Top Chef 5/22/24--"Door County Fish Boil" summary

 

Previously on “Top Chef”: Tom and Gail made the announcement that from now on, your Quickfire performance would be factored into elimination decisions. First, make a dish with cranberries. Somehow no one made dessert. Danny won with sea bass and a good sauce. Laura, Manny, and Amanda were the bottom three. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to cook with Native American ingredients. That means no wheat flour and no cane sugar and no citrus. Overall this went pretty well. Savannah won, because she wanted to make a cake and when it turned out weird she just went with it and it was great. Michelle, Laura, and Amanda were in the bottom. Since Michelle was actually in the top for the Quickfire, the judges decided to send both Laura and Amanda home. (click for more)

Last Chance Kitchen: Laura, Amanda, and Kevin had to do a version of the mise en place race. They would pick ingredients one at a time, and then no one else could use that ingredient. Winner gets an extra ten minutes, then five for second place. Amanda took all the citrus and then made dessert. Laura did fine, but sadly Kevin overcooked his chicken and was eliminated. Tom said it was the LCK finale this week so we'll see.

Savannah and Michelle sit on a bench outside with fake takeout coffee like they were allowed to go to Starbucks like normal people. Savannah had her first win so she thinks she's just getting started. Michelle is mentally tired. Soo talks about his wife.

Kristen welcomes them to the top six, then asks who is feeling lucky. No one apparently. Tom says he's lucky to be next to her and everyone “awws”. Today is a meat raffle. What. You would buy a paddle for a dollar, and there is a number on it. If your number is chosen, you can pick what meat you want. This is a real thing and not something they invented for this show. Kristen introduces Art Smith to run the raffle.

They don't even get paddles. It's just a cage with balls with names. First up is Manny, who takes wagyu ribeye. Of course. Dan takes chateaubriand, Michelle I think takes some sausage? Savannah takes canned corned beef, and Danny takes lamb. So Soo I think takes Spam. No one knows why Savannah took canned meat when lamb was available, but winner gets $10,000.

30 minutes to cook. Manny is making ribeye aguachile, because this season it is Top Aguachile. Savannah wants to make salad. Seems like Michelle took ground chicken, because she's making chicken nuggets. Soo cures egg yolks in soy sauce. Dan wants to sear his beef and then dice it, I think? Manny's aguachile is going to cut through the fat of the wagyu. I guess it's just that everyone has been making aguachile so I feel whatever about it. Savannah adds golden beets and pickled celery to her corned beef. It could work. Michelle says she's tight on time. Soo puts kimchi and Brussels sprouts in the pressure cooker or vacuum sealer or something. There is really a lot of flailing and running around. Michelle is frying her patties because she is completely out of time. Danny thinks his lamb might be overcooked but oh well.

Danny: za'atar spiced lamb rack, Jimmy Nardello harissa relish, labneh, mint. Jimmy Nardello is a type of sweet pepper. Dan: Sichuan chateaubriand noodle dumpling. Michelle: jerk chicken nugget, black bean puree, pickled mango salsa. She admits she only cooked them for three minutes, and it's raw so Kristen tells her she's not eating it. Soo: dosirak with luncheon meat, marinated egg, jasmine rice, and Brussels sprouts. A dosirak sounds like a bento box. Savannah: crispy corned beef and beet salad, crème fraiche, and pickled celery. Manny: wagyu ribeye aguachile, serrano chiles toreados, onion and cilantro relish. Toreados are pan-fried peppers.

Art says it's not about winning but being remembered. Soo had a lot of little “treasures” and it was good. Savannah kept the flavor of corned beef. Savannah is the winner. The top two were the two with canned meat, I'd like to point out. Manny put too much acid and it covered up the meat. Michelle put too much batter. We do not mention how it was raw. Danny rested his lamb too long, and Tom complains that he took a sweet pepper and put it in a hot relish and ruined it. Dan buried his dumpling in herbs, and then maybe didn't have enough meat.

Kristen asks who is ready to set the competition on fire. Manny slowly raises his hand. Heh. Well you don't get to know what it is! Change out of your chef's jackets and we will meet you “out back”. Out back is a big firepit and a row of Top Chef alumni. Gregory, Shota, Mei, Sara Bradley, Justin, and Jeremy. It's time for a fish boil. Not a crab boil and not a fish fry. When Kristen asks if anyone's heard of a fish boil, of course Dan has. “Dan, do you like fish boils?” “No”. Heh. It's a Door County thing, and he used to have to do it for his first job. You don't boil fish, you poach fish, and he doesn't like it. Kristen introduces the “fish boil master”, a man whose name is labeled “Torch”. This is gonna be good. Dan is immediately mortified since he just shit on fish boils. The Elimination Challenge is to put on a fish boil at the beach, for 100 people, plus the six All-Stars and the judges. Everyone will get the same fish, and you will need to make two sides. Torch explains the traditional set up: salted water (Manny is writing notes on his hand), potatoes, small onions. He says you put the fish in for eight minutes and then you're done. The way you finish it, is that you pour kerosene on the fire so the pot boils over and all the scum and gunk you would normally skim off the top ends up in the fire. If you don't do this then that stuff stays in the pot. He demonstrates, and this man takes a plastic pitcher of kerosene and flings it on the fire at close range. Jesus. Everyone applauds the fireball.

