Arthur Perkins

Welcome back to Top Chef. After 4 seasons elsewhere Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons decided to use New York City for Top Chef 5. There are 17 chefs arriving, some by railroad with pictures shown of Grand Central Station?? (which only serves New England and upstate New York), from around the country to compete. They take a private ferry to Governor's Island, which is a government property south of Manhattan and just west of the coast of Brooklyn. All the chefs are in casual attire for what they might expect to be a picnic unless they watched prior seasons of Top Chef, but Tom Colicchio as is frequently the case has a nasty surprise for them. They must start a set ofq culinary tasks in the QuickFire challenge, cutting 15 apples with only a knife. Some are quick, with Stefan the quickest. He wins immunity for finishing first. Richard cuts his thumb with the knife and bleeds all over the apples, but that's OK because he does finish in the top 9 that are exempt from further tasks on the QuickFire. The 8 slowest then have to compete to brunoise the apples to produce 2 cups of small apple cubes. Brunoise is a method of food preparation in which the food item is first julienned and then turned 90° and diced again, producing cubes of a side length of about 3 mm on each side or less. That exempts the 4 fastest, leaving Leah, Patrick, Lauren and Radhika. They then enter the third round, which is 20 minutes to make these apple-based dishes that they have chosen:
 
Leah - Scallops with Dried Apples, Vinegar and Apple Juice
Patrick - Apple Slaw Salad, with Yoghurt Dressing, Cinnamon and Honey
Lauren - Apples, Blue Cheese, Bacon, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Orange Supreme
Radhika - pan-seared Pork, Apple Chutney, Raisins
 
Lauren is judged by Tom to have the least tasty dish and she is eliminated, the first time ever in Top Chef history that there will be two eliminations in one episode. The remaining 16 chefs draw knives and are assigned with two to each of 8 areas of New York City. Each pair will compete against each other for qualification for the judging of the Winner to the chosen one and qualification for the judging of the Eliminee for the loser. Those pairings and areas are:
 
Brighton Beach(Russian) - Hosea vs. Carla
Long Island City (Middle Eastern) - Stefan vs. Ariane
Ozone Park (Latin) - Jeff vs. Fabio
Jamaican - Radhika vs. Jill
Little Italy - Leah vs. Melissa
Little India - Alec vs. Eugen
Astoria(Greek) Richard vs. Jamie
Chinatown - Patrick vs. Jamie
 
All chefs then went to their living quarters, which will a distant balcony view of Manhattan are probably in Brooklyn. Chefs then chatted with each other and the two Europeans Stefan and Fabio argued about whether a vinaigrette is an emulsion. The 3 gay of lesbian chefs, Patrick, Richard, and Jamie formed the Rainbow Coalition. At the end of the show a viewer poll result showed the Rainbow Coalition with a popularity rating of 70% vs. 30% for the Europeans. However, the Euro team clearly has superior culinary skills and are likely to be around longer. There also were major displays of two chefs with prominent tattoos all over the bodies, Eugene and Jamie. I am really glad that the Top Chef white chef jackets are worn almost always in competitions. I would not want to be exposed to those tattoos again if it can be avoided.
 
The next morning teams go to designated markets appropriate for each cuisine. they buy their produce and meat, fish and whatever else their budget can afford. They then start cooking. The judges are Tom, Padma, and Gail (no surprises there) and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, one of the master chefs in the U.S. He has a lot to say and the other judges listen carefully. Here are the menus:
 
Patrick - Seared Salmon, Black Rice Noodles, Bok Choy;  Patrick, a CIA student, was over his head. He had major problems with those unfamiliar noodles.
Daniel - Ginger Chicken Salad, Bok Choy, Shiitake Mushrooms, Fried wontons
Hosea - Seafood Trio (Salmon, Trout, Turbot) w/ caviar, crème fraiche, apple chutney
Carla - smoked trout, Salmon Cakes w/ Sour Cream and Caviar over Potato Latkes
Jamie - Eggplant Puree, Seared Bass, Wild Arugula Salad
Richard - Lamb Slider w/ Orzo Feta pasta Salad
Leah - Farro Risotto, Seared Red Snapper, Mushrooms
Melissa - Rib-Eye w/ Arugula Salad, Fried Mushrooms and tomato Sauce
Alex - Grilled Lamb Chops, Savory Ragout w/ Basmati Rice
Eugene - Masala rubbed Lamb, Tzatziki w/Tandoori Glaze, Basmati Sweet Rice
Fabio - Mango and Jalapeno Demi-Glace Pork, Roasted Mushroom Arugula Salad
Jeff - Coffee Seared pork loin, smoked plantain w/black beans and rice
Jill - Macadamia crusted Scallops, Plantain Fritters, 3 Sauces
Radhika - Jerk rubbed halibut w/ ginger beer cocktail
Stefan - Lamb Chops w/ tabouli salad, Beef Skewers w/ Onions
Ariane - Curried Rack of Lamb, Farro Risotto, Dates w/Chick Peas
 
A number of comments are made as each pair is judged. Among them were one-note (to Patrick), minimum flavor (to Daniel) lamb undercooked and dry (to Richard), Stefan (excellent use of cinnamon, unusual in that type of savory dish), risotto a failure (to Ariane) and perfect example of rice and curds a traditional Indian dish (to Eugene). The judging resulted in the winner's group of Stefan, Eugene, Daniel, Hosea, Jamie, Leah, Jeff and Jill. The losers group was the other 8. another innovation was done for the Winners and Losers. Perhaps because there were so many, they called 3 from winners and only 2 from Losers to the Judges Table for final verdicts. Stefan beat Eugene for Best. Patrick and Ariane were the ones considered for the elimination. There were many negative comments about both. Patrick was eliminated and Ariane stays (but probably not for long).
 
It was an exciting episode. I look forward to many more in Top Chef 5.

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