‘Project Runway’ season finale preview: Who is it going to be?
| October 28, 2010 at 10:41 AM EDTJessica Simpsons joins the regular judge’s panel for the season finale.
“Project Runway” will crown its Season 8 winner tonight and from the way things have gone this season, it’s anybody’s game.
It’s down to Mondo Guerra, Andy South and Gretchen Jones. To us, there’s a clear winner. Mondo. He’s the one of the tree who truly deserves to be there. He’s had way more ups than downs and when he does get off track, he gets right back on. The only thing not playing in his favor is the fact that it seems Heidi Klum doesn’t like him. But does she like anyone anymore? She’s so harsh and bitter this season.
So we’re going with Mondo. Who are you going with to win the title?
Here’s a look at tonight’s episode:
‘Top Chef Just Desserts’ Episode 7 recap: It’s Dessert Wars!
| October 28, 2010 at 10:33 AM EDTWednesday’s “Top Chef Just Desserts” gave us two classic “Top Chef” challenges: the mise en place contest and restaurant wars. But more importantly Team Diva was broken up with Heather H. and her diva attitude were sent packing.
Team Diva (Heather H., Zac and Yigit) somehow managed to all be on the same team for “Dessert Wars” and ended up being the losing team. While I like Yigit and Zac, I hate Team Diva (and Heather). They bring out the worst in each other in the forms of arrogance and bitchiness. I was glad to see Heather go. Maybe Yigit and Zac can bring some class to Team Diva.
Rewind to the beginning. Gail Simmons and Johnny Iuzzini come into the kitchen and tell the cheftestants the quickfire challenge is the classic “Top Chef” mise en place battle. Teams were drawn, putting Team Diva as (Red Team) against the others (Black Team) for the entire night. Add the competition began.
Challenge 1: Mold 12 tart pats. Danielle vs. Yigit. Danielle kills it, leaving Yigit in the dust.
Challenge 2: Pip eight buttercream roses. Eric vs. Heather. Heather wins (I thought that was Eric’s win for sure).
Challenge 3: Whip egg whites that hold in the bowl while upside down. Morgan vs. Zac. Morgan wins (of course).
Challenge 4: Stretch strudel dough across a large table and fill it. Red Team vs. Black Team. Red Team wins the quickfire and $3,000 each.
The elimination challenge is revealed as Restaurant, er, Dessert Wars. Each team will have to open a dessert shop and make three items. Team Diva’s store ends up being called Pastry Playland, which doesn’t look much like a fun place. Despite Yigit’s good front-of-the-house service, not much else is going right. The judges are displeased that they have an empty display case, they’re fighting with each other and Heather completely botched everyone’s dough (that she insisted on hand-rolling).
Things are going a little better for the Black Team. They named their shop Whisk Me Away and for some reason put Danielle in the front of the house. Why would they do that? She has little to no personality. She’s a little goofy, but in an awkward way. But really, she was probably the lesser of the three evils. Morgan is so creepy he would’ve scared customers away. And Eric is so quiet. Yeah, Danielle was the only choice. She still sucked at it, but that’s OK. Everything else really worked out. Their food (for the most part), their decor. Everything worked and the judges loved it. They won the challenge and $10,000 each. Take that Team Diva.
So it’s down to Team Diva for the elimination. Everyone stands together. Heather even fesses up to the bad dough job. And she’s sent home. Good. Yigit cries but he’ll get over it when he realizes how close he is to the top prize.
‘Project Runway’ Finale Part 1 recap: Four become three
| October 21, 2010 at 11:00 PM EDT“Project Runway” revealed Thursday the final three who will compete at Fashion Week and, I must say, there was a bit of a surprise.
The judges picked Mondo Guerra, Gretchen Jones and Andy South, sending Michael Costello packing. I made predictions earlier Thursday that said Andy would go home instead of Michael. I was wrong and I thought I’d be happy about that, but I’m not. I was actually more impressed by Michael’s work than Andy’s. Go figure. The one time I think Michael deserves to be there the judges don’t. Typical.
Rewind to the beginning of the episode, Tim Gunn heads off to Hawaii to visit with Andy and check in on his collection. Andy scares Tim with his catfish farm and with the fact that’s he’s made basically none of his collection despite having only two weeks left. Andy’s visit is pretty boring, so Tim leaves.
Tim’s next stop is Palm Springs to check in with Michael. We get to meet Michael’s partner Richard (who looks just like him — creepy) and see his son again. He also get to see his collection. It seems he’s, as usual, making too many pieces. Tim throws around some advice and they have dinner. During dinner, we find out a lot about Michael’s life.
