Watching Top Chef last night, we were reminded that you can't judge a book by its cover. Or its language. Andrew, the contestant who seemed like a freewheeling time bomb during Episode 1, actually turned out some impressive dishes, including a yuzu gelee "glacier" and a squid ceviche with tapioca. Wonders never cease.
Note: We reveal the winner and loser after the jump...
Richard — he of the handheld, electric smoker — failed to impress guest judge Wylie Dufresne, who is also known for his molecular gastronomy. Instead, Mark's greenmarket ingredients, prepared simply — sirloin over puréed turnips, topped with a peach butter cream — won the quickfire challenge.
The elimination challenge seemed random. Cooking with ingredients from zoo animals' diets? Lions really eat beets? And we must say, we understand the necessity of group challenges when there are so many chefs in the beginning, but it's hard to see what the contestants are capable of when they are only responsible for one or two appetizer-sized dishes.
Our favorite moment: Stephanie (smartly) realized that her Team Gorilla needed a banana dish and whipped up her mom's banana bread. Obviously it's one of those beloved recipes she has memorized. And in the end, it saved her from being eliminated. Hooray for family recipes!
So, Andrew did, in fact, win with his yuzu glacier and squid ceviche (above). And Valerie was eliminated for serving made-ahead blinis.
How do you feel about team challenges? A necessary evil — or a great way to weed out weak competition?
(Photos: BravoTV)
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Last night's episode was a little all over the place.
I was pretty disappointed with most of the hors d oeuvres. The calamari looked good but I wouldn't suggest throwing bubble tea bubbles on anything again for fear of playing that trick out "ala Marcel foam style". I thought the anchovy looked great and laughed when Padma said, "mmmm...what is that vinegar?" The faux hawker's tartare looked nice too. What better dish to capture the idea of the contest? Raw meat! Oh well, I guess that wasn't important.
I thought it was lame when the girl answered Tom's (the bear, according to the overwhelming telephone poll opinion) question as to who she would hire for her restaurant. The girl she didn't pick got kicked off. Both girls put out crappy hors d oeuvres but the one who got kicked off actually presented something that was served the way it was intended to be. The other dish was comprised of two components--a chip and crab salad. 50% of that dish was lost and the other half was served with whatever was laying around which equals a complete failure and lack of foresight to have prepared double the amount of chips "just in case".
I know, I know, it's a show and many of the decisions are motivated and pre-meditated by the producers.
I shall stay tuned.
Only one faux hawk will win in the end.
view art's profile
Anyways, you always prepare a shit-load of chips because you know that your co-workers will be stealing them like pringles when you're not looking.
view art's profile
as a vegetarian, it annoyed me that the gorilla team added meat to everything. I was looking forward to seeing what they would come up with.
view lcg's profile