Chef Casey Thompson Shares BBQ Tips Recipes & More

It’s not every day that one gets to speak with one of their favorite chefs on one of their favorite subjects. So you can image my thrill when I had the opportunity to chat with Chef Casey Thompson about my favorite subject: Barbecue.

Born and raised in Texas – home of some of the best barbecue in America, Casey began her culinary career at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. She worked her way up the culinary ladder and after a few years she became ...   READ FULL ARTICLE >>

Source: http://blendabout.tumblr.com/post/50428307544/chef-casey-thompson-shares-bbq-tips-recipes-cocktail-pai

Talking Brunch with ‘Chef’ Joseph Gannascoli

[photo by Andrew Richter/imagesAR]

“I drink too much, I eat too much, I gamble too much. Hey that’s me.”

Joseph Gannascoli is a “knockaround” guy.

Someone you can hang out with, down a few drinks and smoke a cigar with kind of guy; a “Goodfella” without the actual ties to organized crime. Best known for his portrayal of the closeted gangster Vito Spatafore on the epic HBO series, The Sopranos, Joe’s professional life actually kicked off as a self-taught cook.

“I kicked around couple of restaurants in Manhattan. Then when I was young, I was 21, I went to New Orleans for about 3 years. Then I came back and ... Read more >>

Full Story: http://blendabout.tumblr.com/post/47549278733/brunch-week-chef-joseph-gannascoli

Taking a Culinary Journey with Joanne Weir

Joanne Weir has a career that most people can only dream of. On top of having her own cooking series on PBS, several published cookbooks, and a restaurant, she travels around the world to places like Tuscany and Seville, showing people where to dine and find unique cultural experiences.

It started about 15 years ago, when she was teaching cooking classes. A friend of a friend from Italy asked her to help teach her culinary classes in the United States. Then with an ‘aha!’ moment, this friend told Joanne she needed to teach the classes in Europe. Her program exploded, and Joanne’s European excursions were ... Read more >>

Full article: http://blendabout.tumblr.com/post/46424409884/chef-joanne-weir-cooking-star-food-traveler-cookbook-aut

Fabio Viviani on His Latest Ventures & His Favorite Brunch Spot

Chef Fabio Viviani is a busy man.

“I work 130 hours a week. I’m up at 6am each day and I’m never in bed until midnight. I work sixty hours just in the mornings.”

With three restaurants, a new cookbook, and all the television and in-person appearances, one would be surprised if he didn’t work all those hours. Because for Fabio, being awake means working, and he’s loving every minute of it.

We were first introduced to Fabio through season 5 of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, where his charming accent and larger than life personality won him “Fan Favorite.” Since then he’s opened Siena Tavern in Chicago, developed an award-winning Yahoo TV show “Chow Ciao,” and wrote a cookbook that sold 17 thousand copies in less than 10 ...

Read more >>

Top Chef Seattle Episode 17 Recap: "Finale Part 2."

On the final week of Top Chef Season 10 in Seattle LA...

Not Chairman Kaga

Here we go! Finale time!!  So exci....

WHAT THE?!?!

Wait a minute. What’s going on? This is Top Chef right? Or am I watching Iron Chef America? Because that looks like Kitchen Stadium to me. 

No. That’s Padma alright. So what’s going on??

Ok so apparently Bravo’s decided to throw us for a loop and introduce a new format. There are a ton of live studio audience members, and wait...now Padma’s introducing the two remaining chefs in a “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” fashion.

“Fighting her way back from Last Chance Kitchen, after a controversial elimination challenge - Kristen Kish!”

Controversial? Did I miss an episode here? What was the controversy?

Hey look. There’s a table with ALL of the past winners! Hm. They look rowdy already. Read: Drunk.

“And the chef with the most challenge wins this season - Brooke Williamson!”

Michael Voltaggio looks thrilled. *Sarcasm. He looks bored to death.* I bet he’d rather be in his kitchen, cooking.

Brooke and Kristen appear in front of an assembled team and we’re told they need to prepare 5 dishes for the judges and 160 people tonight.

