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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Top Chef All Stars Episode 14 Recap: Island Fever (Finale part 2)

Padma Lakshmi & Chef Lorena Garcia

On this week’s Top Chef All Stars, episode 14 (Island Fever): Only four chefs are left as we said a bitter farewell to fan-favorite Carla Hall last week. Now the final four chefs, Richard Blais, Antonia Lafaso, Tiffany Derry and Mike Isabella will battle it out in part two of the Top Chef All Stars Season 8 Finale. Let’s just hope it’s a fair fight this time…

And now here is the Top Chef All Stars Episode 14 recap:

In the Bahamas the chefs mourn Carla Hall’s departure. Antonia Lafaso is still trying to grasp her near miss. Mike Isabella, on the other hand, is convinced he's ‘King of the Kitchen’. Richard Blais is apathetic. And the only one who seems to truly miss Carla Hall is Tiffany Derry.

The chefs arrive at the Atlantis Kitchen to find Padma Lakshmi and Chef Lorena Garcia, one of the country’s leading Latina chefs, a judge on America’s Next Great Restaurant and creator of Big Chef Little Chef, standing by a stack of plates and aprons.

The Quickfire

Mike Isabella & Richard Pair Up for the Quickfire

The chefs divide into pairs, in a challenge focused on "consistency and precision," to cook 100 identical dishes in one hour. Padma Lakshmi and Lorena Garcia will pick random plates to taste, just to be sure the chefs don’t spruce up specific servings to impress the judges. The prize: $5000 furnished by Trilato Wines.

Mike Isabella and Richard Blais immediately decide to pair up – Mike says Antonia Lafaso is a “black hammer” and will take down anyone she pairs up with. Antonia would have chosen Tiffany Derry as her partner anyway, since Tiffany is always calm, cool and collected.

Richard and Mike make a Pork Bolognese with Fresh Macaroni and Pecorino Cheese. Richard goes on about how he’s never on the bottom and wants to spread intimidation among the other chef. I want to backhand him after he says this, but hitting a TV would hurt.
Antonia and Tiffany make a Beef Tenderloin Salad with Cilantro, Mint Basil and Chimichurri Sauce. The girls are making everything in one batch to ensure consistency.

Once again, Richard makes snotty comment about his competitors, calling their plates a “slice and serve” dish.

Antonia & Tiffany hug out their Quickfire Win

The winners of the Quickfire is: Tiffany Derry and Antonia Lafaso!!

The boys can make all the snotty comments they want, but plating four perfectly created components on 100 dishes that match seamlessly tops scooping the same amount of pasta onto 100 plates. They clearly missed the point of this challenge and per Mikey’s sentiment: Run to the store, buy a case of beer and drink your snotty loser selves into a stupor and remember your place for the upcoming challenge – oh, and talk less shit about your competitors.

The girls embrace with excitement and Antonia proves that she’s not a ‘black hammer’ in this challenge. They enjoy watching the boys simmer in their bitter loserishness. (Yes, “loserishness” is a word… A word that I invented!)

The Elimination Round

The chefs must create a high-class lunch for the Nassau Yacht Club’s 80^th anniversary. The chefs must incorporate the most signature ingredient of the Bahamas: Conch

Richard thinks that he should win because he grew a beard. Mike Isabella thinks he’s dominating the competition – has anyone informed him that he LOST the Quickfire challenge? Tiffany seems unusually confident, without being arrogant (of course).

Padma Lakshmi Sports a Bikini

Padma Lakshmi greets the chefs in a bikini, with a crocheted wrap. She’s clearly dressed like this for publicity reasons and it worked. Mike Isabella drools over her shamelessly (shocker). A half-naked Padma tells the chefs that their challenge starts the moment their feet hit the sands of the private island they’re being taken to.

The chefs arrive at the beach and find the boxes of food – but there’s a catch: in the box labeled conch, the chefs find snorkeling gear. Tiffany is freaking about sharks and the rest of us are freaking about having to see Mike Isabella topless – swim with your shirt on Mikey!! Richard needs to fish in a waiting pool.

