Bravo’s Top Chef Winners: Where Are They Now??

Already suffering a little Bravo TV Top Chef withdrawal?  While you anxiously await the premier of Top Chef Season 12, read up on where these Top Chef Winners are now.

Season 1 winner Harold Dieterle is now the owner of three NYC restaurants, Perilla, Kin Shop, and The Marrow. He spent part of his prize money to attend the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, where he met his fellow-foodie wife Meredith.

Season 2 saw the talented Ilan D. Hal take home the prize. Since then he has opened his first restaurant, The Gorbals, in downtown LA.  And his proudest achievement since winning Top Chef?  Becoming a father!  You can catch him on Esquire Network’s Knife Fight, Tuesdays at 9p & 9:30p EST.

In Top Chef Season 3, Hung Huynh set a whole new culinary standard for future winners. His gastronomic creativity and flawless execution made it pretty much impossible for anyone to compete against him. What we loved the most: he managed to stay “somewhat” humble throughout the competition (hint hint, Marcel). He’s known for his Vietnamese-American cookery and is now the executive chef of Catch, The General, and Catch Miami restaurants.

In Season 4, Stephanie Izard became the first woman to win Top Chef. She has since opened her second restaurant based out of Chicago called Little Goat. She also published her first cookbook, “Girl in the Kitchen”. She currently lives in Chicago with her dog Burt.

Hosea Rosenberg took home the Top Chef title in Season 5.  He lives in Boulder, CO and is the owner of Blackbelly Catering. Little known fact: He actually has a degree in Engineering Physics! Brains, beauty and creativity? Damn.

In season 6, the tattoo-clad Michael Voltaggio, Chef at Ink in LA, came out the Top Chef winner against his own brother, Brian Voltaggio! When asked about his dining pet peeves he responded by saying: “When servers ask the guest, ‘How are we enjoying things tonight?’” when they're not sitting at the table. Really, Michael? That’s your BIGGEST pet peeve? Smile, Mikey. You’re the big winner.

Kevin Sbraga was the winner of Top Chef Season 7. Kevin was the dark horse in the running, but had the audience cheering when he was announced as a Top Chef Winner. Originally from New Jersey , Kevin is now the proud owner of Sbraga, a modern American restaurant in Philadelphia. Looks like Sbraga thrives on competition, having won “Best Meat Presentation” in the Bocuse d’Or USA Culinary Competition before winning Top Chef.

Richard Blais has had a busy couple of years after winning the title of ‘Top Chef’ on Season 8 of The Bravo TV hit series.  Blais currently hosts the TASTED YouTube show BurgerLab. He also just came out with a cookbook titled "Try this at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate”. He runs two Atlanta-based restaurants: FLIP Burger Boutique and The Spence. But what we miss most? His bromance with the fabulous Fabio Viviani.

Season 9 saw Paul Qui the title of ‘Top Chef’. At the time, he was in the kitchen of his flagship restaurant, Uchi, and was recently named James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef, Southwest”.  Since his time in front of the Top Chef Judges’ Table he has opened 2 additional restaurants, Uchi Houston & Uchiko, which was named one of the “Best New  Restaurants in America” by GQ Magazine.

Kristen Kish is the Season 10 winner and only the second woman to win the title of ‘Top Chef’. She was recently promoted to Chef de Cuisine at Menton in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston, MA. During her tenure at Menton, the restaurant was named “Best New Restaurant” by both Bon Appétit & Esquire Magazines, and was nominated for “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation.

Unlike many TV-based culinary competitions, winning the title of “Top Chef” is one of the most prestigious accomplishments in the culinary industry and has proven to lead to gastronomic stardom. With the wrap up of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 11, we can’t wait to see what follows Top Chef: New Orleans winner, Nicholas Elmi. But we know it will be great.

Top Chef Seattle Episode 7 Recap: “Foiled Again.”

On week 7 of Top Chef Season 10 in Seattle...after a quick postmortem in the stew room, we head straight to the Top Chef kitchen for this week’s Quickfire challenge.

The Girl and the Host

Standing next to our beautiful host Padma Lakshmi is Top Chef winner from Season 4, Stephanie Izard.  Since winning Top Chef, she mostly stayed out of the Bravo limelight and opened up her successful restaurant The Girl and The Goat in Chicago. She’s the first Top Chef winner named Best New Chef from Food and Wine magazine. She’s also the only female chef to win Top Chef. Although I think that is going to change this season. Yup you heard it here first. I predict one of the awesome lady chefs to take it this season.