Chefs and judges and All-Stars all rummage for a beer and hang out, introducing themselves and whatnot. The fish...doesn't look that appetizing. I mean it's boiled fish, so it's just chunks of fish with the skin on, but it's not crispy or golden brown or anything. Put melted butter on everything. It's not dry, but Dan is still not excited. Savannah and Shota chitchat. Is she flirting? I mean I don't blame her. Kristen has the All-Stars come back on the other side of the fire, and then says they will be doing the shopping for the contestants. Well at least they know how to shop. Michelle wonders if they are on the judges' side, or the contestants' side? It's a “random” draw for pairings, except since Savannah won last week she gets to pick. She of course picks Shota. Gregory and Soo, Mei and Manny, Sara and Michelle, Justin and Danny, and Jeremy and Dan. I'll be honest, Jeremy is not ringing a bell for me. They will have $500 at Whole Foods, which isn't a lot for just over 100 people. Unless since Tom said they would all have the same fish, maybe that's not included in the cost. The contestants won't know what they have until they show up at the beach tomorrow. Oof. 2.5 hours to cook tomorrow.

You have five minutes to meet with your shopper right now. OK that's not that bad. Five minutes to share what you're thinking, your style of cooking, with a person who has been on the show before. Danny wants to make dashi and carrot coleslaw and bean salad. Dan also has Asian flavors but Michelle is doing corn and potatoes, pretty standard. Savannah asks for spice. I think almost everyone wants potatoes, so maybe there will be a fight over potatoes. Manny wants guacamole to be one of his sides, but Mei is skeptical that will be enough. Last time he made potatoes it didn't work out so he's not keen on them. Soo is doing curry so I think fully half of them are making Asian broth flavors.

Shota doesn't want to let Savannah down because he is the best. He's going to also buy extra things he'd want to buy and hope she likes it. The current contestants are hanging out at the house hoping nothing is going wrong. Shopping seems to be going well, no one is sabotaging. Mei is walking around the produce section trailing a ribbon of bags off her cart. Gregory spends $499 which is impressive. Justin has bought a candle for no reason. Heh.

The beach is lovely. Michelle is freaking out because she did poorly in the Quickfire. The All-Stars are all unloading and explaining what they've purchased. Danny says Justin bought everything he wanted. It's like he went shopping himself. Aww. Mei bought Manny some masa, to make his own tortillas, but I think she also bought pre-made tortillas. He doesn't have time to make tortillas today. Sara has ideas. It looks like everyone has done a great job shopping. Danny finds a bath bomb in the pile of stuff, for after the challenge.

2.5 hours to cook. Danny points out that your fish is cooking for eight minutes in boiling water, so that's all the time you have to get flavor in there. He's brining the fish, to help the flavor. Savannah wants her broth to be “too” flavorful so the fish will soak it up. Lots of Korean flavors. Danny just cut his fish into steaks, like you would cut a salmon crossways instead of filleting it. Savannah wants to debone hers now, but she cuts herself pretty badly. Now she's freaking out that she won't finish, and decides to debone later. Soo wanted curry paste, but he got curry powder so he's pivoting. He seems calm about it. Lots of work happening everywhere, lots of slaws. Savannah is hurting but she has to power through. Simplify things. The cooking stations have umbrellas that seem to be useful, but the boil bonfires are exposed, so it's very hot. Plus it's the beach so everyone is running around on sand. Dan is especially fucked by this set-up.

With 30 minutes left to go, all the diners show up to swarm the tables and I guess sit outside in the sun. There are a handful of umbrellas but I'm sure those are for the judges. Oh, huh, they aren't sitting under an umbrella. Gregory admits Soo didn't have a solid plan so he just bought Soo a bunch of stuff. Heh. He's got corn sitting on the coals to char, and peaches. He has a gang of stuff happening. Tom thinks this season's contestants are too prone to doing too much and it all gets muddled.

