jennipalace

Yes, we all understand that judging is not entirely impartial, but to watch Alex (and if I head "ICAG" one more time I might puke), throw a plate that is litterally drenched in oil and without the secret ingredient being the star, but suddenly, magically, when it shows up on the judge's table minus 90% of the oil and having the judges APOLOGIZE to her for even questioning whether the secret ingredient was the "star" of the dish is both pathetic and transparently ratings-based-judging. We're not dumb. We can see when the bigger ratings draw is given a pass in order to try to draw higher ratings on the next episode. The next superstar challenge where BOTH AG and Rocco are given passes on what sends other people home is almost too much to tolerate. Why don't you just say "Hey, we're going to put together a pretend competition, where we make sure the chefs who bring the most eyeballs will win every time rather than who cooked the best". At leas that would be honest.

Yeah, I quit watching after season six. At some point you realize that Rick, Daryl and Carl are like the crew members of Titanic lifeboats who keep throwing women and children off in order for them to survive. The "were going to kill of a woman or child for shock value but we need to keep our main guys" just got old and insulting. If they suck that bad at protecting their women but manage to keep themselves alive, maybe someone else needs to be in charge.....of the writing

Let's all be clear. Colicchio prefers male chefs. Once they get to the finals, even if everyone loved a woman's dish he finds a reason to pound them, and even if they don't like one of the men's dish, he finds a way to praise it so he can justify his vote. We get that this is HIS show, and he's calling the shots, but In the first 9 seasons of top chef, and all 5 of top chef masters, exactly ONE woman won; and then when women started catching on and tuning out (i.e. his ratings dropped along with his income), he changed his tune. Nobody is fooled. It's like watching a bald Jeffrey Steingarten who believed only male chefs could create good food.