Episode 7

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We are one episode away from the mid-season point and it's really been a mixed bag of results across the board. Every chef has been on the bottom table so far, with only Justin not being on the top table. Laurence may have the strongest performance of the season so far with 2 EC wins and 2 QF wins. Anthony is probably second best with 1 EC win and 1 QF win but he's been on the top table every week except one. That being said, nobody is safe as we've seen a lot of strong chefs go home up until this point. 

This week we are joined by one of the (surprisingly) less controversial figures in the Bravo-Verse at the moment Craig Conover, who is joined by Madison LeCroy, both from Southern Charm. In a Cracker Barrel themed QuickFire Challenge, the chefs will work in teams of three to create a breakfast, lunch and dinner inspired by Cracker Barrel's all-day menu. It.has to be something not on the menu already, "a new country classic." The chefs will each be responsible for one of the dishes on their team and have 45 minutes to prepare their dishes. Despite having 45 minutes, only one chef can be cooking at a time. Each dish will be served right when it's ready so the remaining team members can continue to cook. A great twist that will add a nice layer of strategy to the competition.

 

Orange Team

 

Laurence

Oscar

Sherry

 

Yellow Team

 

Anthony

Jonathan

Brandon

 

Green Team

 

Jennifer

Duyen

Justin

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Oscar had the favorite dish of the Orange team

Brandon had the favorite dish of the Yellow team

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Green Team was the least favorite team, Justin's meat was tough, sandwich was good, Jen's batter was not good

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Yellow wins the Quickfire Challenge and the prize money. If Laurence had cooked his chicken right the Orange team would have won. 

 

After making breakfast, lunch and dinner the chefs will now have to focus on dessert. Dessert is something that many previous chefs have avoided, as it can be a kiss of death. Even with the option to do whatever they want in the final, chefs will still decide to not do a dessert. You can see the chefs begin to get nervous as a giant dessert cart is rolled in. This week's Elimination Challenge will have the chefs create a dessert fit for a queen. They will take the inspiration from one of the desserts that is in front of them. They will have three hours to prep and cook their dessert where they will have to serve 60 Top Chef Super Fans inside of the Top Chef Kitchen. The Super Fans will vote to determine who the winner of the challenge will be. Each chef then starts their prep time immediately with no time to determine what their dish is and now shop at Whole Foods.

 

Brandon beats everyone to get the banana pudding, nobody contests him. Justin doesn't eat sweets but decides to do ambrosia because you can do a lot with fruit. Jennifer has some dessert experience and is going to try and lean into that. Sherry isn't a pastry chef but has done it before, so she has some sort of a plan. Laurence has immunity so he isn't feeling the pressure but plans on a tres leches cake. Anthony is going to do the apple stack in memory of his grandmother, really trying to showcase the apple. 

 

Anthony - Apple Stack Cake: apple semifreddo with apple coulis, spiced cake & apple butters

Judges Feedback: flavors were really nice, liked that it wasn't too sweet, apple really came out

 

Jonathan - Chocolate Chess Pie: chocolate sabayon, chocolate custard, pate sucree & candied kumquats
Judges Feedback: great story but it was basically chocolate pudding with whipped cream

 

Laurence - Coconut Cake: coconut tres leches
Judges Feedback: made a nice cake but wanted more coconut, loved the texture

 

Duyen - Caramel Cake: pandan & coconut rice, roasted bananas & dulce de leche sabayon
Judges Feedback: a little confused, not visually appealing, no caramel

 

Jennifer - Atlanta Beach Pie: meyer lemon curd & yuzu jelly with saltine & graham cracker crunch
Judges Feedback: loved it, great citrus

 

Justin - Ambrosia Salad: cherry granita, roasted pineapple, brown butter walnuts & raspberry whipped cream
Judges Feedback: ratios were off, hot mess, all crunch, flavor was dampened by the dry ice

 

Sherry - Sonker: berry compote, almond pate brisee with passion fruit mousse & cotton candy
Judges Feedback: undercooked but the rest was quite good, flavorful

 

Oscar - Moravian Sugar Cake: capirotada with whipped cream
Judges Feedback: broken whip cream, needed more custard, baked too thick

 

Brandon - Banana Pudding: "banana misu" roasted banana compote, espresso dipped wafers & whipped cream
Judges Feedback: very good, ratios were correct, really tasty

 

The Super Fans did not like the ambrosia salad, they also liked Oscar's dish despite the broken whipped cream. They all vote and the winner is announced to the crowd. 

 

Top 3 Vote Getters

 

Laurence

Anthony

Sherry

 

Anthony takes the win by only 1 vote and gets his second Elimination Challenge win in three weeks.

 

Justin, Oscar and Duyen are all on the bottom table. It seems like Justin is going home, his dish was a mess and he's been in the bottom table four out of the seven weeks. Justin is eliminated, which seems like the most obvious choice.

 

After Justin is eliminated, Kristen brings all the chefs back to the judges table. They are congratulated for making it to the Top 8 and Restaurant Wars is announced. There will be no break and they will begin planning right away. 

 

Next week's Elimination Challenge is Restaurant Wars. The chefs will break into two teams of four, each team having 36 hours to design and create their own restaurant concept. Each chef will be responsible for at least one dish and they will need to cover Floor Manager, Executive Chef and two Line Cooks. The menu will have three courses with at least two options for each course. 

 

They allow the chefs to create their own teams, which generally is a great way to create drama. The chefs divide themselves up pretty quickly though without much conflict. The twins want to stick together, which Tom finds surprising. Duyen goes towards Anthony and Laurnce as they have been winning, they also have Sherry who everyone respects in the kitchen. 

