We are down to the final four. I did not realize the LCK winner would come back tonight. If I had, I would have made more of an effort to watch the last few episodes. I am swamped with recaps right now. That is why I keep talking about whether or not to drop a show. I must say, for all the people who say that Top Chef is their favorite, the interactions here are very sporadic. Some weeks they are great and other weeks it is like a can of crickets was opened in comments. I love this show so I’ll keep on recapping regardless. I can’t wait to see who wins!
Related Link: Here is how the Top Chef cities are chosen!
The final four drive to Telluride, Colorado and stay in a stunning resort way up in the mountains. I immediately want to book a trip and Banjo comes over to remind me I cannot do that. Maybe we could do a cross-country RV? LOL. The first location is at an old saloon and I immediately worry if this is going to be hard for Christopher like it was the first time.
The quickfire challenge is to use Sarsaparilla in some unique dish. This sounds impossible. They each take turns choosing items from each of four food groups, as if things were not hard enough. They show a bit of the final last chance kitchen It was the three bears! The winner was Joseph! Joseph gets to steal one ingredient from each of the players. He takes Carrie’s protein leaving her with only onions, lemons and honey! As if this challenge was not hard enough! Joseph has a big advantage.
Carrie decides to do something related to French onion soup. Christopher is making chicken fried steak. Mustache Joe is doing a cold sarsaparilla soup with a cured halibut tartare. Where is the cooking in that? Adrienne is doing a chicken with sarsaparilla. To make things even harder, they are cooking outside on an asphalt street in the broiling sun. Joseph did a pork dish with pickled veggies.
The Joes start whispering that Carrie can’t win twice in a row with fucking crostinis. This means they are nervous. Adrienne came in at the bottom for not focusing on the sarsaparilla. Ditto, Joseph. They liked Mustache Joe’s 99th tartare/crudo, Christopher’s chicken fried steak and Carrie’s onion crostini. Carrie won the quickfire and $10K. Mustache Joe complains that she won with toast again.
The elimination challenge is at Alpino Vino the restaurant at the highest altitude in the US. They will all be required to have a baked element on their plate. Today they will get to test some recipes at the new high altitude.
Tom and the guest judges arrive during their test kitchen. Mustache Joe is doing duck with peas and a savory profiterole. Joseph is doing braised pork, pepper jelly and cheese drop biscuits. Christopher is making crispy fried quail, fava beans and cornbread. Carrie wants to make beef Wellington, but she has a backup plan with cornbread if she chickens out. I didn’t really get what Adrienne’s plan was.
They take a ski lift up to an altitude of over 11,000 feet. The next day, Carrie opts against beef Wellington. She has some other complicated thing to make. Mustache Joe admits he is making profiteroles and doesn’t know what profiteroles are.
Even the judges are suffering a bit from the altitude except for the British Chef who once worked at a restaurant at 18,000 feet. I have altitude sickness just watching this. I’m serious. The talk of queasiness makes me queasy.
Joesph’s pork dish with biscuits went over well. Carrie’s dish turned out to be a Wagyu ribeye with veggies and cornbread. This would have gone over much better if she had not suggested she might make beef Wellington. I literally just got up to open a window and increase the speed of the ceiling fan. I’m having some sort of psychosomatic altitude sickness. Or maybe I am just psycho. Most of the judges were disappointed. Mustache Joe actually tells the judges he doesn’t know what a profiterole is. Gail is shocked he’s never made one. I’m wondering if he’s ever even eaten one. it’s just a pastry with filling for fucksake. The like the duck but the attempt at a cherry profiterole fell flat and was dry due to the high altitude. The concept of duck and cherry was well received but the execution was not there. Gail disagrees a bit with the guest judges with the experience and says that the dish absent the profiterole was one of the best dishes of the entire season. Maybe so Gail, but it was served with a dry profiterole.
Adrienne is thrilled with her lobster dish champagne beurre blanc and caviar. She ended up making challah bread but she calls it mountain bread when speaking to the judges until they ask about it. The loved her dish and the bread adaptation. Tom says it is not really that exciting. Christopher’s quail with corn pudding, a butternut squash crisp and maple and bacon cornbread. The British judge who told Christopher to fry the quail longer than usual due to the altitude says that the quail is over cooked. Gail liked it. Tom wonders if it is high-end. My boy is in trouble.
The Judges Table
Tom says this is the best food of the season. Adrienne and the Joes were in the top. They are totally going to send Christopher home. I can’t even listen to this critique. Are you kidding me? Mustache Joe and his dry profiterole wannabe thing won? Adrienne was robbed. ROBBED I TELL YOU!
