Top Chef Episode Recap
Hello and welcome back to your weekly recap of Top Chef: Chicago!
Before I start I need to ask a question: At the start of this episode, some of the contestants mention how Jennifer and Zoi have an advantage because they are dating. Do you agree? Personally, I think it is a little unfair. A lot of reality show contestants make dumb decisions because they miss their friends and families. In probably one of the only times I will agree with Spike, he says everyone else has a slight disadvantage because they don't have that person there that they connect with. But on the flip side, if either Zoi or Jennifer goes home, the other might be even more affected. Comment with your thoughts!
Quickfire
This week's Guest Judge is Chef Daniel Boulud, one of the best French chefs in the world.
The challenge - to create a vegetable plate using at least three culinary techniques to impress Chef Daniel. Talk about stressful! Most (if not all) of the chefs get very nervous. Apparently they're a little rusty on technique.
After 30 minutes of running around like nuts, the chefs present their dishes. In the bottom tier, Nikki fails using her endive like a boat, as it was "cute," but not very technical. Lisa had no train of thought with her dish and Manuel fails to impress.
The tops: Dale with his vegan sashimi plate and extraordinary knife skills. Zoi impresses with her wonderfully blanched eggs and Richard's does well with his interestingly prepared mushroom. Dale, however, came out with the win and walked away with immunity.
Elimination Challenge
So as soon as I hear this challenge I immediately get excited. The elimination challenge is to create a six course dinner inspired by the chefs' favorite movies. I am a total movie buff and after cooking, watching movies comes in as my second most favorite thing to do. The possibilities for this challenge are endless.
The chefs draw knives to pair up. Each pair will cook one course of the dinner service for famous movie critic Richard Roeper. Because Dale won the Quickfire challenge, he gets to choose a pair to work with. He chose the first course with Andrew and Richard. That sounds like the team to beat in my eyes. What do you think?
Team Dale/Andrew/Richard picks Willy Wonka as their movie. Richard reminds me of kind of a Top Chef Willy Wonka.
Poor Ryan and Mark get paired together. Ryan has only seen silly typical movies and Mark has only seen New Zealand films. Ryan takes about twenty minutes to try and figure out the name of that movie that takes place at Christmas time where the kid wants a BB gun. Seriously? You're basing your course on a Christmas Story? Good luck guys... (P.S. I don't think Mark has even seen it)
Team Lisa and Stephanie pick Top Secret! as their movie because they want to do beef short ribs and there is a scene with a cow in Top Secret!. Some of these teams aren't really digging too deep, huh?
The first team up, team Willy Wonka. They serve a salmon smoked with white chocolate and a fizzy shot. The white chocolate is mixed with wasabi and is a surprise hit.
Next, Spike and Manuel serve a spring roll via Good Morning Vietnam. The judges wish they had used a better fish and comment that the contestants wanted to do Vietnamese food so they chose Good Morning Vietnam. Good observation.
Nikki and Jen serve a tortellini with squash and and fresh ricotta representing the movie Il Postino. Overall the judges see it as rustic. Roeper reaaallly liked it.
Team Christmas Story is up next serving quail with cranberries and a spring roll. It was supposed to be a duck, but who is nit picking? The judges really seem to love it and even see where these guys were going with it. They picked a specific scene and went with it. I can't believe these guys B.S.'d their way through this challenge.
Zoi and Antonia pick the movie Talk to Her, a movie about two passionate women who love what they do. How appropriate. They serve a rack of lamb with saffron cauliflower puree. Doesn't sound very inventive.
Team Top Secret presents a short rib and N.Y. strip steak with a caramel apple sauce. The judges feel it is very inventive and tasty to boot. But I still don't know what it has to do with the movie Top Secret!
Judges Table
At the judges table the two top teams are Willy Wonka and Top Secret! They loved the wasabi and white chocolate sauce even though they didn't want to. The gamble paid off and Richard won this challenge. I would totally eat white chocolate wasabi.
Most of the contestants complain that they can't compete with original ideas like white chocolate wasabi, especially Zoi and Nikki. Well if you can't compete with an original idea, go home!
