Top Chef: Dueling Chefs
Top Chef: Chicago
Anything You Can Cook I Can Cook Better
I’ve always wanted to go to Chicago since I have heard there is awesome food there. I still haven’t been, but I’m excited that the new season of this show is set up there.
Everyone meets up at Uno’s for some pizza and beer, which sounds really good to me, but I basically drool over whatever weird stuff they come up with or food in general, so expect more drooling from me. I am noticing that two people have the stupid faux-hawk haircut. I thought it was dumb when Dale had it last season, and thought it was dumb the first time I saw it a few years ago. I really hoped this hair trend would have died by now, but I guess I’ll have to suffer with it longer. Then two of the women (Jennifer and Zoi) say they know each other in San Francisco and they are a couple. I am thinking, “Why would they want to compete against each other? It is going to destroy their relationship.” I guess we’ll see what happens with that, but I see nothing but drama!
Quickfire Challenge
They were allowed to bring up to $200 of their own ingredients and equipment with them. They have individual lockers to store their stuff in. For the first challenge, they need to create a signature deep dish pizza in 90 minutes.
Stephanie gets nervous about being in a strange kitchen cooking around so many other chefs and manages to cut herself while chopping an onion. A few people are shown making their pizzas and why they chose their ingredients. Spike goes to grab his deep dish pan, but it is gone. At the time, he doesn’t know where, but Richard has taken it to make two pizzas as the same time. Spike uses a cask iron skillet instead.
When the pizzas come out of the ovens, they all don’t look good. Some people miscalculated how much dough to use so there was hardly any room to see the toppings with the dough taking over. Others had their pizzas fall apart when they tried to remove them from the pan. Should be interesting!
After they are done with their pizzas, they put them in their little pizza bags and drive over to the guest judge’s house, which no one knows who they have been cooking for this entire time. Rocco DiSpirito answers the door. They walk into the house past Padma who is playing pool and go into the kitchen to serve up their pizza one slice at a time.
The comments while tasting were quick since there are freaking 16 chefs at this point. That’s a lot of pizza!
Richard
“Peach Taleggio Pizza” with Sweet Tea Sauce
Richard wanted to bring in his Southern roots from where he lives now, so he incorporated peaches on his pizza, along with fennel sausage and a sweet tea reduction. Rocco said “Oh wow” from the description of it before he even tasted it.
Stephanie
Pizza with Melon-Tomato Sauce, Prosciutto, Olives & Arugula
Rocco said something smelled funky on her pizza.
Zoi
Pizza with Broccoli, Pesto & Lamb Sausage
Rocco comments: “A lot of stuff going on with it.”
Dale
Pizza with Sausage, Pickled Kohlrabi, Scallions & Sriracha Sauce
When preparing the pizza, Dale said most people like a little hot sauce on their pizza (they do?) so he added the sriracha sauce to the tomato sauce. Rocco was impressed that Dale actually made the Kohlrabi picked.
Ryan
Pizza with Escarole, Ricotta Salata & Butternut Squash
Oh, it looks disgusting. Padma says it is very nice, so it must taste better than it looks.
Nikki
“White Pie” with Comte, Ricotta, Pecorino Cheeses & Mushrooms
While preparing it, she said she is from Manhattan and had some issues with doing a deep dish pizza, so she is creating one with no red sauce. When she brought it out to the judges, she did say it was very deep dish (she has mentioned before she didn’t know how much dough to use) and Padma agreed it was very deep, deep dish. Rocco seemed pleased with the flavor as he tasted it.
Andrea
Pizza with Smoked Marinara, Prosciutto, Onions & Cheese
Rocco smiled and blinked at Andrew. I’m not so sure if that was a good smile or not. It was more like, I’m blinking and smiling, while trying not to gag.
Jennifer
“Harvest Pizza” with Grapes, Bacon, Fontina & Rosemary
Rocco said he liked the way she did the crust.
