Top Chef: Here Comes the Bride

Top Chef: New York
Gail’s Bridal Shower

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Identify the Most Ingredients In a Sauce, 15 Seconds to Taste
  • Elimination Challenge: Prepare Gail’s Bridal Shower Lunch for 40 Guests

This season has briefly touched on Hosea and Leah having a major crush on each other. I have read that they are still dating after the show. The beginning of this episode showed Stefan having a crush on Jamie. He keeps making presents for her and doesn’t seem to care that she’s a lesbian. I don’t watch the show for anyone hooking up with anyone else though. That’s Big Brother. I watch the show for food, so let’s get on with it!

Quickfire Challenge

There was no guest judge with Padma when everyone filed in. She told them they would be testing their palates and they had to draw knives. The chefs ended up paired with one another. The chefs would go into the kitchen as a pair and taste a sauce. Then they would compete to see who could identify the most ingredients in the sauce. The last chef standing would win immunity.

Round One

The first team was Danny and Hosea. Padma flipped a coin and Danny picked heads. It was tails so Hosea would get to go first. They would both taste the sauce at the same time and have 15 seconds to taste it before Hosea would then say how many ingredients as he could name for the sauce. It was a shrimp and lobster bouillabaisse. Hosea said he could name four ingredients. Danny said he could name four. Padma said he would have to go one higher. He said he could name five ingredients. Danny called his bluff so Hosea named onion, shrimp, lemon and carrot. Padma said that was correct and he could go onto the next round. Danny had to leave the kitchen.

Ariane and Jeff were next. Ariane said she could name five and Jeff said he could name six. Ariane told him to do it. Jeff named fennel, salt and when he got to crab, Padma told him that was wrong. That sent him leaving and Ariane moved to the next round. Jamie and Stefan were the next group.  Stefan said three, Jamie said four, and Stefan said five. Jamie told him to name them. He named salt, lemon, pepper, lobster and something I didn’t understand. It sound liked palm frond. haha! It was correct though so he moved on. Eugene and Leah were the next team. Eugene said he could name four. He named fish sauce and that was incorrect. Leah moved on. Fabio and Radhika were the next team. She said she could name three and Fabio told her to name it. She named salt, celery, and lobster. She was correct so she moved on. Melissa, wearing a sideways trucker hat (what up?) and Carla were the last team. Carla said she could name four.  She named cream, salt, lobster and fennel. She moved on.

Round Two

Hosea and Ariane were the first team up for the sauce that was Thai Green Curry. Hosea said he could name five ingredients. Ariane said six. He said seven. He listed coconut milk, sugar and basil. Padma told him to be more specific so he said Thai basil. He also said ginger, salt and Thai chili. Padma said he was correct so he moved on. Leah and Stefan were the next team. Stefan said four and Leah said five. He said six, she said seven and he said eight. She told him to name then. He named onion, turmeric, lemongrass, coconut milk, salt, vegetable oil, ginger, and sugar. He was correct and moved on! Carla and Radhika were the last team. Radhika said she could name five ingredients. Carla said she could name six and Radhika said she could name seven. She named coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, salt and chili powder. Padma said chili powder was incorrect. Carla moved on.

Round Three

It had Carla, Stefan and Hosea all together. They all tasted the sauce and then would list off ingredients like in a spelling bee. The last chef standing would win. It was a Mexican Mole Sauce. Carla started with peanut butter. It was incorrect so she was gone. Stefan said chocolate. That was correct. Hosea said sesame and that was correct. Stefan said pepper and Hosea said raisin (I think? Is that right?). Stefan said coriander and Hosea said garlic. Stefan said tomato paste and that was wrong. Hosea had to identify a correct ingredient. If not, they would go for another round. Hosea said oil and she said to be more specific. He said vegetable oil and that was correct. He won immunity in the elimination challenge.

Elimination Challenge

The chefs drew knives which had the phrases Old, New, Borrowed and Blue. They all got on their teams. Padma said she was throwing a bridal shower for a friend of hers and they were doing the cooking. Gail came in to give the specifics of her bridal shower. Gail said there would be about 35-40 women and they were not girls that liked their salad dressing on the side. They liked their food. Gail said if given the choice she would prefer not to eat veal or black beans, but other than that she was pretty open. She left and the teams divided up to figure out what they wanted to make.

“Something Borrowed” Team
Ariane, Radhika, Jamie

Jamie said Radhika could make an Indian dish and say she borrowed it from her mother and Jamie could say she borrowed it from an Indian chef she knew. Jamie had an idea of what to make and was coming up with the idea. Radhika was a bit worried since she didn’t want to make only Indian food while in the competition. She wanted to incorporate Indian flavors in other dishes in surprising ways.

