Results tagged “Top Chef” from iVillage - TV Cocktail
Well this season of Top Chef is over, but we ain't done yet! Welcome to this week's Top Chef, the Reunion! Interestingly enough, it was pointed out that Richard would not be attending this year's reunion because his wife was about to give birth! I guess of all excuses in the book to miss the reunion, your wife giving birth is allowed.
We start off finding out a few things about Stephanie. First of all, she was extremely happy and shocked to be the winner (obviously). She mentions that she is happy to be the first female Top Chef, but she would rather be known as the Season 4 winner vs the first female Top Chef (so people don't think she only won because she was a woman). Also we find out that she will be using the money to open another restaurant in Chicago. Props to the hometown winner!
We also find out that Mark (despite his homo-erotic bath with Spike) was recently married and would be staying in the country for a while now. I guess he will be able to share a pint with Colicchio.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap - Reunion Special! .
by Andrew Sousa
So here we are, the last three. The only ones who are still standing are Richard, the food science whiz, Stephanie, the solid competitor, and Lisa, the villain (there is always a villain). Who is going to be the next Top Chef? I can hardly contain myself!
After a coupe of civil mimosas, the chefs meet the judges, along with three incredible chefs: Chef April Bloomfield of the Spotted Pig, Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill in NYC and Chef Eric Ripert, world renowned seafood chef. I would be shaking in my boots.
The challenge is simple, just like every other finale - the chefs must produce a four course meal starting with fish, then poultry, followed by red meat and finished with a dessert (mandatory). They are then told each chef would pair up with one of these amazing chefs as their sous chefs, each with their own array of proteins to be used for the challenge.
After Stephanie drew the first knife, she was allowed to pick her sous chef first (the original criteria was the chef with the most elimination challenges, however she was dead even with Richard). She (of course) chose Chef Ripert as her Sous chef for the challenge. Richard chose Chef Barber and Lisa ended up with Chef Bloomfield.
At prep Stephanie made a little fun of Eric Ripert ("You sure you know how to fillet that fish?") while Richard showed the chefs how to use liquid nitrogen to make hot sauce ice cream. Meanwhile Lisa buddied up with her sous chef which was - well let's just say a little unnatural.
The next day the chefs found out (there is always a twist right?) that their sous chefs wound not be coming in to work that day! The judges wanted to make sure the chefs were truly on their own to win their title of Top Chef.
So here we are, the last three. The only ones who are still standing are Richard, the food science whiz, Stephanie, the solid competitor, and Lisa, the villain (there is always a villain). Who is going to be the next Top Chef? I can hardly contain myself!After a coupe of civil mimosas, the chefs meet the judges, along with three incredible chefs: Chef April Bloomfield of the Spotted Pig, Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill in NYC and Chef Eric Ripert, world renowned seafood chef. I would be shaking in my boots.
The challenge is simple, just like every other finale - the chefs must produce a four course meal starting with fish, then poultry, followed by red meat and finished with a dessert (mandatory). They are then told each chef would pair up with one of these amazing chefs as their sous chefs, each with their own array of proteins to be used for the challenge.
After Stephanie drew the first knife, she was allowed to pick her sous chef first (the original criteria was the chef with the most elimination challenges, however she was dead even with Richard). She (of course) chose Chef Ripert as her Sous chef for the challenge. Richard chose Chef Barber and Lisa ended up with Chef Bloomfield.
At prep Stephanie made a little fun of Eric Ripert ("You sure you know how to fillet that fish?") while Richard showed the chefs how to use liquid nitrogen to make hot sauce ice cream. Meanwhile Lisa buddied up with her sous chef which was - well let's just say a little unnatural.
The next day the chefs found out (there is always a twist right?) that their sous chefs wound not be coming in to work that day! The judges wanted to make sure the chefs were truly on their own to win their title of Top Chef.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap - Finale! .
Are you a Top Chef fanatic? Have you been watching the show religiously, getting to know each contestant and their dishes? Well, with the Top Chef finale airing tomorrow night, we wanted to test your skills to see how much you know about season four of Top Chef.
