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New season premieres tonight at 10pm ET

75 minute episode.

Graham Elliott, formerly of MasterChef, is now a judge here.

Has anyone here actually watched all 14 seasons? It seems like Top Chef and other cooking shows have lost their relevance in the current TV marketplace.

mwbmis

I have. I'm glad they took it back down to one cycle a year because it feels like it hasn't been on in a while now.

Timber

Ugh, I hate that skinny fat guy. Not happy with his addition to the show.

Double_Oh_7

I'm still in love with Casey

cleveburgh

For the Bad Guy Edit, how about Emily from Charleston.

The one who thinks being fired more than once for her attitude is an asset.

Who offhandedly dismisses her competition as no threats.

Who told Tom and Padma "Enough talk" while they were observing her at her work station.

At least she's won the title of "Most Punchable" for the first episode.

LurkerDan

I've watched all seasons, haven't started this one, will probably buy it on amazon like I did the last 2 or 3.

The show definitely isn't as special as it used to be, in large part because there are so many cooking competition shows now and in part because the format got a little tired. I agree with the poster who said it's good they cut back on the frequency.

And I also agree that Graham is kind of annoying. Tony or Hugh are still the best they've had.

LiquidSky

Liked the firs episode of the new season. I'm confused. Are all the new chefs only competing against each other separate from the returning chefs?

Norm de Plume

Yeah, that Emily is the one to hate. John Tezar is notoriously contentious, but seems to have mellowed, or is at least giving that appearance.

DWilson

"Top Chef" has lost some of it's luster from back in the days when it was the only game in town. With all the cooking shows on Food Network, The Cooking Channel, and every other place it seems a little stodgy. But, y'know, I was still glad to see it the other night, particularly since its running while everything else I watch is playing their "Fall Finale". Graham Elliot has a certain artificiality about him, -maybe it's the clothes, but a friend of mine is glad he's taking the place of Richard Blais, who's a judge on pretty much everything food-wise.

DWilson

I'll be a bit vague to avoid spoilers for the two or three others who watch the show, but based on the comments by the judges made about this week's dishes, you'd almost think "the fix was in" based on who was actually chosen to "pack their knives and go". Of course, I felt the chef who didn't leave was pretty much set up to win from the very first episode.

mugwump

I agree that the judges' usual statement that each dish is rated on its own and separate from any previous dish by that chef is inherently bogus. There's no way that personal bias doesn't come into play when you've spent so much time with a group of people and got to know their food.

I'm not even sure why I still watch except out of inertia since Top Chef ceased to be interesting a long time ago.

Norm de Plume

Sad to see Sylva go. DWilson, I haven't been paying close attention; which chef do you think is favoured to win? Personally, I like Sheldon, and he has been very consistent. I also like Brooke and Shirley.

Thrush

They aren't doing themselves any favors with the returning cast members. These shows are only good when they have new cast members. Casey for instance has already been on 2 seasons even before this one. How many chances to win are they gonna give this bitch?

DWilson

My feeling is that it's Brooke's to lose. She was strong on her season and came in second to Kristen Kish, the whiz kid they pulled along through Last Chance Kitchen and then gave her the win. They pushed Brooke's second place finish in this season's first episode, and I was reminded of Richard Blais, who was brought back (it seemed) in an All-Star season to make up for his famously choking on the finale of his original season.

Of course, maybe I'm reading it wrong and they're pulling for Casey. They kind of structured the latest Last Chance Kitchen to give two of three chefs a win and go on to the next LCK, which seems like extra "insurance" for a desired outcome. Let's face it, since Tom Colichio decides who wins, he can get the outcome he wants.

Still enjoy the show, though.

davidh777

Casey is hot, though, so I'm OK with her being on again. Plus, I didn't watch the first few seasons.

I think Sheldon is the favorite now, with Brooke having taken some recent hits. But who knows.

I've been behind all season and meaning to bump this thread when I caught up, which just happened on Friday. I'd be fine with Jamie making it back after having the stones to give up immunity.

Norm de Plume

I find Brooke considerably hotter than Casey, despite the tats (women, why do you do this?!).

DRG

The promo at the end of this week's Last Chance Kitchen seems to accidentally give away who wins that competition and rejoins the others.

BDB

Sheldon's to lose this, personality cooking, he's an all around winner.

davidh777

I'd have been OK with any of the final three making it out of LKC.

Not sure why most of them couldn't recognize the voice of their spouse/sibling.

wirefan

Pulling for Sheldon - he seems to be taking the most risk this season, seems like a nice guy (at least portrayed that way on TV) and seems to be doing the most diverse stuff.

Happy to see John go - his comment at the end was fitting "I don't think I was the worst dish". He seemed to be playing the game the whole time, cooking not to lose and just trying to go far instead of trying to take some risk and cook the best dish. He probably shouldn't have made it out of the restaurant wars episode.

DWilson

I'm glad Richard Blais called Brooke out for her choice of entrée, -my main gripe with her is that for the second half of the season she's been doing salads and soups and desserts, -which seem to be less aggressive dishes. Maybe that's my hang-up, - I usually would be interested in the other chefs' dishes, but not so much hers.

mwbmis

Happy for Brooke.

Shirley's sister is pretty.

DWilson

This is the first time I've called one from the first episode, based on how they set up the narrative.

LiquidSky

I call bullshit. Brooke seems to have been chosen from the beginning to win.

DWilson

Who knows? I get the feeling that Tom was always her greatest defender. The comments after one of the challenges, -the one Silva left on, -made it seem certain that she the loser for that episode. Knowing only what we're presented with in the show, I was surprised to see her husband, since I don't think he's ever been mentioned.