Foodies, it is time for the Top Chef Kentucky Finale! It’s been a great season. I am a bit sad to see it go. But, no ending of this episode could disappoint me. I love all three of the final three chefs. The two southern girls, Sara Bradley and Kelsey Barnard Clark are up for some stiff competition from Eric Adjepong! With all of the expanded episodes airing tonight it took two DVRs and a lot of scheduling to get everything recorded tonight, but this is priority one.
Time To Chose Your Sous Chefs!
After watching a reel of their journey to the finale, the chefs each get to choose two sous chefs. They have ten options. That’s almost everybody!
Kelsey chooses Brandon Rosen for his hair knife skills. Her second pick was Nini Nguyen. Because, desserts.
Eric chooses Justin Sutherland. Because, beard alliance. His second choice was Michelle Minori. I would not have picked her.
Sara chooses Eddie Konrad. Because, happiness train. Her second choice was David Viana. Because, Portuguese.
The Competition
This is crazy. All three chefs have to plan and cook a four course meal. But after two hours of prep, the judges will come to the kitchen to taste their first course. At that point, one of them will be eliminated. Man, that is brutal!
Kelsey Barnard Clark
Kelsey’s theme is “Summers In The South.” Basically what she has been doing since she got to Macau. Southern cooking with Macanese ingredients incorporated.
First Course: Buttermilk with cornbread. Seriously? She’s going to make cornbread? That’s it? Do they even sell buttermilk in Macau? It’s hard enough to find in the barrio here. Her plan B is oysters. I bet she changes to that.
Second Course: Warm vichyssoise (um not southern or Macanese) pickled green tomato with cheese straw and caviar.
Third Course: Soft shell crab
Fourth Course: Peach cobbler (Even I can make that. No baking involved ,yet she mentions biscuits.)
Eric Adjepong
I presume Eric’s them is Ghana in Macau or something similar.
First Course: Spiced jerk tartare. Ew.
Second Course : Lobster Yassa, a spicy dish prepared with onions
Third Course: Short ribs
Fourth Course: Sorbet
Sara Bradley
Sara’s theme is Asian, Portuguese and a healthy dose of Southern Cooking. It’s about her Top Chef journey.
First Course: Chili Prawns with boiled peanuts
Second Course : A pork belly and clam dish with corn pudding
Third Course: Duck with beets and blacked-eyed peas
Fourth Course: Beef with dirty rice (no dessert)
Off To Red Market!
They have about five hundred dollars and three hours to shop. Why is Kelsey talking about fruits and vegetable in the cornbread? I am so confused! Eric needs some really fresh beef tenderloin for his tartare. Everyone is hyper-focused on their first course. Sara has to find green peanuts or she is screwed. She finds them.
Kelsey and Sara are super close and excluding Eric a bit. All three of them enjoy their lovely room the night before the big test.
The First Course
Brandon is making Kelsey’s “buttermilk soup.” That sounds scary. Oh hell yeah. Kelsey brought he cast iron skillets from home for making cornbread “cornsticks.” That was genius. Then I find out she puts sugar in her cornbread. That is all sorts of wrong. Do the citizens of Alabama know about this travesty? Also she let Nini make the batter. WTF is she actually making for her first course?
Eric’s tartare sounds great if you are in to that sort off thing. Michelle is worried that Eric wants his lotus chips too thick. Eric’s tartare is just how he wants it.
Sara is including grapes with her prawns and boiled peanuts. That’s weird. David is making XO sauce for the prawns. It’s Portuguese meets Kentucky. I like this.
The First Elimination
The judges start with Sara’s dish. Her presentation speech was good. The judges loved it. The female judge I don’t know said it was kind of grainy. Sara is staying.
Kelsey’s dish confused the judges. They don’t like having to crumble their own cornbread. In fact the concept seem a bit too much for them to carry out. They don’t know what to do with the buttermilk. Kelsey is going home. She deserves it for putting sugar in cornbread. Kelsey has boiled peanuts in her dish too. Why?
Padma loved the buttermilk soup. Tom says something is dated and it could have used more peanuts. Why? The fourth judge looks at everyone like they are nuts and politely suggests that the soup was just buttermilk and she wanted more flavor.