The two bottom teams: team Talk to Me and team Good Morning Vietnam. Team Talk to Me gets flack for their food not being as vibrant as they expressed. Team Good Morning Vietnam gets called out for being too ordinary and not seeming to use their budget wisely. When asked who should go home, Spike says he doesn't "play that way" and won't answer the question.
In the end it was unanimously voted that team Good Morning Vietnam created the worst dish and Manuel was sent packing for going with the flow and not taking charge of the dish.
If they decided to do Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and Manuel took charge, it might have been a different outcome.
Until next time, Happy Eating!
So as soon as I hear this challenge I immediately get excited. The elimination challenge is to create a six course dinner inspired by the chefs' favorite movies. I am a total movie buff and after cooking, watching movies comes in as my second most favorite thing to do. The possibilities for this challenge are endless.
The chefs draw knives to pair up. Each pair will cook one course of the dinner service for famous movie critic Richard Roeper. Because Dale won the Quickfire challenge, he gets to choose a pair to work with. He chose the first course with Andrew and Richard. That sounds like the team to beat in my eyes. What do you think?
Team Dale/Andrew/Richard picks Willy Wonka as their movie. Richard reminds me of kind of a Top Chef Willy Wonka.
Poor Ryan and Mark get paired together. Ryan has only seen silly typical movies and Mark has only seen New Zealand films. Ryan takes about twenty minutes to try and figure out the name of that movie that takes place at Christmas time where the kid wants a BB gun. Seriously? You're basing your course on a Christmas Story? Good luck guys... (P.S. I don't think Mark has even seen it)
Team Lisa and Stephanie pick Top Secret! as their movie because they want to do beef short ribs and there is a scene with a cow in Top Secret!. Some of these teams aren't really digging too deep, huh?
The first team up, team Willy Wonka. They serve a salmon smoked with white chocolate and a fizzy shot. The white chocolate is mixed with wasabi and is a surprise hit.
Next, Spike and Manuel serve a spring roll via Good Morning Vietnam. The judges wish they had used a better fish and comment that the contestants wanted to do Vietnamese food so they chose Good Morning Vietnam. Good observation.
Nikki and Jen serve a tortellini with squash and and fresh ricotta representing the movie Il Postino. Overall the judges see it as rustic. Roeper reaaallly liked it.
Team Christmas Story is up next serving quail with cranberries and a spring roll. It was supposed to be a duck, but who is nit picking? The judges really seem to love it and even see where these guys were going with it. They picked a specific scene and went with it. I can't believe these guys B.S.'d their way through this challenge.
Zoi and Antonia pick the movie Talk to Her, a movie about two passionate women who love what they do. How appropriate. They serve a rack of lamb with saffron cauliflower puree. Doesn't sound very inventive.
Team Top Secret presents a short rib and N.Y. strip steak with a caramel apple sauce. The judges feel it is very inventive and tasty to boot. But I still don't know what it has to do with the movie Top Secret!
Judges Table
At the judges table the two top teams are Willy Wonka and Top Secret! They loved the wasabi and white chocolate sauce even though they didn't want to. The gamble paid off and Richard won this challenge. I would totally eat white chocolate wasabi.
Most of the contestants complain that they can't compete with original ideas like white chocolate wasabi, especially Zoi and Nikki. Well if you can't compete with an original idea, go home!
The two bottom teams: team Talk to Me and team Good Morning Vietnam. Team Talk to Me gets flack for their food not being as vibrant as they expressed. Team Good Morning Vietnam gets called out for being too ordinary and not seeming to use their budget wisely. When asked who should go home, Spike says he doesn't "play that way" and won't answer the question.
In the end it was unanimously voted that team Good Morning Vietnam created the worst dish and Manuel was sent packing for going with the flow and not taking charge of the dish.
If they decided to do Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and Manuel took charge, it might have been a different outcome.
Until next time, Happy Eating!
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Top Chef Episode Recap.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://tvcocktail.ivillage.com/system/mt-tb.cgi/5940
Am I the only one who is getting tired of the relentless negative comments from the judges? Jeeze, it's getting so monotonous that I'm losing interest in the show.