It’s Thursday night and that means it is Top Chef recap night! The only thing is I have thought it was Friday all day. Nanette graciously offered to send Top Chef photos for tonight. I still thought it was Friday night. But it is not. It is Thursday. So um yay? Let’s do this.
Quickfire! Everything Is Coming Up Roses!
Maria seems really down and losing her confidence. All of the chefs seem sort of exhausted already. The quickfire is meant to celebrate the chef’s mother or mother figure in their lives. The challenge is focused on roses. The dish must include either actual roses or rose infused ingredients. Um, yuck? YAY! Avishar agrees with me. He hates the taste of rose flavored stuff. Gabriel is not close with his mother. This is why I hate mother’s day. When your mother has passed or you are estranged, it’s not something people should thrust on you. And if you dare go out, everyone you see tells you Happy Mother’s Day. Basically, I hate everything about this challenge.
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Chris made a cornmeal porridge with candied pistachios and rose water. Byron did a crab salad with rose and pistachios. Jaime did a shrimp and pork eggroll time thing with a rose salt vinaigrette. I would definitely eat that but might not enjoy the vinaigrette. Sara made a salad with a rose vinaigrette and pistachios. Almost everyone is using pistachios. Avishar made a fish dish with hollandaise and asparagus and infused it with rose. Gabriel did sort of an amuse bouche with snapper, hibiscus rose juice and rose pickles. Looks beautiful. Sounds gross. The judges liked it. Maria made a salad with shrimp and papaya and a rose vinaigrette. Nelson made peas and avocado and plantains with a splash of rose in the beans. He may be in the bottom for not enough rose.
Bottoms & Tops
Shota made a rose mochi ball (I have no idea either) with rose syrup and yuzu fruit. Dawn made a fennel and rose fritter with macerated peaches and rose cream. Gabe prepared rose of turbot smoked in rosebuds. Welp! Maria is getting the loser edit. She is in the bottom three and we already opened with her feeling overwhelmed. đ All signs point to her leaving. They basically said her salad was overdressed and didn’t come together. Sara, aka yogurt girl, is also in the bottom. She used too much rose water and it took over the dish. Nelson is also in the bottom for not using enough of the rose water.
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The top three chefs for this quickfire are up next. Byron’s crab salad got him into the top three. So did Chris’s cornmeal porridge. Chris is on a roll! Gabe’ rose of turbot also got high praise. Chris won! Did he just say, “I’m on a roll!” I just said that! lol.
Dinner and A Movie
Richard Blais shows up tell the chefs about tonight’s elimination challenge. Fifty cars of diners will be arriving in the Top Chef pop drive-in movie theater. The chefs must make them dinner that can be comfortable eaten in the car. So basically, hand held foods. To make things worse it is a team challenge. They draw knives for their teams. Jaime seems to be on Gabriel’s team and she says he tends to rub people the wrong way. Remember, they are basically quarantining together in one house. They literally have no time apart.
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This looks complicated. there are six movie genres: Comedy, Action, Horror, Drama, Sci-Fi and Romance. One member from each team must select a genre and go up against the opponent with the same genre. Only one chef will get a point. The team with the most points wins. In the event of a three to three tie the best all around dish will secure the win for the team. One team only has five chefs so they will all work together on their “romance” dish. And Maria is so going home. Why do they make it so obvious this season? The girls on Gabriel’s team that has decided he is the boss of do not like him. He’s making some sort of cauliflower tots for the “action” genre. No one gets it.
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
Oh No! The next morning we see Maria having a breakdown on a Facetime call with her wife and young son. She tells her wife she is really doubting herself. She’s always in the middle and she never gets any comments on her food. She’s really struggling and the pandemic is not helping. Then it is off to the kitchen where they have two and a half hours to create they dishes. Oh no! Dawn and Chris are going against each other. I love them both. Gabriel continues to try to micromanage everyone while he makes his cauliflower tots to go with Maria’s sausage on a stick. Even he admits he is making a side for Maria who is his head to head competitor. Maybe she can turn this around?
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Jaime is hilarious with her reasons for making chicken as her comedy dish when she talks to Tom and Richard. She is up against Byron who is also making a chicken dish. Avashar has Sci-Fi and he is making some out of this world S’mores with liquid nitrogen and the whole deal. Richard Blais is worried about Maria making 65 sausages and baking her own buns. Gabe is going against Shota. That will be a hell of a showdown.
