Top Chef: Harsh Critic

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Top Chef: New York
Focus Group

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create a guilt-free dessert using any non-sugar ingredient
  • Elimination Challenge: Create a family-style meal for a blind tasting

Okay, the show is pretty blatant in its product placement, but now the Quickfire challenges have a sponsor? It was the Diet Dr. Pepper Quickfire Challenge. WTF? I really hate it when sponsors take over the names of something. I don’t like that stadiums and arenas have sponsor names, mostly because when the sponsor changes, then the stadium and arena changes and who knows what to call anything anymore. Can it just have a name without a sponsor and stay that way? It is so annoying.

On another non-related note, I recently read in Entertainment Weekly, that Padma actually goes up a dress size during each season of Top Chef. She said she has to go on a major food detox after each season from eating so much during filming. She said it isn’t noticeable on the show since she has things purchased for the end of the season in the larger size. I am just glad she is actually eating during the show instead of being a mouthpiece only, and seriously, she can go up a dress size and still look fabulous.

Quickfire Challenge

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The guest judge was French Michelan Star chef, Jean Christophe Novelli, who is a famous pastry chef. The chefs knew they would have to make some kind of dessert if he was involved. What they didn’t know is that Padma would talk about people watching what they eat and trying to avoid a lot of calories while still craving their favorite flavors. There was a cart that had all the sugar in the Top Chef kitchen. She said they would be wheeling that cart out and the chefs then had 45 minutes to create a guilt-free dessert with using any non-sugar ingredients. She said they wanted to eat a dessert that didn’t taste like there was any sugar missing. Shockingly, there was tons of Diet Dr. Pepper available for them to use in the Top Chef fridge.

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Fabio
Granola & Oat Tart  with Eggless Pastry Cream & Fresh Berries

Jean Christophe asked him if he was happy with it and Fabio said he was happy. He said the cream was not very cooked. Fabio chalked it up to the long-standing fued between Italy and France.

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Jeff
Frozen Cherry & White Fig Yogurt with a Baklava Spring Roll

Jeff had said while making his food that since Miami is very body conscious, he already creates a lot of sugar-free desserts at his own restaurant. Jean Christophe said it was a very interesting combination.

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Eugene
Mini Blini “Burger” with Banana Lumpias “Fries”

I have no idea what Jean Christophe said since he mumbled. Eugene did say that he wanted to have a burger and fries-style presentation.

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Melissa
Baked Dessert Burrito with Greek Yogurt Sauce

No comment from Jean Christophe, but Melissa said her current specialty is Latin food so she tried to make a playful twist on that with her dessert burrito.

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Radhika
Bread Pudding with Sauteed White Peach & Roasted Cashews

Jean Christophe said it was very adventurous.

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Leah
Crepe with Whipped Ricotta, Strawberries & Balsamic Reduction

Jean Christophe said it was very interesting.

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Stefan
Sugar-free Mousse de Chocolate with Cherries

Jean Christophe asked Stefan where he was from and he said France before laughing and saying he was just kidding. Then he said he was Finnish. Jean Christophe did not look amused at Stefan’s goofiness, but did say the mousse was very well mixed.

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Hosea
Green Figs & White Peaches Brushed with Honey & Balsamic

Jean Christophe asked if Hosea had tried it. He said he was very happy with it. Jean shrugged while saying it was interesting.

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Ariane
Whole-Wheat Crepe with Caramelized Pears & Toasted Almonds

While explaining her dish, Ariane offered the whipped cream that was on the side, which Jean Christophe did not want. He also lifted it up on a spoon where it was not creamy at all, but more like a block of butter on the spoon.

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Jamie
Ricotta, Mascarpone, Peach, Nectarine & Cherry Napoleon

Jean Christophe breathed out like he just had some strong alcohol and said it was very interesting. I am guessing that “interesting” is not a compliment from him. 😉

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Carla
Baklava with a Chocolate Disc & Fried Bananas

Carla explained she wanted frozen bananas, but it didn’t set up correctly so she had to fry the bananas at the last moment. She knew the disappointment was on her face from that.

Losers:

  • Carla – The bananas were very bland.
  • Ariane – The pancake was missing a bit of a twist.
  • Jamie – The cheese overpowered the dish completely.

Winners:

  • Radhika – He thought the combination of ingredients were excellent.
  • Leah – He loved the balsamic touch on the dish.
  • Jeff – It was great and well done.

Quickfire Challenge Winner : Radhika

Radhika won immunity in the elimination challenge. I know fairly soon in the competition, immunity will not be given out anymore so I am expecting it to happen with each episode. Not yet, though!

