Top Chef Texas - Ep. #11 - 01/18/12 (Spoilers)

[LindaWhit]

OK, we're down to 7 cheftestants - and we have the battle of gorgeous people as judges tonight - Charlize Theron, Padma, and Eric Ripert. Everyone's happy!

We start off back in the Stew Room, and WHAT a surprise - Sarah *still* thinks that Lindsay should have won as "she was the glue that kept us together." Seriously? Gah - and Lindsay's face was sour throughout the entire time in the Stew Room. Tom shows up in the Stew Room, and tells them they're heading back to San Antonio. The women are in one Toyota, silent as church mice - except when Lindsay is saying she's got "very high standards". Sheesh.

They head into the TC Kitchen, and there is Padma and Eric Ripert. The Quickfire is all about quick thinking. Ripert says sometimes there's time in a kitchen where they have time to think and plan; other times they have to think quickly. The conveyor belt behind them will have items coming around and they will be required to choose three of them - the longer they wait, the potentially worse the items will be that they can choose. They have 30 minutes to make a dish, using their 3 items and everything else from the pantry.

Some people choose things right away; some are waiting like Chris Jones. Sometimes they'll see something, miss getting it off the conveyor belt, and wait for it to come around - and the people in teh back remove it. Chris Jones is waiting for lobster, and sure enough, they remove it. TWICE he goes for it, and TWICE they remove it. Tee hee! But on th ethird try, he is able to snag them.

(A NOTE - I *thought* the mini-rewind worked during the DVR'ing, but it seems that it's still screwed up, so I'll try and get the items - OH NO! Here we go AGAIN! It's screwed up!) NOOOOOO!!!!! Trying to fix.....

OK, I'm watching live so I won't have descriptions of each QF dish and what they each chose. But Padma and Eric are trying each dish; Paul thinks he's bombed using bitter melon. Lindsay takes a chance and makes a bouillabaise-type dish for Eric Ripert. Beverly didn't get an item on her dish, where Edward said "I would have cheated and just thrown it in the air and hoped that it fell on the dish." WOW. Edward, you'd CHEAT?

Low group - Chris J., Grayson, and Paul
Top group - Sarah, Lindsay, and Beverly - but she can't be in the top group, as Padma tells her that she would have won hands down if the curried Rice Krispies had been on the dish.

The winner? Lindsay - SHE gets immunity. But she knows she was really 2nd best.

The Elimination Challenge is to make a dish "fit for a queen" - Charlize Theron comes in to tout her movie "The Queen and the Huntsman". She plays a serial killer evil queen to get her competition, Snow White. They are tasked with making a Gothic feast - each dish should be wickedly beautiful - indulgent, and think like a queen to "take out their competition."

They head to Whole Foods to shop for their items; then they're back at the house and are discussing how they'll incorporate evil into their dishes. Chris Jones seems to be going *way* overboard again - thinking concept vs. the actual food. A lot of camera time with him, including him being on a phone call with his wife....is this portending him leaving?

They're in the living room and Paul is asking that everyone plays nicely in the kitchen the next day. Lindsay says in the confessional that "everyone's had problem with Beverly jumping in and taking things without asking; she's like a bulldog in the kitchen." So Sarah and Lindsay continue to snipe about Beverly. :::Sigh:::

They arrive at Southwest School of Art, and they have 2 hours to cook. Edward is the first course; Paul is stressed with 14 ingredients on his plate. Paul is also saying that he thinks Beverly might be doing halibut to show Lindsay that she *can* cook halibut. He also said that Beverly's had MORE cooking experience than anyone in the TC kitchen.

The guests arrive - Padma, Charlize, Tom Colicchio, Emeril, and Eric Ripert.

First course:

Edward - Tuna Tartare with Black Garlic Ponzu Pudding with Asian Pear Vinaigrette.

(AND it went into freeze mode again - I'm SORRY! I'll try and catch up! I seriously HATE this freakin' remote control!)

Paul - (need a description - TV froze again!) - got it - Enchanted Forest of Fois Gras, Bacon, Strawberries, Pumpernickel, Serrano Peppers, Pickled Cherries and Beets with a Bloody Handprint (THANKS to debbiel below for listing Paul's dish for me!)

Beverly - (another description needed! - got it) - Seared Halibut with Red Curry Coulis and Black Forbidden Rice (again, THANKS to debbiel!)

Lindsay - Seared Scallop over "Witch's Stew" & Dragon Beans - the smell is enchanting everyone, and everyone loved her dish.

Sarah - Amarone Risotto with Lamb Heart, Currant and Sunchoke - again, everyone loved the dish

Grayson - Black Chicken with Roasted Beets, Red Chard and a Quail Egg - she REALLY took the "slaughter" theme to the max - they are LOVING the presentation, and everyone loves the dish's taste as well.

Chris J. - Poisoned Apple & Cherry Pie (with Rice Krispie maggots) - Tom LOVED the drama of it, saying "this is where the bag of tricks works". Yet again - another great dish.

Tom said it was the best meal of the season so far; Padma said because the entire meal was so good, it would come down to the glitches in each dish.

Padma comes into the Stew Room and asks to see ALL of the cheftestants. Tom notes that in all of the years of doing the show, this was one of the finest meals he's ever had.

Edward - "We are here to please you." to Charlize saying if she were Queen, she would have been more than pleased. NICE suck-up! LOL Tom notes to Chris J. that he knows he was getting on him all season about the tricks, but this was the time to use them. Charlize notes to Grayson that it really looked like she slaughtered the chicken.

The Winner? Paul! (Now I *really* need to know his dish description please!) He gets two tix to the World Premiere of "Snow White and the Huntsman". Edward, Lindsay and Chris J. are also safe. Left are Sarah, Beverly, and Grayson. The judges are having problems

Sarah - Charlize said her first hit of risotto had a hit of salt; and Tom said it was slightly undercooked. He admits he's nitpicking.

Beverly - Tom said the sauce was sticky having used arrowroot, and Charlize said the sauce had a weird texture. (And she gets teary defending herself.)

Grayson - her dish, while appropriate, had salty greens.

I have a feeling it might be Beverly this time.

The judges discuss each dish and make their decision. Tom reviews each of their dishes with them...and Padma tells Beverly to PPYKAG. She could have saved herself from this Elim round if ONLY that curried Rice Krispies had been on her dish. She has a gracious farewell, saying she never threw anyone under the bus.

Previews - theres a head-to-head battle - Sarah vs. Lindsay, Grayson vs. Chris J., and Paul vs. Edward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So it's Beverly against Nyesha in Last Chance Kitchen! Beverly walks in and Nyesha says she's thinking she's got this in the bag. Hmm... Tom asks the eliminated chefs, who file in, who will take this one. Heather spouts off "My money's on Nyesha!" And Tom replies "Well, you two have had some bad history all the way through" as he points to both Heather and Beverly. WTG, Tom! But NO ONE bets on Beverly. She's hoping to prove them wrong.

The challenge is about local fare - Black Drum, a fish local to the waters. With one twist - once they're at their station, they will have ONE CHANCE to make a pass through the pantry and gather *all* of their equipment, food, pantry items, etc. for their prep and dish. They get what they need; Beverly gets in Nyesha's way. Tom runs into the kitchen, and throws yet another twist - they have to STOP and switch stations - literally using the other's pantry ingredients! Yowza! Beverly settles into Nyesha's ingredients; Nyesha's pissed at how Beverly's ingredients are NOT what she'd like. Beverly's got 5 min. to butcher her fish, leaves a pan on the stove too long with way-too hot oil (which she then pours on to the grill, pissing off Keith!) Tom tries both dishes; liked both dishes but it comes down to seasoning, and he makes his choice of winner.

[gaffk]

I just rewatched this episode. As someone upthread noted, Bev has her nose two inches from the cutting board . . . But what I now realise bothers me more is her hair hanging within an inch of the cutting board. If you're a chef, keep your hair short enough to not hang over the food or long enough to tie back.

[Withnail42]

That's what I'm talking about!

What a great episode. By far the best of this season. Arguably one of the best of any season. They all rose to the challenge an plated very creative and tasty dishes. The judges really worked at trying to figure out who to send home. Talk about a Shakespearean ending! Bev misses the element that would ultimately have saved her. And Big Tom still clearly has his risotto issues. We need more challenges like this one.

A little late to this as I was a away the people with whom I was stayed seemed to have every channel except Bravo.

[LindaWhit]

::::Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!::::

Sounding the Klaxon alarm - just letting everyone know - I've GOT a new remote, I've programmed it, I've tested it by live-recording the local news and hitting the pause button, the mini-rewind button......

And it WORKS! :-)

[gaffk]

YEAH!!

[mariacarmen]

YUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

[Phaedrus]

From: Tom Colicchio

@tomcolicchio
So for all that don't follow for my witty political rant, I will live tweet tonight top chef episode.

[LindaWhit]

And I trust you will copy and paste a few of the gems on tonight's recap, dear Phaedrus? ;-)

[jeanmarieok]

I figured out last night that I don't get Bravo in my hotel. I don't know if I have the self control not to read the recap before I get home on Saturday to watch the episode.

[Shrinkrap]

That sounds AWFUL!

[momjamin]

I wasn't sure if this warranted a thread of its own, but have you seen "Mediocre Chef" at the Bravo site?

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/seaso...

Nice editing ;-)

[debbiel]

That's got some pretty funny spots. :)

[momjamin]

And it's quite a good reminder about how well we can trust the editing ;-)

[KailuaGirl]

What a hoot!

[DGresh]

Very funny. Reminds me of a game from the book Metamagical Themas where the goal was "mediocrity". The game gets harder as you do rounds,and you don't want to "excel" at being mediocre. Very meta:)

[gaffk]

I especially loved the prizes: an article in the local paper and a $125 gift card.

[LindaWhit]

THAT is pretty funny! I wonder what the cheftestants think of it! LOL

[fame da lupo]

Surprised no one has asked this yet: how the hell did Paul's dish work? So many disparate ingredients, I wonder how he pulled them together.

[kubasd]

Side note: Did anyone see the article in the February issue of Bon Appetit featuring Ed Lee? The pictures of his food look gorgeous!! I was unaware that he was so highly regarded in his area...

[huiray]

Ed Lee also beat Jose Garces on Iron Chef America (Season 8) in Battle Tongue and Cheek, by a score of 53 (Lee) to 48 (Garces).

His restaurant (610 Magnolia) serves lovely leisurely dinners Thurs-Sat only. http://610magnolia.com/610-magnolia/
:-)

[RUK]

Oh my, Truffles tomorrow! Yum!!

[kubasd]

oh cool! Did not know that. I think I might need to pay more attention to his dishes :)

[LurkerDan]

Wow, the restaurant is only open 3 nights a week, does only one seating per night, seats 50, for a prix fixe of $55 or $65. How does he make any money? Before alcohol (which I realize is a lot), that's a max of $9500 gross. With other help in the kitchen and front of the house and all other overhead, how does he make money?

[huiray]

Good question, actually. He does do special events (e.g. the truffle dinner tomorrow that RUK commented on), has the Wine Studio across the street from 610 Magnolia, does parties and private events, does corporate catering, does appearances here and there (for which he gets fees, I imagine)...

[gaffk]

Yes, I saw that in this issue. That dinner looked spectacular (and lots of fun. did you notice in the pictures of the attendees just about every one had a drink in their hand?)

I may have to make a trip to Louisville.

[kubasd]

I loved the one of him cheering on the woman doing the pickleback shot, haha

[gaffk]

But that pickleback shot was, um, gross?

[kubasd]

It's just a shot of bourbon followed by a shot of the "caraway-tinged" pickle juice... sounds pretty dang tasty to me!

