It’s the last episode of Top Chef: Kentucky filmed in Kentucky. I am tired. I am hangry. Today, I have written or edited over 10,000 words .My eyes may be bleeding. I have not eaten and just set some brown rice next to me to shovel in while I type about good food. There are over a hundred emails in my box and some maxed out a fifty comments per email. I am not in the mood for foolishness. So let’s get this done.
The Last Kentucky Quickfire
Tom Colicchio arrives at the old Kentucky Top Chef home at the butt crack of dawn. It must be a breakfast challenge. Then, he wakes everyone up and tells them to meet him in the garden. Next, the winner of the Last Chance Kitchen joins the group. It’s Michelle Minori. But, I don’t remember a thing about her because my brain no longer functions at all.
The Top Chefs harvest whatever they have grown in their individual gardens to make a dish that highlights their harvest. Eric has not been tending to his garden at all. On the other hand, Sara has a flourishing garden. She should be a front runner. What about Michelle’s garden? Who took care of that? Adrienne has a lot of squash and squash blossoms. I’m over Adrienne.
Sarah makes Byaldi. Apparently, Byaldi is a variation of ratatouille, Or something. Meanwhile, Kelsey fries green tomatoes. Eric is making a coconut gazpacho. Adrienne is making a salad. How original. Michelle has some sort of radish dish going. Justin has a radish salad plan. Then, Kelsey burns her hand. This looks bad. It’s chaos in the kitchen.
Eric, Kelsey and Michelle were in the bottom That leaves Sara, Adrienne and Justin in the top. Justin wins.
Off To Macau!???
The final five after the elimination challenge will be flying off to China! How sad to be eliminated before such and epic trip! Each of the chefs have one of their mentors flying in to help them. Eric gets Bryan Voltaggio he is the only chef I recognize.
The they each have $500 to buy their specialty foods at a food auction. It’s all very Survivor. First up, is rabbit. No one wants it. I have a feeling the next options will be worse. Then, Sara gets a great ham for $85. What a steal! Eric gets Wagyu beef. Then, the bidding goes crazy for the vegetables.
Adrienne is buying things that her chef is known for cooking. Is he going to make the meal?
It’s Time To Cook!
In the kitchen, there is a lot of discussion about girl power and the women taking over the season. Surprisingly, there are only two guys left. So, I’d be shocked if either Eric or Justin left at this point. Unfortunately, Kelsey has shells in her lump crab that must be picked out. She’s only working with one good hand so this is problematic. I am worried she may not see China. Also, Michelle’s salmon has over cooked and white albumin is showing. I never knew what caused that. I always “over cook” my salmon. Fish should be well done. I think the white stuff has more to do with how fast you (over) cook it.
Straight To The Dinner Table
Lately, the format for both Top Chef and Project Runway seems so rushed to me. It feels like we barely get a glance into the designers work room. And, we hardly see the Top Chefs cook at all. Also, the judges are sitting down and we haven’t even seen the mentors. I feel like everything is super rushed lately I barely had fifteen minutes to walk and feed the dog today.
I guess the mentors are judging and were only inspiration. First, they taste Michelle’s dish. They loved it. She she is going to Macau. Kelsey made a gumbo using two rues. Unfortunately, Adrienne’s mentor got crab shells. Otherwise, they loved it. Next, Adrienne’s duck was good but her presentation was awful. The plates were not even wiped. The duck was under-seasoned. Even her mentor was underwhelmed. Justin plated is food to quickly and ended up having to put it under the heat lamp. He could be in trouble. Finally, it is time to present his dish. It’s been too long. The all hate it. I will miss Justin.
Eric is not happy with the way his dish looks. In the dining room, the judges’ reviews are mixed. Tom thinks the dish is incomplete without greens. Sara’s dish is sea bass with an Iberico ham broth and shaved Iberico ham on top. I love ham. I love sea bass. However, I do not think I would love them together. All the judges really liked it.
The Judges Table
Sara won. They didn’t even mention any other front-runners. Apparently, there was no competition. Even Tom raved about her dish. Gail Simmons was over the moon. I’m so happy Gail is back at the table. I wonder if she will go to Macau?
