Ours would not be squab, we'll tell you that. But squab and peas is what Jacques Pépin would want for his last meal, so that's what Carla cooked. Lydia Bastianich asked for roast chicken. Wylie Dufresne: eggs benedict. And just in case we didn't latch on to the Last Supper theme enough, the producers seated the panel of all-star chefs in a tableau meant to look like da Vinci's The Last Supper. See?
Note: We reveal the winner and loser, below.
It's too early to start making generalizations about the season as a whole, but we will say this: Simple wins the day. Remember Ariane's watermelon and feta salad? And the short ribs? And the Blue Hill challenge where seasonal, impeccable ingredients were treated lightly? Many have complained that this season is boring, but face it: A lot of these dishes are things we'd make at home. Maybe they don't make scintillating television, but that's what Carla and Fabio are for.
So, our thoughts:
1. We've never seen green eggs and ham that looked appetizing. That includes ones we made as kids, after reading the book. Or ones we've made on St. Patrick's Day. And that includes Carla's, even though she won the quickfire.
2. Europeans think alike. No one made mention of the fact that Fabio and Stefan both made an egg-like dessert with mango as the "yolk."
3. Why can't Fabio win a quickfire challenge? He doesn't just not win. He's often in the bottom. And yet we know he can cook (although we start to doubt ourselves at the beginning of episodes). He seems to flounder when he has to be creative or is pressed for time.
4. We don't believe Wylie Dufresne would want eggs benedict as his last meal. But the producers wouldn't let him ask for freeze-dried foie gras. And shrimp scampi, Susan Ungaro (the president of the James Beard Foundation)? Nah.
5. Leah, Whole Foods sells fresh bread. She was talking about the great challah she found, then holds up a plastic package.
6. We were intrigued by the slow-poached egg. They kept showing Leah's bucket of water with eggs floating in it. Slow-poached eggs are cooked at a lower temperature for a long time, so that the whites are barely set (we think- we've never tried it). Dufresne apparently loves them, but it was Leah's downfall, in addition to runny hollandaise. Still, it was one of the more interesting techniques in the episode.
7. There was some tricky backpedaling on Stefan's salmon. On any other episode, he would have gone home. Every judge uniformly dismissed his overcooked fish. But they knew they couldn't send him home; he's the obvious frontrunner. So during deliberation, they had to tone it down and start praising the dill... the proper seasoning...
8. We weren't going to get catty, but... Hosea's propensity for smirking when the judges criticize Stefan and his calling out everyone's faults in the "stew room" is making him look insecure and nasty. There, we said it.
9. The Fabio-Bastianich coupling must have been rigged. It was just too perfect. She could be his mother. And then he soldiers through a broken finger to make an impeccable roast chicken. What did we say about simple?
Ok, your turn. What did you think of last night's episode?
Related:
Episode 1: Ethnic Foods Galore
Episode 2: Hot Dogs and Angry Chefs
Episode 4: Lights, Camera, Kathie Lee Gifford
Episode 5: Make Your Own Sushi at a Bridal Shower?
Episode 6: And a Martha in a Pear Tree
Episode 7: Pop, Pop, Fizz, Fizzle
Episode 8: E-I-E-I-O (and Really Good Chicken)
Episode 9: Restaurant Wars!
Episode 10: Super Bowl Showdown
Episode 11: Of Eel and Eric Ripert
(Images: Bravo)
So who was sitting in Judas' position? ;)
I thought Stefan's yolk was passion fruit.
When I think shrimp scampi, I think of someplace like TGI Friday's. But I actually do believe Dufresne actually could want eggs benedict for his last meal--his love for it seems to be well-known. Maybe when you get down to it, you want that last bite to be the perfect construction--not the perfect "deconstruction." A good eggs benedict is just that.
Hosea's smirk really was unsportsmanlike. But this is the same guy who made out with a woman who wasn't his girlfriend in front of TV cameras. Smuck. Jerk. Feh!
Fabio, on the other hand, was a trooper. I was kinda scared when he took a cleaver to the chicken, since you can leave a bunch of little bone shards in the meat that way. I admire how he kept his bandaged hand behind his back, out of the judges' sight, when he was presenting. And when the judges asked if they should take his injury into consideration at the end? It was an awesomely stark contrast to Leah's just giving up when working with seafood was just "too hard."
Overall, I loved the idea of the elimination challenge. I'm glad Carla and Fabio did so well--what a great boost, to them and to home cooks who strive just to cook simple foods, well. Their cooking may be simple, but I think there's a needed place for that in a market flooded with gimmicks and almost kitschy trends. I'd be happy if either of them one.
view OneWallKitchen's profile
so I'm guessing Leah got voted off?
view maude17's profile
The last supper reference in the set styling was kind of creepy.
view Comicgeek's profile
I thought the set lighting on Jacques Pépin was kind or eerie. Didn't it seem like he had a special spot light? or is it just his hair?
view Melliska's profile
I'm going to have to disagree - I did think Carla's eggs looked pretty and overcooking protein apparently doesn't get you kicked off later in the competition (Fabio's venison in the Top Chef Bowl?). I found the challenge a little dull, I'm really tired of Hosea's attitude, but at least Leah finally got sent home.
view Heidz's profile
I love that Bravo kind of edited around the fact that there was a -- probably pretty dry, but-- heated argument between a faction of chefs about whether the squab was overcooked .
view FromTheFuture's profile
The hazy filter over the "last supper" scene was way too much. I felt like I was having a stroke.
