Top Chef Boston Ep. 3 Recap: “Course of the Bambino’’
Quickfire Challenge
And then there were 13! After last week’s emotional Elimination Challenge, which found the cast cooking for Boston’s Finest, the chefs had very little time to ease into Week 3. “Top Chef’’ has always had a knack for keeping contestants on their toes, and this week Padma announced the Quickfire Challenge would be a sudden death elimination. While last week’s “One If By Land, Two If By Sea’’ surf and turf Quickfire was creative (if a bit too on the nose), this week’s was lazy in comparison. Inspired by the Boston Tea Party, the chefs had to create a dish infused with one of 13 different varieties of tea. And that’s it! Really? No surprise twist? No appearance by Mr. T? No? OK!
The judge’s three favorite dishes:
Melissa: seared duck breast with toasted nut oolong tea-infused jasmine rice
Gregory: Tuna crudo with strawberry white tea and coconut
Ron: Chocolate and salt herbal tea-crusted duck breast with polenta and balsamic-glazed mushrooms
Although impressed with how many different ways the tea was utilized, guest judge Ming Tsai’s favorite dish was Gregory’s tuna. That makes two straight victories for Gregory, and he is rapidly becoming one of the chefs to beat. He also won immunity for the Elimination Challenge.
Ming’s least favorite dish was Aaron’s seared monkfish cheeks with tea gastrique, and he was forced to choose an opponent for a 30-minute Sudden Death Quickfire. If Aaron won, he could stay, but if he lost, he’d be sent home. While I fully expected Aaron to choose Keriann after their ugly sparring last week, he decided to go up against Katie. Why? Because she teaches culinary school and he never went to one. And also because he has a chip on his shoulder the size of the U.S.S. Constitution.
Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge dishes:
Aaron: A play on a spring roll with cucumber, carrot, mint, and raw peanuts wrapped in puréed shrimp noodle
Katie: Saffron hand-cut pappardelle, smoked mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil
Padma was a bit perplexed by Aaron’s unsealed eggroll and asked, cryptically, “How would you like me to eat this?’’ Ming saluted Katie’s willingness to make hand-cut pasta in such a short timeline, but Ming chose Aaron’s dish mostly for his technique. And with that, thousands of disappointed viewers sighed with the realization they’d have to listen to Aaron’s voice for at least another half hour. We came so close to cutting Aaron! Why do I think we will look back at this moment and regret that he wasn’t sent home?
Elimination Challenge
For the first time in its 102-year history, Fenway Park hosted a culinary competition on the outfield grass, and there was something oddly fitting about its timing. Technically, when the episode was over at 11:15 p.m., the Red Sox were still the reigning champions, even if about ten minutes later the San Francisco Giants won Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. After a disastrous and disappointing 2014 campaign, it was refreshing to see Fenway cast in a positive light for the first time in a long time. As the Reagle Beagle’s Stacy put it so eloquently, “Fenway Park is everything to a Bostonian. I’m feeling like it’s Christmas [expletive] Eve.’’
This week’s challenge was to create a fine dining dish that incorporated classic ballpark fare like peanuts, popcorn, and pretzels. Joining Tom, Padma, and Richard Blais this week were Ming Tsai, Hugh Acheson, Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley, and longtime Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy. Everyone remembers feasting their eyes on Fenway for the first time, so it was a treat to see the contestants strolling down Yawkey Way in their chef’s whites, greeted by piped-in crowd noise in the stadium. Since the chefs can literally see into Fenway from their apartment, I’m guessing more than a few of them hoped Fenway would be on the season itinerary.
Because of the cramped confines of Fenway, the chefs presented their dishes in staggered groups. It being Fenway Park and all, the chefs emerged from the third base dugout with their food and made the long, somewhat awkward walk to the dining table, located in the shadow of the Green Monster. In explaining the importance of baseball in Boston, Shaughnessy quipped that they were all “sitting in church.’’
