Quickfire Challenge, as judged by French cuisine god Daniel Boulud, is to make a dish with snails as the protein. Winner gets immunity and the loser goes home. Home! Because of snails! After all of the dishes are presented and tasted, Kevin is named the winner due to his snail dish including his own bacon jam recipe. Jesse, Ashley, and Robin are named as the three worst, and they are given a second chance, with thirty minutes to create an amuse-bouche out of anything in the kitchen. At least they won't be going home because of snails. Robin makes a crab-avocado soup, Jesse makes a tuna tartare with a fried quail egg, and Ashley makes a foie gras with caramelized pineapple. And then Jesse is told to pack her knives and leave. And she doesn't even get to hear it from Padma! And Tom says it wrong, because it's supposed to be "pack your knives and go."
For the Elimination Challenge, the cheftestants draw knives, each of which has either a French sauce or a French protein. They'll be paired up to create a dish pairing sauce with protein, and they have to serve it to some of the best French chefs in the world, including Joel Robuchon, who was named chef of the century in France. The cheftestants are suitably awed. And Kevin gets a bonus for winning the Quickfire; he doesn't have to cook in the challenge, and he gets to eat with all the famous and talented chefs. So here are the pairings and dishes:
Ron and Robin: frog legs Meuniere with lemon confit, mache and arugula salad with fried capers. After all Ron's bitching about Robin's flightiness, it was his frog legs that were overly breaded and too heavy on the flour.
Mike I. and Bryan: warm cured trout with deconstructed béarnaise. The judges enjoy the deconstructed take on the béarnaise sauce.
Eli and Laurine: Lobster, sauce Americaine and cauliflower puree. They lobster is overcooked and the sauce is bitter.
Ashley and Mattin: Seared poussin and ravioli with sauce veloute and green asparagus. It's interesting that asparagus showed up in the final dish since Mattin argued against it. The judges acknowledge that the chefs worked hard, but Mattin put too much bacon in the sauce and the ravioli is dry.
Jen and Mike V.: rabbit chasseur with mustard noodle and shiso. The judges find it exceptional, especially because rabbit is difficult to prepare.
Hector and Ash: chateaubriand, sauce au poivre with confit de pommes and spinach. Hector has trouble getting the beef cooked properly and Ash's sauce is too thin.
The two top teams are Mike I. and Bryan along with Mike V. and Jen. And the winner is Bryan! Man, the Voltaggio brothers are just dominating this season, no? As the winner, Bryan gets to work for Chef Robuchon for a week at his Vegas restaurant.
The bottom teams are Mattin and Ashley, and Hector and Ash. Mattin and Ashley get criticized for poor use of asparagus and overuse of bacon. Hector and Ash get asked where their missing sauce went, and Ash explains that the overcooked meat absorbed it. Hector tries to explain what went wrong with his meat, but it all boils down to the meat being overcooked and under rested. And so Hector is told to pack his knives and go (not leave, Tom).
If you'll just indulge me for one quick second, I recently found out that this will be the 900th recap I've had published on the site, and the site itself is nearing its ten-year anniversary in a few weeks. I just want to thank all those who are still out there reading and all those who gave me the opportunity to discuss, as Homer Simpson called it, "Television -- teacher, mother, secret lover."
And on with the show. Hector makes coffee for everyone using a French press, or it might be espresso, since they all seem to be drinking shot glasses of it. Mike I. interviews that he feels like he almost gets to the top every time, and he just needs to take that extra step. Yeah, if only those useless women would get out of his way!
Meanwhile, some other chefs are sitting outside chatting and Robin is all by her lonesome. Does no one like her, or did she just want some solitude? The other chefs are talking about how many big-name chefs are in Vegas, so any one of them could show up for a challenge. Robin interviews that she's annoyed that it's been all women to go home thus far, and she doesn't want the men to get too cocky. So then everyone packs their knives and heads to Daniel Boulud's Brasserie.
They're greeted by Colicchio and Daniel Boulud. Colicchio gives him an introduction, explaining how he's a legend, but Eli sums it up by saying that "he's the baddest motherfucker there is" when it comes to French food. Colicchio says that a lot of Americans are eating French food these days, but the one French food that hasn't made the cut yet is the humble snail. Jen explains that snails are a delicate protein, and thus difficult to prepare, and she observes that "whoever thought a snail looked good to eat had to be really fucking hungry." I seriously love her more every day.
