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'Top Chef': A Good Mollusk is Hard to Find

Posted by Harold Check, May 29, 2008 at 1:22 AM

We've got five chefs left. Lisa, Stephanie, Richard, Spike, and Antonia. Last week, we lost Dale. If you are still misty-eyed over that cut, head on over to Bourdain's blog for the straight dope on why Lisa and Spike are still wearing their whites.

As this week's episode begins, there's just one more elimination before the remaining four chefs head to the finals in Puerto Rico. On the way to the Top Chef kitchen, the group makes a side trip to Allen Brothers, a well-known meat purveyor in the Chicago area. Here, the contestants don hairnets, gird their loins, and sharpen their knives before heading into the back to cut some steaks.

The Quickfire challenge is laid out by Joanne, a representative of Allen Brothers. Each chef is given a dry-aged rib rack that they need to convert into Tomahawk Chops, thick steaks with long, completely frenched ribs still attached. They have 20 minutes to make the steaks look perfect.

[Thinly sliced spoilers after the jump.]

After the slicing, sawing, and scraping, no winner is crowned. Each of the chefs boxes up their steaks and heads back to the Top Chef kitchen where they meet up with Padma and this week's guest judge, Rick Tramonto, local chef and author a several cookbooks.

The second part of the Quickfire is to take the butchered chops and cook a perfect medium-rare steak in exactly 30 minutes. As the chefs scatter and get to work, there's a variety of techniques on display. Spike cooks his chop on the grill and finishes it in the oven. Antonia also starts on the grill. Most of the other chefs go with the pan approach. Richard's last step is to char his with a torch.

As the judging unfolds, Rick cuts each steak and judges them solely on appearance and feel. No tasting. Stephanie and Richard get dinged for sloppy butchering and undercooking their meat. Lisa, Spike, and Antonia each get passing marks from the judge, but Spike's butchery is the difference. His chops were the cleanest and most appealing. He wins the Quickfire and gets the proverbial "advantage" in the final Elimination Challenge.

The Elimination is pretty simple. The chefs will be taking over the guest judge's restaurant, Tramonto's Steak and Seafood, the following evening. Each chef will prepare one appetizer and one entree to be offered during service. They will man their stations and put out dishes the entire evening.

Spike's advantage, much like last time he won the Quickfire, is to pick his proteins first. He gets five minutes to peruse the offering in Tramonto's cooler and take whatever meat or fish he wants back to his station. He chooses the same Tomahawk chops from the previous day and then makes the decision that will reverberate through the rest of the episode and perhaps through the rest of Top Chef history. Spike chooses to use frozen scallops for his appetizer.

Everyone else seems fine with Spike's choice, especially since there are plenty of others options in the Tramonto fridge. As Tom Colicchio makes his rounds, the chefs each describe the dishes they've prepared and the choices they've made. Spike tries to put a positive spin on his frozen-food frak-up, but even he can't really pull off the save. The best he can offer is "If I can make these look good, I can make anything look good."

While Top Chef usually hinges on moments of disaster, there are also usually some just plain hilarious sound-bites. This week, it was during a talking-head segment with Stephanie. She was explaining the nature of sweetbreads by likening a well-prepared thymus gland of veal to a Chicken McNugget. It was pretty great. You can't buy that kind of heartfelt product placement! Oh wait, yes you can. Even so, this was a sweet, honest moment from a gourmet chef.

Stephanie, if you don't win Top Chef, you can certainly find work hawking McNuggets for Mickey D's. Maybe you can even come up with a new dipping sauce. I will be first in line.

Anyway, on to the meals, which we get to see served to judges Rick, Padma, Gail Simmons, and the winners of the first three seasons -- Harold, Ilan, and Hung.

Lisa's appetizer was Grilled & Chilled Prawns, Lemon Zest & Tomato Salad, served on a Crostini. Her entree was New York Strip Steak, Apple Caramel Sauce, and Peanut Butter Mashed Potatoes.

Stephanie's appetizer was Sweetbreads with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts. Her entree was Beef Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms and Apple Sauce.

Antonia's appetizer was Mushroom and Artichoke Salad, Poached Egg, and Bacon Vinaigrette. Her entree was Bone-In Ribeye with Fennel and Cipollinis, and a Shallot and Potato Gratin.

Richard's appetizer was Hamachi with Crispy Sweetbreads, Radish, Avocado and Yuzu. His entree was Beef Filet, Potato Puree, Red Wine, Turnips and Pickled Brussels Sprouts.

Spike appetizer was Seared Scallops with Hearts of Palm & Oyster Mushrooms. His entree was the Tomahawk Chop, Sweet Potato Puree, Brussels Sprouts, and Cipollinis.

The six judges go over each dish wish a fair amount of detail. Like many of the previous episodes, you can easily handicap the final results based on the faces of the judges during service.

At Judges' Table, the entire crew is brought out to face questions, so no heads-up on who was going to win. Most of the chefs get pats on the back. Lisa's kudos come with a healthy serving of qualification. Then Spike goes before the committee and has to answer for his choice to use frozen scallops.

Here's a handy guide for future Top Chef contestants:

When the guest judge says you shouldn't have chosen a certain ingredient, you...

SHOULD SAY: "You're right, Chef. In hindsight, that was a bad decision. If I had it to do over, I would make a different choice."

SHOULD NOT SAY: "With all due respect, they were in your walk-in, and it should never make it in the walk-in if it's not high-quality."

Despite Spike hoisting himself on that wonderfully disrespectful petard, the judges actually have an extended conversation about the merits of each contestant's dishes. It was a nice insight into the deliberations, which legend has it can go on for quite some time. Of course, in this case, the discussion over who ultimately won the challenge was more dramatic than who was getting a one-way ticket to anywhere but Puerto Rico.

When the chefs are brought back in, Stephanie is awarded the win for her general excellence. Richard is also given his passage to PR and told that his appetizer was the crowd favorite. Antonia, on the other hand, made the superlative entree and she too will be heading to the finals. The dream team heads back to the kitchen to celebrate having each avoided what would've been an embarrassing stumble.

Spike and Lisa are kept before the judges to learn who will be cut and who will travel to Puerto Rico to come in fourth place.

The suspense is short-lived. Lisa is chided for not putting more effort into her finished products and not translating her sophisticated palate into spectacular-tasting dishes. Spike, on the other hand, is just sent packing. He takes it very graciously and you have to give the guy a lot of credit. He wins the overachiever award, hands down, for getting as far as he did. Seven appearances on the chopping block and he almost squeaked through to the finals. One can only wonder if he'd managed to avoid those scallops. I bet Spike would've rocked some awesome island-style straw hats if he'd gone the distance.

So, who's going to win the whole thing? Contestants have been making a big deal (for a couple of seasons now) about a woman taking top prize. Seems like the odds are solidly in their favor at this point. Here's how I handicap the remaining contestants:

Stephanie, 2-1
Richard, 3-1
Antonia, 3-1
Lisa, 20-1

What do you say?

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Tags: Top Chef, Top Chef Chicago, Top Chef: Season 4, TV