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Top Chef 7

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For TC7 the www.bravotv.com blogs appear to be more relevant and interesting than in the past. Here is a large excerpt from Tom Colicchio's blog for episode 1 at http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/tom-colicchio:

This is a determined group of chefs and they’ve converged on our nation’s capital to win. I myself was glad to learn that Season 7 would be in D.C.  ..D.C. has given rise to terrific chefs such as my friend Jean-Louis Palladin, who succumbed to lung cancer in 2001, but who was a driving force behind cooking in America. It has also attracted others, such as José Andrés, Jeffrey Buben at Vidalia, and Cathal Armstrong at Restaurant Eve. And, on a more personal note, I was also glad that D.C. is an Acela-ride away from NYC, where my new baby and new restaurant both clamored for my attention on the days we weren’t shooting the show.
 
The chefs hit the ground running with a high stakes Quickfire Challenge. Coupling the fact that this was their very first challenge under time pressure with the fact that twenty thousand dollars was on the line made for some shaky hands trying to wield those knives. I’m quite sure that folks could have peeled potatoes and diced onions far more quickly and neatly than they did that day were they not under a double-whammy of pressure. In fact, you saw only one of three instances in which chefs cut themselves. (As a side note: I’m constantly amazed at the chefs who show up with dull knives! It’s ridiculous – sharpen the things before you arrive, please.)  But this is the type of competition in which one benefits from being thrown right into the deep end of the pool: the sooner the chefs get used to performing under extreme pressure, the sooner they’ll start performing well under extreme pressure, cooking more closely to how they would in their own restaurant kitchens … which the four who made it to the end of the Quickfire Challenge and cooked for us all did very adeptly. When you consider that they were cooking with only basically chicken, potatoes, and onions, under a significant time constraint, on a low burner on a windy rooftop, the food was all surprisingly good. They all thought creatively on their feet and delivered good dishes. I remember thinking, “this bodes well for the season.”

And it did. A great many chefs delivered interesting dishes in the Elimination Challenge (a challenge that made me think of Congress, where folks from every part of the country come together on the Hill to represent their regions. Though that’s where the similarity ends!); there were just too many dishes to feature in the time allotted in the episode. In fact, it’s interesting to note that given how the challenge was structured, each group needed to have a winner and a loser while, in fact, one of the groups was so uniformly strong that any one of the dishes in that group could have won the whole challenge. Those four just happened to be squared off in a heat against each other, so one edged out the others in that group and emerged victorious while another of those very fine dishes landed its chef in the bottom. As for Angelo’s dish, it won

the Challenge because it really did have more finesse than the rest. It was made with a sure hand, and the flavors were great, down to the light bacon sauce (I know, by the way, that it was deemed a “foam,” but a foam is, in essence, a light sauce – by whipping air into a sauce, you’re lightening it up).
 
That said about Angelo’s dish, and notwithstanding the fact that he won both the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges this week, I’d like to be clear that this is an evenly matched group.  Remember: I tasted all of the food. I was glad to see creativity and skill across the board, despite the range in the nature and length of experience of the chefs, from a 51-year old instructor at the Culinary Institute of America to some whom I call "cooks’ cooks” — the type of line cooks who show up at the restaurant every night, roll their sleeves up, put their heads down and deliver excellent food. While these hardworking and reliable cooks are not always the most creative, you never know when one will suddenly emerge from the pack and distinguish him- or herself in a season of Top Chef! This season’s chefs got off to a great start.  They talked a lot of trash, as I discovered when watching the edited episode (I’d had no idea how much!), but they got off to a great start. With this group cooking, with Gail and Eric trading off judging, and with some interesting politicos coming on board to judge as well, it promises to be a great season. Thank you for tuning in and logging on!


