Edited by Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny. at 10/29/09 12:26 PM
Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny. was starred
Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny. was unstarred
I was confused about this challenge. Why couldn't they use pasta, rice, tofu, etc to add to the dishes? it seemed like they were only allowed to use vegetables, when vegetarians can eat things besides that. #natalieportmantopchef
@Thistledew: I was SO BAFFLED by that. You almost never see pasta dishes on Top Chef, which makes me sad because it's my faaaavorite food. Team Pasta ftw! #natalieportmantopchef
@Ultraprison!: I just read Gails blog in bravotv.com and she said they were encoraged to use dry goods like lentils, beans, etc, as well as cheeses and things like that. I have no idea why none of them did! #natalieportmantopchef
@lovecake: I hate that I feel I must agree with you here. Quite a few people have lost me in the wake of this Polanski situation. #natalieportmantopchef
since i pretty much try to speak exclusively in "thats what s/he saids" and double entendres, does that mean i can be on top chef now? as a panelist, of course. i don't want to cook the food, i just want to eaaaaaat it... #natalieportmantopchef
I love how giddy Padma is with the girly girls! And I have to give Colicchio some props for setting that joke up. He knew what he was doing. #natalieportmantopchef
It was totally juvenile and predictable, and made me laugh really hard...
Also, I know a lot of people who knew Natalie growing up. They say she's super nice and ridiculously smart. She didn't get into Harvard because of her Hollywood connections, she got in because she was apparently in A.P. Calculus her junior year of high school...
@JinxyMcDeath: Yeah I don't know about that. Lots of kids are in AP Calculus and don't get into Harvard. The valedictorian of my high school scored a perfect 1600 on her SAT and raised a million dollars for cancer research after her brother died of leukemia. She didn't get into Harvard.
Not saying Natalie Portman isn't intelligent - just that being Natalie Portman didn't exactly hurt her chances. #natalieportmantopchef
She also got a 1400 on her SAT which was the 25 percentile of admitted students at the time. Sorry, but a 1400 from Syosset would not be considered competitive enough to get into Harvard.
@teenypanini09: I'm sure it didn't hurt, but according to my friends who went to school with her, she was smart enough to get in without any of that. I don't think it's fair to say that because she's a celebrity, it was easier for her to get in when it's pretty clear that she was an exceptional student notwithstanding her acting credentials. It totally downplays her own achievements and I see no reason to do that. #natalieportmantopchef
@JinxyMcDeath: Would you say the same thing about a minority student?
An ethnic minority? A racial minority? A religious minority? A minority in terms of gender? In terms of sexual orientation? Are you talking about affirmative-action and if not, what are you asking? I wouldn't say the same thing to an Asian because, in fact, being Asian could certainly hurt their chances of getting into Harvard. Nor would I say that to an African American because being an African American rather than an African or a West Indian might hurt their chances, too.
Not sure what that has to do with anything. The American higher education system isn't exactly a meritocracy and Natalie Portman's a great actress. Who cares if that helped her get into Harvard? Being famous and being smart are not mutually exclusive. #natalieportmantopchef
I was going to boycott this Top Chef because of NP, but I am too addicted. Anyway, my question is this - in Natalie's sanctimonious oped for HuffPo, she describes herself as a "vegan activist." Yet she told the chefs she was vegetarian, and it seems that all the dishes were cooked in copious amounts of butter.
Did they do this because making vegan dishes was too hard? Or did Natalie only recently go vegan? #natalieportmantopchef
@SarsDoesntSave: Curious. I wouldn't expect it of her, since eating butter against your beliefs is the same as raping someone at a dinner party! How could she possibly?
@SarsDoesntSave: She's been vegan for many years. I was also confused by the butter thing, but since none of the dishes involved any eggs, cheese, or other dairy products, I think we can safely assume it was soy butter.
Also, making vegan dishes is not hard for good professional chefs.
You know, I've never seen that show before; I watched it just because she was on and they'd be cooking vegan. I wonder what their ratings look like compared to other episodes, since there are probably many people who boycotted because of her article (as you intended to) but others like me who watched to see how veganism would be presented to the mainstream. #natalieportmantopchef
@slowpoke.r: I agree that making vegan dishes should not be hard for good professional chefs. I was very disappointed with what the chefs put forward in this episode.
The judges made a big deal about Mike's leeks not being a protein, but they failed to note that neither eggplant nor mushrooms are proteins either.
I eat mostly vegetarian, and I would definitely not be satisfied with those meals. Would it kill em to put on some whole grains or beans? #natalieportmantopchef
@slowpoke.r: Wikipedia says she became a vegan this year, after reading "Eating Animals". And it must have been after this episode taped, because Gail Simmons wrote in her Top Chef blog* that
"there was virtually no protein presented across the board. No beans or legumes, few eggs and little dairy were used (despite their being encouraged to do so)". [www.bravotv.com]
@tammanycall001: Well, wikipedia isn't the best source but I do trust TC to not feed a vegan dairy so she must have only recently converted. So weird...I swear I've heard many times over the past decade that she was vegan. I have been propagating lies, apparently, but it was unknowingly done so I'm sure everyone will forgive me. :)
And I agree that the lack of protein and grains was really bizarre. #natalieportmantopchef
@winner: Was it because of her signing of the petition or because of the vegetarian food thing? (Assuming it was the former but am curious.) #natalieportmantopchef
@slowpoke.r: Oh def the Polanski thing. The meat-eating as rape thing was the icing on the cake but I was a vegetarian for a decade so I'm a bit more understanding of that.