Elimination Challenge

Padma let the chefs know that Toby Young, a U.K. food critic, would be taking over for Gail Simmons the rest of the season as one of the guest judges and would be joining Jean Christophe, Padma and Tom at Judges’ Table. Fabio told the other chefs about him, saying he was a brutally savage food critic. She told them that they would be doing a special challenge for his arrival the next day, but they had the night off so they should take it easy. I know there has to be some kind of surprise coming since the show never gives them the night off. I know whenever they have thought they are getting a night on the town, it always turns into a challenge. I wonder if they will get a challenge in the middle of their resting time later that night.

Tom never did show up in the middle of the night, but he did come to visit them in the morning to let them know about their challenge. The challenge would be to make whatever food they wanted to make with no limits for a family-style meal. It would be eaten by the judges and some food experts, but they would not know who created what dish before they ate it. It would be a blind tasting with no pre-conceieved notions. Where they would be cooking was going to be a tight kitchen so they divided up into two teams. Radhika got to pick what team she wanted to be on as the winner of the quickfire challenge. The chefs drew knives to see if they would be on Team A or Team B. Radhika ended up picking the team that Stefan was not on since she thought he created a bit more tension in the kitchen than was necessary. Finally, since no one was eliminated in the last episode, two chefs would be eliminated at the end of this one. Uh-oh!

Group A

  • Radhika
  • Jamie
  • Eugene
  • Hosea
  • Melissa
  • Fabio

Group B

  • Stefan
  • Leah
  • Ariane
  • Carla
  • Jeff

The first group went shopping first since they would be cooking first and then the second group would go out later. Each group had thirty minutes to shop with $100.  While shopping, Eugene was going to make what he liked to eat and he told Jamie his idea. She was telling Radhika later that it sounded weird and made no sense to her.  After group A was done shopping, they headed to off to the off site kitchen to prepare their food. They had two hours to prepare it. While they were preparing, the second group went out to shop. Back in the kitchen, group A had thirty minutes left before they served their food. Jamie was making scallops. Again? She said she did it because she was called out for serving her raw scallops last time and she wanted to prove she knew how to make them. She has made them in almost every challenge so I think she has proven that already. Use another protein Jamie! Fabio agreed. He said, “This is Top Chef. It isn’t Top Scallops!” When Fabio was plating, he finally cut his lamb and found out it was undercooked. He said it was too late to do anything about it since it was only five minutes to serving so he was going to serve rare lamb. Radhika was concerned that her bisque that she said is super popular at her restaurant was tasting too bland to her, but she hoped the crab salad would offset that and sent it out.

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Group A chefs told the waiters what their dishes are so they can present them and them left the kitchen. Group B thought they were about to head in and start cooking, but when they stepped off the elevator, they realized that they were the food experts that would also be blind taste testing Group A’s food along with the judges. Sneaky! Group A did come out and know that the other chefs would be tasting their food. They were not happy about it, but they had to leave and go back to the kitchen where they could see what was going on from a television screen. They got to see what everyone was going to say as they tasted it, which could be very scary. They didn’t think the other chefs knew the camera was in there so they had no idea the other chefs would hear what they said.

Group A Dishes

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Radhika
Curried Crab Bisque with a Lemon-Scented Crab Salad

Stefan said there was something in the soup that he couldn’t eat. It went against his taste buds and they were numb. Tom said it was too heavy-handed. Toby said that he would be calling up the U.N. to let them know that he had found the weapons of mass destruction and they were in that bowl. Oh, this guy will be one of my favorites like Anthony Bourdain!

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Hosea
Bacon-Wrapped Halibut with Roasted Vegetables in a Beurre Blanc Sauce

Carla said the vegetables were fantastic and to her upstaged the fish wrapped with bacon. Jean Christophe said that the person who made the dish doesn’t know how to say stop. Toby said it reminded him of the Hollywood films with American actors that are upstaged by their classically-trained British character actors in supporting roles. He said the supporting roles here upstaged the lead.

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Jamie
Seared Scallops with Fennel, Garlic, Oranges & Olives

Jeff said it was a good dish. He said his scallops were medium to medium-rare, which was perfect. Toby said the ingredients were well chosen. He said the fennel and the scallops complimented each other very well. Jean Christophe said the way the scallops had been cooked and combined with the other ingredients were well done. Jamie had a sigh of relief on her face when she heard that while watching the television screen.

