Previously on Top Chef: Texas, the first two elimination rounds culled four chefconchefstants from the initial count of 29 chefs, leaving 11 ready for the main deal, four “on the bubble” (for a special online elimination challenge, explained later), and ten remaining that are either in, out, or in between; pretty sure that math’s right. New judges for this season include acclaimed chef and bombastic personality Emeril Lagasse and Hugh Acheson, alumnus from Top Chef Masters with his own impressive set of honors.
We first check back in with our on the bubble chefs in the stew room, Molly Brandt, Grayson Shmitz, Edward Lee, and Janine Falvo. They feel a bit like prisoners working together — being friendly, but not too friendly, as you never know
In the third and final group is blonde dynamo Lindsay Autry and Chaz Brown, who likes Hugh, but has a huge crush on Padma — even had apicture of her in locker in middle school. Joining them is Beverly Kim-Clark, recently married and with a kid at home, Ashley Villaluz, Jonathan Baltazar, Laurent Quenioux, Berenice deAraujo, Kim Calichio, Lindsay Autry, and Chaz Brown. Rounding them out are accomplished Texas chefs Paul Qui and his good friend Andrew Curren, who is initially happy to see his pal, but then is quite worried about his buddy’s skills.
On to the challenge. … There are ten items on the table, including a surprise. But first, the chefs must decide who gets which ingredient. Paul is skeptical, anticipating a twist where the the ingredients will get switched around. So he’s seen the show.
Chaz wants the risotto due to having an Italian-American wife, Jonathan grabs the sprouts, Berenice loves short ribs, Laurent gets duck, Beverly fancies the octopus, and then Ashley and Andrew both seem to want mushrooms, not the remaining oxtail. Andrew attempts to be chivalrous but Ashley ain’t having that. So that means a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (there really ought to be a Top Chef equivalent) to see who gets stuck with the dreaded oxtail. And wouldn’t you know it? Andrew wins, proving that chivalry can be useful in the kitchen after all.
And now for the dreaded twist: each person gets assigned a specific amount of time for each dish. Andrew knows 20 minutes isn’t enough for his mushroom delicacy, and Chaz is gravely concerned with his slightly more generous 30 minutes.
Beverly is already nervous at the hovering Hugh and Tom, who are circling the kitchen, probing for weakness. Paul quickly explains through his nerves and quick movements to Hugh about his planned Southeast Asian inspired trout. Mushroom making Andrew thinks 15 minutes are the absolute minimum for roasting mushrooms, hardly giving him any time at all to clean them and prepare the other components. After a brief friendly chat with Tom, Andrew realizes 8 precious minutes have already slipped by… he’s in trouble. Unlucky oxtail’ed and just married Ashley has learned some cooking tricks from her Filipino husband’s grandmother, so the plan is to pressure cook some kare-kare stew. Even though she’s never used the pressure cooker before today. …
Go-getting Kim with the lamb plans a difficult fennel puree, while French-born Laurent originally came to America against his will for work reasons — and fell in love with the country, and never left. That should be in somebody’s campaign ad. He has some difficult ideas he hopes will work for his duck. Beverly is lucky with 60 minutes and fond memories of cooking octopus growing up and is feeling good — Chaz is the opposite, doubting he’ll make it in time. Lindsey is getting close to the wire even with her 60 minute window, requiring a lot of time to braise the veal with the bone — she’s so short on time, she runs away when Tom approaches for his one of little “talks,” pretending not to see him. Now that’s smart. But not so smart after all is Kim, who’s fennel has not cooked and is out of time — time to plate that minute!
So first up is the 20-minute group with Kim, Andrew, and Paul. Kim managed a plain-looking pan-seared lamb on arugula and kalamata olives. Andrew believes he managed to successfully roast his mushrooms, topping them with a brown butter vinaigrette and a poached egg. Paul puts out an elegant looking grilled trout with his planned Southeast Asian salad. And then the judges decided! That was fast. Tom loves Paul’s well-season trout, and Hugh concurs wholeheartedly. So Paul’s in! But Kim’s lamb was far too greasy and overcooked — she’s gone. Tom is disappointed someone with a similar last name didn’t live up to his expectations. And Andrew’s mushrooms were messy, and he knew it — but the judges saw promise, and tossed him on the bubble. So he runs in to the stew room and greets the three waiting for someone else to inspect carefully.
As time runs out for the 40-minute group, Jonathan is starting to see the significant differences between his work as a private chef and this madcap competition, while Berenice is concerned about her lackluster marinade. Laurent is glad he didn’t become a military man or a priest, but he’s still worried about the crispiness of his duck. Chaz pulls his probably uncooked and unplated risotto and runs… but time’s up and he has not plated anything. But that means… poor Chaz is out — he and Padma have broken up! Sad. …
Berenice made a boring Asian-style short rib with cabbage slaw, Laurent managed duck with lemon yuzu curd and arugula, sauteed with pomegranate, molasses, and lemon oil, while Jonathan made a sparse Southern Brussels sprouts with tomato sofrito and hazelnut gremolata. It looks like there’s barely anything on the plate at all. The chefs aren’t pleased at all, and Jonathan is the next chef-casualty. Hugh though the duck was a mess, with too much going on — he votes bubble. Tom knows Laurent is experienced and clearly can cook — but based on the dish, no dice. Which leaves Padma to decide — and he’s on the bubble! Laurent is glad, he knows he can do better. Berenice’s one-dimensional dish apparently doesn’t represent her true skills — but Tom doesn’t care, even with her credentials. She’s gone too.