Tiffany (a 1^st-time snorkeler) kicks butt. Antonia does as well. The chefs begin cooking on the beach, with MAJOR limitations: they have no electricity, gadgets or equipment. They have to break the conch out of the shell – which none have experience… All the chefs are struggling…

All four chefs seem confident of their dishes. Is it terrible that Mike Isabella is (kind of) winning me over again? If only he’d stop slammin’ the competition… Richard’s incessant rambling always sounds the same. Win or lose, I don’t care. The judges and diners arrive wearing all-white outfits. Pretentious, but hopefully their bravado won’t be…

Richard Blais serves a Sweet Potato Linguine with Conch & Spiny Lobster.
Antonia Lafaso serves a Seared Red Snapper with Conch Tartare and Lobster Nage.
Tiffany Derry serves a Conch and Coconut Chowder with Sweet Potatoes and Conch Ceviche.
Mike Isabella serves a Banana Leaf Wrapped Grouper, Braised Pineapple and Conch Vinaigrette. Are you surprised that he stole his dish concept from Elia Aboumrad (season 2)

Top Chef serve a five-star meal to the Nassau Yacht Club

Mike scores points (with me) by mentioning my favorite cocktail of all time: a Dark & Stormy! It would have been nice if the chefs didn’t crowd Tiffany while she finished her dish. The only chef that doesn’t mouth off about their “winning dish” if Tiffany.

We see the chefs waiting to be called up by the judges and the only chef that feels good about their dish is Tiffany.

At the judge’s table:

The judges are overall impressed that not a single grain of sand made it into the food. And the winner is…

Mike Isabella wins the Top Chef Finale part 2?? I kind of believe it – what he did with the pineapple was spot-on. While I know he’s not the fan favorite – and he’s done a MASSIVE amount of shady things – his skills in this round were unique and he deserved to win. The judges called out his pineapple as well – rock star technique. Sad that this win will push him over the edge of obnoxious…

And with a top there is always a bottom… Three chefs are left… Richard’s conch was undercooked. Tiffany’s soup arrived cold and was too sweet. Antonia’s dish was on the spicy side and there were inconsistencies in the cooking. And Padma says…

“Tiffany, please pack your knives and go.”

Wow… Really??? With tears streaming down her sweet lil’ cheeks, Tiffany Derry says “I was out-cooked and that is the bottom line”.

Tiffany Derry Packs Her Knives

Tiffany, you’re probably right, but at least rest assured that it was a close-call and you lost by a hair. I, for one, would be absolutely grateful to dine at your restaurant any day. Cook on, girlfriend! And while you didn’t finish as “Top Chef” you still finished on top!

Next week…

Top Chef All Stars Episode 15: The Last Supper…

The chefs are whipping up dishes for the big leagues! Can Mikey Isabella, Richard Blais and Antonia Lafaso handle it? Am I a “big bitch” for re-labeling next week’s epi as “War of the Egos”? You tell me…

More on Top Chef

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Top Chef All Stars Episode 11 Recap: For the Gulf

Food Network's Paula Deen on Top Chef All Stars

On this week’s Top Chef All Stars, episode 11 (“For the Gulf”), the chefs get paid a very special visit from Paula Deen, who is a guest judge, along with fab New Orleans chef, John Besh. And we see the return of some of our favorite former Top Cheftestants and a far more satisfying ending than we’ve seen for the past three weeks. This may have been one of my all-time favorite episodes of Top Chef All Stars yet! Six chefs remain… And here’s the Top Chef All Stars Episode 11 Recap:

The episode starts with the chefs commiserating in the pantry over Angelo Sosa's departure. Mike Isabella looks as though he’s about to cry, Richard Blais and Dale Talde are blown away, and Tiffany Derry is still trying to grasp the fact that she’s still there. Dale goes off on another one if his cocky rants about winning both of last week’s challenges. Reality is setting in and if someone as talented as Angelo can be sent home, nobody is safe.

