Top Chef 9/19 Recap: Chefs in the City

[PhoneGrrrl]

If you asked me two months ago, I would have bet money that the final five would have contained at least one of Tre, CJ, or Lia. And I would have been wrong, obviously. This has been an odd season, but at least we—so far—have survived without anyone getting kicked out for an unfortunate head-shaving incident, leaving after stealing supplies from a grocery store, or crying at every junction. With only three episodes left, the chances of real scandal are dwindling, but so is, apparently, everyone’s interest in the show. Tonight’s episode sets the stage for the final throw-down in Aspen, where the air is thin and the cooking times are longer. Who will make that trip? Only the Shadow knows. Oh, and you too, if you read this or watch the episode.

Funky Monkey Plates.

Finally out of the Miami heat, the chefs take in the sights, sounds, and smells of New York City—one of my favorite destinations on the planet, and not just because I have a free place to stay when I get there. The chefs are glad to be in the city as well. Hung spent some time working there and is glad to be back, Dale feels “amazing” that he’s in the top five (and needs to lay off watching “The Bachelor”), and Brian is glad the producers let them out of the apartment to walk around a bit. Casey even gets one of those chicken skewers from a street vendor. I know that sounds risky, but some of the best shwarma-like chicken kabobs on pita I ever had were from a guy with a cart on lower Broadway. Casey feels like she’s on a roll after the last couple of challenges, and Sara says she’s determined to win the competition.

After the chefs are done with their little walkabout, they head to Le Cirque, the famous New York eatery, where they’re greeted by Padma and the proprietor of the establishment, Sirio Maccioni. The chefs are genuinely impressed and glad to meet Sirio. He has arranged for them all to partake in a famous Le Cirque dish—so famous it isn’t on the menu and reserved only for VIPs. The dish is sea bass wrapped in thin slices of russet potatoes, served on top of a leek reduction and oyster mushrooms. The plate it is served on is a curious oblong shape with an odd little monkey hanging from a branch design. The plate is rather playful for such a serious-sounding dish, but I want a set.

As they eat, Padma informs them that this last challenge before Aspen’s finale and is all about classic cuisine. She tells them to take special note of what they are eating because, for the Quick Fire Challenge, they will each have to make that very sea bass dish. They will cook, one at a time, in the Le Cirque kitchen and present their dishes to Sirio to taste. They will have twenty-five minutes in the kitchen and all the ingredients are there for them. The chefs then are taken to the kitchen, where they are less-than-hospitably greeted by the line cooks. The chefs ask a few questions of the line cooks, then it’s off to the cooking.

Hung is up first and he’s extremely cocky about his skills, as he has French cooking experience. He makes quick work of the sea bass and presents it to Sirio, who declares it is very close to the original. Hung goes back to the other chefs all smiles, and they ask him what he did but he won’t share. Dale thinks that is arrogant, but I wouldn’t give up my tips to success to my competitors either.

Casey prepares her sea bass and gets some leering looks from the guys in the kitchen; she says that she expects to be treated with respect in the kitchen but recognizes that women get a difficult time in the predominantly male field. Dale cooks his fish next, and has all kinds of problems with the equipment, even asking for help working the mandoline. Brian gets his dish out in one piece but also has some struggles. Sirio thought Dale’s take had no seasoning in the fish and the leeks. Brian’s tasted good but the potato wrap wasn’t done properly. Sirio really liked Casey’s, saying it was the best one yet.

Finally, Sara gets in the kitchen and has the most trouble of all. She can’t find any equipment, asking for everything from the washing station to a bowl to the sauté pan. She is so far behind that she doesn’t get the fish cooking in time and ends up serving a mostly-raw fish to Padma and Sirio. She knows she has not done well.

