Episode 7

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We come into Week 7 with Massimo walking away after getting a huge upset win. Vinny is dissapointed with his performance and he has been struggling the past few weeks. Tristen reminds him that he needs to cook his own food and everything will work out. This is good advice, I'm interested to see how Vinny responds or he could be going home. 

 

For this week's Quickfire Challenge the chefs will each choose dirty dishes, then use the meal that created the dirt dish to create a new dish.

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Massimo - impressed that he made it in 30 minutes

Henry - was unique and nostalgic

Tristen - loved the creativity and rice cooked perfectly

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Paula - loved the ricotta but the lasagna fell apart

Bailey - didn't get any guacamole from the dish

Cesar - coffee and salmon wasn't a great pairing

 

Henry wins his first QF of the season!

 

The first ever Top Chef Pizza Party is happening! This week's Elimination Challenge will have the chefs create their own pizza that pushes the limits. This will be an individual challenge, which is the first of the season. The winner of the challenge will get the last immunity of the season. This will bring out the competitive edge in the chefs. We'll start to really see who wants it. Tough challenge though as it seems simple but will require a lot of nuance. At the end of the shop a lot of the chefs seem to be close to their spend limit and have to make some decisions on what to keep. Hopefully this doesn't affect anyone's dish. 

 

The first difficult part of this challenge is that you have to make your own dough. This will make things tough for everyone as the dough makes or breaks the pizza. Henry forgets some of his flour and needs to borrow some from another chef. Cesar is adding coco to his dough to give it more flavor, this is a good technique to keep things interesting. Paula is using a technique for her dough that she's never done before. Definitely a risk based on her performances recently. After the first round of prep, the chefs head off to see Niagara Falls! 

 

Upon the start of their second prep, Henry's dough did not come out properly and he is going to have to pivot and use rice. Shuai's dish required a lot of knife work.  This could be great for presentation but will absolutely be a time suck in the kitchen. Cesar's dough didn't come out correctly and his test pizza sticks to the oven. He adds more flour but may not be able to save it. Vinny feels super comfortable making his pizza as he does it at home. He decides to par cook them and then finish it off at the end. This is a great strategy! Feels like Vinny could bounce back this week. Bailey is stressed out about how much pizza she has to make. The chefs will also have multiple cook options - whether indoor or outdoor. Good twist as based on capacity and timing they may not be able to use the same oven every time. 

 

Shuai - Scallion pancake pizza with cumin szechuan lamb, mozzarella & tiger salad

Judges Feedback: bright, fresh, liked the texture of the pancake, played to his strengths

 

Tristen - Lahmajun pizza with lamb, anchovy ranch & pickled grapes

Judges Feedback: great job, more of a flatbread but had spicy, tang, great flavor, LOVED his anchovy ranch

 

Lana - Honeynut squash sauce pizza with tamarind bbq oxtails, buttermilk dressing & plantain chips 

Judges Feedback: overall baked pretty well, was too dry, good concept but not great execution

 

Tristen wins this round with Lana coming in last. 

 

Henry - Pho rice pizza with pho marinated brisket, herb pesto & hoisin sriracha aioli

Judges Feedback: liked the flavor profiles, but it's falling apart, not enough pho flavor

 

Cesar - Mole negro pizza with chicken thights, black bean salsa & crispy chicken skin

Judges Feedback: too burnt because of the coco powder, liked the sauce but too much up

 

Bailey - Chicken parmesan pizza with tigelle bread, chicken thigh sausage, provolone, parmesan & pecorino

Judges Feedback: undercooked, way to grainy with cornmeal on the bottom

 

This was not a great round but I think Bailey was the most successful out of the three. 

 

Massimo - Napoletana style pizza with fermented parsley paste, potatoes, mussels & clams

Judges Feedback: light crust, dough was right, liked the dish

 

Paula - Pineapple braised pork pizza with caramelized onions, chimichurri & mornay sauce

Judges Feedback: dough was too soft, was a little under, too much stuff on it but the pork was good

 

Vinny - Reuben pizza with pickle, sauerkraut, thousand island whipped ricotta & gruyere cheese

Judges Feedback: zero flaw, super fun, tasted like a Reuben

 

Vinny seems like the clear winner of this round with Paula at the bottom. He could be the winner overall based on the judges feedback alone.

 

Top Table

 

Tristen

Shuai 

Vinny

 

VERY HARD to determine the winner from the judges feedback but Tristen wins third EC in fourth weeks including the last immunity of the season going into what will probably be Restaurant Wars. 

 

Bottom Table

 

Henry

Paula

Cesar

 

Henry had too many obstacles to overcome and is eliminated. At least he's leaving with some cash in his pocket from the QF win. 

 

In League News, lots of points this week. I forgot to send out my reminder to submit picks and we had 4 teams not submit this week. That gave way to a lot of opportunities for movement across the board. With the field slimming own we'll start to see more points across the board. This week 5 teams received double digit points. Team Leshner is absolutely on fire with another banger of a week coming in at 14 points. This puts them at 60 total points and definitively in the lead. They are 18 points ahead of Team Becca/Scott who had 11 points this week. Team Reuben/Liz fall to third after missing their picks this week. Team Gaskin/Waldfogel get this first double digit points of the season with 15 to maintain 4th place. 

 

Next week will be Restaurant Wars, so the last week that we submit picks publicly AND the official mid way point of the season. 

 

GET THOSE PICKS IN!