Back at the house, Richard takes solace in planning (he’s filled 2 notebooks during this season so far) and Tiffany tries to spruce up her spirits by sprucing up her face (eyeshadow) – she’s worried she’ll be nixed just before the final four, like her last season.

Our favorite Food Network celebrity chef, Paula Deen, joins Padma Lakshmi as guest judge in this week’s Quickfire challenge. And Tiffany Derry and Carla Hall go ballistic the second they see the Southern chef. Hootie!

Richard Blais uses liquid nitrogen to make Fried Mayonnaise

The Quickfire Challenge:

It’s all about good ol’ fashioned Southern cooking. The chefs have 30 minutes to whip up a deep fried dish that will impress Paula Deen. The prize for the best dish is $5,000. Paula stresses: No calamari sprinkled on a salad – come on.

Dale Talde makes Fried Steak-wrapped Oysters and thinks it’s a winning dish. Have you never been to a KFC, Dale? Umm… Yuck.
Antonia Lafaso makes a Fried Shrimp, Avocado and Jalapeno. Didn’t Ms. Deen stress the “no salad” rule?
Mike Isabella decides to take an idea he saw in Richard Blais’s notebook and make Fried Chicken Oysters. Using someone else’s idea, Mikey? I’m so disappointed in you.
Richard Blais makes Fried Bacon with Fried Mayonnaise, using (wait for it)… Liquid nitrogen. Richie just loves his nitro – and I’m pretty blown away by the fried mayo concept. Headline reads: “Foodgasm leads to Coronary Embolism”
Carla Hall makes Fried Catfish and hush Puppies that don’t turn out the way she wanted them to.
Tiffany Derry makes Fried Chicken Wings & Pickles. She’s sticking to what she knows and what she loves.

Antonia notices that everyone else has two dishes and she only has one. She says “did I forget to plate a second plate? OMG, I did”. I don’t remember Paula telling the chefs to make two dishes. Did I miss something?

Dale and Carla are on the bottom – Dale’s beef-wrapped oysters lacked flavor that “wow’d” Paula Deen and Carla’s hush puppies were compared to spitballs, kinda (owch).

Antonia, Richard and Mike are on the top. Antonia’s dish was Paula’s absolute favorite – but she didn’t follow the rules. Paula thinks Richard’s fried mayo is out of this world. And Mike’s chicken oyster nailed the presentation. Richard is pissed because he’s actually competing against his own dish.

And Mike Isabella wins 5 grand – and the honest thing to do is split the dough with Richard, but we all know he won’t. Congrats for the shady win, Mike Izzy.

My favorite New Orleans chef and restaurateur, John Besh, walks in to announce the Elimination Challenge!

Former Top Chef contestants add some heat to the kitchen.

The Elimination Challenge:

The chefs will prepare Gulf Coast seafood for 300 people at a Greater New Orleans Foundation fundraising event. And then six of the former cheftestants walk into the room: Angelo Sosa, Fabio Viviani, Spike Mendelsohn, Tre Wilcox, Tiffani Faison and Marcel Vigneron! Kinda bummed that Casey Thompson wasn’t part of the mix, but was so thrilled to see some of my beloved chefs return. The chefs each get to pick a former cheftestants to partner with. And here are the teams:

Mike Isabella goes first. You would think he’d pick Angelo Sosa, after sharing such a beautiful bromance, after all, who else would want to work with him? But no! Mike Izzy picks Tiffani F. and brown shrimp. He says that Tiffani F. is a beast in the kitchen. I agree (love Tiffani), but isn’t it “bros before hos”?
Richard Blais picks next – and of course he picks Fabio Viviani. Bromance lives again. Snapper’s good – Fabio’s great!
Carla Hall picks Tre Wilcox and the red grouper.
Tiffany Derry picks “the white shrimp”… Oh ,and Marcel… (**giggle**)
Antonia Lafaso takes “Spike and his crabs” (that didn’t sound right).
And Dale Talde is left with Angelo Sosa and the amjack. Poor Angelo is picked last? Still trying to make sense of that.

