Top Chef: Healthy & Nutritious Lunch

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
Outside the Lunch Box

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Chefs must pair up to create a sandwich.
  • Elimination Challenge: Create a healthy school lunch with a budget of $2.60 per child

I liked the challenges, especially the healthy lunch one. I liked that they showed they could make good, interesting food within the horribly low budget.

Quickfire Challenge


The chefs were greeted in the kitchen by Padma with guest judge, Sam Kass, assistant White House chef. Padma said a good government is bipartisan so they would be creating a bipartsandwich in their quickfire. They were paired up by pulling knives and had thirty minutes to make a sandwich. The winning team would have immunity. It seemed like a simple task, which of course, it was. Padma let them know that they would be making their sandwiches by wearing two aprons sewn together and they could only use one hand each. Sam told them to leave their egos at the door, don’t worry about taking credit and get to work.

Kenny was happy since Ed was left-handed and he was right-handed. Tracy felt good since she was teamed up with Angelo who owns a sandwich shop and has won both challenges so far. Tim had issues since Alex was freaking out that he was going to cut his hand each time he tried to hold some meat or bread.

Losers


Jacqueline & Stephen
Saba Vinegar Onions, California Avocado & Chicken

Sam thought the sandwich lacked creativity, especially with just plain white bread.


Tiffany & Lynne
Flatbread Saltimbocca, Goat Cheese, Artichokes, Peppers & White Asparagus

Sam said it was hard to pick up and eat while parts of it were flying out of Padma’s sandwich onto the floor. He also said it did not have a great texture with the saltimbocca.

Middle of the Road


Andrea & Kevin
“Philly Cuban”: Roasted Pork, Pickle, Whole Grain Mustard, Gruyere Cheese

Sam said he liked the pickle in the sandwich.


Amanda & Tamesha
Prosciutto, Swiss Cheese, Dijon Mustard & Pepper Salsa

He didn’t really say anything about it.


Alex & Tim
“Croque Madam”: Ground Lamb, Mornay Sauce & Egg

He didn’t say anything about this one either.


Kelly & Arnold
Curry-Rubbed Grilled Chicken, Honey & Sambal, Cucumber, Mint, Dill & Cilantro

Sam said it had a good taste.

Winners


Angelo & Tracy
Flounder Marinated in Fish Sauce, Spicy Sriracha Mayo, Pickled Red Onions

Sam said it was tasty. He said it was really bright and lively. The herbs brought a lot of vibrancy to the sandwich and the heat of the Sriracha was really lovely. He said he could eat it every day.


Kenny & Ed
Korean Chili-Rubbed Ahi Tuna, Cucumber & Mango Slaw, Multi-Grain Bread

Sam liked the spiciness in the tuna. He loved the Asian slaw. It had a lot of flavor. The tuna was beautifully seared.

Quickfire Winner: Angelo & Tracy

Elimination Challenge

To go along with the First Lady’s mission to end childhood obesity in one generation, the chefs would be making school lunches, but they would have to do it on the same restrictive budget the school had, which was $2.68 per kid or $134 total for 50 kids. Sam was taking $4 away since that budget also had to go for labor and any supplies of getting the food to the table. Sam said a typical lunch would consist of a main dish with a couple of side dishes. They should have a fruit and vegetable in there and maybe a dessert. The most important thing would be to make sure it tasted good or the kids won’t eat it. The chefs were divided up into groups of four. Every chef on the team was responsible for one item on the menu since they would be judged individually.

As the winners of the quickfire, Angelo and Tracy got to pick who would be on their team. They picked Kenny and Ed. The rest of the chefs were able to figure out how to group up. They had 30 minutes to plan before shopping. Then they had two and a half hours to prep and cook. The next day they had one hour to heat up the meals at school for lunch.

