The Toby Young Insult Tracker – Week 4

 

Have you seen this man?

His name is Toby Young.  He is a well-known food critic and was, until recently, a judge on Top Chef.

We were all a little confused when he stepped in for Gail Simmons, but he quickly made a name for himself with the witty bons mots that we’ve been chronicling for the past few weeks.

Apparently Toby Young was fired from the show with very little fanfare.  Sure, there was someone on this week’s episode who looked almost exactly like Young (except for those colored sunglasses…really?).  But this impostor offered none of the usual fodder for our scoreboard.

Alas, it was the same Toby Young and, unfortunately for us, he stuck to the basics, providing straightforward feedback on each of the dishes and only a few very mild criticisms.  Why bother showing up if you’re not even going to try?

But, because we are a slave to consistency, let’s go to the tote board:
Insult #1:
N/A

Yep, sorry folks, we have no official entries during this week’s episode, which represented a low point for the season.  The only redeeming moment was when Carla made a surprise appearance on our live blog.

Going a full episode without a quip is a head-scratcher, but then again, you can say that about the whole season.  If you’re not going to feature Toby Young spouting out absurd insults, why is he even on the show?  Sure, it’s true that Gail was never the strongest of personalities.  But if you have someone who brings something to the table, why not use it?

Speaking of which, are they really filming this in New York City?  They have made such poor use of the location that it’s hard to tell whether they’re actually there or if it’s being filmed in Toronto like a Hollywood movie looking to save some cash.

Maybe things will be better next week.  If nothing else, we get a bona fide NY food legend in Eric Ripert. Join us for the Top Chef live blog, Wednesday at 10pm.

(Photo: Bravo)