So We Think We Can Cook Masters

Last week marked the first episode of the Top Chef Masters Champions Round, which means the wheat has been separated from the Top Chef chaff. Unfortunately, all three of the Seattle contestants on this year's Masters--Jerry Traunfeld, Theirry Rautureau, and Maria Hines--ended up being chaff. But the eight remaining chefs competing for the big prize ($100,000 for the charity of their choice, as well as bragging rights) are Jody Adams, Susan Feniger, Carmen Gonzalez, Susur Lee, Tony Mantuano, Rick Moonen, Marcus Samuelsson, and Jonathan Waxman. And from now on, in every episode, the chef with the lowest score will go home. 

All the chefs are happy to see each other. Friends! The Quickfire challenge is the blindfolded tag team relay race from Season 6, in which one dish is prepared per team, cooking one at a time for ten minutes, with the chefs waiting to cook blindfolded until their turn. On the Blue Team: Susan, Jody, Rick, and Jonathan; on the Red Team: Susur, Tony, Marcus, and Carmen.  That is one intimidating Red Team, given Susur and Marcus' high levels of both cooking ability and dickishness.

Rick had judged this challenge in Season 6, and now he's the one being judged!  Marcus wants to go last on his team because he's the best, of course.  Rick wants Jonathan to go last, but Jonathan is claustrophobic and is scared of being blindfolded for the first half hour of the challenge. Susan and Tony end up as starters for their teams, so they get to choose ingredients and prepare the mise en place.  They both pick seafood, since both of their teams have some seafood experts.

Jody and Carmen are up next, and start turning the ingredients into a dish. Jody gets a sauce going, and Carmen starts preparing the fish. Susur and Rick jump in to give the dishes direction, and they both make broths. Susur turns his team's dish Mediterranean, while Rick makes a bouillabaisse. Now for Marcus and Jonathan to close out the dishes. Jonathan has been freaking out the entire time, but once the blindfold is off, he takes his time thinking things through and has a classic Obi Wan Jonathan moment: his furrowed brow and frown turn into a smile as he figures the dish out.  Rick totally called it.

The Red Team has made a pan-seared bass and prosciutto with truffle-spiced shellfish broth, which gets 4 stars from Jay Rayneur; the Blue Team's mussel and scallop stew with orange and fennel gets 4.5 stars from Jay, so they win the challenge and split $10K between the chef's four charities. Marcus and Susur are PISSED. Says Susur, "Now I have to kick it up quite a few notches."  TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES IN ANGER.

Time for the elimination challenge:  It's wedding wars, which Top Chef does pretty much every year. They're staying in the teams they've got, and have twelve hours over two days to prepare a full wedding meal (and good god, cakes) for 150 guests. Susan says, "All of us are totally disappointed that we have to think about a wedding cake. The idea of it is just miserable."  Considering dessert has brought down many a Top Chef chef, I have to agree.

The couple comes in to talk to the chefs about their palates; Elizabeth the bride loves French and Asian food, while Aaron the groom is a "steak and potatoes guy." The Blue Team gets to pick who they cook for, and of course, they choose the bride. The bride and groom shoot down most of what the chefs on both teams suggest: the groom doesn't want foie gras (obviously), no bbq, nothing spicy, and he's Jewish, so no pork either.  The bride doesn't like shellfish and lamb is not her favorite.  When it comes to dessert, the bride loves bananas foster, while the groom likes carrot cake.  Given what they have to work with, both teams should be scared. 

The chefs go shopping at Whole Foods. Jody decides she's going to take a risk and make the bride a lamb dish she will love.  She's also taking a big risk by making bananas foster for the first time.  Turns out she and her husband catered their own wedding, so lady may know what she's doing after all. On the Red Team, Susur has decided to nut up and make a carrot wedding cake: "I've never made a goddamn carrot cake before. Never. But when I used to live in British Columbia, it was full of hippies and they made the BEST carrot cake. So I have to like, figure it out."

