Top Chef: Technique or Inspiration?

Top Chef: New York
Melting Pot

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Test of skill with three rounds: (1) peel 15 apples with a knife, (2) brunoise two cups of apples, (3) create a dish using apples.
  • Elimination Challenge: Create a dish inspired by ethnic neighborhoods

The very beginning of the episode was showing the different personalities of the chefs, which is good in some ways since there are so many of them, you can get them all confused. I watch the show for the food though so I don’t care too much about the behind the scenes drama that happens each season. I really like that the judges stay out of it and are completely in the dark until the season if finished filming and they are watching it along with everyone else on Bravo. I think the most interesting thing with all the different chefs this season is that two of them are from Europe. There is Stefan from Finland and Fabio from Italy. I like that they are mixing it up with people outside the U.S. and wonder why it took so long to happen.

Quickfire Challenge

The chefs take a ferry over to somewhere and are told that there are 17 of them, but only 16 chef jackets back at the Top Chef kitchen. The person that finishes last in the Quickfire Challenge, will be eliminated from the competition immediately. Doh! Tom tells the chefs that the quickfire challenge is a test of skills. For the first round, they need to peel 15 apples with a knife, not a peeler. The first nine that are done, and Tom approves of the job done, will be safe from elimination and the remaining chefs will move onto the next round. Tom said that if there is too much flesh taken off the apple or if it is too hacked up, he would make them peel another one.

While peeling, Richard cuts his thumb. He is bleeding everywhere, but he just keeps going since he did not want to be eliminated for that. Stefan and Fabio were the first two finished, followed by Hosea, Ariane, Jeff, Melissa, and Carla. There were only two spots left. Bloody Richard finished and Tom didn’t care if the apples were bloody. Jamie was the last one to finish. The rest of the chefs had to move onto the next round. Since Stefan finished first, he would be immune from elimination in the elimination challenge.

For the next round, the chefs had to brunoise two cups of apples. Brunoise is a technique of cutting the apple into perfect diced cubes. Oh, I could not do that. Tom said if he didn’t like how they were cut, he would ask them to do it again. The first four to finish would be safe from elimination and the last four to finish would go onto the final round.

Danny started flying through the chopping. He was super fast. Patrick was next to him extremely worried about how fast Danny was chopping and wondered what he was doing wrong himself. Danny was the first one finished. Jill called to get her apples checked, but Tom did not approve. He said some pieces were too big and sloppy. She started going through it and pulling out the bad ones. While she was working on that, Alex and Eugene finished. There was one spot left. Jill asked to be checked again and she passed. That left Lauren, Leah, Patrick and Radhika as the last four. Leah said she would be super embarassed if she was sent home in the first challenge since she was from New York.

The last round was to make a dish using the apples that would convince Tom that they should stay in the competition. They had 20 minutes. They had a burner, saute pan and some additional ingredients nearby they could use. Radhika said that 20 minutes was enough time to get the kitchen in order and the spices lined up. Is she going to fail every quickfire challenge since they are almost always around 20 minutes?


Lauren
Spinach Salad with Apples, Blue Cheese, Bacon & Balsamic Vinaigrette

Lauren said she thought a cool salad would be refreshing on the hot day. She added bacon because who doesn’t love bacon? I’m thinking, salad? It sounded good, but this is what you chose to do to impress the judges? You threw a salad together that I could make?


Patrick
Apple Slaw Salad with Yogurt Dressing, Mint, Cinnamon & Honey

Patrick said he must have been on the same brain wave as Lauren since they both thought a cool, refreshing salad would be good for the hot day. At least he did more with his than throw stuff on a plate.


Radhika
Pan Seared Pork with Apple Chutney, Raisins & Chili Powder

Before starting, Radhika didn’t want to rely too heavily on her Indian background since she wanted to show she could cook other styles of food, but for this challenge, apple chutney was the first thing that popped in her mind that she knew she could make it quickly.


