Yay for a New Season - Top Chef: Washington DC

I don't know that I have the energy for an in depth blog tonight, but I'll give it my all.

Tiffany started out working at IHOP, and now she's an executive chef.  Stephen left his wife and 13 month old twins behind to be on the show.  Tracy is an executive chef.  Kenneth has been cooking since he could stand up by a stove.  Kelly and her husband own a restaurant in Vale, Lynn is a chef instructor at CIA.  Arnold is an executive chef and owner of three restaurants.  Kevin is sure he is the best damned cook out there.  Kenny and Kevin know each other.  Jaqueline is a self-taught caterer.  Angelo likes to talk about how he was in Monte Carlo last week, Kenny was annoyed by him.  So was I.  John has super bad teeth and a stupid bandana and stupider hair.

Quickfire

Basic Skills and Speed - Mis En Place Tournament, with people eliminated in every round - peel 10 potatoes, then do something to 10c onions - apparently dicing to 1/8"x1/8"x1/8", then break down 4 chickens, then create a dish with the ingredients prepped, and have it judged.  Winner gets $20K.

First round - Kenny is done first.  Second round, Kenn is also done first.  Andrea was one of Food & Wine's best chefs and got cut.  She was mad at herself.  Holy crap, in the third round, Kenny was also done first. 

In the final round, Kenny, Kevin, Timothy, and Angelo.  Angelo made a roasted wing with curried onion jam and potato noodles. Kevin made a hot and sour broth with chicken wing.  Tim did a gallete with a cherry... hmm.  Kenny did chicken two ways and it looked delicious.

Tim put too much cream in his dish, and Kevin put too much salt in his broth.  The winner is Angelo.  Oh, poor Kenny.  I wanted him to win it.  Kenny says he sees Angelo as more of an obstacle than a threat.


Elimination Challenge

They will be divided into four groups to cook food from their regions, for 300 at the Cherry Blossom Festival.  In each group, one person will win, and one person will go into the bottom.  Let the school yard pick begin! Ed sent the last pick to Kenny.

I am drooling over the gorgeous tools in the Top Chef kitchen.  Stunning.

Do not have energy to blog the prep, but it was hectic, and some of the dishes sound promising, while others sound questionable.  John particularly burned his macadamia nuts and had to start again. 

And what's this?  Gayle is going to be hosting a "Top Chef: Just Desserts" show?  Slick!  I would love to see something with people who generally know how to cook desserts.  Yay!  When's that coming?

Jacqueline went light on the fat in her chicken liver mousse, and had a problem and needed to recook because it was grainy.  The judges didn't like it.

Tracy's shrimp and grits was bland.  Kenny's dish had many layers of flavor and looked delicious.

From each group, the winners were Kenny, Kevin, Angelo, and Alex.  Angelo was the winner.

For the bottom, Timothy, John, Jacqueline, and Stephen.  First out is John.  Oh, good.  I can't take a chef seriously that has that bad personal hygeine.  Nor one who uses store bought puff pastry and then doesn't make the rest of the dish perfect.