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Top Chef Season 6

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apskip:
Here are my thoughts about TC6 as we get to the finals:

1. I want Jen to win, but I don't think she will.
2. I want Mike to lose and I do think he will.
3. All season Kevin has had an edge on the rest of these finalists. Tom Colicchio's remarks about Kevin worthiness for the 2011 Bocuse D'Or competition mean to me that Kevin should win unless he screws up. There is always a lot of pressure in the finale.
4. The individual with the second best chance of winning it is Bryan.

apskip:
TC6, Ep. 13

Now we are down to the best of the best, so it's anybody's game as to who will underperform enough to be eliminated. The venue is the Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley of northern California where the final 2 episodes happened. The Guest Judge is Michael Chiarello, a Napa Valley chef who was the second place finisher in Top Chef Masters, quite a feat considering who the other 23 competitors were. He also is owner of Bottega and Chiarello Family Vineyards.

The Quickfire Challenge is to get on the moving Napa Valley Wine Train, select one from dozens of different varietal grapes and create a dish based on it plus local produce. Teams have 30 minutes to cook, needing constantly to fight the problems caused by train motion. Padma announced that this is the final High-Stakes Quickfire. The winner will get a new Toyota Prius. There did not appear to be any other passengers or food service requirements for the Napa Valley Wine Train, so the chefs divided up the available space and went to work.

Here are the dishes selected by the remaining chefs:

Jen - sauteed chicken livers, clams, Cabernet grapes, wild mushrooms, tendrils
Bryan - roasted hen, bacon, Brussles sprouts, concord grapes, ruby quinoa, arugula
Kevin - honey and fromage blanc mousse, glazed grapes, olive oil, sea salt (Michael says he liked the olive oil)
Mike - grape leaf stuffed with couscouc, vinegar glazed grape and bay scallop kebab

The winner of the Quickfire Challenge was Mike because he did the best job of showcasing the local ingredients in his dish. Michael was loking for more grape flavor from Kevin's dish. Mike's use of leafs, vines, and wine was a fine touch in Mike's dish. Michael told Bryan that the smokiness of the bacon topped the grape flavor and in the Napa Valley it should be the other way around. Michael really like Jen's liver and clam combination. The winner of the Quickfire Challenge and the Prius was Mike because he did the best job of showcasing the local ingredients in his dish. also, he told a story with food.

Chefs stay at the Heritage Resort and Spa, then start their Elimination Challenge the following morning was to cater a party for 150 at the Rutherford Hills Winery to celebrate the "Crush," the end of the harvest. One dish was to be vegetarian and one based on a local protein. Chefs went to Long Meadow Ranch to select their ingredients. They were offered a huge variety of local products and could only use salt and pepper from outside the a radius of 100 miles, which reaches past San Francisco to the south so could have allowed seafood (although I did not see any). Chefs then cooked and prepped for 5 hours at the Brix Restaurant before packing up their food for serving at Rutherford Hills.

The dishes selected were:

Jen Veg - chevre mousee with honey mushrooms, braised radishes, basil
Jen Pro - confit of duck breast, braised duck legs, squash puree, foie gras vinaigrette
Bryan Veg - goar cheese ravioli, delicata squash puree, bronze fennel
Bryan Pro - fig glazed short ribs, celeriac puree, ragout of cranberry beans and wax beans, wild arugula
Kevin Veg - roasted beets and carrots with carrot top puree, San Andrea cheese
Kevin Pro - grass-fed brisket with pumpkin polenta and marinated root vegetables
Mike Veg - vegetqable pistou, heirloom tomato coulis, 63 degree egg, fennel
Mike Pro - turnip soup, foie gras terrine, poached pear, glazed turnip

