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Top Chef Masters Season 2
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The Master Chefs competing in TCM2 for 2 slots from each preliminary round in the 8 person Champions round (actually multiple rounds to pick a winner) are (please forgive the slight puffery in many of these, those left after I deleted the worst examples):
Tony Mantuano
Regarded internationally as an influential culinary force, Chef Tony Mantuano is the chef/partner at Spiaggia, the only four-star Italian restaurant in Chicago. Awarded the 2005 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Midwest, Mantuano worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy before opening Spiaggia in 1984 to critical acclaim, and has since gone on to win The Chicago Tribune’s highest culinary prize, The Good Eating Award, and named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 1986. His other ventures include Mangia Trattoria in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin and as the chef/partner of Terzo Piano at new The Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. Mantuano’s first cookbook, The Spiaggia Cookbook, was lauded by Food & Wine magazine as one of the top 25 cookbooks of 2004. In 2008, Mantuano co-authored Wine Bar Food with wife Cathy, which was the inspiration for WINE BAR FOOD outposts at the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Open Tennis Champions. He has also made numerous television appearances and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Food & Wine and is a frequent contributor to local Chicago television and radio stations. In addition to his 2005 honor, Mantuano’s Spiaggia also received James Beard Foundation nominations for Outstanding Restaurant in America in 2006 and 2007 and for Outstanding Service in 2008 and 2009. The Mantuanos were honored with the keys to San Martino in the Italian region of Molise (the ancestral home of Cathy Mantuano) for serving authentic Italian cuisine to President Barack Obama, a long-time guest who celebrated his presidential election victory at Spiaggia in 2008.
Competing for: Feeding America
Govind Armstrong
Raised in Costa Rica and Los Angeles, Govind Armstrong is one of the nation’s brightest cooking stars, noted for his commitment to market-driven California-style cuisine. Creator of the Table 8 brand of restaurants, Armstrong is currently the executive chef and owner of 8 Oz Burger Bars in Los Angeles and South Beach. Armstrong began his culinary training at age 13 at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in West Hollywood. He is the author of Small Bites, Big Nights and has been featured in People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” issue, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, O: The Oprah Magazine, along with appearances on Oprah, Top Chef, Iron Chef America, and Today.
Competing for: National Kidney Foundation
Jerry Traunfield
After graduating from the California Culinary Academy, Jerry Traunfeld served as executive chef at Alexis Hotel in Seattle and as a pastry chef at Jeremiah Tower’s Stars in San Francisco. After spending over 17 years honing his skills as executive chef of The Herbfarm, Traunfeld went on to open Seattle-based restaurant Poppy, named after his mother. The 2000 James Beard Award winner for Best American Chef: Northwest and Hawaii, he is the author of The Herbfarm Cookbook, The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor, and has appeared on Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens, The Splendid Table, and a host of other television and radio programs.
Competing for: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
Anna Sortun
Cited as one of the country’s “best creative fusion practitioners,” Seattle-born Ana Sortun graduated from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine de Paris before opening Moncef Medeb’s Aigo Bistro in Concord, Massachusetts, in the early 1990s. Following stints at 8 Holyoke and Casablanca in Harvard Square, she opened Oleana in 2001, immediately drawing raves for dishes that The New York Times described as “rustic-traditional and deeply inventive.” Awarded the Best Chef: Northeast” honor by the James Beard Foundation in 2005, her cookbook SPICE: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean was published in 2006 and has become a best-seller. Her husband’s farm, Siena Farms, provides Sortun’s restaurant with all of its fresh produce and is named after their daughter. Her most recent undertaking has been Sofra Bakery & Café in Cambridge, which offers a unique style of foods and baked goods influenced mostly by Turkey, Lebanon, and Greece.
Competing for: The Farm School
Jimmy Bradley
The chef-owner of two popular New York City restaurants — The Red Cat and The Harrison — Jimmy Bradley presides over neighborhood joints that have become destinations for guests from around the city and the country. A purveyor of straightforward, occasionally irreverent, food and contagious conviviality, all of it wrapped up in an attitude-free package, Bradley has helped contemporary diners rediscover the intrinsic value of classic Mediterranean cuisine, reinterpreted for a modern American clientele. He earned features in New York magazine, Food & Wine magazine, Bon Appetit and The New York Times, as well as appearances on Today and The Martha Stewart Show among others. His cookbook was published in 2006.