This week’s Quickfire sounds really simple. Cook whatever you want. The caveat is that EVERYTHING, and I do mean EVERYTHING is covered in aluminum foil. Yup. Everything single can, box, jar is covered completely in foil. You must use whatever item you uncover. It’s cooking with ALL surprise ingredients. So even if you try to shake, rattle, and feel your way around, it’s still going to be difficult to find out what you’ve got underneath. Oh and one more thing. You can only use aluminum foil as your cooking vessel. That means no pots, no pans, just foil.

Aliens can't get us now!

Kudos to the production people on Top Chef. It might have taken forever to individually wrap all the ingredients. Sure, it’s tied in with the good folks of Reynold’s Wrap, but at least they’re being somewhat creative in this challenge.

Only 30 minutes. GO.

Everyone’s squeezing, shaking, probing the aluminum bundles in front of them. Hoping for the best. Kristen must have x-ray vision or something, because she has set out to do a sponge cake?! I’m amazed because how does she even know she’ll get eggs?! Apparently I’m not the only one amazed. Danyele can’t believe it either, “That’s the ballsiest shit I’ve ever heard off!”  Yes Danyele, that’s is probably why neither one of us will win Top Chef. Yup right now I have as much of a chance winning as you do, and I’m on my couch watching.

Bart is really excited about this challenge. He’s shaping the wrap around his head to make a bowl. Frankly I’m impressed at how versatile the foil can be. People are making pots with handles, baking pans, soup pots. I would have made a hobo pouch and called it a day.

Oh Bambi.

-Danyele: Cannellini Bean Stew with Bacon, Asiago Cheese & Tomatillo.

I gotta say. Pretty impressed that she made bean stew in 30 minutes. Though I suspect it was canned beans. Judges kinda agree. Stephanie liked the surprise of tomatillo in the dish.

-Micah: Grilled Lamb with Tomato Fennel Panzanella.

That lamb looked so rare I think it just bleated. (Yes I had to look that up.) Padma agrees. “That lamb looks quite rare...” she said cautiously. 

-Stefan: Hot Smoked Salmon with German Potato Salad. (With a glass of champagne)

How does he keep ending up with these Scandinavian products?! 

-John: Beef Egg Drop Soup with Braised Pineapple

I’m not sure how this works. Ground beef in egg drop soup just sounds wrong. Also contrary to what John thinks, pineapple isn’t a staple in Chinese cuisine. 

Even Hobos won't eat this.

-Brooke: Bacon roasted Yams with Bacon, Onion & Apple Salad.

Brooke’s a great chef but she missed the mark here. The raw onions were too pungent for Padma.

-Josh: Roasted Chicken with potatoes, Poblano, Tomatillo & Carrots.

Stephanie liked the heat of the poblanos. Honestly this dish like an actual hobo pouch.

-Kristen: Almond & Chocolate sponge cake.

Yup. Sponge cake. She actually pulled it off. IN 30 MINUTES. Judges loved the texture, great flavors. Looking good.

-Bart: Beer Poached Cod with Butter Beer Sauce.

Genius

Even though it look over cooked, Stephanie thought it was beautifully done. Poaching fish is always a good way to go.

-Sheldon: Lemon Grass Smoked Scallops with Tomato and Shallot Salad.

Judges thought the smokiness came through nicely. Sheldon says he got lucky with the mint. Nice looking dish.

On the bottom we have Brooke’s uncooked onion salad, Micah’s raw lamb, and Kevin’s uninspired hobo pouch.

Sheldon, Kristin, Stefan, Danyele, Bart, and Josie all did a good job. Hey wait. We didn’t see Josie’s dish! I’m not complaining because I can’t stand her bawdy personality. She’s like the Guy Fieri of Top Chef contestants. Ugh.

In the end Kristin and her amazing 30 minute sponge cake takes win and the immunity. 

Elimination Challenge Time.

It’s head to head competition!  The chefs will battle head to head at the Remlinger Farm’s Berry Festival, and you guessed it - the main ingredient will be berries.  Each chef will need to create a dish highlighting their specific berry for 150 people.

The top finishers from the Quickfire got to pick who they wanted to cook against. Kristin will cook alone since she has immunity.

Sheldon challenges Micah because Micah’s the youngest and will push him the hardest.  

Danyele picks Josh so they can have a Texas/Oklahoma battle. I would have picked Josh because the man owns a pork restaurant and can’t cook pork. 

Stefan goes with John. An interesting choice since despite being a douche, John can actually cook. Maybe Stefan’s channeling his inner Bond villain and will play head games with the mentally volatile John.

