Clash of the Titans

It seems our Chefs were lulled into a false sense of juicy burger security by the Quickfire. Little did they know the extent of the mighty challenge ahead. Challenge, thy name is Zooey. You see, Zooey has some food issues.

Our chefs try to concentrate on their dishes and shopping.

Finally the chefs get to the kitchen to start their prep. For as much as I thought the Quickfire was boring and uninspiring, I think this challenge is fantastic because it pushes the chefs to a level they don't often push themselves. You never know what you what might be achieved by stretching that culinary muscle.
Rick is looking fairly basic and true to his Mexican persona.

(A slap chopper? Really?)Keller also seems to be roaming around in his comfort zone.
Anita seems a light on substance which is not good considering her 1 1/2 star Quickfire score.Michael seems to be rocking after having found some suitable pasta at Whole Foods although some folks might grumble at his using boxed pasta. I think it's nitpicking, you don't see anyone making their own cheese do you?Art is the one pushed to the edge of his limits and he makes a fatal choice to go with the Rice Ice Cream. I'm sure you were groaning at your tv. Now I have a bit of a conundrum which is how did he make that brittle? The recipe on Bravo's site says there's butter in the brittle but the judges specifically praise Art for making the brittle without butter. There are vegan peanut brittle recipes out there I'm just surprised Art pulled it off considering the choice of ice cream he made.Keller is uncharacteristically scurrying around the kitchen, hard pressed for time but gets some lucky karma in the form of some good natured help from Michael, along with a good natured imitation of Monsieur Keller. This is a good thing for Michael because......when his table full of food starts to prematurely fold, who has Michael's back? That's right, L'ange de Hubert. Karma baby, believe it.However it's pre-planning and experience that saves Hubert from not one but two overturned shooter glasses.Both Keller and Bayless get good comments from the diners but it's Chiarello's pasta that satisfies the challenging crowd. Anita and Art's dishes leave much to be veganily desired. Despite her Quickfire score Anita holds on to cook another day as Art packs his knives to go back to Chicago.We will certainly miss his gregarious spirit.

Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better...

Now that our Master Chefs have broken bread together, it's back to work. Except they've really been working all along. In true Top Chef form, the Elimination Challenge is to take one of your competitor's dishes and put your spin on it.This is a tricky thing not so much on the part of Top Chef but with regards of the camaraderie you just established with your fellow chefs. Unless it was edited out, I don't remember seeing anyone spitting out any dish (apparently that move is only reserved for the judges on regular Top Chef) or expressing any criticisms at all. But that's not to say they didn't have any or thought to themselves perhaps they could do it better. Add to that not only is someone trying to improve your dish, YOU have to watch them messing with you masterpiece.It's a fascinating twist also for the fact as to the question of did the chefs really do their best signature dish? I only point this out because this isn't even the finale, it's just the first round. Wouldn't you save your best for the final challenge? Round and round we go.

After shopping we're back in the kitchen where Art seems to be trying his hand at some return smack talking directed at Hubert and that there fancy French cookin'.Art also reveals while he's been cooking quite a while he's only worked in a restaurant for a year and a half which is amazing when you look at his competition.
The breakdown of who is doing what goes like this.
Hubert, who was the two-fer on the winning team of the Mise En Place relay race gets to pick the dish he wants to reinvent. He chooses Anita's Scallop dish. This also means she gets to re-make his Lobster and Truffle dish. French vs. French Asian. Art and Suzanne will be trading Seared Grouper and Chopped Sirloin with Egg and Rick and Michael will be delving into Fennel Balsamic Quail and Rack of lamb with chiles and figs.

Michael wraps his lamb with his caul fat or, as he calls it, Sicilian pantyhose. Good luck finding this ingredient in the online recipe version of this dish.Suzanne is still struggling with her texturally challenging fish while Art is...well...

I'm not sure what Art is doing.

Let's Eat!
SURPRISE! Your former competition will now be judging your dishes. (Thank you TeeVee Gods for bringing me another slice of The Ludo, my new favorite French Cheese) Will they be kind or hypercritical? Let's see.
Art's Lamb Scotch Egg with sweet potato fried and tomato tart. I'm glad he followed the tried and true rule of Baconizing his dish but this is not appealing to me at all.
Elizabeth Falkner and her extra spikey Judging hair wonders how the dish might have turned out if Art had tried using a soft boiled egg instead of a hard boiled egg. Not too much positive feedback.
Rick's Quail with Parsnip and proscuitto stuffing over wild greens is presented next.Hey Ricky, he likes it! Actually everyone seems pleasantly surprised that Rick stepped out of his Mexican box.
Suzanne's Roasted Great White Whale of Grouper with gnochi, peas, bacon, and parsnips.
Falkner cuts a sister no slack as she brings her A Game Judging standards and points out the overcooked fish and cold gnochi.We can dig it James.
Hubert's Seared scallop with cream of sea urchin over fingerling mashed potatoes. The only knock on his dish is that it seems that there's not enough sea urchin flavor in the sauce. But there is bacon so it's got that going for it.Michael's Rack of lamb stuffed with fig mostrada chick peas and fried rosemary. While it looks really simple it's much more layed and complex than it appears but the diners aren't convinced it's the best it could be.
Anita's very interesting corn chawanmushi, champagne gelee and lobster biscuit sandwich. All the diners seem to enjoy the dish. Which is good because her take on Hubert's dish makes her this week's winner.
This week's loser I'm sure you can tell by her reaction...Whoops! Sorry...
...there we go. I know I'm sad she's leaving because after some of the antics we've seen on Top Chef, this calm soul was a welcome breath of fresh air.

Thank You Top Chef Masters

It's as if all the seasons after the classic first season of Top Chef were practice, or rehearsal for what's turning out to be a stellar run of Top Chef Masters. I love the tension, the twists, the turns but most of all I LOVE the Mise En Place Relay Race. I loved it in Season Three when it was first introduced and I loved it in Chicago. They abandoned it in Season 5 and NY which I thought was crazy. In the Top Chef setting it either builds teamwork or it reveals the major flaws of the team. Here in Top Chef Masters we get to see the big guns doing lowly prep work. It also means......Tom gets to whip out his whistle. Now we all know that there's little chance of Tom telling any one of these chefs that their onions aren't chopped to his satisfaction so no point in hoping for that particular train wreck. However while I have much respect for this group the bar is set fairly high because of this man.Chicken Breaker Extraordinaire, Hung Huynh. Can any of these chefs impress us with the speed and the dexterity that Hung did? All I know is something different stuck out in Anita Lo's memory.

It's OK Casey, she didn't even remember your name.

Oh yeah, she's got game face.

3 vs. 3 means someone does double duty. Hubert for his team and Art for his.

So oysters go first with Keller for his team and Suzanne for hers. At the end of 15 (any pearls?) it's tied. (By the way, I sincerely hope someone made a meal of these oysters because they were phat. It would be a crying shame if they went to waste.)

Onions go next with Keller again and Art stepping up for his team. In a blink of an eye, Art is done and Keller is an onion behind.Now Michael goes into chicken cutting with a decent advantage but Chefbian Anita Lo didn't bring her game face for nothin'.

What's even better? Hubert talking smack in the background to the other team.

BAM! Just like that it's back to even. Now Rick get his turn at egg whites and Art's back for his team. But Art gets a little sloppy separating his eggs...

...and that's all Rick needs to pull ahead and give his team the win.

If you don't think these chefs aren't competitive check out Hubert's face.
They do not like to lose. That, my little Top Chef Crack Monkeys, is fun TV.