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Episode 6

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Going into this week there hasn't been much consistency with the competition results outside of Tristen. This season he has been in the Top Table 5 of the 6 weeks, winning twice. Nobody has performed as consistently as him this season and he's definitely the current front runner for Top Chef. With 10 chefs left it will be interesting to see who is going to start dropping off. Of the 10 chefs left, 8 of them have been in a bottom table with  Tristen and Katianna being the exception.

 

For this week's Quickfire Challenge the chefs will have to create a dish using ingredients based on their Chipotle order from earlier in the week. I really think that this is a creative challenge. It's funny to see the chefs go back and think of what they ordered and how it's going to bite them this week. Shuai decides to cook something Asian despite having Mexican ingredients. Tristen also takes this strategy creating a West African tar tar. Good game play from both of them and hopefully will help them stand out. 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Massimo - chicken cooked perfectly

Cesar - appreciated the presentation, liked the chared avocado

Paul - sauteed of the pork and chili flavor was good

Tristen - felt liked the most remixed dish

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Vinny - could have been cripier and more flavor

Henry - very basic 

Shuai - liked the fat but the rice was not cooked properly

 

Tristen wins the QF! He is on fire right now adding a second QF win to his resume. 

 

The chefs are joined by TC Wisconsin Winner Danny Garcia, who has worked with Vinny before, for this weeks Elimination Challenge. The chefs will have to work in teams of 5 to create a 5 course progressive pickle menu with each course focused on a different pickle

 

Round 1: Cornichons

Round 2: Full Sour Pickles

Round 3: Dill Pickles

Round 4: Spicy Pickles

Round 5: Bread & Butter Pickles

 

Since Tristen and Bailey have immunity, they are team captains and pick their own teams. This felt like a ruthless team picking, even Kristen commented on it. Massimo is shocked as he is picked last. 

 

Team Tristen

 

Katianna

Shuai

Cesar

Henry

 

Team Bailey

 

Lana

Paula

Vinny

Massimo

 

Looking at these teams, Tristen's team really looks stronger overall. Only Tristen and Katianna have not been in the Bottom Table and they have the more consistent chefs. The other team, while led by Bailey who is on fire, has Massimo and Paula who have both had issues working together already. Vinny also has not been performing as strongly this season being on the bottom last week and the least favorite QF dish this week. 

 

With 15 minutes to game plan their menu there are no real controversies except that Cesar wants to make a dessert. Tristen isn't sure about that move but trusts Cesar to do something creative. Tristen has nothing to worry about though since he has immunity. The chefs head to the Top Chef kitchen to begin their prep and there are no real issues during this period. 

 

We see Massimo show his vulnerable side as he discusses her family and his issues with ego. This isn't helped when while finishing his dish, Massimo decides to try to boil potatoes and catches the kitchen on fire. Everyone then comments on what a rookie move that was. Not a good sign for him. 

 

Each winning dish will get a point, so there will be a clear winning team and losing team. The judges vote and explain their reasoning in front of the chefs.  

 

Round 1: Cornichons

 

Shuai - Fried pickled mushroom, steak tartare & dijonnaise

 

Massimo - Fried pickled cannolo with l'express steak tartare

 

6-2 Massimo wins. 

 

Team Tristen: 0

Team Bailey: 1

 

Round 2: Full Sour Pickles

 

Tristen - Charred mackerel, celery root vichyssoise, cucmber & celeriac pickle jus lie, burnt pickles

 

Vinny - Pickled brined salmon rillettes, pickling spice gnocco fritto, pickled ginger, cucumber & shallot

 

Tristen takes the full sweep. 

 

Team Tristen: 1

Team Bailey: 1

 

Round 3: Dill Pickles

 

Katianna - Roasted dilly cucmbers, dill pickle & clam vinaigrette, pickle brined poached potatoes & cucumber seed porridge

 

Lana - Dill pickle seared scallop, grilled pickle relish, dill pickle beurre blanc & fried capers

 

7 - 1 Lana wins.

 

Team Tristen: 1

Team Bailey: 2

 

This next round could be the determining dish for Team Bailey and Shuai accidentally throws away Henry's mise en place. This could be the nail in the coffin for them unless Henry can pivot. All of his pickled garnishes are gone. 

 

Round 4: Spicy Pickles

 

Henry - Bulgogi braised short rib, fermented collard greens & spicy pickle foam

 

Paula - Grilled octopus, spicy pickle chimichurri, braised pickled beets & serrano peppers

 

7-1 Paula wins and secures the win for Team Bailey. They liked Henry's dish but it didn't have enough pickle flavor. 

 

Team Tristen: 1

Team Bailey: 3

 

Round 5: Bread & Butter Pickles

 

Cesar - B&b pickle curd tart & dill ice cream with b&b pickle gastrique

 

Bailey - Ricotta filled pasta with pickled red wine beer ragu, b&b giardiniera, parmesan fonduta

 

Clean sweep Cesar wins this round. 

 

Team Tristen: 2

Team Bailey: 3

 

Shuai really sunk the team on this challenge, we'll see how they'll decide who goes home. 

 

Top Table

 

Lana

Massimo

Paula

 

Massimo takes his first win of the season and is our 6th different EC winner of the season.

 

Bottom Table

 

Henry

Katianna

Shuai

 

Katianna goes home and her streak of being on the bottom table ends with the worst case scenario.

 

In league news, Team Gaskin/Waldfogel was the only team that chose Massimo for their Top Table and they were rewarded for it. They led the week with 15 points which propelled them from 8th place to 4th. Despite Team Becca/Scott not getting their picks in this week they are able to hold 3rd place with Team Leshner still in 1st and Team Reuben/Liz in second. 7 people picked Katianna so a lot of single digit and negative points for the 8 teams who submitted picks. 