After a brief season sum up montage of the entire season, we roll back to 3 hours earlier.

Kitchen Stadium

Kristen and Brooke enter “Kitchen Stadium,” as surprised as we are. They’re looking around in disbelief. 

Tom says, “Ok chefs. You have your teams, you know the challenge, you have three hours. Your time starts now.”

Um...somebody wanna fill us in on the challenge?

Somebody must have felt the same way during editing. Because here comes Padma with a post-show voice over obviously recorded later explaining what’s going on.

So apparently in an off-screen procedure the two finalists selected their sous chefs. They will go head to head with a 5 course dinner where each dish will be judged on the spot. The first chef with 3 winning dishes will be crowned Top Chef.

Um. Wrong Show.

Man. What’s going on? Make 5 dishes and some of them might not even get tasted? Why 5 then? Why not 3? Hell, why not just make one bite and put it on the spoon! Oh wait...we already have a terrible show like that.

Sigh. Well we’ve been here all season long, might as well stick it out. 

Brooke’s assembled Team LA. She’s got CJ, Stefan, and Kuniko. Three very solid choices. 

On Kristen’s side she’s got Lizzie, Sheldon, and Josh. What, was Josie busy or something?

The teams are actually pretty evenly matched. Stefan might be slightly better than Josh, but Lizzie and Sheldon combined makes up the difference.

Um. Right show?

More details of the challenge are slowly narrated to us by the chefs. Apparently they both have to use scallops for the second round and snapper for the fourth round. 

The judges for the finale are Tom, Emeril, Hugh, Gail, and Padma. I guess Culinary Legend Wolfgang Puck only signed a 5 episode deal. (yes I went back and counted ‘em up.)

Alright let’s get to the cooking.

First Course:

Kristen

Chicken Liver Mousse with Frisee’, Mustard, Prune, Hazelnuts & Pumpernickel.

Her mousse with perfectly seasoned. Light and diary and still well-balanced. The only knock from Gail was that the greens and hazelnuts piled on top made the mousse hard to find. 

Six minute eggs are amazing.

Brooke

Crispy Pig Ear & Chicory Salad, Six-Minute Egg, Apricot Jam & Candied Kumquats.

Emeril’s pig ears were a little burnt. The problem is Emeril saw and commented earlier that the ears were looked burnt. So already Brooke’s behind the eight ball. However, everyone else liked the dish. 

So with this new format each judge will decide which dish they liked better. The dish with 3 nods wins the round, and first chef to 3 rounds wins Top Chef.

Hugh, Gail, and Emeril preferred Kristen’s plate. Tom and Padma’s opinions apparently don’t matter anymore. And just like that Brooke’s down 1 nil.

Ok we’re 10 minutes into the show. At this rate Bravo Andy’s gonna be doing a LOT of shotskis. 

I'm ready!

Brooke has this expression on her face like somebody snuck up behind her and smacked her over the head. Yes Brooke we feel the same way.

Round 2. This round they both have to use scallops. Don’t ask me why because no one really explained anything so far. Seems like they just arbitrarily decided a lot of things.

Kristen’s gonna do a raw preparation and Brooke’s gonna try to sear them. I dunno. perfectly searing 160 scallops is going to be a feat.

Here comes a montage of Brooke’s Road to the Finals. Guess Bravo Andy decided that he couldn’t handle an hour and a half of doing shotskis. Filler time.

After a trip down this season’s memory lane, Gail interviews Brooke’s family in kitchen stadium. Her son, Hudson is passed out, from boredom no doubt. We don’t blame you kid. We’re struggling to stay awake as well.

Michael Voltaggio says he wants to be down there cooking. I’d bet right now, he can go down there by himself and kick both Brooke and Kristen’s asses. Yup even while wearing a blazer with the leather elbow pads.

Second Course:

Top Scallop

Brooke

Seared Scallops with Salt Cod Puree, Speck, Black Currant & Mustard Seed Vinaigrette. 

There’s not a single complaint. Emeril really digs the flavor of salt cod. Both Tom and Hugh thought the dish was perfectly balanced. Brooke’s looking good so far.

