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Top Chef 9

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TC9, Ep. 4

This episode featured James Beard Award winning chef and owner of Fearing’s of Dallas, Dean Fearing. The focus was on sauces and each of the 13 remaining chefs was assigned by knife draw to this master sauce:

Espagnole (veal or beef stock plus tomato paste, roux, and aromatic vegetables) –
Hollandaise (egg yolks, oil; just before it is served add lemon juice and a little cold water) –
Bechamel (stirring cold milk or cream into a butter-flour mixture called a roux with onion and cloves ) -
Tomate (tomato, chopped garlic cloves, red or white wine, beef or veal stock
Veloute (chicken, veal, or fish stock thickened with white or pale roux)-

Their assignment was to make a variation of their master sauce in 90 minutes. The sauces created were:

Espagnole
Beverly - Sauce w/ Charred Shallots w/ Pepper Corn, Sake, Red Wine, Crab Maki Roll w/ Rib-Eye
Chris J. - Onion Soup w/ Butter Onion Puree
Paul - Quail w/ Pickled and Roasted Honshimeji Mushrooms, Garlic Scapes

Hollandaise
Grayson - Scallop, Charred Corn Sauce w/ Paprika, Corn Ravioli, Blueberry Balsamic Reduction
Lindsay - Charred Scallion w/ Soft Boiled Egg, Creamy Polenta, Pickled Herbs
TyLor - Hollandaise, Ahi Tuna, Bok Choy w/ Sugar Snap Peas

Bechamel
Dakota - Béchamel Infused w/ Peach, Truffle + Lemon Crab + Mushroom Duxelle, Seared Scallop
Edward - Cauliflower Milk Béchamel w/ Poached Red Snapper, Crab, Fried Oyster
Heather - Gruyere Croquette w/ Chinese 5 Spice, Apple Ginger Compote + Asian Slaw

Tomate
Nyesha - Tomate Sauce w/ Coconut and Ras El Hanout Braised Lentils
Whitney - Poached Shrimp, Fennel Pillau, Sauteed Okra, Pancetta

Veloute
Chris C. - Halibut over Mussels, Andouille, Hajimachi Mushrooms, Veloute w/ Mussels, Lemon Puree
Sarah - Shrimp Poached in Veloute, Braised Fennel + Leeks, Bread Crumbs + Fresh Herbs w/ Tarragon + Fennel Tops

Fearing had questions for several chefs on whether had had used a roux or clarified butter. It appeared that he did not like the answers he received. Dean apparently likes sauces thickened with classic roux.

The results of this were that these chefs had inferior sauces: Dakota, Nyesha, Beverly.
The best sauces were by Grayson, Chris J. and Paul. Grayson was the winner and received immunity for the Elimination Challenge.

Elimination Challenge
The group was to cater the Cattle Baron’s Baron, a fund-raising event for the American Cancer Society held at the South Fork Ranch for 200 guests. The chefs had to team up to do 4 courses, plan for 30 minutes, spend $4000 in 30 minutes at Whole Foods, prep in the Top Chef Kitchen at Le Cordon Bleu School in Dallas 3 hours, then cook the next day for 3 more hours at the South Fork kitchen. All steaks were to be served medium rare. The winner would get a 2012 Toyota Venza SUV, quite a valuable prize.

The courses and chefs responsible were:
#1 Soup – Dakota, Beverly, Sarah
#2 Rib-Eye Steak in a Salad –Chris J, Edward, Paul
#3 Sirloin Steak – TyLor, Whitney, Chris C, Nyesha
#4 Dessert – Heather, Lindsay, Grayson

Due to the fact that Heather and Lindsay finished the cake (similar to the Quinceanera cake) during the prep period, they became expeditors responsible for the overall flow and timing of the other courses. TyLor was assigned to work outside in the 112 degree heat at the grill to mark 200 steaks after stabbing his hand and requiring stitches in a local emergency room overnight.  Heather and Lindsay were to time the firing of them for finishing in the oven. This did not go well and many steaks were fired too early and cold when served. Whitney’s potato gratin was also a bit cold.
The actual dishes served at the Cattle Baron’s Ball were:
Course 1 - Tomato-Watermelon Gazpacho, Poached Shrimp, Avocado Mousse
Course 2 - New York Strip Carpaccio, Pistachio Vinaigrette, Mushroom “Bacon”, Red Onion Jam
Course 3 - Grilled Rib Eye, Creamy Potato Gratin, Braised Greens, Thyme Jus
Course 4 - “Right Side Up” Texas Peach Cake, Whipped Mascarpone, Pecan Streusel

The overall response from the judges was that “we expected a lot more from 13 chefs.” One major problem was the lack of coordination on the steaks and another was Whitney’s cold and undercooked potato gratin.

