Top Chef Recap: Pan African Portland

I have to tell you the NBCu suits love them some Top Chef. I just realized today that the Media/Press website has photos from the first four episodes of the Portland season. We are lucky to get one or two photos out of them total for most housewives shows.  So, my Top Chef recaps are going to be pretty spiffy for a while.

We start with the chefs all still in the stew room where Brittany is crying because Sasha went home for a dish they made together. Dry your tears, Brittany. It was Sasha’s time to go. Besides, the vagicide is probably starting so you have a good shot at leaving next. Carrie Baird, the winner of Top Chef Colorado is the guest judge. That was a good season! And that was the season that Fatima was on who sadly died shortly thereafter. Everyone loved her so much. It’s good to see Carrie again. She was a great winner.

The Quickfire

On tonight’s quickfire, we have one of the rare desert challenges. It’s sponsored by Talenti gelato. I’ve never really liked that brand. The chefs are supposed to make a layered dessert with at least three layers in 45 minutes.  Kiki is making a peach cobbler based dish. That wins it for me. However, front runner Avishar (above) is doing some sort of fancy liquid nitrogen dish. He and Shota are the two chefs to beat in my opinion. At least for now. Oh Maria has me a “leche.” I love Dolce de leche ice cream. The winner gets $10,000 and they could all use that money. So, they are super motivated. Oh no! Maria and her leche dish are having major malfunctions. 🙁

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Brittany made a trifle and used a store bought cookie. Oh Brittany, you were on the bottom last week and escaped elimination by the skin of your teeth. To quote RuPaul, “You need to step that pussy up!” Jaime made a dish they really liked and somehow she made her own jam in 45 minutes. Impressive. Chris who has not been focused on that much, made something they found “really interesting.” That doesn’t bode well for him. He’s a nice tall drink of water himself though. Avishar made a delicious looking bon bon dish. But where are the layers?

Brittany is of course in the bottom three along with Kiki because her pie crust for the peach cobbler didn’t get properly cooked and Marie’s leche that she struggled with and the servings were huge. In the top were Byron (goat cheese ice cream), Avishar and his bon bons with the layers inside and Sara with a baked dish. Avishar wins. He is so cute when he wins. He says he’s never won anything before. I expect this is just the beginning.

The Elimination Challenge

Gregory Gourdet and Kwame Onwuachi are the guest judges for the elimination round. The focus of the challenge is on Pan African cuisine in Portland. So the two chefs are going to take them on a tour of some Pan African restaurants. They will be going out in two groups. Kiki and Dawn are particularly excited about the challenge. Kiki cries at the restaurants because she is so happy that Pan African food is being featured. Oh Brittany. Talk less. Chris is going Haitian with French techniques. Brittany isn’t anywhere on the continent of Africa at all. She totally missed the point of the challenge. Kiki is in it to win it. But is she trying to do too much at once?

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Byron’s dish is well received. Brittany brings out her German dish. Le sigh. Girl, you are going home. Nelson’s Dominican dish sounds like a winner to me. But Kwame says that it tastes like everything he makes. He wanted more West African flavors. The judges like Jaime’s fried fish and couscous. Dawn’s dish is clearly a front runner. Daniel had white people problems with his dish. I predict the bottom three will all be white and the top three will all be black. The white people were sort of …um…out of their element with this one. Chris the black guy from New Hampshire who cooks French cuisine failed as well. The judges loved Avishar’s shrimp and grits which he somehow made Pan African. Shota’s cod was a hit. It has lots of heat.

Judges Table

Dawn, Jaime and Shota are the top three. They are all shocked. Jaime was sure she was in the bottom. Dawn sounds like the winner. I’m so proud of her. It took her awhile to find her feet in this competition. Shota is very shocked to be in the top. Dawn wins. I got a little teary-eyed. I’ve been pulling for her. I am devastated that Kiki is in the bottom. She was so happy about the challenge. They could have at least let her be safe. If they don’t send Brittany home, I’m going to scream.

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They send her home. Or at least to be the next to go in Last Chance Kitchen. Someone in the Last Chance Kitchen is getting a layup. Next week the remaining 14 travel to a fruit farm where they have to cook outside. This is always where someone gets hurt or things just go very wrong. And since when did the Big Green Egg become the Big Red Egg?