[cowboyardee]

Pickles themselves also make pretty decent chasers for many kinds of hard liquor.

What finally got me to enjoy tequila and mescal is following a shot with a drop or two of original Tabasco and then a bite of a fairly sweet homemade pickle.

[bobbert]

Anyone else happy that now that we're out of Austin we no longer have to see that glowing red phallic "Austin" motel sign at sunset each episode just in case we forgot where we were?

[Bart Hound]

Ha! I thought the same thing when I saw that hotel sign. Did they want it to look like a giant penis?!?!?! Is that the look they were going for or did it take them by surprise?

[jeanmarieok]

Ha, I am happy someone besides me noticed this - I was starting to think my mind was bad!

[bobbert]

I had to Google it and turns out it's a pretty famous sign - for the reasons we suspect.

[momjamin]

Max's blog is up at http://eater.com/tags/tv-recap, and he had me at:

I have never been to Texas, and therefore I've never made the drive from Austin to San Antonio. From what I gather, it is long. But I've made other long drives, and none of them taught me to cook. But that is apparently what happened before last night's Elimination Challenge.

There's also a fun animated bit of Chris chasing the lobsters, and Bev playing the lids until Ed stops her.

[twyst]

"I've never made the drive from Austin to San Antonio. From what I gather, it is long."

Its less than an hour and a half, I'm not sure why they said it was a long drive on the show.

[soupkitten]

i think it would *feel* long, if you were totally assed out and sleep deprived and just wanted to collapse into bed after managing to get through another ridiculous marathon reality show taping... maybe? ;-P

[Shrinkrap]

Looking up "assed out".....

[John E.]

It's especially not a long drive in Texas. Although my father likes to tell his Texas friends that Texas isn't so big. He used to regularly (twice per year, on the way to Arizona) drive across both Oklahoma and Texas in 3 hours.

[acgold7]

Wow, your dad must have had quite the car. At its widest point, Texas is about 800 miles. Even Oklahoma City to Amarillo is about 250, and that's not really "across" either state.

As the old saw goes:

"The sun has riz, the sun has set
And we ain't out of Texas yet."

[Shrinkrap]

I was just going to "say" that! But in my hotel room, it read "The sun has riz, the sun has set, and here we is, in Texas yet!"

[John E.]

I was in a hotel restroom in Albuquerque once and it read "Here I sit, my buns a flexin', givin' birth to another Texan."

[John E.]

If you're driving on US 54 from Liberal, Kansas to the New Mexico border, it's about 180 miles.

[linus]

what part of kansas is liberal?
<rimshot>

[acgold7]

Well, sure, if you just wanted to nip off the tiniest corner of both states. But that's not driving "across" anything.

But I think we all knew you were kidding. Just didn't want those not familiar with geography to think anything like that was remotely possible.

[John E.]

Not 'remotely possible'? That's why it's humorous, he really did drive across both states in three hours. My father made that drive many times. He used to stop off in Dalhart, Texas to get his truck serviced. He did in fact go border to border in both states.

[acgold7]

Only if you consider the distance between 10 and 11 on a regular round analog clock to be "across" like between 9 and 3. Dipping your toe into the pool is not the same as swimming.

But really, we do get the joke. It's a variation on the stewardess who says she walked across the country in five hours today. We get it.

Anyone who actually cares about this can easily look at a map and see the route you've described doesn't even remotely qualify as driving "across" either state, let alone both.

[John E.]

I wouldn't compare it to the stewardess thing because she did not actually walk across the country. You're toe analogy doesn't work either. The swimming analogy that would work is swimming 'across' a pool the short way instead of the long way.

"Across" does not necessarily mean at its widest point or greatest distance. Across in this case means going from border to border, which is what actually happened. What I cannot believe is that this little joke actually got challenged.

[huiray]

In that case - eh, I can drive across a state in 15 minutes or so...I do that regularly when I drive from the Mid-West to NYC. :-)

[John E.]

I don't know your route so I'm not going to guess which state to which you're referring. But since none of the states you would be driving across is known for its large size, as Texas is, the humor wouldn't work as well. Plus, the original reference including crossing 2 states.

[huiray]

Nothing to it...just breeze across WV from Wheeling to West Alexander. :-)

[John E.]

I've driven a boat across the state of Minnesota....check out Lake of the Woods.

[DGresh]

gotta agree with you john. It's a *joke* for crying out loud. Like a silly pun. Whatever.

[KailuaGirl]

"His wedding photo proves his hair decisions have always been perfect." I thought that was really funny, but his hair actually does look better in the wedding pic. Of course, that's not saying much.

[Shrinkrap]

Just to clarify...was it the BEST or the WORST items that were likely to come out last on the conveyor belt? I thought it was the BESTWouldn't that be the only reason to wait a bit?

[acgold7]

Yes, Ripert pointed out that while the best items were to come out later, that would mean you had less time to prepare them.

[Phaedrus]

Which is why I was dubious about Chris' chances. I know these guys are pros but I didn't think he could take the lobster apart, cook it, and put the presentation together in the time that he had. Kudos to him.

[kubasd]

Houston Press Recap:
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/...

ETA: She also notes the comparison w/ Ugly Chris to Lucille Ball w/ the conveyor belt... haha

[LindaWhit]

Phaedrus ought to appreciate the leading picture in that blog. ;-)

[John E.]

I certainly did ; )

Someone needs to tell Ms. Shillcutt of the Houston Press that not every episode of TC 9 needs to be about Texas. I don't think previous seasons of TC always focused on the location in which it was produced. In my mind this season is much weaker because of all the focus on Texas. I hope the Elves are aware of this.

Upon further reflection I realize I don't know what the Elves agreed to do in order to earn the $400K from Texas but I'm sure they will fulfill the contract. I just hope we're done with the Texas themed stuff.

[Joanie]

I too was surprised at her ragging about the challenge having nothing to do with Texas. Like the ones in NY and other places have had to relate to the city all the time? Did she just start watching?

Also didn't understand this comment: "Everyone on the ladies' team is pissed that Beverly won over Lindsay, but I tend to think that it's more that Grayson and Sarah are upset they themselves didn't win and are jumping on the "poor, overlooked Lindsay" bandwagon because it makes them look an iota better. It's not working on me."

Where does she get that Grayson was feeling like this? If something happened in last nite's episode, I sure missed it.

But this was funny: "as Charlize Theron's legs have just entered the room. (Her head and torso join the party roughly five minutes later.)"

[LindaWhit]

And LOLing at this comment!

"Meanwhile at the judges' table, Padma's mouth toasts Charlize, but not the rest of her face. And certainly not her eyes, which glint coldly as she regards one of the few women on earth who can make her look like a lumpy bag of softball equipment. (The terrible satin pantsuit she's wearing is partly to blame too. I can't wait for this latest jumpsuit trend to die.) It's a beautiful moment."

[Phaedrus]

Yeah, the jumpsuit crap has to go. But yes LW. Very nice photo to lead it off.

[roxlet]

"Lumpy bag of softball equipment" -- such a fabulous turn of phrase!!

I just watched the Extended Judges's table for this episode, and there is a pretty funny moment early on where Charlize is expounding on artists having to stretch their boundaries, and Padma is unsuccessfully trying to get a word in edgewise. Charlize seems to be pointedly addressing Tom, and pretty much ignoring Padma's interjections. Definitely no love lost there. There's only room for one model at this table, so step aside, bitch!

[LindaWhit]

MeeeeeeeOOOOOWWWWW!!!! (Sounding loud and long like my Buster-kitty! LOL)

[moto]

if you've seen any of Padma's attempts at 'acting', you'd realise that her 'boundaries' might be pretty confined.

[John E.]

Padma has 'acted'??? She cannot even get her lines right in Top Chef and they have to do voiceovers in a studio to fix them later.

"Hands up! Utensils down!" She's been saying this line backwards for years and apparently they gave up trying to get to say it correctly.

[linus]

she's in that bad mariah carey movie, 'glitter'. she can't act, but she does this job just fine.
charlize theron, who doesn't strike me as the next marie curie any more than padma does, does plenty of 'voiceovers' on her movies to correct mistakes.
also, not all 'voiceovers' are to correct mistakes. producers often add lines to make things clearer to the audience.

[John E.]

Most of the time those lines to make things clearer to the audience were flubbed during the recording of the video during production. I'm referring to when they announce the prize, the parameters of the QF or EC or other voiceovers. I read somewhere some time ago about Padma's proclivity to mess up her lines and thus the voiceovers. The audio would match better if she would say them on camera instead of in a booth later.

[roxlet]

Those wouldn't be called voice overs unless the speaker is off camera. They're known as ADR -- additional dialog recording.

[Ruth Lafler]

They usually do them as voice overs on Top Chef -- they show Padma talking and then they cut to a shot of the cheftestants or the product placement while her voice "continues."

[linus]

i read somewhere sometime the earth is flat.
everybody, even seasoned performers, does adr on t.v. and in the movies. that padma does this more or less than them doesn't reflect on her performing her hosting duties. if it did, they would replace her.
and i'm going to go out on a limb here and say a very small minority of people watch top chef to see how well the audio matches.

[John E.]

You're right, most people don't notice it. I'm only posting what I read. Apparently, it can get exasperating for the crew when she still flubs her lines quite often even after hosting all these seasons.

[KailuaGirl]

Just an aside, what is on Padma's right arm? It looks like some sort of scar, maybe from a burn? This is the first time I've noticed it, and I know she goes sleeveless a lot so...

[TuteTibiImperes]

It's from where she was attacked by a tiger as a girl in India.

[soupkitten]

um, family car wreak, i thought?

[mariacarmen]

yes, a car accident when she was young. she doesn't hide it at all, which is one thing i like about her.

[LindaWhit]

Umm....no it most certainly is NOT. She was in a car accident in Malibu, CA when she was 14yo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_La...

[TuteTibiImperes]

She made a quip about the tiger in one of the 'watch what's happening' TC recaps when someone asked the same question, I just thought it was funny.

[LindaWhit]

OK, phew. :-)

[Shrinkrap]

What a story THAT would make!

[kubasd]

When she first started modeling, she tried to cover it up, both because she was uncomfortable with it, and the photographers/art directors thought it detracted from her beauty. She didn't become "big" in the modeling world until she met a photographer who saw it as part of her appeal, and highlighted it.

[KailuaGirl]

Thanks, all!

[mariacarmen]

jaysus - i like boys, but man is Charlize hot!

[chicgail]

True. She almost made Padma look dowdy.

[linus]

not hardly.

[boingo2000]

No, that was the awful 1977 pantsuit that she was wearing that made her look dowdy.

[mariacarmen]

yes, agreed. clothing error.

Padma just leaves me cold.

[jcattles]

I was really disappointed that Lindsey got immunity. There is just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. I didn't care much for her before but her behavior on Restaurant Wars sealed the deal for me.

I was so happy that Paul won. He seems the one to beat, even his peers think so. It was nice to see Chris J use his techniques to his advantage this time.

I won't post any spoilers on LCK but I will say I definitely felt more emotions over LCK than the Top Chef Episode.

(Am I the only who doesn't mind discussing LCK on this thread? I understand others don't watch it right away & prefer to keep it separated, but man there are sometimes it would be so much easier to discuss it here freely.)

[mariacarmen]

yeah, i wish the same.... but it's whatever Linda wants! she takes the time to do this for us every week, so it's her rules, as far as i'm concerned. and i know she's doing it to be considerate to others.

[yummfood]

"I was really disappointed that Lindsey got immunity. There is just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. I didn't care much for her before but her behavior on Restaurant Wars sealed the deal for me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MMM HMMM!