So, here are a few observations from me: There were only 3 judges in episode 1. The discussion above of "trading off" Gail and Eric means that unless Padma is treated as a judge (which is very possible given her culinary knowledge) there will continue to be 3 judges most episodes with one Guest Judge including certainly Nancy Pelosi and other political leaders. When I look at the special video on the Extended Judges Table, I discovered that Padma indeed had the most cogent comments on the dishes, so I now think that she is serving as a judge as well as the host. It's not easy to top Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert and Gail Simmons with excellence in commentary about food, so my hat is off the Padma for being able to achieve that.

I may or may not elect to excerpt Tom's future blogs  into this thread, but if I don't I recommend that you take a look at them at http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/tom-colicchio.

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TC7, ep. 1

This new season begins with a brief introduction of just a fraction of the chef competitors. They were lounging on a balcony at Arlington Virginia's Newseum  overlooking the Potomac River (I had never even heard of this, but it is an interactive news museum)
and several national monuments in Washington DC when suddenly Padma and tom walked in and the focus shifted to them. Padma introduced Tom Colicchio and he introduced the first Quickfire, which was to do a High Stakes Mise en Place Tournament in which the winner gets $20,000 cash courtesy of Dial NutriSkin. All 17 will peel 10 potatoes, with only 12 moving to the next round. The next test is brunoising (cut into 1/8” x 1/8” x 1/8” cubes of ) 10 cups of  onions and only the first 8 make it through that. Then 4 chickens need to be broken down into 8 parts each. The four that completed this first were Angelo, Kenny, Kevin and Timothy. Note that all were male; can one infer that the female chefs were just slower and unable to compete on speed? Each was asked to use those ingredients plus a limited range of other ingredients on a large table to create and prepare on a stovetop in 30 minutes a dish that utilized their chosen ingredients. Kenny was looking like the chef to beat in this competition based on his speed in its earlier phases. Those choices were:

Angelo - Roasted Spiced Chicken Thigh w/Roasted Wing, Curry Onion Jam, Potato Noodles
Kenny - Duo of Chicken with Moroccan Spice, Caramelized Onion Confit, Potato Puree and Dried Cherries
Kevin - Boneless Chicken Wing with Hot and Sour Broth, Tomatoes, Fennel, Potato, Mushroom, Pine Nuts
Timothy – Garlic roasted Boneless Chicken Wing with Tomatoes, Fennel, Potato Galette, Oyster Mushrooms, Pine Nuts

Tom’s judging of the dishes results in the following feedback to the chefs:

Angelo – loved flavors, chicken nicely cooked, good use of potatoes
Kenny – liked featuring roasted potatoes, flavors nice, lots of things going on (is that a positive comment?; usually it’s a negative one)
Kevin – broth very salty; Tom could not get past it
Timothy – too much cream in the dish marred flavor development

So it’s Angelo’s dish versus Kenny’s and Padma announced that Angelo won $20,000.

Elimination Challenge

This challenge was issued by Tom to create a dish reflective of the region that is the chef’s culinary home, where you’re from. This is essentially an exercise to let each chef show what skills they have and how tasty their choice of food (not offered to them often in a top Chef season) is. They are cooking for 300 young Washington area residents in the Jaycees at a kickoff party celebrating the opening of the Cherry Blossom Festival., Each of the 4 last chefs in the Quickfire got to choose 3 other chefs they were competing against in 3 groups of 4 except for one group of 5. Their choices were:
Angelo – Tiffany, Kelly, John
Kenny – Tracey, Lynne, Stephen, Ed (chosen by Angelo to put pressure on Kenny)
Kevin – Arnold, Amanda, Jacqueline
Timothy – Alex, Tamesha, Andrea

Each chef has $300 to shop at Whole Foods and 4 hours to prep in the Top Chef  kitchen at the Hilton Hotel They will then have 1 hour to set up at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium The first thing they must do is select a dish and plan the ingredients and preparation execution. During the prep John did not properly work his oven, resulting in the burning of his macadamia nuts. That caused him to get behind in cooking puff pastry. Jacqueline had trouble with her chicken livers.