So the Quickfire Challenge is to make a dish using snails as the main protein. Boulud adds that he expects to see a dish he's never seen before. And then Colicchio drops the bomb: the winner of this Quickfire will get immunity and the loser will be going home. It's a Quickfire Elimination, y'all! Damn. And over snails! I would be so pissed if I had to go home because of snails. They have forty-five minutes to cook, and they can use whatever they can find in Boulud's kitchen and pantry.
Time starts. Kitchen clusterfuck. Ashley is already cursing like a sailor. Everyone is running around like a crazy person. Mike I. reveals that his cooking background is Greek, and snails are a delicacy in Crete, so he feels like he knows what to do, and can probably bring some different flavors, since everyone else will likely give their dishes a French flair. Kevin explains that snails don't have a lot of inherent flavor so you boost the flavor with what you add to the dish. Hector is worried since French food is totally not his thing.
Ron can't find his snails and Robin says she has some, but they belong to her. And then suddenly somehow, they are actually Ron's and Robin effed up? It's all very confusing. But I took it to mean that Robin is annoying. Mattin feels like he has an advantage, because did you know he's from France? Also, his neckerchief is bugging me, and not just because it's the same item my dog wears around his neck when he comes home from the groomer. Jesse doubts herself (like every week) and hopes to climb out of the bottom (like every week). Time's up!
This is pretty much going to be a listing of the dishes because the judges didn't make much comment, and I don't know enough about escargot to offer up any useful commentary myself. Ron made escargot Provencal with caramelized shallots, pernod, and fresh herbs. Jen made escargot with grilled ramps, Brussels sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms, and yuzu. Boulud thinks the yuzu is a nice addition. Jesse made an ELT: escargot, maché, and a fried tomato. Colicchio asks about her inspiration but she has nothing to say.
Invisible Laurine made sautéed escargot, lemon risotto, spinach, parsley pesto, and garlic butter. Hector made Caribbean escargot with pickled mushrooms. Robin made "bagels and lox": poached escargot, marmalade, gooseberries, and rye crostini.
Mattin made fava bean crostini with escargot sautéed in a piment d'Espelette (sort of like paprika) and anise. Ashley made escargot mirepoix soup and salad. The salad looks like some sprouts tossed on a plate. BORING! And a mirepoix soup doesn't sound that tasty, since mirepoix is usually the beginning of a soup, not the end result. Kevin made escargot fricassee with mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and candied bacon jam. He smeared the jam on the plate and it just looks like a shit stain. I'm sorry, but it does. Perhaps not the best plating choice.
Bryan made escargot with red wine risotto, spinach emulsion, and Marcona almond froth. Ooh, froth. I hate that shit. It looks like someone spit on the snails. Michael Volt made escargot and chanterelle mushroom Bolognese lasagna. Mike I. made sautéed escargot over potato garlic puree, spring onion, and ouzo broth.
All of the chefs are gathered to hear the results. Boulud announces that the top three were Mike I., Kevin, and Jen. And the winner is...Kevin! Man, there is a clear division between the top and the bottom this season, and it's happening early. The bottom three were Jesse, Ashley, and Robin. But rather than decide on a snail dish, the bottom three get to go back into the kitchen and create an amuse-bouche in twenty minutes. Colicchio calls time and they sprint back into the kitchen.
Ashley interviews that the kitchen is a mess, and she can't find anything. All three are really stressed out, but Jesse says that she feels good because she has to make an amuse-bouche at her restaurant every night. And really, if they've ever watched the show before, they would know that they should have a perfect one in their back pocket for just such circumstances.
Tom and Daniel step into the kitchen for judging. Robin made avocado soup with yuzu, green apple mustard relish, and crab. That hardly seems like one bite. Jesse made tuna tartare with sorrel, gooseberries, fried quail egg, and fried bread. Ashley made foie gras with caramelized pineapple, tarragon, and ramps.
All of the chefs are called back out to hear who is going home. Colicchio starts with Robin's soup, and he says that it was delicious, but it could have used a little more crab. They loved the idea of Jesse's dish, but the proportions and seasoning were a little off. They thought the flavors of Ashley's dish were great, but her proportions were also a bit off. He adds that it's very difficult to send someone home for just one bite, and I think for a second there's going to be a reprieve because this is just too mean. But then Colicchio says that someone will be going home anyway. After the break, Colicchio reveals that the person going home is...Jesse. She doesn't look surprised, but she does look upset. She interviews that she hasn't felt like herself since she got there and she wants people to know that she doesn't suck this badly. And after seeing the performances of the masters, I can believe it. There's a big difference between being a great chef and being a great chef given the restrictions of the show. Jen brings up that there still hasn't been a dude eliminated.
