Ernie: Man it seemed like forever for the new season. New York is exciting not because of all the flavors in the city, but all of the top level chefs sure to find their way in as judges.

Jon: There are 17 cheftestants to start, and if you’re thinking that seems like a lot, you’re not alone — the producers send two home in this opening episode.

Ernie: They may be big in numbers, but this may be the skinniest cast yet. What happened to never trusting a skinny chef? There’s a lot of skin and bones out there. Speaking of skinning, when Richard filleted his finger in the Quick-Fire I thought we were going to see a horror show.

Jon: The three-stage Quick Fire actually ends up being an elimination challenge, and Army wife Lauren and culinary student Patrick end up in the bottom two; interestingly, they had met previously at CIA (Culinary Institute of America where Patrick is still attending).

Ernie: That school needs to be shut down. Two cooks with no inspirational cooking. And it pays not to know any of your other competitors. Lauren’s probably the first person to go home with a dish that had bacon in it.

Jon: I was surprised Patrick is spared since I thought Lauren could have been likely drama & conflict provider. Her parting thoughts: “I can’t believe I lost on apples.”

Ernie: Way to go, girl. Oh and, Radhika saying that she needs 20 minutes to set her knives? Her ass isn’t lasting long on this show.

Jon: The remaining cheftestants move into their new digs — and I imagine I’m not the only New Yorker to wish my apartment was anywhere near as big & expensive.

Ernie: Don’t you love how these “turistas” come in a live better in two months than native New Yorkers for two years. I always get excited to see the pad, dating back to the early seasons of Real World. I’m really showing my reality show age here…

Jon: I’d laugh, but I’m older than you! Anyway, the downtime allows the cheftestants to get to know each other a bit, and viewers to start picking out people we’re probably going to hate or root for down the road. People who bug me already: crazy-eyed Amazon Carla and arrogant Euro Stefan & Fabio.

Ernie: Yeah, Carla just needs to chill the hell out. Homegirl acts like a space cadet. As for the two Euros, I love them but damn if they don’t think they know it all. Patrick also wears on me. If he’s trying to represent cooking schools, he’s not doing well by using ingredients he’s never worked with.

Jon: People I like at this point: self-taught Hawaiian Gene; little Patrick and big Richard of the gay & lesbian alliance Team Rainbow (along with Jaimie).

Ernie: I like the big New York guy, Daniel. I don’t think his food is necessarily exciting but I like where he comes from. Gene’s got a good attitude towards cooking. Leah’s the resident hottie and can cook too!

Jon: After I read her bio and saw that she was some crazy mix of Filipino and Russian-Romanian Jewish, I had a feeling you would be into her :) Daniel seems like one of those guys who could be jerks, but are likable anyway (current ultimate example — Randy on Survivor). But yeah, I like him so far too.

The producers come up with a pretty good challenge for the introductory episode, sending teams of two into 8 different little neighborhoods of NY, each focusing on different ethnic foods: Brighton Beach (Russian), Chinatown, Little Italy, Little India, and my neighborhood Astoria (Greek) Middle Eastern, Jamaican. After shopping from neighborhood stores, each pair must create dishes which will be judged head-to-head, with one of the losers getting eliminated.

Ernie: It’s a good elimination challenge that pits people right off the bat. They only had to worry about one other person when initially you think they’re going to work together. Good twist and good introduction to some of the local flavors of New York.

Jon: Patrick continues to prove himself an over-earnest little newb as he naively shares his complete meal plans with his companion — and direct competitor — Daniel. He ends up in the bottom two (though not as a result of giving up his gameplan) with Ariane, who strikes me as a domesticated and significantly heavier Monica from Friends.

Ernie: Lots of good looking food. Always thought it’s a shame no one’s made Smell-o-vision a reality. How Jeffrey made it through with plating only half of his food is amazing, this isn’t a rib burn-off buddy–cook faster! Jill looked like she torched the hell out of those scallops. You could play poker with them.

Jon: The winning dishes are from the aforementioned Stefan & Gene, plus Leah . I was really rooting for the tatooed Hawaiian, who amazed the judges — especially Padma — by making a dish which was a perfect replication of some traditional Indian dish, despite zero experience with Indian food. However the win went to Stefan, who was more likable in his acceptance, and even his stated desire to be the first European Top Chef.

Ernie: Stefan winning just feeds his ego. Oh boy.

Jon: I loved seeing Fabio lose to Jeffrey, a guy who didn’t even finish plating his dishes completely.

Ernie: Patrick’s idea of Asian cuisine looked a lot like Lean Cuisine, and probably tasted like hell. I’m Asian and wouldn’t touch those black noodles. Glad to see him go, what the hell was up with him reaching over Richard’s lap to hold Ariane’s hand in the hot box? And what’s with his straddling hug to Richard. Have some self control, man. You’re on television.

Jon: I don’t really like Ariane (and will probably hate her sooner than later) but it’s probably for the best that Patrick went home, given his youth and inexperience.

Ernie: Moment of the Season 5 premiere is Ariane telling the cooks that for food she doesn’t know how she doesn’t need to go to neighborhoods that specialize in making those foods. She just needs cookbooks. You live in Jersey, lady, not Kansas. Get used to that bottom three lady, it looks like you’ll be spending a lot of time there this season. Other noteworthy things: Richard professing his attraction towards Tom Coliccio.

Jon: Oh, man that was funny. Also, I would like to close this recap by professing my attraction towards Padma Lakshmi.

Ernie: All in all, Top Chef Season 5 is off to a good start.

Jon: I definitely agree.

Stay tuned for more Channel Flippin’!

