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“Top Chef” Week 4
3-Dec-2008
Written by: Jill Marino
Chefs serve up “Today’s” Special.
Last week, the chefs had to cook Thanksgiving for the Foo Fighters. The band preferred a fantastic vegan stuffing over cold, “spit” covered banana s’mores. This week, the Today show takes over for the Foo Fighters as the most daunting tasters for the chefs.
The Quickfire Challenge had the remaining 13 greeted by Rocco DiSpirito. Fabio was excited to have another Italian chef in the kitchen. The challenge had them create a breakfast amuse bouche. For non-foodies, an amuse bouche is the perfect bite of something. It’s a little taste pretty much. Rocco stressed how much he loved bacon and hoped some would take note! Jeff was juggling multiple ideas and settled on a twice-baked potato and a yogurt sorbet with fruit. Rocco said it was basically two dishes not a bite. Daniel made his childhood favorite of a corn flake crusted zucchini flower. Rocco liked the idea, but the corn flakes were too sweet. Stefan created a unique take on huevos rancheros, in which the egg was perfectly round on the plate. Padma called it a “beautiful presentation.” Fabio’s chance to impress Rocco fell flat. His brioche with bruleed banana and cappuccino cream shot was more like a dessert. Leah did bacon, egg, and cheese using a quail egg, which Rocco called the “perfect bite.” Jamie did a mini BLT with balsamic glaze and Rocco enjoyed how layered it was. Leah won the Quickfire and also a copy of Rocco’s new book. Jamie had a bit of sour grapes because Leah has now scored immunity for the second week in a row.
For the Elimination Challenge, Padma talked about how the chefs can raise their profile and how it’s important to get their name out there. She then mentioned how to introduce themselves to millions of television viewers. The challenge was to create a dish for a 2½ minute TV segment. Each chef would do their demo one at a time for the judges in the Top Chef kitchen. Padma said that winning would be very different in this challenge. The recipe had to be easy for the public to make at home and for the chefs in their demo. They would be judged on their presentation and the taste of their dish.
Fabio was nervous about being on TV and trying to speak in perfect English. He decided to do a sesame crusted seared tuna salad. He dissed the more extravagant ingredients other chefs used. It paid off for him because the judges enjoyed his demo and the salad. Ariane made her Jersey pride known by making a beefsteak tomato salad with watermelon and feta. She was nervous about cutting her finger during her demo, but Tom called her presentation “perfect.” Jamie said she had done live TV before and was confident with her frisee salad with a fried duck egg. However, time was running out and the white on her egg set up but not the yolk. She decided to serve it up raw anyway in order to finish on time. Padma said she was “not excited to taste it.”
Jeff did well with his Middle Eastern malfouf roll with shrimp. Rocco liked his confident presentation. Alex decided to take a risk and make dessert. He didn’t finish on time because his rose infused crème brulee was a dish that usually takes at least an hour to make. Melissa made blackened habenero shrimp, which was a bad decision because habenero peppers are really spicy. Padma said the left side of her mouth was “throbbing,” Tom spit it out, and Rocco called it “inedible.” Leah, who had immunity, ended up not finishing because her duck breast wasn’t done and only had a salad on her plate.
The judges decided that the bottom three chefs were Melissa, Alex, and Jamie. They would plead their case later on at Judges’ Table. The top three were Jeff, Fabio, and Ariane. At 2 a.m. the next morning, Tom wakes the three of them up at the apartment. Jeff said Tom “looked like Johnny Cash” walking in the room because he was wearing all black. He informed them that they would be cooking their dishes for the hosts of the Today show and the hosts would choose the winner on live TV. The chefs would be able to watch the tasting as it happened on a TV in the green room. Ariane was confident that she could beat these “kid chefs” who said she took the easy way out by making a tomato salad. “Watch out, here comes the old lady,” she declared.
Jeff, Fabio, and Ariane headed to the Sea Grill restaurant next to where the Today show is taped and prepared their dishes. Tom presented them to Meredith Vieira, Natalie Morales, Hoda Kotb, and Kathie Lee Gifford on the show. The chefs watched anxiously as their food was tasted. Meredith hates watermelon and was not into Ariane's dish at first. But she moved it aside and ate it without the melon and enjoyed it. Fabio watched as his dish was dissected and didn’t know what was going on. Jeff’s dish was tasted last and he was nervous because he was cooking for people with “unsophisticated palates” and it was a Middle Eastern dish being tasted early in the morning. Kathie Lee ended up spitting it out. The winner of the tasting was awarded with cooking tools handpicked by Rocco and also will be cooking a demo on the Today show the morning after this episode of Top Chef airs. So who won? Catch the Today show tomorrow morning and find out!
Foo Fighters? Check. The Today show? Check. Is there anyone else these chefs will have to cook for that won’t put them under so much pressure? Of course not! This is Top Chef and it only gets more intense as the weeks go on. Next week, it’s judge Gail Simmons who the chefs will be cooking for. They’re preparing meals for her bridal shower. Oh yeah, it’s only going to get better from now on.
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