I’m back from my technology hiatus and have now watched each of the three episodes I haven’t recapped at least two times each. I guess that’s what happens when I deprive myself… I go overboard to catch up (just ask my weight which knows what happens when I skip meals or diet — DOH!). But since there is a new episode coming tomorrow, no full recaps of the progress in Top Chef — just a couple of impressions from each.
Capitol Grill
And the quickfire is… Desserts! And all I can think is, if you know you are going on this show, shouldn’t you at least try to acquaint yourself with desserts? You must know the topic is going to come up and preparing yourself by learning the basics seems logical. A free piece of advice to any future contestants: memorize all the ratios in Ruhlman’s Ratio book. Play around a little on your own tweaking them and seeing what happens if you change them. Hell, go on a baking binge as soon as you find out you are going to be on the show. With Ruhlman’s Ratios in your head you should be able to rock things like pie dough. I love the comment from Jean Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzinni (judge on Top Chef: Just Desserts): “I think it’s kind of a cop-out to say you’re not a pastry chef. My grandmother is not a pastry chef either but she can bake a pie.” Kenny wins with Banana Fosters Pie. Can you say yummy-sounding? Can I get it a la mode and on fire?
And then they’re off on the elimination challenge to grill for a bunch of interns. And can I just say that I think Alex is trying way too hard to be funny in the interview segments (taking advantage of an intern? Really?) Amanda, is it really necessary to tell us what a druggie you were in your 20s? Unlike the Next Food Network Star this show is less about your personal journey than it is than the food. Cook some good food. And she does, with ribs and killer grilled asparagus. Arnold takes it home… Nice job Asian guy!
Everything led to Tracey’s departure. Tracey looked down the whole episode. Her work looked sloppy and confused. Actually, she looked sloppy and confused. And the segment on her clairvoyance just asks for stupid jokes to be made. Didn’t she see this coming? (I do wonder how much Top Chef took those conversations out of context to make her seem loopier than she really is, or if that’s really what she’s like). I feel bad for her but she was so clearly out of her league it’s almost better she has no more chances to embarrass herself.
Room Service
Quickfire is to make a dish that can serve discriminating adults and a puréed version that can serve babies. The funniest part is listening to people who have kids crow about their advantage over people who don’t, and people without kids saying they want to prove you don’t need kids to turn out baby food (especially Lynne who says she only has 4-legged kids). Kenny and Tamesha emerge victorious, Angelo’s arch enemy and best buddy respectively. Wonder how his ego took that blow.
No immunity for anyone as we go into an interesting elimination challenge… Breakfast lunch and dinner, with two teams safe at each stage, and at the end, the last group will have the winners with the favorite dish of the day and the losers who go home. I totally don’t get it. How can they ow for sure the judges’ favorite dish will have been cooked by one of the last 3 groups? Couldn’t it have been one of the winning breakfasts? Or maybe they’re keeping their favorite all along and freaking them out?
In the end, who is floating to the top but the two female contestants whose restaurants I have actually enjoyed eating at? Go Kelly and Andrea! Those short ribs look amazing. Kenny and Tim and Arnold and Lynne end up at the bottom. Arnold and Lynne go home, partly because they do dishes that aren’t really hotel-menu-friendly, and partly because they can’t communicate with each other. I won’t miss Lynne because she was kind of boring, but Arnold had a humorous egotistical spark.
Farm Policy
(CR: David Giesbrecht/Bravo)
Maryland blue crab quickfire is ON. Oh Angelo, did you real make that joke about having crabs? And Bravo, did you really have to share that with us? Kenny’s trio of crab looks amazing, and Angelo’s up there too, but HAH, Ed brings home the win and the immunity with his Thai inspired dish.
Elimination challenge is a local-food challenge, for them all to cook a meal outdoors at a farm with all ingredients from that farm supplemented with their [warning: product placement ahead] Toyata Sienna Mobile Pantry. I don’t see at all how this is a team challenge other than their need to split up the work fairly. Meanwhile, back at the house they really go at it determining how to handle the challenge. the segments seem to show Kenny as a good leader and earning respect from others, Angelo less so. The challenge is hard — limited cooking space, limited food items, leaving them making deals with others to swap ingredients, trying to figure out how to fit their stuff on the grill… And it looks really really cold when the judges show up completely bundled in winter jackets and scarves up to their ears.
Kelly and Andrea rise to the top again! Yay! Plus Kelly makes the always-risky bonus dessert and gets kudos for it. And Kenny’s hot and sour curried eggplant with Kevin’s cous cous sounds great. Kenny brings it home again! (Also, the segments where the women call him Black Angus and Big Daddy? Maybe inappropriate but hilarious).
On the bottom, Amanda (would she have done better if she had called her pasta-less soup something other than minestrone?), Stephen (although I think he is unfairly admonished for using a bowl for his salad), and Tim (chopped potatoes, turnips and asparagus — really?). Tim goes home. He had absolutely no idea from start to finish of this challenge.
Overall so far on the show there are a few chefs who are shining, but there are also quite a few I could say goodbye to without too much consternation. A couple more weeks perhaps before they really get into making the tough choices.
Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of Top Chef: DC!