Crap, I just realized Carrie is on the bottom with Christopher! This is worst case scenario. This was my final two! Please let Phil Keoghan show up and say, “This is a non-elimination round!”
The judges really didn’t have much bad to say about either dish. Gail is fighting for Carrie, Padma is fighting for Christopher, the British guy is pissed he didn’t get a beef Wellington. The judges don’t agree on who should leave. Sadly, Phil did not arrive and Christopher went home. Dammit! As if this day was not depressing enough. Christopher is so gracious in defeat. I want him to come back!
Next week: Is Rocky Mountain Oysters week. Didn’t we already make the whole “I hope no one is allergic to nuts” joke? I guess that was in the trailer.
I cannot even explain how enraged I am asshole Joe won.
And even TOM advocated for Carrie
THANK YOU! IT WAS UTTERLY RIDICULOUS! HE HAD THE WORST FUCKING DISH!
Terrible, i was furious.
Ugh, poor chris
Come on, Joe is not an asshole. Nobody wanted Chris to go home, but that doesn’t make Joe a bad guy.
Adrienne hasn’t stood out at all the whole season and I didn’t get attached to her. Wish she’d gone instead of Christopher.
I’m pretty comfortable calling him an ass. One word:crystals. Another word: arrogant. Just my opinion!
Plus he was ragging on Carrie the entire episode. He’s a jerk.
Agree.
And the simplest things are often the hardest! Grr….
I agree about Adrienne, I never warmed to her and she pretty much skated as lower middle of the pack the entire season.
Cooking at high altitude is a nightmare. In 1966, when my husband and I went on our belated honeymoon, we visited his parents in the Colorado Rockies. We went out and bought really nice steaks, fresh veggies and potatoes. Those frigging potatoes cooked for what seemed like weeks before they got soft enough to mash! The steak tasted like geriatric buffalo, and the asparagus (which I like to lightly cook) was limper than Jephte on his wedding night. To their dying days, his parents thought that was how I cooked.
Back on topic, so sad Christopher went home. Great recap.
“limper than Jephte on his wedding night.” LOL Poor Shawniece. She got married and is still going to be celibate for a few more months.
I lived in Colorado for 10 years, and I never really got used to the adjustments when cooking.
Stopped watching after the swiss alps judge said that Chris’s quail was dry. I was afraid he would be eliminated.
Glad to see Joe Flamm back in the competition!
Living above 1800 ft at first I didn’t pay attention to cooking/baking differences but it can be a challenge. I’m always surprised when these trained chefs are not familiar with these simple cooking terms. Aren’t they trained in French? I didn’t realize how privileged I was to (have to) study Latin in catholic school as the mass was still in Latin at that time. Picked up a lot of French studying ballet, and studied Spanish for 3 years in hs. Have recently given this show a chance-am now hooked. Please keep recapping Tamara (in your spare time-ha!)!! Thank you!!
Side note: was it Telluride that the dolphin compared to a truck stop? Been to both Aspen and Telluride-they are both lovely. She’s an idiot.
It was Vail. I hear that is a lovely place as well.
Wasn’t it Vail? If so, I think her point was that Aspen and Telluride are actual old mining towns that have histories. Vail was “developed” as a ski resort.
Vail’s ok, but it’s no Aspen or Telluride. It’s much easier to get to than the other two, and much closer to Denver, so it’s very popular.
Vail’s ok, but it’s no Aspen or Telluride. What it has going for it is that it’s possible to get to it in the winter; Aspen and Telluride can be extremely treacherous driving.
I dont know how the chefs dealt with the altitude. I am very susceptible to it; the first week in Denver, sometimes 2, I fall in a coma every afternoon at 2 for a couple of hours. And I’m useless over 10,000 feet-headaches and nausea. Just don’t know how these guys handled it.
I was shocked that Joe won LCK, Brother had been kicking everyone’s ass there for weeks! Then to send my beautiful Chris home, when Carrie took the easy route both cooks really made me angry. All she cooks is toast with toppings! They must have decided at the beginning to let her win since she is the local girl.
I hardly think having only onions and honey to cook with is taking the easy route lol
Yup.
Superfly, I get that if all someone did was toast, with a full range of choices – that would be bad.
But she did have a very limited set of ingredients and, the warning was that the outside pantry would be LIMITED. From what I could see no new or extra proteins were available so, she made do.
I keep forgetting this show is in the time slot it’s in so I read the recap and then watch it OnDemand. Please don’t stop recapping anything!!! I may not comment much but I read just about every post you make.
Thanks for the great recap TT. I started to watch until I saw that Chris was in trouble and that they’d have to nitpick to determine a loser. As a ride or die Chris fan I’m already too far in to stop watching, but I could care less who is crowned Top Chef.
