At the end of these challenges, an all-star judging panel — consisting of such culinary talent as the dour Tom Colicchio, the critical Gail Simmons, the equally dour Hugh Acheson, the awesome John Besh, the seemingly-kindly-but-really-picky Tim Love and the kindly-until-he-has-to-judge-then-he's-dour Emeril Lagasse — gets to taste and comment on the cheftestants' food.
We can expect some memorable reactions from the judges when a cheftestant's efforts go wrong. In honor of disgusted faces and snide comments to come, we present some of our favorite reactions to Top Chef tastings from the past.
Lea Michele says so.
However, the line between delicious and projectile vomiting seems rather thin in this case.
Until you realize Tom Colicchio is a master chef with a huge restaurant empire, it seems like he was hired largely for his ability to display disgust at hapless chefs' attempts to cook.
He seems to think that a lot, actually...
Perhaps that meat was a little undercooked...
We have no such trouble. Our favorite option is "opprobrious." Bonus points if you don't need to use a dictionary to look up what it means.
Super-chef John Besh immediately regrets his decision to come to the show. It was a bad idea to use shoe leather as a secret ingredient.
Dr. John is about to get a tummyache.
His opera hands are warning us all he's about to express his feelings through the majesty of song.
Beautiful, intelligent, funny and with a refined culinary palate most of us would kill for, Padma's role as host oftentimes lets her be the Top Chef contestants' advocate. On the other hand, when she doesn't like a dish, you know it.
And she's definitely the recipient of the Most Memorable Reaction award.
Poor chef. Let's hope we don't see that one this season. Then again, maybe we should hope we do…
Top Chef: Where are they now?
Top Chef secrets for a more organized kitchen: Gail Simmons
Top Chef: Did Alex Reznik really steal the pea puree?
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