Erik
Pizza with Mushroom, Onions, Peppers & Sausage
Rocco smiled a bit like he did at Andrew. Maybe it isn’t gagging, but disappointment that Erik and Andrew’s pizzas look like standard pizzas. They aren’t very creative.
Spike
“Pizza a la Grec” with Onions, Feta Cheese, Olives & Sausage
When making the pizza, Spike said he is Greek so he wanted to make a pizza with Mediterranean ingredients.
Nimma
“Hunter-Style Pizza” with Mushrooms, Onions & Stracchino Cheese
Rocco was trying to figure out all the different mushrooms on the pizza, but then he and Padma were overcome with the lack of salt.
Mark
Pizza with Chicken, Zucchini & Marmite Molasses
Mark is from New Zealand and he brought the marmite as one of his special ingredients.
That’s all that was shown on television. That left four different pizzas that were not shown, most likely for time, and it usually means they weren’t the best or the most horrible, but middle of the road. There were pictures of three of the four on the Bravo website, so here they are below:
Antonia
Pizza with Prosciutto, Burrata Cheese, Heirloom Tomatoes & Arugula
When preparing it, Antonia said she is Italian so her pizza would be awesome. Since it didn’t make the television cut, I’m guessing it wasn’t as awesome as she thought.
Lisa
Asian BBQ Duck Pizza
Another gross looking pizza. When preparing it, Lisa said she loved Asian and Italian influences in her food.
Manuel
Pizza with Sopressata & Rapini a la Siciliana
When preparing it, Manuel said he is making a classic Italian pizza.
Valerie’s pizza wasn’t on the website. I think her pizza might have been the one falling apart so maybe it was such a mess, there was no photo shown. She commented while preparing her “Meat and Potatoes” pizza that she lives in Chicago, but works at a fine dining restaurant. She has never made a deep dish pizza before.
Rocco was impressed that they made something on the day they all arrived in Chicago. He said most of their dishes were very nice, some were very impressive and creative, while others were not very good. He called out a bunch of names of people and made them stand on one side of the kitchen: Lisa, Nimma, Valerie, Manuel, Andrew, Stephanie, Nikki and Zoi. They were his least favorite group. Nimma is shown rolling her eyes. So much for my theory about the ones not shown on television being the middle of the road. 🙂 He had extra comments for two of the losers so they must have been the worst.
- Stephanie – Her pizza was the one where he said it smelled funky. He said that when you cook proscuitto, you have to be careful or it will take on a strong, gamey flavor. That is what he didn’t like about it.
- Nikki – Her pizza was very dry. A deep dish pizza already has so much dough and then she used dried something or other on top of it that he would save for a sauce.
Out of the ones that were left over, they were his favorite group. He pointed out a couple of people that did really well:
- Richard – He congratulated him for confounding him and then changing his mind. He thought Richard had lost his mind when he put peaches and syrup on a pizza, but he proved there are no rules in cooking. If it tastes good, then it is good.
- Mark – He said vegamite is one of the most foul things he has come across, but Mark managed to make it work with the other ingredients in a harmonious way and made it delicious.
Rocco didn’t pick an overall winner, but Padma did say the results of the challenge will play into the elimination challenge, which they will find out about the next day. They then find out the place where they brought the pizza is actually where they will be staying.
Elimination Challenge
The winning chefs from the quickfire drew knives with numbers on them. They have to pick one of the chefs in the losing group to cook against in a head-to-head competition. The person on the losing group gets to pick what dish they will both make from a list of classic dishes:
- Lasagna
- Duck a la Orange
- Crab Cakes
- Chicken Piccata
- Eggs Benedict
- Steak Au Poivre
- Shrimp Scampi
- Souffle
They can keep the dish traditional or reimagine the dish entirely. There will be a winning dish from each pair. The losers from each pair will be in line for elimination.