 

Team 1

 

Brandon

Anthony

Jennifer

Oscar

 

Team 2

 

Anthony

Laurence

Sherry

Duyen

 

On paper and based on results, I do feel like these teams are a bit uneven but it will come down to menu execution and teamwork which can go either way. Team 2, does have someone with immunity which is always a disadvantage. With the teams now divided the chefs have 1 hour to create their concept and plan their menus. In a new twist for this year, the chefs will have to field take out orders. This is a great twist and one that I'm really excited for to see executed. 

 

This year they will add a new element, where they will be fielding take out orders. 

 

After leaving the Top Chef kitchen, Jennifer is having issues with her face and has to be sent to the ER. It's after this that the judges decide to ask her to leave. Because Justin was the last person eliminated, he's offered her spot but needs to talk with Jennifer first. He decides to go home with Jennifer and it looks like someone from LCK will be returning to the competition. We'll see how this shakes out next week!

 

In League News, LOTS OF POINTS. 6 teams were in the double digits this week with Team Becca/Scott taking home 23 points this week. Team Leshner got 22 points, Team Reuben/Liz got 21 points and Team Fordin got 20 points. This shook up the top rankings a bit with Team Becca/Scott jumping from 4th place to 1st place, followed by Team Hutty who fell into second place. Team Leshner moves up into the 3rd spot after another strong week. Team Keber only had 9 points this week and falls to 5th place after the other top teams all get more points than them. Team Becca/Scott now have a 4 point lead ahead of 2nd place. 

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Episode 6

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Everyone is shook after Rhoda is eliminated. She started off so strong but then went low table, middle and then eliminated. It's the part of the season where you are so close to Restaurant Wars but also still finding a groove. These next two episodes will give us some good insight into who has what it makes to make it to the finals. 

 

This week there is no Quickfire Challenge and it's time to BBQ! The Elimination Challenge this week will have the chefs competing in a head ot head BBQ competition. The chefs will be split into two teams of five. Anthony is the captain of the first team since he won the Elimination Challenge, he chooses Justin as the other team captain. They then each choose their team's school yard style. Anthony picks Laurence First and Justin picks Jen. Anthony admits that this is what he wanted as he now has more options to choose from. SMART PLAY. 

 

Red Team

 

Anthony

Laurence

Brandon

Sherry

Duyen

 

Gray Team

 

Justin

Jenniger

Sieger

Jonathan

Oscar

 

Looking at these teams, it may seem that Team Anthony has the edge but I do feel like Team Justin has good experience. Not to mention, three of the team members won a Quickfire together last week. The chefs will go head to head in five courses which will feature the Shoulder, Loin, Ham, Belly and then Chopped Pork. The winner from each round will take home $5,000 and the team with the most rounds won will be the winner of the EC. The judges get a vote each round, with the pitmasters getting a collective vote. The competition will happen in the Piedmont Region where the chefs will have all night to cook and prepare their pork dishes. 

 

On the way to the shop Brandon puts his foot down that he does not want to do the pork loin. He claims that it's a death sentence because it is always too dry. Laurence then steps in to take it over. A risky move but could also pay off if he can create something good with it. They go to the Asian market and Laurence is starting to get some inspiration. Jonathan is looking for some pig skin to make his chicharones. I can't tell if this is a good strategy or not when you have the whole pig to work with. 

 

When they get to the cook location, Brandon takes charge of the pig for the Red Team and Sieger takes the lead on the Gray team. Sieger cooks South Carolina style where you slowly raise the temperature. This seems different than what Brandon is going to do so it will be a good contrast of style for the judges and pitmasters. The twins will be going up against each other in the Belly Round, this is going to be a great match up. 

 

Halfway during the prep Tom shows up, and since there was no QF he offers the chefs a chance to compete for an additional 2% of the pot by cooking the best s'more. Oscar wins the challenge and an additional $500 challenges. 

 

After the challenge Brandon pulls the pig out and takes the loins off to ensure they don't over cook. Sieger is against this as he doesn't feel like it's a true "whole hog" cook. When Sieger finally pulls his pig to flip, he feels like it's in the perfect place. At around 2am the chefs start falling out needing naps. Everyone wakes up and is happy with how their pig turned out. 

 

Round 1 - Shoulder

 

Justin - Milk bread BBQ sandwich, smoked pork shoulder, alabama coleslaw, spicy pickles & dipping sauce

Judges Feedback: Good dish, but they preferred Sherry's

 

Sherry - "South of the Border" bossam, eastern style vinaigrette, cabbage chow chow & fresh herb salad

Judges Feedback: Tons of fat, lots of flavor, good dish

 

Votes for Sherry: 4

Votes for Justin: 1

Winner: Red Team wins the first round

Round 2 - Loin

Sieger - Pork loin, crispy ear terrine & mustard-based carrot bbq sauce

Judges Feedback: Felt it was a little dry

 

Laurence - Smoked pork loin, pork floss, rice & "east meets east" sauce
Judges Feedback: They liked the different iterations of the pork and how it was cooked

 

Votes for Laurence: 5

Votes for Sieger: 0

Winner: Red is up 2 - nothing

 

This next round between the twins could decide the challenge. 

Round 3 - Belly

 

Jonathan - Pork belly, chicharron, succotash & pimento cheese
Judges Feedback: Pimento congealed over but the chicharon was good

 

Brandon - Smoked bbq pork belly, mac n cheese, collard greens & mustard onion

Judges Feedback: Had more flavor

 

Votes for Brandon: 5

Votes for Jonathan: 0

Winner: Red wins the round and the challenge. 