Josie takes Lizzie. It came down to choosing between Lizzie and Brooke. Hell I wouldn’t have wanted to challenge Brooke, but Lizzie’s no joke either. I mean, she’s cooked for Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, TWICE! Frankly though, dude’s been in jail for a VERY long time. I’m sure he would have enjoyed whatever you served him. Well, maybe not Josh’s pork dishes. 

Bart ends up with Brooke, who is flattered that being the last one picked meant nobody wanted to mess with her. 

Tomorrow, they’ll have 3 hours cooking out doors for 150 people. The guests will cast ballots to decide who wins the head-to-head battle. Loser faces elimination, and one winner will take home 10 thousand dollars.

Each duo reaches under the table to find out what they assigned berries are. 

John/Stefan: Gooseberry

Josh/Danyele: Blueberry

Micah/Sheldon: Strawberry

Bart/Brooke: Blackberry

Josie/Lizzie: Raspberry

Kristen: Tayberry

Time to go shopping.

We’ve got a little traffic jam at the fish counter. Sheldon beat Stefan to it and bought all of the fresh tuna, forcing Stefan to buy the frozen saku bloc tuna instead. John immediately gets on his case about this, “It’s Top Chef. Who uses frozen fish?”

This little tete-a-tete continues back at the loft. Where it is hard to tell who’s getting inside whose head. However, what I can’t stand is the obviously flirting that’s going on from Stefan to Kristin. He’s laying all over her like a cheap blanket. Leave her alone!

Pretty scenic shots of Seattle. Somehow they found footage of a sunny clear day! The gang drives about 40 minutes outside of the city to Remlinger Farms for the Berry Festival. FYI, they do birthdays and company picnics!

The lovely drive to the farm reminds Stefan of his family and the realization that there’s more to life than cooking. Oh oh. Usually talking about family life is a death knell. 

Once we get there everyone dashes to the outdoor kitchen. Poor Brooke had to remind people that this isn’t football. Well, cooking here apparently IS a contact sport. Spaces are extremely limited and no one’s gonna do anyone else any favors. 

Crowded house

Danyele whines, “Can somebody just make space for a cutting board please?”

A real Top Chef wouldn’t have whined. Michael Voltaggio would have stared down the rest of the cast until someone beta person (like Danyele) backs off and whimper in tears.

In comes a tractor full of fresh picked berries.

Lizzie and Josie are battling it out with raspberries. Lizzie is assembling some ground pork with red cabbage leaves and Josie is doing her raspberry Rock n’ Roll. Her take of a california roll. You know who else makes things “Rock n’ Roll?” and has the worst reviewed restaurant in Time Square? Yeah, that GUY. 

With the lack of space comes with the lack of equipment. Bart’s looking for a spare blender, and while John has one just sitting there, he refuses to let Bart use it. When Bart reaches for it, John literally barked him out of it. Once again, a real Top Chef like Michael Voltaggio would have just taken it. 

Josh Valentine not only cannot cook pork, apparently he can’t use a blender either. The rules of blending hot liquids are this: Don’t fill it all the way up and HOLD the LID down! He violated both rules and sprayed everyone with his hot cream. *ahem*

Here comes Tom Colicchio with the “cook n’ chat” portion of the day. Always a good time. *Not really* Right away he zings Stefan for making a mess of his station. Tom then asks Stefan if he can beat John.  Stefan saying mockingly, “Listen. He’s 53 years old.” Ah. Let the head games continue!

When Tom reaches John’s station, the “good natured” jabs between Stefan and John all but dissipate when, once again, it’s brought up that Stefan is using frozen tuna. Like a true instigator, Tom incites the conflict then backs away to enjoy the drama. 

For the boring berries. Who made Padma's dress?

Micah tells us about his two beautiful daughters. He knew that he was going to name his kids with something “culinary-derived” but decided Cayenne and Cinnamon sounds like stripper names so he went with...Sage and Saffron. Umm. Ok. ProTip: Don’t name children after things you put in your mouth.

Josie’s not ready. She’s going to have to roll by order. That pretty much means people will be waiting and she won’t get her food out. In a hard “Hands up. Utensils down.” situation she’s have nothing to present. 

Guests start to show up.

This week’s judges are Stephanie Izard, Food and Wine’s Gail Simmons, Head Judge Tom Colicchio and host Padma Lakshmi.

Let’s get started.

Blueberry Battle:

Danyele presents a Chicken Pine Nut Terrine with Blueberry Mostarda and Josh gives us a Savory Goat Cheese Mousse with Blueberry Compote.

Can you say Lunchables?

