Top Chef: Now That’s A Lot Of Schnitzel!

It’s time for the gang to get themselves prepared for another challenging day. It seems no one wants to leave their bed after the camping expedition. They are all worn out from the high altitude. Lee Anne is sick and going to the hospital to make sure the baby is doing okay, she’s sitting out the competitions for now.

Richard Blais is the guest chef of the Quick Fire this week. For this challenge they each have to recreate a dish that has been selected from their own restaurant menus because it takes days to make. They have to make a version of the dish that is simple enough for a home cook to follow but still maintain the integrity of the dish. They have 30 minutes.

I have been rooting for Claudette since she returned to the  game. She had a great dish, but she didn’t get anything on the plate in time. Yikes! Her dish looked delicious though. She was joined in the bottom three by Adrienne who made hushpuppies that they thought were too big and too sweet. Sorry about the yankee judges Adrienne. I’d love your hushpuppies. Padma called out Fatima’s Pakistani food for lacking flavor. Because Indian food has many similarities to Pakistani food, Fatima is particularly crushed.

Christopher’s pepper pot shrimp was in the top three! Brother Luck’s paella was also in the top. The third spot went to Moustache Joe’s gnocchi dish. Christopher won! I was shocked. Richard hinted he thought it might be too spicy. I’m hungry.

Elimination Challenge

The guest chef is a pastry chef who was raised in Germany.  They need to make a Radler, which is apparently half beer and half fruit soda, to pair with their German dish. Some of them, like Fatima have never had German food, so they are going on an out to sample authentic German food. Did I mention I am hungry? First they taste the Radler. Christopher doesn’t drink, so he relies on his guys to tell him what it tastes like. Chris has been sober for three years. His mother died the day before his wedding and that led him to a very dark place. He is very uncomfortable in the bar. He’s drinking the juice out of a beer mug and it is making him uncomfortable.

Tonight we find out that both of Brother Luck’s parents were exotic dancers who traveled around Asia. His dad’s stage name was Mandingo.

Related Post: How the Top Chef Locations Are Chosen

At Whole Foods, Christopher is sweaty and going to a dark place. He ends up buying premade sausages and pretzels just to get through the challenge. Thankfully, he has immunity. The spicy Italian sausages at Whole Foods are excellent.

Meanwhile, Lee Anne has altitude sickness and needs to get to a lower altitude and rest. She’s going home.

It’s time for yet another outdoor festival challenge, and just like the last one the bottom falls out of the sky. Last time the rain at least waited until they were almost done. This time, they are cooking. Chris is not doing well. It is raining on his grill and he has to serve 200 alcoholic beverages.

The judges are not happy that Brother Luck did an egg roll for a German Challenge. He is in trouble. That said, I think I might have some of my spring rolls in the freezer. Please stand by. Yep. Found a sack of three pork rolls made with Whole Food Spicy Italian Sausage that was made sometime before the Whole Foods left the ghetto in 2017.

Tanya is having some success with a  pork and pumpernickel croquettes. They also liked her peach radler. Adrienne’s artic char and pumpernickel crumble passes muster. Padma compliment’s Fatima’s desert dish which raises her spirits. Moustache Joe struck out. Claudette knocked it out of the park.

While waiting for the judges to call, Christopher explains his bad service today. He said the challenge just brought him back to a place full of bad decisions while drunk. Buck up, buttercup! We need you in this competition!

Bruce, Claudette and Tanya were the top three. Tanya won, and she could not have been more surprised.

Brother Luck, Mustache Joe and Adrienne are the bottom three. I’m worried that Christopher is going to sacrifice himself. I really hope he doesn’t. Brother Luck had a biography segment at the beginning though and that is usually a bad omen from editing.

Brother is sent packing. I wish him all the best in Last Chef Kitchen.