The winner’s group was Chris J., Nyesha and Heather. Heather got the nod and the Venza because her cake was just that special. The loser’s group was TyLor, Whitney and Chris C. Whitney was sent home for her undercooked potato gratin.

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Last Chance Kitchen, Ep. 4

This competition was Whitney vs. Chuy. Tom assigned them lean meat to make a classic American burger. Whitney got elk and Chuy got ostrich. They had what appeared to be 30 minutes to crate and cook. Chuy had to start over on his aioli because his first one broke. A new feature this week was that the past Last Chance Kitchen losers were present to comment and give advice to both chefs. Keith was particularly vocal, while Richie and Andrew were less so. The final composition of the burgers served was:

Chuy – ostrich and ground pork burger (meaning bun, tomato, lettuce) with fresno chili aioli on top and cheddar cheese and bacon on the bottom, onion straws
Whitney – elk with ground pork burger, fried tomato, garlic, shallots, fried egg, black pepper aioli
Tom asked the observers their opinions. Keith said Whitney’s had more flavor. Tom agreed and Whitney was the winner. 

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TC9, Ep. 5

This episode utilizes Tim Love, owner/chef of Lonesome Dove Bistro and a Top Chef Masters 1 competitor. The Quickfire was to use various brands of Don Julio Tequila to create a dish. One wonders how much of a fee for product placement top Chef got from Don Julio. Here are the tequilas used and the dishes created:

Beverly - Reposado  w/Cold-Smoked Green Tea Oyster
Chris C. - Blanco w/Raw Oyster, Tequila Tapioca Pearl and Sea Salt Air 
Chris J. - Blanco w/Pan-Seared Chicken + Lime Vinaigrette
Dakota - 1942 w/Lamb + Medjool Date Pistou
Edward - Anejo w/Bok Choy Lettuce Wrap + Lamb
Grayson – Anejo w/Sesame Cod + Tequila Brown Sugar Glaze
Heather - Reposado w/Mango Avocado Salad + Rock Shrimp
Lindsay - Anejo w/ Salmon + Fennel Puree, Brown Butter Sauce
Nyesha - Anejo w/Beer Battered Soft-shell Crab + Fennel Salad, Basil Passion Fruit Vinaigrette
Paul - Fried Chicken, Yellow Curry, Watermelon, Fish Sauce
Sarah – Blanco w/ Fennel Risotto + Glazed Scallops
Ty-Lor - 1942 w/ Steamed Clams in Thai Style Fish Caramel Sauce

Tim Love judged the worst dishes to be those of Heather (shrimp not properly cooked), Chris J. (chicken dry) and Sarah (risotto not a good clean dish). The best were those of Chris C., Lindsay and Ty-Lor. The prize was $5,000 although there was no immunity (for reasons which will be evident later this episode). The winner was Ty-Lor, who felt redeemed from a bottom end finish the prior episode.

ELIMINATION CHALLENGE
Tim Love invited the chefs to cook a game dinner for some of his friends who are game-oriented chefs. These pairings were done by some osmosis not evident to the viewer:
Ty-Lor/Edward – Quail for Vinny Ditolo, Los Angeles
Heather/Beverly – Duck; based on the very different work styles of these chefs this was not a match made in heaven; I expected fireworks; for John Currence of Oxford MS
Chris C./Lindsay – Boar for Jon Shook of Los Angeles
Dakota/Nyesha – Venison; Dakota claimed that she has cooked venison “thousands of times” for Bryan Caswell? of Houston
Grayson/Chris J. – Elk for Tim Love of Dallas
Sarah/Paul – Squab for Anita Low of New York City

Each pair of chefs would create and cook one course of a 6 course game dinner. Teams started by spending $200 in 30 minutes at Whole Foods. They then had 3 hours to cook at Le Cordon Bleu. The next morning they cooked again on a staggered 90 minute basis at Tim Love’s Lonesome Dove Bistro. Their creations were as follows:

