Top Chef: Slow Service

09_kitchen

Top Chef: Las Vegas
Restaurant Wars

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Tag Team Cook-Off
  • Elimination Challenge: Restaurant Wars

The restaurant wars episodes are not my favorite, but this year I think they made some changes to it that made it more enjoyable to watch. I know that owners of restaurants do have some say in the decor, but I liked that the series was about the food so I liked that they took decor out of the equation this time. I did like it that they forced the front of the house person to be in charge of a dish so they couldn’t just “hide” in the front and not actually make anything, even though others in the past have made dishes and ran the front of the house. It is probably their fault that it’s expected now.

Quickfire Challenge

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The guest judge for the episode was Rick Moonen, Chef/Owner of RM Seafood. Padma said that chefs can only go so far with individual talent. They must also work together as a team. Their quickfire challenge would be working in a tag team cook-off. They had to draw knives. Most of them were blank, but Jen pulled one that said “First’s Choice” and Michael pulled one that said “Second’s Choice”. They were able to pick their team mates.

Jen’s Blue team:

  • Kevin
  • Mike
  • Laurine

Michael’s Red team:

  • Bryan
  • Eli
  • Robin

Each team would be making one dish in 40 minutes. The first chef in the team would cook for 10 minutes and then pass it off to the next chef to cook for 10 minutes until 40 minutes is up. They were not allowed to talk to each other and when the chefs were not cooking, they had to be wearing a blindfold. The team that created the most cohesive dish would get a significant advantage in the elimination challenge. It was also a high-stakes quickfire where the winning team would get $10,000 from the M Resort to split between them. They only had 30 seconds to decide in which order they would be cooking.

On Michael’s team, they decided that Eli could figure out what to make with what was available the quickest, so he would be first, followed by Robin. Bryan would be third in case there was any emergency in the beginning and Michael could finish up anything Bryan started. On Jen’s team, they decided Jen would be first since she was the most organized. Laurine would be second. Then they decided that it would be either Mike or Kevin to be last and went with Kevin since he was better at plating. I found it interesting that the two weakest chefs remaining in the competition were in second place on both teams.

Jen grabs some scallops and fish. She started making a sauce. She was trying to keep it simple, but also open to a few things depending on what the next chef would want to make. Eli grabbed some strip steak and mushrooms. He also wanted it simple. He was cleaning some greens and keeping it open to a few different directions. He was worried that the chefs on his team didn’t have similar cooking styles. Then he said that he thought the brothers had similar styles and his style wasn’t too different. So I guess they are the same, but different? Then he said Robin’s style was “east of Mars”. Jen was worried that the other chefs might not follow her flavor profile. When Laurine was over there, she figured out it was something with fish, but trying to see what Jen had set up. She figured out that Jen wanted to poach the fish. Robin was amazed how much that Eli got done in 10 minutes. She decided to make a yuzo vinaigrette to go with what he had already had done.

Mike took a couple minutes to figure out what had been done before him and where the dish was going. He figured out that she wanted to poach the fish. He started sauteing some mushrooms to go with it. Bryan saw that it was going a bit in an Asian direction so he went the same way with an avocado-lime sauce with some  soy sauce and yuzo. Kevin saw that his team set it up to poach the fish, but he wanted to butter roast it in the pan to give it a bit more texture compared to poaching. Michael saw the meat wasn’t cooked so he threw it in the oven so it could finish. He saw the vinaigrette Robin had been making, but added water to dilute it since it was too salty and added some xanthan gum to make it more of a miso sauce. He found Bryan’s avocado mousse and used that as a foundation of the dish and finished up what everyone had started.

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Red Team – Michael, Bryan, Eli, Robin
Pan Roasted NY Strip with Whipped Miso Avocado Puree & Pickled Vegetables

Michael said the miso was a little salty, but the meat was underseasoned so the idea was to make it work together. Padma asked Eli if it was what he had in mind when he gathered all the food. He said he was thinking the meat would be served raw, but it wasn’t too far off from what he had imagined.