Which leaves our 60-minute group, who are all hustling big time. Ashley thinks the pressure’s off on her cooker, while Beverly is staying cool with her personal mantra of “I can I must I will!”. The chefs are plating as fast as they can, but Lindsay decides to help Ashley open her pressure cooker. It’s about the food, not the lid, after all. And… it’s time to serve.
Ashley’s braised oxtail kare-kare looks all right, but it might not be… Lindsay has her braised veal over a creamy polenta and warm salad, while Beverly has a great looking (astonishingly enough) Korean style octopus “nakji bokum” dish. Tom loves Lindsay’s complicated but balanced dish, and Hugh agrees — she’s in! But Ashley’s oxtail is close to the bubble… but Hugh and Tom think she needs more time before she can truly shine as a cook. And Beverly’s crazy, risky octopus? They love it — and she’s in too!
While the winning chefs join their previous winning peers in the house, the bubble strew room chefs trade subtle jabs with each other. Edward casually derides Royal Caribbean cruise ship chef <>, out for blood. And suddenly they’re all called into the kitchen. But the challenge is deceptively simple: create a dish that best shows what sort of chef you are. And they’re off! Andrew grabs some mussels, having real confidence in them. Recently broken up over the phone Janine plans seared scallop with clams, and Laurent has some scallops planned of his own. Edward notices the glut of seafood and grabs some duck — he’s ready to stand out.
But with 45 minutes left, Edward cuts himself badly — but keeps working while the medic wraps his bloody wound. That’s pretty hardcore! Grayson is ready to get redemption for her terrible mistake trusting creepy Tylor to butcher her meat the first time around. And as they plate, Molly thinks her shrimp might be overcooked … but too late, time to serve!
Edward serves a bowl of blended Southern and Asian flavors, sweet Asian custard with barbecue sauced duck. Molly has jumbo stuffed prawn (looks it, too) with a mousseline of shrimp, and Janine has a colorful seared scallop with baby clams, bacon, corn and watermelon. Grayson has her creamy polenta with bacon wrapped shrimp and fig sauce, while Laurent managed a different scallop two ways, tartare and seared on a bed of fennel. And finally Andrew has mussels with fregula pasta and shrimp.
Janine’s dish is up first — Emeril calls it simple but well executed. Tom thinks Molly’s shrimp is indeed overcooked, and Hugh thought it was close to a great dish. Emeril loves Edward’s duck and its presentation, while Hugh thinks it went just a tad overboard. Grayson is interrogated by Tom about the shrimp, and is pleased with her well-reasoned response. Emeril agrees, liking the whole combination. Andrew is confident, and Emeril likes some of it, but doesn’t get the panna cotta — Tom feels the same way. Laurent’s tartare is gray and discolored, but his seared scallops have been enjoyed. So the chefs head back to the bubble room to stew and wait.
After a bit of discussion, the chefs are called back in to fill just two remaining slots — Molly’s overcooked shrimp is not acceptable, so she’s gone. Laurent’s misbegotten tartare means he must bid us adieux. A recovering Edward squeaks by and stays in the competition — time to take a nap and recover a bit, I think. It’s now down between Andrew nearly great plate, Grayson’s unimaginative but tasty dish, and Janine confused simple muddle. Andrew is the first to go, and then the final one in is … Grayson! Which means poor Janine is out. So Grayson and Edward join the house, itching to prove themselves.
So we’re left with 16 chefs, so now the season “actually” begins. Get ready for snakes, oxygen tanks, Pee Wee Herman, and plenty of drama. And the “Biggest Twist of All,” whatever that means. …
Now for the addendum, the special online Last Chance Kitchen, where Tom Colicchio has Janine and Andrew battling to stay in the competition. They get just one more chance. Every eliminated chef gets another chance to stay in, battling the next eliminated one until just one is left at the end. So we could have a streak — or a lucky one right at the end. The challenge is simple — the perfect pizza in 30 minutes. Andrew doesn’t want to use cheese, but his idea for seafood instead doesn’t work with nothing in the fridge. So instead he plans a rustic Mediterranean pizza with salsa verde, anchovies, capers, friend calamari and arugula. Some of that sounds decent, although I wouldn’t exactly call it “pizza” with no cheese at all. Janine ends up with a fig pizza with Parmesan, arugula, black garlic and thyme. Tom starts mixed, but thinks Andrew’s could’ve used some olive oil and Janine’s could’ve stood less honey. But there’s only one person moving on … and it’s Andrew!
So the question is: Can he beat all the other eliminated chefs? It remains to be seen.
Clacked by Jeremy Fogelman 
on Nov 10, 2011 @ 09:44 EST5EDT
