Top Chef: Hot Emotions

Top Chef: All Stars
Night at the Museum

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create a midnight snack for kids
  • Elimination Challenge: Make a breakfast inspired by a dinosaur’s diet

It is interesting to watch the chef’s attitudes this time around. They have been through it before so they are feistier with the judges when they being called to task for their dishes. Some of them retain their cool while discussing what could have gone wrong with their dish or explaining themselves to the judges while others fight back and do not agree with what the judges are saying at all. That happened occasionally in previous seasons, but it has happened in two episodes back to back so I imagine it’ll keep happening as the season continues.

Quickfire Challenge


The chefs walked into the kitchen to greet Padma with Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.Antonia said her daughter was going to be thrilled that she was in the same vicinity as the Jonas Brothers. Dale T. had no idea who the Jonas Brothers were. He thought he might be a pastry chef.

The chefs were told that there was a sleepover for 150 kids at the American Natural History Museum that night. Joe Jonas was going to be a surprise guest. Their quickfire challenge would be to create a midnight snack for the kids and Joe Jonas would be the one deciding who won.  He told them that it had to be original (no peanut butter on celery), but the kids were going to have no utensils or plates. They would have to put it in a brown paper bag.  He then told them they had 30 seconds, which gave them all heart attacks. Then he said he was kidding. They really had 45 minutes. The winner would get immunity and an advantage in the elimination challenge.

Dale L. said that kids were the pickiest eaters and would “cry in your face” if you gave them something they didn’t like. He grabbed pretzels, graham crackers, Whoppers and marshmallow mix. He said he was making crack for small children. Dale T. pissed all the other chefs off immediately since he didn’t just grab some sugar out of the pantry, but took the entire container back to his station. Then when people were yelling about where the sugar was so they could come grab some, he just ignored them all and kept cooking. He was making friends. Tiffani really wanted to impress the kids because she had a kid challenge during her season where her food was not well received. Her response to the judges back then was that the kids had poor palettes. Tom told her she had a poor attitude. Tiffani realized she was an asshole so she wanted to redeem herself.

Losers


Tiffany D.
Coconut Rice Pudding with Grapefruit Sauce

She apologized for it still being pretty warm. It fell apart in Joe’s hands. oops! He found it too messy and thought the kids would have a hard time keeping it together to eat it.


Mike
Chocolate Coconut Corn Bar & Coconut Horchata Chaser

Joe thought the chocolate wasn’t strong enough. Mike wasn’t thrilled with his performance since it wasn’t as sweet as he wanted it to be when he was finishing up. He was also embarrassed since he had never been in the bottom of a quickfire before.


Stephen
Snickerdoodle with White Chocolate, Coconut Ganache, Apricot & Mint

Joe thought the mint wasn’t strong enough. He liked the cookie, but what was in between didn’t work well with the cookie.

Middle of the Road


Antonia
White Chocolate & Cherry Muffin with Cinnamon & Allspice


Richard
White Bread, Spiced Apples with Whipped Honey & Crunchy Chocolate


Tre
Cracker with Cranberry & Cherry Jam, Apple Smoked Bacon


Casey
Chocolate & Bacon Lasagna with Apple Juice & Candy

Calling it lasagna made it sound gross to me. Mike also thought it sounded gross when he heard Casey describe it.


Dale L.
Sweet Tart Nuggets & Caveman Boulders with Chocolate Sauce

Dale said he knew it would be a special night so he wanted to help the kids’ excitement by getting them jacked up on sugar. He said by dipping the sweets into the chocolate sauce, it would be like a 10-year-old kid rave.


Carla
Carrot, Ginger and Oatmeal Cookies with Carrot Chips & Granola Clusters


Marcel
Ants on a Log


Jamie
Mini Cheddar Biscuits with Homemade Cinnamon Apple Sauce


Dale T.
Corn Cake with Dried Cherries & Whipped Maple Topping


Fabio
Apple with White Chocolate, Caramel & Blueberry and Apple with Dark Chocolate, Marshmallow & Candied Ginger


Angelo
Fried Dough, White Pepper, Old Bay Spice & Cheddar Crumbs

He said he made Cheese Crisp 2010: The New Evolution. WAT!


Jen
Bacon Ginger Taffy & Honey Grilled Peaches

Jen said if the kids didn’t like the taffy, they could whip it at each other.

