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Twenty-four stars of the culinary world have come together on a common battlefield to play the Top Chef game for charity Recaps by Chico Alexander, GSNN
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Masters Get
Schooled In the beginning, there was "Top Chef". And it was good. Very good. Now 24 of the best chefs in the nation... and we're talking all-star level here... are coming to the kitchen to play the game for charity. Which celebrity superchef will come out on top and be named the Master of All Masters? Over $250,000 in prizes and $100,000 in charity money is up for grabs. Time to find out who will be named... TOP CHEF MASTERS! The format is the same with one Quickfire Challenge and one Elimination Challenge, only if you survive the elimination challenge, you move on to the final round of six. From then, one person will be eliminated until we have a winner. Judging the gastronomical giants will be Gael Greene (culinary critic for New York Magazine), James Oseland (editor in chef of Saveur Magazine), and Gail Simmons (Food & Wine Magazine), and Jay Rayner (London Observer). Tonight's Masterclass is...
Quickfire Challenge: It's dessert time... Shudder... From season 4, you're going to have to create a creative, delicious dessert for a group of four Girl Scouts. You'll see their reaction, but they won't see you. They will have one hour to come up with something that will be scored on a scale of one to five stars. And the time starts... NOW! And the time ends.... NOW! MICHAEL: "Half a little piece of cake with a ganache on top." It is supposed to be Milk Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies & Honey Almond Cream. The kids say that it kinda tastes like a Tagalong and that a little less chocolate would've been nice. TIM: Strawberries Three Ways (chocolate covered, smoothie, and chicken-fried). The fried is mixed. The milkshake was sour. HUBERT: Chocolate Mousse Swan, Whipped Cream Mouse, Fruit with Orange Sabayon. It looks awesome. And it's soft, light, and it looks like a pastry. CHRIS: French Toast with Caramelized Banana Orange Sauce & Maple Syrup Fluff. It's "kinda crunchy" and "a little bit burnt." They don't really like the sauce, saying that it tastes like a hash-brown. The scores are... - Michael: 2.5 stars. The Quickfire scores will be added to the Elimination scores to get a final total. Highest score wins $10,000 for their charity and a place in the Champions Round. Elimination Challenge: You're going back to college for this one. Create a three-course meal for the critics and a group of students at Pomona College using a toaster oven, a microwave, and a hot plate. You'll have $150 to shop with and a very limited pantry. You'll have 2 hours to prep and cook before sending your first dish. Remember, this challenge is worth 20 stars, five from the students and 15 from the judges. The chefs head to Whole Foods to shop for 45 minutes. This is a new world for the chefs who are used to ordering everything in wholesale. A lot of them are going into this flying blindly. Tim's looking for ground pork.. not finding it. He doesn't know what he's making, though Chris thinks that this is an advantage to him. Back in the test kitchen, Michael thinks that he's ready, while Tim puts all of his stuff in what he thinks is a refrigerator, but is actually a freezer. Not a bad thing, except that Tim bought produce, and once you freeze it and defrost it... it's all downhill from there. The cooks arrive at Pomona to the realization that they'll be cooking IN a dorm room. Well, it's only two hours. What's that compared to four years. If Hubert wasn't a chef, he'd be a DJ. Right now, he's probably cutting a mix about how Tim has to defrost his produce before he can do anything with it. Michael's dinner is comprised of a Salmon Crudo, a Cabbage Soup with Bacon, and a Pork a la Apicius. Hubert has a Scottish salmon, a pea & carrot soup, and a mac & cheese with prawns. He takes time to think like a college student, going to the bathroom and chilling his pasta in the shower. Chris has a snapper ceviche, a creamy risotto, and a pork chop. Tim, once he has everything defrosted, has a scallop carpaccio, a corn "pozole", and skirt steak. Two hours later, it's time to plate up. Judging will be Jay, Gael, and James. Tim: Scallop Carpaccio with Lime & Chili Second course... Michael: Cabbage Soup with Smoked Bacon,
Fennel and White Beans Turns out that Tim really turned around a horrible situation. We'll see if that helps in the scoring. And the final... Tim: Skirt Steak & Braised Kale And the dormrooms are completely trashed. Sorry about that. From the school to the principal's office. Time to go to the Critics' Table. Hubert's execution was everything that it could've been. He relates the story of the shower. Jay couldn't grasp the cinnamon in the soup. Gael begs to differ. Michael's flavor profile was very different, fresh, and clean. Gael was disappointed at the pork being overcooked. His soup was well seasoned, he defends. Gael loved the ingredients, calling the dish quite wonderful. Tim relates his story of how his food was frozen. In all, it was all face-forward, and the texture was well done... though the skirt steak was overseasoned. Finally, Chris's risotto was "a scary dish". The profile was fabulous, but not al dente. Jay thought that the pork chop was a real risk. The bone helped him keep some of the moisture... and that pulled the dish off. Now knowing what we know, they had a lot of stuff against them, and in the end, they all pulled it off. Hubert's menu was classic and genius. Something that he could serve in a menu. Michael's soup was "homely" and "didn't come together". Tim pulled a trick or two out of his hat, as the judges call it "a remarkable save". Chris's pork chop was just too much, but the meat was nothing short of heavenly. The risotto was also well-received... even as it wasn't a risotto in the most technical sense. Scores are in. Remember, at stake, $10,000 for your charity and a spot in the Champions Round. Michael had 2.5. The diners give him 3.5. The judges... 7.5 for a total of 13.5 stars. Tim had 3.5. The diners give him 3. The judges... 8 for a total of 14.5 stars. Chris had 3.5. The diners give him 4. The judges... 11.5 for a total of 19 stars. Hubert had 5. He needs 14.5 to win today. The diners give him... 4. The critics... 11.5. That gives him the win with 20.5 stars! We'll see him in the Champions Round later in the season and $10,000 goes to his charity. The rest of the chefs will also get a donation to their charities. Next week, six more chefs head to the kitchen to see just how hard your typical Top Chef contestant has it. Until then... Don't forget to flush when you're done. To see this episode in its entirety, go to www.bravotv.com/topchefmasters. |
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