Four chefs, three
courses, only one winner...
Jeremy Duclut
orig. France
executive chef, Georges' in Philadelphia
French |
Peter Karpanagiotis
Philadelphia
executive chef, Prive
controlled, composed |
Barbara Esmonde
Wynnewood, PA
chef, Mediterranean Catering
Mediterranean |
Jeffrey Baruch
New York City
executive chef, London Lennie's
seafood |
You know the rules, you know the lifelines, let's
meet the judges...
- Master of dynamic American cooking Geoffrey Zarkarian
- Gifted Italian cooking Jody Williams
- Modern Latin cuisine expert Aaron Sanchez
Round 1: APPETIZER (20 minutes). Your
starter must have these ingredients... peas, peaches, and eel.
You have twenty minutes to put something
together... Let's go!
Jeremy: Pan-Seared Eel with Braised Peas
Peter: Peaches & Cream Soup with Eel Essence
Barbara: Grilled Eel Filet with Peach Compote
Jeffrey: Asian Eel with Pea Salad
Jeremy's composing something French. Jeffrey's
peach is NOT of the high quality, so he uses it as a vessel. Peter takes his eel
out of the soup and then realizes... "What the heck am I doing? I'm going to get
chopped." Barbara spends way too much time getting freaky with her eel. She has
to get the eel on the grill. And she... loses her fourth piece. Jeremy and
Jeffrey's dishes are coming along on schedule.
And... TIME! Step away. "GLADLY."
Jeremy's eel goes over well with the judges, but
the eel is underdone. It's a little spicy with the chipotle inside.
Peter's soup is velvety and rich, but there's a
monotony... BUT there's no eel essence in it.
Barbara seemed frazzled, but the eel filet was
pretty well done with the peach. The peas worked better incorporated instead of
on the side.
Jeffrey's dish is visually arresting, but the eel
is cooked through. Jody, though, calls it amateurish.
Rough first round. The eel was a curveball. All
of the chefs made some serious mistakes. One eel was raw. One was underdone, but
fairly well, and one didn't have any eel at all. The first chef... to be
chopped... is .... JEFFREY. He did had the tastiest eel, but the other
ingredients were ill conceived. It lacked sophistication.
Round 2: ENTREE (30 minutes). Got through
the appetizer. But now we need to unlock the potential of the dinner by
unlocking the boxes of... shrimp... oatmeal... butternut squash... and umeboshi,
a Japanese pickled plum.
Half an hour to get it right... Go!
Jeremy: Miso-Marinated Shrimp with Squash Risotto
Peter: Oatmeal Crusted Shrimp with Shrimp Sauce
Barbara: Oatmeal Crusted Shrimp with Squash Mash
Umeboshi is very salty, very tart, and a great
accent. Peter decides to replace salt with it, and he thinks... could this round
get any worse? He gets a nick on his finger. Barbara also nicks herself. Safety
first, chefs. Jeremy is adding umeboshi to his marinate.
Barbara decides that the glove is a hindrance, so
she whips it off and tosses her salad... by hand. And did we mention that she
hasn't cleaned her shrimp yet? With a minute left to service, Peter decides to
make a salad.
And... TIME! On a photo finish, no less.
Peter's melange of oatmeal and squash is
interesting. A lot of great things happen with the plate, but there's no sauce.
When you have something breaded, you need a sauce. But it's a good departure
from the first dish.
Barbara's shrimp is lovely. The look is rustic.
The squash is perfect. But they couldn't overlook the cut on her finger and
decide to wisely pass on the salad.
Jeremy's dish is "excellent" and "full of
flavor". Aaron thought there was a lot of risotto in comparison to the shrimp.
Barbara thinks that she's toast, and she thinks
that the finger would've done it. The second person... to be chopped... is...
BARBARA. It was a good enough dish, and they loved her enthusiasm, but the
judges could've been endangered.
Round 3: DESSERT (30 minutes). You're one
chef and one box away from $10,000. In the box: parsnips, limoncello, soda
crackers, and sharp cheddar cheese.
This is for money... Let's go!
Jeremy: Stuffed Crepe with Ricotta & Cheddar
Cheese
Peter: Based Cheese with Cracker Breading and Parsnip Limoncello Puree
Parsnip is really woody and hard to work with as
a dessert, but that won't stop the two chefs remaining. Peter decides to
incorporate the cheddar into a meringue, and incorporate caramel into a parsnip
puree. Jeremy's in advance of his plan, and even has some time for some small
talk with the competition. The judges are worried that Peter may not produce a
dish.
And... TIME! Is it a done deal for Jeremy, or
will Peter's hail Mary result in 10 large?
Jeremy's crepe is a bit eggy, but for 30 minutes,
it's well done. He did two things that were familiar to him: crepe and French
toast.
Peter's dessert looks a little odd, but it's
delicious according to the judges. He used sophisticated ingredients, but only a
few of them. Peter's words: "Less is more."
So now we're going from the dessert AND from the
overall meal. Peter was the comeback kid from start to finish. Jeremy was very
safe from start to finish. Jeremy's a classicist. Peter's an innovator. It's a
close one.
BUT... the final person... to be chopped... is...
PETER. His mistakes cost him the game. But even though he didn't win, he is a
winner.
As for winners within the Chopped Kitchen, there
would just be one... Jeremy Duclut, now $10,000 richer.
One chef will follow in Jeremy's footsteps next
time. The other three... they're just gonna be 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.