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Top Chef New York Season 5
marigold:
Next week on Top Chef
Episode 3 Detail:
Foo Fighters Thanksgiving
In a Thanksgiving-themed episode, the gastronomes try to rise to the top of the food charts by creating cuisine for the rock band Foo Fighters.
Restaurateur Grant Achatz is the guest judge.
marigold:
An interview with Jill:
‘Top Chef’ Exit Interview: Episode Two
Top Chef’s war against the young waged on last night, as 28-year-old Jill Snyder got the boot while the more mature (but not necessarily more talented) Ariane lived to see another elimination challenge. After serving up a truly scary hot-dog spring roll in the Quickfire, Jill fell flat with her ostrich-egg quiche, which one diner described as “dog food.” After spending a night laughing at the episode with friends, the tired ex-cheftestant spoke with us this morning about the joys of cooking in Craft’s kitchen and why Ariane should have gone home instead.
Were you watching the show last night?
I just watched it with three or four people. I was on the phone a bit, with my mom and my sister.
Was it emotional to watch it? Do you feel like it’s in the past?
Well, it is in the past, but I’m going to have to read the blogs. I was told not to, but I’m going to anyway…
It was a New American challenge. Do you stand by your choice to use an ostrich egg?
Originally, I wanted to make a dessert for that challenge, but everybody got shuffled around. I can do an entrée — I wasn’t worried about that part — but we’d gone to the Whole Foods, and I saw these ostrich eggs, and they struck me as a really interesting ingredient. The challenge was for lunch, and a quiche is very popular, so I went with using a really original ingredient to do a somewhat common dish. There’s a fair amount of skill involved in that, setting the quiche up in the water bath, having it set up just right. And I didn’t get any points for that, so I was a little surprised.
Of course you tasted it — did you think the flavors came together?
Yes! I didn’t have a problem with the flavors. Grilled Maitake mushrooms, asparagus, and Gruyère cheese — those go great together.
Your dish was not alone in being criticized, but was it the worst one there?
I hate to go back to Ariane, but they spit hers out — nobody even ate hers. It was bad, and the presentation was … you know, it was in a martini glass … When it comes down to it, it was between me and her, and I’m really surprised that that was the way it went.
How was it cooking in Craft? Was that an awe-inspiring experience?
Yeah, Tom’s kitchen is amazing. I’ve worked in a lot of different kitchens, and that was probably the nicest kitchen. It was very organized, everything made sense.
Did it have any special features you haven’t seen anywhere else?
I haven’t worked with a range like his. He had really nice convenient walk-ins, a whole pastry area to themselves…
Do you think that Tom was especially hard on this challenge, just in terms of judging, because it was his restaurant?
I think I got better feedback from Tom than from anyone else. Because it was his own restaurant, he was probably a little tougher than usual.
What have you been up to since the show?
Back to work at Red Maple [in Baltimore]. I’m now interviewing at some other spots because I feel like I want to move on, work somewhere else, or work under another chef, just to keep learning.
Based on your time on Top Chef, who’s the most talented cook there?
I like the past couple of dishes I’ve seen Eugene make. And you have to watch the Europeans. You know, if I lived in Italy my whole life, I’d probably have a lot of skill, too.
Link: http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/11/top_chef_exit_interview_episode_two.html
marigold:
An interview with Jill:
Q and A with Jill Snyder, ex-Red Maple chef
As you may know, Jill Snyder was eliminated from Bravo's Top Chef competition last night. Our own Richard Gorelick got the scoop from her about the episode. EL
"The good news for Baltimore chef Jill Snyder was that she had much more screen time on Episode 2 of this season’s Top Chef. The bad news is that she was eliminated. Snyder's next step is uncertain -- she has left Red Maple -- but she does intend to stay in the food business, just maybe not as a chef.
The judges found fault with not only her ostrich-egg quiche (looked like "dog food," tasted like "glue") but her half-hearted defense at the judges’ table, too.
