Jul 22 2010

Top Chef: Judging Your Peers

Category: Recaps,Top Chef,TVvelveetahead @ 11:13 pm

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
Cold War

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Chefs must prepare exotic proteins
  • Elimination Challenge: Chefs must prepare a cold dish

I don’t think that I think about making cold food enough, even though I grew up in a hot climate. Even if it is hot outside, I don’t necessarily want cold food. That isn’t to say I won’t eat it, but I just don’t think about it as an option much.

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Jul 15 2010

Top Chef: Locavores

Category: Recaps,Top Chef,TVvelveetahead @ 9:12 pm

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
Farm Policy

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create a dish using crabs
  • Elimination Challenge: Create a dish using produce & proteins from a local organic & humane farm

I like it when they use local ingredients, so I liked that they were on the farm making food this episode. I loved past seasons where they had to buy everything from a farmer’s market. Since my favorite restaurants in town do the same thing when making their food, it is fun to watch the chefs do it on the show.

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Jul 08 2010

Top Chef: Double Elimination

Category: Recaps,Top Chef,TVvelveetahead @ 7:21 pm

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
Room Service

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Create an adult dish & a baby-friendly puree version.
  • Elimination Challenge: Create breakfast, lunch & dinner courses for the Hilton menu

I loved seeing Bryan back on the show, even if only briefly. Where was Michael? They should make the brothers guest judges more often.

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Jul 01 2010

Top Chef: All-American Food

Category: Recaps,Top Chef,TVvelveetahead @ 10:48 am

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
Capitol Grill

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Make a Pie from Scratch
  • Elimination Challenge: Prepare a picnic for Capitol Hills interns that includes 1 main dish and 2 sides

This season, the chefs seem pretty catty towards one another with a lot of yelling in the kitchen. Besides a few grudges, it has been fairly calm in the past few seasons. Do you enjoy it more when the chefs squabble or when it is just about the food? I like it to be about the food, but when they bicker, I do find it funny.

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Jun 24 2010

Top Chef: Healthy & Nutritious Lunch

Category: Recaps,Top Chef,TVvelveetahead @ 9:19 pm

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.

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Jun 17 2010

Top Chef: Melting Pot

Category: Recaps,Top Chef,TVvelveetahead @ 11:49 pm

Top Chef: Washington D.C.
House of Chef-presentatives

Here is a quick run down on the two challenges:

  • Quickfire Challenge: Mise en place tournament
  • Elimination Challenge: Create a dish that reflects where you’re from

In these early episodes, they have too many chefs to show the judges talking about each one in the challenges. This time, we at least got to see the final dishes in the elimination challenge, but didn’t hear what the judges thought about them when they tasted them. Personally, I’d rather see them edit out some of the grocery shopping to show that stuff. The grocery stopping looks the same in each episode. It is like when Amazing Race used to spend so much time showing the teams at the airports when it was boring! Learn from them, Top Chef.

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