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Harold Dieterle
Michael Got Hosed: While Harold enjoyed all the food during the 'Top Chef Masters' finale, he thinks Michael Chiarello should have taken home the win.

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I thought that the whole finale was interesting. It was such a long meal and it's amazing how it was cut and how it was just like, I can have distinct descriptions of each meal because it was so good. For me that first round was Michael's. That gnocchi was something that was crave-able and I could eat everyday. It was probably one of my top three dishes at the tasting, It was really solid. He did do a duo though, and on the other hand, the other gnocchi was unevenly shaped, and because of that hey didn't cook so great; they were very so-so.
He said it was a two-part situation and he'd begun to make gnocchi with ricotta cheese but he was taught to make it with potato by his grandmother and mother.

I thought Rick's quail was cooked beautifully and the BBQ sauce was really top notch. I had no idea he grew up with that background in BBQ, totally no idea, which was cool and you didn't catch on until he took the watermelon and made the salad. He compressed it. What that does is it pushes all the flesh together. He then diced it up so you have beautiful nice cubes of watermelon. That dish was really good.

The Baekeoffe Keller made was delicious. The lamb was braised perfectly. Th dish was very rustic. I'm not a big fan of like whole juniper berries and the greens frisee and red endive were really rustic and for me the greens ether need to be dressed or cut up or cooked somehow. Overall, I thought they all started out really sharp, but my favorite dish was the gnocchi and quail the best — they were really good.

When we were filling out our cards, I thought the storytelling was important. There was a lot of storytelling behind every dish which I thought was really cool, but at the end of the day it didn't really go into it. I didn't take that into any consideration. For me it was about making food that tasted good and how it's presented and prepared.

As far as Rick's mole, I'm not a big tuna fan but I'm a huge mole fan, and it was really legit and really good. But at the same time, for me, again I really liked Michael's rabbit with the liver polenta dish. I think it was James that said he thought the polenta could have been cooked a bit more, but I don't know what the deal is between James and Michael. I really thought Michael should have won, and I've got to be honest, after sitting and eating a meal with James and listening to his comments I don't want him to come to the restaurant because I question his palate. I couldn't believe the things coming out of his mouth. I didn't think we were having the same meal. I couldn't remember him making a positive comment about Michael's food and I thought that was bulls--- because for me I thought his food was the best at the end of it all. I couldn't believe he only gave him 3 1/2 stars. I thought we were having different meals and were at different tables.

Comments

14 Comments

: 10/11/2009 - 11:29pm; lorrising; I don't really agree with you about James' palate but I do agree that he seemed to have it in for Michael. His scores for Michael were consistently lower than for the other chefs and I got the definite feeling that there was something more personal involved than just the taste of the food. It was also obvious that his scores for Michael were very different from the other judges and yet his scores for the other chefs were very consistent with the other judges, that's the reason I think it was personal rather than palate. If it was a matter of palate wouldn't his scores be consistently different from what the other judges scored? I just felt that overall he was a very biased and ultimately an unkind judge.

: 09/14/2009 - 8:47pm; Sophia; I just have to say that you are a hottie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

: 09/03/2009 - 12:47pm; lillypad; I disagree. Michael should not have won period and his food was not that different from so many chef's I've had experienced. Rick blew me away though I didn't taste it, I have eaten authentic Mexican food in Mexico enjoyed his segments. Maybe I'll try Harold's restaurant one day when times get better for me or maybe after his blog entry I'll just wait.
James judging was spot on to me. Michael was not hosed he just didn't deserve to win.

: 09/02/2009 - 11:14am; Viewer; Thanks for the honest blog. I definitely sensed that there was something personal that influenced Oseland's rating of Michael's meal. That kind of thing ruins the whole show for me. Here are contestants who have just worked so long and hard on this challenge, and then it's like the whole idea of the "competition" didn't matter because one person cannot put aside some personal feelings when it's his job to do so. Maybe it was a completely honest rating, I don't know. It certainly didn't seem that way. It deserved an elaboration, more than he gave or was shown.

: 08/27/2009 - 2:16am; Esquilax; James said the polenta was over-seasoned, not that it needed to be cooked longer. Rick Bayless tasted the polenta and agreed it was too salty. Sorry, Harold, but that makes me question your palate more than it does James's.

: 08/26/2009 - 5:32pm; sue; omg i felt the same thing.michel should be the winner. i don't know what kind of agenda was running in James mind.i was schocked when he gave 3.5 stars,just could not believe it.

: 08/26/2009 - 3:50pm; DebC; I could not taste the food, but Hubert or Michael should have won.
I love Hubert's attitude, being Italian I love Michael's feistiness! His food (Michael's) Spoke to my heart.
Hubert what technician and I loved his story!
I totally loved this Masters Top Chef, you could see the respect for each other and that rocked, how they helped each other out!
The BBQ was also a good story, and I disagree that there are no classical Mexican food other than Ricks, Here in California there are many.
For what ever reason I didn't care for either of the men judges. The Lady mm ok sort of. it was like a grudge match between them and Michael the whole way through.
Harold your still the best!

08/25/2009 - 7:11pm

Lynda S

Harold (The First and Foremost Top Chef Winner),

I enjoy getting your insider's critique of the meal none of us could taste. Due to editing, it was hard to tell whether Michael "got hosed" or not. The critics' comments on air were not very effusive of Michael's meal (except for the short ribs). From your comments here and in prior blogs, it seems as though you have a soft spot for Michael more than James O has it in for him. Maybe you just prefer Michael's food because you prefer Italian style cooking more than the other two. Either way, it's your opinion (which I appreciate). The critics had their opinions and went with Rick. Originally, I really wanted Hubert because his food is thoughtful and beautiful. However, I knew that I'd be satisfied if any one of the final three took the title. They each were deserving.
Thanks again for your time and thoughts.

08/25/2009 - 5:42pm

Merry

Harold, I'm sorry but I totally disagree. Michael has either hit the challenges totally out of the park or he has struck out. From your own review, it seems he struck out twice and homered twice. In your own words, neither Rick nor Hubert had that poor of a performance.

Classic Italian fare is commonplace for the American palate. Neither classic Mexican nor classic French are as well-known. Perhaps your bias is because your palate is more closely tuned to Italian fare.

I congratulate all 24 of the contestants, all 6 of the finalists, all 3 that were in last week's challenge...and I congratulate Rick Bayless as the champion of them all.

: 08/25/2009 - 2:04pm; Daniel; I really don't see it as Michael getting hosed. That would seem to indicate that he was by far the superior cook, when that was not the case from what we were shown. It looked like a really tight competition. I will say though, that if his burning the magazine cost him some fraction of points, he can only blame himself. It was an unnecesary risk to do something that may anger or be taken as an affront by a judge.