Winners


Tiffani F.
Rice Crispy Treat Snowball with Malted Milk & Graham Crackers


Spike
Homemade Potato & Carrot Chips with Mascarpone & Marshmallow Dip

Tiffani looked surprised she was picked. Joe said it was a bit of a tie so Padma said they would take both to the museum and see who the kids picked that night. They would have to make 150 each of the snack so they had to pick who was on their team to help them make that much of the snack. Each chef took turns picking who was on their team until it was left with just Fabio. He got to pick which team he went on. He told the camera later that he knew the other chefs underestimate his cooking (I don’t think so. I don’t think he cooks that well.), but he picked Spike over Tiffani because he wanted to have a pissed off Spike and he knew he could drive Spike crazy. They had two hours to cook.

The chefs got to the museum and set up their bags on the table. Tiffani’s team had blue bags while Spike’s team  had red. When the kids came running in, Fabio said they were like cows flooding in after the gates had opened. Moo! There were a couple of girls that didn’t like Spike’s snack since it had raisins in it and they didn’t like raisins. Both teams were campaigning to the kids to like their snacks. This all didn’t go far though when Joe Jonas walked out. All the kids went insane when they saw him. He asked them to tell him which snack they liked best. He first said the red team and there were only a few cheers and some boos. Then when he said the blue team, there were tons of cheers and Tiffani was declared the winner.

Quickfire Winner: Tiffani F.

Elimination Challenge


The chefs were getting ready to leave the museum around 1:30 am when Tom showed up. They were not thrilled to see him since they knew that meant more work for them. He told them that their elimination challenge started right then.  They would be joining the sleepover and make breakfast for the kids and their parents the next morning at 7 am. They would be using what could be found in the museum kitchen. They were standing in between the T. Rex and Brontosaurus. Tom said one team would be cooking with meat and meat by-products, like eggs and dairy only like what the T. Rex ate while the other team would be making breakfast with fruits, vegetables and grains like what the Brontosaurus ate. Tom said that since Tiffani had immunity, she got her choice. She picked T.Rex. That meant her entire team was now the T.Rex team and the other one was Brontosaurus. Tom told them that there would be a winning team and a losing team. One chef from the losing team would be eliminated.

They spent the night in the Hall of North American Mammals. They found cots down in the hall and they discussed what they hoped they could make when they couldn’t see what was in the kitchen in the morning. Both teams decided to break up into pairs on their individual teams. Team Brontosaurus had one team of three since they had an extra person on it.

The next morning, the chefs were up and 4:00 am and heading to the kitchen to see what they had to work with. Team Brontosaurus saw a huge amount of fruits and vegetables for them to work with. Everything on their wish list was there. Team T. Rex was not as thrilled since they kept thinking they would have flour, but that is omnivore, not carnivore. Jamie and Jen were working together and wanted to do a scotch egg, but there was no sausage. There were rib-eyes, bacon and other meat there to work with. There was also seafood. The team found out there were no herbs or acid (like lemon) so that would affect their seasoning. What they first thought would be the easier of the two to work with was becoming more difficult.

While prepping, Jamie cut herself. The medic saw her and said she needed stitches. She left to go get stitches and hoped to come back as soon as possible. No one else believed that she actually left. Fabio talked about how he broke his finger during his season and he kept working. That left Jen on her own to finish what they were trying to make. She was soaking some bacon to make it like pork belly. Just before they were about to serve, she had Casey taste some. Casey thought it tasted like wet bacon. Jen said she thought it tasted good.

While the chefs were setting up, Marcel and Angelo were on a team together. Angelo thought the plums they were putting into their bowls were too big so he thought they should cut them. He didn’t share this with Marcel. He asked Carla to help. Marcel saw her cutting up the plums and thought it was “destroying the integrity of the dish” by cutting up the plums. I love that the dish has integrity. Marcel was not thrilled that Angelo didn’t say anything to him first and was going to keep an eye on him. He thought he might not have the best intentions when messing with someone else’s dish. I thought they were both on the same team, but I guess it was really Marcel or Angelo’s dish, not both.

Jamie finally made it back while the chefs were still setting up the buffet area. When Tre heard she only got two stitches, he thought she was a wuss. Dale L. said that he cut off part of his thumb during his season. He put duct tape on it and kept going. He thought only two stitches was a cop out of the challenge.

The kids and their parents were let loose on the food. The line was longer over in on the T. Rex side since there was bacon over there, but the Brontosaurus team felt their food was solid. The judges arrived. Tom introduced the guest judge, Katie Lee, author of Comfort Table Cookbooks and the host for the first season of Top Chef. I barely remember someone else hosting besides Padma. The other judges were Tom, Padma and Gail Simmons.

