Top Chef's Quickfire this week had a chilly aspect as the chefs were asked to create ice cream toppings to be judged by Govind Armstrong. Most of the chefs went the sweet route(Howie created this berries and cream combo,which earned him second place)but Hung just had to be different and make seven toppings,one of which was cauliflower foam. I think even a die hard vegetarian would find that repulsive.
Dale won the QF for putting together a peach cobbler type of topping mix and after he was told that he had immunity,Padma announced that everyone could "take the night off!" and go have some fun. The chefs were thrilled at the news and rushed off to put on their party faces and strap on their boogie shoes. They recieved a rather unpleasant surprise as the limo they were in drove up to some lunch wagons,with Padma and Govid waiting for them.
The Elimination Challenge was for everyone to divide into two teams(except for Dale,who got to have dinner with Govind at his restaurant)and whip up some snack food for late night party people. Team Black had Brian,Tre,Sarah M. and Hung. Team Orange had Casey,Howie,CJ and Sara N,who felt right off the bat that no one was listening to her ideas. Both she and Casey were major moody about the last minute cooking challenge and in some ways,I don't blame them since it was set up to pull the rug out from under them. On the other hand,stuff like that happens to everyone at one time or another and an experienced adult should just know to roll with it.
Brian took the reins and really became the cheerleader for his team. He ran the oyster bar in front of the food wagon and was very lively with the crowd of hungry folk who stopped by. Everyone seemed to be working well together and most of the food Team Black put out was considered pretty tasty(except for Hung's chicken wings-Judge Tom liked his onion rings better).
What put Team Black over the top was Tre's bacon wrapped shrimp with cheesy grits,which Ted Allen raved over. Tre was declared the winner and not only recieved a recipe book from Govid but a platinum membership to a chain of nightclubs across the country(Club Nikki). Very nice! Tre's been doing great this season and I have a feeling that we'll be seeing him in the finals.
Not sure I can say the same about anyone on Team Orange there-not only was the food so-so,the service was insanely slow. Howie's Cuban sandwiches were criticized for not being authentic and generally being a doughy mess. Casey made two dishes and one was good(her quesadillas)and one was lousy(a banana and chocolate deal).
Sara N. was working at two speeds,slow and stop,on her station which Howie mentioned at Judges' Table and everyone else on his team jumped on him for. Casey really annoyed me by saying that she "didn't know" that Sara was being slow. Are you serious? You're working together for several hours in a cramped space like that and you have no clue about how your other team mates are doing? Next thing you know,Casey will try to sell me some swampland there!
Sara N. had to pack her knives and go,due to her slow and poorly seasoned sliders and her watery milkshakes(you don't use icecubes to make a milkshake!). She did herself no favors by telling the judges she felt "demoralized" by having the evening's plans changed at the last minute and got all whimpery with Howie,who told her she was the "baby" of the group( she's ten years younger than most of the chefs,which she did mention during her going home interview). Also,she bitched about having to go food shopping in "high heels and a low cut top". Yeah,you did,in a CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC supermarket,with just you and your fellow chefs! Give me a break with that happy crappy,sweetie!
Also,I'm tired of people ganging up on Howie all the time. Yes,he's a "bulldog" but I honestly don't think he's doing that to be mean or a bully. That is just the way he is and not everyone is all touchy-feely and nice-nice. The fact that he and Joey became good friends after their big blow-up clearly shows his character. I noticed that while Sara got all weepy when Howie called her out in front of the judges,she had no probelm calling him an asshole to his face right after that. If you had showed some of that gumption sooner,Sara,you might've stayed on the show.
Hell's Kitchen is giving their finale the slow burn by giving us Part I last Monday,which had Rock and Bonnie taking time out of their busy restaurant planning to fly to Vegas with Ramsey. They then had to create their signature dish to be judged by several chefs and celebs,like Robin Leach:
Bonnie won the taste-off(boo!)and got first choice in selecting a kitchen crew from six of their former competitors. Naturally,she picked Jen(who is seriously deluded if she really thinks that Bonnie is "such a good person")right off the top and insanely made Melissa her second choice! Julia was there and feeling pretty sad and not hiding her sorrow. I don't blame her one bit and why Rock didn't have the sense to put her on his team,I don't know. Rock chose all the guys and Bonnie followed suit,saying that she wanted "all of her girls" back- hey there,Missy,Julia is NOT your girl!
Judging by the clips for next week,Bonnie's girl power strategy may backfire on her and we may finally get the Bonnie meltdown many of us have been waiting. Yeah,Bonnie going down,down,down! I swear,HK brings out the beast in me.
Design Star lost two contestants this week,as the group split into two teams to make over a pair of kitchen/dining rooms. Organic Josh lead the team that turned one of the kitchens into a "Tuscan" themed area,with not only obvious fake plants and painted on brick exposure but made one of the storage closets into a water fountain area. The only probelm with that(besides the Olive Garden authenticity)was that this was a family of four,with young kids,that they were designing for. Will got annoyed at the fountain idea(suggested by Christina) but decided to be a team player so that things could get done.
Neeraja was the other team leader and she left a few thing undone in her kitchen,as she took forever and a day to select tile for the backsplash and counter top and then didn't finish on time. Adriana busted her hump doing all of the carpentry work and Sparkle Josh pulled off a nice redesign of the dining room that earned him a win(along with a $5000 Sears card). Neeraja tried to blame her whole team but she was the one who insisted on tiling and claimed to be the expert,so she and Organic Josh were sent packing. I'm glad she's gone but it looks like there may be more drama to come from Robb:
Random Notes
Rescue Me: I can breathe easier now that I know that Tommy didn't drown the baby,he just gave him to Sheila(sold him,actually). Tommy's breakdown scene was very well done,especially with the ghost of his brother Johnny going all Terry Malloy on him:
The 4400: We had a bit of a fake out this week,as two of the regular cast "died" and then came back to life after a a newly Promicin powered NTAC think tank member tried to bring both sides of the debate together in a must-work-with-each-other mindtrap. It was nicely written and the Jordan/Tom team-up felt a little foreshadowy to me. Next week should be something,with Isabelle getting a surprise visit from her next of kin:
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