By Kim
Quickfire Challenge: Rick Moonen judges as the cheftestants have to create a dish based on a food idiom. Rick doesn't love Kelly's combination of Brussels sprouts and grapes, and he thinks Amanda's macaroni and cheese is too heavy. His top choices are Kevin's bacon three ways and Ed's potato gnocchi. The ultimate winner is Ed, possibly because his dish could actually be frozen and Kevin's kind of couldn't.
Elimination Challenge: Create fine dining versions of baseball park food. They have to work as a team, but create six dishes, so why are they a team again? Oh, to cause drama. They realize the night before the ball game that they're going to be serving at a concession stand, so they will need to take orders. Angelo offers to fill that role, but then when they get to the site, he realizes that if he's taking orders, he can't create his own dish, and he doesn't trust anyone to do it for him. He tries to back out, and Kevin yells at him. No one will take over his role, so he's forced back into it while Ed preps his food for him. When the guests arrive, they all want Tiffany and Kelly's food, so does that mean their dishes are the best?
Here are the dishes:
Kelly: Open-faced crab cake BLT with sweet potato fries. The judges like the flavor, but think the crab cake is a little too salty.
Tiffany: Italian meatball sub with fennel, basil pesto, and fresh mozzarella. The judges think it tastes great, but it's a little messy.
Amanda: Yellowfin tuna tartare with fennel, Meyer lemon and fava bean puree. Amanda preps the tuna too early and it turns gray, and the judges notice. Also, what kind of baseball park food is tuna?
Angelo: sweet glazed pork on a lobster roll with sweet sesame pickles. He claims it's a lobster roll but it's really a hot dog roll, and the judges think that the bread overwhelms the pork.
Kevin: chicken kebab with Romesco sauce, shoestring fries, and smoked paprika aoli. The guests and judges seem to have more to say about the lame presentation than the flavors.
Ed: shrimp and corn risotto fritters with jalapeno aoli. The judges have only good things to say about the flavors and textures.
The entire group gets called in for Judges' Table. Angelo tries to gloss over the kerfuffle over the order-taking, but Tiffany doesn't let him get away with that. The judges don't seem to care. They single out Ed and Tiffany's dishes as the best, and the winner is Ed! Damn, this season really keeps mixing it up. Just when you think you can count someone out because they haven't won any challenges in a while, they make a comeback.
The remaining four are the bottom. The judges take Amanda to task for her gray tuna, and they think it was awkward to eat Kevin's skewers. There are compliments for Kelly's food, but the judges had some suggestions for making the texture better. And they think Angelo had way too much bread, and his dish was too sweet. It's really obvious that Amanda's going to be eliminated since her dish kind of sucked all around, from conception to execution, while everyone else just had minor problems. And Amanda is, in fact, eliminated. Finally.
For no apparent reason, Ed is wearing Tiffany's dress and just wandering around the condo. I think they are all losing it. It's a very nice yellow dress and other than his lack of bosoms, he looks pretty good in it. Everyone is just dying laughing and Ed plays it totally deadpan like, "Yes, I am wearing a dress. WHAT OF IT?" Ed just won some points in my book. Amanda suggests that Ed might be wearing Tiffany's underwear as well.
And, it's time for Kelly to take another potshot at Amanda. Kelly REALLY hates her. I think it's personal. I think there might be some jealousy involved. Anyway, Kelly is like, "No one knows why Amanda is still here and she sucks." Angelo details how much he's having a nervous breakdown by telling us about a room he had as a kid where he put up photos of all the four-star chefs. Come on. What kid does that? When he says "kid," does he mean twenty-year-old? Amanda has a good giggle in an interview about how Angelo reads Tony Robbins books and recites mantras to himself like, "You're gonna win!" That little interview actually made me like Amanda for a second. Because we could bond over how much of a tool Angelo is.
The cheftestants enter the kitchen to find Padma waiting there with Rick Moonen. So they all think the challenge is going to be something to do with seafood, since that's his shtick. Padma reminds them that there are only six people left. Then she starts spouting out various idioms like "big cheese" and "flash in the pan," and the cheftestants all look at her like, "Did Padma burst a blood vessel? Why is she talking like that?"