Competing for: "water" charity
Susan Feniger
Susan Feniger is well known to Angeleno’s as 1/2 of the popular "Too Hot Tamales" along with her longtime business partner Mary Sue Milliken. Almost 30 years ago, the two chefs opened CITY restaurant; next came Border Grill in Santa Monica CA and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and then the Latin themed Ciudad in downtown Los Angeles and the Border Grill Truck. With the opening of Susan Feniger’s STREET in Hollywood in 2009, she launched her first solo venture to reach her dream of creating a unique restaurant inspired by the authentic flavors of street food. A veteran of 396 episodes of "Too Hot Tamales" and "Tamales World Tour" series, Feniger also co-authored five cookbooks with Milliken--City Cuisine, Mesa Mexicana, Cantina, Cooking with Too Hot Tamales, and Mexican Cooking for Dummies. She has been on the board of the Scleroderma Research Foundation for 17 years, spearheading a mission to find a cure for scleroderma, a life-threatening and degenerative illness, by funding and facilitating the most promising, highest quality research, as well as placing the disease and the need for a cure in the public eye. Feniger also serves on the board of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
Competing for: Scleroderma Research Foundation
My Guess at the Lineup for ep.2: all 6 repeaters from TCM1, talented nationally famous chefs who did not make it past the preliminary round of TCM1 but have been given a second chance at redemption. Who will redeem themselves?
Jonathan Waxman
Working as a successful chef, restaurateur and author, Jonathan Waxman has graced such prestigious kitchens as Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Michael’s in Los Angeles. Waxman went on to open his own restaurant in New York City – Jams, as well as the famed Washington Park. Today, Waxman is the chef and owner of Barbuto in Manhattan's West Village. His first cookbook, A Great American Cook, was published in 2007. Giving back is important to Waxman and he works closely with many charities including City Meals on Wheels. He currently lives in Manhattan with his wife and three children.
Competing for: Meals On Wheels
Ludo Lefevbre
After training in France for 13 years at Restaurant L’Esperance with Marc Meneau, Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, Arpege with Alain Passard. and Le Grande Vefour with Guy Martin, Lefebvre moved to Los Angeles to work at L’Orangerie. He was promoted to head chef at the age of 25 and made L’Orangerie one of the top-rated restaurants in California, receiving the Mobil Five Star Award. Lefebvre then moved on to Bastide where he also received the prestigious Mobil Five Star Award. Lefebvre was a nominee for the James Beard Foundation “Rising Chef Award” in 2001 and released his first cookbook, CRAVE, a Feast of the Five Senses in 2005. Always the rebel, Lefebvre has created a guerilla style "pop-up" restaurant event called LudoBites that currently takes place at different locations around Los Angeles. LudoBites was honored in the Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold's 99 Most Essential Restaurants List for Los Angeles. He gave it a place in the Top Ten Dishes of 2009 and identified it as a dining experience that "may fundamentally change the way we look at restaurants." Note that I remember him negatively as a boastful, conceited individual in TCM1. Let's see how time has mellowed him ( I am betting not at all).
Competing for: C.H.A.S.E. for Life
Rick Moonen
From 1994 to 2005, Moonen earned 3 stars from The New York Times for his work at Oceana, Molyvos, and rm in New York City. Moonen was the executive chef at the Water Club and his passion and vocalization of sustainable seafood practices led him to publish Fish Without a Doubt in 2008. Sensitive to consumers’ home cooking needs, the cookbook is intended to serve as inspiration to chefs for their cooking choices. In February 2005, Chef Moonen opened his multi-level restaurant Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Competing for: Three Square
Wiley Dufresne
Wylie Dufresne is the chef/owner of New York’s highly celebrated wd~50 restaurant. The Lower East Side eatery was awarded a Michelin star in 2006, which it has retained through 2010. The James Beard Foundation nominated Wylie and wd~50 in the following categories: 2000, Rising Star Chef (while Wylie was the chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food); 2004, wd~50 for Best New Restaurant; 2008 and 2009 for Best Chef, New York City. wd~50, whose ownership is shared with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and restaurateur Phil Suarez, acquired its unique name from the combination of Dufresne’s initials and the restaurant’s street address.
