Top Chef: Lack of Leadership

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Top Chef: New York
Restaurant Wars

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create one dish to showcase a prospective restaurant concept.
  • Elimination Challenge: Plan, prep and open a restaurant for one night only.

Each season you would hope the chefs would learn from the mistakes of contestants in the past, but they never do. Some seem to focus on the wrong things or just don’t focus at all. So many times, the chefs are worried about the food, which is important, that they forget about picking the right person to run the front of the restaurant to play host and make the judges and customers feel comfortable. They seem to think the restaurant will run itself if the food is good enough, but that isn’t everything that someone remembers about a restaurant. They remember good service or having all of their silverware at the table. It happens each season, but each time there is restaurants wars on the show, at least one team and sometimes both, forget about the front of the house and how important it can be. If they are trying to show they are the Top Chef and can open and run their own restaurant, then they need to think beyond just the food. I think that’s why so many past executive chefs in this particular challenge end up being sent home since they either aren’t leading the team well or they are forgetting about the front of the house.

Quickfire Challenge

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The guest judge for the episode was Stephen Starr, the owner of many high-end restaurants. Padma announced to the group that it was time for restaurant wars. Stephen said opening a restaurant is more than just having good food. It is the ambiance, service and quality of the food that makes people want to keep coming back. Padma said in order to prepare for the restaurant wars challenge, they would each have to make one dish to showcase what they would want to show to an investor as their concept of their prospective restaurant. Stephen would pick the top two winning ideas and dishes for the two restaurants in the challenge. The winners would be the chef/owners of the restaurants. They had 30 minutes to prepare their dish from what they could find in the kitchen.

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Carla
Cod Seared in Tomato Oil with Italian Salsa & Mache Green Salad

Carla said her concept was homey, rustic foods that are in season. It would be New American cuisine. Stephen said there was a lack of salt.

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Hosea
Shrimp with Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce, Garlic Potato Puree & Poached Asparagus

Hosea wanted to open a seafood restaurant with Latin/Mediterranean influences. Stephen said it was very good, but Hosea didn’t think his concept won him over.

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Leah
Tempura Poussin with Dashi, Soy Sauce & Rice Wine Vinegar

Leah wanted to make something with red snapper, but it smelled really bad and not fresh so she dumped it and came up with something else fast. She ended up with her Asian-influenced dish. She told Stephen that her mother is Filipino so she has traveled around Asian a bit. He said it was very tasty.

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Stefan
Fried White Asparagus with Trout, Asparagus Salad & White Asparagus Soup

Stefan said his concept was Euro-American, which was taking old world ideas from Europe and mixing it with current American cuisine since American’s have so much good stuff. No idea what “stuff” is exactly, but we apparently have it good.  Stephen said it was very good.

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Jeff
Grilled Salmon with Sunchoke & Artichoke Puree, Grilled Corn & Asparagus Salad

Jeff wanted to make New American cuisine. He said he could sell anything to anyone. When Stephen came around, he told him that he took what looked seasonal and fresh to create something delicious. Stephen said for some reason it was a little mushy. Oops!

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Radhika
Pan-Seared Cod, Butter Braised Corn, Spinach & Chorizo with Cream Sauce

Radhika said that her background is Indian, but she would want her restaurant to be globally influenced. Stephen said it was very well seasoned.

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Jamie
Chilean Sea Bass with Creamed Corn, Bacon, Peas & Garlic Scape

Jamie’s concept was to use seasonal, local ingredients in a fresh, clean manner. She knew the leaders from restaurant wars are usually sent home so she didn’t even want to win. Stephen said he appreciated the simplicity. It was refreshing to get something so simple.

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Fabio
Tuna & Swordfish Carpaccio, Roasted Vegetable Salad, Filet Mignon Sandwich

Fabio wanted to showcase an underutilized market of a top-end lunch place so he made an appetizer, salad and sandwich. He told Stephen that an owner could pay off all of its restaurant expenses with a good lunch business. He had a Mediterranean concept. After explaining the dish, Stephen said the sandwich was a cheese steak. Fabio laughed a bit and said it was a high end cheese steak. Stephen said it was a little too salty. Fabio was pissed that his filet mignon sandwich was called a cheese steak.

Losers:

  • Jeff – Stephen said if Jeff wanted to blow him away, salmon was not the fish to do it with.
  • Fabio – Stephen said he had a great passion, but it wouldn’t have inspired him to invest. He just didn’t get it as a restaurant concept. It didn’t pull together for him.

Winners:

  • Radhika – It was his overall favorite dish. He said the cuisine represented  what he thought was starting to emerge in the restaurant world.
  • Leah – Her food was clean and forward-thinking.

