Innovation
October 18
Last time, the chefs were given many vessels with
which to yield tasty dishes, then sent around the world for new exciting
interpretation. But Holly Smith learned the hard way that Iron Chefs are not
allowed to have bad days, as she is sent packing. Now EIGHT chefs remain in the
quest for Kitchen Stadium.
TEST #5: INNOVATION
"Today, you will go in search of tradition so
that you can find something new. An Iron Chef must be innovative. Bon voyage."
The chefs will go in pairs around LA to the
various Asian eateries that the city has to offer... Pho Huynh (Vietnamese), Nak
Won (Korean), Din Tai Fung Dumpling House (Chinese), and Jitlada (Thai). Figure
out what makes each dish tick, because you will have 10 minutes to recreate that
dish.
Mullen gets to choose his destination AND
partner, as well as the partners and destinations of everyone else.
Vietnamese: Garces/Crenn
Korean: MULLEN/Appleman
Chinese: Trevino/Farmerie
Thai: Mehta/Freitag
Four chefs will emerge with an advantage in the
next test.
First, we go to Thailand, where Mehta and Freitag
get Green Curry with Fish Balls. Trevino and Farmerie get Pork Dumplings and
Veggie Dumplings. Crenn and Garces get beef pho. Finally, it's Dolsot Bibimpap,
which is a beef hot pot, for Appleman and Mullen.
Now that you have all tasted... It's time to
recreate the dish. Ten minutes... from NOW.
And ten minutes later... Freitag is missing
cilantro and onion... while Mehta's has pineapple and lemon. Winner from
Thailand... Amanda Freitag.
Going to Vietnam. Crenn's beef needed to be on
top. Garces... has raw beef. That's basically unservable. Winner from Vietnam...
Dominique Crenn.
Korean hot pot time. Appleman was overcooked...
Mullen was salty... Winner from Korea... Nate Appleman
Finally, in China, it's a draw. ... but Trevino
is two meats ahead of Farmerie, so... Winner from China... Roberto Trevino.
These four chefs will have an advantage for the
next test. First, though, a snack at a Korean taco truck that Alton picked up.
Nothing that the Chairman likes more than when two cuisines that don't normally
go together... go together. For example, a Korean taco truck.
That leads us to our next test... incorporate the
tastes you encountered today into an American package.
TEST #6: INNOVATION - PART 2
Using the tastes you encountered in your travels
today, create Asian-inspired American food.
Chefs Freitag, Trevino, Crenn, and Appleman,
because you won today's field challenge, you will have 60 minutes to make your
dish. The rest of you will have 55.
And the cooking starts... NOW.
Appleman: Kimchi-braised Pot Roast in a Crock Pot
with Mashed Rice.
Trevino: Meatloaf Dumpling with Vegetables
Crenn: American Breakfast (Pork Sausage with Eggs, Mint, Ginger & Chilies with
an Avocado Smoothie)
Freitag: Maryland Halibut Fish Cake with a Thai Accent
And three.. two... one... Hop to! Chop chop!
Garces: American-Style French Dip with Pho Broth
Farmerie: Pittsburgh Peking Pierogies with Chinese Dipping Broth
Mehta: Sweet & Spicy Green Curry "Take Out" with Ice Cream
Mullen: Korean Style Reuben Sandwich with Potato Chips and Barley & Ginger Soda
And after "Five seconds... three... two... one...
" Put it down, walk away, the test is over.
MULLEN: His reuben is the best damn reuben the
judges ever had.
APPLEMAN: He wows the judges with a complete
story. But at least he comes through with a delicious dish.
TREVINO: His meatloaf has a nice classic feel and
flavor to it. The dumpling was hard, though.
FARMERIE: The filling is okay separate from the
broth... and yet the panel didn't see a pierogi. They saw a dumpling.
CRENN: She adds a coffee granita. It's "all over
the map", though it tastes delicious.
GARCES: He adds a banana coffee milkshake.
There's a lot of fatty pieces, so he thought it was appropriate. It's a lot
better than a French dip. But he left cartilage on it.
MEHTA: The dish was... it was bad. And yes, the
ice cream machine won out in the end.
FREITAG: fish balls inspired her dish. The heat
in the sauce was a great accent. Jeff didn't think it was original... It doesn't
take a lot to go from crab cake to fish cake.
And the winner... by a hair... is Chef Mullen.
Chef Freitag is THAT close, but she also survives. Joining them... Chefs
Appleman, Mehta (whose presentation won him out over his actual flavor), Garces,
and Trevino...
That leaves two. Crenn ran afoul on the coffee
granita. Farmerie's pierogi was mushy.
The next person who will NOT be the next Iron
Chef... is BRAD FARMERIE. But he is going back to two restaurants and one happy
family.
Chef Mullen is the man to beat so far. Will that
change next week? Stay tuned.
To view this episode in its entirety,
go to
www.foodnetwork.com/nextironchef. |