Top Chef: BBQ Exhaustion

Yes, there was some drama surrounding Sarah leaving a challenge mid-way through due to heat exhaustion (flashback to Jamie and her cut finger), but I’m getting more and more concerned over Chris J.’s stupid ponytail on top of his head. I think when there were more chefs, I didn’t fully notice it, but now that there are only nine, it is becoming more noticeable. I thought he put it on top of his head for health reasons while cooking, but he wanders around the time with that stupid ponytail. Why doesn’t he just cut his hair?

The episode started with Edward complaining about Heather winning twice using his cake recipe. He apparently never shared this information with anyone else until she was gone. Sarah thought Edward couldn’t be trusted since he never said he had an issue with it to Heather’s face and why didn’t he make the cake recipe himself. I do agree with Sarah that if Ed had issues with it, he could have brought it up while she was still there or just not bring it up at all. Also, even if Heather did use Ed’s recipe, she still had to make it. She could have screwed it up.

Quickfire Challenge

For the Quickfire Challenge, the chefs were given a copy of the Modernist Cuisine volumes, which is some highly coveted cooking thing filled with a variety of classic and modern techniques. They were told to study them for the challenge the next day. That next day, they learned that the author, Nathan Myhrvold, was the guest judge. He talked about how modernist cuisine started in the mid-1990s and it wasn’t just about molecular gastronomy. It was about making food creatively. He wanted the chefs to create a dish that illustrated modernist cuisine. Chris J. was beyond excited about making the kind of food that he likes to make and do it for his hero.

Least Favorites


Paul
Endive Salad, Egg Yolk, Parmesan & Truffle Powder

Nathan said that Paul had a dish with interesting textures, but not enough depth and flavor.


Beverly
Flash Steamed Clams & Mussels, Curry Whipped Cream & Mango Chili

Beverly had foam to add right when the judges got there. It wasn’t set up properly so Beverly got foam all over Padma and Nathan. She tried to clean up the foam, she started knocking over a bunch of other stuff at her station. Everyone just looked pathetically at socially awkward Beverly. After all of that, Nathan said that her dish needed to stand out. The foam and some other elements of the dish were going in that direction, but it was not far enough.


Grayson
Trout Sashimi, Dill Caviar, Pickled Watermelon, Cucumber & Radish

Nathan said that if someone is going to have a simple preparation, but then elements have to be outstanding. That isn’t what Grayson made.

Middle of the Road


Edward
Salmon Belly Sashimi, Compressed Watermelon & Brunoise Radishes


Lindsay
Marinated Baby Octopus, Tempura Sea Beans & Togarashi

Padma said it was refreshing.


Chris C.
Risotto Foam, Scallops, Raisins & Fried Capers

Nathan said it was terrific, but apparently not terrific enough to make it to the top of the list.

Favorite Dishes


Sarah
Breakfast Raviolo, Pancetta & Egg Yolk

Nathan said that she took something that a lot of Italian grandmothers could make, but if put in the right context, it works. I have no idea what that means. Is it a compliment? Sarah looked like she didn’t know either.


Chris J.
Miracle Berry, Deconstructed Cheesecake, Sparkling Water with Lemon & Lime

Chris started to explain that the Miracle Berry pill changes the palette so something sour tasted sweet and so forth. When Padma tasted the lemon, she thought it tasted like a tangerine. Paul thought there was no technique involved in what Chris made and found it gimmicky. I agree! Nathan said he grew Miracle Berry in his basement so he apparently doesn’t think it is gimmicky. He said that the dish was composed well from the lemon to cheesecake to the soda. He said it was one hell of a dish.


Ty-Lor
Watermelon, Vanilla Bean Honey, Black Pepper & Salted Oilive Oil Powder

Ty used some kind of powder that turned to olive oil in the mouth. Nathan said it was an interesting way to deliver the olive oil into the dish. He picked Ty as the overall winner. He showed both creativity and execution. He won immunity and a copy of the Modernist Cuisine books.

Elimination Challenge

For the elimination challenge, the teams had to split themselves up into three teams of three. Some chefs darted to get away from Beverly, but both Chris J. and Chris C. didn’t move fast enough so they were on a team with her. The chefs had to cook barbecue for 300 guests at the Salt Lick restaurant. Each plate had to have chicken, beef brisket and pork spare ribs along with two sides. The chefs headed out to the Salt Lick and were shown by the owner how he barbecues in a huge pit. He then fed them. Paul was intimidated because he was from Texas and he didn’t think he could ever make barbecue as good as he was eating. He said he typically didn’t barbecue.

After dinner, the owner took the chefs out to some outside pits with some RVs set up for them. They had all night to barbecue before the event the next day. Paul and Grayson were on the same team. They wanted to get their meat in the smoker immediately since it needed to cook for a long period of time at a low heat.  At some point, Chris J. noticed that their meat had fallen to the bottom of the smoker. Luckily, they had wrapped it in foil first so it was still safe. They rewrapped the meat and put it back in the smoker, but they were worried since they lost hours of cooking time.

Ty thought that the blue team (Paul, Grayson, Lindsay) was taking a huge risk by doing Asian-style BBQ, especially in Texas. The white team (Beverly, Chris C., Chris J.) seemed to be doing some kind of white trash BBQ with Chris J. making beer can chicken and Chris J. making Dr. Pepper bbq sauce. The red team (Sarah, Ed, Ty) were doing three different style of BBQ with Texas, Kansas City and Kentucky.

