Last time on Top Chef, Jeremy stayed safe by the skin of his pork belly. Carl had the win last week with his fast casual concept of Southern Mediterranean cuisine and says that this competition is a marathon, which he has run before because at this point anything anyone has ever done Carl has also done it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he passed the time on the road making sick M.C. Hammer beats and going over Martin Yan recipes in his head. Yeah, that’s a call back to recaps for the last two episodes you should totally read if you haven’t.
Kwame went home because he cooked frozen waffles. Richard Blais—a judge on that episode—reached out after my last review to explain Kwame’s decision, though not necessarily to defend it. Blais said there’s a certain fatigue when you get this far into the competition, where chefs aren’t always making the right decisions. Cooking this much under this much pressure gets to people in different ways. It only gets worse as the competition continues.
This actually sounds horrendous. Who would put themselves through this? And Blais did it multiple times!? This is probably where I throw in the ‘Only by Bravo’ line and move on to this week’s episode. Let’s hope there aren’t any more mental breakdowns or frozen breakfast treats.
Isaac has a conversation with is kids, which is wonderful for him, but could be a harbinger of things to come on this episode. Have you noticed how often the person going home in an episode gets more personal time that week, like the producers know they have to get all the bullets out before it’s too late? For Toups fans, let’s hope it’s not too late.
The guest judge for the Quickfire Challenge is Traci Des Jardins, a finalist on Top Chef Masters in the past and a successful San Francisco restaurateur. She is talking about…toast.
Seriously, for the last quickfire before the finale, the cheftestants have to make toast. But not just toast…artisanal toast. (And no, they aren’t making their own bread.) And the winner gets a $16,000 oven.
Oh, and this is a sudden death quickfire, with the two worst toasts going toast to toast to see who is, well, toast in this competition.
(Had to do it. Sorry not sorry.)
Someone on Top Chef is going home for making toast. Marjorie says her heart is pounding. I’m loving it.
Amar is basically just making a thick, heavy dish and smacking it on a piece of toast. There’s duck breast, foie gras and fig jam with a balsamic truffle glaze. “Damn, Amar. You’re a beast.”
Marjorie is doing Dungeness crab on sour dough bread, about the San Franciscoist of all the dishes. Carl is making shrimp and buratta despite knowing that seafood and cheese usually pairs terribly. But he’s going with what he knows (add Southern Italian to his list of…everything.)
Jeremy says “this is not your ordinary toast”, which is what everyone is probably saying right now. He’s going chicken liver mousse. Isaac is doing prosciutto with a romesco sauce.
Only a few minutes left and, uh-oh, Carl’s toast isn’t toasty enough. He hopes the whole thing doesn’t “sog out.” Please, chefs of America, never use the term “sog out” when talking about food someone else has to eat.
Jeremy is up first and he used the ciabatta bread. The judges offered no opinion of his dish, but it did look nice.
Marjorie added pancetta and fennel to her crab salad. She called her marmalade “mar-mah-LAHD” and now I’m beginning to question everything about this entire challenge.
Amar’s dish probably weighs six pounds. He went with raisin sourdough, which is a smart choice given what else is on the plate. He said marmalade the American way, but put so much sauce on the dish he may have, ahem, sogged out his toast.
Speaking of being sogged out, Carl’s “Calabrian” inspired dish is next and he also went sourdough. Padma questioned the Calabria use of seafood and cheese, to which Carl assures her it is used there.
Isaac went “butter-fried ciabatta” which are three words I want in my mouth right now. They didn’t give much feedback to him, but Padma said there is one chef who stood out the most…and then they cut to a commercial! Damn you, television geniuses.
Back from break (see, that didn’t take long) and the winner of the toast challenge is…Jeremy. “Yes. Dammit that feels good.”
They enjoyed the textures and flavors and he is in the final four and he won a crazy expensive oven.
The bottom two in the toast off are…Carl and Amar. Which means Isaac and Marjorie are safe to cook another challenge, while Carl and Amar have to battle it out to see who stays on the show.
Amar’s dish was too saucy and heavy. Carl tried the fish-and-cheese toast and failed. Come on, Carl, you had to see that coming. In the sudden-death cook-off, there is too much riding on this decision to leave it up to just Padma and a guest judge, so in walked good ol’ Tom Colicchio to serve as tie-breaker or, as it were, dream-breaker.
Thirty minutes, no restrictions and no boundaries. And I officially love the Top Chef producers for this graphic, which, I assume, they made just for me to screen capture and use. Thank you and you’re welcome.
