Top Chef 5 kicked off the season last week with the double elimination, sending home Patrick and Lauren. Stefan emerged as the cheftestant most likely to be the confident chef whose skills make his near-arrogance slightly more palatable.

This week, the chefs have to face some of the harshest judges possible: chefs who tried out for Top Chef and didn't make it.

We join the chefs as they are regaining equilibrium after last week. Ariane is still reeling from being in the bottom two last week. Stefan and Fabio have established a friendly rivalry, each seeing the other European as his main threat.

The chefs meet with Padma at the Quickfire Challenge with guest judge and restaurateur Donatella Arpaia. They are going to assess the cheftestants attempts at a New York classic, a dish the city spends $100 million on: hot dogs. They will be competing not only against each other, but also against Angelina D'Angelo, who runs a famous classic hot dog stand.

It's a simple but tricky challenge, and some chefs falter. Jill doesn't attempt to make her own hot dog or sausage, and instead makes the slightly baffling decision to not only use a store-bought hot dog, but to attempt to shoe-horn that into an Asian style dish using an egg wrapper. Ariane is anxious because she hasn't made a sausage in twenty years. Stefan and Fabio both realize they can't attack an American Classic directly, so Stefan attempts to cover his bases making a “World Dog” with French bread, Wisconsin cheese and a side of German beer. Fabio opts for a Mediterranean take on a sausage sandwich.

After Padma and Donatella taste, the top and bottom are selected. Jill's is called out in the bottom, as is Stefan's. His Euro rival, Fabio, on the other hand, joins Radhika (who made an Indian-inspired dog) and Hosea (who used smoky bacon and peppers) in the top. Radhika wins for her moist and satisfying take on the classic, and has immunity.

The chefs then learn that the Elimination Challenge will be to cook three courses for 50 tough New York diners. After a lot of chaos, Jeff helps wrangle the chefs into three teams of five: appetizers, entrees and desserts.

They head out to shop, and a few questionable decisions are made. Jill decides to make a quiche with an ostrich egg. Hosea opts to make a familiar crab salad. Unable to find the right kind fresh, he opts for canned crab.

As the chefs work through their two hours of prep, Tom Colicchio arrives to tell them two more tidbits about their challenge: the kitchen they will be cooking in is at Craft, and the diners will be 50 New York chefs who tried out and didn't make it onto Top Chef.

The next day, the chefs finish their preparations at Craft. Some chefs are feeling sure of themselves, like Jamie, who is confident her chilled corn soup is solid. Some are less so. Carla worries about the pastry in her rustic apple tart, and Ariane asks her teammates to taste her lemon meringue martini. She worries it's too sweet. Richard tells her it's not, but in interview says actually it was.

Service begins, and other than Jeff falling a bit behind due to unfamiliarity with the Craft kitchen burners, everyone keeps up with getting their dishes out. The reception, as one might expect, is chilly, and most dishes are met with criticism from the Top Chef rejects and Padma, Gail Simmons and Donatella.

The rundown for the meal is:

 Appetizers

• Jamie's chilled corn soup is received well by both the judges and the chefs.
• Hosea's crab salad is called “slimy” and one of the diners wonders about the canned flavor.
• Leah's Yukon potatoes and scallops with peppercorns don't go over well. A diner calls the scallops sandy, and the judges find her plating dated.
• Fabio serves beef carpaccio with olives and grilled lemons. Everyone seems fairly impressed with this, especially with the olives, which have been treated so that the outside is solid while the inside is liquid like an egg.
• Melissa's grilled avocado with mango does not make much of an impression.

Entrees

• Jill's ostrich egg quiche with rice-pecan crust is said to look like dog food and taste like glue.
• Eugene's deconstructed meatloaf sandwich is dinged for dated presentation, but not a lot of commentary on the flavor.
• Stefan seems to please with his halibut with microgreens and tortellini.
• Jeff's chicken with chorizo and cornbread seems to be tasty.
• Alex's grilled pork with vegetables is said to be “not good at all.”

Desserts

• Radhika's avocado mousse tells Gail that she has immunity as it's apparently an unpleasant version of a sweet guacamole.
• Danny's ricotta poundcake with berry coulis seems to be tasty if not mind-blowing.
• Ariane's lemon meringue martini is so sweet Padma spits it out into her napkin. The other judges are pleased either.
• Richard's banana bread with peanut butter and a grape gelato is called "an afterschool snack," but there's no elaboration as to whether or not that's in a good or bad way.
• Carla's apple tart makes Padma much happier – she says it's her favorite – although Donatella takes issue with the lone piece of cheese that looks like a piece of “deli counter sweaty cheese.”

 

After Tom takes his own taste of all the offerings, it's time for judging. After giving the chefs a little talking-to about how disappointing their efforts were overall, he calls back Fabio, Hosea, Carla, Ariane, Jamie and Jill.

The judges give a quick fake-out of a stern lecture before saying that some of the five were actually the best. Carla is commended for her pastry, although Tom wanted her to work the cheddar into the dish. Fabio is called on next, and he launches into a defense of his dish, at which point the judges tell him they liked it. He is charmingly chagrinned and says, “I'm glad you like it, that's why I made it!” Jamie's soup is also praised for being simple, yet beautifully crafted. Fabio wins, and is pleased to be tied with Stefan.

As to the bad, Hosea is surprised to be in the bottom, and can't see the faults with seasoning the judges had. Ariane is there for obvious reasons. Jill for the lack of execution to support the big idea of using the ostrich egg. She is called on to defend herself and seems unable to articulate a point of view.

After additional deliberation, it's Jill who is sent home. After she leaves to pack her knives, Ariane cries and says she doesn't deserve to be there.

We'll talk to Jill tomorrow so come back here for her take on the Top Chef competition!

 

- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

(Image courtesy of Bravo)