Well, I can breathe a sigh of relief. Top Chef Season 4 has started, and much like Season 3, it appears this one will be about the food and not the drama (I was NOT a Season 2 fan).
The competitors for each season seem to be increasingly well trained with more impressive resumes. A chef from Le Cirque and one from Buddakan? Not too shabby! But I made one interesting discovery last night that I'm wondering if any one else noticed. Did this years casting director go looking for chefs who looked like last year's chefs? Richard bears resemblance to Sandee Birdsong (it might just be the hair, but it's there, admit it!) Stephanie looks like Leah, and is Spike the new C.J.? It's not the looks, but maybe the hat...I'll get back to you on that one.
So let's dissect the quickfire:
Richard's Peach Talleggio Pizza with Sweet Tea Reduction looked absolutely delicious!
Dale's (another season, another Dale?) pizza with sriracha sauce looked beautiful. He pickled his own kohl rabi! (and I write this only because this morning my first order of business was to find out what the heck kohl rabi was (according to Wikipedia it is a low, stout cultivar of cabbage).
Spike's Greek-style pizza was my favorite because it was unique but still sounded delicious. I'm not quite sure how molasses figures into a pizza, but as Rocco di Spirito's blog says, pizza is just bread, there is no blanker slate!
Not sure what a couple of the other chefs were thinking (grapes & bacon, melon & prosciutto? I freely admit to not having an advanced palate, but ick!)
I think Nikki had a great idea for a white pizza (which I am admittedly quite partial to with a tomato allergy) but the crust was, well, a bit much....
On to elimination:
Both Nikki and Stephanie fared far better at the elimination challenge, with Stephanie winning overall with her recreation of duck a l'orange and duck spring rolls. They looked quite tasty! Nikki's rolled out her own pasta from scratch for her lasagna! Impressive!
My only opinion about the elimination is that I think souffle was a set-up. It is one of the hardest things to cook, and predictably, neither Eric's nacho fiesta souffle, nor Zoi's rice pudding souffle were the right take on the idea of light and fluffy. However, in the end, Nimma was sent packing due to an over salted shrimp scampi and a cauliflower "scramble (?)"....
All for now - we'll meet here again next Wednesday for another Top Chef, recap. Leave me your thoughts and opinions!
~Allergic Diner
2 comments:
Souffle may have been a setup, but a CHEF should at least know how to make it!
Click here for DavidDust's Top Chef Chicago recap.
I'd agree with you if they were a bit older, but it takes YEARS before a recipe for a souffle gets committed to memory...I enjoyed your blog. Thanks for stopping by!
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