‘Top Chef’ Boston Episode 13 Recap: ‘Getting Prickly in Mexico’
Goodbye Boston!
Or, more appropriately, Adios Boston!
In any language, “Top Chef’’ said goodbye to Boston last week. In some ways, like when I think about how long Boston lobbied to host the show, the season has gone by quickly. But in other ways, like when I think about staying up until 3 a.m. writing these recaps, this season seems like it’s been going for nine months. There are aspects of “Top Chef’’ Boston that feel like they took place in past seasons. Remember the dinner for police and firefighters? Remember when the chefs cooked for Norm from “Cheers?’’ Remember Joy? Exactly.
As much as I already miss seeing Boston on the show, it’s time to put that part in the rearview mirror. For the remaining three weeks, my recaps will only focus on what happens in the finals. After the champion is crowned, I am hoping to get some space on Boston.com to do a season review, but for now my focus is on what takes place in Mexico. What does this mean for you? The remaining articles will be (a little) shorter and feature fewer background tidbits about guest chefs and locations. But I’m not leaving the Boston portion of the season behind just yet.
My friends at “Pack Your Mics’’ (the “Top Chef’’ podcast; what a great name) invited me on the show this week to review the season. Since this week’s episode was the first one not shot in Boston, they wanted to have me on before everyone turned their attention to the finals in Mexico. I recorded the show with host Alex Falcone Wednesday night and the episode is live on their website. It’s about 31 minutes long and I’ll hope you’ll listen. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and I hope you’ll listen to it for the rest of this season and beyond!
The updated Ratty Power Index (RPI):
1. Mei: Another Top 2 finish last week. She’s the best chef left on the show. I don’t see how anyone can disagree with this.
2. Melissa: Finished first last week but you cannot convince me that she’s going to win this show
3. Gregory: Peaked early in the season but is stumbling into the finals
Last Chance Kitchen
No need for a spoiler alert this week because the winner was announced at the beginning of the episode, so let’s get right to it. For the sixth and final Last Chance Kitchen, “Top Chef’’ left Boston for the warmer climes of San Miguel de Allende in Central Mexico. Needless to say, a lot was at stake this week: With three of the four spots in the finals set, the winner of this final Last Chance Kitchen would head to the finals and the loser would be sent home — this time for good.
Tom Colicchio met Doug and George (eliminated last week) on the rooftop of the beautiful villa where the remaining contestants would stay during the finals. Since Last Chance Kitchen is usually related to the most recently departed contestant, Tom began the segment talking about the bad decisions George has made this season. In the first episode, he struggled shucking clams and was eventually eliminated. In last week’s episode, he chose to cook octopus and ended up over-charring it and was eliminated again.
Tom asked the chefs to create a Mexican-inspired dish using either clams or octopus, but then gave Doug the choice of which ingredient to use. Not surprisingly, Doug chose clams. As a Pacific Northwest resident, he’s comfortable cooking with them and also knows George — who owns a Greek restaurant — would have greatly preferred octopus.
During the segment, Mei, Melissa, and Gregory also arrived at the villa and explored it with the zeal of “Real World’’ cast members. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Doug and George were upstairs cooking away. Doug said he had never made a Mexican-inspired clam dish before. George, still feeling burned by his experience with clams in the first episode, decided to steam them and use them as the basis for a soup.
While Doug and George cooked, Tom went downstairs to welcome the finalists to Mexico, and then invited them upstairs for a surprise. The surprise, of course, was that Last Chance Kitchen was happening in their house. As if there wasn’t enough pressure already, Doug and George had to finish their meals while the three finalists looked on.
Doug’s dish was clams with charred pineapple butter, tomatillo, tomatoes, and pickled red onion.
George’s dish was steamed clams with serrano and tomatillo salsa verde.
With a lot to get to in this episode, Tom kept things short and sweet. He liked a lot about both dishes, but gave the edge to Doug and named him the winner. That meant Doug claimed the fourth spot in the finals, and George was sent home with the dubious distinction of being (maybe?) the only three-time eliminee in “Top Chef’’ history.
Quickfire Challenge
The first Quickfire of the finals would be an important one. Although a Quickfire win in the finals probably isn’t going to get you immunity, they do usually come with some sort of perk. This week’s Quickfire was held in front of a stunning church, the Parroquía San Miguel Arcángel. The finalists were greeted there by Padma and Enrique Olvera, the chef/owner of Pujol in Mexico City.