Kristen

Citrus & Lavender Cured Scallops with Bitter Orange, Meyer Lemon & Apple.

Well, she somehow manages to elevate raw scallops into something amazing. Just like Padma said, “There’s no where to hide on this dish and you did these scallops really proud.” 

The two chef’s different styles couldn’t be more highlighted than this. Stylistic minimalism versus enriched boldness. 

Zen Scallop

Unlike last round which went 3-0, this round actually required a tie breaker. Emeril and Gail liked Brooke’s while Tom and Padma preferred Kristen’s. Now once again I don’t know why this round was left to Hugh but it is, and he picked Brooke. 

It’s now tied. Brooke breaths a literal sigh of relief.

I dunno. The fact that the judge knows that he’s the tiebreaker seems to cloud the decision. I think they should have all logged in their decision before going down the line, one by one. Somehow this format seem...odd and arbitrary. Well, that’s been the theme of this finale.

Round 3 is players’ choice. Anything in the world to wow the judges.

Kristen’s gonna switch gears and now wants to pack as many flavor profiles as she can. She’s going with crispy bone marrow. Ok that ought to be interesting.

Brooke wants to redeem herself by making...chicken wings?!?!

That sounds like a terrible decision. I don’t care how good them chicken wings are. I mean David Chang himself could come down make some fried chicken wings and probably wont win this round because it’s just chicken wings!

Grounded wings

Well, Brooke acknowledges the risk of this dish. She’s going with it anyway. We’ll see.

It’s time for Kristen’s Road to the Finale. Fill fill.

Round 3:

Brooke

Vadouvan Fried Chicken with Sumac Yogurt-Tahini & Pickled Kohlrabi Fattoush.

Yup. As expected. Tom gets why she’s doing chicken wings but he still doesn’t “get” why she’s doing chicken wings. With that said as a dish, the side salad seems disconnected to the wings. As ballsy as this decision was, she might end up paying for it.

You'd pick this over chicken wings too.

Kristen

Celery Root Puree with Bone Marrow, Mushrooms, Bitter Greens & Radishes.

A few questions and marks from the judges on this dish. Tom wanted to know why the mushrooms were stewed instead of roasted (i.e. lacking in texture.) Kristen says she wanted to the crispy bone marrow to take care of that and the mushroom was just an undertone. Tom seems to be satisfied with that answer. 

Only problem, Padma’s plate wasn’t hot. Damn.

Emeril’s turn to start. Guess they were rotating from left to right. Would have been nice if that was explained to us!

Chicken wing goes down in flames. It was a 3-0 decision. Tom said, “At this point of the competition it’s just much more interesting dish.” 

Kristen only needs to win one more round to take it all. Brooke admits the wing decision was a wrong one.

Red Snapper round. Both chefs needs to utilize red snapper as their main protein.

During the interlude previous winners gives silly advices. Everything from “don’t fumble the football” (Richard Blais) to “Do what you do you, well” (Hosea Rosenberg) to “Keep your adrenaline in check” (Harold Dieterle.) Then Elan Hall proceeds to break the table’s lamp. Kevin Sbraga shakes his head in embarrassment. Hilarity all around. 

17 Restaurants. 

While the chefs are cooking their snapper, how about more filler! This time let’s take a what all of the past Top Chef winners have accomplished!

Actually, all of the past winners have gone on to doing really great things. While some are more active than others in publicizing them, most all have opened great restaurants and earned well deserved accolades. Kudos to all.

Round 4:

Surf and Turf

Brooke

Braised Pork Cheek & Red Snapper with Collard Green Slaw & Sorrel Puree.

A surf n turf. She certainly packed a lot of layers into this dish. Fish is perfectly cooked, sorel brings some pop, and pomegranate provides the crunch and some juice to the whole plate. No complaints here. 

Kristen

Red Snapper with Leeks, Little Gem Lettuce, Tarragon, Uni & Shellfish Nage.

Another beautifully composed dish. Everybody loved the uni pairing. The little gem lettuce provided some texture. Shellfish broth was delicious.

$125,000 Dish?

It’s going to be tough to decide.

