May 10, 2008
Once again this week, Top Chef 4 felt a little bit more like Top Caterer as the chefs had to work in teams to cater an entire wedding in less than one day. Nikki Cascone, who had consistently underperformed in catering-related challenges, was finally dispatched, to the relief of many irritated viewers. But she wasn't the only one who faltered in this episode, although – for once – many of the issues were in the dishes themselves as opposed to catering-related mishaps like Valerie Bolon's pre-cooked blinis back in episode 2.
Despite the super-sized episode, the flurry of activity and sheer volume of food made it so that the time spent lingering over the flaws and merits of each dish felt a little rushed. Nevertheless, I'll still make an attempt to pick the best and worst of the event. Bad news for food porn lovers, though: the pictures on Bravo's website of the dishes weren't inclusive of everything served in the episode so you will just have to use your imagination.
May 10, 2008
Last week's Hell's Kitchen 4 episode had the chefs taking on a Top Chef-style task where the chef's were allowed to get creative with a pizza. This week, the tables were turned as the Top Chef 4 cheftestants had the Mise en Place Relay Race. Rather than creative concepts, this challenge gave us the chance to see how well one of those chefs would do in some of the Hell's Kitchen type of competitions.
Of course, Tom Colicchio standing over you with a whistle is nowhere near as nerve-rattling as Gordom Ramsay standing over you with a quiver full of rage. That said, I think some of the Top Chef chefs showed that – as some have wondered – they might actually have the potential to do well in the more rough-and-tumble world of Hell's Kitchen.
May 8, 2008
Last night saw the departure of Nikki Cascone from Top Chef 4. The third time was not the charm for her fresh pasta as her tortellini with brown butter and sage was not strong enough to save the day for her in the competition. So while the judges had problems with other dishes served from the groom's side on Wedding Wars, they took greatest issue with what they perceived to be Nikki's lack of leadership in an Italian-focused challenge and sent her home.
Nikki took some time to speak with us at BuddyTV about her time on Top Chef 4. Read on for the highlights and the full mp3 of the interview.
May 7, 2008
Last week on Top Chef 4, we lost the adorable Kiwi Mark Simmons, and this week as we rejoin the cheftestants, his buddies Andrew D'Ambrosi and Spike Mendelsohn mourn together.
Antonia Lofaso notes that there are four women left in the top eight, something that has never happened before on Top Chef. Every week the little pre-Quickfire Top Chef house debrief has some clues about who could possibly go home this week. Has Antonia just made a foreshadowing observation?
The chefs head to the Top Chef kitchen for the Quickfire. There is no guest judge with Padma Lakshmi this week. Instead, she is joined by fellow judge Tom Colicchio. They tell the cheftestants that for one thing, there is no longer any immunity for winning the Quickfire. For another, the chefs will be participating in not one but two oldie-but-goodie challenges this week.
May 6, 2008
This week on Top Chef 4, we have Wedding Wars! Previews also tell us that in order to meet their deadline, the chefs work for about 40 hours straight. Needless to say, the Bravo online preview also opens with a montage of yawning.
Like a cranky toddler who's missed his nap, the sleep-deprived cheftestants appear to be seriously grumpified by this challenge. Dale Talde is going to explosively lose his temper, and the preview notes there is a lot of “finger-pointing” going on in judging. Who could make it onto the chopping block this week?
May 3, 2008
Watching this week's episode of Top Chef 4 made me feel like a kid again. No, not the childlike wonder at learning new things, nor the youthful excitement at an interesting challenge. Instead, it was more like, “Brussels sprouts and beets? Yuck!”
But good for the chefs for trying to introduce the kids to new vegetables in such a way that maybe the kids won't grow up to have the same kind of vegetable aversion that I have. Involving kids in the cooking process is a great way to get them into food in a healthy and long-lasting way.
May 3, 2008
This week on Hell's Kitchen, the chefs finally had the chance again to do a Top Chef-style challenge. After several weeks of technique-related challenges, like pasta-making, fish-filleting and chicken butchering, the Hell's Kitchen chefs were allowed to let their creativity loose on their own gourmet pizza.
I have to admit that I do really like these challenges better than the technique ones. While those might be interesting in the way that watching a footrace might be, I feel like we get enough information on their skills at technique in the service portion. Part of being an executive chef is also menu-development and tweaking current dishes to make them as good as possible.
May 1, 2008
Last night on Top Chef 4, New Zealander cheftestant Mark Simmons was eliminated for his vegetarian curry. And the didgeridoo became a didgerdon't. (Sorry, I am physically incapable of not typing that stupid joke, it's like my fingers were possessed.)
Normally on Thursdays we present the audio interviews from the eliminated Top Chefs, but unfortunately due to some technical difficulties, while we spoke with Mark today, we aren't going to be able to provide the audio file. This is a shame because a) who doesn't love listening to a New Zealand accent and b) he's pretty much as adorably humorous over the phone as he was on Top Chef.
Here are the highlights, though, of our conversation with Mark, including a very exciting recent personal development for the chef, as well as a little insight into that exchange with Tom Colicchio.