Those dishes were:
Alex – Deconstructed Short Rib Borscht with Red Beet Puree, Cabbage, Creme Fraiche (Russia & California)
Amanda – Red Snapper Carpaccio, w/ Cucumbers, Clementines, Sencha Oil, Daikon,  Caraway Gelee (California, referred to by Gail as Amanda’s ode to Wolfgang Puck)
Andrea – Pork with Chorizo Potato Gnocchi, Calabaza, Mushrooms, Orange Gremolata (South Florida & Italy)
Angelo – Arctic Char with Pickled Shallots, Chili Tapioca, Smoked Bacon Froth (Rural Connecticut)
Arnold – Kaffir Lime + Thai Basil Cake, Palm Sugar Anglaise, "Myint" Julep (Thailand & Tennessee)
Ed - Sauteed Cod Cakes with Boston Baked Beans, Shaved Fennel Salad (New England)
Jacqueline – Duo of Hudson Valley Chicken Liver and Port Wine Mousse (New York)
John – Maple Mousse Napoleon with Crisp Macadamia Nut and Vanilla Sauce (Michigan)
Kelly – Spice Crusted Grass Fed NY Strip Steak, Fiddlehead Fern, wild Mushroom Sautee, Currant-Lavender Sauce (Rocky Mountains)
Kenny – Cinnamon Coffee Rubbed Trout, Black Bean Mole, Goat Cheese Polenta, Quinoa (Colorado)
Kevin – Pennsylvania Lamb, Meyer Lemon-Pistachio Marmalade, Spring Onions, Natural Jus (Mid-Atlantic)
Lynne – Corn-Camembert Ice Cream on Waffles with Bacon Praline & Caramel Sauce (Hudson Valley)
Stephen – Potato Crusted Ribeye, Celery Root Puree, Scarlet Stadium Mustard Vinaigrette (Ohio)
Tamesha – Jerked Chicken Sphere, Soft Polenta, Tamarind, Mango, Cilantro (Caribbean)
Tiffany – Cajun Shrimp and Crawfish Salad, chicken fried tomatillos (The South)
Timothy – Pan Seared Maryland Rockfish wi/ Pickled Leek, Dill, Grilled Crostini (Maryland)
Tracey - Stone Ground Grits, Maple Cheddar, Port Royal Rock Shrimp (The South)

The judges are:
Tom Colicchio (it’s his show, so you know he will be present most of the time)
Eric Ripert, owner of Le Bernardin (high-end seafood restaurant in Manhattan) and West End Bistro in Washington
Gail Simmons, editor at Food & Wine magazine

Comments from the judges are:
Amanda- Tom said it should have been seasoned better than this; Gail said it’s messy
Kevin – tender, taste of ginger, good flavors
Jacqueline – coarse (she admits it’s quite grainy since she did not have time to chamois it
During prep time)
Kevin - good
Tracey – bland
Stephen – Gail said “I’m tasting the fried and not the taste”
Ed – not enough cod
Tim – Eric said that he had trouble cooking fish with thick skin like that
Alex – Eric said well-cooked. Tom said “this works quite well”
Andrea – Padma said “not Miami but tasty”, tom said well seasoned
Angelo – really good
Kelly – properly cooked medium rare
John – Gail doesn’t taste the maple and neither do Tom or Eric

The judges must decide the Winners group of 4 and the losers group of 4. Winners are:
Angelo – Gail said everything came together, really smart, really tasted the chili; Eric said bacon froth a very pleasant surprise
Kevin - Tom said well-balanced, simple but with good complexity
Kenny – Gail said well-balanced; Tom said flavorful
Alex – Tom stated “you honored your mother” by not leaving the concept fo the basic dish in its deconstruction

Angelo was judged the best. It was a rare double win, particularly difficult with 16 other chefs competing against him.

