When the episode opened, I liked them both pretty well, but then Jen told me about the grape leaves stunt that Mehta once pulled. That made me sad. I liked some of his statements to the camera, and I liked his creative streak. I didn't always like the results, but he really did seem to bring a unique appreciation of beauty to the competition - he liked colors, flowers, and sweetness, which seems like a deviation from culinary orthodoxy. (They're always such snobs about pastry chefs and sweet foods.) And his accent/the way he talked reminded me of Roh, haha. So that made me like him too.

But based on what Jen said, he was kind of a selfish jerk in the competition, which sucks. Oh well. I would have been happy with Garces either way; his food all looked tasty, and he was likable. Raised in Chicago, too - yay hometown winner!<3 Maybe that's why his food always seemed so appealing.

As for the judging, I thought Steingarten was an ass for saying he wouldn't pay for Garces' food. And I usually don't mind him that much. On the flip side, Simon was indeed a really persuasive debater, and seeing him in this role made me like him a lot more.


So, are you as insanely excited about the January 3rd Iron Chef competition as I am? Squeeee. Michelle Obama will be a guest, and Jane Seymour will be judging! (She was the star of my childhood TV series - you know, that one show the whole family would gather together to watch.) It could only be better if Morimoto were a chef, but I guess that'd be an unfair advantage to whichever team got him. Morimoto love. <3