Elimination Challenge

Both Leah and Radhika would be the owners of the restaurants. They got to pick their teams. Radhika got to go first. She first picked Jamie. Leah first picked Hosea (shocker!). Radhika then picked Carla and Leah picked Fabio. Radhika picked Jeff and that left Stefan for Leah. No one wanted to work with Stefan, but he usually ends up helping the team win, even if he is awful to work with. Even with all the bickering between him and Jamie the week before, they produced really good food. I think people should get over who is not the most fun to work with and think about who is the best chef to be on their team to win the challenge.

That day they got to plan their menu, shop for decor and choose their linens. The next day, they would  have $3000 to shop at Restaurant Depot and Whole Foods. Then, they would have six hours to prep on location at Bridgewaters. While planning everything, Radhika asked Jeff if he wanted to do front. He said he would do it if she wanted, but he would much rather be in the back cooking. Carla warned everyone she had the least amount of restaurant experience. Jamie reminded Radhika it was her restaurant, so what did she wan to dot. She said she should do the front since it is her restaurant. I have no idea how that even makes sense, and Carla reminded her that she might want to be in the kitchen to run things back there, but Radhika seemed set on running the front of the restaurant. She did come up with her restaurant name on her own, which was Sahana. Over on the other team, they were going over the concept of Asian food. Fabio said he has cooked Asian food and he liked it, but he didn’t have that much experience with it, so he would be happy to take the front of the house. Stefan kept trying to take over picking out plates they should use that Leah did not agree with, but she finally seemed to pick what she wanted.

After the teams went shopping at Pier One Imports for their decor and linens, they went back to the loft to plan their menus. Stefan was trying to control Leah’s team, but she didn’t handle it very well. Instead of telling him to stop and what she was going to do, she would just get fed up and leave. On the other team, Radhika was offering no input even though her team was looking to her for inspiration and guidance. She was letting each person come up with their own ideas for their dishes. From them talking, it sounded more like Jamie was the one in charge. Back on Leah’s team, she was bitching to Hosea that Stefan was doing desserts but not telling anyone what they were. Hosea said that Stefan was looking for ways to sabotage people. I don’t see that. I do think he would be difficult to work with, but he always comes up with quality products so how does that work against the team? Hosea was glad Stefan was doing desserts so what he was doing would not interfere with him.

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Bow chicka bow wow time on Top Chef! Hosea and Leah were shown lying on the couch throughout the night and making out the night before the restaurants opened. They both have a boyfriend and girlfriend waiting for them at home, but I guess absence did not make the heart grow fonder for either one of them. The next day, they were both feeling guilty about what they did and acting weird towards one another. Oh dear lord. Why are people stupid?

While at Restaurant Depot, Radhika’s team could not find the lamb shanks they needed. Jamie and Jeff called over to Radhika who was at Whole Foods to see if they had any, but they didn’t either. That was a major component for their restaurant so they didn’t know what to do. While Jamie was looking elsewhere for other things, Jeff went into the freezer and found some. Jamie was relieved, but worried that they wouldn’t thaw out in time since they were frozen. For Leah’s team, she wanted red snapper, but they did not have a lot of Whole Foods, so she went with the black cod. Also, while heading to Restaurant Depot, Stefan and Hosea came up with the name Sunset Lounge for the restaurant.

Sunset Lounge Menu

  • Egg Roll
  • Sashimi Two Ways
  • Short Ribs
  • Coconut Curry Bisque
  • Seared Cod
  • Chocolate Parfait
  • Panna Cotta

Fabio would be front of the house and Stefan would be expediting in the kitchen until it was time for desserts. I thought having someone expedite was a brilliant idea.

Sahana Menu

  • Curried Carrot Soup
  • Grilled Scallop with Chickpea Cake
  • Braised Lamb Shank
  • Seared Snapper
  • Baklava
  • Chocolate Cake
  • Frozen Yogurts

Radhika would be the front of the house and she made Jamie in charge of the kitchen so she could concentrate on the front.

While preparing, Leah and Hosea were being super awkward with one another due to their stupidity the night before. He still asked for her advice on what he was making and she would offer it that something needed more salt and he put too much of somethingin it so he needed to start his sauce over again. Leah ran into a problem where she didn’t get the bones out before she cut up all her pieces of cod into squares so the only way to cut the bones out of each piece was to pretty much shred it. If she hadn’t of portioned it out to begin with, it could have held its shape together better while she got all the bones out. Then she could have cut it. Hosea tried to offer advice on how to deal with it since she had already cut it, but he knew she would have trouble getting it to cook evenly since she didn’t do it right.