[Shrinkrap]

I checked the LCK results before I read "Lindas thread" last night!

[chowser]

Immediately after the show, I watched the last 5 mins of LCK before going to bed. I think I might be more into that than I am in who remains now!

[jcattles]

Me too!

Sorry Linda, I love your recap and it's the first thing I read on Thursday mornings but I needed to vent after watching LCK last night.

I think I'm more vested in LCK...or at least I was until last night. We'll see what next week brings.

[LindaWhit]

No apologies necessary, jcattles! I agree - I enjoyed watching LCK, at least recently. But last night's ep of TC-Texas was a stellar one. I'm looking forward to re-watching it (without the damn picture freezing! LOL)

[jcattles]

Last night's episode was a great example of why I love Top Chef. I love the challenges where they can shine on their own. It was based on the food and not the drama.

[Joanie]

I can't find who mentioned the fact that on LCK, Tom kept asking who thought Beverly would win. I watched it after seeing the comment and felt so bad for her. It seemed really mean, esp. when he kept at it asking other chefs besides Heather. No need for it.

[chicgail]

I'm not sure it was mean. Remember the judges don't see what happens behind the scenes. What Tom did know is that Nyesha had just eviscerated everyone who had come her way. Maybe he was just trying to get the lay of the land.

Or maybe the producers told him to ask that question to see what response they would get. Remember this is ultimately about "good television."

[mariacarmen]

i posted that. yeah, i thought it was really unnecessary, "good" t.v. or no.

[LurkerDan]

Truth is, he may ask that question before every LCK, and this is the time that they aired it.

[mariacarmen]

could be.

i had the thought that at Judge's table, when he had Sarah, Beverly and Grayson out there, he didn't (that we saw) ask the question "why do you think you should stay on" tho we've seen him ask that question before of other contestants on the chopping block. It makes more sense that the three gave those little speeches if he specifically asked that question.

[NellyNel]

My take on that, was that Sarah took it upon herself to give the "I desreve to be here" speech, and so the other two felt the need to follow suit.

[chicgail]

That was my interpretation as well, but we'll never really know. A secret of the elves.

[Worldwide Diner]

Probably watched too much Hell's Kitchen. At every elmination on HK, you got a couple of dopes giving the "I deserve to be here" speech.

[LurkerDan]

I'm not sorry to see Bev go, if only because it gets rid of the drama (though I dislike Sarah and Lindsay more). And this type of competition does not seem to suit Beverly's skills.

That said, I think many of the chefs regularly underestimate her cooking ability. She clearly is a very talented chef, and I would be thrilled to eat her food.

[goodhealthgourmet]