 

Round 4 - Ham

 

Jennifer - Ham steak, black eyed pea puree, hushpuppies, smoked grapes & pickled collard green stems
Judges Feedback: Beautiful plate, pork is great, hushpuppies are delicious

 

Anthony - Ham mojo, black bean puree, oranges and hushpuppies
Judges Feedback: Great plate of food

 

Votes for Anthony: 4

Votes for Jennifer: 1

Winner: Gray finally takes a round but it's too little too late

 

Round 5 - Chopped

 

Oscar - Pig face stuffed Tamale, curtido & salsa ahogada bbq sauce

Judges Feedback: Oscars dish had more pork

 

Duyen - Chopped BBQ, papaya salad, summer roll & fried spring roll
Judges Feedback: She is safe because her team won

 

Votes for Duyen: 1

Votes for Oscar: 4

Winner: Oscar takes another round for Gray

 

With the Gray Team on the bottom, I think it's between Jonathan and Sieger to go home based on the judges feedback during the competiion. 

 

:Laurence wins the EC to get his second win of the season.

 

Sieger gets eliminated and heads to LCK.

 

In League News, Team Hutty has a BIG week with 13 points. He's followed by Team Steven H who had 11 points for the week. Nobody else got close to double digits this week with 6 teams in the negatives for points. This pushes Hutty into 1st place ahead of Team Keber by 8 points after they had -4 on the week. Team Steven H jumps from 11th place into 7th with his week but still needs to get into the 20's to have a chance to catch up with the top of the pack. Team Becca/Scott fall to third place and Team Fordin holds 4th and is tied with Team Leshner despite not getting their picks in this week. If tradition holds, we're one week away from Restaurant Wars so this will be a big week as we head into the second half of the season! 

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Episode 5

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We saw a lot of the chefs bounce back last week after an abysmal Week 3. That being said, it was interesting that Athony was in the bottom table after being at the top the previous four weeks. This week will be key for him to bounce back and prevent a spiral in the competition. Sieger got the first Sweep of the season winning both the QF and the EC, but has had mixed results overall. He seems talented though, so this could be a turning point for him in the competition. Laurence seems like the chef to beat with strong performances each week including 2 QF wins, 1 EC win and nother Top Table. Meanwhile Rhoda has fallen off a bit after winning the first two EC's, she could use a good week to get some momentum back.

 

Comedian Fortune Feimster joins the chefs in the Top Chef Kitchen for this week's Quickfire Challenge. She works with Comic Relief to help inspire people to help fight child poverty. For this week's Quickfire, the chefs will improvise a dish using the keywords Christmas, Colorado and Puffified. These words were chosen by three children who Feimster brought to help guide the QF parameters. This is definitely challenging since kids are picky and may not enjoy some of the cuisine that the chefs are used to cooking. Half way through the 30 minute time limit the kids determine that the chefs now must add corn nuts to their dish. 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Brandon - worked really well

Sieger - looked and ate like christmas

Jonathan - really liked the ham on it

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Rhoda - kids don't like lamb and the potatoes felt water logged

Oscar - ate very greasy

Sherry - wasn't balanced

 

Brandon wins his first Quickfire of the season! Nobody chose him this week so no points were awarded. 

 

After the QF, the chefs get right into their Elimination Challenge where they will need to create a dish featuring dehydrated components. Because dehydration takes so long, the chefs will get 75 minutes in the Top Chef kitchen to start the process. While they wait for that to happen, they will go to the National White Water Center for some fun. The next day they will return to the Center where they will get 90 minutes to prep and cook. The chefs prep time begins right away, without much time to prep at all. 

 

Jonathan wants to do a dessert but sees that his brother Brandon is going to do one. He's afraid to challenge his brother dessert vs dessert so he decides to pivot. Seems like he's playing scared to me but we'll see how this strategy works for him. Rhoda brings up a good point that whatever you choose today, you have to commit to tomorrow. It really locks you into a direction with little room to pivot. Anthony reflects on his performance last week and really wants to bounce back with this challenge, he feels like his dish is going to surprise the chefs. Jennifer is still struggling with her arm but feels like the EC's are more manageable because there is less of a rush like with the QF. We'll see how finds that their items have not dehydrated properly when they return to the kitchen tomorrow.

 

Brandon is the first dehydration failure and his pavlova is no good. He now needs to find a way to pivot to bring his dish to life. 

 

Anthony - Cured salmon with banga broth & dehydrated smoked oyster infused rice

Judges Feedback: Very well executed, the sauce was the star, salmon cooked perfectly

 

Justin - NY Strip with xo sauce, marinated dehydrated mushrooms, citrus, fried leeks & fried beer
Judges Feedback: Sauce was good but overpowering, too many ideas happening here

 

Brandon - Matcha cake with strawberries, yuzu meringue, pink peppercorn meringue, pineapple leather & thai basil
Judges Feedback: Executed well but not sure about the flavor profile

 

Sherry - Sea bass with summer cassoulet, smoked kalamata olive crumble, tomato skins, tomato & potato chip
Judges Feedback: Very good, fish cooked beautifully, love the olives and chip

 

Laurence - Brassica salad with trail mix, creamy sesame dressing & pomegranate glass
Judges Feedback: Was a bit overdressed and the glass did not make sense

 

Jonathan - Smoked swordfish with dehydrated strawberries, jicama & mandarin salsa, mizuna leaves & lime meringue sticks 
Judges Feedback: Read great but was not cooked properly, green sauce was great

 

Rhoda - Squid ink crusted roasted monkfish with squid ink adobo sauce, dehydrated broccoli & garlic chip
Judges Feedback: The texture is very off and seems half cooked, leeching water and breaking the sauce

 

Sieger - Spinach wrapped poached chicken & morel quenelle with consomme
Judges Feedback: Very beautiful but perplexed by the technique, went too far with the dehydration

 

Oscar - Lamb chop with yellow grits, asparagus & variations of mamas mole
Judges Feedback: Lamb is so overcooked its ridiculous but the grits were congealed 

 

Jennifer - Smoked catfish drip with dehydrated herbs, focaccia with sesame seeds, poppy, seeds & dehydrated lemon
Judges Feedback: Dip is good, flavorful and worked with all of the dehydrated ingredients, good execution

 

Duyen - Coconut braised pork belly, radicchio, thai basil chimichurri & rice with dehydrated shrimp & aromatics
Judges Feedback: Every component was really delicious, it was a fantastic dish

 

After service based, on the judges comments, Top Table candidates feel like Anthony, Sherry, Duyen and Jennifer. On the other hand there are a lot of potential candidates for the bottom table including Justin, Jonathan, Laurence, Rhoda, Oscar and Sieger. Luckily Sieger has immunity. Really tough to determine where the chefs will land after this challenge. 