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Blue Team – Jen, Kevin, Mike, Laurine
Sablefish with Sauteed Mushrooms, Shiitake Broth & Radish Salad

Jen described it as trout, but Rick said he was pretty sure it was a sablefish. Kevin had known it was sablefish when he was working on the dish.

Rick thought both teams did really well and he enjoyed watching them work. He thought the Red Team’s dish was intriguing. He thought the meat was a little rare, but he thought the other components really kicked in and made it work. He thought the Blue dish had a really nice finish to it, which he contributed it to the well-made stock. He thought the shrimp and ginger in the stock gave the dish a longer finish. He thought it was great.

Overall Quickfire Winner: Blue Team

Elimination Challenge

It wasn’t a big shocker since it was down to eight chefs, but they were informed that it was restaurant wars time. They would be taking over Rick’s restaurant in Mandalay Bay, which was two floors. Each team would be on a separate floor in a separate kitchen. It was a bit different this year though. They would not be responsible for decor. They would be responsible for the menu and execution of the food, front of house and service. The person that would be in charge of the front of house would be responsible for the conception and execution of one dish.  There was one final twist was that Rick believed in sustainability in his cooking and seafood so he wanted them to keep that in mind too. He was giving them a little cheat sheet about sustainable seafood options that they could use since he would be judging them on how sustainable they would be in their menus.

The winning team would get to pick which kitchen they wanted to cook out of in the two-story restaurant. They also had to make a decision since it was a high-stakes quickfire challenge. They could keep the $10,000 or they could let it ride, and if they won restaurant wars, they would get $10,000 each. They decided to let it ride.

The teams had 30 minutes to plan. They needed to make a three course meal. The Blue team decided immediately there would be no dessert. Laurine said she had a quite bit of experience as front of house so she decided to do it. She preferred being in the kitchen, but she wanted to be a team player so she offered it. Over on the Red team, they decided to do a dessert. Michael brought up to Robin that she could do a take on the apple crisp that she won the quickfire with, but Bryan said he could do his chocolate dessert. Michael pointed out that he lost with it, but Bryan said he wouldn’t have the same preparation. Michael asked if he could do it so his ganache wouldn’t be grainy. I think Bryan was about to punch him in the face, but kept his cool.  They decided to have Eli as front of house. The Blue team came up with the name Revolt (Robin, Eli, Voltaggio brothers). The Red team came up with Mission since they wanted something simple. When the teams arrived at the restaurant the next day, the Blue Team, Mission, decided to go with the top kitchen, which was more fine-dining and refined. That left the Red Team, Revolt, with the casual dining atmosphere.

Mission Menu

Jen said what they were looking for in their menu was simplicity, refinement and seasonality.

First Course

  • Asparagus & Six Minute Egg – Mike
  • Arctic Char Tartare – Mike

Second Course

  • Couillabaisse Consomme – Jen
  • Seared Trout – Jen

Third Course

  • Pork Three Ways – Kevin
  • Lamb with Carrot Jam – Laurine

Laurine came up with the lamb dish and prepped it, but Kevin would have to execute it.

ReVolt Menu

Michael thought their food would be more playful compared to Mission’s menu. He thought Mission’s food was a little safer.

First Course

  • Chicken & Calamari “Pasta” – Michael
  • Smoked Arctic Char – Eli

Second Course

  • Duo of Beef – Bryan
  • Cod & Billi-Bi Sauce – Michael

Third Course

  • Pear Pithivier – Robin
  • Chocolate Ganache – Bryan

Tom started making the rounds before the restaurants were opened. He talked to Laurine when she was in the front of house seeing if everything was ready. He asked her if she planned on going back to see if her dish was being executed correctly. She said she would see the dishes when they came out and if she didn’t think they were right, she would send them back . Tom talked to Kevin about him doing the entire third course on his own and it could be easy to get behind. He agreed, but said he works the main course station at his restaurant every night so he is used to doing it. Jen said she was really behind so Tom didn’t talk to her very long. She said she was behind since she thought she was superwoman who could get a million things done at once.

