Top Chef All Stars Review: Losing the Jerk
January 22, 2011 by Zarna Patel
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Ahh yes, it’s Restaurant Wars! It’s always a crowd favorite for many different reasons. One of the more enjoyable aspects of Top Chef is watching two groups battle it out between each other, and then again within the group as they fight for their position and the win.
This episode started off with a Quickfire Challenge in Le Bernardin, where each chef is instructed to clean and cut two fish to high-end restaurant quality. The catch? They have to complete the task in 10 minutes.
I’m always a little bit disappointed with the Quickfire, and challenges in general that involve cleaning food instead of using it to make a meal.
Obviously Dale and Marcel excelled in the challenge. Both seem like pretty strong competitors, especially when going up against each other. The tension between them is a bit of a ticking time bomb, and I would absolutely love to it go off. Richard and Mike also did well in the art of fish cleaning.
After these four do an amazing job picking out the good meat from the fish, they have to use the gross parts (heads, bones) to cook a delicious meal. I thought the overall process of weeding people out like this was a bit tiring. Personally, one hour is too long to name a Top Chef, but forcing mini challenges within the mini challenge just builds fatigue for the viewer.
Anyway, all four of them do make supposedly delicious dishes, but Dale emerges as the winner and receives immunity. Along with his safety, he’s also now allowed to choose the leader of the opposing team for Restaurant Wars. I love that he chooses Marcel just because he doesn’t want to work with him.
The winner of the Elimination Challenge gets $10,000 and the loser has to go home.
Dale’s teams totally kicks ass during the challenge and Richard is the winner.
Marcel’s team, on the other hand, bombs the challenge, and unfortunately Marcel has to go home. I honestly enjoyed his presence on the show, but mostly because things will get boring without him.
They’d better name a new jerk soon or the show will take a turn for the worse.
For another opinion on this week’s episode, check out “Restaurant Wars: One Night Only” by Gabe Callahan.
Season 8, Episode 7 “Restaurant Wars: One Night Only” (original air date Jan. 19, 2011)
Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo
Photos courtesy of Giovanni Rufino and Bravo TV