Ironically, it was Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma that brought me to the idea that it would be ok to eat meat. #natalieportmantopchef
@winner: I'm so glad that it wasn't because of it being a "veg" episode. I feel like they didn't really mention it in the ads for the show this week because people wouldn't watch, and based on some threads here lately I now believe that that's a valid fear. Vegetarianism still has a long way to go before it's truly mainstream, apparently.
And I'm dying to threadjack and talk about Pollan's book, which had the opposite affect on me. But I will hold back (except for the previous sentence, couldn't help it.) #natalieportmantopchef
@slowpoke.r: We're still talking about vegetarianism!
I don't eat meat everyday even now and while I totally know about vegetarian backlash, I doubt anyone would avoid watching Top Chef because it was a vegetarian episode. Vegan, on the other hand? It is a rather foreign idea in cooking. But who am I to tell people that the honey thing is ridiculous when the world's honeybee population is plagued with disease? On the other hand, whose to say that butter and dairy cows aren't happy? The Omnivore's Dilemma taught me that the most important aspect of conscious eating is knowing where your food is coming from.
I heard him on WNYC the other day and he DID have a very good analogy for the problems of beef. A man driving a hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a man eating a steak. Kind of nutty, huh? We bought a stake in a local meat co-op, my boyfriend hunts and fishes and that's where all the meat we eat comes from unless we're at a restaurant like Blue Hill or something. #natalieportmantopchef
This is by Shannon Gerard (that's her in the background of the photo!): http://www.shannongerard.org/ She also makes crocheted boobs. The project came about after her partner had a testicular cancer scare. You can buy her boobs and dinks here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22995220
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Also, I know a lot of people who knew Natalie growing up. They say she's super nice and ridiculously smart. She didn't get into Harvard because of her Hollywood connections, she got in because she was apparently in A.P. Calculus her junior year of high school...
Thus, I love her! #natalieportmantopchef
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networking is the rule when applying to schools like harvard, princeton, yale, etc.
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Not saying Natalie Portman isn't intelligent - just that being Natalie Portman didn't exactly hurt her chances. #natalieportmantopchef
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An ethnic minority? A racial minority? A religious minority? A minority in terms of gender? In terms of sexual orientation? Are you talking about affirmative-action and if not, what are you asking? I wouldn't say the same thing to an Asian because, in fact, being Asian could certainly hurt their chances of getting into Harvard. Nor would I say that to an African American because being an African American rather than an African or a West Indian might hurt their chances, too.
Not sure what that has to do with anything. The American higher education system isn't exactly a meritocracy and Natalie Portman's a great actress. Who cares if that helped her get into Harvard? Being famous and being smart are not mutually exclusive. #natalieportmantopchef
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Did they do this because making vegan dishes was too hard? Or did Natalie only recently go vegan? #natalieportmantopchef
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#hypocrisy #natalieportmantopchef
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Also, making vegan dishes is not hard for good professional chefs.
You know, I've never seen that show before; I watched it just because she was on and they'd be cooking vegan. I wonder what their ratings look like compared to other episodes, since there are probably many people who boycotted because of her article (as you intended to) but others like me who watched to see how veganism would be presented to the mainstream. #natalieportmantopchef
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The judges made a big deal about Mike's leeks not being a protein, but they failed to note that neither eggplant nor mushrooms are proteins either.
I eat mostly vegetarian, and I would definitely not be satisfied with those meals. Would it kill em to put on some whole grains or beans? #natalieportmantopchef
10/29/09
"there was virtually no protein presented across the board. No beans or legumes, few eggs and little dairy were used (despite their being encouraged to do so)".
[www.bravotv.com]
*Not that I'm obsessed with TC or anything...
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And I agree that the lack of protein and grains was really bizarre. #natalieportmantopchef
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Ironically, it was Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma that brought me to the idea that it would be ok to eat meat. #natalieportmantopchef
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And I'm dying to threadjack and talk about Pollan's book, which had the opposite affect on me. But I will hold back (except for the previous sentence, couldn't help it.) #natalieportmantopchef
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I don't eat meat everyday even now and while I totally know about vegetarian backlash, I doubt anyone would avoid watching Top Chef because it was a vegetarian episode. Vegan, on the other hand? It is a rather foreign idea in cooking. But who am I to tell people that the honey thing is ridiculous when the world's honeybee population is plagued with disease? On the other hand, whose to say that butter and dairy cows aren't happy? The Omnivore's Dilemma taught me that the most important aspect of conscious eating is knowing where your food is coming from.
I heard him on WNYC the other day and he DID have a very good analogy for the problems of beef. A man driving a hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a man eating a steak. Kind of nutty, huh? We bought a stake in a local meat co-op, my boyfriend hunts and fishes and that's where all the meat we eat comes from unless we're at a restaurant like Blue Hill or something. #natalieportmantopchef
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Except that lots of lesbians and transmen who pack softpacks would really disagree with you..