Leah
Seared Scallops with Dried Apples, Vinegar & Apple Juice

Leah thought about doing pork, but she saw Radhika go for it and didn’t want to do the same thing. She went with scallops and wanted to keep it simple due to the time constraints.

Safe from Elimination:

  • Leah – Tom said he thought her dish was really well done. The scallops were perfectly seared .
  • Radhika – Tom said she had a very well-balanced dish and it was well seasoned.

Losers:

  • Patrick
  • Lauren

Tom said he liked Patrick’s dish a little better so Lauren was sent home.

Elimination Challenge

The knife block came out. Each chef had to pull a knife that had various ethnic neighborhoods on them. There were two chefs for each neighborhood. They would each make their own dish and go head to head for the judges. The chefs with the top dishes would be in the running to win the challenge and those with the losing dishes will be in line for elimination.

Here is how the teams were divided up:

  • Richard & Jamie – Astoria /Greek
  • Hosea & Carla – Brighton Beach / Russian
  • Ariane & Stefan – Long Island City / Middle Eastern
  • Jeff & Fabio – Ozone Park / Latin
  • Radhika & Jill – Queens / Jamacian
  • Lean & Melissa – Littly Italy
  • Patrick & Daniel – Chinatown
  • Alex & Eugene – Little India

They would do that the next day. Until then, they had to go check out their fancy apartment they would be living in, start drinking, and getting to know each other. Team Rainbow was formed with Patrick, Jamie and Richard as the only gay/lesbians in the group. They wanted to support each other in the competition. Stefan started arguing that a vinaigrette is a vinaigrette. It is not an emulsion. How would they even get on that topic? I had to look up what emulsion was since I didn’t know. According to Wikipedia (take it for what it’s worth), an emulsion is when there is a mixture of two unblendable liquids. Examples given for emulsions are milk and cream, butter and margarine, and vinaigrettes. Hmmmm…..

The day of the challenge, the teams went shopping. They had 20 minutes and $75 to spend. Jamie picked out olives and wanted to sear some fish alongside a desconstructed Greek salad.  Hosea had never made Russian food, but he knew he wanted to use five ingredients: smoked fish, sour cream, potatoes, creme fraiche, and caviar. Carla said she was waiting to be led by her spirit guides when making up her menu. Cuckoo! Ariane said she didn’t know Middle Eastern food at all so she was stumped at what to buy or make. Jeff felt he had an upper hand against Fabio since Jeff is from Miami and knows Latin while Fabio is from Italy. Jill was looking for tropical fruits and rum for her Jamacian cuisine. Leah felt confident since she worked in Italy, lived there for a bit and currently works in an Italian restaurant. Melissa said she had no experience doing Italian cuisine. Not even pasta?

Patrick was familiar with Chinese cuisine from Culinary school that he was still attending. They had done a course on the cusines of Asia. He picked up black rice noodles that he had never worked with before, but figured it couldn’t be that different than other noodles. Daniel didn’t understand why Patrick was telling him what he was doing. Daniel didn’t share with Patrick. Alex loved all the spices in the Indian market. Eugene never made Indian food before so he was trying samples out of the deli area before deciding on one that he thought he could recreate.

The guest judge for the elimination challenge is Jean-George Vongerichten, an award winning chef. Gail Simmons from Food & Wine magazine was also on hand to judge.

Middle Eastern


Ariane
Crusted Rack of Lamb, Farro Risotto & Dates with Chickpeas

Gail said the lamb was beautifully cooked and the risotto was very undercooked.


Stefan
Lamb Chop with Tabouli Salad & Beef Onion Skewer

Jean-George loved the skewer with the carmelized onion. He thought it was a very good dish. Tom loved how he used cinnamon.

Winner: Stefan

Greek


Richard

Lamb Slider with Orzo Feta Pasta Salad

Jean-George said Richard’s lamb was overcooked. Tom said the dishes were very good and close, but the overcooked lamb did Richard in.

