Top Chef: Same Mistakes


Top Chef: All-Stars
History Never Repeats

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create a dish that represents your season’s city
  • Elimination Challenge: Turn the dish that sent you home into a success

The first episode is filled with meeting a bunch of people that you don’t really know and they all mesh together. This season, I actually know all the people competing on the show since I’ve seen all the seasons. There are still a ton of chefs though so some are still going to be ignored in the early episodes until they whittle it down about halfway through the season.

Quickfire Challenge


The chefs were met by Padma and Tom. Tom said that each time he talks to any of them, he is told that the season they were on was the best and the challenges were the hardest. He said now it was time for them to prove themselves. Padma said their quickfire challenge would be the chefs that were on the same seasons would work together as a team and create a dish that represented the city the season took place in. The winners of the winning season would get immunity. They were given 25 minutes to cook.

Losers


Season 2 – Los Angeles – Marcel, Elia
Shrimp Tacos with Guacamole in an Apple Wrapper

Tom said the shrimp needed more seasoning. It was really bland. The apple was a little bit too thin. He said that they wanted them to pick it up like a taco, but it was too hard to do.


Season 1 – San Francisco – Stephen, Tiffani
Cioppino Gazpacho with Sourdough

Tom said the flavors were good, but there was way too much raw garlic.


Season 5 – New York – Jamie, Fabio, Carla
Curried Apple Soup, Pasta with Caramelized Apple, Rib Eye with Apple

Tom said they gave them three different dishes and they weren’t tied in together very well. He said that two out of the three dishes were good. He liked the soup, which, of course, was Jamie’s since she loves to make soup when she isn’t making scallops, but he said that wasn’t good enough for the overall dish.


Season 7 – Washington D.C. – Angelo, Tiffany
Crab Cake Essence with Rockfish, Lemongrass, Jalapeno, Old Bay

Tom said it had a tiny bit too much salt.

Winners


Season 3 – Miami – Tre, Casey, Dale
Pork Tenderloin, Avocado Lime Puree, Tostones, Habanero Sauce

Tom said the pork represented Miami very well. The habaneros came through nicely in the sauce. The dish had really great flavors.


Season 4 – Chicago – Richard, Dale, Antonia, Spike
Pork & Black Pepper Sausage, Mustard Ice Cream

Yes, Richard had to make something with liquid nitrogen so he made mustard ice cream because he is crazy. Tom said it was really inventive and he was happy to see mustard ice cream.


Season 6 – Las Vegas – Mike, Jennifer
Bucatini with Bacon Lobster Carbonara

Tom said the flavors were great and the pasta was really well made.

Quickfire Winner: Chicago – Dale T., Richard, Spike and Antonia

Tom said it was the dish that represented its city very well and had a ton of flavor.

Elimination Challenge


Trays of food were brought out to each chef and when the lids were removed, each chef was staring at the ingredients of the dishes that sent them home. Their challenge would be to make a successful dish with the same ingredients. Tom said they could improve upon the original dish, but they couldn’t stray too far from the original dish. They had three hours that night and then two hours the next night at the Russian Tea Room. Padma informed them that joining them at judges’ table would be Anthony Bourdain and Gail Simmons. That means it will be mean times at the judges’ table with Anthony Bourdain, but also hilarious.

Spike was stuck with frozen scallops that he chose to use in the dish that kicked him off, so they were being very specific. He didn’t just get scallops, but they were frozen like what he used before. His plan was to mask the scallop flavor any way he could. Dale T. was kicked off for making miso butterscotch scallops, which Anthony Bourdain originally told him was like a melted candy bar. Dale agreed it was one of the worst dishes ever on Top Chef. He knew that conceptually, he couldn’t save the dish so he was just going to use less butterscotch.

