Top Chef, France & US, and NIPPON ICHI!
Apr. 2nd, 2011 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sevenswellsI'm SUCH an idiot. I've stayed up all night just to finish that food porn one-shot and now I'm completely worn out. Hopefully though, it'll be up as soon as beta and brit-picking are done.
In order to perfect my knowledge of sushi for that fic, I've been watching a Japanese drama called Shouta no Sushi, adapted from a shounen manga of the "educational type". From an artistic standpoint, the show is really INCREDIBLY BAD. The actors are atrocious, the plotline so cliché it would make the guys who write articles on TV Tropes cry, I won't even comment on the editing, the filming and about every other aspect of making a TV show that they're failing at. There is one theme song repeated over and over throughout the episodes, and it's pretty terrible too. Because it's adapted from a shounen manga, the main character's goal is to become the number one sushi chef in Japan, so his motto is "NIPPON ICHI!" ("number one in Japan!") which is bad enough, and he keeps repeating it throughout the show, about 50 times per episode -- the worst being when the other characters start yelling it too. It's like when they keep repeating the episode's title in Glee (e.g., "Funk", "Home"), only ten times worse.
And yet, despite all that, I'm still watching. Why? Because from a culinary standpoint, I'm actually learning stuff. Of course most of it is very exaggerated, but watching the show, you can understand why sushi business in Japan is deadly srs bsns.
Seriously, though... I'm watching an incredibly bad drama only because it makes me learn more about sushi. I'm hopeless, aren't I? =___=;;;
On the finale of Top Chef US:
-YAAAAAAY Richard won! \o/ I was rooting for him, and I'm glad Mike didn't get the title; he really was a bit of a jerk. Richard totally deserved his victory, and he looked so cute, crying and smiling like he's never smiled before during the competition and being all ~*emotional*~ when he used to be so stressed out throughout the whole show! Awwww... I liked what he said about his new food philosophy being about pleasure and the customer, too
-This said, foie gras ice-cream, Richard? Really? I love foie gras, but using it for dessert sounds like one of the worst ideas ever!
-Hubert Keller as a guest judge! Oh I love Hubert, he's so gentlemanly! He was one of my favourite Top Chef Masters contestants, with Jonathan "Obi-Wan" Waxman. I liked Art Smith too, I was happy to see him again, although he was far less sassy here than on his season of TCM.
-And speaking of Top Chef Masters, a new host?! I kinda liked Kelly Choi, but I hope we'll see very soon what the new guy is worth. And is it just me, or does he really look super gay?
-HAHAHA Spike's ~*~***craftiness***~*~! How could the judges not spot him trying to be ninja, lurking around their table? It looked soooo not subtle at all! And the jet-ski reservations! How very professional, way to go, Spike! XD
On Top Chef France:
Two women and one man for the big finale on Monday, and my favourite, Stéphanie Le Quéllec, is among them. The other two candidates I think are kind of weak, but Stéphanie has had a bit of a losing streak in the last two episodes and was always saved in extremis, so I hope she doesn't break under pressure; as I said, I'd actually like to see her win this.
She's the kind of candidate that doesn't take too much risks and sticks to clean and perfectly executed dishes, but the judges have been pushing her hard lately, saying that she was neither daring nor original. So she tried to take risks, but it never really paid off, hence her being on the bottom repeatedly, and then on her very last challenge which was kind of win-or-die, she really stepped out of her comfort zone, building a dish around exotic fruits to accompany salmon, which isn't her usual style at all, and she nailed it. The judges said it was the best dish they'd tasted in the competition, one of the most successful dishes they'd tasted in general, and that it was the kind of food that made you feel *happy*. This coming from judges who are possibly the harshest of the Top Chef franchise around the world (hey, they're French, they have to live up to their reputation of being rude and snooty), it was really impressive.
What I love the most about Stéphanie is the way she talks about food and the dishes she's preparing; it's SO SO SEXY. She's not particularly good-looking herself (well, not exactly repulsive either), but as soon as she steps into the kitchen, she becomes a goddess. I could listen to her talk about food all day (if I could restrain myself from pouncing her right away).
