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Top Chef New York Season 5
marigold:
.... since no one was eliminated this week, some questions for the Quickfire Challenge Winner Ariane:
Ariane: The Golden Goose
Bravotv.com: Were you excited to see Martha Stewart in the kitchen?
Yes very. I love Martha Stewart!
Bravotv.com: What was the inspiration for your Quickfire challenge?
My dish was something that is quick, one pot, and a great addition for your holiday meal.
Bravotv.com: Were your problems in the first few episodes forgotten after the last few wins?
Oh never!
How were the other chefs seeing you after?
I am unsure, still have to watch out for No. 1.
Bravotv.com: Did you think deviled eggs were a safe choice?
No. It went with my phrase in the song and for a holiday cocktail party you always have deviled eggs.
Bravotv.com: Were you worried at all that it was too safe? It was a lot of eggs. I wasnt thinking safe, I was thinking about my phrase in the song, six geese a-laying.
Bravotv.com: What did you think of the other chefs' dishes?
I thought everyone was being as creative as they could with their phrase in the song.
Bravotv.com: What were you thinking when Tom came into the kitchen to talk to you guys?
What now??
Bravotv.com: Were you surprised no one went home?
Yes, and suspicious. Something was up.
Bravotv.com: Did you think anyone really deserved to?
You always think someone should go home.
Bravotv.com: Was there any doubt at all that everyone would help Hosea and Radhika after their food got spoiled?
No doubt at all. We are all professional!
Bravotv.com: You and Jamie seem to be getting close, cooking next to each other. Why do you think you relate to each other more than the other cooks?
We are both down to earth. She says it like it is. I love that about her. Honesty. I am the same.
Bravotv.com: What was going through your mind when the choir came in to sing?!
I loved it. I was singing right along with them. They were amazing!!!!
Bravotv.com: Looking back on last week's episode, what is the most important thing to remember when cooking for a bridal shower? ... Cooking for a foodie bridal shower?
It better be good. She only gets one shower.
Bravotv.com: Were you happy with Jamie's idea of borrowing Radhika's culture?
Yes, very.
Bravotv.com: It seemed like Jamie really took charge in the kitchen -- what did you feel like each of your roles was?
We all had an important role. Each of us had a specific part of the dish to prepare.
Bravotv.com: Jamie was obviously bummed she didn't win, do you think it strained your relationship at all? Not at all.
Bravotv.com: Do you think she deserved the win instead?
I was surprised I won, but I guess the judges thought I deserved it.
Bravotv.com: What did you think of the other team's dishes and concepts?
I knew we had the best dish!
Link: http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=burning_questions_2
marigold:
Tom Colicchio's Blog:
On Pitched Food and Pitching In
This week's episode was self-explanatory; I have little to add. But I will start by saying how pleased I was to learn that for the Elimination Challenge Top Chef was going to participate in an event to benefit amfAR, a worthy and admirable organization that has been at the forefront of AIDS research, as well as prevention, education and policy advocacy since the disease first surfaced in the 1980s.
What I was not pleased about, as you know from watching the episode, was the level of cooking. In defense of the chefs, the time constraint was a legitimate issue. Having only three hours to pull off the entire prep for this particular challenge was rough. But just because you're cooking to serve from behind a table doesn't mean you should dumb down what you elect to do. There are selections you can make that are just a little better than a deviled egg. I like deviled eggs, but please - you can't expect to win Top Chef with a deviled egg, no matter what you top it with. The chefs didn't seem to be cooking to win; rather, they seem to be cooking to not lose, to play it safe, and not get voted off. There is a huge difference between the two. I know that by Episode Six, they're getting tired, but this is actually the point in the competition at which they should be stepping it up. From what I have seen from these chefs, they really can do better, so I expected more from them. If I didn't think they had it in them, I wouldn't have been so hard on them; I wouldn't have even bothered to go into the kitchen to urge them to step it up.
What I was glad to learn was how everyone pulled together to help out the chefs whose food had spoiled. That is exactly how a kitchen actually functions, and I was so glad to learn that everyone had done the right thing. I think that this could have been a factor in the lackluster food - the energy the chefs put into helping those who had lost their food distracted them all from doing their best. But I still think they were hedging their bets.
Link: http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=tom_colicchio&article=2008/12/on_pitched_food_and_pitching_i
apskip:
Top Chef 5, episode 6
Quickfire Challenge was with Martha Stewart as guest judge (Quickfire only). Martha challenged the chefs to cook simple but not too simple. The theme was one-pot cooking in 45 minutes. Chefs prepared the following dishes:
Jeff - potato risotto w/ crispy pork, sauteed brussels sprouts, verjus
Ariane - cauliflower puree w/ herb-rubbed filet mignon
Stefan - veal celtic goulash w/ potatoes and chanterelle mushrooms w/ garlic, saffron, fresh herbs
Jaime - potato/kale stew w/scallops and fried sage
Eugene - spicy Korean stew w/ pork, mushrooms, cilantro sour cream and wonton chips, thickened with cornstarch because time not enough for reduction
Fabio - roasted mushroom polenta w/ seared duck breast
Carla - brined turkey breast w/ apple and dried cherry stuffing
Melissa - pork tenderloin w/ braised cabbage, apple bacon, orange, fennel
Hosea - fish, shrimp, chicken, chorizo paella
Leah and Radhika were not shown.