 

Top Table is Anthony, Sherry and Duyen. Anthony wins this EC and his first of the season after being in the top table 4 of 5 weeks.

 

Bottom table is Laurence, Oscar and Rhoda. This could have HUGE impacts on league standings. 

 

Before the elimination Jennifer is given the chance to retire from the competition and come back next season. She's already missed two QFs and will not be allowed to miss another. This could be the first time we have a medical disqualification during a season. 

 

Jennifer decides to stay in the competition and fight through the pain. If she has to sit out another challenge of any kind, she will be sent home. 

 

Rhoda gets eliminated and heads to Last Chance Kitchen. 7 of 12 Teams had her as their Top Chef

 

In League News, Team Keber holds onto first place with another big week. With 11 points each, Team Hutty jumps into 2nd place from 6th and Team Leshner goes from 10th place to 4th. And Team Becca/Scott get a small boost from 5th place to 2nd. There has been A LOT of movement in the rankings and the seasonal points are going to mean even more now that Rhoda has been eliminated. Without the chance to get those last minute points from Top Chef, anyone who had Rhoda will need to get themselves a big lead during the regular season standings. Current Top 4 are:

 

1) Team Keber

2) Team Becca/Scott

2) Team Hutty

4) Team Fordin

4) Leshner

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Episode 4

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After one of the most embarrassing and miserable performances in Top Chef history, a majority of the chefs come into Week 4 questioning themselves. It's very rare that we have such a take down of the chefs by the judges and last week was an all timer. 

 

The judges enter the Top Chef Kitchen where they are greeted by last year's Top Chef, Tristen Epps-Long. Since North Carolina was home to the first flight of Kitty Hawk by the Wright Brothers, the chefs will have a flight themed Quickfire Challenge today. For this week's Quickfire, the chef's will have 30 minutes to work as a team and create a food flight to be paired with three types of wine. Each flight should be based on the same dish or ingredient but each preparation must be distinctly different. The chefs draw knives to determine their wine style and then split themselves into teams of three to ensure everyone has a white, a red and a rose represented.

 

The chefs separate themselves into the below teams. 

 

Red Team - Anthony, Duyen, Jonathan

Cream Team - Laurence, Rhoda, Sherry

Green Team - Brittany, Brandon, Oscar

Blue Team -  Justin, Jennifer, Sieger

 

Justin is excited about this as he, Jennifer and Sieger all previously worked together in Chicago. 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Red Team - everything paired well, good play with the cheese

Blue Team - smart progression, a lot of the flavors were surprising

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Green Team - overall theme was broad with just seafood, scallop dish would be better with rose

Cream Team - mochi dough was overcooked

 

Blue Team wins the QF and $15,000. It looks like the Chicago crew made a good decision by pairing up and Jennifer gets her second quickfire win, while Justin and Sieger get their first. 

 

The chefs then get to taste some classic southern sides which will inspire their Elimination Challenge. Chef Greg Collier comes out with classic southern sides such as collard greens, fried okra, potato salad, charleston red rice, hoppin john, hoe cakes and southern cabbage. A lot of the chefs comment on how good the southern cabbage is. For this week's EC, each chef will take a classic southern side dish and turn it into a main dish. The southern side dishes will be shared by two chefs at most. 

 

Nobody chooses okra, but Sieger goes back and swaps his original choice out for it. This may end up being a bad decision for him but we'll see how it plays out. They'll have 90 minutes to prep and cook, then they will serve the judges plus 40 restaurant guests. Service will be done in two 90 sessions - the judges and then the restaurant guests. I really like this challenge and it comes at a perfect time in the season. Almost all of the chefs are going head to head for the judges, a volume challenge and a twist on food that people have a sentimental feeling for. This will give us a great idea of each chef's potential. 

 

The chefs go to Deep Roots CPS Farm to learn about the farming history of North Carolina, before getting to pick fresh vegetables for their dish. They move on to Whole Foods where they have 30 minutes and $300 to shop. 

 

When the chefs arrive at Fine & Fettle to prep, they find tight kitchen conditions with a small fryer. There isn't much controversy during the prep period until Brittany realizes the steamer wasn't on and her sausage is still raw. She pivots to cook the sausage instead to ensure she has a protein on her plate. The chefs have to remember that they will have to serve the 40 restaurant guests as well right after this. Sherry comments that Justin seems to be a little lackluster. 