On the other team, Jamie was getting the lamb seared right away so it would defrost in time. She was less worried about it after she got working on it. On both teams, they found out that the freezer was not freezing things. Carla realized that after checking on her frozen yogurt, it was not setting up correctly. She didn’t toss it and make something else or try to fix it. She pretty much ignored it was happening and moved on. On the other team, Stefan ran into the same problem, but he grabbed his parfait out of the freezer and started putting big bowls filled with ice below other big bowls with his parfait and into the fridge. The combination of the ice and fridge got his stuff to freeze and set like it should. Leah also checked up on him to see if she needed to do anything about it, but he said he would fix it so it was all good. Radhika was not really checking up on her team. She was busy with the front of the house and trying to train the wait staff. Carla was asking her advice on the chocolate cake, but Radhika thought it tasted fine. Carla didn’t think it was sweet enough. I’m not sure why Carla couldn’t figure out what it needed herself or if it was an issue of Radhika not paying attention to what needed to be done. There was no mention about the frozen yogurt not being frozen. I thought that would have been a bigger issue for Carla to bring up to Radhika than the seasoning of the chocolate cake. About 30 minutes before service, both teams were freaking out about running out of time. Leah said she didn’t even have enough time to see what the front of the house looked like since she needed to start searing her fish. The other team seemed a bit calmer and they toasted before they started service.

Sahana

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The judges visited Sahana first.

Appetizers

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Jeff
Whole-Wheat Naan Bread with Garlic Oil

When Toby saw it, he asked if it was french toast. Tom said he was looking for maple syrup. Padma said she liked the taste of it, but it could be she was hungry and it was the first thing she was eating. Stephen agreed saying he probably liked it for the same reasons.

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Jamie
Curried Carrot Soup with Smoked Paprika Oil & Raita

Oh, Jamie loves her soups.  When trying the soup, Tom said there was something going on there that was really nice. Stephen  said he really liked the flavor of cucumber that came in at the end of the spoonful.

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Jeff
Chickpea Cake with Seared Scallop, Masala Tomato Sauce & Arugula Salad

This is not Top Scallop! It wasn’t Jamie that made the scallop this time though. It was Jeff! Stephen said he liked the chickpea cake. Padma agreed saying she loved it. A guest said the “scallops were yummy. They were very good. Perfect.”

Entrees

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Jeff
White Lentil Tabouli, Seared Snapper, Tomato Water & Pea Shoots

Tom thought the snapper was okay. Stephen said he did not like the tomato water because he “does not like [his] fish floating in liquid; that’s where it comes from.” A guest said the snapper itself was good, but it had too much liquid on the plate.

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Jamie
Cinnamon & Saffron Braised Lamb Shank with Israeili Couscous

Tom thought the lamb shank was executed nicely. He thought it was cooked well and glazed nicely. Stephen thought the lamb was well cooked and he liked it. He seemed to like the couscous, but Toby said he thought it tasted like dish water.

Desserts

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Carla
Spiced Chocolate Cake, Creme Fromage & Cashew Brittle

Stephen said it was no big deal. Another guest said the worst thing on the menu was the spiced cake. He thought it should be removed from the menu.

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Carla
Fig & Minted Frozen Yogurts, Baklava Cigars

When plating the dessert, Carla commented that it was more like yogurt soup. Radhika saw that it wasn’t frozen and sent it out anyway. Toby had to ask for a spoon since he never got another one after using his for the soup. Stephen said that Toby would have to get a spoon soon since it was melting. Tom didn’t have a spoon either so when they tried to share with him, he said it was not his problem that it was melting and he didn’t have anything to eat it with. Toby and Tom never did get their spoons. Radhika just disappeared into the back, never to be seen by the judges again. Other guests said it tasted like lotion.

While the evening went on, Radhika did not seem to be handling the stress well and it was apparent to the diners. One noticed how harried she was and another said that she didn’t know the hostess’ name because she didn’t introduce herself. Another diner thought she needed to take a breath, relax and enjoy what she was experiencing. She would not stay in the front of the house though. She kept going into the kitchen and ignoring anyone in the front of the restaurant. Jamie noticed Radhika in the kitchen way too much and wondered who was at the host stand if she was in the back. Padma asked the other judges how they thought Radhika did. Toby said there needed to be someone a bit more extroverted to run the front of the house. Tom said she wasn’t on the floor a lot. She would keep disappearing. Tom said if they got up and left right then, they would not get a goodbye. Padma said they should leave then. They stood by the hostess stand for a bit and then left without a seeing Radhika again.