Cooking (Not Singing) In The Rain
After two and a half hours of kitchen prep, it’s time for the chefs to cook outdoors and it is raining. Jaime practice fries her chicken and the team tells her to cook it a little less. I am screaming at her not to listen to them, but it seems like she’s going to. Frankly, I would never cook chicken if I were on Top Chef. The time for the chicken fight is now because comedy goes first. It’s Jaime’s sticky wings against Byron’s Korean chicken nuggets. Jaime’s wings were not cooked long enough to get crispy. Byron wins for the green team. Next up is drama. Dawn’s popcorn is up against Chris’s BBQ ribs. Dawn’s popcorn wins another point for green team.
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Action is next, and it is Maria’s hot dog against Gabriels tots. MARIA WINS! MARIA WINS! I AM SO HAPPY! She is also on the green team and they are winning three to nothing. It’s time for some Sci-Fi food! It’s Nelson has some sort of a pork-corn-yams fritter that frankly sounds delicious. But don’t count out Avishar’s intergalactic s’mores! Nelson won for the yellow team. But, Padma and Tom both preferred the S’mores. I see a tie in our future. Shota’s black and bloody corn dog may not look tasty but it is. Gabe made a seafood thing in a red sauce and served it in a cup. The judges did not like it. This is a hard one. But Shota takes the horror category. It all comes down to romance, Sara’s milkshake or the entire green team’s churro with liver? Ew. Milkshake wins. And it’s a tie.
Judges Table
The judges announce that the winning dish overall is Byron’s Korean chicken! So the green team wins after all. He won $10,000 that no one knew was on the table! Good for him. Tom praises Avishar’s s’mores. Richard praises Dawn’s popcorn. Maria finally gets a comment on her food. Richard says that he would never have attempted to my 65 sausages from scratch and make all the buns too. She’s crying. I just have some allergy stuff happening. Then Tom praises her! This is so great!
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Oooh this could be getting even better. The judges rip Gabriel for his tots. They also hated Gabe’s fish stew in a cup thing. Chris’s ribs were also panned as tasteless. He is lucky he has immunity. They loved Sara’s milkshake and Nelson’s fritter. Shota is in a bit of trouble here. He can’t go home. I have too many photos of him I haven’t used yet! Let it be Gabriel! Let it be Gabriel! WHAT! They are sending Jaime home because she listened to the idiots and didn’t let her wings get crispy. That pisses me off.
I’m off to watch Last Chance Kitchen. I will report back in comments. Next week is a DOUBLE ELIMINATION!
I loved this show, I thought Padma was mostly hilarious in her big screen announcements of the categories. Everyone sitting in cars eating seemed like the were having a blast as they chattered back and forth. Some of the chefs just did not listen when they said finger food and not messy. Great recap!
Me, too. She was really funny.
Sorry, I totally forgot to report back. Jaime won LCK! And whoever wins next week gets to return to the game!
I think next week is a double elimination? If so it will be a three way battle.
Yes good point. Probably two more women. #vagicide I was SO HAPPY FOR MARIA TONIGHT. What a great confidence boost!
Wasnât crazy about the quick fire. But LOVED the challenge. Parma was on FIRE on the screen. Getting 2 pies in the face! Priceless! Glad that Jamie went home. Her âcutesyâ sounds were so annoying. I really didnât need to hear one more of those. Find your words, Jamie! Gabe is just a douchebag. So surprised that the ladies didnât stand up to him but that may be because of the basic âdouchebaggeryâ of most kitchen with female chefs. But come on – itâs 2021! Backbone, Gals!
While GABE is a douchbag in real life apparently, he’s also a fantastic cook. Gabriel is the one that bosses around all the women who the women don’t like who I was hoping would go home.
It’s confusing. lol.
Yes Gabriel has total douche vibes but based on what happened with gabe and who knows what happened maybe he is the actual douche? Confusing. I have a pretty large crush on Nelson so anytime he does well is a good week for me.
I’m crushing on Shota. And Avishar.
I’m rooting for Shota. He got me nervous this week, but I think it was a very hard challenge. I wish I was a Top Chef Judge. Everything looks so delicious, and the stuff that doesn’t … I still would want to try!
I wish the female chefs were a little tougher. They ALL lack confidence in a weird way.
Bummed Gabriel did not get booted over Jamie but glad Maria and Dawn were safe.
Was annoyed how few of them thought about the eating food in a car aspect of the challenge.
I haven’t watched Last Chance Kitchen. Will watch Saturday.
I love this show and reading your recaps. I actually have to read them first so I am not upset when I find out the outcome while watching. Anxiety people problems.