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Fabio
Rack of Lamb with Cheese Ravioli & Mushroom Sauce

Stefan said the lamb was undercooked and missing seasoning. He liked the ravioli. Ariane agreed that the lamb was undercooked. Jean Christophe said the pasta was very well done. The cheese was superb and the mushroom sauce absolutely perfect. He said without the lamb it was a perfect dish.

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Eugene
Crispy Red Snapper with Tomato, Basil & Daikon Fettuccine

Jeff said the fish was beautiful and it looked awesome. He also said you had to be careful with daikon, which is like a radish. I don’t know if he thought this was well done or not. Stefan said where he comes from radishes are cold, not hot. Toby said the fish was overcooked and the whole dish was underseasoned. He said it was the bland leading the bland.

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Melissa
Ahi Tuna Crudo Tacos

Leah said she likes fish tacos, but she thought it could use more salt. Ariane said she couldn’t overcome the fishy taste. Padma asked Toby what the dish says about the chef. He said it tells him that he or she isn’t terribly confident. He thought it tasted a bit like cat food. The other chefs standing next to Melissa in the kitchen were saying that was harsh.

Group B Dishes

After Group A cleared out, Group B went into the kitchen with a bit more knowledge of who they would need to impress at the table. Jeff talked about how he was making three small plates and doing more prep work than everyone else. He does like to point out that he works more than anyone else. That isn’t always a good thing for him though. Stefan said that he was braising his cabbage in an hour and a half, which would make every German and Austrian that knows the dish turn over in their grave, but I guess he thinks he can get it done right in time.  Leah was doing something she had never made before. She wanted to “go big or go home.”  After the dishes were served, the second group went back into the kitchen and saw the television, which they did not realize would be there so they could view everyone’s comments as they happened.

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Stefan
Roasted Duck & Braised Cabbage with Bread Dumplings

Radhika thought the duck was cooked well, but the dumplings were a little dense. Fabio said if you just tasted the dumpling on its own, it would be a little too dense, but if you tasted it all together, it actually worked. Tom liked the dish. He said there was so much flavor in the cabbage with the sour and sweetness being great.

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Jeff
Trio Tapas: Oysters, Seared Tuna, Avocado Sorbet & Grilled Peaches

Eugene said the idea and creativity was there, but there was too much happening on the plate. Jean Christophe said he has made sorbet and it has never been as good as this one. Tom said he didn’t like it at all. He said it was not a dish, but a group of hors d’oeuvres. Toby said it was the standout dish of the five for him. He said the avocado sorbet was like Tom Cruise’s cameo in Tropic Thunder,  it was an unexpected treat. Tom said he was sorry, but he didn’t see it.

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Ariane
Skate Wing with Pineapple & Cauliflower Puree

Melissa said she though the cauliflower puree and the skate wing went together very well. Jean Christophe said the skate wing was cooked perfectly. He said the pineapple contradiction was very original and fabulous.

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Leah
Seared Rouget Encrusted with Bread with Fried Beans in Chorizo Sauce

Jamie said she didn’t like the fried beans. She thought they were kind of greasy in her mouth. Toby disagreed, saying as an Englishman, he was a fan of fried food. He said it was a pan-European alternative to fish and chips.

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Carla
Seared Scallop on Top of Risotto with Gremolata Topping

Hosea loved the scallops, but didn’t care for the topping. He thought the risotto was uninspired. Jamie said the topping was way too garlicky and had a lot of bitterness to it. Tom said he likes garlic, but he doesn’t like raw garlic.

Judges’ Table

Tom said that overall he thought the second group was stronger. Toby said it was overwhelming to taste so many dishes, but he thought the standard was pretty high overall. Tom said that seeing how the judges sit there and eat the food is probably very informative for the chefs and they probably realized a lot of mistakes they had made in the past.

Padma called in Ariane, Stefan and Jamie as the judges’ favorites. Starting with Stefan, Tom said it was a great dish and showed exactly who Stefan is. He said the duck was perfectly cooked and the flavors were spot on. Toby loved that it was so unmistakenly German and something he had eaten himself many times. Jamie said she wanted to redeem herself after the raw scallop debacle and she knew that fennel and orange worked well together. Tom said he loved the flavor combination. Toby said that fennel has an anise undertone that really brought out the caramel flavor of the scallop. Jean Christophe said it was very refined and a lovely recipe. For Ariane, Tom said he was glad it wasn’t just chopped up pineapple on the plate, but she cooked it and did something with it. Jean Christophe said she did a great dish and he really enjoyed it. Jean Christope got to pick the overall winner: Jamie. She finally won one!