Actually not really. I hope they weren’t trying to build suspense with this new format because it’s not working. With about 8 minutes left at this point everyone watching at home knows there isn’t going to be a fifth course.

I don’t know how Brooke knows this as well but her expression says it all. I’ve never seen her standing in front of the judges table looking this defeated. Thinking back at her earlier expression, it’s almost like she knew this was going to happen. 

Gail starts now. Wait. I thought they were taking turns? Ah whatever. *waves hand*

As if it was planned. It’s up to Tom to cast the final winning vote. And the winner is....

Kristen!!

Brooke’s not surprised. We’re not surprised (we can read the clock. 2:00 Left.) Hell, even the camera operator wasn’t surprised (camera was on Kristen’s family for the winning reaction.) 

There you have it! The second female Top Chef!

Congrats Kristen!

Always smiling. What a sweetheart.

As happy as I am for Kristen, I do feel for Brooke. Poor thing battled her heart out all season long, winning challenges after challenge and jumping through hoops to get to the finale only to face Kristen. Who knows? Had the third course not been chicken wings, it might have came down to desserts! 

Also the horrific format of the finale. What a sour way to end an otherwise great season.  It literally changed the entire heart and soul of Top Chef and replaced it with something artificial and arbitrary. We saw too much fillers and montages and too little cooking or discussions/debates between the judges about the food. 

I think the audiences who’ve turned in for the finale knows how these two got here, they could have used that time (and the random close ups of various sponsors) to focus more about the food. 

Well, at least Tom agrees and the good news is we probably wont see that format again.

Hey peeps it’s been a fun season and it was awesome doing the recap/commentary for all of you. Thank you all so much for following along. It was really a pleasure and an honor.

Until next time how about a follow on Twitter @ChezWu and check out ThankYouCooperate.com as well!

Bye!!!

Top Chef Seattle Episode 16 Recap: "Finale Part 1."

On week 16 of Top Chef Season 10 in Seattle...

This is it. After 16 weeks of grueling battles and challenges we’re finally down to 2, um no, 3 chefs!

Yeah! Final 2 for now!

Brooke and Sheldon are left wondering who’s gonna crash their finale party. Regardless of who it is, I’m glad that the system worked and the remaining chefs are definitely the most talented and deserving to be here. With that said...I think Brooke and Sheldon are a little annoyed about it.

“♪...and we’re in the finals we’re in the finals... ♪ We’re top 2...but it actually technically top 3... ♪” Sheldon sings while strumming his ukulele.

Yeah. And they had no idea about Save-A-Chef. That’s right guys. Last week there were actually 5 of you left!

As per Top Chef tradition, the final cheftestants go home for a few months before returning to the actual finale. We get a chance to visit with them and see how Top Chef fame have changed their lives. (Yes, they film the finale AFTER the season starts to air)

First stop. Maui. 

Bravo's forced to fill, so am I.

It’s been six months since Alaska and Sheldon’s been busy. He tells us during this time he staged at Vintage Cave, THE most high-end restaurant in Hawaii. They have one set tasting menu with the price at 295$. Um yeah. That’s the same price as Per Se. So we’re talking high caliber stuff here.

Sheldon’s definitely a big celebrity now. Star Noodle is bustling and he’s signing t-shirts and posing for pictures. Wait. He doesn’t own Star Noodle? Damn. I hope he got a raise!

Let’s have an family picnic by the beach! What. How else are you going to fill the show? There are only 3 people cooking now! 

Let’s go to LA and check out what Brooke’s been up to.

Equal opportunity filler.

Brooke actually runs two restaurants. Hudson House and The Tripel. Both places looks great. There’s nothing over 20$ on either menus and just looks like the kind of place where you can get good drinks and food. Frankly judging from her food on the show I had thought her place would be more high end. I’m glad it’s more gastropuby though.

To counter the staged picnic, let’s have Brooke go on a date with her husband!

They end up at Roy Choi’s A-Frame, where they run into Brooke’s mentor Sang Yoon, own of Father’s Office, which is not surprisingly, a gastropub.

