Episode 3 of Top Chef Masters aired tonight. You will have to read to the end of this post to see who won between Wilo Benet, Rick Bayless, Cindy Pawlcyn, and Ludo Lefebvre and will move on to the Champions Round.
Tonight's QuickFire Challenge was based on the theme of color. The chefs drew knifes that were painted various colors and they then had to prepare a dish with the color they chose as the foundation of the dish.
Wilo Benet picked orange and made smoked salmon tartare with coconut milk and tomato paste sauce. Rick Bayless chose the green knife and he went with his strengths and prepared roasted vegetables, mole verde with tomatillos, green chilies and pumpkin seeds. Cindy Pawlcyn color was yellow and she cooked yellow vegetables curry over sweet corn grits and fried corn tortillas. The final contestant, Ludo Lefebrve, picked the red knife and went with steak tartare with watermelon, red onions and red beet gazpacho.
What I got out of the Quickfire Challenge was that either Wilo Benet or Rick Bayless would win. Their food offered big flavors that seemed to be greeted with rave reviews from the guest judges. The other thing I got from the challenge was that even though these are award winning chefs and are some of the best cooks in the country they still have worries and doubts just like the newbie competitors on Top Chef. They made mistakes just like rank amateurs, such as Wilo leaving the ring on his dish and Ludo forgetting to put his tomatoes on his plate. We also found out that Ludo Lefebrve is very intense and competitive and that Cindy Pawlcyn is not.
I was right, Wilo Benet won the challenge with 4 1/2 stars and Rick Bayless came in second with 4.
The twist for the Elimination Challenge was that each competitor had to draw a knife again to find out which protein they were to use in their dish. They would then have to prepare a street food dish that they served to the public. The choice of proteins they had were offal, the parts such as brain, spleen, kidney or liver.
Ludo drew pig's ear and decided to make a pork quesadilla with chorizo, pinto beans puree, lime aioli and smoked paprika. Rick chose tongue and he made a chorizo, bacon and tongue taco with guacamole and pickled onions. He was accused by Ludo of copying him. I think once again he was just playing to his strengths by working whatever ingredient he got into something Mexican. Cindy Pawlcyn had the misfortune of picking tripe but she seemed to salvage her choice by making a hot and spicy menudo out of it. Based on the critics comments it was neither hot nor spicy. Wilo's protein was beef heart, a meat that he had never cooked with. He went back to his roots and made a traditional Puerto Rican street food, " Tripleta", beef, ham and chicken in a pita bread.
In the end Rick Bayless won tonight's Episode 3 of Top Chef Masters easily with 22 1/2 stars. He will move on to the Champions Round and tonight he won $10,000 for his charity Frontera Farmer Foundation.
Showing posts with label Top Chef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top Chef. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Top Chef Masters Review - Episode 2 Recap
Episode 2 of Top Chef Masters started out with the introduction of tonight's chefs, Suzanne Tracht, Graham Elliot Bowles, Wylie Dufrense, and Elizabeth Falkner. All four chefs tried to make a case of why they will win tonight's challenge.
Suzanne Tracht was described as serving simple straight forward unpretentious food that is simple yet elegant. The youngest contestant of all of the chefs, Graham Elliot Bowles, the self proclaimed punk rocker said that his inspiration to win was for bragging rights to say that he beat he good friend Wylie. He had another inspiration and that was his nephew that is on a waiting list for a heart transplant, that is why he is cooking tonight for The American Heart Association. Wylie Dufrense specializes in molecular gastronomy at his wd-50 restaurant in New York. He said that with this level of competition he would need to," Go big or go home." The final contestant tonight was Elizabeth Falkner, she was described as, " America's greatest avant garde pastry chef."
The QuickFire Challenge was recycled from Season 2 of Top Chef, create an amuse bouche form items purchased out of a vending machine. The judges for the challenge were Ilan Hall, Betty Frasier, and Michael Midgely. All 3 of these judges participated in the original challenge. Graham made a Tuna Salad with pickled shallot, ginger, orange bubbles and beef jerky miso powder. His creation was well received and Betty Fraser said that it was tuna salad from an Ivy League school. Wylie's amuse bouche was a Red Onion and grilled cheese sandwich with Dr. Pepper reduction. All of the judges like it's presentation. Suzanne presented fried shallot rings, salad and Dr. Pepper aioli. Once again the dish was well received and one of the judges was caught licking the bowl. The final contestant, Elizabeth, presented Braised Beef Jerky with orange juice, lemon and horse radish ice cream.