The chefs were asked to create a dish highlighting the Mexican ingredient xoconostle, a special type of prickly pear. They would have 30 minutes and the winner would get a surprise advantage in the Elimination Challenge. The four chefs had very different reactions to the ingredient. Doug, a Texas native, was pretty familiar with cooking cactus, but Gregory was completely unfamiliar with it. Melissa had studied it and went right for the seafood in the cooler. Mei was hoping to cook with seafood but, when that was spoken for, chose to go with steak.
Dishes
Doug: Xoconostle and tomatillo stew with roasted peppers and pepitas
Mei: Ribeye tataki with xoconostle salsa and nopales salsa verde
Melissa: Salmon ceviche with xoconostle, leche de tigre, and prickly pear salad
Gregory: Garlic shrimp with olive oil, prickly pear sauce, and xoconostle relish
Verdict
Olver’s two favorite dishes belonged to Melissa and Doug. He loved Melissa’s leche de tigre, even pointing out to Padma the leftover water is considered an aphrodisiac. Olver also appreciated that Doug’s dish featured vegetables and didn’t have a protein, allowing the xoconostle’s flavor to really come through. In the end, Olver chose Doug’s dish because it took the biggest risk while hewing to local traditions. In the space of a few minutes of show time, Doug went from the chopping block to winning his way back onto the show to winning a Quickfire. Your luck can change pretty quickly on this show.
Elimination Challenge
Sparing no time after the Quickfire, Padma jumped right into explaining the history of the city. San Miguel de Allende, she explained, is a mecca for artists all over the world. She held the names of four local artists in four envelopes, and the chefs would do a blind draw to see which artist they would be matched with. The chefs were tasked with creating a unique dish inspired by that artist’s work. Cooking at the famed Instituto Allende, they would have four hours to cook for 150 guests, while their artists completed a new work of art that will be on display.
For such a big job, Padma told the chefs that they would each get the help of two sous chefs. Just as the finalists were wondering who those chefs might be, all of the past contestants from this season marched down the steps of the church onto the set. Everyone who appeared on this season was there, even (ugh) Aaron. The advantage Doug earned in the Quickfire was that he would have the first choices. Not surprisingly, he picked his two closest friends on the show, Adam and Katsuji. From there, the other finalists picked their sous chefs and also drew the name of the local artist they would be paired with. (Aaron, Ron, and Joy were not selected.)
Pairings
Gregory
Sous Chefs: Katie and Stacy
Artist: Artemio Sepulveda
Doug
Sous Chefs: Adam and Katsuji
Artist: Merry Calderoni
Melissa
Sous Chefs: George and James
Artist: Leonardo Diaz
Mei
Sous Chefs: Rebecca and Keriann
Artist: Bea Aaronson
From there, the chefs were off to the artists’ studios to meet with them and learn about their craft. The chefs used the meetings as an opportunity to figured out what colors and themes the artists specialized in. In watching the chefs meet with the artists, Doug seemed to forge the strongest relationship. Not only was his mother an art teacher, but his artist (Merry Calderone) was also a native Texan. They bonded over their upbringing and Doug immediately zeroed on doing a Texas Red brisket chili..
Greg’s artist works in darker themes, and that was something he related to as someone with a somewhat troubled past. Bea Aaronson was definitely the most colorful personality on the show, and Mei used a bright painting of a chicken and a bird as the inspiration for her dish.
Bea Aaronson was definitely the most colorful personality on the show, and Mei used a bright painting of a chicken and a bird as the inspiration for her dish.
Melissa’s artist also used a lot of colors, especially blue and pink. Although they are not common colors in the food world, she decided to cook something with squid ink. Unfortunately, the supermarket wasn’t carrying any that day, so she had to call an audible.
For the food shopping this week, Whole Foods was replaced with a Mega supermarket. The only drama while shopping was the language barrier. Gregory and Melissa seemed to get by just fine, but Doug and Mei had a tougher go of it. (Question: Wouldn’t you try to learn some Spanish in the six weeks between leaving Boston and arriving in Mexico?)
There was a notable lack of drama during the four hours of cooking and prep before the event. The chefs efficiently delegated to the sous chefs while the artists painted behind them. During the finals in past seasons, there have been instances where eliminated contestants-turned-sous chefs have clashed with the finalists over decisions and techniques, but there was none of that this week. The dynamic is always an interesting one because the sous chefs have nothing to lose and any error on their part could send someone home.