Competing for: Autism Speaks
Mark Peel
Mark Peel has been the Executive Chef and owner of the award-winning Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles for 20 years. The 20th anniversary milestone was reached in 2009, the same year his book New Classic Family Dinners was published. The book was selected as one of the top 10 cookbooks of 2009 by Amazon and one of the top 25 cookbooks of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine. Mark also recently opened two new establishments, The Point (a casual cafe in Culver City) and The Tar Pit. The Tar Pit combines Chef Peel‘s passion for market fresh food with the excitement of artisan cocktails. For The Tar Pit he has partnered with Audrey Sanders, of the Pegu club in NYC. Mark also is co-founder of La Brea Bakery. Peel began his career working under Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. He did stints in France at La Tour d’Argent and Le Moulin de Mougins. He then worked at Michaels and at Chez Pannisse. He moved back to Los Angeles when Wolfgang Puck asked him to be his chef de cuisine at his new restaurant, Spago. Peel also helped open Chinois and Spago Tokyo. He also co-authored two other cook books with his former wife, Nancy Silverton, Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton At Home: Two Chefs Cook for Family and Friends and The Food of Campanile. Peel has five children and is married to TV host, comedienne, and blogger Daphne Brogdon.
Competing for: Doctors Without Borders
Graham Elliot Bowles
After his culinary education at Johnson and Wales University, Graham Elliot Bowles began his career by working at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, a five diamond/five-star property in Dallas, Texas. This was followed by a move to Chicago where Bowles had the opportunity to work at the famed restaurant Charlie Trotters for the next three years, as well as work alongside Chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand as the Chef de Cuisine of Tru. A stint at The Jackson House Inn & Restaurant in Woodstock VT earned him a spot as one of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs of 2004. Bowles returned to Chicago for Chef de Cuisine of Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel. During his four years leading the kitchen, he became the nation’s youngest four-star chef with three James Beard award nominations. In May 2008, Bowles opened Graham Elliot in Chicago, a "bistronomic" restaurant combining four-star cuisine with humor and accessibility, with wide critical acclaim. In Summer 2009, his passion for music led him to be the Culinary Ambassador at Lollapalooza, a three-day music festival, where he cooked for both the public as well as backstage for the performers. In the Spring of 2010 Bowles plans to open Grahamwich, a branded sandwich shop in the River North area of Chicago. Note: he did better than I expected in TCM1 so maybe he can earn some money for my favorite charity.
Competing for: American Heart Association
My Guess for the 3rd preliminary round:
Debbie Gold
A James Beard Award winner and four-time nominee, Debbie Gold has led Kansas City’s The American Restaurant to national recognition as its executive chef. Initially studying restaurant management at the University of Illinois, Gold received her professional culinary training at L’Ecole Hoteliere de Tain L’Hermitage in France. After apprenticing for two years at Michelin-starred restaurants across that country, she returned to Chicago to hold positions at such reputable venues as Charlie Trotter’s, Everest, and Mirador. Although Gold took a hiatus to begin her successful restaurant venture 40 Sardines, she returned to The American Restaurant as the executive chef to once more lead the locale to a host of honors, including consistent AAA Four Diamond and Mobil Travel Guide Four Star ratings.
Competing for: unknown at this time; check back later
Jody Adams
Jody Adams is a James Beard award-winning chef with a national reputation for her imaginative use of New England ingredients in regional Italian cuisine. Her four-star Rialto restaurant in Cambridge has been named “One of the top 20 new restaurants in the country” by Esquire magazine and “One of the world’s best hotel restaurants” by Gourmet. Beginning her culinary career as a line cook at Seasons restaurant, she went on to open Hamersley’s Bistro as sous-chef and then served as executive chef at Michela’s in Cambridge, where Food & Wine listed her as “one of America’s ten best new chefs.” Soon thereafter, Adams opened Rialto in Harvard Square, induction into the Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame and other honors. Adams has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and Bon Appetit. She also has a strong commitment to hunger relief and is known for her loyal support of The Greater Boston Food Bank, Share Our Strength, and Partners in Health.
Competing for: Partners in Health
Maria Hines
The 2009 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Northwest, Maria Hines sharpened her culinary skills at fine restaurants from coast-to-coast before becoming a sensation as executive chef of Earth & Ocean in Seattle in 2003. Named one of Food & Wine magazine’s best chefs in 2005, the Ohio native truly established herself as a national dining force when she opened her certified organic restaurant Tilth featuring New American cuisine. Only the second restaurant in the country to receive the Oregon Tilth organic certification, The New York Times named Tilth one of the country's top 10 best new restaurants in 2008.
