Top Chef All Stars Recap

By Jason Lee

January 10, 2011

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Sorry to break it to you, Fabio, but I know you’ve cooked fish before and some people enjoy keeping those as pets, too. Though they don’t take them out on walks. Or, at least, if they do, the only fishbowl that the fish is headed to afterwards is the big one in the sky.

The chefs start cooking and immediately things are going badly. Everyone is rushing around the place, complaining about the ovens/stoves, etc. Jamie is not happy about the flavor and texture of her dumplings. Casey finds out that she has to cut all of toenails off of each of her chicken feet. The kitchen is too hot for Tre’s orange dessert.

Really, the whole sequence is like a crazy, overlapping-dialogue scene from a Robert movie - an Altman movie in which all the characters are self-pitying complainers, at least.

Mike Isabella, a.k.a. the man with immunity, will be expediting service. Carla and Casey will be serving food, which means that Carla has to finish all her spring rolls ahead of time and Antonia must cook Casey’s chicken feet.

Lunchtime has arrived, the dining room is full, lots of Chinese people are very angry - but somehow the chefs find the time to serve the judges some food. On tap as our guest judge is Susur Lee, the runner-up from Top Chef Masters Season 2. He’s an excellent Chinese chef and I’m eager to hear what he has to say.




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The judges try a shrimp and pork spring roll by Angelo and Susur calls it perfectly cooked. Fabio has a soy, honey-glazed spicy pork rib and Susur loves the sweetness. Richard cooked a spring roll, too, but Gail notes the dish has an unpleasant alcohol-taste because not all of it burned off during cooking. Susur likes the vinaigrette on Tiffani’s cabbage sesame salad but all Gail got was sesame. Carla’s spring roll looked beautiful but all Gail could taste was rice noodles.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Richard is frustrated because everyone is being too intricate about their plating - no one is getting any food in the dining room.

The judges (and only the judges, it seems) gets the next round of dishes. Dale made some sweet rice with Chinese bacon in a banana leaf and tom likes the flavors a lot. Jamie and Antonia collaborated on some Chinese longbeans but they’re uber-greasy and overcooked. Tiffany’s spicy pork bun with veggies is totally authentic and is a hit with all. Tre’s orange ginger custard dessert is all watery and runny. Blech.

While the judges are getting fed, carts with food on them are being ransacked by patrons as they go by. People reach in and grab whatever they can, retreating to their table to eat defensively. I’m alternatively reminded of cats fighting over garbage and shoppers on Black Friday.

The judges are embarrassed. Tom goes into the kitchen to yell at the chefs a little bit (“Who’s running the kitchen, here?!?! People are walking out up there!!!”) but the chefs don’t seem to respond with any greater urgency; the dishes are still going out slowly. Casey spies one of her chicken feet dishes which had been cooked by Antonia - she’s aghast at how bad it looks, so she goes down to cook a few of her own.


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