‘Top Chef’ Boston Recap: ‘Holy Escamoly!’
Penultimate episodes of television seasons are, by their very nature, set up for failure. Why waste an amazing scene or revelation in the second-to-last episode when you can save it for the finale or—better yet—tease it at the end of the season finale and get people to come back for more next year? Even though seasons of Top Chef are self-contained and don’t bleed into each other, I can’t help but be disappointed by the second-to-last episode every year.
More often than not, I find that producers are biding their time until the finale when they can hit you with more surprises and celebrity chefs. Spoiler Alert: This season is no different. Last night’s episode was nothing more than filler designed to keep you just interested enough to tune into the finale. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue reading, of course—you should know as much as possible heading into the championship!—but I want you to know why this is one of the shorter recaps of the season.
Or, as a famous local head coach might say, “I’m on to the finale.’’
The updated Ratty Power Index (RPI):
1. Mei: Still the best chef on the show.
2. Gregory: Did a wonderful job in last week’s Elimination Challenge but was outdone by an outstanding dish
3. Doug: Roared back onto the show by winning Last Chance Kitchen, and proceeded to win both the Quickfire and the Elimination Challenges last week. But I also don’t hand out number 1 spots to people who magically re-appear on the show. You have to earn that.
Last Chance Kitchen
N/A
Quickfire Challenge
For the second Quickfire of the finals, the remaining three chefs were sent on a surprise trip to a lush organic farm called Purisima de Jalpa. The farm, on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, supplies the top restaurants in the region. At the farm, the contestants were greeted by executive chef Enrique Farjeat and tasked with creating two Mexican dishes with chocolate — one savory and one sweet. Both dishes had to contain chocolate, but chefs would be able to harvest all of the other ingredients directly from the farm. Every variation of chocolate was available (white chocolate, cocoa butter, nibs, etc.) and they had 45 minutes to complete the two dishes. This week’s Quickfire winner would get their first choice of sous chef for the Elimination Challenge.
Dishes
Mei
Savory: Duck with bitter greens and chocolate mezcal
Sweet: Chocolate yogurt with cocoa nibs and nasturtium
Doug
Savory: Seared hen with onions, tomatoes, chocolate, and ancho chili
Sweet: Melted chocolate with chocolate mezcal and white chocolate
Gregory
Savory: Seared lamb with white chocolate ancho sauce and green chorizo vinaigrette
Sweet: Baby carrots with turmeric, dark chocolate, and ginger
Verdict
Mei and Gregory were excited about the prospect of harvesting fresh vegetables from the farm, but Doug was intimidated by the prospect of making a dessert. That being said, Enrique was still fairly impressed with all of the dishes. He thought Doug’s chicken was cooked well but the dessert wasn’t balanced. (It did, in fact, look like a bowl of melted chocolate.) He thought Mei’s duck paired well with the chocolate and that the dessert was very well done. Padma also liked the crushed chocolate nibs in the desert. (Who wouldn’t?)
The clear winner, though, was Gregory. Enrique thought his lamb was perfect and that the chorizo was a very nice touch to the dish. And for good measure, he even asked Gregory for permission to use the dessert recipe in his restaurant. He hadn’t registered a win in some time, but Gregory picked a great time to finish on top. He headed into the Elimination Challenge with some momentum and, more importantly, the ability to choose his sous chef.
Elimination Challenge
For their last Elimination Challenge before the finale, the chefs were asked to create a six-course progressive menu (each course should flow into the next), highlighting six of the most beloved Mexican ingredients. Each contestant would be responsible for two courses, and they would have two hours to cook and prep before service. Padma told them that they would find out what their ingredients were back at the villa.
But before that, the contestants had to pick their sous chefs. For what seems like the 17th time this season, the eliminated contestants were trotted out for the tradition Top Chef/5th grade gym class selection process. (Well, not all of the eliminated contestants made the trip to Mexico. I didn’t see Aaron among the group, possibly because of this.) By virtue of his Quickfire win, Gregory got to choose first and selected George. The next two selections were predictable as Mei took Melissa and Doug took his partner-in-crime Katsuji.
Back at the house, the contestants and their sous chefs discovered the mystery ingredients: Guava, avocado, mexican queso, escamoles, poblano, and huitlacoche. As the chefs examined the ingredients and even taste-tested them, a lot of the discussion centered around the two strangest ingredients: huitlacoche (a kind of fungus that grows in ears of corn) and escamoles (ant eggs). Maybe he wanted to be polite, or maybe he was just slow on the draw, the Gregory and Mei picked out the ingredients they wanted before Doug even know what hit him. That left Doug with ant eggs and cheese. After filing a half-hearted protest, Doug realized he was outnumbered and accepted his fate.
Without much drama, the contestants came up with a game plan for the six-course meal on the way to go food shopping. All three chefs has a solid handle on what they would be cooking, and the group decided the meal would run lightest to heaviest, then finishing light. The market they shopped at this week looked like it would give the contestants problems, but they all navigated the labyrinth aisles and sections with ease. Doug, only half-kidding, said that the only reason he chose Katsuji as his sous chef was because he spoke Spanish.
Although you’d think there would be plenty of drama in the house during Top Chef finals, there actually isn’t a lot of time for anything bad to happen. When the next dish you create is the most important dish of your life, there’s not a lot of idle time to waste on petty bickering. Plus, after this much time together, the final three or four chefs have usually built up a healthy amount of respect for each other. Even if it’s a begrudging respect, the contestants know the other finalists are the best of the best and will make worthy adversaries. There were no problems during cooking and prep this week, as all three sous chefs seemed to be clear on their duties and sharp in their execution. The tightest bond was clearly between Mei and Melissa. After last week, Mei is the only female remaining and she admitted to feeling a good amount of pressure in this role.