The Judges Make a Brutal Cut
Eric’s presentation was visually beautiful. He throws in a story about slave trade. Padma loves the finger limes. Tom asks how long her marinated his meat for. Ut oh. That’s bad. Graham and Padma rave about the tartare. Then Tom says it has too many ingredients so they both start to backpedal. Ugh.
When Tom critiques Kelsey’s dish he calls it buttermilk and biscuits. He didn’t even know what he was eating. But the judges eliminate Eric. The lotus chips were burnt and they could not taste the beef in the tartare. I’m sad for Eric. I was sort of expecting a last-minute vagicide. Instead, we got two female chefs in the finale for only the second time. I think.
Eric makes a quick exit.
Kitchen Drama
The top two chefs have four hours left in day one to prep for tomorrow. Kelsey’s soft shell crabs are not getting crispy enough without tempura batter. It’s a dilemma because they wanted to use a different batter. Brandon suggests tempura with cornmeal as a compromise.
Tom Colichio tells Sara to add “an herbal note” to her first course. It occurs to me we are nearly halfway through the episode and he hasn’t said “umami” yet.
Graham Elliot and Tom tell Kelsey she should add something to her buttermilk soup to boost the flavor, perhaps sea urchin or crab. Where the hell is she supposed to get that? She just so happens to have special ordered crawfish as a back up. Quelle surprise. They are going to pick her to win.
The Final Day Of Cooking
Kelsey is cooking first. Then after she is completely done, Sara will cook. She is still worked about her fried soft shell crabs. Brandon solves the problem.
Kelsey’s Service
The first course is a hit with most of the guest judges. Tom said it was very successful. The chef from Aji says Kelsey’s second course is one of the best dishes he has eaten this year. That draws gasps from everyone. No one said two soups in a row? Because two soups in a row. Kelsey says she should have made that her fourth dish because it is her best one. I agree. But then where would the peach cobbler have gone?
During the crab course, the only guest judge who has criticized anything doesn’t think the dish is cohesive. The have to dip the crab into the sauce. Tom says the crab is not as crispy as it should be. Also, the crab is not very good. Oh No! This is bad. Tom says it is frozen soft shell crab. A guest chef says there is no fresh soft shell crab in Asia. Padma said the beans had too much acid. Kelsey is worried about this dish
Before the fourth course, one guest judge says, “Now I am really ready for dessert.” This is bad news for Sara. Kelsey’s peach cobbler is not peach cobbler. Deconstructed peach cobbler perhaps? It has honeysuckle ice cream and schezuan pepper corn whipped cream. Kelsey got emotional in front of the judges. The fourth judge didn’t like the ice cream. Another judge liked it but didn’t taste the pepper in the whipped cream. Tom says she did a great job.
Sara’s Service
Sara brought Carolina gold rice from home. She literally brought rich to China. They love her first course from yesterday. Especially the boiled peanuts.
I’m not really sure what Sara’s second dish is. There is pork belly and peaches? Officially it is braised bacon with razor clams and baby corn with pickled peaches. That seems like a lot of things that don’t go together. Sara talks too much and lets them know she is not confident in her dish and she thinks it is too salty. Two of the judges thought the bacon was way too salty. But two others said that in combination with the peaches it worked for them. Tom is fine with the salt level. It’s bacon. But the saffron and orange juice has no place on the plate. The OJ was added at the last-minute to counterbalance the salt.
The third course, duck was a hit. Tom says the pickled beet was the best accompaniment on the dish and there should have been more of it. One chef loved the tamarind. One chef wanted the blackeyed peas pureed.
For the final course Sara does a much better speech about her transformation on Top Chef. They judges loved this course and some said it was her best. The also did not miss dessert at all. The ribeye was amazingly cooked. The fourth judge says, “mid drop!” It’s anyone’s guess who wins
The Judges’ Table
The judges rave about both chefs. Graham says that Kelsey’s cornbread was better on the first day. He likes the crispy outside. I’m a fan of the inside and don’t want any hard parts. Sometimes I throw the outside away. Tom says the buttermilk dish is what Tom will remember her for. Sara is knocked for her saffron. Tom said her third course needed something to tie it together. They are saying everything they already said to each other. Tom calls Sara’s fourth course “damn near perfect.” They had some issues with Kelsey’s dessert. Padma tells them both that little girls everywhere will have watched what they have done and look up to them. They cry. I wonder what little girls are doing up at ten pm.
When they talk among themselves, it seems like they want to make them both win. I hope they don’t do that.
