Top Chef Recap

This was the most awesome episode ever! Ok, so the chefs finally made it to New York. Finally, they were able to enjoy a bit of free time in the city before their challenges...which as I mentioned before were AWESOME.


The cheftestants were invited to eat at the legendary Le Cirque. While there, they were treated to a meal of sea bass paupiette--a potato wrapped sea bass sitting on leek fondue and mushrooms. It looked absolutely delicious. OF COURSE, the chefs were not able to enjoy their meal for too long. OF COURSE, this was all set up for a QF. The quickfire required the cheftestants to recreate the famous Le Cirque recipe in 20 minutes. Hung was first and recreated the dish perfectly. The owner was very impressed by the taste and technique. When he goes back to the table, Dale asks Hung to describe how he did it, and Hung declined to explain his technique. Dale called him heartless. EXCUSE ME!! This secured the nail in the I CAN'T STAND DALE coffin. Is he insane!!! That's the point of the entire challenge. Dale is next and his fish was dinged for lack of flavor. Brian did not completely recreate the dish. The taste was good, but he did not completely wrap his fish. Casey's was touted as the best tasting. Sara, oh Sara. She served seared bass. After proving he was a little pervy with his comment directed at Casey, he selected Hung as the winner. YAY!!! Hung was VERY pleased with himself.


Next up, elimination challenge. The chefs were taken to the French Culinary Institute. The test was to create a fantastic meal using only chicken, potatoes, and onion. Perfect ingredients. Hung made chicken by using the sous vide method (vacuum sealed and then 'poached' slowly). Casey made a variation of a Coq au Vin. Dale created a "duet" of chicken and mashed potatoes. Brian served a type of shepherd's pie using ramps and pheasant sausage. The ramps turning the potato layer neon green. Bleech. Finally, Sarah undercooked a fricassee. In a double smackdown, Hung won. Considering the judges, I was not surprised. Of the remaining chefs, Hung is the most technically skilled. I'm sorry, I don't care how good Brian's dish was. I would have never found out because the appearance was so scary. Who over the age of 5 wants to eat neon green potatoes? Casey, oh Casey. Not a good idea to label your dish Coq Au Vin when it technically wasn't. I know that most people use chicken in that dish now. However, one of your guest judges is responsible for introducing french food to Americans in a big way. If you call it Coq au Vin, he expects Coq au Vin. Know your audience. Dale and his disastrous duet were placed in the bottom two. Sarah, with her undercooked chicken was there also. Alas, the cheesemaker was sent home. I'm actually amazed she made it that far. She was seriously outclassed by the other chefs. Bye bye Sara.

So, now it's finally time. FINALE TIME! I'm so excited! At the same time, I hate to see my favorite show end. I'm pleased as punch at how they managed to redeem themselves from last year's disaster. Again, I'm pulling for my boy Hung. I think he could take it all.


Again, I loved this episode. The chefs were allowed to cook. Great judges and straight up good food.