The chefs collaborate with their partners. Dale is over-confident. Richard works in the fact that his dish is a "new" dish that has never been done before and is not stolen from any of the other chefs. Carla thought Tre understood Southern food, but it turns out that he’s just a city boy.

The Richard/Fabio Bromance is Alive and Strong!

The chefs go shopping at Restaurant Depot and only 30 minutes to shop. Fabio and Richard’s bromance is beyond endearing and Carla decides to retry her fish. The chefs say good night to their sous chefs and head home for the night. Carla is stressed, Richard gives Mike the cold shoulder and Antonia gossips with Carla and Tiffany, telling them about Mikey’s recipe-stealing antics. Mikey has been branded by “chef law”.

The next day at the fundraiser, the chefs have two and one half hours to prep. Everyone is rushing and Marcel keeps bugging Tiffany about shrimp heads – but she shuts him up with all the grace of a butterfly. Dale bitches about the crowded kitchen, Mike needles Richard. It’s fun to watch the pressure build.

At the Greater New Orleans Foundation fundraising event, the chefs finish their dishes just as the attendees arrive.

Mike Isabella prepares a Grit-Crusted Gulf Shrimp, served over Sour Cream & Chive Potatoes.
Richard Blais prepares Crispy Gulf Snapper with Pulled Pork & Citrus Grits.
Carla Hall prepares Fried Grouper with Collard Greens & Chow-Chow Pico.
Tiffany Derry prepares Honey Glazed Shrimp, Grits with Jalapeno & Cheese, Shellfish Sauce.
Dale Talde prepares Amberjack Stew with Andouille Sausage & Potatoes, Creole Mustard Crouton.
Antonia Lafaso prepares a Blue Crab Cake with a Corn, Jalapeno & Andouille Relish.

Chef John Besh, Paula Deen, Tom Colicchio & Padma Lakshmi

You can tell by the diners’ and judges’ comments which dishes were on top. The judges were either really impressed or really disappointed…

The chefs say good bye to their former contestants and head back to face the judges table.

The Judges’ Table:

The chefs are in the pantry and commiserate over such a touch challenge when Padma walks in and tells Antonia, Richard and Mike to go to the judges table. Funny how this is a re-do of the Quickfire challenge. At least Mike Isabella is competing with his own dish this time. John Besh gives Richard high praise for pairing red snapped with pulled pork. Paula Deen thought the way Mike Isabella coated the shrimp with the grits was genius – and his face turns beet red. John Besh thought Antonia’s Andouille sausage was just special. And the winner is…

Richard!! This totally makes up for his stolen Quickfire recipe. Richard wins a trip to Hilton Barbados and $5,000 for airfare. He plans to invite Fabio to join him and his family. The bromance lives on! They return to the pantry and send the other three chefs back. When the other chefs leave, Antonia asks mike to move away from her if he plans on belching, farting or flicking boogars… Really?

Tiffany, Carla and Dale stand before the judges in shame. Tiffany tells the judges that Marcel cooked the shrimp for her (and that really helped her), but the judges inform her that the shrimp were overcooked. She says “it’s still my dish”. Way to own up Tiffany (even though it wasn’t your fault)! Dale is told that the potatoes in his dish were raw and there was too much mustard. Carla is told that her dish was too spicy and none of the veggies complemented each other.

Dale Talde packs his knives and goes.

And Padma says…

“Dale, please pack your knives and go.”

Dale, you saw this coming before we did. I’m a little surprised, but kind of relieved. I won’t be missing his nasty comments, but did he have to cry?? Now I feel bad about ripping on him so much.

Next week on Top Chef All Stars Episode 12: 5 chefs are left. Padma shows up at the cheftestants’ apartment, surprising the hell out of them. It looks like they’re preparing dishes on a NY ferry boat? And the chefs are reunited with loved ones – Tiffany feels rejuvenated by this.

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