Top Chef All-Stars Recap

By David Mumpower

March 9, 2011

Mike Isabella is presumably the one wearing the head dress.

New at BOP:
Share & Save
Digg Button  
Print this column
Due to this constraint, pragmatism rules the day. As Richard Blais later points out, Antonia plays “the ol’ shell game” by taking the cheese off of one sandwich, placing it on bread used in another sandwich, and toasting the result. Tiffany makes nachos and popcorn. You know how I just said I wasn’t sure you could make soup? Even if you can’t, I still believe in you enough that I think you can make nachos and popcorn. Frankly, I don’t want to know anyone who *cannot* make nachos and popcorn. Mike Isabella creates a theoretically soupy concoction from hot dog buns that looks more disgusting than anything I ever saw on the original Iron Chef from Japan - and they had live eel as the secret ingredient on any number of occasions.

The only chef who puts any effort into the competition, the one who is willing to brave the fact that the ferry trip may be too brief, is Richard. He states that he has been carrying around a military grade MRE packet, a portable meal for soldiers. MRE actually stands for “meal ready to eat." Pulling this out instantly gives Richard more potential ingredients than his competitors, which allows him to make what he terms as a bahn mi sandwich, a “salad sandwich” featuring hot dog and beef jerky flavors combined with jalapeno, pork rinds, lettuce and apple. As the guest judge, Dan Barber, states, “I want to go to war with you, bub.” Amusingly, he has.

Barber was the celebrity guest chef who aided Richard with his meal preparations during the finale of season four. As was the case then, Richard loses tonight. I think it’s fair to say that Dan Barber is a bad luck charm for Richard Blais. Even worse is the fact that the dish that beats his is Carla’s Orange & Papaya Salad, a dish that he states involves her “slicing some oranges”. This is Carla’s fourth win of the season, which ties her with Richard for most of the remaining competitors. Dale is the overall leader with six, but Dale isn’t here right now.




Advertisement



Before the elimination challenge details are announced, the contestants are given a huge surprise. A member of each of their families arrives. Tiffany, Antonia and Mike are joined by their mothers while Carla and Richard are joined by their spouses. This page from the Survivor playbook lifts the spirits of one and all; the best is yet to come, though.

Celebrating the theme of Ellis Island as the birthplace of the American dream, a genealogist has traced the lineage of all the participants. They will be asked to create a dish that hearkens back to their roots with regards to how their ancestors came to America. This is a beautiful idea that also affords the chefs the opportunity to make wonderful dishes without any artificial constraints, a frequent issue we have with the show’s challenges. Even better, this research reveals that Mike and Antonia, who have been bumping heads all season, are not-so-distant cousins. All of those jokes I’ve made this season about them inevitably coupling at some point now seem so inappropriate.


Continued:       1       2       3       4       5

     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.