The Losers’ Group consisted of John, Stephen, Jacqueline and Timothy. Comments from the judges were:
Stephen – rib-eye too thin and cut too small like chicken nuggets; attempt at low fat unsuccessful; a bad idea; not well cooked; he got caught up in the story of it
Jaqueline – she stirred this dish hundreds of time, but this one time it wasn’t right? Come on! Gail said that the lack of fat touted by Jacqueline was actually its major drawback.
John – maple taste not there and he admitted that he used store puffed pastry; Gail queried why John was making that dish if he could not make his own dough; tom called it an “amateurish attempt at making a dessert
Timothy – fish expert Eric said his skin was too chewy; Tom said that Tim should have known better.

Final summaries were:
Jacqueline – your mousse was terrible
John – you acted no better than a first-year pastry student; little maple flavor and store-bought dough
Stephen – you gave us a story but did not deliver
Timothy – you can do a much better job of representing your region

In the end it was John asked to pack his knives and go. That was quite fair in my estimation. Timothy really should not have been there.

Clips of previews of coming episodes make it obvious that there will be important people (including Nancy Pelosi) and important buildings all over the capital city used in TC7.

apskip:
Eric Ripert started a video blog at http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/eric-ripert/my-first-video-blog. Here is the guts of his first one done from his superb fish restaurant Le Bernardin in NYC:

He expects to judge only on the food, but he has learned that the personalities of the TC7 chefs are very interesting. He noted that a lack of humility in Angelo, the winner of both challenges in ep. 1, was surprising but reasonable. If he were doing the Elimination Challenge, Eric would have made bouillabaisse from the Mediterranean coast of France. Angelo's flavors were very nice and the smokiness of the bacon froth was also very nice.

John distinguished himself with a total lack of the headliner maple flavor and his presentation was "very sloppy." Nobody else was given any consideration for the eliminee.

In TC7 the talent is abundant and there is an abundance of interesting personalities too.

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Not to be outdone, Gail Simmons has a blog at http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/gail-simmons/in-bloom :

Here is her take on the first episode of TC7:

I arrived in town the morning of our first Elimination Challenge and was immediately taken by the beauty of the city in full bloom. Spring is definitely the best time to visit D.C. The snow has melted away and the oppressive heat and humidity of another Southern summer hasn’t yet set in. It was just our luck (and perhaps some clever planning by our producers) that the first week of our shoot coincided with the city’s fabled Cherry Blossom Festival. For about two weeks each April, Washington is blanketed in the soft pinks and creams of almost 7,000 cherry trees, flowering simultaneously. The trees—many situated around the Tidal Basin at the base of the National Mall—were a gift from Japan to the United States as a symbol of lasting friendship. About 3,000 trees were planted in 1912, another 3,800 in 1965. A number of festive cultural events and activities planned around D.C. at this time help celebrate the season and commemorate this generous gift. As we pulled up to the Mellon Auditorium, the gilded hall where our first challenge took place, I remember thinking how fitting the moment felt, as if the trees were welcoming us to town, inspiring our chefs with their unique visual beauty.

The challenge we put to the cheftestants required a little more introspection. Just as every part of the country is represented in the Capital, we asked each chef to create a dish that reflected their roots and personal story. They would serve tasting portions of their dish to 300 young Washington professionals at a Cherry Blossom Gala to kick off the festival. After a thrilling first Quickfire on the roof of the Newseum, the 17 chefs were divided into four teams in which they would compete head-to-head, as chosen by the top finishers in the Quickfire: speed demon Kenny, D.C. local Tim, precision-focused Kevin and our first Quickfire winner, Angelo.

It is always a bit dizzying to taste the food in that first Elimination. Meeting the chefs and keeping their names straight, let alone each of their dishes, can be quite a task. Thankfully, the challenge required that we focus only on one group of four to five dishes at a time, choosing the best from within each group as eligible for the win, while the weakest would be up for elimination. Seven seasons into the show, I understand how terribly nervous our chefs are in this first challenge and have come to expect a certain level of disorganization, considering they are cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, surrounded by cameras, strange equipment and competitors they do not know (or trust). As usual, we tasted a number of delicious dishes which showed exceptional promise; while a handful of others were unappetizing disappointments.