  • Team 1 – Angelo, Tracy, Ed, Kenny
  • Team 2 – Amanda, Tamesha, Jacqueline, Stephen
  • Team 3 – Alex, Tim, Kevin, Andrea
  • Team 4 – Tiffany, Lynne, Kelly, Arnold

Tracy said that kids like chicken nuggets and burgers. She wanted to make a healthy burger. Angelo said kids like peanut butter and celery. Kenny asked if that was healthy. Angelo said the celery was a vegetable. Over on team two, Tamesha was bringing up gnocchi as an idea. WAT! Amanda said the kids wouldn’t eat it. Jacqueline said she could do a chocolate banana dessert. Amanda told the camera that she could do a dessert, but she wouldn’t since the people that do desserts get sent home. On team three, Tim was bringing up mac & cheese and coleslaw. Kevin wanted to tackle a fruit dessert. On team four, Kelly wanted to make tacos. She said they could make it with low-fat feta cheese. Tiffany didn’t think kids would really like feta cheese. Kelly also said pickled onions. Arnold questioned that but Kelly said the kids would love them.

The teams went shopping and then had a fun time taking stuff out of their piles of food since they went way over budget.  Team 3 seemed to be working together well, tasting each others’ dishes and helping where needed. Kenny didn’t think his team’s meal was a nutritious as it should be. On team 2 Jacqueline couldn’t get chocolate since it was too much so she was making a strawberry-banana dessert. She was having a hard time getting the banana to taste sweet so she was using sugar. It doesn’t sound as healthy now. Tamesha was telling Amanda she needed to use tomato paste in her dish. Amanda disagreed. Tamesha really doesn’t like Amanda.

When the teams arrived at the middle school the next day, they found out the kitchen area was really small. Angelo put his peanut butter into a foam gun but the top was broken. He tried to borrow one from another team but they said no. I guess if you keep winning challenges, no one is going to help you succeed. 😉

Tom showed up saying that his mom ran a school lunch program for 20 years so he knows the difficulties into making a nutritious lunch with limited resources. He checked out what some of the chefs were doing. Kevin had melon on skewers with a yogurt foam. Tom wasn’t too sure at first about the yogurt, thinking kids like whipped cream and not yogurt, but he said they might eat it without realizing it so it might work. Jacqueline shared that she had to change her dish at the checkout line and that did concern her, but Tom thought what she was making sounded good. When he got around to Team 4, Kelly started in saying she was in charge of the tacos, but the rest of the team started to say they were all helping out each other. Tom didn’t like when teams did that and he wanted them to take responsibility for their dishes.

It was lunch time! The kids came running in to grab their food and then the judges came around to taste it for themselves.

Team 1



Tracey
Chicken Burger with Fiesta Rice

Tom thought it was good.

Angelo
Peanut Butter & Celery Crudites, Tuile

Padma said it wasn’t a bad dessert. Gail and Sam pointed out it wasn’t the dessert, since the bread pudding was there. Sam looked at the entire plate asking where the vegetables were.

Ed
Sweet Potato Puree with Cinnamon

Sam said it had a pound of pepper in it. Gail didn’t it would be something that could be served in a school lunch.

Kenny
Apple Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Yogurt

Tom thought it was not overly sweet and it was moist.

Team 2

Amanda
Braised Chicken Thigh, Sherry Jus

Gail thought it was odd that Amanda decided to use sherry in a lunch room dish.

Stephen
Sweet Onion Rice with Tomato, Carrots & Green Onions

When Stephen was describing his dish to the judges, he said it only had 165 grams of fat. Everyone stared at him while he realized what he had said, and then corrected himself, saying 165 calories. Gail thought it was tasty but pretty mushy. One kid said he didn’t like “that dish over there since it had rice and all that nasty stuff.”

Tamesha
Bean  & Tomato Salad, Pickled Red Onions & Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Padma liked the overall flavor of the salad.

Jacqueline
Banana Pudding with Skim Milk & Strawberries

Tom and Sam were figuring out what was up with the pudding. Tom said it was too starchy. Sam said it was too sweet. Padma said she did like the fresh strawberries on top.

Team 3


Andrea & Alex
Picnic Coleslaw with Yogurt

Padma asked if the coleslaw had any mayo in it. Andrea said it did have some, but it was mostly yogurt.

Andrea & Alex
Grilled Apple Cider BBQ Chicken

Alex said that they had taken the skin off the chicken to make it healthier and then grilled it. Padma really liked the chicken. Sam really liked that he used the apple cider instead of sugar.

Tim
Mac & Cheese with Whole Wheat Crust, Skim Milk & Low-Fat Cheese

Tom thought the weak link of the entire team was the mac and cheese.

