New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

On to the Elimination Challenge. The chefs who got to use solar stoves are paired up as one team (Blue), while the chefs who used the solar ovens constitute the other team (Orange). While the judges and some Top Chef friends are busy enjoying a game of golf, the cheftestants will be serving up the food. Each team will prepare a four-course progressive meal, with each dish served out of a refreshment cart. Each team confers and quickly agrees on a direction - Blue will focus on vegetables, while Orange will incorporate Latin flavors.

While Blue has little trouble deciding which chefs will prepare which dishes, there’s drama on the Orange team. Initial pairings leave Angelina and Giselle to form one duo, but Angelina puts her foot down. She is not interested in working with Giselle for a third challenge. Giselle (needless to say) feels the same. Things are quickly rearranged and it’ll be Grayson who’ll work with Angelina.

After some uneventful shopping at Whole Foods and a few hours of relaxing in the pool that night, the chefs head to the golf course for cooking in the morning. The first two pairs quickly realize that they’re both making ceviche, which makes sense given how hot it is out there. The Blue Team (Karen and Jeremy) serve up a citrus marinated halibut with kumquats. John Besh calls it outstanding, Padma dubs it delicious, and Tom loves the flavors. Everyone appreciates how cold the dish is, which is the result of Jeremy’s bright idea to serve a bowl of ceviche atop another bowl filled with ice.

The Orange Team’s (Kwame and Chad) ceviche doesn’t fare as well. Jose Andres finds it a bit too warm, Tom says the dish is a bit too sweet, and Mary Sue Milliken can’t find any sweet potato flavor in the purée.

The second dishes feature Jason and Marjorie on the Blue Team, and Grayson and Angelina on the Orange Team. Again, the two teams serve similar dishes, with the Blue Team getting the better of the Orange Team. Jason and Marjorie have a grilled shrimp with summer squash, which Jose compliments as very fresh, Padma calls delicious, and Richard saying the vegetables are perfect.

Meanwhile, Grayson and Angelina have avocado, chorizo, shimp, and corn. Jose dislikes their use of corn, wishing that they’d left it uncooked to bring a bit of freshness to the dish. Despite having time to tweak their dish in light of this feedback, Grayson decides to leave the dish the same. When served up to Tom, he expresses desire for more acid in the dish. Mary Sue also dislikes the way the corn is incorporated into the dish, calling it undercooked, which results in the corn husks sticking to the diners’ teeth.

The third dish from the Blue Team comes from Wes and Carl. They serve a roasted pork loin with yogurt and grapes. Jose questions the decision to cook the grapes, adding that raw grapes would have brought something cold and fresh to the palate. Wes and Carl take the hint and change the dish accordingly, which results in Tom calling it “really tasty,” and Richard comparing it favorably to a restaurant dish, not one cooked on a golf course.

Continued:       1       2       3