That said, I think many of the chefs regularly underestimate her cooking ability.
~~~~~~~~~~
except for Paul, who said last night that he thinks she's really talented, AND pointed out that she has more cooking experience than any of them (which was news to me). i *really* like him.

[FoodPopulist]

Paul did say that she was underestimated by others when she had more cooking experience than them. Maybe that childlike Asian Gelfling thing she has going on makes people think she is younger and less experienced than she actually is.

[LindaWhit]

As I had noted in my OP, Paul said he thought she was underestimated by the rest of the group and that they didn't know how good a chef Beverly really is.

[soupkitten]

what is up w beverly's... erm.... extremely unusual knife technique? or does she need glasses, or what? excruciating to watch her work w her nose four inches above the cutting board or plate.

sorry, been bugging me for a while but there were more actual cooking/technique shots in this ep, and i was going wtf?

[Berheenia]

Yippee! No more Beverly!

[boingo2000]

I'm surprised at a lot of the anti-Beverly feeling on the board. I really liked her; she seems like a genuine, nice person. I do admit being irritated by her inability to stand up for herself, but I would have liked to see her go farther than the apparent "mean girls" in the group.

[AMFM]

with you. i liked Bev. wish she would have stayed. and at least it seems like she could cook. well.

[NellyNel]

I liked her too, I actually thought she was kind of adorable, really...

[Firegoat]

I have to agree. I found Beverly very hard to watch.

[letsindulge]

I can relate to Beverly. In the past I would let people's "words" get me to the point where I'd get all hot & bothered before lashing back. Now it's a different story...their words & actions just roll off of me. Believe you me I can rip anyone a new a..hole but why give them the satisfaction of knowing they got to you when you can get under their skin by not responding to their rants? She's letting her cooking do the talking.

[Phaedrus]

I think Beverly's non-compliance to the theme made her stand out like a sore thumb. Even though Grayson pointed it pretty subtly at JT, it was pretty obvious. Beverly herself pointed it out herself at JT, she said she just couldn't force herself to go that evil.

I was really hurting for Beverly because of that missed opportunity, and the irony of Lindsay getting that immunity. Of course, Lindsay had to go Top Scallop on us. She did pull it off though.

Paul wins and he only gets a pair of tickets to a movie? WTH?

I thought the judges were really trying to squeeze the turnip on this one, they worked hard to justify their choice.

I really want to try the food at Beverly's restaurant. It looks and sound like she is a real craftsman/person with her cooking. It takes time, it takes attention, and it take mad skills. That doesn't translate well into this competition though.

I thought the jam session in the Stew room was kind of fun. I kept looking at Chris and thinking about Steve Martin in The Jerk: "I was born a poor black child..."

With regard to Grayson's dish....wow. Who thought a Wisconsin girl can be so evil. I think she hinted and the show got her the black chicken.

As for Charlize Theron. *sigh*. Linda, was it good for you with Ripert.

[JAB]

I interpreted it as Paul getting flown to Hollywood or NY and being put up in a nice Hotel for the premier opening of the movie. Red carpet, celebs, etc...

[Phaedrus]

It could be, but I would have thought they would have really plugged it, like hey, we will fly you on ABC airlines and you will be driven to the premier in a brand new Toyota Venza etc....

[JAB]

You're so right. While Charlize Theron was just delightful, the movie tie in was overwhelming although, it did offer an interesting theme for the challenge.

[John E.]

While I thought there were a lot of mentions of the movie tie-in to the food, I didn't think it was distracting. I thought Charlize Theron was a great guest judge. Has there ever been another season of Top Chef where there were 2 African-American judges in the same season?

[DougRisk]

John, I understand that her family comes from South Africa, but I am also guessing that you are saying that tongue-in-cheek?

[JAB]

Thanks for clarifying where John E. was going with that.

[DougRisk]

Well, I AM still guessing that is what he was trying to do.

In all honestly, (if I remember correctly) there was a (white) woman from an African country that was a naturalized citizen in America that ran for office in Philadelphia (I think) and she ran as an "African American" (that is, she had mentioned that at least once in one of her speeches/interviews). IIRC, some of the local were not too happy about it.

[John E.]

Yes, it was tongu-in-cheek. I was not citing any federal ethnicity designation. This idea first came about when Kerry ran for president and someone mentioned that his wife was African-American (she was born in Mozambique).

[Shrinkrap]

Are you saying Charlize is African-American becuase she is from S. Africa? FWIW, that is not the federal definition of African american. I thought she was great too! She knows her food, AND sold the movie!

[Ruth Lafler]

Well, she's an American, and she's of African heritage. What else would you call her? It's a good way to point out how silly labels are!

[gaffk]

As my old thesis director would point out, every label is a libel.

[Shrinkrap]

I would call her South African. And I bet when she was growing up in South Africa, she learned a lot about labels, "silly" or not. But I will leave this alone.

[moto]

labels are silly, yes of course, but if one uses the term 'afrikaaner' it's understood to mean a S.African of Boer or English ancestry. of course, amerikans might think 'african' when they hear the word. maybe the label 'Afrikaaner-amerikan' would best fit.

[LindaWhit]

Phaedrus, because of technical glitches referred to in my OP, I didn't get enough Ripert as I would have liked. I will be watching it again. And again. :-)

And Charlize DID look phenomenal and seemed pretty happy to try everything on the plates and was well spoken about them as well. Not a dumb blonde, that one. :-)

[Phaedrus]

To me, there is nothing sexier than a smart gorgeous woman who knows and appreciates food.

Linda, you can substitute man, or just Eric Ripert for woman in the above sentence.

[LindaWhit]

Thank you, dear Phaedrus, for allowing the substitution. Because I agree: To me, there is nothing sexier than a smart gorgeous man who knows and appreciates food.

ETA: But there *is* no substitute for Eric Ripert. ;-)

[AMFM]

why am i single then phaedrus? ha ha ha ha ha.

and linda, i'll take your substitution. with you there. :)

[linus]

eh, i didn't hear her say anything remotely compelling. and she was by far the second best looking woman in that room.

[John E.]

I don't know if she said anything compelling. She did take the witch thing maybe a tad too far. But I thought she was charming. She is one heck of an actress to be able to do the serial killer in Florida thing and then the iron miner in Minnesota. She was not elegant in either role but I thought she was in last night's Top Chef episode.

[linus]

well, i guess that's why it's a wonderful world. her charm and acting talent have always been lost on me, but i'm just some set of 1's and 0's on the world wide interwebs.
vive le difference and all that.

[bobbert]

I'll take the ugly one.

[John E.]

I just thought of something while writing a post about Charlize Theron below. If Eric Ripert had a pronounced Brooklyn accent, would he be as attractive to women as he seems to be now?

[gaffk]

Yes, he would still be as attractive. But no, not as charming. We'd have to watch him with the TV muted ;)

[LindaWhit]

Prolly not. :-) But hey, I've never been shy about saying his accent is a good part of the attraction! But so are his smile, his eyes when he smiles, .....

:::::shaking myself:::::: OK, Linda - SNAP OUT OF IT!!!

[gaffk]

From another thread on your other BF:

http://www.cpi-reps.com/index.php#mi=...

But be forwarned. Just as I cannot erase Ty-Lor from my memory, I cannot erase this image either. But then I don't find AB nearly as attractive as Eric.

[dmjordan]

Wow, um, speechless.

[kubasd]

wow...... if that wasn't meat that'd be.... kinda hot. but the huge piece of raw meat? gross. (puns NOT intended, haha).

[huiray]

Boy, he's got skinny legs.

[LindaWhit]

Yeah, I've seen that one of AB before. You gotta love him. No shame whatsoever. :-)

And a lot of the attraction for AB is his most excellent snarkiness. I miss his judging on TC.

[mariacarmen]

oh man! i do find that hot.

and Linda, did you see, a few pics further in that series, the one of beautiful ER? lovely boy.... both in their own right. i can't wait to see them next month!!

[LindaWhit]

I hadn't but scrolled through this morning - thanks! Have to say I *loved* the pic of Marcus Samuelsson with the salmon on his forehead. :-) Some strikingly gorgeous photos in that series!

[AMFM]

i liked the one of samuelsson too. and even though i find him insanely annoying the photo of scott conant is rather nice. who is with the sunflowers? that one just made me happy with the sky and colors. and i liked the breast feeding one too.
agree just lovely photos.

[gaffk]

I hadn't clicked through the other pixs, but I have to admit both ER and, to my suprise, Conant, were both very nice.

And Batali just cracked me up.

[debbiel]

Lots of wonderful pics, but yeah, the Batali one was so wonderfully amusing.

[goodhealthgourmet]

those photos are from Melanie Dunea's book "My Last Supper" - i own a copy, and she does some really beautiful work. i'd like to get her follow-up ("The Next Course") one of these days...love the shots of Colicchio & Morimoto in that one.

[gaffk]

Thanks, I'll have to keep my eyes out for these. (But I'll be ripping out the AB page ;)

[jeanmarieok]

AB is surprisingly HOT in that picture.

[kubasd]

surprisingly??

[mariacarmen]

exactly! just as i imagined him...

[mariacarmen]

whoa, i just noticed the one with Lydia in the pasta hat! lovely! and the wiley shot is fun too.

i did love the nursing mother - who is that chef?

[kubasd]

She is Gabrielle Hamilton. She is the chef/owner of Prune in NYC. She was nominated for best chef in NYC in 2009 and 2010 by the James Beard Foundation, and won it in 2011. Her menu looks pretty tasty... one dish in particular: Roasted duck breast with dandelion greens and a raisin caper sauce.

[roxlet]

I hated her book.

[kubasd]

Never read it, what made it so bad?

[DGresh]

I read it; I think I (and others as I recall who discussed it here) thought she came across as a bit self-absorbed.

[roxlet]

Yes, to say the least. Incredibly self-involved.

[kubasd]

What, you don't find that an admirable trait?? haha

[Joanie]

Forgot to mention, the scallop over short rib "witch's stew" didn't really appeal to me. Doesn't that seem like too hardy a base for a more delicate fish? Not a combo that comes to my mind, thus why I only eat the food.

[dmjordan]

Lindsey's dish hardly fit the theme of "evil" just because she called it witch's stew. If I recall that was the only evil part of the meal.

[Phaedrus]

They also liked the fact that she used Dragon beans. What ARE Dragon beans?

[dmjordan]

Ah, yes. I forgot about the dragon beans. Still not very evil though.

[LindaWhit]

http://www.urbanhennery.com/blog/wp-c...

Also called "dragon's tongue".

[dmjordan]

Cool beans! (pun intended) Thanks, Linda. I HAVE seen that in the supermarket before but didn't know what it was called. For some reason I was picturing a dry bean, like a pinto or white bean.

[LindaWhit]

Hey, I've seen them too but never realized they were called dragon's tongue either. I just see them called beans. I think kids might actually eat something cool called dragon's tongue! LOL

[soupkitten]

i think dragon beans are actually a sea vegetable.

[Shrinkrap]

Do you mean sea beans?

http://gothamist.com/2007/06/20/sea_b...

[soupkitten]

yes. i was going to find a cite when i had a second, thank you. i have seen these labeled as dragon beans, but i'm not positive they are the same item lindsay used.

[John E.]

This is what I found out about the beans:

"Dragon Tongue beans are a Dutch wax type bush bean."

http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produ...

[soupkitten]

the thing is i'm not at all sure we're talking about the same thing, which does happen with labeling/marketing vegetables, and different common names in different regions.

lindsay refers to dragon beans, which may be dragon tongue beans (which i've seen sold as "dutch variegated heirloom") or another kind of bean. or it could be a sea bean. or it could be something else. i was trying to look at her dish but couldn't see the stuff on the bottom well enough to distinguish what it was. :(

[KailuaGirl]

Sea beans I've eaten and adore. Dragon's tongue I'm dying to try, maybe even plant some.

[LindaWhit]

soupkitten, here's the picture from Bravo's Recipe website:

http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipe...

It's definitely dragon's tongue beans.

[soupkitten]

yes, i just saw them clearly on the eater recap, of all things! agreed, definitely "dragon's tongue beans." now i am wondering if the farmer who sold those same beans to me last summer as "dutch variegated heirloom" will use the hip, dangerous sounding name "dragon's tongue" this summer, and raise the price! ;-P

[LindaWhit]

THAT is the way I've seen them listed as well! "Dutch variegated heirloom" - but I'll bet the marketing wonks think using a foreign country's name with a cool world like "variegated" and the implied really exclusive word, "heirloom" makes the beans more expensive. :-)

[debbiel]

I actually wondered if Lindsey might have been in the bottom three if she hadn't won immunity.

[Phaedrus]

I wondered about that. I was watching the DVR when she talked about her dish and talked about how she just couldn't get that evil in her presentation. Her dish was pretty tame looking, a la Beverly. The judges were oohing and ahing about the aroma and the taste though.

Padma did say that she didn't need immunity after all, but that was before they all had a taste of all the dishes so they could have changed their minds after all the dishes were presented.

[gaffk]

Definitely gets flown to the premier.

From Tom's blog:
". . . and the difference between flying to the world premiere of a film and packing one’s knives and flying home comes down to the smallest of differences in otherwise complex, innovative and well-executed dishes."

[JAB]

Anyone else immediately think of I Love Lucy as soon as the conveyor belt was shown? Chris did not disappoint in his efforts to obtain the lobster.

[LindaWhit]

Oh lord - that's a brilliant comparison - Lucy and the chocolate conveyor belt. "SPEED IT UP!" Tee hee!

[momjamin]

Ima be looking for macadamias and live lobster next time I'm waiting for my checked luggage ;-)

[John E.]

What I found interesting with the lobster is that even with it Ugly Chris still ended up on the bottom of the QF.

[mariacarmen]

i said the same thing - a combo of lobster, foie and vanilla seemed to me a sure-fire win...

[soupkitten]

i also said this aloud! "how do you have lobster and foie and land in the bottom 3?"

[dmjordan]

John E., why do you insist on calling him Ugly Chris whenever everyone else calls him Moto Chris?

[John E.]

That's what he is being called on one of the blogs, the Houston Press I believe. I mostly do it BECAUSE everyone else is calling him Moto Chris. I did not make up the moniker myself.

[LindaWhit]

And I don't like either, which is why I stuck with Chris J.

I did enjoy writing Malibu Chris tho. Because he really *was* a Ken doll. ;-)

[dmjordan]

"I mostly do it BECAUSE everyone else is calling him Moto Chris."

Whatever that means.

[John E.]

It's a silly contrarian action on my part.

[linus]

to paraphrase a completely overrated movie, stop trying to make 'ugly chris' happen. calling someone 'ugly,' is, y'know, ugly.

[gaffk]

Actually, ugly Chris gave himself that name. Someone referred to Chris C as "beautiful Chris," so Chris J self-depracatingly says he's "ugly Chris."

[linus]

whoop de do. 1) obviously, calling oneself something and someone else calling you that are two vastly different things and 2) repeating something ad nauseum doesn't make it any more charming.

[soupkitten]

i kind of like "jonesy." "malibu and jonesy." sounds like a bad 1980's bmx bike teenybopper movie.

[John E.]

I don't think I've used the term 'ad nauseum'. At least I don't feel sick.

[roxlet]

I have to say that I was initially surprised when Grayson was on the bottom given the enthusiasm from everyone about her dish when it was presented and while they were eating it. Obviously, the episode was edited so that almost no negative comments were shown, but I really thought that her dish would be one of the top three.

Now, I've shopped a fair bit at Whole Foods, and I've never, ever, seen black chicken or forbidden rice. How do some of these foodstuffs show up at THEIR WF?

[Miss Needle]

The NYC Whole Foods carry forbidden rice. But I've never seen black chicken. Wonder if that was a pantry ingredient for this challenge?

[chowser]

It was hard to see any of them in the bottom since everyone seemed to do well. I feel bad for Beverly because, as she said, had she gotten her rice krispies on her EC dish, she would have had immunity. Ed was funny when he said he would have thrown the krispies in the air and hoped some fell on the plate. OTOH, while she said she ran out of time, it looked like she just forgot about them. Sure if she had more time, she would have noticed but it looked more like an oversight than a time constraint.

[JAB]

I don't know, it appeared as if she just barely plated her fish.

[LindaWhit]

I'm pretty sure I got my bag of forbidden rice in the Woburn, MA WF. Of course, I've still not made it. :-)

[kubasd]

My local Stop and Shops have forbidden rice, among a ton of other varieties, so I'm assuming WF would...

[goodhealthgourmet]

forbidden rice is pretty standard at WF - every location i've shopped at in NJ, NY, CA and Chicago has had it.

[John E.]

Is forbidden rice simply black rice? I have seen black rice at Target for years. I've never purchased any since we don't do rice all that often.

[moto]

'forbidden rice' is one variety of black rice out of dozens or more, but it is one that has been successfully marketed in the u.s. under that name. in Indonesia they make a great rice pudding with coconut milk and black rice, but they probably call their black rices something else.

[Caitlin McGrath]

It's always been clear to me that foods are "planted" when there's some unusual or exotic challenge. I doubt lamb hearts are often in the WF butcher case, either.

[roxlet]

Yes, I was thinking that too.

[mariacarmen]

very impressed with everyone's food tonight. imagination plus skill and taste! What a fun show, refreshing to watch, reminds me what Top Chef can be. I, too, thought that they might not send anyone home, because it seems unfair to send someone home if you "have to" nitpick. Then again, it sounds like with Beverly's, that sauce was actually a big enough flaw.

I was surprised that Moto's QF dish didn't please - that combo sounds awesome, and one i've heard before spoken favorably of (sorry, that's weirdly phrased, but you know what i mean.)

What Whole Foods (and in San Antonio?) carries black chicken on a regular basis, or even by chance? I guess i don't shop there enough...

And didn't the judges say, while they were eating Grayson's dish, that if her dish tasted as good as it looked, it was a clear winner? So salty greens were enough to knock her into the losing category? That means that all the chefs on top of this challenge REALLY outdid themselves, with no flaws.

Re LCK - I thought it was unnecessarily cruel of Tom to ask all the other LOSER chefs if none of them would bet on Beverly - why did that need to be rubbed in?

and Linda, against all odds, you pull through again! Thanks!!! and to those who helped her during crunch time.

[chowser]

For all the complaining about the cooking, the contestants proved themselves in this round and as others said, it's about cooking and not some meaningless Texas challenge. I've never seen black chicken at WF, even the large flagshipish one near me. But maybe San Antonio has a different crowd.

[HollyDolly]

Haven't been to Whole Foods in a while,but don't recall seeing it there in the past.Maybe the chicken came from H.E.B. Central Market on Broadway,and got sent to Whole Foods.Course don't recall it at Central Market either. They may have ordered it special for the show from some company that supplies fancy meats like that,and shipped it to the store,maybe the same with the forbidden rice, though i thought I saw that here recently at the Schertz H.E.B. Will have to look for it next time.
Was nice to see the Southwest Craft Center all decorated for the dinner. It's right across from the San Antonio Public Library,which used to be the old Sears Roebuck store.The Craft Center is the old Ursuline Academy,built by the Ursuline Sisters in the 1800s.
Loved all the dishes,and Grayson's did look like she killed the chicken on the plate.I guess Beverely in a way played it too safe.Never have used arrowroot to thicken anything,just flour or cornstarch, so am not sure what the judges were refering to in regards to her sauce.

[soupkitten]

black chicken isn't really "fancy meats." special-market, yes... "fancy," no.

i would expect any wfm to carry black rice. i would not expect any wfm to carry black chicken. i think there may have been a special bag of tricks the elves brought in just for the challenge

[kubasd]

I remember thinking, about the black chicken... Where the HECK did she get that?? I can't imagine it being at WF.

[LindaWhit]

mc, lots of swearing, immediate disconnecting of DVR to reset it, and frantic typing kept me moving forward last night. Unlike last week, where it was just a LOT of swearing. :-)

[Kris P Pata]

Great challenges; great dishes and, not coincidentally, my favorite episode of the season. All were on their respective A Games tonight -- amazing what a gimmick-free, proper challenge with a genuine, food-loving and true A-lister can inspire, eh? I thought Bev was hard done to be sent home and thought for sure this was going to be one of those rare deals where no one is sent home this week but, two are eliminated the following week. Like others, I thought for sure Chris was a goner due to the family background insert as set-up. Damn you cheeky Elves editors! I loved Grayson's dish: Those chicken feet were too much.

Happy to see my man, Paul, notch another. I hope he maintains the focus and doesn't peek to soon.

[Joanie]

I too thought they'd let everyone stay and get rid of 2 next week. It seemed unfair when there were such tiny little criticisms that someone had to go home. A good challenge all around.

I was surprised Beverly and Sarah hugged, I would have stayed away from her rather than pretend. I thought Bev cooking the halibut was a nice twist.

I didn't know there's such a thing as black chicken, I assumed it was like blackened chicken the whole time I watched the show. Weird.

I'm kind of surprised Paul's dish won.

[chowser]

I was surprised at how Bev and Sarah walked out of the JT room, arm in arm, too. It looked like they were best friends!

You must have missed the Chopped episode with black chicken. What an education reality TV is.

[chicgail]

They may be better friends off-camera and out of the editing room than we know.

[mariacarmen]

exactly. off camera, they're just people, not mortal enemies.

[Phaedrus]

Yeah, I am surprised they don't hack each other to death at night, since they are all bunking together. Or poison each other's Cheerios. Maybe that's why Paul is cooking breakfast: to keep the factions alive to fight another day.

[jcattles]

Maybe that's why they all did good on this challenge. They were able to put all their plotting & bad thoughts about their competitors into their food.

[DGresh]

Do they really have stuff like black chicken at Whole Foods? I don't have a WF near me but that seems like a rather special ingredient. Also regarding WF; I watched last night and there are definitely plenty of regular folks there in the store, who if they were as crazy as all of us here would be writing down "small asian woman, small blonde woman with short hair, woman with longish curly hair, guy with funny pony tail on top of head...." so that they would know when it's down to 6 who the 6 will be :)

[JAB]

It appeared that Beverly initiated the hug with Sarah much to my surprise. Even the hug with Lindsey in the Stew Room appeared genuine. Oh those Elves!

[momjamin]

Hung's season of TC had a challenge (the first QF, IIRC) with black chicken and a bunch of other exotic proteins to do surf and turf. That was the first I'd seen black chicken. (Other ingredients included ostrich, geoduck, eel, snake, abalone...)

[LindaWhit]

Yup, I remember that episode. The geoduck and the black chicken were probably the most exotic - to me.

[huiray]

Black chicken ('Silkie') can be found in many "Asian"/Chinese groceries. It's a traditional ingredient, often cooked in "medicinal"-type or other slow-cooked soups, or in slow braises/curries.

ETA: Here's one link (amongst many) that may be of interest: http://www.itmonline.org/arts/wuchi.htm

[mariacarmen]

that's why it's unusual, to me, that it would be in in a Whole Foods market...

[jcattles]

Maybe, just maybe, the items were in the pantry and not purchased from Whole Foods...just a thought

[Phaedrus]

Or it could be that the magical Elves magically made them appear at WF after overhearing, accidentally of course, what Grayson was planning. Just saying.

[jcattles]

There you go, that could be it also.

[Ruth Lafler]

I'm a little surprised Whole Foods had lamb heart, too. Perhaps because of the nature of the challenge they took them to an undisclosed (because they have an exclusive with Whole Foods and Restaurant Depot) specialty butcher.

[JAB]

"I too thought they'd let everyone stay and get rid of 2 next week." This crossed my mind as well.

[debbiel]

But at a certain point, if you have great chefs, it has to come down to nitpicking, doesn't it?

[JAB]

Certainly but, there is historical precedent for this from previous season(s) and this situation appeared to meet the previous criteria.

[momjamin]

Nah, not when Charlize was calling for a chef's head on a platter.

[bobbert]

+ what are we up to here, 4?

[FoodPopulist]

Well, this clearly replaces the cornfield challenge as my favorite Quickfire of the season. Edward: "I have no idea what's going on, but I know it's gonna suck for us."

Paul uses my least favorite ingredient ever, bitter melon. Idiot. I would rather kill a panda bear with a baseball bat and make steaks from it than cook or eat anything with bitter melon. I have relatives who eat salad with raw bitter melon. Ugh.

I probably would have grabbed the tofu because that can go in a lot of directions. I really like pairing tofu with meat.

Kind of surprised they didn't have to call an ambulance for Sarah after she saw Charlize Theron.

I guess this means my fantasy of Beverly being a culinary Kaiser Soze who's been playing a role to throw people off while sowing dissent to mess with heads isn't coming true. Was Paul right that she picked halibut to show Lindsay she knows how to cook it?

I think I would love a chef who is a mix of Edward and Grayson with a splash of Chris.

[huiray]

Andy Cohen asked Beverly Kim that on the 'Watch What Happens Live' aired immediately after TC last night. She denied it. :-)

[Niblet]

Re: Sarah, I'm done with what seems like affection of clapping her whole hand over her mouth to express surprise. Or maybe it's just because they always show it.

I loved this episode, I kept thinking "ok, he's safe, next one will blow it...okay everyone so far is safe, next one..." until finally even Chris nailed it and I had no idea who would be in top or bottom. I don't remember that ever happening on TC, in any season.

[LurkerDan]

"I loved this episode, I kept thinking "ok, he's safe, next one will blow it...okay everyone so far is safe, next one..." until finally even Chris nailed it and I had no idea who would be in top or bottom. I don't remember that ever happening on TC, in any season."
**************************************************************************

Yeah, I was doing the same, and was sure that Chris would go home, and then even he nailed it! I do recall it happening once before, the Ellis Island challenge from last season, and they didn't send anyone home because of it.

[cowboyardee]

"Was Paul right that she picked halibut to show Lindsay she knows how to cook it?"
________
I can't imagine how Paul would be wrong. Are we supposed to think that Beverly chose to make halibut by pure chance, having completely forgotten that just a day or two ago Lindsay crawled up her ass and set up camp there over a halibut dish?

Not that I'd hold it against her, btw. It would be perfectly reasonable to want to prove herself after getting beat up on so much during restaurant wars.

[JAB]

Carried further, could it then have been her downfall because I mean how evil can you make halibut?

[huiray]

OTOH, I thought her dish didn't look that out of place, really. It was "elegant mayhem", even - after all, they were supposed to make food fit for a Queen, not for the thuggish assassin down by the dockside sleazepit of a bar. Heh, this piece of innocent-looking whitish fish (and we all know what white is supposed to symbolize) maybe with slightly browned edges (and we all know what darkening of whiteness represents) resting on a stack of stuff in slight disarray (hint, hint) with a writhing bed of blackness underneath...and with a pool of reddish fluid (wine? Uh, maybe...blood?) seeping out...from under the door...or bed...

[mariacarmen]

that's what i thought - she used restraint in still making a version of something wicked. elegance and evil are an irresistible combination. she just didn't go over-the-top gross.

[huiray]

It's an almost unavoidable speculation. :-) Heh.
(I certainly thought the same too)

[Alex318]

her perfectly cooked halibut makes me think that she was sabotaging Lindsay in restaurant wars. Or the rest of the contestants are dead on when they say she only cares about herself, which is fine its a cooking competition after all, but no shock should come when no one wants to cook with her in team competitions

[mariacarmen]

she cooked her halibut in her own method, not Lindsay's method, which even Grayson said was not an appropriate method for that fish. That's why Beverly's fish was perfectly cooked, because she didn't have to listen to someone else haranguing her to cook it the wrong way.

[huiray]

But wasn't Lindsay Autry's *method* of cooking the fish an issue? One that Grayson Schmidtz also publicly questioned, to Lindsay A.'s face even? A method that Beverly K. was charged with executing even though (IIRC) she also questioned it and said something to the effect that she would have done it differently?

[Ruth Lafler]

Didn't someone besides Grayson say the problem was Lindsey's methodology? Paul, maybe? It seems unlikely that if it was just sloppy cooking that every single piece would be overcooked, which it sounds like they were. I.e. in the steak challenge, there was a variety of "doneness" in the steaks the judges tables was served.

[cowboyardee]

Cooking an entree using someone else's recipe for an entire restaurant full of people is a little different than cooking your own recipe for a dinner party of maybe a half dozen. Beverly had nothing to gain from messing up Lindsay's dish - she was bound to be called out on it if the problems with the dish were her fault, both on camera and in front of the judges (if the team had lost).

Anyway, I'm not convinced that it was Beverly's cooking that hurt Lindsay's halibut as much as it was the lack of expediting, which left the delicate grilled halibut to slowly die in the pickup window.

[Ruth Lafler]

Good points.

[yuyu]

grilling halibut and then putting it in a saute pan with butter is the culinary equivalent of braising a really nice piece of filet in red wine...
stupid and pointless...
both proteins are so lean that they will inevitably be dry and over-cooked regardless of Bev's cooking abilities.

[cowboyardee]

I didn't realize that was what she did. Much of the info I have to jump off from is what is listed on bravo's website. Here is the link to the 'recipe':
http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipe...
Perhaps unfortunately, the recipes listed on bravo.com are often changed a little from what was executed on the show, with elements left out, little procedures changed... or perhaps in this case shortcomings fixed.

I remember some comment from Lindsay to Bev about using butter (which is not in the printed recipe), but it wasn't clear to me from watching the episode alone exactly how it was cooked.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Perhaps unfortunately, the recipes listed on bravo.com are often changed a little from what was executed on the show, with elements left out, little procedures changed... or perhaps in this case shortcomings fixed.
~~~~~~~
bingo. happens all the time, particularly with dishes that aren't so well-received. several of us said we thought Lindsay's concept was flawed in part because the execution didn't make sense, and one or two of the chefs (besides Beverly) mentioned it during the episode. she told her to grill the halibut, panicked when she realized it was all turning out dry, and told Beverly (i think more than once) to make sure to baste it in plenty of butter to "keep it moist."

