Top Chef: Undercooked Blues

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Top Chef: Las Vegas
Dinner Party

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create a dish incorporating three keywords
  • Elimination Challenge: Host a dinner party for the Macy’s Culinary Council

When the show started, it showed a contestant talking about missing their family. In past seasons, that was a dead giveaway that the person talking would be the one sent home that episode. I thought it would happen again, but then I remembered a couple episodes ago when Ashley was talking to her brother, and I thought she would be sent home then because of that, but she didn’t. I had to remind myself that they might have finally fixed their editing style so you don’t know what happened right at the very beginning.

Quickfire Challenge

The guest judge for the episode was chef and author Tyler Florence. Padma talked about cookster.com, which is a website that helps at-home cooks find recipes for every occasion. They would be creating a dish for the quickfire using three keywords. The keywords would tell them what mood, what taste/texture and what type of cuisine their dish would be. They used a slot machine to determine their keywords. It was also a high stakes quickfire, but they didn’t know what was at stake until later.

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  • Laurine – Romantic / Tart / Latin American
  • Kevin – Stressed / Hot & Spicy / Asian
  • Mike – Stressed / Umami / Asian
  • Jennifer – Adventurous / Nutty / American
  • Eli – Stressed / Umami/ Latin American
  • Michael – Adventurous / Tangy / Asian
  • Robin – Stressed / Umami / Middle Eastern
  • Bryan – Adventurous / Crunchy / Asian
  • Ash – Tired / Tart / Italian
  • Ashley – Blue / Cheesy/ Middle Eastern

They had 30 minutes to create their dishes. I had no idea what umami was, but Mike explained it as a the sixth sense. Eli said it was an earthy flavor.  Jennifer had discussed earlier that she did not feel well, but she had worked sick before so she was going to suck it up. She didn’t think someone’s mood or personal life should affect how they cook so she wasn’t going to affect her.

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Mike I. – Stressed / Umami / Asian
Raw Mushroom Salad with Yuzu Emulsion

Tyler said it tasted great.

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Laurine – Tart / Romantic / Latin
Crusted Goat Cheese Salad with Orange Jalapeno Vinaigrette & Hibiscus Flowers

Tyler said she did a nice job.

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Ash – Tired / Tart / Italian
“Pantry” Pasta Puttanesca

Tyler said it was very delicious.

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Michael V. – Adventurous / Tangy / Asian
Yuzu Curd with Whipped Greek Yogurt & Seaweed Cracker

Michael said he made dessert because he wasn’t a pastry chef and he thought that would be adventurous. Tyler said it was a great flavor combination.

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Eli – Stressed / Umami / Latin
Mushroom Ceviche with Avocado Marble

Tyler didn’t make any comment. Probably not good since he was being chatty with others. It didn’t look appetizing.

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Kevin – Stressed / Hot & Spicy / Asian
Char-Grilled Pork with Vietnamese Herb Salad

Padma asked if Kevin cooked Asian cuisine a lot, but he said he never does it. Tyler told him “well done.”

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Bryan – Adventurous / Crispy / Asian
Seared Scallops with Bok Choy & Tempura Beads

Tyler said he didn’t think it was “Asian specific,” but he thought it was Asian in general. I have no idea what that means.

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Robin – Stressed / Umami / Middle Eastern
Root Vegetable Hash with Cumin & Curry Oil

Padma pointed out that curry wasn’t Middle Eastern cuisine, which Robin first tried to say it was but then realized who she was talking to and shut up.

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Ashley – Blue / Cheesy / Middle Eastern
Feta Pudding with Sumac Dusted Halibut

Tyler said it was a good and told her “nice job.”

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Jen – Adventurous / Nutty / American
Main Diver Scallops with Pistachios & Salmon Roe

Tyler didn’t say anything so doesn’t seem like her dish was a winner either.

Losers

  • Robin – He said it was really elementary, not Middle Eastern and not really spectacular.
  • Eli – He said that Eli killed any umami flavor from the mushrooms by drowning them in citrus.
  • Jen – He didn’t think putting caviar on top of scallops was adventurous since it has been in done in restaurants for years.

Winners

  • Mike I. – He thought the dish was great. He found it light, fresh and clean.
  • Kevin – Tyler was impressed that he was able to balance those flavors when he hadn’t done that before with that cuisine.
  • Michael – The flavor profile was great.

Overall Quickfire Winner: Kevin

As the winner, he had the choice of immunity or $15,000 from the M Resort. He chose the money. No one had immunity.

