Top Chef: No Crying in Cooking

Beverly cried during the first “real” episode last week when she saw the girl dancing with her father. Then she cried again this week when she was missing her husband while at the rodeo. We can start a drinking game of drinking whenever Beverly starts crying during this show.

Quickfire Challenge

The guest chefs for the episode were chef/owners of Border Grill and both former Top Chef Masters contestants, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. The chefs were shown a variety of chilis, each with a different scale of hotness. They needed to create a dish highlighting one chili pepper. The hotter chili they chose, the more money they could win with the top amount being $20,000 for using a ghost pepper.

Richie commented that he wasn’t a fan of spice so he didn’t choose a super hot pepper. How is he a chef is he isn’t a fan of spice? That’s a lot of flavors that he’s missing out on. Paul said since he was in the bottom during the last quickfire, he wanted to prove himself so he grabbed a ghost pepper. He was the only chef to use them.

Least Favorite


Beverly
Anaheim Chili Crudite with Ssamjang Paste

Beverly told them she didn’t want to cook the pepper so the judges could enjoy the beauty and freshness of it. Mary Sue said that for a Top Chef, she didn’t do enough to change it, highlight it or make it different.


Richie
Fresno Slaw with Pineapple Curd & Seared Bay Scallops

He had a great presentation, but it was sweet on sweet. He lost the power of the chili.


Chuy
Sauteed Scallops with Achiote and Habanero Chili

Susan and Mary Sue loved the idea, but he used canned tomatoes that overpowered the chili.

Middle of the Road


Sarah
Salmon Belly Seared with Fresno Chili Relish

Susan did want one last bite before moving on someone else’s dish.


Chris J.
Seared Chicken with Manzano Vinaigrette

Susan did like the fruitiness of the chili.


Chris C.
Coconut Soup with Thai Chili


Nyesha
Baby Fennel & Rock Shrimp Salad with Orange Habanero Vinaigrette

Favorites


Heather
Date & Pistachio Cous Cous, Pickled Cucumbers, Red Onions & Thai Chili

They liked that the Thai Chili really brought the right heat to the dish.


Grayson
Habanero Popper with Cream Lime Sauce

Susan enjoyed that the bite she took had a kick. Mary Sue enjoyed she used the whole chili pepper and showcased it. It was a really smart dish.


Paul
Chilled Coconut Soup with Kaffir Lime, Ghost Pepper Relish

They loved that he had the confidence to do it and make a really delicious dish. He won the challenge, $20,000 since he used the hottest pepper and he won immunity.

Elimination Challenge

For the elimination challenge, the chefs were broken up into teams and created a pot of chili for the next night at the Tejas Rodeo Annual Chili Cookoff. They pulled aprons out of pots to find out what team they were on. Nyesha was not thrilled to be on a team with Richie since he had been at the bottom of both Quickfire Challenges. She also didn’t want to be on a team with Beverly who cries randomly. Chris C. wasn’t too thrilled to be on a team with Sarah who was so ready to blame someone else for her issues, like Keith in the last challenge. The chefs were told there was no time clock. They had all day and night to cook the chili. They would be making it at their house and serving it the next night to over 200 cowboys  and rodeo regulars. They would be the ones voting for the best chili.

At the store, there was much fighting for brisket at the meat counter. Dakota was there first, but Beverly jumped in ahead of her and took it all. Dakota had to buy short ribs instead. Once they were back at the house, Nyesha grabbed all the beer out of the fridge for her team so other teams couldn’t use it. They were not too pleased. Then there was a race to try to grab all the different cooking surfaces available to the five teams. Later on in the evening, the chefs start to get loopy from lack of sleep and some also got drunk. Chris C. told the camera that he had to hear about 20 stories already about all of Chuy’s accomplishments and how his dad invented chili and blah blah blah.

Suddenly, someone named Whitney started talking. I don’t know what she said. Who is this? Has this person been on the show before? I’m guessing she was in one of the first two episodes, but she made no impression on me and wasn’t shown the last episode at all. I am not completely convinced she is a chef on the show.

The next day, the chefs arrived at the rodeo and started to warm up their chili and get set up for all the cowboys. On the Green Team, Sarah started to work on charming the guys by telling them she’s from Texas. Chris. C was charming the ladies. Chuy was telling people that they had a lot of beer in them and in the chili. The judges for the challenge were Tom, Padma, Mary Sue, Susan and Gail Simmons.


Green Team – Sarah, Chuy, Chris C.
Chili Con Carne with Corn, Avocado and Cilantro Relish

Mary Sue liked the depth of flavor. Tom was not impressed with the flavor on the first bite, but the flavor really grew. Gail wished she had something to soak it up with since it wasn’t very thick. It was a lot of sauce. The guests were really enjoying it.


Red Team – Dakota, Whitney, Chris J.
Braised Brisket & Short Rib Chili

Gail thought there was a good smokiness to the chili and it had the right amount of heat. Tom found it seasoned well with a good amount of acid. Mary Sue found the texture to be a bit stringy. It was a bit too spicy for some guests, but they did like the brisket though.


