Top Chef Seattle

I just can't stand Spike.

 

Don't beat yourself up. It's terrible. Completely pretentious. Spike is ridiculous. The only thing that makes him halfway respectable is his admitting he only wants to be on TV to be famous. Fabio is an act. Plain and simple. He said his dream is to be the "male Martha Stewart." Great. And Richard is overexposed. Is he really that great anyway? The restaurant he runs in Georgia (I believe) is famous for hamburgers. He's Top Chef for crying out loud.

I wonder sometimes how established chefs, I mean really great ones with a lot of experience, feel when watching these relative amateurs on national television acting so completely self-absorbed.

 

I assume that jambalaya is overjoyed that Emeril is a judge this season.

 

To be fair, it's not like they're "burgers."

http://www.flipburgerboutique.com/menu-2/

And they are DELICIOUS.

This is his new place. I haven't made it there yet, but I'm dying to try it: http://www.thespenceatl.com/?landing

 

I can't get any traction going with this year's cast. Usually by now, there would be a couple chefs I want to go as far as possible, a couple that I want dead, and a couple of ones with a ton of potential depending on the week.

But of the guys still around, other than the "Bad Boy" chef and maybe the guy who's a Belgian knight or whatever, I can't really tell them apart. Same with the women, other than the loudmouth who apparently was a mafia wife at one point in time.

Lots of vanilla in this cast, it seems.

 

I'm not sure Richard has any ownership of the burger joints. I think it's basically a consulting deal, where he helped develop the menu, and spends some time there.

The Spence is his fine dining place. Check out his resume. He's the real deal. I never want to set foot in Atlanta ever again, but would do it to eat at his restaurant.

Fabio knows how to "put on the charm" but I wouldn't call it an act. The guy is a hard worker. Sure, he's trying to capitalize on his fame, but I don't blame him. I find the guy very likeable.

And, yes, Spike is a dick, on this show, and on The Next Iron Chef.

Jen is also unlikable in my opinion.

 

Jen was supposedly loved by one and all during her actual season, but turned weird in All-Stars.

 

From what I can tell from a basic search, his company TrailBlais runs FLIP.

 

FLIP is owned by Barry Mills & Ron Stewart:

Richard is described as, "concept chef and partner." Does "partner" mean "ownership"? Maybe, maybe not. They probably gave him a small piece.

An interview:

 

Well, she freaked out when she got cut, that's for sure.

From her description of her separation from Eric Ripert, it sounded like she was fired because she embarrassed him.

She comes across as a whiner, and someone who is jealous of the success of others.

 

I got my line from this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Blais

And this:
http://www.trailblais.com/Bio.aspx

Like I said, I literally searched for "Richard Blais Flip" and then googled "TrailBlais." I didn't go looking for interviews.

 

Yeah, the deal is likely with his company, so Trail Blais probably does "operate" FLIP and is a "partner".

Richard has fans, and is known as a chef. It makes sense for him to be the front man of the operation.

And, I think he is involved. But, it's not his "vision" in the way The Spence is.

So, it doesn't make sense to knock him as a guy who owns a burger joint. He likely didn't have to put up any money. He's also free to pursue other culinary projects.