Competing for: PCC Farmland Trust
Rick Tramonto
Rick Tramonto is executive chef/partner at world-renowned four-star and Relais & Chateaux restaurant Tru, in Chicago. Tramonto is also culinary director of Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood RT Sushi Bar and Osteria. He received a bevy of awards and honors including the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Midwest Award, Robert Mondavi Award for Culinary Excellence, Food & Wine magazine's Top 10 Best New Chefs 1994, Outstanding Service Award from The James Beard Foundation, Four-star Mobil and Wine Spectator Grand Award. Tramonto started his culinary career in Rochester N.Y. at Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers in 1977, and has gone on to work with some of the masters: Pierre Gagnaire, Michel Guerard, and Alfred Portale. An accomplished cookbook author with six titles to his credit, his 7th book will be released in Spring of 2010: Rick Tramonto Steak with Friends. Tramonto has a number of television appearances that include Oprah, Today, Iron Chef America and a judge on Top Chef.
Competing for: Feed The Children, through Gregory Dickow Ministries
Susur Lee
Hailed by Zagat as “a culinary genius,” Susur Lee emerged from 15-year-old apprentice in Hong Kong to become a worldwide leader in Asian fusion cuisine, blending traditional Chinese dishes with classical French techniques. In 1987 Lee opened his 12- table Lotus restaurant in Toronto, earning rave reviews from The New York Times, Art Culinaire, Gourmet and Food & Wine magazine. Lotus ran successfully for a decade before Lee left for a "re-energizing" period in Singapore, serving as head chef and consultant. Returning home to open Susur in 2000, Lee has since launched Shang in Manhattan, Zentan in Washington D.C. and Lee, a second restaurant in Toronto. Lee is a sought-after guest chef across the globe and has been featured on numerous media outlets. A noted philanthropist, he contributes regularly to the James Beard Foundation, cancer research at Spinizolla in Boston and the Null Foundation, which provides scholarships for underprivileged students to attend culinary school.
Competing for: Andre Agassi Foundation for Education
My Guess for the 4th preliminary round:
Monica Pope
Named 2009’s Best Chef at the Houston Culinary Awards, Monica Pope is a 2007 James Beard Award Nominee for Best Chef: Southwest and the owner of t’afia and Beaver’s in Houston. The only Texas woman to ever be named a Top 10 Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine, Pope first learned to cook from her Czech grandmother and earned her Chef’s title from Prue Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London. After working in Europe and San Francisco, Pope returned home to Houston to open her first restaurant, the critically acclaimed The Quilted Toque. Soon after opening Boulevard Bistrot in Houston, Travel & Leisure hailed her “one of the most ingenious restaurateurs around.” t’afia has been featured in Gourmet, O: The Oprah Magazine, Bon Appetit and Fortune. She recently published digital cookbook Eat Where Your Food Lives (available at www.ChefMonicaPope.com) and is currently working on a cooking memoir entitled Eating Hope (and Other Things I’ve Had to Stomach).
Competing for: Recipe for Success
Thierry Rautureau
Known affectionately as “The Chef in the Hat,” French born Thierry Rautureau is the owner of Rover’s Restaurant in Seattle. Raised on a farm in the Muscadet region of France, this James Beard Award-winner for Best Chef in The Pacific Northwest began a cooking apprenticeship in Anjou, France at age 14 before training at top culinary locales across that country. He eventually found himself working for Jean Claude Poilevey at La Fontaine in Chicago before heading to Los Angeles’ The Regency Club and The Seven Street Bistro. Opening Rover’s in 1987 after a chance visit to Seattle, Rautureau has been featured in Gourmet, Zagat’s, USA Today, and every major metro-Seattle publication that covers dining.
