Top Chef: Melting Pot

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
House of Chef-presentatives

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Mise en place tournament
  • Elimination Challenge: Create a dish that reflects where you’re from

In these early episodes, they have too many chefs to show the judges talking about each one in the challenges. This time, we at least got to see the final dishes in the elimination challenge, but didn’t hear what the judges thought about them when they tasted them. Personally, I’d rather see them edit out some of the grocery shopping to show that stuff. The grocery stopping looks the same in each episode. It is like when Amazing Race used to spend so much time showing the teams at the airports when it was boring! Learn from them, Top Chef.

Quickfire Challenge


The chefs were on the rooftop of a museum in D.C. eating from a buffet spread and getting to know each other when Padma and Tom showed up. They were told they would be competing in a mise en place tournament. That is usually something that is done a little later on in the competition, but they are starting off right away with it! Most likely it is being done to weed out how fast some of the chefs can be in the competition since half of it is about speed.

Tom explained the different legs:

  1. 1st leg: Peel 10 potatoes – the 12 fastest chefs would move onto the next leg
  2. 2nd leg: Brunoise 10 cups of onions – 8 chefs would move on
  3. 3rd leg: Break down 4 chickens into 8 parts – 4 chefs would move on
  4. Last leg: Prepare a dish using the mise en place ingredients

Padma and Tom would taste and pick the winner. It was also a high-stakes quickfire so the winner would also receive $20,000.

Amanda cut her palm open while peeling potatoes and felt like an idiot, but didn’t stop. Kenny finished with his potatoes first. Everyone had to stop while Tom inspected the potatoes. He told him he was good and moved onto the next round. Then everyone was back at it again. Somewhere in the middle, one chef had her potatoes checked by Tom, but he didn’t approve saying she still had quite a bit of work to do so she had to keep going. She didn’t make the cut to move on. The five chefs that didn’t move on had to go stand on the side while the 12 fastest were ready for the second round.

One of the chefs explained what brunoise meant, which was good since I didn’t know. It is a small dice of an onion. I would suck at that, but then I suck at anything fast or precise with cooking. Kenny was the first one done again in the leg. While the remaining eight were chosen, Andrea was one that didn’t make the cut. She was disappointed in herself that she couldn’t cut the onion fast enough.

On the third round, shockingly Kenny was done first again. The last three chefs were soon done and they all moved onto the last round. They had 30 minutes to cook with the ingredients they already prepared and whatever was in the Top Chef pantry.

Losers


Kevin
Boneless Chicken Wing, Hot & Sour Broth, Tomatoes, Fennel, Potato & Mushroom

Tom said the broth was very salty.


Tim
Garlic Roasted Chicken, Potato Galette, Oyster Mushrooms

Tom told Tim that there was too much cream in the dish. It marred all the flavors.

Winners


Angelo
Roasted Wing & Thigh, Curried Onion Jam, Potato Noodles

Padma said it was very nice. Tom loved the jam. He thought the chicken was well cooked. He also loved how he used the potato.


Kenny
Duo of Chicken with Moroccan Spice, Potato Puree & Onion Confit

Tom liked how Kenny featured the roasted potato. He said the flavors were nice. He had a lot of different spices and a lot of different things going on. He said he did a good job.

Quickfire Winner: Angelo

Elimination Challenge

Padma said since they were in a city that represents people from all parts of the country, they wanted the chefs to create a dish that best represents where they are from. They would be cooking for 300 young professionals at the kickoff party for the  annual cherry blossom festival. They would be divided into four groups and competing head-to-head within those four groups. One chef from each group would be up for winning and one chef from each group would be up for elimination. The top four from the quickfire got to pick who they wanted to compete against on their teams.

  • Angelo picked Tiffany, Kelly and  John.
  • Kenny picked Tracey, Lynn and Steve.
  • Kevin picked Arnold, Amanda and Jacqueline
  • Tim picked Alex, Tamesha and Andrea

That left Ed. You would think that the chef picked last would be the one that they feared in terms of competition. Since Angelo won the quickfire, he got to pick what team Ed went on. Angelo put him on Kenny’s team.

After shopping the next day, the teams had one hour to prep in the kitchen and one hour to set up at the event. The chefs shopped and cooked, but nothing too exciting happened. Then they moved onto the event to set up. The event started and people were filing in the doors. Padma walked in with Tom Colicchio, new judge Eric Ripert and Gail Simmons. They started tasting the food.