Maybe I’m biased because I’m a Brooklynite, but as far as I’m concerned Chris won and Fatima came in 2nd. I live near the original Smorgasburg, if she has a stand this season, I will expect long lines and will wait to try her food. As for Chris, I plan a visit to his restaurant asap. If the show is still on, I’ll let you guys know how it goes.
I was so sad Christopher went home. He has just been great this season. I agree he and Carrie were my top two. JOE?? really he won, I agree that he shouldn’t have. I’m still pulling for a Carrie win at this point!
Profiteroles is just a fancy name for pate choux, probably the simplest pastry dough. He aimed for a savory cream puff with a cherry filling. Theory was good. GO CARRIE!!!
Top Chef is my all time favorite Bravo show. I come here every week to read your post TT! I will do a better job commenting. I was soooooo bummed to see Chris go. He had a fresh perspective and I love that he was cooking from the heart. This is the kind of food you really want to eat at the end of the day. Still cheering for Carrie–and pumped that Joe Flamm is back!!! Joe Sasto doesn’t bug me but I don’t particularly want to eat what’s cooking. He’s got a lot of growing to do before he’s ready for the title. Adrienne is meh but could be the dark horse I’m glad that she’s finding her voice, she’s been much more relatable for the past two episodes. Chris we’ll miss you but you’re going places man!!
Adrienne is ONLY there because she worked for Eric Ripert, who has been a frequent judge on Top Chef. Carrie is ONLY there because she represents Colorado chefs. So, my guess is that the winner will be one of the two Joes.
She would not work in a four star kitchen if she wasn’t an excellent chef.
Lots of former chefs from t Le Bernardin have been on top chef and not won, though.
Adrienne is good but is not worthy of the title just yet, she’s got some growing to do. I am pulling for Joe Flamm or Carrie, now that Chris and Fatima are out.
TT please continue the recaps. I read all of them. I usually don’t comment because other people say what I was thinking. But, if you don’t mind reading the same thing over again, then I’ll start commenting. Lol. I really thought Brother Love would be the one coming back. I never saw him and Joe fight it out on LCK. I’m for team Carrie right now or Joe Flamm. I have a hard time taking Mustache Joe serious. I agree Adrienne needs more experience but she has been hanging in there.
I cried a little!!! I love Christopher but I guess the food is what they’re judging?
I live at 7000 ft cooking and especially baking is no joke! I have all kinda notes and tricks I use to get successful outcomes. I always use high altitude recipe on boxed cakes etc too…I still underestimate the amount of time I need to cook a pot of beans. Doubling the altitude? Yikes!
These chefs are all talented in my book…I can’t wait to see what they have to do next week.
I don’t live close enough to eat at any of their restaurants so fill us in those if you who do!
NEW YORK – February 15, 2018 – Bravo Media’s Emmy and James Beard Award-winning “Top Chef” will call Kentucky home for season 16. The state’s “Unbridled Spirit” will reign supreme as a new batch of cheftestants enter the kitchen to battle it out for the coveted title across the thriving culinary scenes in Louisville, Lexington and Lake Cumberland. With Bourbon, horses and Bluegrass music setting the scene, the culinary competition series will explore this unique region of the country, rising through the ranks as a top destination for foodies and chefs. Production will begin in the spring of 2018 with the season set to premiere later this year. The announcement was made today in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Tourism.
“We are always looking for rising culinary destinations and are looking forward to planting our flag in Kentucky and soaking up a diverse region of the country that we haven’t yet explored on ‘Top Chef’,” said Shari Levine, Executive Vice President, Current Production, Bravo Media. “Kentucky has a strong food identity and we know our incoming chefs will be inspired by the bourgeoning culinary scene, known for its innovative takes on Southern cuisine, melding flavors and use of Kentucky’s agricultural bounty.”
Interesting, I don’t know much about Kentucky so this should be fun!
Thanks for the comments guys. I wasn’t trolling for comments as much as I ma just covered up with shows right now and I’m just checking to see if you are all still interested! I love this show but hated this episode. I am rooting for Carrie or Adrienne at this point.
I love the Top Chef recaps! I don’t usually comment on them because I don’t typically have anything interesting to say about the show. I just enjoy reading your take on each episode. In fact, I don’t even watch the actual show anymore because your recaps are more than good enough!
Please don’t stop recapping Top Chef!
We are interested, TT! Love your recaps!
Love this show… even though Chris and Fatima should have been the top two, for sure.