[chicgail]

Basting overcooked fish in butter doesn't make it moist. It makes dry, overcooked fish greasy.

[kubasd]

yup! Don't know what she was thinking!

[cowboyardee]

A bunch of random thoughts:

- Watching Moto Chris (is he just 'Chris' yet?) try and try again to get that lobster got this episode off to a great start. Last week I was worrying that I was overplaying the Wyle E Coyote joke, but he just keeps coming with that stuff. I sat through his loser's edit this week thinking, 'no way he's going home, trixy producers.' Think he'll go home next week? Nah.

I was really curious about how exactly he made the 'rotten apple.' Couldn't even narrow it down all that much, aside from his obvious use of liquid nitrogen. And that's the only recipe not up on Bravo's site this week. Dammit. Glad he got his moment in the sun, even if that didn't mean a win.

- I'm sort of curious, and wish I could taste Edward's tuna tartare. Because usually, making a tuna tartare would be inviting criticism in an elimination challenge. The recipe looks perfectly fine, but not over-the-top dazzling.

- Beverly might still be around had she taken a page from Chris and used a little xanthan gum. Then again, maybe not. This may have been one of the very rare, perhaps unprecedented episodes where someone was sent home for not fully embracing the challenge. I'm not so sure that in terms of flavor alone, gummy sauce is worse than salty greens and superfluous foie. And from the extended judge's table vid, the fact that Beverly didn't stretch to the challenge seemed like a deciding factor. Did Grayson successfully throw her under the bus at judges' table? Did it make any difference?

- A thought I had while watching Last Chance Kitchen (no spoiler): do you think Beverly cried when she got that massive tattoo on her arm? Anyone want to bet that her tat means some Stuart Smalley crap about how she should believe in herself? Am I being funny? Or mean? Or both? Unanswered questions.

