Quickfire- Mise en place! Chefs break into 2 teams by drawing knives. Stations: Peel and Mince Garlic, Finely dice Onions, Turn Artichokes, Peel and Devein Shrimp, Shuck Clams. MVP from winning team gets immunity! 1 chef will take each task and 2 Chefs will cook the Mise en place!
Green Team: Silvia, John, Casey, Katsuji and BJ
Sam and Amanda are cooking
Blue Team: Emily, Sylva, Jamie, Sheldon and Jim
Shirley and Brooke are cooking
They have 25 mins to complete it ALL. Cooking cannot start until all tasks are complete! They can help each other with tasks if their own task is complete- that's nice! The team that finishes all the tasks first can pause the slower team for 3 mins!
Green Team finished faster so Blue Team had a 3 min delay! Both teams were able to cook something good, but the winner is the Blue Team with their fried clam bellies and shrimp with shaved artichoke salad, and the MVP was Sheldon!
Elimination Challenge is with their same teams! They have to cook a seven course progressive dinner, head to head with the other team served to super-fans! Each course must contain RADISH, including dessert!
Brooke took the dessert for her team- what a risk... or is it? She only has to beat the other team, Silvia. This will be a BATTLE!
Green vs Blue:
Sam vs Emily
Katsuji vs Jim
BJ vs Jamie
Casey vs Sylva
Amanda vs Shirley
John vs Sheldon
Silvia vs Brooke
So cool when the super-fans came in! What a great vibe they brought!!! I am so jealous!!!!
Round 1- Winner is BLUE Emily!
Round 2- Winner is GREEN Katsuji! He is getting a bit feisty!
Round 3- Winner is BLUE Jamie!
Round 4- Winner is BLUE Sylva! Casey was fan favorite though!
Round 5- Winner is GREEN Amanda!
Round 6- Winner is GREEN John!
Round 7- Winner is BLUE Brooke!
Blue team gets the win!!! 2 Chefs stood out on top, Sylva and Brooke, and Brooke takes the win with her purple daikon panna cotta with sour pineapple curd, white chocolate pop rocks and pineapple black radish juice!
On the bottom is the Green team, specifically Sam, BJ, Silvia and Casey.
Silvia just got beat by Brooke. They loved Casey's as well. Sam's dish had a few issues and BJ's dish had less radish flavor than others.
In the end, the chef going home is Sam! First Vet leaving- lets see how LCK treats him! He is a monster in the kitchen. This was a tough challenge!
Points are based on dish AND team: Let me know if you think differently!
Green (-3) vs Blue (5)
-3 Sam vs +5 Emily
+1 Katsuji vs -1 Jim
-3 BJ vs +5 Jamie
-3 Casey vs +5 Sylva
+1 Amanda vs -1 Shirley
+1 John vs -1 Sheldon
-3 Silvia vs +7 Brooke
This episode would probably crack a Top 10 list for best Top Chef episodes.
ReplyDeleteThe mise en place challenge is such a classic QF and then to follow that up with a 7 course progressive heads up battle!
And what a battle. Down to the bitter, or bittersweet, end. Who were those lucky ass super fans? C'mon Amex...Why don't I ever get those offers?
I like how you decided to score the challenge. At the time, I remember thinking, it would be nice if the winning chefs on the losing team get a little something.
I think the only thing I would suggest is that Emily and Jamie get a +3 instead of a +5. Sylva and Brooke were both singled out as the top dishes with the nod going to Brooke. I think Sylva deserves the +5 we normally give chefs that are top but non winner. I think that adjustment would be more consistent with scoring in past seasons but ultimately it doesn't matter all that much because Le Chefre and Pickely would both lose 2 point so it's doesn't affect what is shaping up to be a two horse race between Le Chefre and Pickely.
Even if Shirley wins I don't think team Bug will be able to generate enough points with their puny stable of ponies, especially when you remember that 1 of those horses is BJ. Wah waaaah.
Random Thoughts:
Silvia has impressed me. I want to see her cook outside her wheelhouse (pasta/Italian and dessert) but what she's done so far has seemed very solid.
I was shocked, but gratified, when the judges sent Sam home over BJ. I didn't think there was any way they would eliminate Sam this early - mainly because he is a fan favorite. It's always nice when a reality show 'proves' that they are exactly that.
I thought it was awesome that the super fan vote counted as 1 and then the 4 judges got to weigh in. That talking head they did earlier in the episode with Sylva was awesome because he predicted exactly what would happen with his dish. The diners didn't really get it but the judges loved it. I think he was the only chef that swept the judges AND lost the 'popular vote'.
Emily may have an annoying/aggressive personality but she has been super solid in every challenge so far. Gogogo Angry Andrea!
Yes, the QF had drama, but when Brooke and Shirley are both cooking for your team, I mean, c'mon, I was not surprised to see them pull out the come from behind victory.
I thought Brooke was going to tank the dessert because of that scene from the teaser trailer where she is crying and says she wishes she had never come back. When does that happen?! AHHHH
SUCH a good episode! Can they do a mise en place relay race every episode? I LOVE our team, it's just too bad that Brooke is crushing it so much! I agree with both of you that both Jamie & BJ are terribly overrated. But Silva, Sylvia, Angrea, and Jim are all rooks-to-cheer-for... at least when it comes to talent.
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