Richard picks Andrew and Andrew picked Crab Cakes. Andrew was thrilled since Richard had screwed him up during the quickfire by taking his deep dish pan and that is who he did want to go up against.
Mark picked Stephanie and Stephanie picked Duck a la Orange. Jennifer picked Nikki and Nikki picked Lasagna. Antonia picked Nimma and Nimma picked Shrimp Scampi. Spike picked Lisa and Lisa picked Eggs Benedict. Dale picked Manuel and he picked Steak Au Poivre. Ryan picked Valerie and she picked Chicken Piccata. That left Erik with Zoi and they were stuck with Souffle. She put her head in her hand and Erik was ready for the crazy challenge that no one wanted.
Mark knows the dish is going to be easy for him since it is very simple: orange and duck. Dale plans on doing something avant garde, while he tries super hard to be Hung Part Deux. He never orders Steak Au Poivre since it is heavy and rich. He is going to flip it. His flavors are on point and he knows what he is doing. Oh, he’s already tiring.
Lisa has been cooking breakfast forever and has poached so many eggs in her life, she feels comfortable. Nikki wants to redeem herself after the quickfire. Zoi wants to do a dessert souffle instead of a savory one since all the other dishes will be savory. Richard wants to keep his dish simple with the least amount of ingredients. Andrew is being all spazzy on his own and trying to figure out what Richard is doing so he can do it better. He saw Richard picked up crab legs, but they aren’t really fresh so he picked up some regular and jumbo lump meat to give it a meatier texture and more depth.
Antonia had some lobster and shrimp for her shrimp scampi. She said she has some great ingredients and wants to concentrate on having a great sauce. Nimma wants to cover all the elements of taste so she wants to marinate the shrimp in parsley (is parley something you marinate in? I don’t know, but it seems a tad bland to me). She is going to make a cauliflower custard that needs to be in the oven as soon as possible and feels like the time is going by so fast.
Ryan is making his own stock, brining his chicken breast, making gnocchi, and braising the thighs in 90 minutes. He has no idea what he was thinking with that limited time frame. He thinks he’s going to go out in the first challenge. Nikki is making fresh pasta for her lasagna in honor of her grandmother. Stephanie is using a whole duck to show off her skills. She looks over at Mark and becomes intimidated by how many components seem to be involved in Mark’s dish and how it might be more intricate.
Andrew is wandering around the pantry thinking that the Top Chef kitchen would have mayonnaise, but there isn’t any for his crab cakes. He asks Richard if there is any, and Richard said the kitchen doesn’t have any, but there are egg yolks and oil. Richard then pulls out the jar of mayo he bought at the store. Andrew is fuming, but then decided to not let it get to him since he’ll just make it from scratch now that Richard gave him the recipe. He had no idea what went into mayo. I thought that was common knowledge (and also the ingredients listed on the jar). Richard offered his own after he was done with it, but Andrew said it wasn’t necessary since he just finished making his own.
Erik jokes that if he knew his future was riding on souffles, he would have been making them for years in his restaurant and had them on his menu. Zoi knows she can do what she wants in the time limit, but is worried that it is going to fall or taste horrible.
When there is less than five minutes left in the challenge, Nimma sees that her flan is not setting, but there isn’t much she can do about that now. She tastes the cauliflower to see if it would taste good scrambled. She thought it tasted fine so she decided to do that.
Andrew is busy being impressed with Richard’s portable smoker toy. He wanted to smoke something in his dish, lights a flame and holds it under some plastic wrap on top of a bowl. It was one of the special things they were allowed to bring with them. He wants to pull out all the stops and not hold anything back to make himself get noticed.
When everyone is plating, Lisa is trying to put her sauce over her dish, but her hand starts shaking like crazy. She has to put the spoon down and calm herself down. I can’t tell if she is able to finish with the sauce before the time is up.
Judges for the elimination round: Anthony Bourdain and Rocco Dispirito. That should be interesting since it seems Anthony hates Rocco. I guess we’ll find out if that’s still true. They are sitting at opposites end of the table so I find that amusing.