The winner of the Quickfire was Suzanne Tracht with 5 stars. Graham was next with 4 1/2 stars then Elizabeth with 3 1/2 and bringing up the rear was Wylie with 3 stars.
The Elimination Challenge was to cook for the Producers and Writers of the hit show "Lost". The competitors were given a choice of island ingredients such as Wild Boar, fish and chicken. The twist this week was that on their shopping trip they could only purchased canned and preserved ingredients that were on a list approved by the "Darma Initiative". They were given 45 minutes and $200 to prepare their meal. During the shopping trip Graham and Wylie kept Suzanne laughing the whole time. She said that they had a Mutt and Jeff type of thing going on.
Elizabeth Falkner made an Ancho-beer braised Boar loin, coffee scented and also a Poached Boar loin and yam papaya pudding. Several comments were made about the pudding comparing it to baby food. The other problem she had was she did not get to put her sauce on the plate. Jay Rayner, one of the critics, commented on the lack of sauce and that he thought this might have helped to pull the whole plate together.
Graham Elliot Bowles presented the critics with a Tuna Trio: Maki Roll with tuna a dehydrated pineapple, Tuna Nicose, and Tuna a la Plancha. Each one of these dishes played on an international theme based on where he had lived growing up, Asian, Mediterranean and South American. Every one really liked his dishes and one of the critics said that the Tuna Nicose was a well executed piece of seared tuna.
Wylie Dufrense made a Roasted Chicken with poached egg, beets with dried corn and Plantain puree. He used an immersion circulation cooker to poach the eggs. He cooked them low and slow and it gave them a consistency of pudding, with all of the critics seemed to like. One in particular, James Oseland, commented that he had never been a great fan of molecular gastronomy but that Wylie had changed his mind. They said that he cooked from the brain and the heart.
Suzanne Tracht cooked Risotto with Uni, Clams and Prawns, Wild Boar strip with oyster beer sauce and mango corn salad. Most of the critics stated that they thought that she had put too much on the plate but when they ate, they felt that everything worked together and made for a very enjoyable meal.
In the end Suzanne Tracht won the competition with 22 1/2 stars. The other contestants got 16 1/2 stars for Elizabeth Falkner, 20 stars for Wylie Dufrense, and 20 1/2 stars for Graham Elliot Bowles.
Even though Suzanne Tracht won Episode 2 of Top Chef Masters the real winner was her charity JFS/SOVA Community Food and Resource Program.
Suzanne Tracht was described as serving simple straight forward unpretentious food that is simple yet elegant. The youngest contestant of all of the chefs, Graham Elliot Bowles, the self proclaimed punk rocker said that his inspiration to win was for bragging rights to say that he beat he good friend Wylie. He had another inspiration and that was his nephew that is on a waiting list for a heart transplant, that is why he is cooking tonight for The American Heart Association. Wylie Dufrense specializes in molecular gastronomy at his wd-50 restaurant in New York. He said that with this level of competition he would need to," Go big or go home." The final contestant tonight was Elizabeth Falkner, she was described as, " America's greatest avant garde pastry chef."
The QuickFire Challenge was recycled from Season 2 of Top Chef, create an amuse bouche form items purchased out of a vending machine. The judges for the challenge were Ilan Hall, Betty Frasier, and Michael Midgely. All 3 of these judges participated in the original challenge. Graham made a Tuna Salad with pickled shallot, ginger, orange bubbles and beef jerky miso powder. His creation was well received and Betty Fraser said that it was tuna salad from an Ivy League school. Wylie's amuse bouche was a Red Onion and grilled cheese sandwich with Dr. Pepper reduction. All of the judges like it's presentation. Suzanne presented fried shallot rings, salad and Dr. Pepper aioli. Once again the dish was well received and one of the judges was caught licking the bowl. The final contestant, Elizabeth, presented Braised Beef Jerky with orange juice, lemon and horse radish ice cream.
The winner of the Quickfire was Suzanne Tracht with 5 stars. Graham was next with 4 1/2 stars then Elizabeth with 3 1/2 and bringing up the rear was Wylie with 3 stars.
The Elimination Challenge was to cook for the Producers and Writers of the hit show "Lost". The competitors were given a choice of island ingredients such as Wild Boar, fish and chicken. The twist this week was that on their shopping trip they could only purchased canned and preserved ingredients that were on a list approved by the "Darma Initiative". They were given 45 minutes and $200 to prepare their meal. During the shopping trip Graham and Wylie kept Suzanne laughing the whole time. She said that they had a Mutt and Jeff type of thing going on.
