This was one of those episodes where I wish I could push the mulligan button. It felt wrongheaded in the dismissal of Chef Burrell, a larger-than-life personality perfect for the ICA stage, a woman who had basically trained for the job by putting in so many hours as the sous chef to Chef Batali, someone who I think would have been really fun to watch on this stage.
There was a twist to this show that stuck in the craw. Burrell had won the previous week's competition. Her advantage was that she got to be a judge, and she picked one of the two chefs who would be in the elimination round. I found her judging process fascinating. She seemed smart and fair to me. Her comments seemed thoughtful and based on years of experience. The thing that bothered me was the perception of her actions. In my mind, she was put on the spot and given a responsibility and she did it to the best of her ability. However, when it turned out that she would be the one who woiuld to compete against her choice, she herself called it "karma." Chef Guarnaschelli said that she was "hoist on her own petard." It rankled me, aso to me she was just doing the duty that was assigned to her.
Today, I feel nostalgic to the days before this competition, when behind closed doors, network executives would decide who they wanted to be Iron Chefs, and then they would be announced to us when they made their debut. Chef Symon remarked that he knew every one of these ten contestants. It seems like heady company, and it seems a bit sad for the brand and for the individuals that they have to publicly go through this process. It doesn't seem right, and yet I still want to see what happens.