Beverly/Heather - Five-Spice Duck Breast w/ Creamy Polenta and Pickled Cherries
Lindsay/Chris C. - Roasted Wild Boar w/ Kohlrabi Slaw, Farro Fried Rice
Nyesha/Dakota - Roasted Rack of Venison w/ Kobocha Squash, Beet Gratin
Ty-Lor/Edward - Sorghum Quail w/ Pickled Cherries, Eggplant
Chris J./Grayson - Juniper Roasted Elk w/ Sweet Potato and Bouquet of Citrus Greens
Sarah/Paul - Squab Breast and Sausage w/ Nectarine Pickled

The chefs had to cook enough to handle not only the guest judges and 3 regular judges (Hugh, Padma and Tom), but also all of the other 10 competing chefs.

The guest judges and regular judges picked the winning team, which was Ty-Lor (a double win) and Edward. The competing chefs had 15 minutes to select 3 teams for potential elimination. Padma had made it clear that this was a double elimination episode, so 2 chefs would be leaving. Those selections were:

Beverly/Heather – the total dish was “not together”; no surprise there
Dakota/Nyesha – they knew that Dakota had cooked rare venison when it was supposed to be medium rare; would they walk the plank?
Grayson/Chris J. – no reason given, but they were under the gun to pick some team
Tom stated later that he felt that these were the right 3 teams to be in the figurative hot seat. He also stated that the venison was undercooked.

Heather did not wish to be judged as a team with someone who she clearly despised based on work ethic and style (during the cooking period Beverly had again attempted to hog all the stovetop space until Heather ordered her to cut it out). To me showing disunity before the judges was pure folly, but Heather did not care. She went ahead and lambasted Beverly to make the judges know that Heather might feel responsibility for some of the errors made, but she only wanted to go down by herself. Tom stated to the other judges once the teams had gone back to the stew room that they should judge on the quality of the food they ate and not on the personality conflicts of the chefs.

We came to the final phase of Judges’ Table. Beverly and Heather were criticized heavily for the disunity of their team reflecting in the disunity of the dish they presented.
Nyesha and Dakota were criticized for the undercooked venison once again. Grayson and Chris go off with minor criticism, reflecting no doubt the reality that calling half of the group as Losers was a poor idea to begin with.

Dakota/Nyesha were eliminated. I felt that was the right decision from the end of the eating period.

Next episode Top Chef 9 moves again to Austin.

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Last Chance Kitchen, Ep. 5

This involves a 3-way contest between Nyesha, Dakota and Whitney. The challenge was to use cactus as a main ingredient and use only a wok for 30 minutes cooking. Nyesha is going Asian with her dish. Here are the dishes prepared and presented:

Whitney – cactus +m chicken fried rice w/ sriracha and soy sauce
Nyesha – Asian style scallops, prickly pear garnish, cilantro, Thai basil
Dakota – shrimp tostada w/ watermelon, prickly pear shooter

Tom sampled and made his decision. He then invited the 4 previously eliminated chefs (all male) to sample and comment. They all had fairly equivocal comments. Tom stated that his favorite dish was Nyesha’s. As she had pretty much caused Nyesha’s elimination, Dakota was very pleased Nyesha was getting another chance.

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Top Chef 9, Ep. 6

Padma started this episode with a “pack your bags; we’re moving on to Austin,” the third and last of the host cities for TC9. When the 10 remaining chefs arrived they checked into the Cattle Baton Suite at the Driskill Hotel. Then they went to the cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts where Tom Colicchio was waiting. The challenge was simple and a bit flaky: respond to avant garde Twitter technology by showing your adaptability. Tam and Padma read incoming Tweets from a selected group of Top Chef fans (who presumably were not told what was happening) and they picked a few ideas for use by the chefs. The first idea was to showcase bacon, the second was to add in hash (usually not a good combination with pork) and the third was to pick any ingredient and give it to another chef to use in his/her dish. Edward was given sriracha sauce and he was not thrilled about that. They had 45 minutes to cook.

