Mention It All - An Emmy For VPR (and Top Chef)

Episode Date: May 29, 2023

Dylan spends Memorial Day doing what he loves most: talking to himself about Bravo. He breaks down the last-minute Emmy campaign for Vanderpump Rules this season, and weighs its chances against the competition. Then, he recaps the latest Top Chef, where optical illusions are met with contestant delusions, and the final four book their tickets to the Paris finale. Check out our latest promo codes here: https://betches.com/promo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Betches Media presents Ha ha laugh funny Mention It All A Bravo by Betches podcast We don't say that But now we said it With me, Dylan Hafer We're going to check me both

Hey everyone Welcome back to the Mention at All podcast I'm Dylan Hafer And happy Memorial Day We are off today at Betches And I hope you are off to doing whatever brings you joy

Whether that's being at the beach Or wandering the streets of West Hollywood hoping for a glimpse of one of the Vanderpump Rules cast or, you know, maybe just laying in bed watching Bravo. I'm not judging. Do you, do whatever makes you happy. But today I didn't want to miss an episode. So I am going to be talking about last week's episode of Top Chef because, you know, I just can't stop talking about Top Chef.

But first, I want to get to something that has been percolating a little bit, not just in the Bravo world, but across the larger entertainment space, and that is the Vanderpump Rules Emmy campaign for this season. Vanderpump Rules has never before been nominated for an Emmy, and to be honest, it's never before really even seemed like something that had a possibility of being nominated for an Emmy. I mean, we all are like, you know, nominate Housewives for an Emmy, like the Potomac editors deserve it Emmy. That's great. I do feel strongly. I think the people who work on these shows are extremely talented. I think Bravo, you know, is best in the business at crafting these stories, whatever. But that doesn't necessarily translate to what are the actual Emmy voters

watching, paying attention to caring about and celebrating. So this season, really for the first time, there is a push being made to get Vanderpump rules that Emmy nomination. The category that we're looking at is outstanding unstructured reality program. They split it, they split reality into competition, structured, and unstructured. So just for reference last year, the nominees in unstructured reality were the winner was love on the spectrum, US, below deck med got a nomination, cheer on Netflix got a nomination, Rupal's Drag Race, untucked, and Selling Sunset. And I really want to zero in on that Selling Sunset nomination. Because, look, do I enjoy selling Sunset? Most of the time, yes. Yes, yes, I do. Is Selling Sunset a show that I think is operating on a higher level than the best

Bravo content. Definitely not. I think they're really good at putting a beautiful Vaseline filter on the lens. So everybody looks face tuned and airbrushed at all times. I think they're really good at sort of polishing up these storylines, if you want to call them that. They're really good at showing high-end real estate and making it look fucking sexy. I totally buy that. But I don't don't think when you actually take a look at the the level of interpersonal storytelling that's going on on vanderpump rules or on real housewives of new jersey or you know any number of bravo shows i don't think it comes close and so i i personally feel strongly that if selling sunset last year could nab a nomination and remember this was for selling sunset last season the

season that Christine was on the outs, she skipped the reunion, or she tested positive for COVID, I guess. That was not even the best season of selling sunset. Below deck med, I'm glad to see it get a nomination. It kind of is in a different category. Top Chef also has gotten Emmy recognition, but that's in the competition category. I think Vanderpump rules, we should be taking into account the level of cultural impact that it's had this season. I mean, Scandival does not exist in a vacuum. The New York Times is talking about it. The ABC News is talking about it. Rolling Stone is talking about it. All of these publications that don't talk about this kind of thing are talking about it. Vanderpump Rules last week got a prime slot at NBC Universal's FYC House for your

consideration if you if you if you if you spend your time thinking about actual things that matter and not awards campaigns they do this big multi-day event where you know creators and talent from different shows will basically speak on panels and you know the whole point is to get attention and awards recognition and vanderpump rules is not the kind of show that is traditionally getting a prime slot at the fyc house let's just say um so to see them up there at lisa and um Executive producer Alex Baskin, Sheena and Lala and Brock, we're also there. Like, this, they're getting the white glove service right now that they wouldn't normally get for a regular season. So I would love to see that culminate in an Emmy nomination.

