Top Chef: Kitchen Meltdown

This is the episode where Sarah turned into Heather. I used to confuse them a bit when this season started, but then Sarah seemed a bit quiet and shy while Heather was out of control. Then as soon as Heather left, Sarah seemed to bitch more than contribute. She also seemed to take over the job of hating Beverly. Is Beverly really that bad? She doesn’t seem like the best team player, but I see more bullying going on this season than any other season. Maybe if Beverly didn’t just shut down when they bullied her, I wouldn’t feel so bad for her.

Elimination Challenge

The chefs were finally whittled down to eight contestants so everyone knew it would be the Restaurant Wars episode. This time, they were divided men versus women since there were conveniently four women and four men left. Has that happened before? I’m too lazy to go check that out myself, but I figured they would have done it earlier if it happened before so I’m guessing this is the first time.

Padma and Hugh Acheson were on hand to deliver the news to the chefs. What would also be different this time around was they would be working out of the Palm Door kitchen and event space on two different nights. They flipped a coin and it was the guys who would be cooking first. They each had to create a 3-course menu with two options for each course for 100 guests. Each chef had to solely responsible for at least one dish and one chef had to be in charge of the front of the house.

Sarah and Lindsay were not thrilled to be on a team with Beverly, but when is anyone thrilled to be on a team with her? When the team was trying to decide the concept and theme of the restaurant, all of Beverly’s ideas were shut down. Even when Beverly was trying to come up with ideas of her own dish, Sarah would tell her that “everyone was doing beets.” Oh really? I had no idea they were so trendy! When she said she wanted to braise some short ribs, Sarah said she had to do something different. Grayson finally stepped up for Beverly and said she did a really good job with braised meat so she should be allowed to do it. Also, Beverly did have to actually make a dish. They couldn’t keep saying no forever.

Guy’s Restaurant – Canteen

Before the guys opened their restaurant, Chris J. was telling the camera that Restaurant Wars was an impossible task for any team to do successfully. It was a test like the Kobayashi Maru scenario from Star Trek, which was an unwinninable scenario. Thanks for the Star Trek trivia Chris!

Before the four judges — Tom, Hugh, Padma and Emeril Lagasse –arrived, the guys were having problems. Table numbers were missing from tickets and when service started, they realized they never decided who would expedite. There was a delay in seating people since they were trying to figure out those problems first. Some customers were complaining that the wine was warmer than their meal. Ty finally decided to start expediting since the servers were lost on what to do. A little bit later Paul took over the expediting job. Both Ty and Paul were expediting from a window that separated the kitchen from the dining room area, but the expediter wasn’t in the kitchen but on the dining room side. All the judges found this very odd.

Appetizers


Ty-Lor
Thai Style Crab & Shrimp Salad, Caramel Fish Sauce & Peanut

Hugh said it was a little flat and needed some acid. Tom said the caramel sauce was nice.


Paul
Ham & Pork Pate with Mushrooms, Braised Mustard Seeds & Duck Fat Crostini

Entrees


Ty-Lor & Paul
Poached Salmon in Warm Tomato Water, Clams, Salmon Skin & Tomatillo Jam

There were supposed to be mushrooms on the dish, but they forgot to plate them. Tom said he liked the fried skin and the salsa. Hugh said the clams were cooked well, but nothing was marrying all the components of the dish together.


Paul
Crispy Skin Pork Belly with Green Apples & Sweet Potato Puree

Emeril said he liked it, but wish it had a spicy slaw. Tom said from what he had seen so far from Paul, he had expected more in the flavor department.

Desserts


Edward
Almond Joy Cake with Malted Chocolate Mousse & Banana Coconut Puree

Tom loves Almond Joy, but the dessert wasn’t like an Almond Joy since there wasn’t any coconut in it. Padma said the only thing wrong about it was it was called an Almond Joy.


Chris J.
Homemade Cracker Jack, Cherries & Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Emeril was not crazy about it. He thought peanut butter and cherries were weird together. Tom said it was wacky but he liked it. He enjoyed the sweet and salty together. Padma agreed with Tom.