Sirio and Padma then rejoin the waiting chefs. Sirio does not know anyone’s name, choosing instead to rudely point at people. Sara’s was clearly the worst one and Casey and Hung are named the best. Sirio then comments on how hot Casey is and then awards Hung the victory. So much for Casey’s being the “best yet,” huh, Sirio? Le Cirque is now officially off my list of places to try. Hung’s bonus for winning the Quick Fire is not yet revealed—he will have to wait until the next day’s Elimination Challenge.

With the challenge over, the chefs head to their lodging for the night. My old Project Runway pals will remember the Flatotel from last season. I think they had the same flat—I half expected Jeffrey or Laura to pop in at any moment. As they unwind after their long day, Dale and Sara contemplate how Hung will “kill” in this classic cuisine challenge. Hung says in interview footage—clearly shot at a different time than the episode, as his hair was much shorter—that he’s in the competition to win for the immigrants.

The Real Iron Chefs.

The next day, the chefs are taken to the French Culinary Institute, where they will face their final Elimination Challenge before heading to Aspen. Padma informs them that the deans of the Institute have formulated the ultimate culinary test of skills, technique, and creativity. She says they will all have to cook with the same ingredients which she reveals to be chicken, russet potato, and yellow onion. She says the deans think that the simple ingredients will be a greater test of skill and imagination. Hung, for his winning the Quick Fire, will have an additional thirty minutes of cooking time and will serve first. The others will have two hours total to prepare their dishes for judging. Before they get to cooking, they will have $200 and an hour to shop at the green market in Union Square.

At the green market, Sara heads off to examine the fresh cheeses. She says if she wins Top Chef, she is going to take the money back to Jamaica and open a cheese and dairy farm. Casey and Dale, who have gotten rather chummy, shop together. Dale should be worried, because we all know what happens to Casey’s friends. Casey finds some vegetables she’s happy with, especially some ramps. Brian, meanwhile, finds some farm-fresh sausage that he plans on incorporating in his dish.

Back in the kitchen, Hung gets his first thirty minutes all to himself. He says he wants his dish to show his grace, finesse, and technique. He’s cooking the chicken in a sous-vide fashion, which entails him vacuum-sealing the chicken in plastic then poaching it slowly in a water bath. His alone time comes to an end, and the other chefs enter to start on their dishes for the remaining two hours. Casey knows she’s not classically trained, but she thinks her experience of working from the bottom up will help her. Sara thinks she does classic cooking but with a personal twist, so she is going to incorporate some Jamaican flavors in her chicken. Brian is doing something kind of odd with dark chicken meat on the bottom of the plate and topped with bright green potatoes; Hung disparagingly comments that it looks like some home cooking.

As the chefs prepare their meals, we learn what they are each making. Hung is cooking up his sous-vide chicken with crisp chicken skin, pommes dauphin, and a salad. Sara embraces her Jamaican roots and makes a fricassee chicken with potato and couscous risotto and confit of onion. Brian prepares a “peasant’s pie” with chicken, pheasant sausage, and potato and ramp puree on top. Dale makes a duet of chicken with potato and onion puree and honey sauce. He wants to make a duet to show the flexibility of his dish. Finally, Casey takes a cue from her French grandmother and makes a coq au vin with whipped potatoes and sautéed ramps and asparagus.

During the cooking process, Tom walks in to see what is going on. He doesn’t make much comment on Dale’s duo, but expresses shock at Brian’s “peasant pie” idea. Brian says that he thinks his dish will win as long as it has good flavor. After a few more mild comments to the chefs, Tom leaves and shares his thoughts on the preparation so far. He says Hung is taking a risk making the potatoes dauphin because it’s been years since Hung tried making them. He worries that coq au vin is usually made with an old rooster, not with chicken, so Casey’s dish may not work out. He notes that Sara is making couscous again, probably to prove to the judges that she can make it after last episode’s debacle. Tom thinks Dale will have issues plating the duo and thinks Brian is keeping things simple because he’s been slammed for overcomplicating his dishes.