Elimination Challenge

The chefs were told they would find out about their challenge, after they got back home. When they arrived, they noticed that the pantry was stocked, there were extra serving dishes everywhere, and fresh cut flowers were around. They figured out they would be hosting a dinner party, which Padma arrived to let them know that was exactly what they would be doing in three hours. They would be serving Tyler Florence, along with other guests, such as Nancy Silverton, Founder of La Brea Bakery and co-owner of Mozza; Govind Armstrong, chef and owner of 8 Oz. Burger Bar; chef Takashi Yagihashi; and chef Tom Douglas. Each chef was holding a bag filled with different ingredients from different cuisines. Their official challenge was to work in pairs to create one family-style dish. They would be drawing knives to see which ingredients and person they would be working with for the challenge.

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  • Yagihashi – Mike I. & Robin
  • Silverton – Michael V. & Ash
  • Armstrong – Ashely & Eli
  • Florence – Laurine & Bryan
  • Douglas – Jen & Kevin

Mike was livid that he had to work with Robin, but then decided to make the best of it. Ash was worried about working with Michael since Michael had so many ideas, he wasn’t sure he would listen to Ash. Kevin was worried about the bag that mostly contained Asian condiments. Mike was freaking out a bit since his bag was mostly filled with Asian ingredients that he hadn’t worked with much before, but Robin had. He still decided to ignore what she had to offer and just do what he wanted. Jen had been feeling sick in the morning and had not done well, but she decided she needed to let it go and move on. She was feeling a bit better too. Ashley and Eli were working well together bouncing ideas off one another. Ash said he would come up with a good idea and then Michael would come up with an even better one that Ash would agree was a better choice so they went with it.

Tom came by and cruised through the kitchen asking questions. After that, he told the camera that he was concerned with Ashley and Eli putting prawns on top of gnocchi, since the pasta is not going to be able to stand up to the prawns and turn into mush. He was also a bit concerned about Micheal and Ash being able to make fresh pasta and all their other components so they would get out to the table on time.

While finishing up, Michael had his fish cooking on a electrical burner when it kept shorting out. He wasn’t in the room at the time that it happened so when he noticed, he had to rush to find another outlet to plug it into, but wasn’t sure if the fish would be ready in time to serve to the judges. It ended up being overcooked with the starting and stopping of the cooking of the fish, but they went with it so they could serve something. Mike went to do something else and when he came back, he saw Robin cooking and burning the tuna. He thought he was going to be going home for it. Ashley was cooking the prawns and left Eli to finish up the gnocchi. When he brought them out to her to put the dish together, she found the gnocchi way saltier than how she had left them with him. She was very concerned.

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Ashely & Eli – Armstrong
Grilled Spot Prawns with Red Beet Creme Fraiche Sauce, Gnocchi & Kale

Chef Armstrong said once someone sautes gnocchi, it is hard for it to retain its lightness.Tom asked if anyone else found the gnocchi very salty. Many chefs agreed that it was salty. Toby said it was a Monet: good from a distance, but not so much close up. Chef Douglas said that spot prawns are precious, beautiful and too lightly flavored to let that happen to them.

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Robin & Mike I. – Yagihashi
Marinated Mushrooms & Pickled Asian Pear Roll with Seared Tuna & Scallop

Chef Yagihashi thought they had done well with his ingredients, but if he were making the dish, he would not have used the same portions of tuna and scallops. Tom said when he checked in with them, they did not seem to have a clear idea what they were doing and they seemed to have a lot of tension between the two of them. Even with that, he thought the dish was successful. Chef Silverton said, for her, it all worked.

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Michael & Ash – Silverton
Pancetta-Wrapped Halibut with Egg Yolk Ravioli, Asparagus & Fennel Salad

Chef Silverton talked about how the pancetta was not very crisp, but chewy. They were talking about how it wasn’t cooked at a high enough heat. Toby said the halibut was slightly overcooked and the pancetta was slightly undercooked. Tom didn’t like the combination of egg yolk and halibut.

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Laurine & Bryan – Florence
Halibut with Sherry-Chorizo Vinaigrette, Yellow Corn Cake & Avocado Mousse

Chef Douglas said there was a lot of flavor in the dish, especially when compared to  Michael and Ash’s halibut dish.  He said there was flavor in each layer. Chef Armstrong said that they were able to get the texture and the color right with the fish too. Tyler loved the spices of the chorizo in the vinaigrette. Toby agreed saying it really complimented the halibut.

