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Top Chef 9

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kiki:
OMG, apskip I can't believe that you could keep track of all those names. I was quite lost with all the faces. A great recap as always.

As a whole I liked the episode. I think that there are some good chefs among them. I would definitely eat a lot of the dishes presented.

Just one observation: Hugh Atchinson will be one of the judges this season and one of the contestants, Whitney, who was in the 2nd group and qualified for the top16, said that she is his protege. How objective is that?

ZBC Company:
keith it my favorite i think he form my mom birth place

apskip:
ZBC,

You might be surprised to learn that Keith with his North Carolina coastal roots and broad experience is my favorite too based on group 1 and Group 2! I don't know what chef talent Group 3 will have.

I am not fond of Hugh Acheson from his Top Chef Masters 3 stint. I want to see plenty of Emeril and little of Hugh, but it will probably be the reverse.

apskip:
TC9, Qualifying Round, part 2

Hugh Acheson joined the judging team. There were 10 chefs left to be evaluated. The challenge was one of the most interesting ever on top Chef. Each chef had to pick one of 10 ingredients on a large table. Attached to the tray holding each item was something they could not see. It proved to be a clock with the minutes ticking down. 3 chefs had an ingredient with a 20 time limit, 4 had an ingredient with a 40 minute time limit and 4 had 60 minute time limit ingredients. The choices were:

20 Minutes
Paul – trout
Andrew – mushrooms
Kim – lamb

40 Minutes
Jonathan – Brussels Sprouts
Chaz – rice
Laurent – duck
Berenice – short ribs

60 Minutes
Ashley - oxtails
Lindsay – veal
Beverly – octopus

Each sub-group was judged immediately after cooking, except that Chaz had failed to plate any risotto so he could not be evaluated and was eliminated on the spot. Edward cut himself badly and lost time while the medic almost immobilized it. The dishes created and presented were:

Paul – Trout with Southeast Asian Tomato Salad
Andrew – Roasted Mushrooms with Brown Butter Vinaigrette, Crispy Spinach, and Poached Egg
Kim – Lamb Chop with Kalamata Olives and Arugula
Jonathan – Brussels Sprouts with Tomato Sofrito and Hazelnut Gremolata
Chaz – risotto
Laurent – duck with lemon yuzu curd and arugula
Berenice – Asian Style Short Rib with Cabbage Slaw

Ashley – Braised Oxtail "Kare Kare"
Lindsay – Braised Veal, Creamy Polenta, Warm Salad, Charred Pickled Carrots
Beverly - Korean Style Octopus "Nakji Bokum

The judges’ results for each dish were:
Paul – OUT
Andrew – On the Bubble
Kim – OUT
Jonathan – IN
Chaz – not scored and OUT
Laurent – On the Bubble
Berenice – OUT
Ashley – OUT
Lindsay – IN
Beverly - IN

Simple counting reveals that 14 of the 16 places were not filled, with 2 left for the On the Bubble chefs to compete for. A cook-off ensued with 45 minutes to “take any ingredients in the kitchen and cook anything you want.” Each one had a 1/3 chance of making it into the final grouping.

Here were the primary ingredients chosen for this:
Molly – shrimp
Laurent – scallops
Edward – duck
Grayson – shrimp and polenta
Janine – scallop and shrimp
Andrew – mussels

The dishes created and presented were:
Molly – Jumbo Stuffed Prawn, Mousseline of Shrimp w/ Soy Glazed Watermelon + Rice
Laurent – Scallop Two Ways: Tartare, Seared on a Bed of Fennel w/ Saffron
Edward – Duck w/ BBQ Sauce, Sweet Asian Custard
Grayson – Polenta with Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Port Wine Fig Sauce
Janine – Seared Scallop w/ Baby Clams, Bacon, Corn, Watermelon Garnish
Andrew – Mussels w/ Sherry, Fregula, Charred Corn Panna Cotta, Shrimp

The feedback from the judges was sometimes brutal, but the heavyweights were leading it with Hugh and Padma being mostly silent. Tom stated that Molly’s shrimp were overcooked. Emeril loved Grayson’s dish, although he found the inclusion of pannacotta strange. Emeril also loved Edward’s dish. Tom stated that Andrew had extraordinary mussels but should have stopped there; the rest of his dish was negative in its impact. Janine did not tie her components together well. Tom’s said that Laurent’s scallop dish was gray and unappetizing.

After an apparently long caucus, the judges came back with the decisions. Edward, based mostly on the success of his moo shu pork, was IN. Molly, Laurent and Andrew were OUT. It was down to Grayson vs. Janine for the 16th spot and Grayson was IN.

apskip:
“Last Chance Kitchen”, round 1

This is a new Top Chef innovation that takes what Survivor has been doing with its Redemption Island and applying it to the chefs eliminated each round. The first implementation of Last chance Kitchen was with the 2 highest rated chefs eliminated from the “On the Bubble” cookoff. That was Janine and Andrew. They went into an empty kitchen with Tom Colicchio to respond to this challenge: crate a delicious pizza in 30 minutes. The ingredients used were:
Andrew’ Mediterranean Pizza – salsa verde, anchovies, capers, fried calamari, arugula, grilled calamari
Janine’s Fig Pizza – figs, parmesan, asiago, sopressata, black garlic, balsamic vinaigrette drizzle, arugula

Andrew was judged the winner and stays alive despite tom’s preference for some olive oil drizzle on his Mediterranean pizza. Janine has lost 3 times and there is no further recourse for her. The winner of Last Chance Kitchen from the prior episode will get to compete against the newly eliminated chef. Whoever emerges alive from 13 episodes of this competition will be allowed into the finals.
 
Last chance Kitchen is available only on-line through www.bravotv.com. I recommend it.

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