Although it did not make it into the top four, honorable mention must go to Arnold for his Kaffir Lime & Thai Basil Cake. Considering he is not a pastry chef, making a dessert for a large crowd, especially for the first Elimination, is a risky move. Arnold pulled it off with flying colors. The cake was moist, light, and tasted exactly as described: a balance of fresh herbs and tropical Southeast Asian undertones—and was a clever window into his history and personality. Kelly’s Colorado Grass-Fed Steak was another standout, even if she was not the strongest in her group. Her food was cooked with an expert hand, seasoned well, and reflected not just her origins, but also her cooking philosophy.

In retrospect, it is interesting to note that three of our four Quickfire winners were again at the top of their groups in the Elimination Challenge, but the fourth, Tim, did not make the top four. In fact, he found himself at the bottom of the pile. The best dishes of the day assured me we were in for an exciting season. They exemplified a diverse range of styles, cultural influences and backgrounds, not unlike Washington, D.C., itself. Kevin’s striking Pennsylvania Lamb with Meyer Lemon-Pistachio Marmalade, Spring Onions & Natural Jus echoed the patience and focus he showed in the Quickfire. At first look, Kenny’s Colorado-inspired Cinnamon Coffee Rubbed Trout, Black Bean Mole, Goat Cheese Polenta & Quinoa seemed a bit scattered, but came together beautifully when we tasted it. It is rare that someone presents us with a number of seemingly disparate ingredients that add up to something harmonious and insightful. Alex’s deconstructed ode to his Russian roots was outstanding in concept, presentation, and flavor. The pieces of his Short Rib Borscht with Crème Fraîche looked thoroughly modern, but their sum was unmistakably earthy and sweetly reminiscent of his immigrant past.

But it was Angelo’s Arctic Char with Pickled Shallots, Chilled Tapioca & Smoked Bacon Froth that captured our attention. As we watched him assemble each portion on individual spoons, I worried that the size of each piece of arctic char would be too big for a single bite. And again, as I saw him place chilies, a large sprig of dill and an ample dollop of bacon froth on top, I worried that the multitude of strong flavors would overpower his delicate, beautiful fish. How wrong I was! The final bite was cool and clean, with bright accents from each of the well-conceived condiments, which highlighted the soft texture and taste of the fish, instead of hiding it. The fish paid homage to his childhood in Connecticut, while the supporting components showed off his knowledge of Asian cuisine. We were duly impressed and chose him, once again, as our winner.

I should hope it was clear as to why we chose our bottom four contestants as up for elimination. Poor Jacqueline knew well before we told her that her Duo of Hudson Valley Chicken Liver and Port Wine Mousse was off in both seasoning and texture. Liver mousse should be rich, savory, smooth, and fatty. Hers was just the opposite. This was particularly disappointing considering the green apple and sour cherries she chose to serve with it, which would have paired perfectly as tart counterpoints. Stephen gave us a lovely story about his home state of Ohio with a Potato Crusted Rib Eye and Celery Root Puree, but the choice to deep-fry small “nuggets” of such good quality (not to mention expensive) meat was misguided. All we tasted was the grease, and not even his homemade Scarlet Stadium Mustard could cut it. Tim’s Pan Seared Maryland Rockfish with Pickled Leek, Dill & Grilled Crostino could have been a winner if only he had paid attention to a few crucial details. Choosing to serve this particular fish with its skin was his first mistake. It did not crisp as he’d hoped, so was difficult to cut into bite-size pieces and unpleasant to chew. In addition, his plates were substantially oversauced by not one but two different preparations, making it impossible to differentiate between them and drowning the fish in the process. My final issue with his plate was the “grilled crostino” he placed on top as a garnish. It was far too thick, cumbersome, and in my opinion served no purpose in the context of the dish.