Fabio thought that the dish he was sent home for before was good, but he said being sent home twice for the same dish was stupid, so he would find a way to improve it. Stephen was sent home during restaurant wars where he didn’t help out in the kitchen and just focused on the wine service, since he was a professional sommelier! That meant that he had to recreate the three dishes his other team members made for the challenge that made them the losing team during his season. Elia also thought she shouldn’t have been sent home for her dish during her season. She said the first time she tried to stay as true to her ingredients as possible by not changing them a lot. She had a red snapper cooked inside a ti leaf. This time she was going to put some bacon around the fish so that flavor would come through when it was cooked. Other than that, she really wasn’t changing anything.

Jamie originally went home for recreating one of Eric Ripert’s dishes. She did it worse than anyone else. She was going to take the ingredients but change up how she prepared it since it didn’t have to exactly match his dish this time around. Mike was stuck with making leeks since he was sent home during a vegetarian challenge before. He was worried since there wasn’t much that you could do with a leek dish. I think if he cooks them properly, which I  remember him not doing before, then he’s improved the dish. Jennifer said she was sent home before for her dish being too salty. She was not going to overseason it. Carla was sent home for listening to her sous chef, Casey, during the finale of her season. Casey recommended sous vide as a cooking technique. Carla was not going to do that this time around.

The next day, the chefs showed up into the very tiny kitchen at the Russian Tea Room. Tom came back there and said since the kitchen was so small, they were going to be split up into two teams. The first team would cook and the other team would be sitting out with the judges tasting the food and commenting, if they wished. Then they would swap. Also, the winner of the challenge was going to receive $10,000.

First Group

The first group prepared their food and then after their dishes were sent out, they realized there was a television in the kitchen where they could watch and listen to what the judges  and other chefs were saying about their food.


Richard
Pork Belly with Bread & Butter Radishes, Marin & Cheddar

Casey really liked the light breading on the pork belly. Jennifer agreed said none of the other dishes she tasted came close to it.


Angelo
Homemade Ramen with Sweet Glazed Pork Belly & Watermelon

Mike thought the pork belly was solid and the flavors were really there. Jennifer said the flavors were really balanced and harmonious. She liked it a lot. Anthony Bourdain said it had really good flavors and he also enjoyed it. It was one of his favorite dishes.


Dale T.
Butterscotch Miso Scallops with Crispy Long Beans & Spicy Eggplant

Tom thought the scallops were nicely cooked. Anthony Bourdain, who had to eat it before, said that Dale “unfucked” the dish pretty well.


Tiffany D.
Pan-Seared Halibut, Coconut Curry, Steamed Rice Balls & Pea Tendrils

Carla thought the fish was a little overcooked. Antonia said it was one of her favorite sauces to have, but thought it could use a little bit of sugar.


Tre
Cured Wild King Salmon, Grapefruit Gelee, Salted Macadamia Cookie

Jennifer said she wasn’t a huge fan of it. She thought that eating the cookie with the salmon overpowered it completely.


Tiffani F.
Crispy Branzino, Black Olive Pappardelle & Spicy Fennel

Spike liked the Mediterranean flavors. Mike said the kimchi marinade was different than what he expected and it threw him off.


Stephen
Lobster Harumaki, Hibiscus Ponzu & Coriander; Kumamoto Oyster Sabayon, Yuzu Soy, Salmon Roe & Citrus; Deconstructed Crab Soup Dumplings, Poached Egg & Togarashi

Tom said he had to improve upon the appetizers of his former team. Dale found it swampy, muddled and all over the board. Jamie said it way it looked was just not for her. Anthony Bourdain said there were people in the kitchen and people at the table that could have solved the problem and he did not solve the problem.


Fabio
Handmade Caserecci, Crawfish & Crab Stew

Antonia said she liked the basil, but she just didn’t get it when it was fried on top. She wasn’t sure if she should eat it or push it aside. She also didn’t get the paper that it was sitting on. Tom said it was there in case she wanted to roll up the food and smoke it. Anthony Bourdain hated the whole dish. He kept tasting it and poking it, just to make sure he hated it as much as he thought he did. He thought it looked like an inside out animal.