We won't know until later this summer whether that's going to happen. But why, why not just make it happen? Why not let us, let Vanderpupil's be great? And can you imagine James Kennedy, if this show gets nominated for an episode, we will be hearing about it until the day we all die. Until the day the meteor hits us, we will be hearing about James Kennedy, Vad to Pop Rose nomination. I think we deserve that.

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hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope. It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic. But anyway, the real, you know, the entree that I'm here to talk about today is Top Chef.

It is the final five, final four. However, you slice and dice it, there are five people left because last chance kitchen has come to an end. And we find out that Chef Sarah is back in the competition. I guessed last week that she was going to win. And I was correct. You know, I'm not keeping track. I'm not keeping score for this season. But, you know, I was right about Sarah winning Last Chance Kitchen.

We get, you know, I love our little getting ready montages in the hotel. This show, like, we only really need to see the cooking. But what we need to see that we maybe didn't know is a full montage of Allie shirtless in the gym. These editors, these producers, they know what they're doing. They know what we need to see. They know what is going to really just get us in the zone, ready to watch a solid hour 15 of Top Chef. And that is Ali lifting weights, shirtless, getting ready to go, talking about, you know, how he started selling sandwiches when he was a kid. Love to hear it. We're in business. We're cooking with fire, baby.

Tom and Gabri also have a nice little moment where Tom says, good morning sunshine, and Gabri says, good morning, gorgeous. I don't even like Tom, and that was cute to me. But anyway, getting into the Quickfire this week, we have a guest judge named Sam Bumpus, who Padma tells us has revitalized the jelly craze. I did not know this was a thing. None of the words coming out of her mouth sound real. But anyway, the quick fire here is to create a

dessert that incorporates jelly and also uses a mold. So the mold doesn't have to be used for the jelly specifically. And they have 30 minutes to prep and then an hour to let their stuff set and then 15 more minutes to assemble. This is a tough one because, you know, it's not just like throwing things together on a plate. It's science. There's science involved. You have to use your your gelatin and your agar and the temperature has to be right for the jelly to do whatever jelly does, which I can't, I don't know anything about. But yeah, this is obviously, this challenge is like Buddha's dream come true. He has a mold out. He's going to make a literal orange blossom out of ice cream. That sounds like something that is within his wheelhouse somehow.

Sarah calls back to a time on her original Top Chef season where she served Padma a jello shot. The clip where she's like, oh yeah, that's a lot of makers mark in there. And Padma's just like, no, nope, nope, nope, nope, no, no. It doesn't signal good things coming our way. But anyway, we have a couple of panacadas happening. Lots of different stuff. Gabri, his dish sounded so delicious. Unfortunately, the panacotta just didn't set in time.

So his Dosa de lache panacotta with like a strawberry thing happening. It's just a little bit, it looks a little bit just like scraps thrown together in a bowl. The mold is really nowhere to be found. Ali makes this dark chocolate cremo with the current jelly and that sounds fucking delicious. I love a dessert challenge because the thing is like sometimes on top chef, the dishes are a little bit too elevated to really wrap my mind around or to sound like yummy. But this challenge, you know, we have two panacottas. We have cherry jelly. We have current jelly. We have orange blossom, saffron ice cream with jelly and another panacotta. I'm looking at my notes right now. And the word

Panacotta. At one point, Pana auto-corrected to Wana, so Wana-kata, and then two other times it auto-corrected to Panda. So Buddha served saffron ice cream with Panda, according to my notes. Sarah did this buttermilk strawberry jelly. That sounds delicious. All of these, whether or not the dishes came together the way they wanted them to, there's not a single one where. I'm like, I don't know about that. But anyway, the judges do know about that. Gabri's mold didn't come through so that he's on the bottom. Tom's flavors weren't cohesive enough.

Tom, this episode, he really is like screwing the pooch in a way that happens all too often on these shows, really. Because both of the challenges this week are things. that he feels like are exactly what he does. He's doing the science with the agar and the jelly. He's doing the, you know, the technical, you know, trickery, whatever of the main challenge that we'll get into. And both times, spoiler alert, I mean, this is like a 15 minute podcast episode, so I don't know what I'm spoiling. Both times, he fucks it up. But anyway, back to the quickfire at hand. Ali and Sarah are in the top. Padma says, Ali's chocolate was luscious. I agree. It looked luscious. But Buddha is the winner. This is three challenges in a row that he has won.