All the chefs and both girls moms and husbands are there for the moment the winner of Top Chef Kentucky is chosen. And the winner is…
Kelsey Barnard Clark!
So, what did you think? Talk to me!
I loved this season!!! Kelsey is great; I liked Erik too- hopefully he’ll get fan favorite.
I’m putting this here because I don’t know where else to ask. (Feel free to remove this, TT!)
Will you look into Wendy Williams’ ratings now that she’s back? Did she really lose all those fans who said they’re going to stop watching since she wasn’t honest about why she was gone for so long?
Are the ratings back where they used to be or did she really lose viewers?
Help Me, TT! You’re my only hope! ?
She lost me, I stopped watching last week. She’s stupid starting a fight with Howard Stern. Saying that she was just being honest. She wouldn’t know how to be honest if it slapped her wig off.
Seemed to me tha Judges wanted Kelsey to win. Eric was the better chef, think nerves got the best of him.
i am happy Kelsey won also.
Oh my god I’m so so so happy it’s Kelsey!!!
Yay Kelsey! I wanted to see either Kelsey or Sara!
My Alabama mother would never put sugar in cornbread. But Kelsey made up for it by using boiled peanuts. And points to Sara for using them too.
The is no making up for sugar in cornbread that you make at home. I bet she put an egg in it too! Argh.
That said, I do enjoy cornbread at cafeterias that have sugar in it. Why aren’t there any more cafeterias where you go thru the line and pick up plates and pay at the end like in school? My parents used to take me to those a lot for blue plate specials. Desserts were almost never allowed. And only if you still wanted one after you ate (forcing you back through the line again). I keep thinking of things that don’t exist anymore. This is clearly an old people thing.
Cornbread is still enjoyed by my sons and most of my friends adult children still make it. We recently were talking about the offspring using a store mix. When it is just our close family, we have cornbread and beans for Christmas Eve dinner.with nicer side dishes.
We have MCL cafeterias in Ohio, grab a tray and pick your plates!
We always called cornbread with sugar in it “Johnny Cake”. If it didn’t have sugar then it was called “Cornbread”. We were so poor we used corn syrup to with corn meal to make Johnny Cake and slathered it with peanut butter.
I wanted Eric to win but I’m happy for Kelsey. For some reason I wasn’t a fan of Sara’s.I was hoping Eric would have gotten fan favorite :(.
Agreed I was not a fan of Sara’s either. I am glad that Kelsey won!
This is such a terrific show, I wish Bravo did more like this. Loved all of the finalists and their creative “home” cooking. They relied on flavors and personal affinities rather than trendy techniques
Not a fan of sweet cornbread either. If you want it sweet, put honey on regular cornbread.
I like that they picked Kentucky. Too bad Brittany wasn’t a judge and the challenge was beer cheese.
Time to pick another state! I wish they would go to Alaska, Maine or Michigan!
I felt like they wanted an all female finale. I was not happy when Eric got eliminated. Glad Kelsey won though. I just didn’t like Sara too much. Funny, after the first episode I thought that Kelsey was going to drive me crazy but I ended up liking her.
I am so happy Kelsey won! Her food always looks so good. I prefer my cornbread sweet and my grits full of cheese. I’m such an improper southerner.Dorsn’t it seem like the judges are on a southern food kick? like for a few seasons it seemed like it was all about dry ice and modern Molecular Gastronomy and then it seemed to kind of trend towards Asian infusion and now it’s the southern thing. Anyways, how in the world do we get to be in one of those parties where we can taste their food and then vote for our favorite? It’s on my bucket list.
I’m a Southerner that doesn’t like sweet tea. They let me stay though.
I was rooting for Eric, what I don’t get is if he saw the lotus chip was burnt why did he put it on the plate?? I know MIchelle made it but it’s ultimately Eric’s call on what’s served.
I’m still wondering, is it a southern thing to call them oyshers? Kelsey pronounced oysters that way the whole season and I found it so funny lol
With Eric out, I was not a fan of Sara, so I’m glad Kelsey got it instead.
Always Eric or Kelsey. Happy Sara did not win.
I was happy Kelsey won! I would have been happy with Sara too. I always thought Erik was too cocky. I have to say never been a fan of soft shell crab or boiled peanuts but I’m a yankee.
