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Top Chef 7

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TC7, ep. 6 Cold War

The Quickfire started with James Beard Award winning chef Michelle Bernstein arriving as Guest Judge. Andrea, also a Miami area chef, notes her competition and hopes that Michelle will not be biased against her to make her look bad. In your dreams, Andrea! You are not close to the same league with Michelle. The TC7 winner will not be anyone close to a mature experienced nationally acclaimed chef like Michelle. Only when you get invited to Top Chef Masters X can you claim to be in the same league as Michelle. Will that ever happen for Andrea? It will be a long while if ever in my opinion.

On with the action, which starts with the sight of some “exotic” proteins. The chefs drew knives to determine the order of selection and this is one of those times when it really does matter what choices you are left with. Here are the choices of the chefs in order of selection:

Alex- foie gras (what an incredible edge this gave him)
Kevin - frog legs
Ed – Wild Boar
Tiffany – Yak
Stephen – Cayman Crocodile
Angelo – Duck white Kidneys (Padma asked him “do you really know what these are?” and Michelle revealed that they are artfully renamed duck testicles)
Kevin – Ostrich
Kelly – Rattlesnake
Tamesha – Llama
Andrea – Duck Tongue
Amanda – Emu Egg

It should be noted that in a post-episode commentary Eric Ripert stated that the selection order for the above exotic proteins was mostly the way he thought difficulty dictated, except that emu eggs were much easier than 11th and crocodile much harder than 5th.

Padma gave the chefs about 5 minutes to settle into the 45 minute cooking time. Then she directed each chef to switch to the next left position and cooking that protein with a new concept. That’s what I call a serious twist. The dishes that resulted from that are:

Alex – Ostrich
Amanda – Llama Sous-Vide w/ Leek, Date, Bacon Compote
Andrea – Wild Boar & Risotto w/ Dried Cherries, Almond, Mushrooms, Red Wine
Angelo – Seared Crocodile w/ Ginger, Garlic & Chiles
Ed – Yak Kefta w/ Dried Fruit Couscous, Stewed Vegetables, Yogurt Sauce
Kelly - Emu Egg Omelet with Goat Cheese, Almonds, Fennel Salad, Harissa Vinaigrette
Kenny – Rattlesnake Francese, Rattlesnake Cake w/ Leeks, Bacon, Curry Sauce
Kevin – Duck Testicles Meuniere w/ Beet, Licorice Puree
Stephen - Seared Frog Leg Confit, Tomato Grits, Mascarpone, Blackened Bourbon Sauce
Tamesha – Duck Tongue in Broth w/ Mirepoix, Lime, Cilantro
Tiffany – Foie Gras w/ Caramelized Apples, Toasted Pecans, Brandy-Caramel Sauce

The Losers’ group consists of Stephen, Alex (ostrich dry) and Amanda. Winners’ group was Kelly (emu egg cooked to perfection), Tamesha and Angelo. The winner was Kelly.

Elimination Challenge

Two teams are formed with 5 in one and 6 in the other. They will be competing against each other is a Cold War where all dishes will be served cold. The teams get a treat by riding briefly on the Presidential yacht Sequoia to do their planning, then they are off to shop with $200 in 30 minutes at Whole Foods and cook for 2 hours in the Top Chef kitchen within the Hilton Hotel before the food is put into cold storage overnight for serving cold the next day. Although Michelle, Tom, Gail and Padma are there, the initial judging to determine one winner and one loser from each team will be done by the other team, which is tasting their dishes. This opened up once more the possibility of gamesmanship. Stephen is captured on film stating that he wants to see Kenny and Angelo eliminated so that his chances will improve with the two best chefs gone. You may assume that his voting will be heavily biased as a result, but since Angelo is his teammate it is not possible for Stephen to vote against Angelo.

The dishes created and presented were:
Group of 5
Alex - Lamb Sous Vide w/ Red Beet Puree, Tzatziki
Amanda – Chicken Galantine with Mache, Plum Chutney
Ed – Sockeye Salmon on Pumpernickel, Cream Cheese, Chilled Cucumber Vichysoisse
Kenny – Tuna + Veal w/ Mediterranean Condiments
Kevin – Chilled Beef w/ Crispy Rice, Jalepeno Oil
Group of 6
Andrea – Trio of Tartares: Tuna, Beef, Mushroom-Fennel
Angelo – Poached Sockeye Salmon w/ Cilantro & Chili in Pineapple Tea
Kelly - Grilled Lamb Salad, Lamb Carpaccio, Black Eyed Pea Hummus
Stephen - Ostrich Barded in Caul Fat & Basil w/ Mushroom Duxelle Balsamic Glaze
Tamesha – Scallops w/ Pickled Rhubarb, Cilantro, Basil w/ Rhubarb Jus
Tiffany – Spice-Crusted Ahi Tuna w/ Gazpacho Sauce

