Tonight, Top Chef returns for its fifth season, this time taking on the Big Apple.  Perhaps taking a cue from the current financial climate, the show is bringing using an economy-sized group of cheftestants, seventeen in all. 

I'll be posting thoughts live throughout tonight's premiere, so refresh often, and leave your thoughts in the comments below.  Top Chef is always a pretty fast-paced show, so I've got my knuckles cracked and fingers stretched in order to keep up with what is sure to be a premiere chock-full of drama.

Oh!  And some potentially bad food.  As hostess Padma Lakshmi introduces the season, there is a montage of some apparently very negative reactions from the judges.

No re-vamp of the theme song.  That's a shame, it's time.

Fabio is Italian, Eugene is from Hawaii.  He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up.  Jeff is a blond surfer from Florida and is concerned about his hair.  Radhika is worried that people will assume she always does Indian food.  Lauren is from Georgia, and has a husband deployed in Iraq.  Ariane has a restaurant in NJ and the accent to match.  Yay for Jersey Girls!  Lauren and her classmate Patrick have a joyful reunion.  He's still a student and has the baby face to go with it.  Stefan is from Finland.  Richard says his inner queen wants to know what Padma is wearing.  Leah's mom doesn't want her to cry.

They meet with the judges.  Padma tells them NYC is the most competitive culinary environment. 

Quickfire!

Someone is going home now.  Yikes.  That's some humiliation.

Their challenge: peel apples with a knife, not a peeler.  First nine will be safe, eight will move on.

There's blood!  Richard keeps peeling despite his bleeding thumb.

Stefan is done first, then...oh wow, a bunch of other people.  Too fast!  Richard's bloody apples are acceptable, he's the second to last safe.  Jamie (I think) is the last.  Stefan wins immunity for being first.

Round two!  Brunoise (small perfect cube dice) the apples.  Danny the Long Guyland Guy is super fast with knife skills.  Jill's efforts are not passable and she has to go again, but makes it in.

Lauren, Patrick, Radhika and Leah are left.  They have to cook something with the apple to convince Tom Colicchio they should stay.  Only 20 minutes to do, and Radhika is worried because that's how long it takes to set up her station.  She is doing pork, which convinces Leah to not do pork.

Lauren is doing a salad.  All of her interviews sound scripted.  Patrick is also doing an apple salad, but is concerned because speed is not his strength.

Judging.  Lauren is first.  Spinach salad with bacon, apples, etc.
Patrick's is an apple slaw with yogurt dressing.
Radhika made an apple chutney.
Leah did scallops with dried (how did she do that so fast?) apples.

Leah and Radhika are safe.  That means one of the buddies - Lauren and Patrick - will be going home. 

Commercial!

Okay, so who is going home?  Patrick's is a "little better" per Tom.  Lauren is heading home. 

Now it's time for the Elimination Challenge.  Knife block time.  The chefs all pick out names of neighborhoods in Manhattan.  They pair up.  Design a dish inspired by the area they chose.  They will be cooking head to head.  Winning in the duo can win the whole thing, losing might go home.

They get to see their new apartment.  Team Rainbow has been formed, two gay guys (Patrick and Richard) and one lesbian (Jamie).  Fabio and Stefan have bonded over their accents and European rivalry.  Stefan is rubbing people the wrong way with his ego.  Danny is annoyed.

Commercial again!

Ariane is there to prove something to herself. 

Richard and Jamie have to go against each other for Astoria, which means Greek flavors.

Husea and Carla are competing for Brighton Beach, Russian.  He's going for straightforward Russian flavors (caviar, sour cream).

Jeff and Fabio are doing Latin.  Jeff is from Florida and feels confident.

Radhika and Jill, Jamaican.

Melissa and Leah are doing Italian.  Melissa says she is a country mouse.  How far into the country do you have to go to be unaware of basic Italian cuisine?

