It’s been two weeks since last we entered Top Chef kitchen. And the return was worth the wait, even if Jean Christophe Novelli took things way too seriously. Not that he shouldn’t, but a chuckle now and then wouldn’t kill. At least Toby Young, London food critic extraordinaire was on hand to provide some of the most quotable moments in Top Chef history. Let’s get on with the Quickfire.
Pastry chef Jean Christophe Novelli and Padma introduce this week’s Quickfire as a Dr. Pepper (kudos to Ariane for her snarky comment about the sponsorship) Sugarless Dessert. First off, impressing a pastry chef with sugarless dessert is a heck of a challenge. A lot of the cheftestants went straight for the natural sugars found in fruits. Chef Novelli spends the judging really working hard to not enjoy the time. He even tells Ariane he won’t try her dish because he doesn’t like the way it looks. Wow, that’s harsh. I could use a Diet Dr. Pepper to make me feel better. How about you? Would you like a refreshing Diet Dr. Pepper?
Despite appearing like he enjoyed nothing, Jean Christophe chose Radhika’s ginger bread pudding with roasted cashews as the winner. Good thing because two people are going home. I guess that Holiday gift of no one leaving just got pulled away. Before the Elimination challenge the cheftestants talk about having to cook for Toby Young.
We’ll get to the Toby quotes in a moment, but first the Elimination Challenge. This week the cheftestants are split up into two groups to cook a family style meal that is judged blind. Fabio explains that the judges won’t be blindfolded, but instead won’t know who made each dish. As the teams split up to shop and get started Eugene mentions something about daikon fettucini. I found that an awkward choice. Jamie is hellbent on getting scallops right, which prompts Fabio to quip, “this is Top Chef, is not Top Scallops.” I don’t know I thought the fennel and scallop dish sounded good. My favorite looking dish had to be Stefan’s duck dumplings and red cabbage.
Here’s what Toby English had to say about the dishes:
”The U.N. weapons inspectors were looking in the wrong place in the run up to the Iraq war. Because I have found the weapons of mass destruction, and they are in this bowl before us.”
“The two leads were upstaged.”
“It was the bland leading the bland.”
“It was like Tom Cruise’s cameo in Tropic Thunder. An unexpected treat.”
And those are just the highlights; he had plenty more to say about the cheftestants’ food. He does seem to favor the metaphor. At Judges Table Ariane, Jamie, and Stefan are told they were tops this week. Toby just gushes about Jamie’s dish, commenting on how well the anise flavor of the fennel complemented the caramelized scallop. Jean Christophe gets to announce the winner, and Jamie finally wins.
Now on to the bottom cheftestants. Toby thought Melissa’s fish tacos were just horrible. Tom and Toby clashed a bit on Eugene, where Tom felt a little let down by Eugene. Toby thought he was bold in the choice to not play it safe. Toby even says that Eugene deserves a second chance. In the end Melissa and Eugene are asked to pack their knives and leave.
Top Chef presented in partnership with CinemaBlend.com.
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