Competing for: Food Lifeline
Carmen Gonzalez
Puerto Rican native Carmen Gonzalez has been a prominent figure in American dining for over 20 years. Opening the nationally recognized Miami-based Carmen the Restaurant in 2003 (hailed “One of the Best New Restaurants in America” by Esquire magazine), Gonzalez has been recognized with many honors including the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence from 2004-2006; AAA’s coveted 4 Diamond Award in 2004 and 2005; a 2006 mention in Zagat’s America’s Top Restaurants; among others. Gonzalez has been featured in The New York Times, Miami Herald, Food & Wine magazine and Bon Appetit, as well as appearances on The Martha Stewart Show, Today and MGM Latino. Gonzalez’s greatest passion comes from community outreach efforts, involving herself for many years with Share Our Strength, the James Beard Foundation, Chef Carmen Cooks for a Cure, and Feeding the Mind Foundation, the latter two of which she founded.
Competing for: ASPCA
David Burke
Owner of David Burke Townhouse, David Burke at Bloomingdales, Fishtail by David Burke, Burke in the Box, David Burke Prime, David Burke’s Primehouse, David Burke Las Vegas, and Fromagerie, Burke is one busy chef. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America and in France under esteemed chefs Pierre Troisgros, Georges Blanc, and Gaston Lenôtre, Burke was America’s first recipient of France’s coveted Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Diplome d’Honneur for excellence in American cuisine by age 26. Burke’s other accolades include Japan’s Nippon Award of Excellence, the Robert Mondavi Award of Excellence and the CIA’s August Escoffier Award. Burke was inducted into the 2009 James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America. He is a ntoed culinary product inventor (GourmetPops, Flavor Sprays & Flavor-Transfer Spice Sheets)and author of cookbooks Cooking with David Burke and David Burke’s New American Classics.
Competing for: Table to Table
So, who has the best chance to win each preliminary round and who will win the Grand Prize?
For prelim round 1, my guess was that Jerry Traunfield would win, but we already know from last night's ep. 1 that it was Susan Feniger and Tony Mantuano that moved ahead to the Champions Round.
For which round the TCM1 repeats are in, I expect Jonathan Waxman to win a close victory with whoever his partner turns out to be.
For what I marked at guess at ep. 3 and ep. 4, I have no real knowledge of any of the 10 chefs competing in those preliminary rounds, so I decline to nominate anyone.
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TCM2, ep. 1
As usual in the BRAVO reality show style, Top Chef Masters (TCM) first episode started with some material designed to highlight the varying personalities of the competing master chefs. However, host Kelly Choi wasted no time in getting right to it, as the time of such top-level chefs in quite valuable. She asked each one in turn to open the lid on a pot and see what was inside. It was red, green and blue colored aprons and the two Reds (Tony Manuano and Susan Feniger) became a team for this episode, as did the two greens (Jerry Traunfield and Anna Sortun) and the two blues (Govind Armstrong and Jimmy Bradley). See above for biographical info on each of these chefs. Kelly announced that a Quickfire victory would be worth $5K to a winning chefs' designated charity, an elimination challenge win was worth $10K, the Grand Prize for top Chef Master 2 is $100K plus the title. Something not announced, but which can be inferred from later scoring results, is that the Quickfire results no longer count toward the final total. The Elimination Challenge score by itself was the final determinant on who went on to the next round.
Kelly told them to jump into their Lexus (subtle product placement, as always on BRAVO, but hey they have several good programs that survive as a result). They were told they were going to recreate a famous Top Chef Quickfire in Chinatown Los Angeles. Now, those of you who are veteran viewers of every Top Chef episode ever (all 80 of them so far through the end of the TC6 season) know that the TC2 was the only season in Los Angeles and there were no Quickfires in Chinatown nearer than 2.2 miles. That one, the Sushi Quickfire for ep.2 filmed in the dark while this TMC2, ep. 1 was in sunlight. I was not able to put it all together while watching this episode. So what are those wily Top Chef creators and producers trying to do? Well, they are borrowing a Quickfire from elsewhere and, to obfuscate and otherwise hide their intent to give this Quickfire maximum impact, they have transposed the infamous TC1, ep. 10 Gas Station Quickfire to a nondescript gas station in Chinatown. The master chefs were completely befuddled until Kelly told them what the Quickfire really was: a test of their ability to get creative with junk food to make a tasty dish that could still be served to quality-conscious diners. I don't remember if the specific constraints were specified other than 45 minutes to cook, but for the original version it was $20 in quarters for ingredients (to which Kelly stated that very limited us of TCM kitchen staples was allowed). There is no Guest Judge per se but the rock music band The Bravery, used to food on the road, will be the Guest Critics for the dishes. I have not heard of them but Jimmy considers them a favorite of his.
