TOP CHEF – Freezer Burn

TELEVISION If you’re not one who does well on oral exams, then the Quickfire Challenge in this episode is not for you. The producers prove that their ideas are not half-baked when the chef-testants were put on the spot with a Culinary Bee, identifying by sight or taste a variety of unusual and ordinary items like Japanese eggplant, fish paste, miso, tahini, and quail eggs. But how difficult is it to identify oatmeal, kidney beans or bow-tie pasta? They should have at least required farfalle for the answer. Howie touted himself an academic but didn’t make it more than two rounds. CJ commented that Hung should do well but holding him back was his asshole-arrogant factor, which is indeed what happened. Had he tasted the celery seed before responding incorrectly he might have beat Casey, who won immunity.
Tonight’s guest judge was celebrity chef Rocco DeSpirito, who fit right in but looked like he left a cucumber mask on his face for a few weeks. Italian food company Bertolli, who offered the winners two tickets each to Italy, sponsored the Elimination Challenge. With the frozen dinner meal market worth $8.6 billion in the US alone, Bertolli could have had the entire episode filmed in Italy. The 10 remaining chefs were asked to pair up and create their own frozen dinner, which could be cooked in less than 10 minutes.
When shopping for ingredients, chicken and shrimp seemed to be most popular. Only Casey and Dale thought outside the pasta box and made meatballs. But the secret was inspecting how Bertolli packaged their product. Tre and CJ not only made the best use of their time but also individually froze each ingredient, allowing their Black Truffle and Parmesan Linguini with Chicken, Kale and Tomato Confit to retain most of its moisture. Their attention to detail became obvious and won them the challenge and the trip. It was almost unsettling to hear Rocco, and even CJ, call out Tom for questioning the Mediterranean-ness of the truffles.
Casey and Dale came in second with their Turkey and Pork Meatballs with Orecchiette in a Spinach Almond Pesto. But they had served Rocco a meatball that was still partially frozen and Chef Tom thought the artichokes in the dish had a tinny citric acid flavor. Winning immunity didn’t make Casey any less a team player, either with Dale or helping others bag their food for the freezer.
Hung was the first to mention freezing items individually but it somehow got lost in translation with his partner Joey because their Tricolor Fusilli with Garlic Chicken and Sun-dried Tomatoes came out of the bag in a lump. The pasta was stored with the sauce causing it to absorb the liquid and become mushy. They couldn’t even "sell" their free food to any of the customers. This team was on the chopping block at the Judge’s Table along with Howie and Sara M who didn’t work well together at all and didn’t even agree on the pasta to use. Their Shrimp Pasta with Fennel and Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette turned out dry and was called a disaster. Though Chef Tom repeated several times he didn’t see her contribute anything, Sara told the judges that she made many suggestions that bulldog Howie chose to ignore. I thought this interaction would send Sara packing her knives but it was Joey, who became very emotional when asked to leave.
Tonight’s text poll asked which chef annoys you most. I have no idea why Brian was included but he got 2% of the votes followed by Sara M with 16% and Howie with only 22%. But the winner with 60%, who probably thought the voters didn’t understand the question and I’m sure did not hang his head in shame, was Hung.