Take the Top Chef Trivia Challenge >>
Take the Top Chef Trivia Challenge >>
It has been six months since the last episode (for the chefs, not for us, of course) and here we are in Puerto Rico! The last four Richard, Stephanie, Antonia and Lisa (with a brand new haircut) are the last four to battle it out for the title of Top Chef!
Quickfire Challenge
Not long after the chefs get off the plane, they are whisked away to an amazing resort for their Quickfire Challenge. There they meet their guest judge, Wilo Benet, owner of Pikayo and one of the best chefs in Puerto Rico. They are then told they must make two fritters using a stable Puerto Rican ingredient - plantains.
After some major frying (and a couple of fires) the chefs serve the judges their fritters. Chef Wilo was not a fan of Antonia' slaw and plantain jam or Richard's raw plantain salsa. In the end though Wilo really loved Stephanie's fritters with tuna slices, which, by the way, looked amazing. Stephanie then mentions that this is her first quickfire win of the season. Better late than never! (Plus, she's won a zillion elimination challenges, so that's not too shabby.)
After the challenge, Chef Wilo invites the chefs to come to a party with traditional Puerto Rican dancing, music, food and (most importantly) Rum. After some eating and dancing, the chefs rest up for their elimination challenge.
Quickfire Challenge
Not long after the chefs get off the plane, they are whisked away to an amazing resort for their Quickfire Challenge. There they meet their guest judge, Wilo Benet, owner of Pikayo and one of the best chefs in Puerto Rico. They are then told they must make two fritters using a stable Puerto Rican ingredient - plantains.
After some major frying (and a couple of fires) the chefs serve the judges their fritters. Chef Wilo was not a fan of Antonia' slaw and plantain jam or Richard's raw plantain salsa. In the end though Wilo really loved Stephanie's fritters with tuna slices, which, by the way, looked amazing. Stephanie then mentions that this is her first quickfire win of the season. Better late than never! (Plus, she's won a zillion elimination challenges, so that's not too shabby.)
After the challenge, Chef Wilo invites the chefs to come to a party with traditional Puerto Rican dancing, music, food and (most importantly) Rum. After some eating and dancing, the chefs rest up for their elimination challenge.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap: Puerto Rico!.
Quickfire Challenge
This week the chefs start out by being sent to a high end meat purveyor in Chicago to break down some dry aged rib eye. My mouth was watering the whole time.
The chefs are given their outfits, tools and are told they have twenty minutes to break down their dry aged hunk of meat into seven beautiful steaks. Yum. After twenty minutes the chefs are told to pack up their meat and head on over to the kitchen.
In the kitchen we meet our guest judge Rick Tramonto, owner of Tru and Tramanto's Steak and Seafood. The chefs are told they have to cook the perfect steak to Chef Tramonto's specs in thirty minutes.
After the judge throughly inspects the steaks, he gives the win to Spike for his perfectly butchered steak. Will this hurt or help him in the end?
Elimination Challenge
After the Quickfire, the chefs are told they will take over Chef Tramonto's restaurant for the night to serve their hand picked menus made from ingredients found in the restaurant. Each chef will make an appetizer and an entree to serve at dinner. As the winner, Spike is able to pick his proteins for the challenge. Not a bad advantage.
This week the chefs start out by being sent to a high end meat purveyor in Chicago to break down some dry aged rib eye. My mouth was watering the whole time.
The chefs are given their outfits, tools and are told they have twenty minutes to break down their dry aged hunk of meat into seven beautiful steaks. Yum. After twenty minutes the chefs are told to pack up their meat and head on over to the kitchen.
In the kitchen we meet our guest judge Rick Tramonto, owner of Tru and Tramanto's Steak and Seafood. The chefs are told they have to cook the perfect steak to Chef Tramonto's specs in thirty minutes.
After the judge throughly inspects the steaks, he gives the win to Spike for his perfectly butchered steak. Will this hurt or help him in the end?
