Other Great Reality Shows > Other Reality TV Shows & News

Top Chef: Just Desserts

<< < (2/5) > >>

TexasLady:
Thanks apskip! They sure took their time with announcing  the cast!

apskip:
This is a reminder that Just Desserts is premiering Wednesday, September 15 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, and moving into its regular time slot of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, September 22.

apskip:
The Master Chef 1 finale and the Top Chef 7 finale preceded the premiere of Top Chef- Just Desserts, which will move to the Wednesday 10pm slot just vacated by Top Chef 7. This series is the brainchild of Gail Simmons, who is its host and a judge when she chooses to be. The head judge is Johnny Iuzzini and permanent judges are Danielle Kyrillos and Hubert Keller, all 3 of whom seem to be highly competent. The format of Just Desserts appears virtually identical to Top Chef: pastry chefs and bakers compete in a Quickfire Challenge which frequently has some reward. then there is an Elimination Challenge that is more elaborate and will demand more of their skills.

The prizes for the winner of Top Chef- Just Desserts are $100,000 from Godiva Chocolate, a Buick Regal, the title of Top Chef-Just Desserts, a feature in Food and Wine magazine and a spot at the Food and Wine Expo at Pebble Beach?.

TC-JD1, ep. 1

There were a number of pompous statements made by some of the contestants last night. One is that pastry chefs can typically compete head-to-head on savory dishes but savory chefs have no chance at competing in a pastry competition. This may even be true more one way than the other, but as a generalization I find it too sweeping. Another aphorim is that there is a major difference between a baker and a pastry chef.

The opening Quickfire was judged by Iuzzinni. Chefs have $50 and 30 minutes to shop for ingredients, then 90 minutes to bake, cook or otherwise create their signature dish. However, after about 15 minutes, Iuzzini throws in the first twist of this season. They are to utilize the ingredients they already have to make a perfect signature cupcake. This should be interesting, particularly since the winner would receive immunity from the elimination challenge. Here were the final cupcakes:

Tania - chicory mousse and mesquite, crème fraiche caramel
Heather C. – carrot, with crème fraiche, cream cheese and small bits of carrot
Zac – vanilla bean w/ lemon curd, blood orange Marshmallow and Glitter
Danielle – chocolate, w/ mint chip filling
Eric – devil’s food w/ coffee
Tim – Pistachio Semifreddo (no cupcake)
Seth - herbaceous steamed Malaysian coconut cake with basil buttercream.
Morgan - dark chocolate souflee w/ caramel crunch bar
Monica - not plated due to meringue problems
Malika – not able to finish the baking

Johnny judged the losers' group to be Monica, Tim and Zac, the first two for not even having a cupcake completed. He judged the winners' group to be Seth, Tania and Heather C. Seth was the winner and is immune for the next task. Zac stole the spotlight with his glitter on his brownie sundae

Elimination Challenge
The goal was to create Maximum Chocolate Decadence. Iuzzini explained that chocolate can frequently be tempermental. The chefs were cooking for 50 chocolate connoisseurs including the Guest Judge Jacques Torres, Mr. Chocolate. Chefs have 4 hours to cook and 1 hour to plate and serve.

The Elimination Challenge offerings were:
Seth – a savory and sweet combination with Madras curry and chocolate palette w/ raspberry
Heather H. - dark chocolate mousse torte with chocolate Grand Marnier sauce Danielle - deconstructed “free-form” chocolate tart with hazelnut brittle and banana
Morgan – chocolate fried pie with milk chocolate bourbon flan
Heather C. – bittersweet chocolate torte w/ mini whoopie pie
Tania – flourless chocolate torte with Earl Grey tea, white chocolate mousse
Yigit – flourless chocolate genoise with custardless ice cream
Tim – chocolate cake with ganache and white chocolate cream
Malika – bittersweet chocolate layer cake with braised cherries and nougatine
Eric - spiced brownie with ancho chile, ginger and cinnamon
Erika – chocolate banana caramel crunch bar
Zac – chocolate fondant “brownie sundae”

The judges decided that the winners’ group was Seth, Heather H. and Zac. Heather was the winner.

The losers’ group was Danielle, Tania and Morgan. Danielle explained that her free-form tart exploded on the plate; it was found by the judges to be messy. The judges felt she was trying to accomplish too much. Tania knew that the texture of her mousse was way off, but she took no action to fix it. The judges found her lacking in organization and adaptation. Morgan’s chocolate flan was baked warm and rated poorly because white cube gunk from separation was on the plate. He did not see it and had no idea how it got there. So, whose rationale was accepted and whose not? Tania was judged the person eliminated.

apskip:
TC-JD1, ep. 2

The Guest Judge was Elizabeth Faulkner, who was a Top Chef Masters 1 competitor. The Quickfire Challenge was to create a dessert from penny candy. There was a myriad of jars of all types of penny candy. Here are the created dishes:

Danielle – “Worms in the Dirt” Chocolate Mousse w/ lemon gummies, malt balls, lemon soda
Eric - Malted Chocolate Pudding and Malt Ball Cookie
Erika - Strawberry Pop Rocks with Lemon Drop Cookie and Sour Lemon Gelée
Heather C. - Browned Butter Almond Financier with Strawberry and Balsamic Vinegar
Heather H.- Vanilla Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Gelée
Malika - Lemon Drop and Strawberry Parfait with Yuzu Cream
Morgan - Chick-O-Stick Sable with Malted Milk Ganache and Repulled Banana Lollipop
Seth - Whopper Chiffon Cake with Red Hot Coconut Jam and Passion Fruit Vanilla Sorbet
Tim - Orange and Pistachio Parfait with Mascarpone and Cream
Yigit – Strawberries and Cream w/ red licorice
Zac - Chocolate and Sour Cream Ho Ho with Red Hot Cream Cheese Filling

Seth had a hissy fit, telling his colleagues how important it was for him to win to fund some special medical care for his mother. Did he think they were going to roll over and welcome him as the winner of this competition just because he wanted it badly? Get real, Seth! In the Quickfire, he took a risk on use of liquid nitrogen to chill his sorbets and it backfired on him. He was really surly after that.

Elizabeth selected as the Losers’ Group Heather C., Eric and Seth. The Winners’ Group was Heather H., Danielle and Zac. Danielle was the winner and received immunity as a result.

The Elimination Challenge started with an invitation for a drink at Mark Peel’s restaurant Tar Pit in Los Angeles. When Gail Simmons arrived to join them, it was clear that another Top Chef twist was underway. It was the Elimination Challenge to make an unforgettable dish inspired by a cocktail on the spot, drawing numbers to see who got to go behind the bar for 2 minutes to grab alcohols and garnishes (both fruits and vegetables) and spices. As best I could tell, the order of choice was:

1. Eric
2. Erika
3. Danielle
4. Heather C.
5. Yigit
6. Morgan
7. Heather H.
8. Zac
9. Malika
10. Tim
11. Seth

After selection of ingredients, there was an overnight break, the chefs had 3 hours to cook and plate. Final plating was done in staggered groups of 3. The judges were introduced as Gail, Johnny Iuzzini, Hubert Keller, Mark Peel, Elizabeth Faulkner and Mark’s wife Nancy Silverton was observing.

We had another hissy fit from Seth, who is despondent from his poor result in the Quickfire. He is comforted by another male chef, but his general attitude toward his colleagues was still pretty much “**** you,” which he actually said out loud at them.

The created and served dishes were:

Danielle - Lime and Lemon Curd Tart, Toasted Coconut with Rum Sabayon
Eric - Pineapple Bourbon Upside Down Cake
Erika - Margarita Bombe with a Lime Cookie, Tequila Mousse and Grand Marnier Créme Brule
Heather C. - Gingerbread Cake with Rum Caramel Sauce
Heather H. - White Russian Stack
Malika - Blood Orange and Blackberry Mojito Cake with White Chocolate Mousse
Morgan - Cola Spiced Whiskey Cake with Coke Fluid Gel
Seth - Blueberry Gimlet Cake with Lemon and Lime Juice, Juniper Soda
Tim - Basil Pudding with Orange, Kumquat and Lime Granita
Yigit - Campari and Blood Orange Agar Agar with Citrus Vanilla Panna Cotta and Basil Ice Cream
Zac – “Benedictine Bombe” Dark Chocolate Malt Cake w/ Benedictine Crémeux + tuille

Selected comments from the judges on the dishes were:

Erika – subtlety
Danielle – can’t figure out which alcohol is in it
Eric – texture missed
Yigit – fun cocktail; ice cream melted
Heather C. – didn’t come together
Morgan – it gave desirable pops in the mouth
Malika – unsuccessful; can’t taste the blood oranges or the mojito
Seth – couldn’t taste either of 2 gins
Heather H. – way too many components, so complexity did not allow it to come together
Zac – missed placing a tuille on Gail’s plate
Tim – became scrambled eggs and soup

The Winners’ Group was Eric, Erika and Yigit. Erika got the win. The Losers’ Group was Malika, Tim and Seth, all due to inability to make needed adjustments after things had gone wrong. I was surprised to see Tim there as the visual appeal of his dish was striking, so I inferred that its taste would be equally good. Johnny summarized that each of them had resistance to changing their plans when major difficulties hit them. Malika’s dish was way too sweet and she admitted that she should have started over with a different concept.  Tim allowed his granita to turn into soup. Seth was trying to get 11 techniques onto the plate, succeeding in getting 8 on but with disjointed results.

The chef eliminated was Tim. I do not really believe he was the worst, but I think this was one of those rare times when the producers intervened to keep Seth in the mix. Seth appeared to me to be the one going home, but his controversies versus his teammates were attracting good ratings from the conflict. I think that, in the spirit of Mark Burnet on Survivor and Arthur Smith on Hell’s Kitchen, ratings-oriented decisions were made.

ugot2bekidinmeny:
If Seth has another melt down i think he should be asked to leave for unsportsman like conduct! :crybabe:

he's a mix up of a spoiled brat with an easy bake oven that has a broken light bulb!! :lol3:

its hard from a COUCH position to determine who should win this.  and i almost feel like i go into a sugar coma after just  watching!

I love love love top chef and thier producers  but maybe this series just wont  be the icing on the cake for thier spectacular run.
 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page