So with only twelve conchefstants left after the last elimination, they dub themselves “The Dirty Dozen” to probably more than a little alcohol.
And speaking of alcohol, what’s better than a Quickfire Challenge about alcohol? This time the guest judge was Tim Love, Top Chef Master and chef from the Fort Worth area. The challenge was another deceptively simple one: pick one tequila from several product placed choices and pair it with a dish that made sense. A good tip comes from Chris Jones, who worries about cooking with spirits — gotta have subtle flavors to counterbalance. And Sarah uses scallops (This week’s scallop count: 1) — someone has to, it’s Top Chef Law. And I love when Paul sees Ty-Lör’s clams and is impressed by the perfect <expletive deleted> idea to pair with tequila.When the judges came around, Sarah said “caramelized shallots” when she meant scallops! Sure enough, she’s in the bottom with Chris J.’s overcooked chicken and Heather’s chain restaurant quality offering. Dang, Tim Love! But Ty-Lör’s Thai steamed clams win the day, but no immunity — still, he was in the bottom last week, which is a great improvement.
For the Elimination Challenge, teams will be made of two each by where people were standing — which means Heather and Beverly pair up — evil plan by producers, you think? The challenge is to cook a favorite game protein for some guest famous chef judges. The proteins were: venison, Squab, elk, boar, duck, and quail. So some a bit easier than others. And in a classic twist, the chefs will be the judges as well to decide who’s in the bottom three, and BOTH members of one team will go home. Sarah hopes no personal feelings will get involved — how adorable! Heather immediately begins berating Beverly — she ain’t cooking something that’s “too Asian.” Yikes. And then we discover that Beverly was in an abusive relationship and finally ran away. This is that classic “serious” data that might bode good or ill. And then it’s time to see who’s the winning and losing teams! The main judges decide that Edward and Ty-Lör’s sorghum quail wins! Ty-Lör is on a roll.
It was a fun and horribly awkward session of trying to be honest about who was the worst. Grayson & Chris J.’s elk with a weird sweet potato is one sent to the bottom, as is Nyesha and Dakota’s undercooked venison and Heather and Beverly’s badly plated five spice duck breast. As expected, Dakota and Chris realize their dishes had issues, but Heather… First, she says the other judges want them gone because they’re too good, and then just attacks Beverly and her “work ethic.” And Beverly starts to cry again — but hey, she did prepare four hundred shrimp the previous week. Later back in the kitchen, everyone gets into it with Heather — Grayson made an excellent point: Why attack Bev when you’d go home too?
But it’s that undercooked venison that’s just too problematic, so Dakota and Nyesha are both sent off to face Whitney in the online Last Chance Kitchen “use cactus in a wok” challenge … Spoiler: Nyshea wins! Watch for yourself to see why.
Photo Credit: Bravo TV
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