Tom interrupts the cooking once again to introduce the panel the chefs will be cooking for: all of the deans of the Institute. There’s the founder of the school plus about five more heads of their cooking departments. One of these deans, Andre Soultner, dean of classic studies, will be the guest judge at the Judges’ Table. Tom is oddly humble and giddy at the same time when introducing these giants of culinary education.

Raw chicken, green turds, and other appetizing vittles.

Hung is up first for service, as per his win of the Quick Fire. He asks Casey to help him plate his dish, but she’s busy preparing her own food. He manages just fine and gets the dishes out to the awaiting master chefs. His chicken is universally praised for his technique and flavor; Andre, however, is not thrilled with the pommes dauphin.

Sara is up next, and with help from Hung, plates her fricassee. The table comments that the onion confit is not like a marmalade, as it ought to be, but more of a pickled nature. The diners have a hard time spotting her professed use of Jamaican flavors as well. Gail—who is back from wherever she’s been—gets a raw piece of chicken and is not pleased. The general consensus is that the dish was overly ambitious and not well-executed.

Dale serves next and is busy plating his food, making an extra effort at presentation. Andre comments that the presentation must have been too complicated, as the dish is now cold. The pureed potatoes come out like a plain potato sauce, and there is little flavor in the dish. Back in the kitchen, Dale realizes he’s left off the honey sauce, and worries that this will get him sent packing.

Brian is fourth in the line of presentation, and his plate looks kind of strange. The chicken and sausage is on the bottom and topped with a bright green mashed potato. Tom asks him if he dyed the potatoes, but the green comes from Brian’s use of ramps. Despite the crazy color, the panel finds the dish well-seasoned, and Tom really likes it. Some diners find the sausage overpowers the chicken, but Gail particularly likes the rich, smoky flavor of the dish. Andre comments that this is the first dish to come out at the right temperature and with the right seasoning.

Finally it’s Casey’s turn to serve. She’s a bit nervous and the plating is hectic, with someone dropping a plate on the floor. She really thinks it’d be great for a woman to win Top Chef and, obviously, she wants it to be her. The judges love the presentation of her coq au vin, commenting that it is rustic, unpretentious, and not overpowering. Andre comments that a proper coq au vin cannot be done in two hours, and Tom again says that chicken shouldn’t be used for the dish.

After the service is complete, the table discusses what they’ve eaten. Clearly Hung and Casey are the front-runners: Casey for the taste and Hung for the refined techniques he used. Dale and Sara are obviously in the bottom from the discussion—the lack of flavor and proper temperature at service was not received well. Meanwhile, the chefs are awaiting their fate. Dale says he went all “balls out” (not something I want to think about when I’m choosing a restaurant, thank you very much) and hopes to survive the challenge, despite forgetting the sauce. At this point, Casey thinks her only real competition is Hung. Padma then comes in to thank the chefs for their “interesting meal,” a comment which gets more than a raised eyebrow from Casey.

Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

At the Judges’ Table, Padma starts the discussion by saying the challenge was about cooking with basic ingredients. Tom thinks that all the chefs did a pretty good job. Gail was impressed with Hung’s cooking technique, but Andre still had issues with the pommes dauphin. Gail didn’t get the point of the duo Dale presented and Tom wanted to know what the heck happened to the honey sauce promised. Gail was, as usual, disgusted with the raw chicken Sara served. Tom enjoyed the bold flavor of Brian’s dish, although Padma found the sausage to be overpowering. Gail was impressed with Casey’s skill, but Andre, though he liked the flavors very much, did not think it was a classic coq au vin.

All five of the chefs are called before the panel; Padma intones that this is the most important decision that they have had to make all season. Tom then asks each chef why they should win the competition. Hung says his dish was simple, elegant, and flavorful. No one debates this much, but Andre calls him on the less-than-puffy pommes dauphin. Hung then blames this on having to plate all by himself.