Jamie
Eggplant Puree, Seared Bass with Wild Arugula Salad

Jean-George liked Jamie’s dish better.

Winner: Jamie

Jamaica


Jill
Plantain Fritters & Jerk Spiced Scallops

Jean-George said the scallops were overdone. Gail agreed, but did like the char and carmelization. Tom really liked the sauces.

Radhika

Jerk Rubbed Halibut on Three Bean Rice with a Mango Salad

Gail said texturally, it wasn’t very interesting. She said there should have been more there like the banana chip. It wasn’t enough. Jean-George agreed said the fish and the rice were too mushy. I like those technical terms!

Winner: Jill

Latin


Fabio

Mango & Jalapeno Demi-Glace Pork with Mushroom & Avocado Salad

Jean-George thought it needed more salt. Tom really liked the knife work with the avocado, but then it was hiding under the mushrooms. Tom liked his dish best though.

Jeff

Coffee Seared Tenderloin, Smoked Plantain with Black Beans & Rice

Tom said that it looked like a blob of something on the plate. Jeff admitted that he didn’t give himself enough time to plate. Everyone else liked Jeff’s dish best.

Winner: Jeff

Russian


Hosea

Smoked Fish Trio with Caviar, Creme Fraiche & Apple Chutney

Tom liked that he got a good sense of Hosea’s style. He said if he went to Russia, that would be what they would get. Padma said there was a culinary excellence to his dish.

Carla

Smoked Trout & Salmon Cakes Over Potato Latkes

Gail thought the side salad could have used more seasoning. It didn’t have much flavor. Jean-George thought it could have used some kind of sauce, like mayonnaise or lemony thing.

Winner: Hosea

Little Italy


Leah

Farro Risotto with Seared Red Snapper & Mushrooms

Tom liked that she took fish and paired it with something very earthy.

Melissa

Seared Rib Eye, Arugula Salad, Fried Mushrooms & Tomato Sauce

Gail loved the sauce, but it could have used more salt. Tom said if the sauce was a little better, her dish would have won.

Winner: Leah

Chinatown


Daniel

Poached Chicken Salad with Bok Choy, Shitake Mushrooms & Friend Wontons

Jean-George said it was very wet. I think it looked like a mess. Tom said he had seen the salad before. Wolfgang Puck has been making it for 20 some odd years. Doh! Gail said she wasn’t inspired by either dish, but she was going to go with Daniel’s dish. Tom said Daniel’s dish at least had more flavor.

Patrick

Seared Salmon, Bok Choy with Black Rice Noodles

Jean-George asked Patrick how he made the noodles. Patrick admitted to not working with them before and he expected them to turn out differently. Padma said they were very gummy. Tom said the entire dish lacked what he would call base Chinse flavors. It was very one note.

Winner: Daniel

Little India


Alex

Grilled Lamb Chops, Spicy Ragout with Basmati Rice

Padma asked Alex if he had any experience with Indian food. He said he had experience with Latin so he thought that correlated well with India food. I guess I’m missing the connection. Tom loved the flavors. He said they were spicy but not hot or over the top. He thought it was a really good dish.

Eugene

Masala Rubbed Lamb with Basmati Rice & Tzatziki

Padma asked Eugene if he had any experience with Indian food and he said he did not. It was his first time making it. Jean-George thought it was more Indian in flavor. He really liked the masala. Padma said that he called it a tzatziki, which it was not, but without knowing it, Eugene created one of the most classic dishes that every South Indian home makes. She said he hit it out of the park.

Winner: Eugene

Judges’ Table

Tom said that if what they were served that day was any indication of the food to come that season, he was very excited. Jean-George agreed saying that nothing was sloppy and it was all pretty well done. Tom said the only neighborhood that was really disappointing was Chinatown. Tom said Patrick made an amateurish attempt to bring the flavors together and he failed miserably. Tom wasn’t a big fan of Jeff’s dish, but was outvoted. He wasn’t a big fan of Fabio’s dish either. Gail said she would pick Radhika. It was fine in terms of seasoning but texturally, it missed the mark. Ariane killed the dish with her raw farro.