- I wrote above that it seemed like this meal came out of nowhere, given what we've seen so far. And while it's true that a lot of the challenges have featured really restrictive conditions, there have been other challenges ('make a dish that honors your influences') that were fairly open ended. So I'm thinking here's a factor that only really came into play today - this challenge actually inspired the chefs. It was open enough that they could make more or less whatever they decided on, but suggestive enough that they felt they had to stretch themselves a bit and actually HAVE FUN with the cooking. Similar challenges have always produced good food. I figure if Michael Midgley (season 2) could make a great dish in this type of challenge (7 deadly sins), these chefs are more than capable.

Would love to see more of this kind of thing.

Or perhaps Eric Ripert's mere presence makes other people around him cook better. Who knows.

[bobbert]

" . This may have been one of the very rare, perhaps unprecedented episodes where someone was sent home for not fully embracing the challenge. I'm not so sure that in terms of flavor alone, gummy sauce is worse than salty greens and superfluous foie. And from the extended judge's table vid, the fact that Beverly didn't stretch to the challenge seemed like a deciding factor. Did Grayson successfully throw her under the bus at judges' table? Did it make any difference?"

I as thinking the same thing and in his blog Tom says as much about Beverly not embracing the challenge as a big factor. Good observation re. Grayson. Unlike some of the others (Heather, Sarah) she managed to point out how much she herself embraced the challenge while maybe reminding them what the challenge was thus maybe ever so gently allowing them to come to their conclusion about Beverly on their own. Others would have been a lot less subtle. I believe Sarah would have been all over Beverly but just didn't realize that Beverly had really missed the challenge. Still, I wouldn't say Grayson threw Beverly under the bus. More along the lines of stepping out of the way of the bus at the last second leaving Beverly standing in the middle of the road.

[Shrinkrap]

I wondered about her getting that tattoo too. (heh.....tattoo to)

[momjamin]

Anyone else wonder what Blais would have done? He was the one who fully embraced the movie challenge with Willy Wonka back in his original season.

[cowboyardee]

One of my favorite things about guys like Blais and Michael Voltaggio and Kevin Gillespie is those guys swung for the fences on every challenge. I'm sure any of them would have done just fine on this challenge as well.

The question is how to make the contestants this season cook that big on a day-to-day basis. Paul, for example, seems fully capable of making some awfully impressive food, but the motivation isn't necessarily there - there's not much impetus to take risks with his cooking when he's basically a shoo-in to the finale this season.

Moto Chris may not have the talent of guys like Blais or Voltaggio, but he's been the only one this season consistently wiling to take risks and go for the glory.

[John E.]

Whenever I see a chef on this program mention how important it is to get immunity (Beverly mentioned it on this episode I think) I remember that Kevin Gillespie and a few others always said they didn't need immunity.

[bobbert]

I was thinking partially along the same lines except I do believe Paul has been taking great risks as in last night whereas most of the others (with, as you state, the notable exception of Moto Chris) play it much safer. Except for Chris, Paul and Grayson last night, the others cooked things that they probably had done many times before except for a slight variation to meet the challenge requirements I.e. Sarah using red wine instead of a stock in the risotto. Some other dishes we've seen from all but Chris an Paul could have actually been on the menus of the chefs restaurants. Sarah's arancini is probably something she has made thousands of times. Paul's enchanted forest with its 17 components is not something he's ever done before.
I definitely agree that Chris sticks his neck waaaaay out there and with the exception of last night has only through luck kept his head from getting chopped off. He's talented but like you suggest, not in the same league as Blais.
Paul should continue to move forward. Chris maybe. He's like a ball player that hits home runs or strikes out.

[KailuaGirl]

I'd bet that Paul's enchanted forest makes its way to his restaurant's menu, with or without the bloody handprint. It looked and sounded delicious, and sure got raves from the judges!

[chowser]

I agree that Bev lost because she didn't stretch or embrace the challenge. This is the case where making good food isn't good enough--when everyone else also makes great food. I didn't get the feeling Heather threw Beverly or Sarah under the bus as much as she was defending why she deserved to be there. It's a fine line, though.

[JuniorBalloon]

Heather does have amazing, evil skillz, but I don't think she could have thrown anyone under the bus from the last Chance Kitchen even if she wanted to. ;)

jb

[bobbert]

I think chowser meant Grayson.

[chowser]

Thanks, that was a bad mental mistake--no similarity at all between the two!

[LindaWhit]

Haven't yet watched the extended judges table video, but when they showed shots of each EC dish, Beverly's just looked "normal". She didn't take it that extra step to make it Queenly or gruesome, as the others seemed to. I think that might have done her in in conjunction with the arrowroot-thickened sauce.

[debbiel]

Tom also said something about the flavors good, and we've had these flavors from you before. Or something like that. Overall, played it too safe perhaps.

[huiray]

How many times has Sarah Grueneberg made risotto now? At least twice, I think?

[John E.]

It still might not be as many time as Beverly did short ribs.

[huiray]

Oh, is this to be a shootout when I merely asked how many times Sarah G. had made risotto? ;-)

Eh, I went and looked at the dishes/recipes on the bravo website, anyway. (Ah, tonight's recipes are already up) OK, so far Beverly K. has made 3 short rib dishes while Sarah G. has made risotto twice, yes.

[John E.]

No, not a shootout. I just remembered last episode when Beverly was questioned when she mentioned doing another short rib dish and then at the beginning of this episode when the guys (which one?) mentioned they had not yet repeated a dish.

[Ruth Lafler]

To be fair, for RW Beverly suggested several other dishes that they shot down, and then they agreed she should do short ribs because she was great at them.

[John E.]

I was just pointing out what the guys said in the Toyota Sienna. I did not make a critical statement about Beverly's shortribs at all.

[Worldwide Diner]

I recall Bev offering suggestions that were shot down. Then Bev offered to do short rib and Sarah said something to the effect of - you sure you want to do short ribs again? I don't recall anyone agreeing with Bev that she should do short ribs, nor did anyone say Bev is great at doing short ribs. I think it's more like Bev knows she can cook good short ribs and if they didn't like her other suggestion, then f*ck them and I'm gonna do what I want.

[Shrinkrap]

"agreeing with Bev that she should do short ribs, nor did anyone say Bev is great at doing short ribs"

I seem to remember that...something like "she's great at it"

Can't believe I'm posting this....

[gaffk]

Yeah, Grayson stepped in and answered Sarah along the lines of why not? Bev makes great short ribs.

ETA: Yeah Shrinkrap, they should do a study on the adverse events caused by TC addiction.

[Worldwide Diner]

I doubt you'd ever get a confessional out of the other two "mean girls" that Bev is good at anything.

[yuyu]

I really hope that lindsay noticed how well cooked bev's halibut was......stupid cranky bossy......

I see that sarah has very aptly put on heather's shoes as the condescending nag of the house...

[happybaker]

I love grayson. She doesn't take sh*t from anyone.

[mcf]

I love that she doesn't take it, and she manages to let that be known without dishing it, either. Just very decent and direct.

[chowser]

I think it's possible she makes risotto for every challenge but it gets edited out by the elves.:-)

[mariacarmen]

and arancini are made with leftover risotto!

[KailuaGirl]

I was wondering about the freshly made risotto at the time, too. I thought that the tradition of using leftover risotto for arancini was to: a) use up leftovers and b) use something that was dried out enough to hold together (remember Tom's whole thing a few seasons ago about how risotto is supposed to be loose/runny enough to spread over your plate?) when thrown into the oil to fry. That said, I know they can't possibly make the risotto a day beforehand and, much as I do dislike Sarah, they did look delicious.

[huiray]

Heh. HEH. :-D

[chicgail]

Yeah, but Sarah G has also made little fried balls at least three times.

[Phaedrus]

I would be seriously concerned if I were her fiance, about her ball frying habit.

[chicgail]

LOL!

[huiray]

LOL! #2

[TuteTibiImperes]

Isn't she a lesbian?

[mariacarmen]

no, she has a fiance, a man, who they've showed on videotape, also a chef.

[TuteTibiImperes]

Ah, OK, for some reason I remembered a whole discussion on one of the other TC threads that she was a lesbian, must've been another chef.

[huiray]

Jaime Canete. Currently sous chef at Purple Pig, Chicago. Shared Sarah Grueneberg's casting video (co-star) for the last 1/3. Also shown with her in an "aside" segment (jointly talking) or two on at least one of the TC episodes proper on TV.

[huiray]

Very true!

[LindaWhit]

Figures - I was hoping to get the recipe "title" for Paul and Beverly last night while recapping, but they hadn't yet gone up. Luckily debbiel to my rescue. :-) (And yes, the new remote has been ordered!)

[ChefJune]

She has made risotto twice, but she also made arancini (the little rice balls often made from leftover risotto). Just sayin'...

[mariacarmen]

oops, i didn't see this - yep, she had to have made risotto 3 times for those arancini! i guess you could make it with regular rice... but i bet she didn't!

[huiray]

Yes. So that makes it 2.5 times for risotto, maybe...?
:-P

[Firegoat]

Still less than 3 times for short ribs.

[huiray]

True, true...
[Oh, so you are keen for this shootout? ;-) ]

So:
Beverly K. made a short rib dish 3 times;
Sarah G. made risotto 2.5 times AND fried balls 3 times.
:-)

[Shrinkrap]

This time Lyndsy made the short ribs and Bev made halibut!

[kubasd]

HA!! I didn't think of that.... talk about a switcheroo!

[kubasd]

I found it interesting to note Hugh's reaction to her risotto (not in this episode, in the Tequila/Game episode).

"Finally Sarah is in Dante’s inferno with her risotto, which she defends adamantly. I would too if I was the executive chef at Spiaggia. Honestly, I would take advice from Tim Love on elk cookery, but I would gladly direct my risotto queries to Tony Montuano, from whom Sarah learned to cook risotto."

Hmmm... so maybe it wasn't really undercooked, and Tom just doesn't like risotto, as Bobbert said.

[huiray]

Tom Colicchio's blog tonight went up like a shot after the episode aired. Interesting. He didn't say anything about the last episode (RW) with all the chaos on both sides and the screaming on the women's side with the SG+LA vs BK stuff; nor for the Game Meats episode where Beverly K. and Heather T. were paired together with the attendant nastiness from HT to BK. (He claimed not to have time then). I wonder. ;-)

[kubasd]

OK, just some random things that popped into my head:
-How funny was it to watch Chris J. keep chasing after the lobsters on the conveyor belt??
-If Beverly had gotten those rice krispies on..... I wonder who would have gone home....
-Chris J. FINALLY made a dish I would really like to try
-Paul wins again.... further cementing my impression of him almost from the start.... that he kicks ass! haha

[huiray]

Sarah Grueneberg, maybe? (which would have been very pleasing, to me anyway)
At final JT summation, Tom Colicchio stressed how undercooked her risotto was. ;-)

[bobbert]

I agree. Sarah would go home. Has anyone thought that maybe Tom just doesn't like risotto?

[kubasd]

Yeah, Sarah would be my guess (hope) as well. I'm trying to think if I've EVER heard Tom comment favorably on a risotto....

[John E.]

He liked the risotto made by Antonia when they made their family's food. In fact, Antonia won that EC.

[kubasd]

True. I should have remembered that, I just watched that episode a couple weeks ago (gotta love the mini marathons :) )

[SarahInMinneapolis]

Wow. And to think I almost didn't turn this episode on. The Elimination Challenge absolutely rocked. Super fun to watch the creativity in presentation. Would have been a crime to send Grayson home after such a gruesomely wonderful presentation. For once, I agreed with the judges' decision.

The Last Chance Kitchen episode was just plain wrong, switching the ingredients on them. I was feeling sorry for Beverly, but now I'm just plain tired of her. But not as tired as I am of Sarah and Lindsay. Talk about immature witchy b*tchies.

