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Zach's avatar

No meta commentary that the leading chef this season so far is a fellow Vincenzo? haha.

Enjoyable first episode. Never heard of Toronto being called "the Six," which is apparently a drake thing, nor that Toronto and Montreal are considered "Central" Canada.

Obviously this was filmed last fall but really fascinating timing that this season will play out across the worst moment in Canada-US relations since the War of 1812.

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AlftheSacredBurro's avatar

Toronto and Montreal are all ego and pretense, whereas the *real* centre of Canada keeps it *really* real....violent and stabby. Big ups to Peg City, where the "peg" is not your girlfriend's dildo, but a machete from Walmart that has a bone to pick with your bones.

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Schnitzel bob's avatar

Winnipeg knows you don't get to pick your own nickname, otherwise we'd be known as One Great City!

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Will Murray's avatar

The only way I've ever made pork tenderloin good is by cubing it into kebabs and grilling it. Usually pair it with fairly large cuts of red onion and bell pepper and marinate all three for 24 hours in Speedies (a central-NY regional marinade developed by food nerds at Cornell for the NY State Fair to get people to eat more chicken... love a food with a backstory).

Gotta grill it over fairly high heat and flip every 5 minutes or so, checking for doneness frequently (as it will go from done to overcooked if left on even 1-2 minutes too long).

Serve with warmed pita, rice, and Greek yogurt/lemon (zest and juice)/chive sauce.

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stephanie's avatar

More Veep: Cesar reminds me a bit of Tony Hale.

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AlftheSacredBurro's avatar

"Moose-powered internet"

You fool, it's called the Winternet!

*walks into the Red River*

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NM's avatar

'Let's Goo!' Count: 1 - not sure if this bit will survive this season, but it's fun that we got at least one in the premier.

I did two double-takes in this episode, the first when a photo of Reid Scott flashed across the screen and the second at how quickly they eliminated a chef and ended the show. 'Elevated hospital food' might be one of the harshest critiques I've heard in like ten seasons so maybe they thought that said it all.

My Canadian inferiority complex is at an all-time high with how excited I got seeing Toronto craft beers I recognized. Forget a poutine challenge, they got Steamwhistle and Bellwoods Brewery in the stew room!

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Sue's avatar

I was delighted to note that I've actually eaten at one of the contestants' restaurants (Cesar Murillo is executive chef at North Pond in Chicago—highly recommended).

I was disappointed, however, that 4/5 of the bottom chefs were women, and 4/5 of the top chefs were men. I know we've had lots of kick-ass female TC winners, but based on the premiere, it seems like the men are going to dominate this season.

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Vince Mancini's avatar

Katianna and Anya look strong.

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Trashbae's avatar

Something about watching Anya stoically cook cabbage while her Chicagoan teammates giggled together made her my early fave. I cannot explain this further.

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Zach's avatar

Funny I also went to one of the Chicago restaurants: Monteverde where Bailey is CDC. That said, would not call it the best Italian restuant in Chicago...

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Trashbae's avatar

I look forward to Top Chef Canada: Destination USA, which is surely in the works as some kind of international reciprocity deal

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Schnitzel bob's avatar

Also, the French for "Gabba gool" is "je suis un gros con". Trust me.

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Schnitzel bob's avatar

"lamb chops with a mushroom mole" aka my nickname for my/your/your mom's...

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Rob2Kx's avatar

Montreal is ground zero for Italian-I'm-walkin'-'ere! types. Do a Google image search on Roberto Luongo and tell me that's not Furio from the Sopranos. Also, knew a guy named Ricco DiCarlantonio... obviously a Montreal guy.

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AlftheSacredBurro's avatar

Kat immediately gave me Laurie Metcalf with a vaguely "Parker Posey in Best in Show" via "Laurie Metcalf in Roseanne" haircut vibe, so I'm all in with her.

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Rob2Kx's avatar

If the Trump admin were serious about a 51st state and Trump weren't a tit, they would approach Alberta with a sweetheart deal and offer Albertans a 1 to 1 CAD to USD conversion. I bet a secession vote would pass.

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Lige's avatar

I see a faint hint of Stephen Asprinio (1st Season) in Vincenzo. Maybe it’s the California Italian thing (apologies Vince!), wine country connection , or the bossy confidence. I’ll have to see him in a tie to know for sure.

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Alex's avatar

Aww, Henry works with Chef Evelyn from a past TC season! I enjoyed this first episode but I was confused about how and why some of the teams were able to use sausage and chorizo in their QF dishes. I didn’t think those teams had selected those ingredients.

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Bengar's avatar

Corwin is like knock-off Eric Andre

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