TV SHOWS: Top Chef Seattle - Episode 6 & Last Chance Kitchen Recap

The chefs enter the kitchen to see Padma standing next to Marilyn Hagerty, Food Critic from the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. I was so surprised to see Marilyn, as I’m from North Dakota, and I grew up in the Grand Forks area. I’ve read Marilyn’s food column growing up! Marilyn became famous for her food critiqueof the Olive Garden in Grand Forks.  Growing up in North Dakota, we didn’t really have a whole lot of food choices in Grand Forks. I can remember we always wanted an Olive Garden in our city. Unfortunately, the Olive Garden opened long after I moved to Seattle. When Marilyn wrote her food column on her experience at Olive Garden, it became viral on the internet. Most food critics write food columns on independent restaurants, not food chains, so her column became popular because of her Olive Garden review. 

 

For the QuickFire Challenge, the chefs had to create a sweet and savory Holiday dish based on the chef's family lineage. The one twist to the challenge was that the chefs would only have one knife to use between all of them. The dishes created by each chef were:

Josh – Johnnycake with bacon, cheddar, chili compound butter and sous vide egg

Danyele – Bread Pudding with ham, raisins and pecans

Lizzie – Bobotie with Ground lamb, egg custard and roasted apricots

Sheldon – Banana Lumpia with peanut butter mousse, coconut and pineapple

Micah – Pineapple and pork tamale with charred tomato and tomatillo salsa

Bart – Waffles with celery three ways, apple puree, chicken and prosciutto

Brooke – Apple Crostata with cheddar cheese, candied pine nuts and apple salad

Stefan – Smoked Salmon Tartare, potato latkes with sour cream and chives

Josie – Tamale with habanero masa, mangos and papaya

John – Bundino of parmesan-reggiano, figs and apricots in port wine and Truvia caramel

Eliza – Hush Puppies two ways: shrimp and sweet potato, sausage and corn

I thought it was interesting that Kristen's finished dish was not shown being tasted in the QuickFire Challenge. I wonder why the Producers decided to edit her dish out? I watched the replay of the episode and noticed that Kristen was barely even noticable in the first half of the show? She was not interviewed about her family heritage, nor did they show her preparing her dish for the Challenge. So I wonder what is up with that??

As I could have predicted, Marilyn wasn’t too familiar with some of the food. Like I had mentioned before, growing up in North Dakota, you’re not exposed to too many different foods. I didn't even try Thai food, Sushi or India food until I moved to Seattle. It's a far cry from the meat and potatoes I grew up on as a kid. The winning dish chosen by Marilyn was created by Brooke, for her Apple Crostata with cheddar cheese, candied pine nuts and apple salad, which Marilyn lovingly called an apple pie. I just love her!

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to create a dish for Chris Pratt’s and Anna Faris’ homecoming party that was held at Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center. Chris Pratt is best known as his character Andy Dwyer in the TV series Parks and Recreation. Anna Faris has starred in the Scary Movie film series and Lost in Translation. Chris and Anna are both from Western Washington. The judges for the Elimination Challenge were Rick Moonen, chef/owner of RM Seafood; Gail, Padma and Tom. Below is a list of dishes made by each chef:

Bart – Loin of Elk with cherry beer sauce and mushroom couscous

Brooke – Lamb-stuffed Squid on black rice with coconut milk

Sheldon – Braised Okinawan Pork Belly with seared scallop and  rice congee

Stefan – German Gulasch with marjoram bread dumplings and sour cream

Kristen – Delice de Bourgogne Tortelloni

Micah – Braised Pork Ribs with celery root puree, grilled apples and celery leaf salad

Lizzie – Crusted King Salmon with radish and beet salad

Eliza – Elk Ribeye with elk sausage polenta, spiced carrots and huckleberry port sauce

Danyele – Pan-Roasted Wild Boar, hoppin’ john and tomato-bacon marmalade

Josh – Roasted Pork Shoulder and Grilled Corn Puree with succotash and fennel apple salad

Josie – Malbec Braised Short Ribs, port belly, polenta with cippolini onions and figs

John – Seafood Chowder with cockles, manila clams, crab, mussels and sockeye salmon

The judges chose Brooke, John, Kristen and Sheldon as their favorite dishes. The winner of the Elimination Challenge was Brooke! She also won a brand new Prius. The least favorite dishes were made by Eliza, Josh, Micah and Danyele. The chef who was sent packing their knives was Eliza.

Last Chance Kitchen

Eliza was sent packing her knives, so she now has to go up against CJ and Tyler. The chefs have to work with two main ingredients, carrots and pickles. The chefs have 30 minutes to create their dish. Tyler made a Deconstructed Ceviche with pickles and carrots. Eliza created a Brown Butter Carrot Mash, crusted scallops, corn and pickle succotash. CJ prepared a Pan-Roasted Rainbow Trout, carrot puree and charred pickles. Tom overall was impressed with all three chefs. The winning dish was prepared by CJ. So now CJ is around for at least one more week to face the next chef.

Next week’s episode pits the chefs in head-to-head cook-offs. Check back to read my recap of the next episode! I'll be interested in seeing if anyone else noticed how Kristen was basically edited out of the first half of the episode.