Sunset Lounge

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Fabio was charming the pants off of everyone in Sunset Lounge. He would go around and visit each table to check on their food or see how they were doing. He went up to a pair of women and asked if he could like their candle, which was followed by much giggling from the women. Stephen said that Fabio was fabulous at the door greeting them and taking them to their seats. He was very warm.

Amuse-Bouche

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Fabio
Vegetable Roll with Mushrooms, Carrots, Cabbage & Sweet Chili Sauce

Tom said he had frozen eggrolls better. Stephen agreed saying it was second rate. One diner said the sauce tasted like the one she has in a jar at home. Another diner said she liked it and it “amused [her] bouche.” Wow, is all I can say to that.

Appetizers

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Hosea
Tuna & Salmon Sashimi, Radish Salad & Yuzu Vinaigrette

Tom thought the fish was fresh. Padma said it was not bad, but a little salt would have helped. Tom agreed. One diner said she really couldn’t taste anything, probably due to lack of salt.

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Leah
Coconut Curry Bisque with Shrimp Dumplings

Stephen thought it was okay. It was pretty good. He liked the spice. Toby thought the spice was a little too potent. It was quite shocking.

Entrees

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Hosea
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Ginger, Vegetables & Beef Demi-Glace

Stephen said the short ribs were cooked well. Tom said they were nicely cooked. They had a nice glaze on them. Padma agreed with all of that.

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Leah
Seared Black Cod, Fresh Vegetables & Chinese Cabbage

Toby’s cod was undercooked. Stephen found the sauce too spicy. Toby said it was brutal and Stephen said it was a shame. A diner thought her fish was cooked well, but the greens were very salty. Fabio came around and Padma told him the fish was undercooked, but they did want another fish to replace it. They were fine with what they had on the table.

Desserts

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Stefan
Chocolate Rice Parfait, Grapefruit Jelly & Pineapple

Stephen loved the crunchiness and kept wanting to eat more. A diner said she loved desserts like this one that was really rich.

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Stefan
Lemongrass & Ginger Panna Cotta, Peach Puree & Ginger Honey

Overall, the judges thought the desserts were the best part of the meal at the current restaurant and probably both restaurants. Tom said Stefan probably saved his team and he definitely saved himself. He would not be going home that night. Diners loved that they could really taste the ginger.

Palate Cleanser

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Stefan
Frozen Mango, Bitter Chocolate & Mint Lollipop

Padma said it was really great. Toby agreed. Stephen said Stefan was really good.

Before the judges left, Fabio checked to make sure everything was okay and if he could do anything else. Then he wished them good night. While the chefs were in the kitchen cleaning up before  heading back to the stew room to await their fates, Radhika said she was not thrilled with her performance. She knew she did not manage well and felt like the diners probably felt neglected because she could not be in multiple places at once. Carla felt she let her team down due to her poor desserts. Leah was very unhappy with her dish and thought the only way she would not be going home was if the other team managed to do worse than her.

The diners filled out comment cards on their experiences in eating in the restaurants. Before leaving the restaurant, the judges were discussing both restaurants. Stephen said that if he had a gun to his head, he would choose Sahana. He said thinking it over though, he would weigh in Stefan’s desserts, which was a huge thing. Tom said to factor in the greeting that Fabio gave the judges when they arrived and he said goodbye to them. He was also very attentive throughout the meal. Toby agreed that the food was marginally better over at Sahana, he thought the service at Sunset Lounge was better and since it was a restaurant challenge, they need to take it all into consideration. They headed back  to judges’ table to discuss it.

Judges’ Table

Padma asked Sunset Lounge to come talk to the judges first. Padma asked Leah how she thought her team did. She said there were some ups and downs, but overall she thought it went pretty well. Tom told them that the judges were pretty split between the restaurants, but it was the comments cards that helped push Sunset Lounge over as the winner since they preferred their restaurant over Sahana by a slight margin.  The biggest reason they won was Fabio’s service and Stefan’s desserts. Padma told Stefan that his desserts were great. And they didn’t want him on either team? Oh, dumb contestants. Toby said that it really felt like a first night in a restaurant, but since Fabio was so charming, he won him over. After finding out that Leah made the cod, Tom told her that it was the worst dish they had all evening. He let her know that if her team didn’t win, she would have been going home. Stephen got to pick the overall winner as the guest judge. He picked Stefan. He won a suite of GE appliances.