Proving that he's the most multi-culti guy ever, Marcus talks about having his wedding in Ethiopia in his bride's village with his Swedish mama in tow.  Marcus also proves himself to be the biggest dick on Top Chef Masters, by stating, "I know the main course of a wedding is extremely important so I will be the one in charge of that. It h as to be flavorful, not bland." But uh oh, will his tenderloin be too spicy for this bland groom?

Packing up for the night, everyone is nervous, because they don't know where it's going to be, what the setup will be, etc.  The next day is of course busy.  Jonathan sees Marcus grilling his tenderloin and says, "It could be undercooked; it could be overcooked. I would never serve fillet at a wedding."  Meanwhile, Susan's cake is a gloppy cream and berry pyramid mess, while Susar has predictably made the most amazing desserts ever.

Oh, yeah and some people got married.  The bride seriously could've used a gown that gave the girls a little more support.  Lift those things high on your wedding day!

Let's look at the food by course. 

Hors d'oeuvres:

Blue Team
Susan: spicy potatoes fritters with mint cilantro sauce & tamarind date chutney
Jonathan: red pepper pancakes with smoked salmon, caviar & lemon zest
Jody: pancetta & melted raclette tart

Red Team
Marcus: lobster roll with asian pear, honey mustard cured tuna
Carmen: jumbo lump crab cakes with avocado relish

Susan's potatoes are "perfection," but Jonathan's pancake is too big. Jody's tart is "amazing," and Jay wants to marry Marcus because of his tuna.  Carmen's crab cake is good, but nothing special.  But overall, both teams have strong appetizers. 

Entrees and Sides:

Blue Team
Jody: dijon rack of lamb with rosemary, farro, and autumn vegetables
Jonathan: roast chicken with tarragon veloute and cauliflower puree
Rick: seafood mixed grill: opah, coha salmon, and swordfish on sweet and sour eggplant

Red Team
Tony: flaming ouzo shrimp and au gratin potatoes, pasta with fire-roasted tomatoes, capers, and feta cheese
Carmen: roasted corn relish
Marcus: roast beef tenderloin with grilled onion ragout and pomegranate sauce

Jonathan's chicken was "shockingly good," and he is the "chicken master."  Tony's au gratin potatoes were "exquisite" and "fantastic," while Marcus' tenderloin was "mushy."  Jody's lamb was "fabulous," while some or Rick's fish was unfortunately overcooked.  Jonathan had perfectly cooked shrimp, but overcooked pasta, and Carmen's corn doesn't go with anything.  The judges feel that the Blue Team clearly listened to their groom about his likes and (mostly) dislikes.

Dessert:

Blue Team
Jody: bananas foster with candied pecans and rum caramel sauce
Susan: Egyptian semolina cake with berries and cream

Susan's cake was not only a mess to look at, but it was also dry.  Jody's bananas foster was extra-special. 

Red Team

Susur: French wedding cake (croque-en-bouche), upside down raisin pudding with butterscotch sauce, chocolate profiterole and whipping cream, and carrot cake

Susur had a lot going on, but the judges show great admiration for what he accomplished.

At the Critics' Table, the judges say that these were the best dishes they had had at any wedding.  Obviously, they were not invited to Jody Davis' self-catered affair. They feel that the bride's Blue Team was more synchronized, but had a terrible, terrible cake.  The groom's Red Team wasn't balanced and probably had too many (excellent) desserts. The Blue Team wins, so all those chefs move on in the Champions Round, with Jody winning overall. Susur is angry. The judges hated Marcus' mushy tenderloin but feel like Carmen might not have done enough as part of the team.  True, she only made a crabcake and a corn salsa, but she did the brunt of the work organization-wise. 

The judges are TORN.  Here's how it shakes out: Tony gets 12 stars from the judges and 3 stars from the wedding guests, for a total of 15 stars; Susur gets 12 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the wedding guests for a total of 16 stars; Carmen gets 7 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the wedding guests for a total of 11 stars; Marcus gets 9 stars from the judges and 4.5 stars from the wedding guests for a total of 13.5 stars.

So, Carmen Gonzalez is out, and Jody Adams wins, receiving $10,000 for her charity, Partners in Health.  Tonight:  The chefs cook for The Simpsons!