Kevin’s Group


Amanda – California
Red Snapper Carpaccio, Clementines, Sencha Oil, Daikon & Caraway Gelee

Amanda said she made a dish that was a neo-classical California dish that was a throwback to the Wolfgang Puck era. Gail thought it was a messy slice of fish. Tom said he thought Wolfgang seasoned his food better.


Arnold – Thailand & Tennessee
Kaffir Lime & Basil Cake, Palm Sugar Anglaise & “Myint” Julep

It must not have been exciting enough to talk about.


Jacqueline – New York
Duo of Hudson Valley Chicken Liver & Port Wine Mousse

When Jacqueline arrived at the event, she unpacked her chicken liver terrine, but it was really grainy. She decided to recook it on the spot since the more she cooked it, the more it would smooth out. Sounds like trouble. When the chefs tasted it, Eric said it was not his favorite. Gail said it was coarse.


Kevin – Mid-Atlantic
Pennsylvania Lamb, Meyer Lemon & Pistachio Marmalade, Spring Onions

Eric said it was very tender. Gail could taste some ginger. Tom said the flavors were good and it was seasoned well. Some guests said it was their favorite.

Kenny’s Group


Stephen – Ohio
Potato Crusted Ribeye, Celery Root Puree, Scarlet Stadium Mustard Vinaigrette

Stephen said that every Ohio person’s favorite meal is meat and potatoes. Eric said he couldn’t taste the flavor of the ribeye. Gail agreed saying that because it was deep fried that all she could taste was the deep-fried part and not the steak. One guest, who apparently was one of the former Bachelor guys, said he wouldn’t serve it to his kids.


Ed – New England
Sauteed Cod Cakes with Boston Baked Beans & Shaved Fennel Salad

Tom said it was heavy. There wasn’t enough cod and too much filling and breading. One guest said he was surprised at the flavor of the baked beans (I’m guessing surprised in a good way), but he said the cod didn’t cut it.


Lynne – Hudson Valley
Corn-Camembert Ice Cream on Waffles, Bacon Praline & Caramel Sauce

The judges weren’t shown talking about her dish so it must not have been too good or bad.


Tracey – The South
Stone Ground Grits, Maple Cheddar, Port Royal Rock Shrimp

Tom said the grits were as bland as could be.


Kenny – Colorado
Cinnamon-Coffee Rubbed Trout, Black Bean Mole, Goat Cheese Polenta & Quinoa

Gail said it was seasoned really well. Eric said he liked the texture of the crispy parts. One guest said she loved all the different layers of flavors.

Tim’s Group


Alex – Russia & California
Deconstructed Short Rib Borscht with Creme Fraiche

Eric said the meat was well cooked. Tom said when people deconstruct something, it usually doesn’t work, but he thought it worked quite well. One guest said she normally doesn’t like beets, but the way it was served was amazing.


Tamesha – Caribbean
Jerked Chicken Sphere, Soft Polenta, Tamarind Mango & Cilantro

Apparently, Tamesha’s dish ended up on the cutting room floor of the editing room. No discussion about it took place.


Andrea – South Florida & Italy
Pork with Chorizo Potato Gnocchi, Calabaza & Orange Gremolata

Padma said she wasn’t sure how much it made her think of Miami, but it was tasty. Tom agreed and said it was well seasoned.


Tim – Maryland
Pan Seared Maryland Rockfish with Pickled Leek, Dill & Grilled Crostini

Tom had issue with the two sauces. He didn’t think either one was distinct. Eric said that he cooked it with the skin on and it is difficult to cook it with the thick skin. One guest said the bites were too big and it was awkward.

Angelo’s Group


Tiffany – The South
Cajun Shrimp & Crawfish Salad, Chicken Fried Tomatillos

Her dish was also not exciting enough to show the judges discussing it.


Kelly – Rocky Mountains
Spice Crusted NY Strip Steak, Fiddlehead Fern & Wild Mushroom Saute

Eric liked the seasoning. Tom agreed and said it was well cooked.


Angelo – Rural Connecticut
Arctic Char with Pickled Shallots, Tapioca & Smoked Bacon Froth

Tom said it was really good. Gail thought the dill was a bit too much. Tom disagreed though. He thought if there was any less dill, you wouldn’t taste it.


John – Michigan
Maple Mousse Napoleon with Crisp Macadamia Nuts & Vanilla Sauce

John said that it was the time of year that the maple would come out of the trees in Michigan so he wanted to play that up in the dish. Gail said she didn’t taste the maple. Tom said he didn’t either.  He tasted sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar.