Elia
Red Snapper Steamed in Ti Leaf with Snapper Jus

She was the only chef not listening to what the other chefs and judges were saying about the food. She said she couldn’t handle it. You don’t want any feedback? Someone found a scale in the fish. Jamie said she thought the fish was a bit raw and she didn’t get the dish. Dale thought it was a dish that someone gave up on. He felt it was watered down with no personality. He found it disconcerting as a chef to be experiencing that in a dish. Antonia was experiencing shockface syndrome at the table while listening to Dale. After he was done, she said, “Harsh.”

Second Group

This group had no idea that the other chefs heard what they said until they were done preparing their food. The first group was sitting with the judges and feeling awkward about tasting the dishes while knowing others could hear it. Fabio pointed to Bourdain and said he knew he hated his dish since he had said it 11 times.


Antonia
Sausage with Cilantro, Pigeon Pea Puree & Roasted Cherry Blossoms

Richard thought it was fresh and tasty. He loved it. Tre agreed. Tiffany wanted to know if she had the same dish. She found it incomplete. It wasn’t one of her favorite dishes.


Spike
Pickled Mushrooms, Scallops, Lime Dressing with Hearts of Palm Salad

Anthony Bourdain said it was a good tasting dish but he could have lived without the scallops. Then he realized it was the famous frozen scallop dish. Then Bourdain wanted to know if Spike was the craftiest motherfucker who had ever been on the show.


Jamie
Pan-Seared Black Bass, Celery, Green Peppercorn Sauce & Herb Salad

Tom said he knew Jamie wanted to make the dish her own and he thought she was successful in doing that.  Richard found it excellent and he enjoyed it.


Mike
Melted Leeks, Carrot Puree & Salt-Crusted Potatoes

Tre thought he revamped the dish very well. He liked the colors of it too. Tiffany said the leeks were very nice. They almost melted in her mouth. Richard thought it showed a lot of finesse and elegance to it. He also thought visually, it was the prettiest dish.


Dale L.
Curry Poached Lobster Dumplings, Chanterelle, Corn & Bacon

Dale T. said he could not get past the dumpling. He found it pasty. Stephen found the flavors on the plate very nice, but he also did not like the dumplings.


Carla
Grilled Strip Steak, Smashed Potatoes, Tarragon Butter & Red Wine Sauce

Tiffani thought the flavors were nice. Angelo said his first bite of the meat was the nerve ending so that was an unpleasant experience.


Casey
Molasses Glazed Pork Belly, Pickled Peaches, Whipped Creme Fraiche

Gail said there was no doubt that Casey improved on the dish. She thought she redeemed herself.


Marcel
Uni & Caviar, Meyer Lemon Gelee, Fennel Cream & Kalamata Olive Dust

Tre said his dish threw him off and found the flavors too strong. Fabio said it took balls to put something like that out.


Jen
Duck, Squash, Foie Gras, Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Micro Arugula

Anthony Bourdain said the only thing missing from the duck dish was the duck. It just wasn’t there, flavor-wise. Tiffani said she expected to be blown away by Jen’s dish, but there were some technical errors she was surprised by.

Judges’ Table

Winners

Padma called in Spike, Jamie, Richard and Angelo. Tom told Richard that they called him in there to let him know they enjoyed his dish, but he was still plating his food after the two hours were up so he was not eligible for the win. The camera did show him still plating while everyone else had their plate up at the pass so the servers could bring them out. He had to notice he was the only one left in the kitchen, but he claimed he wasn’t aware time was up. He left the room with Jamie, Angelo and Spike in it. He was pissed.

Padma told the rest of them that they did a great job. Gail told Jamie that her fish was beautiful. It had super crispy skin and the celery tasted great. Tom asked if it was something she thought she would serve at her restaurant now. She laughed and said, “Absolutely not.” Tom told Angelo that thinking back to the finale, Angelo fell in love with the watermelon tea. Tom said Angelo had to kill it to make it not destroy the dish and he applauded him for doing that. Anthony told Spike that his dish was a smart way to deal with a seemingly insurmountable problem.  Tom said the overall winner was the dish that was close enough to the original, but was also new, fresh and exciting. Most importantly, it was delicious.