 

Potato Salad

 

Sherry - Marble potato salad with smoked trout, potato chip and potato nage

Judges Feedback: Potato salad is "cook out worthy", don't need to hear anything else

 

Justin - Yukon filled with potato salad, scallion cream & potato chip
Judges Feedback: Tom liked it and thinks it's interesting but it needs a protein

 

Hoppin John

 

Oscar - "Hoppin Juan" beans with crispy bacon, sofrito, carolina gold rice & poached egg

Judges Feedback: Rice was a little under seasoned but a really good dish

 

Laurence - "Hoppin Huang" crispy rice with charred shiitakes, butter beans & cured egg yolk
Judges Feedback: It hits on all levels, everything is beautifully cooked

 

Collard Greens

 

Anthony - Braised collards, chadon beni & kimchi with black bean & tasso ham fritter
Judges Feedback: Texture of the greens was good but did not eat like an entree 

 

Brittany - Collard wrapped pork & fennel sausage with smoked tomato butter sauce
Judges Feedback: Don't understand what they're eating, texture is sharp and mushy

 

Southern Cabbage

 

Duyen - Charred cabbage with grits, confit tomatoes & pickled corn
Judges Feedback: Seasoned well, felt like a main dish and felt personal

 

Brandon - Charred cabbage with smoked bacon cream & parmesan breadcrumbs
Judges Feedback: A little undercooked but too much water

 

Hoe Cakes

 

Jonathan - Hoe cake with gochujang fried chicken & bourbon bacon maple syrup
Judges Feedback: A hangover fighting dish, they like it

 

Jennifer - Yeasted hoe cake with pot likker, butter beans, triple cream & hot honey
Judges Feedback: Like the idea of the dish but the pot likker is too salty, also not really a main course

 

Okra

 

Sieger - Braised okra & pork belly with seeded tempura
Judges Feedback: Tom and Tristen liked the dish and they don't like okra

 

Red Rice

 

Rhoda- Red curry rice & fried egg
Judges Feedback: Like the freshness and is a good version of her red rice

 

There were a lot of good dishes here but it seems like Brittany is on the bottom with Jennifer and Brandon. Brandon feels confident with his dish which could be worrisome as it was not liked by the judges. He may need to be more realistic. 

 

Sherry, Siger and Laurence are chosen for the top table but it's hard to tell is going to win based on judges table. Sieger surprises everyone and takes the Elimination Challenge!

 

Anthony, Jennifer and Brittany all get called to the bottom table. It's interesting that two collard dishes are on the bottom here and shows how difficult it is to do that dish proper justice. Brittany gets eliminated which I think is an obvious choice. 

 

In league news, Team Lisa has her strongest week of her young Top Chef League career with 18 points. This was propelled by being the only person who chose Sieger this week. Because he won both the QF and EC she hit the sweep bonus as well. After this week, she jumps from 11th place to 2nd in the standings. This is only the third time in the past two years that she's scored double digits and her highest ranking of her career. Team Keber holds onto the top spot, but only by 3 points. Team Fordin is in third and Team Sean/Jillian are behind by only 1 point in Fourth. Lot's of teams in double digits!

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Episode 3

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Heading into Episode 3, Rhoda is on a roll with two Elimination Challenge wins and seems a head above the rest of the chefs. She is the first chef to do this in the history of Top Chef. Jennifer is nursing a rope swing injury before the Quickfire Challenge. She seems to have a lot of pain but is working through it. 

 

For this week's Quickfire Challenge, Kristen calls in "The Big Gun" to help with this week's challenge - Emeril Lagasse. A former Top Chef mainstay who has not appeared as often in recent years. He's always a great judge on the show. The chefs will have to create an elevated dish using Livermush. Livermush is a North Carolina staple which has to by law be made of at least 30% of pig liver. 

 

During the QF, Jennifer's arm pain becomes unbearable and she decides to go to the hospital to make sure there is no immediate concern. 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Duyen - on point, very tasty

Anthony - was great, tomatoes were a great pairing

Rhoda - worked well and the sauce was tasty

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Nana - very tasty but not enough livermush flavor

Laurence - was way too wet

Brittany - dry and off the mark

 

And the winner of this week's Quickfire Challenge is Anthony, it's his first QF win of the season.

 

This week's Elimination Challenge is inspired by the NC textile industry. The chefs will pay homage to this by creating a dish that features at least two naturally dyed elements. It is an interesting challenge as it will not only be about taste, but look as well. Everyone will get 30 minutes to shop, 2 hours to prep in the Top Chef Kitchen and then another hour to cook before service. 

 

After realizing that there is nothing seriously wrong, Jennifer gets medicated up and ready to compete. 

 

As the chefs work through their two hours in the Top Chef kitchen, both Tom and Emeril arrive to check on the progress. This is always great because it can sway what the chefs are doing based on their in the moment feedback. Unfortunately the most controversial moment was Brandon's deconstructed lasagna being questioned by Emeril after the fact. Laurence seems to be struggling with his bao dough so he decides to remake his red dough. Nana is struggling once again rolling her chicken dish. Jennifer continues to struggle with her shoulder pain and holds off making her bread dough until the next day. 

 

Before service, Nana's chicken is still raw and she decides to pivot and baste her dish in butter to help cook it through. Once again, Nana doesn't get her dish finished. Complete fail. 

 

Brandon - Deconstructed lasagna, bolognese with marbled pasta & whipped ricotta

Judges Feedback: Delicious, like the layers of the experience

 

Nana - Yass onion puree (incomplete)
Judges Feedback: So incomplete you can't even give it a critique

 

Jennifer - Pickled shrimp bun with red eye gravy
Judges Feedback: Liked the shrimp but the bun was too dense, wanted more color

 

Anthony - Mole negro, mole rojo & mole verde with chicken
Judges Feedback: Looks great, loved how he plated it, flavors are great

 

Laurence - Bao flight, yellow chili pork, green curry beef & strawberry macha
Judges Feedback: Great step forward, thought they were tasty

 

Brittany - Pan seared scallops, broccoli & chlorophyll uree, daikon, carrot & saffron broth
Judges Feedback: Dish is fine, but can't tell it was part of a color challenge

 

