Episodes
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Every episode of television is a series of creative decisions. Which characters do we spend the most time with? In which settings? How will the conflict occur?
Season Three of “The Bear” took some unconventional risks — some worked and some didn’t.
PYK Producer Anthony Mayes joins Tom and Kevin to break it all down, and to look ahead to the show’s final season.
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Chef Eric Adjepong knows restaurant kitchens and he knows television — he hosts “Alex vs. America” and “Wildcard Kitchen” on The Food Network. He stops by PYK to chat about what “The Bear” gets right.
Tom and Kevin also ask him which is more beneficial: A love-letter of a review of a restaurant in a big city newspaper, or an Instagram reel of Kamala Harris & husband raving about the dining experience.
He also shares why so many chefs both love the show, but also are triggered by the intensity of the kitchen experience.
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Missing episodes?
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Sandwiched between two bottle episodes, “The Legacy” puts Sydney on the spot — will she take Shapiro’s offer to become Chef de Cuisine at his new joint, or will she finally sign the partnership agreement and fully commit to the Bear.
Tom and Kevin debate what Sydney will — and should — do. They also lament that the show’s shot selection, opting for more scenes of the Fak brothers esoteric and unfunny shtick over more dramatic beats that heighten conflict and deepen characters.
Tom enjoyed “Ice Chips” and the interplay between Natalie and Donna on the verge of delivering her firstborn into the world.
Kevin appreciated the stage play, but wonders how much the series can devote to deep dives between supporting characters before losing the central thread.
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Bottle episodes can be risky business for a series, but “The Bear” has shined with its one-off productions, from Season’s 2 family stage play “Fishes” to this season’s mood poem of a premier.
This episode, “Napkins,” marks the directorial debut of series regular Ayo Edebiri (Sydney) and focuses almost entirely on how Tina (played remarkably by Liza Colón-Zayas) found her way to The Beef/The Bear.
Friend of PYK C.J. Krawczyk stops in to share with Tom and Kevin his conflicting thoughts about the episode. On one hand, the half hour is an affecting portrayal of the heartbreak and frustration of job insecurity. On the other, it also takes us away from the central dynamics of “The Bear" in the middle of a season that has spent precious little time in the kitchen — and virtually no time in the dining room.
Whatever misgivings the guys have about the trajectory of Season 3, they agree that the music has been pitch perfect.
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Richie’s character is starting to cultivate grace away from the restaurant, even as he and Carmy persist in their sometimes-hot-sometimes-cold war.
Tom shares his love of the scene between Richie and his daughter, Evie, and why the two-handed scenes represent The Bear at its best.
The two episodes are at their strongest when Carmy and Sydney occupy the kitchen, honing their collective vision. Sydney is learning how to carefully check Carmy’s worst instincts, even as she struggles to sign the partnership agreement and codify her relationship with the Berzatto clan.
Episodes 4 and 5 are also marked by two big cameos — Josh Hartnett and John Cena respectively. The first works a lot better than the second, as Kevin kvetches that there are few things he cares less about than the Fak brothers’ ‘haunts,’ and the fate of Sammy’s SD cards.
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Kevin and Tom examine the moments when the show performs at its best: is it the introspective, brooding Carmine scenes at The Bear or when the show “goes home” with secondary characters?
Kevin draws a spot-on parallel of Syd/Carmy as Peggy/Don in Mad Men while Tom campaigns for more Richie exploration.
The Bear can’t be discussed without a dive into the show’s musical choices. With the Gen X sounds of Eddie Vedder and R.E.M taking center stage, the topic of needle drops surfaces and Tom and Kevin analyze whether the FX show becomes too navel-gazey (the PYK stance: it doesn’t).
A central question of the show: what does joy for Carmy look like? For Tom and Kevin, joy looks a lot like Oliver Platt on the television screen. Say it with us now: God Bless Oliver Platt.
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As one season ends, another begins.
With Top Chef off the air, PYK’s Kevin Arnovitz and Tom Haberstroh have taken a seat at the table of The Bear, the hit TV show on FX. Kevin and Tom explain why they love the scripted series about a family restaurant in Chicago and unpack the unconventional Season 3 premiere. Plus, a discussion about musical choices and which character is the true star of the show.
If you’d like to catch up, all episodes of The Bear (Seasons 1-3) can be found on Hulu. PYK will be posting Season 3 recaps on a weekly basis. Stay tuned for Top Chef alums to join us along the ride…
(Yes, Chef, the audio this week isn’t our best work. It’s the summer. We’re on the road. Apologies. *rubs chest in circular motion*)
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Tom Colicchio is Top Chef’s ranking authority, a lifer who has been with the show since its inception.
Less than a week after Season 21’s finale riled some longtime fans of the show, Colicchio visits with Tom and Kevin to discuss what went wrong with the finale edit.
He explains the various roles of producers, editors and professionals who create a season of Top Chef, shares his candid thoughts about Quickfires, and explores how this season’s cheftestants measured up to previous fields.
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The Top Chef judges table shocked audiences with a surprise verdict in the finale.
Tom H. sounds off against the decision, as he and Kevin debate what the outcome says about what the show values most in a Top Chef contestant.
Also, an interview with chefs Dan Jacobs, Savannah Miller and Danny Garcia about how this season changed their lives.
