As one of my friends pointed out, you could see this coming from the very first episode. In my opinion, yes, Kate can be a shrew, but Jon really leaves her no choice. I never felt like he acted like a responsible adult man at any point during these shows–he was always the buddy, never the parent. I know I can’t imagine how hard it to be in their situation, but since they put it out on TV, well, I get to judge.
Well without Hubert Keller I didn’t find this second episode Top Chef Masters to be nearly as compelling, but all in all I think tonight’s episode was a better show overall. The competitors (Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Tracht, Elizabeth Falkner and Graham Elliot Bowles) seemed fairly evenly matched, and there wasn’t as much mawkish focus on the charities and how meaningful they were to each of the contestants.
The Quickfire challenge was based on one of the most popular challenges on Top Chef–the vending machine challenge, and the judges? Ilan, Betty, and Michael –the Season 2 cheftestants who participated in that same vending machine challenge. Tracht handily won with a shallot amuse bouche earning 5 stars from the judges. Unfortunately, she has all the warmth, enthusiasm and excitability of Joan Baez so the show didn’t focus much on her.
Whom they did focus on was Dufresne, and his friendship/rivalry with Bowles. It helped us to learn a little about his specialty (molecular gastronomy), and also a chance to be skeeved by his greasy hair and his insistence on running his hands through it as he cooks. Yipes.
On to the main challenge: “The Lost Supper” had as judges the writers/creators of Lost, and the cheftestants could only use some selected fresh “island” ingredients and limited canned goods for the meal. Dufresne and Bowles teamed up during the shopping and it seemed like they had a great cooperative dynamic, while Tracht and Falkner did their own thing. How did that work out? Not so great for Falkner or Dufresne–they had the two lowest scores, even though Dufresne used his really cool molecular gastronomy techniques to make cool egg stuff and Falkner seemed to have tamed the wild boar.
No, the judges were most impressed with Bowles and Tracht. Bowles made the most perfect seared tuna ever on the face of the earth, according to the judges, while Tracht impressed with a delicious bowl of plenty. The winner? Tracht, who is again totally unfazed and quite possibly even sad about winning.
So now it’s Tracht and Hubert Keller in the final six. She was strong but I don’t think she can top Keller.
Top Chef Masters did not disappoint. The focus was on the food, not typical reality-show drama, and it all looked delicious. But can anyone beat Hubert Keller? The three other chefs competing with him in this episode were all highly qualified yet seriously overmatched. The difference? Keller’s treatment of his judges.
For the first challenge, a dessert for Girl Scouts, the other chefs made something they thought kids would like, such as a strawberry milkshake or banana French toast. Keller made a classic French dessert (Chocolate mousse, swan, whipped cream, fruit with orange sabayon) and used decorative touches to add more whimsy to it and make it more visually interesting to the kids–without ever dumbing it down. He received the highest score from the Scouts, 5 stars.
For the second challenge, a 3 course meal for college students cooked in a cramped dorm room, he brought his “A” game again. He ingeniously used the shower to help him cool off the macaroni and reheat it with the hot water, and served up a down-to-earth but clearly delicious macaroni and cheese with shrimp. Again, understanding your audience but not dumbing it down. And again, receiving the highest scores and winning the night’s competition.
Finally we need to talk about how just generally awesome he is. He blew away the field in this round, and it doesn’t look like anyone of his caliber will be in any of the upcoming rounds, leaving him as the chef to beat. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, just one who demands perfection in his cooking yet is so confident in it he knows he can execute it every time. Which leads me to a problem–I think I have a totally inappropriate crush on him.
Unlike last summer, where we had an election and the Olympics to keep us riveted to our TVs, this summer all we have is baseball and Top Chef Masters. It looks like this will be a lot more about food and a lot less about contrived drama, so I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully I will be able to get my act in gear and put up my thoughts about it after the episode airs (tonight at 10 pm EST on Bravo).