“Something Blue” Team
Melissa, Leah, Fabio

Leah was thinking about foods that were naturally blue. She was asking about figs and thought they were purple. I thought they were brown. Fabio said they should do an ocean/seafood theme to sell the blue idea without worrying about foods that are blue.

“Something New” Team
Daniel, Carla, Eugene

Danny said that when he thinks of something new, he thinks of pickling. WAT! He said he knew Gail likes pickling. Carla asked how new makes him think of that. He said he didn’t know, but it did. Eugene said pickling sounded old to him. I agree since I think someone pickles something to make it last longer. Eugene brought up sushi. He said he could make a surf and turf sushi roll. He said he could do a sushi roll with grilled Filet Mignon on top. Danny really liked that idea. Carla didn’t like it, but didn’t say anything. Eugene even asked if everyone felt confident and if they should move forward with the idea. Danny said he did and Carla said nothing.

“Something Old” Team
Jeff, Hosea, Stefan

Hosea said they could play on the idea of a tomato. Stefan said it could be an heirloom trio. They could each make their own plate that would involve heirloom tomatoes. Jeff had an idea of a chilled plate with beef carpaccio and sorbet. Stefan said that was a bad idea because of his experience catering. He said it would all have to go out in five minutes. He asked Jeff if he thought he could scoop 45 scoops of sorbet in five minutes. Jeff said no problem.  He said if his stuff melts, he would be the one going home.

The teams went off shopping for 30 minutes with $800 for each team. Stefan kept bossing Hosea and Jeff around in the store. He wouldn’t just let them get what they needed for their own dishes. He kept offering input and advice that they weren’t wanting. Eugene said that Danny was pretty apprehensive about the sushi dish, but he took it as he just wasn’t that familiar with sushi. Fabio was very happy with his fish filets.

Team Menus

Something Old Menu
First Course

  • Tomato Terrine Wrapped in Eggplant – Stefan
  • Carpaccio with Tomato Sorbet – Jeff
  • Gazpacho – Hosea

Since Hosea had immunity, he didn’t want to tell his team too much what they should do since they had their necks on the line, not him. Tom got the old theme right away with their heirloom tomato. Hosea said they were doing cooking styles from the Old World with France (terrine), Italy (carpaccio) and Spain (gazpacho).

Something New Menu
Second Course

  • Surf & Turf Sushi Roll – Eugene
  • Frisee Salad with Won Ton – Carla
  • Peach-Miso BBQ Sauce – Danny
  • Yuzu Sorbet – Danny

Eugene used a digital rice cooker, he had never used before. The rice came out too mushy and not sticky enough for sushi rice. Eugene said he had failed at rice many times in the past so he knew how to fix it. He said he adds flavor and texture to it so he made a chili sticky rice . Tom came around to check out the team. Eugene said his dish was a totally cooked sushi roll. Tom wanted to know how BBQ sauce was new. Carla described her salad dish and Tom said it was a lot of different stuff for their course. Eugene said it all blended together well.

Something Borrowed Menu
Third Course

  • Eastern Spiced Lamb Marinated in Yogurt – Radhika making the marinade and Ariane cooking it
  • Vadouvan Carrot Puree – Jamie
  • Wilted Kale – Jamie
  • Cucumber Raita – Radhika

Radhika wanted to show that she could make a classic Indian dish, but also not have it be what was expected. Tom asked what they were borrowing. Jamie said they were borrowing Indian food from Radhika and her secret ingredient for the carrot puree. Ariane said they were borrowing her talent.

Something Blue Menu
Fourth Course

  • Chilean Sea Bass – Fabio
  • Roasted Corn Puree – Leah
  • Swiss Chard – Melissa

Tom came around to check on them and asked what they were doing since there was no blue food. Melissa said blueberries wereblue, but Tom said they were purple. Fabio said the ocean theme and his sea bass was encrusted with blue corn.

After checking the teams out, Tom went to gossip with the camera. I love it when he does that! He said that the chefs were used to cooking for the judges and Gail, but the bridal shower was something important. Some of her guests would be from Food & Wine magazine so there would be some serious foodies there. He said the Something Blue team was stretching it a bit with the ocean theme, but that was okay. He said their menu sounded boring though.The Something New menu was out there. He said it was going to be fantastic or horrible. That night, Eugene started brainstorming with his team that they could make the guests build their own sushi rolls. He said if they wanted Filet Mignon, they could use that, or if they wanted shrimp, they could pick that, or they could choose both. Both Carla and Danny really liked that idea. Stefan said that people didn’t want to roll up their food. He wasn’t on their team, but offering advice. Nice!

The next day at shower, the chefs are introduced to the guest judge, Dana Cowin, Editor in Chief at Food & Wine magazine. Tom was regulated to the kitchen since the bridal shower was all women.

Something Old

Stefan said that savory sorbet was not something he would want to have at lunch. He did not like Jeff’s choice at all. After they finished serving to the ladies, Tom ate the plate in the kitchen. Stefan felt good since Tom finished the entire plate off.