Mark & Stephanie
Duck A L’Orange
Stephanie was nervous since Anthony says exactly what he wants. That is what makes him awesome! He’s also hilarious in his truthfulness. She was also nervous about Rocco since he hated her proscuitto.
Mark
Enoki Mushrooms, Squash, Tangerine & Soy Glazed Duck Breast with a Sakitini
Mark said in case someone didn’t like mushrooms or squash, he kept it all deconstructed. Rocco asked Mark if his dish was a progression or if it should be eaten together. Rocco said that Mark didn’t think about how someone would eat it later. Anthony said he was confused by the presentation.
Stephanie
Duck Breast, Mushrooms, Bok Choy & Duck Spring Rolls with Orange-Soy Glaze
Rocco said Stephanie’s dish was a great dish. Anthony said that Stephanie’s dish was greatly composed and he continued to eat it long after he had to so he much preferred that one.
Winner: Stephanie
Mark was very nervous since he was in the top in the quickfire and now he’s up for elimination.
Richard & Andrew
Crab Cakes
Andrew
Panko & Lump Crab Cake with Cilantro-Basil Pudding, Orange Sauce
Andrew took the traditional crab cake, but used the lump crab so there aren’t just random pieces of crab in there. He did say he made his own mayo since he thought there was some in the kitchen, but there wasn’t. Tom didn’t like the panko and said it worked too far into the crab cake itself.
Richard
Blue Crab, Brussels Sprouts & Apple Coleslaw with Smoked Ras Al Hanout
He served the dish with the plastic wrap he had over the bowl when he smoked it. He said they could remove it and it would release some smoky aroma. Rocco commented that the smokiness added some meaty flavor to the crab.
Winner: Richard
They did say both were very strong dishes and Richard looked pained at winning. Not sure why! He said he felt pretty good about winning and wanted to add some “shock and awe” to his dish. Andrew was pleased that he had a strong showing, even if he didn’t win. He seems okay, but a little on the tweaker side, like he’s some kind of meth head.
Jennifer & Nikki
Lasagna
Jennifer
Lasagna with Autumn Vegetables, Meat Sauce and Mint Verde
Jennifer went for a Northern Italian-style. Tom pointed out to Anthony that something was raw in it and Anthony agreed. Tom really liked her dish. He said it was rustic and had great fall flavors. He had one issue with it and it was the rutabaga was not cooked. Rocco suggested she could have sliced it very thin, and she said it was a time issue.
Nikki
“Classic Lasagna” with Sheep’s Milk Gouda
She said she had something to prove after her deep dish disaster, so she rolled out her own pasta. Tom said she got extra points for making her own pasta. Rocco agreed and said the pasta was delicious.
Winner: Nikki
Tom did say they were both very good dishes. Nikki said it was an incredible high to know she wasn’t going home, especially after putting her heart into it.
Antonia & Nimma
Shrimp Scampi
Antonia
Parpardelle with Shrimp, Lobster Tomatoes & Squash Blossoms
Rocco’s reaction to it was saying, “mmm…mmm…mmmm..mmmm!” Tom said the flavors were really good. They were concentrated and strong. Tony said it was a harmonious plate.
Nimma
Shrimp Scampi with Cauliflower Scramble
While walking to the table she was praying that the judges would be nice. Tom looked like he was about to choke when he tasted it. Padma asked what she she marinated it in, which she listed off the ingredients. She asked if salt was in there, but it wasn’t. She asked when it was added and Nimma said she added it when it hit the pan. Padma found it incredibly salty. Tony said the plate didn’t come together for him. Rocco said he would have sent the dish back if he ordered it in a restaurant.
Winner: Antonia
Nimma was very nervous after knowing she could be sent home and they were raving over Antonia’s dish. She wanted a chance to fix the dish again and redeem herself.