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Episode 5

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This weeks episode starts with the looming return of a Last Chance Kitchen winner coming back to the competition. Zubair, who was eliminated last episode, goes right into LCK to face Bailey who is the current champion. Meanwhile, in the stew room Shuai reflects on his rough challenge and talks about his mental state leading into this week. 

 

As the remaining chefs wait in the stew room, Gail and Kriten arrive to meet the chefs. They announce that there is no Quickfire Challenge this week. Since there is no QF, the chefs will get to visit some of Toronto's most ethnic neighborhoods to experience the food and work in the kitchens. To determine where they will be working, the chefs draw knives. Tristen gets first pick since he won the last EC, chefs with matching knives are on teams. After all the knives are picked Tristen does not have a partner, he will work with the winner of LCK. This team cannot be eliminated as since Tristen won the EC last week and the LCK winner has only just returned. Kristen then announces that it will be a double elimination and a whole team would be going home. 

 

This week's Elimination Challenge has the chefs, in teams of two, creating a dish inspired by Toronto's different cultures. They will have $1,000 to shop and then serve the judges plus 150 guests. This is the first catering challenge they have gotten this season and it's a great way to get a glimpse into the chefs game play. These are usually the challenges where you have to strategize and win. What can you produce well and consistently without a loss in quality or product throughout the day. 

 

Once the chefs return home, it's revealed that Bailey has won the first round of LCK and will return to compete with Tristen. Bailey feels like after competing in LCK that her confidence is back. Many of the chefs comment that she returns and seems different. It will be interesting to see how she performs because she was out second originally. 

 

The chefs head to their respective restaurants to experience the cuisine and work a bit in each kitchen on the line. 

 

Thai: Cesar and Katianna

Indian: Vinny and Lana

Filipino: Henry and Shuai

Greek: Tristen and Bailey

Caribbean: Mossimo and Paula

Portuguese: Corwin and Kat

 

Off the bat, Corwin suggests a dish that they can replicate on a mass level. This is obviously the approach that you want to take. Corwin and Kat wanted to do a salt cod dish but there was none available. They decide to try and salt it themselves which would mean taking a 3-4 day process and compressing that down to 3-4 hours. I like this risk as it will force them to get creative both with concept and skill. Tristen and Bailey want to do octopus which seems like a risk because it's hard to cook consistently. When they get to the shop, they can only get frozen. Bailey tries to justify this in her interview but this is another risk they are taking. They have immunity so it could be worth the risk. Vinny and Lana are having some issues agreeing on their concept, with Vinny really wanting to do a hollandaise. This could be foreshadowing for a team that's concept is not complete and the dish ends up conflicting with itself.  Everyone else seems to have little to no issues leading into prep. 

 

At the end of prep, Massimo and Paula don't like the cook of their meat when it comes out of the pressure cooker. Tristen and Bailey have set their octopus in a brine but are still concerned about it. Kat and Corwin are not able to test a fritter before the end of prep, so will go in blind. Cesar and Katianna seem like they are working well together. That plus a lot of screen time makes me think they could be either winning or eliminated. 

 

The chefs arrive on site and began the final prep leading into service. Kat and Corwin seem stressed but their concept is good. After a test cook, the fritters seem a little wet and then they add some more flower to bind them better. Bailey and Tristen seem to be happy with their octopus so they are happy going into service. Lana doesn't have a restaurant so she feels confident cooking in this format since she does a lot of pop ups. Paula and Massimo are still worried about their dish. The meat is still cooking and it has way too much liquid. Massimo wants to reduce the jous but Paula is worried that the meat needs the jous to finish cooking. A conflict arises and this team is slowly going off the rails as Paula puts her foot down as Massimo tries to take over the team's direction. When it's time for service, they end up being happy with their meat and Mossimo apologizes to Paula. As prep wraps up Vinny and Lana are happy with their dish and Lana specifically now understands what Vinny wanted to do. 

 

Paula & Massimo - Braised short rib with grilled flatbread, escabeche with sweet plantain vinegar

Judges Feedback: Looks great, meat is a little dry, missing collagen, good dish but not getting Caribbean flavor 

 

Kat & Corwin - Cod & shrimp bomba with saffron aioli, smoked roe, piri piri & pickles

Judges Feedback: Like the big pickles, like the flavors but the texture is off, it's fine

 

Katianna & Cesar - Pad Thai glazed tenderloin, pickled mushrooms & butterfly pea flower pickles

Judges Feedback: Delicious, a lot of texture, a little sweet but has good heat, good dish

 

Lana & Vinny - Chicken kamasutra with curry hollandaise, chicken skin & flatbread

Judges Feedback: Love the chicken skin, chicken cooked well, wanted more punch in the sauce, not sure it made sense

 

Henry & Shuai - Arroz caldo with roasted pork kare-kare, fermented pickles & bagoong xo sauce

Judges Feedback: Meat is a little dry, but the flavors were good

 

Bailey & Tristen - Grilled octopus with kalamata caramel glaze & charred green olive honey relish

Judges Feedback: Cooked well, had great flavors, balanced

 

Leading up to Bailey & Tristen everyone seems to really be on the same playing field. No stand out dishes but nothing completely terrible either. Bailey & Tristen seem to get the strongest feedback but it's not much to understand where they fall in the group. This will be interesting to see how it plays out as it will come down to the details of the dish and its flavors. 

