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Nov 1, 2009 06:10 PM

Next Iron Chef America - Indian Challenge (Spoilers)

OK. So who else was happy that Nate Appleman was eliminated? Chef Trevino cooked beef in an Indian cuisine challenge? What was he thinking?

Chef Mehta did not walk away with either the quick challenge with his one bite!

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  1. i do not mind at all that Chef Appleman is gone, and I was very happy Chef Mehta did not take either challenge. :)

    1. Clearly, these chefs should have participated in COTM this month so they knew what they were cooking.....

      1. Very happy to see both Appleman eliminated and Mehta not declared the winner.

        Apparently snapper prepared like southern American fried catfish with a side of sneering cockiness isn't enough to be the next Iron Chef.

        This was an excellent episode because it showed that you can't be an Iron Chef just cooking your own cuisine and if you cook your own cuisine it better be amazing.

        I was not happy to see how Alton Brown coddled Appleman at the axing. He gave him the usual "good chefs have bad days" line, but then didn't give him his own final, "You will not the next Iron Chef."

        10 Replies
        1. re: taos

          I'm actually a little bummed by Appleman and Trevino being eliminated. I like both of them, but after watching them prepare their meals, it was pretty much in the cards they were both going home.

          VERY glad Mehta did not win. I enjoyed the look of disdain in his eyes.

          HOWEVER, I really wish they would just give it to Freitag already. We pretty much know they are going with her and her sub-par style of cooking. I am NOT impressed by her, sorry. If I had my way, it would be Garces all the way.

          1. re: rocks67

            We seem to have similar taste. I think Appleman was one of the top contenders to win, and got robbed, although I think Trevino was a joke. Mehta lucked out this week, because if it was any other challenge, he would've been gone. He's one of the season's weakest. If he makes another shitty ice cream I'm boycotting.

            Freitag doesn't do it for me, either, but boy, they have a major boner for her.

            1. re: rocks67

              I'm not sure Freitag will win it. Might be those editing elves trying to mislead us. And I've actually been surprised with her versatility. Once again, none of us know how any of the food tastes, but hers looked good to me.

              1. re: mojoeater

                I'm wondering, in addition to how good the food is, if "how telegenic" will enter into the equation. Freitag seems to be a great "stone face."

            2. re: taos

              I agree! I, too, was disappointed he didn't get the "You will not be the next Iron Chef." He needed to hear it. Cocky needs to have the talent behind it. There's a Kid Rock song that goes, "They say I'm cocky and I say, 'what? It's ain't bragging, <female-parent><rude-word-for-fornicator>, if you back it up.'"

              I'm also not a huge fan of Chef Mehta. It seems like he's a very talented chef but his underhanded and sneaky food and tool hoarding just to screw over his competitors really turns me off. Yes, this is a competition but it should be about who makes the best food, not who the most devious person is.

              1. re: Ima Wurdibitsch

                Agree completely on both counts. Chef Mehta may be an excellent chef in his own right, but also seems rather one dimensional.

                On the following new episode of ICA, Iron Chef Morimoto presented a dish that one of the judges criticized for not being "Japanese" because he used Parmesan and tomatoes in his pheasant dish. Chef Morimoto responded that something to the effect that just because he is a Japanese cuisine specialist, it does not mean he can't expand or know how to do takes on dishes from other world cuisines. That shut that judge up rather quickly.

              2. re: taos

                Actually, I find that coddling to be a typical editing technique on the Food Network. If they say mostly nice things to a person when there have been obvious mistakes, that's usually the person going home. I think they don't want to kick these outgoing chefs when they are down. They will need them later on for something else...


                1. re: taos


                  Of course I agree with you on all counts except, perhaps that IC usually does cook his/her own cuisine, but with whatever the secret ingredient is.

                  Does anyone know if there's an IC leaving the show or if they're just adding to the number of ICs. If Cat Cora is leaving or wants to play a smaller role due to the new baby, it does look as though it's Fiertag's game to lose.

                  1. re: chicgail

                    chicgail, I was wondering the same thing--if Frietag is their pick to replace Cat Cora if, indeed, Cat Cora's going anywhere. I think someone with either a Latin or Indian culinary background would be fun, too, though.


                    1. re: The Dairy Queen

                      Given the background of the contestants in TNIC, I'm guessing the producers are thinking the same way you are about a Latin or Indian chef, TDQ.

                2. Very very happy to see Appleman go. He was just obnoxious and I would have had no desire to watch him on ICA.

                  10 Replies
                  1. re: dagwood

                    hmmm... so who at this point in the competition would we watch???

                    I like Garces, I would watch him. I think Mullen is an excellent chef, but I'm not sure he'd be a great ICA.

                    1. re: jujuthomas

                      All three of us at my house are rooting for Garces. Watchable, interesting food, and a good addition to the show.

                      1. re: jmckee

                        I'm a Garces Girl, too. He's been under the radar a good deal, but he's definitely the most talented, famous (if that counts) and best looking (which gets him bonus points, in my book!) of the chefs.

                        1. re: invinotheresverde

                          Freitag was very good when she was on Iron Chef battling Bobby Flay doing Wild Alaskan King Crab or something like that. She was very relaxed, bantering, entertaining, and lost to Flay who was serious and sweating it the whole time by only one point.

                          If she wins, I think she'll be an excellent addition to the show. She's not as cocky as Appleman, Mehta, Mullen and a lot of the boys on The Next Iron Chef and for that reason her talent is being overlooked.

                          1. re: taos

                            Her food just seems boring. What'd she make last night, a pakora? And a crab cake a couple weeks ago? I don't know, she just seems kind of meh to me (at least onn the show-probably not in reality).

                            1. re: invinotheresverde

                              I have to agree. I think she's just "meh..." Not saying she's a good or bad chef, just not my cup of tea. She really doesn't bring anything to the table for me. I'd be hard pressed to watch ICA if she became of the chefs and had a battle on tv.

                              Garces, on the other hand, now HE I would watch!

                        2. re: jmckee

                          I would prefer to see Garces win as well, though I would be honestly surprised if he did. At least he uses some creativity and takes some risks. Freitag has seemingly been given a pass on these first few weeks (making chicken again? Oh, but it's "heavenly!"), plus doing eclairs for Mexican, etc. She has more exposure on the Network. In addition, her areas of expertise are Asain and French. Next week Japanese, then....

                          1. re: junescook

                            eclairs can be found in Mexican panaderias. The country was 'colonized' by French bakers around the time of the US Civil War.

                            1. re: paulj

                              Very true. Much of the breads at panaderias are French pastries with Spanish names.

                      2. re: dagwood

                        I viewed Appleman as being like Symon w/o the good personality. They seemed fairly similar to me in a lot of other ways. I didn't see them keeping Appleman based on that, if they wanted a surly & obnoxious Symon they could just tell Symon to act more surly & obnoxious

                      3. The editors seem to be making it easy now to figure out in advance who's leaving.

                        Like last week, lots of footage of Crenn saying how great her dishes were and she just knew she'd be staying on. Same thing this week with Appleman in particular. Lots of talk about how he'd be at the top, ha-ha to the other chefs that I took all the snapper (didn't that end up biting him...), etc. Roasting a spice-studded banana is going to keep you in?

                        Well, we'll see how the remaining chefs deal with Tokyo and Morimoto next week. Should be pretty serious.