Top Chef: Trimming the Fat

The new season in Texas kicked off where they changed the way the show started. I could have been worried about the change, but I’m willing to go along with it. Also, my faith in head judge, Tom Colicchio, was renewed when he kicked off a cocky chef immediately for a horrible butchering job. Good! He was annoying.

There are usually too many chefs to know who they are until a few episodes in and that is with 16 chefs. This time, they started with around 30! At first, it seemed like it’d be a train wreck, but I think it is a good thing. The chefs did a challenge first to win a spot for the top 16. This does two things: one, it makes the chefs get used to how Top Chef is played (and it is a game) and two, it creates a sense of connection with the chefs that make it so you are more invested in them once they make the top 16.

Qualifying Challenge – Group 1

There were around 30 chefs that were put into three groups. Each of the groups would have a different challenge to earn a chef’s jacket. They could win it, lose it or if the judges saw something in the chef to give them another chance, they were on the bubble to have one last chance to win a jacket. I think this last twist was good since I was wondering if the last group would be at an advantage or disadvantage of either all the jackets being handed out or tons left over so one chef might get one that doesn’t necessarily deserve it. Of course, that could still happen in some way, but this seems to give the judges some leeway when they hand out jackets.

The first group’s quickfire was to prepare a dish using one cut of a pig. They had to decide what cut out of the 10 of the pig to use and had one hour to make the dish. A few cuts came from the same area of the pig so the chefs had to butcher that part of the pig to get their specific cut.

This is where cocky Tyler came in telling the camera how he is awesome since he is only 22 and wrote a cookbook in three weeks. I’m thinking that just because you wrote one, doesn’t necessarily make it good. Grayson needed the tenderloin from the piece of pork that Tyler was going to chop off his pork chops. Grayson let him cut it, which ended up being a mistake since he hacked it to death due to his butchering skills sucking. He told the camera that he cooks for celebrities and has a butcher cut the meat for him, but he knows how to slice and dice better than any of the other chefs there, which is apparently a lie since Tom sees what he is doing and tells him to stop. He made Tom quite sad at what he did to the pig and Tom kicked him out. He tells him that he isn’t ready for a coat. Nice! I was dreading watching this guy in the weeks ahead.

Grayson then tried to finish her dish with hardly any tenderloin since Tyler did ruin most of her cut. We also got to see Colin, who owns a vegan restaurant fret about having to work with pork when he hasn’t worked with it in 10 years. I’m always confused about the chefs that cook with limited ingredients choose to come on this show.

Taste Test

The first group was judged by Tom, Padma and Emeril Lagasse. What I learned about Emeril’s judging style was he pretty much agreed with whatever Tom said.


Colin
Short Rib Zucchini Cake with Mole Roja, Roasted Cauliflower Tarragon Soup

Colin ran out of time so he apparently threw his soup on the plate and hoped it made it in the bowl. The judges took one look at the plate and sent him home. They didn’t even taste it.


Chris J.
Caramel Apple Stuffed with Braised Pork Belly & Sweet Applesauce

Tom said it was the classic combination of pork and apple really well done. Emeril was impressed and Chris received the first chef’s jacket.


Sarah
Pig Skin Ravioli

Tom said it was a difficult ingredient and she pulled it off. She received a coat.


Molly
Smoked Sweet Potato Soup with Pork Cheek & Tequila Cilantro Lime Cream

Tom liked the soup. He thought it had a lot of flavor, but wanted to see more out of the cheeks. He was on the fence. Emeril agreed that the cheeks needed to be more prominent. They decided to not give Molly a coat or kicked her out, but she was on the bubble. They were going to make her cook again and then decide so she was off to the stew room.


Grayson
Haricot Vert with Toasted Hazelnuts & Mushroom Stuffed Tenderloin

Tom said the meat was nicely cooked, but some of the flavors were out of balance with the stuffing. He might have felt bad for her for Tyler butchering her meat. She was on the bubble.