 

Top Table

 

Blue Team - Bailey & Tristen

Purple Team - Cesar & Katianna

 

The winning team is Blue Team, Bailey & Tristen. They both win their second immunity in a row.

 

Bottom Table

 

Orange Team - Kat & Corwin 

Red Team - Vinny & Lana

 

It's hard to tell the who is going home by the judges feedback, but either team will have big implications on everyone's final tables. 

 

Kat & Corwin are eliminated and then go to face each other in LCK.

 

In League News, Teams Leshner's hot streak continues. They tie with Team Hutty this week with most points at 12. Behind then was Team Becca/Scott with 11 points. Team Reuben and Liz only scored 2 points this week, which gives Team Leshner an 8 point lead in first going into Week 6. Team Becca/Scott are in third place only 4 points behind Team Reuben/Liz. With a lot of negative points going around this week, Team Hutty jumps into 4th place with 12 points. 6 teams were in the negatives this week. I'm not sure we've ever seen such a fast point gap between the Top 3 teams and the rest of the field. With the way this season is going it's still anyone's game as the wins have been inconsistent. Tristen is the only chef to have own more than on EC this season. 

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Episode 4

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Going into week 4, we're beginning to see more of who can hang or not. After floating the first few weeks Katianna came up big and showed that she is a threat. It will be interesting to see who else will start to show where they stand amongst the pack. Corwin opens the show working out and talking about how competitive he is. I'm personally waiting for him to turn up a bit and show us what he's got. A lot of screen time so far but not much performance in the kitchen. 

 

This week starts with guest judge Michael Cera joining the Top Chef Kitchen. They are going to play a game of trivia to determine the chef's cooking times in the kitchen. Based on how high you place, you get more time to cook starting with 30 minutes, 20 minutes and 15 minutes. The chefs are then asked to break themselves into teams which is always interesting to see how the chefs clique together.

 

Yellow Team: Henry, Kat, Katianna, Tristen

Purple Team: Lana, Massimo, Paula, Zubair

Green Team: Cesar, Corwin, Shuai, Vinny

 

Green takes an early lead with 2 points, using a strategy of hitting the button no matter what. Corwin is too fast for anyone else to get it together and the Green team goes up 8 nothing before Purple Team finally gets a point. This opens the floodgates and then Yellow Team gets a point. After the trivia game, the rankings are as follows:

 

Green Team: 30 Minutes

Purple Team: 20 Minutes

Yellow Team: 15 Minutes

 

For this week's QuickFire Challenge, the chefs will need to make dishes using at least three ingredients that were the answers to the trivia questions they got correct.

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Kat - texture was really good, sauce was the star

Shuai - salad was so delicious

Corwin - nice balance and great scallop

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Henry - didn't come together, sloppy

Massimo - pretzels were soggy

Tristen - liked the sauce, but didn't go well together

 

Corwin wins his first QF of the season and $10,000!

 

This weeks Elimination Challenge will have the chefs creating a savory dish by deconstructing a classic Canadian dessert. The chefs draw knives to see which dessert they will be assigned. 

 

Figgy Duff - Corwin, Tristen

Butter Tarts - Zubair, Henry

Nanaimo Bars - Paul, Kat

Jam Jams - Shuai, Katianna

Potato Chocolate Cake - Lana, Vinny

Date Squares - Massimo, Cesar

 

The chefs will have 30 minutes and $100 to shop at St Mark Market and then 2 hours to cook before service. Before going shopping the chefs get a chance to try the desserts. Tristen is feeling confident because the Figgy Duff has a lot of flavors found in Caribbean cooking. Vinny is going to reinterpret how eggs are used in the dish and is looking to pair them with caviar. Corwin is going to do a fried chicken dish by using Figgy Duff spices to make jerk seasoning. Katianna is a little worried about her dish because it's a spice cookie, but wants to test her creativity. Henry talks with Emma from Season 19 before service, he admits that the competition is harder than he thought. He's been struggling so it will be interesting to see if this is foreshadowing after the fact. He started off hot but has been low and in the middle since Week 1. 

 

Kat is going to make a "mustard custard," I think this is clever but we'll see if it plays, mustard is a divisive condiment.  We're starting to learn more about her and if she can tap into her personal life for inspiration she could go far. Massimo and Cesar have a similar idea and are both using Moroccan flavors. Both of these guys haven't done much yet so I'm excited to see them go head to head. Massimo never shuts up but hasn't really performed at all. Way over confident. Henry decides to souvee his duck because it is less crowded. He's worried that he won't get it done right so feels like this is a risk. Zubari's duck isn't rendering like he wanted to. He is going to let it cook a bit longer, there's a chance he could overcook it. When he goes to serve it seems uneven on the cook. At service, Henry isn't able to sauce one of his plates. Complete mental error. 

 

Nanaimo Bars

 

Kat - Nanaimo duck breast with mustard custard, duck skin & walnut nanaimo crumble & soy cacao ganache

Judges Feedback: very chocolate forward, loved the mustard custard, fantastic job

 

Paula - Cacao-rubbed braised pork belly with coconut vanilla vinaigrette roasted beets & chocolate graham cracker
Judges Feedback: subtle nod to the nanaimo bar, didn't get the chocolate rub

 

Potato Chocolate Cake

 

Vinny - Roasted yukon potatoes with chocolate miso glaze & caviar vin blanc
Judges Feedback: the potatoes were the star but could have been more chocolate forward

 

Lana - Cacao and potato gnocchi with braised lamb and pickled shallots
Judges Feedback: very chocolate forward, but a bit of a miss

 

Date Squares

 

Cesar - Lamb tartare with date & shallot puree, roasted carrot puree & bunuelo
Judges Feedback: enjoyed the texture, incorporated the sweetness

 

Massimo - lamb tartare with ras el hanout crisp, date jam, harissa & ras el hanout yogurt
Judges Feedback: really liked the idea, but harder time finding the date, didn't love the texture

 

Cesar seems to have won the lamb tartare round based on judges feedback alone.