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There are inspired challenges in magical destinations on the eve of the finale that bring out the best in our aspirational cheftestants.
With the title of Top Chef only two cooks away, they reach deep into their imaginations and execute the meals of their lives!
This week aboard a cruise ship in Curacao was decidedly … not that episode.
Tom and Kevin break down what went wrong in an elimination challenge where only two of eight dishes were successful, and look ahead at who might be able to pull it together to claim the crown.
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From the very outset of Season 21, Michelle Wallace distinguished herself as one of the most authentic chefs to grace the Top Chef kitchen.
Not only does she bake the best biscuits in the business, she can execute an elevated homey dish of stuffed lobster pasta with charred corn sauce and crispy chorizo.
Two Elimination wins. An additional four top finishes. (The only thing Michelle can’t abide is “chaos cooking”).
Michelle stops by to chat about her Top Chef journey, what is and isn’t a sandwich, St. Louis’ greatest BBQ delicacy (pig snoot), the funniest Season 21 contestant, the secret to the perfect biscuit, and the wizardry of Ozzie Smith.
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The five remaining cheftestants compete for only four tickets on a cruise ship to Curacao for the Season 21 finale in an elimination challenge that asks the to prepare a plate that express their maturation as chefs during their time in Wisconsin.
But first, it’s the beloved Blind Taste Test Quickfire, with one of the chefs blowing away the competition (is daily tongue-scraping the secret weapon?).
Finally, we have a blockbuster late-season trade between Team Tom and Team Kevin!
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Tom Colicchio does work in the Top Chef kitchen, where the wok is king in the Quickfire challenge.
Coming off her Last Chance Kitchen run, Laura re-enters the main competition and makes dessert for an elimination challenge that demands imagination.
Tom H. feels that desserts are a market inefficiency that more cheftestants should opt for.
Kevin shares how You Can Count on Me explains Michelle’s allergy to blue-sky Top Chef challenges without specific parameters.
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With her sharp analysis, Mina Kimes can break down any NFL pass coverages or team-building strategy — and Top Chef field. She joins Tom and Kevin to discuss how Season 21 stands up to previous Top Chef seasons, to grouse about Soo’s controversial elimination at the fish boil, and to size up the remaining six contestants in the competition.
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No chef has built confidence and momentum in recent weeks like Savannah Miller. She bagged a Quickfire win with canned corn beef (!), only to slice her hand open while filleting her fish for the Fish Boil.
Though it looked like she prepared the worst of the six plates, she was spared elimination.
Kevin was on hand in Milwaukee for the Fish Boil, and tasted three of the six fish boil dishes. He shares his impressions of the production, Soo’s beurre blanc, and Miguel’s winning boil.
Tom argues that, even with the new “Quickfire factor” at the chopping block, the judges didn’t make the right call.
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For weeks, the judges have been threatening to send home not one — but two chefs — if circumstances demand it.
This week, they did just that when they sent a quarter of the remaining field packing in a challenge that highlights the indigenous cuisine of the Northern Plains.
Tom and Kevin note that Kristen is bored stiff by Manny’s generally successful (but tiresome) formula in the kitchen, and celebrate Savannah and Dan for a master class on how to endear yourself to the judges by “embracing the challenge.”
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Few chefs have demonstrated the talent to execute risk in the Top Chef kitchen like Rasika Venkatesa.
Her pretzel-barley cake with honey mustard sabayon and her daal quenelle have been highlights of the season, during which she emerged as a fan favorite.
Rasika stops by Pack Your Knives to talk about her desire to reinvent cooking from Tamil Nadu, which she recently visited on a months-long food tour.
She recounts her trip, which included convincing village fishermen to take her back to their homes to cook snapper with their families.
She also shares her experiences on Top Chef with little formal training, despite rising from station cook to Chef de Cuisine in three years.
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As Wimbledon is to the pro tennis calendar, and the Masters is to the PGA, Restaurant Wars is to Top Chef.
It’s the signature event of the season, after which things start to get really serious as the field of chefs is whittled down on the last stretch to the finale.
Tom and Kevin react to this season’s 5-on-4 imbalance (boo!) and the new twist with two judges tables so that both restaurants have to shine early and late (yay!).
They also dive into the controversy that erupted over Danny’s winning scallop chou farci from a few weeks back.
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The great thing about chatting with Top Chef finalist Amar Santana is that you get a completely unvarnished take on everything. He stops by Pack Your Knives to tell Tom and Kevin who really had the best dish of the last week’s elimination challenge, why toilet paper should replace napkins at your next reservation, and the saltiest confrontation he’s ever had with a customer at one of his restaurants.
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Maybe you’ve seen the Arrested Development episode in which Tobias tells Lindsay that people who entertain open relationships are delusional to believe that the arrangement could work …. “But it might work for us.” This is the theory of mind of any Top Chef contestant who believes that even though seven cheftestants have been eliminated after preparing risotto, somehow he’ll be the one who will impress the judges and be named the winner of the challenge.
Enter this week’s delusional chef … Exit this week’s delusional chef.
Tom and Kevin break down how Amanda is building momentum in the kitchen, how Danny is the kind of technical chef who has an inside track to Top Chef, and how ketchup has no place on a hot dog.
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