However, nothing that day confounded us more than John’s Maple Mousse Napoleon with Crisp Macadamia Nuts & Vanilla Sauce. If, being from Michigan, John wanted to create a dish centered on maple syrup there were umpteen more skillful ways to do so. I still have no idea why he chose to make us a dessert in the first place, especially one with only three components, a third of which he bought frozen. Unfortunately, the mousse did not have a trace of maple flavor, and watching him work at his station we could not help but notice his state of disarray. Whereas even the three other bottom chefs’ at least showed attempts at ambition, technique, and skill with their food, John’s dish felt amateur and lacking in creativity. To simply bake off pre-made puff pastry and top it with overly-sweet, yet somehow under-flavored, mousse was not enough to pass muster with the judges. Not in the seventh season of Top Chef, and certainly not in Washington, D.C., a town where plenty of strong “candidates” have prevailed against far greater odds. 

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TC7, ep. 2

The Quickfire Challenge was a bit ludicrous. It was to create a Bipartisan Sandwich and to highlight this concept two chefs were paired up by knife draw and given 30 minutes to create one. When Padma said, “and one more thing…”, they learned that the twist was that the red and blue aprons tied two individuals together so that one could use only their right hand and the other only their left hand. This created a major difficulty. I can imagine how Hell’s Kitchen 6 winner Dave felt when his left hand was taken away for most of that competition by a serious fall in that kitchen, fracturing his left wrist and requiring a cast which stayed on until nearly the end of that season. Alex in particular was concerned about Timothy cutting him. Kenny was given a major advantage when they discovered that Ed is left-handed. 1 out of every 11 Americans are, so there should have been 1.5 left-handed chefs competing on Top Chef (where did the extra half go?).

Here are the pairs and the dishes which competed in this Quickfire Challenge:
Alex/Timothy - Classic French Croque Madame-Ground Lamb, Mornay Sauce, Egg
Amanda/Tamesha - Grilled Sandwich w/ Sliced Prosciutto, Swiss Cheese, Dijon Mustard, Pepper Salsa
Andrea/Kevin – “Philadelphia Cuban” Sandwich-Roasted Pork, Pickle, Whole Grain Mustard, Gruyere Cheese
Angelo/Tracey - Sandwich w/ Flounder Marinated in Fish Sauce, Spicy Sriracha Mayo, Pickled Red Onions, Herbaceous Salad
Arnold/Kelly – “South East Asian Street Food”- Curry Rubbed Grilled Chicken w/ Honey, Indonesian Sambal, Cucumber, Mint, Dill, Cilantro
Ed/Kenny - Korean Chili Rubbed Ahi Tuna Open Faced Sandwich w/ Cucumber, Mango Slaw on Multi-Grain Bread
Jacqueline/Stephen – Saba vinegar onions, California avocado, chicken
Lynne/Tiffany - Flatbread Saltimbocca Sandwich w/ Goat Cheese, Artichokes, Yellow Peppers & White Asparagus

Guest Judge Sam Kass, White House Assistant Chef, made the decisions on which dishes were the best and worst. He gave the worst rating to Stephen/Jacqueline for lack of creativity using plain white bread and to Lynne/Tiffany for texture problems. He liked Angelo/Tracey for bright, lively and vibrant herbs and also Ed/Kenny for flavor and beautifully seared tuna. The winners were Angelo (3rd straight) and Tracey, who get immunity and an additional “advantage.” Ed runs a sandwich shop in New York City so this victory was probably expected by him.

Elimination Challenge

Sam Kass is a culinary supporter of First Lady Michele Obama’s fight obesity program for school lunches. The teams were asked to utilize the average school lunch cost of $2.68 per person for an entire team of 4 to feed 50 students each in the Let’s Move program (www.letsmove.gov for those who want to learn more about this laudatory program), less $4 for labor costs. That left them with $130 to spend at Restaurant Depot, which was a limit difficult to stay within. Two teams did not understand the directions properly (they thought $130 was per individual) and came to the register with far more than $130, necessitating instant decisions on what would go with them and what could not be taken. These decisions directly affected the outcome of this episode. One chef, Amanda, insisted on being able to buy expensive sherry for her chicken dish. That left only $10 for dessert ingredients for Jacqueline on her team. Of course Amanda was criticized by many for serving a dish with sherry to kids. Her teammates may have succeeded in getting her to change the name of her dish to not highlight the sherry, but that was all the compromise she was willing to do. She didn’t take sherry out of her dish.