Jerry and Anna select pork rinds, Clamato juice (clam and tomato mix) and rice cake. They made crispy rice cakes with "Clamesco" (a takeoff on Italian Romesco sauce, a combination of almonds, pine nuts, and/or hazelnuts, roasted garlic, olive oil and a red pepper analog).
Susan and Tony focus mostly on bread, bananas and maybe maple syrup. It is no surprise that their dish is maple bread pudding with caramelized bananas.
Govind and Jimmy select Slim Jim's and Cheeto's (they missed the "flaming HOT on the label). They made super spicy Cheeto Mac and cheese with grilled Slim Jim's and tomato soup.
It was fascinating to watch these proud master chefs watching and listening to be closed circuit TV the comments from the Guest Critics. I think BRAVO and the producers of the Top chef Masters series did a good job in inventing a new term (Guest Critics) to clarify their real role. The one member of the Bravery with a real culinary background faded into the background and let him bandmates give their less-qualified opinions. They really ripped a number of aspects of the 3 dishes much harder than I thought would have been warranted. It was fun to watch the masters react to what they regarded as (and probably were) unwarranted criticism of their dishes. The scoring by the Guest Critics was Susan/Tony 4, Govind/Jimmy 3.5, Jerry/Anna 3. Susan and tony each won $5,000 for their charity. Kelly announced that the teams would work together again for the Elimination Challenge. Tony was a bit apprehensive because he regards Susan's style as very different from his own, but later in this Challenge he felt he had won bragging rights on how well their teaming had worked out.
The Elimination Challenge was to create a duo of dishes appropriate as an aphrodisiac for the first date of what looked like about 7 couples. Teams were given $350 and 45 minutes to shop at the local Whole Foods.
Here are the dishes:
Govind/Jimmy - roast lamp chop he recommended to be sensuously eaten by hand with cauliflower couscous and pomegranate reduction; a duo of lamb, lamb Carpaccio seared slightly on one side with a baby arugula and herb salad;
Jerry/Anna - caramelized duck breast with fresh lavender flowers grown in an herb garden, reed cabbage; crispy duck leg in vermicelli with orange blossom and cinnamon smoked almonds
Susan/Tony - black pepper shrimp and scallops (she admitted the shrimp were a little overcooked as a result of the physically hot black pepper sauce poured on them maybe too soon; homemade pasta filled with I believe they said Taleggio cheese, mushrooms and truffles
There was a range of comments from the regular Top Chef Masters Judges Gael Greene(GG, nationally known food critic), James Osener(JO,U.S. food critic), Jay Rayner (JR, London food critic and author). Oseland found the shrimp good but the Taleggio overpowering. Raynor thought the Susan/Tony dishes did not mesh well but it was a very tough challenge. Greene rated it “earthy sensuality added to a fabulous dish (that sounds like a great score coming from her)" and thought the combination of shrimp, scallops and pepper sauce was excellent. Raynor rated this team’s dishes together as a great first date meal.
Osener thought the lamb carpaccio was going to be challenging for him to eat, but was shocked at how good it was. He also loved the couscous, which he rated the best single place item cooked in this challenge. Raynor liked the breast of duck, Greene did not like the combination of the 2 lamb dishes and Raynor responded that it was not a fatal flaw.
Osener rated Anna’s sauce as perfect. He did not like the duo in combination. He used the disparaging reference “she’s in pajamas and he’s in a tuxedo.” Someone stated that they loved Tony’s homemade pasts. I bet they did. If it is good enought for President O'Bama then it is good enough for TCM Judges.
The first date individuals participated to the extent that their average score for all such diners was given equal value to the vote of one judge. The final scoring was:
JO GG JR Diners TOTAL
Govind/Jimmy 3 4 3,5 3 12.5
Jerry/Anna 3.5 3.5 3 4 15
Susan/Tony 4 4.5 4 4 16.5
Susan and Tony each win their $10,000 and they go to the Champions round. The other 4 all pack their knives and go home in true top chef style. The losers took that a lot better than chefs ever eliminated in regular Top Chef episodes.
I was not as satisfied with TCM2 ep.1 as I was with the entire TCM1 season. The specific dishes made in this telecast were not ones that could easily be appreciated without actually eating them much more so than the typical dishes. I would have gone in the first episode with tasks that resulted in more visually appealing food. I will continue to "Watch What Happens" as BRAVO recommends. I will also say that I liked Kelly Choi's matter of fact style better than Padma Lakshmi's more unctuous one in regular Top Chef. Tony has the last word: Susan and I will have to compete against each other and I regret that.