Spike & Lisa
Eggs Benedict
Spike
Poached Egg with Bacon, Mushrooms & Lemongrass Sabayon on a Crouton
Lisa
Poached Egg on Toasted Halla Bread with Lobster, Spinach, Hollandaise Sauce & Bacon
They tried both and were all giggling. Tony said to think about if you were drunk the night before, which one would be a better hang over dish. Tom and Rocco said they were both good. Tony said he would be really happy eating either one with an overpriced mimosa or bloody mary. Rocco said he preferred Lisa’s dish due to everything was stacked on top of each other so it was easier to eat. Tony agreed he liked Lisa’s dish more. Padma said Lisa’s egg was poached slightly better.
Winner: Lisa
Dale & Manuel
Steak Au Poivre
Dale
New York Strip Steak with Candied Peppercorn, Parsley Puree & Bok Choy
He said he made his dish with traditional and non-traditional garnishes. Rocco liked that Dale took some serious chances and delivered on a promise.
Manuel
Sirloin with Mushroom Ceviche & Scallion Cilantro Sauce
Manuel did a Mexican twist on the classic. Tom found Manuel’s dish a little too greasy. Tony thought he went overboard with the sauce.
Winner: Dale
Dale already knew he was going to win so no surprise for him!
Ryan & Valerie
Chicken Piccata
Ryan
Chicken Cutlets with Lemon-Potato Gnocchi & Warm Herb Salad
He made it from what he remembered as a child. He remembered mashed potatoes which he turned into gnocchi. Ryan commented later that he saw them all shaking their heads while trying it and dreading the reaction. Tom asked him why he strayed from dipping it in just flour and egg. Ryan said he did. He dipped it in flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs. Tom stopped him and said it is only flour and egg. Tony couldn’t get past the bread crumbs so it was his least favorite.
Valerie
Chicken Breast with Orange Potato & Haricot Vert Salad
Tony didn’t like either one. Rocco said that neither one of them made piccata. Neither one had the lovely acidic butter sauce. Tom said that if both dishes were put in front of him and asked what they resemble, he would have not said piccata. Rocco thought they were both losers. Tom said that Valerie’s dish was a better dish, even though it wasn’t piccata.
Winner: Valerie
Ryan said he had worked so hard at cooking since he was eleven years old and America is going to think he is a flop. Can he even show his face after the show? People will know that he doesn’t even know what a classic dish is.
Erik & Zoi
Souffle
Erik
Pepper Jack Cheese Souffle with Avocado Creme Fraiche, Black Bean Puree & Salsa
Erik said later on he was nervous about making a souffle and then finding out Anthony Bourdain was one of the guest judges made him even more nervous. Anthony asked if either one of them had made souffles before. Erik said over twenty years ago and Anthony said he sensed that. Tony said that he had a problem with the word souffle. If that had been removed from the title of the dish, he would have like it, but it wasn’t a souffle. Rocco didn’t like the way it looked. Padma agreed it looked messy.
Zoi
Rice Pudding Souffle with Candied Figs & Fennel with Espresso
Rocco said Zoi stacked it in her favor by using rice. It was a smart move. Flavorwise, Tom liked the rice pudding. Rocco liked the coffee. Tom said that neither one of them were very good as souffles, but Zoi put a better plate together.
Winner: Zoi
Erik talked about choking and getting his ass handed to him.
Winners
Padma called Antonia, Nikki, Richard and Stephanie to the judges’ table. Dale cussed because obviously his dish was the best. Rocco told Antonia that she showed great technical skill. Tony told Stephanie that he loved her dish. It had great flavor, great composition, great color and great texture. He loved it. Padma loved Nikki’s lasagna. It was light, tasty, bubbly and beautifully done. Tom said Richard’s dish was great, even after the smoke blew away. It showed great forward thinking. He said that he did not expect to see the normal dishes from him in the future.