 

Figgy Duff

 

Corwin - Jerk marinated fried chicken, with miso raisin BBQ sauce & cabbage slaw
Judges Feedback: flavor comes through so well, chicken was cooked perfectly

 

Tristen - Pepperpot with braised lamb, lamb fat madeleine & pickled grapes
Judges Feedback: impressed he did madeleine, lamb is beautifully braised

 

These seemed like the two best dishes so far based on judges' feedback. Both naiked the concept as well cooked tasty dishes. 

 

Jam Jams

 

Katianna - Rye porridge with molasses glazed mushrooms, raspberry & bacon confit
Judges Feedback: some texture but the porridge is cold and slimy

 

Shuai - Tsukune with raspberry pepper jelly, tare, chilled napa & hot mustard
Judges Feedback: flavors are really interesting but didn't love the texture of the meatball

 

Butter Tarts

 

Henry - Seared duck breast with brown sugar corn syrup glaze, mushroom crumb, jus & parsnip puree
Judges Feedback: elements are present but not very butter tart, duck was under cooked, no jus on Gail's dish

 

Zubair - Seared duck breast with sheermal, pecan & cashew korma
Judges Feedback: appreciated the aesthetics, but individually the components were a missed, duck was not good

 

It was an interesting EC as there were not a ton of loved dishes. Going to judges table I think the Figgy Duff round is definitely on top with a lot of candidates for the bottom table. 

 

Top Table

 

Tristen

Corwin

Kat

 

The winning chef is Tristen and he now has immunity for next week!

 

Bottom Table

 

Shuai

Zubair

Henry

 

After the judges feedback, it was hard to see who would be eliminated. There were not many redeeming qualities about any of the dishes. The duck definitely gave Zubair and Henry trouble. Shuai just made a bad meatball. This seems to be one of the more in depth judges tables that we've seen so far this season, which makes it seem like it was a tough decision between the three. 

 

Zubair is eliminated. Luckily for him, he is playing to come back vs the reigning Last Chance Kitchen champion, Bailey.

 

Note that the person you chose for LCK Winner is NOT who comes back this week. It will be the person that comes back at the end of the competition. 

 

Next week is a double EC, so there will be twice as many opportunities for points for Eliminated Chef. 

 

In League News, teams are still struggling to get points with only two hitting double digits this week. Team Reuben/Liz have another strong week with 11 points to keep them in first place. Team Leshner had 10 points which puts them in second place overall, only 2 points behind Reuben/Liz. Team Becca/Scott are in third place with 21 points, despite being in the negatives this week. Team Keber is in fourth place with 10 points and have been slowly adding points the past two weeks starting off with zero week 1. I expect to see a lot more points as the bad chefs start to thin out, so keep submitting those picks!!

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Episode 3

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Corwin and Shuai are talking about missing home. We'll see if there is more focus on them this episode, because if so, it can only go one of two ways. This week's Quickfire Challenge has the chefs making their own version of a Jamaican patty. Corwin makes Jamaican patties regularly and the pressure is on him to perform. Lots of chefs have choked making a dish that they normally do outside of the Top Chef kitchen. It will be a good chance to see if he can step up. This is an interesting challenge as it was done in two parts, I believe that this may be the first time a QF has had an intermission. 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Katiana - flavorful and dough was light

Zubair - two sauces were creative

Shuai - scallion pancake was good

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Kat - fell short on the dough

Mossimo - filling too tough

Cesar - dough fell apart

 

Katiana wins her first QF of the season! 

 

For the Elimination Challenge, each chef will need to create a dish best-served cold. Anya is excited about this as she has a good arsenal of cold dishes. We'll see if she can rise to the occasion, unlike Corwin. As a twist, the chefs will need to choose a covered dish with a hockey phrase. Inside the dish, there will be food they must use in relation to the phrase. 

 

Vinny - Biscuits

Corwin - Apple

Massimo - Muffin

Zubair - Muffin

Tristain - Eggs

Shuai - Eggs

Anya - Eggs

Henry - Grapefruit

Kat - Grapefruit

Katianna - Licorice

Cesar - Licorice

Paula - Peanut Butter

Lana - Peanut Butter

 

After choosing the muffin, Zubair comments that he's happy that he has immunity. He's not feeling inspired, which I can't tell is because of the muffin or because he knows he can't go home. He needs to swing big and show what he can do in that position. Anya will be making a pine needle ice cream, which sounds good to me. The way that she ties the outdoors into her cooking is really interesting. Her cooking is primed for Top Chef if she can adapt well to the challenges. Unfortunately, her cake batter seems weird, and in an odd type of panic, she starts throwing ingredients in to fix it. By the end of service she's having major issues with both her cake and ice cream. Katianna is struggling to get the flavor from the licorice root and will need to use candy now.

 

The chefs enter the Top Chef kitchen to find a table set up on a mini ice rink. I personally enjoy it when the judges are in the kitchen because they can feel the pressure and see what the chefs are doing. Anya is re-doing both her ice cream and cake, we'll see if she can pull it off. Massimo is running around the kitchen making a mess, does not look like he is focused. Mossimo also has issues with his ice cream so is going to use liquid nitrogen for the first time. This could go either way and it seems like he cannot get it right. Katianna can't get her licorice flavor right and pivots at the end to add more flavor. 