Elimination Challenge
After the Quickfire, the chefs are told they will take over Chef Tramonto's restaurant for the night to serve their hand picked menus made from ingredients found in the restaurant. Each chef will make an appetizer and an entree to serve at dinner. As the winner, Spike is able to pick his proteins for the challenge. Not a bad advantage.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap: Don't Call Out the Judge.
First of all, I have to say Padma is one big fat liar (well maybe not fat but...). It turns out the chefs will be doing the fan favorite - Restaurant Wars! Woohoo!
Quickfire Challenge
We started this week's show with Chef Tom Collichio waking up the cast way way way too early. He informs the chefs they will be going to Les Michelles, a famous breakfast joint in Chicago. Their job is to be the short order cook for breakfast. Being a short order cook is very hard, especially at a hopping breakfast joint like this one.
After a brutal time on the line and a frenzy of orders, the owner of the restaurant chose Antonia as the best short order cook. Collichio announces he will not be able to be at the elimination challenge and sends the chefs to a unknown location.
Quickfire ChallengeWe started this week's show with Chef Tom Collichio waking up the cast way way way too early. He informs the chefs they will be going to Les Michelles, a famous breakfast joint in Chicago. Their job is to be the short order cook for breakfast. Being a short order cook is very hard, especially at a hopping breakfast joint like this one.
After a brutal time on the line and a frenzy of orders, the owner of the restaurant chose Antonia as the best short order cook. Collichio announces he will not be able to be at the elimination challenge and sends the chefs to a unknown location.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap - Resturant Wars! .
Quickfire Challenge We start this week off with a familiar face. The chefs are introduced to everyone's favorite (especially the girls) chef from season two - Sam Talbot! We all know he should have won.
The chefs are given the task to make a "sexy salad" in 45 minutes, a rather long amount of time to make a salad if you ask me. This, of course, only means that the chefs better create some amazing salad, or they're in for it!
Sam was not a fan of Richard's salad, Stephanie's unfinished fall flavored salad or Lisa's grilled squid salad, despite the high end ingredients. It's interesting how some of the best chefs this season were all in the bottom three. Dale and Antonia both did well with their unique salads, but Spike took the win with his beef and pineapple salad.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap.
Quickfire Challenge This week we start off with... no guest chef. The chefs are greeted by plain ol' Chef Tom Colicchio and Padma. Right off the bat Padma drops the first bomb - from now on the Quickfire Challenge does not grant the winner immunity. She then asks the chefs to divide into two teams, the Forks and the Spoons.
Then the chefs learned they would be doing one of our favorite Quickfires - the relay race. The first task was between Lisa and Antonia to slice an orange. Lisa smoked Antonia and gave her team a head start. The next task was between Spike and Andrew - to de-construct an artichoke. With the help of a peeler, and Spike breaking an artichoke top, Andrew quickly broke up his artichoke and picked up the slack. Up next, Richard and Dale, who were pretty much head to head. They had to clean up a monk fish and produce two fillets which they do at pretty much the same time. The last task was to make homemade mayo. Stephanie and Nikki both beat the crap out of some eggs to make a mayo. Apparently Stephanie has stronger arms and her mayo gave her team the win.
Two notes: No one was able to shock viewers as much as Hung did last season when he broke down the chicken. Also, was this foreshadowing or what? Dale couldn't stand that Nikki said she hadn't made mayo since culinary school. We just know this means drama for them later in the episode.
Continue reading Top Chef: Wedding Wars.
Quickfire Challenge
This week's celebrity guest chef is none other than Art Smith, Oprah's personal chef (it is Chicago, remember) and owner of the restaurant Table 52.
The chefs are quickly told they must create a simple, tasty entree - in fifteen minutes! It's going to be a madhouse!!! Luckily they get to use good ol' Uncle Ben's quick cooking rice (who was clearly a sponsor).
After pure chaos, the guest chef tastes each cheftestant's quick entree. Art was not a fan of Mark's dry miso turkey breast, Stephani's rice pancake (not good sounding at all) or Lisa's southwest dish which was not very original. Chef Smith loved Dale's fried rice and scallops and Antonia's rice salad, one of her mother's homegrown dishes that she loves. Antonia wins the challenge and gets immunity. She better call her mom and thank her for that recipe!
