Welcome to Restaurant Wars! This will be the best challenge of the season. I’m really looking forward to writing a Top Chef Recap more so than usual. Coming off a week of grown ass women whipping wine glasses at each other and pushing over tables at public dinners, ganging up on each other while wearing fugly cocktail dresses, it will be a great relief to get back to people who have earned a place on a reality TV for have discernable talent. And this is one of the most talented groups we have ever had. There was no on who went home for having a bad dish really. It was just more that others did better. And I’m enjoying this season immensely and excited even more than usual for Restaurant Wars!
We are going back to the original format of Restaurant Wars where they have to actually feed a restaurant full of guests as well as the judges. I suppose it was Covid that stopped them from doing it that way. The thing is this is a HUGE restaurant. They draw knives and six are blank. Nick has first choice in picking his team. He wants to go southern so he picks Demarr, Ashleigh, and Budda. Jae has second choice and she choses Evelyn, Jackson, and Luke. She doesn’t like Budda. And, he thinks Jae is super bossy. I would not want to be on her team. The winning team gets $10,000 each. Nick has won the most money so far so they call him the bread baker.
Planning The Menus
Matriarc is the name for Nick’s team and Evelyn will be executive chef. It will be a southern restaurant. Budda volunteers to be front of house, even though he knows as well as we do that front of the house frequently goes home. Demarr wants to do desert, probably carrot cake. This team is really working together. Unlike the other team. They are already working like a team. They are already ready to talk to the designers. Matriarc buys a ton of food at Whole Foods.
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No Nem (pronouced No Name) will be the other restaurant and they will be doing southeast Asian food. Jackson volunteers to be front of house for this group. Does he know that is the kiss of death? Evelyn is executive chef and in charge of making the nem which is a type of sausage. That’s a lot of pressure on Evelyn. Luke is not familiar with the food profile and wants to make one dish that is not Asian. Jackson says it has to be all or nothing. Ut Oh, is Luke going home? #foreshadowing Shockingly, Jae isn’t happy with southeast Asian food either. Her specialty is fish. It sounds like this place might be changing over to fish. Luke tries to dissuade his team from doing family style. Family style makes no sense. Luke also has to do desert. He doesn’t want to. I’m worried for Luke.
No Nem
Evelyn is making a shrimp dish with a passion fruit vinaigrette. Jae is making snapper summer rolls with papaya, citrus and avocado. Luke is making choo chee curry with black cod and cabbage. Everyone is contributing to a BBQ sausage wrap with Brussel sprouts. Jackson is making a shortbread and cake dessert. Jackson can taste salt now but that is about it. The guest begin arrive. Jackson serves a table mutters something about “we like to do family style around here” and runs off. One of the guests says to her group, “If someone could walk us through this dish that would be amazing.” That is literally the job of the FOH. He’s totally going home.
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This recap is a bit out of order because they judges went to the other restaurant first. I don’t think No Nem can beat the other team. Jackson scribble on a blank sheet of paper, “Welcome Judges.” Tom pointed out that he is FOH and that is his job. This crew also decided to serve the first few courses at the same time. Once again, Jackson doesn’t explain the dishes and is laughing with other guests. Not a great start. I feel like Jackson will go home. It would be a travesty considering how great of a chef he is. But, he’s not great at FOH.
Matriarc
Budda is making an appetizer with Parker House Rolls, country ham butter, seafood tarts, and fried oysters with comeback sauce. WTF? That’s a lot of things. Especially for someone who isn’t southern. Ashleigh is making salmon tartar with buttermilk pearls shaved fennel and peaches. Ashleigh is also making gumbo for her second course. Nick is doing ox tail with marmalade and potatoes. Damarr’s carrot cake will be their final course. However, his oven is malfunctioning so he is in trouble. He has to change his dish. But for now the night is over. Ashleigh is a great executive chef.
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Budda is doing great as the FOH. He has set up all the chairs to have a view of the open kitchen. He seats the judges at the bar. So far, the judges are very happy. The judges LOVE Budda’s appetizers. Not a bad on in the bunch. However, Damarr gets hit with 20 tartares and salad all at once and five are for the judges. Ut Oh. He’s not even done plating and the judges are already complaining about slow service. They love the gumbo and the pace has improved. They loved Nick’s oxtails and marmalade. Desert was kind of a fail due to the lack of carrot cake. The shortbread cookies were very dry. But then, suddenly the carrot cake is served to the judges. I’m confused. The judges love it.
The Judges Table
Obviously, Matriarc won. Budda’s Parker House rolls and his appetizers were fantastic. They best they have ever had. They raved about his FOH. The loved ever single course and Jackson’s carrot cake was the best Tom had ever had. They raved over the gumbo. Ashleigh won for her team.