I like sweet corn bread sometimes too What I’ll never understand is pork belly. Great thick slabs of undercooked bacon. All that I rendered fat. Nope will never understand it.
Me neither. I’ve never even tried it. I was offended when she called it bacon.
Bacon is really just cured pork belly… hence the excess salt in her dish. She wouldn’t have had that problem is she’d just used pork belly instead. And seasoned it herself.
And yes, pork belly is gelatinous, greasy and gross. I can’t understand why people rave about it.
That supposedly was pork belly. She called it pork belly when planning the menu and bacon when she served it. It was an inch or two thick so that ain’t bacon.
I order pork belly once after hearing so much about it and guess what? It went right back when I saw it was just a slab of fat. Who eats a slab of fat? Jack Sprats wife? I also don’t get the boiled peanut thing. Had them once in Georgia many years ago and spit them out, they were gross. I can still remember that texture.
I adore boiled peanuts. Get them for me and the kids on the way to the beach. They only taste good if you buy them from a roadside stand lol. You should retry them.
Funny you say get them roadside, they were from a gas station/food stand. I’m older now so I might try them again but I’m not holding out hope for a pleasant experience ?
Boiled peanuts are messy but good. Every once in a while I see them in cans in a grocery store. I have no idea what aisle they would be on and I haven’t had boiled peanuts in years. But now y’all are making me want some.
Unrendered. Damn it.
Love your Patsy avatar!
That is the real Patsy. Approach with care. 🙂
Worst season ever. No Richard Blaise or Voltaggio true genius talent. Same dishes week to week. Eddie was the most promising at the beginning but was cut too early. So happy that Ghana is ‘gone-ah’–there are way too many one trick ponies in DC already. Cornbread Kelsey won due to sentiment, I believe she was also #1 in the most popular race as well (last time I checked). Sara’s last course was the best, too bad she couldn’t have gotten a better crab for her dish but she was weak overall, all of the dishes were weak–week to week. I hope they can dig up more talented contestants if this show stays on the air but maybe it is time for them to pack their knives and go.
Do you think some of the talented ones went home too early? I do. But I believe Eric was talented and I don’t think his bringing African and African-fusion is a one-trick pony. Glad to see another Richard Blaise fan here besides me. Just as much as I admire his cooking skills, I like that he helped other people (artichokes?) in his season. And I have seen him educating and encouraging newer chefs, which I admire.
Justin went too soon.
I do think some of the real talent left too soon, I could even see Brian and Brandon (the pompadour ones, I think?) being on longer and Eddie as I’ve said before, Eddie reminded me of a younger Richard Blaise. I saw Brandon last night on an old beat bobby flay episode and he lost (of course) but he showed tremendous maturity and talent (and his hair wasn’t as high back then, but he is 6’7) And I agree with you about Richard Blaise, even when he is a judge on GGG he never demeans the contestants, he gives an opin and actually helps them. He doesn’t make it about himself, he is there to judge and give feedback.
Thank you for this. I feel like I am on crazy pills – this season was awful. No actual stars. Not a single one. No WOW moments. Nothing even that cool. There have been “stars” to emerge in nearly every season, and this one – save for Eddie’s RBF – was so blah. I ended up fast-forwarding toward the end of the season just to get to Tom, then to get it over with. And why was one of the segments in Nashville? It wasn’t Top Chef Tennessee? Kentucky likely paid a pretty penny to have it in their state, then they leave for nearly 2 episodes for the Opry? Then…China? Nothing like mixing a southern-themed season (with almost no southerners, which was weird, too, given recent seasons) with a trip to Asia? All just so weird. As the judges would say: season lacked cohesiveness. And as Randy Jackson circa 2002 would say: it’s a “no” from me, dog.
Well, when you put it that way. Honestly, I’m just happy watching show that aren’t housewives franchises every once in a while. If only I could get more people to watch Mexican Dynasties, Top Chef, Project Runway, 60 Days in, or God forbid something with actual actors! 🙂
So for me this is one of my favorite shows to recap. Where else can I use the word “vagicide”?
i thought that the entire season was just “okay.” didnt feel like the contestants were strong, didnt think the dishes in the finale were that memorable. i was rooting for eric and surprised that he didnt go through to the top two. once he was out it really did not matter to me who won. i actually liked last chance kitchen better than the regular season. one of my favorite shows on bravo and probably the only one i would be sad about losing.