‘Project Runway’ Finale Part 1 preview and predictions: Who will it be?
| October 21, 2010 at 11:20 AM EDTTonight’s “Project Runway” decides which three of the final four will compete at Fashion Week for the title of Season 8 winner. Who will be in and who will be out? The judges have been so unpredictable this season that it’s anyone’s guess. But if I had to be pinned down to make a prediction, here’s what I’d say:
Michael Costello will be in. Michael C. is the only thing the judges have been consistent on this season. Even when he’s in the bottom they act like he’s a secret relative or a lost puppy. So I have a feeling they’ll never get rid of him. Ever. He’ll even be there for Season 9. Plus someone has to be there to be accused of cheating or using illegal shoes or accessories or something. Right?
Mondo Guerra will be in. At least he should be. Of the four, he’s the only one who I think 100 percent deserves to be in the finale. He’s had his downs, but he’s had more ups than anybody. His talent, I believe, compares to no one else’s in the show’s history. His ability to mix patterns successfully and think editorially astound me. I predict Mondo to win the whole thing. But that’s probably too obvious for this season.
Gretchen Jones will be in. I know, I know. I don’t like her either. But without her, there will be no drama. Unfortunately, reality TV sometimes doesn’t do the right thing. So, whether or not her collection is amazing is beyond me. But I think she’ll make it either on her own merits or for the simple fact that she’s kind of hated by people and will offer some drama.
Andy South will be out. I’m probably going to be wrong, but I had to make some predictions. I think Andy is sort of the weakest link. He’s good at making cargo pants, but unless he shows the judges something different tonight, I think they might be over him. He won a huge challenge this season when he got to design some looks for Heidi Klum’s line. So that may end up being his parting gift.
Please keep in mind, these are my predictions. Not my wishes. What are your predictions and wishes for the finale?
Check out Lifetime’s preview for tonight’s episode:
‘Top Chef Just Desserts’ Episode 6 recap: Nothing is as it seems
| October 20, 2010 at 11:04 PM EDTAmerica’s meanest and craziest pastry chefs were pretty tame this week. Morgan displayed hints of homophobia and Heather C. accused Morgan of stealing her rice crispy treats, but other than that, it was a pretty quiet episode.
For the quickfire, Gail Simmons and random guest judge of the week tell them they have to make a savory dessert using only one pot. During the frantic running around and not cooking, Morgan apparently elbows Heather in the mouth, setting the tone for the rest of the episode for her. She whines a bit but later proves she was just warming up.
Everyone makes a bunch of stuff I’d never eat (I like to keep my sweets and savories as far apart as possible) and Eric, Heather and Danielle end up on the bottom. On top are Morgan, Zac and Yigit. Zac wins. He is given immunity, but Gail offers to trade it for $5,000. He accepts. Which could end up being a very bad idea.
Gail then drops the next elimination challenge on them. They’re instructed to make a black and white dessert that will be served at a party for the Los Angeles Times’ 128 anniversary. The chefs freak out a little bit because desserts tend to be more colorful than black and white.
So the challenge begins and Heather loses some rice crispy treats. She’s convinced Morgan stole her treats and is trying to sabotage her and Team Diva (herself, Zac and Yigit). Morgan does express his annoyance of the three, particularly Zac, but I doubt he stole anything.
“Top Chef” does what it does best and never resolves the accusation so we’re left to wonder. Which translates into: Heather found the rice crispy treats back at the kitchen and production thought that would be too boring.
Almost none of the chefs actually make anything that’s really “black” and that’s annoying. Judge Johnny Iuzzini calls a couple of them on it during his mentor session. None of them listen. Gail, Johnny, and the other unimportant judges sample the dishes. They seem to not hate or love anyone’s. Gail is very impressed with Eric’s plating, however. She compliments him and they even play the victory music.
Cut to the stew room. Gail calls out the girls first, making it look like they’re the top three. The boys are not happy. It turns out Heather, Danielle and Erika are really the worst three. From the critiques it certainly sounds like Danielle will finally go (has she made anything they’ve liked?).
Before the cut, the men are called in and are shocked to learn they are on top. It really sounds like Eric is going to win, but it’s actually Yigit, which is his elimination challenge win.
So next we prepare for Danielle to go. But Gail sends Erika home instead. What? Why? OK.
What are your thoughts? We really can’t judge the food, but what do you think about personalities and attitudes?