Rocco got to pick the overall winner, which he said was a consensus from all of them: Stephanie. Tom was impressed she used the entire duck. Tony said it was really impressive.
Losers
Ryan, Erik, Nimma and Mark were sent in for elimination.
Erik said he didn’t feel comfortable with a sweet souffle, so he tried a cheese one. Rocco was baffled by the potatoes for a base. He asked what a souffle is known for and Erik answered being light and airy. Rocco asked why he would choose potatoes then and Erik couldn’t really come up with a reason. He seemed baffled himself, as if someone took over his body to cook and he had just watched his actions with no control over them. Erik said he did put egg whites in there, it did rise, but then he put a tortilla on top of it, which made it drop. Tony said he knew he was way out of his comfort zone, but he made a bad situation worse by putting anything on top of a souffle. Erik said he made glorified nachos and he’s not proud of it. That made Tony laugh and I think that might have just saved him. I felt so bad for him because he looked so upset and ashamed about his performance.
Padma asked Nimma if she thought the shrimp scampi was good. She said she thought the cauliflower scramble was great, which caused much confusion to appear on Tom’s face. Tom asked if the cauliflower was supposed to be a flan. She said it was, and she has made it many times before, but this time she thought maybe she didn’t put the plastic wrap tight enough around it. Tom said that shouldn’t matter and it should still cook. Rocco asked if she tasted the shrimp before it went out. She did think it was very salty. Tony said it was Shrimp 101. They had major problems with the shrimp and she obviously had major problems with the flan. Tony said it was a weak dish.
Mark wanted to present a dish that was deconstructed. Tony said it came off as silly and pretentious. Mark looked stunned. Tony said constructing and putting together food elements in an interesting and pleasurable way would have been the way to go. Mark nodded. Tom said his issue was the duck was overcooked. He asked if he cut a lot of fat off of it. Mark said he did cut a lot of fat off of it since he thought it had too much. Rocco said that’s what we love about duck is all the fat. Mark said point taken.
Ryan said he just remembered the dish as a kid with chicken and a plate of starch. He wanted to bring the starch down and not be such a focal point of the whole dish. Padma asked if he didn’t want starch to be a focal point, why did he make gnocchi. He said he didn’t want it to be so heavy. Tom said that is where they were having a disconnect with the dish since piccata should be in flour and egg before being pan-fried. It shouldn’t have bread crumbs in there anywhere. The coating of breadcrumbs was way too think too. Ryan agreed and said he should have done it that way, but he was trying to get away from the traditional.
Tom told them all that they all knew the classics when they were learning to cook and they need to know them too. They were sent out of the room.
Judges’ Table
Padma asked if anything they said changed their minds about their dishes. Tom said he doesn’t think that Ryan knows what a piccata is and still doesn’t. Tony said he had no idea what was coming out of his mouth. Rocco said it wasn’t only his gnocchi that was dense. Tony said Nimma’s salt was over the line. Tom said she tried to cop to a flan that didn’t work. Rocco said it looked like baby food and he didn’t like it at all. Tom said Erik’s dish was lousy all the way around since it was sloppy and messy. It was clearly not a souffle. He said even if you gave him a break on not calling it a souffle, it was still terrible. Padma said she never would have known Mark’s dish was Duck A L’Orange except that it had duck meat. Tom said the dish was weak and the duck was overcooked. Rocco asked what they thought about the sake drink. Tony said he likes sake and martinis, but they should not be in the same tub together.
They were all called back in. Tom told Ryan that he isn’t sure that he knows what piccata is and he needs to know how to make the classics. Mark’s dish didn’t echo back to a duck a l’orange. He had many elements that didn’t work together well. Nimma was told that the flan was a simple dish, but it never worked out. The big crime was the amount of salt added to the shrimp made it inedible. Erik could have been given a pass since he hadn’t made a souffle in twenty years, but if he is going to compete for the title, he needs to know how to make one.
Nimma was told to pack her knives and go.
Photo Source: Top Chef