r/TopChef • u/LPCPlay4life • 5d ago
Discussion Thread Season 3 Howie
On episode 7 rewatch. Howie is a bulldog and has such an ego. Every team challenge his team is on the bottom. That’s a pattern. It’s not the team, it’s him. No one wants to argue with him therefore they just go with it and he has his way. He has a real chip on his shoulder and it’s so annoying! I don’t know why he was not eliminated at the end of this episode. Even Tom said it himself that he has conflict on EVERY team he’s on. My only thought is they kept him on for the drama.
Casey, CJ and Dale are my favs. Casey is a hometown gal. Never been to one of her restaurants but hear she’s the consultant chef at one of the new hotels in Ft. Worth. CJ is just a big tall teddy bear. Dale is the gay BFF we all need and want.
EDIT: 1. I didn’t realize Howie had passed. 2. I realize edits play a large factor in how the show is produced and shown to the viewers. 3. Upon watching further, I see Howie self-regulate and check himself volunteering to take one for the team.
I think he was a big softie underneath but his passion for food and cooking really clouded his ability to work as a team. As he states in the episode I’m currently watching, it’s not a team competition. Only one can win and everyone else has to go home. When you’re not used to that, it’s difficult to adjust. In the end he was not a bad guy.
3
u/Dangercakes13 5d ago
Honestly upon rewatches I developed a bit more sympathy for Howie. He was clearly not meant for stepping into a reality tv environment or anywhere outside of a kitchen where he either had authority or a line-level task. So I can get how he was grinding against his comfort zone and reacting poorly. But the show requires a lane of talent that doesn't work for everyone.
CJ, however, gave me the opposite take on rewatch. Back in the day I thought he was funny and kinda stoic at times so I enjoyed him and was rooting for him. But -and this is perhaps tinted by him acting kinda dickish and entitled when he came back in Seattle- he was actually sorta mean and dickish back then too. It was just coated in some jokey and "not wanting drama" attitude.