Top Chef Seattle kicked off their new season officially by giving the culinary contenders their first Quickfire Challenge,which was judged by a trio of former TC chefs:CJ(Season 3),Josie(Season 2) and Stefan(Season 5).
The task was to make a fish dish using local seafood,with everyone being divided up into five teams of three.
The winning team was made up of Sheldon,Kiniko and John Tesar,who loves to tell people how he was dubbed "the most hated chef in Dallas"(not something I would want to brag about there). They put out a geoduck sashimi with apples and most of that success was due to Kiniko's excellent knife skills.
However,they did a now traditional TC knife pull to determine who would get immunity and John wound up with the lucky blade.
After that win and before the announcement of what the Elimination challenge would be, Padma revealed to all assembled that their judges were now going to be their fellow competitors.
That was certainly a surprise! I do like Josie and glad to see her get a second chance but Stefan was a creep the first time around and so far,doesn't seem to have changed all that much.
The Elim kept everyone in teams(which meant the TC veterans had to cook together) and sent them to the restaurant atop of the Space Needle,where each group had forty seven minutes of cooking time to make a regional dish for Judge Tom and the other TC judges,along with famed Seattle chef Tom Douglas.
Only one team was up for the win and once again,it was John,Sheldon and Kiniko. They made a cod poached with chili oil that held the right balance of heat(a fortunate thing,since Kiniko had to remake the chili oil after her first attempt burned up)and served it with dashi and a spot pawn sabu sabu.
This time,Kiniko got the credit she deserved and was deemed the top winner. She's going to be one to watch from now on,since many a chef who won the first Elimination challenge also became the ultimate TC winner by the end of the season. Good luck,Kiniko!
Two teams were on the bottom and one of them was the former TC players. They decided to make a quail plate at the last minute,which wasn't a bad idea for setting themselves apart from the pack of fish plates put out by the rest of the chefs.
However,the quail was overcooked and Stefan's whining about how small the birds were was quickly getting on the judges' nerves. Also,the cherries didn't turn out very well, despite Josie doing a last moment fix on them for CJ.
The other team consisted of Bret and Brooke,who argued over their different styles of cooking( she's a bit little country,he's a quite lot of classic French)and Jeffrey,who sadly overcooked the halibut.
The judges weren't happy about the wheat beer with herb sabayon that tasted bland but enjoyed the sides of English pea and mushrooms. That wasn't enough to save poor Jeffrey from being sent off to pack his knives. Such a shame,he appeared to be a really nice guy.
Next week is a Thanksgiving theme,with judges Tom and Emeril joining in the foodie fun. Sounds like a meal that anyone would be thankful for:
The Amazing Race sent the teams to Moscow this past leg,where a change of scene did nothing to change the luck of Team Rocker(James and Abba). During a Road Block,the guys asked their cab to wait for them and as soon as they received their clue,they went back to the car.
Unfortunately,the driver had already taken off and both of their backpacks,plus James' passport was long gone:
When they reached the Pit Stop,Phil asked about their passports and told them that they needed to retrieve them before moving on. Personally,I don't think that's quite fair. After all,they did ask the cab to wait for them and it's a thing that could happen to anybody.
This was a "to be continued" episode,so I hope that Team Rocker was able to get the go-ahead or at least find that cab with their stuff. *sigh* If it wasn't for bad luck,these guys wouldn't have any luck at all at this point:
Speaking of bad luck,last week on The Vampire Diaries,Elena made her first kill as a vampire. Her chosen target wasn't a smart choice,since it was the vampire hunter anointed as one of the Five which means that Jeremy is next in line to be tapped for that position(due to him being the only one able to see the tattoo map).
Since Klaus is eager to get that cure which would allow Elena's supply of doppelganger blood to be replenished for his hybrid schemes,both of them are going to be in another world of trouble with the Originals again. Also,Elena is starting to have scary visions which appear to be psychic punishment for any vampire who takes down a member of the Five. The hits just keep on coming,don't they,folks?
All of this means that the Salvatore brothers have to work with Klaus to save Elena. Just another peaceful time in Mystic Falls and I wouldn't have it any other way:
RANDOM NOTES:
NEXT IRON CHEF: So far,my favorite contender,Chef Alex,is doing well here but I do want the rest of the ladies to stay in the game as long as possible. With one gal gone,stakes are getting higher for a new female IC to take it home:
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