*Crunch* Jesus, did somebody chip a tooth? I don’t know if they cranked the mic when it’s time to bite down on that crostini, but it sounded like people crunching on day-old bread. Tom says Danyele’s chicken terrine was flavorless and rubbery. Last thing you want is to serve Tom rubber chicken. *bad-dum-dum!* Meanwhile Josh’s blueberry had some heat to it, nice flavor, but could have used some crunch. Looks like Josh wins this battle.

Raspberry Battle:

Judges get to Josie’s station and Tom impassively reads the sign “Rock n’ Raspberry Roll.” Yeah. Josie’s still got nothing to serve. Instead she breaks into her best Food Network schtick. “Whassup guys! We’re having fun at the Berry Festival today...”

“Is she high?” Gail asks. While Josie’s continuing her one-woman disaster show. She’s literally stalling for time, explaining some drivel about “highlighting some of the northwest’s great product...”

“Keep cooking.” Gail snapped. 

Josie’s dish is a summer roll with Sockeye Salmon, Dungeness Crab & Raspberry Aioli. Frankly, the thing looked like a bloody mess. Tom’s expression reads: “Are you really serving this to me?!”

Bloody Pepto

You know you’re in trouble when potential cast of Real Housewives of Seattle are mocking you. 

On the flip side, Lizzie’s serving a Raspberry Steamed Cabbage Roll with Heritage Pork and Bacon Stuffing. Now that’s a delicious pairing. Sweetness goes really well with pork. Good move. Judges loved her dish and totally trashed Josie’s performance and her dish. Mayo with summer roll? 

Strawberry Battle:

Wanna see a good summer roll? How about Sheldon’s Ahi Poke, Strawberries & Sweet Chili sauce. Now that looks like a light summer roll. Sweet and spicy is always a good thing.  Micah gives us Strawberry Fried Chicken with Strawberry & Bacon Biscuit. 

Gooseberry Battle:

Cheeseburger Cheeseburger Cheeseburger...Soup

John’s White Gazpacho with Spanish Chorizo, Gooseberries & Sweet Grapes goes up against Stefan’s Cali Crudo with Radishes, Gooseberries & Spiced Vinaigrette. The tuna crudo needed a little sauce and a little more gooseberry, but overall Tom liked Stefan’s dish. However, John’s hot chorizo in cold gazpacho really turned people off. Looks like “cheeseburger soup” won’t be a new restaurant trend in 2013.

Blackberry Battle:

Brooke serves a Spicy Smoked Chocolate Pudding with Blackberry Tapioca, and Bart creates a Blackberry Soup with Salmon & Rhubarb Yogurt. Really Bart? Salmon in blackberry soup sounds about as disgusting as, well, salmon in blackberry soup! Even a little child taps into her survival instinct and refuses to try that concoction. All the judges like Brooke’s dish, comparing it to s’mores. Yeah, chocolate, marshmallow and graham crackers sounds a helluva lot better than salmon berry soup. 

Tayberry Non-Battle.

Kristen went with a Matcha Goat Milk Custard with Macerated Tayberries. All the judges raved about her dish. The olive oil macerated berries were Stephanie’s favorite item of the day. 

Seems like the smart move here was to go with something semi sweet/savory and pair it with the sweetness/tartness of the berries. Most of the winning dishes had a soft savory custardy component topped with something crunchy. 

Oy. John and Stefan are still bitching about that frozen tuna. It’s gotten to the level where John’s heckling guests who’re voting for Stefan. “You guys can rest easy tonight knowing you voted for frozen tuna.” What a sad little man you are. 

You know how we didn’t know who the hell Josie was at the beginning of the season? Well, we know her now and frankly we all wish we didn’t. Quote of the episode belongs to Josh, “It hurts my soul when Josie laughs. A little of me dies every time.”  Amen brotha. Amen.

Back in the stew room Stefan’s had enough. It’s fun to see these two battle out of the kitchen. Stefan goes around the room and EVERY one of the other chefs have used the saku bloc frozen tuna. Having been essentially overruled everyone, John finally shuts it. To top it off, Stefan suggests that John performs a certain latin-termed service on him...

Here comes Padma rounding up five chefs.

John. Josie. Bart. Micah. Danyele.

Why do you guys disappoint me so?

Normally the first round to Judges Table are the winners. However, even those who got called knows that this was a march to oblivion. 

Among the damned: John, Danyele, and Josie got hammered the most.  Josie yapped too much and served a heavy pepto bismol-looking roll, Danyele’s chicken terrine was like chicken bologna, and John, well John has a lot of excuses. You know when someone starts a sentence off with, “I’m not making excuses but...” exactly - here comes the excuses.

The winners.

Brooke. Josh. Sheldon. Stefan. Lizzie. Kristen.

