Previously on “Top Chef”: No Quickfire, but some time to forage in the woods for foods to make one last Canadian dish. Shuai won, because he is great at taking the ingredients he's given and matching them to his own style. Even though Bailey didn't cook her beans properly, everyone decided she did a better job than Massimo. I did see some people assuming Massimo didn't fulfill the challenge, but he did. He just foraged wild mustard and the judges told him that was too boring. Honestly it felt like they decided he wasn't moving on and they just came up with something. He met the challenge so they had to come up with “we wanted you to forage but not mustard”. (click for more)
The final four meet in New York to have dinner and pretend the Delta lounge is amazing. Everyone talks about how much they want to win and how important it would be to them. Shuai says he had to buy a fancy shirt in Milan. It's just a button-down with flowers on it. I think everyone gets their own hotel room. Tristen admits he went home and buried his stepfather so his time at home wasn't like everyone else's.
Everyone meets Kristen, Tom, and Gail on a balcony somewhere with cooking stations set up. It's the last Quickfire. Kristen says you should have done your research to find out that Milan cooks with rice and polenta, and the most famous dish is risotto. The boys are less than thrilled but Bailey cheers because she thinks it's cute. You have 35 minutes to cook risotto, but it doesn't have to be “traditional”. Also Kristen promises they won't be considering this Quickfire for the elimination decision, but you will win $15,000 if you can win.
Cesar gets to go first, because they're staggering serving. Bailey calls him “Lil' Papi” which is terrible. Shut up Bailey. Cesar is making rice stock and celery root for “rice”. Tristen has some smoked risotto rice. He is naturally making jollof rice, or at least something adjacent. Bailey made risotto in the first Elimination challenge, and she screwed it up, so now she's determined to make something traditional. Her cream boils over and Shuai has to tell her. Cesar is using his rice stock for starch so he can thicken the celery root, which he has to cut up properly. Shuai admits he did not practice risotto the way he practiced poutine, because everyone fails at it and he thought there was no way they would make the contestants cook risotto. He is also not actually using rice, because he knows he'll screw it up. Bailey isn't sure if people are going to get in trouble for not using rice or if they will be praised for being innovative. Shuai is hoping his butternut squash will release some starch the way rice would. Bailey confirms it's been two weeks since they left Canada. Shuai plates with like 3 minutes left so he just stands there for like 45 seconds at the end.
The judges come to the balcony so they can eat right away. Cesar: celery root risotto with chicken jus and white truffle. The judges confirm there isn't rice in there but they don't make other comments. Tristen: West African inspired risotto with heirloom tomatoes and charred buttered greens. Tom tells him the texture is right. Hmm. Bailey: red wine risotto with parmigiano and taleggio, hazelnut and pear gremolata. Shuai: squash risotto with chanterelles, saffron, parmigiano, and toasted hazelnuts. So the two chefs who didn't use rice got “oh so there's no rice in here?” and the two who did use rice got “that was nice”. OK then don't tell them to be creative. When you tell people on this show to get creative that's what happens.
Tom says “risotto, it's not whether it's a rice or it's a technique, the word 'risotto' means 'from rice'”. Tom, you can't say “it's not whether it's a rice” and then be pissed when someone uses rice stock and doesn't give you cooked rice. Bailey did a good job but it was sour. Cesar had great flavors but the texture wasn't exactly like rice. Shuai plated too early and it seized up, and his texture was off too. They loved Tristen's and of course because he used rice it had the texture they wanted. The winner is Tristen. He is proud he made “Black people risotto”.
Time for the Elimination challenge, which has to do with next year's Winter Olympics. There are two hubs, Milan and Cortina, which are about a five hour drive apart. For some reason, Kristen asks Bailey if she is a fan of the Olympics and Paralympics. Why is she the only one who gets to talk? Whatever, anyway, it's time for a three part head-to-head tournament with local ingredients. Round one is polenta. If you win round one, you are automatically moved on to the finale. You also get to chill for the rest of the day. Round two is beets, and the winner also gets to chill. Round three is Gorgonzola. Oh also you get helpers. Well, “helpers”, because it's athletes and it's not clear if they know what they're doing. At least they have two Paralympic athletes. “Random” knife draw to get paired up, but it looks like you get to bond and then shop for ingredients. 750 euro and 45 minutes to shop, and then two hours to cook tomorrow. Once the two hours is up, you will move to the courtyard to have 30 minutes to “finalize” your dishes at the standard shitty outdoor kitchens. Judging panel will include the athletes and Ali from Top Chef season 20. Oo. Athletes don't get to vote in the last round, I'm sure so Tom can make sure they get rid of who he wants.
OK so it looks like the athletes are not actually cooking. Bailey asks to wear her athlete's medal, while everyone else talks about pressure and being good at something. Shuai is stumped at Gorgonzola, so he's hoping he wins one of the first two rounds so he doesn't have to worry about it. Tristen brags to the car in general that their season all loves each other. They do get along, that's fair. It looks like they're at Whole Foods, basically. It's a supermarket and not a little market. There is some confusion at the language. Shuai asks for puff pastry dough and gets one croissant. Heh. Bailey naturally got paired up with the snowboarder, who is pushing the cart for her. While Shuai does not want to make a plan for Gorgonzola, Bailey needs redemption for bruleed Gorgonzola from the beef and berries challenge.
