Top chef

[mamadeb]

Yes. Finally, a challenge that made sense and was fun to watch. The Quickfire tested two basic skills a chef needs - how to butcher and how to cook a steak to order. (BTW - loved the guest judge here. Quiet, soft-spoken but clearly passionate about his food. Just a pleasure to watch.)

And then the elimination challenge - chefs cooking their own dishes in a *real* restaurant, with Chef Tom being the expediter and having a blast doing it. I have never seen him more comfortable than right then. No knife drawings, no "Top Caterer" - and in a steakhouse, where the food is NOT supposed to be elaborate, the basics (skill, technique and ingredients) count. I could almost taste many of those dishes - I've had sweet breads, and I've certainly had steaks. All of them were, of course, undercooked by my standards. My meat has to be well-done or I can't eat it. It's a texture thing. Doesn't matter. I love the idea of apples with beef, and I love that they balanced the flavors.

And the moment Spike picked the frozen scallops, he was gone. (And picking ingredients seems to be a skill he lacks anyway.)

I really loved this episode. I don't want this show to turn into Hell's Kitchen, but I do want to see more challenges like this.

Comments

[elaine-brennan.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about last night's episode -- and I also realized that, unlike most episodes this season, I wasn't wincing at the language used.

Clearly, in my head there's a little voice that wants to edit for profanity!

[ariestess]

This really was a fascinating episode, and probably one of the best of the whole season

While I understand Spike was sunk with the scallops, I still wish Lisa had been sent home. She just DOESN'T have the passion, the spark that Spike had, even with his bad choices and attitude. She's never taken to the criticism well at all. I really hope she totally loses it in the finals. She doesn't deserve to have gotten this far...