Sahana was sent in next. Padma asked Radhika what she thought went wrong, but Radhika wasn’t sure. She seemed to know in the kitchen when they were cleaning up and she was talking to Jamie about it. I think when the chefs say they aren’t sure, they lose respect in the judges’ eyes. They like it when people own up to their own mistakes. After going over who made what, Padma asked if Radhika planned the menu or just assigned someone to do desserts, appetizer, etc.  She said they came up with what they wanted. Stephen asked if Radhika made any of the food. She said she only helped prep. Tom clarified that each chef conceptualized their own dishes. Jeff said he was happy with his dish, but it wasn’t what he wanted to do. He didn’t explain more than that though. Jamie said she felt good about the food she made.

Stephen said overall, he liked Sahana better, but it came down to the comment cards. He said the desserts failed miserably. Carla said she was trying to multi-task instead of making one dessert, finishing it and moving onto the next. Tom asked if she asked for help. She said they were offering to help, but she knew they were busy too so she tried to do it on her own. She wasn’t happy with what she put it out, but she had a good time. WAT! Toby asked, “Should the diners have a good time too?” Carla said that when she knew her dishes were not going to work, she knew it wouldn’t help the diners if she was in a bad mood so she wanted to send out some love with what she sent out. Tom was trying so hard not to laugh while asking how her having fun in the kitchen would translate into the food being better than when it left the kitchen. She said it was her belief and I guess that is enough explanation!  Padma asked about frozen yogurt that was not frozen. Jamie said that Carla was spinning ice cream as  they needed it because the freezers were failing. Tom asked why she didn’t let Radhika know what was going on or tell her to explain it as yogurt soup instead of frozen yogurt. Carla agreed.

Tom asked Radhika if she thought she should go home for it. She said if it was an issue of front of the house, then she should go home for it. Tom asked her that when she had a pastry chef that was having difficulty with their dessert, why didn’t she tell her what to do with it. Radhika said she offered to help, but Tom cut her off saying she shouldn’t be offering to help, but telling her what to do as the executive chef. She admited she didn’t tell her they should change the dessert or do something else. Tom asked if she didn’t think it was her responsibility and she admitted in that moment she didn’t think of herself as the leader, but they were all on the same level. Tom said they never felt her presence in the front of the house and she wasn’t around when they were leaving. Padma mentioned they were missing silverware, brought it up, but were never brought any. Radhika said she told a server, but it must not have happened. Tom said it was a pattern where she was not following through after telling the servers something or telling them something in the kitchen. As an owner, she has to assume nothing will get done without checking on it.

They were sent out for discussion. Tom said that he thought Jeff and Jamie were safe and Stephen agreed. Tom pointed out that a lot of the negative comment cards were about the missing hostess. Stephen asked if Tom would think of the rest of her leadership abilities differently if she was more hospitable in the front of the house. Tom talked about how she seemed beat down and how when they are halfway through a season, stamina does become an issue, but she did not seem to have the fortitude to pull it off the final challenge at the end of the season. Stephen talked about how the team was on their own with no supervision. Toby commented that if everyone was being judged based soley on their food, the entire team would not have been out there and they would send home Carla, but the challenge was about running a restaurant. Tom did talk about how she had two desserts and why couldn’t she get at least one of them right. They were both horrible. Stephen said the cake was all her and she couldn’t blame that one on Radhika. Toby said in global restaurants, he usually forgoes the dessert and after eating it at Sahana, he remembered why he did that. Stephen said when he heard from Carla that the dessert was bad going out, but she was sending it out with love, he wanted to fire her. Toby agreed saying the explanation was non-sensical. Stephen said, “Keep the love in the kitchen. Send out good desserts.”

They were called back in. Tom told Jamie and Jeff that he understood they were probably frustrated to be on a losing team when they both performed fairly well. He told Radhika that as a chef/owner of a restaurant, everything about it needs to be carried out with one hand, but she didn’t seem to carry anything out with a personal statement. Tom told Carla that desserts and coffee leave a lasting impression and the last impression of the restaurant was a failure. Padma informed Radhika to pack her knives and leave.

Questions

  1. Was it right to send Radhika home for her lack of leadership and poor hostess skills in her restaurant?
  2. Should Leah have gone home for having the worst dish or did she still keep her team going, even though she failed with one of her dishes?
  3. Should cuckoo Carla have gone home for making horrible dessert and not adapting to the freezer situation as well as Stefan did? Or just be sent home for sending out love vibes instead of good food?
  4. Has anyone beyond the executive chef ever gone home during Restaurant Wars? I don’t remember.
  5. Does anyone else think people should just suck it up if Stefan is on their team and realize he makes good food, even if he’s an ass?
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