Top Chef Review: It’s Cooking Now!

Beverly is baaaaack and Sarah is pissed! It was worth its weight in gold watching Sarah’s face contort as if she had just stuffed 20 sour patch kids in her mouth when Bev pranced back into the Top Chef kitchen. Ed and Paul seemed genuinely surprised but commended her ability to make it back into the competition. Lindsay immediately got back into competitor mode and probably was wondering if she’d have any more chances to scream in Bev’s face like she did during Restaurant Wars.

At the beginning of the season, I dogged LCK and thought it was just a gimmicky add-on to Top Chef but I’ve come around. I’m offering my mea culpa – LCK was a great addition to the season and a good opportunity for chefs to get a second chance to showcase their talent.  I’ve  also dogged on Bev this season and I won’t back down on some points – mainly she is too much of a crier and she would be super annoying to navigate around in the kitchen. Get up out of my space, Bev! No, you can’t have my soy sauce! But those faults aside, I think Bev is a scrappy and resilient chef who cooks really good food and isn’t afraid to take risks. I think that Sarah and Lindsay (especially Sarah) can’t get around their catty insecurities about Bev as a fellow chef so when Bev gets props for her cooking, they just get annoyed. Don’t be blinded by your desire to turn into high school mean girls!

Speaking of blinding, this week’s Quickfire Challenge involved picking ingredients sans eyes. Each chef was blindfolded and told to pick out an assortment of ingredients from the Top Chef Pantry. Whatever they picked, they had to use. It was an entertaining challenge. Particularly because Bev was all up in everyone’s space again. Even blindfolded she has the ability to be a nuisance in the kitchen! Poor Paul had to keep politely telling her, You are in my space, I’m right here, Watch out for me, Ouch, that’s my leg, You’re stepping on my head.

Ed picked up one of the hardest ingredients to incorporate into a dish – pork casings. But, he ended up boiling them in water and used the water as a base for his noodle-free udon dish. It was an ingenius move to basically create pork water and call it soup. The judges were impressed.

Sarah’s dish also received high marks from the judges. She made a corn soup with mushrooms and peaches. The judges were delighted at how she incorporated ingredients that don’t necessarily go together to create a well-balanced dish.

Sarah ended up winning the Quickfire and had a choice between a new car or a guaranteed final spot in the finals. She chose the guaranteed spot – something Paul and Ed disagreed with. Ed said that her choice reflected a certain level of insecurity in making it to the finals on her own merit. While that may be the case, I don’t blame crusty Sarah for her choice. I take issue with the options. A new car or a guaranteed spot in the finals? I’m sorry but I don’t think a spot in the finals should be a prize for winning a Quickfire. It should be what happens when you make it past weeks of intense cooking competitions without getting eliminated.

In the Elimination Challenge, the chefs were asked to create a dish their mentors would be proud of. It was a nice moment when Ed, Lindsay, Bev and Paul saw the chefs that have influenced their careers. There was a spectrum of losing it with Paul completely bawling when he saw sweet Tyson Cole while Ed slightly teared up at the sight of badass Frank Crispo.

Onto the dishes. Ed made a braised pork belly with oyster sauce. He couldn’t find fresh oysters at the store so he settled for smoked canned oysters. The smoked oysters ended up being his downfall – the judges just couldn’t get over the fact he used canned oysters. But, they did love the pickled veggies he served with the dish.

Paul made a simple Dashi soup with carrots and squash that blew all the judges away for its simplicity, restraint and flavor. Tyson was beaming with pride while tasting his protégé’s work.

Beverly decided to take a risk and make her pork, shrimp and Singapore noodles in a wok, which is tricky because wok-cooking is typically made to order. Her mentor, Sarah Stenger loved it and so did the other judges.

Lindsay struggled during this challenge. She was so worried about disappointing her mentor, Michelle Bernstein that she second guessed herself and added an emulsifier to her seafood dish that ended up being too much.

In the end, Beverly and Paul were the judges favorites. Lindsay and Ed were on the bottom. Lindsay picked this moment to break down in tears. I felt bad for her because it is probably the last challenge a chef wants to lose. It was Lindsay’s lucky day because Ed was the one sent packing. He was a gracious loser, albeit a little irritated that Beverly was taking his spot in the finals…but who wouldn’t be?

The finals are all set – Paul, Lindsay, Beverly and Sarah. Stay tuned. It should be interesting…mostly because Beverly will be in everyone’s way. Bev, you are stepping on my arm.

 

Season 9, Episode 14: Mentors (originally aired February 8, 2012)

Images courtesy of Bravo TV.