Tom talked to Eli if he was worried if he would be sent home for being front of house and also asked if he thought he was safe for being in the front. He said he decided to do it so he would do this best in the front. He didn’t feel safe since he did have a dish that was back there too. Tom asked Michael if there was a leader on the team. Michael said that Eli had the front in control. Robin had one dish so she was the “go-to girl” for other things that they needed. Both Michael and Bryan had two dishes each so they were communicating back and forth to each other.

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When the restaurants opened, Revolt seemed to be in better shape than Mission. Eli was ready to go. Laurine was still talking to the servers in the kitchen when the doors opened. She was shocked that the lobby and bar were filled with people waiting for seats when she went back to the dining area. Jennifer was not ready for the restaurant to be opened.  When some guests sat down at Revolt, they were confused by the name. One person said, “I’m confused what the name has to do with the menu. Do the foods contradict each other?”

ReVolt

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The judges went to Revolt first. It was Padma, Tom, Rick and Toby Young. Padma said she wasn’t sure about the name. Tom said it was terrible. Padma wondered if they didn’t think they would think of the term “revolting” as it relates to food. Robin had that point when they came up with the name, but everyone ignored her. Rick did like the way the menu looked though.

First Course

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Eli
Smoked Arctic Char with Beets, Horseradish Sour Cream & Potatoes

Rick thought it was a little one-dimensional. Toby agreed. He said it didn’t really pop.

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Michael V.
Pressed Chicken with Calamari Noodles, Tomato Confit & Fennel Salad

A guest said it was delicious. Padma said the chicken was amazing.  Rick loved it and said he would order it. Tom asked if he could get some more chicken from Padma. She said she was surprised he left her as much as he did.  He said, “I was being nice. I thought maybe you’d give it back.”

Apparently there was a bit of a wait between the first and second course. Toby asked if it was just him or if the wait was too long. Tom said if it came out right then, it wouldn’t be too long, but he hadn’t seen anything come out of the kitchen in a while and all the other tables had also finished their first courses.  Something exploded in the kitchen so Michael had to make it again. He said it was a call between stopping all other dishes to serve the judges or keep all the customers on the same track.

Second Course

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Bryan
Duo of Beef  – Braised Short Rib & Prime NY Strip

Toby said he wasn’t overwhelmed by Bryan’s dish. He thought the sauces were a little bland. Tom said he enjoyed the dish, but he wished it was a little hotter, temperature-wise, when it came out. Another guest said her meat was cold.

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Michael V.
Cod with Parsley Sauce, Billi-Bi Croquette & Zucchini Tenderloin

It was the croquettes that had exploded in the back and Michael had to make again. One guest said it just melted when she bit into it. Rick said it melted in his mouth. It was also sustainable and delicious. Toby said it picked up quite a bit of mussel flavor. Rick said it was brilliant.

Michael was asking Robin why her dish was getting so big while she was plating it. She said it was only a third of the dish or something that didn’t make any sense. He took over and finished plating it. She started yelling and cussing at him to let her do her dish. He told her to not talk to him like that, but he was helping. She said he was disrespecting her by stepping into her dish. He said he stepped in since she was changing what they had agreed to do.

Third Course

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Bryan
Ganache with Spearmint Ice Cream & Chocolate Tuiles

Toby thought it was beautiful, but he would have loved more mint ice cream. Tom thought it was delicious.  Rick said it was silky.

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Robin
Pear Pithivier with Vanilla Ice Cream & Elderflower Syrup

Toby thought it was “easily the best thing Robin has done so far.” He thought it was really good. Rick said it was put together with so much consideration.

Padma asked what everyone thought about Eli as the front of the house. Rick said he liked Eli’s intensity. He thought he did a good job.

