The clock is
set, the Chopping Block is cleaned, and four chefs are ready...
LUIS GONZALES
New York City
executive chef, Knickerbocker Bar & Grill |
EINAT ADMONY
orig. Israel
chef & restaurateur, Taim Falafel & Smoothie Bar |
KYLE SHADIX
orig. Georgia
chef & dietician |
SEAN CHUDOBA
New York City
chef (with no formal training), Ayza Wine Bar |
The rules are
simple. You're given a mélange of random theme ingredients that must
be used in that dish. You have 30 minutes of cooking time. After
each course, the plate will be judged on creativity, presentation,
and above all, taste. The chef whose plate scores the lowest after
each course will be "chopped". The last chef standing wins $10,000.
And tonight's judges... different.
- Executive Chef Amanda Freitag
- Italian chef & restaurateur Scott Conant
- American chef & restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian
Round 1: APPETIZER.
The mystery ingredients in the basket of fun... ground beef, wonton
wrappers, cream of mushroom soup, and bananas
Thirty minutes on the clock...
starting now!
Luis: Crispy Wonton Salad and Beef
Ragu with Toasted Bananas
Einat: Beef Dumplings and Bacon-Wrapped Bananas
Kyle: Banana Basil Dumpling Soup and Mushroom Cream Soup with
Meatballs
Sean: Creamy Mushroom Thyme Ravioli
Sean's looking to put a caramel shell
on those bananas (doesn't work), while Einat is focusing on her own
dishes. Kyle... is losing it. He just makes another soup while he's
at it. Luis thinks that he has a winner here.
And... TIME! Everyone's plated. Let's
see what they have to work with at... the Chopping Block.
First up... Luis's beef needs to
sing. But it's a good dish. Einat scores with the taste and the
presentation. The sauce didn't measure up with the rest of the dish.
Kyle's soups... are bland. Sean's dish... lacks bananas. That may
cost him.
Will Sean fall prey to the rules, or
has someone else's shortcoming become his benefit?
The first person to be chopped...
is... SEAN. The ravioli is good... but rules are rules.
Round 2: ENTREE.
Ingredients.... be sure to use them... are scallops, collard greens,
anchovies, sour cream.
Either you're not too thrilled or you
don't know what they are. Either way, time starts now.
Luis: Mediterranean-style Scallops
with Roasted Tomatoes and Sour Cream
Einat: Collard-Green-Wrapped Scallops with Yogurt Sauce
Kyle: Panko-Encrusted Scallops with Citrus Cream Sauce
Scallops have a very tight margin of
error. All it takes is one false move and... rubberized. Kyle goes
the breaded scallops route, while Einat wraps the scallops into
collards. Luis... juliennes the greens and wonders what the guy from
the South is fretting over. Wait a second... decoration! Of course!
And.... TIME! Whether these plates
are intended or not, they're going to the judges.
First up... Einat's dish is
perfect... except for rubber bands. Kyle's presentation is stunning,
but it's too small. The greens are inedible, though. Luis' approach
loses the sweetness of the scallop, but gains the texture of the
greeens. The tomato gets lost, though.
The judges came down hard on the
chefs, but which one will feel the pain of the Chopping Block?
The second person to be chopped...
is... KYLE. The flavors were muddled and the execution was not right
at all.
Round 3: DESSERT. We're
working with... maple syrup, black plums, almond butter, walnuts,
and... quick grits.
Thirty minutes to make dessert...
Let's go!
Einat: Quick Grits Fritters
Luis: Almond & Plum Meltdown Cake
Einat didn't grow up on grits... Luis
worked with his brother, a pastry chef. It's all about timing now.
Something Luis hasn't got a hold of, as he burns his butter. Einat's
fritters... don't work. She tries again. Same with Luis' cakes,
which don't work until he breaks out the microwave.
And Luis forgets to grease his molds.
...... That's time. Commit to what
you've done.
The final judgment is as follows...
Einat's fritters... a little bit heavy. Luis's cake... doesn't go
over well. He may have mistaken sugar for salt. Woops.
So did Luis just make a $10,000
error, or will the rest of the progression today save him?
Most importantly, how will Einat feel if she does win on account of
that?
The final person to be chopped...
is... LUIS. Even if that was the perfect dessert, Einat did the
better job of identifying with the ingredients, and as a result,
Einat Admony wins $10,000. She doesn't beat him so much as Luis beat
himself.
Next week, four more chefs and another $10,000 to
be won if you can avoid being... chopped.
To see this episode in its
entirety, or to apply to be a contestant on "Chopped", visit the
official website at
www.foodnetwork.com/chopped.