Padma introduces the Elimination Challenge, which is to create a dish based on a food idiom. Kelly interviews that some of the idioms are "a little risqué" like "Hide the salami." Heh. I bet Alex would have chosen that one. Padma explains that the winning dish will go onto the menu at Schwan's, a frozen food provider. I remember all of our neighbors used to get visits from the Schwan's truck, and we never did. Probably because my mom didn't think we needed any overpriced frozen crap. But at the time, I felt very deprived that we didn't have any French bread pizzas in the freezer.
The cheftestants choose their idioms. Kevin goes first, and picks, "Bring home the bacon." Amanda takes "the big cheese." Kelly selects "sour grapes," and Ed takes "hot potato." Tiffany takes her time and finally picks "spill the beans" and Angelo takes "bigger fish to fry." And then time starts and they have an hour to cook.
Amanda explains that she's going to make mac and cheese and she thinks most frozen mac and cheese is "lackluster." Well, no frozen dish is ever going to be as good as homemade, especially one that's been designed to sit in a freezer for God knows how long. Right? So you'd think she would use some sort of exotic cheese or something, to make it a gourmet version of mac and cheese, which I feel like has been done a million times on this show. Ed interviews that Amanda is "annoying" and "a slob" and "has no technique." Damn, Ed. Angelo interviews that he thinks Amanda is a threat. A threat to his relationship, maybe. Because Angelo likes the younger ladies. I don't think Amanda is a threat to win the competition, not at this point. She could make it another round or so, but she's not going to win.
Tiffany explains that she couldn't use dried beans, because they take too long to cook, so she's using canned beans and needs to develop flavor. Kelly interviews that her strong point is organization while some of the others seem really disorganized. Which is why she hates Amanda, who is not at all organized, I guess. I am organized when I cook, but if the food tastes good, who cares? Angelo is still totally losing it, talking to himself while he cooks. Kevin just writes it off as eccentric. Meanwhile, Kevin has taken over Kenny's "why make one dish when I could make three" title, and it doing bacon three ways. Amanda tells us that Ed is going nuts, and in fact, Ed is sprinting around the kitchen, red-faced and sweating.
Time's up and it's time to taste the food. Ed is up first with "hot potato," and he made herb and roasted garlic gnocchi, spring vegetables, and mushroom fricassee. Padma calls it a "lovely Spring dish." Then Tiffany serves her dish inspired by the phrase "spill the beans," which is pan-seared cod over stewed beans, Swiss chard, carrots and bacon. It looks delicious, and she admits that she used canned beans.
Kevin's phrase was "bring home the bacon" and he made bacon three ways: bacon puree, chopped bacon, and bacon froth with a poached egg. Angelo points out via interview that Kevin's dish can't be frozen so it doesn't really fit the challenge. Well, they didn't say that you HAD to take that into consideration; it was just the reward. I'm sure that if Kevin truly had the best dish, they would figure out a way to rework it so that it made sense. Kelly had "sour grapes," and she made pan-roasted chicken breast, caramelized Brussels sprouts leaves and red grape sauce. Moonen calls it "interesting."
Angelo had "bigger fish to fry," so he made chile-crusted fried tilapia satay with Asian tartar sauce, sambal, and sriracha. Angelo gives the judges a really over-involved description of how he cooked his food and the judges have no comment. And finally, Amanda had "the big cheese," and she made macaroni and cheese with bacon and jalapenos with a pork chop on the side. What kind of cheese did she use? That would be interesting to know. Oh, gruyere and smoked mozzarella. Kind of boring.
Rick says that his least favorite dishes were Kelly's dish, which didn't sing to him, and Amanda's dish, which he calls "a sledge hammer to the gut." Amanda interviews that this time she disagrees, and she thinks her dish was really good. So all the other times, she thought her dish sucked? And then she goes into this mock pity party and it's so annoying that I want her instantly off my screen, like I wish this challenge suddenly turned into a surprise elimination challenge and she was gone. Because she is SO ANNOYING and childish and I can't take watching her much longer.