Melissa, Eugene and Carla went in as the losers of the bunch. With two going home, only one of them would make it out of there alive! Starting with Carla, she said her thing was to make the risotto vegetarian and then put the scallop with it. She said she wasn’t happy with it and she was not surprised she was there. Tom said he didn’t think risotto makes a good garnish. She said that she wanted to wow them with flavor. She admitted she missed the boat on this dish, but that was the intention. Toby said his major complaint was the bitterness of it. Carla said she wasn’t happy with the gremolata topping. She said she should have put it in the risotto, which Tom agreed would have been a good idea. She said then the garlic wouldn’t have been as overwhelming, nothing would have tasted raw and all the flavor would have gone into the risotto. It sounded like she learned immediately what she did wrong and what she could have done to fix it.

Melissa said she enjoyed hearing her food being critiqued while it was being eaten, even though she did end up on the bottom. Tom asked what she enjoyed since it was very harsh. She said she learned a lot from it. Tom asked what she would have changed. She would have done something else. Tom said it was a failure of imagination. He said that if she was asked to do something that wowed them that doing fish tacos is not something that immediately comes to mind. She said she had made the dish before and it had been better, but she didn’t say how it was better. It didn’t sound like she had learned anything since she couldn’t explain how to make it better like Carla just got done doing. Jean Christophe said that the dish was very bland and overdressed. Toby said they could smell the dish before it got to them and it wasn’t in a way that was pleasant. Toby asked her if there was something she thought she could do to it to save it and she said she didn’t think it was that bad. She sounded clueless with no explanation on what exactly she learned.

Eugene said he liked to do risky things and thinking outside of the box when he should just do simple things. Tom asked how diakon, tomato and basil made sense together. Eugene said he tried it before and he liked it. He said he took a chance on it and it didn’t pay off. Tom said it didn’t sound like he took a chance since if he had done it and liked it before, it wasn’t much of a chance. Jean Christophe said that he obviously has creativity since it was the most creative dish presented, but the fish was overcooked and that was enough for him. Toby said he didn’t think the dish was very risky since overall the flavors were very mild and it lacked punch.

Padma asked if they had anything else to add. Eugene said that he learned a lot of what they are looking for so he should have went with one of his other ideas for his dish, which was an Asian noodle instead of the daikon, but he got too creative. Melissa said she really wanted to be there and hoped they woudn’t send her home. Carla said if she removed the scallop from her dish, it would have been perfect.

The chefs were sent out and Padma said they usually decide who is going home, but with two of the three leaving, they needed to decide who would stay. Toby said he thought Eugene should be given a second chance since he was willing to take risks.  He said he doesn’t have it right yet, but if he keeps going in this direction, he would get it right. Tom said he just wished he managed to bring the dish together better. Tom said he beat up the fish and he really needs to honor ingredients. Tom said part of the challenge was to show the judges who they are and he thought she did that with her fish tacos. Tom said that is exactly who she is. Toby added that is precisely why she should go. Jean Christophe said Carla was like someone that was driving and didn’t know where to go. Toby said it wasn’t  just that she didn’t serve a vegetarian dish, even though she wanted to in the first place, but it was her lack of confidence that he does not think she’ll ever make the leap and make it.

The chefs were called back in for the final decision. Tom said after six rounds, they were given a straight-forward challenge where they cooked to their heart’s content and wow the judges at the same time. Tom told Eugene he was wildly creative, but his skill level needs to catch up to his creativity. Tom told Melissa that she showed them who she was, but what they saw was a lack of imagination and creativity. Tom told Carla that she overthought it and overworked it. She ended up ruining what could have been an exceptional dish. Padma asked Melissa to please pack her knives and go, leaving Carla and Eugene. Then Eugene was asked to leave too leaving Carla as the one left standing.  I am sad that Eugene was leaving since I had high hopes for him at the beginning of the season, but I think he was a bit too stubborn when he heard criticism about his dishes and he needed to listen in order to improve. I never liked Melissa so it was about time she left. Carla is an odd one, but I think she knew how to make her dish better so that’ s why she was asked to stay.

Questions

  1. Do you have any sugar-free dessert ideas that were not similar to what the chefs made?
  2. Did you think that Eugene and Melissa were the right ones to leave? Did Carla do a better job explaining herself or should she have gone like Toby wanted since she wasn’t confident and Eugene stayed because he was more creative even though he lacked the skills?
  3. Should some of the other chefs have been in there with those three, like Radhika? Even though she had immunity, it was a dish they really did not like and they have taken immunity chefs into the losing group just to tell them their dish was bad.
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