Judges’ Table

Winners

Padma came out into the stew room to call in one person from each group: Kevin, Alex, Kenny and Angelo. Padma told them they represented the top dishes in their groups.

Gail told Kenny that at first she thought his dish lacked editing, but as soon as she put the entire bite in her mouth, she thought it was well balanced. Tom said there was a lot going on, but it was really flavorful and a nice plate of food. Tom told Kevin that he liked his dish a lot and it was the complete opposite of Kenny’s dish in that it was very simple, but had a complexity to it as well.

Gail told Angelo that his dish really came together. She could really taste the chilies and she could really taste the acid. She thought it was really smart. Eric said the bacon foam was a great surprise and he was really pleased. Tom told Alex that he honored his mother well with the borscht.  He said when people deconstruct food, they lose the original dish, but they didn’t think it was lost at all. All the flavors were there.

Padma told Eric he could announce the winner as the newest judge. He picked Angelo.

Losers

The winners came back into the stew room and had to send in Stephen, John, Jacqueline and Tim. Tim looked shocked that his name was called. Padma told them that they had the least successful dishes in their groups.

Tom asked Stephen why he cut the ribeye so thin that he had no choice, but to overcook it. Stephen said that he thought he could sear the outside and keep the inside medium rare, but he obviously did not pull that off. Eric told him that he had a beautiful piece of ribeye, but he cut it so small that the pieces looked like chicken nuggets.

Gail told Jacqueline that she was surprised she told them up front that she was going to make a low-fat liver mousse. She said since it is liver, she didn’t think anyone would be looking for a low-fat version of it. She said that she had served the dish hundreds of times, but she hadn’t made it before without her recipes. Tom asked if she had only served it or if she had actually made it hundreds of times. She said she had made it. He wondered why she needed a recipe after that many times. She said it wasn’t memorized.

Tom said they all had the same issue with John’s dish. They did not get enough maple syrup and the pastry was soggy. John said he had bought a pre-prepared puff pastry and he probably shouldn’t have done that, but he was just using it as an instrument to bring the mousse to their mouth. Gail said his dish only had three main ingredients and if he was discounted one of them, saying it was just a vessel, he was discounted a third of his dish. She said it was a big part of what they were tasting. John said he was just being stupid.

Padma asked Tim about his dish. He said he thought it was a nice piece of fish, seasoned nicely and the aioli was seasoned nicely. Eric said he was confused about why he kept the skin on the fish. He said it was chewy and not pleasant in the mouth. Tom pointed out that he was the only one of the four that got to choose his competitors but ended up at the bottom while the rest were at the top. Tim said he really let himself down. He knows he can cook better.

Padma shooed them out for discussion. Gail wanted to know why John made his dish when he didn’t make his own pastry. She said it didn’t reflect who he is as a chef and that’s what the challenge was about. Eric said it the cream was grainy and too thin. Tom said it was an amateurish attempt at making dessert. Tom said Stephen’s dish was a bad idea. He said he took something that could have been great and turned it into something that wasn’t very well cooked. Tom thought Stephen got caught up in the story of it. Gail said that Jacqueline had a great idea and could have had great flavors, if she had made a good mousse.  Eric was confused about why she wanted to make a light mousse. Gail said she was confused about how she used it as a selling point in her dish, when it became her downfall. Eric said it was a big mistake for Tim to cook his fish like that. It lost the flavor. Tom said he should have known better and he had expected more after being one of the top four of the quickfire.

The four were called back in. Tom told them the challenge was to show the judges who they were as chefs and where they came from. Tom told Stephen that he gave them a story about coming from Ohio. He said “Cleveland rocks, but the dish really didn’t.” Oh groan, Tom!  Jacqueline gave them a great story about New York and used ingredients that went well together, but the dish failed since the mousse wasn’t well made. They had loved John’s story about the maple syrup, but they didn’t think they saw who he was as a chef. They believed he was much better than that. Tom said that he thought Tim would show them more from the region than what he gave them. Padma asked John to pack his knives and go.

Questions

  1. Did John remind anyone else of Carla? I really thought he was going to be the loopy chef that surprises everyone like she did.
  2. There was some smack talking from Tracy and a few others in the confessionals. Do you think there will turn out to be some smack talking in front of the other chefs instead of just to the camera?
  3. What’d you think of the food based on how it looked?
  4. Any early favorites or people that already drive you crazy?

Images: Bravo

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