Mission

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Laurine said the challenge was a bit different since it was serving the judges, but also serving all the other customers who were filling out comment cards, so they needed to be taken into consideration too. After getting seated, Tom said he noticed there was no dessert on the menu. The judges didn’t seem too impressed with that decision.

First Course

Laurine delivered the dishes without explaining them.

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Mike
Asparagus & Six Minute Egg

Padma liked the asparagus dish. Tom said it needed “something.” Toby said it was a bit boring. Rick said he didn’t dislike it.

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Mike
Arctic Char Tartare

Toby said it had a bite to it. Tom said it didn’t have salt. Toby agreed that it lacked salt. Padma asked for salt, which threw Mike off when he heard about it since he had seasoned his dishes personally.

There was a delay between the first and second courses in this restaurant too. Laurine had to go around and apologize for the wait. She thought that having Jennifer be in charge of two intensive courses at the same time was probably not the best idea.  The chefs were not getting any communication from Laurine. They were wondering about the judges table, but she was not in the back. When she did get back there, she was upset the courses were done yet when they were waiting to hear back that it was time to fire them. When she did finally deliver them, she was leaving without explaining the dishes. Padma had to ask her to do it before she walked too far away.

Second Course

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Jennifer
Trout with Brown Butter Emulsion, Hazelnuts & Braised Endive

Tom said it was an absolute disaster. The butter sauce was broken. All he tasted was grease. It wasn’t emulsified. Toby said that Jennifer is such an accomplished cook that he had come to expect so much more from her.  Tom said her mentor (Eric Ripert) would not be happy with her right now.

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Jennifer
Alaskan Halibut with Mussels, Clams & Saffron Aioli in Consomme

A guest said the mussels and clams were really fishy. Tom thought the halibut was cooked okay, but it was not consomme, since it wasn’t clear. Rick said it wasn’t clear, but it was probably the best part of the dish. Toby said it was disappointing.

Kevin was having temperature issues with the lamb. Some of it was overcooked and some of it was undercooked. He said there was also some communication issues between him and Laurine. What he thought was medium rare, she thought of as rare. When she delivered the dishes, Padma had to ask again for her to explain them.

Third Course

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Kevin/Laurine
Lamb with Carrot Jam, Green Bean Salad & Morel Mushroom Sauce

One guest thought his lamb was a little raw. Rick said he didn’t like “jello lamb.” Tom said that if they were trying to make a rare lamb, they did it. Toby said he thought they would have asked how he wanted his lamb and not assume he wanted it that rare.

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Kevin
Glazed Pork Belly, Pork Sausage, Cornmeal Mousseline & Red-Eye Gravy

One guest said her dish was cooked really well. Padma liked Kevin’s pork plate. Tom thought the sausage was really flavorful and the pork belly was really nice. He thought it was a good dish.

Toby missed that there was no dessert. Revolt felt pretty confident, but not sure how they did compared to the other team. Mission didn’t feel like they had their best night, so they knew they would be the losing team.

Judges’ Table

Padma asked to see the member of the Revolt team. Padma told them that they had won restaurant wars. Tom added that across the board, it was the best restaurant they had experienced in their six seasons.  Michael said, “Wow!” Toby said that if he would have been reviewing the restaurant, after making fun of the name and the front of house being woefully underdressed, he would have given the restaurant three stars. Padma told Bryan that his mint ice cream was delicious. Toby said the short rib was fantastic. Padma asked Eli why he took the front of the house. He said because he was a good “shit talker.” Rick said that the most important thing was giving the guests a good experience and the thought that Eli did a good job of that. He said he did a good job of communicating. He thought the arctic char didn’t blow him away, but it was a good dish.