Justin - Lamb & clams with dyed vegetables

Judges Feedback: Rhyme but don't go together, vegetables were not bright colored at all

 

Sherry - Charcoal-brined pork with rainbow spaetzle, red cabbage, kumquat & sourdough vinaigrette

Judges Feedback: Pork was hard to chew, didn't enjoy the texture of the spaetzle, doesn't feel cohesive

 

Jonathan - Chochinita pibil, jalapeno cilantro crema, turmeric rice, hibiscus pickled onion, habanero salad & guajillo oil

Judges Feedback: Aesthetically it's pretty but the ingredients were not taken in a different direction

 

Sieger - Vadouvan poached scallop, yellow braised daikon, braised calamari with squid ink & onion soubise

Judges Feedback: Felt dramatic but the flavors became murky

 

Oscar - Tricolor red snapper, corn nuts & leche de tigre

Judges Feedback: Least colorful ceviche ever, knife cuts were terrible

 

Rhoda - Mussels in escabeche with marbled potatoes, mojo rojo & mojo verde

Judges Feedback: Flavors didn't come together but had two colors, sauce was broken

 

Duyen - Brioche stuffed roasted chicken, preserved lemon tagine & charcoal parsnip puree

Judges Feedback: Sauce was fine and passable but the color was not great

 

Overall, this was a VERY weak performance from most of the chefs. Brandon, Anthony's and Laurence were the three best dishes per Tom. Everyone else is up for potential elimination. Really poor showing overall.

 

As predicted Brandon, Anthony and Laurence are the top table. Laurence wins the Elimination Challenge! This is his first EC win and third consecutive week with a win of either a QF or an EC. 

 

In a Top Chef first, all of the remaining chefs were on the bottom. It wasn't a surprise to see why and even less of a surprise that Nana gets eliminated.

 

In League News, LOTS OF POINTS except for Team Reuben/Liz who had negative 3. Team Keber leads the pack with 19 points, followed by Team Fordin with 12. This propels Team Keber into first place with a total of 28 points. In second place Team Fordin is tied with Team Sean/Jillian. Team Hutty and Team Becca/Scott are tied for 4th behind them. 

 

Final table choices have been entered in the scoring sheet. No surprise after her strong performance to start the season but Rhoda was chosen as Top Chef by 7 of the 12 teams. Anthony was the next most chosen choice with 2 teams choosing him. WIDE range of choices for LCK winner. It will be interesting to see how the season plays out with a wide spread everywhere except Top Chef. 

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Episode 2

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We join the chef's in the stew room after last week's elimination. Nana is visibly shook after her panic attack during Week 1. She feels she has more to prove, which is a great attitude to have, if you can get it together and survive Week 2. Rhoda is coming off the first win of the season and is determined to keep pushing herself. This is champion talk! Let's see if she can back it up with her immunity. 

 

This week the chef's entered the Top Chef kitchen for the first time of the season! Former champion Mei Lin joins us for the Quickfire Challenge, which is centered around gelato. Each chef chooses a gelato flavor to try. Jonathan picks Vanilla because he thinks it's the safest flavor, a very strong strategic move. 

 

For this week's Quickfire Challenge, each chef will make a savory dish that highlights the ingredients for the region that inspires the gelato they chose. The dish will be served with a scoop of gelato after so they will need to go together. There are two chefs per gelato flavor so chefs will serve side by side. The chefs will have 30 minutes to cook with the winner receiving $10,000. 

 

Gelato Flavors (Regions) and Chefs broke out as the following:

 

Vanilla Bean (Madagascar) - Jonathan & Sieger

Alphonso Mango (India) - Rassi & Nana

Pacific Coast Pistachio (California) - Laurence & Anthony

Mediterranean Mint (Mediterranean) - Jennifer & Justin

Coffee Chocolate Chip (Colombia) - Rhoda & Brittany

Southern Butter Pecan (Southern US) - Duyen & Brandon

Caramel Cookie Crunch (Argentina) - Sherry & Oscar

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Oscar - really balanced and great with the cheese

Laurence - amazing flavors with salty, sweet, tangy

Nana - spice paired really well with the gelato

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Brittany - coffee flavor didn't come through, overly aggressive with raw onion

Sieger - fish was overlooked and the sauce was overpowering

Duyen - pork was cooked ok, but missing seasoning

 

Laurence wins the quickfire and $10,000!  

 

For this week's Elimination Challenge, the chefs will have to work as a team to create a 7 course menu that gets progressively hotter. Each chef will be responsible for one dish and will choose a pepper to be featured in their dish. Each course will have 90 minutes to prepare and cook the day of service. The chefs draw knives to determine the teams. 

 

Green Team - Anthony, Brittany, Jennifer, Jonathan, Oscar, Rhoda, Sieger

Red Team - Brandon, Duyen, Jassi, Justin, Laurence, Nana, Sherry

 

With the limited info that we have, the Green Team looks stronger on paper despite having Rhoda who has immunity. That's always tough if you end up on the bottom table as it raises the odds of being eliminated. It will be great to see a big team challenge this early in the season, as it gives us a great glimpse into the chefs personalities. We'll see who takes charge, who gives in to team pressure, who gets steamrolled on the menu planning or shop. After the challenge everyone should leave with some better insight to what these chefs can accomplish. 

 

Rhoda looks like a good team player by being open to taking the pepper nobody wants since she has immunity. This is an advantage to her teammates if they can execute properly. Jassi wants to go last even though he doesn't like spice. Nana questions this in her confessional and it does seem questionable strategically. The Red Team creates a strategy during the shop to cross utilize the ingredients. So if someone is buying lime, they get enough for everyone. This seems risky as you are relying on other people to get your ingredients. We could see some issues here during the prep period if people can't find what they need. It already seems sloppy as the Red Team is struggling to get their order within budget. At the end of the shop it does look like a lot was left behind. 