The group got a general overall kudos and judges wasted no time in singling out the winning flawless dish. Kristen’s Custard with Macerated Tayberries. 

I’m telling you. This girl’s a machine. She has been on or near the top every single challenge. Looks like my comparison of her and Michael Voltaggio isn’t too far off. *pats back*

Cover your eyes!!

Ugh. That weasel Stefan sneaks in for a kiss on the cheek. Gross. What’s even more disgusting is that Stefan refer to her as “wifey?” No no no no no.

At this point I think the going home chef has gotta be between Danyele and Josie. No matter who goes home, my money says the other one isn’t long for this world.

In the end Danyele gets the ax. 

Just too many mistakes, and frankly every one in the room knows that she’s too young and too inexperienced to be Top Chef. Who knows, we could see her in the future?However, she says she was ready to go. Good luck in Last Chance Kitchen Danyele.

As a final coup de gras, we’re treated to a non sequitur Stefan and Josie altercation. 

Regardless of personality or drama, if Josie doesn’t get her act together she’s definitely next on the list.

Thanks for reading peeps!

Looks like next week we’ll have some muddy shell fish digging and Padma on roller skates! Whee!

Have a great week people and give yours truly a follow on twitter @ChezWu!

Top Chef Seattle Episode 3 Recap: “Tom vs. Emeril: Turkeypocalypse”

On week 3 of Top Chef Season 10 in Seattle, it’s Turkey time!! 

From last week’s preview and subsequent promos, we know that in some way head judge Tom Colicchio and culinary superstar Emeril Legasse will be involved in this holiday season feast. Will they actually get their hands dirty and cook? Let’s find out.

As always, a quick reminder of the stakes: a feature in Food and Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, $125,000 provided by Healthy Choice and title of Top Chef.

(Hm. The initial prize money for the first season of Top Chef was $100,000. Glad to see that they’ve kept up with inflation and then some! Bravo indeed!) 

**During the opening voice over Padma says TWELVE chefs remain...which is wrong. Not sure where she got that number from but we have SEVENTEEN chefs remain. Yes, that’s why I’m here. 

Around the world in 17 dumplings

Quickfire!

Joshua “The Mustache” Valentine donning his brown hipster cap of the week leads the chefs into the Top Chef Kitchen.

Standing in front of a map of the world (complete with chef’s knife icons) is our beautiful host, Padma Lakshmi and one of the most important people in the food world, Editor-in-chief of Food and Wine Magazine, Dana Cowin.

Cue gratuitous reaction of how important is it to impress the Editor-in-chief of the magazine who’s namesake is part of the final prize package. 

“You fail during this challenge you might as well go find another career.” Josie tell us on cam. Wait. Who’s Josie again? Damn. How many times do I have to look up this chef for her to be memorable?!  

This week’s quick fire - dumplings!

The chefs are to make dumplings from around the world. Most every country/culture have some type dish that is composed of an outer wrapper with a filling inside. The selections on the board (represented by the chef’s knife icons) ranges from Fufu (Africa) to Jiaozi (China). 17 choices. 17 Dumplings. (and 17 chefs! Ahem)

Dana tells us that she has “eaten her weight in dumplings” and will be judging them on “what they can do with a wrapper, a filling, and a sauce and some authenticity.”

Judging by Dana’s size, I’m gonna go ahead and say she’s maybe had 3 dumplings in her life. Have you looked at her? Seriously, how do you make a living eating and drinking around the world and stay that thin? Sigh. I digress.

Hey Bravo's gotta pay bills! 

Since some of these dumplings will be very foreign to the chefs, Bravo gets a product tie-in with Amazon’s Kindle Fire! Each chef gets five minutes to research their dumplings and say great things about the Kindle Fire before spending the rest of an hour to make their dumplings. 

This will be a sprint and grab situation, first come first serve. 

I wonder if they draw knives each week to see who goes into the kitchen first. Especially since in some of these challenges it’s a clear advantage to be closer to Padma. Well, that’s always a good thing regardless of challenges.

Here come’s the mad dash!

After the dust settles:

-Micah Fields is left with Kazakhstan, which he didn’t know was a real country.

-Stefan Richter got German Klopses, which reminded him of the good days when he had hair. 

-Sheldon Simeon got Jiaozi, a Chinese dumpling. Full of smiles, he confidently tells Danyele on screen. “I know what I’m doing already.”

-Kuniko Yagi landed Japan’s Takoyaki. Takoyaki is basically an octopus ball. Kuniko is from Japan, so if you ask John Tesar he’ll probably tell you that due to that fact alone Kuniko should win.