Padma told Michael that his chicken and cod were delicious. Rick said he loves chicken and calamari, and the way he put them together was genius. He would come back for that. They said they loved Robin’s dessert. Tom said he was a bit homier than the rest of the dishes and wondered if she had to fight for that. She said there were some tips to update it. Michael started saying that he worked on that dish with Robin, but she executed it. She rolled her eyes when he said that, which Tom caught. Robin said there was a fine line between being helped and being dominated. Rick had to pick the one overall winner. Rick said the chef that showed the most promise was Michael. As winners, the team won an autographed copy of his Fish book. Padma told Michael he also won $10,000 from the M resort that the other team forfeited. Michael asked if he could split it with the rest of the team. They said he could do whatever he wanted with it.

The next team was called in. Tom asked if it was the best idea to have one person in charge of each of the two dishes in each course so they would get slammed all at once instead of splitting it between two people in one course. Kevin agreed that it wasn’t the best idea. Laurine said she decided to do the front of the house because she felt the most comfortable about of everyone. Tom asked her if she still felt that comfortable. She said they all felt embarrassed since it wasn’t how they would run a restaurant. Michael said he was happy with the asparagus dish. He said he liked the char dish, but he said that if everything wasn’t eaten in the right way, the bites might taste inconsistent. Padma said that was pretty much exactly what happened. Jennifer said she knew she could have done some things differently. She said she could have steamed her mussels and clams beforehand, which shocked both Tom and Rick. They couldn’t believe she did it to order. Padma said that explained why it took so long. Rick said she cooked the halibut perfectly. It was glistening in the middle and he enjoyed the flavor of the broth. Toby said the fish and the broth seemed to nullify each other so the overall dish wasn’t as good as the sum of its parts. Jennifer agreed. Tom said the trout dish was just beige and the butter sauce was broken. She was shocked and disappointed that the butter sauce broke.

Padma said the lamb was severely underdone. Rick said it didn’t go through a resting process and the center of it was like jello. Tom asked Laurine what she thought about it. She said she thought it was a bit too bloody, so he brought up that she said she would send the dishes back if they weren’t to her liking. She said she didn’t take that initiative. Toby said she looked like a deer in the headlights. She didn’t tell them anything about the dishes and they had to prompt her to tell them. She didn’t seem like she was not on top of her game. She said she didn’t put on her game face, but showed the anxiety of the kitchen. Tom said the team really needed a leader and the team didn’t seem to have one. They were sent out.

Padma said it seemed pretty clear that they knew they did not have a good service. Tom said that good chefs know when they are having a bad night. Toby brought up that for Mike, nothing went seriously wrong in his case, but in the other dishes, something went seriously wrong. Tom said he could not believe Jen was steaming mussels and clams to order. He said it was insane. Rick thought the mussels were undercooked. He said the trout dish itself was flawed. Tom said it had no flavor. Rick said it had no character or personality and was topped with a broken sauce. It was very disappointing. Tom said the lamb had two people working on it. They all liked Kevin’s pork dish, but he did cook the lamb. In his mind, what he gave them was medium rare. Rick said it was just seared raw lamb and it was horrible. Tom said Laurine said if it was bad, she would send it back, which she didn’t. He also said she did a bad job in the front of the house. Rick said she froze up. Tom said it seemed like she wanted to hide and she spent most of her time doing that.

They were called back in. Tom told Jen she wasn’t able to perform to her top performance at all.  Several things went wrong with her dishes. Tom told Kevin that he cooked the lamb and it was a pretty poor job, but he did give them the pork dish. He told Laurine, the dining room was poorly organized, but when things got bad, she seemed to hide as opposed to taking care of  the lamb dish. Michael was told there was nothing bad about his dishes, but they weren’t great. Laurine was asked to pack her knives and go.

Questions

  1. Do you think Laurine deserved to go home for how she ran the front of the house and didn’t send her lamb back when she thought it was too rare? Or should it have been someone else from her team that was sent home?
  2. Do you think the Mission team failed due to how they stacked themselves by having one person in charge of two dishes at the same time or was it the lack of dessert?
  3. Do you think Michael should have stepped in to “help” Robin with her dessert or just let her serve it like she wanted?

Photos Source: Bravo

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