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Fans of TCM will find it returning to the 10pm EDT/PDT time slot. I expect it to remain there after he premiere last week one hour later.
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TCM2, ep.2
This episode had a lot more 3 colorful personalities and zip in it. Thierry was caught on film trying to go up the down escalator and he also threatened to kill any chef who would otherwise beat him because he wanted his charity to win the $100K. The Quickfire was judged by none other than Kelly Choi, who cited eating at many fine restaurants and sometimes just wanting something simple but elegant. Carmen says the best way to judge a restaurant if to order the simplest thing on the menu. The Quickfire Challenge is to create a marvelous grilled cheese sandwich in 20 minutes. The chefs get right to it, although Carmen cut her finger and had to bandage it to keep going. The dishes presented to Kelly were:
Carmen - Italian Baguette with Manchego Cheese, Olive Oil, Garlic, Cilantro, Lime Juice
David - Triple Cream Cheese with Proscuitto, Almonds, Tomato & Rosemary
Marcus – Grilled Gruyere, American Cheddar Cheese with Gazpacho, Salad w/ Crouton
Monica – Feta and Farmer’s Cheese w/ Dates on Raisin Walnut Bread with Basil, Cilantro and Mint Salad w Orange Blossom Honey Dressing
Thierry – Grilled Taleggio+Goat Cheese w/Olives, Harissa, Julian Pear, Pine Nut and Baby Arugula Salad
Kelly’s comments on those dishes were:
Carmen- use of herbs really nice; simple
David- prosciutto but too many elements onthte plate
Marcus- exemplified his World Cuisine offering
Monica- felt like eating grilled cheese in Marrakesh
Thierry- loved your Harissa but wanted more Taleggio
Monica’s dish was rated the Winner by Kelly. That gave her $5000 for the charity Recipe for Success courtesy of Lexus and also the first pick and exclusive use of a protein selected at Whole Foods.
The Elimination Challenge involves creating soul food to cater the birthday party for 125 guests of TV celebrity (E.R.and Lie to Me are mentioned) Mexhi Phifer. Just 125 of his closest friends, including actor Don Cheadle. Chefs have 45 minutes and $400 to shop at Whole Foods and then 1 hour that night to prep. The next day, there will be an additional 2.5 hours to finish the prep. The party was happening at the Rooftop Lounge of Bond Street at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The chefs have to cart their packed prep items from the Top Chef Masters kitchen, but the camera catches a large tray left behind inadvertently. When the prep starts and the master chefs unpack, Carmen discovers that she left the critical stew component. She had to go back, which in Los Angeles traffic took 90 minutes. In her absence, Thierry, Monica and David all pitched in to peel and cook her yucca; they burned a little but it apparently came out edible. Marcus refuses to help as he wanted to focus on his own dishes. As BRAVO says,“Watch What Happens.” Carmen planned out all her adjustments on arrival back at the hotel kitchen and executed them well. How good can her dishes be under the circumstances, which Carmen summarized that it’s been a horrible day? If after she unpacks she can’t get something decent to present, she stated that she would withdraw from the competition.
The guest of honor arrives and the guests mingle, eat and then have to rate the food. The Diners’ consolidated score gets the same weight as one Top Chef Masters Judge. The dishes finally presented were:
Carmen – Oyster and Hot Sausage Stew over Yucca and Bacon Mash with Cilantro, Corn
David - Sweet Potato Custard with Green Beans, Corn and Crab BBQ, Pickled
Watermelon Rind, Hush Puppies, Cornbread
Marcus – BBQ Chicken w/ Mac+Cheese, Collard Greens cooked in coconut milk, Cranberries, Capers
Monica – Shrimp and Grits Mac+Cheese Style with Smokin' Okra, Pickled Green Beans,
Tomato Jam, Salad
Thierry - Moroccan Spiced Pork Shoulder, Farro, Roasted Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts
Slaw, Harissa
Carmen pronounced herself “Confident, but there can always be an element of surprise.”
Monica believed that “the guests loved my food” and that fourths and fifths being requested will carry the day. Marcus said essentially the same thing. Both could win, as two master chefs will go to the Champions round and win $10K each for the top 2 places in this Elimination Challenge. The critics arrive and weigh in with their comments.