Elimination Challenge, and they'll be drawing knives. Each knife has either a classic French protein or a sauce on it. Once the drawing is over, Colicchio explains that half of them have proteins and half have sauces, so they have to pair themselves up combining the proteins and sauces. And they'll be serving to a table of some of the best French chefs in the world. As he lists off the chefs, the cheftestants are just like, "Fuck." Especially when they find out they'll be cooking in Joel Robuchon's kitchen. Even if you don't know who he is, the cheftestants' reactions tell you everything. Mike Volt says that Robuchon is like a god. Boulud adds that he was named Chef of the Century in France. They have two hours to cook at home and one hour to cook in the restaurant. Because Kevin won the Quickfire, he doesn't have to cook, and he gets to eat with the famous chefs.
The cheftestants quickly pair up based on what makes sense. In what seems kind of unfair, Jen ends up with Mike V. Sure, their dishes go together, but they're also on top of the competition. And do I sense some sexual tension there? Just me? Bryan V ends up with Mike I, and I'm starting to think that Mike I. is riding the Volt coattails. The Volt-tails, if you will.
Shopping, shopping, shopping. Ashley explains that she and Mattin are making poussin, or young chicken, and velouté, which is like a fancy gravy. I just looked up a recipe for velouté, and it pretty much is gravy. I don't know what's so fancy about it. Ashley wants to get asparagus, but Mattin says that they don't need it, because it doesn't go well with velouté. Ashley gives in because Mattin's all French. They also buy some bacon, presumably to get the fat necessary to make the roux.
Robin is just blathering on and on in the store, about garbanzo bean flour and Sharpies. Ron looks really annoyed, and he interviews that Robin has a lot of ideas and not many of them have to do with classical French cooking. He practically runs away from her. Meanwhile, the Volt Bros. are jostling each other in the aisles to remind us that they are brothers and also competitive. Bryan doesn't want to get beat by his brother, and Mike V. says that, with his European training, he thinks his cooking is more refined than his brother's. Mike I. adds that they are the two top teams. Well, they have three people in the top and then one guy who was almost eliminated last week. So there's that.
The cheftestants return to the kitchen. Ash and Hector are paired for chateaubriand and sauce au poivre. Ash comments that it sounds like the beginning of a joke: A Puerto Rican and a gay guy have to make dinner for Joel Robuchon. Hector says that he used to do banquets all the time, and everyone wanted beef filets, so he's like an expert at this dish already.
Michael Volt and Jen have rabbit and sauce chasseur. Jen interviews that it's going to be their toughest challenge, and Mike is butchering rabbits and then she's going to use the bones for her sauce. Mattin makes Ashley say that French cooking is the best. Bryan and Mike I. are cooking trout with béarnaise sauce. Bryan seems to be coming up with all the ideas, including how to prepare the trout and that they should deconstruct the sauce. Mike I's like, "Yeah, let's do that." Volt-tails!
Ron, in addition to being the Chowder King, is also apparently the frog leg expert. Robin keeps flitting around and will not SHUT UP and keeps asking Ron his opinion. He just stops answering her, which is kind of hilarious. Ron interviews that Robin is all over the place and he doesn't want to talk shit about her publicly. The first day of prep ends, and Ash realizes that they're pretty much committed to their dishes at this point because they don't have enough time to redo things, even if it's necessary.
Weird interstitial. Mattin got really drunk on his birthday and ran around in his underwear, and then got pushed in the pool. The end.
It's the final day of the challenge. Hector and Ash discuss if they need anything, and Hector says he's trying not to think about it, because he will get too nervous. Spoiler alert: maybe he should have thought about it a little more. Between this scene and the one where he said he's the Master of Filets, perhaps there was a little foreshadowing of the outcome. Kevin interviews that everyone is super nervous, because they will be serving food to the people that inspired them to make food in the first place. And Kevin doesn't have to cook! He gets to eat all the food! Man, what an awesome prize.
The cheftestants arrive at Joel Robuchon's kitchen to finish their food. It's very fancy. A lot of black marble and checkered black and white tile. Eli interviews that he's excited to see Robuchon in the flesh because he wondered if he actually existed and thought, "he might be a unicorn." Okay, that was a little try-hard, but it was still funny. With what passes for humor on this show, it was practically a knee-slapper.