Jeff
Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio & Sorbet

Hosea
Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Mint, Watermelon & Cucumber Salsa

Stefan
Heirloom Tomato, Eggplant & Basil Terrine

Gail said her favorite thing on the plate was Jeff’s sorbet. Others agreed. One woman said the terrine was a little bland.

Something New

Eugene said they had the most original and creative dish. Danny decided to make some marinated mushrooms to add to the bottom of Carla’s salad. He didn’t tell her he was doing it. He thought it’d be a nice surprise. Err…do you want to add something to someone’s dish without their knowledge? She saw Danny add the mushrooms while they were plating so it was too late to do anything. She knew nothing about the mushrooms so she was about to go insane, but didn’t say anything. Other chefs were so confused about why there was so much stuff on the plate with all the different components.


Eugene/Danny/Carla
Tempura Shrimp, Beef Skewer with Peach-Miso BBQ Sauce, Frisee Salad on a Won Ton & Yuzu Sorbet

Eugene did the rice and shrimp. Danny did the beef, BBQ Sauce & sorbet. They didn’t really show Carla’s dish. One woman said there was no explanation of how they should put it together. Padma asked what to do with the seaweed pieces that were just on the plate.  Gayle said the shrimp was cold and tasted like it was fried in oil that had been sitting around for a long time. Dana said she didn’t know why they tied together sushi and new since there was nothing sushi-ish about it. They did not seem thrilled with the plate.

Something Borrowed

Jamie felt she would win since she came up with the idea. She felt confident, but also frustrated that she had been in the top three so many times already, but hadn’t won yet. The team had it timed out that they would plate 10 minutes before. Ariane pulled the lamb out, the only thing she was in charge of making, and it was still pretty rare. She put it back in and asked for two more minutes. Jamie and Radhika started freaking out. After two minutes, Ariane took the lamb out and said it was good. Everyone from all teams helped plate so they got it done in time.


Ariane/Jamie/Radhika
Indian Spiced Lamb on Carrot Puree with Raita & Wilted Kale

Padma said the lamb was delicious. Dana said that the lamb looked like it was well cooked for everyone so she was very happy. Gail said the spice was so nice. Dana agreed saying it was so yummy. I love her big, technical food terms! Gail said everything went together. The dish made her very happy.

Something Blue

Melissa said they had to have something special for Gail on her big day and she was worried they were not offering her enough pizazz. Leah thought the fish could use more seasoning, but she trusted Fabio with his seasoning.  Jamie looked over and thought the plate looked bland, boring and not very interesting. Leah and Melissa made Fabio talk since he is so very charming with his Italian accent. My husband said, “Oh, he’s Italian! *swoon*”  He came out and congratulated Gail on her big day and then told all the women they looked beautiful. There was much giggling and tittering before he could describe the dish to them. He told them that in the color spectrum, green and yellow combine to make blue, which made everyone go “Ahh…” and then said they used blue corn to encrust the sea bass. “Oohhh….” Women love Italians.


Fabio/Melissa/Leah
Blue Corn Encrusted Chilean Sea Bass with Swiss Chard & Corn Puree

Gail said the sea bass was an interesting choice and not very politically correct. I have no idea why. I’m not up in my politically correct food ways! One lady said it tasted very good, but she said it was old people food. Dana said she would like a plate that was a little more challenging to her taste buds. That’s what I expect a food critic to say, even though saying something is yummy is also good in my book. 🙂 Padma said the flavors in the third course were much more bold compared to the fourth course.

After they served, Tom told the chefs they did a nice job getting everything out on time in the kitchen so he would see them at Judges’ Table.

Judges’ Table

Padma said they wanted to see the first course (Something Old) and the third course (Something Borrowed). Padma told them that both teams were their favorites tonight. Tom said that both dishes were very good. He told Jeff that the sorbet was fabulous. Padma said it was the star of that course, which caused Stefan to make an awesome frustrated face since it went against everything he was saying and advising. How could they disagree with the expert caterer! Dana added that Jeff’s dish had flavors that were really intense and delicious. Jeff was overjoyed.

Padma wanted to move onto the Borrowed Lamb course. She asked who did the carrot puree. Jamie said she did. Gail said it was very tasty and could really taste the spice mix. It really added so much to the dish. Tom said it was also subtle. Gail asked who cooked the actual lamb. Ariane said she did. Gail said it was perfectly cooked. Dana said it had a lovely, lingering taste. Tom said it was perfectly cooked. Padma said Dana got to pick the winner as the guest judge. She said the person that one had the most flavorful component of the evening and it was Ariane. Jeff and Jamie were stunned. I really thought it would be one of them from how they were describing their dishes at Judges’ Table, even though I’m not completely surprised when everyone was raving about the lamb at the table. I am surprised no one brought up that Radhika made the marinade for it. Ariane won a Calphalon Grill. They were asked to send the other two teams in.