So who were the favorites? Rick says that one of his top choices was Kevin, with his bacon dish. Angelo shoots daggers. He didn't make an easily-frozen dish, even though those were not at all the rules!! Rick also liked Ed's dish, which he thinks was light and tasty. And the winner is Ed! Probably because frozen gnocchi are a lot more palatable than frozen poached eggs.
And now it's time for the Elimination Challenge to be revealed: they have to create fine dining versions of ballpark food at the Washington Nationals' game. Angelo, who is somehow an expert on everything, explains that he's an expert in baseball because he's half Dominican. And he still thinks he might be a professional baseball player. Well, I think he's about the same age as most Dominican Little Leaguers, from what I've seen, so that could work out. Padma adds that they have to work as a team and create at least six dishes. So why are they working as a team? I guess because they'll be selling at a concession stand instead of at individual tables or carts? Amanda remembers how poorly things went the last time they had to work as a team, so she's not looking forward to it.
Time starts, and they have fifteen minutes for planning. Kelly immediately steps up and starts giving out her ideas while everyone else is silent. Tiffany interviews that she thinks Kelly might be trying to take control. In fact, Amanda speaks up and says that she wants to cook crab and Kelly is like, "Um, I'm doing crabcake, so you can't. Make something else." She's nicer about it, but that's the message I get. And that Amanda apparently gets too, because she backs down and agrees to do seafood instead of shellfish. Amanda interviews that Kelly is always thinking of herself. Because... it's an individual competition? And as the estimable Sars used to say, this is Top Chef, not Top Montessori School? I don't know if Amanda gets that.
Shopping. Ed explains that he's a Red Sox fan, being from Boston. Booo! The enemy. Ed is thus familiar with "ballpark flavors" and hopes to incorporate them in his dish. Angelo is trying to make dim sum, which is steamed rolls with pork stuffed inside. The problem is that he can't find the proper types of rolls and I guess doesn't know how to make them? You'd think after getting dinged for using frozen pastry last week, he'd learn to make it himself or do something different. Anyway, he ends up picking hot dog buns, which probably are appropriately "ballpark" but maybe not so great, flavor-wise.
Amanda interviews that you can get anything at a ballpark these days, so she's going to make a tuna tartare, so that she can make a statement. Except it seems like the challenge was to make a fine dining version of traditional ballpark food, not just make any fancy food you want and serve it in a ballpark. Right? Kevin is making a chicken skewer, which he thinks is approachable and something that people are familiar with, so he thinks it will work in a ballpark.
They return to the kitchen and have three hours to prep. Angelo realizes that his pork needs two-and-a-half hours to braise, so he needs to hurry. Tiffany talks about a stand at the State Fair that serves Italian sausages with peppers. I bet in Texas, it doesn't compare to Gianelli Sausage at the New York State Fair. I'm just saying. Anyway, that is the inspiration for her dish.
Amanda decides that she has to tartare her tuna that night, meaning she needs to cut the tuna into smaller pieces. She's quite reasonably concerned about having to prepare the tuna on the day of serving, in an unfamiliar kitchen, when she doesn't know what equipment will be available. Could she possibly bring the meat grinder with her? I don't know the rules about equipment. Anyway, I get her point, but it also seems like a bad idea to grind any flesh that far in advance. She asks Angelo's advice, which is the kiss of death, as Kevin points out in an interview. Anyone who takes Angelo's advice seems to get eliminated that week. Coincidence?
Time is running low and Ed and Angelo are both running around like crazy people. Ed points out that he's making these fritters, and each customer gets three pieces, so he has to make five hundred of them. And he is FREAKING OUT. Ed does not usually seem this frazzled. He even yells at Tiffany when she doesn't hear the question he asked her, though he seems to immediately pull back when he realizes that he yelled. He also talks to himself to keep himself going. Ed is just running back and forth with trays and wrap, but he does finish on time.
That night at the house, since they are working as a team, they decide to discuss the logistics of the day. Kelly asks if they are going to have to take orders, or just put dishes out. It does seem kind of silly to take orders when the food is free, right? It just adds an unnecessarily complicated layer. But it also creates intra-team drama, so I'm sure the producers love it. Kelly says that she can't take orders, because she's going to be cooking a la minute. No one really wants to take orders, since it means giving up control of your dish. Finally, Angelo says that he'll take orders if it's needed, and everyone agrees.
