Other Great Reality Shows > Other Reality TV Shows & News

Around the World in 80 Plates

<< < (3/3)

coolio:
I don't think Liz will win, but I hope she beats the odds. I love a good underdog.

apskip:
The first part of the course is by taxi to a glass-bottomed gondola to Tian Tin Buddha.  There they must climb many stairs but first Avery chose the girls (Red team) to join and their opponents were the male Black team. Nookie was slow up the steps but he got rolling with the next clue. All had to find the wet market and a specific tiny shop (Wah Hing Hong Shop) there. The guys were faster at finding an English speaking person who volunteered her friend as guide. That helps immensely until they ran into the Red team and the black team’s lead vanished as the Nicole, Avery and Liz followed them to the shop. One from each team (Nicole vs. Nookie) had to tie up 10 hairy crabs. The next leg of the course was to find the Peking Garden restaurant and make 7 circular steam trays of about 12 dumplings each. Nicole insists she is superior at this, so Avery had to sit out. The Black team won by finishing 7 trays versus 6 at that time for Red. Black ran the short distance to where Cat and Curtis waited. Black won the exceptional ingredient but I did not hear about money. The exceptional ingredient was one hour with a chef at the restaurant where the challenge would be. The challenge was for each chef to do one course of a 5 course menu as individuals and one to double as Front of the House. The best dish would win its owner MVC.
Next all 5 were invited to sit down with the “X-Treme Chinese” cuisine self-nominated Demon Chef (although his negative behavior toward his staff should not be on television) Alvin Leung for examples of his molecular gastronomy skills. A Bo Innovation sous chef David Yu then provided a one hour private class to Nookie, which he gladly accepted when John wanted to just use the time on his own without any assistance and was done by the time the women arrived. Curtis later provided examples of what John could have used the time for but did not think of.

The dishes planned by each chef were:
Nookie – oyster with a spherification of vinegar
Liz bet that Asians would love pork pot pie; they didn’t
John’s overcooked scallops wonton with melted edible lime snow
Nicole did a smoked duck breast with squid noodles and green tea; viewed by Cat as “totally safe, no risk”
Avery did Mango Coulis, Ginger Cookie with Lemongrass-Coconut Sphere.

So the train wrecks were from Liz and John, although that did not mean they would be going home. Avery was named Most Valuable Chef by Curtis and Cat. The other 4 had to decide the person leaving. John nominated Nicole. Nicole nominated John, so that left it in the hands of Nookie and Liz.  Nookie stated that he was voting for Nicole’s elimination as payback for what happened to a more worthy chef (I think this was Nick) earlier in the competition. Liz also voted for Nicole and Nicole was out of the competition.

apskip:
Teams had to be reconfigured as the initial order of business. Avery selected Nookie as her partner. Teams flew to Buenos Aires.

The chefs have to take a taxi to the Rincon Norteno Empanada Shop. There, they have to make and sell 80 empanadas to the locals. This was done in batches of 16 each, except that Liz screwed up and botched a batch. Nookie and Avery had the lead in selling empanadas in Parque Rivadavia and sell 150 pesos worth of empanadas. Nookie and Avery got off to a slow start, selling each empanada for $5. This is mostly due to the fact that Avery is poor at arithmetic. Liz very astutely says that her team could sell two for $5 and still have enough. Although this might have paid off for them, it didn't. Nookie and Avery still won. After selling their empanadas, the chefs had to find Cat and Curtis at Puerto Madero. Although John and Liz are the more athletic pair, Nookie and Avery still win despite their tedious subway ride.

The main challenge had the chefs serving a family-style Argentinian meal at La Tranquera. Nookie and Avery won the Exceptional Ingredient and got time to see how to properly grill meat Argentinian-style. This included goat, which Avery then takes on as her dish. Nookie went with a skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, which sounds like Argentinian food for dummies to me. Liz tried to redeem herself from earlier by making chorizo and corn empanadas. John made a vegetable dish. The actual menus were:

Avery - Roasted Goat with Chimichurri and Roasted Red Pepper Salsa
John - Roasted Vegetables with Provolone Cheese and Eggplant Puree
Liz - Corn and Chorizo Empanadas with Watercress Salad
Nookie - Skirt Steak with Grilled Onions and Chimichurri

Liz She won Most Valuable Chef.

apskip:
This episode was the finale for this show. Nookie, Liz and Avery boarded a ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, probably the most popular ferry crossing between and Uruguay. On arrival they received their course, to find ingredients for and cook a traditional Uruquayan meal in 2 hours. Their shopping led to selection of these ingredients:

Nookie – onion marmalade, chorizo, arugula
Liz – grilled steak with sausage, caramelized onions, and arugula.
Avery – chicken (she wanted seafood but could not find it), white wine, arugula

The finalists finished the course at a restaurant on Paseo de los Angelos. There they found Cat and Curtis, who were the judges of this meal. During the cooking, Liz asked Nookie for salt. Nookie had ample excess salt, but he refused her request. The meals simply matched the ingredients. What can you do in 2 hours total?

Avery was selected as the winner and given the right to choose her final opponent for the final cookoff back in Los Angeles at Wolfgang Puck’s RED 7 restaurant. She chose Liz, primarily due to Nookie’s lack of integrity over the salt issue. Liz and Avery had to go to specific stores. Waiting were some of the earlier eliminated chefs who she could select to help. Avery took Nick. Liz took John. Then there was a second round. Avery picked Jenna.  Liz picked Chaz.

There was 3 hours to cook 3 courses that reflected the cuisines of 3 countries visited.
Avery started her meal with the papaya salad with coconut and shrimp from Thailand, then moved on to an apparently perfectly-cooked beef dish with chimichurri and finished with Moroccan mint tea and sliced pears. Liz’s  Thai beef salad on crispy rice was voted best overall dish. Next were Italian mushroom-braised chicken with kale and Argentina’s vanilla custard and orange empanada, but that custard did not set up. 

Then some of the most renowned chefs in the Los Angeles area began showing up to be judges, including:
Wolfgang Puck
Josiah Citrin
Brendan Collins and Carolos Tomazos from Waterloo & City

All the votes were tallied and Curtis announced that 4 votes had separated the two chefs. The winner of $150,000 and a new car was Avery.

This turned out to be a travelogue with a high level (above Top Chef and below Top Chef Masters) of cooking skill. I did not like the “game of strategy” part of competitors voting out other competitors. I wanted to see Curtis and Cat working harder as judges.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page