INTRODUCTION:
Fifteen contestants head to Los Angeles to compete for the final prize of $100,000, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food & Wine classic in Aspen and the title of Top Chef. Padma Lakshmi is the new host.
Padma who is a model, an actress and an award-winning cookbook author brings style and substance to the series. Along with Tom Colicchio, a superstar in the culinary world, and Food & Wine’s own Gail Simmons, Padma dishes out some advice, criticism and challenges for the contestants. Each week another chef is eliminated.
CONTESTANTS:
Elia Aboumrad, Otto Borsich, Marisa Churchill, Clifford Crooks, Carlos Fernandez, Betty Fraser, Mia Gaines, Ilan Hall, Michael Midgley, Josie Smith-Malave, Emily Spressler, Sujai Steinhauer, Sam Talbot, Frank Terzoli and Marcel Vigneron.
EPISODE 1:
Sujai is eliminated first after showing in both the flambé quickfire competition and the mystery box challenge that her lack of experience is too difficult an obstacle to overcome.
EPISODE 2:
Otto is told to “pack his knives and go” after he takes some produce without paying for it in the team competition. It’s the first time that a contestant is eliminated for ‘cheating’. Otto’s departure creates some bad blood among the remaining members and is very dramatic. Everyone’s pissed by how quickly the losing team turned on each other. The judges are perplexed by how bad the food was and Marcel is proving himself to be less than a team player.
EPISODE 3:
The contestants create an ice cream flavor and sell it on the beach. Marcel’s bacon and avocado ice cream had me running for the restroom. The elimination challenge has the contestants cooking and serving their wares to a bunch of firemen and the judges. Emily is eliminated. Betty and Marcel almost come to blows over the temperature of the oven or something stupid like that.
EPISODE 4:
The contestants have to create an amuse-bouche for Susan Goin. Basically, it’s a small taste of something that’s served before an appetizer. They have to use items from a vending machine. Mike shows he doesn’t care and comes up with something using Snickers, Corn Nuts and Cheetos. Oy vey! Carlos wins immunity with a sunflower seed and carrot loaf. The 12 remaining contestants are broken down into 3 teams of four. They must create a meal with dessert that doesn’t come over 500 calories. This will be served to kids at a ‘fat camp.’
Some of the contestants go over the calorie allotment after the nutritionists leave. Sam is upset about this and mentions it in panel, but won’t name names. No one gets sent home as a result.
EPISODE 5:
The chefs work with leftovers. They cater an event at Socal Restaurant for Jennifer Coolidge from items remaining at last night’s dinner service. Tom heads to the kitchen to watch the chefs as they cook. Some inferior product is sent out. Michael & Ilan win the elimination challenge. Josie & Marisa, who didn’t actually cook anything, were both sent home. Everyone says Josie was soooooooo talented and shouldn’t have left yet including Josie herself.
EPISODE 6:
It’s Thanksgiving for the Top Chefers. They’ve got to create a meal for the judges and the winners of the quickfire challenge. Some of the chefs are bummed that they didn’t win the challenge. Carlos takes several hours to put together his salad. Frank and Marcel almost come to blows when Marcel moves his toothbrush or something. In the end, Elia’s mushroom soup was deemed a winner and Carlos was sent home.
EPISODE 7:
Raw food gets some attention. Finally! (I’m only about 30% raw right now but plan to bump that up to between 50-60% by the end of 2007). The chefs present Raphael Lunetta with some interesting fare. Marcel wins with his watermelon. Betty rolls her eyes. For the elimination challenge, the chefs cook breakfast for athletes, but they don’t know where or for how many people they’ll be cooking. Turns out it’s on the beach with fire pits. Surfers gotta eat too! Elia wins with her interesting waffle, egg and bacon blend. Frank gets sent home because his quiche didn’t lend itself well to the elements and his back-up plan sucked.
EPISODE 8:
It’s holiday time. The whiny chefs complain when they have to make a bite of food to go along with a drink. Mike, the former bartender, wants to win this one. It’s Cliff however who takes the honors. The elimination challenge has the chefs catering a holiday party in Hollywood. For some reason, Elia and her team of Cliff, Mia and Mike decide to do canapés. Mia complains but caves. They can’t keep the food on the table which is a big no-no. Sam, Betty, Marcel and Ilan have 13 dishes and keep the peeps happy. They easily win. In the end, Mia is sent home for a sour attitude and says she wanted to go anyway.
The season picks up on January 3, 2007 and heats up ‘til the finale on January 31, 2007. I’ll be recapping each new episode of Top Chef 2 ‘til the end.