Elimination Challenge
Sticking with the Oprah theme, the chefs are asked to share their culinary skills with the common folk and devise a healthy, nutritious, and (above all) tasty meal for a family of four. But the catch is the dish has to cost under ten dollars. How are they going to pull this one off?
After a trip to Whole Foods ( and Mark ripping it up on the Didgeridoo -- an Australian instrument), the chefs head to the kitchen to start working on their ten dollar meals. There Padma throws the chefs a curve ball and tells them they will have a little help with their meals - literally. The chefs are paired up with a team of little kids from Chef Smith's school, Common Threads! How fun!
Thirty seconds into cooking Spike's little chef cuts himself peeling carrots. After a quick wash, the kid hops right back on the horse and keeps peeling. Thatta boy!
This week's celebrity guest chef is none other than Art Smith, Oprah's personal chef (it is Chicago, remember) and owner of the restaurant Table 52.
The chefs are quickly told they must create a simple, tasty entree - in fifteen minutes! It's going to be a madhouse!!! Luckily they get to use good ol' Uncle Ben's quick cooking rice (who was clearly a sponsor).
After pure chaos, the guest chef tastes each cheftestant's quick entree. Art was not a fan of Mark's dry miso turkey breast, Stephani's rice pancake (not good sounding at all) or Lisa's southwest dish which was not very original. Chef Smith loved Dale's fried rice and scallops and Antonia's rice salad, one of her mother's homegrown dishes that she loves. Antonia wins the challenge and gets immunity. She better call her mom and thank her for that recipe!
Elimination Challenge
Sticking with the Oprah theme, the chefs are asked to share their culinary skills with the common folk and devise a healthy, nutritious, and (above all) tasty meal for a family of four. But the catch is the dish has to cost under ten dollars. How are they going to pull this one off?
After a trip to Whole Foods ( and Mark ripping it up on the Didgeridoo -- an Australian instrument), the chefs head to the kitchen to start working on their ten dollar meals. There Padma throws the chefs a curve ball and tells them they will have a little help with their meals - literally. The chefs are paired up with a team of little kids from Chef Smith's school, Common Threads! How fun!
Thirty seconds into cooking Spike's little chef cuts himself peeling carrots. After a quick wash, the kid hops right back on the horse and keeps peeling. Thatta boy!
Continue reading Top Chef Recap .
Quickfire Challenge
As the chefs walk into the kitchen this week they are greeted by tables covered with pastries, chocolate cakes, and everything else that is yummy and sweet. They are then introduced to this week's guest chef, James Beard Award-winning Executive Pastry Chef of Jean-Georges, Johnny Iuzzini. Wonder what this quickfire will be all about.
Padma begins to point out that usually in Top Chef, the one killer is the dessert. So, to test this theory, the quickfire challenge this week is for the chefs to make their best dessert. The winner will get their recipe in the new Top Chef cook book.
Johnny was not a fan of Antonia's lemon cake and Spike's rum-cake souffle, despite his effort. Dale's traditional dessert won over our guest judge, while Richard's faux scallops (banana) over a dessert guacamole won big points for creativity. So big in fact, Richard won the challenge and immunity for this week.
Elimination Challenge
After the quickfire, the chefs learn they get to go to Second City, the birth place of improvisational comedy in America. But as we all know when the chefs are sent to enjoy themselves, well, they are never just sent to enjoy themselves. At one point in the show, the Second City cast starts to have the audience yell out a color, an emotion and a food used in cooking. Guess what those suggestions turned out to be? The chefs soon learn that they will be cooking a five course meal based on the suggestions yelled out by the audience. This should be good.
As the chefs walk into the kitchen this week they are greeted by tables covered with pastries, chocolate cakes, and everything else that is yummy and sweet. They are then introduced to this week's guest chef, James Beard Award-winning Executive Pastry Chef of Jean-Georges, Johnny Iuzzini. Wonder what this quickfire will be all about.