Danny says his water is tasty and he's ready. I guess the fish is already in there? So Torch is back to throw kerosene on things. Everyone gets up to gather around and watch. The immediate problem I see is that when you do this boil-over, it sends thick black smoke over the other cooking stations. Then Danny and Torch lift the basket out of the pot, and a bunch of broth ends up in the sand so I hope that wasn't part of what he was serving. Danny: sofrito boil, salsa verde, carrot slaw, french bean and bonito salad. The fish is very flavorful, and Art says the salad is good enough to steal.

Savannah's potatoes have no flavor and she's pretty worried. She doesn't want to go home because she cut herself and she couldn't get it back together. Savannah: kimchi gochujang boil, baby potatoes, smashed tofu salad. She tells everyone some fish is deboned and some is not, because of her injury. Danny comes over to help her serve. The fish is overcooked, possibly because the filets are too thin. The salad has too much happening and it sort of mushes together. Savannah heads to urgent care, probably to get stitches.

Soo: pineapple curry fish boil, fish sauce beurre blanc, twice-cooked potatoes, crispy corn miso slaw. The corn is raw, and somehow the top is mushy. Kristen says it doesn't look appetizing. The fish is well cooked, but all the effort is in the sauce. It's amazing beurre blanc, but nothing else goes together.

Dan has survived somehow. He pretends to not hate fish boils anymore. Dan: red curry boil, coconut and herb slaw with peanuts, fingerling potatoes with duck fat, and shiro dashi oil. “Shiro” just means “white”. His fish is well-cooked and the broth is great. The potatoes are sort of mid but the slaw is crunchy so it's not terrible.

Michelle: cajun boil, charred corn and kale salad, potatoes with sausage, peach and garlic butter sauce. Fish is cooked well, and the corn is actually cooked. Everything goes together and is well seasoned, so they feel like it's a complete concept.

Manny: Mexican boil, tostadas with guacamole, Mexican white rice, with corn and chipotle lime butter. Gail wants more rice, but Tom points out that Manny is the only person to give them a piece of citrus to squeeze on the fish. Mei tells everyone she bought him masa to make tortillas but he didn't use it. Justin doesn't think it's impressive enough. Too safe.

Back in the Stew Room everyone drinks beer and Savannah returns. Stitches. She's worried but she did win the Quickfire so that's making her a tiny bit less nervous. Everyone is tired.

Judges' Table. Kristen says that overall this was good. Michelle, Danny, and Dan are the top three. Dan seems incredulous. When he's singled out, he's like “get the fuck out of here” and then when he finds out he's in the top it's more cursing and it's very funny. Michelle had a cohesive story to her plate and the sides carried through. The slaw was great and the sausage in the potatoes were great. Everyone loved Danny's carrot salad, Art will dream about it. Brining the fish was the way to go and the salsa verde worked very well. Dan thought he was in the bottom because “I've never disrespected a piece of fish like that”. The broth was a great idea to get flavor. Art starts saying something about how he's had peanut slaw before, but Dan clearly invented it? Or something? And Dan is like “Is he calling me old?” and everyone snickered so I guess that's what it was? The winner is Danny. He's glad the judges are figuring out how he cooks.

Loser gong. Not really but I like to imagine it. Gail asks very gently if Savannah is OK. She says it's more that mentally she got thrown off her game and couldn't get back. The potatoes being cooked in the sauce somehow made the dish disjointed? The tofu salad had small pieces of tofu and they fell apart so the dish just didn't work. Savannah was really more worried about getting everything done so she just wasn't able to fix anything. Manny wanted to nail the flavors. He did, but it also was a plate of fish, rice, and guacamole. They're bored. Soo didn't have a central theme, he just wanted bright flavors. It felt like a potluck. But Gail loved his butter sauce the best. I think poor Gail is getting a sunburn on her chest.

Manny tells the Stew Room he could have done like five more things. Kristen says that he did at least keep it simple and it made sense. But it's very uncreative. And the Quickfire was just mid. In contrast, Soo tried but he had salsa verde and curry and miso all together. Nothing worked together. His Quickfire was better but a little salty. So when they told Savannah the potatoes in sauce was bad, it was because they were overdressed. Then her salad had a bad texture also. But she won the Quickfire. So even though supposedly immunity is off the table, is doing well in the Quickfire basically immunity? Because last week was Michelle and the same thing happened: she did well in the Quickfire so they did not consider eliminating her.

Tom talks about traditions no one knows about. You have to understand a dish before you can change it. The person leaving didn't understand what the tradition was about. The tradition of boiling fish on the beach? I guarantee you this “tradition” has nothing to do with food or flavors and everything to do with drinking beer and partying on the beach in the summer. Anyway, Soo is sent home. Tom tells Savannah it's a good thing she won the Quickfire. Soo's pretty bummed out.

Next week: someone returns from LCK, looks like Tom is doing the Quickfire, plate a dish directly on the table, Danny freaks out. #wewantplates.