They arrive at the ballpark on the day of the elimination. It's a new park and looks amazing. I would love to visit. Once they arrive, they have one hour to prep and cook. Kelly interviews that there isn't a lot of room, and they need to be organized and efficient. Angelo starts putting his food together and realized that he can't plate and take orders at the same time. He tells the others that they need to talk about it, but everyone pretends that they can't hear him or are too busy to talk, because they don't want to change anything about the setup. And honestly, I don't know why Angelo can't stuff his buns with pork and put them in a warming tray or something. And couldn't he plate the ones for the judges himself? It does seem like he has the dish that could most easily be left alone.
Angelo's solution to the problem is to assume that each person will take their own orders, so he starts passing out order pads to everyone. Kevin stops him and says that won't work. He points out in an interview that no restaurant works that way. Angelo tells Kevin to chill out, and Kevin says he doesn't have to. So these are professionals and grown-ups? Talking this way? The space is tight though, as we see Kevin, Kelly, and Tiffany shoulder-to-shoulder trying to cook food on a flat top. Angelo tells Kevin that he's "the bad boy of the show" (META!) and Kevin disagrees. Everyone else just ignores them. Kevin's theory is basically, "No takebacks" and Angelo's is "Be flexible." Finally, Angelo and Kevin ask for alternative ideas, and Ed says that he can plate Angelo's food for him. Everything else seems to fall into place at that point. Angelo says he wants to show Ed how to plate it and Ed goes, "I've decided I don't want to do it anymore." Angelo panics for a second and then realizes Ed is joking. Ed is so much like guys I grew up with, it scares me.
The judges show up to eat, and here are the dishes:
Kelly's dish is an open-faced crab cake BLT with sweet potato fries. Tiffany's dish is an Italian meatball sub with fennel, basil pesto, and fresh mozzarella. Amanda made yellowfin tuna tartare with fennel, Meyer lemon, and fava bean puree. Amanda knows that it's a risk to serve gray tuna to Rick Moonen and Eric Ripert, but she hopes that they will judge on flavor ahead of appearance, because she knows it tastes good.
The judges sit in the stadium seats and try the first three dishes. Rick says that it takes "baseballs" to serve raw fish in a stadium. Ripert says that the appearance it turning him off before he even tastes it, but Tom thinks that the vegetables that came with it are prepared perfectly. They move on to Kelly's dish, which Rick likes, but Padma finds a bit salty. Tom points out that it will definitely sell beer. These crabcakes are making me THIRSTY. And finally, talking about Tiffany's dish, Rick thinks that she took the classic meatball sub to the level. Ripert has a little trouble eating it, since it's big and messy, but Rick advises him to just take charge. And seriously, if a meatball sub is neat, it's not worth eating in my book.
Back at the concession stand, everything has smoothed out and service is going well. Ed and Angelo are joking around with one another and feeling good about things. Angelo interviews that everyone is positive except for Kevin. I think Angelo should share some of his Robbins wisdom with Kevin. I think that would go over REALLY well.
The judges go back for the other three dishes. Angelo made sweet glazed pork on lobster roll with sweet sesame pickles. Kevin serves chicken kebab with Romesco sauce, shoestring fries, and smoked paprika aoli. And Ed made shrimp and corn risotto fritters with jalapeno aoli.
The judges return to the stadium seats to taste. Rick likes Ed's fritters because they are crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, and they stayed hot throughout. Tom points out that the corn is sweet, and he also approves. Back at the stand, Kevin explains that he's not sure why his dish isn't getting more orders, and he plated it with the shoestring potatoes on top to give the dish some crunch. Ripert says that the chicken is moist but he doesn't like the plating. Some of the guests point out how long the skewers are and how it's impossible to eat it without impaling your mouth on the skewer. One of them also supports my theory about trying something new and interesting, so why would you order chicken? Finally, they talk about Angelo's sandwich. Ripert and Tom both don't like the bun, which they think is too much bread. Rick says that there's nice heat but no finish. I don't even know what that means, but he's the expert. I guess it tastes the same from the time you put it in your mouth until the end?