The Winner nominee from the Group of 5 was Kevin. The Loser nominee, also chosen unanimously, was Kenny. You know that Angelo is a ringleader of the Get-rid-of-Kenny movement, but he took a low-key role, letting his teammates argue against Kenny’s dish. Michelle gave her honest opinion that Kenny’s dish was the worst from his group. Amanda’s dish was considered because it had too much cartilage present. The Winner nominee for the group of 6 was Tiffany. The Loser nominee was Tamesha, who cooked her scallops only on one side and left the scallop to sit in the jus from the rhubarb and congeal.

The final vote for who wins and who gets eliminated went to the judges. They easily picked Tiffany as the overall winner, but the decision on Worst appeared to be much closer. In the end, Tamesha was eliminated and Kenny survived barely. As Tom Colicchio put it in his weekly blog, “Kenny is lucky that Tamesha’s dish was so stunning a miss.” He cannot be a happy camper with the knowledge that several from the other group were so ready to get rid of him. However, he will get to fight another day in TC7.

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If you go up 3 posts from this one, you will find my ratings of the chef's based on first half performance. The lowest rated chef was Andrea, with Kevin and Stephen next. That predicted 2 out of the Losers's group of 3 in the episode whose recap will be posted tomorrow morning

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TC7, ep. 9 Power Lunch

Kenny noted that he has barely survived two Loser group ratings and he suspects that others are trying strategically to eliminate him from the competition (he’s right about that). Angelo says he had no ties to any other chef. Tiffany noted that everyone should be responsible for their own food and questions whether she should be accepting help form Angelo.

The usual Quickfire to start the show used as Guest Judge Rep. Aaron Schock from Illinois’ 18th Congressional District, with the distinction of at age 29 being the youngest member of the 111th Congress, who spoke on how the extreme influence of lobbyists has resulted in the first day in Congress of new Representatives learning about the ethics restrictions they must accept. This includes no food from lobbyists unless it is served with a toothpick. This Quickfire is in that spirit to challenge the chefs to create the best dish that can be served decently on a toothpick and taste great. Padma announced that this is a high stakes Quickfire for $20,000 cash fro Dial NutriSkin and immunity in the Elimination Challenge.

The dishes presented were as follows:
Alex – Pan-Seared Scallops w/ Crispy Bacon, Strawberries & Basil Essence
Amanda – Lamb Kabob w/ Heirloom Tomatoes, Salsa Verde
Andrea – Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Pecan Cheddar Waffles, Pickled Watermelon, Black Pepper Maple Gravy
Angelo – Cucumber Cup w/ Spiced Shrimp, Cashew
Ed - Duo of Tuna: Crunchy Tuna Confit, Grilled Tuna w/ Avocado, Sweet + Sour Watermelon
Kelly – Nantucket Bay Scallops w/ Watermelon, Pickled Watermelon Rind & Watermelon Vinaigrette
Kenny – Tandoori Spiced Sockeye Salmon + Shrimp Kebab w/ Mango-Mojito Relish
Kevin – Grilled Pork Kabob Onion, Bacon + Sherry Jus On Mushroom
Stephen – Scallop + Beef w/ Crispy Potato, Tarragon Bearnaise Sauce
Tiffany - Crispy Pork Roulade w/ Prosciutto, Date & Red Pepper Coulis, Westman cheese

Schock’s choices for Losers’ group and comments were on the dishes of:
Alex- too many flavors going on on one toothpick
Ed – taste was inferior even though it looked good
Kelly – lacked flavor

The Winners’ group was Angelo, Ed and Stephen.
Angelo – WOW!, fireworks in my mouth
Kevin – first tasted and the standard as he compared all other dishes to that
Stephen – there’s a lot on that stick but he enjoyed it all

Angelo was selected as the winner and got the $20,000 and immunity. Andrea in a moment of levity stated that if Tiffany’s fiancée caught wind of what was going on between Ed and tiffany, Ed would be in a lot of trouble.