The teams for this started by Quickfire winners Angelo and Tracey choosing the second place team of Kenny and Ed. Was this to get the best available talent (Kenny certainly, but not Ed) or to put those two on the firing line with, as Tom put it to Kenny, a 50% chance of going home if their team lost versus the 25% chance that anyone on one of the other team’s had? So, would Angelo deliberately sabotage Kenny to remove him from the competition? I would say probably NO because Kenny would still have to cook worse than Ed and that was unlikely from the first episode performance of those two. The other teams of two paired up fairly randomly with other teams to reach a total of four teams of 4. Teams then had 30 minutes to plan, 45 minutes to shop, 2.5 hours to cook and 1 hour the next day to prep before serving it on normal school lunch trays at the Alice Deal Middle School. It appears that every child got pre-assigned to one team by sitting at particular tables. Tom stated that his mother directed a school lunch program for decades, so this episode is close to his roots. Sam Kass also stated that providing vegetables for a healthy meal is expensive but critical and that the tendency is for school lunches across the nation to be high in sugar and starch (as well as fat and calories). It was noted that the kids filmed in this episode seemed to be generally more open to “healthy nutritious food” than Jamie Oliver found initially in Huntington WV for his TV series “Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution.”

Here are the teams and dishes created and presented:
Amanda, Tamesha, Stephen, Jacqueline - Braised Chicken Thigh in Sherry Jus; Bean + Tomato Salad w/ Pickled Red Onions, Apple Cider Vinaigrette; Sweet Onion Rice,  Tomato, Carrots + Green Onions; Banana Pudding w/ Skim Milk, Strawberries, Strawberry Sauce

Kevin, Alex, Andrea, Timothy - Grilled Apple Cider BBQ Chicken, Picnic Coleslaw w/ Yogurt; Mac + Cheese w/ Whole Wheat Crust, Skim Milk, Low-Fat Cheese; Fresh Melon Kebab w/ Orange Chantilly Dipped in Yogurt

Angelo, Tracey, Kenny, Ed – Chicken Burger with Fiesta Rice; “Peanut Butter and Celery Crudite” w/Crispy Tuile; Sweet Potato Puree w/Cinnamon; Apple Break Pudding with Cinnamon Yogurt

Kelly, Arnold, Lynne, Tiffany - Braised Pork Carnitas Tacos w/ Pickled Onions,  Cilantro; Roasted Corn Salad w/ Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette, Chili Oil, Sugar, Salt, Lime Juice; Black Bean Cake w/ Whole Grains, Sweet Crispy Potatoes; Caramelized Sweet Potatoes + Sherbet

Now, there are a few things to keep in mind about this array of dishes and how the chefs interacted with their teammates and talked about the challenges inherent in their dishes. Kelly was criticized particularly by Arnold for only being concerned about her individual dish and not contributing anything to the team, the “me syndrome.” She was also criticized for both using sherry as an ingredient and the impact of its costs on their team budget. Jacqueline was hampered in a big way to create 50 desserts with $10 in ingredients, which is 20 cents per dessert. That buys sugar and starch but not much fruit, so she was at a major disadvantage. Angelo picked a strange item for kids, celery with peanut butter mousse. Kids may like each of those separately (I do), but might never try the combination of the two. This act does lend credence to the sabotage argument, as Angelo’s dish had no nutritional value and his team lacked vegetables (how did Kenny and Ed let this happen?).

The kids generally liked all this food and ate it, but the judges’ comments were sometimes negative.