Hey wait. Wasn’t Roy Choi last week’s guest judge? Isn’t there some conflict of interest or foul play? I kid, I kid.

Funny thing is we don’t see much of her restaurants nor do we see her getting the celebrity treatment. That’s LA I guess. Everyone’s kinda famous so no one cares. Ha.

Alright. Enough filler. Let’s get to it.

Finale. Day 1.

Brooke and Sheldon reunite. In the car ride they discuss who they might face from Last Chance Kitchen. 

Sheldon, “It would definitely be a surprise to see Josh. Who would you be surprised to see?” 

Brooke, auditioning for Mean Girls 2, “Carla and...Josie.”

Way to throw some digs on national TV! Eh. It’s not like they’ll ever see those three redshirts again anyway. So no biggie. 

They arrive at Craft. Fitting since this is where it all began this season. 

There to greet them: Padma, Hugh, and Emeril. 

The first gauntlet.

Padma tells them about Last Chance Kitchen, and for those people with no internet or just didn’t care to watch it on the website the producers are kind enough to provide you with a quick recap montage.

It’s actually a great way to sum up the entire season of Last Chance Kitchen. Here’s the quick version.

CJ set a record by defeating 7 straight opponents before falling to Kristen. Kristen then ran the table the rest of the way until they revealed to her that there’s also Save the Chef. So for the right to get back into the finale, Kristen had to battle not just Josh, but the winner of Save the Chef, Lizzie. Josh made rare venison so he got booted, leaving us to wonder if it’s going to be Kristen or Lizzie. 

The big reveal...

It’s Kristen. 

No big surprise there. 

Nope. Not Josie.

Actually, it’s no surprise these three are the ones left standing. They’re the favored from very early on. It should be an epic battle. 

The Challenge. Devise a three course menu and serve it tonight at Craft with Tom expediting. 

How profound. It’s an elevated version of the very first “amuse” challenge at Craft! Ah where there’s a beginning there’s an end. I feel like grasshopper.

Craft opens in three hours. Go.

It always tough when there are no real guidelines. That kind of freedom usually results in a lot of second guessing and time wasted. You’ve gotta just focus and go. 

Sheldon picked up some spot prawns for appetizer and quail for his main course. Hm. Spot prawns I can understand but quail seems out of character for him. 

Kristen’s doing a chestnut volute to start, tuna for main and some sort of chocolate for dessert.

Brooke’s not quite sure what she’s doing. Or at least that’s what she’s telling the rest of the chefs. That’s smart. I’d play it close to the chest too. There’s a great line from David Mamet’s famous play Glengary Glen Ross, “You never open your mouth till you know what the shot is.” Words to live by.

Always Be COOKING.

Um. Even Sheldon knows the quail’s out of his comfort zone. He admits it’s NOT the food he’s been cooking all season. But he wants to show the judges how much he’s grown. 

I gotta tell ya. I have a feeling staging at the super high-end restaurant did Sheldon more harm than good. The whole reason he’s here in the finale is because judges loved his elevated soulful dishes. A definite misstep from the get go.

The curve ball for all three chefs is going to be the dessert course. I never understood why they are required to make dessert on this show. Most chefs don’t really do dessert because cooking and baking are two very different creatures. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but most restaurants hire pastry chefs that specializes in desserts. I guess to be a TOP Chef you’ll need to know everything. 

Ok times. Up. Tickets are starting to roll in and it’s time for service.

So can you!!

All three of them are scrambling but Tom demands the kitchen to be cleaned up before service. Boom. Just like that the fear of God, should I say the fear of Tom is instilled. 

Since Tom will be expediting, as the judges tasting table we are joined by culinary television legend Martin Yan and New Orleans super chef John Besh. Martin Yan has been hosting cooking shows since 1978. His catch phrase, “If Yan can cook, so can you!” is right up there with Emeril’s “Bam” and Julia’s “Bon Appetite!” 

Rounding out the table is of course, our lovely host Padma, judge provocateur Hugh Acheson, and the Grand Poobah, Emeril Legasse.

Here comes the food. Appetizers.

Really creamy soup.