Kevin
Fresh Melon Kebab & Orange Chantilly Dipped in Yogurt

Padma thought the kebab was tasty.

Team 4


Gail said she was excited about the amount of color on the plate overall.

Lynne
Black Bean Cake & Crispy Sweet Potatoes

Padma was concerned about Lynne’s bean cake being too spicy.

Kelly
Braised Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onions & Cilantro

Tom thought the taco was really good.

Arnold
Roasted Corn Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette & Chili Oil

Tom thought the salad fit very nicely with the taco.

Tiffany
Caramelized Sweet Potato & Sherbet

Gail didn’t think she was going to like it, but it tasted good. One of the kids liked how a vegetable was mixed with an ice cream.

Padma asked the kids what food they liked the best. One kid said he liked the mac and cheese and the whipped cream. A whole bunch of kids said they liked the whipped cream. One kid actually knew it was yogurt and Padma let them all in on the secret that it was yogurt. One girl said she liked the tacos and was asking what the red things were on it. Padma let her know they were pickled onions. She was genuinely surprised since she liked them. Overall, they said the food was much better than it usually was so they liked it.

Judges’ Table

Padma came out and called in Team 1 (Angelo, Tracy, Ed, Kenny) and 2 (Amanda, Tamesha, Jacqueline, Stephen) to come in to see them. The other teams left behind were upset since the winning teams always get called in first. When they got there, Tom told them that the challenge was to provide healthy lunches that were also appropriate for children, while also being tasty. Stephen was smiling as Tom said this, but then Padma threw them all off by saying that they were the two teams that had the worst dishes. Shock face time!

Tom started asking questions of one Team 2. Stephen said he tried to incorporate a lot of vegetables into the rice. He said he had to sacrifice creativity when they were at the cash register in order to keep substance in the meal. Gail said that’s the point that they would get tripped up since that’s the problem the country is facing. Jacqueline said she wanted to make a chocolate banana dessert but had to give up the chocolate. Then she found out the bananas were very starchy. Sam asked if she added sugar. She said she added about two pounds of it. Tom looked shocked. Sam said that’s what happens when people don’t start out with good product. They end up adding sugar and fat to make it taste better. Sam asked who had the idea to make the sherry jus on the chicken. Amanda said it was her idea. Sam asked why she had the budget to buy sherry. She just made a face that said, “My bad!” but didn’t give an actual answer.

They moved onto the other team. Tom asked Ed about the sweet potato puree. He said it was tossed with some brown sugar and chili powder. Gail said it was pretty spicy.  She told him he had to be careful when they are cooking for kids. Sam said it is easy to load the kids up on starch and forget the vegetables. Sam saw the lack of effort in the entire team in the lack of vegetables. Kenny said that the talk of vegetables kept coming around so they put a roasted tomato on the burger. Sam said that tomato is a fruit so their only vegetable would be the stick of celery. That did not seem like enough. I don’t even want to get into the debate about what is a fruit or vegetable, but celery or tomato don’t seem like enough of either for a healthy meal. Tom asked Angelo if he would have made the “peanut butter celery thing” if he didn’t have immunity.  Angelo said, “I can’t answer that right now.” Did he need a lawyer? He can’t just answer honestly? He did say that he didn’t know where it was coming from and if his team mates wanted him to go in another direction, he could have done it.

Then, the entire thing came off the hinges. Tom said he didn’t think that Angelo was trying to sabotage the team, but he wondered why no one on the team took the lead saying that the entire dish was not nutritional enough. Kenny was in the middle of saying that he was trying to do that, but he still wanted the entire team to have a consensus on the meal, so it was difficult with two team members having immunity. While what he was saying really made no sense to me, Stephen from the other team piped up to say that when someone on the team knew they didn’t have any vegetables and said something, but still let it slide instead of trying to champion a cause…..and he didn’t get to finish because Kenny jumped in to asking if adding two pounds of sugar into a dessert was healthy when his dessert of bread pudding had less than eight ounces? No time for Stephen to answer because Amanda jumped in! She asked if they knew how much sugar and calories were in processed peanut butter? Apparently it is the worst thing in the world to feed a kid. Those two went back and forth for a while, until Ed butted in saying, “Does sherry wine even need to be in the elementary school?”  Amanda responded, “They weren’t drinking it for Christ’s sake. I wasn’t serving it by the glass.” Gail asked why she chose sherry to braise the chicken. Amanda said that she just likes it. She really likes braising chicken with sherry. Gail said, “I like it too. I like a lot of things. I like vodka, but I’m not cooking with it.”