 

Vinny - strawberry shortcake, biscuit-infused ice cream, fresh strawberries & strawberry soda

Judges Feedback: ice cream was very good, want to see more of the biscuit

 

Corwin - scallop and apple agua chile, variations or apples

Judges Feedback: has come kick but really well balanced, ice cold, restaurant dish

 

Massimo - banana muffin cremuex, chocolate muffin ganache, speculoos meringue & roasted muffin banana ice cream

Judges Feedback: muffin flavor is hidden, kind of a mess

 

Zubair - king salmon crudo with fennel, jalapeno achar, lemongrass gel, chass & muffin crumble

Judges Feedback: liked the crumble but not a muffin dish

 

Henry - grapefruit leche de tigre with salmon, charred avocado & grapefruit sorbet

Judges Feedback: beautiful but the spice muddled the flavors

 

Kat - grapefruit & scallop tartare with "paloma" agua chile & grapefruit snow

Judges Feedback: absolutely stunning, fireworks of different flavors 

 

Katianna - chilled chicken & licorice soba with cucumber daikon

Judges Feedback: a dynamite dish, subtle and elegant

 

Cesar - chilled shrimp salad with licorice tea & licorice ice cream

Judges Feedback: put together a really nice dish

 

Paula - ceviche jipijapa with sablefish, cucumber tartare, avocado cream & fried quinoa

Judges Feedback: didn't love the dish, no peanut flavor, bland

 

Lana - chilled peanut soup with pickled shrimp, suya poil & candied peanuts

Judges Feedback: showed a lot of restraint, peanut butter was the star

 

Tristen - beef tartare with garlic toum, shattered benedict aioli, egg yolk jam & shattered deviled egg

Judges Feedback: loved the deviled eggs, really enjoyed it

 

Shuai - sweet corn semifreddo with sweet potato mochi, cardamom creme anglaise, ginger graham cracker & meringue

Judges Feedback: liked the flavor, wanted the texture to be creamier 

 

Anya - pine needle ice cream with sea buckthorn cake

Judges Feedback: ice cream didn't set, no flavor in the cake

 

After service, I think that Anya and Paula are clearly on the bottom while Katianna and Tristen should be two of the top table. 

 

Top Table 

 

Tristen 

Katianna 

Corwin

 

Katianna wins! She went two for two in challenges this week and the sweep bonus is in effect! She's been hanging in the middle but this is a big breakout week. 

 

Bottom Table

 

Anya

Paula

Massimo

 

Anya is eliminated. She struggled all episode and I believe it was pretty clear this would be the outcome. 

 

In league news, EVERYONE. LOVES. VINNY. He was chosen as Top Chef by 60% of the group. Other popular chefs for the final table included Katianna (chosen 7 times), Shuai & Zubair (chosen 6 times). This makes sense based on their strong starts, but more than any other season, this one felt harder to choose the final table for some reason. 

 

This week though, there were points abound! Team Reuben/Liz led the pack with 23 points, followed by Team Becca/Scott with 20 and Team Leshner with 19. This was Team Leshner's highest scoring weekly points total ever and it propelled him into 3rd place with 22 total points. Team Reuben/Liz take over first place from Team Stroose with 23 Points and are now tied with Team Becca/Scott. All three of these teams chose Katianna who won both the QF and EC, putting the sweep bonus into effect. 

 

Week 4 picks now available to submit! 

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Episode 2

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It's the second week of the season and we're already getting a poutine challenge! Really excited for this one, Gail described how so likes her poutine so well. For this weeks Quickfire, the chefs will put their own version of poutine in 30 minutes. It must include a starchy vegetable base, a sauce and a cheese. Massimo is from Montreal, so it will be interesting to see what he makes since it is such a big dish there. 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Massimo - beautiful package

Kat - most traditional but had a ton of depth

Shuai - potato was perfect and a great glaze

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Henry - sauce was great but the pancake was spongy

Bailey - loved the fries but too many elements

Paula - liked the flavor but sauce was too wet

 

Shuai wins his first QF Challenge of the season! he mentioned that he practiced poutine before the competition, so good to see that he came prepared. 

 

This week, Daniel Boulud is the guest judge for the Elimination Challenge. The chefs will be in two teams of 7 and must create a brunch menu, with each chef doing one dish. In tradition of the sugar shack, each dish must involve maple. The chefs will have 2 hours to cook at Dnaiel's restaurant before service. The chefs then draw knives for the second time in two weeks to pick their teams. 

 

Brown Team - Lana, Shuai, Cesar, Zubair, Tristen, Paula & Corwin

 

Green Team - Kat, Katianna, Henry, Anya, Massimo, Vinny & Bailey

 

Vinny has immunity and offers to make a souffle; it's super difficult, and his team is worried about the execution. In the end, they relent and let him do it. We'll see how this plays out. After the chefs check out from Whole Foods, they are greeted by Kristen in the parking garage. She let's them know that they are getting another 2% of their budget to shop at the market for additional ingredients. Each team will be shopping for ingredients for the other team that must be included in their dishes. This will be interesting to see how the chefs play it and if they really try to sabotage each other or not. The Brown Team choose cooked lasagna and truffle oil. The Green Team gets half a pizza and candy. Neither options seem too detrimental to me off the bat. 