Patrick and Daniel are doing Chinese cuisine.  Patrick is telling Danny what he's going to do, Danny doesn't get this.

Alex and Eugene are matched up to do India.  Eugene has never cooked Indian.

The chefs go to the kitchen for prep.  Now that Jeff has called attention to his hair, I can't stop looking at it.

Stefan is feeling confident.  Ariane is not so much. 

Hosea and Carla have purchased some of the same ingredients.  Carla is concerned about having bones in her fish.

Richard is going a lamb "slider."  Jamie doesn't want to chit chat while she's cooking.  Team Rainbow only reaches so far.

Leah is seeing Melissa's inexperience with Italian and feeling good about that.

Eugene is making a tzatziki.  For Indian food?

Ariane is losing her focus for farro. 

Patrick had purchased some black rice noodles, which he wasn't familiar with, and isn't happy with the texture. 

Jeff is running through the kitchen, golden hair bouncing.  He's plating too late and misses a bunch of elements.

We’re back!

Jean-Georges Vonger…um yeah, I can’t spell that on the fly.

Gayle Simmons is back to judge too.

Stefan and Ariane are up first for Middle Eastern Long Island City. Ariane tells the judges she doesn’t know about the cuisine. She made lamb and a faro risotto. Stefan made some kabobs. The judges like Stefan’s cinnamon on the pita. Ariane, her risotto was not cooked, although her lamb was.

Richard says he thinks Tom is cute. Richard made his sliders. Jamie made a deconstructed Greek salad. The judges like both, but Richard overcooked his lamb.

Radhika vs. Jill in Jamaica. Jill did some fritters and a tri-color sauce. Jerk-rubbed halibut for Radhika. Texturally, Radhika’s had issues. Jill’s scallop was overcooked, but otherwise better.

Fabio vs. Jeff. Fabio says a bunch of stuff I couldn’t understand. Jeff made pork in coffee. Jeff’s plating issues are called out. Fabio’s seasoning is off. Jeff wins.

Hosea and Carla in Brighton beach. Hosea has a trio of smoked fish. Carla has smoked fish on a latke. Carla’s salad did not have enough seasoning. Hosea’s gave a good sense of his style and he wins unanimously.

Leah and Melissa in Little Italy. Another farro risotto. Melissa’s was underseasoned, and Leah wins.

Danny made ginger chicken salad. Patrick made seared salmon with black rice noodles. The noodles are called out as gummy and his flavored are one-note. Danny isn’t much better, clichéd, but slightly better and he wins.

Alex and Eugene are up for Indian. Alex grilled lamb chobs. Eugene looks like he is going to pass out. Eugene made a masala-rubbed protein. His dish was actually very spot on and close to a very common home dish. Color me wrong!

The judges are overall impressed with the level of quality. Chinatown was the most disappointed. Patrick is amateurish. Fabio also didn’t impress, nor did Radhika or Ariane.

In the waiting room, Melissa says sweats was coming out of her pants in judging.  The consensus is the judges want more salt. 

Padma calls back Stefan, Eugene, Leah from the winning team, and Ariane and Patrick from the losing.  Why all together, I wonder.

Leah wins praise for being focused.  Stefan wins praise for tasting concise despite the complexity.  Eugene surprised everyone with his results.  Padma points out that the first winner usually wins the whole competition.  This season of Top Chef, the winner is Stefan.

Ariane comments about her lack of experience with the cuisine.  Patrick didn't communicate the flavors of Chinatown well enough.  Padma calls out Ariane for being in New Jersey (so close to New York) and not knowing enough other cultures.  She retorts at home she can learn from books.  Not the answer Tom wanted.  They are sent out.

Patrick's was too on the nose and not inspired enough.  But Ariane should have known better with her cooking skills. 

The two bottom chefs get called in for the results.  The second chef going home tonight?  Patrick.  It's a rough run for the young chef, but certainly he has plenty of time in the future to do much more with his career.



- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of Bravo)