Ernie: Man it seemed like forever for the new season. New York is exciting not because of all the flavors in the city, but all of the top level chefs sure to find their way in as judges.

Jon: There are 17 cheftestants to start, and if you’re thinking that seems like a lot, you’re not alone — the producers send two home in this opening episode.

Ernie: They may be big in numbers, but this may be the skinniest cast yet. What happened to never trusting a skinny chef? There’s a lot of skin and bones out there. Speaking of skinning, when Richard filleted his finger in the Quick-Fire I thought we were going to see a horror show.

Jon: The three-stage Quick Fire actually ends up being an elimination challenge, and Army wife Lauren and culinary student Patrick end up in the bottom two; interestingly, they had met previously at CIA (Culinary Institute of America where Patrick is still attending).

Ernie: That school needs to be shut down. Two cooks with no inspirational cooking. And it pays not to know any of your other competitors. Lauren’s probably the first person to go home with a dish that had bacon in it.

Jon: I was surprised Patrick is spared since I thought Lauren could have been likely drama & conflict provider. Her parting thoughts: “I can’t believe I lost on apples.”

Ernie: Way to go, girl. Oh and, Radhika saying that she needs 20 minutes to set her knives? Her ass isn’t lasting long on this show.

Jon: The remaining cheftestants move into their new digs — and I imagine I’m not the only New Yorker to wish my apartment was anywhere near as big & expensive.

Ernie: Don’t you love how these “turistas” come in a live better in two months than native New Yorkers for two years. I always get excited to see the pad, dating back to the early seasons of Real World. I’m really showing my reality show age here…

Jon: I’d laugh, but I’m older than you! Anyway, the downtime allows the cheftestants to get to know each other a bit, and viewers to start picking out people we’re probably going to hate or root for down the road. People who bug me already: crazy-eyed Amazon Carla and arrogant Euro Stefan & Fabio.

Ernie: Yeah, Carla just needs to chill the hell out. Homegirl acts like a space cadet. As for the two Euros, I love them but damn if they don’t think they know it all. Patrick also wears on me. If he’s trying to represent cooking schools, he’s not doing well by using ingredients he’s never worked with.

Jon: People I like at this point: self-taught Hawaiian Gene; little Patrick and big Richard of the gay & lesbian alliance Team Rainbow (along with Jaimie).

Ernie: I like the big New York guy, Daniel. I don’t think his food is necessarily exciting but I like where he comes from. Gene’s got a good attitude towards cooking. Leah’s the resident hottie and can cook too!

Jon: After I read her bio and saw that she was some crazy mix of Filipino and Russian-Romanian Jewish, I had a feeling you would be into her :) Daniel seems like one of those guys who could be jerks, but are likable anyway (current ultimate example — Randy on Survivor). But yeah, I like him so far too.

The producers come up with a pretty good challenge for the introductory episode, sending teams of two into 8 different little neighborhoods of NY, each focusing on different ethnic foods: Brighton Beach (Russian), Chinatown, Little Italy, Little India, and my neighborhood Astoria (Greek) Middle Eastern, Jamaican. After shopping from neighborhood stores, each pair must create dishes which will be judged head-to-head, with one of the losers getting eliminated.

Ernie: It’s a good elimination challenge that pits people right off the bat. They only had to worry about one other person when initially you think they’re going to work together. Good twist and good introduction to some of the local flavors of New York.

Jon: Patrick continues to prove himself an over-earnest little newb as he naively shares his complete meal plans with his companion — and direct competitor — Daniel. He ends up in the bottom two (though not as a result of giving up his gameplan) with Ariane, who strikes me as a domesticated and significantly heavier Monica from Friends.

Ernie: Lots of good looking food. Always thought it’s a shame no one’s made Smell-o-vision a reality. How Jeffrey made it through with plating only half of his food is amazing, this isn’t a rib burn-off buddy–cook faster! Jill looked like she torched the hell out of those scallops. You could play poker with them.

Jon: The winning dishes are from the aforementioned Stefan & Gene, plus Leah . I was really rooting for the tatooed Hawaiian, who amazed the judges — especially Padma — by making a dish which was a perfect replication of some traditional Indian dish, despite zero experience with Indian food. However the win went to Stefan, who was more likable in his acceptance, and even his stated desire to be the first European Top Chef.

Ernie: Stefan winning just feeds his ego. Oh boy.

Jon: I loved seeing Fabio lose to Jeffrey, a guy who didn’t even finish plating his dishes completely.

Ernie: Patrick’s idea of Asian cuisine looked a lot like Lean Cuisine, and probably tasted like hell. I’m Asian and wouldn’t touch those black noodles. Glad to see him go, what the hell was up with him reaching over Richard’s lap to hold Ariane’s hand in the hot box? And what’s with his straddling hug to Richard. Have some self control, man. You’re on television.

Jon: I don’t really like Ariane (and will probably hate her sooner than later) but it’s probably for the best that Patrick went home, given his youth and inexperience.

Ernie: Moment of the Season 5 premiere is Ariane telling the cooks that for food she doesn’t know how she doesn’t need to go to neighborhoods that specialize in making those foods. She just needs cookbooks. You live in Jersey, lady, not Kansas. Get used to that bottom three lady, it looks like you’ll be spending a lot of time there this season. Other noteworthy things: Richard professing his attraction towards Tom Coliccio.

Jon: Oh, man that was funny. Also, I would like to close this recap by professing my attraction towards Padma Lakshmi.

Ernie: All in all, Top Chef Season 5 is off to a good start.

Jon: I definitely agree.

Stay tuned for more Channel Flippin’!