Top Chef: Episode nine

by Teresa Gubbins , April Powell

Madonna's icky brother Christopher Ciccone offers Tre Wilcox and company advice. Boy, that really worked out.

Staffers April Powell and Teresa Gubbins play "Ebert and Roper" on Episode 9 of Wednesday night's Top Chef series, in which the contestants had a second chance to run competing restaurants. The Bravo series stars -- er, starred -- Dallas chefs Tre Wilcox of Abacus and Casey Thompson of Shinsei. Except that one of them was told to pack up their knives. Sniff.

- - - -

AP: Wow. Sayonara, Tre.

TG: Absolutely shocking. Although, did you notice at the beginning when he said, "I'm here to win"? It seems like they like to throw in that kind of foreshadowing when the person's on the way out.

AP: That, and playing up his fraternal relationship with Casey. The minute you become someone's bestest friend, you're marked for the slaughter.

TG: The minute you become CASEY'S friend. She was Lia’s best friend the week that Lia left.

AP: Tee hee. The Jackie O of the kitchen. I wonder if Jackie O was any better at chopping onions? Hell, I'm better at chopping onions.

TG: Yeah, Casey’s um "lack of traditional training" really showed up. I had newfound respect for Sara chopping those onions like a maniac.

AP: Sara really found her inner bitch this week. She impressed me.

TG: She and Hung gave me chills. Watching Hung butcher those chickens was enthralling! Pulse-racing. There is nothing more impressive than watching someone hack up a crate of chickens in about 15 seconds.

AP: What did you think of Madonna's interior-decorator brother?

TG: GROSS!!!! The mascara! The phony-baloney English accent. Same smug arrogant attitude as his sister.

AP: Yeah. I thought he was waaaaay too much. And he made both rooms look totally alike. Big picture, quote stenciled on wall. Yawn. I've seen the same decor in GROCERY STORES.

TG: This was a good week, though! Made up for the disaster last week, with no resolution. They better not try that again.

AP: I suppose they think they made up for it by dumping a favorite.

TG: It really doesn't seem fair that Tre has to go when there are less-skilled people sticking around. He kinda drove me nuts at times, but the minute he was gone, I felt bad. His departure was super classy.

AP: Yes, he left with dignity.

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

ProudTexasWoman, says:

I do think it's crappy that there are worse chefs still on. That said, at least this wasn't one of those times where they had lousy reasons for dropping the person, or dropped someone for things that were much more another person's fault, or dropped someone for things that were arguably not that pertinent to the real life of a Top Chef. They made a good case as to his having assumed the Executive Chef role and being responsible for what that entails, AND while he made one great dish (which he'd already made in Pt. I and simply adjusted slightly) he also made some food they hated and a dessert that was lacking when it should have been easy to achieve.

I think they (a) kept him on long enough and said enough great things about him that he's likely to get a good bit of bounce off the attention and (b) are VERY likely to ask him to blog, whether or not he ends up having the time to do it. He's very much the kind of person they like to feature prominently after a season is over (Lee Anne, Harold, etc.), and while he was #8 out of 15, Carlos ranked even lower while still getting his own blog and a Telemundo segment.

Anonymous

2 years, 3 months ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

campania, says:

We are in Hawaii on vacation and the episode airs in 30 minutes but I had to sneak a peak here first...at least he outlasted all of the NYC chefs! Tre was our pick to go all the way...dang. However, if Tre reads Pegasus News, his consolation prize is free pizza at Campania anytime he wants! Same goes for Casey...

Anonymous

2 years, 3 months ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

Frolic, says:

Damn, a really bad night for the Texans. First Casey loses the quickfire for her team. Then, Tony Bourdain says that Tre's only good dish is something that might fly in Texas but not for sophisticated New York eaters.

I really liked Tre, but I'm sure he'll be fine. He's got some ego problems, despite his nice demeanor. But among this cast, I would still vote him most likely to be a superstar some day.