Top Chef 2, episode 9 recap

by Nicole Weston, Posted Jan 4th 2007 @ 4:29PM

New year, new episode of Bravo's Top Chef. The season picked up again this week with only seven of the original fifteen competitors still in the competition. At this point, the chefs have been living together for several weeks and, as in many situations where you have a group of type-A personalities, things are getting a little tense. Everyone in the group seems to oscillate back and forth between feeling compelled to act as a team trying to screw over everyone else so that they, as individuals, can get ahead. It makes things more interesting from a dramatic standpoint, but the chefs really need to get a grip on their tempers if they want to end up as Top Chef.

As the episode started out, one of the first things that we got to see was that Michael had a wisdom tooth pulled. He made it sound like he went to a less-than-reputable individual for the procedure, but seemed to be getting along fine aside from the pain and swelling. Medicated, Michael was much less feisty than usual. He noted that he hoped the challenges weren't too long and the rest of the tired-looking competitors agreed.

The quickfire challenge this week was different from previous ones because immunity was no longer up for grabs. The challenge was to create a dish based on a color and the chefs drew knives to see what their assigned shade was. Michael drew orange and made an orange-glazed salmon with carrot chips. Ilan drew red and made steak tartare. Elia, with white, did a Dover sole filet with mushrooms. Marcel, in frown, made a breakfast-themed steak and egg dish with coffee foam. Betty got green with a green zucchini tamale. Sam, in yellow, also opted for a breakfast dish with eggs, lemon and corn muffins. Cliff had the most difficulty with the challenge because he is colorblind and had difficulty identifying which ingredients were purple, his assigned color. He was pretty sure that someone once told him eggplant was purple, so even though Marcel offered o give him a hand with the colors, he simply tried to match everything to the eggplant skin.

Judged by Ted Allen, who was again standing in for Gail, the least successful dishes were Betty, Ilan and Marcel. Both Betty and Marcel had their presentation criticized and both Betty and Ilan had the taste of their dishes taken to task. The three top dishes were made by Sam, Cliff and Michael, and it was Michael who was declared the winner.

Moving on to the elimination challenge, the chefs again drew knives. This time, instead of colors, they drew sins. The challenge was to make a seven course meal where each of the courses represented one of the seven deadly sins: wrath, greed, envy, pride, lust, sloth and gluttony.

From start to finish, this challenge was emotionally charged. With the exceptions of Elia and Michael, who was heavily medicated, everyone spent a good portion of the time screaming at Marcel, including the fairly even tempered Sam and Ilan, who revealed a rather cruel side of his personality for the first time in the show. Marcel seemed to handle everything reasonably well and with more maturity than some of his competitors, especially considering that it was one versus six (including Elia and Michael who, although passive, did side with the group) for the whole show.

Getting back to the cooking, each chef worked on his or her own course and the meal was served during a dinner party hosted by actress Debbie Mazar. The sins and dishes were served as follows:

Sam's dish was a hit, particularly the very addictive popcorn. Betty's soups were not nearly smooth enough and the flavors didn't meld well together. Michael's trout dish was very well executed. Cliff's dish was criticized for not having enough broth. Elia's chicken was very succulent, but she didn't seem as confident as "pride" should be when presenting it. Marcel's cherry dessert didn't strike diners as lustful even though it was probably the most beautiful dish of the evening. Ilan's dessert had no contrasting textures and a soggy, wet funnel cake.

Michael's trout and salmon dish was declared the winner and Tom remarked that Michael should consider taking vicodin more often.

The three bottom finishers were Betty, Marcel and Ilan. Betty's technique needed a lot of work and the judges weren't sure if her skills were enough to carry her further in the competition. Marcel was asked to avoid foam in the future. Ilan was asked why he decided to stick in a dig at Marcel's dessert when serving his own (he said something to the effect of "cherries decrease your libido" to the diners) and was also quizzed about his choices for his unpopular dessert. Ilan didn't really have a defense for his very immature actions, nor for his overly rich, mushy dessert, but Betty was the won who was asked to leave this week.

Next week, it looks like Gail Simmons will be back (although I do hope that they will consider having more of Ted Allen) and we'll get to see if, by some miracle, the chefs aren't at the edge of killing each other (or Marcel).

Forget what happened last year over the holiday? Check out the recaps here:

Filed Under: Television/Film
Tags: bravo, bravo tv, chef, chefs, color, colors, competition, contest, dinner, episode, meal, reality, recap, season, show, sin, sins, television, top chef, TopChef, tv

Chew on This

Royal Wedding Cake Details Revealed! - YumSugar

Make Your Own Pop Tarts - CHOW
Denny's Introduces a Maple Bacon Sundae - Eater
Whole Foods Opening Bars in Stores - USA Today
Rules Of Bar Etiquette -- For The Bartender - HuffPost Food

Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-04-2007 @5:53PM Rick said... Marcel's lack of maturity is what got him in this position in the first place, so I have a hard time saying he handled it maturely just because he wasn't smart enough to have a comeback for what everyone was saying about him.