Back at the hotel they are actually in a suite? At least they have access to a big living room and a balcony. Shuai wants to crush the tournaments. That's basically the whole scene.
Tristen knows that his past successes no longer matter. It's only about today. Bailey is focusing on the first dish and the last dish. I'm not sure why. Everyone is nice to each other. Bailey has two polenta dishes going, one to go with her Gorgonzola. Cesar is making polenta cake with ice cream.
Tom Time! Tristen is planning Gorgonzola sherbet, and he knows it might not be strong enough if he ends up in that spot. Bailey cooks Italian food, so it is kind of an advantage but she is also an anxious person. Shuai has some dumplings planned and maybe some kind of plan for Gorgonzola that involves butternut squash. Which is what Cesar is making for Gorgonzola so I wonder if they're setting up that final battle.
Everyone is planning what they need to get done up here, and what can be done out in the courtyard. Cesar was planning to make tortillas, of course, but he wanted to do them in the main kitchen so they could rest. He's going to run out of time and now he has to make them outside. Probably everyone is behind. Tristen worries he's spending too much time on his Gorgonzola dish which he might not even serve.
Ah, when they get outside, Kristen tells them they have 30 minutes to finish up their polenta dishes. So I guess they will get 30 minutes each round. Shuai is not putting a ton of butter and cheese in his polenta because he's also making duck, and it's already fatty. So just a little salt. Tristen's sauce is so spicy he's coughing. Bailey is also not seasoning, but that's because she's putting a ton of cheese in it. I feel like there is a ton of frantic working. Cesar is freaking out about the ice cream. Shuai waits until the last minute to plate, because of the screw up last time.
Tristen: cou cou with pwason nan sos and epis-marinated mackerel. OK. Cou cou is a porridge, pwason nan sos is fish cooked in tomato sauce, and epis is like sofrito. Cesar: polenta cake with black walnut ice cream and candied prosciutto. Shuai: five-spice roast duck on creamy polenta. Bailey: creamy polenta with roasted mushrooms, hazelnuts, and herbs. So out of nine people, Shuai gets five votes. He is shocked and so am I. I thought they might decide he made a duck dish and then downplayed the polenta. Bailey got two votes and then Tristen and Cesar each got one. He says cooking with these chefs is the most fun he's had. Tristen's was spicy and a little salty. Bailey had too much cheese, but it was homey. Cesar's cake was a little dry.
Cesar has to make tortillas and then tostadas in 30 minutes. Tristen reiterates how he's cooking to be an inspiration. Bailey is still working on what her dish is going to be. She has taken over the grill, so Tristen has to fry his pork belly. Mostly her food is taking too long to cook.
Tristen: glazed beets, smoked beet puree, beet pikliz, and pork belly. Cesar: beet tostada with chipotle mayo and salsa verde. Bailey: grilled beets with brown butter caper vinaigrette and whipped ricotta. Tristen gets six votes, and he actually sits down on the ground in shock. Cesar got three, and Bailey didn't get a single vote. Tristen's dish was flawless and the pork belly carried his flavors. Tom says that Bailey's dish was more about the cheese. Cesar's tostadas were greasy, but I think he knew they wouldn't be perfect because of the time. The beets were not thick enough? Sure.
Bailey is channeling her Last Chance Kitchen experience. Cesar is making squash casserole with Gorgonzola sauce. Bailey is doing her Gorgonzola brulee again. The judges see Bailey with a blowtorch and they're irritated. Kristen says it didn't work the first time, so don't do it again. Bailey declares this “big-time yumbo”. Shut up, Bailey.
Cesar: butternut squash casserole with Gorgonzola sauce and sage pesto. Bailey: polenta gratinata with bruleed Gorgonzola. It's a fried polenta cake with a round of cheese on top, and I think she did put sugar on it again. Kristen asks her why she chose to do bruleed Gorgonzola again, and Bailey says “Because I love it” as she simpers. The judges laugh politely. Bailey also claims that if it sends her home then she's OK with it. Kristen kicks all the chefs and athletes out of the courtyard.
Both dishes were unique, and comforting. Bailey's dish was homey and apparently this brulee worked. Cesar is creative and the pesto broke through the heavy cheese. It was out of balance, though. Kristen says she kept getting really salty bites. Did they say anything bad about Bailey? SIGH.
Both Cesar and Bailey were in LCK. Tom tells Cesar he creates in the moment and puts together “stunning” dishes. Then he calls Bailey's personality “quirky” and “endearing”. Sigh. It's not “endearing”. He then says her personality is in all her dishes, which is true. Then Cesar is eliminated because the universe sucks. Cesar's dish wasn't focused enough on the Gorgonzola. He would have done something crazy for the finale, you know he would. Also because Shuai won the first round, he gets $15,000 from Delta to spend on airfare. Nice. Bailey goes to shove him as a joke and almost knocks him over.
Next week: eliminated chef sous chefs, Tristen toasts spices and tries to kill everyone, Blais is here and his hair is even dumber than usual.
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