Elimination Challenge Winner: Angelo

Losers

The worst dishes were from Fabio, Stephen and Elia. Padma asked Stephen to tell them about his dish. He said he wasn’t around much when his team was making it. Anthony Bourdain said that the dumpling dish was monochromatic in color. Stephen said in his mind that was fine. Bourdain asked about what he thought of it texturally. He said it was what it was supposed to be–crunchy scallion, soft noodle and the broth. Anthony asked him if he had ever had a good soup dumpling. He didn’t really answer before Tom moved on and said he thought the proportions on the dish were all off.

Elia said she kept it simple like she did before, but she added fennel. She felt good with the flavors of her sweet pea puree and her snapper jus. Gail said her piece of fish was quite raw. Elia was surprised. Tom asked if she thought it was cooked correctly. She said she did not stick her knife in the middle of all of them. He said when it was unwrapped from the ti leaf, the top of the fish was raw. She was surprised by this news. She did say the leaves were thicker and it took longer to steam it. Gail said she didn’t have to steam it. Tom asked if she had made a test one to taste it. She said she didn’t. Anthony said he saw a talented chef that saw an obstacle that she couldn’t overcome so she became her own worst enemy.

Fabio said he didn’t really know what was wrong with the dish before so he was confused again. Gail said it was overdressed and overdone. Anthony asked him what he was thinking for the presentation. He said it was brown, wet and horrifying looking. Fabio told Anthony that he did not like the way he criticized his dish. He did not find it helpful. Anthony said that if it was in a nice bowl instead of on the paper, he would have liked it better. Fabio said it was a peasant dish so it wouldn’t have made sense without the paper. But the paper confused everyone? Tom said that they still wanted to be able to pick out the flavor nuances and that wasn’t there in the dish.

The chefs were sent out. Elia said before leaving the room that she had a lot more to do. She also looked like she was on the verge of crying. Tom said with Elia’s dish there was so much she could have done with it, but she pretty much did the same dish as she did before. She also didn’t improve upon the dish. Gail said she shut down. Anthony said it didn’t look good, it didn’t taste good and it wasn’t cooked right. With Fabio’s dish, Anthony said he didn’t make any decisions. Was it going to be a gumbo or a pasta dish? Tom said it was too muddled. He said he could have made a sauce, kept all the ingredients separate and at the end put them all together. There was no nuance in the dish at all. With Stephen’s dish, Tom thought the proportions were a mess, especially with the oyster sabayon. It could have been handled a different way. Gail said he didn’t have a grasp on what it was supposed to be so he couldn’t change it to make it better. Anthony said that while he was eating it, he was drifting back fondly to his last colonoscopy. It was that bad.

The chefs were called back in. Tom said the challenge was to take a dish they were sent home for and improve upon it. It was a chance at redemption. Unfortunately, they felt the dishes were not improvements. Tom told Fabio that the pasta was well made, but the presentation was clunky and the sauce was too thick and heavy. Tom told Elia that the ti leaves she used to wrap the fish might have been a little thick, but a chef of her caliber should be able to deal with the variation of the ingredients. Tom told Stephen that all the dishes were out of balance. They lacked a certain focus and had a murkiness to them all. Padma asked Elia to pack her knives and go.

Questions

  1. What do you think about the cast being called all-stars, even though they didn’t win the seasons they were on? Most of them made it to the finals, but should they have been called this season Top Chef Almost instead of Top Chef All Stars?
  2. Elia said she felt humiliated to be the first chef going home. She made it all the way to the finale her season. What did you think about her going home so soon? Did she just not get what was wrong with her dish to begin with? What about her not willing to listen to the feedback on the television like every other chef? Is that part of her downfall?
  3. Do you think it was fair to tell Richard he was not qualified to win by going over the time limit by less than a minute, even though all the other chefs finished in the time allotted?
  4. What did you think about the challenges with them having to create the dishes that sent them home the first time around?

Images: Bravo

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