 

Prep seems to be going smoothly until Bailey's filling breaks and she has to start over. Corwin is feeling the pressure to get his eggs done with only 25 minutes. He thinks some of his eggs looked undercooked as they begin to serve. Definitely looked liked a scramble (no pun intended) and left the plastic on his dish. Henry is worried about the oil as he fries his chicken. It has a lot of seasoning and he's worried about how it will affect his flavors. Katianna is worried about her seasoning, adding some extra before service. In the end Bailey pulls her tarts out earlier than she wanted too and is worried. 

 

Brown Team

 

Lana - Maple cured salmon, maple vinaigrette, meyer lemon, everything bagel spice

Judges Feedback: salmon was great, maple flavor was there but subtle

 

Shuai - Toad in a hole with maple togarashi cured yolk, bechamel, miso maple butter & pizza

Judges Feedback: very good, the pizza worked

 

Cesar - poached lobster, curr biscuit, maple hollandiase 

Judges Feedback: really great, light, fresh, lobster perfectly cooked, biscuit is too dry

 

Zubair - tandoori maple fried chicken, scallion corn cake, spice maple butter, sweet maple yogurt

Judges Feedback: chicken is delicious, really flavorful

 

Corwin - rum maple tamarin, glazed pork, belly, chawanmushi, with steamed seeds & scallions

Judges Feedback: texture is off, inconsistent and overspiced 

 

Tristen - steak and eggs, jerk strip loin, dukkah & maple jus gras, rice grits

Judges Feedback: meat is beautifully cooked and season

 

Paula - maple peach french toast, candy corn creme anglaise, & peach gummy Italian meringue

Judges Feedback: very sweet but very satisfying, good job incorporating the candy

 

Green Team

 

Kat - congee with maple bacon chili crisp & soy maple jammy eggs

Judges Feedback: delicious, good hangover dish, heat playing with sweet

 

Katianna - maple cured salmon tartare with whipped silken tofu, housemade furikake & daikon maple leaves

Judges Feedback: light, came together nicely, wanted more maple

 

Anya - syrniki with macerated strawberries, whipped maple syrup & Siberian pine cone jam

Judges Feedback: tasted like cheesecake, pinecone was a trip

 

Henry - fried chicken, polenta, chicken gravy, maple chili ginger honey

Judges Feedback: wanted the fried chicken to be more moist, some wanted more gravy

 

Massimo - steak & eggs with wild spinach & maple lasagna bordelaise

Judges Feedback: very savory, egg cooked beautifully, lacking maple flavor

 

Vinny - maple & cheddar souffle with truffle oil

Judges Feedback: all ingredients in balance

 

Bailey - maple tart with whipped yogurt, pine nuts & maple brown butter pineapple

Judges Feedback: maple was there but came through as sweet, tart was under baked

 

While it's hard to say which team did better without a direct head-to-head comparison, I would say that Brown team would be winning based on the judges feedback alone. Brown Team wins the Challenge as they used the maple the best way. Zubair wins the EC with his friend chicken and has immunity for the next EC.

 

Green Team is on the bottom, with Henry and Bailey having the least favorite dishes. Henry's issue was the cook of his chicken, the oil ended up causing issues. Bailey did not have enough flavor and her tarts were cooked poorly. It feels like she's going home when comparing her to Henry. Bailey is eliminated and heads to LCK.

 

Team Stroose is coming out of the gate big in Week 1 at the start of their sophomore season. This is their highest ranking ever, having never broken the Top 3. Team Steven H is in second place and off to another hot start. Last season he held either a top 3 ranking for the first seven weeks before an epic collapse leading into the second half of the season. In third place, there is a three way tie between Team Hutty, Team Becca/Scott and Team Leshner. 

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Episode 1

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....AND WE'RE BACK!

 

Having to pick a knife upon arrival instantly is a GREAT WAY to start the season. It doesn't let the chefs get comfortable and starts the competition right away. The new prize package is great in my opinion. Not only do they get the $250,000, the feature in Food & Wine Magazine and the Aspen Classic showcase, but now the highest level of Delta Status, $125,000 in travel, plus a hosted dinner at James Beard House in NYC. By far the richest prize pool in the show's history.

 

The Quickfire winner will not get immunity, which I love because it makes them way more competitive. Only the Elimination Challenge winner will receive immunity for the next elimination once they've won. 

 

Before the Quickfire Challenge is revealed, the chefs are each asked to pick an ingredient from the pantry. They are then broken into teams based on the knives they chose when they arrived to the show. Team challenges are always a great way to start as it let's their personalities show. Who can work within the time, who can work as a team, who has a strong personality, who can turn an apple into a bowl. 

 

The first QF Challenge of the season has the chef's getting 30 minutes to create a dish featuring six ingredients — the three ingredients chosen by the group members, and three ingredients selected by host Kristen Kish, head judge Tom Colicchio, and judge Gail Simmons. Kristen picked tomatoes, Gail picked chives, and Tom picked clams.

 

Purple Team Ingredients: Corn, Fresno Chile, Corn

 

Green Team Ingredients: Bok Choy, King Oyster Mushroom, Maple Syrup

 

Blue Team Ingredients: Cabbage, Fresno Chile, Dried Black Olives

 

Yellow Team Ingredients: Apple, Fennel, Corn

 

Red Team Ingredients: Apple, Corn, Portobello Mushroom

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Yellow Team - puree was beautiful, flavorful, and had contrast with dimension

Green Team - highlighted every single ingredient, maple syrup was there but not overpowering

Red Team - Apple was gimmicky, but it actually actually worked to flavor the soup

 

The Yellow Team takes the first QF win and wins $15,000.