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Jackson tries to throw Luke, the only other person on the team getting a lot of heat under the bus. He said he thought Luke’s dish was under seasoned. They love Jae. Le sigh. Back in the stew room, Jackson feels like this is the time to tell his team that he has no sense of taste or smell due to Covid. Dude, you are still going to LCK! This is not the time! Luke is pissed. The judges hate family style. The menu was not cohesive. Tom is pushing for Luke to go home. Jackson is sent to LCK. I’m off to get caught up on emails while watching LCK. What did you think of this episode?
You know how when a chef comes back from LCK, everyone is happy? That won’t be the case with Jackson, there were a lot of hard looks.
Matriarc was the epitome of calm, controlled professionalism. There was no shouting, no slamming, etc. Ashleigh and Buddha especially worked with confidence and efficiency.
Still crushing on Damarr. .Call me.☎️📞📞
Had been rooting for Jackson as one of my favs, but he clearly fell short in many ways this episode. Now rooting for Damarr or Nick for the win.
Well, my Jackson dreams are crushed. He did a crappy job as FOH and his dessert with the overly crunchy shortbread cookie flopped. I think that I would have been uncomfortable if Luke went home as his dish wasn’t much but he wasn’t given a lot to do!
I don’t think that Jackson should have announced his taste/smell issues when he did. I am not sure why he didn’t tell someone else to taste that dish also. I think that he should have announced when it was for sure that he was the one leaving and then tell everyone–judges included. He could have said that he was proud that he got that far with his issues.
Oh well–they are all a good group this time. There doesn’t seem to be a DIVA in the bunch!
I was fooled by Jackson too. FOH, seriously Jackson? It was like watching him dig himself deeper in slow motion. He was saving that “reveal” of him not tasting anything. It only got him hate looks.
Demarr though, he is silently there, making great food.
Are we done with the group challenges yet? I think Jae does well in those challenges, and I would love her sauces. Maybe in a jar? No shame in that.
Although it was never discussed before he told them tonight, editing had me assuming everyone knew about Jackson’s loss of taste. Several times we were shown him asking others to taste his food. Luke cooked the fish in the curry and the sausage in the team dish. Judges’ comments were both were cooked perfectly. I wonder if he’d asked Jackson to taste his food in the past when he was dinged for seasoning.
Jackson had a very bad night and he was the one who deserved to go.
Glad the right person went home. I don’t know why Jackson kept saying, “don’t worry, I’m gong home.” Not sure why he was so confident about that but it was the correct decision.
Yeah, the carrot cake situation–I thought Damarr said he was going to have to change his dish but then it magically appeared and was a huge hit. We definitely missed some things in editing.
Rooting, majorly, for Damarr.
Thanks. I thought I missed something. The dessert course was very oddly edited. I felt like they were at the first restaurant all the way through and then the second restaurant seemed to serve two desserts.
Anyway LCK is really good this season. I don’t want anyone to post any spoilers but I watch it on Youtube. Just put Bravo Last Chance Kitchen season 19 into the search box. You don’t need a Youtube account I don’t think.
I just watched LCK on Youtube. You don’t need an account. It’s almost as enjoyable as Top Chef and it moves fast.
I looked first on on-demand, and I didn’t know there is a show that tells you how to make the winning dish. I’ll be watching the last few episodes.
Jackson’s an asshole for not letting the other chefs know he couldn’t taste anything. I would be pissed! I love Demarr! His dessert that was originality supposed to have a creme anglaise but he had to make ice cream instead because the cake wouldn’t have time to cool. The judges are so lucky they get to eat all that delicious food! Now I’m hungry!
Sorry for the typos!
Matriarc was lovely, well run. Jackson made the dry cookie dessert. He is not personable under normal conditions, how did he think FOH was perfect for him? I thought the other chefs knew about his lack of taste but judges didn’t…I would be ticked if I asked Jackson to taste food for me and he didn’t say anything his problem.
Overall, I love this season. This show was excellentamd Ashleigh redeemed herself.
I must have missed some parts so I will watch it again.
Jackson volunteered to be FOH because he spent 99% of his time doing this for the past year. Really?? Because it certainly didn’t show!!
If I were Luke, and probably the rest of the team actually, I would have been PISSED to find out after the fact that Jackson couldn’t taste anything!! Luke was looking for input on adjusting the seasonings, and Jackson said not to add more salt because it was salty. Instead, he should have said he wasn’t sure, don’t rely on me, ask a different teammate. By hiding his lack of taste, Jackson was dishonest and put his entire team in jeopardy.
I’m glad Jackson was eliminated and his duplicity revealed to the other chefs. I have been waiting for him to step up and be honest in every challenge that wasn’t an individual challenge. Every week, he has failed until now.
You’re right. It was so selfish of Jackson.