Turning to Casey, they ask her why she called the dish coq au vin when it was made with chicken. She said her French grandmother wouldn’t buy some old rooster but would make the dish with fresh chicken. Andre reiterates that coq au vin cannot be made in two hours. Casey defends her choice as a bold move to win the competition.

Sara faces the panel next. She says that fricassee is one of her favorite homey dishes, often found in Jamaican cuisine. The judges point out that some of the chicken was rubbery and some of it was raw. Sara says she checked each piece of chicken and did not see any raw pieces. No one comments on the flavorless couscous, but they probably should have. Next, focusing on Brian, Padma opines that the sausage overpowered the chicken and Tom asks if the dish was good enough to win. Brian thinks it most definitely was because the flavor of the dish was fabulous. Finally, Dale freely admits he forgot the sauce and the plan of making a duo of chicken was just bad. He should have listened to Marcel’s advice at the end of the Season 1 vs. Season 2 challenge where he specifically warned the Season 3 people to stay away from duos.

The chefs depart to await a decision. Sara is quite indignant that Gail says her chicken was raw and Dale says obviously the first time a dish is made, it is not going to be perfect—two or three tries is what it takes to perfect a dish.

Back at the Judges’ Table, Gail likes Casey’s best, saying it was a complete dish. Andre likes Hung’s chicken the best, even with the less-than-successful potatoes. Padma was keen on the flavor of Brian’s dish, but, while Gail liked Brian’s, she did not think it was the best. Tom found fault with Sara’s execution and with Dale’s conceptualization. He thinks Dale would have been better served to focus on one or the other and present a much better dish. Finally, Tom poses the question: what is worse, a bad concept or a bad execution?

The chefs are called back in before the panel and Casey, Brian, and Hung are announced the favorites. Andre then awards Hung the victory for the second time this episode. Brian is simply thrilled he’s going to Aspen and Casey can’t believe she survived through all the weeks of BS. The top three are allowed to leave, while Sara and Dale remain behind.

Tom tells them it was a tough decision and asks Sara and Dale what drives them as individuals. Dale says that cooking is love for him and he puts emotion into his food. Sara passionately says everything about food drives her, and Tom asks where all of this emotion suddenly came from. Sara says she’s reserved but serious about her food. Wrapping this process up, Tom says that Dale had a bad concept and Sara had bad execution. Padma then announces Dale is going on to the finale and Sara gets to head home.

Back in the waiting area, Sara is greeted by hugs and champagne. She will miss everyone but is going home to make her cheeses. The remaining four are jubilant that they are going to Aspen and it is frankly surprising that a friend of Casey’s made it through the elimination round.

At this point I too am going to pack my knives and go. The exceedingly gracious Yardgnome has agreed to bring you through the end of the season while I try to shed a few of the pounds gained over the TC season by watching skinny chicks vie for Tyra’s approval. It’s been fun and I’d like to give a special thanks to my mother who, a long time ago, bought me Barron’s Food Lover’s Companion, without which most of the ingredients in these recaps would be horribly misspelled.

[Google]

 

[Yardgnome]

Wonderful recap, PG!

I am pulling for Casey at this point, its time we have a female take Top Chef.

[ScoutMom]

It was a great recap, PG. Especially since I fell asleep and didn't know who won and who went home!

I also want Casey to win. I've liked her and Tre since the very beginning, and since Tre got sent home, I'm pulling for Casey.

[gizmo1]

Originally Posted by Yardgnome

Wonderful recap, PG!

I am pulling for Casey at this point, its time we have a female take Top Chef.

May the best chef win, regardless of gender.

[roses4me]

I didn't see the episode but it sounds as if the guest judge had it in for Casey from the get-go. I can't believe the male sous chefs would treat a woman guest chef so coldly, on TV no less. Yikes.

[DeeGee]

The judges really liked Casey's dish. They just had a problem with her calling it "coq au vin". Gimme a break!

I'm torn about a winner because I like both Casey and Hung for completely different reasons.