After the most hilarious section of Judges’ Table in a long time, they were sent out. The chefs shocked those waiting in the stew room when they told them they weren’t the winners, but the losers. Back with the judges, Padma asked which overall team was the worst. Sam said that Angelo’s team was the worst one. Tom said that Angelo and Tracy had immunity. Sam said that Kenny made a decision to not use vegetables so it hurt the kids that were going to be eating it. He said that was a big mistake. Gail said that Ed made a nice dish that would work for a nice restaurant, but it was not a nice dish for the challenge. Padma wondered why Kenny and Ed did not speak up more, especially when two of their teammates had immunity. They wondered if Angelo was plotting on purpose against his teammates because he had immunity.

Gail said she didn’t like the other team’s food either. Tom said the two dishes that brought them there was Amanda’s chicken and Jacqueline’s dessert. Gail said that Amanda’s chicken was one of the “most unappealing things” she had seen in a long time. She said she could have braised it another way and didn’t understand why she removed the skin. Tom said “it was like she put a big turd on the table, since the kids wouldn’t go near it.” Sam said the amount of sugar in Jacqueline’s dessert was unconscionable. Gail said if she could defend it a little bit, she did use fresh strawberries. Sam said all he tasted was sugar.

Switching gears, Padma said they also had to pick a winning team and an overall winner. Gail said with Kelly’s team, they got a salad on their dish. She also made her own taco shells using oats and they still had a dessert that wasn’t full of sugar or fat. Additionally, they got a vegetable in the dessert. She was impressed. Tom said he was amazed that they had the same budget and seemed to get way more food. Tom said that Andrea and Alex’s team also did very well. Padma said the chicken was very tasty. She loved how they used apple cider. Sam said that overall, they found ways to take ingredients that normally wouldn’t be healthy, but make them that way, especially with the “whipped cream” that was yogurt. He thought it was brilliant that they used a little mayo, but a lot of yogurt in the coleslaw. He also loved the fruit as the dessert.

Padma called in Kelly’s team with Tiffany, Lynne and Arnold. She told them that they had the favorite lunch. Padma told Arnold that his roasted corn salad looked and tasted great. Gail loved the pork carnita tacos. Sam said there was great balance and the kids loved it. Sam told Tiffany that one kid said he does not like sweet potatoes, but he loved hers. Tom also said it had great texture. He said when you take the fat out of sorbet, you lose the texture, but she did a great job. Sam told Lynne that he liked her use of the beans and the sweet potato shavings. Lynne said that was one of the reasons she put it on top. Sam said the kids were really into it.

Sam picked the overall winner who he thought kept taste and nutrition at the forefront. He picked Kelly.

The people that were sent back into the judges were Amanda, Jacqueline, Kenny and Ed. Tom reminded them again that the challenge was to create a nutritious and delicious school lunch. Tom told Kenny that he could have been a little more assertive and he let the team down. He told Ed the same thing. He said both of them put together a menu that was loaded with starches and didn’t give them the variety that they were looking for. Tom told Amanda that the chicken was not appealing. He said if it doesn’t appeal to a child, they won’t eat it. He told Jacqueline that her pudding was loaded with sugar, grainy and not nutritious. Padma asked Jacqueline to pack her knives and go.

Questions

  1. Do you think Angelo sabotaged his team on purpose in order to get rid of Kenny or Ed?
  2. Do you think Kenny or Ed should have spoke up more if they didn’t think what Angelo and Tracy were doing on their team was healthy enough? Or should they just have made healthier stuff themselves?
  3. Do you wish you had any of those items for your lunch when you were in grade school? Which ones would you like or which ones would you not go near if you were a kid?
  4. Do you wish you could have some of those sandwiches made in the quickfire available to eat?

Images: Bravo

2 Comments

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.