First Group
Aaron: Pretzel-wrapped rillettes and spring pea tendril salad
Katie: Popcorn mousse, blue cornmeal salted shortbread (originally intended to be popcorn crème brûlée)
Ron: Popcorn soup, breaded fish croquette, dill pickled celery, and Sun Gold tomatoes
Second Group
Katsuji: Re-purposed fried dough bread pudding with mushrooms, bacon, and deep-fried braised pork belly
Doug: Seared scallop, grilled corn, sweet corn sauce, and popcorn with piment d’espelette
Keriann: Beer-braised short rib, horseradish-parsnip purée, crispy pretzel shallots, and lager-infused fondue
Third Group
Stacy: Seared scallop and pickled peanuts with peanut and sunchoke puree
Melissa: Corn and ramp soup with pickled ramps, fried calamari, truffle butter, and bacon popcorn
Mei: Seared pork loin with braised peanuts, peanut sauce, herb salad, and peanut brittle
Fourth Group
Adam: Watermelon curry, peanut oil poached halibut with jalapeño and Fresno chili salad
Gregory: Roasted duck, peanut nam prik pao, peanut brittle, crispy shallots, and fresh herb salad
Rebecca: Roasted salmon with mustard and honey glaze and toasted pretzel streusel (“I had a very bad salmon moment on Top Chef once,’’ commented Richard Blais)
James: Sautéed lobster cake, pretzel panzanella, and avocado buttermilk mousse
From almost the moment she began prepping, Katie realized her original plan wasn’t going to work and she had to improvise. But then she made the mistake of admitting her botched plan to the judges before presenting her food. The consensus from the judges was overwhelmingly positive, and they urged her to let the food speak for itself.
Ron received some of the harshest reviews from the table. Tom said, emphatically, that his popcorn soup was “not fine dining.’’ Ron seemed apprehensive about the challenge from the get-go, so the result was not entirely surprising.
Proving that a home field advantage isn’t just a sports phenomenon, Stacy fed off the Fenway energy and impressed the table, especially Ming Tsai who assured her that she “did Boston proud.’’
Sending the chefs to the first base dugout when they were done presenting their dishes was a very nice touch, and I will admit to a fair amount of jealousy.
Judge’s Table
Noting Fenway’s unique size, Tom thought the simplest dishes worked best, while Dan Shaughnessy said it was the “highest-quality food’’ he’d ever eaten at Fenway. The top three dishes came courtesy of Gregory, Melissa, and Katie, with the judges taking particular notice of the way Katie successfully changed direction after her original plan was scrapped.
But even Katie’s comeback dish was no match for Gregory’s roasted duck. His win meant a clean sweep for Week 3. He won immunity in the Quickfire Challenge, but was never close to needing it.
(And hey, at least someone won something at Fenway this year.)
The judges’ least favorite dishes came from Ron, Keriann, and Katsuji. Although they didn’t care for Katsuji’s repurposed fried dough and chastised Keriann for trying to braise short ribs in the allotted time, Ron got the boot for the presentation on his popcorn soup. As soon as he became emotional, I wanted to jump into the screen and give the big galoot a bear hug.
‘Top Chef Boston’ Cheat Sheet
Who Should’ve Won
I would have gone with Katie here. She showed a lot of chutzpah changing her dish on the fly, even though she should never have admitted it to the judges before service. (The story she told them about spending a last baseball game with her father before he died, however, was a great tear-jerker.) She’s also been repeatedly harassed by Aaron. With Gregory already holding an immunity trump card, I would have gone with someone else.
Who Should’ve Been Eliminated
Ron’s dismissal this week was deserved. He clearly had a hard time transitioning his style to “Top Chef’’’s small-dish setting, and the presentation sealed his fate. “All these little miniature entrées is not what I do’’ was his parting comment before packing his knives.
Boston Eye Candy
Bell in Hand Tavern, Custom House, Rose Kennedy Greenway, Copley Square, Quincy Market, and, duh, Fenway Park.
Insider Info
Before a screening of the episode, Dennis Eckersley admitted to me he was hardly a foodie. “I just started eating asparagus two years ago,’’ he said with a laugh. He told me he’s much more of a Capitol Grille/Grill 23 kind of guy.
Although he couldn’t name anything he ate during the filming (in his defense, it was filmed months ago), he said all the food was “great.’’ As someone who knows a few things about performing under pressure, he was also quick to praise the contestants for coming up with recipes on the fly and taking heat from the judges.
Weekly 45-Second Interlude During Commercial Break
Standing in the first-base dugout, the chefs made up an imaginary roster for a “Top Chef’’ Boston baseball team, and chose positions. Katsuji would be the catcher because the mask would shut him up for a minute, and Aaron would just “get kicked out of the game.’’ If only!
This Week’s Lesson
The Simpsons Softball Song
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