Top Chef Masters: The Vegan Zone

After my hiatus, I pick up on the semi-finals of Top Chef Masters, with Rick, Art, Michael, Anita, and Hubert left in the competition.  We begin, as always, with the Quickfire Challenge.  They are to design a gourmet burger for a panel of people who know their burgers: Spike from Season Four and owner of Good Stuff Eatery (hint: make ‘em extra greasy), Sang Yoon who won the best burger on The Today Show, and America’s Favorite Wannabe Muckracker Morgan Spurlock who knows about McDonalds burgers (which aren’t good for much as burgers except helping folks with hangovers).  Anywho, we see some interesting projects: Rick mixes cheese and guacamole, Art makes a cornmeal hoecake, Michael serves up an “enorme” hamburger (that will surely appeal to the all-male panel), Hubert also makes a beef cheese combo, and then Anita misses the challenge and makes a deconstructed cheddar soup with beef bites.  She scores the lowest and Michael and Rick tie.  (For those who care, we get few to no comments from any of the panelists but Sang Yoon.)

Elimination Challenge.  Create a five-course dinner party for Zooey Deschanel.  She’s a vegetarian but describes it as a vegan, and she’s allergic to gluten and doesn’t eat soy.  So that leaves a bowl of lettuce, right?

So they shop for produce and cook it up.  Of note, Michael juices a lemon with his mouth and Art talks about how gross rice milk ice cream is (it is!).

Service.  Zooey begins by talking about being so difficult but not as difficult as Michael’s pasta that won’t stop sticking.  Our regular critics are there plus some of Zooey’s friends and her mom.  Michael’s plating his pasta but the table starts to fall, thankfully the Angel de Hubert was there to help him.

Hubert goes first, after a waiter drops two of his plates.  He presents a timbale of avocado and asparagus.  The guests like it, even the one that doesn’t know how to hold her fork.  Anita offers a spicy grilled eggplant with lentil salad and cashew sauce; the reviews are mixed.  Michael serves his quinoa pasta with salsa verde and some dried heirloom tomatoes.  Zooey likes eating pasta again and it feels like coming home.  Her mother then says it’s a homecoming and Zooey snaps at her mother.  So far this is the most interesting acting work I’ve ever seen her do.

We move on to Rick’s corn tamales with braised beans and greens.  And finally, Art’s rice ice cream (rice cream?) with a champagne soup and almond brittle.  Zooey’s mother is reminded of Zooey’s birthday because Zooey likes strawberries.  Huh?  So they all don’t like the ice cream and Zooey thought he should have used coconut milk.  So this will come down to Art or Anita.

Critics’ Table.  Art and Michael get called out for using store-bought ingredients as the bases of their meals.  Of note, Art strongly defends his choices, and Gael pronounces “vegan” as “vigan” and she makes several cracks about vegan dietary habits.  In the end, Michael and his store-bought pasta win.  Art loses by half a star to Anita and he’s going home.

Next week: Losers from past Top Chef contestants come back and Dale (not the gay one) is a jackass to Michael.  It should be nice.

For another opinion on this episode, check out Crazy Vegans! by Jaimie Campos.

Listen to The J Factor with J.B. and Jaimie here or on iTunes.

Season 1, Episode 8: Dietary Restrictions (originally aired August 5, 2009)

For more on Top Chef Masters, click here.

Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and Kelsey McNeal