Padma begins to point out that usually in Top Chef, the one killer is the dessert. So, to test this theory, the quickfire challenge this week is for the chefs to make their best dessert. The winner will get their recipe in the new Top Chef cook book.
Johnny was not a fan of Antonia's lemon cake and Spike's rum-cake souffle, despite his effort. Dale's traditional dessert won over our guest judge, while Richard's faux scallops (banana) over a dessert guacamole won big points for creativity. So big in fact, Richard won the challenge and immunity for this week.
Elimination Challenge
After the quickfire, the chefs learn they get to go to Second City, the birth place of improvisational comedy in America. But as we all know when the chefs are sent to enjoy themselves, well, they are never just sent to enjoy themselves. At one point in the show, the Second City cast starts to have the audience yell out a color, an emotion and a food used in cooking. Guess what those suggestions turned out to be? The chefs soon learn that they will be cooking a five course meal based on the suggestions yelled out by the audience. This should be good.
Continue reading Top Chef: Time for Improv and Dessert!.
I hope everyone has cooled off from last week. And if not, this week's episode might help.
Quickfire Challenge
This week's Quickfire put a huge smile on my face as soon as the chefs walked into the kitchen. They were greeted by this week's guest judge Koren Grieveson, owner of Chicago's Avec restaurant, and sixteen pitchers of delicious beer. The challenge for the chefs is to create a dish to pair with one of the sixteen beers. Mmmmmm. My mouth is watering already.
While tasting the dishes, Chef Koren seems to have a great poker face and doesn't say much.
Spike didn't win the chef over with his boring tapas and clams plate. Richard and Stephanie both did well by using ingredients in their dishes that were similar to what was in their chosen beer (duh). But the winner was Jen with her beignets. Clearly she channeled her emotions from losing Zoi last week and used them for good. Good for her.
Elimination Challenge
The chefs are sent to a Chicago Bears game to tailgate for the fans. Who can't relate to that?
Continue reading Top Chef Episode Recap.
by Andrew Sousa
Quickfire Challenge
This week's Quickfire challenge stars guest judge Ming Tsai, owner of Blue Ginger, a well established Asian restaurant in Boston.
The challenge is the always popular blindfold taste test challenge. However, this year's version is a bit different - the cheftestants have to choose the more high-end ingredient of two products while blindfolded.
Most chefs seem to know what they are looking for and did pretty well. The ingredients ranged from meat to butter, and from olive oil to sake. Sounds fun!
Stephanie did the worst, with 6 out of 15, and Antonia did the best, giving her immunity. She was the smart one, using different fingers while tasting and really cleaning out her mouth out with water after each taste. Her trick seemed to pay off.
Quickfire Challenge
This week's Quickfire challenge stars guest judge Ming Tsai, owner of Blue Ginger, a well established Asian restaurant in Boston.
The challenge is the always popular blindfold taste test challenge. However, this year's version is a bit different - the cheftestants have to choose the more high-end ingredient of two products while blindfolded.
Most chefs seem to know what they are looking for and did pretty well. The ingredients ranged from meat to butter, and from olive oil to sake. Sounds fun!
Stephanie did the worst, with 6 out of 15, and Antonia did the best, giving her immunity. She was the smart one, using different fingers while tasting and really cleaning out her mouth out with water after each taste. Her trick seemed to pay off.
Continue reading Top Chef: You Must Season Your Food!.
Welcome Top Chef viewers! Come here weekly to catch up and comment on recaps of Top Chef:Chicago. We start this episode with Stephanie and Valerie working out, talking about the challenges. They mention how they used to work together at a restaurant. What is with all of these contestants knowing each other? Take Zoi and Jennifer dating. What's up with that??
Tonight's Quickfire takes place at the wonderful, yummy, fresh and fun farmers market. The cheftestants find out, however, that they can only use 5 ingredients (not including salt, pepper, sugar and oil). If anybody has been to a local farmers market you know just how hard that is. All of the fresh fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, pies and other assorted goodies are overwhelming. It's like a foodie heaven.
Continue reading Top Chef Recap: Fun Time at the Zoo.