Nyesha
Pork Shoulder Tex-Mex Ravioli

Emeril said the flavors were spot on. Padma said it was beautiful and tasty. She received a coat.


Richie
Onion Soup with Braised and Crispy Pig Ears, Pickled Shallots & Frozen Parsley Powder

Richie was worried that his salty palate might have made the dish too salty. Tom said it was on the verge of being salty, but was good. Emeril said it had tremendous depth and taste. He received a coat.

Simon
Ham Roulade Stuffed with Fig Confit & Goat Cheese

Emeril found it overcooked and dry. Tom said there was too much going on. He was sent packing.


Heather
Maple & Citrus Glazed Baby Back Ribs with Bacon, Corn & Blue Cheese Grits

Tom said it has great flavors. He found it soulful and satisfying. She was given a coat.

Qualifying Challenge – Group 2

The second group had a bunch of proteins to choose from. They had an hour to choose the same ingredient and prepare a dish with it. After looking over choices such as sweetbreads and sea urchin, they decided on rabbit.

Taste Test

For this round, the judges were Tom, Padma and Gail Simmons. At least Gail offers her opinion more.


Nina
Rabbit Loins and Thighs, Brussels Sprouts, Corn, and Apples

Nina misjudged her time and didn’t put her rabbit on the plate. Since that was the main ingredient for the challenge, she was sent packing.


Whitney
Rabbit Sugo with Tomatoes, Shallots, Asparagus & Bacon

Tom thought the rabbit was nicely cooked. Gail really liked her different approach to making the rabbit. She earned a coat.


Keith
Seared Tenderloin, Chicken Fried Rabbit, Yukon Potato Hash, Braised Rabbit Confit

Tom said he though the rabbit was perfectly cooked. Gail loved the seared tenderloin. He earned a coat.

Edward
Butter Poached Rabbit with Butternut Squash Puree

They all thought that the rabbit wasn’t cooked enough but saw enough skill there that they wanted to give him another shot. He was on the bubble.


Janine
Rabbit Nugget, Rabbit Pack & Rabbit Loin Saltimbocca with Mushroom Hash

Janine didn’t give herself enough time to get her sauce on the plate, but the rest made it there. Tom said he would have liked to see the sauce on the plate since it would have shown him she can put together a sauce. Gail said she would like to see her move on. Padma wasn’t ready to give her a coat so she was on the bubble.

 

Chuy
Rabbit Loin with Cashew Pipian & Grilled Zucchini

Tom said the sauce was flavorful. He liked how the heat builds as he went on. He was given a coat.

 

Chris C.
Duo of Rabbit – Confit Leg & Butter Seared Tenderloin with Carrot Polenta

Padma thought it showed a certain level of technique. Gail said out of all the rabbit she tried, his was cooked the best. He earned a coat.

 


Ty-Lor
Confit of Rabbit Leg with Pickled Cucumber & Tomatoes in Fish Sauce

Beyond the ridiculous spelling of his name, Tom found the flavor of his rabbit really good. He also liked his use of cucumbers, mint and basil. He earned a coat.

 


Dakota
Roast Rabbit Crepinettes with Bulgar Wheat & Vanilla Jus

Tom enjoyed the rabbit. He said the vanilla actually worked when it very easily could have been a disaster. She earned a coat.

—-

The episode ended before the last group remaining to go through and the on-the-bubble chefs getting another chance. The on-the-bubble chefs did notice they did not have any visible tattoos and they wondered if that was why they didn’t get coats. Interesting theory!

Questions

  1. What do you think of the new format? Is it a good way to start the game or does it get rid of some good chefs right off the bat with just one challenge?
  2. Do you think they will throw any other twists into the show since it has been around long enough to have an all-star season, which was last season. This is like a new era!
  3. Were you glad that Tom kicked off Tyler right away or do you think he should have been allowed to at least prepare a dish?

Photos: Bravo TV

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