 

As the chefs enter the kitchen to start their prep, Rhoda already looks to be taking charge on the Green Team. Everyone is helping Brittany with her dish and this is a good start based on her Week 1 performance. Rhoda wants to sign off on everyone's dishes, this may annoy people but will at least make sure there is some guidance. They seem to have their progression properly locked in. 

 

The Red Team doesn't seem to have a clear leader off the bat but they do have a good looking menu. Jassi is planning on going super hot, but by not liking spicy, he wants to make sure he has input from the team. When they go to taste, Brandon's dish is spicer than Sherry even though he is going first. Sherry has to re-season her dish to compete with Jonathan's which makes her nervous. This is also trouble if the first dish is too spict the progression will be off. 

 

First Course

 

Sieger (Green) - Kumamoto oyster, cucumber, green jalapeno mignonette granita & reaper salsa

Judges Feedback: Came in hot, delicious but aggressive 

 

Brandon (Red) - Tuna tartare, tomato jalapeno jelly, avocado mousse & puffed wild rice

Judges Feedback: Texture was great, perfect amount of heat

 

Red seems to win the first round based on the judges feedback. 

 

Second Course

 

Brittany (Green) - Charred corn & grilled shrimp salad with chili lime vinaigrette & pickled cayenne peppers

Judges Feedback: Heat was lingering, seemed a little boring but tasted good

 

Sherry (Red) - Chilled seafood chowder with lemongrass, fresno chilies & fresno lime granita

Judges Feedback: incredibly elegant, broth was rich but hit the spot perfectly

 

Red seems to win the second round based on the judges feedback. 

 

Third Course

 

Jennifer (Green) - Peppered crab with grits & seafood gravy

Judges Feedback: Sauce is spectacular, it packs a punch, love the textures

 

Duyen (Red) - Pork laab salad with jalapenos & rice crackers

Judges Feedback: Really nice, the spice grows, very good

 

Close one, but I think Green takes this round based on the judges feedback. 

 

Fourth Course

 

Jonathan (Green) - Pan seared snapper with cara cara orange & kumquat slaw

Judges Feedback: Very good but next to Laurence's.

 

Laurence - Carolina-style yuxiang eggplant three ways with rice

Judges Feedback: This dish is good, feeling the spice, fantastic dish with a lot of thought

 

Mei comments that the Red Teams progression is much better so far. 

 

Red Team takes this one based on the judges feedback. 

 

Fifth Course

 

Anthony (Green) - Jerk lamb, hoe cake, red jalapeno & scotch bonnet carrot maafe, carolina reaper pikliz

Judges Feedback: Love the texture of the corn cake, flavor and the heat were balanced, successful dish

 

Nana (Red) - Shito marinated red snapper with fish light soup, fufu espuma & okra salsa

Judges Feedback: Loved the texture from the soup, Tom's snapper was raw and didn't like the dish

 

Green takes this round based on the judges feedback. 

 

3 - 2 Red going into the Sixth course. 

 

Sixth Course

 

Oscar (Green) - Blue corn masa huarache with al pastor, salsa diabla, salsa criolla & pickled pineapple

Judges Feedback: Did a really nice job with layering the chilis and the heat, tons of great complexity

 

Justin (Red) - Shrimp stuffed chicken wings with greens dressed in habanero chili oil & yogurt ranch

Judges Feedback: Took a minute to get the punch, needed a better cook

 

3 - 3 based on judges feedback, looks like it will come down to the last round. 

 

Before the final round, the Red team starts adding heat to Jassi's dish as they do not think it is hot enough. 

 

Final Course

 

Rhoda (Green) - Pepper braised short rib, chili pickled pearl onions & blistered cayenne

Judges Feedback: Had an amazing sauce, she used the heat profile really well, flavor explosion

 

Jassi (Red) - Braised lamb vindaloo with flaky paratha, potato mash, yogurt & lime shot

Judges Feedback: Didn't really kick for them, heat was more in the mash, lamb was dry

 

Based on the judges feedback, it seems like the Green team stole this round and could have won the overall challenge. Judges table will be very interesting as it seems close. 

 

Green Team wins Elimination Challenge in a VERY close match! The individual winner from the Green Team was Rhoda. That is her second elimination win in a row, an especially impressive feat when having immunity. 

 

The Red Team is on the bottom and someone will be going home without a chance to get to Last Chance Kitchen. Justin, Jassi and Nana have the judge's least favorite dishes and will be at risk of going home. Jassi is eliminated and will go home. Nana sneaks by again despite another poor service. We'll see how long she can last with her level of performance. 

 

In League News, we have points! Every team scored points this week except for Team Gaskin/Waldfogel who are in the negatives. Unfortunately nobody picked Laurence this week so no points for Quick Fire were awarded. For the Elimination Challenge, 7 teams chose Rhoda to win. Of those 7 teams, 3 had Jassi in their top table and lost points due to him being eliminated. After week 2, we have a three way tie for second place between Team Hutty, Team Sean and Team Scott/Becca. Team Reuben/Liz are picking up right where they left off last season as first place in the rankings. Still VERY early though and the tides can turn quickly in Top Chef League. 

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Episode 1

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Reunited and it feels soooooo good! 

 

Season 23 opens up at the Charlotte Motor Speedway with an interesting dynamic having both a set of twins and a couple in a long term relationship (not married). We'll see how this plays out down the line. Quickfires no longer provide immunity, but there will be cash prizes instead. 

 

The first Quickfire of the season has the cheftestants split themselves into five teams of three. Each team must create one dish using only the ingredients in the pantry. They will only have the time it takes for a professional driver to take 23 laps around the speedway track. No team is able to start plating until the final lap. The teams split themselves up with little drama and it seems to be based on where they are standing. 