CREATE A DISH TO SAVE YOUR LIFE. If that isn’t an actual challenge next season, someone at Bravo should be fired.
Jeremy is happy one of these chefs is going home because it’s “one less beast I gotta burn through.”
Carl knows he’s playing it safe. “Everything I’m about as a chef is awesome produce, lots of different flavors, lots of balance with heat and acidity.” So basically, cooking.
“I’m going back to my old friend the crudo.” Oh, so basically NOT cooking. Got it.
Amar points out that Carl is being strategic because if you make a good crudo this season, you end up on top. “But I do not want to make a crudo. I came here to cook.”
Damn right, Amar.
He’s making a dish he hasn’t made before, but he’s happy to show the judges he has range. This is going to be either brilliant or a disaster. Or a brilliant disaster.
Amar’s dish looks beautiful, but it only matters how it tastes. Padma asked if he’s ever worked with the ingredients before and Amar admits he hasn’t, but he saw the plums and thought he had to use them.
Carl made what he called “a little salad…” which is curious to call something “a little salad” when your entire existence on this show—and maybe your life—depends on the judges liking this one plate of food.
“Another crudo, huh,” asked Padma.
DAAAAAMN.
“I’ve only made one.” Nice save, Carl.
Each judge will vote and the loser goes home. Carl gets Padma’s vote. Well, that is a surprise. Tom goes next, and admits he didn’t love either dish, but knocked Carl for making his dish less about the fish than Tom liked, despite earlier telling them there were no boundaries. Now, the only reason Tom would go second here is if Traci picked Carl, because why wouldn’t Tom be the one to break the tie, given he was the third judge invited. Or maybe they want the guest judge to be the decider. Let’s find out together.
Amar needed more radish. Carl played it safe and the combinations were obvious, but delicious. Her vote goes to…Carl and Amar is asked to pack his knives and go.
Psst…Amar…you should have made a crudo.
He calls the lost “devastating.” It sure is. He does have another chance in Last Chance Kitchen. I’ll call him the favorite in that event.
One last challenge before three move on to the finals—which is really the semifinals, just months later, so they call it the finals. Anyway, the guest judge for this challenge is renowned French chef Hubert Keller!
He hosted the very first Quickfire in Top Chef history, all those years ago, and his restaurant Fleur de Lys has closed, which means the four remaining cheftestants are cooking one final sendoff dish for 40 VIPs. No pressure, folks. He gives them old menus they can use for inspiration.
But that’s tomorrow. Tonight, Keller will cook for them.
First they go to Whole Foods. Carl is making a foie gras dish in one day that might take a normal chef three. Jeremy is making a fish dish, and he asked the Whole Foods butchers to cut them in half for him, which isn’t exactly the same as buying frozen waffles, but seems like something he would want to do himself, time notwithstanding. “Beautiful man. Nice knifework.” Come on, Jeremy.
Marjorie is going with a lamb dish, as Fleur de Lys has featured a lot of lamb dishes over the years. Isaac is looking for fresh chicken livers, making duck ballotine. He thinks he’s at a disadvantage because he’s not as classically trained as the others.
At dinner, the restaurant looks like it’s taken out of a 1950s film, and while Keller serves the food, Emeril serves the wine.
Everyone is enjoying the meal, but Jeremy is genuinely mesmerized by getting to eat with Keller, joking (I think) that he thought the birth of his child was a big deal until getting the chance to have this meal. Yes, this is the same Jeremy who made pork belly tacos that would be served by “hot chicks” at a gastropub with a rooftop garden last week. Dude is complex, and, he says, inspired. Look at his eyes, he must be.
The next day, it’s time to cook. Carl is making a foie gras torchon, which is kind of nuts. Jeremy is going with branzini with a pomme soufflé, which is basically little pillows of potato after being cooked in hot oil shaken while it fries.
Isaac needs to break down and re-stuff six ducks to make his ballotine. He isn’t sure he has the time to get it done. While I applaud the risk, you better make sure your dish is done, man.
And right on cue here comes the chefs to screw with the chefestants one more time. Marjorie is using the lamb saddle as a tribute to the lamb dishes of the past. Tom asks Marjorie about the pressure she feels. I love Tom.
By the way, all the cheftestants are sweating profusely. It’s either insanely hot in that kitchen or the pressure is getting to everyone. Either way it’s kind of gross.
And right on cue, Hubert points out how much Isaac is sweating. Tom says, of his ballotine, “If you can pull this off it’s going to be really good. It’s somewhat risky doing this thing with very little time.”