I have to think Paul has got the best chance of winning it. I'm surprised that Chris is still in the game.

This is a super weird season. But this episode snapped me back to Top Chef enjoyment.

[John E.]

There's a thread for LCK. you have a bit of a spoiler in your post here.

[SarahInMinneapolis]

Sorry! I haven't posted on this thread here before.

[dmjordan]

Don't sweat it, SarahInMinneapolis. This is already in the recap above. I think that LCK shouldn't be recapped here at all.

[KailuaGirl]

Sarah, There's a separate thread for LCK. Check it out!

[LindaWhit]

Sarah, here's the separate LCK thread that includes spoilers. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/823158

And LCK *is* technically part of the show, so I'll at least recap it, I just don't let anyone know who won in these main threads.

[chicgail]

I was thinking that the Elimination Challenge was Chopped-inspired except that they got to choose their own crummy "secret" ingredients.

[lbs]

not really. He stressed that he was nitpicking. She made a point that she always cooks the risotto that way and maybe should try cooking it different and he said -not quote- no, I'm nitpicking.

[huiray]

No, I meant at final summation - when the cheftestants stand before JT *after* the first pass and the judges' discussions amongst themselves, when Tom C. gives the final rundown just before Padma Lakshmi delivers the PPYKAG verdict. I remember Tom C. now stressing how uncooked Sarah G.'s risotto was.

[chowser]

That was funny about the lobster and wonder if they had fun with it, in the back. Who shouted out to him about the lobster being back? I thought it was a nice thing to do.

As the QF challenge goes, I think Beverly had the best idea and wonder why others didn't go that way. Ed was a riot--macadamia nuts and sauerkraut?

[goodhealthgourmet]

