Top Chef: Meal Fit for a King?

The show actually sent five finalists to the Bahamas where they were told they had to prepare a meal for a king, but didn’t know he was more of a casual guy than stuffy royalty. After a fire that destroyed most of their prep work, the chefs were shaken and unsure of their dishes, which led to Carla leaving.

Past Winners

The chefs arrive for the quickfire challenge to find the winners of their past seasons standing there.   The chefs would be going head to head against the chef that won their season. That worked out nicely for everyone except Stephanie who would be going head to head against both Richard and Antonia. The person that wins the challenge, would win $10,000. They had to highlight an ingredient that Tom gave them in a mystery box.

At first, Mike was excited that he would be working with Michael, until he found out he would be going head to head with him, but after he found out the challenged, he was freaked out since he knew Michael was better. Richard was excited since he felt he was the best one from his season, but he had choked in the finale so he wanted to redeem himself.

Stephanie, Richard and Antonia find veal in their box. Richard was thinking there would be something more Caribbean. Mike and Michael found an entire duck. Michael wanted to butcher it and Mike was happy for him to do it. Mike was laughing at Michael trying to use every piece of equipment that they had on hand. Hosea and Carla got to work with lamb. He said he wanted to prove to the haters that he deserved to win. No you didn’t Hosea. I have no idea how he won. Kevin and Tiffany got pork. Kevin was complaining that his back hurt already.

Carla and Atonia had the problem with their burners kept going off. Antonia said she was basically steaming her veal since the burner wouldn’t stay on. Carla put her rice into her stew to finish cooking it due to the burner issue, which she knew was a bad idea but she didn’t have much choice.

Kevin vs. Tiffany


Kevin
Barbecue Pork with Cilantro, Celery, Shaved Onion & Citrus Salad


Tiffany
Pork Stew with Potatoes, Peppers, Citrus & Allspice

Tom said it was really tough since they were both really good dishes, but he preferred Tiffany’s dish. Eric agreed with Tom and Padma told her she won the contest.

Hosea vs. Carla


Hosea
Braised Lamb in Red Chili Broth with Olives & Mint, Goat Cheese & Rosemary Polenta


Carla
Joffof Rice & Harissa Lamb with Peppers, Onions & Lime

Padma asked if she meant for the rice to be so undercooked. Carla said no, but didn’t explain why it happened. The winner ended up being Hosea due to a bad burner for Carla.

Stefanie vs. Antonia


Stefanie
Veal Scallopini with Tapenade & Poached Egg


Antonia
Roasted Veal, Leek & Almonds Puree with Sauteed Mushrooms, Arugula & Raisins

Tom told Antonia that on one hand he liked her flavors, but the veal was really tough. Tom told Stephanie that the veal and the poached egg were great, but there was so much going on with her dish. He said it was tough since he wasn’t a fan of either dish but if he was forced to choose, he’d go with Antonia.  Eric told Stephanie that he was confused about the egg on top of the veal, but Antonia’s veal was dry and hard, so he was going to have to go with Stephanie. Padma said she was the tie and she chose Stephanie. Stephanie said she was winning with a crappy dish.

Stefanie vs. Richard


Richard
Seared Veal Loin & Braised Veal Cap with Raisins, Carrots, Potatoes & Mushrooms

Eric told Richard that he had a nice balance of flavors. Tom said it was a great combination of salty and sweet. He said “hands down” he was the winner.

    Michael vs. Mike


    Michael
    Duck Breast with Duck Leg in Bacon Vinaigrette, Burnt Leek & Coffee Pesto


    Mike
    Cashew Dusted Spiced Duck Breast with Duck Leg & Mushroom Jus

    Padma picked Michael, but gave no reason why. Eric told Michael that he found his dish very interesting and complex, but he liked the dish from Mike the most. Tom said he really liked both dishes, but he was going to go with who he thought handled the duck better and he said Mike did it.

      Dance Party

      The chefs would be cooking for Bahamian Royalty the next day as their elimination challenge. Carla was psyching herself out a bit after the quickfire lost. Mike was thinking that Antonia, Carla and Tiffany had played it safe to get to the finals.