The judging was by Tom and Padma for $10,000 but no immunity. Here were the dishes prepared and presented:

Beverly-Crispy Pork Belly w/Corn, Bell Pepper, Habanero, Potato Hash (pressure cooked)
Chris C. - Bacon-Wrapped Monkfish w/ Potato, Leek, Bacon Hash
Chris J. - Corn Pure w/ Bacon, Potato Hash, Seared Scallop
Edward - Potato Hash w/ Bacon and Soft Shell Crab Deglazed in Sriracha
Grayson - Shrimp Puff w/ Crispy Bacon Hash Cake
Heather - Smoked Paprika Quail w/ Bacon Jam, Leek Hash
Lindsay - Crispy Soft Shell Crab, Sweet Corn and Bacon Fat Hash, Pickled Okra
Paul – Bacon Fat, Crispy Bacon, Blackberries, Chorizo, Mushroom Hash
Sarah - Pork Sausage Stuffed Cabbage and Spinach w/ Browned Butter
Ty-Lor – Maple-Glazed Bacon w/ Bacon and Kale Hash

The Losers’ Group consisted of Grayson (not enough bacon), Chris J. (salty) and Ed (burned hash and too bitter). The Winners’ Group was Beverly, Sarah and Paul. Paul won the $10,000, giving him a total of $30,000 in 6 episodes. Not too shabby for him!

Elimination Challenge
The Elimination Challenge started when the chefs were relaxing at a bar and the pianist introduced Patti LaBelle (now, what would she be doing with her famous voice singing for maybe 30 people in a bar in Austin?). Nobody seemed to catch on until Padma came out from behind the curtain and announced that Patti is a cookbook author and would be a Guest Judge along with 2 of her friends. The task was for each chef to identify their culinary inspiration and create a menu to honor that individual (this type of challenge usually comes later in a top Chef season).  The chefs had the usual 30 minutes and $200 to shop for their meal preparation. Then they had 2 hours to cook.

Here is what they chose:
Beverly - - Korean Braised Short Rib w/ Edamame Scallion Puree, Hon Shimeji Mushrooms
Chris C. - Sockeye Salmon w/ Confit Potato and Brown Sugar Carrot Puree
Chris J. - Lemon-Pepper Steak w/ Baked Potato, Vegetables
Edward - Modern Bibimbap (the only vegetarian dish) w/ Lemon-Chili Sauce
Grayson - Grilled Rib Eye Steak (12oz., what was she thinking?) w/ German Potato Salad, Grilled Vegetables
Heather - Beef Stroganoff w/ Herb Spaetzle, Roasted Wild Mushrooms
Lindsay - Trout Spanakopita w/ Crispy Leeks and Rainbow Trout Roe
Paul - Quail Adobo and Ginger Rice w/ Green Mango Salsa
Sarah - Burrata Stuffed Squash Blossom w/ Bacon, Zucchini Hash
Ty-Lor – Duck Fat-Fried Chicken Tender w/ Pickled Peaches 

The judges made several comments while dining on staggered groups of 2 meals:
Chris J. – salmon albumen (which he knew was a problem but could not fix) disgusting
Chris C. – steak overcooked, far too much dill
Grayson – cut of meat was stringy, not tasty
Heather – dumplings dried out, meat grisly
Edward – Emeril loved his bibimbap
Lindsay – Emeril and Padma said the roe was great
Sarah – good dish
Ty-Lor – very good dish

The first 3 called in were Heather, Chris C. and Grayson. It appeared to me that, unlike the usual practice and to keep the chefs off balance, this would be the Losers’ Group. It was. Grayson was criticized for trying to copy her father’s recipe too closely and not adapting it to a generation later. Chris C. overseared his steak, so the judges were critical. Heather also overcooked her dumplings and her stroganoff was difficult to eat, as she had not used a pressure cooker to tenderize it and was only braising it.

The Winners’ Group was Beverly, Sarah and Edward. Emeril praised Beverly for “showing lots of technique.” Sarah was praised for her beautiful and tasty dish. Edward was praised for another beautiful dish with particularly tasty mushrooms.  Sarah got the nod from the judges.

When the Judges’ Table came back to the Losers’ Group, the phrase “lack of imagination” was tagged onto Grayson. The negatives about Chris C. did not appear to be serious enough for him to be eliminated. Both Heather and Grayson were in trouble as a result of their selection of cuts of meat. Heather was the one eliminated.

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