An earlier Quickfire Challenge involving hot dogs didn’t go so well for her either, when she appeared to take an easy way out with the assignment by not "making" her own hot dog. ...
Q: Jill, you’ve had time to adjust to this, but how did your friends and family take it?
A: Well, they’re on my side! So they were like, What’s going on! But what happened, happened.
Q: What were your expectations going in? Did you want to win the whole thing?
A: Maybe not, but I did think I would do a little better. I was trying to take it episode by episode. I was really surprised that they hated my dish so much. I was caught off guard because the feedback at the restaurant during the challenge was good. When the servers were bringing plates back from the dining room, every one of mine was empty. Which means that people enjoyed them.
Q: That wasn’t the case with everyone’s plates?
A: Definitely not.
Q: Watching the show was the first time you heard judge Gail Simmons call your judges’ table performance the "lamest defense of a dish" ever on the show. Do you think that had something to do with your early dismissal, even before a contestant whose food was spit out of a judge’s mouth?
A: Yes, definitely, I think that’s true. The pressure of the cameras really bothered me. Also, I tend to be quiet. For TV, you need someone more outgoing than I am. But I still was surprised. I thought using an ostrich egg was a creative choice, and there were good things about my dish that they never mentioned. It took a lot more skill [than competitor Ariane’s dish].
Q: In the Quickfire Challenge, you were criticized for not making your own hot dog, but I thought the way you interpreted it made sense to me. I don’t think hot dog vendors make their own hot dogs.
A: The challenge was just to make a "gourmet hot dog," which I interpreted as something else than making your own sausage.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I’m going to buy an ostrich farm."
Link: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/blog/2008/11/as_you_may_know_jill.html
marigold:
An interview with Jill:
See Ya Later, Top Chef: Jill Snyder
Former Top Chef wannabe Jill Snyder likes to joke that she's going to buy an ostrich farm.
"I'm going to sell ostrich eggs," she cracks.
The 28-year-old chef from Baltimore was eliminated on last night's Top Chef: New York after her ostrich-egg quiche was trashed by diners and the judges. The dish, one diner said, "resembles dog food." And judge Gail Simmons griped, "It just didn't taste good."
I caught up with Snyder earlier today as she surfed the web reading stories about her downfall. "I'm trying not to read them," she said, "but it's too tempting."
Keep reading for all the scoop…
Was last night the first time you saw the episode?
Yes, and it was kind of brutal. I laughed a lot. I pretty much laughed the whole time.
You said that you thought the creativity of using an ostrich egg was something that would impress the judges. Clearly, it didn't.
I thought it would at least give me a few points. It's a cooking show, and I actually cooked a lot for my dish. A lot of [other contestants] didn't too much cooking for theirs. The rice for my crust set up beautifully. The texture came out great…I put shiitake mushrooms, grilled asparagus and aged Gruyère cheese in it. That flavor combination goes well together, so I don't know.
Did you taste it before it was sent out of the kitchen?
I thought it was fine. All the plates that came back from the diners came back empty, so I knew everyone was eating it. So I wasn't too worried at that point.
When Padma said she spit out Ariane's dessert dish, I thought she'd be the one to be eliminated. I mean, she spit out her food!
I know. I was a little shocked when they called my name. They clearly didn't like either of them, but mine had more cooking involved and was more creative.
You said you regret not having the chance to prepare something you loved 100 percent for the judges. What would that be?
I would have made a dessert, a pomegranate cheesecake with a chocolate-covered pretzel crust. I've won an award for that one before.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20081121/en_top_eo/69924
marigold:
TOP CHEF
Episode Description:
FOO FIGHTERS
11-26-2008 10:00PM
The holiday season has arrived, and the chef'testants have a lot to be thankful for. And this year it's not just family these cooks must impress; but also six-time Grammy Award-winning rock band, Foo Fighters, as they join the band for a tour stop in Syracuse, New York. Grant Achatz, American chef, restaurateur and recently named Best Chef in the United States for 2008 from the James Beard Foundation, serves as guest judge.
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