Dishes
Gregory: Grilled strip loin with ancho chile, beets, cilantro puree, and Melissa’s artist also used a lot of colors, especially blue and pink. Although they are not common colors in the food world, she decided to cook something with squid ink. Unfortunately, the supermarket wasn’t carrying any that day, so she had to call an audible.alencia orange sauce
Doug: Brisket Texas red with tomatillo and masa cake
Melissa: Smoked eggplant ravioli with shrimp, chorizo, and cotija
Mei: Snapper and bass crudo with chicken skin crumble, soy gastrique, and radish pickles
Overall, the judges had positive reactions to all four dishes. After seeing what the other chefs came up with, Doug was worried that his presentation was too simple for the finals. (“You’re about to serve chili to Tom Colicchio…what the [expletive] are you thinking?’’ were his exact words.) He worried for nothing though because, after a long, dramatic pause, Tom said that he loved it.
Gail and Padma thought Gregory produced a strong dish, with Tom saying that he did a nice job of taking the art and putting it on his plate. Tom and Gail enjoyed Mei’s dish, but Padma thought the presentation should have been a little bit wilder to match the artist’s work. Padma thought Melissa’s ravioli was “beautifully done,’’ but Tom thought some of the components were there for shock factor and color but not for flavor.
Judge’s Table
After being cooped up in the “Top Chef’’ studio for 12 weeks, it was nice to see a rare, outdoor Judge’s Table. The judges thought the chefs produced four outstanding dishes, so the margin for elimination was going to be razor thin. Tom said that whoever was sent home should hold their head high. It was tough to separate the dishes, but their favorite two belonged to Doug and Gregory.
They heaped praise on Doug’s brisket dish, with Gail complimenting him on taking the challenge so literally. (The dish really did look just like the painting.) Tom said it was obvious that the challenge reminded Doug about where he was from and what he was about. “It was authentic, I loved it,’’ he added. Enrique Olvera, the guest judge, thought Gregory did a great job of representing the artist and the art, and Gail thought the plate had many elements that spoke to the artist’s vision.
When Olvera announced that Doug was the winner, he pumped his fists and said, “I wanted this one!’’ This meant that he moves on in the finals and also gets to keep his artist’s new creation. Instead of taking it back to Portland, he said he would be giving it to his mother. That left Melissa and Mei as the bottom two, and one of them was going home. It was at this point that I realized a three-part finale was actually worth it. I groaned when I learned how much they were stretching out the finals, but this first installment was now providing some major drama. The two chefs who dominated the episodes leading into the finals were now on the chopping block. And for the first time in a long time, there would be no Last Chance Kitchen providing a chance at redemption. The plot, it thickens.
The judges took pains to tell Mei and Melissa that both of their dishes were great, but the other two chefs happened to come up with something better. (Say all the nice things you want, Padma, but it’s cold comfort when you’re sending one of them home.) Both chefs vigorously defended their creations and claimed to be genuinely inspired by their respective artists. Admitting it was a close call and a tough decision, the judges eliminated Melissa. It won’t come as a surprise that I think any one of the other three chefs will be a more deserving champion, but Melissa still proved me wrong at the end of the season. She got hot at the right time and for that, I have to give her a lot of credit.
‘Top Chef’ Boston Cheat Sheet
Who Should’ve Won
When it came time for service, I thought Doug might be in trouble because his dish was too straight-forward. But he clearly nailed the execution, and I actually liked how he took the challenge so literally. He hit it off with the artist from the moment they met, and it resulted in a painting and a dish that mirrored each other perfectly. Doug deserved this one, and regained his status as a top contender. Winning Last Chance Kitchen, the Quickfire Challenge, and the Elimination Challenge in quick succession will do that.
Who Should’ve Been Eliminated
No argument there. It was close and either one of them could have gone home but, overall, Mei handled the challenge better. What ended up on the plate was a direct translation of the art, but the food was still undoubtedly hers. Her execution, which has been sharp all season, was also better than Melissa’s on this challenge. I thought Melissa was punching above her weight all season, so I don’t see how the judges could have eliminated Mei.
Weekly 45-Second Interlude During Commercial Break
Doug, semi-jokingly, wondered about his choice of Adam and Katsuji as sous chefs. While Doug was nervously cooking for his life, the two chefs seemed to be having all the fun, along with a few adult beverages. This entire episode was a whirlwind for Doug, though, and I think they brought some much-needed levity to his station.
This Week’s Lesson
Frank Sinatra — “South of the Border’’
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