PrintTop Chef Chicago, Episode 6: Daaaaa Bears
Harold, your usual Top Chef recapper, is on the bench tonight, so here I am as the second-string Top Chef blogger suiting up and going in to the game.
Why the sports analogy? I'll get to that. But first, the we're going to cut to the 11 remaining cheftestants' armchair-quarterbacking of last week's show.
Spike "heard it through the grapevine" that "a lot of people thought I should have went home." Why? "People are feeling a little threatened" because "I'm a talented dude."
If your talent is wearing crazy hats, sure. [Warning: Spoilers ahead, mateys!]
Jennifer, Zoi's partner, vows to win for the both of them. "She's the love of my life." (Zoi, as you'll remember, was canned last week.)
Ryan stretches out on a yoga mat. In the background are those balance ball things.
Lisa's happy that she won, but she's upset over the shite that went down with Dale last week. A conversation about "negativity" ensues. "That negativity wore me down," Dale says. But Dale can "go f*&# himself," Lisa says.
And with that, let's get to the ...
Quickfire Challenge: 11 Contestants Walk in to a Bar
OK. They mosey in to the studio and there's, like, 16 pitchers of beer on a bar that's all done up to look like ye olde P. J. Dinglehoffer's. The guest judge is Koren Grieveson, head chef of Chicago's Avec, a downtown restaurant whose food is "really awesome," Stephanie says.
The Quickfire is all about "simple pleasures," and the challenge is to create a dish that pairs well with a beer of each cheftestant's choosing. "Pairing beer with food is a very popular concept," Stephanie says. Gee, you don't say.
Nikki: "Beer signifies fried food to me." Me, too! (Too bad it bombs with the judges.)
Stephanie, Mark, and Ryan actually cook with beer. Not a bad idea. At all.
Jennifer: "I might have been more fired up than everyone else. I'm doing this for Zoi. I just wanna go in and, like, kick some ass."
Lisa: Burger and beer! Classic.
And the standouts are: Richard (grilled tuna sandwich with quick-pickled vegetables), Stephanie (steamed mussels with cilantro vinaigrette and grilled bread), and Jennifer (shrimp and scallop beignets with fennel, avocado, and pepper purées).
And ... Jennifer wins! Somewhere, Zoi cheers in front of her TV.
The Elimination Challenge
And now for the main event. The Elimination Challenge continues in the "simple pleasures" vein. The Toppers must go to a Bears game at Soldier Field, where they'll cook at a tailgating party for 80 Bears fans. (Yes, it's baseball season now, but remember this stuff was filmed a while ago.) The fans will determine the top and bottom three, and the judges will take it from there.
As a Chicago native who's been to plenty of games, Dale's pretty damn confident he can run the ball down the field.
Mark, the New Zealander, is a bit spaffed, since he's never played "American football."
Jennifer is, you guessed it, "going to win this, 'cause I'm doin' it for Zoi."
I'll bring you the shopping play-by-play in a bit, but first I want to reacquaint you with this classic:
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7 Comments:
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your recaps. I couldn't keep my eyes open late enough to watch last night, but now I at least know some good details!
Any idea on what the catering challenge will be next week?
modysoul at 7:21AM on 04/17/08
I would have sent all three of them home, but to me, Mark's unsanitary conditions were the worst, with the bouts of hepatitis in restaurants the recent years, he potentially put hundreds of people at risk without thinking twice about it. I know that might seem a bit TOO serious, but for someone who's had restaurant food poisoning 3 times in the past, that type of behavior shouldn't be rewarded by letting him stick around. I saw Nikki's downfall in a different light, sure she didn't give much thought, but that is tailgate food she made (yes she should have made her own sausage), and to me, the fact that she ran out of food seemed like the crowds were enjoying it, especially if some came back for seconds, very poor planning on her part for not saving some for the judges though....and Ryan, I haven't liked him from the start so last night's episode was no exception, I was glad to see he finally was asked to pack his SPORKS and go... if I were one of the judges I would have thrown in a "and learn how to make Chicken Piccata when you leave here".
To recap, I still think Mark's unsanitary conditions should have sent him home, but I was glad to see the back of Ryan as he "left the building"
Southern_bella at 7:39AM on 04/17/08
Re: the text-vote poll
Even though I'm a straight female, I'd still much rather touch Padma. Come on, she's gorgeous!
I chalk the results up to the vocal "bear" contingent that watches the show.
thornbek at 9:34AM on 04/17/08
I second 'thornbek'- Padma way more touchable, did you see her in that jersey?
Personally, I thought Nikki should have been the one to leave. She bought premade food! Isn't the name of this contest Top Chef? So isn't the basic requirement of competition being that you actually cook your own food? Even if Ryan's food was not usual tailgate fare, at least he wagered his own recipes. And the fact that Nikki ran out of ingredients is not because the crowd liked her food- remember she got one of the lowest scores. That is just bad planning on her part. As for Mark's messy kitchen; yeah, thats gross. So, in my opinion, Nikki or Mark should have gone home. I was surprised they thought Ryan's menu plan was worse then either Nikki's lack of cooking or Mark's unsanitary conditions.
stareater at 11:43AM on 04/17/08
@stareater: I'm right there with you on the jersey thing. I've never been into the jersey-wearin' if you're not, you know, actually playing a game at the moment, but she rocked that look. I never thought I'd see Padma doing that sorta skater-slacker short-sleeve-over-long-sleeve thing, but the turtleneck underneath seems to work. Of course, there's no doubt that jersey was tailored perfectly for her by stylists before the shoot.
Moving on from Project Runway analysis of Padma's duds, I think you're absolutely correct about Nikki, Ryan, and Mark. I'm more sympathetic to Mark -- I think he should have gone with the gas grill. Unless you're an ace griller, you should go with the consistency of gas heat; the last thing you want is to futz with fire control while cooking for 80 people. No doubt that played a large part in his sloppiness. And, yeah, at least Ryan tried something of his own. I mean, *I* could have come up with a sausage-and-pepper grinder.
Adam Kuban at 12:17PM on 04/17/08
Outside of Stephanie, I find myself underwhelmed with this seasons crop of chefs.
philn at 12:52PM on 04/17/08
Oh, Nikki's time will come...it will come....
I agree on hygiene being > poached pears on the list of faux pas. Dude. I don't cook for a living, and even I know to keep my work clean!
onalark at 6:46PM on 04/17/08