Hosea is incredibly insecure. He's constantly ragging on Stefan and taking joy in any misstep, no matter how small. Get over it. Do your own thing and stop worrying so much about everyone else.
Maybe I’m not as refined, but none of those dishes are anything close to what I’d have for my last meal. I’d probably go with a giant bacon cheeseburger or something like that.
view hyperRevue's profile
I am just happy Leah was finally sent home. She was always coming up a dollar short as far as making appetizing meals. I don't think Hosea is really ragging on Stefan all the time. I think he comes off like he really respects Stefan and knows he is the guy to beat because of how talented he is. His being worried about Stefan all the time, to me, comes off as flattery.
view mamaspank's profile
Last meal for me? Probably a perfect, meaty crabcake or two, crispy seasoned fries, ripe canteloupe and a brownie sundae with pecan praline ice cream on top.
I loved and hated this episode. I got mad when Tom said something to Carla about "wow, generally the peas aren't good this time of year." She lucked out, but if she hadn't? If she hadn't found peas, was she allowed to substitute? Simple dishes require excellent ingredients, and there didn't seem to be a lot of guidance about the contestants' flexibility. Also... what if there wasn't SQUAB at whole foods?
view nohatein08's profile
mamaspank - RE: Hosea and Stefan.
Yeah, it's a fine line between flattery and jealousy. Lately he's gotten a little more conciliatory toward him (maybe because he realizes that he's really not as good as him), but in the beginning he definitely didn’t think very highly of him (the way he called him out for picking the easiest dish in the La Bernadine challenge, or for picking the vegetarian girl in the Super Bowl one).
But I still think his obsession with Stefan shows intense insecurity.
view hyperRevue's profile
YAY LEAH IS GONE! She just kept squeaking by like Lisa last season and it was so frustrating.
I am so tired of Hosea, he needs to pay more attention to his own food, then maybe it'll be better.
view Ermu's profile
I honestly didn't care who won, as long as Leah was finally sent home.
view mhirsch's profile
Finally - Leah should have been sent home weeks ago. And I'm so tired of Hosea's whining. During the quickfire he didn't think Carla had a chance of winning because her dish was so simple. Surprise!
view mpw's profile
I'm still wondering exactly how Fabio broke his finger! All you hear is *CRASH* and next thing you know, he's all bandaged up!
view Lucky Bug's profile
On #5 Whole Foods bags it's fresh baked Challah in plastic bags, at least the one here does, (I'm sort of lazy so I buy it every Friday =) )
I'm glad Leah is finally gone, but I'm almost more annoyed on a weekly basis by Hosea's obnoxious obsession with whining about Stefan
view bonjourmiette's profile
I wish during Judge's Table that Carla hadn't immediately said something negative about her dish, about the squab being overcooked. I wonder if she would have won otherwise.
I thought Fabio was a really good sport to not make his bandaged hand obvious to the judges and the other guests--he really could have milked that, and the fact that he didn't made his success even more complete.
nohatein08--I thought the same thing! I wonder what would have happened if a key ingredient like fresh peas or squab was not available at Whole Foods.This is probably a very big, nice Whole Foods, but sometimes the one near me is sold out of the most basic pantry staples, much less seasonal items.
view erin79's profile
I think Eggs Benedict is a great choice for last meal. If you did molecular gastronomy all day, you'd probably want to eat something simple, too.
view Andy M.'s profile
I really like this episode. They didn't show Marcus very much, but I thought the judges were all very constructive this show. And I was really interesting in how much they disagreed on how much food should be cooked (squab, salmon, eggs, etc.).
Still I thought it was more than coincidental how well the chef's cooking styles matched those of the judge they drew (not just Fabio with Lidia, with an i, but Stefan with Marcus, Hosea with shrimp, etc.).
view ottan's profile
Your Whole Foods puts fresh baked bread into plastic bags? Doesn't that get steamy and then ruin the crust by making it mushy? There's a reason most bakeries use paper bags.
Realistically, Leah could have baked her own English muffins. It's the last supper. Put some effort in.
Carla's egg looked bad. I mean, the green was all spotty. And even if it wasn't colored, it didn't really look well cooked. Ironic to win on this (even if it's only one quickfire) since Tom was all like "You aren't going to win with a deviled egg." to Ariane earlier. I'm going to begrudgingly give Carla some respect that she's shown some skills, but considering her pretty bad flops earlier, she's lucky to have gotten this far to be able to start showing them.
view wunami's profile
Sooo glad to see Leah go home. She may or may not be a good cook (frankly, don't know and don't care), but she's just been so unenthusiastic and just plain *not there* for weeks now that she probably should have gone home a lot sooner.
view Cupajo's profile