Who shouted out to him about the lobster being back? I thought it was a nice thing to do.
~~~~~~~~~
it was Sarah. i couldn't help wondering if she would have done the same thing for Beverly ;)

[chicgail]

I've been wondering why so many other contestants on the show have been negative about Beverly.

She's not nasty. She's not baiting. But she's apparently a pretty strong competitor - and a good chef and I suspect that she occurs as very self-centered. She can be very agressive as she was at the WF meat counter or as she has been in taking kitchen space or equipment that she wants for herself.

The "she only cooks Asian" stuff may well be other people's kind of weak attacking back (no one ever says that Sarah only cooks Italian, for Pete's sake).

[Worldwide Diner]

I think Bev's inconsiderate. Ed telling her not to encroach on his space. And the pre-elimination meeting about not taking stuff without asking. If Bev's a mess in the kitchen, she's probably a mess everywhere else and her room-mates are probably tired of picking up after her. All of that boils down to - self-centered as you said.

[Phaedrus]

You have valid points until you extrapolated that if she is a mess in the kitchen she will be a mess everywhere else. there are no facts to support the conjecture, so you're just guessing. And then an even bigger conjecture: that they are tired of picking up after her.

[Worldwide Diner]

Quite true, there's extrapolation and conjecture on my part. I'm just trying to figure out what we don't see that would explain more of the women picking on her than the guys.
I'm no shrink but I don't think it's a stretch to say if you're a mess in one area, you're also a mess in other areas. I mean - how many people are slobs in their kitchen but neat and tidy in every other part of their house? In my personal observation, I haven't seen slobs that are room selective.

[Phaedrus]

And now you are defending your conjectures. I don't think it is fair to assume that this is the case. Not saying that I don't see how you can come to that conclusion but in this case, there is no empirical evidence.

[cowboyardee]

To be fair, this is an internet forum, not a court of law. Speculation that makes no bones about being speculation doesn't require hard evidence. Beverly having similar habits outside the kitchen to her in-the-kitchen habits would explain some of the animosity of her roommates.

Considering all the below-the-belt shots I've seen on the Top Chef threads, wondering about how considerate a chef is as a roommate in the Top Chef house doesn't really strike me as egregious.

[lbs]

I thought it was Grayson who yelled out that the lobsters were back - just because I thought she was one of the few who called him "Jonesy"

[huiray]

I think it *was* Grayson Schmitz who yelled that.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'm pretty sure Sarah let him know, because i was surprised she helped him (whereas i wouldn't be surprised if Grayson did something like that). whomever said it called him "Jonesey."

[kubasd]

Yeah, it was her.... didn't someone else call out about the lobsters a different time though? Or maybe it just seemed like it... Kinda funny that after all that effort (AND time) to get the lobsters he ended up on the bottom... Maybe he should have used his time a bit more wisely.

[soupkitten]

agreed, it was grayson who shouted to chris. he also got into a pulling contest at the door of the conveyor belt-- the crew got the *bucket* of lobsters, but not before chris scored *one* lobster, which was actually all he really needed.

[jeanmarieok]

That was hilarious!!

[LindaWhit]

Wait - he didn't get the entire bucket? I missed that! (busy typing!) And I saw him grabbing at it and pulling at it but thought it was forward momentum of the conveyor belt that kept it from him, *not* someone pulling at it from the other side! LOL

[Caitlin McGrath]

No, he grabbed the whole bucket, but just barely as it was going through the "car wash" exit from the conveyor belt. I'm pretty sure no one was pulling from the other side. He was really determined not to let it disappear on him again!

[FoodPopulist]

No, he only got one lobster out of the bucket.

[Caitlin McGrath]

You're right, I stand corrected. I thought I'd seen him grab the bucket as it went through, but I just rewatched that moment and he snatched a lobster from it, as soupkitten said. No tug-of-war, though, that I could detect, though it looked like someone might be snatching the bucket right after it went through.

[soupkitten]

i didn't mean an actual tug of war, just that both parties got their hands on the bucket simultaneously, trying to get it (& contents) away from the other party... cute moment though!

[lisavf]

If you want to see how the conveyer belt actually worked, check out this video from the Bravo website:
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/seaso...
It shows how they built the conveyor belt, then how it worked during the challenge. They actually rolled it through manually for the whole half hour of the challenge! It's a fun video to watch.

[goodhealthgourmet]

my apologies. i definitely thought it was Sarah (otherwise, as i said, i wouldn't have been so surprised by it).

[Phaedrus]

Kind of off topic, but back when Junkyard Wars was on TLC, they did a behind the scenes show. The crux of it is that if the contestants needed a specific part, they would tell the team members to wonder aloud, really loudly about the chances of finding something and the crew would scramble to find that something and then discreetly place it in a part of the Junkyard where the team that needed it would find it. This is just the reverse, they were playing keep away with Chris. Gotta love it.

[LindaWhit]

I loved the keep-away as well. They must have been laughing their asses off in the back! :-D

[momjamin]

(Aside, Kenny POed at the too-hot oil on the grill in the LCK? Was that Keith or Richie? My web feed was choppy.)

Hey Elves -- whatcha doing showing us a phone call with the Joneses then not sending Chris home? Sneaky!

[LindaWhit]

Thank you - have fixed it to be KEITH P.O.'d at the oil on the grill, not Kenny. :-) And yes, that's what I thought about the Chris J. phone call - a foretelling of things to come? Guess not.

[lbs]

LOL! I was like- yep Chris J is gone - as soon as they focused on the call to his wife. And then after Gail's comment last week in her blog about Bev changing things around i was completely taken aback. But am glad to see Bev go.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Wasn't someone saying at the start of the season (when there was all that speculation that Beverly was emotional because she allegedly deserted a newborn to come on the show) that the contestants weren't allowed to contact their families this time? I thought of that when Chris J's call to his wife gave the lie to that statement.

Regarding the non-loser edit, I think producers of reality shows have gotten hip to the fact that they used the phone call home to telegraph elimination so often, because I have noticed that they've used it to frustrate expectations in more recent seasons of TC and Project Runway.

[KailuaGirl]

I thought about the isolation/no contact with loved ones speculation at the time, too. I wonder how often they do get to call home, and under what conditions.

[Phaedrus]

When the Elves wants to give us a head fake or to telegraph some one is doomed?

[KailuaGirl]

+1

[Ruth Lafler]

I was pretty sure that story was wrong. For one thing, if Beverly really had left a newborn at home and was pumping breast milk, you can bet it would have made it into her story line. Second, I read an article that was published in April, 2011 where her child was 18 months old (so would have been about a year old when they were taping Top Chef), and Beverly has clearly only talked about having one child.

[soupkitten]

so.... it's completely out of the question that bev was pumping breastmilk for a 1 yo? am i not getting something?

[Ruth Lafler]

Sorry, I was posting with my brain turned off -- the story was before she filmed Top Chef, not after. Her son was fourteen months in this article that ran in April, 2011. http://www.starchefs.com/cook/chefs/2...

[Caitlin McGrath]

You're right, at JT on this episode, she said she was "doing this for [my] son." If she had more than one child, she surely would have mentioned both at that point.

All that speculation stemmed purely from people being sure they heard *someone* mention breast milk in the house during the chili challenge.

[John E.]

I recall Beverly saying her son was 4 months old when she left to do Top Chef.

[souvenir]

Her son is 14 months old in her casting video,
http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/seaso...

[John E.]

My mistake.

[John E.]

I did not look at her casting video yesterday. I did just now. What is interesting is in the casting video Beverly says she does not take sh*t from anyone in the kitchen.

[Worldwide Diner]

Beverly says she does not take sh*t from anyone in the kitchen.
***
Really? She's way more f*cked up than I thought then.

[DGresh]

She had a picture on her mirror of her baby which she said "was from when he was 4 months old" or something like that. Guess she didn't have a more recent one :)

[fara]

most likely she submitted more than one, I feel like the editors have led us to believe she has a young infant at home.

[John E.]

I recall the chefs talking to loved ones on cell phones in past seasons, specifically Fabio Viviani on TC5. I recall Dale Talde talking to his wife as well. As far as I can tell they get those calls only when the Elves allow it.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Right, there have always been calls home shown - but in an earlier episode thread, someone claimed that Beverly's sister said they didn't get to contact family during shooting.

[John E.]

The family doesn't get to contact the contestants during shooting. The contestant however might get the chance to call home if the Elves allow it. It's a very manipulative situation.

[debbiel]

I have some vague recollection--quite possible incorrect--that we've seen Moto Chris on the phone with his wife in an earlier episode, too. Did I imagine that?

[kubasd]

I don't know, but I know I was surprised to see that he was married (with a kid/kids ??), so I don't THINK he had been on the phone with her before.

[chicgail]

Why do you suppose the elves decided to include that particular clip of him talking wtih his wife? Was there some "plot point" it was supposed to forward? Was it supposed to give us a new view of him in some way - or for some reason?

[John E.]

Is it supposed to humanize them? Or is it product placement with a particular brand of smartphone? Every season seems to have a few people calling home. I remember Fabio and Bryan Voltaggio calling home.

[debbiel]

Ha! I jokingly mentioned the brand of smartphone while we were watching.
I think it was so that we would all think he was going home.

[kubasd]

I was trying to think of the reason, myself. Maybe to make him seem more "normal" and relatable? Between his hair and cooking style, I can see Joe Shmoe thinking he's "out there" so showing him talking to his wife, in wedding pictures, and talking about his kids can humanize him a bit.

I have no idea, though.... just a thought.

[mcf]

I think the TC watching public is pretty used to "out there" looking chefs, from Wolverine to tattooed ladies and mohawks... ain't no thang... :-)

[kubasd]

true, true. I was just spouting off something randomly, really. I have no idea why they showed the call

[cowboyardee]

I think it was partly because they were trying to set up a red herring 'loser's edit' for him this episode. Since he was the last to present and everyone else had done well, they could create the expectation that he would bomb his dish, and then surprise us with his best work thus far. Just something the editors do to up the dramatic tension.

[bobbert]

I'm going with the thought that as there are fewer and few chefs left we have a bit more time to get to know them personally a little better. This will keep us that much more invested in the show and that much more likely to watch and eventually buy a Toyota.
It was nice to start with Jonsey as he seems like such a goofball geeky treky kinda guy. To show him as a husband and maybe soon-to-be father definitely had me looking at him in a different light. My first thought of him with a baby was that he's going to be an awesome dad.

[chicgail]

This is totally parenthetical -- what was Ed cooking in the panini press for breakfast?

[goodhealthgourmet]

i was thinking egg sandwiches - one of them definitely had a lot of yellow filling and it didn't all look like cheese.

[TuteTibiImperes]

I already deleted the episode, but I thought it was a waffle maker and they were waffles. Waffles with bits of green stuff in them.

[chicgail]

My memory said it was a waffle maker, but I saw green stuff in it also and decided it couldn't be waffles - it must be some kind of panini. What kind of green stuff do you suppose goes in a waffle?

[gaffk]

Yeah, it was definitely a waffle maker, but it didn't look like he was making waffles.

[debbiel]

Amazing what happens when you just let them cook without a restraining gimmick or Texas cliche!

When Grayson said she had never cooked black chicken, I got worried. Glad she did well and stayed. Love that Paul won! Loved that the episode was mostly about food!

[chrisonli]

Amazing indeed! This is what Top Chef is all about!

[Boudleaux]

I agree. I was so happy that this wasn't a group challenge and that there were no Texas-related themes involved!

[JAB]

Or drama unrelated to food / cooking.

[LindaWhit]

Those of you watching right now - PLEASE help out with Paul's and Beverly's dish names for me if you can? I'd like not to stay up to watch it at 11:30 tonight if I don't have to. (I don't want to have to bug the Mods tomorrow either!)

[momjamin]

Paul had the forbidden forest with a "bloody" handprint. I don't remember all the forest ingredients.

[momjamin]

Beverly had some forbidden rice...I can't catch it all and type. Props to Linda as usual!

[LindaWhit]

I remember hearing she used Forbidden Rice in her dish...so I've added that and the "enchanted forest" for Paul...hopefully someone will chime in before I go to sleep. Thanks!

(I'm SO calling Verizon FiOS to get a new remote tomorrow morning! LOL)

[debbiel]

Paul: enchanted forest of fois gras, bacon, strawberries, pumpernickel, Serrano peppers, picked cherries, beets, bloody handprint

Beverly: halibut, red curry coulis, black forbidden rice
Eta: pineapple in there somewhere, too, and halibut was seared

[LindaWhit]

OMG - I ****LOVE*** you debbiel! THANK YOU! ::::copying and pasting with credit to you!:::::::

[debbiel]

No problem; it was still on the dvr. But note that Paul's cherries were pickled, not simply picked as I wrote above. :)

[LindaWhit]

I actually read it as pickled, and that's what I wrote up above in the OP. (You can change your post for about 45 min. after you've posted it, you know! That's the ONLY way I'd get this original post started! LOL)

[debbiel]

Yes, unless your iPhone gets all wacky when you hit edit, even tho it has worked before. But I don't think I should complain about technology to you at this point, at least not until Verizon really fixes your system.

[LindaWhit]

Yeah, I'll be calling for a new remote first thing tomorrow morning! Then, of course, I'll have to work through programming the damn thing. Grrr....

[cowboyardee]

Generally speaking, I've been defending the talent level of these chefs this season, arguing that they're not as bland or lame as they seem.

That said, even I'm left wondering right now - where the hell did that meal come from?

[LindaWhit]

EXACTLY! Even Padma, Tom and Emeril were all amazed!

[dmjordan]

Great cooking is what happens when you take away all the team challenges and the hoops they had to jump through in other challenges. It was so much fun to just see them cook!

[debbiel]

+1

[LindaWhit]

+2

I *really* wish they'd let them do stuff like this more often - just let them COOK their own stuff!

[kubasd]

+ 3
I loved this episode. We got to see what these chefs can really do! And the judges were surprised "This is the best food we've had all season" No crap!! It wasn't a gimmicky group challenge to make the best gummy bear.... they got to make REAL food the way they wanted to.

[Manassas64]

+4

This is the episode I've been waiting for to get me excited about this season in general and a chef specifically.

I LOVE when I learn about new ingredients like black chicken and lamb hearts.

[KailuaGirl]

It looks like we'll have more of that from here on out. In his blog Tom said that there will be no more BBQ or something to that effect. Great news, if you ask me. Just turn them loose in the kitchen and let them cook.

[ChefJune]

+4

I was so hoping Sarah was going home tho.... :(

[mariacarmen]

+5
and #1

[happybaker]

+6

[KailuaGirl]

So was I. The risotto curse seems to have been lifted, even for those who undercook it.

[JAB]

I know ha. Beverly got beat out by risotto. WTF, this is Top Chef and not Top Risotto!

[Ruth Lafler]

Yeah, why doesn't someone say "Sarah only cooks risotto!"?

[cowboyardee]

I'll say it:

Sarah only cooks risotto.

Why aren't I on TV?

[DougRisk]

+17 (I lost count)

I think that the "tradition" of Restaurant Wars (minus the "one group goes today, another tomorrow" hiccup) is great.

And having, maybe, one other Team-type showdown can be interesting...but it so often limits what they can do.

[debbiel]

Even with RW, I'd like to see a bit of a change. In addition to not forcing one of them to do FOH, I'd like for them to each do one dish or each do two dishes. None of this he did two and part of one and he did one but helped to expedite... I realize there has to be some collaboration in the real world, but I want things a bit more clear cut for my RW.

[DougRisk]

"In addition to not forcing one of them to do FOH, I'd like for them to each do one dish or each do two dishes. None of this he did two and part of one and he did one but helped to expedite..."

Good point.

[jcattles]

+100!!! I say it every season, it makes it so much more fun to watch when they can compete like they did for this episode.

[DGresh]

Yes I think it was Paul who said that he works well with "parameters"; I absolutely agree- a basic "theme" to get the inspiration going, and then let them at it.

[bobbert]

All very cool stuff. I think we're done with the team stuff and now they have to perform on their own. I also believe that with only 7 left, they no longer have the luxury of playing "not to lose" while hoping someone else screws up. Now if they want to stay in the competition they have to go for it and play to win. There is no more being under the radar if you want to move on.

I think, in the end, Beverly might have played it a little safe with her dish and that's what did her in, in addition to the sauce. How could you possibly send Grayson home for over salted greens after she put together that plate and Sarah, as much as I have liked to see her go if only because she did risotto, used the hearts - real gutzy move.
Newfound respect for Moto Chris
Lindsay - still don't really care for her but two nice dishes.
Sarah has enough talent that it's not really necessary for her to stab people in the back.
Ed just keeps on keeping on.
Grayson. I really like everything about her and she can cook. Where were you 30 years ago?
Beverly, like her poster says, really can do it but alas, I think this really was about as far as she could go. In the end, it was the clock that beat her in the QF. That multi-tasking thing.
Oh yeah, Paul. He's the man.

[JAB]

I have to give it up to Paul, that was a lot of ingredients to pull off into a cohesive dish let alone win.

[kubasd]

Yeah, he said he had about 14 different components (minus the one with the figs that he burned) for his dish.... WOW.

[DougRisk]

I thought it was Cocoa Nibs that he burned, as well as some sauce...I don't remember the sauce.

[LurkerDan]

Cocoa nibs and beet juice, IIRC.

[kubasd]

Whoops!! Thanks guys, don't know where I was getting figs from...

[Firenzilla]

Yea when it was happening, I was like whoa I think Paul is trying to do too much. And then the judges tasted it and loved it! Paul is a real pro and favorite, at least in my eyes, to become the next Top Chef.

[twyst]

"That said, even I'm left wondering right now - where the hell did that meal come from?"

I'm a pretty regular diner at Uchiko, the restaurant Paul is the exec in. His success on the individual challenges does not surprise me in the least, he was well on his way to being a well known chef even without top chef, its one of the best restaurants in a city with a lot of very good food.

[saeyedoc]

I'm very excited to try Uchiko Saturday night. Going up for my wife's and my birthday weekend.

[kubasd]

Oh nice!! Definitely report back how it is!

[twyst]

make sure you have the jar jar duck!

[kubasd]

twyst, when I saw your comment solo (the other ones around it were closed), I thought you were making a reference to star wars...... haha! oh and no pun intended with "solo"

[jeanmarieok]

I liked the conveyor belt challenge. More interesting than most! Lindsay wins, but Beverly would have won if she hadn't forgotton one of the challenge ingredients. I hope the others took notice. And Charlize looks just beautiful!

[Firenzilla]

Yea what a bummer. 5 more seconds in the quickfire and we would have gotten rid of Sarah instead of Bev!

I'm more upset about the twist in last chance kitchen! Switch stations?? So the less prepared chef gets the advantage? How does that make sense? Worst twist ever.

[dmjordan]

How was Beverly less prepared? Nyesha just didn't like the ingredients that Beverly selected. It's not like Nyesha had to hold the food over a flame with tongs because Beverly forgot a pan.

[KailuaGirl]

Beverly wasn't thrilled with Nyesha's choices, either. Both chefs cook completely different styles. Tom liked the food from both of them,

[Worldwide Diner]

Neysha was much more organized. She was already back at her station prepping her dish. I don't know how much prepping Nyesha has already done. Whereas Bev has dredged the fish which required Nyesha to then wash the flour off.

[cowboyardee]

That was my impression too. Generally speaking, if you give me a choice between cooking from a station hastily set up by Nyesha and cooking from one hastily set up by Beverly, I'd happily take Nyesha's station.

Beverly seems to have some real strengths in her cooking style. But fast, efficient, organized prep doesn't seem to be among them.

[dmjordan]

I just checked out LCK again. When Beverly returns with all of her supplies, you can see Nyesha's prep table to the right. Nyesha isn't even there yet. Also, when Tom comes in to tell them to switch Nyesha was unloading all the ingredients from her bus tub and hadn't prepped anything yet. Beverly was already dredging her fish, as you said.

[Firenzilla]

I'm not saying Bev WAS less prepared, I'm just commenting on the absurdity of the twist. What if one competitor had forgetten some vital ingredient or cooking tool? the more prepared chef would be punished.

[FoodPopulist]

I think it is an awesome twist. Forcing chefs out of their comfort zone and making them cook with ingredients that are not their favorite is great. I always enjoy when classically-trained chefs are made to engage with ingredients that they think are beneath them and someone less rigid rises to the occasion and does something interesting.

[cowboyardee]

I think it would have been a better twist if it was handled differently. Separate the contest into two parts - allot the first 5 or 10 minutes specifically and only to having the contestants grab and organize all their prep supplies. Then have them switch.

The problem comes into play when the chefs are given an overall time limit for the challenge. The chefs run around and assemble their prep in a rushed manner, because they are eager to get started cooking - you are in fact penalizing the chef who more efficiently assembled and planned their prep. Taking the time factor out of the equation would at least make it more of a fair assessment of what each chef would do with the other's favored ingredients and tools.

[DGresh]

I thought the challenge was interesting, but as others have said, unfair. I don't think it worked out unfairly in this particular case, but it could have. I'm not sure it was necessary to force them to use the "basics" that the other person chose (pans etc.); really the ingredients are the important part.

[piccola]

Maybe this was mentioned downthread, but that challenge comes from Masterchef Australia. I liked it back then, too - it's basically a gamble. Everyone ends up with a disadvantage but they can't complain since they made their choice.