TOP CHEF – Family Favorites

TELEVISION Are we getting to know the 13 remaining "cheftestants" yet? The stronger personalities are getting air time, and a few more, like Lia, Casey and Camille, are beginning to pop their heads up to provide interesting commentary.
Going right to the Quickfire Challenge, Padma introduced guest judge Chef Alfred Portale of the Gotham Bar and Grill and a James Beard Award-winner. The competitors were to catch exotic shellfish, like conch, crawfish and scallops, from a large tank using a small net. It’s a testament to their quick wits, as they executed an idea while shucking, cleaning and deveining their ingredients within 30 minutes.
Speedy Hung’s scooping technique was fast and finesse-less and seemed to make everyone nervous. He didn’t score any points when he left a dropped crawfish on the floor. Guess he’s used to having a busboy or dishwasher pick up after him.
Tre’s poached shellfish with summer corn and grilled leek compote floundered with the judges, as did Camille’s tea-infused flavors, which were too intense for the small delicacies. And Micah, whose conch salad had little conch served a "Sky Juice" that was apparently a tricky item that wasn’t magical. Chef Alfred told Hung he has big croutons, which Hung dismissed saying the chef didn’t understand the concept. I would love to have heard the others’ reactions when he said their cooking with white wine was simple but that his monkey could do it.
CJ’s pan roasted fruits de mer had well-integrated flavors and won him a top spot. Howie, whose ceviche was tasty though an obvious choice, was happy to have had an honorable mention. But last week’s winner, Brian, did it again with his "3 Rivers," a combination of raw (oysters mignonette) and cooked (mixed shellfish with lemon, wine garlic and shallots, and conch toast). Happy with the win, he stated that this doesn’t mean it’s time to relax, but that’s sort of what he does during the Elimination Challenge.
For the EC, the chef’s had to reinvent old-fashioned classics, like fried chicken, Sloppy Joes and fish ‘n chips, with a healthy spin and lower cholesterol count. The new family favorites were served to members of an Elks Club and their children.
Hung sprung up again when he turned the oven off, leaving it to cool down as Sara M was trying to heat up her chicken. But I don’t think this caused her to be in the bottom five. Five! There were five disappointing dishes with Sara M’s chicken a la king with couscous and Micah’s layered meatloaf the least favorite with the guests and the judges. Working against these two is the fact that they grew up in Jamaica and South Africa respectively and just weren’t familiar with these American staples. CJ’s tuna casserole with whole-wheat pasta was said to be too green, grassy and mushy. Lia substituted par-cooked lentils and store bought sausage for her franks and beans, and immunity man Brian made waves using typically high-cholesterol lobster in his stuffed cabbage. He was also urged to get out of his comfort zone and try a few meat dishes. In the end it was Micah who had too many inconsistencies and was asked to pack her knives and go.
Dale’s take on chicken and dumplings was enough to get him into the top two. It was questionable whether using the precooked rotisserie chicken and boxed potato flakes were going to cut the mustard, but the judges bought it. (I think he just smiled at them a few extra times!) It was Howie who wowed them with his tender pork, substituting fennel slaw with ginger reduction for the accompanying applesauce. As this week’s winner, he also won some books from Chef Alfred plus was invited to spend time at his restaurant. Nice comeback, Howie!
Howie was a double winner as he also won the text message poll against Joey as the better chef, with 88% of the votes.
I’m always looking forward to the next episode but I’ll have to stop watching the previews as they always show who is standing in front of the judges during the Elimination Challenge. Editors, please leave a little suspense for the viewers. It is a competition after all and I really don’t want to know who’s going to end up a loser before the show has even begun.

Padma has some nice alternatives for the Elimination Challenge and Gail has some funny observations judging as a viewer on their blogs at BravoTV.com.