      The next day, the chefs were headed to the kitchen of the Bahamian Royalty but found themselves in a row of restaurants and some kind of festival taking place in the streets. They got out of the car in front of a steak and seafood restaurant. Tom came out and introduced them to the main dancing guy who was Percy “Vola” Francis, the King of Junkanoo. He said that Junkanoo was a celebration of life like Carnival or Mardi Gras. They would be cooking for this king and his crew. Most of the chefs were rethinking their upscale dishes except for Tiffany who wasn’t planning on making anything too upscale to begin with.

      Fryer Fire

      The chefs ran into the kitchen to find very limited kitchen equipment. There was a flattop, fryer, and microwave. While cooking, one fryer caught on fire. They had to evacuate while the fire was put out. All the food in there was contaminated so they had to start over. Tom told them that they did lose all their prep work from earlier in the day, but they did have a chance to recreate their dish if they wanted.

      Richard and Antonia decided to change their dishes while the others stuck with their original ideas. Everyone just had to prep, cook and serve all over again that night. While cooking, Carla found when she cut her pork tenderloin and finds the center is raw. She decides to throw it on the flattop to try to finish it. Antonia was not happy with her dish when she was finishing. She didn’t feel like it came from her.

      Food Judging

      After trying everyone’s dishes, the judges wondered if the fire had spooked them. They felt overall they had missed the mark with the challenge.


      Mike
      Sous Vide Chicken, Mushrooms, Yams, Lobster Sauce & Lobster Hash

      Mike was the only one that was confident about his dish in the kitchen. He stuck with his original idea. Eric found the dish very pleasant to his palate. Tom said there was a lot going on with the dish. Gail found the white meat dry, but the dark meat was great, especially how it was incorporated into the has. Overall, they found the flavors worked very well together and the sauce was the star of the dish. His dish was picked as the overall winner since it was the most harmonious, best executed and delicious.


      Richard
      Roasted Lamb Loin & Malted Braised Leg with Pickled Turnip & Mustard

      Eric found the mustard delicate and not pungent. Tom loved the pasta but Eric thought it was undercooked. They did feel like there was a component missing from the dish that would have pushed it over the edge as the best dish. That is why it wasn’t picked as the winning dish.


      Tiffany
      Roasted Spiced Pork Tenderloin, Dirty Rice, Curried Slaw & Tomato Jam

      Everyone found her dish good, but not very exciting. It was pretty simple and middle of the road. Gail wanted more tomato jam than what was put on the plate. Everyone was confused why she called it curry slaw when it didn’t have any curry flavors. They felt she lost focus and it didn’t stand out enough to be the winning dish, but was not horrible to be the losing dish.


      Antonia
      Crispy Shrimp & Grits with Cilantro & Pickled Vegetables

      Eric found the shrimp overcooked. Gail was concerned about the meat in the grits that was not recognizable. Tom said it was no longer creamy grits once she added the mystery meat to it. The kind said it would be better if it was conch and grits. Antonia told the judges later that she was going to make lamb with fennel butter but changed it. She thought she should have stayed with it since she was not proud of her dish when it was done. The judges just found the dish odd and it was not a good version of shrimp and grits. She did not get sent home over it though.


      Carla
      Fried Pork Medallion with Sweet Potato Puree, Apple Sauce & Apple Chip

      The judges found Carla’s dish beautiful, but it was too sweet. It was almost like a dessert. Gail was sad that she couldn’t eat half the dish since her pork was raw in the middle. Carla ended up being sent home due to having a sweet dish, but the undercooked pork was her downfall.

      Questions

      1. Do you think the chefs should have changed their dishes when they realized who the “royalty” actually was or what kind of equipment they had available in the kitchen? Or should they have stuck to their original dishes?
      2. Do you think that Carla would have still lost the quickfire if she had a burner that worked like Hosea did? Antonia did win against Stephanie when her burner was also not working.
      3. Were you surprised that Michael actually lost a challenge to Mike?

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