Last Chance rocks. Every new episode it seems that the eliminated chefs form a closer bond.
One of my favorite things on Top Chef includes the big table events. It’s always interesting seeing the guest chefs give their opinions. I was wondering who they would bring to the table in Macao. (Based on budget, which blew out once they brought so many former contestants.) Leave it to me to most like Alvin Leong’s sparkly shoes. Everything about him, I must learn more… THAT is the kind of fashion that should have been in the PRAS androgynous challenge. Inspired by tradional chef and Asian fashion, but HIS OWN from the earring down to the shoes.
My other favorite thing: TT’s line “She [Sara] literally brought rice to China!”
First, I’m incredibly partial Kelsey fan as an Alabamian, but TT I thought same as you! Figured she had no chance in hell winning with buttermilk and cornbread. I even declared a few weeks ago she was probably still in it because of her new mom storyline. Plus she’s so dang cute and warm. So, I was ecstatic she won. Tom seemed to favor her a little. Since they wanted her last year and she was preggers, they’ve obviously had their eye on her for a while. They had an event last night in Dothan and there were the cutest peanut statues! (Dothan is all about peanut farming and has a peanut festival every year) I wish I had been willing to drive two hours south and go but it was a “school” night. I’m def gonna visit Dothan and KBC soon. There’s also an antique store with vendors and I’m obsessed with a vendor – Stewart’s Home Furnishings. They have pics on FB and I can already see myself watching Bravo atop this really cool blue couch.
Kelsey is also very involved with animal rescue. Which has nothing to do with Top Chef but it makes me like her more! I also really liked how the women supported one another. And I wish it had been Erik and Kelsey in the finale. Padma’s hair was awful in the end but I loved her comment about balls!
And those are my random Top Chef thoughts! I’ll miss it too, TT! I’ve quit watching Rhoa, Rhonj, Tardy, VPR. I like the Mexican show, too! Maybe we are mellowing out because I care less about seeing women scream at each other over stupid crap! Let’s just make pretty plates and play nice and be joyful! It worked well for Kelsey!
I loveed this seasonI lo but I love every season. I am also a nothern rube who loves sweet cornbread. I would have been happy if anyone of them won, but Kelsey was consistent the whole season. Eric showed some really interesting dishes, but he started out strong and then the judges didnt love what he did later on in the season. Sara really finished strong, but Kelsey brought it all year. I am sad to see it go. Pork belly sounds so disgusting, I would never eat it, and even bacon I must eat extra crispy. The idea of eating the fat on meat makes me want to vomit. Now I have to get in the kitchen myself, b/c my nephew wants me to make his birthday cake to look like the Charlotte Motor Speedway! Pray for me
Tom suggested that Sara & Kelsey stay true to themselves and their style. Sara went off and used things she had no never used before, like the bacon, and it bit her in the butt. Kelsey stayed more true to herself and won. Congrats!
I liked this season. Talented chefs, nice people, passionate about what they do, no jerks. I’m surprised that those posting have felt that it was a boring repetitive season. Seems like the judges overwhelmingly enjoyed the food throughout the season other than the fiasco meat episode of the sacrificed heifer. Any of the 3 finalists deserved to win. Eric’s tartare was risky because he didn’t cook anything, he just seasoned it. That was his make or break dish. Guess it broke him but not for that reason.
Buttermilk biscuits and cornbread. I wonder if I’ve ever had them made from scratch. It was not part of the family menu growing up. I do feel like baking some now. But I don’t have the ingredients so I won’t. Problem solved.
I didn’t know who was going to win. I figured that Sara’s salty pork dish was better than Kelsey’s soft shell crabs so I thought Sara might win. Sara knew that the pork was not right and her team changed how it would be presented. I think it was in a slab rather than cut up? Seems like if they couldn’t take the saltiness away, they should have plated smaller pieces. Or replace the bacon with a biscuit. JK
Glad Kelsey won, would have been glad if Sara won. Seems like Kelsey didn’t recognize her husband, must have known he was there and saw him already.
Still thinking about making biscuits.
This is so random but does anyone know what one piece Kelsey was wearing when her and Sara had their final dinner at Aji?
I’ve been searching for ages trying to find the answer haha. It was so nice!
Love top chef so much. We’re from Australia and a few weeks ago we visited USA and I finally gotta go to Wholefoods haha yay