Ah, Mexico! As James Taylor once sang, I never really been so I don't really know. Have you been? Do you know? Join our open thread during tonight's Mexico-based episode, and we can all talk about it!
If you've never been to of these chats before, here's how it works: The conversation happens in the comments section below this post, and the show airs on Bravo at 9 pm Eastern (and also streams live from Bravo's site). And as you chat, feel free to use high-falutin' figures of speech, such similes, if you'd like. Here, for example, are three similes from our last open thread:
- GoOnWithoutMe noted that Top Chef's inspiration challenges are "like a rorschach party game."
- BabyJane opined that Melissa's ugly, acid-washed shirt was "like something that got ruined in the prison laundry."
- former-regular-here observed that George Pagonis is "like herpes — you keep thinking he's gone, but he keeps popping back up."
By the way, guess who will be showing up again on tonight's episode? But more on that later — first, here's something I find satisfying about how this season has turned out so far: The best three chefs, in terms of talent, wound up in the Final 3. This hasn't usually been the case in past Top Chef seasons — which have seen many top contenders get eliminated too soon, and many subpar pretenders worm their way into the finals.
To test the validity of my impression that Doug , Mei and Gregory have been a clear cut above the rest, I calculated the chefs' performance to date in terms of the "FreyScore" — a system I invented that ranks contestants based on how they've performed in quickfire and elimination challenges (see this post for details on the formula). Here's how the Final 3 rank to date vs. the rest of the pack:
- 1. Doug: 1.00
- 2. Mei: 0.90
- 3. Gregory: 0.85
- Everyone else: 0.50 — negative 3.0
I'll post the full scores of all 16 chefs in a comment below, but suffice it to say: We'll get to see the clear best go head-to-head-to-head tonight.
And here are a few other things we'll see tonight:
- In the elimination challenge, each chef will have to prepare a dish using a classic Mexican ingredient — and Doug will get stuck having to use escamoles, which are the larvae and pupae of giant ants. Apparently, they taste "buttery and nutty, with a texture akin to that of cottage cheese." I may never eat cottage cheese again.
- At one point, we'll get to see cute childhood photos of Gregory. I hope this isn't a "phone call from home"-type bad omen for him.
- Three eliminated chefs will return to serve as "sous chefs" for the finalists, which means that, once again, George will be back. He is truly "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave" of Top Chef.
The show will start soon, so it's time to head south of the border ... of this post, to the comments section. I'll see you there!