The losers group was Jeff due to risotto starchy and too heavy, Fabio due to polenta color grayish and mushrooms not showing, and Eugene too much cornstarch in his Korean stew.
The winners group was Ariane for perect balance, Hosea because his paella was the most classic one-pot dish presented, and Jaime due to perfect cooking and use of kale winter vegetable available despite filming in August. The winner was Ariane who got the "Martha Stewart's Cooking School" as a prize. She also got immunity for the elimination challenge.
The Elimination Challenge is to cater a holiday party for 250 guests at the Prince George Ballroom for the American Foundation for Aids Research (AMFAR). The judges would be Michelle Bernstein and actress/foodie Natasha Richardson. Padma called in the Harlem Gospel Choir to sing about the food theme for the event. It is the song 12 Days of Christmas and each of the 11 chefs drew a knife (except for #4 which didn't make it to the event because there was one chef less than the number of days). Chefs were given a budget of $400 each at Whole Foods, which works out to maybe $4000 total food spending ($16 per guest). Days drawn were:
1 Radhika Partridge in a Pear Tree grilled duck leg, toasted brioche, pear chutney, toasted pistachios
2 Carla Turtle Doves braised chicken w/ duxelles, mushroom cap
3 Leah French Hens braised guinea hen with butternut squash puree over puffed pastry
4 nobody Calling Birds
5 Eugene Golden Rings Poisson Cru w/ pineapple ring, Yukon Gold potato chip
6 Ariane Geese a Laying Devilled Eggs 6 ways
7 Jamie Swans Aswimming crudo of sea scallop in vichyssoise, lemon agrumato, leeks, microgreens
8 Melissa Maids Amilking gorgonzola and NY strip steak on sourdough crostini w/ cranberry vinaigrette
9 Fabio Ladies Dancing sweet corn and roasted pepper crabcake, chipotle, lime aioli, coleslaw
10 Jeff Lords Aleaping seared Halloumi and Kasseri cheese, roasted beets, pears, mint and spices
11 Hosea Piper Piping sauteed pork w/ chipotle mashed potatoes, apple brandy jus
12 Stefan Drummers Drumming Chicken pot pie w/ English peas, white asparagus, thyme and parsley
The constraints are that they have 3 hours to prep, then 1 hour to prep and pack in the Top Chef kitchen, followed by one more hour onsite. They will have to plate 300 dishes of their dishes. What happens overnight is that the refrigerators were overloaded(some say the result was that they came open) and running much higher than normal temperatures. Hosea's pork and Radhika's duck were pretty much wiped out, with Melissa having some minor damage. The entire group of chefs came to their rescue the next morning and helped them redo their dishes.
The event guests voted for their favorite dish by pinning AIDS ribbons onto a board for each chef. Some pinned them directly onto a favorite chef, particularly Hosea(for his food) and Fabio(you know why with a huge crowd predominantly female, at least what was shown on camera). The judges ate sequentially and caucused after each dish.
The final results were that Hosea, Jeff, Stefan and Radhika were in the Winners Group. The win went to Hosea, who got a copy of Michelle Bernstein's book. Michelle then undercut the value of that gift by announcing that all chefs would also receive one, presumably because of the group contribution to Hoseas and Radhika's dishes but maybe also because it was her first book and there might be some surplus. One comment Padma made and Tom seconded was "does she (Ariane) expect to win with a devilled egg?" Note that two of the four "winners" were the ones burned by the refrigerator incident. Also that Ariane had immunity and could freely experiment(which she chose not to do).
The losers group was Jaime, Eugene and Melissa. Jaime was called out for not cooking the scallops, which would have improved the dish. Eugene had a hard-headed attitude that his dish was fabulous in spite of feedback to the contrary and for the second week in a row. Melissa was criticized for having too much cheese on her dish, overwhelming the other flavors.
Tom Colicchio announced the jdges consensus: in the spirit of the holidays (ho, ho, ha, ha, ha because this was filmed in August) nobody would be eliminated. He also chewed out all the chefs for their lack of creative and culinary skills, saying that several were playing it safe. He challenged all to step it up (the equivalent of Emil Lagasse's kick it up a notch) and produce better food. I should say that the judging process, which gives no value whatever to past episodes, encourages chefs to lie in the weeds and not take serious risks until the last episodes.
marigold:
Oh cool great recap apskip
Ariane's devilled egg? What in the world was she thinking it was not a family gathering.
Anyways looking forward to the next episode with Toby Young mmmm cat food :funny:
apskip:
I had a chance to do some calculations about the Top Chef schedule and remaining number of competitors, which is 11. To reach a Finale with the traditional 3 competitors takes 8. Culinary fans, there are 9 sessions left after next weeks's reruns on Christmas Day 9am to 3pm. New episodes will be shown from 1/7 to 3/4. There is one episode extra, which could be used to do a rerun, used to duplicate the generosity of eliminating nobody or more likely to have the Finale 3 compete over 2 episodes.
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