The judges conclude that everyone did a good job today, especially given how many people they had to serve. But it was a team effort, so they are going to talk to everyone.
Weird interstitial. Angelo has some sort of sketchy Russian mail order bride, and if he wins, he's going to use the money to bring her to the US and get her a visa. Because if you have more money, you can bribe people? I don't really get his rationale, but maybe he knows things I don't about the immigration process.
Back in the Stew Room, they all talk about how they are still nervous waiting there. Padma comes in and asks all of them to come out to Judges' Table. This should be interesting. They start out talking about how Angelo ended up running the orders. Angelo says that they talked about it and he stepped up. Tiffany interrupts to say that's not exactly how it went. She explains that Angelo stepped up first, but then took it back and asked everyone to do their own. Angelo says that he panicked and thought that he needed to change things up. Kevin points out that Angelo shouldn't have stepped up the night before if he didn't know what the setup would be like and might potentially change his mind. The judges are kind of over this non-controversy, since it all worked out and the food got served up just fine. Moving on.
Ed is told that they liked his dish because the center stayed creamy and hot, and the sauce was spicy. Overall the dish was easy to eat and not messy. Tom segues that Tiffany's dish was NOT easy to eat, but it was still good. Tiffany laughs that when she eats a burger, if juice doesn't come out, it's not worth it. Rick agrees with her, and says that the dish was worth wrestling with. Rick is the guest judge, so he announces that Ed is the winner. Ed is psyched to win, especially since he doubted his dish while making it. Padma tells him that he also wins a trip to Australia, and Ed is even more happy. So Tiffany and Ed are excused so the judges can talk to the rest of them.
They start with Amanda. Tom likes that she tried to do something different, and he thought the vegetables were good, but she knows that the tartare was gray. Amanda explains her rationale. When Tom asks, Kevin says that he wouldn't have done tartare at all, but if he did, he wouldn't have done it the day before. Amanda was worried about being in the weeds, but Tom says sometimes it's worth it to produce a better dish. They move on to Kevin. Rick thinks his marinade didn't come through, and Eric points out the problems with the skewer. Kevin explains that he was trying to make it so that everyone was in one bite, but Tom says it wasn't necessary and Kevin agrees that it didn't work. The judges tell Kelly that her dish needed some sort of crunch, and Ripert suggests that she should have sliced her bacon thinner, because it was too thick. And finally, Angelo's pork was cooked well, but the flavor was masked by the giant piece of bread. Tom says that someone who owns a sandwich shop should know the importance of bread to ingredients ratio. Padma says that aside from the bread, there was too much sugar. The cheftestants are excused so that the judges can deliberate.
The judges discuss Kevin's dish first. He had two sauces that were very similar, and they think he should have just done one and done it well. Ripert was worried that he was going to impale his throat, and Tom really hated the plating. Talking about Amanda, Tom doesn't know why she didn't cut the tuna by hand, but he liked her vegetables and that she did something different. Tom wonders why Angelo didn't taste his food, realize it was too sweet, and fix it. And Ripert can't stop talking about how the bread sucked all the flavor out of the filling. And finally Kelly's dish was a BLT, but Tom says that the bacon wasn't good, the lettuce wasn't crisp, and the tomato was a bland jam.
So who's going home? The bottom four are brought back out to hear the verdict. Tom tells everyone what went wrong. Kelly is told that her dish didn't come together, Amanda cut the tuna too early, Kevin had soggy fries, and Angelo's dish was too sweet and too soggy. So who is the loser? Amanda. God, FINALLY. Now there is actually some suspense left, because any one of these people could win the whole thing. In her exit interview, Amanda thinks that she battled it out to make it as far as she did. She surprised herself (me too!) and she will always remember this experience. I wonder if she will be mad when she sees what the others were saying about her in their interviews. We'll find out in a few weeks at the reunion!
Watch a clip from the episode below, discuss it in our forums, then see where past cheftestants are now!
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