**sigh** Oh, Chris. You wuz robbed.
When Joe Flamm walked back into the kitchen, I wasn’t surprised. It made sense that he won LCK BECAUSE Joe got voted out of the horrible elimination quickfire a few episodes back. We were all enraged, but now it just seems like it was a planned ratings stunt by Bravo since there’s not been much drama lately.
I’ve been at 14,000 (observatories atop Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii where I live) and they have oxygen tanks up there for the workers. The main symptom of elevation is lightheadness. The last time I was at 10,000 I felt goofy, like I was stoned. I was really surprised none of the chefs seemed to be affected, and wondered if they had oxygen tanks in the kitchen.
I guess I’m the only one here who doesn’t like Carrie and her toasts. Now that Chris is gone, I don’t really care who wins.
Yes, I do like Carrie and her toast…this last quick fire what else could she possibly do?
I like everyone left, I didn’t care for mustache Joe at the beginning but he’s grown on me…
Good point regarding the physical tax at that altitude.
We saw Lee Ann suffer from altitude sickness..her body was busy making red blood cells…these carry oxygen…females increase total blood volume by about 50% (all blood cells) during pregnancy…her body was struggling to keep up under the physical, emotional stress and the altitude. She didn’t have time to “climatize.” The rest of the contestants had been above 5000ft for a few weeks, at that point leaving and returning to Denver (around 6000 ft?) up and down a few thousand feet (not to sea level and back up) wouldn’t probably be noticed by most people. People get pregnant, carry babies to term at 7000 feet everyday. I suspect they were climatized enough to tolerate a day at 14,000ft, water, rest and maybe an aspirin in the am…curious now though.. adds a whole other demension to the competition!
Great recap! I’m pissed that Christopher is gone. I wanted to see hm in the finale. I hope he wins fan favorite at least. I’m very happy that Joe made it back from LCK and not Brother. I can’t let the chicken/saran wrap thing go. It was a dirty move although my husband thinks it wasn’t a big deal. He was on such a high winning so many of them- I’m sure he thought he would make it back into the competition. I’m glad karma got him in the end and he’s gone. I’d like to see Carrie win the whole thing. I can’t stand it when the men mock her. Her food always looks appealing to me. She made a freaking cake in the snow and I think she does amazing things with toast. I just burn mine.
I can’t find a restaurant that’s at 18000 feet in the alps. I can’t even find an alp that’s at 18000 feet….
There was a pop-up restaurant on Everest at 18,000 but I can’t find any indication Paul was there. The highest mountains in Europe are under 16,000. I’d say he is full of something not particularly edible. How about some fact checking Top Chef?
Thank you! 18000 feet in euros percent is absurd. The highest mountain in Europe, Mt. Blanc, is only 15000 ft high.
Link to fan favorite voting. I gave all 40 votes to Christopher! VOTE FOR CHRIS!
http://www.bravotv.com/fan-favorite
Nooooooooo!!
I’m so disappointed that Chris was sent packing…
I was really looking forward to watching Chris and Carrie duke it out in the finale.
Couldn’t Top Chef have avoided sending anyone home this episode? The judges all said that they had to nitpick to get a bottom 2. Poor Chris!
No Chris + No Fatima = boring finale. Ugh.
I know it’s mean, but if they had to send a Chef home this episode I wished it was Adrienne, since I’ve never become too attached to her.
And: How did Mustache Joe win this challenge?? The chefs were asked to bake at a high altitude, and his baked c“Joe-Puff” FAILED.
Oh Chris. You will be missed. May you have nothing but success and happiness from this day forward.
I’ll miss “My Man” Christopher.
I was sad Brother Luck didn’t make it back from LCK, he was doing great, but I also like Joe F.
I am sad Chris went home and honestly, I’m surprised Adrienne has made it this far; not to say she’s a bad chef, she just never really seemed to stand out.
Mustached Joe should have been sent home or at least in the bottom two, very disappointing that he is still around.
Yes, please keep the recaps coming. I watch Project Runway, Top Chef, Amazing Race and pieces of other shows. Don’t make a lot of comments because either I don’t have anything new to add or I am on my stupid tablet which locks up ALL The Time.
Anyway, this has been a enjoyable season without too many coo coo challenges and chefs who seem like decent folk. Personally, I am rooting for Carrie who seems creative and not full of herself.
I dont hate Mustache Joe as much as I did earlier, but dont get me wrong, if I saw him riding down the street with his bike with the big wheel in the front, his top had and his steampunk pocket watch, I would laugh my ass off, but generally his cooking has been good. He did not deserve to win this challenge though.
You KNOW I am watching! Best show. I am back from vacation and catching up, and watching Top Chef the RHOA back to back is a little trippy.