Spoilers! Spoilers!On last night's episode of Top Chef, judge Tom Colicchio arrived at a Chicago Bears game wearing a Bears jersey, a scarf, and a beret. Honestly, it doesn't get more Top Chef than that. The show loves to engage with people and local foods of the cities where it tapes, but in the end its really just about whose pineapple is grilled to perfection and whose liver coconut slaw (don't worry -- not a real dish) doesn't have enough seasoning. You can't help but love it.For the Quickfire Challenge, chefs each created a "simple pleasure" food to pair with a beer. We found out that Nikki doesn't drink much beer, and learned from Dale that putting pretzels in a food processor creates pretzel dust, not crumbs or chunks. Quickfire guest judge Koren Grievson didn't comment much as she tasted the dishes, which definitely made the contestants feel more awkward than usual. Stephanie, who usually bombs Quickfires, did surprisingly well -- her mussels looked the best to me personally. In the end, Jennifer won (don't forget her partner, Zoi, went home last week) and Spike made an annoyingly sarcastic "yay lesbians" comment, demonstrating once again his inability to see some of the female chefs as anything more than women in the kitchen.
For the Elimination Challenge, chefs created dishes for a tailgate at the Chicago Bears' Soldier Field. Fans tasted the dishes, and rated them to establish the top and bottom three dishes. Judges (including guest judge Paul Kahan) then chose the winner and loser from the fans' choices. Now, if there's one piece of advice that every Top Chef contestant should know, it's that you shouldn't cut corners during challenges. The judges can't stand it when chefs don't make something from scratch, and Nikki fell right into this trap with her sausage (which obviously she did not make). After running out of ingredients before she served the judges, Nikki landed in the bottom three for her sausage sandwich with peppers and onions. Ryan also ranked in the bottom for his California cuisine (poached pears at a Tailgate, seriously?), and so did Mark for his sloppily presented chicken skewers and New Zealand chowder. Ryan lost, and I wasn't sad to see him go. I'm sure many of you also predicted this about 10 minutes into the show when he mentioned his metrosexuality. Too much personal information about a contestant = dead giveaway for elimination.
Bottom three aside, it seemed as though most chefs did well with the challenge. I especially wanted to taste Antonia's jerk chicken sandwich, which made the top three. There were a lot of dishes on buns, and Dale won first-place and a spanking new grill for his dish: ribs in warm potato salad with raisins and dried mango. Given Dale's history as a Bears fan and his excitement at meeting former players, I was glad to see him win. It's always fun when the contestants win the challenges that they care most about.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the episode, however, was the footage of the chefs relaxing around their house. Spike and Mark took a bubble bath during which Spike mainly rambled on about how he is comfortable enough with himself to take a bath with someone as cool as Mark, and Antonia commented that the situation reminded her of a cheap porn film. We finally saw the contestants laughing, drinking and acting like normal people -- with the exception of Dale, who prides himself on his ability to stay focused (aka not socialize). I'm definitely liking this season's focus on the contestant's backgrounds, I just wish they could do it without giving away what happens within the competition.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Eating Out for Thanksgiving
In Defense of Guy Fieri
'Top Chef Vegas' - And Then There Were Five
