If you’re expecting me to review each and every dish on the premiere of Top Chef you will be sorely disappointed. Maybe when we get down to the nitty gritty later on I’ll be able to do that, but did you see how many dishes were prepared? With 17 cheftestants going there was a lot to take in, which is why this episode was fifteen minutes longer than the typical episode.
What I love about Top Chef, especially this season, is that it is indicative of the culinary field. The show takes on all aspects of the industry. I personally work with current culinary students, and people who have long since graduated. I see day to day how that affects their work. At the same time I work with guys who started off as dishwashers and have moved up to line cook. The dedication to working in a restaurant environment from a pure cooking standpoint can’t be discounted. Right off the bat I’m rooting for Eugene because like me he comes to the table with a passion for cooking, but no formal training.
Quick Fire
Padma doesn’t get past the introduction before letting the contestants know that someone is about to go home. There is only room for 16 cheftestants in the Top Chef kitchen. So for the first Quick Fire of the season the contestants are tasked with peeling, preparing, and cooking apples. The competition starts off requiring the chefs to peel an apple with only a knife. Most of us are used to using a peeler for this task, which makes it quick and efficient. The point is not to frustrate the chefs, but to test their technical skills. This was a knife test challenge through and through. For the most part the chefs used the traditional spinning the apple method, which I find to be the best way to get an apple peeled in the least amount of time possible. I did notice Jamie, the tattooed lesbian, peeling from top to bottom.
The Quick Fire worked in stages. First up was the peeling, where the first 9 to complete the task to Head Judge Chef Colicchio’s standard were saved from continuing on. Next up came preparing a brunoise of apple. What this means is that you have to do a fine dice of apple, but beyond that they must be uniform in size and shape. Brunoise is typically used as a garnish, and so the aesthetic had to be just right. It’s easy to dice, which is what brunoise consists of, but far more difficult to get a perfect dice the entire time. Danny, the chef de cuisine from Babylon, NY surprised the hell out of me with his knife work here. After stumbling a bit with the peeling process he flies through the apples. I was expecting Chef Colicchio to tell him his work wasn’t proficient enough, but his brunoise of apple was perfect. Jill stumbles at first with some slightly sloppy work but immediately fixes the problem and moves over to the winner’s side. Eventually we’re paired down to the final four who must cook a dish featuring apples.
Radhika, Leah, Stefan and Lauren are given a burner and some additional ingredients to complete their dish. Nothing here impressed me, although I liked that someone used apple in a way to enhance a dish rather than making a simple salad. I can make a salad with apples while sleeping. The scallop dish was my favorite concept for this challenge. In the end we have our first elimination, before the challenge even begins. Lauren, who went to culinary school with current student Patrick, is sent packing. Man, how much must it suck to not even get in to see the kitchen?
Prior to the Elimination Challenge we get to see the chef’s interacting, and that means getting into their personalities. Jamie, Patrick and Richard are our resident gay chefs and immediately form a clique. I think that Patrick is a little too green for this competition, but all three of them appear to be great people. Richard is the funny gay guy who makes inappropriate comments now and then. Not like lascivious, but more along the lines of saying he’d buy Chef Colicchio a drink or three if he saw him at the bar. Patrick is one of the two Europeans on the show this season, and after winning the Quick Fire is immune from elimination. I don’t think he’ll be popular with the other chefs, but I love when you get those arrogant chef’s who you just want to knock down and are actually good enough to back up the bragging. Hung was like that, and by the end of his season I was on his side. I wonder if Patrick will do the same for me, because right now he’s being painted as a pompous jerk. And I just want to point out that I’m pretty sure the blonde haired pretty boy from Miami, Jeffrey, turned and winked at the camera during his part of the opening credits. I feel slightly violated I must say.
Elimination Challenge
The 16 cheftestants are paired up and sent to different NYC neighborhoods to create inspired dishes from each area. Here’s how the teams break down: Hosea & Carla, Brighton Beach / Russian Cuisine; Richard & Jamie, Astoria/Greek Cuisine; Ariane & Stefan, Long Island City/ Middle Eastern; Jeff & Fabio, Ozone Park/Latin Cuisine; Radhika & Jill, Queens/Jamaican Cuisine; Leah & Melissa, Little Italy; Patrick & Daniel, Chinatown; Alex & Eugene, Little India. With all of the different neighborhoods being represented in this episode it may amaze people to know that this is but a small taste of what NYC has to offer. But the challenge expertly showcases how diverse the city is.
A lot of things can change as the season goes on but you generally get a good sense of the chefs right off the bat with the first elimination challenge. Ariane stands out as someone who is just not sure of herself, despite decades working in the business. Last season’s winner, Stephanie, came on the show with a similar attitude. The main difference is that Ariane doesn’t appear able to adapt to new situations. Given Middle Eastern cuisine, which she is not familiar with, her plan is to wander the store and buy the popular items to put them together. It’s not surprising to see her in the bottom. Patrick shows his amateur abilities by making a one note salmon dish that even if he’d avoided the black rice noodles would have failed on some basic levels. When Chef Colicchio mentions it’s more like a dish that someone thinks is Chinese he got it just right.
In the end Patrick, Eugene, and Leah stand as the top chef’s for this episode. Eugene attempted to make an Indian dish, a style he’d never had before, and Padma told him that while he named it incorrectly it was still a classic Indian dish. If he’s able to look at the ingredients at hand and put together such a classic dish by the pure power of utilizing what’s put in front of him I think Eugene has potential to be a big player this season. This week’s winner was Patrick, making him the undefeated champion so far this season. Guest judge Jean George Vongerichten told Patrick that his technique was very good.
On the other end were Patrick and Ariane. Honestly I wanted Patrick to stick around because I’m afraid of having to sit through Ariane’s crying fits as she talks about how she doesn’t deserve to be there, and then proceeds to go on proving that she indeed doesn’t belong on Top Chef. In the end it was the amateurish nature of Patrick’s dish that lost him the night. I understand the decision, but I’d like for them to not eliminate the very inexperienced guy right off the bat. You never know what’ll happen in the next challenge, and being new to the culinary world I’d imagine it’s hard to deal with such a grueling competition. Plus what will Team Rainbow do now that they’ve lost the Biv to their Roy G?
Top Chef recaps presented in partnership with Cinema Blend.
You must be logged in to post a comment.