So even if the other candidates aren't as skilled or interesting in my opinion, I'm still looking forward to the finale next week. We're still watching it like it's a football game, and it's really fun and exciting.
Go, Stéphanie! \°0°/
In order to perfect my knowledge of sushi for that fic, I've been watching a Japanese drama called Shouta no Sushi, adapted from a shounen manga of the "educational type". From an artistic standpoint, the show is really INCREDIBLY BAD. The actors are atrocious, the plotline so cliché it would make the guys who write articles on TV Tropes cry, I won't even comment on the editing, the filming and about every other aspect of making a TV show that they're failing at. There is one theme song repeated over and over throughout the episodes, and it's pretty terrible too. Because it's adapted from a shounen manga, the main character's goal is to become the number one sushi chef in Japan, so his motto is "NIPPON ICHI!" ("number one in Japan!") which is bad enough, and he keeps repeating it throughout the show, about 50 times per episode -- the worst being when the other characters start yelling it too. It's like when they keep repeating the episode's title in Glee (e.g., "Funk", "Home"), only ten times worse.
And yet, despite all that, I'm still watching. Why? Because from a culinary standpoint, I'm actually learning stuff. Of course most of it is very exaggerated, but watching the show, you can understand why sushi business in Japan is deadly srs bsns.
Seriously, though... I'm watching an incredibly bad drama only because it makes me learn more about sushi. I'm hopeless, aren't I? =___=;;;
On the finale of Top Chef US:
-YAAAAAAY Richard won! \o/ I was rooting for him, and I'm glad Mike didn't get the title; he really was a bit of a jerk. Richard totally deserved his victory, and he looked so cute, crying and smiling like he's never smiled before during the competition and being all ~*emotional*~ when he used to be so stressed out throughout the whole show! Awwww... I liked what he said about his new food philosophy being about pleasure and the customer, too
-This said, foie gras ice-cream, Richard? Really? I love foie gras, but using it for dessert sounds like one of the worst ideas ever!
-Hubert Keller as a guest judge! Oh I love Hubert, he's so gentlemanly! He was one of my favourite Top Chef Masters contestants, with Jonathan "Obi-Wan" Waxman. I liked Art Smith too, I was happy to see him again, although he was far less sassy here than on his season of TCM.
-And speaking of Top Chef Masters, a new host?! I kinda liked Kelly Choi, but I hope we'll see very soon what the new guy is worth. And is it just me, or does he really look super gay?
-HAHAHA Spike's ~*~***craftiness***~*~! How could the judges not spot him trying to be ninja, lurking around their table? It looked soooo not subtle at all! And the jet-ski reservations! How very professional, way to go, Spike! XD
On Top Chef France:
Two women and one man for the big finale on Monday, and my favourite, Stéphanie Le Quéllec, is among them. The other two candidates I think are kind of weak, but Stéphanie has had a bit of a losing streak in the last two episodes and was always saved in extremis, so I hope she doesn't break under pressure; as I said, I'd actually like to see her win this.
She's the kind of candidate that doesn't take too much risks and sticks to clean and perfectly executed dishes, but the judges have been pushing her hard lately, saying that she was neither daring nor original. So she tried to take risks, but it never really paid off, hence her being on the bottom repeatedly, and then on her very last challenge which was kind of win-or-die, she really stepped out of her comfort zone, building a dish around exotic fruits to accompany salmon, which isn't her usual style at all, and she nailed it. The judges said it was the best dish they'd tasted in the competition, one of the most successful dishes they'd tasted in general, and that it was the kind of food that made you feel *happy*. This coming from judges who are possibly the harshest of the Top Chef franchise around the world (hey, they're French, they have to live up to their reputation of being rude and snooty), it was really impressive.
What I love the most about Stéphanie is the way she talks about food and the dishes she's preparing; it's SO SO SEXY. She's not particularly good-looking herself (well, not exactly repulsive either), but as soon as she steps into the kitchen, she becomes a goddess. I could listen to her talk about food all day (if I could restrain myself from pouncing her right away).
So even if the other candidates aren't as skilled or interesting in my opinion, I'm still looking forward to the finale next week. We're still watching it like it's a football game, and it's really fun and exciting.
Go, Stéphanie! \°0°/