After, of course, last week's Wellington triumph. Buddha. I mean, I know these shows don't operate on like a point system, but it just is, he's kind of breaking away from the competition. and I'll be so curious to see what happens in the last couple episodes because I feel like at this point, somebody would have to have a really compelling reason to end up on top above Buddha. But, you know, I don't want to get ahead of myself because we have a whole elimination challenge to go first. And this is a really interesting one. Their challenge is to create a Trump Louis dish. Trump Louis, it's like this fool, to fool or trick the eye.

So it's one thing made to look like it's something else, an optical illusion. You're really trying to get creative with the presentation here. And, you know, I think this is one of those challenges where it's tricky because obviously the dish itself has to taste good, has to be well composed. Gail talks about this at the judging, that it really has to be both. It has to, the presentation has to be on point. this trompley thing is the theme of the challenge. So you can't let that fall by the wayside, but then you also can't prioritize that and forget about the flavors on the plate.

This is tricky. They have like three hours to cook. Buda gets some extra time. They have molds to use. But the fact that they have to immediately go to Whole Foods with their 300 pounds to spend, I would need like hours just to wrap my mind around like, what am I going to make? Meanwhile, Allie is running through Whole Foods being like, I don't know, I'm shopping and I still don't know what I'm making. But I guess I'll pull something together. Like, how do you do that? How does your brain work that way? I don't know. But they're going to Hatfield House to cook, which is where Queen Elizabeth I found out she was going to become queen. I love when Padma just sprinkles in a random historical fact this season. It's like, she's like, I just want to remind everyone that we are in London. So I'm going to say something about the royal family right now, even though it has nothing to do with anything. The kitchen at Hatfield House does look kind of like it was built in the 1400s. Like, it's a beautiful, they call it house. It's like a, it's like a castle, like a small palace. I don't know. But it looks like it was built in the 1400s.

I'm sure they've gotten, you know, some upgrades, but shit looks old. Like, I don't actually think this is like the dream kitchen to be cooking in. But again, what do I know? Gabri's idea, the concept is really good. He's making a dish that looks like a dirty sponge as a nod to him getting his start in the kitchen as a dishwasher. I actually love that theme because I think it tromp the way, the whole thing is that it is kind of playful. Like I'm thinking, I've seen, the way I've seen this most often is like in clothing. If you're wearing like a sweater that's just like a plain like not textured sweater,

but then woven into it, it looks like it has buttons, or it looks like it has pockets. Like, that's what I think of as trump the way. And it's kind of playful. It's kind of fun. And I think Gabri is maybe the only one who really captures that. Sarah is doing this matzabal soup, but it's going to look like a tamale. Tom is doing this seaweed caviar that looks like regular caviar. I don't know.

I think Sarah's, she executes the, the, the, the, the, the, the, flavors well. Everybody really likes it. But the tamale just like isn't that strong of an effect. Even she sets the dish down immediately and Padma's like, I don't know what it's supposed to look like. Is it sushi? Is it whatever? And it's like, I think with this, with this challenge, you should be able to see it. It's like the is it cake thing. Is it cake is the perfect. They should have just said that. Because if I look, if I look at the plate, I should see, I'm looking around my, around the room right now and I'm like, what is an object? I should see a sneaker, like a shoe on the plate and say like, that looks like it, that looks like a shoe.

And I should not know that it's not a shoe until I slice into it or I bite into it or I am told that it's not a shoe. Sarah's just looks like, it's like she made like a sushi burrito, which like, like, yes, it's transformative in the sense that it's not the format you're used to eating matzabal soup, but I didn't think it was a Chipotle burrito, just like this. I didn't think that was a tamale from a Mexican restaurant. I just thought it was like a wrapped up version of matzabal soup, if that makes sense. Meanwhile, Buddha is doing the complete opposite. He is tricking you.

He is giving you a glass of wine. that is in fact beef and onion broth. He's giving you cherries on the plate that look like cherries but are like, I don't know, like goat cheese or something. He's giving you, it looks like a black truffle. It's a potato croquette. He's giving you an olive. That's actually, the olive is goat cheese.