While the dishes were being prepared, Tom Colicchio visited and made the comment that the Voltaggio brothers had the most complex dishes and that Kevin's brisket may not be fully cooked in 5 hours. Mike is concerned whether his eggs will be properly cooked. Jen finds that the coals have died down on her wood-fired grill, so she decided to do a confit of ther duck, which she knows will not develop the desired smokiness.
Comments made while judges (Tom, Gail, Padma, Michael) were eating included:
Bryan's dish needed more salt. One non-judge says he had the best flavor and best texture.
Mike's egg overwhelmed the vegetables on that dish; combination of protein dish nice; his vegetables were but too small, according to Michael and seconded by Tom. Padma says the vegetable dish is slightly undercooked and that there should be more seasoning on the mushroom sauce.
Kevin's vegetable dish superb, his polenta excellent; his beef was somewhat stringy and ropey. Gail said it was a bit tough. His beef also has a tinny quality.
Jen's dishes had nice elements and combinations. A non-judge says she "hit it out of the park."

While the judges deliberated, the chefs did not have to wait in the "Stew room." Tony Terlato of Terlato Family Vineyards hosted a tasting of 4 of his best wines at Chimney Rock.

At Judges Table, Tom gave an overview that this was a wonderful group of chefs, who dazzled with their professionalism.
Kevin - Tom says his veg dish is masterly and simple.
Bryan - Gail appreciate the subtlety. Tom said the fig glaze was there but its flavor did not appear. He also said it needed salt and pepper for optimum flavor but Bryan apparently did not have enough time with his complex menu to finish the fine details.
Mike - Gail said the texture of the egg did not mesh well with vegetables. Padma said the egg was colorless and too much liquid. Gail thought there was a bitterness of the soup and the balance between the soup quantity and other things on that plate was not right.
Jen - Michael said the basil and goat cheese combination was very good. Padma said there was too much salt and other agreed it was a bit salty. Tom asked Jen to explain her cooking process, as the final duck on the plate was not the woodfired version she had started on. Jen explained that she dithered too long, her coals had died down so much that she did not think they could properly cook the duck, so she switched cooking methods on it.

The judges made their decisions (who won and who got eliminated) and assembled the chefs for the verdict. Brian was named the winner based on his excellent use of local ingredients and seasoning. Tom says that there was something missing from each chef on one dish. Mike was told his foie gras dish was excellent but the egg dish did not come together well. Jen's dishes were too salty. She was criticized for being scatter-brained.

The elimination was of Jen. I thought it would be Mike based on the severeity of what I had heard. Tom Colicchio on his Top Chef blog stated that the saltiness of both Jen's dishes was her critical mistake. I know that these judges always say it was this meal only that made the decision, but I just do not believe that. I think Jen was essentially equal to Mike in this episode but was punished for her low ratings in many prior episodes.

If you ask me who I think should win in next week's final episode, my answer is NOT Mike. Either Bryan or Kevin would be a good choice

apskip:
I have never in years of recapping Top Chef done what I am about to do, which is recommend that you read the blogs of Tom Colicchio (A Grain of Salt) and Gail Simmons (She's Tricky) on the Top Chef main website within the BRAVOTV website. Here is what they look like:

BLOG December 3, 2009 
Gail Simmons
She's Tricky
Gail Simmons gives a bigger picture about what she thought of each of the finalists' dishes.

BLOG December 3, 2009 
December 2, 2009 Tom Colicchio
A Grain of Salt
Tom explains how the smallest of details can either win you or lose you the title of Top Chef.

TexasLady:
I dislike Colicchio but I'll go read his blog. My interest died a little with the elimination of Jen last night.  :'(

TexasLady:
Apskip, I read the blogs, I like Gail's explanations better I must say.  I think it was rather trite to criticize her for not using the grill when plainly they were not going to work for her if she wanted to have a chance to win. I think she relied on Kevin and didn't check but we don't know for sure because of editing. Apparently she used too much salt and it wasn't edible.

I hope that Mike does not win, I don't see how he can run a kitchen with his sour demeaning attitude. I think Kevin is probably the best of the best. We'll see how it turns out.

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