The first group called in consisted of Angelo, Tracey, Kenny, Ed, Amanda, Tamesha, Stephen and Jacqueline. They quickly learned they were the worst 2 teams, breaking a long-standing Top Chef tradition of announcing in the telecast which team or individuals were in the winners’ group first and causing a look of major surprise on Amanda’s face. As the discussion progressed Stephen volunteered a negative comment aimed at Amanda sacrificing his vegetables at the cash register so that the “substance of the meal (a thinly veiled reference to Amanda’s sherry) could be preserved.” She attempted to rip him to shreds. She also used the phrase “take one for the team is not in my vocabulary.” That’s fine, but if she is so blatant about it, other chefs will find ways of creating obstacles for her. The judges questioned these 8 and learned that Jacqueline had used a lot of starch and sugar in her dish. Jacqueline’s protests that she had wanted to do a healthy chocolate dessert but had no choice due to hear team’s cash register decision to allot her only $10 to ingredients for her dessert led Tom to tell her she should have fought harder for what she needed in the final grocery tally. Only Ed was praised for yoghurt disguised as whipped cream being stylish and genius.

The winners group was Kelly, Arnold, Lynne and Tiffany. Their dishes made the most innovative use of both vegetables and colors and were judged quite appealing to the kids. Comments made to them by the judges were:
Kelly – pork carnitas were crunchy and delicious
Tiffany – sweet potatoes as the basis for a dessert was a fabulous concept and it worked
Arnold – roasted corn looked great and tasted great
Lynne – not even mentioned (how’s that for damning with faint praise?)

Kelly won nothing except the glory and honor of a first place finish. She had succeeded her goal of recognized

The Losers’ group was brought back for the summary and announcement of the eliminee. The summary comments were:

Team competition – the worst performance was Angelo and Kenny’s team but the two worst dishes were Amanda’s and Jacqueline’s.
Kenny and Ed – the lack of vegetables on their tray was attributed to Ed and him since the other 2 were exempt; so why didn’t they plan a better menu?; Sam Kass criticized the team for loading up on starch and sugar
Amanda – use of sherry was a poor decision; lack of eye appeal of her chicken criticized
Jacqueline – too much starch and sugar is indefensible and she made no effort to defend herself
Angelo – Tom asked him if he would have dared to present celery with peanut butter mousse if he had not been immune and Angelo’s equivocal response raised the question of attempting to sabotage Kenny.

The focus of prior judges’ discussion was primarily on Amanda and Jacqueline. They apparently decided that Kenny was partly the victim of unintentional sabotage by Angelo and that Jacqueline had neither the guts to fight for herself nor great culinary skills. Amanda was recognized for getting away with a major misjudgment in the use of sherry in cooking for kids due its cost and alcoholic content. Tom stated that he could not believe that none of her teammates had stopped her from doing so. However, Tom also stated that he wanted chefs to be evaluated on their individual dish and not on team performance, so he was totally inconsistent. The flavor of Amanda’s chicken evoked differences among the judges. Padma actually like it, but nobody else did. They all agreed that the sherry was a bad move. Jacqueline apparently had 2 pounds of sugar in 54 ounces of banana pudding and the rest was mostly starch.  I applaud the decision to eliminate Jacqueline.

Other teams are sure to be wary of Angelo in the future. He’s bombastic and slick but he has a lot of culinary talent. This Elimination Challenge did not motivate him to show any of it. That attitude will get him in trouble with the judges despite 3 wins in all 3 competitions prior to this one. Tom’s final word on this was that it appeared in his final analysis that Angelo was attempting to eliminate Kenny.

If you look at the videos on the www.bravotv.com website, you will find that Top Chef now has the equivalent of the Amazing Race’s Elimination Station. All contestants are sequestered in a nice hotel until the total season completed filming, which took 4 weeks (one episode per less than every 2 days). John, the first eliminee, praised Jacqueline for the high energy he had observed in the first episode.

I hope the TC7 producers and Tom Colicchio noted how the use of immunity applying to a team competition produces totally unfair results and gamesmanship. I hope that never happens again on any current or future Top Chef season.

I have a few comments on how individual chefs appeal or not to me. I liked Stephen for questioning Amanda publicly, Ed for being quiet and unassuming but talented and I dislike Tiffany for being too bombastic.

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