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Top Chef Las Vegas Episode 3: Stay fly
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Top Chef Las Vegas Episode 3: Stay fly
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| bravotv.com |
Late pass, my bad.
Episode 3 of Top Chef was as well-intentioned as it was slow-moving. It did, however, provide us with a few fascinating insights, which I will now run down in bulleted list form:
- PREETI SAYS SHE BECAME A CHEF BECAUSE OF 9/11
- PREETI SAYS SHE BECAME A CHEF BECAUSE OF 9/11
- PREETI SAYS SHE BECAME A CHEF BECAUSE OF 9/11
- PREETI SAYS SHE BECAME A CHEF BECAUSE OF 9/11
There were a few other interesting aspects of this episode, but that really stuck with me for some reason. It's just a weird thing to say. But on a positive note, it opens up a world of possibility as far as pairing occupations with American calamities goes (new parlor game?).
- "I became a cobbler because of the Hindenburg."
- "I became a home appliance technician because of Columbine."
- "I became a occupational therapist because of the Kent State Massacre."
- "I became a Jiffy Lube franchisee because of the USS Maine."
Very fun, try it!
Quickfire: L.A. chef Mark Peel, who competed on Top Chef Masters, has the 15 remaining cheftestants to create a dish using potatoes. No one, not even the transcendently beautiful Padma (who came hard with it on this episode, right?), made a Peel/potato pun, and I was pleased about that. At the bottom: Eli, whose play on sweet potatoes and marshmallows was too sweet; Ron, who overcooked tuna; and the consistently not-good-at-this-show Jesse, who burned Peel's face off with too much cayenne in her soup. On top? Ashley, who executed gnocchi well despite Preeti dunking asparagus into her boiling water (terrorist!); Ash (co-dark horse nom with Ashley), who turned bad (sweet potato ice cream that wouldn't freeze) into good (sweet potato custard); and The Woman, Jen C, who won immunity for steamed mussels in a lemongrass potato sauce that featured three things I wish were conveniently transportable in one's billfold: duck fat, butter and creme fraiche. JEN C!
Other QF weirdness: Peel and Padma hated on Mike I's potato risotto � Peel said it was too salty, while Padma patronizingly reassured the chef it was still a "nice idea" � and dude started screaming favoritism on the Jen C-hearting judges' part. Jesse, who seemed aware of the heat her spice-based assassination attempt soup packed, yelled "Stupid me, I hate me!" and slapped herself in the forehead repeatedly.
Elimination: The chefs are told to cook a meal for 300 air men/women (the Thunderbirds) in a hangar in the middle of the desert. Mike V digs this, because he and Bryan's sister is enlisted in the Air Force. "Also," he adds, "who doesn't want to do something for their country?" Screw knife skills, patriotism is my new favorite desirable chef trait.
Mike I stops conspiracy-theorizing long enough to come up with a smart way to split up work � since his fairer-sex archnemesis Jen C has immunity, she's tapped to be boss, with the remaining 14 cheftestants pairing up to put together to cook a total of seven dishes. Jen C kills it in her supervisory role, maestro-ing the crappy kitchen space so everyone can cook and sticking it to Hector for chit-chatting. Top four: Mike I and Mike V, who teamed up to talk about tattoos/cook a bacon-as-pork belly dish that looked eerily similar to something I recently ate at Michael O'Halloran's Kong (theirs; his); and Eli and Kevin, who bonded "on a fat kid level" while prepping braised pork shoulder and potato salad. Mike V ends up winning (Gail deems the dish "super mega delicious," which I believe is Canadian for "good"), but I'm thinking his W is tainted based on the face-palm quotient of this Bravo Photoshop (I swear I'm not responsible for this):
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| bravotv.com |
Just so you know, this image comes from Mike V's bravotv.com Q&A, which features inspiring exchanges like this:
Bravotv.com: Tom LOVED your idea to cook the bacon as pork belly. What gave you this idea? Have you done this before?
Braised bacon ... enough said.
Bottom this week � Mike I, who was stuck here because the judges thought his salad contribution to Mike V's plate was weak; and Laurine and Preeti, who teamed up on a bland-looking pasta salad on Top Chef and thought that was OK.
Prior to judges' table, though, is where Preeti said her piece about how Osama bin Laden was indirectly responsible for helping her learn what a quenelle was. "We all experienced that day in many different ways ... the only thing that made sense was to cook," Preeti explains of 9/11/01, adding that she "went to culinary school a few years later." Yep, still a weird thing to say. Though it wasn't the reason Preeti was sent home this week (real reason: pasta salad foreal?), I'm going to go ahead and pretend it is.
Next week: Step 1: Learn you're cooking for Joel Robuchon. Step 2: Poop yourself.
I comment on food blogs because of Watergate!
I became a US Navy Diver because of the Oasis breakup.
"terrorist!" Really, Drew? I was a bit in awe by her 9/11 inspiration too, but quite ignorant to call Preeti a terrorist. Padma def bringing the heat this season, just not sure who's styling her in all those high-waisted belts. Eek! And so proud to see Jennifer kicking ass & giving Philly so much needed attention!
I became a food writer becuase of the French & Indian War
Erin: I meant she was terrorizing Ashley's gnocchi water!
Erin - I agree, someone needs to understand that Padma looks like a giant when you elongate her torso with a high belt. But Gail is looking like her boobilicious self so that's good. Padma seems to be upping the bitch this year. I'm certainly not complaining, I love it. Maybe should took a view notes from Toby Young?
[...] this page was mentioned by Barbara Zucker (@realestate_data), Las Vegas Locksmith (@lasvegaslock), A Food Coma (@afoodcoma), Drew Lazor (@drewlazor), Philly City Paper (@citypaper) and others. [...]
Jennifer has a good chance of winning. Jesse belongs on Ace of Cakes. That's enough Mattin. Hector, you stop it also. Preeti looks like Kumar.
Also, I became sign twirler for Quiznos because of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Where in the world did they find this sorry-ass group of chicks for Season 6? Other than bad-ass-hottie Jen, these girls suck and are flat-out intimidated by their male competitors. What up with the selection committee? It’s gonna be 8 guys and Jen by week 9. Rule proposition: to keep people from continually sliding only because they just weren’t the worst on that episode, but consistently barely survive each week, I say you are allowed a maximum of being on the chopping block no more than 3 times, or you are automatically sent packing. Jesse, you and your nasty-ass pierced lips would have just one more strike or you are kicked to the curb.
[...] there are only a few things on my mind at this point in the competition. First � remember when Preeti said she became a chef because of 9/11? That was [...]
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