-Brooke Williamson doesn’t have flour to make a wrapper for her Siomay, an Indonesian  seafood dumpling. So it looks like she’ll be serving a “nudie” dumpling.

The Siomay has no clothes

I have no idea what CJ picked because he’s too busy doing a quick commercial for the Amazon Kindle. “These things are kinda awesome!” Ugh.

.....and of course Carla Pellegrino’s acting like this is a silent movie with her gestures and flailing about. She has Fufu from Africa. I get the feeling some of her fellow chefs wish she just got the first half of that.

Time. Hands up. Utensils down.

BOOM. Kuniko has NOTHING on her plate. Yup, she lost track of time and forgot to plate her dish. She’s “extremely” embarrassed. If you ask John Tesar about this he’ll probably tell you how since she’s Japanese, she’d have to perform Hari Kari. Ok maybe he wouldn’t go that far.

Here are the bottom dishes:

-Brooke Williamson: Soimay -  Chicken & shrimp with peanut sauce & daikon. Judges thought it was tasty, but without a wrapper she can’t be considered and landed on the bottom.

-Carla Pellegrino: Fufu - Chicken and lamb filling with a red sauce. Last time I checked there aren’t a lot of tomatoes in Africa. Dana agrees. X-nay on authenticity. 

-Kuniko’s empty bowl meant an automatic out.

The contenders:

-Josie’s Smith-Malave: Mandu - Pork, tofu, shitake mushrooms filling. She made a complete dish spiced up with kimchi scored high with the judges.

-Stefan Ritcher: Klopse - Ground lamb, mashed potatoes and capers. He knocks it out by bringing the flavors his grandmother to the challenge. Dana was impressed by his Klopse.

-Micah Fields: Manti - Ground lamb with dates, curry & cinnamon. He brought some middle eastern bold flavors by adding mints and dates. It looked delicious. 

The TOP Dumpling goes to...

I Do You Do We Do Mandu

Josie’s Mandu! She’s ecstatic because last week she was on the bottom and now she’s got immunity! Keep winning and I wouldn’t have to google every week. 

Stefan rolls his eyes. Sigh. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride. It’s ok Stefan, go look at the pictures of your Porsche GT and tell yourself you own many restaurants.

Elimination Challenge

Padma tells us it’s time to give thanks. The challenge is to make a Thanksgiving dinner for the organization, FareStart. This organization recently won the James Beard Foundation Award for Humanitarian of the Year. In case that’s not enough, they get an extra Thanksgiving dinner this year. 

Here we go. It’s a team challenge. Two teams (Red and Gray) are simply divided by splitting their formation in half. 

Well who’s gonna lead the teams and help them guide their menu?

“Oh guys!!!” Padma calls in the heavy.

With a Tarantino-esque music in the background, Tom and Emeril swagger in like the bad asses they are. In case you’re missing the fact that these guys ARE bad basses? Padma’s here to remind you by quoting Scarface, “Say hello to my little friends.”

Everyone is super excited. 

Mister Blond and Mister White

Tom will be helping out the Red Team while Emeril will guide the Gray Team. 

Each epic chef will “set the tone” by sharing some of their own inspirations to guide each team. They won’t do any of the heavy cooking, but more of a prepping, tasting, and tinkering type of deal. Each cheftestant is still responsible for their own dishes.

Both teams go to their corners and begin to strategize. Spoiler alert: It’ll be Cajun vs. Italian

Emeril suggests bringing some creole flair while Tom talks about giving the American Thanksgiving tradition an Italian twist. That’s it. Simple. Let’s go.

During this crucial moment Josie proudly tells Emeril that since she has immunity, she should be responsible of cooking the turkey. For some reason, NO ONE on the Gray Team object!

Sure. Let’s give the MOST crucial dish to the one person who could care less about how things turn out. No matter what happens, she knows she’s not going home. 

Time to prep.

Right away Tom shows his “playful” cutthroat mentality. He tells Bart Vandaele to take ALL the fresh herbs just to screw over the Gray team. Meanwhile Emeril’s going with the more friendly approach and teaching Tyler Wiard about the nuances of making gumbo. Don’t forget, when it comes to gumbo - it’s all in the roux.

Not saying that Emeril isn’t a fierce competitor, but you can tell while Emeril’s doing his best weekend football coach impression, Tom’s more like a Marine Corp sergeant giving out orders. Tom REALLY wants this one.  

At one point talks of jalapeno going into Emeril’s corn stuffing and Tom jokingly scoffed, “Jalapeno? Hey what is this, Mexican Thanksgiving?” Heh. I guess only one ethnic influence is allowed. 

Is she having a laugh?