 

5 Chefs who represent the 5 regions of Canada enter the Top Chef Kitchen. They have brought along a pantry of ingredients from their region which include:

 

West - Pacific Salmon, Salt Spring Island Lamb, Red Fife Wheat, foraged Mushrooms, Hazelnuts, Plums

Prairie - Ribeye, Walleye, Red Lentils, Sour Cherries, Tomatoes, Cold Pressed Canola Oil

Central - Rainbow Trout, Peaches, Corn, Ice Wine, Pea Shoots, Pork

Atlantic - Cod, Dulse Seaweed, Potatoes, Snow Crab, Blueberries, Screech Rum

North - Beets, Carrots, Crowberries, Turbot, Arctic Char, Oats

 

For this week's Elimination Challenge, the chefs must create a dish using the regional ingredients to transport the judges through Canada. The teams then choose which region they want to cook for. Yellow goes first since they won the QF, they then choose the next team to choose, and so on. 

 

Yellow Team - Central 

Purple Team - Prairie

Red Team - Western

Blue Team - North

Green Team - Atlantic

 

After all the teams have chosen the chefs are told that they must use three of the six regional ingredients from your pantry. This is also an individual challenge, so each team will be playing each other with one chef on the top, middle and bottom. A great twist that most of the chefs were most likely not expecting. The chefs head out to Whole Foods for their first shop, which goes smoothly across the board. 

 

The chefs enter the kitchen to start their two hours of prep for the EC. Paula is going to make a mole, which usually takes more time but she's going to try to get it done. She overcooks some of the lamb on the grill and pivots to using the oven. Vinny is worried about timing but thinks that his dish will help him show his technique. Anya is going to show her Russian culture by making beet caviar, which sounds amazing. Bailey is going to be making a carrot risotto, which is a brave move. This may be the first time that anyone has made a risotto in the first challenge. Mimi seems scatterbrained and overboils her potatoes. She seems to be struggling with the pressure already and seems to start her pork a little too late. Tristan leaves his curry on the stove to keep it warm and forgets to plate it in the heat of the moment. Lot's of chefs having issues with the clock in Week 1. 

 

Western Region

 

Lana - Seared salmon with dawadawa cream, lamb fat roasted mushrooms and hazelnut gremolata

Judges Feedback: Had good texture, good restraint

 

Vinny - Confit salmon with miso-hazelnut butter mushrooms & consume

Judges Feedback: Perfectly cooked, subtle with full of flavor, not a bad bite in it

 

Paula - grilled lamb with mushrooms mole, hazelnut, pipian & plum salsa macha

Judges Feedback: Lacked spice, lamb cook was not consistent

 

Prairie Region

 

Kat - pan friend walleye, wild rice with tomatoes & smoked sour cherries

Judges Feedback: a lot of dishes missing ingredients, including the protein, a lot of flavor but was incomplete 

 

Henry - Ribeye tartare with toasted lentil aioli, sour cherry chimichurri, cumin & lentil cracker & egg yolk custard

Judges Feedback: juicy tar tar but the cracker was great, top vote of the three

 

Corwin - Grilled ribeye, red lentil, puree with tomatoes & sour cherries

Judges Feedback: nice cook on the beef, puree flavor is good, but it felt disjointed

 

Central Region

 

Cesar - Corn butter poached trout, grilled radicchio with corn & pea shoot dressing

Judges Feedback: did enjoy the flavors, good balance, great bite

 

Mimi - Grilled pork loin & potato puree with corn beurre monte & peach relish

Judges Feedback: beige, muddy, potatoes tasted instant, pork was dry, nothing cooked right

 

Katianna - Pork loin katsu with miso, corn & pea shoot gravy & kimchi peaches

Judges Feedback: peaches were one of the best bites, but the gravy was divisive 

 

Atlantic Region

 

Tristan - Poached cod with snow crab & dulse mousse, butter poached snow crab with potato & dulse crumble

Judges Feedback: curry would have been nice but could have overpowered it, cooked perfectly. 

 

Shuai - Steamed cod with braised daikon, snow crab & egg drop sauce & crispy dulse

Judges Feedback: cod is beautifully cooked and crab is so complimentary

 

Massimo - Cod "en ecailles" with buerre blanc & smoked dulce

Judges Feedback: tongue and cheek but wish the cod was cooked nicer, still very good

 

North Region

 

Anya - Ukha with arctic char, potatoes, beet caviar, & rye cracker

Judges Feedback: really beautiful connection to the region, sourness of the soup is fantastic, cracker was ok

 

Zubair - Meen moilee with turbot, beet & crowberry achar

Judges Feedback: really well done but the ratios were off, did put himself into the plate

 

Bailey - Carrot risotto with confit arctic char & pickled beets

Judges Feedback: not the worst risotto ever on Top Chef but not a good risotto

 

After service, it seemed like there were some clear winners and losers with the Atlantic Region really being the only universally liked team from the judges. I don't see any of them going home regardless of placement. 

 

Top Table: Vinny, Cesar, Anya, Henry and Shuai

 

Vinny wins the first Elimination Challenge of the season and now has immunity for the next week's challenge. 

 

Bottom Table: Paula, Kat, Mimi, Massimo, Bailey

 

All of these chefs had reason to be in the bottom table but Mimi and Kat are singled out as the least favorite dishes. Without much deliberation shown between the judges, Mimi is eliminated and sent to Last Change Kitchen. 

 

Good first episode, and I think we can already see which chefs are going to sink or swim this season. This episode we will start putting in our weekly picks, so get them in!!