Top Chef: Everybody Wins

It was the last episode before the finale in the Bahamas where it was down to three girls and two guys. The chefs had one last weird quickfire challenge and and elimination challenge that would focus on their background and families. For once, everyone was on their game, which made the judges’ job too hard for them to send anyone home.

The episode started with Richard asking Antonia if she could guess what was going to happen next since she seems to have a sixth sense about things. She responded by asking, “Is Padma coming in here today?” Then Padma showed up in their Top Chef house. They all freaked out about how Antonia did that. Padma told them to go to the roof and then pointed out Ellis Island. She said they would be taking a ferry over and learn their Quickfire Challenge on the ferry.

Snack Bar Mess

Once they were on the ferry, a note was left for them that explained they had to create a dish out of what they could find at the ferry snack bar and they only had the time it took for the ferry to make it over to the island. They didn’t know what that time limit was. They just had to start when the horn blew and stop when it blew again.

Tiffany saw all the makings of nachos so she made nachos. That sounds creative! After a while, she thought she couldn’t just make nachos so she decided to make popcorn and throw some fruit on it. She thought it was bold to make a second dish. Do either one of those count as a dish?

Richard started to create something with a hot dog and an MRE kit that he just happens to carry in his knife kit. Carla looked at what he made and said that Richard always had a dish with 14 ingredients on it so he was basically making a hot dog with a lot of stuff on it. Richard saw some weird stuff being made by others. He thought Carla just cut up some oranges for her dish. He didn’t find that creative. Carla was trying to make something not so processed. Richard also said that Antonia just took cheese from one sandwich and bread from another and threw it on a grill. She actually made a grilled cheese sandwich on the hot dog roller grill.

Antonia was laughing at the descriptions everyone was giving their dishes, making them sound better than they actually were when they were presenting processed food. Mike wanted to make a peasant-type soup, so he tore up some hot dog buns and mixed it with cheese sauce and sour cream. He thought it tasted weird and he wouldn’t serve it to his cat, but of course, he’d be serving it to Padma and a guest judge.

When they landed, they found out their guest judge was Dan Barber, owner of Blue Hill. He loved local and sustainable food so it was interested tjat he was judging a contest with a bunch of processed food.


Tiffany
Nachos with Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Jalapeno, Banana Pepper & Sour Cream and Popcorn with Candied Mangos & Pineapples

He told Tiffany that her nachos were plain and too much like a throwaway dish.


Richard
Hot Dog & Beef Jerky Sandwich with Jalapeno, Pork Rinds, Lettuce & Apple

He said Richard’s dish was a tasty and creative way to use a hot dog.


Mike
Bread Soup with Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, Green Chili & Pork Rinds

He told Mike that his soup could have sunk the ship.


Antonia
Grilled Cheese with Apples & Raisin Bread

Antonia’s technique of grilling it was smart. He also enjoyed the pork flavor of the grill that got on the sandwich.


Carla
Orange & Papaya Salad with Carrot & Rosemary Juice

Carla’s dish was refreshing and innovative with the infusion of carrot juice on the oranges. Carla ended up winning the challenge.

Ancestral Roots

For their elimination challenge, they had to make a dish based on their ancestry. They had someone look into their genealogy backgrounds and then a member of their family showed up to deliver the results. Richard laughed when he found out that there were chemists and meat market owners in his heritage. Tiffany was talking with her mom and really wanted to make a dish with okra in it, but was unsure since Tom does not like okra. She didn’t want to change a recipe just for Tom so she was convinced she would make it so he would like it. Carla had tons of relatives from all over the South so she decided to make a Southern dish. Mike never really made Italian food like his grandmother had taught him since cooking it would remind him of her passing, but he decided he needed to make his grandmother’s cooking. Antonia found out that her and Mike were distant cousins! She knew why they fought so much with one another like siblings.

Before they started cooking, they found out the winner would be going to the finale and also win a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. The chefs would be serving Tom, Padma, Gail Simmon, Dan Barber and their family members that came out.


Mike
Potato Gnocchi with Braised Pork Shank Ragu & Burrata Cheese

Mike’s mom said his grandmother was from Naples and he learned everything about cooking from her. She said his grandmother would be proud of his gnocchi. Carla’s husband said they were like pillows. Dan said he wasn’t usually thrilled with gnocchi since he thought it was heavy, but what Mike made was light and great. Tom said it was really good.


Antonia
Braised Veal, Rapini Leaf & Fava Bean Risotto

Everyone said Antonia’s dish had great flavors all around. Her mom thought her dish was a gorgeous dish. Tom said that both Mike and Antonia’s dish were full of flavor.


Tiffany
Braised Short Rib with Mustard Greens, Stewed Okra & Oxtail Marmalade

Tom told Tiffany’s mom that he could tell they were well fed growing up. Padma loved the crispy nugget of pig’s feet in the dish. Tom said Tiffany made okra that he actually liked.


Richard
Short Ribs, Potatoes, Fried Bone Barrow, Corn Puree & Pickled Glasswort

Tom said it was alright and then clarified that he meant all right. Everyone loved the bone marrow in the dish. Tom never would have thought to put seaweed with meat, but he loved how it worked and he wanted to steal the idea for himself. Carla’s husband said he could taste the love in his dish.


Carla
Braised Pork Shoulder, Fried Grits, Corn & Sweet Potato Hash & Cheddar Biscuits

Carla didn’t think her dish was as pretty as she wanted it to be. Gail loved the grits. Dan loved she used the shoulder of the pork. There wasn’t a dry bite to the dish. Tom said that Judges’ Table was going to be difficult with five great dishes.

Judges’ Table

All five chefs were brought in and told how great their dishes were by the judges. When Gail asked Carla how she made the grits so great, she said she used liquid nitrogen which shocked everyone. Everyone loved her broth. Padma told Antonia that she was courageous for serving risotto and Tom could tell her confidence came through in the dish. Dan told Richard his thoughtfulness was all over his dish. Tom admitted to Tiffany that he liked her okra since it wasn’t slimy. It was rich. Gail told Mike that his mother said that his grandmother’s gnocchi was the best she had ever had until she had Mike’s. He teared up a bit.

They were all sent out, the judges discussed about how much they liked all the dishes and then called them all back in. Antonia was picked as the overall winner for the best dish and the Toyota. Tom told Mike he was going to the Bahamas too. Mike left the room and those remaining were Tiffany, Richard and Carla. Padma told Richard to pack his knives….he’s going to the Bahamas. He looked so confused when she was saying the beginning of the sentence and then I think he had a heart attack when he heard the rest. He left. Then Padma told Tiffany and Carla they were both going too. No one was being sent home. They were all going to the finale!

Questions

  1. I believe this is the first time they were sending five people to the finale. Was it okay to change the rules since there was no bad dish or should they still have whittled it down to the final four?
  2. Do you think the judges were swayed by anything the family members said while they were eating their dishes?
  3. Would you have eaten anything that was created during the ferry snack bar challenge?

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