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Kevin & Jennifer – Douglas
BBQ Kobe Beef with Cardamom, Tomato & Ginger Broth

Chef Florence said that the out of the dishes, it was one where each bite was really balanced. Chef Douglas loved the cardamom broth and the fragrance it brought to the dish. It added some texture to it. He said that taste and texture was a good combination.

Judges’ Table

Padma asked to see Laurine, Bryan, Jennifer and Kevin. Padma congratulated them all on having the best dishes of the evening. Tyler told them everything was really delicious and well executed. Toby asked if Kevin or Jennifer were the driving force of the team, but he said they worked really well together. Kevin said he did cook the beef when Padma asked and Padma confirmed with Jen that she made the tomato gravy-chutney. Tyler said it was beautiful dish. Toby said he was still eating it at the end of the meal when everyone was done. He said he was asking if there was any more. Laurine said Bryan cooked the fish, she made the polenta, and they both worked on the vinaigrette, but it was Bryan’s driving force on that dressing. Tom said from the list of ingredients they were given, they did a great job editing the list of ingredients down and sticking with a few things that worked together really well. Tyler said everyone loved the vinaigrette. He found it to be a “stunner.” Tyler picked the overall winner. He thought both dishes were really spectacular, but he could only award one dish and one chef from that dish. He picked Kevin and Jennifer’s dish, but said that Jennifer’s sauce was the really great. Jennifer won the challenge. She won a $10,000 gift card from Macy’s.

They had to send in Michael, Ash, Eli and Ashley. They had the least favorite dishes. Padma asked who did what on Michael and Ash’s team. Michael said he did the fish and had electrical issues. Tyler cut him off, saying they have to travel around and cook in really weird places, but they have to improvise when things don’t go the way they expect it. Tom said halibut might not have been the right fish with the pancetta. It was hard for it to caramelize and for the halibut to stand up to it. Ash said that he had some good ideas, but Michael came up with some better ones and it was hard to argue with them. Padma asked if he minded playing second fiddle. Ash said he did not mind cleaning paint brushes for Picasso. Tom said that Ash had just told them that he would only go so far in the competition. Ash said he could go far, and if someone like Michael can overcook a fish, he knows he can execute and make good food.

Tom asked if they were happy with the dish. Eli said part of it. He liked the sauce and thought the prawns worked well conceptually. Toby asked if he was aware that not all the prawns were cooked. Eli was not aware. Ashley said she cooked the prawns and tried to not overcook them, so she might have undercooked a few of them. Padma asked Eli if he noticed they might have been overcooked. He said he plated half the dishes and he didn’t notice any of them being overcooked. He said he didn’t physically touch every one though. Tyler asked if Ashely thought that gnocchi was too heavy of a dish for a summer meal. She agreed it could be a bit heavy. Tom brought up the saltiness, which she said she noticed and that affected how they seasoned the rest of the plate, including the sauce. Tom said, “You know that doesn’t work, right?” Then, he asked if there was any discussion about not serving the gnocchi, but Ashley said there wasn’t. Eli said that the flavor profile made sense. Tom said that it could have made sense, but it came down to the shrimp was undercooked and the gnocchi was salty and tough.

The chefs were sent out. Tom brought up that Ash didn’t do much. Toby agreed saying that he was inviting them to send him home if they picked that dish as the worst one. Tom said that Michael did a majority of the work on the dish. He didn’t agree with the ravioli on top of the fish and the fish was overcooked. Tom said that Ashley had her hands halfway in the gnocchi, but all the way in the shrimp. Tyler said they kept their blinders on the entire dish and felt that Ashley walked away from it. Tom said that Eli had some part in making the gnocchi too salty.

The chefs were called back in. Tom said team challenges were hard. When a team wins, it makes everyone look great, but when a team loses, it is usually one person that led to that team’s demise. He thought that was the case here. Tom told Ashley that the shrimp was really undercooked and also had her hand in part of the salty gnocchi that wasn’t very good. Tom told Michael that he was driving the boat on the dish, and it was conceptually his dish, which Tom thought was okay, but the halibut was overcooked. Padma asked Ashley to pack her knives.

Questions

  1. Who else thought that Michael V. was about to be sent home?
  2. Did anyone else think that Ash, Eli or Michael should have been sent home instead?
  3. Did anyone else think watching a Mike I. & Robin show would be hilarious? Her non-stop talking and his wide eyes amazed that she won’t shut up are classic.

Photos Source: Bravo

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