Last Chance Kitchen: two episodes again. Sigh. Tom drives Kristen around and they play with the car. She says when she was eliminated there was a little bit of relief because she knew she could get a good night's sleep. Heh. Some people do better when they don't have time to overthink anything.

When Kristen shows up Laura and Amanda kind of freak out. Soo has already done very well in LCK. You will need to win twice to get back in the competition. Or, I guess not lose at all. Soo knows he does better in Quickfires. Tom says they're revisiting ALL of this season's Quickfires. There's a big table with a display for each Quickfire. Tom wants one dish. With everything. That's hops, sauce, cherries, dairy, cranberries, flambe, and meat raffle.

30 minutes to cook. If the complaint is that people are just throwing everything at the wall and not editing, why make them put seven concepts together? Soo takes some hops, like a handful, and then throws them on his station. But he also put a whole one in his mouth to taste it. Gross. Soo only did some of these Quickfires but he's reusing some ideas. Amanda is smoking beef with hops, and Laura has kebabs with cherries and a hops sauce. And baba ganoush with cheese. Soo has cherry cranberry sauce that he lights on fire, for like three things.

Tom Time! And Kristen. Soo has not bread sauce but bread puree? Somehow this is different. Laura's kebabs are actually just seared meat that she's going to put on skewers later. Huh? Amanda flambes in front of them and everyone cheers. While she's talking Kristen looks significantly at the clock. Amanda and Laura both did poorly in the cranberry Quickfire. Amanda has a better sauce than last time, she thinks. Everything makes sense.

Amanda: hops smoked wagyu ribeye with potato puree sauce, flambeed cherry and cranberry relish. Soo: chateaubriand with sourdough hop puree, cranberry and cherry sauce, compressed carrot and celery. Laura: wagyu kebabs with baba ganoush, cranberry and pepper relish, hop schug sauce, and flambeed cherry sauce.

Amanda had good flavors, but the smoke isn't really coming through. Soo's hops flavor is really coming through, but the sourdough puree is pasty and not really a sauce. Tom says it reminds him of stuffing, but jokes on him Soo wanted a Thanksgiving vibe so he's not mad about it. Tom also doesn't like raw celery. Laura's dish overall makes sense. The meat is maybe a little undercooked. I personally don't like that she cooked a steak and then cut it into cubes and put it on skewers for service. That's not a kebab. Anyway the loser is...announced in the next video! Knock it off with this shit, Bravo. I'm gonna watch this video, you don't have to do this cliffhanger shit to make me. The loser is Soo. Aww. I liked him a lot. I hope we see him again.

Tom says one of them is going to make it in and I only mark it because of how they fucked around and let both Kaleena and Soo back in earlier. Oh also Mei is here. She's never been to LCK. Tom says it's time to have a throwback to 2012, which is when Kristen won LCK. Make a great plate of food. That's the whole challenge. Do whatever you want.

Still only 30 minutes to cook. Both Laura and Amanda are conflicted about what their best dish is. Amanda wants to make something she's never made before: gnocchi. Because she already has potato puree from the last challenge. Soo brings a stool out to join the peanut gallery. Kevin is drinking a beer. The peanut gallery was kind of disappointing this season, I feel. Not as many shenanigans. Laura is cooking vegetables in olive oil, a dish she makes in her restaurant. Lots of oranges and oil. And crab salad. Amanda seems to be in a good spot, and she's making scallops and corn too.

Tom Time! Plus everyone else. Amanda says “Texas-style shrimp boil”. Laura is running around a bit. Amanda is pleased, although she says her gnocchi are maybe a little firm. Laura talks about how she respects Amanda (she did it earlier too) and I notice because I don't think Amanda has said anything about Laura. Did I miss it?

Amanda: gnocchi with scallops, corn, charred onion, and shrimp boil sauce. She says she's known for doing “crazy gnocchis” and she wanted to do crazy flavors but with a technique she knows. OK but she told us she's never made gnocchi before so how are you known for something you've never made before? Laura: zeytinyagli vegetables, celery root, artichoke, mushroom, with crab salad. This is vegetables cooked in olive oil. She wanted to celebrate “vegetables that are not, like, overused”.

Amanda had a good sear on her scallops, and char on the corn, but the gnocchi was slightly gummy. But she got them done in 30 minutes. Laura's citrus sauce is great, although Tom thinks maybe too much dill. They liked the vegetables, so this seems pretty clear. When Tom returns he confirms that Laura is the winner. I wanted Soo to win so whatever. Laura's plate was more balanced, while Amanda's dish was homey but clunky. Laura talks about how she always does her best and tries hard, which I don't think means you should win things. But sure.