James Oseland says “Monica has given us a deconstructed shrimp and grits.” James Raynor stated that “her food is an acquired taste which I really haven’t acquired“. JR said that the sauce was too aggressively sweet and tasted as if the chicken was constructed to flavor the sauce. Gail said that it was the most soulful dish. However, the judges agreed that the shrimps were undercooked (would that have happened if she had not helped Carmen?).
Marcus told Mexhi that he cooked from the soul and I thought they had the most chief guest/master chef affinity. JO said that “Marcus’s mac and cheese is a diet buster and it’s very good.” Monica accused Marcus of being the man . JO said the collard greens were the “most complicated of my life.” Gail:”It’s a lot of flavor in there; it was a bold taste.” JO gets the last word: “Marcus’ greens were too fussy.”
Carmen was asked why no mash. She responded that she had to make adjustments due to the time available and the yucca burned. .” Carmen substituted for the lack of mash by thickening of the stew; this concept worked to perfection. JO stated that it is a gumbo and not really an oyster stew (who cares if it tastes good and there was no specification restricting it to be a stew?; I think BRAVO is just throwing in random comments in an attempt to obfuscate who will win). He also missed the “starch in this dish.” Despite Gail stating that “it didn’t really need the mash.” JR says there is “real power in this dish.” JR said he wanted this on his tongue. Gail Simmons got in a sly “I’d like to see that.” Using Whole Foods sausage instead of making it (which she obviously did not have time to do) was criticized, so how heavily will the judges deduct for that?
David heard JO state “the hush puppies are spot-on.“ Gail said “the watermelon rind is the highest point of the dish“. David thought his crab and custard were well-balanced, but the judges did not agree. JR said it just did not work. JO has the most outrageous remark: “it was too baconlicious for me.”
Thierry got some positive comments from Gail about his farro. JO: it’s porkilicious. Gail and JO and JR: loved the Brussels Sprouts slaw. The raw corn and onions in the salad were numbingly raw according to JO. He stated that there were too many flavors on the palate. Thierry admitted that he tried to get 7 on it.
Gail JO JR Diners Total
Carmen 4 3.5 4 4 15.5 she wins and it is cited “the most
amazing Top Chef comeback ever.” She wins $10K for the ASPCA and goes to the
Champions Round
Thierry 2 3 3 3 11 he was a disappointment and leaves
David 2.5 2 2.5 3 10 he is the first to “pack his knives”
Monica 3.5 3 3 3.5 13
Marcus 3.5 3.5 3.5 4.5 14.5 he beats Monica and gets the
money for UNICEF Clean Water and the invite to the Champions Round
BRAVO is trying to make incredible drama out of this relatively mundane release of judges scoring and I don’t like it. It’s obviously not the way it would have happened in real life if they had not arranged the scores presentations into a specific order. Are the producers trying to out-do Hell’s Kitchen and the FOX Network? They had the results arranged so that the winner was announced first, then working their way through the lowest 2 and finally focusing on the real drama between Marcus and Monica. There is not a shadow of a doubt about it: Monica believes she was prevented from doing her best because she elected to help Carmen and Marcus did not, focusing on only his own food. Monica is really hurt that she has lost to Marcus. Carmen is also really upset, so Marcus could find his food in the Champions Round impacted by sabotage or mysterious events because there are those (myself included) who believe he did not deserve to finish 2nd if it was an even competition. For Marcus to make a value judgment and give himself a huge edge was beyond the pale in my opinion. I hope he is the first one out in the Champions Round. I wish I were invited to be a Guest Judge with special powers for that.
I thought Kelly did a super job of handling the Quickfire by herself. It's simple, so why not save the money by using Kelly and the regular judges for Quickfires and apply it to get better Guest Judges.
apskip:
On Wednesday, April 28 at 10PM ET/PT, Bravo's "Top Chef Masters" turns up the heat when the master chefs must cook for their toughest critics yet - the cast and crew of the hit TV series "Modern Family." Competing to make classic dishes a bit more "modern" are five top chefs including: Debbie Gold (The American Restaurant), Jody Adams (Rialto Restaurant), Maria Hines (Tilth), Rick Tramonto (TRU) and Susur Lee (Madeline's).
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