Padma went to call in the top three and the bottom two. For the top three, it was Stefan, Eugene and Leah. For the bottom two, it was Patrick and Ariane. They talked to the winners first.

Winners

Tom told Leah that she captured what new Italian cooking is all about. He thought it went very well together. Gail said the flavors were focused and made a dramatic statement. With Stefan, Tom said there was a lot going on, but his dish never felt that way. It felt simple. Jean-George said the lemony hummus and couscous was very well served. He loved the onions with the meat skewers. He found them delicious and his technique was very good. Padma was surprised Eugene had never made Indian food before since he did such a good job executing it. Gail said it was delicious and the lamb was beautifully cooked. Jean-George said the masala was absolutely divine.  Jean-George got to pick the overall winner and he picked Stefan. Padma pointed out that in all seasons but one, the winner of the first challenge went on to win Top Chef.

Losers

Padma asked Ariane what her thinking was behind her dish. She said since she wasn’t familiar with Middle Eastern, she looked for things she found the most of, figuring they were the most popular, and then chose what she thought would work together nicely. Tom said the farro was so undercooked. He pointed out Lean made a farro that was perfect and it was what she was trying to do. She said she shouldn’t have called it a risotto-style, but Tom countered that even if she didn’t, it was undercooked. Tom said it was basic stuff that she needs to get. Everything on the dish counts.

Tom said they needed to go back to the challenge and see what they are asking, which was to find inspiration in the ethnic neighborhoods. Tom told Patrick that was why he was there. Patrick said he was trying to create clean flavors that signified a typical Chinese dish. Gail said that they all tasted the same to her. Gail said that the dish didn’t say to her Chinatown. Tom said it was almost a cliche of what Chinese food is in some place other than Chinatown. Jean-George said it could have used a little bit more ginger or scallions. Tom said it was a sanitized version of Chinese food.

Tom said in both dishes they really showed a lack of experience and going out and tasting different kinds of food. Padma pointed out that Ariane lives in New Jersey and really had no excuse for not trying out Middle Eastern food before. Tom said what if someone said to her that they wanted Middle Eastern food for a dinner party, what would she do? She said she had books to look at for recipes. Tom looked dumbfounded saying they did not learn from books, but from going out there and experiencing food. They were both shooed out for discussion.

Tom said that even though Patrick might still be in culinary school, it is a level playing field once they are on the show. Jean-George said that he put bok choy on the plate and called it Chinese food. Gail didn’t think he couldn’t handle doing a challenge on the fly. Gail said Ariane has 20 years of experience and she should have known better. Jean-George thought that the dish would have been successful if the farro had been cooked a little bit more. Tom said she lacked basic cooking skills compared to failing at the challenge.

They were called back in. Tom said again that the challenge was to shop in an ethnic neighborhood and find inspiration. Tom told Ariane that the inspiration was there, but the technique was really poor. Patrick’s dish was executed well, but the inspiration wasn’t there. Patrick was asked to pack his knives and go. I really thought that Ariane might go from her looking at recipes comment, but judging from past experience, failing at the challenge seems to outweigh other things.

Questions

  • Was it cruel to eliminate someone in the quickfire challenge before they ever had a chance to cook in the Top Chef kitchen?
  • Do you have any favorites already?
  • Who bugs you in just one episode?
  • Who do you think has what it takes to make it to the finals?

I find Eugene adorable. There have been people on the show in the past that didn’t have any professional culinary experience, like him, but are so cocky about what they can do. He does not have the attitude and is genuinely pleased when he does well. I am rooting for him. Stefan on the other hand, is a bit on the cocky side, but I still like him at this point. Carla reminds me of someone I used to work with. She is so flighty and out there, she drives me insane!

Photo Source: Top Chef

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