Ron and Robin work on their frog legs with sauce meunière. Ron is handling the frog legs, since he's the champion of that, while Robin makes the sauce and an herb salad. She continues to have Ron taste every single thing, and I appreciate her concept of teamwork, but have some confidence in your food, lady! The face that Ron makes to indicate that her salad is too vinegary is awesome. It's like he ate a lemon. Robin is going a million different directions and Ron has to keep reminding her to mind her sauce, because there's only a slight difference between browned butter and burnt butter.
Mike I. and Bryan are working on their béarnaise. Mike starts to lose confidence in the whole "deconstructed" idea but Bryan is confident it's going to work.
Eli and Invisible Laurine are making lobster and sauce Américaine, which is like a lobster sauce. That seems pretty lobster-y. Laurine is worried about overcooking her lobster and making it tough.
Mattin's sauce boils over. What was he doing? I've made a few sauces and gravies in my day and the most important thing is regulating the heat and stirring, from what I've seen. He explains that he used bacon for his sauce and it might be what puts him over the top. Ashley, meanwhile, is worried about everything and says she's letting Mattin take the lead since he's so French and she's so two thousand and late.
Michael V. and Jen discuss how to plate their dish. Jen interviews that chasseur is a hunter-style sauce made with mushrooms, tomatoes, white wine, and demi-glace. They work really well together; she says that they "feel each other's movement in the kitchen." Dirty! Mike V. can't overstate how important it is to cook fo
r these chefs, and likens it to singing for the Beatles. Really? I love the Beatles a lot but I don't know that I would classify them as master singers. Musicians? Songwriters, especially? Sure. But singers? Anyway.Hector has taken his chateaubriand out of the oven a little under temperature and is going to let it finish cooking on the counter. Ash is on board with that idea, as long as Hector doesn't forget about the meat. Hector can't get the meat hot enough so he cranks up the temperatures. Ash can't sauce anything until the meat is ready, obviously. Hector realizes that he needs to let the meat rest before serving, and time is running short.
All the most famous chefs in the world are seated at the table with the judges and Kevin. Back in the kitchen, Robin and Ron are hustling to plate their food. Robin worries that the heat lamps are wilting her salad. Eli interviews that he saw their plates, which consisted of wilted dead greens beneath overly-caked frog legs. So he was psyched, since he knows he can beat that.
So just for the record, here are the chefs eating at the table: Daniel Boulud (also serving as guest judge), Hubert Keller, Jean Joho, Laurent Tourondel, and Joel Robuchon. Plus the judges, plus a translator. So Ron and Robin serve frog legs meunière with lemon confit, maché, and arugula salad with fried capers. The diners note that the frog legs are seasoned well, but overly-floured and over-cooked. Everyone turns to Robuchon for the final word, and he says that frog legs are tough to cook, but they masked the flavor of the frog. I might consider that a good thing, but I guess they don't.
Mike I. and Bryan are up . Mike I. thinks that if the judges "get" their dish, they have a good chance of winning. Given the caliber of the diners, I'm sure they will understand your dish, dude. They just might not like how it's executed. Mike I. is the Dr. Dave Malucci of this show. Anyway, they present their dish of warm cured trout and deconstructed béarnaise. Basically, they took all the ingredients of béarnaise and presented them separately, leaving it to the diner to blend and eat. The diners like the simplicity and sophistication of the dish. Kevin thinks they got the balance of the components. Robuchon thinks they took something simple and made it exceptional.
Eli and Invisible Laurine are up ; they made lobster, sauce Américaine, and cauliflower puree. The diners agree that it's nicer overall, but the lobster is tough and sauce is a little bitter. Robuchon doesn't think it has the genuine classical flavor.
Mattin and Ashley plate their food and then serve their dish: seared poussin and ravioli with sauce velouté and green asparagus. I guess the argument was whether to put the asparagus in the sauce or not? Because I know Ashley wanted to use asparagus and Mattin didn't, and there is asparagus on the plate, so I don't know. They could have explained that better. Mattin introduces the food in French, like a show-off. The diners find the sauce too bacon-y and the chicken bland. Their hard work shows, but the food isn't there. The bacon overpowered everything else. Good job, Mattin.
Jen and Mike V. barely get their food plated in time, but they do, and serve their rabbit chasseur with mustard noodle and shiso. All of the diners agree that the rabbit was cooked perfectly, which is not easy to do, and their dish was very mature.