Sheldon

Sashimi Spot Prawns, Court Bouillon, Radish & Asian Herbs.

Kristen

Chestnut Veloute, Duck Rillette & Brussels Sprouts.

Brooke

Crispy Veal Sweetbread Salad with Kumquat, Beets & Mustard.

It’s hard to read the judges here. None of the dishes really jumped out at them. Brooke’s sweetbread could have been cut bigger, Kristen’s Rillette needed some acid, only Sheldon’s prawns escaped without criticism. 

Stop smiling and plate those dish!

Back in the kitchen, Brooke is in trouble. She’s totally falling behind and Tom is getting frustrated. You can see how working for Tom under these circumstances can wilt a seasoned chef like Brooke. 

Brooke isn’t the only one behind. Kristen’s also lagging in sending up dishes. Seems like the only one handling service well is Sheldon.

It’s both amazing and scary to watch Tom expedite. No excuses, no small talk, just do you job and get the food to the pass correctly and quickly. Completely different from the mentor/judge Tom we normally see. 

Main Course.

Sorry Charlie

Kristen

Seared Ahi Tuna with Veal Mustard Jus & Meyer Lemon Puree.

Brooke

Braised Short Ribs, Parmesan Sauce, Nettle Puree & Squash Dumpling.

Sheldon

Roasted Quail, Pine Nut Puree, Garam Masala & Tangerine.

First sign of trouble. As we’ve been noticing all along, judges are confused by Sheldon’s dish. In fact, they are confused whether or not it’s Sheldon who cooked this dish. Hugh wants the old Sheldon back. 

Looks like Brooke’s short ribs scored the most points here. Ribs cooked perfectly, sauce goes well with the braising liquid, nettle puree spot on. Damn. how many of you have had nettle? 

Angry Bird

Dessert.

Brooke

Brown Butter Cake, Whipped Goat Cheese & Blackberry Sauce.

Kristen

Curry Chocolate with Cashews

Sheldon

White Chocolate Mousse with Apple and Fennel

Ying and Yan 

Brooke killed it on dessert. Great texture without being overly buttery. Blackberry sauce provided a great contrast. Martin actually said, “...give it a Ying and Yan balance. Just perfect.” Way to give your brand a plug Martin! Ha, #ProTip

Kristen’s chocolate with curry got mixed reviews. Hugh thought it was too basic and wasn’t sure about the curry. Padma’s the only one who liked it.

Sheldon problem continues. The big chunk of raw fennel over powered everything else on the plate. 

At this point you’ve gotta wonder if the actual performance during service will have anything to do with who goes home. Because if you’re just keeping score on the dishes, it’s not looking good for Sheldon.

Service is over. Tom emerges from the kitchen and surveys the table. The gracious guests chefs always say they had a great time. Just once I want whoever the guest is to say, “That one dish was the weakest and I think so-and-so should go home.” Oh well, maybe next time when David Chang comes back.

Judgement time.

Sheldon’s up first. Much to be expected. His appetizer of spot prawns was near perfect. The problem, was the quail. Poor thing. He really wanted to show the judges how he “grew” as a chef. He totally out thought himself by trying to be something he’s not. He wanted to give the judges “high end” food. I stand by what I said about him staging at a place like Vintage Cave. Emeril was right. Sheldon was “brain washed.”

The second problem was the raw fennel on the dessert. Tom called it an “incomplete dish.” Not looking good.

Kristen’s turn.

Kristen’s got a lukewarm reception overall as well. Hugh thought her volute was one note and too safe, Tom didn’t like the Myer lemon puree, and the dessert seem like an afterthought.  

Kristen definitely played it too safe. It’s one of those, “let’s do enough to get by” mentality that usually results in an early exit. At this point it’s whether or not Sheldon’s mistakes outweighs Kristen’s mediocrity.

It always ends like this.

Brooke.

The big problem with Brooke tonight was her service. She was clearly in the weeds early on and thankfully she got out of it. Aside from that all of her dishes were great. Her parmesan sauce was so good Padma wanted to use Kristen’s tuna to scrape some more up. 