They started out with Team New. Gail said she was confused and asked how was it supposed to be eaten. Hey, it is a team that could have listened to Stefan’s advice! Eugene said they were meant to create their own sushi, which he should have said when he presented the dish and he completely forgot to do it. Padma asked who made the rice. Eugene talked about how it was a bit too sticky, but he added to it to create texture and still use it. Dana said adding things to it, did not camoflauge the fact that it was mushy. Padma asked Carla if she was happy with the plate. She said not as happy as she could have been, but she allowed it to happen. Padma asked Eugene the same question. He said no. She asked Daniel and he said he was unbelievably happy. Tom covered his face in disbelief.

Tom said they had overcooked shrimp, steamed beef, and it had sorbet that was meant to be eaten at the end that had melted. He said conceptually, it was a disaster. Padma asked about the mushrooms in Carla’s salad. Danny said he did the mushrooms. He thought they would add an earthy component to the dish. Padma asked what she thought about that. She said they were a last addition. Tom asked if they thought they were seasoned correctly. Carla said she didn’t taste them. Padma exclaimed, “You didn’t taste it?” Why wasn’t she explaining that he added them while they were plating and she had no idea he was making them? Danny said he had tasted them. He thought they were seasoned perfectly. Tom thought they were pretty bad. He asked Danny if he was still happy with the dish and he said he was. Tom said they should move on.

Padma asked Leah if she was happy with the overall dish. She was happy. She thought they were creative with the blue and that it worked. Gail said that the women at the party thought that it tasted lovely, but texturally it was lacking. She talked about them calling it old people food. She said it was a bit of mush with the puree and lacked texture. Tom said he did not like the dish. He said the theme was blue and it gave him the blues. He found it to be a sad plate. Everything was fine, but it was very safe. Fabio was taken aback and asking if cooking 45 pieces of fish was playing it safe. Tom said it was since Chilean Sea Bass is a very forgiving fish. Fabio started to say something and said he wasn’t going to say it. The teams were sent out.

After they left, Gail said Fabio, Melissa and Leah’s dish was oversimplified. Tom said if someone was opening a restaurant, would they put that on the menu and be proud of it? He didn’t think it would be. Padma said it was unimagitive. Padma said the New dish was very subpar and it was almost indefensible. Gail said it really disappointed her. Dana said each one of them made catastrophic, individual mistakes. Padma said Carla’s salad was one, very brief point of light. Tom said if that was the bright part of the dish, they were really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Gail said she could tell that Carla wanted to say more, but wouldn’t let herself to keep her integrity and the integrity of the team. At least they knew the mushrooms had nothing to do with her. Dana said that a good chef does something about it. Padma agreed and she should have spoken up. Dana noticed that Danny did very small components in the dish. Gail said what he brought to the plate was very lacking. Padma said he wasn’t paying attention to what his palate was telling him or not telling him. Tom found it mind boggling that Danny liked the dish. Dana was baffled by it too. Gail was not impressed that Eugene was talking about salvaging bad rice. She said she didn’t want to eat bad rice, no matter what you do with it. Dana said he should have thrown it out and done something else. Dana wondered about his judgment.

The chefs were called back in. Tom said the challenge was pretty straight forward. They needed to come together and cook for Gail’s bridal shower. Tom said Judges’ Table was harsh since it was personal for them and they expected great food. Tom said that Team Blue made very boring and bland food. If they continued to cook that way, they would not be there very much longer. He told them they could leave the kitchen though. Tom told Team New that they can usually point to bad conception or execution, but in their case, they can point to both. The dish was all over the board for many different reasons. For Eugene, he told him that both of his components with the shrimp and rice were overcooked. He had talked about saving the rice, but the best thing he can do with bad rice is throw it out and start again. For Carla, he told her she had the sense to know when things are going wrong, but she can’t let it slide. Some of her inaction led to the dish being as bad as it was. For Danny, Tom said he didn’t believe that he thought it was a bad dish. He said that what he contributed to the dish were small and didn’t need to be there at all. Tom said he would love to send all three of them home, but they had to make one decision. Padma told Daniel to pack his knives and go.

Questions

  1. Was Daniel the right choice to go home? Did adding random mushrooms to Carla’s salad and thinking the overall plate was awesome send him home? Should it have been Carla for not speaking up or Eugene for making bad rice and shrimp?
  2. Should Carla have yelled at Daniel about the mushrooms or was it too late since he was already plating them when she found out?
  3. Was Ariane the right pick for the winner? Should someone have mentioned that she didn’t make the marinade? Should it have been Jamie or Jeff instead?
  4. Who wants to make bets that someone will stab Stefan before the show is over?
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