Top Chef Boston Recap: Episode 9

By Jason Lee

December 22, 2014

Maybe a little less makeup next time, Katsuji.

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Greg’s food is up first and he brings out his “Raven” dish. It’s a seared beef tenderloin, grilled hen, parsnip puree, and crispy nori. Greg describes how each ingredient on his dish has symbolic meaning tied to “The Raven.” Gail loves the flavor and says that nori ties everything together, though she questions the doneness of the meat that guest judge Tony received. It’s quite rare. Lucky for Greg, Padma and Tom’s meat was cooked properly. Tony notes that it’s unacceptable in a restaurant to only get three proteins cooked properly out of four.

George is up next with his One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish dish. I note immediately that it looks nothing like a “cartoon on a plate.” He has calamari, mussels, clams, pan-seared branzino, purple potatoes, and red peppers, but they’re arranged in a very boring, standard, typical “fine-dining” sort of way. Guest Judge Francis says that everything tastes good, but notes that the dish feels “buttoned up.” Gail agrees. Everything tastes good but the dish is “tight.” She wanted him to “go a little crazy.” Tom concurs that the dish is “not Seuss-y.”

Mei is next and she delivers roasted vegetables with charred onion soil, a carrot-top vinaigrette, and a tom kha snow dusting the top. It’s an incredibly beautiful-looking dish, but as the judges begin their critique, the Top Chef producers cue up some ominous music.

“There was the potential for the soil and snow to be just a lot of technique without a lot of flavor,” Gail says, “but I could taste both and they complement the vegetables.” Mei exhales in relief. Francis likes the use of lemongrass and tom kha, as both ingredients come through in the dish. Tom agrees. He says that her “spring Walden pond” dish (with the vegetables, snow, and broth) had flavor, told a story, and demonstrated great technique in pulling it all off.




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Melissa comes out next - she’s feeling good but worries that the fall aspects of her dish might be too subtle. She has a seared halibut with spring vegetables, morels, charred baby corn, and mushroom broth. To me, it looks like yet another standard fine-dining dish from Melissa, pretty to look at and pretty safe. The judges love it, though. With the light spring flavors and a darker fall finish, Tom declares that Melissa “nailed it.” Francis finds the fish perfectly cooked.

Katsuji then comes out with his blood-splattered plate. He has poured spoonfuls of beet puree onto the plate and then smashed it with the back of the spoon to send the puree flying. George describes it as a “massacre on a plate.” I think it looks absolutely awesome.

As horrific as the dish looks, Katsuji says that it’s a pretty homey dish - one that his mom used to make for him. It’s a Spanish stew (fabada) with white beans, chorizo, jamon serrano, red beet puree, and hot sauce. Tom says that it’s the most unappetizing dish he’s ever seen, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Gail loves the vibrancy of his beef and appreciates the discordance in the dish. Tom says the meat is nicely cooked and has some good heat. As Katsuji walks away, Padma comments that given the challenge, Katsuji executed his inspiration beautifully. “Without a doubt,” Tom says.


Continued:       1       2       3       4       5

     


 
 

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