Jeremy works with Jean Georges, so he better nail the French food. And Carl…well, Carl.
“You’re doing a torchon,” Tom asks, “in three hours? Because normally that’s a 24-hour process and it’s better after it sits…” Tom literally walked away shaking his head. Someone is going to get sent home, and Tom must at that point think that it’s Carl.
The dining room celebrates the legacy of Fleur des Lys with a toast—more toast!—and it’s time to serve.
Isaac wishes his ballotine was cooked lower and slower, but that’s all he could do with the time constraints. Padma comments on how delicious the plate looks.
They enjoy the flavors but it was dry and not sauced enough. Emeril points out how it needed to be cooked slowly. Gail Simmons agreed, saying it felt rushed.
Marjorie is up next and she’s extremely nervous. It didn’t show up in the dish, though, as it looks delicious.
Tom asks if she had the option to buy the lamb on the bone, questioning why she’d prefer to have it boneless. “I wanted to make sure I had to focus on the other components of the dish, so I didn’t want to roast it on the bone.”
Tom, your thoughts?
They questioned the cook on the lamb at the judges table, but those at the other tables liked it more. Not that their expert opinions matter in this challenge, but still.
Jeremy, who seems to be the most confident this week, is up next with a beautiful dish.
Padma loves the dish. Tom seems less in love with the dish, but credits the technique Jeremy used. He’s safe for sure.
Carl is last, and he’s not sure his foie is totally set. Also he has a huge knife and it’s very sharp.
Carl chose the foie because it was it was always on the Fleur de Lys menus. He is happy with the dish even if he’d do it differently at his restaurant.
Keller thinks Carl set himself up to fail. It’s raw liver. The rest of the dish good, but the foie is wrong. That’s a disaster for Carl. Guessing right now, I’d have to say Carl is in the most trouble, as Padma enters the kitchen to summon the chefs.
At judges’ table, they talk about the success of the show, the legacy of Keller’s restaurant and the emotional night before Jeremy gets the win. This challenged seemed to mean the most to him, and it paid off, as his dish was the best for the judges and he deserved the victory.
“I just f**king won. Oh, my God, dude!”
Yeah, Bro Jeremy is back.
Now, the losers. Marjorie immediately starts crying because she knows she screwed up her dish. Keller asks why she didn’t cook the lamb earlier, let it rest and cook through and then flash heat it before it was time to serve? Her mistakes were out of fear.
Carl is slammed for a three-day dish in three hours. Look at his face during that exchange! Yikes. He calls out his own ego as a chef, which got in the way of the experience of the diner. Look, if the judges haven’t already decided, and these exchanges help them make their decisions, we are two-for-two on “I learned from my mistakes” so far.
Isaac thought his dish was good, but Tom felt it was dry. Emeril thought the idea was great, but the execution missed the mark. If he’s sent home, it’s understandable, but given how bad Carl’s foie was and how Marjorie didn’t cook on the bone, I can’t imagine Isaac going home. And yet, that phone call at the start of the show…
The judges deliberation was hardest on Isaac, before Padma asks which of Carl and Isaac’s dishes they would rather eat again. Gail made the smartest case, saying, “I would rather eat overcooked duck than undercooked foie gras.”
It’s knife-packing time, and Tom talks about the “magical and special” goodbye to the restaurant they are in, and to one chef. Padma says Marjorie’s name, which is almost always —until the finale—a death knell for chefs up for elimination. But this time, she’s safe and in the finale with Jeremy.
Carl…not so much. He thought he might have been safe as well, given what they did to Marjorie, but when his name was called, it was to pack his knives and his M.C. Hammer tapes and go.
He called the dish he tried “stupid” but you have to applaud the ambition, even if that’s what sent him home.
Next week, the first part of the finale in Las Vegas, but first they all get to go home for a while. It’s time to celebrate, and relax for a bit.
Marjorie summed up the Top Chef experience best, saying, “running two restaurants is hard, but cooking on Top Chef is like an extreme sport or something.”
Power Rankings:
- Marjorie – She was in the top spot last week and stays there this week too. She made a bad lamb decision but it didn’t cost her.
- Jeremy – up from the bottom to the middle. He could win. I know, it’s amazing.
- Isaac – probably the fan favorite at this point, but he needs to step up his game in Vegas.
- Whoever wins Last Chance Kitchen. Honestly, given who is in that field, I wouldn’t put it past them to win it all.