Like, this is a trick, an illusion. Rapping up, you know, a mom. a ball inside a tamale husk or whatever, that's not an illusion. Anyway, I don't mean to harp on Sarah. She did a good job with the dish. Like, everybody liked it. Gabri's sponge, it's not as clean as it could be. I agree with them.

He should have used some kind of mold or, you know, it, I got the vibe, but it wasn't, it should look like there is one of those yellow and green sponges put on a plate. Tom's is effective in that it really looks like caviar and it's not caviar, it's seaweed. But like, okay, so it's still is, it's a, it's a different kind of caviar. You made caviar that looks like caviar and you presented it in a way that was like giving caviar. So it's cool that you made it out of seaweed, but like that's not an illusion. That's just like, that's like serving me a glass of milk and saying, well, actually,

it's oat milk. Like, it's still milk. The sand, I guess, is like its own thing, but like it just looks like, Gail says it's like sandy in her mouth. Like, that's not good. That's not aspirational. Last person is Ali. He does this, you know, aerial view of a garden with like dirt and plants and stuff. And this is, the gastroger, I can't remember his name.

He says that this is inspired by a garden, but it's not like a trick of the eye to actually think it's a garden. And I think he's right because the like dirt in the garden on the top is full is um kus-cus and it's like yeah, it just it just looks like kus-k-kos like it's brown but it's like kusk-k-kis. Like I can just look at it and be like, that's a bowl of kus-kos. Honestly, I hate to say this, Ali, I'm sorry. The dirt effect would have been more effective if you had like crushed up Oreo cookies and put them in there. You know how you'll at like you can get like a dirt mud pie or whatever where it's like crushed up orios and like gummy worms. I kind of would have lived if somebody just like did that. What a flex that would be. If you were on Top Chef and you were like, let me just go to Whole Foods. I'm going to buy a pack of

orios. I'm going to buy a bag of gummy worms. I'm going to buy like chocolate pudding and just serve it up in a little like plastic cup. Would you go home? Yeah. Would it be iconic? Yeah. Sorry. Or actually, somebody could just do like a gourmet version of that. Somebody should have done that. I don't know. Did anybody else watch when the Bon Appetit YouTube channel was like really thriving, like pre-pandemic, RIP problematic mess, when Claire Safetz would do those gourmet makes videos where she would be like, I'm going to make a gourmet version of a Cheeto or a Starburst or whatever. Granted, she spent, like, literal days making those videos.

So maybe that wouldn't have been feasible in the three-hour time slot. But, like, if somebody had made, like, you know, like gummy worms that were actually, like, you know, like patte or something fancy. And, like, the Oreo crumble was actually, like, I don't fucking know. like something gourmet. I don't know. This is not my job. It's not my job to come up with the dish. But like that would have been like the garden effect, but like kind of funny, but also like impressive.

Meanwhile, Allie just put like cuscus and breadcrumbs and herbs in a bowl. I've really worked myself up over this, haven't I? Anyway, Gabri and Buddha end up as the top two. They move on to the finale in Paris. And you can just tell Tom is seething. Like, he's like, ah, that was supposed to be mine. It's not, though, unfortunately. Well, fortunately for us, I, you know I've never been a Tom fan.

Buddha wins again. This is now his fourth challenge in a row. Again, he's really just, he's rising to the top. The bottoms are the other three, Tom, Sarah, and Ali. The thing is, you know, Sarah and Ali's issues were more with the Trumploy and committing to the illusion. Tom's just didn't quite give. The seaweed flavor was messed up by the chemicals that he used to make it into the caviar form. Gail says that it didn't taste different enough from what it looked like. And, you know, it's Tom's time to pack his motherfucking knives. And that's it. And we're headed to Paris

next week. Gabri and Sarah have never been to Paris. I'm so excited for them. Gabri says they're going to kiss random men. I hope he does. Live your dream. And yeah, that's all for today. Until next time, don't forget to rate, review, follow the show wherever you listen. You can follow us on Instagram at Bravo by Betches. You can follow me at Dylan Hafer. We'll be back on Wednesday to talk about the Jersey reunion. There's so much good stuff happening. And until next time, be cool. Don't be all like uncool. Mention It All is produced by Dylan Hafer, Sean Kilby, Jorge Morales Pico and Rebecca Sous McCatt. Editing by Jorge Morales Pico. Social media.

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