With five minutes to go, Hector still hasn't started cutting the meat. He finally does with two minutes left, and doesn't do a very good job. Because the meat didn't rest enough, it's bleeding all over the plate. Then when Ash tries to add the sauce, either the meat absorbs it or it blends with the blood or something and he pretty much runs out of sauce by the end. It's a disaster all around. So they finally take their food out and serve it; it's chateaubriand, sauce au poivre with confit de pommes and spinach. Various diners exclaim that they can't find the sauce at all. Colicchio points out that the meat is cooked unevenly, and Gail's meat has been hacked up to hell.
Robuchon gives his final words; he was very impressed with the quality of the cooking and the sophistication. Gail adds that she doesn't think they could have had this quality of dinner at this point in any other season, and Colicchio agrees. Padma thanks everyone for coming as the judges leave to deliberate.
The cheftestants wait in the Stew Room and Kevin rejoins them. Eli grills him about what the judges liked or didn't like, and seems loath to list any specific dishes as favorite or least favorite. I don't blame him.
Judges' Table. Padma walks in and asks for Bryan, Mike I., Mike V., and Jennifer. So those are obviously the tops. Do you think the other chefs are getting sick of seeing them win everything? Padma congratulates them on having the two best dishes. Colicchio and Boulud heap on the praise. They start with the trout, and Mike I. totally takes credit for the sauce although he does admit that they shared ideas. That means Bryan shared ideas and Mike I. felt like he came up with them himself. Bryan does get credit for the trout.
Mike V. and Jen talk about how well they worked together, and Mike V. says that Jen is really talented and he was just hoping she didn't outdo him. You guys, they are totally going to do it. Boulud gets to announce the winner and it is...Bryan. Woo! If it was Mike I., I was going to shoot someone. Bryan's prize is to work for Robuchon in his kitchen for a week, which kind of sounds like punishment, but I get that it's not.
Mike I. tells everyone in the Stew Room that Mattin, Ashley, Hector, and Ash have to go back in. Gail tells Mattin and Ashley that their chicken was dried out, and their sauce had too much bacon flavor. They bring up the asparagus being on the plate for no reason, and Ashley says it was her idea. Colicchio wonders why they didn't make an asparagus velouté and Ashley diplomatically says that "it came up," leaving out that she wanted to do exactly that. Mattin TOTALLY LIES and says that he didn't shoot down the asparagus velouté idea and Ashley shows some restraint and doesn't call him out; I don't know that I could have done the same.
The judges move on to talk to Ash and Hector. Padma asks where the sauce was. Ash says that they had timing issues and the meat absorbed all the sauce. Gail brings up the cooking and cutting issues. Hector thinks they were doing well until everything fell apart. Gail won't give up the cutting issue, and Hector just says that he didn't have enough time and the meat wasn't ready for cutting. Boulud points out that it only takes thirty minutes to roast the meat, and they had an hour for prep. Good point! Maybe, like we saw last week, hector was too busy telling stories about breweries to put the meat in the oven. Ash walks back to the Stew Room and jokes that the judges loved his food, and then says it sucks the most because the judges are totally right on with their criticism.
The judges discuss how the chateaubriand was inexcusable because he had more than enough time to both cook and cut the meat. They judges agree that Ash contributed to the problem, but ultimately even a great sauce couldn't have saved the beef. Moving on, they wonder why Ashley didn't take any responsibility for the dish, and Boulud nails it when he says that, because Mattin was French, she let him take the lead. Colicchio totally realizes that Ashley had more to say on the asparagus issue but she didn't want to dis her teammate. They're disappointed in Mattin, since this was his week to shine. They decide that his sauce was really a "bacon-cream sauce." That does sound pretty gross.
The four losers come back out to find out who is going home. Colicchio says that Ashley and Mattin's dish was a good idea but poorly executed, and that Hector and Ash's dish featured a poorly-cooked protein. Padma tells Hector to pack his knives and go. Hopefully, now Ashley will take a shower and wash her hair. In his exit interview, Hector says that he wanted to represent his people longer. He would have done better in Miami or something. He was just on the wrong season. Like Jesse, he hopes that people will see how much he loves to cook.
Watch Jesse's exclusive exit interview video and Hector's exclusive exit interview video.
Discuss this episode in the Top Chef forums, and check out all the Tubey Awards results!
Kim plots world domination, one domain at a time, at her blog Fresh Hell. You can contact her at reedkim@gmail.com.