Top Chef Las Vegas Recap
By Jason Lee
December 3, 2009
The chefs head into the train and there's HUGE spread of grapes and produce in the car. The kitchen is expansive and beautiful, which is even better. They get to work.
Half an hour later, they present their dishes in a *cozy* train car. Kevin has a honey and fromage blanc mousse with glazed grapes, olive oil and sea salt. It looks like a flowery panna cotta to me. Michael has a grape leaf stuffed with cous cous with a vinegar-glazed kabob of grapes and scallops on a grape vine. Fantastic use of the ingredient here. Bryan has a roasted hen with brussel sprouts and bacon with a concord grape reduction. Jen has salty chicken livers with steamed clams, cabernet grapes and wild tendrils.
Michael Chiarello is truly pleased with all four dishes. Kevin's dish was tasty but wishes that he had more grape-love in it. Michael smartly used three parts of the grape in his dish. Bryan's dish was good but his smoky flavor overwhelmed the grape. Jen's dish was so good that Michael Chiarello all-but-promises to steal it for one of his restaurants.
I predict that Jennifer will win this Quickfire - until Michael Chiarello describes his criteria for the winner. Today's winner was the one that best celebrated the grape ("argh, Michael wins this") and really told a story. And yes, Michael wins the challenge. He's the proud owner of a brand new Prius.
Lucky bastard.
The Elimination Challenge for the finale is much akin to the governor's banquet in Season 4 – this year, the cheftestants will be cooking for the annual "crush party" for a Napa Valley winery. This is a traditional event that celebrates the end of the harvest. The cheftestants will be using the finest local ingredients – other than salt and pepper, they can only use ingredients grown within a 100 mile radius of the winery. They need to do two dishes – one vegetarian and one featuring a local protein. They will serve 150 people with five hours to cook.
Also, Michael is wearing a kick-ass leather jacket. I mentally make a note to look for one for myself this Christmas.
The chefs head to the farmhouse to pick out their ingredients and everything looks amazing. Jennifer wanders around the meat freezers, lamenting that they're filled with "beef, beef and beef." She says she has a million ideas in her head. ARGH! I hate it when Jennifer is not focused!
The chefs head to Brix restaurant where they have a huge kitchen with tons of equipment. Kevin is cooking a beef brisket but is worried that it won't be tender enough. Michael is trying to do an egg custard, which he believes will have enough of a "wow" factor to win him the challenge. Jen is a little bit nervous, and wants to forget that this is an Elimination Challenge. Bryan believes that his experience cooking with local ingredients will play to his advantage.
Most of the cooking takes place without drama - except when Jennifer finds out that the coals in the wood-burning oven have died out. She will not be able to grill her duck and infuse them with a smokey flavor as she'd planned. She switches to a confit technique instead.
ARGH!
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