Top Chef: Do the Twist

We are down to the final three here…Richard, Antonia and Mike. Mike starts things off right away and tells us that the three best chefs are left standing. That means he actually believes he is better than the likes of Angelo, Dale, Dale, Marcel, and pretty much everyone else. He really is insufferable.

Quickfire: Chefs must assign a classic top chef quickfire to one of their competitors

Wolfgang Puck and Padma introduce the quickfire, and as the description says, they get to pick a previous quickfire (from all 8 seasons) and give it to one of the other chefs. Mike gives Antonia the canned goods challenge. Antonia gives Richard the hot dog challenge. Richard gives Mike the one pot challenge.  The chefs begin cooking, and the Padma comes back in to tell them they now get to assign a twist to one of their competitors. Antonia is particularly worried about getting the “no utensils” twist, as she is working with freaking cans! Richard gives Mike the no utensils twist, Antonia gives Richard the cook with only one hand twist, and Antonia gets to have Carla as her left hand (they are stuck together like conjoined twins).

Antonia: Curry coconut coup with shrimp, andouille sausage, peanut sand fish sauce. Antonia doesn’t seem thrown by her twist, and she is happy to have Carla around as a second palate. The judges say the soup has a strong flavor, but a good balance.

Mike: Pork Shoulder with black beans, chili paste, ginger and cabbage salad. Mike chooses a pressure cooker for his one pot, which seems like cheating. Going into the judging, he thinks his meat is tough, but the judges don’t mention it.

Richard: Hot dog with handmade roti bread with curry ketchup, mayo and mint leaves. Wolfgang puck comments that he could feed this dish to his kids, and Richard seems disappointed by that.

The winner is Mike. Damn. I hate when he wins anything.

Elimination Challenge: Chefs must create a last supper for three culinary icons

The chefs come face to face with Wolfgang Puck, Michelle Bernstein and Masaharu Morimoto. Mike gets to pick first and he takes Michelle Bernstein. He also gets to assign the other two chefs. He gives Morimoto to Antonia and Puck to Richard. Wolfgang gives a very specific menu from his Austrian childhood—strudel, goulash, spaetzel, etc. Michelle Bernstein asks for fried chicken. Yum. Morimoto also gives a childhood-based menu including miso soup, and fish.

Antonia: Antonia has an issue with the fish she wanted to use, it isn’t fresh or something, and she has to use tuna instead. She is worried that it won’t be flavorful enough. Her presentation is a bento box with the different elements. Her final dish is tuna sashimi with pickled daikon, mushrooms and eggplant, miso soup and rice. The judges have mixed reactions to this. Gail chokes on something on the tuna, and Morimoto thinks the miso soup is too salty. I am worried for Antonia.

Mike: Fried chicken with pea puree, egg yolk empanada with mustard gravy. Mike did an empanada instead of a biscuit, which seems like a mistake. Biscuits are so tasty..why would you do that? The judges are also mixed on this dish. The batter on some of the chicken wasn’t crispy, the egg inside the empanada was a bit weird.

Richard: Beef goulash, spaetzle with sour cream and apple strudel with tarragon cream. The judges eat it up, and Wolfgang says it is very much what he would have eaten growing up. Tom thinks that the dish isn’t hot enough, and that some of the onions aren’t cooked enough.

They try to fake us out with a Judges’ Table, but this is when I remember that there was a mystery envelope that Padma pulled out earlier. I will not be fooled by you, show!

Judges’ Table:

Well, Tom tells Richard that he is through to the next round. Then, Padma pulls out the envelope of death. Antonia and Mike are given one last challenge to get that final spot. They get 45 minutes to create one bite for the judges. The winner of the bite will get to move on to the finals with Richard. I am glad for this extra challenge, because I think without it, Antonia was going home.

Antonia’s final bite is seared grouper in coconut lobster broth with a yam, apple and dill pollen relish.

Mike’s final bite is tempura lobster over beef tartare with caramelized olives and chimichurri sauce. Mike’s beef tartare looks super gross.

The judges vote on their favorites and it comes down to a tie, one being broken by Wolfgang Puck.

Damn. Antonia is told to pack her knives and go. She is understandably upset.

Other Tastings:

• “Chef Morimoto is an Iron Chef, and he is just really friggen scary”- Antonia
• Noise of the Week goes to Mike for “tempura lobster over beef tartare with caramelized olives and chimichurri sauce”. It is certainly not the grossest thing that we have seen this season, but the dish was visually disgusting and beef tartare should really just be outlawed.
• I find the “last supper” concept a bit creepy. When the judges and guest chefs walk up this spiral staircase into an ambient-lit room, it is just a bit weird.
• My last supper? Smoked salmon eggs benedict. It is as close as I will ever get to heaven.
• I am so sad Antonia is gone. I don’t want to watch just Richard and Mike do anything! Richard had better beat stupid Mike, that is all I have to say.
• This show is dragging on forever.

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