Faux pas of the evening. Persona non grata thus far Chrissy Camba actually had the nerve to sidle up to Emeril and invoke his immortal catch phrase, “BAM” while adding a few drops of vanilla into a cream mixture. What’s worst is she asks for permission then blurted it out before Emeril could say yes or no!!

You don’t need to be a good poker player to tell that Sir Legasse was NOT amused. I don’t care if Chrissy wins this whole thing or can make the best soup in the world, she’s probably not going to be working anywhere near New Orleans anytime soon. Oy.

“Yum yum yum!” Tom brings a spoon full of stuffing to Emeril to taste. Seeing these two so relaxed and in their element, having a great time just goes to show that despite all the television shows, all the accolades, all the posh restaurants, a chef’s heart is still in the kitchen. *tear*

Brothers in arms.

CJ (Red team) decides to take over the leadership role because he knows it’s more important that team wins. He’s going around making sure there are no weak links. So much so he had the audacity to slap Tom on the shoulder and asks “You feeling good chef?”  Um...have you have forgotten your place CJ?!

It’s Faux Thanksgiving time. The gang gathers at FareStart kitchen and have five hours to complete their turkey feast. Everyone’s humming along, getting set up when Stefan spazzes out about not having enough space.

Exchange of the day:

John Tesar (Gray team): “(mumbles)...this kindergarten...”

Stefan (Red team): “(Whiny) No you’re kindergarten!”

I know actual kindergartners who share space better than these two.

Kuniko (Gray team) is responsible for a Potato Pave. Layered potatoes. Since it’s a relatively simple dish, she’s spending a lot of her time helping out others. 

On the flip side, Lizzie Bender (Red team) is working mashed potatoes. Yes. She’s making an even simpler dish than Kuniko. She’s also not running around helping others with their dishes. 

Kristen Kish (Gray team) casually asks Kuniko about her dish. She hasn’t started yet, but she “thinks” she’ll have time. "Gokouun o inorimasu" Kuniko. (That’s Japanese for “good luck.”)

We get a peek at Josie’s (Gray team) turkey and talk about cajun. Those things looked burnt. She’s turning temperature down, repositioning the turkeys and now have to go with a “low slow” approach. Which anyone who has ever cooked a turkey on Thanksgiving will tell you that’s how it should have been done in the first place!

Turkey Sashimi anyone?

Just to rub it in. We see CJ (Red team) basting their glistening golden turkey and it’s glowing like something out of a Pulp Fiction suitcase. 

Just when you were appreciating the peace and quiet where everyone goes about their cooking, we hear some squawking from the Red team’s side.

Whaddaya know. Realizing she hasn’t had as much screen time this episode, Carla decides to throw a tantrum at CJ and Stefan for tasting her yet-to-be seasoned carrot soup. 

“You guys decide to call me sweetie and honey...and tell what the f**k to do is another.”

Once again we’re reminded dramatically by Carla that she’s a (successful) woman chef and she’s had it rough. Stefan throws a dig in about European women and that’s why he left Europe. Way to bust out the world's smallest violin, buddy.

Time’s up. Here we go.

This week’s guest judges: Editor-in-chief of Food and Wine Magazine Dana Cowin, Executive Director of FareStart Megan Karch, and Chef/Top Chef Masters contestant Thierry Rautureau, owner of Rover’s & Luc.

First up, Gray team.

-Josie: Triple Spice Turkey with Cayenne & Hot Sauce

-Danyele: Emeril’s Mom’s Dressing. Bread Stuffing with Chorizo & Cayenne

-John: Emeril’s Cornbread Stuffing with Ground Turkey and Diced Bacon

Team Creole

-Kristen: Assiette of Root Vegetables, Parsnip Truffle Puree & Creme Fraiche

-Tyler: Andouille & Shrimp Gumbo

-Kuniko: Potato Pave

-Sheldon: Braised Greens with Ham Hocks

-Brooke: Sweet Potato Buttermilk Biscuits

-Chrissy: White Chocolate & Pecan Bread Pudding

-John: Spiced Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Ricotta Torte

Josie, determined to finally make an impression with us viewer, is the de facto team leader by presenting the menu to the judges. 

Right away the judges note that despite the “cajun” exterior, Josie’s turkey is undercooked. Everyone agreed that the flavor is good (C’mon, it’s straight out of Emeril approved spice jar!) it was “just a little” undercooked. Chef Thierry Rautureau laughingly said it was “not recommended by the USDA.” WOMP.

Other low points were Kuniko’s raw and unseasoned Potato Pave, Tyler’s lackluster gumbo and Sheldon’s undercooked braised greens. 

