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filkertomSorry for not getting to it last week. If you didn't see it, it was very close, but Tiffany went home. Padma actually choked up while saying "Pack your knives and go."
Mike, once again, proved himself a force to be reckoned with. He also keeps proving himself a... no. I should not call him a "grade-A jerk", even though I think he is. He is a competitor. He wants to win. He's using the rules, the twists and turns they throw at him, to his advantage.
Thing is, when you're down to only three or four competitors, it gets even more personal when you do stuff like that.
So, this week we start with Wolfgang Puck.
The Quickfire challenge was to basically try to screw the other chefs by assigning them past Quickfire challenges. Mike gave Antonia "all canned goods"; Antonia gave Blais "hot dogs"; Blais gave Mike "one pot". Then, partway through, each got a modifier -- Mike could not use utensils, Blais had to cook one-handed, and Antonia got Carla(!) aproned to her like a Siamese twin. Mike won, and was feelin' good.
The Elimination challenge was cooking the last meal -- as in, what you'd want to eat if you were about to die -- for three amazing chefs: Puck, Michelle Bernstein, and... MORIMOTO! It was amazing to see him (and to hear him! Food TV subtitles and overdubs the guy, even when he's speaking English). Again, Mike got to choose, and he chose Michelle, and gave Puck to Blais and Morimoto to Antonia.
And Padma promised a surprise, tucked away in an envelope.
Most of the rest of the ep was just great cooking. Mike tried to get fancy-shmancy with Michelle's fried chicken and biscuits, and while it was a fascinating interp he fell down on a couple of technical details. Antonia's bento box got the rice (which she was most worried about) perfect, but the overall spicing was not as subtle as it should have been -- the miso was too salty!? -- and substituting tuna for hamachi (which seemed to be getting rancid, which is why she didn't use it) had its problems.
(Man, Morimoto is one harsh judge -- not mean, but very direct and blunt.)
Richard won. His spaetzle was a bit tough, but the flavors for his goulash were in balance and creative, and his apple strudel was apparently amazing.
The "surprise" turned out to be one last amuse-bouche -- they apparently figured that this round would be so close that they would give the runners-up literally one last bite to prove themselves. You have 45 minutes, ready, set, go!
It was a split decision, 4-3. Antonia's curry with grouper was too aggressive spiced for some, Mike's sauces on his lobster and tenderloin combo didn't work separately but they did work together...
... aaaaaand Antonia goes home.
Her exit interview, on the Top Chef site, makes it clear that she's keeping in touch with Tiffany and Carla. I came to love the three of them together, sisters of the sharpened knives. I would happily eat any food any of them cared to cook.
I hate to do so, but I have no reason not to acknowledge it: Mike's an ass-kicking chef. And his newfound relationship to Antonia has done more to make him likable than anything he's done himself.
I hope Blais kicks his ass.
Thoughts?
Mike, once again, proved himself a force to be reckoned with. He also keeps proving himself a... no. I should not call him a "grade-A jerk", even though I think he is. He is a competitor. He wants to win. He's using the rules, the twists and turns they throw at him, to his advantage.
Thing is, when you're down to only three or four competitors, it gets even more personal when you do stuff like that.
So, this week we start with Wolfgang Puck.
The Quickfire challenge was to basically try to screw the other chefs by assigning them past Quickfire challenges. Mike gave Antonia "all canned goods"; Antonia gave Blais "hot dogs"; Blais gave Mike "one pot". Then, partway through, each got a modifier -- Mike could not use utensils, Blais had to cook one-handed, and Antonia got Carla(!) aproned to her like a Siamese twin. Mike won, and was feelin' good.
The Elimination challenge was cooking the last meal -- as in, what you'd want to eat if you were about to die -- for three amazing chefs: Puck, Michelle Bernstein, and... MORIMOTO! It was amazing to see him (and to hear him! Food TV subtitles and overdubs the guy, even when he's speaking English). Again, Mike got to choose, and he chose Michelle, and gave Puck to Blais and Morimoto to Antonia.
And Padma promised a surprise, tucked away in an envelope.
Most of the rest of the ep was just great cooking. Mike tried to get fancy-shmancy with Michelle's fried chicken and biscuits, and while it was a fascinating interp he fell down on a couple of technical details. Antonia's bento box got the rice (which she was most worried about) perfect, but the overall spicing was not as subtle as it should have been -- the miso was too salty!? -- and substituting tuna for hamachi (which seemed to be getting rancid, which is why she didn't use it) had its problems.
(Man, Morimoto is one harsh judge -- not mean, but very direct and blunt.)
Richard won. His spaetzle was a bit tough, but the flavors for his goulash were in balance and creative, and his apple strudel was apparently amazing.
The "surprise" turned out to be one last amuse-bouche -- they apparently figured that this round would be so close that they would give the runners-up literally one last bite to prove themselves. You have 45 minutes, ready, set, go!
It was a split decision, 4-3. Antonia's curry with grouper was too aggressive spiced for some, Mike's sauces on his lobster and tenderloin combo didn't work separately but they did work together...
... aaaaaand Antonia goes home.
Her exit interview, on the Top Chef site, makes it clear that she's keeping in touch with Tiffany and Carla. I came to love the three of them together, sisters of the sharpened knives. I would happily eat any food any of them cared to cook.
I hate to do so, but I have no reason not to acknowledge it: Mike's an ass-kicking chef. And his newfound relationship to Antonia has done more to make him likable than anything he's done himself.
I hope Blais kicks his ass.
Thoughts?
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(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-24 03:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-24 04:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-24 04:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-24 11:32 pm (UTC)I love that Richard won without using any tricks or gadgets, just good cooking. (He reminds me a little of Wylie Dufresne that way; he loves his liquid nitrogen, but can do awesome food things with just fire and knives.) Mike got lucky: he was the only one who was cooking a cuisine he was familiar with, and he JUST squeaked by (the chicken was supposed to be juicy, as well as crispy, dude!). Good thing he didn't have to cook for Morimoto.
Quick note: TC is on Bravo, not Food Network (which also still subtitles Morimoto, on IC America). They're just now acknowledging each other, though FN's Chopped All-Stars hasn't yet introduced their guest judge as "Top Chef Master" Marcus Samuelsson.
Looking forward to these two cooking "the meal of their lives". I just wish I could taste them.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-25 12:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-25 09:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-28 04:13 pm (UTC)