Girl Team – Half Bushel

The girls had more of a plan than the guys where they figured out who would be expediting before service started. Sarah and Grayson each had two dishes. Lindsay had one dish and the front of the house, so that left Beverly with one dish and expediting. She would also be cooking and plating Lindsay’s dish. Lindsay didn’t trust Beverly to do this. Why didn’t they give Beverly two dishes and Lindsay could have had her new best buddy Sarah do it? No idea.

Sarah also apparently had the job of how to tell everyone how to do things in the kitchen. She told Grayson she didn’t like the way she was lining up her food to prepare it. When Grayson took offense to it, Sarah told her to calm down. Grayson told her she would if she asked her in a better way. Both Sarah and Lindsay were telling Beverly that she was pretty much doing everything wrong in very condescending tones. Even though Beverly was supposed to be expediting, Lindsay spent more time in the kitchen than the front of the house telling everyone what they should be doing, including the servers. Lindsay was in mega bitch mode. When the judges showed up, no one was there to greet them. The judges also noted after they got seated and other people waited at the front for about 5 minutes with no one to help them. Lindsay would just not stay in the front of the house.

One guest complained to Lindsay that her halibut was overcooked. This was Lindsay’s dish that was prepared by Beverly. This caused Lindsay to go back in the kitchen and yell at Beverly. Grayson stepped in again and said it was most likely the preparation instructions that Lindsay gave Beverly that were wrong, which caused Lindsay to shut up for about two seconds before berating Beverly again. Out in the front of the house, Tom said there was no energy in the room compared to the guy’s restaurant. Padma said she was just getting hungry since they had sat for a while with no food.

Appetizers


Grayson
Peach Salad with Pickled Shallots, Bacon Vinaigrette & Candied Pistachios

Tom said it was a nice summer salad. Hugh said everything on the plate really melded together well. Some restaurant guests liked the salad more than Sarah’s appetizer dish.


Sarah
Mozzarella Filled Arancino, Sweet & Sour Eggplant & Celery Salad

Tom really liked the tapenade. Emeril loved that his arancino was piping hot when he cut into it. The cheese just oozed out.

In between the appetizer and main course, the judges complained about how long it was taking food to get to their table. Lindsay went in to share the complaint with the kitchen which caused Sarah to go off saying she could go talk to the judges for Lindsay if she couldn’t handle it. Maybe they aren’t best friends anymore? Lindsay then spent some time picking on Beverly and how she was preparing everything. Beverly said nothing during this time but told the camera later that she wished that Lindsay would concentrate on speeding things up in the front of the house and leave them alone in the kitchen. Grayson was freaking out that she was preparing desserts, but the servers weren’t taking them out to the dining room on time so the ice cream was melting and causing her to remake the desserts. She was afraid she was going to run out. Lindsay’s response was that Grayson needed to stop what she was doing since Lindsay didn’t even know what was going on right now. Lindsay then started to yell at the servers again, but the judges finally got their entrees.

Entrees


Beverly
Braised Short Rib with Thai Basil Potato Puree, Apple Slaw & Kimchi

Hugh said it was the most flavorful dish he had eaten in the past two days. Tom said he loved the glaze. He thought it was cooked well with some great flavor. He usually hated the flavor of potatoes but actually liked the one on this plate.


Lindsay
Grilled Halibut with Spanish Chorizo, Fennel & Sherry Salad

Tom said he wanted more flavor out of the chorizo and sherry vinegar. He found the dish’s flavors to be too subtle. Hugh thought the fish was a bit overcooked and dry.

Desserts


Grayson
Schaum Torte with Vanilla Meringue & Champagne Berries

Hugh said that what was at the bottom of the dish was too much. He wished it was creamier. Tom disagreed saying he liked the stuff that was on the bottom. He wished he had a spoon to scoop it up. Padma gave him one and he went to town on it, saying it was good stuff.


Sarah
Hazelnut Cream Italian Doughnuts with Banana Sugar Glaze

Tom said it was really heavy. It was fun, but he didn’t get much banana flavor. Hugh said it was rich and heavy as lead.

Judges’ Table

After they were finished eating at both restaurants, the judges decided that the overall energy and service was better at Canteen, but the food was better at Half Bushel.

