Yes exactly!

Pretty good finale though. I liked how they got their IRL chefs to help assist. That brought it to a new level IMO.

was that shirley's sister sitting with her mom?

Disappointed Shirley didn't win. But man Shirley's sister

Yes!

Shirley totally crushed the Top Hot Sister competition.

I was glad she won but my crush on Brooke has been cooling off for the last couple of months. And I think the stress finally got its hooks in her because (a) she was being pretty bitchy the whole episode and (b) forgetting to buy the pork belly was totally ludicrous, jfc, if that's even 1% possible then bring a ****ing checklist.

I am going to take this up with the EPA but it seems the pollen count in my apartment had a tremendous spike right around when Shirley and mom had their hallmark moment; Shirley has always talked about yearning for her family's approval and I mean come on, that was really great.

Brooke crushed
Lol'd at that face she have Shirley during the desert judging.

Could not figure out the ages though. Shirley is 38 (she looks younger), so I'd assume her sister must be in her 20s at least, but she looked about 15. And her mom looked really old to have a daughter that looked as young as Shirley's sister.

I'll bet Shirley's sister is 25 or so.

She was cute but not all that imo

She's no Padma. And Padma is 46 btw, ridiculous.

Loved Shirley's decision making. First let's take 3 tiny slices of Red Snapper and put it on a plate with one partial piece of mint. Then let's put a subpar bowl of ramen in front of everyone. Comical.

At least the dessert looked awesome but come on that was such a feeble effort.

i thought this was an interesting read (linked from Shirley's twitter)

http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/top-c...14-finale.html

redeyes I'm sticking to my theory that Blais was hammered at judges table

this isn't a lifechanger but I'd never seen it before, maybe nsfw

Really dont like Shirley's names for her dishes.

For example, Lijiang is in the mountainous region of Yunnan where fish, especially snapper in crudo form, is super rare if not unseen.

It would be equally jarring if a 2nd generation French chef served some new version of boulliabaise and called it "let me take you to Alsace".

Props to Shirley for that braised pork shank dish though. A great rendition on a Chinese classic.

The ramen dish is an obvious mistake. The problem with something like ramen is that judges will instinctively compare every part of the bowl to every bowl of great Ramen they have ever had and any shortcomings in the noodles or broth or egg will be immediately obvious. It is similar to trying to make pizza. You almost never get rewarded for doing something pretty good but you get penalized heavily if you are off the mark. There is also a settings disadvantage with ramen. Nobody wants to slurp hot noodles in tropical Mexico.

I think all of Brooke's dishes were mostly solid but fairly safe. There is also the thematic advantage of cooking Mexican inspired food while in Mexico. She also took advantage of ingredients as the quality of Octopus in the Tulum area is fantastic.

Sidenote. Dreams Tulum is not really in Tulum.

it may not be in the township of Tulum but i believe it is in the municipality of Tulum (at least right on the border). you can also correctly say Cobá is in Tulum when referencing the municipality.

You might be right on that. On another note, if you are ever in the area, there is a lone shack called Chamico's on a secluded piece of beach in the bay of Soliman that serves an absolutely fantastic lobster ceviche.

Nothing beats eating that dish with a cold beer and your toes in the sand followed by a nap in a beachfront hammock.

I'll be in the area in two months...thanks for the suggestion!

Oh, awesome. I envy you.

Let me know if you want any other tips.

My other good meal when I was there was at Kitchen Table in the Tulum Beach area.

At the time I wanted to go to Hartwood but it was closed for renovation.

Finally watched. At the start I didn't care who won, as it went on, I wanted Shirley, or more accurately, not Brooke. She was annoying and whiny.

Probably beating a dead horse but forget about comparing that to the great Ramen you've ever eaten just looking at that thing visually it was all over. The broth looked closer to a pack of Maruchan than even a middling bowl of Ramen. It had like nothing in it besides an egg that looked overcooked. Ramen is an art form, she obviously has no clue about it, and she was like I'm just going to serve you something that will probably make you marginally satisfied assuming you've never had anything but a 23 cent package of noodles. I guess I'm saying it was suboptimal as a choice and on execution.

Yeah, she definitely messed up in execution as well. Just the noodles alone in ramen takes years to master if you are making it from scratch.

If she went with something else with her second dish, it would have been closer.

Her grouper dish from weeks back is an outstanding example of western dish with Asian influences done well but the first two courses in the final just seem like fusion gone bad.

Should have done a ramen soup dumpling obv

When does the next good cooking show start?

If I were Shirley, I would NOT have given Brooke the pork belly. Its the finale, the most important meal of your life, and you somehow forget to buy the protein for one of your main dishes??? Seriously she had the audacity to even ask for it???

another POV from Bordain
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/seas...sorrows-of-gin