 

Red Team - Anthony, Brandon, Sweiger

Blue Team - Jennifer , Jonathan, Laurence

Yellow Team - Day, Duyen, Nana

Green Team - Brittany, Jassie, Justin

Purple Team - Oscar, Rhoda, Sherry 

 

Favorite Dishes

 

Purple Team - ceviche was cold and beautifully cured

Yellow Team - harissa butter was delicious and they liked the pickled green tomato

Blue Team - hush puppy was beautifully fried

 

Least Favorite Dishes

 

Red Team - seemed to have ingredients missing

Green Team - fish was raw, not cooked

 

Blue Team wins the first QF of the season! This is interesting as one of the twins and Jennifer from the couple all won, while their "partners" didn't. Let the competition begin!

 

Before the chefs leave the Charlotte Motor Speedway, they are given their first Elimination Challenge. For this week's EC, the chefs will have to create a high end dish featuring sweet potatoes. The chefs draw knives to determine which sweet potato they must feature in their dish. They will only have one hour to cook and plate their dish. It's an individual challenge, with the chefs serving in groups of three. In each group there will be a winner and one chef up for elimination. 

 

In a new twist for this season, the first two chefs eliminated will NOT have an opportunity to enter Last Chance Kitchen. So the eliminated chefs in the first two weeks will go right home, with no chance at redemption. 

 

We head to Whole Foods for the first shop of the season and all the chefs seem to have a good idea of what they want to do. After the shop, the chefs head to the hotel where we learn some more personal tidbits about them. It's great to see so many chefs have connections before the show, I believe that will help amp up the competition...and drama. 

 

As the chefs hour starts, they all seem concerned about the one hour time limit. Some people seem to have experience with the sweet potato and others do not. A lot of the chefs seem to be pulling from their childhood with their dish. As always the kitchen is chaotic, even more so with this being the first challenge. Day seems especially scattered as she realizes that the oven with her dish was not on. She seems panicked, very panicked. 

 

Before service we learn that the chefs will vote on the spot for each dish. This will put some extra pressure on the chefs once they realize what is going on. 

 

Carolina Ruby Group

 

Sherry - Carolina ruby mocqueca with green papaya chow chow

Judges Comments: Great flavors, cooked well

 

Jonathan - Grilled pork loin, Carolina ruby bacon jam, sweet potatoe puree & pickled okra

Judges Comments: Everything was cooked perfectly

 

Day: Roasted Carolina ruby with herbes de provence, sos kreyol & roasted snapper

Judges Comments: Fish undercooked and sweet potatoes, the herbs were too powerful

 

WINNER: Jonathan

LOSER: Day

 

Before service Nana is a complete mess and cannot get her dish plated. She has a full on meltdown afterwards in the kitchen. Do not see her going far if she cannot handle the pressure in the first challenge. Kristin has to go console her but not sure anything can save her at this point except another chef completely missing the mark. 

 

Murasaki Group 

 

Anthony - Seared scallop with murasaki accra, murasaki fondant & jus

Judges Comments: The preparation was great and the fritter was great

 

Nana - Murasaki mpotompoto with colalrd greens & smoked ham

Judges Comments: Most sweet potato of all the dishes, not ready

 

Laurence - Murasaki & pork stuffed collard green sarma with tomato & yogurt

Judges Comments: Laurence took away flavor from the sweet potato

 

WINNER: Anthony

LOSER: Nana

 

Purple Majesty Group

 

Oscar - Braised purple majesty with agave chorizo hash & pasilla salsa

Judges Comments: Really good, not a lot of comments. 

 

Justin - Curry & cardamom poached purple majesty, brown butter sweet potato puree & cheese sauce

Judges Comments: Pretty close but the texture was really fun, potato undercooked, most likely not going home based on feedback

 

Brandon - Purple majesty with caramel, coconut & white chocolate sorbet, sweet potato streusel & meringue

Judges Comments: It was good, something they never had before

 

WINNER: Brandon

LOSER: Justin

 

Brittany has an issue with her pork and cannot get it to temperature. It looks pretty rare when she goes to plate. 

 

Covington Group 

 

Jassi - Rice and lentil khichdi with roasted covingtons & yogurt pickles

Judges Comments: Flavor wise was fantastic and was out of balance

 

Brittany - Seared pork tenderloin, covington puree, pickled & crispy sweet potato

Judges Comments: Felt more like a pork dish, and the pork was underdone

 

Rhoda - Soy-glazed covington with miso sweet potato puree & lime creme fraiche

Judges Comments: Almost unanimous, miso made the sweet potato sing, was most sweet potato of all the dishes so far

 

WINNER: Rhoda

LOSER: Brittany

 

Norton Group

 

Duyen - Norton sweet potato & pandan mochi with ginger syrup & coconut cream

Judges Comments: Really refreshing take on the sweet potato

 

Sieger - Seared norton, roasted onion jus & sweet potato puree

Judges Comments: Liked the flavor combination but the cook was challenging

 

Jennifer - Condensed milk poached sweet potato with squash puree & pickled nortons

Judges Comments: Flavors were great, but the potato was undercooked

 

WINNER: Duyen

LOSER: Jennifer

 

After service it seems like the it's between Day, Brittany and Nana to go home. For the winner, I think it seems like Rhoda is the front runner after the service. 

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The winner of the first Elimination Challenge is Rhoda! She will now have immunity for next week. It seemed really obvious based on the judges feedback. 

 

The first chef eliminated from the competition entirely is Day. Somehow even with a complete breakdown Nana escapes elimination. Not sure she will be gone next week but she will be gone soon unless something changes. 

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