Funny how these professional chefs ran into some of the very same problems home cooks make on Thanksgiving - not enough time. Unfortunately, the judges aren’t understanding relatives who’ll keep drinking and wait for you to finish cooking. Well, some relatives anyways.

Some other highlights were Brooke’s biscuits and Chrissy’s pudding. Dana especially liked the extra texture the pumpkin seeds added to the biscuit, and everyone liked the warm and cinnamony bread pudding.

Overall, the judges were kind and cordial as to not blast Emeril’s team. But we pretty much see which direction this is headed. Let’s see how the Red team fare.

Red team:

-CJ: Braised Turkey with Tom’s Stuffing

Tom's Diner

-Carla: Carrot Soup with Turkey Meatballs

-Bart: Fennel, Gorgonzola, Orange & Pumpkin Seed Salad

-Josh: Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecans

-Micah: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Bacon & Shallots

-Lizzie: Potato Puree

-Stefan: Panna Cotta with Orange Cardamom Crisp & Candied Pecans

-Eliza: Chocolate Tart with White Chocolate & Mint Syrup

CJ, the self-proclaimed leader of the Red team, brings out their beautiful turkey and explains to the judges how Tom’s stuffing with “foie gras, sausage, kale, fennel” has been passed down from “generation to generation.”

Nobody’s buying that foie is part of Tom's “generation-old recipe.” No offense Tom, maybe if your last name was Medici instead of Colicchio. 

Compared to Josie’s bird, this one wins hands down. That’s what happens when you follow Tom’s recipe, put tons of butter underneath the skin and baste every 30/45 minutes. I know Thanksgiving’s over but Christmas is coming up and you can find his recipe here. 

Other favorites were Carla’s velvety carrot soup with meatballs and Lizzie’s buttery mash potatoes. Judges loved the simplicity and seasoning on both chef’s dishes. 

This just goes to show that seemingly simple dishes, if executed properly, can be the most delicious and magical thing on the table. 

You know I should have won Top Chef Masters, n'est pas?

Judgement time. Since both Tom and Emeril were personally involved they’ll recuse themselves from judging. It’s up to Padma and the three guest judges.

Despite Emeril’s best effort to bring up Brooke’s biscuits, and lovely biscuits they are, the vote is unanimous. Gray team loses.

Now they need to figure out who goes home from the Gray team.

It’s going to be a tough choice between Tyler’s weak gumbo, Kuniko’s crunchy (not in a good way) potatoes, and Sheldon’s undercooked greens. Oh did I mention they’d love to send Josie home if she didn’t have immunity? Well, at least now I’ll always remember her as the “Turkey with immunity.”

Judge’s Table

CJ, Carla and Lizzie head to the winners’ circle. Apparently Tom thought Carla was making CABBAGE and not CARROT soup? Dana thought Lizzie’s potatoes hit Joel Robuchon’s stratospheric standards and Tom told CJ his turkey was roasted to perfection. 

I'm a woman hear me roar!

...and the winner is...

Carla!  

Yes. I’m as surprised as you are. A mistaken identity soup beats out 3 Michelin Star quality potatoes and a perfect turkey? You know who else was surprised? CJ. He looked about as happy as Stefan did during the Quickfire results. The veterans are taking a beating thus far. 

Speaking of which...

Josie, Tyler, Sheldon, and Kuniko are called to the “knive packing district.” (Trademark: ChezWu)

Josie is embarrassed. Her biggest worry was that her turkey was dry and overcooked. Tom is equally surprised she didn’t know her turkey was undercooked. I guess she’s never heard of a thermometer. 

Tyler conceded that after adding more roux he failed to add more worcestershire and hot sauce, thus resulting in a bland dish.

Kuniko had 5 five hours to make potatoes. Josie tried to help defend her. If only she had put that effort into cooking that damn turkey. 

Sheldon’s not going home for them greens so don’t bother scolding him down. 

In the end, Kuniko and her raw potatoes gets the ax. Wait. Wasn’t Kuniko the winner last week? 

Wow. Sometimes cooking’s a lot like fashion. One day you’re in, and the next day you’re out. Only in this industry the saying is “You’re only as good as your last dish.”

Good bye Kuniko. Please don’t hold a grudge. If you do? Go after Josie. 

In the stew room. John Tesar continues to carry on his “most hated” persona by picking fights with everyone. He’s clearly playing head games but the rest of the chefs don’t seem to recognize it, yet.

3 weeks in. What’s coming up next week?

-To nobody’s surprise John and Carla gets into it.

-Giant slabs of meat!

-Double elimination! 2 chefs get sent home.

-Josh wear a new hipster hat and cusses again.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! See you next week!!


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