Team Brontosaurus


Dale T. & Mike
Fresh Corn Grits, Stewed Peppers, Salsa Verde

Gail thought it was really creative. A museum staff member really liked the flavors of the onions and peppers. One kid thought it was too spicy. Another one liked it. Another museum staff member didn’t like the texture of it. He’s probably not a fan of grits.


Marcel, Richard & Angelo
Banana Parfait with Seasonal Fruit & Tandoori Maple

One kid loved the banana parfait. Gail thought it was beautiful to look at. She said it was like a painting. Another girl really liked it too.


Carla & Spike
“V9” – Gazpacho with Fruits & Vegetables

One kid thought it had a really spicy aftertaste to it so she didn’t like it. She also didn’t like tomatoes. One staff member thought everything in it meshed together well except for the yellow pepper.


Fabio & Stephen
Potato Gnocchi with Leeks, Spinach & Mushrooms

Katie thought the gnocchi had good flavors. Tom said it might be the first time he got served gnocchi that wasn’t hard.

Team T. Rex


Antonia & Tiffany D.
Mini Frittatas: Bacon & Cheddar, Ham & Cheese, Chevre

The kids liked the bacon one. People kept finding undercooked ones. The chefs were having issues with the ovens while they were making them.


Tre & Casey
Salmon with Shrimp & Apple Smoked Bacon Sauce

Tom found a few scales on the salmon, but thought it was cooked nicely. Other people at his table seemed to like it. A staff member thought the sauce was too salty.


Jen & Jamie
Braised Bacon & Hard Boiled Eggs

The kids wished the bacon was crunchy. A museum staff member couldn’t taste any flavor from the eggs.  Gail said it didn’t feel cooked the way she wished it had been.


Dale L. & Tiffani F.
Steak & Eggs with Hollandaise

The kids really liked the steak. A staff member loved the sauce. Katie thought it had a lot of flavor.

The judges had split up to eat with some staff members and kids so they came back together to talk it over briefly. Gail said some of the issues they ran into with the kids was they did not like vegetables. They liked meat and eggs. Tom said that his table was a lot different where they did like fruits and vegetables.

Judges’ Table

Winners

Padma came out and asked to see Team Brontosaurus.

As they went in, Dale L., on the loser team, commented that everything they had made was really weird and off to feed to kids and their parents. Jen said that it didn’t matter. She always cooked just for the judges. Dale said he thought that was selfish. She said that she learned her lesson and she cooks for them and not for the 150 people she will never see again. I think the judges still take into account the people the chefs are supposed to be cooking for so you have to keep it in mind.

Enough of the sore losers though. In front of the judges, Team Brontosaurus were told they were the winners. The judges asked if anyone was a leader, but they said the way they split into teams happened organically. Fabio said he wanted to do gnocchi. Tom complimented him on how well they turned out. Padma asked if he made something else in the dish and he said it was Stephen. Padma told him it was very nice and they liked how they made their dish to order. Katie loved the parfait dish flavors. She found it very creative and it was clear that they worked together as a team. Marcel giggled at that but said nothing. Katie got to pick the overall winner. She said the winner had very nice flavors.

Elimination Challenge Winner: Angelo, Marcel & Richard

Losers

Padma asked Tiffani what she thought about how the challenge went. She said that she was given an advantage of picking one team over the other and she had to pick without explanation, she was under the impression that T. Rex got to cook with everything and the other team were limited. Um, I thought Tom explained it well, but they probably weren’t listening fully due to being tired. Jen said that T. Rex eat everything. Gail said the challenges are always about adaptability. Antonia said she was under the impression that the other team would be more restrictive in their choices. Tom said he thought he was pretty clear when he explained the two teams. Tiffani said they were surprised when they got into the kitchen, but even with those circumstances, she thought they did a good job.

Tom told Tiffany and Antonia that there were inconsistencies in the cooking of their frittatas. Tiffany said they did experience some problems with the oven. Katie said one of them she had was raw. It was runny when she cut into it. Padma asked who made the steak. Tiffani said she did. Dale said he made the scrambled eggs and hollandaise.  Gail said there was good flavor in the meat. The eggs were soft and beautiful, but it came down to a roasted piece of steak and some well-cooked eggs. Gail said if the chefs couldn’t make some well-cooked scrambled eggs, then they should be there. Casey said she made the salmon. They asked if she made the spice rub. She said Tre did while she made the salmon. Padma said the salmon was way too salty. Tre said he made a shrimp sauce that was reducing a little too much while they were serving so it might have ended up a little too salty. Tom said, “So you were telling me that you knew it was overreduced and salty?” Tre shrugged his shoulders in response.