Elizabeth Falkner made an Ancho-beer braised Boar loin, coffee scented and also a Poached Boar loin and yam papaya pudding. Several comments were made about the pudding comparing it to baby food. The other problem she had was she did not get to put her sauce on the plate. Jay Rayner, one of the critics, commented on the lack of sauce and that he thought this might have helped to pull the whole plate together.
Graham Elliot Bowles presented the critics with a Tuna Trio: Maki Roll with tuna a dehydrated pineapple, Tuna Nicose, and Tuna a la Plancha. Each one of these dishes played on an international theme based on where he had lived growing up, Asian, Mediterranean and South American. Every one really liked his dishes and one of the critics said that the Tuna Nicose was a well executed piece of seared tuna.
Wylie Dufrense made a Roasted Chicken with poached egg, beets with dried corn and Plantain puree. He used an immersion circulation cooker to poach the eggs. He cooked them low and slow and it gave them a consistency of pudding, with all of the critics seemed to like. One in particular, James Oseland, commented that he had never been a great fan of molecular gastronomy but that Wylie had changed his mind. They said that he cooked from the brain and the heart.
Suzanne Tracht cooked Risotto with Uni, Clams and Prawns, Wild Boar strip with oyster beer sauce and mango corn salad. Most of the critics stated that they thought that she had put too much on the plate but when they ate, they felt that everything worked together and made for a very enjoyable meal.
In the end Suzanne Tracht won the competition with 22 1/2 stars. The other contestants got 16 1/2 stars for Elizabeth Falkner, 20 stars for Wylie Dufrense, and 20 1/2 stars for Graham Elliot Bowles.
Even though Suzanne Tracht won Episode 2 of Top Chef Masters the real winner was her charity JFS/SOVA Community Food and Resource Program.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Top Chef Masters Review
Tonight was the debut of the new Bravo series Top Chef Masters. This show is a spin-off of the hit series Top Chef. They have taken the same concept except that they are pitting well known chefs against each other rather than unknown chefs. The premiere show featured Hubert Keller ,
Christopher Lee , Michael Schlow , and Tim Love.
The show started out with a new host Kelli Choi. She introduced the first quick-fire challenge. This challenge she said has always been a favorite on Top Chef because it strikes fear into the hearts of the competitors. She let the chefs know that there quick-fire challenge was to come up with a dessert. Michael Schlow echoed the sentiment of previous cooks when he stated that desserts were the bane of his existence. Kelli then revealed that they were going to be judged by people that knew a little something about sweets, she then showed 4 Girl Scouts on a monitor and told the chefs that they were to be the judges.
Tim Love, owner and chef at The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth, TX, set himself up as the underdog by stating that all of his fellow cooks had either graduated from somewhere famous or had worked for someone famous, then he declared that he had done neither.
The chefs were only given 60 minutes to prepare their desserts and then they watched on the monitor as the Girl Scouts critiqued them. Michael Schlow made milk chocolate cake, peanut butter chocolate candies and honey almond cream. One of the judges said they taste like Tag-a-Longs. A reference to one of the flavor of Girl Scout Cookies that they sell.
Tim Love made strawberries 3 ways: 1) chocolate dipped strawberries, 2) strawberry milkshake and 3) chicken fried strawberries with whipped cream. Hubert Keller, famed chef from the Fleur de Lys restaurant in San Francisco and Las Vegas, put together a chocolate mousse swan, whipped cream mouse, and fruit with orange sabayon. This seemed to be the crowd favorite and one Girl Scout commented that she liked the mouse with the chocolate tail. The last chef, Christopher Lee from Aureole in New York, made french toast with caramelized banana, orange sauce and maple syrup fluff.
The Girl Scouts were very tough critics, one in particular. It was mentioned that she will be a New York Times Food Critic in 20 years.
Scoring: Michael Schlow - 2 1/2 stars
Tim Love - 3 1/2 stars
Christopher Lee - 3 1/2 stars
Hubert Keller - 5 stars
Kelli Chou then introduced the Elimination Challenge: Create 3 courses using only a toaster oven, microwave and a hot plate. They were to cook for college students and 3 food critics.
They were given a budget of $150 and 15 minutes to shop and 2 hours of prep time. Tim Love ran into a problem when he couldn't find ground pork for his pork chili. He had to improvise. Then things got worse for him. He put his food in the freezer rather than the cooler and when he went to take it out the next morning everything was frozen. His comment was that this was, "A true holy s**t moment. The next twist was not only were they cooking for college students they had to cook in the dorm rooms.