Tom was oddly critical of Brooke’s dessert. Right after Emeril raved and went to the extent of telling her both John Besh and Martin Yan loved it as well, Tom puts the smack down and tells her it’s not a “restaurant” dessert. 

Laugh now...

I think Brooke knows Tom’s not happy with her service tonight because here comes the “I can do way more than what I showed tonight...and I would just love the chance to actually show that,” spiel. Tom scowls.

The chefs go back to the stew room while the judges decide.

“I know we don’t take past performances into consideration but it’s sometimes hard not to think about what they’ve all been through the season.” Tom confesses.

I’m glad he said that because you can tell that at times past performances does factor in. However, that’s not going to help them this time because all three of the chefs had a great season.  

Back in the stew room, Brooke the math genius explains to us the probability of winning Top Chef at this point.

“It’s a one in three chance.”

Thank you Brooke. Stick to cooking. #ProTip

Time for the verdict...

Early on during prep Emeril talks to Sheldon and gives him kudos for his progress this season, 

“You know, I want to say to you that I really admire where you came from, I don’t think you’ve lost that...just like myself, dishwasher, and just keep working hard.”

Cya Sheldon! Should stuck to them noodles!

Therein lies the irony. Throughout the season Sheldon never lost it. Never lost the heritage behind the flavors, the joy behind his cooking, and the soul behind his food. Today he reached. Today he wasn’t true to himself. Today, Sheldon tried to become a tasting menu chef who charges three hundred dollars for a meal. And for that, today Sheldon will go home.

It’s been great watching him all season long. He really showed the world that you CAN elevate ethnic family food into something special. With this great showing with national exposure, I hope he does manage to find backers and open a restaurant of his own. Be it in Hawaii or else where, I hope to taste his food one day. So long Sheldon and thanks for all the dish(es).

Next week. The battle we’ve been waiting for. All season long I’ve predicted this finale and hopefully it’ll be as epic and we’ve all anticipated.

Thanks for stopping by and as always follow me on twitter @ChezWu!

Top Chef Seattle Episode 15 Recap: Glacial Gourmand

The final 3: Sheldon Simeon, Brooke Williamson, Josh Valentine

On this week’s Top Chef: Seattle (episode 15), there are just 3 chefs left in the running for the title of “Top Chef”. And between Sheldon, Josh & Brooke, it’ll be a tight race to the finale…

The episode opens with the 3 cheftestants at their Juno, AK-based quarters, reflecting on their last challenge and Josh stressing over his wife’s pending birth. Then the chefs go to the kitchen to grab breakfast and find a letter that reads:

“GOOD MORNING CHEFS! HEAD TO EAGLE CREST FOR YOUR NEXT QUICKFIRE. DRESS WARM!”

The chefs drive up to find a helicopter.  Brooke is horrified and breaks into tears. The view from the air is just outstanding and she musters enough courage to take it in. The chefs land on a glacier and Sheldon notices a lot of dogs and says he’d “die for some reefer”. Yep. Sheldon has just outted himself as a pothead on National TV. You go, boy.

The next part of their journey involves a dog-driven sleigh ride. When chefs arrive at their destination, a dog sled camp, Tom and Padma are waiting to greet them. This is the final Quickfire before the finale. Their challenge:  To prepare a dish in 30 minutes using whatever they can find in the camp.

The chefs grab their ingredients and prepare to cook in an extremely small (tent) kitchen that doesn’t have any electrical equipment. To make matters worse, the altitude and temperature make it that much harder to prepare their meals.

Brooke prepares a pan-roasted halibut, panzanella salad with walnuts and red currant and beet vinaigrette. Tom seems very impressed and the overall response is very positive. He particularly liked the crunch from the croutons.
Josh makes a cornmeal cake with Canadian bacon, scrambled eggs, and smoked salmon. The response from his dish isn’t quite as flattering – one person ever refers to it as “good, hardy camp food”.  To be honest, I was hoping for something more innovative, but the guy’s wife is having a baby and he’s a thousand miles away. Hello distraction…
Sheldon serves up pan-roasted halibut with tomato sauce, sesame bok choy, and pickled radish. Tom compliments him on the fish preparation, but tells him that the sauce was very “one note”.