Winners

Before they were called in, Lindsay was ripping into Beverly about how horribly she prepared her dish while Beverly looked like a battered wife that wished her husband would quit beating her if she just kept quiet. Padma called the women in and announced that Half Bushel were the winners. Tom told Grayson that with fruit and bacon, it could be a mess but everything was just perfect and how it should be. Hugh said the cheese was the perfect temperature and she hit all the elements of her dish spot on. Emeril told Sarah that her appetizer was well executed. Padma informed Beverly that she loved the short ribs. Emeril said adding the kimchi just raised the bar on that dish. Tom told Lindsay that her fish was slightly overcooked. They also informed Lindsay that they weren’t impressed with how much she was missing from the front of the house.

The overall winner was announced as Beverly. She was surprised and Grayson congratulated her. Sarah and Lindsay just glared at her. Wow! Back in the stew room, Sarah told Lindsay that she was the one responsible for their win and deserved as much praise or more than anyone else. Err, the judges didn’t like the service!

Losers

The guys were called in. The judges told them they didn’t get the wow factor with their food. The guests that rated both restaurant voted Canteen their least favorite restaurant as well. Ed said early on the food started to go to the wrong tables and then it just went downhill from there.

Tom told Ty that his appetizer was so mild with no heat, which a Thai dish shouldn’t be so mild. He also said the crab dish was not good. He wanted to spit the crab out. Tom told Ty that any dish that Ty made or had a hand in plating, didn’t get enough seasoning on it, including the salmon dish that both Ty and Paul worked on. Hugh said all the components of the dish worked well on their own, but didn’t go together on the plate. Emeril said it had no seasoning. Paul had been complaining earlier that Ty wasn’t seasoning the dish enough before sending it out.

Paul was told that they liked his appetizer dish conceptually but the croutons were soaked in oil. Emeril said his pork belly was delicious but then the dish faded out. Padma agreed saying the pork belly dish didn’t really amount to anything. Emeril thought Paul took on too much since he had a hand in most dishes while helping to expedite. On the other hand, Chris took on too little. He was in charge of one dish that was a dessert dish. Chris said he wanted to concentrate on making the best dish and helping service. Hugh found his dish a jumbled mess in a bowl. Tom said that there were flaws in his dish, but he did enjoy it. He didn’t think anyone should get a break for helping out when they didn’t actually help. Ed was told they loved his dessert, but it should have had more coconut in it or be called something else.

Final Decision

Ed was told that his service was spotty. The disorganization in the front of the house led to the kitchen and he had very little coconut in his Almond Joy dessert. Ty’s one main dish he was responsible for missed the mark and the other dishes he had a hand in were underseasoned. Chris only made one dish and did very little to help out his team. Tom asked when he was going to step up. Paul just took on too much. As leaders, they all failed. Ty was sent packing.

Last Chance Kitchen

Nyesha really wanted to compete against two chefs in the Last Chance Kitchen — Heather who she already beat and Ty. Apparently Ty was rude to her in the show before.

Their challenge was to create a pastry in 30 minutes with a sous chef. Nyesha got to pick from the former chefs and got to go first since she was the current champ. She knew that Heather and Ty worked together well and Heather was a pastry chef so she picked her, which bummed out Ty. He went with Malibu Chris. Heather tried to take over, but Nyesha didn’t let her. Heather finally backed down and followed Nyesha’s lead. Chris burned a batch of caramel which made things super close and tight for Ty to try to get it all done in the limited time frame.


Nyesha
Coconut & Lime Tart with Coconut Creme Fraiche Mousse & Caramel Sauce

Tom liked the bitterness of the caramel with the sweetness of the rest of the dish. He liked the punchiness of the coconut. The mousse could have been a little more flavorful.


Ty-Lor
Puff Pastry with Dark Chocolate Mascarpone Cream, Vanilla Bean Rum Cherries & Caramel Sauce

Tom was really impressed since most pastry chefs would undercook that pastry. It was really nice, crispy and well cooked. He liked the pinch of salt, but the mousse wasn’t punchy enough with chocolate.

Tom said they were both restaurant-ready desserts. He was impressed. If he had to go back and one of them one more time, he would choose Nyesha.

Questions

  1. Do you feel bad for Beverly for getting bullied by other chefs or does she need to stand up for herself?
  2. Do you think Sarah has turned into Heather 2.0 since Heather left?
  3. How did the women create such good food with all their hostile energy and the guys that seemed to get along for the most part end up being the bigger mess?

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.