Michael Schlow cooked Salmon Crudo, Cabbage Soup with Bacon and Pork a la Apicius. Tim Love ended up making Scallop Carpaccio, Squash and Corn "Pozole" and Skirt Steak and Braised Kale. Hubert Keller started with a fresh Scottish Salmon, then Carrot and Pea Soup with Cinnamon Croutons and finished with Macaroni and Cheese with Prawns. He had to drain the pasta in the shower and then used the cold water from the shower to cool down the macaroni. The last competitor, Christopher Lee, made Red Snapper Ceviche, Creamy Risotto and finished with Pan Roasted Pork Chop.
Christopher Lee , Michael Schlow , and Tim Love.
The show started out with a new host Kelli Choi. She introduced the first quick-fire challenge. This challenge she said has always been a favorite on Top Chef because it strikes fear into the hearts of the competitors. She let the chefs know that there quick-fire challenge was to come up with a dessert. Michael Schlow echoed the sentiment of previous cooks when he stated that desserts were the bane of his existence. Kelli then revealed that they were going to be judged by people that knew a little something about sweets, she then showed 4 Girl Scouts on a monitor and told the chefs that they were to be the judges.
Tim Love, owner and chef at The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth, TX, set himself up as the underdog by stating that all of his fellow cooks had either graduated from somewhere famous or had worked for someone famous, then he declared that he had done neither.
The chefs were only given 60 minutes to prepare their desserts and then they watched on the monitor as the Girl Scouts critiqued them. Michael Schlow made milk chocolate cake, peanut butter chocolate candies and honey almond cream. One of the judges said they taste like Tag-a-Longs. A reference to one of the flavor of Girl Scout Cookies that they sell.
Tim Love made strawberries 3 ways: 1) chocolate dipped strawberries, 2) strawberry milkshake and 3) chicken fried strawberries with whipped cream. Hubert Keller, famed chef from the Fleur de Lys restaurant in San Francisco and Las Vegas, put together a chocolate mousse swan, whipped cream mouse, and fruit with orange sabayon. This seemed to be the crowd favorite and one Girl Scout commented that she liked the mouse with the chocolate tail. The last chef, Christopher Lee from Aureole in New York, made french toast with caramelized banana, orange sauce and maple syrup fluff.
The Girl Scouts were very tough critics, one in particular. It was mentioned that she will be a New York Times Food Critic in 20 years.
Scoring: Michael Schlow - 2 1/2 stars
Tim Love - 3 1/2 stars
Christopher Lee - 3 1/2 stars
Hubert Keller - 5 stars
Kelli Chou then introduced the Elimination Challenge: Create 3 courses using only a toaster oven, microwave and a hot plate. They were to cook for college students and 3 food critics.
They were given a budget of $150 and 15 minutes to shop and 2 hours of prep time. Tim Love ran into a problem when he couldn't find ground pork for his pork chili. He had to improvise. Then things got worse for him. He put his food in the freezer rather than the cooler and when he went to take it out the next morning everything was frozen. His comment was that this was, "A true holy s**t moment. The next twist was not only were they cooking for college students they had to cook in the dorm rooms.
Michael Schlow cooked Salmon Crudo, Cabbage Soup with Bacon and Pork a la Apicius. Tim Love ended up making Scallop Carpaccio, Squash and Corn "Pozole" and Skirt Steak and Braised Kale. Hubert Keller started with a fresh Scottish Salmon, then Carrot and Pea Soup with Cinnamon Croutons and finished with Macaroni and Cheese with Prawns. He had to drain the pasta in the shower and then used the cold water from the shower to cool down the macaroni. The last competitor, Christopher Lee, made Red Snapper Ceviche, Creamy Risotto and finished with Pan Roasted Pork Chop.
The critics, Gael Greene, a famed New York City Critic, Jay Rayner, Restaurant Critic at The London Observer, and James Oseland, Editor-in-Chief at Saveur Magazine tasted the food along with the college students. They each awarded stars for each 3 course meal.
Michael Schlow got a total of 13 1/2 stars. Tim Love was next to be evaluated and he garnered 14 1/2 stars. Christopher Lee amassed 19 stars and the winner was Hubert Keller with a grand total of 20 1/2 stars. He gets to move on to the Champions Round and won $10,000 for his charity Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)