Brooke-Pan-Roasted Halibut, Panzanella Salad with Red Currant & Beet Vinaigrette

And the winner is… Brooke!  I love all of them, but would really love to see this girl walk away with the “Top Chef” title at the end of this season. We haven’t had a female “Top Chef” since Stephanie Izard, from season 2, and Brooke’s so damn likable.

The three chefs and Padma pile back into the helicopter and then are driven (by Padma) to a special surprise:  They find that Kogi’s Roy Choi and Emeril Lagasse have prepared an amazing-looking meal just for them! Roy prepared braised short rib and tells the story of how Emeril inspired him to become a chef. Then the Elimination Challenge is announced: The chefs must prepare a dish that represents the defining culinary moment in each of their lives. The chefs will be cooking for the governor of Alaska and his wife, as well as the array of celebrity judges.

Brooke, Sheldon and Josh retire to their living room and discuss the challenge when suddenly, Josh’s cell phone rings… It’s his wife. Her water broke and she’s going into labor. As if he needed any distractions, the tension across his face is agonizing. Poor Josh…

The chefs arrive at the challenge kitchen and have 2 ½ hours to prep for their dishes. Brooke is struggling to figure out what to make, but decides on braised chicken and quail. Sheldon is doing snapper and Josh goes for a foie gras dish. Tom makes sure to apply more pressure on the chefs. When they get back to the house, Josh’s wife calls him (in tears from labor pains) and then they video chat the next day. Congrats, Josh! You’re now the proud father of a baby girl, named Georgia.  

The Top Chef Seattle Episode 15 Judge's Panel

The chefs are now back in the kitchen and the chefs have 1 ½ hours to finish their dishes. It’s clear that Brooke is the one to beat – that girl’s got game. Padma, Tom, Gail, Emeril, Roy and Wolfgang all arrive at the governor’s home and await the chef’s presentations. In the kitchen, Sheldon accidentally over-reduces his broth, which comes out too salty and there’s not enough time to correct it…

The chefs each come out to present their dishes.

Sheldon serves up pan-roasted rockfish, spot prawns, baby vegetables, and dashi. The judges are really impressed with his dish, except… It’s too salty. Damn that over-reduced broth.
Brooke serves her braised chicken and grilled quail with carrot barley, kale, pickled vegetables, mushrooms, and pearl onions. Brooke almost nails it, but Wolfgang Puck’s quail is just slightly overcooked. However, he still thinks the dish is terrific.
Josh does foie gras three ways: torchon with pineapple, pan-seared with apricot, and profiterole with foie gras mousse. The two latter versions get quite a bit of praise, but nobody seems impressed with Josh’s torchon.

Josh, Brooke and Sheldon stand before the table of culinary celebrities (not intimidating at all **wink wink**) to receive very direct critiques. Josh takes a hit for shortcutting his torchon – a dish that usually takes days to prepare. Brooke almost skates by without criticism, but Wolfgang makes sure to point out his over-cooked quail. And Sheldon’s salty broth comes back to bite him in the butt. However, his fish was cooked to perfection.

Brooke's Braised Chicken, Grilled Quail with Carrot Barley & Pickled Vegetables

The judges take no time to deliberate. The winner is: Brooke! (again) She takes her win so graciously and manages to stay humble. I can't say I'm surprised. She's consistently been a force to be reckoned with. 

But then the judges have to decide who goes home. Both remaining chefs made major mistakes in their dishes. Will Sheldon’s salty broth send him packing? Or will Josh’s torchon end his time as a Top Chef competitor?

Josh, please pack your knives and go.

Chef Josh Valentine

Can’t say I was surprised. It’s hard to imagine any man keeping his head in the game while he has a newborn child waiting to meet him at home. But Josh is such a sweetheart. He'll be missed...

Tom informs Brook and Sheldon that they’re heading for LA and will not only be competing in the finale, but that they also need to compete against the winner of Last-Chance Kitchen. Damn. All this way and they get an extra hurdle to overcome.

Can’t wait for next week’s finale part 1.