It seems everyone else is in the bottom. Except Michelle. The judges had no issues with her. Any of the rest could go. But, it should be Adrienne. It came down to Justin and Adrienne. They sent Justin home.
Next week, I’m excited to see Top Chef: Kentucky in Macau! Eric gets pissed at the judges. That never ends well on Top Chef. It looks like a female will take this season.
I’m glad the great vagicide didn’t happen this season even though Eric is my favorite chef.
I hope we get to see some of Macau while they are over there.
Thanks for the recap.
I feel like the the editing was very focused on the number of females at the end. It is very unusual. It’s like a big sign that says LOOK, MA! NO VAGICIDE I’M NOT SEXIST AND MISOGYNISTIC AT ALL!!!
Same, TT, same. Clearly, you weren’t the only one to notice the vagicide pattern , the women have definitely been highlighted this season.
Maybe it’s the editing, but I’m not overly impressed by anyone this year. Eric is my favorite but there doesn’t seem to be a standout chef this year. Usually, 1 or 2 chefs shine above the rest. I don’t find that this season. Again, it could be the editing.
This week I elevated my grilled cheese by making it with Hawaiian rolls.
Oh my. I recently did an indepth research into canned tomato soups. I still have several kinds left. So far, plain old Campbell’s soup is the best. I have a giant carton of Imagine Organic la dee dah dee in the pantry. I may make some soon and IMAGINE those grilled cheese sandwiches were on my diet plan. 🙂
Off topic but still food related.
I had a vegetarian Ruben sandwich that was fantastic. It is made with wheat seitan. If you’re ever in Chicago, please go to the Chicago Diner, you will not regret it. It’s on the north side.
I am not a vegetarian and I make the Chicago Diner my first stop every time I visit Chicago.
Chicago has many great restaurants and it’s great to visit there in the summer. I believe Stephanie, the winner of Top Chef about 4-5 years ago has a restaurant there.
I have a grand plan to visit the restaurants of each of the Top Chef contestants.
I went to Richard Blais’ restaurant in Atlanta a while ago, it was a cool experience.
Yes Stephanie does the Girl and her goat. There are a lot of good restaurants over in that area. Avec, blackbird. The one thing I miss from Chicago is the food the restaurants are great. I haven’t been to Richards restaurants but I did go to Kevin’s Gunshow here in Atlanta. It is great I highly recommended it
Kevin’s Gunshow sells the “closed on Sunday” chicken sandwich which is absolutely delish and way better than the “original” sandwich that it is playfully named after! Love love love!
Since we went vegetarian several months ago (health reasons), I have been experimenting with homemade tomato soup. I’ve probably made ten different recipes.
They ALL taste like Campbell’s. Every. Last. One.
It’s the grilled cheese that is awesome!
You should try the Martha Stewart recipe. It tastes NOTHING at all like any canned tomato soup, and is ridiculously easy to make. There is a slightly modified version on the Genius Kitchen site that I make frequently during the winter. It really is the stuff.
Try the recipe in Smitten Kitchen. I have tried LOTS of the recipes Deb posts. Some are her own, some reworked or simplified e.g. Julia Child’s French onion soup. Lots if Options or suggestions for meatless eaters too. Every one has turned out beautifully. So f-ing delicious.
I’ve you talking about your food changes, but not sure what plan (I hate the D-word) you are following. Whatever it is, I hope you feel better soon.
So happy you are recapping this show! I loved the quick fire challenge …. the garden, the veggies, eating outdoors … summer cannot come soon enough! I thought Kelsey was in trouble for the canned crab. Thank god they didn’t ask her about that. Adrian’s plate was a mess!! I thought that must have been embarrassing for her mentor after he gushed about her beautiful plating. I’m bummed Justin’s timing was so off. Also Tom hates ‘two ways’. China should be very fun!
I agree, I was holding my breath waiting for her to get slammed about the canned crab. That tells me it must be pretty good and they couldn’t detect it. I’ll remember that, I have a recipe for crab quiche that is great but I always hold out for crab on sale.
I agree with the above. There was a lot of commentary about women getting cut and now they’re everywhere. It comes across as planned to shut down the talk of misogyny.
