Re the creativity challenge: I can't remember who said it - maybe Brooke? - but that the cronut wasn't made in hours. I agree. Giving the chefs one hour to conceptualize and shop, and two hours to cook, the judges shouldn't have been surprised at the lack of creativity. Frankly, only Shirley was creative and different…

"What’s the story behind “hat culture” in the South?"
Yes, Southern women and their big hats is definitely a thing. And there are really two separate phenomena. First, and probably the longer-standing tradition, is African-Am women dressing up on Sundays and wearing showy hats to stand out in church and be seen by God…

Agreed. I was going to have to say chicken and dumplings or peach cobbler. I wouldn't even bother elevating peach cobbler because it is already perfect.

I admit it, I still make salmon patties. If you call them croquettes, it makes them fancier!

Ahh, maybe I just missed it because she kept using the word (words?) Cool- Whip over and over. Plus, anytime she starts whining…I mean speaking, my brain starts playing "Yakety-Sax" inadvertently.

Outside of Top Chef, Bravo is known more for its TV shit-shows rather than a show people would watch the shit out of.

Or the quickfire where they had to incorporate hidden valley ranch into the dish and everyone just looked horrified.

Yep. And it's not like whipped cream is difficult to make.

ThE room could work in so many situations. I would have enjoyed last week more if Katsuji, in the middle of judges' table told Tesar, "You betrayed me. You're not a man, you're a chicken. Cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep."

PADMAI, YOU'RE TEARING ME APART!

Casey escuse-making is becoming an issue. I can understand why she is frustrated by a comment that her dish could have used one more grain of salt; it's picky, but there are only six chefs left. Unless someone makes a grave error, it's the time in the competition when stuff like that knocks you out. She should be…

Oh Emily. No one to hide behind this episode. She had to rely on her own cooking and stand on her own merits, and the result was obvious. I miss your teenager-style angst and whining. No I won't.

You compensate for not having salt, pepper, and oil by competing against Emily. It's a pretty significant hindrance to have food prepared by her.

It's funny cause it's true.

John definitely didn't do a good job, and his bowl of crab and cheese looked like cat vomit, but Katsuji was definitely helped set the team up for failure and did so while trying to insulate himself from the loss by avoiding being executive chef.

I have a foodie friend who went to Shaw Bijou and enjoyed some of the food, but thought it was definitely waaay too overpriced for what he got. And his restaurant got bad reviews from every critic in DC, not just Seitsma. It was probably a confluence of factors - too much hype immediately after his Top Chef…

"What bad ones do you recall? Were there ever any good ones?"

Since this it TC14, I know I am forgetting some RWs, but I can't remember a RW where it was so obvious to me which team was losing almost immediately.

So much this. It always amazes me when the chefs have an idea and are unable or unwilling to adjust when good food for their first option isn't available. Why don't they always have a backup plan?

That's definitely a fair reading of the situation. John was definitely not interested in taking the bullet for Jamie making a bad dish. I'm not trying to argue that John is a great guy (hell, I don't know anything than how is presented through the editors' work) or that his explanation at judges' table wasn't a bit…