Blue Team – Heather, Edward, Paul
Smoked Brisket Chili with Summer Pickles

The pickled items were pickled peaches, radishes and green beans. They also added pork rinds on top. The guests liked the combination of the crunchy pickled items, the chewiness of the meat and the spiciness. Gail decided that pickled peaches were her favorite thing to eat with chili now. They were delicious. Tom said they did a great job with the pickled vegetables and hot sauce, but as far as the chili, he wasn’t impressed.


Black Team – Nyesha, Beverly, Richie
“Chili Mole” with Cornbread

The guests never had chili like it before, but some liked it. Susan loved the cornbread that Richie made. She found it moister and had more flavor than the Red Team’s cornbread. Tom said that unfortunately it wasn’t a cornbread contest. Mary Sue wished it had more of a focus. Padma said they intended on making a chili that reminded them of a mole and that is exactly what it ended up being.


White Team – Lindsay, Grayson, Ty-Lor
Three Bean & Beef Chili with Poblano Cornbread

Gail wished the team hadn’t put the pickled vegetables in the chili. Susan disagreed. She liked the acid it added to the chili.

Judges’  Tables

After tasting all the chilis, Mary Sue said she was afraid that all the chilis would taste the same, but she found them all to be different. Tom said he was glad that he did not have to pick the winning team. Padma said they did have to pick the losing team. Team said that the Black Team was his least favorite. He found the mole too sweet for his taste. Gail liked their mole, but didn’t think it tasted or felt like a chili. Tom really liked the flavors of the Red Team’s chili, but didn’t care for the shredded meat. Mary Sue agreed saying it was the one team where she didn’t really want to eat more than she had to when she got a bowl. Susan liked the flavor of the Red Team’s chili over the White Team’s chili. She didn’t feel like they had any heat in their chili.

The chefs started to watch the rodeo. Padma came out on a horse to announce the winner, which was the Green Team. The Black Team was picked by the judges to be their least favorite chili. One of them would be going home, but they had one last chance to save themselves. The team had to repurpose their losing chili into a winning dish in 30 minutes. The losing team looked even more defeated when they learned they had to cook more. They were so drained from being up for 24 hours making chili and then they had to cook one last time to save themselves. Chris J, who has Richie as his sous chef in his restaurant back home, felt so bad for Richie being in the bottom. He really didn’t want him to go home. He wanted him there with him until the end of the competition.

Second Chance


Beverly
Seared Tuna with Habanero Creamed Corn

Mary Sue said that it was if Nyesha and Richie were embarrassed about the mole while Beverly used it in an imaginative way that showed off her skill to create a very balanced dish. She actually fixed the flaws in the chili and also came up with a new dish. She had their favorite dish and was safe.


Nyesha
Frito-Encrusted Black Tiger Shrimp with Roasted Corn Salsa

Gail said she did a beautiful job on the shrimp, but the entire dish needed sauce. Nyesha had sauce, but she didn’t put enough on the plate. Tom was disappointed in the corn salsa, which was just raw corn with no seasoning or sauce. Nyesha was told she created a dish that was nice, but didn’t go far enough. The chili was put on the plate almost as an afterthought so it wasn’t a super successful repurposing of the chili.


Richie
Frito-Encrusted Pork Tenderloin, Potato Hash & Ricotta Cheese Chili Puree

Susan was disappointed in the lack of seasoning. Tom said it was one-note and had no brightness in terms of acid or spice. Richie, who talked previously about oversalting dishes and needing Chris J. to help keep him from doing that, was sent packing due to lack of seasoning in his dish.

Last Chance Kitchen

Richie did have one last chance to get back in to the Top Chef kitchen. He had to face Keith who was eliminated last week. They both had to make something new and exciting from Thanksgiving leftovers using at least three ingredients provided.


Keith
Turkey & Sweet Corn Hash, Ham Fritter, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin Pie Smear

Tom liked that he made different items on the dish that fit different parts of the day. He did find the pumpkin pie smear unnecessary. Looking over at Richie’s plate, Keith thought his dish was a little more homestyle and he thought what Richie made looked a bit more avant garde.


Richie
Turkey, Green Bean Casserole, Macaroni and Cheese Fritter & Cornbread Puree

When Richie was finishing up his puree, he went to sprinkle some salt in but didn’t pinch it. He pour it and too much fell in. He tried to fix it, but he worried that he ruined it. There wasn’t enough time to fix it. He hoped he saved it enough. Tom said he liked how he used the leftover mac and cheese to make a fritter out of it. He said the cornbread sauce a little on the salty side on its own, but it worked really well with the other items. He did say that it looked inventive, but it wasn’t really.

Tom picked Keith as the winner so he won two weeks in the row in the Last Chance Kitchen.

Questions

  1. What do you think about the teams having to stay up all night creating the chili? Some stayed up, some drank and others just went to bed.
  2. Do you think the losing team should have been happier that they did have one last chance to save themselves, even if they were exhausted?
  3. Do you think chili should have beans  or be beanless?
  4. Have you ever made or eaten a dish with ghost peppers in it?

Photos: Bravo TV

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.