As to the fish and ham together, it seemed an odd combo to me when I encountered a Jamie Oliver recipe using them together. I decided to try it just to see and lo and behold, I loved it and so did everyone else. I can see why the judges raved.
I can see the draw of fish and ham. The ham would lend a little salt, fat and flavor. Can’t believe how cheaply the proteins were at the auction.
I am glad Sara is finally cooking. I like her and Michelle. I don’t care for Adrienne the last couple of episodes. It is time for her to go.
I don’t like her either! Her mentor seemed like an ahole! Almost got her sent home.
I was shocked when she said they were friends. What??? What kind of friend is that???
I love Sara! My comment was about Adrienne. How come I hit Reply and it posts down below on a different comment? Anyway, I agree with above poster that Adrienne’s time is up!
Adrienne needs to blow her runny nose! I mean I know she got sick but it’s summer in Ky! Drink some elderberry syrup and powder your red stuffy nose snuffalufagus….I finally won something….. not self deprecating enough
Jeering Justin — karma comes back around and Sara the victim wins.
Oh good point!
Agreed. I really disliked him after he did that to her. Jerk!
Don’t you guys think Andrienne is really the culprit who even started the jeering? She was shady AF and did not need to throw Sarah under the bus if she really was “so confident” in her waffles.
Justin definitely egged on the crowd but he wasn’t the tattle tale…
I am over Adrienne too.
I’m glad Sara won this one. Good for her!
Yup, Adrienne should have went home a long time ago.
These guys and their raw fish, gross!
Justin knew he plated too soon. Oh, well, he did a good job throughout the episodes and should
leave with his head held high.
Adrienne’s mentor seemed like a dick. Anyone else get that vibe?
China next week.
I am having flashbacks of Angelo in Singapore with food poisoning.
I know the rules and all, but I think they could have held off on that finale until
Angelo was well enough to compete on an even playing field.
I’m sure I’ll catch holy hell for that POV, but I stand by it.
Angelo should have won that season.
I agree with you about Angelo. It wasn’t like it was a bad hangover. He was sick from something he ate where they took him. He has done well with the Top Chef exposure, though.
Agree that Adrianne’s whiney ass needs to go and please stop calling all the other women momma. It’s annoying AF.
Rooting for Sara and Kelsey.
Yesssss STOP with the “Mamma”. I can’t.
SERIOUSLY? $85 for a $500 giant Iberico ham! I hope someone took the leftover. And why bid so high for veg when they were going to spend the rest of their money at Whole Foods? Then shopping for veg before checking which proteins were available? WTF?
For once, I was happy to see Sara win. Happy to see the one who tended her garden made the winning dish. And a great redemption in front of her Kentucky mentor.
Doing the “two ways” often backfires. Unless the two ways complement each other or use a RARE ingredient, or one with a very short season, it seems a senseless conceit. (Unless it is marzipan two or three or 10 ways!)
Is it evil to admit that if I had been Kelsey’s mentor and I had encountered a crab shell I would have quietly hidden it in my napkin and said not a word?
For TT and everyone else over Adrienne: Did you notice she fell off the Fan Favorite list? I think the waffle mix snitch did it.
I haven’t noticed any bias to the women this season. And now that there are fewer men remaining the focus has to be on women based on the numbers. How did Justin allow himself to plate 5 minutes early? I guess that really means that he put his protein on to cook 5 minutes early. That’s a problem. For Kelsey to use canned crab? Canned seafood has not been kind to past chefs. Other posts mention Adrienne and whining. Hadn’t noticed that either though I didn’t like that she outed Sara for her premixed waffle mix. But didn’t like the others chanting “Homemade” during the basketball episode. That was immature of the chefs to deliberately humiliate Sara. Who should win? Not Michelle because she already lost and not Adrienne because when she was sick on the boat I don’t think she cooked her dish.
The returning Michelle is the one who made some bullshit dish about The Beatles and a garden, I think TT? Then went into some rehearsed sobbing over her Dad’s suicide and a garden.
I feel rushed too. Kentucky…Tennessee….China. please go back to the formula that worked great Show!