(This is a good time to remind readers that during the previous 11 seasons of Top Chef, only two women have won the show. TWO!)
Joining Tom and Padma on the panel this week were guest judges Richard Blais, Enrique Farjeat (from the Quickfire Challenge), Eduardo Palazuelos, chef/owner of Zibu and Mar del Zur, New York-based restaurateur and cookbook author Zarela Martinez, food and lifestyle critic Marco Beteta, and chef Bricio Dominguez.
Dishes
Gregory (1st Course): Chilled guava soup with bay scallops, habanero, and roasted guava
Feedback: Enrique thought the balance in the soup was “beautiful,’’ while Tom liked that the heat kept building the more he ate. Richard said the soup had a “high level of difficulty’’ but Gregory nailed it.
Mei (2nd Course): Guacamole with xoconostle, radish, serrano, and tortilla chips
Feedback: Eduardo was happy Mei you didn’t hide the flavor of the avocado in the dish. Padma thought the presentation was strong, but worried the concept was too simple. Bricio liked the dish but would have liked to taste more of the xoconostle (remember that ingredient from last week?). Tom was probably the harshest, saying that there’s a lot more things you can do with avocado. “I think Mei left the door wide open for someone to knock her out of the competition,’’ he added.
Doug (3rd Course): Tortilla Español with escamoles and escamol aioli
Feedback: Richard liked it and gave Doug props for trying such a complex dish, adding that he needed “a certain amount of huevos’’ to attempt it. Eduardo, though, said he would have liked to taste more of the escamoles, despite Doug’s earlier complaint that he didn’t know how to get any more on the plate. Tom didn’t love the dish either, but his issue was that the texture of escamoles was too similar to the rest of the dish. Bricio thought Doug’s dish had impressive flavor and, with some fine-tuning, could be great.
Mei (4th Course): Huitlacoche agnolotti with roasted corn broth
Feedback: Zarela, who didn’t say seem to say much at the table, thought this dish was great. Tom agreed, saying, “As a savory ravioli dish, it’s very good.’’ Eduardo thought the acidity of the dish was a bit off. Bricio said he would definitely order it again. Padma thought that it was one of the strongest dishes thus far.
Gregory (5th Course): Pork and poblano stew with tomatillos
Feedback: Bricio, handing out the highest compliment of the week, looked at the plate and said, “This is Mexico.’’ Richard loved it, Tom loved it, Enrique love it. They all loved it!
Doug (6th Course): Smoked queso fresco with spiced honey, squash chips, and charred pickles
Feedback: Richard, saying that cheese courses are usually pretty staid affairs, thought Doug’s dish was “far from boring.’’
Judge’s Table
Before they even made it to Judge’s Table, the group decided that Gregory was the winner and would be moving on to the finale. Padma led the way, saying his two dishes were the two best things she had eaten that day. Although he has fallen back on soups and stews a lot this season, the judges are acknowledging that this Gregory’s forte. With one contestant advancing to the finale, the decision came down to Doug or Mei.
Neither Tom or Richard were incredibly impressed with Mei’s avocado dish. Tom thought there was a lot missed opportunity but at least the presentation was well done. Richard thought it was uninspired flavor-wise. Richard’s least favorite dish was Doug’s escamoles dish, with Eduardo and Tom also voicing their disappointment. This meant the challenge came down to Mei’s huitlacoche course and Doug’s cheese course. Padma preferred the cheese course, but Tom preferred the huitlacoche. This meant the main ticket was split down the middle, and that Richard and Eduardo’s feedback was probably going to decide it.
Padma took one last opportunity to say that she thought Doug did the best he could with a tough ingredient (the ant eggs), and that he did an even better job on the cheese course. But even with that endorsement, it seemed like Doug’s fate was sealed. No matter how much Padma praised his work, the other judges’ critiques of the escamoles dish rang the loudest at Judge’s Table. After struggling in the Quickfire, the dish he didn’t even want to cook was his undoing. As one of the most likeable cast members, you could tell Tom and Padma took no pride in sending him home. After winning his way back onto the show and tearing through last week’s episode, he showed a lot of heart and has now made a name for himself on national television.
It will be Gregory battling Mei for $250,000 and the title of Top Chef.
It goes down Wednesday, February 11 at 9:00 p.m EST. See you there?
‘Top Chef’ Boston Cheat Sheet
Who Should’ve Won
Not much to add here, other than that Gregory absolutely demolished this challenge. Although I have always thought he was too quick to rely on soups and stews the whole season, he waited until the best time to pull out two of his strongest dishes of the year. It didn’t take much time for the judges to decide Gregory was moving on to the finale next week.
Who Should’ve Been Eliminated
No argument here either. Although Doug was my favorite chef left on the show, it was clear the judges didn’t care for his first dish with the escamoles. Tough to fault him too much for a dish he had no experience with. But it is the finals in Mexico and, when you’re cooking for those chefs, you better come correct with a local ingredient.
Weekly 45-Second Interlude During Commercial Break
Eduardo discussed the awkwardness of serving — and explaining — escamoles for the first time. Zarela recounted serving “worm sauce’’ for the first time to someone in New York. It wasn’t until she asked the customer how it was that she realized they thought they were being served “warm sauce.’’
This Week’s Lesson
Europe—“The Final Countdown’’
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