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Top Chef 9

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Last-Chance Kitchen Ep. 8

The challenge was to utilize a sous-chef to cook a pastry in 30 minutes. Nyesha chose Heather as her sous chef. Ty-Lor went with Chris Crary. The dishes created were:
Nyesha – Coconut and Lime Tart with Coconut Crème Fraiche Mousse and Caramel Sauce
Ty-Lor - Puff Pastry with Park Chocolate Mascarpone Cream, Vanilla Bean Rum Cherries and Caramel Sauce

Tom found mistakes in the mascarpone, so he awarded her fourth consecutive victory to Nyesha.

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Top Chef 9, Ep. 9

One thing I believed would happen before this episode finished was the elimination of a female chef to even the male/female ratio at 3 to 3.

The Quickfire used as Guest Judge the venerable Eric Ripert. It was a difficult challenge that tested the chefs’ abilities to make quick decisions. A fast-moving conveyor belt delivered a constantly changing array of ingredients. Eric Ripert stated that there was a basic tradeoff, since the best ingredients would arrive relatively late and delaying cooking may not be the best approach. Some chefs “waited for it” and some did not. The chefs had 30 minutes to select and cook. Each chef had to use 3 ingredients to make a sophisticated dish:

Beverly – Sockeye Salmon, tofu, curried Rice Krispies
Chris J. – Lobster, Foie Gras, vanilla
Edward - Sauerkraut, Shrimp, Black Truffle, macadamia nuts
Grayson – Dover Sole, Goldfish, grapefruit
Lindsay – fish, clams, pernod
Paul – mussels, bitter melon, saffron
Sarah – Soft-Shell Crabs, Cottage Cheese, artichokes

Beverly – Glazed Sockeye Salmon and Black Eyed-Peas, without the Rice Krispies left off due to the clock
Chris J. - Butter Poached Lobster with Foie Gras
Edward – Sauerkraut Soup, Shrimp with Shaved Truffle
Grayson – Butter Poached Dover Sole w/ Goldfish, Rosemary
Lindsay – Bouillabaisse in Fennel-Pernod Broth
Paul – Mussels in Ginger + Bitter Melon Broth
Sarah – Fried Soft-Shell Crab w/ Cottage Cheese Sauce

Ripert rated these dishes in the Worst category: Chris J. (it did not come together), Grayson, Paul. He rated as Best before her disqualification for a rules violation Beverly’s dish. That meant that between Lindsay and Sarah Lindsay was the winner of immunity for the Elimination Challenge.

Elimination Challenge
The task was a gothic feast for a dark queen demanding indulgence and risk taking. The chefs had 2 hours to create one dish out of a 7 course menu for a dark Queen, specifically the only being played by actress Charlize Theron in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman. She arrived to be another Guest Judge with Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Emeril Lagasse and Eric Ripert. The chefs felt totally inspired cooing for an A-list actress who is also a foodie.

Each chef went to Whole Foods to spend $250 in 30 minutes. Paul’s dish started with 14 components even though he lost 2 during the cooking process. The dishes created and presented were:
Beverly – Seared Halibut with Red Curry Coulis and Forbidden Rice
Chris J. - Poisoned Apple and Cherry Pie
Edward – Tuna Tartare w/ Black Garlic Ponzu, Asian Pear Vinaigrette
Grayson – Black Chicken w/ Beets, Quail Egg, Foie Gras
Lindsay – Seared Scallop over "Witch’s Stew” (short ribs), Dragon Beans
Paul – "enchanted forest" of foie gras, bacon, beets, strawberries and pickled jalapenos, plus a bloody handprint on the middle of the plate
Sarah – Amarone (red wine) Risotto w/spiced Lamb Heart

The comments of the diners were really positive for all chefs:
Edward – sauce excellent, tartare very good, perfect manifestation of good vs. evil
Paul – beautiful and scary
Beverly – forbidden rice great, fish cooked perfectly
Lindsay – scallops were perfection
Sarah – flavorful
Grayson – vinegar for beets perfect
Chris J. – center of his pie was perfectly cooked but moist
So all the chefs had dishes that were way above average in quality. Who would win and who would lose? Paul’s dish was judged to be best, so he won a trip for 2 to the premier of Snow White and the Huntsman. Lindsay, Edward and Chris J. were all excused for exemplary performance. The group of just really good performances was Beverly, Sarah and Grayson. In spite of being told that her rice was perfect and her fish perfect, Beverly’s dish had sticky sauces. Sarah’s risotto was overcooked. Grayson had greens oversalted and with foie gras disconnected from the rest of the dish. Beverly was eliminated.

Did you notice that this takes the male to female chef ratio to 3:3 as I expected.


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Last Chance Kitchen Ep. 9

This pitted reigning champion Nyesha against Beverly. The challenge started off as a simple “go get all your ingredients and cooking implements in one pass because you will not get another chance” with black drum as the fish to cook in 30- minutes. Tom asked the peanut gallery of fully eliminated chefs (most of whom had lost to Nyesha) who they thought would win and it appeared unanimous for Nyesha. Both Nyesha and Beverly expressed self-confidence. However, a short time after starting Tom called for a twist, to have each chef switch stations, leaving everything behind. So Beverly was cooking with Nyesha’s original ingredients and Nyesha with Beverly’s. These are the dishes created and presented:

Beverly – seared black drum w/ oranges, fennel, black olives

Nyesha – seared black drum w/ julienne of tri-pepper, slaw, pineapple chutney

Tom asked Nyesha if Beverly’s finished dish was “what Nyesha had had in mine?” She replied no. Tom stated that the pineapple chutney was superb. However, Nyesha’s dish was slightly underseasoned. Victory went to Beverly.

DavidJunior:
Was personally a little sad that Beverly got eliminated, although she was pretty inconsistent and a little haphazard

And I was really sad to see her beat Nyesha, I wanted to see her make it back in the competition, but as they always say, pride comes before the fall, and Nyesha was a little over-confident going into this last chance kitchen

TexasLady:
I haven't liked the way Beverly has been treated, there's been no respect for her at all. Every year there is someone who is disregarded and not given a voice, this was/is her year. I know the answer is to speak up and make your self heard. Right! Never happens. I am surprised that she beat Nyesha in the Last Chance challenge.

I've been trying to figure out why this season hasn't been as good for me. It's not the quality of the chefs, I think it's because so many of the scenes are in dark places, like the Driskill hotel and some of the other dining rooms, not to mention the last challenge. I also felt bad for them having to cook out doors because we not only had a major drought but 100º + heat when this was filmed.

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