Meanwhile, Beverly was inside one of the RVs starting a fire since she was cooking with bourbon. Chris C. did not think it was a good idea when he found out what she was doing. Then she set off the fire alarm in the RV. She carried the pot outside and put it on the dry grass before going back inside to try to get the alarm to turn off. She didn’t put it out or anything. Someone else came and put a lid on the pot before she started a fire outside. Oh Beverly.

The next morning, Tom stopped by to check on what everyone was doing. The chefs were being a bit loopy from lack of sleep. Chris J. had been talking to his beer can chickens on the pit. Grayson told Tom that their food would be like sex in the mouth. Okey dokey Grayson! Tom also told them that the winning team would be taking home $15,000.

As the sun rose, it was really hot outside. Combine the sun with the heat from the barbecue pit and it became almost unbearable to be outside. Everyone was handling it except Sarah. She was having a hard time breathing and her blood pressure was rising. She had heat exhaustion. She asked for a medic who ended up taking her to the hospital. That left Ed and Ty to finish up the rest of the challenge on their own. Ed had planned to cut the brisket to order, but since Sarah wasn’t going to be there to help serve, he decided to pre-cut it. He figured it was ruining the meat but he thought it was the only option.


Blue Team – Paul, Grayson, Lindsay
Asian Spare Rib, Chicken & Brisket, Brussel Sprouts & Watermelon Salad

Gail said the chicken was delicious, sticky, sweet and spicy. Tom said the Brussels sprouts were not cooked enough. A random guest found the brisket phenomenal.


White Team – Beverly, Chris J., Chris C.
Beer Can Chicken, Brisket & Dr. Pepper Glazed Pork Ribs

Nathan said it was a good roast chicken, but he wouldn’t call it barbecue. Tom said it was moist with a lot of flavor. Gail said the beans were undercooked. Tom said the ribs were too salty. Gail and Nathan were fans of the brisket. They made a watermelon lemonade drink. Gail said it would be better with gin.


Red Team – Sarah, Ty-Lor, Ed
Texas Chicken, KC Style Pork Ribs, Smoked Brisket, Poppy Seed Cole Slaw & Pinto Beans

Sarah showed up while they were serving food. Ed was not thrilled to see her. She tried to help out, but Ed and Ty had a system that Ed thought she was messing with. Ty asked how she was doing while Ed just looked annoyed that she bothered to come back. She stayed through serving the judges. Then she said she was starting to get overheated again so she went to sit down. How convenient. Nathan said the chicken was well cooked and flavorful. Gail loved the flavor of the ribs but the texture was chewy. Nathan agreed that he really liked the KC Style flavor profile in the sauce, but the meat was chewy. Padma said they were the best tasting beans out of the three teams. Tom said that they cut the meat too soon. It should have been cut to order.

Judges’ Table

Winners

The Blue Team of Paul, Lindsay & Grayson were picked as the overall winners. They would be splitting $15,000 and that would make $35,000 that Paul has won so far. Their dish was seasoned well and everything was cooked nicely. They didn’t try to be traditional and it was the best brisket out of all the teams.

Losers

The remaining teams failed with cooking their proteins. With the red team, Sarah’s chicken was more like a grilled chicken. It did not have the smoky flavor that a barbecue chicken should have. Also, the skin was rubbery. Ed made some bad brisket. It wasn’t inedible, but it was cut too far in advance. He was worried about creating too long of a line by cutting it to order, but Tom didn’t buy that excuse. Ed also made the coleslaw with Ty, which was not good. It has a weird orange mint in it that gave it a strange flavor. That was Ty’s idea.  Ty made a great sauce for his meat, but the meat was not falling off the bone like it should have been. If he didn’t have immunity, he would most likely be the one sent home.

On the white team, Beverly made a traditional coleslaw, but there was nothing outstanding about it. She didn’t put any of herself into the dish. She did brine her chicken, but then let Chris J. cook all the meat. Tom said she couldn’t just sit back and not have her own point of view. She also made some undercooked beans. Chris J. did not do a great job grilling the meat, but the big mistake was the rub and sauces that Chris C. made for the entire team. They were so salty that they made all the proteins inedible. For that, he was sent packing. So long, Malibu Chris!

Last Chance Kitchen

Chris C. faced Nyesha in the Last Chance Kitchen. Their challenge was to cook with items bought at a gas station. They were given $20 to purchase what they wanted at the gas station.


Nyesha
Beer-Glazed Smoked Sausage with a Pork Rind Twill & Chili Cheese Sauce

Tom said it was a restaurant-style dish.


Chris C.
Togarashi Spiced Tomato Soup with Spicy Pork Rinds, Grilled Cheese with Fried Ham & Pickle

Tom said it was a perfectly made Cuban sandwich.

Tom really didn’t give a reason why but he did give Nyesha the win so she is the three-time champ and the one with the most wins in Last Chance Kitchen.

Questions

  1. What do you think about Chris J.’s hair? Is it not that big of a deal? Do you think pony on top of the head is awesome?
  2. Do you think using something like the Miracle Berry is gimmicky or do you still have to use some technique to make something taste good, even if it tastes different than what you expected?
  3. Do you think Ed gave Sarah too hard of a time for going to the hospital for exhaustion? Do you think that Sarah should have stuck it out, taken a break and stayed with her team to help out instead of going off the hospital?

Some photos: Bravo TV

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