This week's installment of Top Chef Seattle began where they left off last time,with John starting up trouble in the break room by bad mouthing Kuniko(who was sent home for under cooking potatoes)as soon as she left to pack up her knives.
CJ and Joshua in particular were mad at him and I do have to agree that it's not necessary to kick someone when they're down like that.
However,the next day lead to a new Quickfire Challenge,to be judged by former TC Masters contender Naomi Pomeroy. Two sides of beef were on display for butchering,with each chef allowed an hour to select and cook their cut of meat.
Much to the annoyance of others,John won this round for his braised oxtail with potato gnocchi. His reward was immunity but the stakes turned out to be greater for the Elimination Challenge,with the winner getting ten grand and two chefs on the chopping block.
Yup,a double elim already,there! This wouldn't have anything to do with Last Chance Kitchen,now would it,guys? Yes,they're doing that again,which is a good thing for this crew.
For this challenge,the chefs had to recreate the original menu of Canlis,a well known restaurant in the area that started up in 1950. The place is now under the management of the grandsons of the first owner,who value their family food legacy quite a bit.
More than one chef was allowed to help out with certain dishes and it was the complete menu from soup to nuts.
John was in charge of expediting,since he had immunity but he did make one entree,a clam Bordelaise,that the judges liked.
They also adored Lizzie's marinated herring,served with saltines. It got her a spot in the Top Four for this challenge,much to her surprise.
Judge Tom joked about how back in the day,the crackers would have come in those mini packages and praised Lizzie for her bold choice.
Stefan's calf's liver was a big hit as well,especially with the fried onions on top that were made by Kristen.
Those two seemed to be getting rather flirty with each other and I wonder if that's going to be a long term thing or what here.
He did appear to be really happy that Kristen won the challenge,not only for her onions but the mushrooms she made,too.
I think this may be the first time that someone's won for making a couple of side dishes. Pretty sweet deal there and a nice way to earn ten thousand on top of that!
Things were not so sweet for Joshua,who landed on the Bottom for his French onion soup that was incredibly salty. The soup arrived cold for many of the judges,which he blamed on John's mismanagement of the kitchen.
Be that as it may,it wasn't John's fault that it was too salty to eat. Plus,the crouton was so huge that one of the Canlis owners felt as if it required a knife and fork to eat with.
CJ was next to him,for the lamb shish kebob that turned out to be very mealy. He choose to sous vide the meat,a method that definitely was not used in the fifties and it affected the entire flavor outcome.
However,it was ladies day for going home. Carla had to pack her knives,due to her squab being over and under cooked at different times. She had no idea how to prep and cook the bird properly,paying little attention to the complaints from folks who sent several servings back to the kitchen.
Her attitude stunned both Padma and Judge Tom,who were amazed that she only tasted
her food towards the end of service. Even if you have someone else making your dish,it's your job to make sure they're doing it right and she completely dropped the ball on this one.
Chrissy had to leave as well,sadly for a salad. It was the house specialty salad and her dressing drenched the entire thing. One of the problems might have been using canola oil,where as corn or veg or perhaps olive might have been a more prudent choice.
Well,the two of them will be joining Kuniko and Jeffrey in Last Chance Kitchen. Good luck to all and hopefully,a second shot at the TC brass ring will go to the best chef.
A Double U-Turn was in play for this leg of The Amazing Race in Amsterdam and the plan was for the first team to reach it to turn Abbie and Ryan,then the next team to turn the previous couple in order to shut it down for anyone else.
This plot was cooked up by Team Twinnie,who took the Fast Forward option that allowed them not to do their own dirty work.
Team Chippendale(James and Jaymes)wound up having to make that choice and they did hesitate for a minute but ultimately went along with the plan. I can't fault them for making a legitimate game decision but wish they hadn't followed in concert with the Twinnies(plus,Trey and Lexi):
This was a rough blow for Abbie and Ryan,who had been running a really bad leg once again. They had a couple of plane delays,which slowed them down and were back of the pack with Team Beekman,who wanted to stay with them all the way.
That wasn't possible this time around and worse,Abbie and Ryan had to do their last Detour in the cold rain. Luckily,a nice lady helped them out so they didn't have to stand outside and soak for long but they went home,nonetheless. Still waiting for the bad karma to kick in for the Twinnies and Trey and Lexi,but that might come towards the end of the race. In the meantime, Abbie and Ryan losing out on two million dollars was doubly sad to see:
The Vampire Diaries return tonight,with plots to find the possible vampire cure for Elena before Klaus does under way. The Salvatore brothers are at odds yet again,however,over Elena.
She's been less than happy with the way Stefan insists that she can adjust to alternate feeding with a little more effort and Damon's support in that department is bringing those two a lot closer.
Fellas,you're both beyond old enough to not do this and Stefan,you know better than to give into despair on the romantic front. Give Damon some slack and do a little brother bonding(maybe without the sorority girls)because you know that you're going to need his help before this season's over with:
RANDOM NOTES:
THE NEXT IRON CHEF: The ladies are still in play here but one of the Top Chef contenders is not. Spike had to go up against Marcel in the Secret Ingredient Showdown and he lost out to his good friend. Well, at least Spike managed to stay in the game longer than he did the last time:
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