Elimination Challenge
The Exec VP of the Palm DC restaurant in Washington, Bruce Bozzi Jr., came to announce that for the first time in its history, the Palm was turning over its kitchen to the Top Chef competitors for a lunch to which it turned out a key legislator, master chef, the restaurant’s VP and several journalists from NBC were the diners. Judging would be by master chef Art Smith, Tom and Gail. Tom was going to monitor things in the kitchen to protect the interests of The Palm. The list of diners was: Virginia Senator Mark Warner, Lisa Brzezinski(Morning Joe cohost), Joe Scarborough (Morning Joe host), John Podesta (President, Center for American Progress), Bruce Bozzi and Padma at one table; NBC correspondents Kelly O’Donnell, Luke Russert and Savannah Guthrie plus  Art Smith and Gail at the other table. The walls of the Palm have caricatures of famous people and the winner will get theirs on it. Also, the winning recipe will go on the Palm menu. Ed started off missing his pea puree which was a primary component of his meal. The others came to conclusion, possibly incorrect according to Tom Colicchio, that Alex who used a pea puree as a major part of his final dishes stole Ed’s pea puree but Alex claimed it was his own.

The chefs drew knives to determine what their primary protein would be:
Kevin – lamb chops
Ed – 4 pound lobster
Tiffany – swordfish
Amanda – Porterhouse steak (which she butchered into a filet mignon and a NY Strip by removing the bone)
Stephen – salmon
Alex – salmon
Andrea – swordfish
Kelly – Porterhouse steak
Angelo – 4 pound lobster
Kenny – lamb chops

The use of pairs of the same protein provided some interesting comparisons, as that was the way the dishes were served. However, each chef competed against all other chefs, not just his/her matching protein.

The chefs went to Whole Foods as always, but the time to buy ingredients and budget were not shown but it looked to me they had $200 and 30 minutes to shop for extra ingredients. They had 75 minutes to prep in the Top Chef kitchen the night before. The Palm was supplying the proteins and 4 other ingredients for each chef.  Cooking was finished at the Palm on a staggered completion schedule. What I found most fascinating was why the decision was made to serve full portions of 10 individual meals to the diners. Nobody (not even me or Adam Richman) can eat that much in one sitting, so why weren’t the dishes done in tasting portions?
The individual meals were:
Alex – Applewood Smoked Salmon w/ Black Forbidden Rice, English Pea Puree
Amanda – Strip: New York and Filet Mignon, Red Wine w/ Pomme Parisienne, Arugula
Andrea – Swordfish w/ couscous risotto   
Angelo – Poached Lobster w/ Lobster Froth, Jicama, Arugula + Asian Pear Salad
Ed – Poached Lobster Ballotine w/ Eggplant + English Pea-Asparagus Fricassee
Kelly – Porterhouse w/ Crispy Potato-Arugula Salad, Roasted Shallot Demi-Glace
Kenny – Peppered Lamb w/ Fig-Pistachio Bread Pudding, Fig Jam, Vanilla-Morel Demi Glace
Kevin – Double-Cut Chops w/ Olive & Goat Cheese Rissole, Mache, Tomato Concasse
Stephen – Salmon w/ Warmed Vegetable Salad, Worcestershire Vinaigrette
Tiffany – Swordfish w/ Olive-Raisin Tapenade, Broccolini, Bacon

The Winners’ group was Alex, Tiffany and Ed. Alex used a pea puree that could have been made by Ed, who could not find it and had to switch to broccolini that Tiffany helped him with. Alex talked piously about the value of making your own food, but it looked to 90% f the viewers polled that he had indeed stolen the pea puree which according to Art Smith was the most wonderful thing on his plate. Alex won the Plam menu opportunity and caricature on the wall.

The Losers’ group was Kevin, Kelly and Andrea. Kevin’s problems included inability to pull off his daring creation. Kelly was there because she totally oversalted her food, overwhelming its natural flavors. Andrea had couscous that were mushy and glop and the swordfish overcooked and the vanilla sauce detracted from her savory dish due to its overwhelming sweetness. Tom summarized that Kevin had overcooked lamb, Kelly oversalted and Andrea had a poor execution. The chef eliminated was Andrea. That was a very fair choice based on her limited skills over the first 9 episodes. It was time for her to leave. Amanda and Stephen are likely to be next. Kelly turned up on both Losers’ group lists this episode. She is one of my favorites and I hope that she does not exit the competition in the near future.

apskip:
To the readers of my recaps for TC7:

I will be out of commission for about 2 weeks starting with next week's episode. I also expect to miss August 11 but should be back by August 18 to catch up on the ep. 10 and 11 recaps.

ugot2bekidinmeny:
Alex should have been gone 2 weeks ago with the pea puree issue..

 no way he was a better cook then kenny..

 kenny you're a stand up guy!! :tup:

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