His main quote for me was "I'm not here to make friends" but the one thing a chef must do is lead and work with lots of different personalities, something he clearly can't do well.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-06-2007 @10:46PM Angela Pitt said... Go Michael! I still have the hots for Sam. I'm glad
Betty finally got the ax, the cheater. I had high hopes for her in the beginning, by the end, I couldn't stand her. Who knew Elia would be the last
female standing?
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-04-2007 @7:07PM Ima Wurdibitsch said... While Marcel is being picked upon quite a bit, he's not completely undeserving. I remember watching this season's premiere and he made a comment then about how (paraphrased horribly here because it's been such a long time) because he was such a great chef, he was going to be singled out due to the jealousy of other contestants - something like that. Even when there were team efforts, he hasn't been a team player and even tried to negate Sam's leadership during the last episode. Marcel hasn't tried to get along with everyone else and has come off as condescending without having the right to be so.

Yes, it's a competition but as we saw last season, it's also about inspiring your co-workers and being a leader. Marcel is NOT exhibiting those characteristics. Although I had high hopes for Betty, the stress seems like it got to her and she became too unpredictable and, well, downright mean at times.

Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-06-2007 @10:45PM Adriane said... In terms of all the kitchen "drama" of the last episode, what actually strikes me most is how everyone else (esp Elian!) gang up on him like it was grade school...making stupid comments about Marcel's sex life, poking fun at his dishes in front of guests, yelling at him in public, refusing to helo him serve, etc...that's not exactly mature, either- now is it? At least practice what you preach, people!

I think Michael won not only because he's a good chef, but from his work experience in bars and whatnot (in slightly less professional kitchens) he is able to filter out the bull and just produce good food.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-06-2007 @10:44PM gm said... I agree, Marcel may be immature but why does everyone else (excluding Ella, Emma?) have to match his immaturity with utter rudeness and un-professionalism?

Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-05-2007 @1:20PM Eric said... This was an interesting episode. As time goes on, I like Michael and Elia more and more, and like all the rest less. Speaking of lack of professionalism, it seems that Elian has shown his true colors in this episode. We can expect Betty to dislike Marcel, as Marcel is pretty abrasive, but Elian seems to have decided to be a jerk in this episode just because he could. I have lost all respect for the guy. I suspect that if Marcel was 6'6" that Elian would be sitting in the corner with his mouth tightly shut.
While Betty has floundered in recent episodes due to her lack of imagination, I really think that Elian should have gone instead simply for his childish behavior in slamming another competitor to honored guests. Can anyone guess the fate of a chef who criticized one of his peers to guests in a restaurant? He/She would likely be fired.
Betty blew it when she piled on Marcel, making the choice between two people who hated Marcel with Betty being the least creative in this case. The loser then becomes....Betty!
However, I am sure that Elian will go very soon, as he is undoubtedly a twerp.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-17-2007 @11:46AM laura said... I dont think Marcel is an angel, but he does show more restrain and maturity when it comes to all the drama. He doesnt start things, usually he is confronted by Ilan or Betty or Sam. He might be a bit Anal retentive "make sure you guys close the fridge" and arrogant, and he loves his foam but he isnt confrontational unless provoked. BETTY on the other hand had a huge chip on her shoulder and couldnt take criticism very well, her "mmm-hmmms" to the judges when talking to her about her mistakes was pure arrogance and sarcasm. Ilan needs to watch himself and his mouth, because usually the guy who can cook but has no class doesnt win.

Go Cliff!
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-05-2007 @1:19PM Rachel said... I was so glad to see Michael win one of the challenges, let alone both! Sometimes I even wondered why he was on the show. It looks like he has a lot of respect from the other chefs.

I can't tell if Marcel is really that bad or if it is creative editing making things into a drama.

I love this show! I also posted a recap: Top Chef Gets Creative.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-05-2007 @6:00PM Adriane said... Eric-

Yeah Elian's a twerp but (well, aside from this past episodes debaucle)the man can cook...this is the first time he's been in the "lower" tier.

Everything is getting much more interesting/intense now because the food produced by the chefs is getter better. Who do you guys think should win as it stands now??
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-14-2007 @3:37PM Dan said... Betty really hasn't produced a good dish fairly since the TGI Fridays challenge, in which I thought there were a couple better dishes. Yes Ilan is a twerp, a very lucky twerp. It seems as though only Marcel, Elia, and Michael can be trusted to be the same person day in and day out. Sam, who started out as one of my favorites, is now one of my least.

Personally, I think Ilan should've been eliminated for several reasons. 1. His funnel cake was a piece of soggy dough. 2. There was no contrast of texture, save th tiny brittle, 3. he immaturely slammed Marcel's dish while he served, and 4. It almost seemed like he was blaming Elia for his soft funnel cake. He was lucky to get this far, but by the finale, he'll be gone, along with , unfortunately, Michael.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

1-17-2007 @11:39PM Nora Lyons said... So where are the bloopers and Blunders that Tom promised at the end of Jan. 17 show. He said they were live right now at the BravoTV.com site.
Reply