Padma told Jen that she seemed really pissed off. Jen said she didn’t feel like she deserved to be there or that the entire team should be there. Gail asked if she tasted the other teams’ food. She said she did. Gail asked what she didn’t like about their dishes. Jen said she thought her team’s dishes were just better. Tiffani said she didn’t think their food was very breakfast-type food. Jen said she didn’t think gnocchi was breakfast food. Katie said she thought they were taking an inventive approach to the challenge that this team was lacking. Tom asked why they chose not to plate everything individually. Jen said, “You’re the judges. You are smart enough. Why didn’t you ask, hey could you plate this differently for us?” Tiffani stared down at the floor and said, “Oh wow.” Jen seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown at this point. Her face was flushed and she was clearly agitated. Tom responded, “Yes, I’m smart enough to know that, but maybe someone on your team should be smart enough to know that.”

Tom asked Jamie about how she helped with the dish. She said they conceptualized the dish together, she cut herself and then she left to go get stitches. Tom asked Jen if she felt that hurt her in making the dish. Jen said she didn’t think it hurt her at all. She felt her entire team helped her with the dish. Antonia said Jamie left, but if it was her, she would have just duct taped her hand and kept working. She said that the entire team felt that way. Jamie did not look pleased at Antonia saying that. Gail said that she just felt there was an issue of proportion. She felt the egg got lost. Jen went on the defensive again and said she disagreed with her. Tom told her that the pork was seasoned well, but the eggs on top were really bland. Jen responded, “No way! The eggs weren’t bland. They were seasoned perfectly…I will fight to the death on this one. There is no doubt in my mind that it was underseasoned.” Tom said they were going to have to agree to disagree. The rest of the team looked like they wanted to back away from crazy Jen.

The chefs were sent out. Gail said she had never seen the chefs as angry as they were. Tom said he didn’t mind. They were going to be sent home for giving them a bad dish, not for talking back to them. That’s why Tom is cool. He ignores the drama llamas. Padma brought up that Tiffani had immunity, but she didn’t think Dale was going home either since that dish was the favorite one on the team. They agreed. Tom talked about the frittatas and saying they needed to pay attention if some were done and others were not. Katie said she could have found the frittatas in a hotel buffet or a cruise ship.

Katie said she thought Casey’s salmon was cooked very nicely. Gail agreed, but thought the sauce that Tre made blew out her palette. Tom couldn’t believe that he knew it was overreducing, but he didn’t do anything about it. Katie said, “If it isn’t good, then don’t serve it.”  Gail said that the dish that Jen described was not the same dish she ate. Katie said the texture was so off. It was soft and soft with more soft on top. Tom could not get over how bland the egg was on top.  Gail asked what they should do with Jamie. She had nothing to do with the dish’s success or failure. Padma said that hearing her teammate say that it made no difference that she wasn’t there, isn’t something someone wants to hear.

The chefs were called back in. Tom told them that the challenge was to cook for a buffet of 150 people that consisted of meats, fish, dairy and eggs. Tom told Tiffani and Dale that their dish was their favorite dish, so they could exit. Tom told Tiffany and Antonia that their dish was inconsistent with some frittatas undercooked while some were overcooked. They were better chefs than that. Tom told Jamie and Jen that they gave them a dish where the texture was off and it was really underseasoned. Tom told Jen that he respected that she was defending her dish, but that didn’t make her dish better. Tom told Casey her salmon was fine, but Tre’s sauce was overreduced and it really ruined the dish.

Padma asked Jen to pack her knives and go. Later on to the camera, Jen said she had no idea why she was going home. When she said bye to the other chefs, she didn’t say much. Then when the door was shutting behind her, she was cussing up a storm that left the other chefs with shockfaces. She did not take the news well.

Eliminated Chef: Jen

Questions

  1. Do you think Jamie was a wuss for going to get stitches in her hand instead of just staying and working, especially when other chefs have stayed in previous seasons when something similar to them happened?
  2. What do you think about Jen’s outburst? Do you think she was overly tired or that Jamie ditching her overwhelmed her when making her dish?
  3. What do you think about the food choices for the snacks and breakfast items? Would you eat gnocchi for breakfast?

Images: Bravo

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