Top Chef S9-6: Higher Steaks Recap

Top Chef Texas is on its 6^th episode and we have 13 cheftestants battling it out for the title of Top Chef.

Don’t forget there’s still The Last Chance Kitchen, which can only be seen online, but you want to be spoiled about that, check out my review of that online episode.

Don’t forget, if you don’t want to be spoiled about this episode, get out of the kitchen now!

It was bound to happen with the boys leaving one by one. A boys versus girls thing is brewing, but it’s not as horrible as it looks. This version is beginning like a slight rib poking from one team to another. Let’s hope it stays that way.

The Quickfire judge is Dean Fearing of Fearing’s Restaurant. The cheftestants pick a sauce and must make a variation of the mother sauce they’ve chosen. This is when we find that Nyesha and Grayson both love all stuff saucier.

The Mother Sauces: Espagnole, Hollandaise, Tomate, Veloute Bechamel.

During the creating of the sauces, Heather makes it known that she feels that Bev’s Asian food is too one note. Someone should probably explain to her that Asian food is many things, one-note isn’t one of them. She’s slowly taking over the bitch role from Lindsay and Sarah.

It becomes clear that guest judge Dean has a particular view of what a variation of a mother sauce should taste and look like. He disliked Dakota’s overdone peach infused Bechamel seared scallop and truffle lemongrass. He, along with Heather, disliked Bev’s Espagnole crab maki roll with rib eye and felt the coriander was sloppy. Last was poor Nyesha who wants to be a saucier. She used Tomate with coconut and braised lentils that he found had too many flavors.

If Nyesha shouldn’t switch roles in the kitchen, maybe Grayson should go back being a saucier. Dean loved her Hollandaise charred corn with ravioli. He also loved Lusty Chris’ halibut over muscles with veloute. He thought Paul’s quail with pickled and roasted mushrooms using Espangnole was perfect. I guess not that perfect since Grayson gets the win and immunity

Those that weren’t in the top or bottom, but should be noted are Ed, Whitney, Heather and Ty. Ed made cauliflower milk Bechamel with poached red snapper. Whitney used Tomate in her poached shrimp. Heather used Bechamel is her Gruyere croquette with Asian slaw. Yes, you read that correct. Asian slaw. Lastly, Ty made Hollandaise with lemongrass and citrus zest ahi-tuna and bok choy.

The cheftestants are challenged to serve a four course dinner to 200 guests at the Cattle Baron’s Ball. Two of the courses must contain steak and the entrée’s steak must be made medium rare. They have 30 minutes to, separate into four groups and menu plan. The winner of the challenge will win a car.

So, let me get this right, there will be a team of 3 or 4 to make one course and one person from a team will win a car? Ugh. If they’re giving out the big prizes, I’d prefer they do it for an individual challenge or at least a challenge the cheftestants would create an entire dish on their own, not one where they’re supposed to be piecing a dish together like an eatable Frankenstein’s monster.

1^st Course: Soup

The group consists of Sarah, Dakota and Bev who make a summer gazpacho with tomato, cucumber and watermelon with a poached shrimp.

2^nd Course: Appetizer

The group consists of Moto Chris, Paul and Ed who make a grilled New York Steak Carpaccio with salad, mushroom and bacon.

3^rd Course: Entrée

The group consists of Nyesha, Lusty Chris, Ty-Lor and Whitney who make steaks with sauce and butter and a potato gratin.

4^th Course: Dessert

The group consists of Heather, Lindsay and Grayson who make a Texas peach cake.

Tom, Padma, Dean and Hugh are the judges for this one and I wonder what the heck they’ve done with Emeril. He’s disappeared. Come back, please!

The judges can agree on one thing for this serving: all the food was underwhelming. The steaks were served under, over and anything but medium rare. Everything was for the most part ‘meh’ and that’s not a good thing.

This is when Bev admits that Ed is her idol and the oddness of these two chefs becomes clear to me. Ed even invites Bev to come to his restaurant and that he’ll show her a good time. I’ll give the editors extra bonus points for making sure to show the part where he says, “bring your husband”. Phew, it was about to get super, duper creepy over there.

The best were Nyesha who saved Ty-Lor’s randomly cooked steak with her compound butter, Heather who made a variation of Ed’s cake and Moto Chris who cooked his steak perfectly. It’s sad when the top dishes were butter and a cake that the judges have tasted before. It’s even sadder that that cake actually won Heather the car.

The bottoms of the barrel were Ty-Lor’s “nothing right about that” steak, Whitney’s raw gratin and Ed’s underwhelming salad. Whitney’s sad because Hugh is her culinary mentor and idol.

This season is the most brutal ever and that is clear when Tom declared that “usually it’s hard to make a decision who to send home, but today it was easy”. Ouch. Later Whitney, I’m glad you and your sour puss have vacated and you must PYKaG.

The next duel is the Current Last Chance Kitchen Champion, Chuy versus the new parted and sad potato, Whitney. Whose food will rise above the drama?