I Refuse to Call them Cheftestants: Week 2

The second episode of Top Chef seemed like a carbon copy of the first. For the most part the chefs that shined last week shined again and likewise, the chefs that failed last week failed again. On top of that we got another 2 or 3 ceviches which brings the total this season to 5…I think. I swear to god if I see another ceviche or twist on ceviche I’m going to lose my culinary mind. Oh, and gazpacho I’m watching you too.

The Quickfire Challenge was one of the surprising points of this episode. While the chefs were somewhat constrained by the dice dictated amount of ingredients, they had a great deal of freedom in what type of dish they cooked. This is the second challenge out of four where I believe they’ve gotten a chance to really cook what they choose. That ratio seems way out of whack compared to seasons past and if it keeps up should help the cream of the crop rise to the top. Jennifer (yes, I’m going to try and use real names this week) looked very strong again as did Yukon Cornelius (sorry Kevin but unless you shave that awesome beard your nickname is sticking). Jesse once again seemed to plan well but her execution was lacking. Kevin aka Brother #1 won the challenge with a gazpacho that had a nice twist with the liquid nitrogen.

The Elimination Challenge was the first of what I predict will be multiple Vegas wedding themed episodes. Ashley had some good points about the show celebrating an institution that discriminates against so many Americans. Tom Colicchio had some excellent points as well on why the show chose the wedding themed challenge that you can read here. As for the challenge itself the idea of the men cooking for the bachelorette party and the women cooking for the bachelor party was pretty pedestrian. Although having the chefs pair their dishes with shots, and not all typical shots, was a nice twist. I loved Jennifer’s outrage over the battle of the sexes theme and had to wonder whether it was because she thought it was sexist or because she knew that except for her, the women underperformed in week 1. If it was the later, then her concerns were well founded.

The men all seemed to have their act together with a few exceptions. Ron and Mattin both seemed to sputter again and should be thankful to their team members. Yukon Cornelius did well as did Hector who bounced back from that horrible deep fried steak debacle from week 1. Eli did a fresh take on tartar (season 4’s ceviche) and brother #1 Kevin did a nice dessert. I’d love to try that goat cheese cookie dough. In the end though it was brother #2’s (Michael) dish that was the top choice of the judges and made me want to jump into my TV and taste it. His sweet and salty macaroon was just inspired, a complete reinvention of a classic tequila pairing.

The women were certainly the opposite of the men this week. While there were a couple of strong dishes headlined once again by Jennifer, there were many weak performances. Ashley made one great dish and then screwed it up by making a second dish of unset panna cotta. Her one great dish saved her but hopefully she learned from her mistake. Jesse once again conceived well but executed poorly. She was saved this week as well which means I’ll most likely be typing that previous sentence again next week. Preeti had a visual mess of a dish and according to the judges one that was a mess of flavors as well. Then, she goes and basically argues that the guests’ tastes were better than the judges. Oooh child, you better watch yourself or Padma will go off. Preeti was saved however by Michigan’s lone representative Eve. Once again Eve screwed up shrimp which is a sure sign she needed to go home. Furthermore she knew the flavors of her dish were off and did nothing to fix them. Upon her exit, she pulled out the old “the judges don’t understand my flavor combinations” excuse. Eve, honey, you went home because you made a series of poor dishes with a relatively forgiving ingredient not because your Michigan cuisine is too complex for the likes of Tom, Padma, or Gail. A predictable exit on a rather predictable episode.