Top Chef:All Stars 5/28/20--"Michael's Santa Monica" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: the Quickfire was a blind taste test to get ingredients for dessert. The more things you guessed correctly, the more possible ingredients, and the more time you had. Melissa won with olive oil cake. Then everyone had to make a kaiseki progressive meal for Olympic athletes. Kaiseki is usually very traditional, we're talking tea ceremony traditional. But this was less traditional. I mean everyone I think tried to make something Japanese but keep to the idea of delicate flavors and presentation. Stephanie won for making panna cotta, presented in lemon rinds. Karen was eliminated (for the second time) for not cooking her duck properly, and not cutting the slices properly either. (click for more)

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Top Chef:All Stars 5/21/20--"Colossal Coliseum Kaiseki" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: everyone had to go up to a fancy campground to cook brunch for a mom's group. So rich white ladies (they were mostly white, don't act like you didn't see that) pay to get away from their kids for a long weekend. The contestants had to first do a Quickfire with baked beans, which Lee Anne won. Then brunch, but they had to get up early to do prep, instead of the day before. Maximum drama. In the end no one made eggs because everyone who was going to messed up. Bryan won, for making his Bryan fancy food out of whatever was left in the pantry. Lee Anne made two bad dishes, and was finally sent home. There was a tiny bit of drama, where she blamed Bryan for having the oven on steam so her clafoutis got ruined, but he had the oven first and she never checked. So it's not like she set the oven and someone changed it. (click for more)

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Top Chef:All Stars 5/14/20--"Cabin Fever" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: Restaurant Wars happened, with Gregory and Kevin facing off. Gregory made a Haitian grilled menu, while Kevin's menu revolved around one dish (the country captain) and a ton of side dishes. Even though on paper Kevin's team was stronger, Gregory had smoother service and better food. Kevin's dishes weren't stellar, and the service was not good. Karen is not a server. In the end Kevin agreed the failure was his fault and was eliminated. (click for more)

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Top Chef:All Stars 5/8/20--"Restaurant Wars" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: Karen came back from Last Chance Kitchen, and then everyone had to make tacos with machetes. Quickfires are so weird sometimes. Almost everyone made fish tacos, except for Stephanie who won with lamb tacos. The Elimination challenge is related to tonight's episode, in that everyone has to pitch their restaurant idea for Restaurant Wars. They need a concept, a type of cuisine and price point, and they should cook at least one dish from the menu. The two winners, Kevin and Gregory, will be the executive chefs of the two restaurants tonight. While Lee Anne again was on the bottom, the judges claimed not to understand what “fine dining but not stuffy service” meant and eliminated Eric. I mean, his food was not executed well, and I get that, but they kept harping on how they didn't get if he wanted family style or fine dining or what. Compare that to how Bryan said he wanted something more casual but made a fine dining dish. They just said “he should stick to fine dining” and moved on. Just blame his food if it's bad, but this whole “what service are you talking about” is silly. (click for more)

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Top Chef:All Stars 4/30/20--"Pitch Perfect" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: the chefs were asked to use flour to make a dish, but none of it was all-purpose standard wheat. I feel like this challenge would have been way harder 3 or 4 years ago, but no one had any trouble with it this time. Gregory won some money with pancakes. Then they paired up (self-selected teams) to make dishes for the LA Philharmonic, each with a pair of flavor profiles. So salty/sweet, bitter/umami, whatever. Double elimination. The previews acted like Lee Anne and Malarkey were going to crash and burn, but they were fine. Kevin and Melissa won, but I think we all expected them to. Karen and Nini didn't have umami but sweet, because they used fresh tomatoes and not roasted. So they were eliminated. (click for more)

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Top Chef:All Stars 4/23/20--"Get Your Phil" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: the loved ones came for a visit, to eat some good food and explain to the contestants over the phone what the dish looks and tastes like so they could replicate it. Kevin won, because even though his wife is not actually a chef, she has an eye for detail and a very sensitive palate. Then everyone had to make some kind of product to sell, sauce or whatever. Also make a dish showcasing it. Lee Anne's mom did get sick, and almost fainted, but it was not as immediately serious as the previews acted like. Melissa sold the most product, but Gregory was actually the winner for his pickles. Jen made ginger sauce but the texture was gritty and in her dish she mixed it with yogurt which diluted the flavor. So she was sent home. (click for more)

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Top Chef:All Stars 4/16/20--"Bring Your Loved One to Work" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: there was a bunch of product placement for a Quickfire. Colors. Whatever. Gregory won, which was nice mostly because Karen lost again. The Elimination challenge involved two teams, and shopping at the farmer's market. Everyone had to make vegetarian tasting menus. There was some minor drama with Lee Anne and Malarkey, because Lee Anne once again did poorly. Melissa won, with another soup. She's doing very well. Lisa was sent home for a weird lukewarm undercooked Brussels sprouts dish. (click for more)

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