bus? *Has any one been to her
>> restaurant in NJ, which has a very high Zagat rating? *Do you think
>> Hosea should have been Top Chef? *His he a better chef than Stephan? *
>>
>> Maybe Carla is really the best chef of them all but listened to Casey
>> when she should have done her food.
>>
>> What really gets me is how they all can pull in incredible flavors and
>> ideas in so short a period of time. *It's not Iron Chef but close!
>>
>> Alan
>
>Loved the reunion- the funniest one ever. I think Gail and the others
>had it right when they commented on the editing....and I'm sure that's
>not the only time that a couple of the cheftestants were drunk at
>judges' table .... what a hoot. And, of course, Fabio-lous was to die
>for! Jamie was really funny, too.
>
>I think Hosea won by not screwing up, rather than by being the best.
>Carla would have been my first choice - Casey threw her under the bus,
>blaming her problems on her, rather than taking any responsibility for
>leading her down the wrong path. Any other sous chef would have just
>shut up .... and Carla wasn't especially speedy in any of the
>challenges - remember the oysters? Yet, she always managed to get it
>done in the end. Casey thought she had to "do it all," and I'm sure
>that wasn't the case. Stefan would have been my second choice.
>(Note, he was the only one who consoled Carla at final judges' table,
>when Carla was crying. Hosea just walked away.)
>
>N.